CLANK CLANK CRACK BANG
A heavy symphony was adrift in the air, the sound of massive chains slithering across the floor and pillars shaking time and time again. The ground shook and trembled as massive figures moved, their step resonating all throughout the place.
What accompanied the trembles were subtle growls and roars, crimson red eyes glimmering inside the darkness. Eyes which drive fear into one's heart at a single gaze, peering into one's soul and ready to devour it whole.
There were just a single pair of eyes, but a multitude, an orchestra of red light shining like the starry night sky. The subtle and eerie breaths echoed in the air, the sound of dripping saliva accompanying them in a symphony of fear and darkness.
"How many of them are there... 10... No, 13?" ［Yuna］
"Yeah. There seems to be that many of them... These bastards were all just corpses yesterday... It seems that someone reanimated them." ［Grey］
"Hm? You can reanimate corpses?" ［Yuna］
"Well, it's a kind of summoning, you could say... However, these guys are entirely different... This isn't summoning magic..." ［Grey］
Said Grey as he scrutinized the place, his eyes lingering left and right as he watched every little detail there was to see. It was just yesterday when he saw them all as corpses, yet now, they are alive and breathing, moving as demonic beasts.
It was a completely different technique from summoning. Rather than turn one into an undead for a short while in exchange for mana, the ones before him have been fully "revived" with a new and ferocious personality, ready to go wild.
What's also stranger was that there were traces of experimentation all throughout their bodies, large scars to be found here and there and also some with burnt body parts. They were all test subjects for something they have yet to put together.
"Have there been no reports of beasts being smuggled into the city? With their size, it shouldn't be hard to miss them." ［Grey］
"I apologize, Your Highness, but we have received no such reports. At best, there were body parts and materials, but we have yet to see full-grown beasts."
"How about infants or eggs for that matter?" ［Grey］
"That... I cannot confirm that, Your Highness. Please forgive me."
"No, it's alright. That's more than enough." ［Grey］
And as it seems, it looks like the beasts have been kept in captivity ever since they were young, nourished into adults until they were ready for experimentation. It was only then that Grey realized that the beasts present were ones which grow up quickly.
Thankfully, because of that fact that they have to grow up quickly, there weren't any extremely powerful beasts amongst them. The most powerful one was a C-rank beast, and most of them were either D-rank or E-rank.
The knights can easily handle the E-rank ones by themselves, and the D-rank could be handled by higher ranked knights. For the stronger ones, they will have to be left to the Royal Guards. Anyone weaker would be easily torn apart.
『Grey... These demonic beasts... And the demonic beasts we fought from before... They're related, aren't they?』 ［Yuna］
『I can't say for certain, but there's a huge possibility.』 ［Grey］
『Then that's more than enough. Even if Duke Schemer is able to wiggle his way out, wouldn't this make his crimes even heavier.』 ［Yuna］
『Creation of demonic beasts? That's for certain... I doubt anyone would side with him once this gets out. He won't be able to get away from execution.』 ［Grey］
The connection was too strong to ignore. They were both puzzled by the unexpected increase of demonic beasts on their way to Aldengard, but seeing the sight in front of them, it was basically confirmed what the reason was.
No matter what the Duke's reasoning is, for creating such demonic beasts which not only endangered Aldengard's, but the other countries' as well. It was the heaviest of crimes, only death awaiting him in the days coming near.
But perhaps the most disturbing part of it all was the way the demonic beasts looked at them. There wasn't any tinge of curiosity nor caution, each one of them salivating as if they were looking at their prey, ready to pounce at them.
『Grey... These monsters... They've eaten people, haven't they?』 ［Yuna］
『... Rather than eaten, it would be more appropriate to say that they've been fed with people. I guess some of the victims were sacrificed to them.』 ［Grey］
『Sacrifice... Is this what they meant when they said they were gathering sacrifices? Was it all to feed them to these worthless beasts?』 ［Yuna］
『No, that's completely different.... Judging from the magic circles used for the rituals, what they were most likely after were their souls. For the people who were fed to the beasts... It was most likely for discipline, curiosity, or... entertainment.』 ［Grey］
Yuna already knew the answer, yet she still asked Grey just for the off-chance that maybe, just maybe, what she was thinking was wrong. However, reality could often be cruel. The victims were treated even less than animals.
Silence... There was only silence in the air, and what followed after were cold chills, the air temperature dropping down rapidly as if winter had come. Yuna had yet to release her aura, her everybody already felt suffocated by her presence.
The only thing which remained in her heart was rage, storming on and ready to tear down the foes standing before her. She has to take a step yet the cold ground has already become frozen, thin layers of frost creeping ever so slowly.
