Chapter 28: Demonized Being

In the corner, that mass of black shadow trembled in rhythm with its breathing.

From its body flowed a bone-chilling sensation that invaded the soul.

No mistake.

This was the aura of the abyss.

For ordinary humans, the abyssal aura was unbearable, possessing extreme corrosiveness.

No wonder Mike didn’t even dare approach after hearing the strange noises, and the previous adventurers who accepted the commission all fainted.

“Don’t move!”

Via raised her Magic Staff, aiming at the black shadow in the corner while secretly circulating her mana.

“Save…” The shadow swayed.

“Hm?”

Via heard a faint, almost intelligible sound.

In this room, there were only her and the shadow.

That sound must have come from the shadow.

“What did you say?”

“Save…”

The shadow’s voice became clearer. It was human language, not the tongue of the abyss.

“Are you begging for mercy?” Via asked in confusion.

At that moment, the clouds parted. Crimson moonlight poured through the attic window, falling onto the shadow.

Only then did she see what it truly was.

A young human girl, dressed in tattered rags, crouched on the ground like a beast. Her body was covered in large amounts of black, slime-like substance. Her face twisted in pain as she reached out toward Via.

“Save… me…”

“You’re injured?”

Via finally understood. The other party was asking for help.

She put on a concerned expression and walked forward.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll help you!”

“Big sister… it hurts… so much…”

The girl clutched her cheek. The black slime on her body writhed as if it were an extension of herself.

“You’ll be fine.” Via soothed the girl.

“…Hee.”

The moment Via came within a certain distance, the corners of the girl’s mouth curved into a sinister arc. Her pupils filled with madness. Like a monster, she lunged at Via, the black slime surging forward with her.

Everything earlier had been an act to lower Via’s guard and gain sympathy.

“Fireball.”

Orange flames illuminated Via’s calm face. She unleashed a powerful fire spell that struck the girl head-on.

The entire manor shook. The explosion in the attic blasted the girl outward; she fell from the third floor to the ground below.

“Kyaaaaa!”

The fallen girl let out a scream, writhing nonstop.

“Hmph.”

Via stood beneath the destroyed wall, looking down from above.

The concern she had shown earlier was also an act to make the opponent relax. While approaching, she had been secretly gathering magic. Releasing it at point-blank range ensured a direct hit and maximum damage.

She leapt stylishly from the hole in the attic, landing on the ground. Her whole body jolted; a numbing ache shot through her lower half, nearly rendering her unconscious.

“Uuu…!”

Via nearly cried from the pain.

She shouldn’t have jumped just to look cool. This body still lacked training; it couldn’t handle that kind of impact.

“You… you…!” The girl glared at Via, trembling with rage.

“From the looks of it, you’ve been eroded by the abyssal aura and turned into a Demonized Being, right?”

Via recalled what Anima had taught in class: if humans came into contact with abyssal aura, the mild outcome was instant death; the severe one was corruption, losing all reason and becoming a Demonized Being that attacked its own kind.

Clearly, the girl before her had been corrupted both physically and mentally, transformed into a frenzied Demonized Being.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

The Demonized Being let out a piercing shriek. The shockwave uprooted nearby grass and trees, slamming directly into Via.

“Urgh?!”

Via covered her ears and staggered back several steps.

She could feel the mental attack contained within the sound wave trying to erode her mind.

This was probably a specialty of Demonized Beings: using the amplification of abyssal aura to launch special attacks that shook the enemy’s soul.

Only after a full ten seconds of shrieking did the Demonized Being stop.

“My ears are about to go deaf. Your screaming… is really awful…” Via shook her head; her ears were still ringing, nearly deafening her.

“Impossible… clearly… everyone else… you… why…?”

The Demonized Being wore an expression of disbelief. Her soul shriek had barely affected Via.

Her face twisted into something ferocious.

“Kill you!!”

“Magic Shield!”

Via cast Magic Shield, summoning a transparent barrier in front of her that blocked the Demonized Being’s first wave of assaults.

The Demonized Being swung her arms, hammering the shield repeatedly, planning to tear the pink-haired girl apart once it shattered.

Of course, Via had no intention of sitting still. Lightning Arrows hanging high above crashed down, exploding on the Demonized Being’s body. The smell of burnt flesh spread through the air.

The Demonized Being was blasted away, snapping a wildly overgrown tree in half. At the same time, a small black box fell from her body and rolled to Via’s feet.

“What’s this?”

Via picked up the black box. One side was engraved with a crimson single-eye pattern that looked extremely eerie.

She had never seen anything like it anywhere else.

Definitely not a normal magical tool.

“Damn it… damn it…!”

The Demonized Being cursed under her breath.

Via noticed then that the Demonized Being’s condition wasn’t good. She seemed injured and weak, far from the terrifying strength described in books.

She began to piece it together. This injured Demonized Being had probably sought out this abandoned manor to hide and recover. Then Mike happened to buy the place and started renovations…

“Who exactly are you? Do you still remember your name?”

Via decided to provoke her with words. If the Demonized Being retained any rationality, she would become more aggressive but also reveal more openings, making her easier to defeat.

“My name…?” The Demonized Being froze, as if thinking. She lowered her head.

“Yes, you must have a name. You used to be human. Do you remember what you need to do?”

“I have to find… my… mother… AAAAHHH! Kill, kill! The voice tells me—kill everyone! Find her, kill her!”

As she thought, the briefly calmed Demonized Being went mad again. She let out a completely irrational roar, smashed headfirst into the fence, broke through, and charged out onto the street.

“Don’t run!”

Via grabbed her Magic Staff and gave chase.

Her instincts told her this matter was far from simple.

That Demonized Being definitely hid an extremely important secret.

A bold conjecture gradually formed in her mind.

“Could it be…?”