Chapter 121

“Ugh… Haah… No… I don’t want to be eaten… It hurts… Kyaaaah!”

At this point, having defeated the second corpse entirely, the corpse necromancer Lunton clutched her head and screamed.

Not again. At this point, it’s become unsettling to possess this laurel.

The black-patterned sigils crawled out from her hands, overtaking her body.

A girl, covered in black spots on her pale skin, collapsed to the ground.

“You killed them. They all died. It’s over now, hahaha… Hah… Ugh…”

The girl’s neck twisted oddly. Eyes burned from the darkness inside her robe.

“So I’ll burn you all the same.”

[The corpse necromancer ‘Lunton’ summons a random ‘Doll 3.’]

[The infamous difficulty is set to 10.]

[The Empire’s last Swordmaster · Reinhardt Shippott (0/1)]

– It’s here!!!!!!!!!!

– Isn’t this probability rigged? Today’s broadcast is legendary lol.

└ What’s the probability?

└ I don’t know; the story doesn’t reveal the probabilities.

└ In competitive ranks, the object spawn rate is below 1%.

– Normally, I’d welcome this with open arms, but why does it have to be at a time like this?

– Welcome, ranked 3 of the world!

– The entire world is against Adella ;;

– What happens if this one shows up during the tournament? Has it appeared before?

└ No, no; creatures like this and Mephisto never appear. Think about it logically.

└ It’s been a while since ACK opened; are there still people not watching the tournament?

– Just capturing it boosts its combat power immensely.

“What’s their problem taking it out on us? It seems like everyone with a laurel is a bit off! Oh, except for my sister…!”

– Among them, it seems the no-name is the craziest?

– Just shut it, Adella!!!

– There’s no time; focus on the fight!

“I’ll explain everything later. For now, let’s concentrate on the enemy.”

I thought knowing the enemy info would be sufficient for the Nightmare strategy, but I never expected to need to study the world alongside dinner time.

Thanks to this, knowing both Lunton’s identity and ‘my’ identity, I understood her despair fully.

The air suddenly grew heavy.

Even in the already thick atmosphere, it felt like the humidity added weight, choking me.

A doll made of clay rose from the ground and gradually took shape and color.

Amid the swirling vortex, a man reached for a large sword.

Surely, we were out of reach…

[Save the grad student: I forgot! No-name, step back right now!]

Instinctively sensing danger, Adella pushed me away.

“Sister!”

“…?”

A sword strike that sliced across the horizon.

Kuuuu-ka-!

The following violent pressure swept across the ground.

“Ouch, that hurts…!”

Adella, who received the shock, curled up on the floor, clutching her head.

The tip of her ear was sliced off by a sharp blade.

“Heal…!”

Red blood drenched her face around the wound. I hurriedly tried to use a mid-level heal, but the magic wouldn’t respond.

[Reinhardt’s domain has unfolded. Healing magic cannot be used.]

What timely notifications.

On a pinch, I tore my sleeve to stop the bleeding from her ear.

“Ugh! My ear hurts so much… Please tell me it’s not severed? My ear is fine, right?”

“If you keep worrying about it, it’ll hurt worse. Stop the bleeding and let’s get out of the domain quickly.”

“If I leave, you will!”

“After a time, healing won’t be possible. Do you want to live your life with half an ear?”

“What!? It really got cut off? Nyaaahhhh!”

Crying over a cut ear. The girl who didn’t show a hint of pain even when stabbed in the leg is now weeping over a minor cut.

At least she seems to know the rejuvenation magic, so as long as she can use magic, it should be fine.

[LG Chaos: I’m sorry. Actually, I’ve never met the boss either…]

[Save the grad student: This character doesn’t appear in pro games, so it’s understandable. How are we supposed to talk about this?]

It’s Swordmaster.

If this world’s Swordmaster is anything on par with Klaus, is it comparable?

If it’s Reinhardt Shippott, then it must be the person Alphonse spoke of before.

But starting off with distance attacks without any prior notice…

Fortunately, I had a chance to witness Alphonse’s unique magic; I felt like I couldn’t go without seeing what true ranged attacks were.

