Chapter 57
Quack!
One thousand five hundred fifty-five.
Quack!
One thousand five hundred fifty-six.
Quack!
One thousand five hundred fifty-seven… hmm?
While swinging my mace and amplifying Caliculea’s nerve function with Curse Magic.
It felt like the world was becoming brighter.
Suddenly, I felt a huge door that had been blocking knowledge swing open.
My mind cleared and a refreshing sensation filled me.
The world I had known until now had mysteriously expanded.
If it had been Liam, his status window would probably have popped up with some message.
?Ding!
Curse Magic has reached the rank of “Comprehension”!
I smiled.
I was aware that I had gotten closer. Thus, when facing Caliculea this time, I chose to only use Curse Magic without relying on a familiar. Taking down a creature that constantly consumed mana was ultimately beneficial.
『…kill…me.』
Just a few hours ago, this mysterious creature known as Caliculea, now twisted and grotesque, was trying to open its mouth in a horrifying way.
After crossing a thousand, it stopped screaming. It was caught in a nightmarish cycle of fainting and regaining consciousness multiple times.
I realized while striking with the mace that I hadn’t put a limit on the number of rounds with this creature. Since it had screamed out for a thousand, I, being generous, was thinking of showing mercy until it reached exactly two thousand.
Truly, a model noble, right?
Unbeknownst to Caliculea, who was unaware of my deeper intentions, it muttered feeble words like to ‘kill me’.
Oh, the battle isn’t over yet… but there’s nothing I can do.
“Let’s call it a draw. I too have a soft heart, which is a problem. A hero meant to save the world should possess a stronger heart. Being this nice is a flaw.”
Caliculea wriggled its mouth but didn’t say anything else. It didn’t have to flap around like a fish; I understood everything it was curious about anyway.
“You were curious about my total mana. Since I’ve reached the rank of Comprehension, I shall reveal the truth specifically to you.”
Whether you’d understand it is another matter.
The refined truth.
I grabbed a handful of its hair and forced it to look into my eyes. I needed the atmosphere to be right for what I was about to say, so it couldn’t just stare blankly at the ground.
I could see the glint in Caliculea’s blood-soaked eyes. Reflected in them was the gleeful expression I wore in this situation.
“It’s a possession bonus.”
Just like how that bumbling Liam gained the supernatural weapon of a status window when he possessed the novel, standing before the leads as the protagonist.
So, it wouldn’t be strange for me to have gained something similar as well.
Well, it wouldn’t be strange if I ended up with something similar to him.
Even if it’s not a status window, something that comes close to it.
Yeah, perhaps a talent that transcends the total amount of mana. I may not have reached that level yet, but if I’ve received infinite mana talent that can achieve it…
Wouldn’t this current scene be understandable?
“Got it?”
At my question, a twisted word crawls out from Caliculea’s lips accompanied by a faint sound. It’s so weak that I have to strain to hear it, but somehow it squeezes its way out between his lips.
“Kill… me…”
The eyes that have long lost their vitality have given up on life. Perhaps he’s broken by this moment; he just keeps repeating the request to be killed.
It seems he’s completely ruined.
“This is troubling. If it’s like this, I can’t get an answer to my question… yeah, then that will do.”
It was torture planned from the start, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try once. This is the stage, after all. I thought a proper performance was needed. A habit from my past life, I suppose.
I lifted the small bottle that was in Caliculea’s grasp. Inside it, a small bug with a sharp stinger reacted. It seemed annoyed by the shaking, bumping its tiny body against the bottle.
I asked Caliculea.
He has an obligation to answer.
“Why is the Formist targeting Erica?”
I heard that Caliculea had the Goddess Church’s bug from that stalker, Borg.
From that moment, my hypothesis was confirmed.
In the background of the original story, Erica was being observed through Borg. While Borg had no interest in her magic or disposition, she was being analyzed nonetheless.
During that time, ‘by coincidence,’ Erica was blown off by a promise to meet Vargan and entered the theater alone, where she became vulnerable to Caliculea’s preparations and was injected with the Goddess Church’s bug.
The Goddess’s bug, Divine Bug, the seed of Altife.
It is called by various names, and it moved into Erica’s body through the stinger at its tail. That bug had sucked Caliculea’s blood. It followed his orders and completed the task, taking advantage of Erica’s inability to resist.
The task refers to the process of transformation.
Intelligent Altife cannot reproduce, but non-intelligent ones are different. They use the stinger at the end of their tentacles to cause various cellular and DNA alterations in a person’s body, which they call reproduction.
The intelligence of the person being reproduced is destroyed, and they become another Priest-level Altife. They carry on the lineage like that.
The bug, enhanced using the stinger of such Altife, is the Divine Bug.
……
It’s a dreadful thing.
The bug is always ready to transform Erica into an ‘Altife’ whenever Caliculea commands it. He uses this as a means of intimidation to shake Erica.
No, he must have shaken her.
Erica is the Villainess. There was no kind information provided to help understand her tragic death that was a given.
Thus, I speculated.
Knowing her true nature, I, Vargan.
I guessed the time when she began to actively act as a villain and engage in odd behavior at the Academia.
And that has led to the current story.
I suspected that I would have to suggest lunch to Erica at least ten times for this reason. Back then, I didn’t know that Caliculea was in the background, though.
I had a feeling I needed to make a lunch proposal, and that was the reason behind it. At that time, I didn’t know Caliculea was in the background, though.
“Erica… she… is…”
Caliculea, lost in unconsciousness, continues to speak.
The reason the Formists are targeting her?
I can guess, but there’s no need to know.
