༺ Chieftain (2) ༻
If one were aware of Yuria Greyhounder’s identity, the question, ‘Why does this woman always have someone around her?’ would immediately come to their minds.
Probably, the most accurate impression they had on her was that they barely saw her alone.
But, if that person knew that she harbored two existences that could cause cataclysms, they would freak out when they saw her by herself.
She was a walking human time bomb; One that carried two uncontrollable entities within her.
And…
Faenol Lipek knew this better than anyone else.
Mages affiliated with the Heretic Inquisition received an almost disgusting amount of detailed information about Devils and their Vessels. This was only natural, as it was their lifelong duty to purify the world of those things.
As such, it wasn’t a surprise for them to be educated to the bone about those things’ danger and evil nature.
Not to mention that in her case…
She didn’t even need formal education; She could actually ‘sense’ those things herself.
“…”
Faenol closed her eyes and suppressed the ‘aura’ she felt within her own heart.
Both Lady Tristan and Yuria, both of them were having a hard time because they didn’t know the identity of ‘this’ existence. However…
She was more than aware of what kind of existence it was.
Dreadfully so. To the point that it made her sick.
“You went out of your way looking for me.”
She looked towards the other person with a grin.
As Faenol began to talk, across from her, Yuria nodded with a gloomy expression.
The other woman had laid her heart bare, saying that she came here without even telling the Saintess, the person who played the role of her guardian.
She even told Faenol the reason why she came looking for her.
“…I think Mr. Dowd hates me.”
The tone of her mumble was so depressing to the point that one would shrink in despair by just listening to it.
It was a reaction that could easily be inferred after hearing all of Yuria’s stories.
This woman was extremely sensitive to the favor of others, especially because she had lived alone for a considerable amount of time.
It was even more so since she harbored the ‘White Devil’, whose trigger to going berserk lies in these kinds of issues.
“…”
Faenol raised the teacup she had taken out without saying a single word.
Every little move of that man named Dowd was truly laughable. From her perspective, what he had done was nothing more than clowning around. A farce.
The absurdity of his action could be seen from what he had done to Yuria. He was just making an excuse, like your usual playboy.
However…
“Of course. There will never be a case where you regret my assistance.”
Faenol could not afford to lose out on that man called Dowd.
Even if it was because of ‘this thing’ slumbering in her heart.
Regardless of how ridiculous these Devil’s Vessels might seem because of how easily they get swayed by his absurd words, she could not let her true feelings be noticeable.
Even if she had to use everything and anything….
That man had to be kept within her ‘clutches’.
“For now…”
As such…
What she had to do now was use this windfall she received to the fullest.
The first step in doing so was…
“Shall we start by taking off your clothes?”
“…My clothes?”
“Yes. All of it.”
Yuria’s expression distorted scandalously.
Come to think of it…
After I showed off Eleanor’s existence, the extent of Tatiana’s threat and pressure was severely limited.
Although it wasn’t my intention, it seemed like, through that, I had put strong pressure on her instead.
‘Thanks to that, I’ve gained quite a bit of leeway and time.’
This was also the reason why I was windingly roaming around right now, trying to leave Imprints on the Sea Serpent, a different Demonic Creature in the Volcanic Zone, and then another Demonic Creature during the period of the Hunter’s Night.
Considering the Main Quests so far, the speed of progression was practically at a crawling pace.
And, as always….
This damn world I had came to kept on trying to fuck me over.
There was no way it would allow me to progress so easily.
As proof of that, there was this person right in front of me, the Chieftain of the Tribal Alliance himself.
“…”
Nauseating.
That was the first thought I had.
And…
Even on my way here, I felt that something was strange…
“Why did you not bring Riru Garda and Kasa Garda?”
“…Would you bring them if you were in my position, Chief Priest?”
Starting from the reaction she showed when I came here alone after handing over Riru to Eleanor.
It would be quite troublesome if Riru, who harbored the Blue Devil of Wrath, went berserk after getting involved in this bitch’s imperceivable wicked schemes. As such, I decided to come alone and leave her with Eleanor, so that Tatiana could not easily mess with her.
But still…
“…Well, it doesn’t matter. Those two are more like a ‘hobby’ to me anyway.”
This bitch just shrugged her shoulders and brushed the topic aside.
As if anything I did with them was fine with her.
The following event was even stranger.
Usually, the process of announcing the Chieftain was quite a grand ceremony in itself.
Just look at the Hunter’s Night. The biggest reward you could receive after going through that event, the event that could rouse the entire Forge of Struggle into action, was to meet with the Chieftain directly and implore your desire to him.
Yes, his authority was the weakest among the three superpowers. But, you were still meeting the leader who governed an entire country. It was still a matter of great importance.
