novelnext Chapter 240 : Chaos (6)
Chapter 240 : Chaos (6)
The appearance of the two women was something neither Lian nor the Man without a Head (Male) had anticipated at all.No—perhaps it would be more accurate to say that even Lancia Jintia and Artemia Russelant themselves, the very ones who had suddenly appeared here, had never expected this either.
“…….”
“…….”
The two of them began looking around with trembling eyes.
It was as if they were trying to grasp where exactly they had fallen, and whether the scene unfolding before their eyes was truly reality.
“Ah.”
The first one Artemia noticed was Lian Gwendil.
After enduring such a grueling stretch of time that she had been exhausted to the brink, her eyes faintly—yet clearly—revealed a trace of relief.
It was the kind of gaze people would show when they had finally returned to their hometown after barely surviving.
On the other hand, the first thing Lancia noticed was…….
“Ah, ahhh……!”
A scream that seemed to boil up from deep within her.
Then, like someone possessed by something, she immediately rushed toward a single point without even sparing a moment to check her own condition.
The place her gaze was fixed upon.
The only target she charged toward.
Was the Man without a Head (Male).
“……Hm.”
At her sudden action, the Man without a Head’s body flinched ever so slightly.
“Wait, Miss Lancia……!”
Startled, Artemia hurried to chase after her, but her body—having neither eaten nor rested properly for days—did not respond as she wished.
She managed no more than two or three steps.
At the same time, perhaps due to the abrupt situation, Lian’s reaction was slightly delayed as well.
In that fleeting moment, when no one managed a proper response, Lancia had already reached the Man without a Head’s very front.
“……Die!”
With a cry that was almost beast-like, the sword in her hand flew toward his body with fierce momentum.
……Let me turn back time just a little.
In a desolate, barren plain, Lancia Jintia and Artemia Russelant had been standing side by side.
“…….”
“…….”
At a glance, both of them were in a terrible state.
Whether because they had gone several days without properly eating, drinking, or resting, their faces were pale, and their lips were dry and cracked.
Their clothes were in no better condition, so tattered that there was hardly a single intact spot.
“……There’s nothing.”
Artemia muttered softly with a small sigh.
Her voice was heavily hoarse, splitting weakly.
“It’s already been several days since we came here….… Not even a hint of human presence, let alone a small animal. If this continues, we might truly die at this rate.”
“…….”
Instead of answering, Lancia pressed her lips tightly together.
Her eyes still burned faintly yet distinctly, as if declaring that she had not given up.
Watching her like that, Artemia let out another sigh.
‘……How on earth did we end up in a place like this.’
By the time they realized they had been done in by the Man without a Head (Male), it had already been too late.
When they regained consciousness, they had been thrown—just the two of them—into a wilderness where there was literally nothing.
Moreover, having wandered countless lands during her life as a mercenary, Artemia was forced to accept the cruel truth that this place was so far removed that she could not even guess its name.
A land so barren that not only were there no people, but no proper flora or fauna to speak of.
Could they return?
No—could they even survive until tomorrow?
“……Let’s endure just a little longer. Help will surely come.”
“…….”
Artemia said that to Lancia.
It was meant to encourage her, but Lancia stood there in silence, as though her mind had snapped, offering no response.
Artemia glanced at her shoulder.
A crude bandage, made by tearing her own outer garment, was tightly wrapped around Lancia’s shoulder.
Unfortunately, the bandage—soaked through with blood—had failed to achieve proper hemostasis.
The Iron Needle that had been embedded in her shoulder from the Man without a Head’s attack.
Strangely, the Iron Needle had not budged in the slightest, as if it had taken root inside her body. In the end, Artemia had no choice but to cut away all the flesh around where it had been lodged.
Fortunately, once the flesh had been removed, the Iron Needle lost its force as if it were a lie, crumbling into powder and vanishing.
A wound that did not heal even when Divine Power was poured into it was certainly no ordinary injury.
Gazing at Lancia’s shoulder, which still had not closed, Artemia murmured quietly.
‘What in the world was that Iron Needle.’
No—more than that…….
Just as she was sinking into thought—
“……I found it.”
Lancia muttered lowly.
She carefully raised a finger and pointed toward a spot in the air.
“If we go there…… we’ll be able to return.”
Soon after, Lancia staggered as she took a step forward.
Artemia hurriedly supported her.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“Can you move on your own?”
At Artemia’s question, Lancia nodded.
“……Yes, as long as we can return.”
In her voice, alongside an indescribable sense of anticipation, was mixed a dreadful hatred and fury.
“…….”
Artemia fell silent.
If someone else had said they could return, she would have dismissed it as nonsense spoken by someone who could not endure the situation.
