My eyes sting.
[Contractor, don’t look directly at that! If you keep staring, it will try to burrow into your mind!]
Was using the fogstone to cover it in mist the right call? I’m glad I remembered the details from that old game. This is probably a setup, too, but…
I pushed the bizarrely vivid memory to a corner of my mind and glared at the increasingly massive silhouette.
“Bow down…”
“What the hell.”
The voice coming from the silhouette was no longer Bella’s.
Is Bella dead?
I doubt she could survive looking like that… but since I don’t know the exact form, it’s still hard to make a judgment.
I grip the shovel tightly.
But I don’t charge in.
Rushing at an unknown enemy would be a sure way to lose my life.
At the very least, I needed to grasp what kind of creature that thing was.
“Bow down…”
Can I kill it in a normal way?
I don’t know this outsider.
I’m just guessing with my pitiful knowledge from before the possession.
So, let’s test the waters first.
I conjured a small fireball above my hand. Time to keep it at bay first.
The fireball sliced through the mist and shot toward the silhouette. As soon as I saw it, I placed my hand on the ground.
“Crafting.”
Wall. Wall. Wall. Wall.
I trap the silhouette.
Right after I heard the sound of the fireball hitting, I wanted to observe the situation. What kind of reaction will the silhouette show when surrounded by walls? I gently covered my ears and watched closely.
One, two, three, four,
…ten.
“!(@&!#(!”
It reacted roughly ten seconds later.
There was a heavy sound pounding against the wall, and cracks formed. A chilling scream.
Thankfully, it seemed that thing didn’t have the monstrous power to break through the walls in one go. Perhaps it’s just a fragile magician base.
Then what about magic?
“…Crafting.”
A fireball, maybe?
The deafening explosion from the front numbed my ears.
I looked at the half-destroyed wall and the silhouette transforming into one that resembled those I had seen through the cracks.
“It doesn’t even seem to leave a round shape.”
Words from someone who tampered with forbidden knowledge, huh?
It might still be alive, but I ought to assume there’s almost no hope left. I thought of the monster I encountered in the crack and glared at the creature breaking through the wall.
“…I don’t have any ill feelings towards it.”
It’s bitter. If I had just cared for it, this could’ve been avoided.
…Let’s not dwell on useless sentiments. The creature in front of me is clearly an enemy.
Not a person, but a monster.
[Contractor, you can’t get caught by that. Got it?]
“Do you know something?”
[It feels familiar…but there’s also a sense of discomfort.]
An ambiguous statement.
At least, it’s certain that Rue opposes that monster. But I have no way of knowing if that’s out of her will or instinctive enmity. To find that out, I’d need a sincere conversation with Rue.
“For now, I need to make sure it can’t escape.”
Crafting. I quietly muttered the familiar word. I walked around the duel arena, drawing a large circle, creating walls that separate the outside from the inside. I made them thick, so it wouldn’t easily slip away.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
I approached the screaming monster.
Just hearing the nerve-wracking wails was enough to make my eardrums feel like they were bursting, but since I wrapped myself in the power of the Phoenix, it was bearable.
The monster only screamed loudly, doing nothing else, just thrashing its body around. I quietly closed the distance and squinted my eyes.
Is it okay to look at it with bare eyes?
“!@(&!(#er! !@(&!(#ah!”
The sounds were getting extremely close now.
“Crafting.”
I wedged its arm between the pillars and forced it to stay there.
Was that enough to neutralize it? Its body wedged between the pillars barely moved. It didn’t seem like it was planning to escape.
I pushed through the mist and moved forward gradually.
“!@&(!#!”*
“Hey. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
[Contractor, danger…]
“■■■■■…”
I can’t understand what it means. But it’s certain that desperation lingers in that monstrous voice. I stood ready to swing the shovel, cautiously approaching.
“■■give me…”
An incomprehensible language mixed with understandable words reaches my ears. As I encountered the unknown, I stopped, slightly thinning the mist around me.
“…It’s a horrific sight.”
[Contractor, don’t look at that!]
I felt a tentacle wrap around my face. But I pushed the tentacles away with strength and tried to talk to what used to be Bella again.
“Bella, can you hear me?”
What kind of structure does that head have? It looks like the brain is swelling like a balloon, but it also looks like it’s wearing a brain-shaped hat.