* * *

[Vtube]

[World of Arceria] [@worldofarceria_KR]

[World of Arceria | Lunton Nailinglink Character PV – “The Secret of Arceria Forest”]

[Warning: This video contains spoilers. Viewer discretion is advised.]

Hey, you passing by! I’m Lunton Nailinglink.

Are you busy? If not, could you lend me your ear for a moment?

So, you see…

Every moment I woke up was a continuous pain.

[Lunton Nailinglink! Don’t come out now!]

I didn’t even open my eyes at the sound calling for me.

From the moment my eyelids lifted, it was hell.

[What the hell is wrong with your head? You should be grateful just to be kept alive, you know? You wanna die like the other idiots?]

These were threats.

They could never kill me anyway.

I was one of the few chosen test subjects, a resource and nutrition. I had probably been called by names even more than “Lunton.”

Despite my desperate struggles against this, I was dragged away by the uncles once more.

What they demanded from me was obvious.

[Here, take it. We’re short on time, so swallow quickly.]

What I received in my hand was a purple pill.

One month…

One month’s worth of magic condensed into a pill.

This was unprecedented; I had promised myself that if cornered, I would die right then and there, but instead, I was gripped by fear.

[What are you resisting for? Want to crawl in on your own after getting your head cracked?]

I knew it was meaningless to resist against an adult, but I struggled with all my might nonetheless.

But all that returned was merciless beating and regret. And an endless self-loathing took root among the emptiness.

Eventually, numerous thorns burst forth from the ground.

[Aah…]

The soft, earthy smelling thorns stabbed mercilessly into my hands, arms, and legs. They pierced me. The smell of metal from the forge was suffocating.

As if not allowing me to let out even a final scream, the last thorn struck into my neck with a sickening crack.

A month of hell began.

…

…

Hell grew increasingly horrific.

After a day’s respite, I should take a month to rest, but the cycle was gradually shortening.

I emerged from a month of darkness unable to even scream in pain and just wanted to die.

Really, never again, absolutely not, could anyone endure this as a human.

I think I heard from the uncles that if you bite your tongue hard enough, you’d die. Should I bite my tongue now? Or I could see a sharp twig on the ground. If I cut my wrist with this, would I be able to die?

My wildly beating heart now felt like it was throbbing with pain. And at that moment…

[Stop it.]

[…?]

It was a voice soft as a spring breeze.

Turning towards the source of the voice, I saw another test subject like myself.

[First time seeing the same test subject?]

That couldn’t be true. It had already been five years since I came here. What surprised me wasn’t that.

[Ears…]

[Oh, what’s this?]

Her ears were extremely long.

At least they were half the size of her face.

Even I, who could claim to have experienced all kinds of hell for five years, only had a small lump on my ears.

It was a side effect of the pills.

But how long had she been trapped in this forest for her ears to become that long?

[I’m not sure. If I consider only the latest experiment, I think it’s been about a year. It was a time when the cherry blossoms were blooming.]

A year in a place where I couldn’t see, hear, or move; all I felt was pain.

It wasn’t normal. And as she said, her mental state was not normal either.

She stuttered, couldn’t remember what she just said, and drooled from her open mouth.

But whenever she got herself together, we continued our unfinished conversation.

[They say when that tree fully grows, demons will be summoned into this world.]

I realized that the thorns bursting from the ground were the roots of the immense tree. And I even learned that the name of that tree was ‘Wigrasil.’

[There can’t be much time left.]

Even if demons were summoned into this world, what did it matter to me? Every day was hell.

[Do you even have family? Where are you from in the Empire?]

I had family.

I didn’t remember clearly, but I had a loving mother and siblings.

I also told her that I hadn’t forgotten the fact that I had been bound and taken in a cart for days to come here.

But how did she know I was speaking the Empire Language?

[Didn’t you know? Everyone here is from the Empire. You, me, and those uncles too.]

Her words were shocking.

So the reason we had been suffering was all to nurture that tree…

It seems the Empire used children like me as scapegoats.

[Yet the fruits haven’t appeared for years.]

She explained why the intensity of the experiments was increasing.

