Volume 1 – Following the Maze Drawn With Lines of Blood
Mary and Cutie felt relieved now that the fighting was over.
Before long, they heard the voice of a young girl from afar.
“Heeey, sis! Cutie!”
“Ami, and……”
“Isn’t that limping girl Calaria!?”
Calaria could not move and was being held up by Ami.
Her maid outfit was heavily stained with red blood.
Her eyes were slightly open, so she seemed to be alive.
Ami was about to push Calaria’s body onto Cutie, but she hesitated after looking at her wounds.
“No need to be weirdly careful, she’s not going to die.”
“O-Okay, thanks!”
Ami was a little confused but she handed Calaria over to Cutie.
Cutie held Calaria, who was bigger than herself.
(Her body temperature is low…… She’s in a dangerous condition.)
Calaria’s breathing was shallow, and her consciousness was dim, so she did not react even when her chest was pushed against Cutie’s face.
The warmth of Cutie’s mana surrounded Calaria.
But her body rejected the mana – it would take more time until her injuries could heal fully.
Then, Mary got closer to Cutie and crouched before speaking up with worry in her voice.
“Miss. Cutie, will you really be okay? Your injuries seem quite bad too.”
“I learned a secret trick like an arcana user, so it’ll be okay.”
“A secret trick……?”
Mary looked over at Cutie’s injuries with a question mark above her head.
She saw an open wound.
But her eyes opened wide after she looked at it for a while.
“Whoa!?”
“I transformed the wound into an animal. I found out that my power can transform my own body into animals too. Rather, maybe I became able to do that. Oh, that’s an octopus, by the way.”
“……Doesn’t it hurt?”
“It’s taking care of itself, for now. I don’t want to think about what will happen after this.”
It was not an act of medical treatment.
Rather, the wound kept opening up as it moved on its own will.
As for the wings on her back also, someone who can use healing magic would be desirable if Cutie was going to erase them.
“So, why is Calaria so deeply wounded?”
“I don’t know. I just saw her on the ground in a garden I was passing by.”
“Who was Miss. Calaria fighting?”
“Probably an arcana user. It looked like they had a personal connection.”
A personal connection with Calaria. The name Mary thought of when she heard that was Magician.
A half-hearted arcana user could not have injured Calaria.
An enemy strong enough to bring Calaria to her knees, who was still hiding in town.
Realizing this fact made Mary tense up again after she he had calmed down earlier.
“Hey, sis, I fought an angel too!”
“That monster!? And you’re not even that hurt, you’re really strong!”
Mary pat Ami on the head after saying that.
Ami squinted her eyes with pleasure after receiving the reward she was waiting for.
“Nehehe…… He was pretty strong, but my Wheel of Fortune was stronger!”
“Ami, do you know who that angel was?”
“Some big shot of the army, he said his name was Defale.”
“General Defale……? So he’s fallen into the enemy’s hands too.”
“How did he look?”
“Hmm, he didn’t look happy. He said some stuff about not wanting to die like that.”
“……Yeah. I bet. He’s a comrade of Dugan who has been going after the same dream as him for a long time.”
“If their leader Dugan is destroyed, then everyone else will follow in succession……”
“If Defale and Platy turned into those things, Dugan probably turned into an angel too.”
Cutie sighed deeply.
“I guess we won’t make it in time if we go after them now. He told me he’d escape right away if he was in any danger, but……”
“What are you talking about?”
“……My father.”
Mary opened her eyes wide after Cutie spoke with unease.
“Did Mr. Noted join the attack!? I never heard about that!”
“He wanted to talk with Dugan no matter what. He probably didn’t tell anyone else because you’d stop him.”
“Obviously! I’ll go to him right now!”
Mary stood up and looked at the direction of the estate where the entry point was supposed to be hidden.
“I’ll go too, sis!”
Ami jumped up and down and raised her hand, but Mary patted her on the head again and gently warned her.
“Please stay here Ami. There is still a hostile arcana user around, so it’d be dangerous to leave these two wounded alone.”
“Uuh…… Okay, I’ll stay.”
“Good girl. I’m counting on you, Ami.”
“Mhm, I got it!”
Mary was used to handling Ami’s emotions now, which were quickly climbing to the top.
“Sorry, and thank you Mary.”
“Miss. Cutie, I’m leaving Miss. Calaria in your hands.”
“Good luck, sis!”
Ami sent Mary off with a cheerful voice, and Mary left the three behind.
She headed for the planned entry spot of the hideout.