“■■give me…”
“If you answer my question, I’ll do what you want. Who did you receive the magic book from?”
“■■■…”
I can’t understand. Is it censorship, or do I simply not comprehend that language?
Is there no way to gain useful information?
I think while glancing away from the now-docile monster.
Whether through dissection or interrogation, I could gain any useful information, which would be worth it.
It was during that dilemma.
[Mission generated.]
-Kill it quickly.
5 points.
“…What?”
Like a denial of my thoughts, the status window popped up. I stared at the status window.
Why would something that had been quiet for months show up now?
The message seemed confusing, blocking my choices.
What kind of creature gives me a mission like this?
[Mission changed.]
-That thing cannot exist in this world.
“…Why?”
An impulsive question.
Could it possibly respond to my question?
And then, the mission window refreshed again.
[Mission changed.]
-Hope must not disappear.
“Is there no way to save it?”
[Mission changed.]
-Don’t hesitate. If you don’t want to put the people you care about in danger.
“…This is going to require a lot of sacrifices.”
[Contractor? What are you talking about? Are you insane?!]
I sighed and declared to the monster before me.
“Bella. You might still have some consciousness left, but there’s no way for you to survive… goodbye.”
…Crafting.
“■■Oh…”
The death sentence for the neutralized outsider’s servant was pronounced.
—————-
“That’s brutal. Was it necessary to do that?”
Merlin’s voice trembled, betraying his usual composure.
“There was no other way.”
“…I see.”
He cleared his throat as if trying to keep calm, watching her corpse covered with a large cloth being taken away.
A headless corpse.
I gazed at the burning remnants of her head in the corner of my vision. The slowly burning magic book on the flames looked like an ordinary book, despite causing such tragedies.
Was it because I finished my task?
Or…
Huh, I didn’t expect it to end this way.
But I’m truly relieved that Elisa wasn’t harmed.
I recalled Elisa, who should be in the infirmary, and glanced at Merlin, whose complexion had turned pale.
“It’s my fault. I should have suppressed it before it escalated.”
“I doubt anyone thought it would come to this.”
“…Whoever did this, I swear on my honor to find them.”
“I agree.”
“Then I’ll go handle this situation for now. It’s not only one or two people who are disturbed.”
“See you next time.”
“…Be careful.”
Just hearing the screams is enough to cause mental strain.
Those born with strong magical ability probably only experienced dizziness, but if just a simple lackey was enough to cause this, it made the future seem grim.
…I don’t know why I’m okay.
Is it Quartz’s power?
Or is it because I’m the possessed one?
I can’t judge.
I need more information.
Should I press Kiki more or ask the status window?
Still, I felt some sense of direction.
I moved toward the place where Elisa should be lying down, mentally preparing the questions I needed to ask.
—————
“Elisa.”
“Johann! Did you see it?”
“Yeah. Are you okay?”
“I’m, a little dizzy, but I’m fine…”
I looked down at Elisa, who lay in the infirmary bed, holding her hand. She gave me a weak smile and asked.
“What about the wish…?”
“Tell me. I’ll grant any wish.”
Elisa leaned against the bed’s leaning back and looked up at me.
Silence enveloped us.
Elisa opened and closed her lips several times, taking deep breaths before exhaling repeatedly.
She looked tense.
After nearly a minute of deep breathing, the purple-haired girl looked at me with an excited expression.
“Can I say it now…?”
“Go ahead.”
“Please come a little closer. So you can whisper my wish in my ear…”
I leaned forward, bringing my ear close to Elisa’s mouth, just as she asked.
Her breath tickled my ear.
“My wish is…”
A soft touch grazed my cheek as my head was turned sideways, guided by her small, white hand. Towards the direction of Elisa’s face.
I found myself staring into Elisa’s eyes up close.
Her breath was so close that I could feel it on my lips.
That indescribable atmosphere made me want to speak up.
Until a soft touch reached my lips.
It was only when I realized the meaning of that sensation that her voice seeped into my ear.
“I like you. Please accept my confession.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected wish, my mouth that seemed ready to say anything froze.
A confession?
Seriously?
I felt dizzy.
I gazed at Elisa speechless.
Elisa was blushing brightly, waiting for my response.
I didn’t know what to do.
But…
The only conclusion that swam in my mind was that I had to answer.
I looked into Elisa’s moist eyes and replied.
“I…
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