They were simply acting according to the Scriptures. After all, she is a puppet moving as the Scriptures specified; whatever the reason, they must have targeted her. The reason is just an additional detail.
Why?
Why, you ask?
Why on earth?
“…because she resembles the Goddess.”
No, that’s wrong, Caliculea.
You’re mistaken. The essence of why the Formists approached Erica is not that they want to express the Goddess’s appearance.
There are hundreds of representations of the Goddess crafted by the Formists.
Among them, there is only one form that resembles Erica.
“Let me tell you. The reason you approached Erica is…”
To progress the story of the novel.
That’s all there is to it.
Crack?!
I crushed the guy’s head without hesitation. No matter how much of a monster Caliculea is, he doesn’t move anymore. No regeneration, either.
A complete death, meeting an exit from the stage.
“…”
Blood splattered as I crushed his head.
I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my face as best as I could.
In times like this, I wish there was convenient magic like Clean Magic, but unfortunately, such magic doesn’t exist in this world.
I think again.
No matter how cool a reason I attach, the essence doesn’t change. After all, all characters in this novel exist and are created to follow predetermined endings and developments.
Borg’s infatuation and stalking of Erica?
Caliculea welcoming Erica in accordance with the Scriptures?
The series of coincidences that led Erica to join the Goddess Church?
And even Vargan’s death?
All elements are tracks leading to the destination of the novel’s conclusion.
Crack.
The grip of my hand holding the mace tightened.
I didn’t make a sound.
I didn’t show any exaggerated gestures, but I clearly conveyed it.
I thought carefully to ensure I wouldn’t miss anything.
Now, see.
Erica, who should have been incorporated into the Goddess Church, lost that plausibility.
It doesn’t make sense for her to suddenly start following the Goddess after this day, and following existing history would require another transformation.
It’s starting to twist.
Only by losing the advantage of knowing the future can I reach my goal, so I’ll stir things up as I please.
Look.
Watch closely.
The developments after I change things!
*
11:05 PM.
The professors of the Academia entered the theater where Vargan and Erica were.
“We’ve been waiting.”
It was Vargan who welcomed Louisa.
He stood on a stage soaked in blood, illuminated by yellow light, with a bishop-level figure smashed to the point of being unrecognizable.
The professors widened their eyes, trying to comprehend the situation. Though it was heavily damaged, it was undoubtedly an Altife in human form. At the very least, it was at the bishop level.
This is impossible. A first-year student from the Academia killed a bishop.
Louisa, leading the way, quickly checked Vargan and Erica, who was asleep in the audience. It seemed she hadn’t sustained any injuries.
With angry footsteps, she marched forward. She showed an incredibly furrowed brow in front of Vargan.
“What do you think I’m going to say, head?”
“Since you’ve captured a bishop, do you expect some proper praise?”
“Are you ready, Harira?”
“Shut your mouth!!”
Her anger echoed throughout the theater along with her magic. The other professors who had come with her looked surprised and froze in place.
Vargan maintained a disinterested gaze.
In his opinion, he had done nothing wrong.
Louisa’s fury rose even more at Vargan’s calm demeanor.
He clearly knew this would happen. That’s why he asked what would happen if he was late and was openly displaying his mana so it could be easily tracked.
“Did you find it funny when I told you to run from anyone above bishop level? Is that why you did something this reckless??!”
“I caught them without a scratch, didn’t I?”
“What about the bishop?! It’s not just about being strong!”
“……”
Vargan understood why she was so furious. The death of any being above the bishop level is immediately communicated to all Altife. Moreover, the killer leaves traces visible only to them.
Those traces linger like a tag and, the more they accumulate, the more they draw Altife’s attention like a potent fragrance.
Vargan had caught the first hint of that scent.
“Now the upper entities of the group this guy belongs to will start targeting you. Archbishop, Cardinal! Do you really think you’ll be safe when they show up before you?!”
Louisa grabbed Vargan by the collar and shook him.
She was worried about Vargan. The reason why even the new heroes tended to die quickly is that this faint resonance makes them easy targets.
Kill them before they grow stronger.
Cut them down before they mature.
Intelligent Altife are cunning and smart. Without a strong defense, they’ll come at you like beasts, following that faint scent.
“There’s the Academia as a shield, so it’s fine.”
The reason Altife don’t surprise-attack the institution training heroes is that the defenses are extremely robust.
Louisa tightened her grip on Vargan’s collar and countered.
“Nowhere you go from here will be safe. You’re not going to rot away in the Academia for life, so stop spouting nonsense.”
“What can I do if a hero fears their enemy? It’s better to welcome them with open arms.”
“You little…!”
“Ah, wait, wait. Louisa. I understand you’re angry, but first, we need to check for any injuries! What are you doing!? No, Vargan! I’m going to hold this muscle monster down, so hurry over there.”
Paula intervened and grabbed Louisa’s arms. She struggled to handle Louisa’s immense strength but managed to hold her back using her own mana.
As Vargan broke free from Louisa, he intended to step back.
They would handle the aftermath.
“But you really have to be careful from now on.”
Paula sent a worried glance toward Vargan. Her eyes, lit with the lights, trembled.
A single bishop could handle any professor in the Academia. But after that, really…
“The second danger level… we can’t handle anything starting from the archbishop.”
“…I’ll remember that.”
Vargan nodded slightly. He then scooped up the unconscious Erica and moved on from the place.
It was the first time he had shown courtesy to Paula.
Paula watched the spot he had left. She felt uneasy. Vargan, that brilliant Schugenharz’s third son, gave her an unsettling feeling that something was amiss.
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