After securing a decisive victory, the three of us stood before the door from which a multitude of soldiers had spilled out.
The fact that such a large number remained tightly sealed behind the door indicated that something significant was happening inside.
And it was undoubtedly related to the “big trouble” that the old man had mentioned.
Tension began to build between us as we assumed defensive postures, ready to respond to whatever might happen next.
“…I’ll open it.”
With those words from the White Mask, Muyun and I nodded quietly. The White Mask took a deep breath before proceeding.
Then.
Bam!
In an instant, she swung the door wide open and drew her sword as she entered, prompting us to follow her inside and immediately take up battle stances.
However, what we saw upon entry left us in shock.
The expressions of the White Mask and Muyun grew stiff, as if they had seen something they weren’t supposed to. They promptly covered their ears and turned away.
The knightly principle: Do not see, do not hear anything related to Outsiders.
It seemed they were immediately putting that into practice.
I, on the other hand, was shocked for a different reason.
That is…
“Peekaboo! Oh, what a cute little baby we have here!”
“Hehehe? Hehe!”
What I had just witnessed was cult members playing with an Outcast God that looked exactly like Lia, as if it were an amusing child.
What were these people doing?
Could I have misread the situation? Yet, even after rubbing my eyes and looking again, the sight remained unchanged.
While the sheer absurdity of the scene was shocking, what was even more shocking was…
Why is there an Outcast God that looks exactly like Lia here?
Aren’t Outcast Gods supposed to be fragments of an Outsider?
Could it be…
Then this meant there must be an Outsider who created Lia nearby…
「Nope. Just letting you know that’s not the case.」
Hmmm.
Even though I’d been ignoring her voice, she still decided to provide information. I started feeling a bit guilty.
No, still, disregarding a man’s sense of adventure is almost a crime.
In any case, we would talk again later, but now was not the right time.
「Grrr… Human, help! The leaves are forcing me to listen to them… Aaaargh!」
It seemed Bell might be facing a bit of hardship because of this.
I’m sorry, Bell.
Just hang in there for a bit.
Anyway.
Right now, that wasn’t what was important.
“Hah, hah! The knights have arrived!”
“Aaah, please, please! Interrogator, save us!”
As soon as the cultists recognized our presence, they panicked and began fleeing in every direction, while the Outcast God on the magic circle merely stretched her arms as if begging for more playtime from the departing individuals.
The Interrogator.
Was that the name of the Outsider they worshipped?
It’s too late to beg now.
You’re all about to be annihilated anyway.
It seemed like things were about to be resolved easier than expected.
I hoped it would end smoothly so we could be done with this, but—
“…”
Sigh escaped me upon seeing a presence approaching that carried a rather ominous atmosphere.
As expected.
It couldn’t just end neatly, could it?
Despite knowing we were knights, the girl kept walking towards us expressionlessly. White Mask and Muyun tensed, preparing for combat.
But I wasn’t going to let them fight this time.
“Master, please handle the other cultists.”
“Disciple.”
“This one… I will handle.”
It would be much better to have the combined support of White Mask and Muyeon.
But I had seen it.
The troubling crimson aura settling behind that girl.
And that crimson aura….
It looked too much like Asti’s.
I wanted to fight her myself and uncover clues, so I hoped they wouldn’t interfere.
“…Very well. I leave it to you.”
Fortunately, White Mask agreed and, with Muyun, began driving the screaming cultists out.
Good.
The moment they disappeared, I boldly spat out my intentions.
“You.”
“I have nothing to say to an intruder.”
“Do you know a girl named Asti?”
I expected her to show some reaction, but the girl remained expressionless, offering no response and merely exuding a menacing aura.
“So that’s your answer, then.”
With it becoming unavoidable, a fight with this girl was imminent.
And given the similarities with Asti, she would likely be stronger than I could imagine.
Just as I hadn’t been able to properly prepare my mind for that.
The girl’s body lunged toward me rapidly.
Thud!
It seemed she preferred to fight with her fists as she clashed with my punch, her fist meeting mine.
No, to be precise, our fists had collided by chance as we both struck out at each other.
“Gah!”
“…”
With an immense weight pressing down on my arms, a groan slipped out, but I couldn’t afford to dwell on that feeling.
The girl was already preparing for a follow-up strike as if it were nothing.
Wham!
I raised my arms to guard against the barrage of strikes pounding down but still felt my bones nearly shatter under the threat of impact.
I held back the ache and swung a punch towards the girl, quickly retreating.
After checking how strong she was, thankfully, it was within the expected range.
