Chapter 39. The Expedition Nears Its End (4)
At last, Shane finished his work, and Delilah completed her preparations as well.
Delilah, in particular, had realized many things through Raviata’s teachings.
This opportunity had allowed her to understand what she herself was truly capable of.
“Phew. This is making me nervous.”
Standing within the Mana Pattern Shane had drawn, Delilah wore a tense expression as she began communing with the earth beneath them.
Around her, the members of the expedition moved busily as they prepared for the battle that would undoubtedly follow.
Some among them were watching Shane and Delilah.
One of those people was Dominic.
‘This is not good.’
From the Imperial Family’s perspective, which needed to seize the Dragon Heart the moment an opportunity arose, the current situation was far from ideal.
First of all, this expedition had only been possible because of two people—
Shane and Raviata.
If the Imperial Family missed this opportunity, there was no telling when they would ever have another chance to obtain the Dragon Heart.
Furthermore, Dominic considered Shane himself an unstable element.
So far, Shane had shown no change in his attitude toward the Imperial Family, which gave Dominic some measure of reassurance.
But Harpe, whom Dominic had ordered to assassinate Shane, had never returned.
What if Shane’s current behavior was merely an act?
What if, after the expedition ended and they returned outside, he publicly revealed what had happened?
From Dominic’s perspective, Shane was no different from a bomb waiting to explode.
Worse still, Shane was supposedly engaged to Aneis, a member of the Judgment Knight Order.
If Dominic mishandled matters here, there was no telling what discussions might arise within the Imperial Family concerning Shane’s disposal.
The possibility was low, but if Shane went outside and publicly revealed Harpe’s assassination attempt, the Imperial Family might decide to cut off the tail.
For the sake of the dangers to come—and Dominic’s own standing within the Imperial Family—
Shane needed to be eliminated here.
‘This is difficult…….’
But just as Dominic feared, unlike before, opportunities to deal with Shane no longer appeared so easily.
Because Shane was attempting to modify the Mana Pattern, he had been exempted from night watch.
And he always worked in the center of the camp, where people were gathered around him.
The longer this continued, the more impatient Dominic became.
Still—
He had several cards left to play.
And Shane was fully aware of Dominic’s gaze.
—
After completing the final checks, the expedition gathered together in one place.
They did not know what awaited them in the central region.
Whatever it was, however, no one expected the matter to end peacefully.
Before long, faint blue light began flowing from beneath the Mana Pattern where the expedition stood.
The light gradually intensified until it surrounded everyone.
When the radiance reached its peak, Delilah, positioned at the center, began pouring her Mana into the Magic Circle Shane had drawn.
The blue light immediately transformed into a deep brown color, producing an intense wave of Mana.
Then—
As the light slowly faded, not a single person remained there.
—
“Huh?!”
When Delilah opened her eyes again, she could not hide her confusion.
She confirmed that the Magic Circle had activated properly and looked around.
The number of expedition members around her had noticeably decreased.
“What is this……?”
Delilah was not the only one bewildered.
Adam of the Kingdom of Hiel also realized that many members of the expedition were missing and looked toward Raviata as though demanding an explanation.
After Shane, Raviata had been the person most involved in modifying the Magic Circle.
Yet Raviata smiled as casually as ever, almost as though she had expected this.
“Do not panic. This isn’t the time for that. Can’t you feel it?”
“……!”
At her words, Adam’s Instinctive Perception began screaming warnings at him.
Hostility surrounded them from every direction.
“Knight Order of Hiel! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
As befitted a Knight Order representing an entire kingdom, they expertly drew their swords and prepared for combat.
Soon, they saw enemies approaching from the darkness, their eyes glowing eerily.
“Th-Those are……!”
Shock briefly crossed Adam’s face when he recognized the enemies.
Then it twisted into extreme rage.
“How dare you!!”
Killing Intent erupted around Adam as he roared.
Raviata also summoned flames around both fists and prepared to confront the approaching enemies.
Meanwhile—
They were not the only ones facing attackers.
When the Magic Circle activated and Klein, Aneis, Dominic, and the Lampert Adventurer Party opened their eyes, they too found enemies advancing toward them.
“You bastards!! What in the world are you?!”
Dominic swung his sword with fury much like Adam.
But upon seeing his opponents, he had no choice but to be overwhelmed by that emotion.
Because he knew exactly where the origins of these grotesque creatures had come from.
“Grrk…… Ghurgh.”
Familiar faces.
But the bodies connected beneath those faces were no longer human.
One creature crawled across the ground on eight grotesquely moving legs attached to the body of a larva.
Another possessed razor-sharp forelimbs resembling those of a mantis, along with insect wings.
But what truly horrified the expedition—
Was that their faces belonged to companions they had lost during the expedition.
Anyone could see the unmistakable traces of Chimera experiments combining humans and insects.
Even Dominic could not suppress his rage.
They might have temporarily joined hands with the Organization, but that did not give them the right to use the corpses of proud Imperial Guard Knights in such a manner.
‘They truly cannot be trusted!!’
