Chapter 45
Leaf's interesting science experiment show, free for today only!
Although, wouldn’t it be magic instead of science if we consider the norms of this world?
Anyway.
The meaning gets across, so let's move on.
Before my eyes, Leaf's compassion was being revealed as selective love.
Where had the Leaf, who gently closed the eyes of our tragically deceased classmates and washed their remains, gone?
No, now that I think about it, she left the psychopath alone even back then.
Leaf had surprisingly clear boundaries.
Either way, Leaf's experiments were quite brutal.
Starting with testing whether it could withstand her strongest attack, the ultra-high-pressure Water Jet, the experiments gradually escalated until she was testing how long the mutant Bugbear could survive underwater.
"Wow... fascinating. Roman, look at this. It's grown gills."
At Leaf's words, I temporarily paused my search of the Bugbear's lair to approach her.
There really was the mutant Bugbear, trapped in a water prison, breathing through gills.
"Is this thing real?"
A Bugbear, somewhere between a bear and a goblin.
Evolved from that into a mutant with a lion-like head and a massive humanoid skeleton.
Add to that the bone-like protrusions that formed while fighting me, and now gills—the grotesqueness was no joke.
It had an appearance that seemed to scream it shouldn't exist.
"Right? I wonder if it's not a Bugbear at all but a completely different species? Like a mimicking monster?"
That might be it.
Or the hypothesis that it was infected with a symbiote that modified its host seemed plausible too.
Y’all know what I’m referencing, but If you don’t, here’s a hint… Black asexual alien organism that fuses with its host. [Vassal Bear here, by “asexual,” I’m talking about asexual reproduction, not people who lack sexual attraction.]
"But why can't it evolve to adapt to Roman's magic?"
Rei, who had been searching the other side of the lair, had approached at some point and pressed her face close to the water prison as she spoke.
"T-that's dangerous—I mean, be careful, Rei."
"It's fine. It can't do anything while properly marinated in Roman's mana. If it could overcome that, it would've done so when I was hitting it."
Rei's question was spot on.
I'd been thinking about that point a lot too.
This mutant adapted and changed to various environments and attacks.
It sprouted spine-like protrusions from its neck down to its tail to shake me off when I clung to its back.
It developed gills when trapped in Leaf's water prison.
The level of these changes was so extreme it seemed like it was becoming an entirely different creature.
So why can't it adapt to Leraje's mana and Exhaustion?
[Why ponder the obvious? It's because it's my mana.]
Surprisingly, it was a plausible argument.
Devils were higher-dimensional beings.
Moreover, Leraje, holding the title of Great Marquis, was particularly high-ranking, even among Devils.
Even this mutant couldn't adapt to that power.
Let's verify.
There happened to be a good method.
"Leaf, release it. I'll try something this time."
"Ah, right. I was using it for too long, wasn't I?"
“Using it,” she says.
Her word choice clearly showed she thought of it more as a test subject or training tool than an actual monster.
When Leaf reverse-summoned Undine and dispersed the water prison, the mutant face-planted onto the ground.
Did I feel sympathy for that sight…? Hell no.
It's karma.
The bones we found while searching this place proved that the earlier slaughter ritual wasn't the first.
If one kills people, one should be prepared for death.
That was the truth of this world.
Setting aside any pangs of conscience, I prepared a Magic Bullet.
This time with Lady Seir's mana instead of Leraje's.
Cross-verification.
A Magic Bullet formed purely from concentrated mana without Exhaustion hit the mutant's hide before it could properly evolve.
One isn't enough?
I fired Magic Bullet repeatedly.
Until its hide was torn and the flesh beneath was pulverized and bleeding.
"This confirms it."
Looking at the mutant that couldn't even heal, let alone adapt and evolve, I concluded.
"This thing can't adapt to Devil power."
The special nature of Leraje's mana.
In other words, even without its toxicity or the use of Exhaustion, it couldn't adapt to Devil mana.
[Heh, but is this not obvious, my pact-bearer?]
True. If it works for Great Marquis Leraje, it would be nonsense if it didn't work for Lady Seir, a Duchess.
[Exactly!]
Despite not being clearly visible to me, I couldn't help but picture Seir in my mind with her arms crossed, chest puffed out, and her chin raised with a triumphant smile.
"Um, Roman?"
"Yeah?"
"I think… it died?"
"Huh?"
I put my finger to the mutant's nose.
I couldn't feel it breathing.
"...It's dead."