If that were the case, I felt I could devise a strategy to win.
Until I witnessed this.
“…Urgh.”
“Uuuu.”
As the girl raised her arms and moved her fingers in different directions, the idle Outcast Gods that had been sitting quietly suddenly rose.
Before I could comprehend what was happening.
Bang bang!
“What!”
The Outcast Gods all rushed towards me, colliding in a seemingly coordinated effort.
This allowed my defenses to slip, and…
Thud!
“Gah!”
I felt a heavy pain in my abdomen as I was thrown against the wall.
I felt an overwhelming urge to vomit everything inside me.
But this harsh battleground offered no chance for my stomach to ease.
Crash!
As I saw the girl charging at me, I quickly turned to the side and barely managed to dodge, but that made my insides feel even more nauseous.
As I hastily tried to rise and do something, three Outcast Gods suddenly flew towards me.
Then.
“Hiyah, hiyah, hiyah!”
They began viciously slapping my cheeks.
While it was indeed painful, it wasn’t an unbearable sensation.
However, that wasn’t the problem.
Thud!
“Gah!”
Because of that, my attention started to spread elsewhere.
The girl seized this opportunity and began to strike me everywhere across my body.
Each hit sent me floating into a dazed state as I felt like every blow would leave a bruise.
But I couldn’t fall here.
If I went down, it would all be over.
Whack!
I barely found an opening and threw a fist at the girl, believing it to be the perfect moment, but she lightly deflected it and created distance between us, leaving me speechless.
What on earth was this girl, who seemed stronger than a seasoned knight like me?
This was troubling.
Extremely troubling.
Facing just this girl seemed to be overwhelming enough, but she could also control the Outcast Gods?
This was not just a matter of being outnumbered; it was an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation.
At this rate, would I just end up getting beaten to a pulp?
Was there really no other method to turn this around?
Was just standing my ground the only option?
While I felt troubled and lost in thought.
“…Tan, ton.”
Did someone just call my name?
The voice was so close that I tensed up for a moment, but I soon realized it was coming from near my chest.
“…Lia?”
Before I knew it, Lia had popped her head out from the teddy bear costume and was looking at me.
With a determined expression.
“Just hang on! I’ll help you!”
After declaring that, Lia took off towards somewhere.
I was astonished that Lia was suddenly talking, but I soon connected the dots by observing the Outcast Gods attacking me.
The Outcast Gods lost their strength and couldn’t speak when alone.
But when they were near their peers, they regained their power.
This meant that the Outcast Gods being brainwashed here were of the same kind as Lia.
“…That girl…!”
The girl didn’t hesitate to launch an attack on Lia, and I intervened to shield her.
Her sharp reaction indicated that where Lia was heading was a perilous zone.
“Hey, you’ll have to get past me first!”
Perhaps feeling that she couldn’t go herself, the girl commanded the Outcast Gods to fly towards Lia.
With the girl’s control working, they shot forward much faster than Lia could fly on her own.
Where Lia was heading.
It had some sort of totem, glowing red.
The red light.
It had a strangely similar form to Asti’s.
Was the so-called “Interrogator,” whom these Outsiders believed in, her?
As I felt the pieces of the puzzle slowly starting to fit together, the girl forcibly shoved me aside and flew towards Lia.
“No!…”
It was just then, nearly on the verge.
Lia accelerated and finally tackled the totem head-on.
Crash, bang!
The totem, unable to maintain its balance, collapsed and faded, losing its crimson light.
At that moment.
“…Huh, huh?”
“Hooong.”
The Outcast Gods that had been chasing Lia as if to kill her seemed to regain their senses and landed on the ground with bright smiles.
“Ah, ahh… I was almost there.”
As the girl spoke with a despairing tone, I approached her.
Realizing my presence, she looked up at me with an expression of utmost pity.
So pathetic, indeed.
Extremely pathetic.
But I was determined.
After dealing with the candle incident and all that followed.
I vowed not to repeat the same mistakes.
Whack.
“Gah.”
I drove my fist into the girl’s abdomen, watching as the spark in her eyes dimmed and she toppled over.
Having struck just enough to knock her out, she certainly wouldn’t be waking up soon.
I caught the girl’s tipping body with my arms and gently laid her down on the ground.
I was resolved, but that didn’t mean I had no feelings.
“Phew, is it over?”
Thinking it was finally over, I tried to relax, but Lia began rubbing her hands against my cheeks excitedly.
No, why?
Wasn’t it supposed to be over once the totem fell?
