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237th Chapter: The Mightiest Spirit (2)

My body was being pulled into deep darkness.

I wondered if this was what it felt like to fully press the gas in a car while driving through an endless tunnel.

I was swallowed by a spirit as massive as a collective, leaving me unsure of my own state.

Anyone who saw me would think I was dead, but my heartbeat was steady, and my body wasn’t dissolving in some digestive fluid.

It was just an inky void. From the ground, the cries of vengeful spirits began to echo, invoking a sense of misfortune.

These were the grievances of the elves that formed Diora’s body, gradually morphing into ghostly shapes that glared at me.

“Kiyaaaaaaak!”

“Mommyyyyy!!!”

“Save meeeee!”

“What sin did we commit? Why are we suffering like this!!!”

“It’s your fault. It’s all because of you!! If it weren’t for that woman!!”

The wails from all around felt like they might split my head open.

Every anguished cry from the ghosts triggered a headache so severe it made movement difficult.

Yet if I remained still, the spirits would latch onto me and erode my body with their curse.

[Erosion Rate Increased: +1%]

[Erosion Rate Increased: +2%]

[Erosion Rate Increased: +3%]

With each spirit that clung to me, the erosion rate of Liar’s curse began to rise.

Accepting a curse and using it as power was essentially a double-edged sword.

Until now, I had dismissed the dangers of using my spirit power, but this situation was far from unusual.

“Save us!!!”

“Return Mommy and Daddy to us!!!”

“Freyaaaaa!”

Ghosts busy crying out to be saved, to find their parents, or calling out for their loved ones.

They certainly did have sorrowful circumstances. Their village had been burnt to ashes along with their precious lives due to the sudden invasion of humans.

At this point, I began to understand why Grisha had cried out for destruction.

But…

“This isn’t my situation.”

I began to walk while deliberately ignoring the spirits’ contact.

One of them was clutching my ankle like a water ghost, but it was of no concern.

Ultimately, the spirits couldn’t withstand my strength and were all shaken off, finding it hard to cling to my moving form.

“Please don’t abandon me!!”

“Please! Help us!!”

Once again, their cries began to pound against my head.

However, the same tactic wouldn’t work twice, so I continued walking without a care.

Even though it felt like my head might explode, that was merely a standard person’s reaction.

During my transition to ‘Spirit Master’, I had already gained resistance against mental assaults.

The countless pieces of information smacking around in my head were hardly a bother, causing the spirits’ wails to scrape against my insides.

– Chief! We have a crisis!

At that moment, a voice distinctly different from the spirits’ cries reached my ears.

It wasn’t merely a nonsensical scream demanding for help, which made my head spin.

– Humans have broken the forest’s barrier!

It was undoubtedly a rational voice of conversation.

It was impossible for the lunatic spirits to produce such a coherent voice.

This was clearly their memory. A voice from their memories was echoing from somewhere.

And during my long trek, something began to materialize in the void before me.

A gathering of numerous elves holding a meeting deep within a lush forest. It was none other than the living memories of the spirits.

– What is the meaning of this! Why are they doing something like this when we’ve maintained a cordial relationship until now!

– It’s certain. Both the barrier and the spirits guarding our protective stones have all been compromised.

– This cannot be! I must meet them directly.

– No! According to the guards, their gazes were frightening. You will surely be killed!

It was a scene of the leaders surrounding a chief, a tense emergency meeting held in an elf village, still intact before it was set ablaze.

The younger elf, who was seated in the chief’s place, was clearly Grisha Highend.

– Father…?

– Aisha! Something dangerous is about to happen, so get away quickly.

– What about you, Father?

– This father has urgent matters to attend to. Now, hurry and evacuate the children!

– Can I go with Skilla?

– Skilla?

Young Grisha momentarily spaced out before responding a beat late.

– Yes! We need to evacuate that child as well. Even if she is a different kind, she is still a resident of our village.

That Grisha looked entirely different from the current degenerate form I had seen in game illustrations or cutscenes; back then, he was just an innocent elf.

