Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 167

167

“What, what is this! Wasn’t it dead?”

I hurriedly looked at the spot where the corpse had been. Just a moment ago, there were clearly two severed pieces lying there, but they had vanished without a trace. Instead, two huge holes were left in their place.

‘Huh? Two holes?’

No sooner had I felt the question than the answer was presented. A huge torso was rising from the other side as well.

“Kieeeek!”

“Heok!”

“What, what is it!”

People nearby scattered in a panic at the sight of the monster that had appeared again. I looked back and forth at the two Burrowing Greed Fiends with a slightly weary feeling. Two bodies separated from one, and two appearing at the same time. No matter how I thought about it, it was hard to dismiss the connection.

‘It’s like a flatworm….’

Was it that just cutting it wouldn’t kill it? Come to think of it, both of them were much smaller than the first one. It was clear that they had regrown starting from the severed parts. Truly, it had a tenacious vitality worthy of its infamous reputation.

Fortunately, it wasn’t fully recovered yet, and the accuracy of its targeting was greatly reduced. The fact that it hadn’t caught anything despite its surprise appearance was proof of that. Its speed and destructive power were also considerably weaker than when it was whole. It was a stroke of luck for the soldiers. Otherwise, a great tragedy would have occurred since everyone was off guard. Just imagining it made me dizzy.

The two, who had been roaring for a moment, quickly burrowed back into the ground. They were trying to attack again. The faces of the people who saw them completely disappear turned pale.

“S, save me!”

The soldiers began to run aimlessly. Some had lost their weapons, and even among those who still had them, no one maintained their formation. In that chaotic situation, a man tripped over a stone and fell to the ground. A person running with him stopped and looked back at him.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Keuek! I think I sprained my ankle.”

“Damn it! Of all times!”

The man clicked his tongue and hurriedly helped his fallen comrade.

It was then.

“Kieeeek!”

“Aaaagh!”

With a loud vibration, huge fangs popped out in front of the two. The Burrowing Greed Fiend had appeared, targeting them. The wide-open maw was about to swallow them whole. At the piercing scream, I hurriedly circulated my energy. Even if they were unpleasant people, I couldn’t just let them die right in front of me. I was going to save them first.

“Mulden!”

At that moment, a beautiful voice like the sound of a bell echoed in the air. It was Alisa’s voice. Then, tree trunks began to sprout rapidly from the ground. Crack, crackle! The rapidly growing trunks formed a barrier, blocking the front of the two crouching men.

Swaeak! Kuwoong! By a hair’s breadth, the monster’s fangs pierced the tree trunks instead of swallowing the two men. The body collided violently, and the wooden barrier shook greatly. The impact transmitted to Alisa must have been considerable.

As expected. Alisa’s face turned pale as if she couldn’t bear the sensation of her power rapidly draining away. Fortunately, she didn’t have to endure it any longer. A stream of water that shot out from behind wrapped around the monster’s body. Isana, who had noticed the situation, quickly stepped in to handle it. He had already captured the monster that had popped out from the other side and bound its torso. It seemed that he had reacted later than Alisa because of that.

“Isana! You can’t just cut these things! You have to make sure they can’t regenerate completely!”

At my words, Isana nodded and took a deep breath. Soon, along with the feeling of mana condensing, two more Cyciels appeared. Only the contractor of the Spirit King can summon multiple high-level spirits. If another spirit master had seen it, it would have been a shocking sight, but unfortunately, Alisa, the only other spirit master in this place besides Isana, didn’t recognize its significance. Instead, Sibelius lightly whistled.

“Cyciel, I’m counting on you!”

At Isana’s cry, the two Cyciels each soared into the air, circling around. Then, without hesitation, they plunged into the mouths of the monsters that were wriggling while bound. Immediately after completely swallowing the Cyciels, the monsters writhed in agony. Their bodies began to bubble and swell rapidly.

“Kieeeek!”

Kwajik! Peobeobeong!

Chwaaaak!

