Thank you to everyone who gave comments and coupons. Chapter 135
44. The Magical Beasts and the Truth in the Walls #4
Harmony pressed her ear against the wall and whispered softly.
“I’ve been waiting for you to come back to me for ages. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited? My sister Symphony is getting worse by the day. As you promised, you really need to liberate us into nature as soon as possible…!”
From what Harmony was saying, it seemed she knew Nialli, and they were connected by some promise or deal.
【Harmony, my devoted one. Don’t be so impatient. I am doing everything I can to untangle the bonds tied to you siblings. But a promise is a promise. You still have one last task to complete.】
The voice echoing from the wall felt like it was ringing directly inside my head, slapping my eardrums.
I decided to maintain my concealment and eavesdrop a little more to learn what kind of deal was struck between Nialli and Harmony.
Harmony pulled her ear away from the wall, showing her palms and quivering her shoulders.
“Nialli, this isn’t the time for such words. My sister Symphony’s condition has become critical…! Just last night, she jumped into the lake and sucked the bl**d from a beast. There’s only so much I can do to cover up and package her mistakes. If this continues, she’ll either get caught and dissected for medicine or burned alive!”
Her tone was polite and gentlemanly, but her voice was quite agitated.
I realized that the two beasts that went missing yesterday—one of them was the one Yingyi didn’t eat—had met a gruesome fate.
‘That maid Symphony sucked the bl**d and killed them? She’s trying to pin this on me? How dare she hand me the bill for what they’ve eaten?’
What on earth was Symphony, Harmony’s sister, doing to s*ck the bl**d of beasts? I was filled with questions and a little angered that I almost took the blame for it.
【That’s quite strange. By my calculations, there should still be time before the curse on your sister manifests. Has something significant happened, or has there been a change in your household?】
“A significant event? Well, there is one other beast that came into our home.”
【What kind of beast? One from the Ancient Nest? A strong beast? The more wild it is, the higher the chance it will amplify your sister’s curse quickly.】
“A Magical Beast, I believe it was called a legendary Magical Beast. Its fur is white, and I think it’s a Behemoth.”
【Behemoth! Ah, it must be because that thing has arrived! That Adam guy has certainly sniffed out my plan like a dog. Harmony, my loyal believer. It seems it’s time to accelerate our plan. Today, right now, this moment is precisely when we made our pact! It may already be too late!】
“Oh, you mean today? There are still many people in this mansion. Innocent people…”
【There are no innocent humans in this world, wild child. Being born human is a sin in this realm. You must k*ll them to free them from the sins of greed and deceit. Only then can you and your sister return to your homeland, the desert.】
“But…”
【Harmony! No, son of the desert, last fairy! Your opinion doesn’t matter. If we hesitate, all my plans, which I’ve worked on for the past ten years, will go to waste! Do you really think I created this ridiculous organization called the Black Brotherhood to play around? Do you think I’ve gone through the trouble of releasing beasts into the wild for fun?】
“Isn’t that to save our endangered race of fairies?”
【Not at all. To me, preserving your race or revenge means nothing. Everything is for the Fire Dragon. I’ve been doing this to rescue the Fire Dragon, captured by humans!】
At Nialli’s furious shout, Harmony gazed at the wall with wide-open eyes.
“So you’ve merely used my sister and me? I’ve cursed my sister with the fangs of the curse just as you said!”
【There’s no more time to waste. You must k*ll everyone in this mansion today, today! Take all their possessions! The items stored in that vault were what I gathered by going into Gideon’s dreams. They are essential for breaking the bonds of Batus placed on the Fire Dragon. Take them all and, at the crack of dawn tomorrow, enter the royal palace with the Brotherhood I am sending and bring the Fire Dragon, Azidahaka, before me!】
Harmony could only scowl in response to Nialli’s lengthy and harsh commands. As she hesitated, a growling sound echoed from the wall.
【Foolish fairy, hesitating with morals and hypocrisy while the rice is already cooked is your bad habit. That’s why you end up getting captured and exploited by humans like slaves! Are you truly reduced to a human’s attendant just because you became the servant of that stupid necromancer Gideon?】
“I am not a slave to humans! But I am no slave to you either!”
【No, you are my slave. I alone can break the curse on your sister, your only partner. You’ll have no choice but to follow my orders, whether you like it or not. Now, take this blade. It’s a beheading sword that slices through ‘human’ skin like paper. k*ll everyone in the mansion with this and head to the royal palace. And bring me the Fire Dragon!】
As Nialli’s words ended, a dagger that was placed high in the vault clattered to the ground with a cold metallic sound.
Harmony grasped the single-edged dagger and trembled heavily.
【I feel uneasy that Adam is in the Royal Capital Jerusalem, but with that sword and the blessing I bestow, even that Adam could be killed.】
At that moment, something like a black wave poured out from the wall. Upon closer inspection, it was a mass of tentacles resembling hair.
“Eww….”
The tentacled rats completely covered Harmony’s body. As she was swallowed by the wave of gigantic rats, she screamed in agony.
【Embrace the hate and fury. From this moment onward, you are no longer just a mere slave but a human executioner.】
The mass of rats wriggling like seaweed freed into a current began disappearing one by one into Harmony’s mouth.
Gulping down the rats, Harmony began to convulse as if experiencing a seizure.
“Gah…!”
