“….”
A long silence flowed. Come to think of it, I recalled prying into Basileon’s eye last time.
“Yeah. Basileon, I too… I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings last time.”
“Not at all, I don’t mind.”
Basileon truly reacted as if it was nothing.
“….”
Again, an awkward current flowed along with the silence. But it couldn’t be helped. Only the fact that Basileon had seen my terrible past lingered in my head.
“Let’s go.”
I took the lead first, and Basileon followed me from a distance behind.
* * *
I first went back into the mansion to check if Havel was there. Perhaps noticing that I hadn’t fully adapted to my human body yet, Basileon took the lead and checked all the places for me. However, the clockwork doll that guided me and Havel were nowhere to be found.
‘…Was I tricked?’
The whereabouts of Mary and Havel were unknown. Knowing they weren’t inside the mansion, I had no choice but to go out and look for them.
‘I should join up with the survivors first.’
Basileon was still keeping a distance from me. Walking with a human body felt awkward. Because I had always only flown around. How long has it been since I walked by placing and lifting my two feet on the ground with such a light body? I waddled like a toddler who had just taken their first steps. It was completely different from the experience of possessing Evan or Havel. I had adapted to such heavy bodies, but this light body was a first again. The human Evien’s body was as light as a feather, as if it could fly away, and this very moment was practically the first time I was walking in earnest.
‘Ugh…’
I waddled to adapt to my body and stretched my arms back and forth. Then, suddenly conscious of Basileon, who must be watching from behind, my whole body burned hot. Even without looking back, I felt the burning gaze staring at me. I unnecessarily turned around and made an excuse to Basileon.
“It’s because I haven’t adapted yet.”
After saying that and walking forward again, I heard a chuckle from behind. Fortunately, the atmosphere lightened and as I was feeling relieved, Basileon started walking side by side with me. I walked without saying a word, not minding him. Then Basileon held out his hand from the side.
“I want to hold hands.”
“…Yeah.”
Asking something like that was a bit funny. We slowly moved forward, feeling each other’s warmth.
* * *
Inside a dark cave. Ella, the ghost whose form was fading, knelt towards the platform. Behind her, ghosts and monsters lowered their postures one after another following her.
“Basileon has overcome the illusion.”
“….”
It was definitely the evil god standing on the platform, but the lighting there was too dark to reveal its form.
“That child had all the optimal conditions, but he has changed.”
A tone of regret was evident in the voice.
“I will find another human. Perhaps, how about that blue-haired human…”
Ella suggested using the survivor Mary Crow.
“Her mental strength is weak, but she is a child incapable of killing another human. Her value for utilization is low.”
The evil god gritted its teeth.
“Everything is because of Evien Montrose. Because of that child. She may be from another world, but I was complacent just because she had severe trauma.”
“That is not so.”
“Roven.”
A ghost that revealed itself next to the evil god interjected. The ghost stepped into the light. The elderly ghost with pale hair was the butler of Ravenwood.
“Evien Montrose and Basileon Ravenwood. Just their existence alone heals each other. Even just being close to each other blurs their trauma and strengthens their mental fortitude. As you saw earlier…”
“Right. Ultimately, it’s because that child took over that body. Everything changed after that.”
“So it’s a simple problem to solve if we can just separate the two. Basileon Ravenwood is the human with the most outstanding utilization value, and currently irreplaceable.”
Bang! Unable to contain its anger, the evil god slammed the platform.
“I don’t like Basileon. His changed eyes and expression seem to mock me.”
“But there is no human equivalent to him. If we just revert his mental state to its original form, it is certain he will act as a puppet again.”
“That b*stard. Even though he must have felt the pain of death hundreds of times, he didn’t even bat an eye!”
“….”
Sensing the evil god’s wrath, the butler Roben knelt and bowed his head before it. Then, all the ghosts and monsters behind him followed Roben’s action.
“O God. He is merely human. Although it is surprising that he appears to have mastered the pain of death, he is ultimately just a human who cannot bear to harm the one he cherishes.”
“But Evien, since that child is not human, isn’t she outside the rules.”
“Although an evil spirit is an existence outside the rules, ultimately, wanting to regain a body and become human remains unchanged. So we must use that psychology to lure her into a trap.”
The evil god sat on the chair, crossed its legs, and propped its chin, as if finding those words trite.
“I lured her into a trap earlier too, but failed.”
“The trap I have in mind is no such thing. That is to say….”
Roven smiled as if a brilliant idea had occurred to him. For quite a long time, Roben recited his plan. And eventually, having heard his proposal, the evil god was very satisfied.
* * *
The three survivors and Krius entered the Dark Lake area. The sound of beasts heard from afar was very ominous.
‘If we run into a werewolf at this rate…’
“Damn it… This is getting tiresome. How far does this path even go? Is it even possible to get out of here, my goodness.”
Aaron, who had kept his mouth shut the whole time, couldn’t endure the boredom and opened his mouth.
“It’s better to be bored. Than being eaten by a monster, that is.”
“….”
Aaron looked around, seemingly scared at once. As the cold wind touched his skin, he got goosebumps for no reason.
“Damn it.”
Lilith, who was holding her breath at the front, said while on guard of her surroundings.
“That monster. It’s already gotten close.”
“Excuse me? Did you see something?”
Krius hurriedly flew and looked around. A moment later, he detected faint movements in the pitch-black darkness.
“Can’t you see those things drooling while looking at us?”
When Krius looked around after hearing Lilith’s words, the eyes of numerous monsters flashed in the darkness.
“S-since when….”
Evan and Lilith stopped in their tracks, but Aaron couldn’t endure the fear and backed away.
“Do not move. Those monsters react to movement and gestures. You wouldn’t want to voluntarily become prey.”
Krius drew his Flamberge.
“If you just stand calmly, I will eliminate them all…”
“Kuaaack!”
Before Krius could even finish his words, Aaron got scared prematurely and started running away. At the same time, the hidden werewolves sprang out. The werewolves ignored the other survivors and only chased after the fleeing Aaron.
“That crazy human…”
Krius swung his sword and knocked down the werewolves one by one. Because it felt uncomfortable to kill even monsters that couldn’t be reasoned with, he knocked them out with an appropriate impact.
“Go away! I said go away!”
More werewolves lunged at Aaron, who was fleeing in a panic. Eventually, the speed gap quickly narrowed, and Aaron was attacked by a werewolf and fell to the ground. At that moment, someone popped out of the bushes and blocked Aaron’s path.
“…Step back.”
As the order was given, before Krius could grasp the situation, the werewolves stopped their actions. And slowly backed away.
“M-My Lord!”
What appeared in front of Aaron was Basileon. The werewolves naturally followed the Lord’s order. Krius was terrified and walked on eggshells around Basileon. Because of what he had suffered last time, he couldn’t help but be scared.
“What is going on here?”
Basileon opened his mouth first. Meanwhile, Evien ran from behind him and checked Aaron’s condition.
“Eh? Wait. Wh-Why is the Lady in human form…”
Krius wore a startled expression.
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