Chapter 12: The Deal
A white robe that brought to mind a chemist more than a witch, a belt around her waist with various test tubes attached. These things told me about the kind of witch standing before me. ‘A potion-maker, apparently. Is that why she was so bad at making gargoyles?’ The witch, staff in hand, stared at Thalia and me, but most of all, at my arm.
"I was so sure my investors had arrived."
"Investors...?" As I asked, puzzled, an owl flew silently and landed on the witch's arm. it was the same one that had been hunched like a used toothpaste tube, but now it puffed out its chest proudly. The witch seemed to exchange a few words with the owl before letting out a sigh.
"You two smashed all the gargoyles I worked so hard to make, and Chris's arm... what in the world are you?" Chris... was that the crocodile's name?
"First, to clear up any misunderstanding, I had no intention of attacking first."
"Misunderstanding, you say. Don't you know it’s natural to reject someone like you?" The witch pointed her staff toward my arm. Her gargoyle-making skills might be shoddy, but the staff she was carrying was nothing ordinary. She seemed to be at least somewhat skilled. "I don't know why you got involved with the Outer Gods, but get out of here, quietly! I have no intention of getting involved—"
"Take this." My mental state was too strained to persuade the witch calmly. ‘My anxiety is about to flare up. The effects of using <Forbidden Transformation> again are worse than I thought...’ I felt a hint of paranoia creeping in. And I continued to feel a premonition from under the ground, different from before.
"I told you I have no intention of getting involved with the Outer Gods! Now... wow, how much is all that worth?" Seeing the massive pile of gems that spilled from the bag I threw, the witch's eyes widened. What, is it so much money she can’t stay angry?
"I will compensate you for the gargoyles and the crocodile. In exchange, I would like to buy your help with the remaining amount."
"Oh, of course I’ll help... Wait, no. How in the hell am I supposed to help someone affected by an Outer God?"
"First, as many mental stability potions as you can provide. And anything else related to the mind." The witch shook her head.
"The influence of an Outer God isn't something you can control. A mental stability potion might restore your sanity, but in the end, your very existence—"
"I know." I interrupted her with a sigh. "I know all that already. I’ve even thought of a solution, one way or another. Right now, I need mental stability potions. Are you selling or not?"
"......If you're paying, I can accept you as a customer. I am Leila Eldinwillo."
"I am Ethnos. And this is Thalia." Thalia and Leila exchanged brief greetings.
"I’ll show you everything I have, so you can buy what you need. But..."
"But?"
"Ahem... originally I had those gargoyles for a reason, you see? But you smashed them all, didn't you? So, I’ll need your help with something."
"What kind of help?" The witch began to explain with an awkward smile. As I listened, my expression hardened. "You son of a..."
Shortly after. A group of burly men, their faces etched with annoyance, climbed the hill with difficulty. They weren't heavily armed, but there were quite a few of them, and all of them had grim expressions.
"Tch, it’s so far." It had been three years since she received their investment. With no results and the same excuse of needing more time over and over again, the leader of the 'Brotherhood of the Bloody Bear' was furious. And when the leader was angry, it was the subordinates' duty to resolve the cause of his rage.
"Boss, we're almost there. Just over that hill!"
"That damn witch lives in a damn shack, just like her. Why do we have to go through this every time we come here?"
"It’s not too bad today, is it? Last time, by some coincidence, an experiment accident happened right when we arrived, and this whole hill turned into a swamp."
"And we’ve heard the 'gargoyle malfunction' lie four times now." The brotherhood members flinched at the memory. Although they were a tough mercenary band, they were also followers of the Church of Life and didn't engage in illegal activities. They weren't demanding interest; they were only asking for their money back since it provided no results. Why did they have to suffer like this?
"You didn't forget to feed the crocodile again, did you? He won't attack us, right?"
"Chris is a good boy. It’s a pity he has to suffer because of a bad owner." One of the mercenaries sighed, remembering the usually well-behaved crocodile. But soon, there would be no more sighs to be heard.
"......Now what in the hell is this." After all that climbing, there was something else in the yard. It wasn't a gargoyle, and it wasn't the crocodile.
"......Boss, I think that thing is dangerous."
"Is that witch playing another trick on us?" Standing in the yard was an abomination that resembled a person. One of his arms was blackened and oddly elongated, creating an unsettling sense of wrongness. Simply looking at him triggered a primal instinct, a feeling that one shouldn't approach further.
"Look at his feet, sir. Those are bloodstains."
"And aren't those broken pieces over there from the gargoyles?" The area around the strange man was littered with clear signs of a battle. The ground was depressed as if by something heavy, and stained with blood. The sight of the poorly made but somewhat threatening gargoyles smashed to pieces was a great shock to the brotherhood.
"The door is smashed, too!"
"You son of a..." The situation wasn't good. What on earth did that reckless witch do to make something like this appear at her house? And more importantly, what was that abomination in the world?
"That thing... I think he’s affected by an Outer God."
"A god... an Outer God? What in the hell did that madwoman get involved in?" Although incidents involving Outer Gods weren't common, their danger was so notorious that everyone knew about it. Accordingly, there was one rule when it came to matters involving Outer Gods: 'Do not get involved, no matter what happens.' It was the simplest and most effective rule.
"Are you sure the witch isn't up to another trick? Are you certain?"
"Even if it’s a trick, we can’t underestimate the danger! We must never get involved with an Outer God! First, we need to report to the Captain..."
