Chapter 103
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The situation, which seemed to be coming to a close, now appeared to be just beginning.
▼
– 2 hours and 25 minutes into the exam, disturbance in the control center.
– 2 hours and 30 minutes into the exam, abnormal reactions observed near 1 km south of the control center.
– Simultaneously: Confirmation of the disappearance of the previously observed magical concentration.
…….
– 2 hours and 31 minutes into the exam, confirmation of the occurrence of an unidentified summoning ritual.
▲
This was a fact confirmed by the hero through the Astera Vision’s log.
In addition, various situation reports were pouring in.
In summary, it was as follows:
Evacuation of some children completed, excluding a few.
Support forces deployed.
All entrances to Rosenstark sealed off.
Unscheduled inspections underway.
Ongoing search for the ‘mediator.’
Tracking of ‘collaborators’ by Felson.
Yussi, along with the survivors in the control center, working on system recovery.
Cuculli, Ban, Leciel, Evergreen, Luke each evacuating near the control center.
…An unknown demon summoned through the ritual is also advancing.
If the control center’s video panels were intact, the demon’s identity could have been confirmed through the video records.
But now, chasing its movements through Astera Vision was all they could do.
Tap-
The hero ran south lost in thought.
‘…A dangerous one has appeared.’
Setting aside the extinct Monma, its power was strangely strong.
It had deceived dozens of confirmed things and successfully summoned a demon estimated to be above the highest grade.
Moreover, within Rosenstark.
‘At least a high-ranking Monma.’
Monmas vary greatly in danger depending on their grade.
Regular Monmas only create nightmares, extracting a small amount of mana from humans at most.
Starting from high-ranking Monmas, they can manipulate humans through the process of deception and brainwashing.
…And their legion commander, Lord Enoch.
During the Nubes Salon incident, that guy, when suppressed, could even completely ‘possess’ humans, using them as hosts.
‘The most sinister and dangerous tribe.’
Deception, brainwashing, possession.
The powers were so threatening that even the ‘Original’ acknowledged it.
But no matter how powerful a Monma is, it’s extremely difficult to deceive a healthy human without any prior preparation.
So, they usually carried out meticulous groundwork to weaken the target’s mental strength and then manipulated them as they pleased.
‘…For example, making them come into contact with a mediator.’
[Pia.]
[Yes, Professor.]
Pia responded immediately.
Her voice was trembling enough to be felt even in the low tones of the communication device.
[No abnormalities in the current evacuation shelter.]
Whether trying to conceal her unease or deliberately speaking with a more confident voice.
[Just in case, please search the children.]
[…Search the children?]
[The location of the mediator hasn’t been identified yet. If any child has suspicious items, isolate them immediately.]
Mediator.
An item that has been mobilized for negative symbols or evil acts, becoming imbued with malice.
Humans who come into contact with it naturally become vulnerable to magic, making it easier for Monmas to deceive them.
Therefore, when Monmas appear.
To prevent additional damage, it was a top priority to identify what items they used as mediators and destroy them.
The academy’s security forces were combing through the control center staff’s residences and recent whereabouts as if catching a fugitive, all for that reason.
One unfortunate thing, however, was that the whereabouts and identity of the mediator were still completely unknown.
[Are you suggesting that collaborators might be mixed among the children?]
[We can’t completely rule out the possibility.]
[Well…]
Pia bit her lip.
[Yes. We’ll conduct the search…]
[Be careful.]
[Yes, Professor. Please take care too.]
Wooooooong-!
Having given the orders, the hero’s eyes turned back to the Astera Vision.
There were two pieces of new information.
First, the bad news.
Children who hadn’t joined the evacuation yet.
Namely, Cuculli, Ban, Leciel, Evergreen, and Luke had gathered.
…And now, even worse news.
The demon changed direction.
Towards the children.
It was like putting all eggs in one basket.
‘And the movement speed….’
It was significantly outpacing the children.
At this rate, it would meet the children before he could arrive.
Using Nova could make it in time, but… blindly wasting mana without knowing how strong the demon was, that was absurd.
The hero smirked.
‘Let’s give it a try for real now.’
He knew collaborators would appear, but the scale of the incident was beyond expectation.
After the control center sabotage, now demon summoning.
Who would have thought someone would dare such bold acts within Rosenstark?
The hero’s eyes coldly sank into the darkness.
‘This is also an opportunity to show them properly.’
…What preparations have we made so far to exterminate creatures like you?
He calmly moved his steps.
Wheeeee-!
Clank-!
The magic-powered train, not cutting off its power supply, started its engine.
[We’ve arrived at the station; we’re going to rescue the children now.]
[Yes, wish you luck.]
The magical train on the track swiftly headed south like an arrow.
* * *
…Rustle.
“!”
Whoosh-!
In the dark forest.
Leciel, who was running without a thought, instinctively swung her sword as she sensed someone’s presence.
Normally, she would have confirmed the opponent, but right now, she couldn’t afford to.
She was using all her mana for sensing, and the recent scene she witnessed made her nerves extremely tense.
‘Ah.’
The thought that it might be the colleague’s presence occurred to her after the sword had halfway extended.
But there was no need to retract it.
Clang-!
With a sharp metallic sound, flames spurted out.
Standing beyond the flames was an uninvited guest with a familiar face.
“Ah! That hurts~! Oh, isn’t that Leciel? Hello!”
Cuculli shook her hand, still trembling from the sneeze.
Behind her, Evergreen awkwardly waved her hand, and Luke stood like a bodyguard beside her.
‘Ah….’
They weren’t particularly close, but somehow, she felt relieved.
It was only now that Leciel loosened the grip on the sword in her hand.
Cuculli, observing her silently, blurted out.
“Um… What’s the situation? Why are you making such a face?”
