Chapter 42: The Arena (5)

“Guests?”

A man with a cigarette in his mouth.

A lean frame, white coat, white gloves.

A familiar face.

The bishop leading the heretic remnants.

The second finger, Dexter.

A powerhouse among the heretics, unmatched in firepower.

Had he fled to the Knight Kingdom of Demisia?

Grrrrrr—

The magical beasts bared their teeth.

They didn’t charge recklessly.

As if they knew how strong he was.

The whimpering, feverish puppy couldn’t even open its eyes.

Hiss.

“You don’t seem like guests.”

The man lit his cigarette with a blood-red flame, frowning.

“Considering you’ve done this to my precious business partner.”

“…Dexter.”

Don Quixote, bound tightly in threads like a cocoon dangling in the air.

He glared at Dexter, barely gasping for breath.

Dexter glanced at Don Quixote and smirked.

“You look pathetic, Don Quixote.”

“…This is your fault, Dexter.”

“Why blame me? You’re the one who screwed up.”

“That drug you made!”

Don Quixote shouted, struggling.

“It didn’t work at all!”

“…”

Dexter froze, mid-motion, about to put the cigarette to his lips.

As if time had stopped, a suffocating silence fell.

Only Dexter’s eyes rolled sharply.

“What did you say?”

“That drug you made… that so-called Grace or whatever… it didn’t work! Because of that guy!”

Don Quixote’s hands were long bound in the cocoon.

He gestured toward Evan with his whole body.

“Dammit, what did you sell me?! You took my money and gave me that cheap garbage—”

Hiss!

“Aaaargh!”

“Noisy.”

Dexter ground the cigarette, frowning.

His eyes were filled with displeasure.

Even a faint trace of disgust.

“You dare blaspheme against the divine?”

“Guh, gghhh…!”

Sizzle—

Dexter stubbed out the cigarette and spat on the ground.

“I graciously bestowed Grace upon you, who only used filthy demon spittle, and you dare doubt it?”

“Dammit… it… didn’t work…”

“Hah! What a ridiculous excuse.”

Dexter turned.

“No. 11! Get out here now!”

Krr, krrk.

The beast called No. 11 flinched.

It seemed to be their usual test subject.

Instinctively, it moved to lunge forward but forcibly held its legs back.

The beast didn’t move.

Realizing there was no compulsion, it even stepped back.

“…Hah?”

Finally understanding the drug truly didn’t work, Dexter glared at Evan’s group.

In the dark underground, unlit by any light.

Dexter’s eyes burned red, as if aflame.

“You dare ruin my precious merchandise?”

“…Merchandise?”

“I was going to sell them for a fortune. Or drain their blood. And you ruined it?”

These bastards. Dexter’s mouth twisted.

Tick—!

At the same time, Dexter snapped his fingers, still holding the cigarette.

FWOOSH!

Screeeech!

“I’ll burn you all right here.”

The underground began to glow with flames, heat rising.

The second finger, Dexter.

A pyromancer who used ‘blood’ as fuel.

Consuming blood instead of mana, he could wield divine power to heal himself.

“…Tch!”

Lapis grimaced.

As a thread manipulator, fire was a tough opponent.

Threads were weak to flames.

Well, there were ways around that.

She’d learn quickly if taught.

The problem is, staying here could mean suffocating.

This was an underground sealed chamber.

They could choke on the smoke if this dragged on.

Gotta end this quick.

Gulp!

Hah, I can do this!

Finish it before the flames touched her skin.

They said burns were the most painful, right?

Left nasty scars too.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down.

Not out of fear, of course.

Just a bit hot.

“Evan.”

Aegis stepped forward.

She was clearly furious.

Her eyes glinted with a fierce light.

“I’ll handle this.”

“What, a mage? If it’s water magic, you’d better not bother.”

Dexter sneered, making the flames burn brighter.

“My flames aren’t ordinary.”

“You talk too much.”

Aegis’s eyes began to glow.

The mark of mana activation.

“Evan, I’ll show you here. The power of the Alchemist’s Tower.”

“Shut up!”

Dexter roared, launching flames at Aegis.

The fire, writhing like a dragon, was about to hit—

Clap!

Aegis clapped her hands.

At the same time, hiss!

The incoming flames vanished.

Not doused with water.

They evaporated, as if never there.

“…!”

Dexter’s eyes widened.

He hurriedly conjured more flames, but this time Aegis didn’t even clap.

Hiss!

The flames went out.

Dexter frantically bit his finger.

Drip, blood welled up.

Each droplet floated, turning into fireballs.

[Fire Spear]

Fourth-tier magic, Fire Spear.

Not one, but three, each larger than the last.

Aegis clapped again, expressionless.

As if blown away by a gust, whoosh! The Fire Spears evaporated.

“W-What…”

“Even if it burns with blood as fuel, it’s still fire.”

Aegis snapped her fingers tick, tick.

“Remove the conditions for combustion, and what can you do?”

“…!”

Oh!

Evan understood what she’d done.

She used decomposition to eliminate combustion conditions.

As expected of a skilled alchemist.

No wonder she was a named character.

A prodigy.

Guess I’m just average after all.

“Tch!”

Realizing his mistake too late, Dexter tried to touch the ground, but Aegis was faster.

Clap! Thud!

Aegis clapped and touched the ground.

A blue light flashed, an explosion of brilliance.

