Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The Gluttonous Behemoth.

The strongest magical beast that had existed since the Mythical Age.

He could see the lives—the memories—of the beings he devoured. As he recalled that, a sudden thought came to mind.

Was it really limited to living things?

Just as memory stones recorded the memories of their wearers, he wondered if ordinary objects could also record something.

[You won’t know until you try. Well, if it were the old me, I could’ve done it as naturally as breathing, but as you know, I’m not in a normal state right now.]

This bastard always started ranting about the past whenever he opened his mouth, and from my perspective, it was quite unfair. Didn’t he even think about how much prey I had offered him so far? His attitude was truly infuriating.

[No matter how many of those measly monsters you feed me, it’s far more efficient to eat just one of my scattered fragments. So if you want my help, you’d better find my soul quickly!]

Yeah, yeah. Just try eating this.

[What is this?]

I handed him the pendant I had been carrying. It was the only keepsake left by my mother. But it was something that would disappear now.

An object was still an object. It wasn’t that I felt nothing for it—but if I could use this item to uncover the truth behind my mother’s death, then that would be far more worthwhile.

The Behemoth swallowed my mother’s pendant.

Gulp.

I waited silently for him to read the memory.

Roughly ten minutes passed before the Behemoth opened his mouth.

[I saw it. Looks like it’s quite an old keepsake.]

Yeah.

[I’ll only tell you the memory you want.]

Alright.

What happened that day?

[The woman seemed to have been poisoned.]

…Poison?

Fuck.

Poison again?

Explain in detail.

[Just like you read in the books, it seems your mother had also learned that cultivation method. She would perform her cultivation at the same time every day to suppress her madness. But that day, something was different. She was cultivating in the same place at the same time, but a thick aura, like blood, began to rise from her entire body. She had failed to control her cultivation. Judging by how she mumbled to herself and scattered killing intent, I’d say she was experiencing hallucinations. It’s just my guess, but it seems the maid who served your mother did something. Not long after that woman left a flowerpot in the room, this all happened. Maybe she had been preparing it even before that.]

So……

Some bastard used poison to worsen my mother’s madness, is that it?

[That’s right.]

That damn poison.

Of all things, it happened only to my mother and me—both of us had no resistance to poison. It was clearly intentional. Malicious.

We were targeted from the start.

What happened to that maid?

[She was killed by your mother’s hand.]

The poison was probably the hallucinogenic type. A potent herb that could distort even the five senses.

Do you happen to remember what color the flower in that pot was?

[It was violet.]

…Dreamblight Grass, then.

A person affected by Dreamblight Grass exhibits hallucinations so severe they can’t even be compared to those caused by other poisons. However, this only happens when it reacts in combination with a specific toxin. And even then, it only occurs when that poison has accumulated in large quantities within the body.

That made one thing clear.

The reason my mother went berserk was something someone had planned long ago.

The person who crippled my legs.

The person who worsened my mother’s madness and led her to her death.

I had to catch him.

Catch him, tear off his limbs, and rip out his organs.

Split open his chest, tear out his heart, and keep carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up and carving him up—

[Ran Winterbell!]

Kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear, kill, tear—

[Get a grip! Ran Winterbell! Ran Winterbell! Wake up, you idiot!]

Beeeeeeeeeeep.

My head went completely white, and a ringing noise filled my ears.

What… was that just now?

[…You idiot. That was madness.]

Madness? Me?

[It was written clearly in the book you read. Anyone who inherits the blood of the Halla Clan suffers from madness. Since you carry that blood as well, isn’t it only natural that you have it too?]

That’s true, but… I didn’t expect it to manifest like this all of a sudden, without any warning.

Wait.

Was there really no warning?

Maybe I was just denying it myself.

The symptoms had been there from the start. The book said that when someone receives a shock they can’t handle, the madness erupts and they go berserk.

A shock, huh…

Hadn’t I experienced quite a few shocks recently? Maybe they weren’t things I couldn’t endure, but they were still mental blows. This time was the same.

Damn it.

Killing intent boiled up. Everything irritated me. I wanted to vent this rising rage through destruction. Like a madman, really like a madman, I wanted to smash things, kill things, just tear everything apart. My thoughts were a mess. I felt like I wanted to say something, but instead I just felt hungry while staring up at the sky…

[Ran Winterbell! What nonsense are you muttering now?!]

…Is this madness?

I couldn’t control my mind. All kinds of negative emotions clawed at my head, and uncontrollable impulses surged through my body. Fear slowly crept in.

Fear that if this continued, I wouldn’t be able to maintain my sanity anymore.

