STM 183

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣ ⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠“I heard you haven’t eaten in a while. Is the food not to your liking?”

Kilu’s voice, heard for the first time in several days, was as gentle as ever. As he spoke, he set a tray with an elegant plate down in front of Hoiga. It was a kind gesture, but Hoiga stared down at the plate with a pale face.

“I brought something delicious, so please try it. And I hope you’ll calm down. There’s some information I really need to hear from you.”

“…….”

“Sarne Castle has been attacked by Tairok. Unfortunately, Grand Duke Sarne fled without even mounting a proper counterattack. It’s truly disgraceful, but shouldn’t we still help? If we’re to stop Tairok, our enemy.”

“…….”

“It’s believed that Grand Duke Sarne has taken refuge in the vast Mungkun Valley. He’s probably headed for the door of the divine beast. After all, the divine beast is the only one he can trust until the very end. So tell me. Where exactly is the door?”

But Hoiga still didn’t react.

“Hoiga.”

As Hoiga’s shoulders trembled, Kilu smiled.

“Would you like to eat before you answer?”

Hoiga’s body began to shake even more. What was on the plate wasn’t food. It was filled with a writhing, black something.

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“Writhing?”

Tairok, seemingly unaware of what I was describing, asked seriously. “Yes,” I nodded and pointed with my hand to the upper part of the patient’s abdomen. The skin wasn’t transparent, yet to my eyes, I could see something black writhing beneath it.

“This is probably some kind of black magic tormenting the patient…”

“And?”

“It looks alive. And there’s not just one, there are several.”

That sent a chill down my spine. Upon hearing my explanation, the mother covered her mouth in shock, and the informant was just as horrified.

“Alive? Inside a human body? I’ve never heard of black magic like that.”

“I have.”

What? This time, I was the one who was horrified by Tairok’s reply. But it wasn’t the right moment to ask for an explanation. His gaze was murderous. The situation was dire.

“I think we need to remove that thing. Do you know how?”

“We have to pull it out.”

“How?”

“By cutting open the bo……”

“Cough!!”

I barely managed to cover up his nonsense with a cough.

“We can’t risk it exploding inside if we handle it the wrong way, so let’s find a way to deal with it without touching it directly. First, that spot looks like it’s near the stomach. If that’s the case… could it have been forced into his mouth?”

“Maybe.”

I don’t know what that thing is, but it’s scary. As I frowned, Tairok suggested something with a blank expression.

“There’s only one option left. If it went in through his mouth, we’ll have to make him vomit it.”

“B-but my son has already vomited blood several times.”

The mother, who had been listening from behind, spoke up in a trembling voice. Her pale face looked even worse than her son’s, yet she managed to stand there with her hands clenched tightly. I partly agreed with her.

“If it’s a living thing, it must have taken up residence inside him.”

“Why would it take up residence? Because it’s comfortable. Then we just need to make it uncomfortable. Make it crawl out because it can’t stand it.”

Tairok’s gaze shifted below my neck. To one of the keys I was wearing. Strangely, when I refilled Crystal Lake, the key had remained in my hand. I had been wearing it around my neck.

After all, this was the crystallization of the divine beast’s power, so there was no harm in trying what Tairok suggested. I took the key that fit perfectly in my hand and, before approaching the patient, informed his mother.

“It might not work.”

She was unable to speak, and nodded her head as hard as she could. It was the first time I’d ever seen such a desperate plea. I hope this works. Just as I thought that and brought the key closer.

The black form reacted. Look at that? It hadn’t even touched the skin yet. Worried it might retreat deeper inside, I deliberately pressed the key against the area just below his sternum.

I thought this might force it toward his throat. Then, a much more definite reaction appeared. It convulsed so violently that the skin bulged.

“Ah!”

The mother’s startled gasp rang out, but Tairok’s command immediately drowned it out.

“Hold him tight so he can’t move!”

The patient twisted his body and flailed his arms and legs to shake my hand off. The informant and his mother rushed in to restrain him, but his strength was so immense that my grip nearly slipped.

I kept my eyes on the black shape’s movements, trying to guide it upward, but it was no easy task given how fast it was moving.

Go up. Go up, please. Get out the way you came in!

“Gah! Ugh!”

Just as the patient was gasping in agony and twisting his body even more vigorously, the black form suddenly began retreating upward.

“It’s going up!”

Tairok grabbed the patient’s jaw and forced his mouth open, and in that instant, something black burst out of his mouth.

“Step back!”

At Tairok’s shout, the people scrambled backward, and something fell into the space they’d vacated. Clumps as thin as threads, drenched in blood. But upon closer inspection, they were writhing and alive. The informant’s horrified voice rang out behind me.

“Wo-worms?”

Damn it. Without thinking, I stepped back even further. They sprang up like coiled springs, trying to burrow into the bodies of new hosts.

But that final desperate struggle was halted by a shoe crashing down on them. Tairok stomped on the creatures with a blank expression.

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Worms as thin and long as threads. Yet they had countless legs like centipedes, and they writhed together as if they were a single entity.

“Eat up, come on.”

Hoiga pressed his trembling body closer to the wall and shook his head. Kilu’s eyes sparkled with delight, and he bared his teeth.

“Since you’re being so stubborn, I’ll have no choice but to share this food with someone else. Hey there!”

As Kilu called out to someone outside, soldiers dragged a man in and forced him to kneel on the floor. His entire body was covered in blood, as if he’d been tortured, but Kilu paid no heed and simply grabbed his jaw to pry his mouth open. Then he dumped the plateful of worms right into his mouth.

“Guh!”

The man tried to spit the worms out, but they vanished down his throat in an instant. A moment later, he began to writhe in agony and scream.

“The moment they enter a person’s body, they completely conceal themselves. No matter how skilled the healer or mage, they won’t be able to detect that those worms are inside a person. Naturally, they can’t be cured either. All the victim can do is writhe in agony and slowly die.”

Kilu explained gently, then asked Hoiga, who had turned deathly pale.

“Well, are you now willing to tell me where Grand Duke Sarne is?”

A moment later, having heard the answer he wanted, Kilu smiled and walked out of the prison.

Bang!

The iron door closed, but Hoiga was not alone. The man who had eaten the worms was left behind.

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“There are three prisons in total beneath the castle.”

The informant tapped the map of the castle with his finger.

“Prisoners are held here according to the severity of their crimes. I heard that a new prisoner was recently brought to this innermost cell. But unlike the others, he wasn’t tortured, he was simply locked up.”

The informant, who had begun spilling everything he knew to us, looked up and revealed one more thing.

“The one who personally transported this prisoner was none other than Duke Kilu.”

That explanation alone was enough to guess that the prisoner was Hoiga. But I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Why did he imprison him?”

“Because he’s no longer needed.”

Unlike his simple answer, Tairok looked at me seriously.

“I’ll go check it out on my own, so wait here.”

I didn’t mind his suggestion. My combat skills aren’t exactly top-notch, so it would be even worse if I tagged along and ended up being a burden. But I had a reason to go with him.

“If there’s any black magic involved, I’m the only one who can detect it. So.”

I replied while looking at Tairok.

“Just make sure to keep a close eye on me.”