CH 163

A bright red flower had bloomed on the “tree”.



The two women studied the flower with great interest.



“Wow, such a beautiful flower….Huh? There wasn’t a flower like this yesterday, right?”



“Yes. Also, although it looks small compared to the massive size of the tree, the flower isn’t small either. It’s comparable to peonies… no, it’s bigger than them. It’s almost ––”



––almost as big as a person’s head…



Shimizu felt a chill for some reason when she arrived at this notion.



She turned and looked around.



“Chief Shimizu?”



“Nothing… Um, I was thinking that it’s about the size of a bowling ball.”



“Oh, that might be true.”



“…”



(What was that chill just now?)



She didn’t understand why, but she felt her skin crawl when her eyes landed on the flower again.



“W-we should head back. We can’t afford to waste time here. Hurry up.”



“R-right. Everyone, we’re returning to the City Hall!”



Shimizu urged them to leave quickly.



For unknown reasons, she didn’t want to stay any longer.



The moment they turned their backs on the flower, nay, the “tree” ––



“Eh…?”



“Hmm?”



They cocked their heads simultaneously.



What were they talking about again?



They didn’t know, and they couldn’t seem to remember.



––Since they couldn’t remember, they assumed that it wasn’t a big deal.



Thus, they departed from where they were.



******



“––Those ‘trees’ are classified as monsters.”



I gather Ichinose-san, Nishino-kun, and Rikka-chan after finishing my research.



Ichinose-san and Rikka-chan each has a towel around their neck, probably because they’ve just had a bath.



There are glasses of milk on the table awaiting them.



“Monsters…?”



Ichinose-san asks as she drinks milk.



“Yes, and they’re a tricky species.”



“The Right to Question” told me that the “trees” were monsters.



It also elaborated on the various skills and characteristics of said “trees”.



“The ‘trees’ selectively attack people without skills…”



By defeating monsters, we can level up and gain skills that will help us defeat stronger enemies.



However, the “trees” tend to only attack normal people.



“In other words, they target regular civilians…”



Nishino repeats what I said with his hand on his chin.



After a moment of pause, he says, “The ‘trees’ are everywhere in the town, right? Many of them have penetrated through parts of buildings and cars. That means the citizens that disappeared…”



“Yes, you can say that they’ve been turned into ‘nutrients’ for the ‘trees’.”



Those that decided to hide at their house, those that were disabled, and those that were in hospitals.



People who chose not to fight or were not in the condition to fight were silently eliminated by the “trees”.



––The population is too small.



Nishino-kun has raised such a suspicion.



This is the reason why.



The residents were taken unawares by the “trees” and were absorbed by them.



Rikka-chan jumps up from her chair.



“Hold up. Then why wouldn’t we notice? If something that strange is going on, how would we not notice it? If they’re really attacking people without being found out, then that means they have skills that –– Ah…”



Rikka-chan has answered her own question.



She waits for my confirmation while sweating cold sweat.



She’s on the mark.



That’s also why I described them as “tricky”.



“As Aisaka-san has just now predicted, the most annoying aspect of these ‘trees’ is that they possess skills that resemble ‘Cognitive Inhibition’. Not only that, they consume the ‘existence’ of the people that they intake.”



Therein lies the true horror of these “trees”.



Because of their “Cognitive Inhibition”-type skills, nobody would realize that someone is being attacked.



Unless we pay close attention to the trees, we won’t even be cognizant of the fact that they’re there.



It’s a perfect defense measure that prevents them from being assailed by skill-possessing humans.



The “trees” absorb all evidence of their victims’ existence, including others’ memories of them.



That’s why we can’t tell who has disappeared and when.



“That’s the truth behind Nishino-kun’s sense of discomfort.”



“…What an astonishing truth…”



“You’re lying… what even is that…”



They accurately perceive the threat levels of the “trees”.



Their faces are bitter as if they’ve been fed earthworms.



The population does not match, yet no one ever questioned it.



This is the answer to the mystery.



These “trees” have extremely cunning and malicious traits.



This world is truly messed up.



“I’m scared…”



Buri buri.



Rikka-chan shudders.



“Does that mean that we can be ‘forgotten’ as well? Natsun, Onii-san, Nisshi, … my parents…”



“The ‘trees’ only ambush those below LV 1, meaning we aren’t within their range of targets. As for the others… I don’t know.”



“That’s…”



Our parents, relatives, and friends could have already been devoured by the “trees” and forgotten if they haven’t raised their levels.



The memories we have with them would be deprived from us too.



“Evil” is the only way to describe them.



“I remember… I still remember my dad and my mom. I still remember everyone in class…”



“M-me too… I still remember them…”



“…!”



Rikka-chan and Ichinose-san dig through their memories in a frenzy whilst trembling.



On the other hand, Nishino-kun is thinking with a crunched-up face.



“Nishino-kun…?”



“…In that case, we have to take action as soon as possible.”



“It is as you say.”



Now that we’ve figured out that the “trees” are monsters, we can’t leave them alone.



We must eliminate them when we can.



“But how are we supposed to kill those big ‘trees’?”



“‘The Right to Question’ has taught me a way to do so.”



“The Right to Question” mentioned a method to slay the “trees”.



It’s disturbing how easily it provided the information, but we have no choice but to try it out.



“First thing in the morning tomorrow?”



“…No, we act now.”



The Sun has set and the outside is pitch dark.



Nonetheless, with “Night Vision” skills activated, we won’t face any problem.



The Dragon isn’t showing any signs of activity either, so we can move freely without a worry.



(It would be the worst case scenario if the “trees” have “bloomed”…)



“The Right to Question” has also brought up another unique “characteristic” of the “trees”.



