Chapter 13: The Split
Leila Eldinwillo bore the dishonorable title of 'Enchantment Mage who cannot enchant,' but she was by no means an unskilled witch. The Enchantment Makers Union completely controlled the methods, so she didn't know the required materials, but her willingness to analyze and extract—essential qualities for an enchantment mage—was certain.
‘It can’t be related to an Outer God, so how...!’ That was why Leila was in such monumental confusion. The old, broken arrow she had tentatively named 'Erosion Arrow.' it certainly bore some kind of curse related to erosion, but regardless of its latent danger, there was nothing special about it. The reason she had sealed it separately was that she couldn't fully understand the details of the curse, and its nature required special handling for storage.
‘No matter how many times I tested it, there was no trace of Outer God energy. What in the world is going on!’ She couldn't believe her eyes. The arrow was clearly reacting with this man named Ethnos, emitting a foul Outer God energy, but that wasn't all. ‘All the other enchanted tools I had sealed separately have vanished.’ At least ten tools had disappeared without a trace. There was no chance anyone had stolen them, so the arrow had to be the problem.
"W-What should I do?" Leila remembered. A question she had asked her master on a day when she was diligently pursuing magic with pride, and the answer she received.
—...We both handle mana and cause mysterious phenomena, don't we? Magic and miracles, which is superior?
To the childish question, asked with the firm belief that the answer was magic, her master replied thus.
—It is hard to determine superiority, but as a witch, beware of miracles. The essence of a mage is 'understanding.' You know this, don't you?
—Ah... yes, of course. It’s the simplest of basics.
—But miracles cannot be understood. They are fundamentally beyond a mage's grasp.
Can’t I just understand the miracle and be done with it? That’s what she thought then, and until now, she believed it was certainly possible for a mage to analyze and understand a miracle. But now, Leila couldn't understand anything.
‘I’m starting to understand.’ I could tell what this thing was, and what it wanted. The basis of this understanding wasn't knowledge I had accumulated myself. ‘It flowed into me.’ Knowledge born from the Formless Creations, just like the meditation method. Previously, it was intentionally inserted to slowly corrupt me, but this time was different.
‘Fear is etched into the very core of the Formless Creation species.’ With my understanding enhanced through meditation, I could analyze the situation relatively calmly. The Outer God energy radiating from the front—its master was undoubtedly related to the Formless Creations or [The Sleeper in the Netherworld]. ‘And it’s probably something like a natural predator.’ That had to be the reason for my transformed arm's spasm.
"Ethnos! Can you hear me?" I looked behind me to see Leila creating a barrier with magic. "You have a way to deal with it, don't you?"
"Maybe?" Honestly, I wasn't sure either. I just knew I had to do something now.
"Come behind the barrier too! I’ll seal it again with multiple layers!"
"It’ll be neutralized in a moment. That thing has already devoured the other tools you were storing, hasn't it?" Leila nodded, her eyes tense. "Then we have to act now."
"You said you weren't even sure! Wouldn't it be better to seal it, even for a moment, and run?"
Again, I shook my head. I had made that choice before when playing «Systems». The result was the collapse of an entire town, its inhabitants turning into zombies, and my character going insane from nightmares and constant mental damage. "This thing's hunger will spread to the town. No, this entire region might become contaminated."
"......Sounds like Outer God power, indeed. So what’s the plan?"
I’m still not sure. Relying on the knowledge and intuition transmitted from the Formless Creations, I only came up with one possibility. "I... just have to satisfy its hunger."
"What? Hey, what kind of crazy talk is that!" I took a step forward. With every step, I wanted to turn and run from the revulsion and fear. ‘I’m essentially walking to be eaten.’ I might die a meaningless death here. ‘If I have any regrets...’ it would be not resolving my own personal questions. There were truths I simply wanted to know, but I had no particular desire to return to my original world. ‘Besides, I’ll never reach those truths without resolving this crisis. And I have nothing to lose anyway.’ That thought gave me the strength to push forward.
"Agh... my arm?!" My transformed arm resisted madly. It extended its tentacles like a separate living being, trying fiercely to defy my will. "Hmph... should have returned to my original arm sooner." If it had, maybe I wouldn't have had another choice. Gritting my teeth, I steeled my will over and over again, and extended my arm in pain. With every inch I got closer, I felt as if I were walking toward the edge of a cliff, staring into the abyss below.
"Cough!" I started vomiting blood. Blood flowed from my eyes and nose, drenching my face. ‘Damn... I’m just trying to reach the arrow a few steps away.’ Unlike my suffering, the arrow was rejoicing. it was like a hungry beast before a grand feast.
‘But that arrow... it’s weak!’ The closer I got, the clearer it became. The arrow was so hungry it was on the verge of dying of starvation. it was somewhat as I expected. ‘It must be desperate enough to cause such a commotion.’ There’s always a reason for something that was dormant, undetected by a witch for a long time, to suddenly act like this. ‘If it’s desperate enough to devour enchanted tools, I can only imagine how much it craves my arm.’
