Chapter 33
The day had darkened considerably.
The cool night air warned the relaxed skin.
In the distance, Erica could be seen walking. It was a day with major classes on Wednesday. Normally, after class, she would head back to the dormitory or go to the student council room, but now she was heading in a different direction.
『 』thought so.
She must be on her way to the meeting place they agreed upon with Bargan. She seems somewhat nervous. Her steps are definitely not quick.
Where did her usual confident stride go?
Finally, Erica arrived at the meeting place and met Bargan. After a brief conversation, the two moved together.
If Bargan leads, she follows.
And something follows them from behind.
As experienced on the stage during the freshman welcome ceremony, a discomforting sensation gradually builds up within the body of ‘◈’.
This emotion, upon getting to know her. Every moment she sees her with Bargan, it slowly fills up. However…
It’s strange.
It’s undoubtedly Erica’s.
Her skin.
Her hair.
Her voice.
Even the faint scent.
Everything unmistakably belongs to her.
Yet, there’s a sense of unease.
A feeling that something is different.
Nevertheless, ‘◈’ finds herself quickly following the two as they swiftly start moving without a chance to dwell on such thoughts.
They head towards the bustling street of Academia. A place to buy clothes, books, various items, or to have a meal.
It seems Bargan intends to guide her through a shortcut. Instead of walking on a wide sidewalk where three people could stand side by side, he leads her through a narrow gap between buildings where only three people could fit.
The sun sets and darkness descends.
Lights illuminating Academia flicker on one by one. In contrast, the path they walk on is devoid of people, a dark alley.
The distance between Erica and Bargan is close.
The two, with hands so close it feels like they could touch.
Although they are not conversing, ‘◈’ feels a dense, solid-like substance flowing down her throat, similar to before.
‘◈’ is tormented.
She wants relief.
She wants to spit out the impurity passing through her esophagus right now.
To do so, she needs a fragment.
‘◈’ hurriedly begins to search through her bosom.
It’s fine to rummage through it. There’s no risk of being caught. No sound, smell, or sight will be revealed.
The blessing ‘◈’ received is different from magic, as it is the power of that being.
As she takes out a small fragment from her bosom and holds it in her hand, ‘◈’ feels her heart softening. The satisfaction of being in His presence melts away the impurity. A sense of being enveloped in holiness without the need for prayer.
The great and omnipotent being.
The unique and beautiful being.
The small fragment that resembles Him perfectly.
And…
Suddenly, Bargan stops in his tracks.
Erica also halts beside him.
Bargan turns around. He looks into the empty darkness. Still. Like watching the dust floating in the air.
As if there really is something there.
Reflected in his chilly pupils is…
Laughter.
He raises one corner of his mouth, smiling. Chuckling softly, he starts to laugh. There’s nothing particularly amusing. They weren’t even engaged in any conversation.
…Huh?
Don’t move.
『』noticed the change. The foot wouldn’t move. The hand wouldn’t budge. Breathing was barely happening, yet it felt far from smooth. If they didn’t purposely push air in, it felt like it would stop.
There was no wavering in Bargan’s gaze.
He solely stared at one place.
In his line of vision, there were only drifting magic and air. They were invisible too. As if someone was there.
As if.
As if aware of Borg’s presence.
“hahahahaha! My lord, it seems that fellow has finally caught on, judging by that twisted expression!”
Borg groaned.
No.
She wouldn’t make such a crude laughter. She wouldn’t have such undignified expressions or speak in a bizarre manner.
Erica. Erica.
Erica, resembling that person!
“Since the entrance ceremony, this is the first time we’ve faced each other directly. The pig of Langfita. But there’s no need to squirm. It’s a futile effort at your level anyway.”
Bargan interjected.
He had noticed Borg gathering magic. Borg was flustered. Even with the blessing he received, he couldn’t hide the flow of surrounding magic from Bargan’s detection.
“Look down at your feet.”
By holding back his words, Bargan gave permission through his actions.
Borg looked down at his feet. He could slightly move his toes. Stickiness clinging to the sole of his shoe and the ground. Slimy.
Something grotesquely black like coal was sticky.