However…
All of the usual processes were skipped.
I was facing Alan Ba-Thor in the ‘audience chamber’. There was not a single entourage, much less a War Chief.
The reason was evident as soon as I saw him.
Tatiana probably did not want to show this appearance to anyone else unless she had no choice but to do it.
It wasn’t because she didn’t want to let others know that she had brainwashed him. It was part of the reason, but it barely could qualify as her whole reason.
Rather than that, right now, Alan’s condition was…
Much more horrifying.
“…”
In the original game…
Although Alan Ba-Thor emerged in a brainwashed state due to the effects of Tatiana’s artifact from the very beginning, as long as the player could beat Tatiana, it was possible to see his original appearance.
To describe his original appearance… I guess you could call him a magnanimous one.
Passionate. Cheerful. Simple-minded but upright. He knew how to uphold justice and was braver than anyone on the battlefield; He was a man who always exuded the atmosphere of a friendly neighborhood brother.
However…
You couldn’t apply any of those traits to the current him.
While he was looking like this, there was no way he could return to his previous appearance.
Ever.
I gazed at the monstrosity sitting on the throne in front of me.
Cursing under my breath, I looked at the monster in front of my eyes and the black armor covering his entire body.
At a glance, it looked like a defensive gear that was a pain in the ass to wear, but it would ensure the user to be heavily armed.
I would agree with that observation if the various types of ‘curses’ weren’t being injected through the test tubes and syringes connected to that armor.
Alan’s expression buried underneath the armor was not visible; It was to the point that it was hard to tell whether he was even alive or dead.
However…
That sticky ‘something’ that wrapped around his entire still body was visible inside the armor.
It looked like tentacles one might find in marine creatures.
Starting from his face, it protruded throughout the entire body. Not only was it protruding, but it also stuck close to the body’s shape, transforming him into a grotesque form.
It was almost as if he was a poorly molded lump of flesh in the shape of a meat doll.
And this was a form I was familiar with.
“…Incarnation of the Riptide“
I uttered such words with a groan.
Riptide Marchalon. The Reversed Sea.
In Chapter 4, if you were to make contact with it, that was the trigger for Game Over.
As soon as the bastard awakened, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the entire Forge of Struggle would be submerged into the sea.
And right now…
Alan had been reduced to a mere medium to ‘call forth’ that cursed existence.
In the original game, it was an enemy that only existed as dummy data. I heard that the difficulty of facing him was too high, so they scrapped the idea during launch.
Honestly, that assessment sounded about right.
This existence that had become an Incarnation was able to summon ‘numerous’ entities that even Tatiana herself had to sacrifice her life to successfully call forth one of them.
It was not wrong to assume that the destructive power that would rush forth was virtually on the verge of Eleanor going berserk with two Fragments.
Not to mention…
‘…This is already the final stage of the mutation.’
At this level, Tatiana could summon the Riptide whenever she wishes if she set her mind to it.
It was not a level where I could do anything to prevent it.
If it was this much, it made sense for her to confidently approach me first, even after considering the presence of Eleanor.
After all, she had also brought an entity that wouldn’t be outdone by Eleanor’s strength.
“As expected, you can recognize anything as soon as you see it, can’t you? It is just like the Prophet had proclaimed.”
Facing me, Tatiana shrugged her shoulders.
“As you said, the Chieftain has received that being’s grace, becoming its glorious Incarnation.”
As always, there was a light smile on her face.
“Soon, the Reversed Sea will reveal their form in this world through this person’s flesh.”
Moreover, even when she brought up the following topic, the same damn smile remained.
“It would have been nice for Riru Garda and Kasa Garda to see this appearance.”
With those words, the armor wrapped around Alan opened. And, between the tentacles that enveloped his entire body, I could see ‘things’ studded here and there.
“…!”
And as soon as I saw those things…
I immediately realized why this fucker told me to bring Riru and Kasa.
“…Crazy fucking bitch.”
I suppressed my urge to vomit and spat out a curse.
Those things were absorbed into Alan’s body and were being used as an ‘engine.’
I now understood why she mentioned hobbies and shit earlier. It was something a fucking lunatic with bad habits like her would do.
Kasa was one thing…
But under no circumstances should Riru be allowed to see ‘that’.
After all, as the Vessel who harbored the Devil of Wrath, she would immediately go berserk at the sight of it.
“…Did the Prophet order this?”
“Nope. This is something I did based on my own judgment.”
I thought so.
One thing I was sure of was that Alan was not originally someone to be… ‘Wasted’ like this.
Of course, considering the effect of the Incarnation of the Riptide itself, a powerful host was absolutely necessary. The conditions couldn’t have possibly been met without a warrior of Alan’s caliber.
