<Suspicious Fluid>
You may feel proud!
You have saved the uniqueness of many people by defeating the Face Thief!
Though, thanks to you, the heroes and special operatives, among others, have met with a complete death.
There’s no reason to feel guilty.
The Face Thief likely didn’t steal those faces to become a kind neighbor or a loving family member, after all.
Thus, this is a token of your glory!
It’s a suspicious lump of fluid that has leaked from the lifeless body of the Face Thief.
Its peculiar viscosity, which resists any external stimuli, makes it feel as if it’s alive.
Perhaps, it really is alive.
If that’s the case, what force could be driving its movement?
──────────
1. Destroy it.
2. Pick it up.
3. Ignore it.
──────────
──────────
──────────
As you bring your hand close, it eagerly entangles with you.
As if it were once a part of your body.
Or perhaps, you were once a part of it.
Now that the Face Thief is dead, is it seeking out a new friend?
You, who witnessed its final moments, recoil in horror from it.
──────────
──────────
Did I get it!?
Nope, I missed.
It maintained its form, completely unaffected by your strongest attack.
Don’t be discouraged, though; it was a good attempt.
You’ve learned something crucial: standard attacks have no effect on it.
You can’t help but admire the Face Thief in hindsight.
How on earth did he manage to consume something like that?
Hmm. Maybe it was in a different state when he swallowed it.
Whatever its original state, it certainly wasn’t in the sickly color it now bears after emerging from the corpse.
A chilling thought strikes you.
What if this thing isn’t a kind companion granting mysterious powers but rather a greedy entity endlessly craving strength and existence?
──────────
[Foreboding Fluid]
──────────
The Face Thief is dead.
And yet, his presence still lingers.
It twitches.
Hmm, did that just move?
-Aaaaaah.
It sounds like someone is talking to you.
It’s probably just your imagination.
A foreboding energy fills the area.
Ah. This is definitely not your imagination.
──────────
1. Ignore it.
2. Ignore it.
3. Ignore it.
──────────
──────────
You distance yourself from it, putting the unsettling feeling behind you.
──────────
…
…
…
──────────
The sky is red, and the land is barren.
You notice a blade of grass in your field of vision.
You know what that grass is.
It’s the infamous weed that is notoriously tenacious, earning titles like “demonic,” “damn,” and “cursed” from farmers everywhere.
As you reach out to touch it, it crumbles like dust.
It seems all the blessings and life force of this place have been voraciously consumed by something.
You know this place.
Was it always this desolate?
As far as you remember, no.
Though all things are subject to change, this place has changed far too much.
Of course, you don’t blame the flow of time for this cruel transformation.
Because you know the culprit behind this misfortune.
[The Fluid of the Faceless One]
You remember it.
And it seems to remember you too.
Despite the significant changes both of you have undergone, you recognize each other immediately.
This might be called destiny, but you feel no joy at all.
Because now you know exactly what it is.
-Two, two-beat thud!
The form of what had been pulsing like a fetus begins to transform.
You are about to witness the return of a great evil.
“▶Fate 80: The Face Seeker”
***
“Ugh, Ver!!! What will you do if you eat that!!!”
Everyone in the area fell silent.
Because there was nothing left to say.
“…Ah!”
Then, amidst the stillness, a tall woman standing near Palrag and Drey finally snapped out of her daze.
Her name is Belotta.
One of the six Holy Swords of the First Hero, she was a scholar affiliated with the party of the ‘Sixth Sword’ wielder—Jane.
For some unknown reason, having joined the party on their visit to Bondales, she had crossed paths with Drey, the talent collector, and was subsequently drawn into an investigation team tasked to uncover the true nature of the “essence.”
And yet, among the many scholars gathered by the allure of ‘Frost Breath’ and the talent collector’s reputation, it was Belotta who had made the most accurate estimation of what this “essence” might truly be.
Thus, she had proven her mettle as a scholar within the Hero’s party.
And so, Belotta understood better than anyone else present the gravity of what had just unfolded before her eyes.
‘This young spirit has absorbed the essence of the Faceless One…!’
The “essence” belonged to a high-ranking demon, a noble among devils, known as the “Face Seeker.”
It could have been an artifact capable of granting the power of a high demon, or perhaps an egg containing the very existence of such a being.
The last time Belotta had observed such an essence, it leaned more toward the latter—accumulating immense power within its host, only to absorb that power and life force when the host met its demise.
It was on the verge of “blossoming.”
Currently, it was nothing more than a massive aggregation of power, but once certain conditions were met, its self-awareness—and its malevolence—would awaken.
