MTM 86

“Hey!”

Bam! The men kicked the orc, who had been standing there blankly, staring at Harto.

“I asked what this guy is!”

At the loud shout, the orc stifled a scream and fell to the ground. He groaned, rubbing his sore butt.

“He-he is… a half-blood spirit…”

“Half-blood spirit?”

“What’s that?”

The men grimaced and whispered among themselves. It was a term they’d never heard before.

“So… he reacts to spirit stones… but he’s not a complete spirit… I heard that sometimes, if there’s spirit blood mixed in, something like this can happen…”

The orc rambled on, most of the men didn’t understand. But they all pretended they did.

“Hmm, so that’s what it is? So, it’s fine to put him up for show then!”

“Right. We were suspicious for nothing.”

They nodded and averted their attention from Harto.

That was when something happened.

“Ugh…!”

Swoosh-.

Thud!

In an instant, the mage, standing awkwardly on the stage, lost his balance and fell.

“What…?”

The workers diligently carrying the iron bars behind the stage all froze. They stared blankly at the mage lying on the floor, and then a man cautiously approached.

“Huh!”

Red blood was gushing from the mage’s neck, as if he’d been cut by something sharp.

“He’s… dead…”

The man muttered after confirming the mage’s eyes were wide open in death. The people around him simultaneously murmured.

“What? Why all of a sudden?”

“What is going on…?”

Just as everyone’s eyes were fixed on the dead mage.

Swoosh–

Harto, seizing that moment, lowered his head and slowly moved his wrist. His slender wrist slid free from the magic stone-studded shackles. The magic on the restraints had already been removed long ago.

Click.

With his limbs free, Harto instantly transformed into a monster.

“…Huh?”

The orc, who had been staring at the mage’s body, perked up his ears and turned his head.

“You…!”

He spotted Harto, now transformed into a monster.

Harto met the orc’s eyes and didn’t panic. Instead, he blinked and exhaled at the orc.

“Phew..”

He puffed his cheeks and blew, and all the lights illuminating the backstage went out.

“W-what the hell is this?!”

“Hey! Stop fooling around and turn on the lights!”

As darkness fell completely, panicked voices mingled.

Whoosh.

In the pitch-black darkness, a lone spirit stone slowly moved. The light flickered, almost alive, causing the orc to open his eyes wide.

“Th-that’s…”

The orc rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then opened them again. Upon closer inspection, he saw a pitch-black slime with blue eyes, wriggling out of the cage, holding the spirit stone.

“It’s a, a monster!!”

The orc screamed in shock at the sight.

“A monster?!”

“Damn it! A monster came out of the cage!”

The people who had merely been murmuring in the darkness soon fell into a panic. They stumbled over each other, desperate to escape. Footsteps and screams mingled together, and the scene turned into chaos.

‘It’s going just as Ser planned…’

Taking advantage of the confusion, Harto hid in a corner and recalled his conversation with Ser.

‘I’ll use alchemy to remove the magic from your shackles right now. But you must remain there, not escape immediately.’

‘Can you remove this? But why are you telling me not to escape…?’

It was surprising that Ser possessed the ability to cancel magic through alchemy, but he didn’t understand why he had to wait.

‘It’s not the right time. I’ll give you a signal when I go up on stage.’

‘A signal? How?’

‘It’s hard to explain now. But you’ll know it’s a signal.’

At the time, those words had sounded incomprehensible. Until a moment ago, he had been unsure whether to trust Ser’s plan, but now he was certain.

Having become somewhat accustomed to the darkness, Harto moved forward, holding the spirit stone in his hand. He headed towards the cage where the fox beastman was imprisoned. In fact, he’d been on his mind for a while.

Clang.

Perhaps because the mage was dead, the magical lock surrounding the cage had been released.

Harto cautiously entered the cage. The fox beastman’s face, illuminated by the light of the spirit stone, was faintly visible. He couldn’t even open his eyes, barely emitting faint breaths.

“Are you okay? Is there… anything I can do for you?”

At Harto’s question, the fox beastman opened his eyes slightly. He looked at Harto, barely moving his lips in a whisper. Harto nodded, then formed a small amount of water in his palm and let it slowly flow between the fox beastman’s parched lips.

The quiet gulp brought relief to Harto.

“You, you rascal…!”

But his relief was short-lived. The orc spotted Harto and screamed.

“…!”

The moment Harto saw the orc, he instinctively stretched out his tentacles.

Swish! Thud

“Huh, what…?!”

Harto panicked. He’d only meant to warn him a little, but in the blink of an eye, the orc flew far away.

Was it because of the spirit stone? Something strange was growing inside him. He could feel a surge of power much stronger than he’d ever imagined.

Anticipation overtook fear at the unfamiliar power.

“…With this much power, I can save everyone.”

Feeling confident, Harto raised his hand. He created a bundle of tentacles, stretching them out in all directions. Using them, he grabbed an iron bar that would have required three or four grown men to move.

“You, you monster…!”

At that moment, someone screamed and attacked Harto. They seemed to be trying to stab the slime mass with a long stick.

Without even blinking, Harto set fire to the end of the stick.

“Ugh, ugh!”

The flames raged in an instant. The man, terrified, threw down the stick and ran without looking back. Harto stared at the man’s back as he fled, then extinguished the flame.

“Everyone… where did they all escape to?”

Harto looked around. The screaming, panicked people had all but vanished.

“I need to find the exit… It’ll take too long if I move all of this by myself…”

Harto looked at the dozens of cages with a worried gaze. The locks on the cages were all unlocked, but the creatures inside seemed so weakened they couldn’t even break free.

‘Then let’s do this. I’ll get you out of there. But you have to promise me something.’

‘Promise?’

‘No matter what happens, you’ll save everyone here.’

Ser’s voice echoed in his head.

He promised Ser, he’d save everyone, not leaving anyone behind.

“Exit… exit…”

Harto slid along the wall, scanning his surroundings for an exit. Then, suddenly, he stopped.

“Ah.”

He then realized something.

“I can make the exit.”

Harto muttered softly and began clearing the debris around him. He pushed heavy shelves aside, cleared fallen tables, and tangled cargo, one by one. Gradually, the space in front of the wall became clearer.

“Phew.”

Harto took a deep breath and stood before the empty wall. He then inflated himself. In an instant, he transformed into a giant slime, clinging tightly to the wall. As he focused, covering the entire wall, the spirit stone in his hand glowed brighter and brighter.

Thud, thud, shhh

Immediately after, the hard stone crumbled and fell, gradually turning to sand and flowing down. A faint ray of light leaked through the gaping holes in the bricks.

The fox beastman, huddled inside the iron cage, breathing heavily, raised his head. Light shone into his eyes, his lids lifted. It wasn’t just the fox beastman. The spirits, monsters, and the countless other creatures trapped here, all raised their heads and gazed at the light.

Sand and dust scattered, and the wall completely collapsed. When Harto finally pulled away, he saw a large hole in the once solid wall.

Chirp– chirp–.

Beyond, the birdsong rang out clearly. The scent of the green forest and the cool breeze blew in, pushing away the hellish air. It was a peaceful scene, even though he had only broken through a single wall