Chapter 188: Aberrant Manifestation
I let out a sigh when I saw the lump of flesh that had suddenly appeared. Lappy started to stroke my head, much like one would do for a child. While her actions didn’t serve any particular purpose, I decided to let her do as she pleased.
To eliminate the source of the sound, we had to get closer to that lump of flesh. It was hard to believe that it could be a friendly presence for us. I had a hunch that it was an irrational monster that would just ran rampant, attacking everyone on site, whether they were friends or foes.
“To get rid of the noise, we need to get closer to that lump of flesh. Right… Tigar, Gora, and Farl, you’re coming with me,” I said.
“Aight! Let’s unleash some havoc, boss!” Tigar exclaimed.
“My muscles are ready!” Gora said.
“Understood. But you; make sure you don’t overdo it,” Farl cautioned Gora.
If we got closer to the lump of flesh, there was a high likelihood of a battle breaking out. In such a situation, I could rely on my capable companions. Tigar had high overall fighting power, Gora boasted top-notch strength, and Farl could provide support from the air. With these three by my side, we could handle most things.
Tigar wore a ferocious grin as he hefted the great sword he was carrying on his shoulder. Gora flexed his muscles, showing off his strength. Farl, while smiling wryly at her enthusiastic husband, strapped her bow to her back and sheathed her sword around her waist.
“Zald, stay here and protect this place. Mika, make preparations for our escape.”
“You can count on me.”
“Understood.”
With Zald, whose strength and composed demeanor stood shoulder to shoulder with Tigar, overseeing those who remained was manageable. Meanwhile, Mika, with his knack for thorough planning, would ensure the careful selection of supplies needed for our escape.
Lastly, I gently coiled my tail around Lappy, who had been perched on my shoulder, and lowered her to the ground. I had no intention of taking her with us; she needed to stay here under Zald’s protection. As if dissatisfied with that, Lappy stared intently into my compound eyes.
“Even if you make that face, you’re not coming with us. Protecting this place is an important duty in itself.”
“Mmm…”
“You seem unhappy. In that case, I’ll entrust you with this.”
I handed Lappy, who made no attempt to hide her dissatisfaction, the box I had been holding with my left hand all along. Inside it lay Acht, the crystalline life form I had promised to raise for Aiwass.
The box provided by Aiwass was probably very sturdy, but I couldn’t risk taking it to that dangerous place where the lump of flesh was while Acht was inside. Plus, since I knew there would be a battle, I wanted to keep both my hands free.
“This box is something very precious that I received from my benefactor. Please, keep it safe until I return.”
“Hmm!”
When she received it, she initially tilted her head, not understanding what was in the box, but her eyes sparkled when she heard it was something precious. She then tightly hugged the box. Good, it seemed like her mood had improved.
I watched over the delighted Lappy and simultaneously sent a telepathic message to Leo, asking him to help her. He seemed taken aback by the sudden telepathic message but quickly responded with, “I understand, big brother.”
“All right, let’s go.”
“””Ooooh!”””
With our plan in place, we began to take action. I, along with Tigar and the others, rushed through the imperial capital. However, we didn’t engage in the inefficient act of running along the streets. The imperial capital was filled with crowded buildings and intricate, winding paths, making it time-consuming to move around in that manner.
So, what should we do then? It was already decided. We would use the demon’s physical abilities to sprint across the rooftops. This way, we wouldn’t lose sight of our destination, and, above all, it was the quickest route.
“Whoa! The roof gave way again!”
“Again?!”
“Stop it. Gora might not be as heavy as Shuu or Apao, but he’s still a big guy.”
“Come on, stop saying such things in strange places…”
Indeed, the demon’s physical abilities were exceptional, and the two people running alongside me were quite agile. However, Gora, who was already large and carried a heavy weapon, would often step through the roofs due to his weight.
Well, he quickly leaped out of the holes, but it was still a cause for concern. Farl, who was flying with her wings, seemed to be quite exasperated by her husband’s antics.
“Demons!”
“Take em’ down!”
However, it appeared that our rooftop sprinting was drawing a fair amount of attention. Imperial soldiers rushed towards us and launched an attack.
They had been ordered to eliminate us, so they didn’t hesitate to attack. Arrows, spiritual arts, and a few bullets flew toward us with clear killing intent.
If we were unable to do anything against the Imperial soldiers like before due to those binding spiritual arts, we might have strengthened our defenses and tried to flee. However, for us now, Imperial soldiers were not subjects to be submissive to. If they intended to kill us, they were nothing more than enemies we could mercilessly retaliate against.
“If you think you can take us on, give it a shot! Goooaargh!”
“We’ll crush ’em! Ugooaargh!”
The Imperial soldiers, who thought that we already had lost our reason and were acting wild on instinct, must have been greatly surprised. They expected us to either recklessly charge at them or flee, but here we were, advancing with our wits intact. Their misunderstanding proved to be a fatal error.
Tigar charged in with his greatsword as a shield, slashing through the Imperial soldiers while crackling with lightning surges. Gora tore off a section of the roof and hurled it before smashing the enemies with his huge axe. Farl darted through the air in complex patterns, evading arrows and launching counterattacks with her own arrows. I targeted the soldiers’ vital points accurately with my twin swords and tail.