If the “trees” have “bloomed” and “that” characteristic of theirs gets awakened, we’ll be neck-deep in trouble.



We have to prevent that from happening.



It’s our turn to shine.



We’ll eradicate all the “trees” in this region… and have them literally uprooted.



*****



“…Isn’t it about time you spill the beans? What are you so afraid of?”



Inside one of the rooms of the City Hall, Igarashi Touka was questioning a man sitting in front of her.



The trembling man was one of the surviving members of the Self Defense Force.



There was no one else except them in the room. Simply put, they were alone.



“T-that’s…”



“You can’t answer? Even though it’s me who’s asking?”



“…I’m sorry! I’ll answer! Please don’t hate me!”



The Self Defense Force member despaired over the look of disappointment that Touka was giving him and groveled at her feet.



Touka smirked at the figure of the desperately begging man.



“Enchantment”.



A skill to manipulate other people’s will and to brainwash them into following her orders.



The skill had leveled up after she evacuated from the school, so without the appropriate resistance skills, the target would become like this Self Defense Force member.



(That sorry excuse of a father failed to extract any decent information out of Towada-san. I have to take matters in my own hand…)



–– A Dragon attack.



Because of that mess, the conversation between Fujita and Towada was interrupted.



She had been eavesdropping on their discussion in the adjacent room.



(A monster in the neighboring town…that’s what Towada-san said…)



A Dragon had suddenly appeared.



At first, she thought Towada was talking about the Dragon, but his reaction towards hearing about the news made her doubtful.



The survivors of the Self Defense Force were indeed surprised, but that was it.



Their reactions were too light.



What did that mean?



(The Dragon is not the monster that’s in the neighboring town…)



There was something else, something else that scared them more than a Dragon.



(This issue cannot be put on hold for long…)



That was why she opted for this forceful interrogation.



She was reluctant to use “Enchantment” unless it was necessary.



Nevertheless, their situation called for its need.



They weren’t in the position to choose.



If they continued to be in the dark, there was a chance that it would come back to bite them in the future.



“Tell me. What’s in the neighboring town? What’s the source of your terror?”



What in the world was frightening them to this extent?



She had also seen her fair share of strong monsters.



Those were terrifying experiences, and she had already stared Death in the eyes several times.



Even so, those experiences were not enough to explain the abnormal “terror” that the JSDF members were feeling.



“––I don’t…”



“Pardon? I didn’t catch that.”



“––I don’t remember.”



“…Sorry?”



For a moment, Touka’s brain failed to process what the man had just said.



“We… don’t remember anything. We don’t remember… what we were attacked by…”



“…Is this a joke?”



“It’s not! We really can’t recall anything! All we know is that a mysterious monster has slaughtered our colleagues… or who we’re assuming were our colleagues. That’s the only way to explain it!”



“…”



He didn’t appear to be lying.



They were attacked by a monster, yet they were oblivious to the identity of the monster.



What he claimed were clearly contradictory.



“Please look at this…”



“…?”



The man presented a photo to her.



It was a group photo of the entire Self Defense Force.



Nearly fifty Self Defense Force personnel were inside the photo which had the military base as its background.



This man, Towada, and the other surviving members were among the fifty personnel.



“And what’s wrong with this?”



“These people were probably once our brothers-in-arms…”



“Probably? Surely you remember the faces of your colleagues?”



The man shook his head side to side.



“I don’t remember them. Any of them… I don’t remember anyone other than the members that are with us right now! They should have been my brothers-in-arms! We should have fought together… but I don’t’ remember any of them! For some reason…I…”



The way he shed tears as he held his head did not seem like an act.



He really had no idea who the other members were in the photo.



That was why he was scared.



“Something” must have happened, yet he couldn’t remember what that “something” was.



That only served to amplify his fear.



(Memory loss?… Or perhaps…)



Touka tried to calmly analyze the man’s words and actions.



(It’s similar… it’s similar to the discomfort I felt from Shimizu-san and Gramps…)



Previously, Touka had brought up the topic about the diminished population, but no one except her held any doubt about the situation.



Both were about memory and awareness.



She was certain that they were related somehow.



“Could it be that the ‘monster’ in the neighboring town is—”



She looked outside the window.



Illuminated by the moonlight, the “trees” that grew everywhere appeared eerie spooky to her.



*****



“It” was suffering immensely.



—Not enough.



Not enough at all.



“It” shook its body to check if there was anything in its proximity.



Footsteps, breathing sounds, tremors in the air, and vibrations from the ground.



With these as its reference, “It” searched for preys and devoured them.



“You have gained experience.”



A voice.



However, it didn’t matter.



—Not enough.



It wasn’t enough at all.



“It” extended its roots, stretched out its branches, spread its pollen, and shed its leaves to seek for more preys to feast on.



Not enough. Not enough. Not enough.



More. More. More. More. More.



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“‘Gluttony’ has been activated.”



“You have acquired the skill ‘Regrowth’.”



Not enough. Not enough. Not enough.



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“‘Gluttony’ has been activated.”



“You have acquired the skill ‘HP Auto Recovery’.”



“You have acquired the skill ‘Shock Absorption’.”



“You have acquired the skill ‘Endurance’.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained experience.”



“You have gained—”



The voice continued to echo in its mind.



Not satisfied. Not satisfied. Not satisfied.



Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.



“————”



At one point, “It” stopped hearing the voice.



Nothing. There was nothing.



“It” eventually realized that there was no prey left for “It” to eat.



—Still hungry…



According to its instinct, according to its skill, and according to its desire…



The “Tree of Gluttony” began to move.