Chapter 100: The Land Of Artists

Chapter 100: The Land Of Artists

༺ The Land Of Artists ༻

Thunk!

Two heads rolled on the ground. It was a clean strike that would make anyone who saw it feel uneasy as they were alive just moments ago.

“Ah, Student Aria!”

Erica, who was standing at the back, exclaimed in surprise, but Aria didn’t even pay attention to her as she approached the corpses.

Erica couldn’t just stand by and watch her like that without doing anything, so she hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Aria by the shoulder.

“Why?”

It was a calm voice without a shred of nervousness.

There was no hint of hesitation despite being fully aware that she had just killed someone.

This girl would certainly repeat the same action if such a situation were to occur again.

Erica was at a loss for words in the face of Aria’s collected response.

Aria was like a canvas that had already been stained; Erica was sure that no matter what happened to the girl, that appearance would never change.

“Just stay still. This is all for the sake of Professor Deus.”

“Do you really think he’ll be pleased with this?”

“It would be great if he is. But even if he’s not, it doesn’t matter.”

Aria was indifferent as she coldly uttered those words, rooted in firm convictions. However, the origin of those convictions, akin to its foundation, stemmed from anxiety and trauma.

“Professor Deus must become stronger. He should become so powerful that no one, absolutely no one, can be his match.”

Aria couldn’t grow stronger alone. Regardless of her identity, it was impossible for her to always be around Deus to protect him.

Nor would he want that.

Therefore, Deus Verdi had to grow stronger.

He had to become strong enough to protect himself even in situations where Aria couldn’t.

To the extent that no one would even dare to think of aiming for his life.

“If it’s for that purpose, it doesn’t matter even if it means Professor will frown for a moment.”

“Just a moment? Do you see this matter as something that can be simply ignored just like that?”

“You wouldn’t understand it.”

Aria responded with a cunning smile.

“Professor will never abandon me. He can’t do that.”

Though she didn’t know why.

The affection Deus Verdi had towards Aria during the first round was not because she had done anything special.

Deus had cherished Aria right from the start.

He had showered her with endless care and teachings without expecting anything in return from her. He was also someone who was able to see through her at any time.

Aria always kept that in her mind, engraved it in her heart, and would never forget it.

“I mean, even if I created a few corpses like this, he will never hate me.”

Aria smiled again as she reminisced about him. She smiled contentedly as she reached out to the corpse. However, at that moment...

Crunch!

All of a sudden, the severed head opened its mouth wide and bit her hand which was hanging limp.

It was a sudden ambush.

Just like that, the head moved its teeth vigorously, seemingly trying to devour Aria’s fingers, with a gnashing sound.

“Sigh!”

Aria dropped her sword and grabbed the teeth of the head with her free hand.

Crunch!

Due to the mana-infused force applied by Aria, the mouth was torn apart, splitting the face in half.

It shattered gruesomely and fell to the ground, but the decapitated bodies of the men suddenly stood upright.

The bodies then began twitching.

Soon, dozens of snake heads started pouring out from the region around the neck and rushed at the two of them.

“Damn it!”

Aria hurriedly swung her sword. She realized that she also needed to protect Professor Erica, who was nearby but was a beat too late.

The professor was nimbly using light magic to shield her body.

“A Monstrumancer! I’ve heard that there were a few in Dante, but I never thought he’d be one of them.”

“A Monstrumancer?!”

“Yes, yes?!”

Just when he thought it was over, Findenai spoke up once again.

In fact, the guard’s effort to reply brightly and forcefully out of some sense of caution was actually pitiable.

“Are you a smoker? I can smell the strong odor of cigarettes from you.”

“Oh! I-I’m sorry!”

As the guard began brushing his armor with his hands in a fluster, Findenai continued with a small laugh.

“God may not forbid smoking, but it is something that does more harm than good. I worry that it might harm you, Brother.”

[You also have quite an amazing maid, don’t you?]

“She seems to be very excited.”

I wondered where exactly she learned to lie so shamelessly.

Just five minutes ago, she was whining about wanting to smoke a cigarette and even asked to stop the carriage.

Now, she was preaching about the harm caused by smoking while pretending to be a nun.

“You can give it to me. I will see to its disposal.”

“Ah, but... it’s a high-quality item...”

“Are you really going to make me sad?”

I heard her voice turn slightly tearful. Upon hearing that, I found myself turning my head to look out the window again.

I wondered if that woman was even crying as part of her act.

But, of course, not a single tear fell from her crimson eyes. She was just contorting her face to feign sadness.

“I-I understand. Sister, you’re right. It does more harm than good.”

“You are wise.”

“If I keep it with me, I’ll just end up smoking again. I trust Sister to deal with its disposal.”

“Goddess Hearthia will also be pleased.”

Findenai accepted the cigarette and turned around. After the footsteps faded away, she boarded the carriage, and it began to move again.

Findenai, who was wearing a nun’s habit, proudly extended the cigarette with a smirk.

“Master Bastard! Look at this! I’m fucking lucky, right? If you’re a nun, you can also get cigarettes for free!”

“....”

“Hmm! Look at this! It must be a really expensive item! It smells really good!”

She immediately brought the cigarette close to her nostrils, shut her eyes, and savored the smell. It was quite amusing to observe her.

“Ah, I’d like to get a taste of this free cigarette. Is there any place for me to smoke?”

Findenai smacked her lips and tucked the cigarette into the inner pocket where the nuns usually kept their rosaries.

[The guard from earlier would definitely cry if he saw this. His fantasy would be shattered and he might even curse the gods.]

The Dark Spiritualist shook her head in amusement.

Forget it.

Understanding Findenai was proving to be more difficult than expected, so I decided to just let it be.

She wasn’t fighting against an insane country like the Clark Republic as a leader of the resistance for no reason.

The city beyond the castle gates we had just entered was called Claren.

The city was as developed as Loberne, where the academy was located, but the buildings themselves had a somewhat antiquated look.

With it mainly focusing on traditional culture and tourism, it was a land of artists where music, dance, paintings, and sculptures were always present.

In my experience, artists often had associations with evil spirits or yokai1Yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore..

I wasn’t sure whether it was because they were always holed up in their studios or talked to themselves a lot.

If it weren’t for Lucia’s letter, my first destination wouldn’t have been Elia Convent, but this place.

[Um, Deus?]

Thinking that it was the same urban landscape, I concentrated on reading a book when the Dark Spiritualist cautiously called out to me.

“Hm?”

When I glanced at her, her trembling finger was pointing directly behind the carriage.

“Oh.”

The scene at the back of the carriage was chaotic to the point where I unconsciously let out a sigh.

Like stray cats roaming the streets, bizarre yokai of various shapes and sizes drooled like beasts, running towards their prey, following the carriage.

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Yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore.

/genesisforsaken