120 – 120. Winds of Plague (2)
I succeeded in relaying my findings to the commander. But… Senia was uncomfortable with something.
“Senia? It’s all over. Why do you look so bad?”
“…Just a little uncomfortable.”
“Well, that’s right. It’s raining like this. Coming to a place like this in summer and being exposed to rain is the worst, the worst.”
It wasn’t hot or humid. For Senia, this feeling of discomfort was due to a sense of difference, as if it was not different from what she had been told.
-‘That rocky mountain keeps coming down, so I guess we’ll have to change places in the near future.’
I remember what the Sirens said when they were on the Vevre.
I wonder if that was really the size of a rocky mountain?
***
“Whoa, my head hurts.”
Meuniher pressed his temples as he looked out the window.
I didn’t think it was something to be shared outside, so I sent them into the private barracks and had a conversation, but the stories I received from them couldn’t be ignored at all.
“Did you say Senia? You read it well.”
At first, Meuniher didn’t believe Senia’s words either.
It was difficult to prove how such a structure was read and on what reasonable basis such an answer came out.
It’s just a heart attack. It was just an excessive leap to dismiss it as a fact discovered through magic.
However, even if it’s a deep feeling, drawing this structure directly into a picture makes me feel more confident that the answer is correct.
-‘What are you drawing?’
-‘The internal structure of the Scourge, including its magic circuits.’
-‘…Internal structure? You mean this picture?’
Then, when he naturally pointed out the contradiction, he steadfastly explained that part.
-‘If you eat mana, you won’t need any other organs. I only need to consume the magic of other creatures that flow through my blood.’
That made sense.
Digestive organs, excretory organs, etc., Are all organs that are unnecessary except for the circulatory organs if they only require the energy source of mana.
No matter what else he pointed out, the girl answered her sharply and conveyed her intentions.
-‘If Scourges cannot consume blood directly, they spread their offspring in bodily fluids to find another host, gnawing away at the host’s magical energy, and once they have grown enough, they break through a hole and escape. Osoptera and Canolatl will never be able to cope with it.’
-‘Surely…Then what does it have to do with the Lemtert Plague?’
-‘Symptoms. The fact that the magic circuit is slowly breaking down showing blue spots can be seen as evidence that the Scourge has infiltrated human blood.’
The relationship between the Lemteert Plague and the Scourge goes like this.
Because of this, her head throbs all by itself, and I have no choice but to press my temples. If the Thambris team’s claim is correct, it’s not much different from saying that most of the current punitive forces are infected.
The Lemtert Plague has not yet been fully studied. It is only known that there is an incubation period, and the magic circuit is broken when blue spots are formed one by one as the magic is eaten from the inside.
The subjugation proceeded assuming that the source was the Scourge, but in reality, I did not know that they were magic eater.
“Maybe we should name it Devourer instead of the temporary name Scourge.”
Of course, the moment this fact is known, the morale of the soldiers will be exhausted, and no one will fight from now on.
‘Come to think of it, that guy…’
While recalling the morale of the soldiers and the panic that would come to the academy students, only Junon noticed that he was showing a completely different attitude.
I’m thinking this might be too much of a jump… But what about it?
I wondered if Junon, who had a dark face, knew the truth and buried it.
I need to put this aside for now. Restoration comes first.
“Is it a race against time even if you think in the best possible way?”
According to Senia’s words, there is no choice but to contact the principality as soon as possible.
You have to deliver it to Dahlia and start researching a cure right now.
But there was a problem with that part.
-Commander, this is a report.
“Come in.”
The adjutant opens the office and enters. Unlike the commander Meuniher, he has a face that knows nothing.
“How did it go?”
“It looks like it will be difficult. The showers extend all the way to Mount Utulum, and the earth there completely blocks the path.”
“Is that so…”
“It looks like we’ll have to camp out a little longer and return later. This sweep will take some time.”
Meuniher looking out the window.
The rain that fell one after another suddenly turned into a shower that poured over the area.
If you don’t pass Mount Utulum, the punitive force will be virtually isolated.
In addition, this place, which belongs to the northern part of the border, received a considerable amount of heat and increased the scorching heat, and the pouring raindrops, far from extinguishing the heat, only added humidity, creating the worst conditions.
“Tell me to prepare as I will be returning to the principality tomorrow afternoon.”
“Yes? Commander. I told you earlier that it was raining…”
“There are things more important than rain. It shouldn’t be too late.”
It really shouldn’t be too late.
To mankind, this fight against time doesn’t seem very victorious.
***
From noble mtl dot com
Late evening.
The echoes of the rats subside little by little, and the encamped subjugation party regains their composure one by one.
Soldiers who had not slept for several hours were able to sleep with their legs stretched out, and in fact this was the same as winning the battle.
But that’s just the surface.