"Actually, it held out quite long. The wounds you made didn't heal at all. It probably died from blood loss."
I'm the culprit?
Well, would you look at that?
"It's not some god or anything, it must have limits. Maybe it ran out of whatever power fueled its evolution?"
"Didn't you just say yourself that it couldn't adapt to a Devil’s mana?"
Fighting with facts is so underhanded.
Fight me fair and square with propaganda and fabrication!
"There was no guarantee how long it would live anyway. Leaf and I beat it up plenty too."
"...I didn't beat it like Rei did."
"High-pressure water probably hurts more than fists."
I agree with that.
Honestly, while Rei's martial arts background made her strikes seem more powerful due to the impact, in terms of pure power, Leaf's was higher.
Whatever the reason, dead is dead.
Since it can't be undone, we should focus on what we can do now.
"If there’s nothing else to do, let’s take its corpse."
I wondered if we could get it back before it rotted.
§
Jake arrived at the Main Base after running non-stop with only minimal sleep.
He'd never run with all his might like this before.
Even the messenger who ran 240km in two days to request reinforcements couldn't have been faster than Jake.
Not satisfied with even that, Jake had entrusted his two subordinates to an Explorer he knew along the way and continued alone.
Upon reaching the Main Base, Jake headed straight to the Exploration Union instead of resting.
While the City Guard's security force managed the Main Base, the Exploration Union was better suited for quickly mobilizing a small elite force.
Unlike the City Guard, which required identity verification, the Union knew Jake, allowing for faster processing.
"Mr. Jake?"
As Jake calculated, the Union staff recognized him at a glance despite his disheveled state.
"Support, huff, haah, reinforcements..."
"Calm down. First, water. Start with water. Please explain the situation from the beginning."
The staff's response was quick and clearly used to such situations.
After moistening his throat and catching his breath, Jake spoke, "Near Edge Windmill, a Bugbear mutant has appeared. Combat strength is upper-middle to high-rank for extermination. Top tier on the First Floor. Even I was caught off guard and taken down."
"You, Mr. Jake?"
Jake ranked in the upper-middle tier among Seniors.
His selection for the Fourth Floor expedition wasn't due to connections or bribes.
If Jake was taken down, it was fair to say none of the Explorers who mainly operated on the First Floor could handle it.
"...This is serious. I'll report to the Branch Director immediately and dispatch personnel."
"The Branch Director?"
"Currently away from their post..."
"There's no time for that!"
Jake raised his voice, ignoring his throat pain, "Three apprentices are still there! They said they'd buy time! If we're to recover even their remains..."
"Wait. Three apprentices at Edge Windmill?"
Jake glared unpleasantly at the person who interrupted when time was already precious.
Curly red hair like burning flames.
And a brown-haired young man and a taller woman with gray-black hair flanking her.
Jake had heard of this trio's combination.
The Alexandria School Head's daughter and the two promising newcomers closest to her.
Come to think of it, they were exam takers too.
They wore the badges given to those who just passed the exam and became official Explorers.
"This isn't a matter for Novices to..."
"Those three."
Now who?
Jake turned his head at the new voice.
"A Devil Sorcerer, Spirit Summoner, and Battle Mage combination? With a beast-folk mixed in?"
"...Spirit Summoner? Seemed more like an Elemental Mage. They did use water. More importantly, are you... perhaps?"
"If you're asking if I'm the Grand Duchess, yes, that's me."
The Alexandria School's famous trio, and even the Grand Duchess?
Just who were those people...
"If it's Edge Village, I happen to know the way. It's accurate—I just confirmed it at the Signpost Tree. Let's depart immediately."
"I'm telling you this isn't a job for Novices... Thousand Blade?"
A Pioneer's direct disciple.
Frontier Guild's next-generation figurehead.
Even Jake, who rarely paid attention to matters outside the Abyss, knew the face of Arthur, who was said to have already surpassed Novice level and possessed skills ranging from top Regular to lower Senior.
Who were these people that could make such individuals move so actively, without a moment's hesitation, taking their participation as a given?
As Jake was blinking in bewilderment at this incomprehensible development...
"What's this? Everyone's here. Don't tell me we're last?"
A voice he hadn't expected to hear again,
Shouldn't hear.
Couldn't possibly hear… was heard.
But upon hearing that voice, Jake's questions were completely resolved.
Ah, I must be dreaming right now.
I must have passed out without realizing it, having already reached my physical limit.
Thinking that made everything easier for Jake.
And then Jake really did pass out.