Thwack!
As the tip of Silverna's spear struck Jonathan, he fell to the ground with a thud. Covering his mouth with one hand, he raised his head.
"No matter the reason, I can't accept this kind of behavior right now."
A menacing aura.
It was as though she was forcibly suppressing her instinct to swing her spear, gripping it tightly.
"Kihik! Puhaha!"
"Hey! Stop it already!"
Even as Sharen yelled in anger, Jonathan clamped his hands over his mouth.
However, his gaze remained fixed on the pile of corpses, as if he instinctively wanted to take in the sight for as long as possible.
In the end…
"You bastard-!"
Silverna, unable to hold back, swung the shaft of her spear fiercely, hitting Jonathan's temple.
Smack!
Jonathan collapsed instantly, unconscious. However, an unsettling smile lingered on his face as though frozen by the cold.
"What the hell is going on?!"
The massacre of the Andes villagers was already overwhelming, but with Jonathan causing a ruckus, it only added to Silverna's headache.
Grabbing her head in frustration, she let out a long sigh and looked at Sharen.
"For now, since he's from Helmut, keep an eye on him. The rest of us will head inside and figure out the situation."
"Got it!"
Sharen stood on the unconscious Jonathan with one foot, keeping watch.
The rest of the group moved toward the corpses, with Isaac and Silverna leading the way.
"What kind of lunatic…?"
"Just like Anna said earlier, there are signs that specific body parts were carved out."
Due to the swarming maggots, parasites, and flies, it wasn't easy to see clearly, but it was evident that special parts, like eyes and thumbs, had been gouged out.
"Ugh."
Anna took a step back, feeling nauseated, and began scouting around the village.
Meladik also kept a cautious distance, surveying the surroundings.
This was because of what Isaac had just mentioned: some of the corpses appeared to have died not long ago.
"Why would someone do this? Organ trafficking?"
"Then they'd have kidnapped people. Besides, parts like eyes and thumbs wouldn't be of much use."
"That's true… Then what? Pillaging? Torture for entertainment?"
"It's possible."
Isaac glanced around subtly.
"But that seems unlikely."
Silverna, immediately understanding his implication, bit her lip.
"Valuable items are still here. So, it wasn't pillaging."
Normally, in a raid by bandits, they'd take everything of value, leaving a village like a gutted fish. But in the Andes village, while the people were gone, the belongings remained untouched.
"Then I'm even more confused. What's going on here?"
Frustrated, Silverna slammed the ground with the butt of her spear. The mystery surrounding these deaths was clearly weighing on her.
"Damn it. If we had arrived a little earlier, maybe we could've saved them."
As Silverna let out a voice filled with regret, Isaac silently churned through his thoughts.
He was reasonably certain of one thing.
'It's sorcery.'
It wasn't bandits, nor organ traffickers, yet specific body parts had been mutilated.
The goal wasn't to rob people of their possessions but to use people as sacrifices.
"Judging by how they've piled up the bodies, it hasn't started yet. If this involves using humans for sorcery, it's no ordinary spell."
He suspected it was something even more sinister than the subjugation sorcery that had once afflicted Polo.
"Wait…"
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Isaac.
'Did Polo die in my previous life?'
The revelation about the Blackson family's secret, which had come from Transcendent Beom Baek, had only been possible because of Isaac's efforts. Because of this, Polo, a member of the Blackson family, joined Recon Team 5, and when he fell victim to a yeti, the subjugation sorcery was activated.
"In my previous life, Polo didn't die."
He was almost certain.
If he assumed that the massacre in the Andes village hadn't happened in his previous life either, the connection between the two events became clearer.
'The link is sorcery.'
Did the Transcendent who cast the spell on Polo come to this place?
Did Polo's death change the circumstances?
As his skin prickled with unease, Isaac placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Silverna-!"
He turned his head urgently, shouting, but at that very moment, he caught sight of someone approaching from the mountain path connected to the village.
The air grew heavy.
The once-pure and gentle northern winds turned vile, leaving a sticky, unpleasant sensation in their throats.
Long hair flowed down to the ankles, and they wore attire reminiscent of a priest. The book held in his hand was so thick that even holding it with one hand seemed burdensome.
His pale skin and the pair of horns on his head signaled that he was no ordinary human.
"That's him, right?"
Silverna had already locked her gaze on him. The others, too, were overwhelmed by his presence, swallowing hard in silence.
"Oooh."
If Baem Baek had been a transcendent being resembling a tiger, this man looked like a devil straight out of myth.
His teeth jutted out of his lips, giving him a menacing appearance, yet his demeanor and speech were as refined as those of a gentleman.
"The Fifth Recon Team! I've wanted to meet you for so long!"
What's more, he seemed to know about the Fifth Recon Team quite well.
"You know us?"
At Anna's question, the man smiled warmly.
"Of course, I do. You fought valiantly against my vassal, didn't you? That was quite an impressive effort, given how much effort I put into perfecting that spell."
He pressed the book to his chest and closed his eyes as if mourning for Polo.
"I was quite surprised when the subjugation spell on my vassal activated so unexpectedly.
That's why I came here."
"You're the one responsible?"
"Oh, my apologies for the late introduction! I am Nortemus! You could call me Polo's master."
Polo's death, something that hadn't happened in Isaac's previous life, had now caused yet another calamity.
"Damn it."
Isaac rested his hand on his blade, but he hesitated to draw it.