It moved little by little. It seemed like it was moving. In reality, it was still. The appearance of Borg was continuously changing, like shapes being pushed by a current.
Mouth, eyes, ears.
Forms of things being pushed by currents were visible.
“That cute life form with that appearance is one of my familiars. It rarely shows its form, being quite shy. But today, I let it out for a special occasion.”
Bargan spoke lightly as if joking. He was enjoying the current situation.
“Isn’t the slime form cute? It’s so cute that you’d want to play with it by opening your mouth wide, and you might even want to accidentally swallow it.”
Slimy.
Borg’s familiar began to crawl up his body.
Slowly. Slowly.
The creature climbing up was now bringing a part of Borg’s body up to his neck.
Then someone resembling Erica approached. She seemed to clearly see Borg.
“Sorry~ But this is also an order, you know. Oh, I’ve never fed a familiar to a human before, so I’m quite curious! It won’t hurt. Now, let’s see. Ah~ There we go. Ah~.”
She grabbed Borg’s mouth precisely and opened it. Borg wanted to refuse, even if she cut his finger, but his body wouldn’t comply.
“Just keep it open! It’ll be over soon!”
The madness in the expression of a child playing with a new toy for the first time. Borg’s breath quickened at the sinister sight.
The familiar reached his mouth. His entire throat and chest were covered by the creature’s slimy body. Though control over his body was taken, sensations were still conveyed to him.
Sticky.
It entered his wide-open mouth.
The cells inside his mouth conveyed dreadful information about the creature. Unwanted sensations, taste, smell.
It touched his uvula. Discomfort surged, but he couldn’t spit it out.
Shooo!
The guy who shoved his body all the way through to the esophagus after passing the nipple. Suddenly, he moves faster and enters forcefully.
“Wow, did it all really go in?!”
The one imitating Erika blinked and spoke.
⎯Cough! Cough!
As he felt the guy completely inside, the blessing was released, revealing Borg’s figure, but he could regain control over his body.
He collapsed to the ground. Trying to expel the demon that entered his body, he found no response despite pouring out the suppressed sense of territory.
Tears and mucus. He felt his face covered in all sorts of fluids.
Borg’s gaze caught sight of Vargan’s foot.
Vargan stooped to pick something up. A piece dropped when he fell. Examining it carefully, he spoke.
“You’re quite skilled. You look a lot like Erika. It might be better for you to become a sculptor rather than a hero.”
“Ugh, ugh!”
As the image of what he had swallowed came to mind again, a feeling of nausea rose, but when Vargan nudged his shoulder, it subsided.
He was using healing magic.
“You must be curious about many things. However, I can’t be so kind as to explain everything to you. I’ll just tell you two things.”
Vargan brought one finger close to his face.
“One. Whatever you swallowed just now, I can control it whenever and wherever I want. My specialties include shape-shifting and absorbing magic.”
‘If that guy flies out of you, you’ll die right away.’ Vargan added, finding the thought dreadful.
He extended two fingers.
“Two. From today onwards, you must follow my orders. You must act as I say and think according to my command. …Hmm, you seem quite unhappy. Your anger is being transmitted clearly.”
Vargan fully extended his hand. In it was something like a fragment of the demon he had just swallowed.
“I didn’t mention this, but emotions can also be conveyed. From today on, your sadness, joy, pleasure, despair. All your emotions will be shared with me whenever I desire. They say joy shared is doubled.”
Vargan laughed.
Pushing the artifact closer, he continued his unfinished speech.
“Yet, desiring someone else’s fiancée. Truly despicable of you.”
He continued.
“Like a ‘pig’ moving only as desire leads.”
“Again, again…! You… you…! Ughhh!!”
Borg screamed.
He thought his heart had burst out when he opened his mouth.
Someone was squeezing his heart, tearing it apart in all directions, causing excruciating pain.
But his heart was alive. The fact that it was beating so violently right now was proof. It throbbed as if wanting to escape his body.
“Sto-stop…!”
As Borg raised his head to look at Vargan, a smile appeared on his lips.
“…Sto-op!!”
Thick veins rose on Borg’s face, and the blood vessels around his eyes burst, turning red.