She struck the ground with her bones, sometimes jumping up even higher than buildings, and headed for her destination in a straight line.
◇◇◇
There were numerous escape routes in the underground hideout Dugan was hiding in.
It was difficult to find them as they were all hidden skillfully.
Even if one found a door by coincidence, there would be a dead end ahead of it – it was not so simple to reach the hideout.
The facility was based on Majoram’s technologies and made to prevent any intrusion.
But, naturally, the leader of Majoram could ignore any such security.
Noted opened every door by simply raising the hand of his powered suit.
Of course, the sorcery gun installations did not work either.
Even if Dugan had set up personal defense systems, none of them would be able to break through a new model powered suit.
Noted, along with his bodyguards in tow, entered a hidden passageway from a certain aristocrat’s mansion in its storehouse.
He arrived at the hideout in just a few minutes.
The underground hideout was as spacious as one floor of an average aristocratic estate in Captis.
It had a pantry and armory, and was built to be able to withstand various emergencies.
Noted’s guards checked every room.
But they were all empty.
They did find one strange room where many men with the same face were sleeping on beds next to each other, but they did not move, even after they were hit, shook, or shot.
The guards destroyed their heads just for the sake of caution, and left them as they were.
And finally, they headed towards the library built for Dugan.
This room was a surprise from Noted.
It was built to resemble Dugan’s own library and make him feel at home even when he was in the hideout.
Of course, the windows were different as this room was underground, but Dugan was very surprised when he was first shown the room.
(It was so many years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.)
He clenched his fist in his powered suit.
The sorcery rifle installed on the back of his hand glittered, as if waiting for the moment it would take Dugan’s life.
Noted took a deep breath, raised his hand and opened the door.
Dugan did not run or hide, and was just sitting on a chair at the center of the room with a book in his hand.
“Dugan. I feel like we haven’t seen each other for a very long time.”
“Really? It feels to me like not even one day has passed.”
Unexpectedly, he gave a proper reply.
Noted was sure that Dugan was going to be controlled by someone and unable to talk, so he was surprised.
“Can I ask why you did this?”
“……Who knows?”
Dugan did not even look at Noted’s face, and his gaze wandered around the empty space.
“Please don’t evade the question.”
“That’s not my intention. I don’t have anything to hide from a friend like you.”
“Then tell me!”
“I don’t know. What am I? What happened to me? I remember talking to Henry. I was myself until then. But, on that day, something happened.”
“So you are controlled by the king……”
“Controlled?”
He looked at Noted for the first time.
But the light was gone from his eyes, and he did not look sane at all.
“You’re wrong, Noted. This isn’t like that. Do you know what this book I’m holding is?”
Dugan showed his friend the book he had been reading during all his time here.
“A novel……?”
“That’s right, it’s a best-selling novel named ‘For the Sake of This Beautiful World’. It’s written by an author named Stella Grann. A very popular author not just in the kingdom, but also overseas. I don’t often read fictitious stories like this, so I just wanted to try it out.”
“Dugan, why is that novel so important?”
“The composition…… It’s delicate. So fine, so much attention to detail, it’s like each sentence permeates into your mind. Yes, it filled in the gaps. Humans are creatures full of gaps, and this book filled them up like a nematode. It filled them full. That’s when I noticed something.”
He did not even blink once while talking.
His pupils faced Dugan, and he continued speaking.
“Where are the gaps? Is it me, is it an emptiness? Before I knew it, yes, I noticed that I was empty. In the end, I’ll probably turn into nothing. No, not even nothing, because there is not even going to be an empty space left. More like ‘something without a name’. It can’t be helped. It can’t be helped, I’m sorry for my crimes 16 years ago. I’m sorry. It’s my fault, so is that why I can’t do anything? Couldn’t I? Really? I mean, my son, Romiiiro, ro, ro? Who? I don’t know, because I’m empty. Yes, the emptiness is painted black, so I don’t know where I am. Tell me, No…… Nooo? Who are you? Who…… Who are you!? Why!? Why are you in my personal space!? This is my castle, my place alone! It’s weird! Leave! Leave! Leeeeaaaaave!”
After becoming talkative, he suddenly became upset and shouted while scratching his face.
He looked like a drug addict, and Noted could do nothing but express words of lamentation.
“Dugan…… Yeah, I see, you’re already……”
Then, he gave up on it all, and instructed his guards.
“Shoot.”
The guards in powered suits stepped out in front, held up rifles other than the ones installed on their arms, and fired.
“Who are yoouuu!? Aaah! Who are you peeeooople!? You, me, who!?”