– The entrance is already starting to catch fire!

– Those foolish humans! Don’t they even realize there’s a human child here?

– This isn’t the time for idle chatter! Quickly reconstruct the barrier… Uagh!

An elf holding a magic stone was struck by an arrow and fell.

Soon after, humans armed with swords and bows charged in, beginning to slaughter the elves indiscriminately.

Fire magic and flaming arrows rained down, incinerating wooden buildings and great trees alike.

Without a trace of emotion, they relentlessly stained their blades with elf blood, as if they cared for nothing other than their tasks.

It felt like I was watching a murder robot, one that only focused on completing its objective.

– You… what on earth did we do to deserve this!!

An elf holding a sword cried out as he defended Grisha, the chief, from the attacking humans.

Among the humans surrounding them, a man who appeared to be their leader stepped forward.

He was a man with a cloak and mask that obscured his face.

He pulled off his mask and threw back his hood, revealing his face.

Grisha and the elf were shocked upon seeing his true visage.

– You are… Principal Keiten Jodiats?

It was undoubtedly the face of Keiten, the current principal of Aligieri.

Even though he wasn’t the principal at that time, he was still a key figure from Aligieri.

– So, the humans attacking us are all from Aligieri!

No, that was an illusion.

Although he had the same face as Keiten, this wasn’t Keiten.

It was just that the notorious mercenary leader had consumed a transformation potion to appear as Keiten.

The fact that they believed this was the work of Aligieri was due to their ignorance.

– Why are you causing this?

Even with blood dripping from his shoulder, the elf wielding a sword shouted loudly.

I couldn’t believe a representative of the prestigious Magic Academy would personally engage in such acts.

The mercenary with Keiten’s face grinned and replied.

– You kidnapped a human girl.

– What?

– We came to rescue that kidnapped child, and to punish you savages.

– That’s utter nonsense…!

It was so nonsensical that I had to think as quickly as possible.

Could it truly be factual that a human girl existed in this elven village?

– Ah…!

There had been one. A girl I had saved long ago, left abandoned in the forest.

Now, she had become best friends with the chief’s daughter Aisha. The girl was Skilla.

– No! We didn’t kidnap her!

– Make your excuses in the afterlife.

– I’m telling you, we didn’t!!

The mercenary leader, wearing Keiten’s face, laughed while staining his sword with blood.

Apart from rescuing the girl, he was merely reveling in the bloodshed.

Though the chief survived thanks to a teleportation magical device his subordinate elf forced him to use, his daughter did not.

Subsequently, the memory display showed Aisha, pierced by an arrow, collapsing in her final moments.

And next to Aisha, Skilla was seen being carried away by the mercenaries, marking the end of the recollection.

“Aligieri… I curse you!”

“Do not forgive Aligieri!”

“They are evil! Even those in school uniforms are all the same!”

“Please bring judgment upon them… make them pay for their sins!”

As a result, these vengeful spirits were born.

Currently wearing those school uniforms, I too could be seen as an object of their resentment.

Given that this was within Diora’s belly, I was essentially dipping my feet into lava.

“Ah, a student of Aligieri, are we.”

Suddenly, a massive tentacle shot up from the ground.

It was identical to the tentacles that Diora had swung earlier, and once again I had to turn my head to evade it.

Then the ground morphed into a swamp, and something began to crawl up.

It looked as if it was a person standing on two legs, but its entire body was covered in scales.

Reptilian hands, wings on its back, and a tail. Its head took the form of a dragon rather than a human.

I realized that it was the actual form of Diora.

“Moreover, I can smell blood identical to that of a girl I know very well.”

Diora fully revealed itself and posed a question to me.

“I’ll ask. What is your name?”

“Radon Crawler.”

“Crawler… Hahaha! I see, then your mother’s name must be Skilla Crawler, am I right?”

Diora deduced who my mother was merely from smelling me.

Given that he was a hatchling raised by Aisha and my mother, it wasn’t surprising.