In Baem Baek's case, he'd had the Malidan Wall to retreat to, trusting that Uldren Caldias could help turn the tide.
But here, they had no such means to defeat a transcendent being.
"Could we even…?"
No matter how he calculated, the conclusion was always the same: impossible.
Even if Silverna had grown stronger, they weren't ready to face a sorcery-wielding Transcendent.
"Hoo."
Knowing the gap in power, Nortemus seemed completely at ease, his gaze suddenly shifting to someone unexpected.
"The young lady of Helmut, I presume?
"Pardon me, but could you kindly remove your foot?"
"Huh? Me?!"
"Yes, you. That halfwit looks like a dear compatriot to me."
Sharen glanced down at Jonathan, still unconscious under her foot, but refused to move. She seemed unwilling to back down, as if conceding would feel like losing.
"N-no, I won't!"
"Haha, this is quite the predicament."
Nortemus closed his eyes for a moment, then smiled gently as he made a suggestion.
"How about this? If you leave that compatriot to me, I'll pretend I never saw you. You can pretend the same about me."
"Don't be ridiculous-!"
"Caldias, watch your tongue."
Nortemus's killing intent instantly silenced Silverna's frustrated outburst.
"I don't want any interference, so I'm letting you go. I thought you'd be grateful for the mercy and thankful you didn't need to beg for your lives."
There was no bluff, no falsehood in his tone. It was pure confidence that he could end them all.
He turned his gaze from Silverna back to Sharen, smiling brightly.
"Lady of Helmut, I must insist on my request. If you refuse, I'll have no choice but to kill all your companions."
"O-okay…"
Overwhelmed, Sharen hesitated before cautiously lifting her foot. At that moment, a sticky black substance formed on Nortemus's fingertips.
It sullied the air as it stretched toward Jonathan. The black substance wrapped around the unconscious Jonathan like an embrace, pulling him to Nortemus's side.
"Even if he's a halfwit, he is still my kin."
With affection, Nortemus gently caressed Jonathan's cheek. Jonathan's skin turned red and blotchy as swollen veins emerged.
"And so, our agreement is complete. Ah, what a wonderful day this is!"
Nortemus raised both hands high and laughed brightly.
"I've gained a companion, and you've kept your lives! Truly, a moment of grace and blessing! Let us offer praise to the gods!"
The thick book he held fluttered in the wind, its pages turning rapidly.
Watching this, Silverna whispered to Isaac, who stood beside her.
"If we fight…?"
"We die. Without a doubt."
This man was even more dangerous than Beom Baek.
"Farewell, everyone. Especially to the young lady of Helmut. I sincerely wish you well."
Nortemus bowed deeply, showing utmost courtesy. In response, Meladik and Anna cautiously stepped back.
However, Silverna stood still.
"Hmm?"
It was because Isaac hadn't moved.
"I thought you were the most rational one here, but it seems you're surprisingly stubborn." Nortemus said with a faint smile, directing his gaze at Isaac.
"Didn't you just say we shouldn't fight?"
To think he had heard even the whispers from this distance. Isaac marveled once more at the extraordinary capabilities of the transcendent, but he responded calmly.
"If we turn our backs now, we'll die."
"..."
Nortemus's expression turned cold. The demeanor of a gentleman disappeared as he set his shoulders and pressed the book to his chest.
"How did you know?"
"Transcendents don't let humans live."
"Well, you seem to know a bit about us. But just as all humans aren't the same, neither are we."
"That might be true."
But not for this one.
"I don't believe a lunatic like you would just let us go unharmed."
"A lunatic? Have you ever seen such a polite lunatic as I?"
Even as the cold froze his body and the tension made his limbs stiffen, Isaac didn't lower his guard as he answered.
"You don't believe in God."
"..."
"A person like you, wearing priestly robes and carrying a book as if it's some sacred scripture? People who pretend to be divine messengers without belief are either lunatics or con artists."
"Heh, heh heh."
Nortemus tilted his head, letting out a chilling laugh.
"How astute."
His gleaming eyes fixated on Isaac.
"How very astute."
The low, drawn-out voice resembled the prelude to an orchestral overture.
Something was about to begin. The air grew heavy, laden with an ominous atmosphere.
"Urgh, ughhh!"
With a groan, Jonathan began to stir. Black patterns of unknown origin spread across his body, while his sclera turned black, blending indistinguishably with his pupils.
"Ah, my kin."
Nortemus smiled brightly as he welcomed Jonathan.
"How does the world look to you now? I've prepared this ritual in hopes that you might sever your ties with humanity!"
Pressing the book to his chest, Nortemus gracefully gestured toward Recon team 5 with his other hand. He looked like a waiter inviting someone to a meal.
"Feast upon them. Devour them. Prove to us that you are one of us, my kin!"
At his words, Jonathan raised his greatsword. His teeth, once orderly, extended with a crunching sound, making him resemble a vampire from folklore.
"Now then, together we shall stand against the world, my kin—!"
Thud!
The greatsword pierced through the book, shooting toward the sky. Dark red blood dripped from the blade's tip. Both the book and Nortemus were impaled, his head creaking as he turned to glare at Jonathan.
"M-my kin…!"
"No."
Tears welled up in Jonathan's blackened eyes.
"I'm… I'm not your kin!"
"I am—"
With trembling and tears, Jonathan muttered as he struggled to move.
"A proud and noble knight of Helmut!"
At Jonathan's declaration, Nortemus's face twisted into a hideous snarl.