Dominic had not remained idle while Shane worked on modifying the Magic Circle.
During that time, another Organization Member had visited him.
Dominic leaked information about the Magic Circle modification to him.
He had wanted nothing more than to cut off the Organization Member’s head.
But once again, he had endured it.
For the greater cause.
Perhaps luck had favored them.
The Organization had successfully interfered with the destination that formed the core of Shane’s modification, slightly distorting it and causing the expedition to split apart once again.
That much had gone according to plan.
What Dominic had never imagined, however—
Was that the corpses of knights killed by the Dark Elves due to the Organization’s own mistakes would reappear as Chimeras.
“Grrr…….”
How long had it been since Dominic had felt this furious after reaching old age?
Someone who noticed Dominic’s state shouted,
“Sir Dominic! You cannot keep fighting recklessly like this!”
“You are telling me to tolerate that?!”
Ilexa, leader of the Lampert Adventurer Party, had finally grasped the situation and shouted at him.
Dominic ground his teeth.
Yet contrary to his words, his mind quickly began cooling.
As expected of a seasoned veteran, he regained his composure rapidly and assessed the situation rationally.
‘Yes. I cannot allow this old man’s mistake to render your sacrifices meaningless.’
At last, Dominic lowered his sword and retreated behind the shields raised by the Lampert Adventurer Party.
He took a breath.
“Phew. My apologies. This old man allowed himself to become carried away.”
“……No. More importantly, how do you see the situation?”
“This is clearly not normal, Miss Ilexa. Do you see the creatures over there with identical faces?”
“Yes.”
Just as Dominic said, several of the Chimeras shared exactly the same faces.
It was not merely their faces.
Even the insect bodies extending below their necks possessed identical forms.
From that, Dominic extracted several clues.
“I once saw something similar while fighting Black Mages. It was somewhat different from this, but I suspect these creatures have some sort of parent body.”
“……You mean they reproduce?”
Ilexa’s expression stiffened.
Their grotesque appearance aside, every one of their attacks was dangerous.
“There is a high probability of it. Otherwise, I cannot think of another explanation for multiple creatures having identical faces.”
“Then continuing to fight them here would accomplish nothing.”
“That is probably correct. The others who were separated from us are likely facing similar circumstances……”
“Some of these Chimeras have the faces of people who died less than two weeks ago.”
“Good observation. Perhaps reproducing them in this manner is not particularly difficult.”
“What kind of organization possesses enough power to do something like this……?”
“…….”
Ilexa’s words struck Dominic’s chest like a dagger.
Indeed.
Perhaps the Imperial Family had underestimated their enemies far too much.
He did not know how long these Chimeras could remain alive.
But creating combat forces of this scale within such a short period was no small feat.
More importantly—
They had known perfectly well that the corpses belonged to Imperial Knights, yet they had still used them to create Chimeras.
That alone demonstrated just how lightly they regarded the Imperial Family.
“At least we are fortunate in one respect. Klein is with us, so I do not think we will lack combat strength.”
“This must be what they mean by finding fortune amid misfortune.”
Just as Ilexa said, Klein stood at the front with his Mana completely unleashed.
He silently swung his sword without showing the slightest sign of exhaustion.
Yet Klein’s expression was dark.
The reason was that he remembered what Shane had told him before the expedition was divided.
‘Klein. There will probably come a time when you and I are separated again. When that happens, do not panic. Prepare yourself for whatever threat approaches. I am more than capable of protecting myself. Do you understand?’
Shane had spoken as though he already knew something like this would happen.
That bothered Klein.
But Klein was not the only one whose expression had hardened.
Aneis, silently supporting Klein from beside him as she swung her sword, did not look particularly pleased either.
Rather than the enemies before her—
Dominic’s earlier words continued echoing through her mind.
‘What in the world are you?!’
Even in a situation like this—
Dominic had lied.
Aneis’s instincts told her that Dominic already knew the identity of their enemies when he shouted those words.
She wanted to run toward him immediately and demand to know what that lie meant.
But once again—
Aneis restrained herself.
Her justice still lacked the strength to expose that lie.
And so, as she always did, Aneis buried another question in a corner of her mind.
Another mass of doubt—
One that might explode at any moment.
—
The moment the light faded, Shane’s vision was filled by a sword wrapped in blue Aura.
But as though he had expected it—
A Layered Mana Bullet exploded directly in front of Shane and knocked the sword away.
“Ugh?!”
Perhaps the Imperial Knight had never imagined Shane would respond to the ambush.
He frowned and retreated.
Then he quickly cut apart the next Layered Mana Bullet flying toward him before asking Shane,
“How did you know?”
“…….”
Shane said nothing.
He merely looked around.
The other expedition members who had been visible before the Teleportation Mana Pattern activated were nowhere to be seen.
Only members of the Imperial Knight Order filled the area around him.
“How did I know……?”
Shane slowly addressed them with a mocking tone.
“That question is not even worth answering.”
And he meant it.
Shane had no reason to explain anything to them.
Given enough time, they would understand the answer on their own.
Whether they would be capable of accepting it—
Was another matter entirely.