[But there is still hope.]

By sending a message for rescue through a pigeon, she believed that someday someone would come to save us.

Despair and hope simultaneously arose.

If someone really came to rescue us, would I not get to meet my family again?

Summoning my small courage, I whispered to her.

“Let’s survive and meet again.”

But a day passed, then two, and I could no longer find her in the forest.

Ah… wait…! The story isn’t finished yet…

Are you still busy?

If not, could you save me?

Here in the Arceria Forest, where all the flowers glow brilliantly like shining stars.

The demons— Kyaaaah!

[Nightmare II]

[-WareSoft-]

* * *

Watching the no-name easily confront the Empire’s last Swordmaster, Lunton felt a sense of disbelief or fear brewing unconsciously.

‘The doll is being pushed back…?’

Even now, she was suffering from a splitting headache, borrowing the power of a demon.

Having drawn all the power of the laurel in exchange for devoting her entire life, she shared the same vision as Reinhardt Shippott.

A blade whose boundary she couldn’t discern flew in.

The instincts left behind by the doll were sending warnings.

If she didn’t act now, her neck would be severed.

There was no finesse in that movement; Lunton merely moved as the corpse desired.

Shiiick—

It sounded like the wind hitting the window, but the force behind that strike was tremendous.

Her heart raced. Every time an attack flew, her eyes shut tightly.

Lunton was unaccustomed to battles where life and death were at stake.

Yet, the reason the doll could continue to face the no-name was ultimately the power of the laurel.

Even amidst the relentless bombardment, the doll managed to find pathways.

As Lunton felt it all through her body, she wanted to cry.

“Just die… Please! I just want you to die!”

Whether that will was conveyed or not, Reinhardt’s body leaned forward.

He kicked the ground, furiously infusing aura into his sword.

Her muscle fibers tore, and the pain of losing her entire hand surged through Lunton.

“Ugh…!”

She was gripped by a strong intuition that it might be the last strike.

Hence, as she opened her eyes this time, she couldn’t keep her mouth shut at the sight that unfolded.

The giant’s body was impaled by her sword, hanging limply in the air.

She was astonished to see an arm supporting the Swordmaster’s immense weight.

How could a person become like pierced chicken on a skewer? She threw the sword into the wall and slowly stepped back.

“D-Don’t come… Come here, Succeeding one of Wigrasil! No, no! Don’t…!”

Though her body was without weapons, facing an endless, unfathomable depth would naturally instill fear.

Tap—

Even though the footsteps of the reaper closing in on her were right in front, Lunton Nailinglink couldn’t lift her head.

Her hands tightened around her own neck.

So, this is death. In the end, I’m going to die just like this.

Memories of desperately trying to survive under the prince, clinging to life for a day or two flooded back.

And realizing that the karma had finally come back to her, she was shocked when she confirmed the face before her.

“Sister?”

Just before being consumed by the laurel, her vision blurred and darkened; still, there was no denying it was the experiment subject she met in the Arceria Forest.

“Ugh… Ugh… Hic… Oh… It’s you, Sister… I’m really sorry for not recognizing you…”

As soon as she realized that the reaper trying to take her life was the sister she knew, tears gushed forth, overwhelmed by a sense of relief.

“All our family… they all died… The pope burned down the entire forest… Huh…”

“No, your family is all alive.”

“…! Really…? Can I believe you like that, just like last time…?”

Tears flowed over her darkened skin. The no-name wiped away the shadows cast on her face with her fingers.

“Yeah, Lunton Nailinglink.”

“Thank you… You must live…”

Lunton’s body went limp.

But with her tiny, fern-like hand, she didn’t let go of the no-name’s finger.

[You have defeated the corpse necromancer Lunton Nailinglink.]

Gently closing her eyes, she tucked the ring made from the laurel and exited the cave.

The no-name suddenly looked up and gazed at the indifferent sky.

In a world where the concept of elves didn’t exist, the faint voice of a woman claiming to be an elf rang out.

“This place really is a terrible world.”

[Part 2: The Eternal Matter, The Tragedy of the Nocturne END]

[Part 3: The Collapsing Tower of Babel]