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Chapter 139

“Move aside.”

“I don’t think you should see this, sir....”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

Finally, Philip lowered his shield and stepped aside. Ian took in the dim interior.

A stench that could make one\'s nose fall off pierced Ian. Slime mixed with excrement and blood was all over the place, and bones were scattered around. Beyond that, rotting chunks of corpses were piled up, a mixture of humans and beasts. This must be what Philip had sighed at.

And beyond that, small and large red eyes gleamed. Ian calmly surveyed the wary gazes.

“....”

The first thing he saw were a few large hybrid goblins. They were pressed against the wall, baring their teeth with pieces of meat stuck between them, growling. Their bellies were unnaturally swollen. Around them, there were even smaller ones, looking as if they had just been born.

So this is a sort of hatchery.

Ian, considering this, glanced back at the goblins with swollen bellies. It was because he sensed the magic of the void.

What he confirmed with Magic Detection was apparently the magic these creatures emitted. Come to think of it, there were no features to distinguish their gender, and rather, they were very large and muscular. This matched exactly with the characteristics of the chieftains Ian had faced. He naturally assumed they were all males.

Could it be that the chieftain too...?

It was a nauseating hypothesis as much as the sight before him. As Ian clicked his tongue, Philip whispered quietly.

“Are you looking for something, sir?”

“No. It doesn\'t seem like it.”

“Then I\'ll take care of it now.”

“Can you use that holy power you were using again?” Ian asked, turning around. He saw Mev and Charlotte approaching.

Philip replied. “You saw it, sir. It\'s the grace contained in the relic. Unfortunately, I won\'t be able to use it properly for the next few days.”

“Then just follow me.”

“Excuse me...?”

As Ian started to walk, Philip widened his eyes.

“Sir, do you not trust me?”

I’m saying you might die.

Ian ignored him and signaled to Charlotte. She nodded as she passed Ian. Charlotte, who had approached the hatchery, looked at Philip.

“It\'s not that I disregard you, but mothers protecting their offspring are stronger than usual. Leave it to me.”

“...Yes.” Philip, having no choice, turned away.

Charlotte, already covered in blood, placed her battle ax aside and drew her fang sword and dagger.

Ian, looking at her, added. “These can mutate. Keep that in mind.”

Nodding, Charlotte gripped the dagger and stepped into the hatchery. She slowly closed the door that Philip had opened. The gleaming orange eyes disappeared between the door cracks.

As Ian walked away, goblin screams and the sound of things breaking followed.

“What did you see to make that face?” Mev asked, glancing at the noisy hatchery.

Ian replied. “Female goblins and their young. And corpses.”

“Ah.”

“It was a sight to haunt my dreams. The corpses weren\'t cut with a knife. They were torn apart by hand. And those big ones\' bellies were so swollen....” Philip muttered in a gloomy voice behind them.

Mev responded nonchalantly. “Even if they\'ve mutated, it seems their basic traits haven\'t changed. Just like I read in the old manual.”

“...Manual?”

“I told you to read it once, but you never did. According to it, female goblins are larger and stronger. It must be to endure childbirth. Their gestation period is short, and they can give birth to five to ten at a time. The largest and strongest female becomes the leader.”

“Fuck....”

“Hmm? What did you say, Ian?”

“Nothing.” Ian shook his head and moved on.

He didn’t want to think about it anymore. His steps soon halted in front of a cabin. Faint magic was seeping out from inside.

“This doesn\'t seem to be the place....” As Ian muttered, Philip walked forward with firm strides.

Perhaps because of the earlier scene, he took a deep breath as if bracing himself, and kicked the door open.

“Ugh... as expected....” Philip clicked his tongue at the ensuing stench and momentarily frowned before stepping inside.

Ian, following behind, also frowned slightly. There was no altar here either. Instead, a more horrific sight awaited.

Naked men, bound and scattered, lay across the straw-covered floor. Some were missing an arm or leg, others had lost both. Where their eyes should have been was empty, and purple-tinged veins throbbed around the eye sockets. They were left like animals, soaked in contaminated magic.

“This is... could it be....”

Even for a battle-hardened holy knight and squire, the sight was nauseating. Philip, his face pale, looked back at Ian and Mev.

“Is it what I think it is?”

“...It seems so. I did find it strange. Even for mutated goblins, using magic and speaking seemed implausible. But if they have human blood mixed in....”