To me, this situation didn’t look like a win at all.
“Ah, senpai. Did you sleep well?”
“…Why are you here?”
“I just came out after a break. It’s just a coincidence.”
It seems like he was playing around with his hands while drawing out his magic.
Just looking at it, it was clear that he was doing this because he was bored waiting.
Perhaps he noticed, Rhenias stopped playing with his hands and hid his hands behind his back to start making excuses.
“Ah…? This, this is just… Heh, hehehehe…”
Well, aside from that.
“What brought you here?”
When Lenias comes to visit me, he usually comes to seek advice from the training side or just out of boredom.
But this is a battlefield.
There’s no way he’ll come here for that kind of business, where he works as a single soldier.
“Hmm… I thought you weren’t hurt too much.”
“Why?”
“That’s right, senpai. You fought far behind the main squad.”
Originally, we had expected that even if we encountered demon beasts, there wouldn’t be too many of them, so in reality our unit didn’t have many people.
She seems to have been hurt by the unexpected amount there, this girl with such a kind heart is worried about me.
“Senior?”
“…I wasn’t hurt or anything.”
“Really? Well, that’s a relief.”
The bitter taste of failure cannot be erased even when pure, well-intentioned worries come.
I can’t bear to say that the plague will soon attack the subjugation party.
By the way… This silver-haired girl always acts unexpectedly at times like this.
“Wait, Rhenias? What are you doing…”
“Senior. You don’t seem very happy about being fortunate, do you?”
“No, sleep…”
I was embarrassed.
Two immaculate hands grabbed my face.
Then we met.
With those two eyes full of doubt staring narrowly at you.
“I used to do that. You said you wouldn’t lie in front of me. But you mean you’re lying right now?”
…I can’t bear to answer that.
But isn’t this more problematic than that…? Even if I try to ask him to let me go for a while, he won’t listen, so let’s tell him carefully.
“Uh… Rhenias? May I ask why…?”
“What is it?”
“Isn’t that… Too close?”
“Is it close? What’s close…”
Rhenias’s narrowed eyes relaxed, and a wave of embarrassment came gently.
Just like back then when I said I didn’t wait.
Now recognizing that our faces were too close, Rhenias quickly removed his hands as if static electricity had burned him.
Then, perhaps she was quite ashamed of herself, she turned around and crouched down, covering her face.
A girl who has become a rabbit covering her face calls out with a creeping voice.
“Those people… I heard that when you lie, your pupils shake…”
Did you mean that by pulling your hair up to eye level?
“It varies from person to person…”
“Is that so…?”
It’s so cute to see him turn his head slightly and notice.
Still, thanks to someone who turned into a rabbit for an unexpected action, the stuffy feeling went away.
I always feel this, but after meeting Rhenias for this reason, I should say that her heart calms down, or something like that.
I really think I owe a lot to Rhenias. Because I can forget these gloomy feelings right away and look at the road ahead again.
“Even though I wasn’t hurt, the result wasn’t very good. You’re right I lied about that part.”
“Eh… How did it go?”
How did it go… This is a rather difficult question.
The symptoms of the Lemteret Plague will soon appear on all members of the punitive force. I can’t say that.
I said that there were some runaways from the battlefield, and Rhenias jumped up and made a fuss about whether he was injured again.
“Rather than that, while I was sleeping, there was no news or anything like that, right?”
“Ummm… There is, but that’s a bit…”
Surprisingly, unlike before the return, it was found that the facts about the Lemtert Plague were not known at all.
***
Koo-goo-goo-goo-
“Oops, it’s starting again!!”
The ground is shaking, and the water around the lake is bouncing in all directions, disturbing the area.
The Sirens still haven’t found a definitive way to deal with this.
“Hey, Hyplicia…!”
Due to the collapsed ground, the barriers that prevented the invasion of Devourers are weakening.
It was as if an entrance had been created for those hordes of rats squeaking right in front of them.
“Let’s go the way we’ve always done. While the youngsters block it, fill it up and light it up!”
─Yes, old man!
From these predators who relentlessly pursued them, the sirens were pursued again even though they had abandoned the previous lake and moved south.
Devourer, literally a predator. Siren, a heterogeneous species, were a good prey for demon beasts because they gnaw away the mana, which is the source of life.
Where would the sirens who were rejected by humans ask for help?
Thus, it came to the point where humans used a spell to summon a taboo guardian, and from then on, they mobilized every means possible.
Received great help from a girl who hadn’t even come of age, and she tried to find a way to live with her.
But that was all.
In any case, it was successful in ‘avoiding’, not actually succeeding in prolonging life.
Is there really no way to survive from those rats?
‘My guide. Please, extend a helping hand to this poor servant…’
The elder prays.
I hope someone clears the foundations of that plague that is like a moving rocky mountain.