The once handsome Harmony’s body started sprouting black, long hairs through his formal wear. Looking closer, they weren’t hairs but thousands of thin, squirming tentacles.
【Good, Harmony. Meet the Fire Dragon faster than anyone. If necessary, I’ll even permit you to k*ll. You must prevent the Behemoth from eating Azidahaka’s weak point at all costs. Heh.】
With that unsettling laughter, Nialli’s voice faded away. Harmony, writhing grotesquely on the floor with the dagger in his hand, got up.
“I will… k*ll the humans. All of them.”
Drool mixed with white foam dripped from the corners of Harmony’s mouth. It was clear that he was no longer in a normal state.
‘Is he really going to k*ll all the humans in this mansion? No way! Is this my fault?’
As I pondered, I heard a wet, cloth-like sound hitting the ground. The horrifying sight of Harmony, grasping the beheading sword, was moving towards the vault.
‘If this continues, all the humans are really going to d*e.’
I didn’t have any sense of morality urging me to save them at this point. I wasn’t aware of the tragic past entangling the siblings Harmony and Symphony.
But I knew that a few of my friends, including Vitali, would be counted among the ‘humans’ in the mansion.
There were also several attendants whose faces I didn’t know, hidden behind veils, who had shown me kindness.
If I let them be killed in silence, I might end up with a bad dream on my hands.
‘I have to stop that guy. Since he seems close with Nialli, I might even be able to extract information about the mythical creatures from him.’
I hid in the shadows of the vault and grinned to myself.
If I hadn’t gotten out of my bed and followed him tonight, I would’ve been embroiled in this mess without any clue what was happening.
‘Isn’t fate just a cruel joker?’
I stifled my footsteps as quietly as possible and followed behind Harmony. The creature covered in tentacles stumbled like a zombie, passing through the first floor corridor and entering the wide hall.
‘This would be a great place to fight.’
After he began to ascend the stairs, I unsheathed my claws and, releasing my concealment, swung my front paw with a hint of personal grudge.
—You’re done for! Handsome guy!
My paw cleanly sliced through Harmony’s back head and the tentacles attached to it.
I aimed to behead him swiftly; however, perhaps due to the fluffy tentacles providing a cushion, he merely turned around without any strong reaction.
I grimaced as I saw the severed tentacles writhing on the floor like worms.
—Is it tentacle armor? Am I not doing anything with my claws?
In that case, I would just need to focus on a blunt attack. I moved my tail, which had thickened after my evolution and level-up, aiming it at Harmony.
With all my might, swung like a heavy battering ram, my tail struck directly at him.
Thwack.
‘Huh? It’s not an “oomph” or a “thwack,” but a “thwack?”’
I cocked my head at the unsettling sound. The tentacles began to creepily attach themselves to my tail, surprising me and making me back off.
The tentacles growing on Harmony’s body tightened into muscle shapes, morphing like a cursed armor or a power suit, even a dark hero’s outfit.
‘Ignoring slashes and blunt attacks? What kind of functionality is this?!’
“Grr….”
The tentacled guardian raised the dagger and rushed toward me.
Despite seeming slow enough to be leisure, his attack’s sheer strength was enough to gouge the marble floor deeply. Harmony couldn’t be this strong on his own; it must be the effect of the tentacle armor enveloping him.
“I’m not a, a slave…!”
As I watched Harmony struggle within the armor, clearly trying to break free, I sensed that he had lost control over his own body to those tentacles.
—Don’t worry; I’ll free you soon.
Even though the tentacle armor was immensely strong, its speed was slow. That meant I could try using my new ultimate move—the Destruction Sphere.
I crouched back and then jumped into the air, spinning my body with my tail.
With my agility almost reaching 100, the speed and reflexes came together to create a quick and incredibly powerful rotation that even amazed me.
—De, Destruction Sphere!
As I shouted the name of my ultimate move, a high-speed battering ram flew toward the tentacle monster.
Crackle.
“Gah!”
bl**d sprayed, and the sound of flesh being torn filled the lobby of the mansion.
—I’ll grind you all up like a blender!
“Gah! Ugh!”
Satisfied that I had done enough, I swung my tail to bounce off his body and created some distance.
Fighting off a wave of dizziness, I steadied myself and looked down at Harmony, who was lying on the red carpet.
‘That was too harsh.’
The tentacle armor had been practically shredded, exposing his bones and flesh, making him appear severely injured.
bl**d spat from his mouth, and his ragged breathing made it seem like he would d*e at any moment.
‘At this rate, I won’t even have time to ask about Nialli.’
Just as I was about to approach him, I saw the ground writhing.
The scattered tentacles on the floor began creeping towards Harmony’s body like metallic powder drawn to a magnet. Soon, an even thicker and sturdier tentacle armor formed around him.
—It even becomes stronger upon destruction? What a complete cheat!
With crunching sounds of bones, it seemed the tentacles were forcibly pushing Harmony’s broken body back into motion.
“Ugh…!”
In agony from his ruined body being forced to move, Harmony grimaced deeply. A moment of contemplation struck me as I thought about how to destroy that tentacle armor.
‘Should I douse it in fire or something?’
I felt something like lava bubbling up in my stomach.
My heated heart pounded as though about to explode, and flames flickered in my mouth.
‘Yeah, this is a great opportunity to check my new ultimate move.’
[Author’s Note] If you enjoyed reading, please press the recommend button at the top of the mobile screen! With just two seconds, you can gift a happy day to the writer!
