Chapter 117
A safety barrier was spread in one corner of Soderton's southern outskirts adjacent to the circulatory system.
Inside the barrier, hastily erected tents clustered together forming a village.
Eternia students who couldn't enter the circulatory system were killing time there. More than half were those who had formed plunderer groups.
With their prepared supplies plus plundered goods, there was no major inconvenience in living.
Rather, they were enjoying luxuries unfitting their situation.
But not a single person enjoyed it comfortably.
Most staying in the safety barrier were students who had ranked mid-to-upper tier during the entrance exam. These promising students found themselves unable to show any results even after passing half the practice period.
Abundant resources and streamlined team composition. They had prided themselves on having everything needed for a high ranking and considered themselves superior to other groups in every aspect.
But the circulatory system didn't accept them, played with them, and finally spat them out.
"This is crap."
"Hope they all fail."
Most of their daily routine consisted of blankly staring toward the circulatory system.
While hanging around like that, they could occasionally watch Planteras carrying nearly dead students to the safety barrier.
Someone pointed and said, "Here comes one, here comes one."
"A newcomer!"
And a group of Planteras returned to the safety barrier.
Everyone's attention focused there.
Welcoming fellow dropouts was their only pleasure.
Contrary to expectations, the Planteras brought only one person—Elias with lemon-colored hair.
"Ah, not much."
"About time someone came."
"Which group was she with?"
"Don't know."
Though it wasn't yet known which group she belonged to, with one person dropping out, there was a high chance her group members would be brought in one after another soon.
After having realized entrance exam grades didn't guarantee practice results, they were secretly waiting for the day the top-ranked students would be brought in.
When Elias was placed on the grass, those who knew her face approached to check on her.
She was in a state of panic.
"Sob, sob... scary... so scary..."
Though similar to the emotions of the other rejects, the vibe was subtly different.
Being toyed with by spirits, experiencing hallucinations or auditory hallucinations, suddenly losing strength.
The common emotion everyone experienced from the circulatory system was “fear”.
Though everyone got scared, until now no one had turned pale and wailed like Elias.
Female students gathered around Elias to comfort her.
With warm tea and blankets, and a reassuring campfire before her, only after a long while did Elias grasp her rationality. And finally, she began explaining what happened.
"A demon... a demon awoke. Everyone will die... We must leave the circulatory system immediately..."
Though most frowned thinking she was creating needless fear, they accepted the situation's seriousness after hearing the full story.
Her emotions weren't exaggerated.
"Even using all the Blue Soul Herb brought from Rigbed had no effect. So we tried to get it directly from the circulatory system... sob herbs that grow from corpses' bodies... So, so... we searched the western circulatory system area looking for animal corpses."
While wandering the circulatory system interior like that, Elias's group discovered unidentified obelisks.
"There were six wooden obelisks... two were already destroyed. Since they looked like grave markers... we thought it was an animal cemetery. Since two were already broken, we thought others had taken something first... So as if possessed by something, we destroyed one and dug beneath it. I still don't know why we did it. It really felt like something was controlling us."
Elias briefly covered her face with both hands and couldn't continue speaking. Her hands were stained with dirt and her nails were all bloody. It seemed she had frantically dug at the earth as she said.
After a while like that, Elias spoke again, "And... something awoke."
When they destroyed one obelisk, suddenly the remaining three turned black with corrosion like dominoes, and something incomprehensible broke its seal, awoke, and attacked the group.
"I don't remember well after that... Magic didn't work... swordsmanship didn't work. We kept running and something kept following us. And... and... when everyone was in danger, Victor, Victor lured them away alone and split off."
Elias had collapsed from exhaustion while fleeing alone and was fortunately found by Planteras and brought back, but she didn't know what happened to the remaining group members.
"Victor? That Victor was in your group?"
Everyone looked quite surprised at the fact they were helpless despite having Victor, ranked in the Combat Department's top five.
Soon after, the crowd who heard Elias' words began whispering among themselves.
"Isn't that the fantastical beast?"
"Honestly, I can't believe it."
"No wonder the professors suddenly left urgently."
"Is that why they told us not to leave the barrier?"
"The western circulatory system is where Sion went."
And someone asked Elias.
"Who were your group members?"
Elias spoke in a trembling voice.
"Victor... and... and... Matthias... also..."
Then, after one deep breath, she said the last name.
"Li… Lilith."
Several male students' faces turned pale upon hearing that name. They were those who had harbored secret affection for her.
***
"They seem to be forest spirits."
