Chapter 39 “The Price of Malice”

*Haa… haa…*

Klaus, who knelt down with a thud, tightly held a obsidian dagger in his hand. Its blade was impaled into the mushy, disintegrated face of one of the corpses.

And when he raised his face, his muscles aching, he saw that all the corpses Mika had controlled were now scattered in pieces around him.

“Ugh… It’s a lie! It’s a lie! My dear dolls!!”

Crawling slowly, Mika tried to distance herself from Klaus as she moved towards the depths of the cemetery.

Now, there wasn’t a single corpse left to protect her. Instead, the only sounds that echoed were the moans coming from somewhere, echoing throughout the cemetery.

These moans belonged to the real monsters, not under Mika’s control… 

The ghouls of the cemetery.

*Gruuuuaaaaahhhhh…!*

Mika’s screams now reverberated throughout the entire cemetery. 

It seemed like the hungry ghouls below the 10th level were rejoicing, eager to feast on fresh blood.

“T-This is amazing…!! What the hell, Klaus!! You’re incredibly strong, aren’t you? W-What’s up with those moves…”

Were you watching, Merim?

“Ouch… High-grade potions are out of stock. I’ll need at least two next time.”

Ignoring Merim’s casual remark, Klaus drank a cheap potion from his potion holder, ensuring he had the minimum health required.

During this moment, Merim, with wide eyes, looked at Klaus from the doorway that had finally opened.

“I’m sorry, Merim, but I need your help… I found four superior-tier ghouls, but I still need one more. I’ll figure out your share of the quest items somehow. Let’s hunt down the last ghoul for now.”

“D-Does that mean you’re making me your companion?”

A companion…

“That’s right. Provisionally, at least. Let’s go with that.”

“Y-Yeah!!”

Merim smiled happily and supported Klaus’s body.

Honestly, having a companion was not something Klaus was thrilled about, but… there was no use being stubborn.

At the very least, Merim was different from Gain and the others.

Twice…

She saved me twice.

“Is this the lower jaw of the ghoul? Ugh… gross.”

Merim rummaged through the dismembered puppet corpses.

“No, that’s not it. Those are just moving corpses, not ghouls. The ghouls are over there─”

──Gruuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!

When Merim secured the heads of the toxic ghouls, it let out a joyful cry. 

Then, with tremendous footsteps, it sprinted through the underground cemetery.

“…W-What was that just now─”

“That’s a superior-tier ghoul. Probably came from the lower levels… We should be safe here for now.”

Hearing Mika’s screams, it was certain that the hungry creature had come from below the 11th floor of the underground.

Up until the 10th floor, Mika had opened the door, so there was no guarantee of safety. But beyond that point, it should still be sealed.

However, the ghoul that had let out the scream didn’t seem to care about such things.

And it seemed their thoughts were transmitted through the musty smell of decay…

──A delicious scent.

────A delightful scent.

It was an overwhelming hunger.

A hunger and thirst so maddening.

With humans rarely visiting, the only food available was rats, bats, and──── similarly wriggling ghouls.

In such an underground place,

They devoured each other, evolving as ghouls, but today, after a long time, they heard the voices of humans.

Moreover, the voices of multiple humans.

However, the door wouldn’t open.

The door separating the 11th and 10th floors remained closed…

The sacred seal imposed by the detestable church cannot be broken by the undead!!

Ah, I’m so hungry…

I crave flesh…

So,

So, open this door!!!!

*Gruuuuuuaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

*Bam bam bam!!*

*Bam bam bam!!*

Pounding and pounding on the sacred seal!

It won’t open… It won’t open…!!

*Gruuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

It screams once more.

It screams that it’s hungry.

And then,

“Hiiiiiiii!! What’s going on with him? Klaus, what is going on!!”

Klaus, Klaus, Klaus?!

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

In a state of panic after witnessing Klaus’s battle, Mika was completely unaware of her surroundings.

Lost in her panic, she didn’t hear the voices of monsters echoing from the 11th floor.

And observing this, a natural-born advanced ghoul grinned from behind the door…

He thinks to himself.

…While a woman approaches, screaming.

That pale, lively-looking flesh looks so delicious!! And──!

Ah, I want it!!

“More… I need more! I have to throw stronger ghouls at him… Control them with my skills, feed my dolls with my skills, level them up… stronger ghouls…”

*Click.*

Mika Kisaragi.

A woman with the unique skill “Life Bestowal: Life of Life,” allowing her to manipulate inanimate objects.

She can control up to a maximum of 50 lives, handling an army of dolls.

However,

“Ahhhhhh……”

She cannot control creatures that surpass her own unique skill…

In the underground, Mika Kisaragi is faced with evolved ghouls…

“Gyaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Mika’s scream echoes through the cemetery.

※ ※

Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!

“W-What?! Ghouls?”

“No, it’s different… This is── Mika’s scream??”

It seemed like something abnormal had happened further inside. 

Klaus involuntarily stopped in his tracks, but he realized they still needed one more ghoul. Reluctantly, he decided to continue forward.

“Hey, are we really going? Just leave that woman alone.”

“It’s not like we’re going for her sake.”

However, something approached the two of them at an incredible speed.

It was her, Mika.

Mika Kisaragi herself.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

She let out an incredibly loud scream as she ran from deeper inside.

Her expression and demeanor were so desperate that she seemed completely different from her usual self.

And chasing after her was──…

*Gruuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

Cloaked in a black miasma,

Covered in ominous souls, emitting an oddly eerie and glittering aura──moving corpses!

No…

T-Those are corpses?!

Dark blue magical energy dripped from the gaps in their battered bodies,

Every time they roared, voices leaked out from the openings all over their bodies, making them tremble.