Bright enough to blind Dexter momentarily.

“Aaaargh!”

Dexter screamed.

Subduing him wasn’t difficult.

Crack! Swish!

The nearby cage was thoroughly [Decomposed] and [Reconstructed], wrapping around him like ropes, binding him tightly.

Dexter, barely regaining his sight, grimaced.

“What kind of monstrous woman is this… Where did you come from, mage?”

“Mage? Please. I’m an alchemist.”

“…What? An alchemist?”

Alchemist.

Dexter’s voice grew oddly quiet.

As if he were scared.

“…Wait. No way?”

Dexter’s eyes widened.

He forced out more blood, letting it absorb into his eyes.

Restoring his vision.

His refocused eyes met Evan’s.

“…!!!!”

Dexter’s body jerked violently, as if he’d seen a ghost.

Evan felt a bit offended by the reaction.

What’s with him?

“E-Evan Alkart! W-Why are you here?”

Dexter, trembling shakily, tried to back away.

Realizing he was bound, he thrashed wildly to escape.

“N-No way. Did you chase me all the way here?”

Huh?

“Dammit! Wasn’t it enough to manipulate Arthur to hunt us down? You came to kill me yourself? In this far-off kingdom?”

No.

Before Evan could protest his innocence, he felt two gazes on him.

Aegis and the Oracle.

Both staring in shock.

No.

I’m not that kind of guy.

No!!

Before he could explain, Dexter started begging.

“P-Please, spare me. Please spare me.”

“…”

“I-I’m completely done with the bishop! I’m a different kind! Y-Yeah! If you want Lake, I’ll give you anything. Test subjects? Sacrifices? Name it!”

“…”

“It was a joke! I didn’t know it was your drug! I just… it just happened…”

Ugh, so unhelpful.

Evan was starting to get annoyed.

Even with his ocean-wide heart as a true man, this was too much.

A slight irritation welled up.

He could probably beat Dexter, so maybe he’d vent a bit.

“If I want that, can you give it to me?”

“…!”

Dexter’s face paled, drained of color.

Evan felt a rush of satisfaction.

Phew!

That’s the stuff.

“S-Spare… urk!”

“Lapis, bind him.”

“Yes! Should I kill him?”

Hmm, kill him?

Nah.

That’s a bit much.

“…Just subdue him. Completely.”

“Got it!”

He’d be useful somehow.

Hand him to Arthur, the Saintess, or Gyeonbaek.

Swish, swish!

Dexter’s bound body was wrapped in layers of thread.

Even his muscles were pinned tightly.

A wad of thread stuffed his mouth, securing his tongue.

Tick, tick.

The lights that had gone out came back on.

The chamber lit up again.

Don Quixote and Dexter, tightly bound, were shoved into a corner.

I’ll deal with them later.

Oh, right. I forgot to ask where the kidnappers are.

But that wasn’t the priority now.

Gulp!

…Now.

Evan swallowed hard under the staring gazes.

“…Evan. What’s all this about?”

Aegis looked at him with disbelief.

“You manipulated Arthur, the mad paladin, didn’t you? He’s the only one who hunts heretics like that. You controlled him?”

“…It’s a misunderstanding.”

“I can accept you chased him here… but the drug that addicted the beasts was yours?”

Well…

How to explain this?

It wasn’t even a drug to begin with.

Its original effect was different.

It was supposed to be an antidote…

Time to explain.

As Evan opened his mouth—

“Elder Aegis.”

The Oracle spoke, her soft tone soothing Aegis.

“Please, calm down.”

“…I’m not worked up. I’m just asking. Making drugs… it’s a ‘taboo’ among us.”

Evan knew.

Having seen the end of an alchemist, how could he not?

“Explain clearly, Evan. As an elder, I have a duty to know.”

“I didn’t make a drug.”

Evan explained calmly.

Too much detail would be excessive, so he summarized the key points.

“What I made was an antidote… but it seems to have worked differently on beasts.”

“…An antidote?”

“I made it to counter drugs, but it only worked on humans. On beasts, it seems to have had a different effect. Or maybe it was altered.”

“Then why did he say you made it?”

“…To frame me, perhaps?”

“Frame you?”

“Evan’s super famous in the underworld!”

Lapis chimed in from the side.

“They say his alias is suuuper scary too!”

“I only worked in the underworld because of His Grace. I hate criminals.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re not gonna tell me your alias, right?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Evan spoke with as blank a face as possible.

“It’s embarrassing.”

“…Oh, got it. I don’t like my old alias either. So why’s the heretic involved?”

Now it was pure curiosity.

The misunderstanding seemed cleared.

Did I survive?

“…It was a coincidence. I saw a child being experimented on by heretics and stepped in to stop it. That’s all.”

Lapis nodded vigorously beside him.

With a witness, Aegis fully dropped her suspicions.

I’m saved!

His alias stayed hidden.

A nickname born from layers of misunderstandings—he didn’t even want to look at it.

Gotta get rid of these guys quick.

Evan shook his head.

Then his eyes met the Oracle’s, and she gave a small smile.

The opposite of her earlier demeanor.

What’s that about?

Did her affection level spike too high?

Evan rubbed his face awkwardly.

The cramp still hadn’t eased.

…As expected.

The Oracle stared intently at Evan.

Even in this suspicious situation, his face remained expressionless.

She was certain.

Evan had deliberately orchestrated this situation.