The rebirth of a demon, in other words.
Put simply, this young spirit had just taken into her body the embryo of a demon.
Such a reckless act could corrupt and utterly tarnish even the dense power of a higher spirit.
There was no way such a fragile, young spirit could endure it.
The young spirit’s energy would be corrupted in an instant.
And then what?
Would the spirit fall into corruption?
Or would this mark the rebirth of a demon?
Whichever the case, considering the vastness and nature of the power contained within the essence, the consequences would certainly be catastrophic.
“You!!!”
Having processed all this in the blink of an eye, Belotta swiftly turned to call out to Rishe, the young spirit’s master.
“The essence must be removed from her body immediately!”
“Huh? Oh!”
Startled, Rishe grabbed the small spirit under her armpits and lifted her up.
Blub!
Even as the little spirit furrowed her tiny brows in anger at the unsatisfactory taste, she allowed herself to be handled.
Her dangling limbs swayed limply.
Her wide eyes met Rishe’s.
“Ver, why would you do such a thing!”
“I thought it would be delicious! But it wasn’t!”
“You shouldn’t have!”
“Shouldn’t have? I get it! Then I’ll make it delicious!!”
“Dear me, what a good girl—no, wait. That’s not the point. That stuff you just ate? You shouldn’t have! You have to spit it out!”
“Spit it out? Alright!!!”
The little spirit clenched her tiny fists as tight as she could.
“!!!”
Her already furrowed eyebrows twisted with even more ferocity.
After an uncertain moment, it happened.
Pooosh.
The little spirit heaved a small sigh as a puff of air escaped from her lips.
The meaning was crystal clear.
The essence of the Faceless One—being digested inside the young spirit.
“…”
Belotta’s gasp froze in place as she clasped her mouth in horror.
What am I witnessing…?
She was an acclaimed scholar, a paragon of intellect, yet she could not, would not, accept the situation as it stood before her.
A young spirit absorbing the embryo of a demon?
‘There’s no way that can be possible!’
Clearly, there must be more to this than meets the eye. This required further action, not blind acceptance or complacency. The full cooperation of the spirit’s master would be essential—and, in the worst-case scenario, even the dissolution of the spirit itself.
Thus, Belotta reached her conclusion.
No doubt lingered in her mind. This was the most rational decision.
Likewise, Drey and Palrag must have reached the same conclusion.
‘If Frost Breath and the talent collector were to reason with them, even the spirit’s master couldn’t refuse their request!’
Satisfied with her deduction, Belotta turned her gaze toward Palrag and Drey, expecting their reactions to match her conclusions.
“Lord Palrag. That—surely it wasn’t absorbed, was it? Into Rishe’s ‘spirit’?”
“It seems so. The ‘spirit’s’ energy is unnaturally stable.”
“Then…”
Exactly!
Speak up!
Drey stared at Rishe and the spirit with intent eyes, while Belotta silently urged him on.
“All’s well then! This is resolved.”
“?”
A quizzical tilt of the head. Wide eyes filled with bewilderment.
This was Belotta’s expression now.
—*What?*
It was as if she heard those exact words in her mind.
She remembered. During the investigation, Drey had relentlessly peppered the subject with questions, interrogating them with near-relentless determination alongside Palrag.
He had absorbed information at an astonishing speed, keeping up with conversations that other scholars struggled to follow and occasionally even leading those discussions.
Having been repeatedly impressed by his intelligence, Belotta had reluctantly conceded her intellectual superiority to Drey. The only reason she had retained control of the discussion was by employing her vast knowledge of the essence. Had they been in any other situation, she would have found herself hopelessly outmatched.
Thus, Belotta was now genuinely perplexed. How could such a brilliant talent collector deliver such an absurd response?
Suffering a mild headache, she looked to the great mage Palrag, expecting him, unlike herself, to rectify what she saw as foolishness born of noble arrogance.
The grand mage, after much contemplation, nodded slightly and replied.
“Yes. It seems, as you say, everything is resolved.”
“Wait, just a moment!”
Belotta finally could no longer hold her tongue and approached the two in a near-frantic manner.
“You… Did my explanation perhaps fall short!?”
“Hm? No. Belotta—”
…
“You have done your role excellently. You deduced the identity of the unknown substance, which no one else could figure out, and provided valid reasons. Furthermore, you tried to suggest the correct course of action and solution. It was an impressive performance. I will remember it.”
Belotta’s confusion only deepened at their reactions.
