Chapter 125
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Chapter 125 "Why did you try to please someone you dislike? Are you a pervert?"
"I suppose so. It feels like love and hate mixed together."
As I replayed our earlier conversation, my chest tightened once more. Confronted with Yuanna's hidden side and the truth I never anticipated, I found myself utterly bewildered. Moreover, from just the exchange between Anata and Yuanna, I couldn't piece together all the Island's secrets. There remained unresolved questions. What was the connection between the Rohade Family, the Temple, and Jenath? And what was the Dimensional Door, and why did it exist? What was the 'Door' in Jenath's Cabin? Sssss— At that moment, Silver Earthworm, coiled quietly around my shoulder, flicked its tongue. The sensation brought me back to my senses. However, I immediately detected a strange smell at the tip of my nose. The memory of the stone wall being covered in Tentationem poisonous flowers came back to me belatedly. I held up the candle I was carrying to illuminate the wall beside the door. Just as I had seen in the hallucination, crimson flowers bloomed densely across the surface. Overwhelmed by the visual spectacle, I found myself holding my breath. In that instant, some of the yellow flower stamens entered my nose. I coughed involuntarily. Cough. With that, yellow pollen dust exploded from the flowers densely covering the wall. It was an enormous quantity of pollen.
"Damn it!"
I had suffered severe side effects from just a single flower that Rujeep had brought, and now there were so many flowers. I collapsed onto the ground. I had no idea how Yuanna had endured this place. My mind was already becoming hazy. My entire body burned with heat. 'This is unbearable.' It was on an entirely different scale from what I had experienced before. The pain that crashed over me was several times worse than what I had suffered then. My consciousness drifted away. No, rather than drifting, it felt as though I was losing my mind entirely. It felt as though all the blood in my body was drying up. My hands and feet trembled violently. I might have been having convulsions. Like scrap metal slowly melting in boiling lava, the relentless agony threatened to drive me to madness. I remained there in torment for a long while, barely clinging to a single thread of consciousness.
"So you were here?"
A familiar voice came from somewhere. It sounded like the voice of a young boy. I desperately reached toward the source of the voice. My fingers caught something like fabric.
"Help... me..."
Then I felt arms pulling me into an embrace. As skin touched skin, an intense thirst washed over me. Like a parched person gasping for water, I clung desperately to those arms.
"Just stay like this. Please..."
Physical contact alone was insufficient. I needed a more powerful stimulus. Otherwise, I felt as though I would die. If this was Tentationem addiction, it was entirely possible. I might truly die. Someone, please help me. * * * There is no such thing as crossing the Swamp 'safely'. Asdal and Yuanna had already failed and retreated several times attempting to traverse it. They wanted to find another route to the North Island, but with the Suspension Bridge severed, this was the only path available.
"We need to find another way. Without food, I can't muster any strength."
Asdal collapsed onto the dirt ground with a heavy sigh. His emaciated frame hung limp and powerless. He no longer had the strength to walk, nor even to speak. What good was knowing how to hunt? Neither he nor Yuanna knew how to butcher their prey.
"Is there no way?"
Yuanna murmured, her face bearing unmistakable signs of exhaustion. The woman who had always appeared composed now wore a dejected expression, her spirit visibly broken, and Asdal felt his own mood darken in response. The fate of Margaret and the others remained uncertain, and they were still unable to cross to the North Island. It was the worst possible situation. 'Margaret must be alive. She has to be.' As considerable time had passed, Asdal too began to lose his composure, growing increasingly anxious.
"The Swamp seems to have many trees. If we avoid touching the ground, we might be able to cross. Though that would hardly be easy either."
Unless the trees were densely packed together, moving from one to another would be an arduous task. Yuanna, who had been listening quietly, suddenly clapped her hands as if struck by inspiration.
"I have a good idea."
She then explained her plan. After hearing her explanation, Asdal had thought Yuanna was already somewhat mad, but now he realized she was far more thoroughly insane than he had imagined.
"You want to lure Monsters into the Swamp and use them as stepping stones to cross? Do you understand that's essentially suicide?"
"My life means nothing to me. I'll be the bait."
Yuanna spoke with unwavering resolve etched across her face. Asdal gazed at her with conflicted emotions. Though something about her remained suspicious, Yuanna had undeniably changed since Margaret's group fell into the River. She had become like a different person entirely. Did everyone on this Island transform into someone else? Margaret had, and now Yuanna as well... Asdal ran his hand through his hair and shook his head.