When I created distance, those strange spirits revealed themselves around Luna again.
She didn't seem to mind them either, holding and stroking them with a slight smile.
At the orphanage, young children would gather around the pretty nun asking her to do this and that. Somehow, this scene overlapped with that memory.
Luna seemed a bit embarrassed by my quiet observation and carefully asked, "Should I... ask them where the fantastical beast's territory is?"
"Good idea."
Luna spoke to the spirits in an unknown language.
The spirits suddenly started jumping, expressing something.
"They say we can't now because the fantastical beast... is in a weakened period. Apparently, this happens once every few years."
"If we can't, nothing to be done. Let's start moving again."
When she tried to stand, all the spirits clung and hung on her body. They seemed to be holding her back, asking her not to leave.
Luna made a troubled expression and sat back down to continue conversing.
"Yes.... Dangerous...? They say something dark is eating spirits so it's dangerous to go further."
I instantly became alert at the mention of danger.
"Can you ask them for more details about what's there?"
Luna shook her head.
"They say they don't know either."
The mention of something eating spirits bothered me. I had never once heard of such a creature living in the Soderton circulatory system.
"Does it eat humans too?"
Luna's expression suddenly hardened after asking the spirits. Then, she looked at me and nodded.
"Seems it doesn't discriminate against humans."
Trisha's image suddenly flashed through my mind.
Cecil's group had no one who could fight.
Will they be okay?
Is this how an older brother feels leaving his sister in another land?
Usually, I didn't think much about Trisha’s safety, but when something seemed dangerous all my attention focused on her.
"Tell them we can handle large lizard-like things. Of course, on the condition they guide us to the circulatory system's center."
Luna's expression gradually became serious as she translated my words to the forest spirits.
"They say it's a being different from the circulatory system's life forms..."
I got an ominous feeling.
"Can you find out where they came from?"
Luna nodded.
"The spirits will guide us. But they say not to go too deep."
I took out Cecil's special Stitch. Then, I wrote down the information we'd just learned and sent it flying.
Whatever it is, better I deal with it before it causes trouble for Trisha.
"Let's go."
***
Matthias and Lilith hid their battered bodies in a cave.
Lilith covered her face in despair.
"Victor... Victor..."
Lilith had witnessed with her own eyes the scene of Victor being attacked by black shadows after staying behind to protect his companions.
Matthias watched Lilith and said, "He'll be fine for sure. He's strong..."
She answered in a contemptuous voice broken with sobs, "I told you not to do it."
"..."
Lilith was the only one who had argued against touching the obelisks.
But the group members dug at the ground as if possessed by something.
"I don't know why I did it either. Something... something called. The Blue Soul Herb we got from Rigbed must have possessed us."
Only Lilith, who hadn't eaten the herb, maintained her rationality. Something had clearly controlled their minds. So it was difficult to blame anyone.
Lilith buried her face in her knees and sniffled.
Matthias approached her and tried to embrace her comfortingly.
But Lilith sensed his intention and pushed him away.
"Don't come close."
Rejected, Matthias clenched his teeth briefly as anger rose.
"I can't even offer encouragement?"
"..."
Thinking they might die soon, he poured out his rage heedlessly.
"If the professors don't find us first we'll die and everything ends anyway, so do you have to be so sensitive even in this situation? Huh?"
Lilith glared at him with reddened eyes and said, "I won't die. And when practice ends, everything between us is over forever."
Matthias's neck veins bulged.
"Don't act like that kind of crap. You're going to ignore all the devotion I've shown and cut things off as you please?"
"It was your promise, sniff. You said if I joined your team one last time, you wouldn't approach me afterward."
Though Matthias had worked hard to form a team with Lilith, she firmly refused. So Matthias insisted she repay him for all the gifts and errands he had provided, and finally drew her in on the condition of settling their relationship after granting his last request.
"You agreed because I said I'd bring Victor, right? Did you think that masked pervert would get jealous?"
"You brought him on your own. I never asked."
"Ah, damn it!"
Matthias shouted then paced around the cave for a while. Then, after briefly squeezing his eyes shut and opening them, he spoke after calming his excitement, "Haa, sorry. I got excited for a moment. We shouldn't be like this when we need to work together. If we overcome this hardship together... I believe our relationship could improve again."
Only then did Lilith sense she had been deceived. Matthias never intended to cut ties from the start.
"I don't want anything like that at all."
Matthias put his hand on her shoulder.
And as if he couldn't hear Lilith's words, he only spoke his own, "I'll... I'll protect you."