As I pondered this, the White Mask and Muyun entered.
Though Lia tried to dive straight into my pocket before anything else, I reassured her, allowing her to do so.
Indeed, the White Mask showed a fleeting moment of surprise at the sight of Lia on my shoulder but quickly returned to our gaze.
“You have a pet too?”
“Haha… well, it just happened.”
“At this rate, we might need to reconsider your criminal charges.”
Oh, this person is making jokes.
…Though technically, it was still illegal.
“Well, nonetheless, we’ve won.”
“Not yet, Master. These cultists won’t just retreat after this.”
Based on Lia’s actions I had just witnessed, I reported to the White Mask.
The White Mask acknowledged my words and began surveying the surrounding area along with Muyun.
We needed to locate them quickly.
Since the fact that Outcast Gods had gathered this much implied that things had progressed significantly.
“Here, here!”
While I was anxiously scanning the area, Muyun called out loudly.
“This was mentioned in a book before; summoning circles must be symmetrical. But this one….”
The circle Muyun pointed to did indeed lack any form of symmetry.
If I discovered something odd, I had to act immediately.
I stomped down hard on the area, and a plank dropped rapidly beneath.
Upon revealing a ladder, I nodded to the White Mask and quickly descended.
And there, I found…
“Hieek!”
“This is….”
While I couldn’t see her face clearly,
I could make out a red dress, snow-white hair, and, pale skin that was so white it appeared almost ghastly.
It was the same color as the hand that Asti had summoned.
As I felt my mind grow hazy with the eerie anticipation that something might manifest at any moment,
Lia suddenly pointed somewhere.
“Look over there!”
Underneath the form of the Interogator, I could see a candle burning.
Was that the medium?
“Aaaah!”
I squeezed out every bit of strength to run as fast as I could, kicked the candle, and violently landed on the ceremonial table, smashing it all to pieces.
And thankfully.
I saw the figure of the Interogator evaporate entirely.
“…Phew.”
“Is it over?”
“That’s a death flag, Master!”
She casually threw out a dangerous statement!
…Fortunately, it seemed nothing else would happen.
Was it just my impression that I had become a master at dodging danger flags lately?
“…Good job, my disciple. When we get back, I’ll have to commend you again.”
“Not at all, Master. This time, Muyun’s efforts played a significant role as well.”
“Y-yes?! No, it was just luck….”
Perhaps it was because we completed the task.
All tension washed away, leaving me feeling suddenly drowsy.
Ah, really.
It’s time to rest now.
No matter how much I enjoyed roaming about, this was too much.
After crushing all those unsettling things beneath my feet, I climbed back up the ladder and collapsed on the floor, spotting a group of Outcast Gods chattering away among themselves.
Um.
What to do with them?
“You can carry them.”
“Huh?”
“Since it seems you like carrying that one on your shoulder, wouldn’t it be fine?”
“But that’s illegal.”
Judging by the look of three question marks that appeared above the White Mask’s head, I chose to ignore it.
It’s fine to do things covertly, but openly is a different matter.
Moreover, the White Mask had a point; leaving them here would surely just mean this space would become another false wall.
It was better to collect them in advance.
“I’ll handle the collection first.”
“Hey, a bottle….”
Lia pointed with her finger at a small bottle that was lying on the ground.
I promptly picked up the bottle and began to catch the Outcast Gods with my hand, causing White Mask and Muyun to gasp in disgust.
…I was starting to get curious about what they must be seeing to react like that.
…No, I take that back.
As I attempted to catch the Outcast Gods with my hands, several of them rubbed their cheeks against my fingers before entering the jar.
Could it be that these children fundamentally like people?
“Ugh! No, that’s mine!”
Lia suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck, showing a territorial behavior with an adorable grr sound toward the Outcast Gods.
Why were they being so jealous?
“I’m not going anywhere, huh.”
“Hee-hee…”
When I scratched her chin with my fingertip, the previously ‘formidable’ expression vanished, replaced by a blissful look as she melted in happiness.
Yes, that’s Lia.
Let’s quickly gather them and head back.
I felt utterly worn out to the point I had no room to even enjoy the cuteness.
#
In Tanton’s room, which was empty of Tanton.
Inside, a figure sat quietly, gently stroking Tanton’s bed.
Soon, as if sensing something, the figure’s body jolted, and large eyes opened wide.
There was one presence that returned with a tranquil gaze, as if this was a good turn of events.
“…You did well, Master.”
Please, don’t…
Muttering that, Asti stood up and began to move, walking to await the return of her master.
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