Vargan sneered at this, considering it insignificant.
“Intense anger. Very strong and sharp. One, it’s a precious emotion to you. After all, it was your own actions that led to this situation. It’s not right to blame me for it.”
A sound escaped Borg’s mouth.
He wanted to say something, but the remnants of the recent agony made his voice unable to come out. Only the sound of tearing wind was heard.
“You revealed your existence too much. That’s the cause of this. Perhaps, had you acted less conspicuously, I wouldn’t have noticed you. From now on, you will become my puppet, the object of my hatred. Quite pitifully.”
“Kuh, hooah…!!”
Borg was consumed by the single-minded desire to kill Bargan.
Originally, he should have captured Bargan and interrogated him to find out what information he possessed, but he was so engulfed by rage that he couldn’t even consider such a thing.
If he didn’t kill him, Borg’s intense flames of anger would not diminish.
As his emotions intensified, adrenaline surged through Borg, dulling his pain, and he managed to squeeze out a few words with great effort.
“I… I will… listen to your words… I’ll… commit suicide. You son of a b****.”
If news of a disciple’s questionable death spread, the Temple of the Goddess would not stay silent.
He believed that his death would directly lead to harm for Bargan.
“Hmm. That sounds good after all.”
Bargan, who had been quietly observing Borg’s agitation, made a move.
“Do you know what ‘repentance’ means?”
“…What?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“It means fully acknowledging your sins and becoming a new person.”
Abruptly, Bargan roughly grabbed Borg’s face.
Unlike Borg, who displayed hatred, Bargan seemed somewhat pleased.
“Usually, individuals change through self-realization, but isn’t it also possible through external influence? Ultimately, it’s just a change in mindset.”
Bargan confronted Borg’s hatred. His black pupils seemed to flicker.
“Let me tell you something special. Among magic, I mainly deal with curses and warlocks. And in the subfield of curses, there exists ‘brainwashing.'”
He wanted to conduct an experiment.
How much can a person change after a certain amount of repetition?
You will have the honor of being the first test subject.
With that, he added.
Sentences spread like ripples in Borg’s increasingly blurred mind. That sentence was the last moment Borg remembered.
⎯Oselle Langpit Borg. Pitiful pig. You must become the bridge between me and the Temple of the Goddess.
***
“He’s not dead, right?”
A Nyas in the form of Erika asks. Prodding the guy lying on the ground with her finger, she plays around.
The guy who had boasted to me about Langpit at the entrance ceremony is now lying there like this.
I had said that Langpit was a pig wrapped in fancy cloth, but I didn’t expect this. He turned out to be a stalker lunatic pervert. Just looking at him sends shivers of disgust down my spine.
Well, even so.
“There’s no way I’d kill him. He’s a valuable body that will serve as a pawn in my game.”
“He’s a student of Academia and a noble. Won’t that be a problem?”
Even if it’s a problem, it doesn’t concern me, but I casually ask. Nyas is just curious.
“Completely erasing him is simple, but modifying him as you please is practically impossible. His fundamental nature must remain as it is. However, distinguishing between existing and new knowledge, or adding substances released during certain thoughts, is doable.”
“Isn’t that essentially changing him as you please?”
“If everyone were as simple as this guy, you might say that.”
“Terrifying, truly terrifying. I should be careful too. But it’s really impressive. In many ways, if the Lord says you’re a freshman, there are few spirits who wouldn’t believe it.”
Nyas chuckles.
Seemingly tired of tormenting the guy on the ground, he stretches as he gets up.
“Throughout my life, I’ve seen countless people, including various humanoid beings, but a nobleman like him is truly a first.”
Nias began to circle around me, like a mischievous child.
“I’m here. I’m so excited right now. It’s so much fun! Our nobleman, with whom I’ve made a contract, seems to lack affection towards humans, despite being one. It feels like there’s something missing, like me being a spirit!”
“So, what are you trying to say?”
Nias stops in his tracks. The eyes of the fellow who hadn’t revealed Erica’s appearance were now squarely focused on me.
Those eyes were pure and innocent like a child’s, yet they were not human.
“Nobleman, are you truly human?”