“Don’t underestimate monsters too much. On the contrary, they are beings closer to chaos than humans.”
Ethel answered while fiddling with the ores that were rolling on the floor. According to those words, elves are also some kind of monsters. In fact, it may be.
“Can I look at that wand for a minute?”
Ver, who was watching the staff I was holding nearby, carefully held out his hand and asked. I passed the wand to Ver.
“this… … It is a very high quality gemstone.”
Ver, who took over the cane, stared intently at the pitch blend at the tip. Even I felt something ominous about it.
“Isn’t that a pitch blend? It is an ominous and harmful stone. What is the use?”
“yes. In the production of magic stones?!”
I poked my finger in Ver’s side as he tried to answer Borland’s question straight away. Ber made a shrieking noise and looked at me in bewilderment.
“Oh, um, so. This… … .”
And I couldn’t help but realize that I had made a mistake on my face.
“Magic stone? What is a magic stone?”
“I’m sorry. Pretend you didn’t hear Since I’m majoring in alchemy, I can’t use my four feet because it’s a stone. That, just think of it like that… … .”
“Something is very suspicious. Is it actually money or something like that?”
It wasn’t hidden at all. With my eyes shining, I pushed Borland away, who was trying to cling to Ver.
“Me, over there. What do you think, Miss Ethel?”
Verland asked Ethel, who was uncomfortable with Borland, showing his wand. Ethel grabbed the pitch blend at the end of the wand and looked around.
“This is much more pure than I thought. Somewhat dangerous.”
“yes? Somewhat dangerous?”
“I will keep this. If you are a human, prolonged contact with it will be bad for your body.”
“Oh, oh. am i okay? Were you touching it? Is it harmful?”
Ethel took the staff from Ver, who had turned pale, and put it on his back. It was like a girl wizard from an old fantasy cartoon.
‘by the way… … . If the power to revive the corpse of the voodoo kobold comes from chaos, then the original necromancer’s power also comes from chaos.’
Blood magic and all sorts of things came out, so I wondered if there was such a magic, but in fact, it might have been a bit more complicated.
‘If that’s the case… … How much does Parabellum know about this chaos?’
Most of the parts that went beyond the original were related to Parabellum. I had a hunch that perhaps the matter of chaos would not be much different.
‘Could the deaths of the 11 informants the chancellor mentioned also use chaos?’
“Eh, Miss Ethel? am i okay? Didn’t lifespan decrease by a few years?!”
“Noisy. Is there any problem with just a short contact?”
“Ethel. Do you know of any other elves? Deep in chaos.”
I asked Ethel, who was being held by Ber. Ethel put her hand to her chin and thought.
“You killed the one you knew.”
Ethel’s words reminded him of Lenny he met during the Saratov remnant subjugation. Looking back, I should have left it to Fromm to torture him instead of killing him. it’s a shame.
“… … Is there anyone else besides him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe there are one or two left? I have no interest in ungrateful descendants.”
Ethel grunted as if she was in a bad mood. I don’t think it’s good to ask any more.
‘Well, the abandoned mines come first.’
There were a lot of things to think about, but I decided to focus on the abandoned mine first.
A large amount of spoils from the kobold subjugation were stored in Borland’s sack and left under a nearby withered tree.
Borland explained as he put booby traps around the sack that could easily blow off an ankle, even though he said it was okay since no other villagers were around except himself.
“Be careful not to get caught when you come to get it.”
“You’re not stupid, are you? Well, there have been times like that.”
I proposed a bet with Dimitri to see if this guy’s ankle would be all right when I returned from the quest. Both were not established by walking on the side of flying.
“If you think about it, the quest is already over.”
Caspal interrupted the conversation. As the saying goes, the quest we received was to kill the monsters around the abandoned mine, so at the point of roughly killing a group of kobolds, the demand was already more than satisfied.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen the undead yet. Kobolds have turned into zombie-like ones, but counting them seems like a foul.”
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“The undead are located closer to the abandoned mines. Dealing with that is not a pleasant feeling.”
“Well, they were once villagers. Still, it’s nice to see someone I know. Of course I can’t speak the language, but I mean it.”
Borland jokingly added to Caspal’s words.
“Come to think of it, I met my parents when I went there before. As the years passed, it was rotten a lot.”
“Don’t even joke about that, Borland… … .”
“I am not kidding. I will introduce you when we meet again.”
It’s just difficult to be introduced to your parents who have become zombies. Whether he is strong, mindless, or both, he’s completely unpredictable.
“I see a mineshaft. It is quite big.”
After walking for some time, the entrance to a large abandoned mine began to appear. Even though it was quite a distance, I felt the air change into something heterogeneous.
“So, how far are you going to go in and out?”
Caspal asked in a slightly nervous voice.
“What if I meet that death and, if possible, knock it to wake me up?”
“… … Do you really think that’s possible?”
“Well, since Ethel is there, I’ll be able to do something. If it’s dangerous, he’ll tell you.”
I glanced at Ethel from the back, who was giving Borland a look she wanted someone to carry because she was too lazy to walk anymore (Borland was desperately avoiding her gaze). I was anxious at first, but I want to bring it well because it is useful for this and that.
“I don’t know if that will be enough. Please promise me one thing.”
“what?”