They were like demons, corpse demons, demon ghouls.

“W-What the hell is that────!!”

“Hiiiiie, Klaus! W-Wait, wait, [Intuition]!! My intuition skill is telling me────that thing is, that thing is…”

Ah, yeah…

“That’s… that’s impossible!!”

Yeah, yeah…!

Uuuuuhhh!!!

The moment Mika couldn’t manipulate them with [Life Bestowal] was the moment they knew.

That thing was a superior monster, something even the advanced party “Special Bond Special Force” would run away from with their tails between their legs!

And for proud Mika to scream and flee like that… it was beyond extraordinary.

I mean, come on!

“P-P-Please, we don’t need to deal with something like thaaaaaaaaat!!”

“Klaus! Just close the door already! If that thing gets out, it’ll be a disaster!!”

Ah, I get it!

That’s why the church sealed it, right?! This cemetery!!

“Stop!! Stop!! Don’t close it! Stooooooop!!”

Tears streaming down her face, Mika desperately reached out.

Even though she had tried to kill him under the guise of an accident, now she was seeking help from Klaus.

I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die.

──She screamed inside.

*Gruuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

Zap zap zap…!

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

Merim’s legs gave way beneath her.

The scent of her urine filled the air, but nobody reprimanded her for it.

In fact, even Klaus found his legs────…

His body, his arms wouldn’t move!!!

So what could they do?

Fight using the unique skill [Automatic Function]??

Moreover,

With [Automatic Battle], they could automatically fight opponents they had faced before──??

Fought opponents they had faced before?

Fought once…?

Once…──.

Once… 

…………Are you kidding me?!

We haven’t faced something like that even once!

Not once, but if we take even one hit, we’d die instantly!!!!!!

“Kuh! Hurry up, Mika────”

“You fool! Close it already!”

*Gruuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

Amidst its roar, Klaus reached out.

He put his weight against the door, grabbed Mika, pulled her into the 9th floor, and immediately shut the door, trapping them inside!!

So, hurry up!!

“MikaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“H-Help!! Noooooooooo!”

Mika’s tear-streaked hand was just about to touch Klaus’s hand────…

His fingers had certainly brushed hers.

“Tha──nk yo──u──” *thud*

*Boom!*

A sound like something bursting.

And then, everything in front of them turned blood-red──!

“Just give up already!! I’m closing it!!”

*Bang!!*

“Mi—”

In front of Klaus’s eyes, Mika’s figure disappeared into the bloody smoke, and in her place, a sturdy, robust door loomed before him.

It closed with such force that it felt like it could crush Klaus’s nose, and immediately, the bolt slammed shut.

*Thud!*

“What are you doing?! Get away quickly!”

*Bang!!*

*Gruuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

*”Hiieeee!!”*

And then, from the other side of the peephole, a grotesque Ghoul revealed its face, twisting its mouth and extending a bloody, foul-smelling tongue.

With the tip of its tongue, it aimed to rip Klaus’s face off…

“Waaaaaaahhh!!”

*Crash!*

Just in time, Merim shut the peephole.

*Snap*

“You idiot!! Stop staring blankly!”

After closing the peephole, tearful Merim pulled Klaus down.

With a soft *plop*, the grotesque Ghoul’s mandible and the torn tongue fell onto his body.

They had been purified by the holy seal’s blue flames, reduced to ash.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…*

*Huff.*

“Hey…?”

*Gruuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

*Bang, bang, bang!!*

*Gruuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

*Bang, bang, bang!!*

*Gruuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!*

*Bang, bang, bang!!*

““Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!”

*Bang, bang, bang!!*

Feeling the ominous presence of the ghoul pounding on the door, Klaus and Merim instinctively stepped back.

On the other side of that door 

The ghoul that killed Mika is there!

The ghoul that mercilessly slaughtered Mika, a member of the high-level party, is there, just beyond that door!!

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Bam! Bam! Bam!!

“This door is strong, isn’t it?”

The sacred seal inscribed on the door faintly glows, seemingly burning the ghoul on the other side. Despite that, the pounding on the door continues without ceasing.

It’s like a ferocious beast that had its prey taken away.

“I-I’m fine… It should be fine.”

Trembling, Klaus lifts the lower jaw from his abdomen and hands it to Merim.

There’s no way he could admit that he dropped it himself. And, because of him, Mika…

“I-It’s my fault…”

“N-No, it’s not, Klaus! You didn’t do anything wrong… I was there, I saw what happened!”

Y-Yeah, that’s right.

Mika’s death was her own doing.

And it’s the foolish prank of the ‘Special Bond Special Force’ group that led to this outcome.

But…

There are unpleasant sounds coming from beyond the door, a squelching noise. 

The banging on the door has stopped, but the dense presence of the ghoul lingers.

However,

However, I cannot help but feel responsible myself.

I resent the fact that I thought I could easily hunt even an advanced ghoul…

I believed unconditionally that I could win with “automatic combat”…

“Let’s go────. Also, this is for you, Merim.”

Managing to somehow get up, Klaus stood up to leave the underground tomb and handed the ghoul materials to Merim with a heavy sigh.

“Hey…! You can’t just give them to me! You won’t be able to rank up, you know?”

“It’s fine. I’ll give up this time…”

I can’t possibly feel that way.

Even now, Mikas’s expression from that moment is still burned into my mind.

I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die.

“Ugh…”

Eeewww…

Klaus vomited several times inside the underground tomb before returning to the surface.

※ Results from ‘City Underground Tomb’ ※

～ Quest Items ～

Infected Ghoul’s Mandible x4

??? Ghoul’s Mandible x1

　※ ※ ※

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