"Hey, how many knights are present here?" ［Grey］
"A-Ah, yes! Including me, there are 16 in total, Your Highness!"
"Good. Tell them all to not open any rooms for now and focus on helping out the victims. There may be other demonic beasts present, so be careful." ［Grey］
"Yes! As you wish, Your Highness!"
With Yuna in such a turbulent state, Grey decided to send off the knights to a further place and have them halt their investigation for the time being. They were to assist all the victims the best they could and make sure everyone was safe.
As soon as Grey gave his word, the knight immediately bowed his head and headed off away from them. After all, though Grey could handle the coldness of the air, the same couldn't be said for the knight. He wouldn't have lasted a minute.
And just when Grey was about to snap Yuna back to reality, the cold air suddenly stopped and the frost was reined in. Yuna had come back to her own senses, then heaving a lengthy sigh as she relaxed herself, eyes still glimmering cold.
"I would have flicked your finger if you hadn't regained composure any quicker... Good job on holding yourself back, Yuna." ［Grey］
"Un..." ［Yuna］
The young lady wanted to be angry and decimate the beasts in front of her, but like the prisoners the enemies had taken away, they were also just victims of their evil schemes. They also didn't wish to live in such a way.
Her boiling anger had calmed downー no, it had become dormant. Yuna had blown off all the steam towards the enemy once they met again and didn't just needlessly turn everything into frozen popsicles. It would only do more harm than good.
"Grey, let's finish off these beasts." ［Yuna］
"Yeah. Let's do that." ［Grey］
There was no need to dwell on useless feelings any further. With her determination now set, Yuna went ahead with Grey and finished off the demonic beasts one after another, sending them off painlessly with just a single strike.
Blades of wind danced throughout the room, accompanied by blue flashes of light as frozen lances bolted through the air. Some beasts tried to fight back, however, it was futile. They were all finished off in a jiffy without discrimination.
CLANK CLANK CRASH CRASH BANG ROOOOAAAARRRR
Just when they were about to finish everything, one of the beasts suddenly went extremely wild and feral, tugging on the chains and crashing its body towards the pillars in which it had been bound to most of its life.
It was the C-rank demonic beast, Rageifell, a cervine-type beast which looked much like a giant Caribou if anything. It was a Lightning-attribute beast, its lightning sparks ravaging all throughout the place, lashing out like deadly whips.
It was usually a D-rank beast, but now that it has become a demonic beast, it has been elevated one rank higher, becoming more feral and mindless in exchange. It didn't want to go down without a fight, trying to break off its chains.
BOOM BOOOM BOOOOMMMM ROOOOARRRRRR
And well, it did. After much desperation, the demonic Ragifell finally broke off the heavy chains bounding it to the pillars and its eyes shone with danger. It rampaged all throughout the place, its lightning bolting without any delay.
It wasn't long before the Ragifell's eyes fell towards Grey and Yuna, stomping its heavy hooves as if trying to threaten and intimidate the two, torrents of lightning running rampant throughout the place as it roared once more.
"What a ferocious fella. It sure is a lively one." ［Grey］
However, such intimidation was far from effective for Grey and Yuna, Grey remaining unfazed whilst Yuna prepared for her attack. A cold storm of mana had formed in her hands, swirling into a single mass, condensing stronger and stronger.
CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRR
The Ragifell roared and the lightning bolts thundered along with it. Despite still being weak from being bound, it didn't waste any time and recklessly charged towards Grey and Yuna, its horns pointing towards them as it bolted at high speeds.
Yet despite such a terrifying sight, both of them remained calm, not budging an inch and simply peering into the eyes of the raging Ragifell. The young lady then raised her hands towards it, a blue sphere of frost and death floating before her.
⟨⟨Icicle Lance!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
A flash of blue gleamed throughout the place and a frozen lance materialized out of thin air. It bolted out at the speed of lightning with the single snap of a finger, rushing towards the Ragifell's head without any hesitation.
The Ragifell's lightning bolts continued to lash out, however, it was futile, the icicle of frost remaining untouched and still bolting towards it, speed and trajectory unchanged as it continued to rush. The attack soon connected and blood was soon spilled.
The icicle pierced the Ragifell's head and bore a large hole through it, its whole brain skewered into a frozen mess until there was nothing left. The icicle was so cold, not even a single drop of blood trickled down the floor, all frozen in red crystals.
It had come unbound from its chains, but it couldn't even celebrate its freedom, the clutches of death greeting it as soon as it took its first steps. The Ragifell's large body wobbled a couple of times before falling to the ground with a loud thud.