Until just moments ago, she thought they were in poor condition, but surprisingly, when she spoke to them, they immediately returned to their usual selves.
The crisp tone spoken in the unique parlance of the high nobility seemed to assert their superiority outright.
The meticulous gaze of the grand mage put their interlocutor to the test.
There was no doubt.
They were the two individuals Belotta had been dealing with over the past few days.
Two towering figures who continuously thought and questioned until they reached understanding.
Just then.
“Everyone, what do we do about this? It seems that… the substance of the faceless one—our child seems to have… digested it.”
Spirit Lord Rishe said with an awkward expression, addressing them.
The young spirit stood beside him with arms crossed.
“!!!”
Her expression, with eyes tightened with strength, was as though she was daring them to scold her.
“Hey, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. After all, that thing, you obtained it by capturing the Face Thief, didn’t you? Moreover, that very presence was having a negative influence on its surroundings. Handling it deserves praise. Who could possibly criticize you for this?”
“Drey’s right. You merely did what was necessary. In fact, it was something only you could do.”
“Huh? Something only I could do?”
“Numerous scholars gathered together pondering how to deal with that substance, but they couldn’t come up with any real answers. No one managed to figure out how to eliminate it completely—until your spirit consumed it.”
“…Ah! Is that so? Phew. That’s a relief. For a moment, I thought our child, Verbandes…whoops! had caused a massive problem.”
Listening blankly to their conversation from the side, Belotta’s expression quickly shifted into one of shock.
“Wait, just a moment!”
She abruptly interjected, asking Rishe,
“Y-you! What did you just say!?”
“Ah! Is that so!?”
“Not that! What did you call the spirit? What’s the name?”
“Verbandes…whoops!”
“Verbandes…”
As Belotta repeated the name, her eyes began to tremble violently. Then her breathing quickened sharply.
“Whew…”
“Whew…”
For a moment, she didn’t know what to do, and then suddenly, she tightly grabbed the hands of Drey and Palrag, pulling them away from Rishe.
An act of gross disrespect that would never be allowed from the high nobility and the grand mage, but Belotta had no time to care about such things now.
“Both of you, please don’t be startled and listen calmly.”
Though Belotta was anything but calm herself as she spoke, she firmly believed that after hearing her, the two would be more shocked than herself.
“The girl spirit that this person named Rishe is with—might actually be… Verbandes.”
“Verbandes?”
“The mountain of sand that blocks out the sun. The eternal night of the desert. It is a demon of such a high order that the faceless one appears trivial in comparison.”
“Are you certain?”
Palrag asked with a serious expression.
“Would anything else be able to remain unharmed after consuming something so formidable?”
Belotta responded hurriedly, like someone being chased.
A demon of the highest order was pretending to be a spirit and had infiltrated human society. It was an issue of incomparable severity.
She waited anxiously for their response, now in a state of extreme tension.
“Hmm, I see.”
Palrag’s answer.
“I thought so too. I figured it wasn’t an ordinary spirit.”
Drey’s answer.
And—
“…?”
That was all.
“Both of you…?”
Thoroughly rejecting her logic, Belotta now asked with even a hint of fear:
“Do you mean… you don’t understand the severity of the situation even after I’ve said all this?”
“Ahhh!”
Then Drey suddenly remembered something and said to Belotta.
“Belotta, wasn’t it? The mountain of sand blocking out the sun. The eternal night of the desert. Could this somehow be related to sandstorms?”
Finally!
Belotta vigorously nodded her head in agreement.
“Yes, exactly!”
Snap!
Drey snapped his fingers cheerfully.
“Sir Palrag, do you recall the vision we previously saw from Rishe?”
“Ah, yes. Finally, the mystery’s solved. I was wondering how such a small spirit could create such an awe-inspiring vision, but I see now.”
“…?”
Finally, you ask?
What were they talking about all of a sudden?
Belotta’s gaze darted nervously between the two.
“Belotta.”
Then, Drey once again asked Belotta.
“Yes…?”
Despite feeling a bad premonition, she responded hesitantly.
“By any chance, is there a spirit—no, a demon—related to this that you’re aware of?”
A giant pillar of black fire towering high enough to touch the sky.
An endless sea of blood.
The two things Drey had mentioned.
“…”
Realizing the implications of the question, Belotta’s legs gave out, and she collapsed into her seat.
“No…”
It was too early to jump to conclusions.
Thinking it must be her mistake, she asked them.
“Where did you see those?”
“In Rishe’s vision?”
“?”
—
(Slider Main Container)
(Additional Required Wrapper)