Soon, with the sound of an explosion, red blood and sticky mucus splattered everywhere. It wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened. They had been blown up from the inside so that they couldn’t even form a shape anymore.

‘……Wow.’

I couldn’t help but exclaim at the gruesome sight. Soldiers nearby sat down on the ground, covered in the spilled entrails. Some of them fainted from the shock.

“It seems completely over now.”

At Sibelius’s words, I chuckled and nodded.

The two men Alisa had saved were still trembling inside the barrier Mulden had created. As Alisa approached, the barrier gradually crumbled and slowly wriggled back into its original tree form. The two men recoiled in horror at the sight.

“Um, are you okay…….”

“Hiiiik! G, get away!”

They screamed even more hysterically as Alisa approached. They looked as if they had witnessed a ghost. Alisa hesitated to reach out and retreated dejectedly. A distance of two or three steps away from the people. It felt heavy on my heart as it seemed to indicate her position would remain the same in the future.

Isana was also clenching his fists as he watched the scene. He had stepped forward for her sake, but the result was that nothing had changed significantly, so he must have felt very bitter. I approached him and said in a comforting tone.

“Good job, Isana. You were really awesome.”

At my words, he smiled bitterly with a listless face. I patted him lightly on the shoulder and then looked up at the sky. The surroundings had become much darker, and before I knew it, the moon had risen. Soldiers with torches were moving busily here and there. However, none of the people passing by tried to make eye contact with us.

I understood their feelings well enough. Not only had the plan to kill them and cover up the incident failed, but they had also received help twice from the person they had tried to kill, so how could they not feel ashamed? They probably felt like they had exposed all their weaknesses. But their way of dealing with it was very bad.

“Geez. We caught the monsters without any sacrifices, but no one is grateful. I thought they would at least apologize.”

The soldiers nearby flinched at my quiet grumble. Of course, that didn’t change their attitude. They were still silently focused on cleaning up the area, without any apologies or words of gratitude. Some of them even glared at me. They probably thought it was hidden by the darkness. I lightly clicked my tongue and turned to Isana.

“This is a really unpleasant place. Let’s leave now.”

“Huh? Now?”

“I was going to leave when it was light out, but I don’t think I can. If I spend the night in this village, I’ll have terrible nightmares. We’ve already packed all our things, so let’s just leave without stopping by anything.”

“……Is it okay to just leave?”

“Huh?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

Isana quickly shook his head, but I roughly guessed what he wanted to say. He wanted to take Alisa out of this place. But he couldn’t say it honestly because of his own situation and our position.

‘He should act selfishly for once.’

But I liked this side of Isana too. I scratched my head slightly and then raised my voice as if to be heard on purpose.

“Hey, Sibyl. You like to cook, right? Wouldn’t it be better if there were more people to enjoy your food?”

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden, El?”

“No, I just suddenly thought of that. Actually, the number three is a bit lonely, isn’t it? If it’s an adventure, it’s better to have an even number of people, it feels more friendly.”

“What does that mean…… Ah.”

Sibelius, who had been puzzled, smiled when he finally realized the meaning of my words.

“Of course, it would be nice to have more companions. But if there are only four men, it’s no fun, so I’d prefer a woman if possible.”

“Really? Well, it’s better to have at least one woman, right? Girls are delicate, so they’ll notice things we can’t.”

“Yeah, that’s right. You really know what’s up, El.”

“Isana, do you think so too?”

“Huh? Uh-huh.”

Isana didn’t seem to have grasped the situation yet. The fact that he was nodding while still looking puzzled was proof of that. I gave him a grin and then said to Alisa, who was standing alone blankly.

“That’s what they say, you over there! Your name is Alisa, right? How about it? Would you like to come with us?”

“……!”

A sound of someone swallowing a gasp came from somewhere. I didn’t have to look back to know who it was. It was Isana. He was expressing his surprised feelings with his whole body, gaping like a goldfish. As a spirit master, he acted as calmly and resolutely as possible, but in these respects, he was still an innocent boy.