“If you want to be in danger, run away. together.”
“Don’t let that happen.”
As if that was enough, Caspal stared at the abandoned mine. I wrapped my arms around Caspal’s shoulders and put them on my shoulder.
“What, what, all of a sudden.”
“Caspal, you are a good boy.”
“Really, I’m just a loser. I wanted to be crooked at least at the knight academy.”
“Something is in a good mood. What are you talking about?”
Dimitri suddenly appeared next to the annoyed Caspal.
“The story of wanting to be crooked. I hope you have perverse tastes.”
“… … I don’t know the context, but I don’t think it’s right to say that someone who just got into a conversation has a distorted taste, Caspal.”
We arrived at an abandoned mine while chatting nonchalantly. Numerous corpses were lying side by side in front of the abandoned mine, covered with cloth.
“… … what is this.”
Looking at the corpses side by side, Caspal was the first to speak. It was we who wanted to ask.
“I just sorted it out. old people.”
It was Borland who answered the question.
“If it rolls here and there, it looks a bit like that, doesn’t it? I made them comfortable and laid them side by side. It’s impossible to tell who’s who because it’s been about five years since he died.”
“… … Were you doing something like that?”
“You can call me Gravekeeper if you like.”
Borland laughed as he deftly walked among the corpses. Even as he walked among the corpses, he was the same nonchalant and playful laugh as before.
“Prince.”
After an awkward atmosphere, Caspal called me with his head bowed.
“what.”
“Can you really put an end to this nightmare?”
“Perhaps.”
“How can I please?”
“Let’s do our best.”
I answered and meditated lightly, then looked at the entrance of the abandoned mine.
The mineshaft opened its mouth at us as if it were the mouth of a great beast itself.
We came into the mineshaft.
The road leading from the wide entrance was quite tidy. All the lamps on the walls had lost their magic power, but the rails on the floor and the wagons piled up here and there seemed to be usable enough even now.
“Ethel. How is the situation around here? Like the black fog.”
“Surprisingly, I hardly feel any chaos. I am amazed too.”
I could hardly feel the black fog or chaos in the abandoned mine… … .
“Let’s clear up some terminology. It is too mixed up.”
It’s been frustrating for a long time, but I don’t want to go over in moderation anymore. More than anything, it bothers me that Caspal looks confused and frustrated every time.
“Is the Black Mist a kind of chaos?”
“Well, yes. It is derived from a force called chaos.”
“… … Is death chaos? What is chaos in the first place?”
Caspal asked as if he couldn’t stand it any longer. I beckoned Ethel to explain.
“Chaos is chaos itself. It’s a power that elves have been studying. That’s why I can detect it.”
“So, what’s in this abandoned mine is that chaos or something… … ?”
“It is a kind of chaos. Should I say something that is unrefined or extremely biased in one direction? It kind of feels like that.”
Ethel adequately explained. Caspal pondered for a moment before asking as if he had remembered something.
“… … Then, is that chaos the same as the ‘twisted magic’ from the previous Saratov subjugation?”
Caspal uttered a word that was quite nostalgic.
“Come to think of it, it’s safe to say that the difference in concentration is huge, but the fundamentals are the same.”
Looking back now, it seems that the power that twisted the trees of the forest into deformities and created wolf monsters was also a kind of chaos. I heard that Ethel leaked out while having a nightmare. Once again, she is a very dangerous woman.
“Come to think of it, I neutralized it with the magical power of your fog at that time. I remember.”
“that… … It’s just that the concentration is lightened.”
“That’s Chinese, I hope I can do something this time too.”
“… … I hope so. I failed when I was younger.”
Caspal replied with a wry smile.
“Now let’s get back to the main topic. I want to unify the words that cause chaos here. Black fog, beasts, chaos, and death, because there are too many words to call out.”
“He is too. If so, would calling it a black beast be the most accurate thing for now?”
“Isn’t it the Black Mist?”
“As of now, it seems to have formed a complete one. Borland said he saw a black dog. I can’t think of anything else if I don’t have this level of feeling in the air.”
“… … Is it safer than being in the form of a mist?”
Caspal muttered with a disturbed expression. Caspal’s luggage contained a mask and protective clothing handed over by his brother. I tried to use it when the concentration was high, but Ethel said it was okay and it was just a burden because there was Borland, who is a living witness of safety. I wish I had nothing to write about in the future.
“Then we will unify them into a black beast. To point out once again, our goal is to subjugate the Black Beast and end this village’s nightmare.”
I declared to the party members. Caspal and Dimitri nodded earnestly, Ethel was sulking, and Ber and Borland were trembling, embarrassed or admiring, saying they had no idea. Come to think of it, didn’t he explain Ber properly?
“Even with subjugation, I don’t think it’s an existence that can be completely annihilated. Well, can you weaken it to some extent?”
“At that point, Ethel, please cheer up. Wouldn’t it be great if you could eat chaos?”
“If I pick up anything, I get a stomach ache… … . I wonder if I can eat it if I cook it well.”
Unfortunately, I can’t imagine how to cook chaos.
“Anyway, the ultimate goal is to end Caspal’s Nightmare and be able to mine Pitch Blend here. Let’s do our best.”
The nominal quest has already ended, but the real quest has just begun.