“This is undoubtedly my belly. If I hadn’t restrained the curse within me by myself, you would have long been devoured by darkness.”

“Why are you even sparing me?”

“The reason is quite simple. It is because you are Skilla’s child. And…”

Aisha manifested next to me in her human form.

Being Skilla’s child and Aisha’s contractor was the reason he was sparing me.

“I’ll need to thank my mother soon.”

“How will you thank her? There’s no guarantee you’ll return alive.”

Diora’s tone sent chills down my spine, but it wasn’t wrong.

Originally, I should have died the moment I was swallowed, but thanks to being Skilla’s child, I merely gained extra time to breathe.

“As you saw from that past, the source of my curse stems from hatred directed toward Aligieri. While I maintain your breath now, it won’t be long before there’s a limit.”

“Does that mean you’re in your right mind?”

From what I gathered, Diora seemed to be clear-headed.

After all, being a top-tier spirit, it was quite expected for him to have high intelligence.

“My physical form is composed of the elves’ curses. If I can control those curses, manipulating my body becomes easy.”

“Are you empathizing with the curse?”

“Exactly. Using this point, some were able to control me even though they were weaker than I.”

Understanding the loss the spirits faced due to the destruction of their village by Aligieri.

The curse of a spirit is akin to the protagonist of a tragic melodrama. If one could empathize from the audience’s perspective, it would warrant some degree of recognition.

It seemed that Grisha and Kamain utilized this point to secure the protection of the ruins.

“Sure, it was likely just a tearful show.”

If only I could understand the grievances that formed the spirit’s body, it indicated that I wouldn’t face attacks.

“The reason why I halted my assault when I saw Aisha is all due to that. Aisha’s existence has safeguarded your life.”

Seeing this dialogue, Diora appeared to be in his right mind.

The issue lay with the curses that composed Diora’s body.

Their intense hatred towards Aligieri meant that if it weren’t for Aisha, such an opportunity wouldn’t have arisen.

“However, once I have consumed you, escaping won’t be an option. Even if you take off that school uniform, you’ll still be treated as an enemy.”

“I didn’t come here to be eaten. I came here to make a contract.”

“Huh?”

Upon hearing my words, Diora tilted its head.

Then, at my subsequent statement, its eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re going to make a contract with me. Then these curses will also accept me, right?”

“Ha, foolish child. No matter how much you are Skilla’s child, that’s impossible. As I mentioned earlier, the curses surrounding me recognize you as an enemy.”

“Isn’t that because I’m a student of Aligieri?”

“That goes without saying. And I have empathy towards those curses, which is why I am in this form.”

A past that has occurred can never be changed.

The fact that humans burned the elven village, leading to their curses, will be an eternal part of history.

However, that history requires not to be distorted and should be examined closely.

“Do you really think that was the doing of Aligieri at the time?”

“What?”

Diora was flustered by my question.

At that moment, all the gathered spirits began to swarm towards me.

As if they were responding sharply to what I had said.

“The reason you harbor hostility towards me is because you believe Aligieri burned your village, right?”

“…”

“Of course, I saw it too. I witnessed our Principal Keiten massacring the elves. But tell me…”

I scratched my head and smiled.

“Aren’t you curious if it was really Principal Keiten?”

At that time, those mercenaries were surely a plot commissioned by a faction hostile to Aligieri.

They used the pretext of a kidnapped child.

If they were our academy’s adversaries, they would likely be the heirs of Emperor Makia from long ago.

The leader of such factions was none other than Enviel.

“Are you saying it wasn’t Keiten’s doing?”

“Curious?”

The one who sent us here was none other than Shaikar.

She had ensured to gather information about this place before sending us here.

Her subordinates, the Spirits of Life, were scattered everywhere, making the collection of intelligence quite easy.

And claiming it would help, she provided me with something.

That something emerged from within my pocket.

“Shall I tell you the truth of that day?”

It was a crystal containing the memories siphoned from the Spirits of Life that once resided here.

Indeed, it was the memories of the spirits who witnessed that catastrophic event.

 

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