Chapter 39 : Conception (2)

The monster, a grotesque fusion of human flesh, the black skin tissue of a Sarkas, and traces of Osteon, writhed and screamed violently.

“Carne, get up.”

Yuri untied the ropes binding Carne and shook her awake.

“Umm… what, what’s happening?”

Carne’s eyes widened as she saw the monstrous creature writhing before her.

“Eek…! What is that…?!”

“Let’s get to Saya’s side. Hurry!”

“Yuri!”

As Yuri and Carne ran toward us, the creature swung a tentacle-like arm at them.

Yuri drew her sword and sliced through it with ease.

While they ran, two new arms began to grow from the severed stump of the monster.

“Crazy… what did he drink to turn into that?”

I asked Yuri.

“I don’t know. One thing’s certain—when I cut it, it felt different from a Sarkas. It was harder, somehow.”

Yuri wiped the dark purple blood from her blade.

“Can you run, Saya?”

At Yuri’s question, I glanced at Luna, who was leaning heavily on me.

“…No. We can manage on our own, but carrying Luna and running is impossible.”

If I moved Luna any further, the poison would undoubtedly spread through her body in an instant.

If we used intermediate magic like last time, we might be able to end this quickly.

“Is there anyone who can use magic right now?”

“…No, Saya. All three of us have Sarkas blood in our bodies. It’s impossible.”

“Damn it, and this time I even have a catalyst…”

Carne, looking around in confusion, asked, “What do you mean, you can’t use magic…?”

“If Sarkas blood mixes into your body, magic won’t work. You were hit too, weren’t you?”

Yuri interjected, looking at Carne. “…No, Saya. Carne was sleeping with her eyes closed.”

“…What?”

Another tentacle lashed out, and Yuri sliced through it with her sword.

Carne, startled, trembled and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Carne. Use any magic—anything!”

At my urging, Carne closed her eyes tightly and began reciting a summoning spell.

“…Angati!”

With a puff of smoke, a humanoid Osteon appeared. A gear-like ring rotated around its lower body, resembling a dress.

As Yuri had said, Carne had been sleeping with her eyes closed, so the blood hadn’t entered her system.

Yuri and I exchanged a glance and nodded.

I handed the catalysts to Carne and said, “Carne, bind its movements with intermediate nature-type magic. We’ll finish it in the meantime.”

It seemed the monster’s form wasn’t yet complete, so we might be able to deal with it before it fully took shape.

“What…? I’ve never learned intermediate magic like that…!”

“Use Gigantic Vine. The incantation is: Osteon of the earth, with the wrath of nature, entangle all things. It’ll work like this.”

“…Ah, okay.”

Both of them looked at me, wondering how I knew that, but the situation was too urgent to worry about trivialities.

“I’ll leave it to you, Carne!”

“Wait, what?!”

Yuri and I cut through the flying tentacles, trying to get closer to the monster.

I fired a bloodstone arrow from my crossbow, but it bounced off harmlessly.

“We have to finish it before it fully forms. Not yet, Carne…?!”

“Wait! I’m trying…!”

Yuri sliced through the grotesque tentacles wrapping around her ankles.

Though the monster seemed mindless, it instinctively protected its core, resisting more fiercely the closer we got.

“Stay calm… Phew…”

Carne, clutching the catalyst, began chanting.

“O Osteon of the earth, with the wrath of nature, entangle all things…!”

As she placed her hand on the ground, massive tree vines erupted, wrapping around the monster’s body.

Gigantic Vine—an intermediate nature-type spell that ensnares the target with enormous, thorny vines.

The vines bound the monster’s arms and legs.

“…This.”

However, Carne’s magical talent wasn’t exceptional, and the vines weren’t strong enough to fully restrain the creature.

She realized this and shouted, “It’s no use! The power’s too weak…!”

The monster thrashed even more violently, breaking free of the vines.

“It’s okay, Carne! We can amplify the power with the Osteon!”

The reason Spirit Masters are so superior in magical ability is their Osteons.

Magic cast by a Spirit Master can be amplified by their Osteon, effectively doubling their power.

Except in uncontrollable cases like Daengdaengi, having an Osteon is like having a second caster.

“I’ll leave it to you, Angati.”

At Carne’s request, her Osteon emitted a vibrating sound and cast the spell.

Another bundle of massive vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around the monster’s torso.

The creature’s skin tissue wasn’t fully formed, revealing its red Sarkas core.

“Let’s finish this, Saya.”

With Yuri covering me, I rushed forward and plunged my dagger deep into the monster’s core.

“Kyaaaaaak!”

A horrifying scream, a mix of a baby’s cry and a monster’s roar, echoed through the air.

The writhing tentacles stopped moving and collapsed to the ground.