The situation was worse than I thought.

[I kept saying you were crazy, but I didn’t think you’d deteriorate this badly. Even I can tell your condition isn’t good. If this continues, you’ll definitely lose control to the madness.]

Yeah.

I really am in bad shape.

Looks like I’ll have to go find the Halla Clan.

I just hadn’t realized it until now, but once I peeled back the surface, the madness had already been inside my head. They said anyone who inherited the blood of the Halla Clan would inevitably have it, so it must have been there from the beginning.

Which meant that sooner or later, I was going to have to seek out the Halla Clan and learn their mental cultivation method. I didn’t know if they’d willingly teach an outsider like me, but if I wanted to live, I’d have to learn it no matter what.

Anyway, the moment the madness went berserk, I would end up being killed—whether by Arkan or by someone from the Winterbell family.

‘What a busy life this is, in so many ways.’

Just like in my previous life, nothing in this one was ever easy.

---

The next day.

I finished preparing to head straight for the village where the Halla Clan lived. Attica didn’t want to be separated from me, so we decided to travel together this time.

She wasn’t fully grown yet, but she was already strong enough to be counted as a capable combatant. Leaving her behind for a long time also didn’t sit well with me, so it was an easy decision.

There were also two other companions: Cecil and Lin Winterbell. Going with Cecil was a given since we already knew everything about each other. Lin Winterbell, on the other hand, was a bit unexpected—but I had been planning to bring her along anyway, since I intended to make full use of her strength.

Before I could even bring it up, she showed interest first.

When she heard I was going to a village where the Halla Clan lived for personal reasons, Lin Winterbell started insisting that I take her along too. Considering that she was someone who lived for combat, it made sense she’d be eager to meet the Halla Clan, who were famous as a warrior tribe.

From my perspective, it was like prey walking in on its own, so after making her promise to follow orders, I added her to the party.

And so, Attica, Cecil, Lin Winterbell, and I set off toward the village where the Halla Clan lived.

The book Turk had given me roughly described where the Halla Clan resided, but it didn’t list an exact location. So the plan was to gather information from a nearby village first. Since money wasn’t an issue, it wouldn’t be difficult.

After riding in a carriage for six hours, we arrived at Lloyd Village, located in the northwestern region. It was a remote backwater surrounded by forests, but this was where I intended to gather information.

After checking into an inn and dropping off our luggage, we headed to a nearby tavern. It was the most crowded place in the village.

Information always flowed best in taverns. As soon as we sat down and ordered beer and food, two bald men at a nearby table started glancing over at us.

“Hey, you. First time in this village?”

Before Lin Winterbell could respond, I spoke first and shot her a look telling her to stay quiet.

“Yes.”

One of the bald men glanced around, then broke into a grin. Judging by the looks of it, most of the people in the tavern were part of the same mercenary group.

“Ah, I figured as much. Then listen carefully, idiot. Anyone who comes to this village has to pay an entrance fee to us, the ‘Kilimanjaro Mercenary Group.’”

“An entrance fee?”

“Yeah. We’re the ones protecting this village from the surrounding area.”

“Are there a lot of monsters around here?”

“Sure, there are plenty of monsters around here, but there’s something even scarier. Ever heard of the Halla Clan?”

“The Halla Clan… aren’t they that savage warrior tribe? Rumor has it they go mad with bloodlust and go around killing people indiscriminately…”

“Khahaha! So you’ve heard something, huh? That’s right! That very same Halla Clan has settled somewhere near here. And we, the Kilimanjaro Mercenaries, are protecting this place from those monsters. Makes sense now, doesn’t it?”

“So the Halla Clan really is around here!”

“Didn’t I just say that? What, you deaf, dumbass?”

Lin Winterbell, watching the scene unfold, was doing her best to hold back laughter. Attica looked around innocently, her expression pure as ever. Cecil stared coldly at them, eyes full of disdain.

“Well, that’s good to know. We were looking for them anyway…”

“Looking, my ass! Enough with the crap—just hand over the money. Ten gold per head.”

“What happens if we can’t pay?”

“What? You got no money? Then you’ll just have to pay with your bodies. Hmm… You’ve got a decent face, so you’d fetch a nice price. And look over there, more girls. One looks like a brat with an attitude, but she’s alright. Another one… oh, missing an arm, huh? Eh, there are freaks into that sort of thing, so that’s fine. And that little girl…”

Slice!

“…Huh?”

The bald man who had been flapping his mouth just moments ago had his head roll across the floor. Lin Winterbell, holding her sword, spoke.

“You filthy little worms. What the hell did you just say?”