The whites of Dugan’s eyes showed after he was shot by the tranquilizer guns and he collapsed to the ground.
A man approached him and confirmed that he lost consciousness.
“The target is silent. Looks like he’s sound asleep.”
“Alright, let’s take him to the office first. We’ll probably have to use a truth serum……”
However……
“Uh…… Ugh…… Gah, agh……”
They thought Dugan was asleep, but he moved again.
His eyes were still closed and his body seemed to be wriggling around on its own without his volition.
His skin started to gradually bulge out from the inside.
“Crap, it’s an angel. Get back, everyone! This is out of our hands now!”
“But president, we have to capture Dugan!”
“Just run alre-”
Dugan’s mouth opened wide and a strip of flesh other than his tongue grew out of it.
It twined around the guard’s ankle and easily crushed his bones.
“Ugh, uaaaaagh!”
The man shouted, and the tongue pulled the man in when he lost his strength.
“Ah, aaaaaah! Help! Heeeeeelp!”
The powered suit was slowly swallowed by the lump of flesh.
Noted and the others grieved for the man’s death, but quickly turned their backs and ran.
Two guards were left alive.
The three rushed towards the hideout’s exit after activating the boosters behind them.
Their bodies slightly floated upwards and they went through the dark passageway without pause.
They heard the sound of a wall being destroyed some distance away.
Noted peeked behind and saw the mass of flesh that was not recognizable as Dugan any more chasing them.
Its height reached the ceiling, and it was approaching at terrifying speed.
Panic started to show on Noted’s face when he noticed that the powered suits could not go faster than it.
“It’s like a flood of flesh.”
The wet sound of flesh echoed throughout the cylindrical path with no place for it to escape.
One of the guards running parallel to Noted looked back.
Then he turned his arms towards Dugan and fired both sorcery rifles.
“Stop! Stooooop!”
The bullet pierced its flesh and spilled its blood, and its speed faintly slowed down.
But it was not enough to grant Noted and the guards any rest.
The few seconds this earned did not mean much for the lives of the guards.
“Don’t push it, just think about running!”
“I can do it! I’ll stop it! Uaaaaaaaah – ah!”
Right after Noted shouted, the tentacle pierced the guard’s powered suit.
He was then swallowed by the mass of flesh, and activated a certain feature at the moment of his death.
“Long live Majoram.”
The guard smiled as he exploded along with his powered suit.
The flames painted the corridor red and the resulting explosive blast blew Noted and the other guard away.
This messed up their balance, but the two sped up thanks to it.
It was temporary, but they managed to stop the mass of flesh for a moment.
But Dugan’s body continued to swell.
Noted and the other guard returned to their original pace, and the game of tag continued with the chaser in the superior position.
They could see the light coming from the entrance far away.
They were definitely closing in on their goal, and all they could do now was to pray that Dugan could not reach them.
But, the mass of flesh entered their range again and extended its tentacle.
“Tsch, looks like that’s it for me. I shouldn’t have acted cool and said I wanted to join the attack unit!”
She spoke loudly to distract herself from her fear.
It was a female member of the Liberation Front who was saved by Mary and the others many times.
The tip of the tentacle touched her back.
It slid and moved to her arms and grabbed them, and the guard saw something white coming fast straight at them.
“A bone?”
A sharp claw cut the tentacle when Noted realized where it came from.
Then, it grabbed him and the female member, and pulled them towards the exit at once.
“Me too!? Uaaaaaagh!?”
They saw Mary standing where they were pulled towards.
“We’re getting out of here, but I can’t guarantee a comfy ride!”
She confirmed that the two were alive, and started running for the exit while holding them in her arm which grew from her back.
She ran fast while her white and black dress fluttered, faster than the other two wearing powered suits.
The mass of flesh could not keep up and fell further behind, and Mary jumped outside.
She flew for a dozen meters before landing on the ground.
“Thanks, Princess Mary.”
“I thought I was dead…… Thanks, princess.”
“Mr. Noted, you went too far. And you, Liberation Front member, it seems like we’re destined to keep meeting each other.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t even tell you my name.”
After a few seconds, the red mass of flesh came out of the exit behind Mary.
Its mass kept increasing after Mary and the others escaped.
It loudly screamed while shaking the ground and destroying the buildings above ground.
“I’ll just ask to make sure, that’s Dugan, right?”
“……Yeah.”
It was still unbelievable for Mary.
She looked up to Dugan, who had grown as big as a mountain, and gulped.