My luck was just bad. Of all times, I had to visit with unrefined Outer God energy clinging to me, drawing its attention. Of all times, I had to come when the arrow could still extract the last bit of its power. Of all times, of all times, of all times...!
‘What’s the use of complaining.’ No matter how much I felt wronged, the situation wouldn't change. I had no choice but to make the most of a bad situation. ‘If I play this right, it might not just end with suppressing it...’ Sharpening my resolve, I finally reached the arrow and cast off my final fears.
"Koh...!" The moment my black hand gripped the arrowhead, my hand cracked and began to crumble as if it were rotting. "Agh... Aaaaaaaaagh!!!" it was painful. Utterly horrific. I was being eaten alive, eroded from the inside out. Strength was drained from my body, and I fell to my knees.
‘Now...!’ The black arm weakened severely. I grabbed the black arm with my other arm and pulled, as if trying to rip it off by force. My healthy hand began to burn with a hiss, as if dipped in acid. ‘Out. Out. Get out, you damn thing!’
Snap! Despite its weakness, my black arm was completely torn off. From the torso, blood, and not black liquid, now flowed. I threw the severed arm aside and retreated rapidly. ‘It’s done.’ My arm, even while being devoured by the arrow, resisted, trying to suppress it, regenerating over and over again. Devouring and suppressing, the two Outer God energies focused on attacking each other, preventing any damage to the outside.
"Potion! Healing potion!" Leila seemed at a loss as I ran toward her. More accurately, she seemed in shock from the horrific Outer God energy, paralyzed with dread. ‘Damn, the blood...’ I felt dizzy, my body weak. I tried desperately to run, but my body staggered, unable to manage more than a stumble. With all the parts that transformed into formless creations torn off, I wondered how much blood I even had left.
"I..." Leila was still muttering to herself. Thalia... is she still upstairs? Damn, I don't think I can even reach the door... my body started to collapse. "I... have to hold together!" Leila shook her head violently and cast some kind of spell on me. My consciousness was already fading, and I couldn't discern the spell. Is she trying to finish me off? ......No. My body was being pulled. "Agh..." My vision blurred. I could no longer discern anything clearly. All I knew was that in the next moment, something was poured into my mouth, and I heard a voice screaming something in panic.
‘...Don't think I’m dead.’ Time passed, and I regained some of my senses. I could feel myself gradually recovering, my mind growing stronger. ‘But why won't my eyes open? I can’t hear anything either.’ I was certain I wasn't dead, but I couldn't move a muscle. Don't tell me I’m in a comatose state.
‘It was a reckless method...’ I had committed a mad act by throwing an arm imbued with an Outer God’s power as bait. My plan was to have Leila seal or destroy the arrow while it was defenseless, busy devouring my arm. ‘In the worst-case scenario... I would have summoned the Formless Creations to deal with it.’ They would have asked a lot of me in return. The identity of that energy, which even the Formless Creations feared and avoided, was an Outer God that devours even its own kind... other than that, all I knew was it was related to erosion or ruin.
‘For now, can I call this a success? If we wait until the arrow's power is depleted as much as possible, it’ll be weak enough for Leila to take action.’ As I was thinking this, I gradually began to hear voices. I thought my body was recovering, but it was different. It wasn't Thalia or Leila’s voice; the sound was very mixed, like noise. I felt as if I were in the middle of a street with countless people talking at once.
‘What is this din?’ The noise was beyond imagination. it increased louder and louder, to the point it surpassed pain and I felt like my mind would shatter. I felt like my mind couldn't take any more, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't cover my ears, I couldn't scream for help, I couldn't see the source of the sound. ‘Just shut up! I’ll really go insane at this rate...!’ As the noise became so overwhelming I couldn't even think, a small but perfectly clear voice pierced through the din.
"Shhh." All that noise vanished in an instant, and at the same time, I managed to push myself up. I opened my eyes. I felt as if everything that just happened was just a dream. "......Thalia?"
Thalia placed the half-empty potion in her hand down and nodded. Unwilling for me to see her, she quickly turned her head and wiped her tears with her sleeve. ‘What was that just now...’ I instinctively glanced at the back of my hand, but there was nothing to see. Literally nothing. it was just normal, when I thought about it.
"Sir, your arm..."
"I know. I ripped it off and left it in the basement, so of course it won't be here." In its place was only a sharp, red-stained stump, tightly bound with a cloth to stop the bleeding. It’s bitter, but... I’ve resolved the Formless Creation problem, so I guess that’s that?
"Not just that... it’s still alive."
"......What?"
"Leila said so. She said your arm is still alive. And it’s still fighting the arrow."
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