We pulled back from the lord for the time being.

He didn’t exactly cooperate with us, but he didn’t try to stop us either.

He was secretly hoping for it.

That we would find a cure for this damned poison.

Xenia was the first to speak.

“That poison… it’s absolutely vile. That Craving or whatever.”

“Yeah.”

“So Hyran Gois told them, if they wanted more of it, they would have to treat Kaeld like a hero, and even go so far as to use their own lives to threaten the emperor, right?”

“That’s likely. And if we dig deeper… this is probably Idria’s move to keep us from reaching the ‘Starting Point.’”

We nodded grimly.

That was when Serein spoke up.

“It’s nasty, sure, but maybe it’s not as hard to deal with as it looks?”

“Hm? How so?”

“If Xenia and I combine our healing spells, I think we might be able to drive the poison out of this domain. And while we are at it, I would like to get a feel for this ‘Gem of Desolation’ everyone’s talking about.”

A glimmer of hope lit up the others’ faces.

But I shook my head.

“It’s not that simple… No, wait. I guess for you two, it would be simple.”

“Pardon?”

“This won’t be resolved easily. If it could, Idria wouldn’t have used it to stop me.”

Poisons used by assassins are far worse than ordinary ones.

They are on a whole different level from what you would find on the black market.

I looked to Offense, signaling for him to explain.

But he just stared stiffly ahead, his face frozen.

Tap.

I lightly tapped his shoulder.

“What’s going through your head?”

“Ah. Uh… nothing. Anyway, Mide’s right, healing spells won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Because when Hyran makes poison, the one thing he focuses on most is this: making it so that only he can cure it.”

He sighed.

“Craving dissolves into the bloodstream the moment it enters the body. It turns your blood itself into poison. Healing spells work by hyperactivating bodily functions using divine power, right?”

“That’s the general idea.”

“Which is why it won’t work. That kind of spell would only accelerate the poison’s effects. Use it, and all you will end up with are energetic, lively poisoned people.”

Offense continued.

“And for the record, high-tier purification spells won’t help either. Purification is meant to restore things that go against the will of the gods, yeah?”

“Right.”

“But is poison really something that goes against the divine order?”

“…I guess not. There are plenty of poisonous plants and animals in nature.”

So in the end, solving this with spells is off the table.

I asked,

“Is there any way?”

“We need Hyran’s blood. That guy is walking poison and also walking medicine. If I can get a sample, I can make an antidote.”

Hmm.

I thought a moment and said,

“But Hyran’s body right now is a fake one made by Idria. Would blood from that fake body still work?”

“I doubt Idria made it with fake blood. That would be stripping him of his best weapon.”

“True. Changing the blood would be the same as disarming him.”

Then our priority is clear, we need to find Hyran.

We let out a long, heavy sigh.

Offense had finished his explanation, and his face went blank again.

He seemed to sink back into deep thought, so I asked,

“So what’s going through your mind now?”

“That moment I killed my master.”

“Hm. According to the Emperor, he died just after delivering the last batch of poison to the capita.”

“Yeah. The Captain of Alkahad was watching.”

He let out a short laugh.

“I let him see it on purpose. Back then, I was still a member of the assassin guild Hyran led. I was trying to subtly say, ‘The man you are after is dead, so stop hunting him.’”

“Wait, a member?”

“Why so surprised?”

“Well, with your skills, I figured you would have been an executive or something.”

Offense shrugged.

“There was a vice-guildmaster already. I was just a baby abandoned at the guild’s doorstep. No chance of clawing my way up.”

“Then that vice-guildmaster must have been seriously strong too. To have someone like you under them…”

“Eh. Maybe. Doesn’t matter now. The important thing is Hyran died by my hand.”

He elaborated a bit more.

Apparently, Hyran was heading home in high spirits after receiving a huge reward from the emperor.

Offense intercepted him on a mountain trail. No elaborate setup. And no particular struggle, he killed him just like that.

“I even gave him a proper burial. Haven’t gone back since, though.”

“Why not?”

“Seeing his grave would just bring back unpleasant memories.”

None of us had anything to say to that.

