Capítulo 74: Chapter 73
An unknown place.
The teleportation circle spit me out on some mountainous terrain I'd seen from the palace window, and without thinking of anything new, I simply walked forward.
Occasionally I came across small groves or swamps along the way, but in the distance I could clearly see a mountain range whose spires were covered in mist. From there, the water was clear and crystal-clear, and I could even see small fish jumping out of the water.
In addition to them I could see forest dwellers: deer, wolves, bears, and similar animals that one might find on Earth. However, some of them differed in size and coloring.
To summarize, the path I was walking along showed nature untouched by man. No roads, concrete buildings, piles of people and anything that could spoil the aesthetics.
The feeling that could be used to describe it all was tranquility. I would even call it, true tranquility. It's about the same feeling one gets when contemplating the traditional Japanese courtyard of a traditional Japanese house.
I took a deep breath of air soaked with the smell of fresh dew and began to think, still pacing nowhere.
Now that I had information about this world, I could focus on what was important. Zelretch hasn't given me a single clue, and the cause of the cataclysm could be anything at all.
It would be a good idea to talk to some Apostles to understand the situation, or better yet, to the gods of this world themselves. Maybe I should even try to study the Gate, since it's the most direct manifestation of 2nd magic.
Speaking of the Gate. It's odd that the local gods don't do anything with them. As Pina explained to me, they've been there for a month or so, and there's still no movement from the higher powers. The Empire's being run over by a rolling stone, after all.
Magic versus science, huh? Sounds like something trivial, but interesting at the same time. But here, given the concentration of mana in the air, the second adjective can be safely thrown out. Although, it's worth mentioning that I still don't know if Alaya or Gaia exist here.
I don't know how much time passed, but my musings were interrupted by a lurching sound, as if someone was either too tired or dying. Thinking that since I wasn't too busy at the moment, I headed in the direction of the sound. And I was greeted by a picture that one would see quite often. In manga, of course. And, more often than not, to create some sort of dramatic effect.
On a small lawn surrounded by tall trees, a man was lying face down on the ground. His once whole clothes of a linen shirt and pants had naturally turned to rags. Blood, which had already formed a small puddle beneath him, was dripping from his shoulder and head. Claw marks were visible on his back. Massive claws, as if they belonged to an animal the size of a man or even larger.
Three huge marks stretched from his neck right up to his tailbone, and the bleeding circle, clearly carved into his skin before the blow, formed some sort of ominous symbol with them.
Heh. Why do I feel like I've stumbled upon something important?
I slowly approached the barely breathing man and carefully turned him over. As it turned out, his face had taken quite a beating as well. His left eye socket was empty, his nose was broken, and there was a hematoma all over his right cheek.
- Help... me..." he mumbled, spitting up blood as I examined him.
- Where'd you get beat up like that? Don't tell me you wanted to fuck a dragon? A young one, too.
- P... please...
I was silent for a few seconds, then extended my free hand.
CLICK
A snap of fingers echoed across the lawn, interrupting all the sounds present. A moment later, the man was on his feet, his eyes frantically running from side to side. I could clearly hear his heart pounding loudly, and disbelief was his only emotion.
- What... How... am... I... alive...? And... healthy...? - He mumbled over and over again, examining his body, which showed no trace of any wounds.
- Hey. - I said in a calm tone and straightened up, to which the man flinched and fell to the ground shaking like a wasp leaf when he saw me.
- Did you save me? - pointing a finger at me, the man asked.
- Sort of. - I shrugged.
- W-who are you?
I don't know what came over me, but I wanted to play a little joke on the poor guy. I slowly put my hands behind my back, straightened my posture, and put on the most neutral smile I could muster.
- That depends on who you see in me.
- W-who do I see?
- I could be a demon that devours thousands of innocent souls every day.....
At those words, he really got scared, because I heard his teeth chattering.
- D-demon...?!
- ... or an angel that brings justice in this dark world.....
Now he froze, and there was a spark of hope in his eyes.
- A-angel...?!?!
- So, who do you see?
Heh. I wonder how Archer would have reacted when he saw this scene? He would have definitely realized what the reference was. Interesting, interesting.
- I... I..." the man stuttered, until at some point his eyes widened, "Please help! My village is under attack by some people! They are performing terrible rituals and sacrificing its inhabitants to someone! My wife, my daughters... they're still there and... and... and...
"Scary rituals"? "Sacrifice"? Aren't those the trappings of headline-grabbing cultists?
- Oh? And you don't care who I might be?
- It doesn't matter! If... if it saves the lives of my family... my village... I... I'm willing to give you my soul!
I raised an eyebrow.
Impressive. I haven't seen such selfless people in a long time. It's a shame not to help, eh?
My finger touched his forehead once more, and that gave me the location of his village. Along with that, pictures of what he'd been through popped into my head. And it made my face crinkle in disgust.
Even the most badass Nasuverse mages would be more humane. Definitely.
A magical circle lit up beneath me and the man, sending us into place. And when we arrived, I felt like throwing up.
It was as if the sunlight refused to penetrate the place, as if it deemed it dirty and unworthy.
All that remained of the six houses of this small village was a scorched skeleton. The inhabitants were locked in cages, and every one of them looked worse than the other: bruises, cuts, and even missing limbs. Their eyes were filled with a genuine fear and desperation I had never seen before, and tears and snot flowed uncontrollably from their faces.
The older ones covered the faces of the younger ones, trying to shield them from the horror that was happening in front of them.
In the village square, a giant magical circle burned bright red, with a battered girl of about seventeen years old lying in the center of it. Around the formation stood three men wrapped in full black cloaks reading some kind of spell, and their aura naturally disgusted me. Whether by sight or smell, it was like liquefied rotten blood. The circle itself was filled with writings unknown to me, separated by three lines joining in the center, and at the end of each of them stood a cultist.
I created a closed field around Tia so she wouldn't be affected by what was happening, and I myself activated my magic circuits to full strength.
This is complete bullshit... Complete and utter bullshit... How the hell can this really happen!
It's one thing to watch scenes like this through a screen while quietly sipping a drink and eating a burger, and quite another to see it live. You can't feel that level of fear and despair unless you're there in person.
- Aria?! No!" the man shouted and ran straight into the circle. His voice trembled and his throat choked - Not her!
The circle shone even brighter, and the volume of the cultists' voices increased. In the next moment, the three lines of the magic circle slowly opened up. They opened, for they turned into giant eyes, their pupils burning with the symbol carved on the back of the man I had healed.
In perfect synchrony with each other, all three eyes focused on the girl in the center of the circle. From their pupils slowly emerged creatures that looked like snakes, but without mouths or eyes. All they had was a mouth filled with sharp teeth of varying sizes and shapes that protruded ominously forward.
As the man I'd healed ran out into the square, a monster the size of a truck emerged from the shadow of one of the cultists. And it looked just like the snakes from the eyes, but with powerful legs and arms with glowing claws on its fingers. And on its back danced and intertwined long outgrowths with spikes on the ends.
The monster lunged toward the man, claws lunging forward, intent on taking the man's head off. At the same time, three snakes from its eyes came closer and closer to the body of the barely alive girl awaiting its demise.
I took a deep breath, and then clucked my tongue.
And then...
The entire space around me lit up with a bright flame.
-0-
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