It was an attitude completely devoid of her usual playfulness.
And understandably so, given the serious expressions on Ban and Leciel’s faces.
Cheeks and calves marked as if scratched by branches.
Eyes scanning the rear while catching their breath.
Even their breaths were trembling.
Cuculli spoke with certainty.
“What are you running away from?”
The one who answered was Ban, who had somehow caught his breath.
“…Let’s talk while running for now.”
.
.
.
About 5 minutes ago.
Ban and Leciel ran while checking behind them.
They absolutely didn’t want to look back, but they had no choice.
They needed to know what was happening to be prepared.
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…And what awaited them was an unexpected sight.
‘…What is this?’
Since there should have been a man’s corpse, their hearts pierced.
But below the hill.
Where the man had fallen, there was nothing.
No blood-soaked corpse, no demonic energy cloud descending over it.
On the contrary, thanks to the disappearing demonic energy, the sky seemed unusually clear.
After a moment of confusion, Ban squinted his eyes.
…It wasn’t that there was nothing.
‘Blood threads?’
A red blood thread was drawn diagonally in the air.
It resembled a narrowed pupil.
In the thin gap between.
Tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu-
A streak of crimson light formed ripples and surged out.
For no apparent reason, the heart pounded.
Ban wanted to look away from it, but it wasn’t easy, as if some unknown force was at play.
Kigikigikigik-!
With a strange noise, the gap widened abruptly.
“…Ah.”
The children doubted their eyes.
‘What is that?’
The enormous head was the first thing.
The hazy sunlight bounced off its shield-like black scales in all directions.
‘…A snake?’
At first, they didn’t even consider it a living being.
They thought it was some kind of structure.
Had it not been for the long tongue split into two, they might not have known until the end.
Sisisisisi-!
Although only half of its body seemed to be emerging from the gap, the head already reached the treetops.
Amber eyes.
Eyes gleaming with raw appetite turned toward the children.
‘…Vermoth. It’s Vermoth.’
[PR/N: Eugene boutta pull up for some questions about the moonlight sword]
Ban quickly recalled the characteristics of the creature he read in the Monster Codex and took a step back.
Now that they understood its identity.
It was time to run for their lives.
* * *
Vermoth had three keywords.
Hunger, predation, molting.
Proportional to its massive size, Vermoth was always plagued by hunger.
Without suitable prey, it would not only prey on other monsters but even its own kind.
There were cases of it devouring its own freshly hatched offspring, so its appetite needed no further explanation.
Anyway, after repeating predation and accumulating sufficient mana, molting follows.
The strength of the individual is determined by the number of moltings.
Vermoth, which failed to molt several times, ranked at an intermediate level due to its loose scales and non-threatening size.
However, an individual that accumulated enough mana through repeated moltings would possess scales with a hardness surpassing steel and a size reminiscent of ancient dragon species that were thought to be extinct.
In short, it was a creature that grew stronger the more it ate.
The Vermoth they just witnessed was undoubtedly an extremely voracious individual.
“Wow, what an enormous snake.”
Having heard Ban’s explanation, Cuculli marveled, shaking her head.
Even while running, her breathing showed no signs of disturbance.
It seemed as if she were taking a leisurely stroll on a plain.
On the other hand, the other four had almost depleted their stamina.
The oppressive feeling of being chased, coupled with the challenging terrain, rapidly drained their energy.
“Pant, Do, Do you think the professor knows?”
When Evergreen made a distressed expression, Luke replied.
“Of course. The academy is surely taking measures as well. Stop talking and save your breath.”
“Uh.”
Following Luke’s words, Evergreen complied.
Among them, she was the most exhausted.
If Luke hadn’t been pushing her from behind, she would have fallen behind already.
‘I can’t be a burden to the kids.’
Evergreen summoned all the strength she had left and increased her speed again.
Seeing her in that state, Luke, feeling sorry, asked Ban.
“But if it’s such a big creature, shouldn’t it have been captured earlier?”
“Probably on the way here, any monster that appeared was devoured. One of its characteristics is an insatiable hunger.”
Ban’s prediction was somewhat accurate.
If things went according to the ‘collaborator’s’ plan, Vermoth was supposed to become more powerful by eating the monsters released from the control center.
However, the unexpected appearance of Felson completely overturned the plan.
Starved Vermoth, in an attempt to appease its hunger, began devouring nearby monsters.
Additionally, thanks to Yussi lowering the demonic energy enhancement level, the summoning ritual did not complete entirely.
Fortunately, this delay prevented Vermoth and the children from crossing paths.
“So, we need to take advantage of this opening and escape quickly.”
“Fight against it?”
“…Doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
The calculation was over the moment they saw the creature.
Fighting against Vermoth in their current state, with insufficient mana and stamina, would be suicidal.
Their attacks would likely be blocked by its thick black scales, making it nearly impossible to inflict any damage.
“So, let’s hurry towards the entrance…”
It was at that moment.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
At first, it was just a small sound that they could dismiss as an illusion.
However, the faint vibration rapidly amplified, shaking the forest.
“What, what is it!?”
“Get down!”
The intensity of the vibrations was strong enough to make pebbles on the ground float.
The party instinctively lowered themselves, looking around anxiously.
“What the hell!?”
“Calm down! We’re not under attack!”
The intensity of the vibrations indicated that the source was further back than Vermoth.
Still obscured by the dense trees, they couldn’t see the creature.
However, the sounds of trees breaking and what seemed like the cries of a monster were evident.
“Everyone, stay down!”
The wind, filled with gritty dust, was clear evidence that something was approaching.
Now, it seemed to be very close.
“Oh, this can’t be helped.”
It was then that Cuculli stopped abruptly.
HEL SCANS
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