"... Rest in peace." ［Yuna］
With that, everything was over. The suffering beasts have been sent to the other side and all that remained were cold corpses. Yuna sheathed her daggers once more and calmed herself with a deep breath, taking a final look at the massive beasts.
"Grey, all of these have beast crystals, right?" ［Yuna］
"Yeah, or at least they should. Unless something odd happened to them, there shouldn't be anything too different." ［Grey］
"They seem artificially made though. Wouldn't that make a difference?" ［Yuna］
"Polaris and the others' beast crystals were also from artificial beasts. Well, I guess it's still better to see for ourselves. Let's see and find out, shall we?" ［Grey］
There was not a single second to waste. As soon as Grey said his piece, he then flicked his fingers and used a little bit of magic. A blade of wind came rushing forth towards the fallen Ragifell and a large wound was made across its chest.
What followed after the first blade was a couple more, thin and sharp winds streaking all throughout its body, slicing and dicing the pelt and also cutting the bones into little manageable pieces, meat sliced soon after.
Before long, a shiny glimmer shone in the dark room, and there it was, a bright blue crystal protruding in the Ragifell's chest. It was a beast crystal, and a beautiful one at that. With Grey and Yuna's mana quality and quantity as it is, they should be able to summon a B-rank High Dragon with it.
"Grey... I want to summon this one..." ［Yuna］
"Hm? Why so suddenly?" ［Grey］
"Hmm... How do I say this... When it was fighting us, though it seemed very feral, I could feel its will to live. It was very powerful... It really wanted to live." ［Yuna］
It wasn't just the Ragifell. All the demonic beasts imprisoned in the dungeon as well were struggling to break free of their chains and escape the monotonic hellhole they have grown used to seeing, their flames ignited by a strong passion.
While Yuna was disturbed by the fact that they had eaten people, it wasn't like the beasts had any other choices to pick from. They were all just unfortunate victims of their circumstances, falling into the wrong hands at the wrong times.
They have become demonic beasts and they have lost their reason. It may just be a subtle trace of regret left in their corrupted mind, but Yuna felt it very clearly... Their will to live and their will to break free.
They may not be the same after the summoning, assuming entirely different bodies with no recollection of their past or lingering attachments, but they at least deserve another chance. It was the least Grey and Yuna could give them.
"... Alright, but let's summon them a little later. There's still a lot to do, after all. Let's just get these things over with first." ［Grey］
"... Un..." ［Yuna］
Yuna took a final look at the beast crystal and nodded her head after Grey's words. It was quite a bit regrettable that they couldn't summon them right away, but with their situation right now, it was for the best.
Grey and Yuna soon went around the room and dismantled the massive beasts one after another, taking out their beast crystals one after another. They might have to report them to the kingdom later, but it was best to keep them on them for now.
It didn't take too long before Grey and Yuna finished dismantling the beasts, only a couple minutes passing by them. With everything done and tidied up, only a few more rooms remained in the hideout, the knights reporting to them time and time again.
"Your Highnesses, we have found the document room."
Soon enough, only one more room was left. It was the most important one of them all, containing the supporting documents and evidence they'll be using later on. It was a large office, a mountain pile of records, letters, and research papers here and there.
"Have you found out which documents we could use as evidence?" ［Grey］
"Yes. We have secured documents detailing contact and involvement with Duke Schemer and other nobles. We have also secured the ledgers for their crimes."
"Good work. Give them to me. I'll personally hand them over to His Majesty after the day is over. Make sure to secure other physical evidence as well." ［Grey］
"By your will."
The Knight didn't dilly-dally any further. As soon as Grey commanded him, he handed over the documents without any hints of doubts or hesitation. In just a short time, they have come to gain the trust of the knights, the latter following them without question.
However, even when Grey had already received the documents from the knight, yet the latter seemed to still have something to say. Behind him was another knight, a couple of documents held in his arms, holding it securely.
"Hm? That is..." ［Yuna］
"Your Highnesses, there is something you need to see."
Said the Knight as he handed over a thick slab of paperwork, tons of characters and written throughout all the pages. It was a pile of documents the knights found after opening a safe, detailing the process and results of a diabolic research.
They were research papers which described the process of creating demonic beasts, capturing beasts and corrupting their souls in order to power them up and turn them into complete monsters, weapons of destruction ready to bring ruin and death.
However, it wasn't just demonic beasts for such was only the first steps. The real goal of the research was to turn people into "demons", beings whose soul has been engulfed by corruption and who are not any different than monsters.