“It’s unbelievable. How could monsters... and humans... this....”

“It’s possible in the demonic realm. It operates under different laws than the outside. Perhaps here, everything can be grafted together.” Ian added nonchalantly.

“Then those females... damn... Lu Solar....” Philip began to recite a prayer.

Meanwhile, unwanted and revolting thoughts flashed through Ian\'s mind. Thoughts he didn’t need to voice, such as why there were only men here.

“Ugh... Ugh...!”

At that moment, the men began to twitch. The purple veins on their faces became more pronounced, and they wailed or cried. It seemed they had completely lost their sanity due to the contaminated magic. For them, that might have been a blessing.

“...I will give them peace. You two should go.” Having finished his prayer, Philip spoke.

He was gripping his sword so tightly it seemed it would shatter. Seeing his resolute back, Ian turned without another word. Mev quietly followed beside him and spoke only after they had completely left the building.

“The future of the frontier worries me. By the time the war ends, it might be covered in cursed and maddened land. By then, no one will be the victor.”

It already seems that way.

Even as he thought this, Ian only shrugged. There was no need to douse her genuine concern with negativity.

“When we reach the Empire, I\'ll send a letter to the Great Church of the Order. I\'ll inform them in detail of what I\'ve seen and experienced.”

“....”

When Ian looked back, Mev quickly added.

“Don\'t worry. Your name won\'t be mentioned in the letter.”

“That’s not why I looked at you.”

The Order already knows my name anyway.

“Then?”

“The Order didn’t send reinforcements when the wraith legion invaded the north. They only sent a survey team after everything was over.”

In response to Ian’s indifferent words, a faint sigh came from behind Mev’s faceplate. It was the sound she made when she smiled.

“You were worried I’d be disappointed. Don’t worry. I don’t have high expectations either. But at least a letter from a paladin will make them aware of the threat to the frontier.”

“...If you say so.”

At that moment, a few hybrid goblins appeared. Beside them, beasts resembling a mix of dogs and boars barked. Their eyes glowed with purple magic.

It looks like we\'ve come to the right place.

Thinking this, Ian looked at the wooden house beyond the creatures. Just staring at it gave him an uneasy feeling.

“I’ll handle these. You focus on finding the core of the demonic realm.” Mev said, leaping forward.

The hybrid goblins and beasts rushed at her as if they had been waiting. Each time her sword flashed, they fell, scattering fluids. But it wasn’t over. The fallen ones began to mutate, writhing on the ground.

Ian added as he moved forward. “It would be better to fight together.”

“I can handle it alone. Philip and Charlotte will join soon.”

Mev, slicing down a goblin rushing to protect its mutating kin, pointed to the door.

“Go inside. Quickly.”

They’re all eager to keep me out of harm\'s way.

Thinking this, Ian walked toward the door without protest. It was better if she didn’t see what he intended to do inside anyway.

Clack.

Ian closed the door behind him. The sounds of screams and shouts continued outside the door, but he calmly scanned the interior.

The furniture was in disarray. The wooden planks were cracked. In one corner of the floor, a secret door leading underground lay wide open.

“Was a corrupted one hiding here...?” Muttering, Ian descended the stairs, convinced he had come to the right place.

With a whoosh, a flame flew from his hand, igniting the torches along the walls. The light revealed the underground space.

It was a fairly large basement. It wasn’t something one person could have dug alone. In front of a wall finished with stacked stones, a dusty desk came into view first. Ian glanced over the haphazardly scattered books and scoffed.

“...A dark mage, huh.”

He tossed the open book into his pocket dimension and turned. A faint purple light shimmered from beyond. As Ian approached, he soon saw the source.

At the deepest part of the basement, human bones were stacked to form an altar. Kneeling on top was a skeleton clad in a rotted robe. Yet it was not crumbling. Its bony hands were raised in worship. In the middle of its hands was a skull. It was undoubtedly its own, as its shoulder was empty.

A lettering, large and glowing purple, was etched onto the forehead of the skull. Even Ian couldn\'t understand the word. Just staring at it made his vision turn red, and terrible hallucinations flashed through his mind. Unintelligible whispers echoed in his ears.

Of course, it wasn\'t enough to corrupt Ian\'s mind.

Is it the dark mages and their followers...?