Rather, Alisa, the person who had received the offer, was looking at me with an expression that was calm to the point of being serene. Her eyes didn’t show any agitation, so I was a little nervous.

To be honest, it was an offer I blurted out half impulsively. But as I thought about taking her with me, my determination grew stronger. A person with the power of spirits, even if they are human, belongs to the spirit realm. As the Spirit King, my pride wouldn’t allow me to continue leaving the spirit’s child in this unpleasant place.

“……Go with you? With you guys?”

“Yeah! Ah, it’s not like we have any ulterior motives. It’s just that I think another place would suit you much better than here. We’re planning to travel around this continent for a while. Don’t you want to see a bigger world than this stuffy and frustrating village?”

“A bigger world…….”

“Yeah, a bigger world. We’ll take you there. To a place where there are people who recognize your worth.”

“…….”

Alisa didn’t say anything for a while. I watched her anxiously, wondering if she would refuse. If she refused, I would have no choice but to turn away, but I was determined to persuade her as much as I could.

It was then. The girl’s lips, which seemed like they would be closed forever, slowly parted. But what followed wasn’t acceptance or rejection, but a completely unexpected answer.

“I have an unusually good sense.”

“……Huh?”

“It suddenly happened one day. Whenever I met someone or was in a certain situation, I clearly felt whether I ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ do it. If I ignored it, I always had a bad experience, so I became more and more convinced of my sense. That’s why I didn’t run away even though I had several chances to run away until now. I had a feeling that it would be dangerous to leave this village. I had a premonition that it would be more terrible than going out on a subjugation and dying to a monster.”

“Ah, I see…….”

“But it seems that it was all to wait for today.”

I realized the meaning of the last words a little late. Alisa smiled as she slowly blinked her eyes.

“Thank you for asking. Thanks to you, I have a new feeling. I’ve been asking the same question in my mind several times, but this is the first time I’ve felt it was okay.”

“Then, are you saying you’ll go with us?”

“Yeah!”

My heart instantly lightened at the energetic answer. Alisa was also wearing a relieved smile. Her face, which had been as pale as if frozen, gradually regained its color, and I could see the vitality returning. It was like a flower blooming on a dry branch. It was as beautiful a sight as Mulden had shown her.

“Actually, I’ve been excited ever since I met you yesterday. I felt like a completely different world than before was unfolding in front of me. When I found you here, my heart felt like it was going to explode. As soon as our eyes met, I was sure I would live. Did you come to save me from the beginning?”

“That’s right, I was asked to.”

“I think I know who it is. Is it Fallon?”

When I nodded, Alisa smiled as if she knew it. At that moment, clear tears flowed like beads from her large, blinking eyes.

“Alisa?”

“Ah, sorry. I can’t seem to stop crying for some reason.”

Alisa hurriedly raised her hand to wipe away her tears. She was clearly crying, but I didn’t feel so sorry because she looked so happy. She cried and laughed for a while. Then, suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something and asked very flusteredly.

“Hey, but is it okay? I might be a huge nuisance. I’ve only grown up in this village since I was a child, so I’ve never been on a trip. I don’t know how I’ll act when my stamina reaches its limit. To be honest, I can’t say that I have a good personality, so I’ll make things difficult for you.”

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

“Really? Can I still go with you?”

At the question, she asked with wide eyes as if she couldn’t believe it, me and my party laughed without anyone saying anything first. The answer was already decided, but there would be almost no one who could say no after seeing this.

“Please take care of me from now on.”

Alisa stared at the hand held out in front of her as if admiring it. I didn’t urge her and waited patiently until she acted. Finally, Alisa, who had been hesitating, barely grabbed my hand. It was a small, white hand.

“……You can abandon me in the middle if I don’t listen.”

At the words she muttered cautiously while holding my hand tightly, me and my party laughed again. Suddenly, things about our identities and various things that needed to be discussed swirled in my head, but I decided to forget about them for a while. Because the values ​​gained by meeting her were too precious to worry about such things.

The brightly rising full moon looked bluish today for some reason. I had a feeling that I would get along well with this girl.