Then Offense brightened his tone, as if to change the mood.

“Right after I killed Hyran, I’m sure Idria snatched his soul. Before he crossed the Redby River.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Then she probably used his real body as a reference to build the fake.”

“But still… no matter how skilled Hyran was, he couldn’t have created enough poison to infect this whole region, right?”

“Didn’t Ophelia control insects when she was alive? Hyran’s probably been turned into a monster too. Idria must have granted him some power.”

He nodded.

I gave it a moment, then asked,

“Nothing else you want to say?”

Offense chuckled faintly.

“Not a thing.”

Alright. Then time to get started.

[Start what?]

‘Finding out how Hyran poisoned the people of this land.’

[Ah. So whose secret do you want to see along with Hyran’s?]

‘Tch… I should have asked the lord’s name earlier.’

Oh well.

I came to a stop.

The rest of the party turned around, a few steps ahead.

“What is it?”

“A fruit stand.”

“You want fruit?”

“Not really. But I’ll buy one for each of you. Come on.”

Even in this terrible situation, the people of the territory were continuing their daily routines.

This wasn’t something to applaud as diligence.

It was something to lament, a reality where they had no choice but to work despite everything, or else risk starving.

Anyway, I spoke to the fruit vendor, a dazed-looking woman staring into space.

“One bag of apples, please.”

“Ah, yes… I guess there are still customers even now. You must be from out of town.”

“Pardon?”

“No, wait a moment.”

With weak hands, she packed a bag of apples and handed it to me.

I said casually,

“These apples are incredibly fresh.”

“Thank you. But more importantly, you should leave this place at once. No, I suppose it’s already too late…”

“…I’m not sure what you mean, but may I ask your name? I’d like to recommend this place to my friends.”

“I… I’m…”

That’s when it happened.

Her hand, reaching to give me the apples, began to shake.

At first the tremor was small but soon her whole body was trembling like a leaf.

Thud.

The bag fell to the ground.

Xenia rushed over and asked urgently,

“Miss, are you alright?”

“Ugh. Not again… I can’t… I don’t want this anymore, please…”

“J-just a second!”

She instinctively tried to clasp her hands together.

But I stopped her quickly.

“The symptoms are starting.”

“Ah.”

“If we cast a healing spell now, it will just deepen the addiction. It’s hard to watch, but for now, we need to leave them be.”

She bit her lip and nodded.

And it wasn’t just the fruit vendor.

Before we realized it, the entire territory had turned into a scene straight out of hell.

“Aaaagh! It’s happening again! Again!”

“Pant, pant… Please. I’ll offer anything. Anything you want, just give me that smoke!”

“Mom… Mom… I think I’m going to lose my mind…”

“Aaaaaargh!”

Someone clawed at their own face until it bled.

Someone rolled on the ground like a madman, while another slammed their head into a wall over and over again.

One person licked shoes with their tongue.

One swam in a muddy puddle.

Another choked themselves with their own hands.

Adwin finally turned his head away.

“I can’t watch this…”

“Come here.”

Neril gently covered his eyes.

How long did that madness go on?

Whoooosh—

Suddenly, smoke began to drift in from the far side of the territory.

Green smoke.

From a distance, it looked like a massive sandstorm.

I gaped at the sight of it.

‘N-No way!’

[Hey. You are the leader. You can’t afford to panic. Get a grip.]

‘…You are right. Thanks.’

[Come on, you have seen way more grotesque stuff than that green fog. Why freak out now?]

‘It’s not the poison that shocked me. I saw something even worse.’

[Huh?]

Just as I was about to reply…

Offense shouted in horror.

“Put up a barrier! That’s the Craving poison!”

“Oh, divine one…”

“Grant us your shield, here and now!”

Xenia and Serein combined their magic to form a protective barrier.

A giant golden circle appeared in an instant.

Offense clicked his tongue.

“It’s too wide. Focus it just around us.”

“Huh? But—”

“If you protect the others from the poison right now, they will actually go insane. Someone might even take their own life.”

Reluctantly, Xenia and Serein shrank the barrier’s range.

And so the green smoke swept over everyone, except us.