Thinking nothing of it, Ian stopped in front of the altar. Destroying the skull would end the quest. But Ian sheathed his Meteoric Dagger. From experience, he knew that touching this script would trigger an event exclusive to the corrupted. The reason the quest didn’t appear was because he wasn’t corrupted.

Is it worth it?

He hesitated briefly because he had too few remaining ability points. Encountering an entity capable of collapsing his mind would be risky. But it was a manageable risk.

Chaos fragments were an invaluable resource for someone with limited magic power. Additionally, he might receive additional ability points as a reward for this unknown quest.

Most importantly, he was on the verge of leveling up.

“Whew.”

Having made up his mind, Ian exhaled and reached out his hand. The purple light deepened, and the hallucinations and whispers became clearer.

The moment his fingertips touched the skull.

Boom!

A purple flash covered his vision, and the world turned upside down. In an instant, all his senses blurred.

No matter how many times I experienced this, I could never get used to it.

Just as he muttered this to himself, his vision brightened again.

The void shimmered with purple light. It was similar to what he had seen in the past, but it was a much deeper abyss. And beyond that, something enormous floated. It looked like an unrealistically large flower bud.

As soon as he thought that, the bud began to open. It was only then that Ian realized it was made up of countless hands or hand-like tentacles. And from the middle of the pitch-black, rippling body, numerous purple lights blossomed. It was right after that he realized each of them was an eye gleaming with light.

Damn it...

He couldn\'t help but inwardly sigh. Whatever it was, it had clearly noticed him. The eyes brightened. Unintelligible whispers burrowed into his mind. It was likely the thoughts of that entity. Simultaneously, primal fear surged.

Ian struggled to maintain his sanity. He told himself that this vision wouldn\'t last long. If he could endure a moment, he would return to reality.

But it wasn\'t easy. Like crushing an ant with a finger, the overwhelming thoughts tried to crush his consciousness.

The purple light flickered below as his sanity nearly broke. The purple light that covered his vision disappeared, replaced by darkness. The whispers subsided, and silence came.

His vision then widened. Ian finally took in the purple light flickering below. And the enormous, indescribable thing rising from it. The reason his vision darkened was because that entity blocked his view.

What is this...?

As he tried to perceive the entity, everything turned into a dot and receded. Just as quickly as the world had flipped, all his senses returned.

“Phew... phew...” Ian panted as he sat down.

With a crunch, the skull shattered, and the altar collapsed. In the middle of the bone pile, he just caught his breath. The vision and the soul-crushing whispers still lingered vividly.

What was that...?

The quest completion notifications followed one after another. As expected, it wasn\'t just one.

[The Altar of Twisted Chaos.]

And the [Watchers of the Void.]

Of course, that was a quest he had never received.

Watchers? What, are they watching me?

In any case, there were gains. As a quest reward, he received experience points and an additional point in Mental Fortitude. Leveling up was a bonus. It was his second level up since reality had changed.

“Ian...! Are you alright?!”

Before he could finish organizing his thoughts, a rough hand lifted him up with a desperate gasp. It was Mev. Though her face was hidden behind a visor, her eyes were surely wide open.

How long has she been watching?

As he pondered, Mev sighed again after checking his face.

“You\'re not alright. Don\'t blink. You\'re bleeding.”

“....”

Only then did Ian realize he was bleeding from his eyes, nose, and mouth. But what surprised him more was Mev\'s reaction.

“That was reckless. You could have died.”

“Did you see it all?”

“You mean the moment you grasped the core? Yes. I saw everything, even the disappearance of the void’s power.”

And yet you’re so calm...?

Mev, noticing his gaze, asked. “Why do you look at me like that?”

“You seem unfazed.”

A low laugh came from behind the visor.

“There must be a reason. If I were to question something...”

Mev, who had firmly supported his shoulders, looked back at him.

“I would be curious about what kind of mage you should be called.”

“....”

Finally, a faint chuckle escaped Ian.

Right, there are so many strange things that it’s easier to accept them.

Mev pulled him along. “Let’s get out of here. The core is destroyed, and Philip and Charlotte are waiting outside.”

“Has everyone regrouped?”

“Yes. That’s why I came down.”

“Then let’s call Philip.”

“Philip? Why?”

“This is a dark mage’s lab. We should check if there’s anything useful.”

Mev looked at Ian in slight disbelief before starting to walk out.

“...Alright. Let’s call him down.”