"If I abandon the Holy Maiden as bait and survive alone, I'll spend the rest of my life consumed by terrible guilt. I may be worthless, but I'm not fool enough to abandon my human dignity."
Asdal rose to his feet and adjusted his clothes. Then he turned to Yuanna and spoke.
"Explain to me exactly what you're planning. I'll cooperate." * * * Jenath hummed as he made his way toward the Bunker. He had already sown seeds of distrust among the remaining test subjects, so his work there was complete.
"Since this is the final experiment."
He needed to be thorough. Jenath murmured slowly as he walked with a light step. Now it was time to go observe what Margaret was doing. 'The last place I saw her was the Underground Passage.' Using the eyes of a rat-shaped Monster, he had already pinpointed her location. He had assumed she would enter through the main entrance, but he never expected her to use a passage he himself had long forgotten. Jenath burst into delighted laughter.
"This is quite entertaining."
This was the first time in a thousand years something like this had happened. A world from another dimension with peculiar objects and unique, diverse writing systems. He had attempted thousands of experiments to open the dimensional gate leading to that world. However, not a single person had ever successfully passed through a dimensional rift. I couldn't fathom how she arrived, where she came from, or what her original self had been like.
"Success is finally within reach."
I thought Margaret had too many ambiguous aspects to simply explain as a changed person. Yet it turned out she was from another dimension entirely. Margaret, who had spent a night at Jenath's Cabin, once asked him about the Bunker. Unlike other maps, the one she possessed bore the word "bunker" written in the script of another world. No one from the Empire would recognize it as the name of an underground storage facility. 'Surprisingly careless in some respects. How adorable.' With such thoughts, Jenath pushed through the dense undergrowth and ventured deeper into the mountain. Without the Cabin that moved by Anata's magic, he couldn't use magic himself. Having to move his body directly was proving to be quite the inconvenience. After clearing away the tangled branches and leaves, a flat stone wall covered in moss came into view. It didn't appear to be a door at first glance, but it bore a hidden handle. Jenath examined the keyhole carved into the handle, then retrieved a key from his pocket and unlocked the door with ease. What he discovered in the underground chamber was Margaret, collapsed upon Anata's magic circle. Hiss. A small, worthless serpent standing beside her bared its sharp fangs at him. It was a tiny snake with silver scales.
"Ah yes, you. I've been curious about you."
The small snake, clearly agitated, thrashed its tail against the ground repeatedly. Jenath folded his arms and fixed his gaze upon the creature. As his crimson eyes swept across it, the serpent flinched in alarm and shrank back. Then, growing timid, it circled around Margaret before burying its face against her shoulder.
"It is a Monster, certainly."
With other Monsters, I could see through their eyes, but this one was different—that's why it was impossible.
"It's been imprinted."
A Monster imprinting on a human—how unusual. Amusing. Margaret truly is entertaining. Jenath slowly knelt on one knee upon the magic circle where Margaret lay collapsed. Then, with a small hand, he brushed her hair aside.
"...hurts..."
Margaret's flushed face twisted in pain as she let out a pained moan. It was clear she had become addicted to Tentatiohem. Jenath quietly picked up a book that had fallen at her feet. Its cover bore the title "More Important Than Survival."
Until now, I hadn't understood why Anata had drawn a magic circle here, so I'd left it alone. But it seemed Margaret had discovered it and set something interesting in motion. As Jenath gazed at the book, he noticed the lingering traces of magical power wavering above the magic circle.
"The magic circle appears to have been activated."
If left as it was, someone else might steal the remaining magical power.
"I should absorb it instead."
He placed his hand upon the magic circle drawn beneath the collapsed Margaret. A blue light seeped forth from the geometric patterns. The light that emerged seeped into Jenath's hand. The crouching boy's body began to grow larger. Jenath, who had worn the body of a twelve-year-old boy, now took on the appearance of a young man in his late twenties. His pristine silver hair shimmered at his neck, and his sharp eyes—within which crimson pupils were set—slowly regained focus and gleamed coldly.
"Ahh. How refreshing."
My body is incomplete. That's why I must maintain the form of a child in my normal state to protect my physical vessel. In that state, even conversations of a certain level were burdensome to manage. Having absorbed the magical power inscribed in the circle and broken free from the seal, I could finally return to my adult form. Of course, the moment I exhaust all the absorbed magical energy, I'll shrink back down. Jenath gazed lazily at Margaret, stroking his chin as she writhed on the floor, releasing anguished moans in succession.
"Please... help me..."
She stretched out her hand and grasped his ankle desperately. Jenath watched her with curious eyes but made no move to assist.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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