Chapter 393
Chapter 393: Symbiotic Relationship
It was truly a situation that deserved the term “flooding.”
So many souls rushed in all at once that I had to close the gates of the spirit world for a moment, calming each one down before hearing their tales.
Perhaps there had been some disaster somewhere, resulting in many deaths—I even entertained such a notion.
But it turned out, that wasn’t the case.
“I was on lookout duty when suddenly I heard a woman’s voice from behind. When I turned around, there was this beautiful lady in a dress, and, uh, I thought I was dreaming, but then she knocked my forehead, and before I knew it, I was here—”
“It was a monster—an awful, human-shaped monster! It broke my arm and started biting me… Ah, ah…!”
“I had a scary dream while I was sleeping… This man and woman suddenly bit me, it hurt, and then everything went dark… I want to go home… Waaaah…”
It seemed a merchant ship had been attacked. Merchants and sailors, not to mention young merchant apprentices, had been mercilessly killed. It appeared the vampires had rushed in and drained them of their blood. That child wasn’t even fully aware that they were dead…
What a joke…!
Like the soul of the child I had summoned before who died in an accident, I sent the apprentice’s soul back to the spirit world as gently as possible, but for the adults, I needed to ascertain whether they were willing to sacrifice their souls to fight the vampires.
Naturally, not everyone nodded in agreement. The fear of potentially being unable to go to the afterlife, the faint awareness of having been murdered, and a lack of desire for revenge meant that many of them declined.
However, a few accepted the idea of becoming holy spirits and joined my ranks. As I continued processing the souls, one after another, and called out more—
“—The lake pirates attacked!”
New facts emerged from the victims’ testimonies.
After the vampires had stirred up chaos, the lake pirates had launched their assault.
Furthermore—
“Everyone was dragged out of their rooms one after another and killed… some even bit back at us despite not being beastmen…!”
No doubt about it, those vampires…!
“Were they using the lake pirates as their minions…?!”
Summarizing the testimonies, it seemed highly likely that the vampires had turned several of the lake pirates into their subordinates and were controlling their pirate ships.
It all clicked. They were suspiciously moving around in the daytime and changing their attack locations with great caution while leaving behind half-assed remains.
If you think of it as the lake pirates being left to handle the moving and the disposal of bodies, it made sense!
It seemed to be a mutually beneficial relationship. The vampires could move over water even during the day, gaining both means and personnel, while the lake pirates had a formidable ally perfect for nighttime ambushes.
Humanity’s enemies teaming up with humanity’s trash—what an ideal collaboration… damn it!
“Those lake pirates were working with the vampires… I won’t forgive them!”
“WAAAHH! I’ll kill them all!!”
“Let me join too! Please!!”
A few of them were consumed by hatred for the lake pirates and became evil spirits, but more comrades were joining in.
“What were those lake pirates like?!”
And then, Beatrice, who had already joined us, perked up upon hearing the conversation.
“—Was there a chubby guy with scratches on his cheeks? —So, how about the captain? Did he have a square face and wear a black goatee with jingly gold chains? —Did you see any skinny, scrawny underlings? Wearing a yellowed blue and white striped shirt—”
Beatrice bombarded the new victim spirits with questions, gradually building her conviction.
“Without a doubt… those were the ones who killed me!! WAAAHH, I won’t forgive, I won’t forgive, I won’t forgive, I won’t forgive—”
Surprisingly, it seemed highly likely that the lake pirate gang that had captured Beatrice had also been turned into minions of the vampires. Had the lake pirates caved into their desires and drained Beatrice of her life, or did they just lie to control her, keeping her alive for the vampires’ snacks…?
With the enemy now clearly identified, Beatrice’s rage intensified, transforming her further into an evil spirit to the point that her original form was unrecognizable. At this rate, she might even shoot for the title of Undead King… Though I wouldn’t let her change that drastically under my watch…
Unlike holy spirits who could maintain their existence by burning their core souls, normal spirits needed a regular supply of magical power, which was starting to become a bit challenging for me. But since I understood her feelings, I couldn’t just leave her be.
And then—
“Please… save my girlfriend!!”
Right after summoning, a bewildered young man’s spirit clung to me, streaming tears of dark magic as he grasped the situation.
“She isn’t dead yet! She should be alive!!!”
The young man was named Romeo. Apparently, he had boarded the ship to accompany his girlfriend, who had been hired as a maid for a merchant in another city.
If she was going to work as a maid in a different city, they wouldn’t get to see each other for a while. It could be their last goodbye—so he thought, but not in such a way.
It was unexpected…
Having sensed the attack, Romeo had tried to hide his girlfriend in a storage room to protect her, but he couldn’t withstand the strength of the turned lake pirates and lost the fight. The last thing he saw while being drained was his girlfriend being dragged from the storage room by her hair…
“If it goes on like this, she’ll become their plaything…!!”
Romeo pleaded sorrowfully, but… unfortunately, it was already highly likely that it had come to that. Just like Beatrice.
Yet, looking at it another way.
Like Beatrice, she was likely to stay alive for a while longer…!!
And Romeo and the others were just killed.
There were testimonies from crewmen with clear awareness and memories. They had even pinpointed where the ship had been attacked.
If I rushed there on Leila’s wings right now—
I might make it in time.
“I understand—”
I reflexively began to agree, but…
I felt pressure swelling within my chest.
The pulsing of the forbidden Demon God—
“That won’t do.”
Antendeixis growled.
“How do you plan to vanish without anyone knowing Leila’s true identity, you fool?”
…That’s right.
To suddenly have the hero and his companion disappear from a ship sailing right in the middle of a lake…
It wouldn’t make sense.