But still. Even considering all that…
This person’s current position was the ‘Chieftain’.
Even though he had ascended to that position through all sorts of unpleasant events, he was still the head of the Tribal Alliance. Even if this situation was resolved without incident, there would undoubtedly be an enormous aftermath.
Starting with the Prophet, the Devil Worshippers would also face a crazy amount of backlash.
However…
“That person had only commanded me to ‘try my best’. To do whatever it takes to kill you.”
“…”
Tatiana continued to speak with a light smile.
“So, I did as she commanded. I tried my best. To come up with a method that could kill you no matter what.”
Right now, this crazy bitch was saying that…
No matter what happened, it would be fine.
Even if she discarded the head of a superpower, throwing the entire continent into turmoil, it would be fine.
As long as she could kill me, nothing else mattered.
And she implied all of this as if it meant nothing to her.
As if it was just a matter of course since the Prophet had commanded her to do so.
‘…This bitch has lost her mind.’
I realized the instant I saw her rush at me before while disregarding her own life, but…
This fucker was an absolutely batshit crazy bitch.
There was no other way to describe her.
“…”
Cold sweat ran down my back.
Honestly speaking, I was completely fucked in the ass.
After all, this was a super ultra massive variable that distorted the entire premise of the boss battle I had been planning.
I had prepared all this time for a fight against Tatiana and Alan.
NOT fighting against Tatiana AND numerous ancient monsters from the deep sea!
At least I could stop Eleanor from going berserk, even if I had to throw my body onto her. But if I considered an existence with the same power as her purely coming at me with the intention to kill…
“…”
Just thinking about it made me shiver. It was just another way to tell me to fucking die.
Even so…
Although the reason I didn’t give up on life and suicide straight away was partly thanks to experiencing similar situations several times, thus gaining some form of tolerance to this kind of bullshit…
Ultimately, it was all because there was a point that I was ‘skeptical’ about.
I barely stopped my hair from whitening out of stress as I spoke.
“…Then let me ask one last thing.”
I did not expect the other person to answer willingly, but I was half sure about my theory, so I was just asking to confirm.
“Why are you showing me this in advance?”
“…”
“If you’re really trying your best just to kill me, then there’s no reason to show me this right now. Moreover, there’s no reason to just let me off the hook for not bringing Riru and Kasa either. Isn’t that right?”
Honestly speaking, it was just Game Over if she summoned that thing right here and now.
In other words, this bitch had some ‘different intention’ when calling me here.
And that’s exactly why I kept my calm, even at this very moment.
“…That person…”
Tatiana spoke in a monotone voice.
At the very least, when she was speaking these words…
There was no indication of her usual amusement mixed in her voice.
Almost as if…
She was jealous that I took away something that she was supposed to receive.
“Is keeping an incredibly close eye on you.”
“…”
“Such a being told me to refrain from causing a calamity that would crush you without even being able to resist. I was told to at least make you resist to the best of your ability, as you scramble around.”
“…”
“One day, Dowd Campbell. That’s the grace period that person had given you by ordering me.”
“…”
So…
What she was trying to say was that within a day, I had to find a way to defeat a monster that was as strong as Eleanor in her berserk state.
Fuck.
“…”
The audacity of her to announce that kind of bullshit with such a flat tone…
“Give it your best shot. Squirm and struggle desperately. There’s nowhere to run, so the only option left is to fight.”
Her words were undoubtedly…
“Against the reversed sea that will soon sweep over you.”
A death sentence.
“…Fuck.”
Leaving Tatiana and Alan behind, as soon as I came out of the ‘audience chamber’, I involuntarily spouted out a curse.
To be honest, my situation was quite hopeless.
Throughout the progress of the scenario so far, I had never faced such a rapidly overblown boss with such a short preparation time.
“…”
I felt my chapped lips as I wiped my face.
One day. It was just one day. Twenty four hours from now.
No matter how much I racked my brain, trying to organize the things I needed to do within that time span…
There was no way in hell it was possible with the manpower ‘I currently had on hand’.
Then, there was only one option left.
Originally, I planned to never get involved with her, but now, I had no choice but to borrow a helping hand from her.
< Gift-Related Character Alert >
▼ Faenol Lipek
[ No Favorability Level ]
[ Related Event Occurs in D-1 ]
I had to meet the one person I would rather die than make contact with.
Much faster than planned.
As I was lost in such thoughts…
Suddenly, a window popped up in front of me.
System Message
[ This action is likely to trigger a Special Interaction with ‘Yuria’! ]
[ It is recommended to equip the Title ‘Playboy’ in advance! ]
“…”
Wait, no like… I only had one Title, so it wasn’t like I could equip any other titles, but…
What the fuck were these two doing right now?
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