“R-Retreat! Fall back!”
“Hahaha! Look at them stumbling, will ya’!”
The Imperial soldiers who were fighting us turned tail and began to run away as if they realized that if things continued like this, it would be a one-sided massacre. There was no need to pursue them, so we began moving again toward the lump of flesh.
Having traversed the rooftops to approach as quickly as possible, the source of the sound was now considerably closer. This meant we were also getting closer to the lump of flesh, which allowed us to grasp the state of Orvo’s former mansion in more detail.
The mansion’s remains were directly below the lump of flesh, and the surrounding buildings were in shambles. The rubble spread out in a radial pattern around the mansion, which made me wonder if that lump of flesh might have emerged from Karelvo’s mansion.
If that were the case, there was a high probability that the lump of flesh had been created due to some failed experiment or research related to demons. In that case, there was a good chance that Karelvo was also dead. Was it wicked of me to think that it might be a good thing?
“Over here.”
“That collapsed tower, I believe.”
Even as I entertained these pointless thoughts, I hadn’t lost sight of our objective. We sharpened our hearing and identified the source of the sound that was spreading throughout the Imperial Capital.
It was a tower located near the mansion. Like the surrounding buildings, it had crumbled down, and all that remained was the entrance door and its immediate surroundings. Yet the incessant noise persisted, reaching out to the entire Imperial Capital from beneath the rubble. It was quite noisy.
I used my tail to clear away the debris and managed to locate the source of the sound. Two metal disks were stacked on top of a box, and the sound seemed to be generated by the minute vibration of one of the disks.
“This must be a finely crafted item using advanced spiritual arts, but I doubt its creator is more skilled than Aiwass. With this, the noise should stop… Whoa!”
“Boss! Are you okay?”
“Is everything all right?”
I touched the vibrating disk with the key-shaped tool. I had hoped that with this tool, I could disable the spiritual art running the device in one go.
However, the moment I touched the device with the key-shaped tool, something that I hadn’t expected happened. Indeed, the vibrations of the disk ceased due to the power of the tool. But in exchange, the light emitted from the key-shaped tool began to scatter.
The light was blinding to the point where it covered my entire field of vision, and I instinctively shielded my compound eyes with my arm. If I had looked directly at it, my vision would have been impaired for a while, I considered myself fortunate that the burst of light had been relatively brief.
“I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with my body.”
“Ah, my eyes are stinging. What just happened?”
“I’m guessing, but it seems like the power of this tool has spread. It’s quiet now; it looks like the sound stopped.”
I had my own understanding of what had occurred. The two disks on this device had distinctly different spiritual circuits engraved on their surfaces. This suggested that each of the two disks was responsible for generating a different spiritual art. One produced the disorienting sound that affected demons, while the other spread that sound.
The first disk I had deactivated was the one responsible for producing the sound, and at that moment, the disk responsible for spreading was still active. That’s when the diffusing power emitted by the key-shaped tool spread around.
However, it seemed that the disk responsible for spreading the sound had also been neutralized by the diffusing power. The device lying at my feet was completely still, showing no sign of further movement.
“It’s good that you’re alright, but what do we do now?”
“We’ve accomplished our mission. We have no obligation to do anything more for the empire. Let’s head back…”
And make our escape is what I wanted to say at the end, but I couldn’t bring myself to voice those words. The reason being, I felt an overwhelming sense of killing intent that sent shivers down my spine.
It appeared I wasn’t the only one who sensed this malevolence. Tigar and the others also turned their attention toward the source of the killing intent, which happened to be the lump of flesh that had been convulsing at the ruins of the mansion.
Unbeknownst to me, a massive eyeball, larger than my own height, had formed within that lump of flesh, and it was gazing straight at me. For reasons unknown, I sensed a deep-seated hatred radiating from that eye.
In other words, I had become an object of hatred for this lump of flesh. I had no recollection of any prior encounters that would warrant such animosity. While I was confused by this baseless anger directed at me, the lump of flesh began to violently swell and expand.
The lump of flesh expanded, and its surface underwent a transformation. The eye that had been fixated on us was engulfed by the expanding flesh, and in its place, several tendrils sprouted.
With the exception of one, all the other tendrils assumed a shape resembling human arms. A particularly thick and long tendril became a neck, culminating in a lizard-like head with angular features. What looked like nothing more than a mass of internal organs was now covered in scales on the back and fur on the front.
The head looked familiar to me in two distinct ways. Firstly, the shape of the head was something I recognized. That form… It bore a resemblance to the Rock Dragon I had faced in the unforgettable “Rookie Tournament” finals.
While it exuded an overall sharper impression than the Rock Dragon, there was no denying their close kinship. The similarities were numerous enough to convince me of that. Moroever, if that thing contained the power of a dragon, that killing intent would make sense.
The second form of familiarity was in a particular part of the head. Where a dragon’s left eye should have been, there was now a human-like face; that face belonged to a person that any demon would recognize.
“Is that… Karelvo?”
“Ughoooooooorghooooooo!”
The grotesque, dragon-transformed lump of flesh opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar that made the entire imperial capital tremble. Karelvo, who was now a part of this abomination, contorted his face with hatred, and his eyes gleamed with a savage hunger for violence.
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TN: Revenge time!
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