As the gas spread, the eyes of the villagers writhing in agony began to regain focus.

“Haaah…”

“I-I think I can breathe again…”

“With this… I could do anything. Anything at all…”

“Pant… pant…”

They calmed down and started inhaling the green smoke eagerly, even joyfully.

Time passed.

And when the smoke finally cleared. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel[f]ire.net

The people began to rise, slowly.

The peace from moments ago was gone from their faces.

What remained was despair. Guilt. Utter self-loathing.

They clutched their heads and cried out.

“What kind of shit life is this? Dammit!”

“What was that smoke? What the hell is it?!”

“I would rather die.”

“I can’t live like this for the rest of my life… sob…”

“Dear… hang in there. Please…”

Lisel’s eyes reddened.

“That’s not a life. It’s unbearable.”

“Yeah.”

“They are like slaves from the past. Except instead of chains, it’s poison binding them.”

We all nodded solemnly.

Then Neril asked,

“That smoke just now… was that Hyran’s doing?”

“Most likely. And now we know how he poisoned the entire territory at once.”

That green smoke must drift in around the same time every morning.

It’s the perfect method for mass poisoning.

Serein looked absolutely furious.

“Let’s go track that Hyran bastard down right now! Xenia, you can find him with shared vision, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Offense, can you describe his appearance for me?”

“Wait… That guy’s face was so plain it’s hard to describe.”

“That’s enough. Thanks.”

“Huh?”

Xenia was just about to summon Agril…

But I cut in first.

“Wait a sec.”

“Yes?”

“He’s not using his real face anymore. Not the one he had when he was alive.”

“Ah… You think Idria changed his appearance when she made the fake body? But Ophelia still looked the same… at first, anyway.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Drip.

I could feel a cold sweat slide down the back of my neck.

When that green smoke came rolling in earlier, I was shocked.

But not because it was poison.

[Huh? Then why?]

‘Blood script. At the very top of the smoke, I saw black blood script hovering.’

[What the…?]

I started to explain it to Trail and everyone else.

“That green smoke from earlier, that is Hyran Gois.”

After finishing his “tour” around the domain, Hyran Gois settled atop a mountain that overlooked everything.

He had taken on a human form.

It was part of the power Idria had given him.

Hyran could turn his body into any poison he had created during his lifetime.

‘Truly generous of her. Tsk tsk.’

Hyran was very different from Ophelia.

Ophelia had stubbornly rejected Idria’s power until the end. But Hyran? He welcomed it with open arms.

The reason was simple.

He was in awe of Idria’s true goal.

“Still… it’s been a long time since I have seen that face again.”

Bright Death.

He had heard the guy had joined Mide’s party, but meeting him like this stirred old memories.

Memories of when that one had killed him…

Killed him, the guildmaster… and even left the vice guildmaster, “that child,” in such a state.

Grit.

Hyran clenched his teeth.

“It hurt quite a bit back then… my disciple.”

Back in the inn, we gathered in one of the rooms.

We needed to come up with a concrete plan.

“How do we draw blood from a cloud of smoke?”

No one responded to my question.

After glancing around, Adwin spoke up.

“I don’t think the wind blows forever. There will be a time when it stops.”

“Wise words.”

“Wait, no, I didn’t mean it in a philosophical way. I just mean, Hyran probably doesn’t enjoy staying in that form.”

He elaborated.

“When I first saw the green smoke, I thought something was off.”

“Huh?”

“There was a soul inside the smoke. I didn’t get a good look because Neril covered my eyes.”

“So much for protecting you.”

“Cough. Anyway, what I did see was a soul in obvious discomfort. I would bet anything that Hyran can’t stay in that form for long.”

So that green smoke only rolls in once per day?

And the rest of the time, he’s in human form?

Neril said,

“Still, it’s the same either way. The fact is, he can take on a gas form.”

“True.”

“So what happens if we storm his hideout? Wouldn’t he just turn into smoke again?”

“Hmm…”

Adwin folded his arms.

It was a solid idea, but without a way around that last obstacle, we were stuck.

Then Offense spoke.

“Then… we will just have to steal a bit of his blood… in secret.”

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