While they do become stronger, slowly but surely, they will lose their reason and they will become organisms that wanders the world solely to bring death and destruction, yet still retaining skills and abilities of its former self.
"How many of these papers have you found?" ［Grey］
"Those are the only ones, Your Highness."
"... Keep looking. There may be more hidden elsewhere. Make sure to bring them all to us as soon as possible. Don't leave a single stone unturned." ［Grey］
"Yes! As you command!"
Grey and Yuna continued to read the papers, and the more they did, the more they found it more repulsive and more infuriating. Especially the number of innocent lives sacrificed to fulfill the goals of such ridiculous research.
The process involved using magic inside the prison, turning raw mana in the air into corruption. Normally, these would simply scatter throughout the world and form all sorts of monsters, however, the enemies were prepared for such.
They have engraved runes in the beasts' and people's bodies to absorb the recently made corruption into their bodies, and soon enough, dye their souls with it. It was a painful process, making the body feel like it's being soaked in a pool of lava.
The first phases only involved animals, then soon came beasts, and finally came the sacrifices they had taken away from all throughout the city. They also experimented if it would work with High-Ranking beasts in the wild, feeding it with demonic beasts and corrupted people until they're full.
"... And they were successful..." ［Grey］
"So this is where all those wild demonic beasts came from... This basically confirms it, doesn't it, Grey? This confirms it, right?" ［Yuna］
"Yeah, it does. All the nearby beasts and the ones in the ocean... This also means the one behind the Leviathan incident in Torogi, is..." ［Grey］
"Duke Schemer... That irredeemable piece of trash...!" ［Yuna］
Yuna was trembling in anger. Just remembering what happened to Marika and her people was enough to make her blood boil. Several villages were destroyed and a large number of lives were lost. It was unforgivable.
And just as Yuna dwelled in her anger, Grey continued to read. The experimentation on people to create demons and all that took in order to progress even a little. They all struck his nerves, barely maintaining his composure as he did.
Just a month ago, the research has created a demon which had a stable mind which lasted about half an hour. However, for such a progress to occur, several thousand lives were lost, blood shed all throughout the kingdom.
Now, with the help of alchemy and more sacrifices, they have created a drug from the blood of their experimental demons that turns one into a demon yet still allows them to think relatively reasonably, progress created from a river of blood.
It was no wonder the Duke was extremely confident. With such a drug in hand, they could turn their allies much stronger, enough to shift the balance of power between the two opposing parties. A move only a madman would think of.
"Your Highness! We have found something else in another safe! There are other papers, and also some pills as well."
"Pills? Give them to me." ［Grey］
There was no time to waste. As soon as the knight returned, Grey immediately got his hands on what they brought. He read through the files at lightning speed, learning more of their atrocities, and soon enough he took a look at the pills. Surely enough...
⟨⟨Appraisal⟩⟩ ［Grey］
-----------------------------------
[Item]
[Name]Dark Moon's Pearl (Partially Complete)
[Grade]Superior (Low-Tier)
[Description]
A pill created from the blood of demons. It contains a massive amount of corruption and is a deadly poison to all living things. Once consumed, it will explode the mana quantity and quality inside the body will be enforced. However, in exchange, one will slowly lose their rationality. The stronger one is, the longer they can stay sane.
-----------------------------------
... They were the aforementioned drugs which turned people into demons. The very pills created from the blood of innocent people who have been turned into demons regardless of their wills and wishes.
The research papers and the pills now in Grey's hands are evidence the King and the others must know of. He quickly stored one of the pills in the Inventory, making sure to keep it safe. As for the other things...
"Y-Your Highness?! Wh-What are you doing?!"
... There was no need to let them exist in the world. Grey flicked his fingers and sharp blades of wind started appearing. They shredded the papers and pills to fine power, soon incinerated by crimson red flames, burnt into oblivion.
"There's no need for anyone to know about these things. Other than the things which can be used as evidence against the Duke, eliminate everything else. Shred them or burn them. Do whatever it takes to make sure they cease to exist." ［Grey］
"... Y-Yes!!" "Understood! Your Highness!" "Men, make haste!"
The documents and items were too dangerous to be left lying around, several lives at stake as soon as they fell into the wrong hands. Grey only kept one pill to tell the King of its existence, but after which, he would quickly dispose of it. It was for the best,
After such a dark scene, the times of chaos continued, several hideouts raided and hundreds of worthless lives lost in the hands of Grey, Yuna, and their allies. It was a devastating bloodbath and extermination, hidden from the eyes of the world.
Darkness approaches close.
CHAPTER 424 END