“…What a monstrous thing.”

Julius, who had abandoned his humanity in his final moments, had become this abomination.

I fought back nausea as I pulled the dagger from its body.

“…Something’s off, Saya.”

“What is it?”

Yuri, lowering her guard, approached and examined the corpse.

“Sarkas usually oxidize when they die, but why is the corpse still here…?”

As she poked the corpse with her sword, her eyes widened, and she shoved me away.

“Get back, Saya…!”

“Huh?!”

On the back of the corpse, another core glowed blue.

As soon as it was exposed, the core began to heat up and vibrate.

“Self-destruct…?”

It happened in an instant.

The core, resonating with Julius’s former fire attribute, generated intense flames and exploded.

Yuri, who had pushed me out of harm’s way, was caught in the blast and thrown back.

“Freesia…!”

Carne and I ran to her, lying motionless on the ground.

One arm, which had shielded her face, was severely burned, and her chest, directly hit by the explosion, was charred black.

Even as a Sarkas-Osteon hybrid, it self-destructed its core to kill Yuri, aiming precisely for her heart…

“Yuri…?”

I shook her shoulder, but there was no response.

“Could it be…”

I pressed my ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat.

“……….”

Nothing.

Yuri’s heart had stopped.

“…How is she, Saya?”

“…Her heart’s not beating.”

Carne sat down, stunned.

Instinctively, I began chest compressions.

No way.

Yuri Freesia, who had survived even a Master Sarkas, couldn’t die like this.

Such an ending shouldn’t happen—no one would want it.

I breathed into her mouth and desperately pressed on her chest.

But no matter how many times I repeated it, she showed no signs of life.

Ding.

[Quest Failed.]

[Penalty Granted: Death of Yuri Freesia]

“Shut up…!”

I swiped away the quest window angrily.

“Damn it…”

Because she had pushed me away, she’d taken the full force of the explosion.

The relentless rain pounded my back.

I refused to give up and kept performing CPR.

“…Saya.”

Luna’s weak voice reached me.

“Luna?”

“…Help me up.”

Luna, lying on the ground clutching her side, barely lifted her head.

“Move me in front of Yuri.”

As she requested, I supported her shoulders and positioned her in front of Yuri.

Luna focused, gripping one wrist with her other hand, and placed her palm over Yuri’s heart.

“What are you going to do…?”

“There’s something I can try. I don’t know if it’ll work…”

She gathered electricity and released it into Yuri’s heart in a sudden burst. Yuri’s body jolted.

I checked her heartbeat again, but there was still nothing.

“…One more time.”

Luna channeled stronger electricity, but Yuri’s heart remained still.

“…Saya.”

Luna looked at me hesitantly.

“I have one more shot at maximum output. But if this fails…”

“It’s okay. Do it.”

At my answer, Luna nodded and adjusted her posture.

“…There might be some scars, Miss Freesia.”

Bright electricity gathered in her hand, and with a crackling sound, it surged into Yuri’s chest.

“….”

After the electricity faded, I listened carefully for a heartbeat.

At the faint but steady thump, I looked at Luna with relief.

“…She’s alive. You saved her, Luna!

“…That’s… really… I’m glad…”

Luna, her strength spent, collapsed against my shoulder.

“Luna? Wake up…!”

In my panic, I hadn’t noticed how critical Luna’s condition was.

“Both of them are in bad shape. Can you carry Yuri, Carne?”

I hoisted Luna onto my back and turned to Carne.

But she had fainted at some point.

“…Carne?”

Had the hypnosis broken when she witnessed the explosion?

If the recoil from the hypnosis breaking had knocked her out, the timing couldn’t be worse.

Luna was dying from the poison, and Yuri, though alive, couldn’t be left in the rain.

“Ugh…”

As I struggled to carry both of them, a heavy mechanical sound came from behind.

“…Angati!”

Fortunately, even though Carne had fainted, her Osteon was still summoned.

Using the Osteon’s strength would be far faster than moving them myself.

“Angati. Take these two to the academy. I’ll carry your owner, so don’t worry.”

Angati seemed to understand. It silently picked up Luna and Yuri and leaped into the air.

Carne’s Osteon would take them to the infirmary, leaving me to carry Carne down the mountain.

I just hoped they’d be safe.

“…Carne.”

I called her name as I carried her on my back, but there was no response.

Had the hypnosis really broken?

There was no way to know until she woke up.

“Umm…”

“…!”

Carne stirred on my back, so I turned my head to look at her.

“Are you feeling better, Carne?”

She stared at me silently, then whispered in a small voice.

“Mom.”

“…Huh?”

“Mommy… Huaang…”

And then, she burst into tears.

What kind of situation is this now?

I’m going crazy.