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Published at 10th of March 2022 08:37:33 AM


Chapter 537

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537 – Birth of the Mischievous Demon (side: Alphiss)

 

― One hundred years ago, in the Holy Country of Liarm, a strange event occurred. In a certain wealthy household, the head of the family and a young couple, as well as a great many servants, were all massacred.

According to the testimony of one surviving servant, the culprit was a young girl who had been kept in the basement. The family had secretly raised her after she was born with a mysterious power.

Occasionally, some babies are born with unusual skills. It is generally considered to be the result of a combination of bloodlines and the abilities and deeds of ancestors, but none fully understands the details.

However, it is common for babies born with such skills to grow to become powerful swordfighters or mages, who carve their names into history. In the Holy Country of Liarm in particular, such skills are often extolled as the Blessings of the Holy God.

It came to light that the child from the basement was born with such a Blessing. However… In exchange for such tremendous power, she possessed an intense craving for human blood, and would sate that craving through violence.

The girl fled deep into the forest, where she hunted and ate vicious monsters, destroyed hinterland villages, killed passing merchants, and even slew the top-class adventurers that set out to subjugate her. By the time the leader of the Holy Knights at the time, Belange, captured her, it is whispered even now that she killed and ate almost half of the Holy Knights.

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Having rescued the grievously injured Aruane from the battlefield, Alphiss is flying away to collect the captured atlach-nacha. If the atlach-nacha can be controlled through Lilixira’s [Spirit Servant] or Aruane’s [Blood Doll], it should serve to greatly unsettle Irushia, whose overwhelming physical abilities otherwise present no openings.

“Ool-dono, hurry up and heal Aruane-dono.”

Alphiss orders Regenerator Ool, who is riding with her. But he has shrunken down and isn’t moving.

“…I don’t want to.”

Ool murmurs in a voice so faint it might disappear.

“Don’t say something so selfish at this late an hour. It was for this that you were brought here.”

Clear irritation is mixed into Alphiss’s voice. Aruane is strong enough to potentially deal a decisive blow to Irushia, and has a skill with which she can deal a serious mental blow, making her an excellent pawn.

Thinking they could heal her before she passes away, Alphiss rescued Aruane, only to be met by Ool’s stubborn refusal. He has stiffened and hunched down, refusing to even talk. In addition, the figure at the centre of this quarrel, Aruane, doesn’t seem to recognise her peril, and is laughing happily.

“…Don’t you understand, Ool-dono? The undead servant of that evil dragon is chasing us. We’re a little faster, but they already know the direction we’re heading. If you drag this out too long, we might not be able to collect the spider monster.”

Alphiss looks back. Irushia’s subordinate, the undead girl, is using the dead body of a zephyr to race along the ground in pursuit. She seems to have a similar ability to Aruane’s that allows her to control a dead body, although it seems she can’t use it to make the dead dragon fly.

Next to the undead girl is a strange monster with a wooden mask. Alphiss already knows that it is a form of another of Irushia’s followers, the treant.


 

“If you don’t heal her now, we’ll have no way of fighting that undead. We’ll both just be killed. Are you still behaving like that while understanding the situation?”

Alphiss’s voice roughens, and she touches a hand to the sheath of her sword.

“I-if you’re going to kill me, then kill me! Th-this is too messed up… You didn’t say it would be like this. You’re telling me to heal that insane abomination? We should just let her die!”

It doesn’t seem that Ool is able to wrap his head around the situation, and is too deranged to carry a conversation. No matter what Alphiss says to him, his response have been like this.

However, although it is only limited, Alphiss holds some sympathy for Ool’s words. In the first place, she was opposed to releasing Aruane from the underground prison. Even though their viable forces were few in number, she thought it too dangerous to take Aruane with them. She feared that she would betray them at the worst possible moment.

…This might be the final opportunity to safely cut away Aruane, after having benefited from her power. Inside Alphiss, such a conflict is raging. Lilixira’s order was to rescue Aruane and heal her with Ool, and then collect the atlach-nacha. Alphiss intends to carry out that order, but… The more she sees Aruane from up close, the more she misgivings she has as to whether healing her is truly for the best. Even though she risked her life to rescue Aruane, she continues to agonise over the conflict between Lilixira’s orders and her own thoughts.

“Hey, hey, Ool-san. No matter what, are you not going to heal Aruane’s body for her? A lot of blood is coming out, and the inside of her body is all a mess. It’s really painful. So, so, what will you do?”

Aruane tilts her blood-soaked face to the side and asks Ool sweetly.

“Hi-hiii! Don’t look at me! Don’t touch me, monster!”

Ool leans so far back on the zephyr that he seems about to fall off. He screams briefly. Alphiss hurriedly catches him and pulls him back.

“Lilixira-sama, you really ask the impossible sometimes… I said again and again that Ool-dono might be too cowardly to be of use when he’s needed.”

As Alphiss murmurs, Aruane stares at her with a look of blank confusion. But, she then blinks and breaks into a wide smile.

“…Wow, Saint-sama even predicted this.”





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