It was then. The man, who had been standing perfectly still, exuding a disturbing and gruesome vitality, turned to look at the brotherhood. He had what looked like a wound, which was bleeding a viscous black blood.
"......Run!" At that word, everyone scattered without a second thought. If a comrade fell, they quickly helped him up and ran for their lives. They would rather their leader scold them than get involved in something related to an Outer God.
"Sigh, what a pain." And so, they didn't hear the dangerous man sigh and grumble to himself.
"Good job."
"Good job, you say." The witch's request was simple. All I had to do was scare off the brotherhood.
"The tools you promised?"
"I’ve placed them all on the table. Take your time." The witch pointed, and the chair at the table where Thalia was already sitting moved on its own. Although I was impressed internally, I sat down without showing any reaction.
‘I can’t believe she wasn't a potion-maker, but an Enchantment Mage.’ I first drank a mental stability potion, then examined the various tools on the table. They looked like junk, but they were all enchanted items, imbued with some kind of magic or miracle. ‘An Enchantment Mage could be a great help in the future. But...’ There was one big problem. This Enchantment Mage... didn't know how to enchant.
"You’ve accumulated all that debt because you bought a bunch of enchanted tools without even knowing how to make them."
"I didn't have a choice! The 'Enchantment Makers Union' has a iron grip on the secrets of magic and absolutely refuses to share them with outsiders. I had no choice but to experiment with every single one!" She didn't know what materials to use for enchanting, so she was testing all kinds of things, which explained the mess. This woman didn't know how to make potions at all. To think that after all that trouble, I found a quack Enchantment Mage.
"What is this situation... huh?" Just then, I glanced at the back of my hand and saw a green dice tattoo fading. The mental stability potion seemed to have worked, as my anxiety melted like snow. But the fact that a roll had been made meant I could have failed. In the worst-case scenario, a critical failure could have made things worse. ‘That almost was a major disaster. To think that even drinking a potion comes with risks.’
Suppressing a sigh, my eyes fell on the tools on the table. "Here’s a list of their effects."
"Let's see. A dagger imbued with a fire spell, a healing miracle orb..." They were decent enough, but nothing that would be a huge help to me. I’d just take some suitable tools and buy the rest of the mental stability potions.
"I’ll buy every mental stability potion you have, and for the rest, I’ll take this..." I was about to point to a sword that would be a decent sidearm when it happened. ‘No, not this.’ The thought struck me suddenly. And I felt something.
"...Is there something in the basement?"
"Huh? How did you know?" Leila looked at me, surprised. ‘This is the same ominous feeling from before.’ It wasn't a side effect of using Forbidden Transformation. Analyzing it calmly, I realized it wasn't just a draw, but a kind of longing.
"I need to check."
"Wait! That’s my workshop! I can’t let you in just like—" Leila tried to stop me, but I stood up as if possessed and ran into the hallway. Even though it was my first time here, I knew exactly where to go, as if someone were guiding me.
"What’s suddenly gotten into him!"
"What’s in the basement?" I could hear Thalia and Leila chasing me. They seemed not to have felt the Outer God’s energy yet.
"Just some unused enchanted tools. Things I had to seal separately for one reason or another."
"What? Then could it be..."
"The seals are sturdy, I tell you! And there are no Outer God-related tools down there!" I could say with certainty that she was wrong.
"Thalia, don't follow me! There’s something related to an Outer God here!" I could feel it clearly. The malignant energy of something that crossed over from another universe, coveting this world. it had been well-sealed until now, dormant, but the Outer God’s energy was reacting with me.
‘This is insane! What in the hell did she keep in the basement!’ The closer I got, the more I felt the danger. At the same time, the draw grew stronger. The thing that was reacting with me began to wail more sharply. ‘......Hunger.’ I felt a primal instinct, a raw desire.
‘I can’t get any closer. This is... dangerous.’ My mind was screaming a warning to me. The closer I got to the basement door, the more I felt the instinctive revulsion and dread that overwhelmed me.
"Damn... even the mana is corrupted." There was a spell on the basement door, cast for sealing and protection. A disturbing Outer God aura leaked from the spell.
"W-What’s happening to it? Is it really related to an Outer God...?" Leila’s face, following me, went pale, shocked by the gravity of the situation. The seal seemed thorough, but something in the basement exceeded its power.
‘Damn... I have no choice. Hesitation will only make things worse.’ Having seen cases like these in «Systems», I was certain. When something affects people’s thoughts and causes supernatural phenomena—especially if it’s related to an Outer God—the problem and danger spread rapidly. ‘Even if it’s dangerous, I have to deal with it now!’
I reached out hurriedly to break the seal, but I froze. My arm, transformed by <Forbidden Transformation>, began to react strangely. As if in a seizure, my arm writhed and twisted oddly, refusing to touch the door.
"Leila! Break the seal!"
"What? Are you crazy?"
"If we leave that thing alone, we’ll be the ones to go insane! There’s no time to hesitate, we have to deal with this as fast as we can!" With that, and as she is a witch, Leila pulled herself together and calmly undid the sealing magic. Fortunately, despite the spell's corruption, she seemed to possess the skill to handle it. The moment the seal was broken, an even more dangerous hunger poured out—a longing to devour.
"Cast every defensive spell you know. Barriers, anything." Filled with tension and dread, I opened the basement door. Inside was a single, old, broken arrow.
---
0 Comments