Episode 442 Declare Now (15)
“…Was that the woman who asked me to go?”
The moment Jardin entered the lab, he was speechless at the sight of two faces. I knew there wouldn’t be many people since it was late at night, but I didn’t expect that it would be just those two people.
His eyes looked back and forth between Chief Knight Sapphire and the traitor.
“…It was unavoidable because the other wizards were away.”
Jardin noticed that although the adventurer’s words were kind, they were not true. In fact, the adventurer himself seemed to know that the excuse was not very convincing.
“…okay.”
But that was all. Jardin suppressed his welling up emotions. It was the right thing to do. Isn’t it true that he had a nightmare, whether the wizards figured it out as a group or the traitor alone?
What’s more, the adventurer is the one who ran down the hallway this early morning and came to his room for him. It’s not right to pass on resentment if you can’t express gratitude to him. All the more so because the truth he misled was actually meant to be considerate of him.
“Whoa.”
So Jardin took a few breaths and controlled his anger.
“newcomer.”
And when he regained his composure, Chief Knight Sapphire spoke to him. It was much better than having a traitor speak to him.
“I heard that a demon that gives nightmares has invaded. “Is it true?”
“…Yes, I think that’s probably true.”
In fact, he had nightmares so often that he wasn’t sure whether this nightmare was the devil’s fault or not. However, it would be foolish to dismiss this as just a coincidence.
“I had a nightmare…”
He readily admitted that he had had a nightmare. I didn’t think the content of the dream was important, so I didn’t mention it.
smart.
Then, the traitor who had been silent for a moment knocked on the desk in front of him. Jardin once again gathered control of his rumbling stomach.
“Come this way.”
“Why should I—”
He was about to reflexively refuse, but then remembered what he had heard on the way here and kept his mouth shut.
Yes, he said he needed a test. I don’t know what the side effects of the devil’s visit are, so I need to get tested. A possible inspection for that traitor…
“Lord Zrya.”
As he was about to remain silent due to emotional rejection, the adventurer next to him called out to him. It was a soft call to call him, but a hard call to release him from this situation.
“Okay.”
Still, thanks to that, my hesitation disappeared. Jardin stood in front of the traitor, holding the desk. “eight.” His heart rose and fell at one dry word.
“What are you trying to do?”
Additionally, a thought occurred in Jardin’s mind.
It’s a funny story to tell now, but I’m glad the adventurer is here.
“I will remove the remaining traces of demon energy from the body.”
Anyway, if it weren’t for him, there would have been only the traitor and that Sapphire Chief Knight. If that were the case, none of them would have been so kind as to open their mouths and ask for or provide an explanation.
This means that even though he was extremely anxious and curious about what the traitor was trying to do, he could not resolve his concerns and continued to remain silent.
“Is that the end?”
“No way. We will track down the devil who did this using the remnants of the demon energy we extracted. “If they were intelligent, they would have moved on a long time ago, but it would be more meaningful than not doing it.”
“Right.”
On the other hand, luckily there was an adventurer here, and he asked them questions they couldn’t bear to ask. I don’t know if he did it on purpose out of genuine consideration for them, or if he was just curious, but I was still thankful.
After realizing the reason for asking for the arm, Jardin’s fingers clenched and unclenched several times.
“finished. “You can go back.”
Meanwhile, the person who was manipulating something on his forearm removed the device. Although it seemed like the remnants of demonic energy could be easily removed, Jardin withdrew his arm and looked.
My forearm, where the device touched, and my heart, which had nothing to do with it, felt hot.
“…I’m saying that because I don’t know much, but is that all that’s needed?”
“Then what more do you think we need?”
“No… didn’t you tell me that I needed to find out what was wrong with my body?”
“If that’s the case, it’s already over.”
While he frowned at the strange sensation, the traitor quietly walked back to the desk behind him. On the long desk, numerous instruments are constantly spinning.
“…That was so fast. So there is no problem?”
“The remnants are still in my body, so I may have more nightmares. However, there will be no other problems.”
“That sounds like there’s a problem.”
The person who inserted the instrument that had just been used into it began to move his hand around. The movement was very similar to what was seen in the castle library that was allowed to knights a long time ago.
“It’s something that takes a long time to solve magically. “If it bothers you, take me to the priest.”
Still elegant and beautiful…
“I’m fine.”
Jardin urgently shouted, finally anchoring his wandering thoughts to reality.
Of course, his pride as a knight did not allow him to go to the temple to avoid the nightmare. I didn’t want to bother the priests who were busy with today’s daytime work.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“it’s okay.”
“…If that’s you, then I have nothing to say.”
The adventurer, with his left eye open, turned towards the traitor.
“Is it okay to ignore the nightmare itself? “Wasn’t that why you sent me to him?”
“The nightmare itself is meaningless. “It’s a different story when a devil sneaks into your nightmares and tries to pry into your memories.”
“…That’s why I told you to wake him up.”
Memories… A brief glimpse into memories?
Jardin’s face became pale for a moment after hearing what he learned thanks to the adventurer. It was shameful to show that moment to the devil, but it was because I realized that if I had not been careful, important information could have been leaked.
“newcomer.”
“…I don’t think anything has leaked.”
Chief Engineer Sapphire also seemed to realize the seriousness of this incident and came to his side. There was no need to see what I had come for.
“I only dreamed of the moment when my heart was stabbed.”
I didn’t want to say this.
Jardin closed his eyes tightly and told about the dream he had. There was nothing I could do because preventing information leaks was more important than his misery.
The chief engineer could be seen clenching his teeth.
“But if I can catch a glimpse of my memories regardless of the content of my dreams…”
Separately, he tightened his hands, anxious about how much information may have been leaked because of him. Since I joined late and have a different job, I don’t know much… But I’ve heard about completed items and rough plans. Could they have all been discovered? If that’s really the case, how should he apologize?
“commandment.”
“The only thing the devil can see is the content of the dream it has hidden in. “Retrieving memories is a different matter, so unless you had a dream containing information, the devil would not have noticed anything.”
Fortunately, the devil didn’t seem to have that kind of ability. Released from anxiety, Jardin’s shoulders sank to the ground.
“That’s some good news. “If they keep trying things like this, it’ll be difficult…”
Meanwhile, the adventurer crossed his arms, looking a little worried.
“Is there any way to detect when the commandment devil is interfering with your dreams?”
“There is magic involved. If you want to know, I will tell you, but I will not advise you.”
“why?”
“Because it would be better to target the human next to you rather than touch you, the vessel of anger.”
“Are you saying it has no meaning to me? “But don’t people other than me need preparation?”
“There is no need for that. “We have already taken action against all key personnel.”
“is it.”
The adventurer lowered his eyes for a moment and then raised his head. The adventurer’s gaze then turns towards Jardin himself. His gaze briefly intertwined with the adventurer’s, but then quickly dropped.
“Then is it the same way that Lord Zrya woke up before I woke him up?”
“…okay.”
However, if the person responding to the adventurer’s words seems to pause for a moment before answering, is it because of their mood?
Jardin glared more strongly at the traitor who slowly confirmed. He didn’t even know what he was looking for.
“I get it. Then you don’t have to worry about this anymore.”
However, when the adventurer said that and was about to turn away, he clearly heard what the traitor added.
“I need to update it briefly, so please stay.”
“Ah… Is this a consumption type of magic?”
“okay.”
“I guess what I need is… magic power.”
“I will take charge of one person. “Look at it and trace it.”
“okay.”
The traitor who captured the adventurer soon approached him. Although he knew it was a preparation to prevent information leaks, Jardin trembled once again.
The traitor unleashed a spell in front of him.
“The circuit is complicated. “I can recognize up to nine, but how many magics are stacked?”
“Fourteen.”
But… when did the traitor engrave such a long and complicated magic circle on him?
“Maybe because it’s a spiritual world, it’s extremely complicated.”
They, or at least he, had never received magic like this since he came here…?
“It must have taken some time to bet everyone… When did you bet?”
He stared at the traitor who had finished the spell, which took five minutes. The other person did not avoid his gaze at all. Just like that day when I looked down on others but didn’t stop the challenge that came.
“At the moment you weren’t there.”
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Did she say “Isn’t that so?” when the traitor plunged his sword into his chest.
* * *
“Fire!!”
Meanwhile, it was around that time that a fire started from oil engulfed the house and even started to covet the buildings around it.
“Hurry and sprinkle water!”
“Wake up people! “Wake me up!!”
“Fire!! “There was a fire!!”
People tried to run away from the fire or use every means possible to put it out. Among them, there were people who returned to their burning houses in hopes of saving at least some of their belongings.
“mom!”
“Hey! Take this and get out! hurry!”
Illya’s house also fell into that category. Their feelings were even more urgent because their house was right next to the house that burned down.
At her mother’s scolding, Illya, despite her dazed mind, quickly picked up her things and ran out of the house.
“honey!”
“What more do I need to take!”
“That blanket! “Bring your blanket and come out!”
“okay!”
However, when Illya went outside, her father moved towards the inside of the house. It was to bring out the things that Illya’s mother pointed out, who gave priority to money and precious metal clothes.
“Ugh!”
However, the fire had already spread and it seemed very difficult to get the things I wanted. This was especially true because fabrics such as blankets tend to burn easily.
“shit.”
In the end, he headed to the kitchen to salvage at least the few metal items he had in the house. A poker or a kitchen knife. This is because the thing that immediately came to mind was focused on the kitchen.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.
But when he passed through one of the temporary walls and entered the kitchen, something black came out of the inside of the oven in the kitchen.
“…?!”
Its appearance looked like a lump of charred flesh or a lump of ash, so its identity was quite mysterious.
“What—”
But one thing was clear. Whether it’s a devil or something else, it wouldn’t be good for an ordinary person to get close to it.
“Cough damn it!”
So, Illya’s father became extremely irritated and tried to leave the kitchen he had barely entered.
Even if it wasn’t because of that black mass, the sky above the kitchen was filled with smoke, so he had no choice but to take a step back.
Quack!
“…?!”
However, the moment he turned to leave the house, something grabbed his ankle. His eyes urgently looked downward as he covered his mouth with a piece of wet cloth.
“…uh?”
A long piece of flesh stuck to the ash was hanging down and holding onto his ankle. And that too… in a shape that resembles a human arm and hand.
“This monster—”
It’s already an urgent situation, so why are you arresting him if you don’t know if he’s a devil or not? Illya’s father quickly swung his feet with a shiver in his spine. The purpose was to remove that unknown thing as quickly as a second and run away.
Quad deuk.
However, instead of falling off him, the lump of flesh created a new arm and climbed up his body.
Even if he shook his body and grabbed any of the nearby objects and struck the flesh, the movement did not stop.
“This dog—”
In the end, the moment Illya’s father was about to leave the house in that state, hoping to borrow some external force. Sigh! The lump of flesh that had risen to his head used its weight to knock him down.
“Mikar!!”
“Masha!”
Even his wife was just coming home, looking worried about him.
Illya’s father hurriedly opened his mouth due to rising fear and anxiety. Should I ask for help or should I tell him to run away? His instincts were intensely concerned for a split second.
“Ma—”
But his worries were useless and he was given no more options. The fleshy body split open and formed a huge mouth that swallowed his head.
“Mikar!!”
The roof of the house collapsed, covering his body with a lump of flesh.