But thinking about what Lancia had shown over the past few days……
Yes—thinking about what her eyes had shown…….
“I’ll assist you.”
“…….”
Lancia did not refuse Artemia’s support.
Then the two of them began walking in one direction without another word.
Before long, they discovered something in midair that looked as though it were warped—like a piece of black cloth fluttering in empty space.
Lancia thrust her sword into it as if she were possessed by something.
And then…….
* * *
“……I’ll kill you!”
Lancia ground her teeth as she spat the words out.
Her sword flew straight toward the Man without a Head (Male).
Slash.
A dull yet chilling sound rang out.
However, unfortunately, the severed body of the man returned to its original state in an instant, as though nothing had happened.
“…….”
Lancia stared at him with trembling eyes, as if she could not believe it.
But she immediately tightened her grip on her sword once more.
“Kh.”
Unfortunately, her body—already pushed to its limits—no longer moved according to her will.
Watching her stagger, the Man without a Head (Male) spoke as if in pity.
“You are…….”
He gave a small nod.
“It has been a while. You managed to survive.”
“You bastard……!”
“Hmm, we met only a few days ago and now again today, so perhaps saying ‘it has been a while’ is not quite appropriate?”
As he said that, he picked up the stick that had fallen to the ground.
It was the one Lian Gwendil had split in two. As if it could not be helped, he casually brushed the dust off it with a few light taps of his hand.
“Judging by your appearance, you must have suffered greatly in the meantime. You look quite dreadful.”
“Shut up……!”
“Hmm.”
Even at Lancia’s razor-sharp shout, the man merely shrugged leisurely.
“But in that feeble condition, can you truly kill me? As you are now, it seems you would not even be able to properly kill a single child.”
At his taunting words, Lancia bristled and was about to lunge—
“Senior Lancia.”
Before she knew it, Lian had stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
Lancia stared at him blankly for a moment before giving a small nod.
She had realized that she had been overly agitated just moments ago.
“Lancia, was it.”
The man quietly spoke her name.
“It is truly a beautiful name. If you would permit me, may I call you by it?”
“What a disgusting thing to say.”
Lian answered shortly as he adjusted his stance.
The man still maintained a relaxed posture, as if nothing concerned him.
Meanwhile, Artemia Russelant, who had approached Lian’s side, spoke to him in a low voice.
“……My apologies. We are late.”
“No. Rather, I am relieved you returned, even if only now.”
As he said that, Lian glanced at her.
Her condition was no better than Lancia’s.
“Are you alright?”
“There is no problem. Injuries of this level are nothing.”
Artemia replied quietly but firmly.
“I will make my report later.”
“…….”
“For now, we must deal with him first.”
At her words, Lian nodded.
That was the priority.
“……I see.”
Watching them, the man murmured as if something had just occurred to him.
“Previously, I embedded an Iron Needle in you. If my memory serves me correctly, it was your shoulder…… Seeing that the blood-soaked bandage still wraps it, the wound must have been quite deep. You must have suffered greatly. How unfortunate.”
Instead of answering, Lancia merely ground her teeth.
“……The one who is unfortunate is you.”
She growled.
“You will die by my hand, here and now.”
“Unfortunate, you say…… I wonder.”
The man shrugged.
His voice was still brimming with composure.
“Perhaps you are the one who is truly unfortunate. After all, you are one who possesses it.”
“……What?”
“No, on the contrary—because you possessed it, you were able to return alive from that desolate place…… Hmm, how should I put it.”
Lancia frowned, clearly not understanding the nonsense he was spouting.
But the man continued regardless.
“There was certainly intent behind my embedding the Iron Needle in you. Originally, it was meant to pierce your heart precisely. However, because you twisted your body unexpectedly, it ended up lodging in your shoulder instead. I considered that a clear failure.”
He continued calmly.
“But now that I see the result, it was not a failure at all. Rather, it was the greatest stroke of luck for me.”
His gaze swept over Lian and Lancia in turn.
“……You believe that I created this Iron Needle to revive the dead, do you not?”
As he said that, he declared in a quiet voice overflowing with ecstasy—
“No. Rather, I created it to target those who possess it…… like you, and the one standing beside you.”
“The more I listen, the more you speak nothing but incomprehensible nonsense……!”
As if there were no need to hear more, Lancia shouted fiercely.
She cried out in the name of the conviction she believed in.
She raised her sword while calling the name of the one and only being she believed in—the one who had saved her in the past…….
“In the name of Lord Popolotuass, I will cut you down here and now!”
And the name she invoked was not that of the merciful Creator God Ilionel.
“……?”
“……What?”
At her cry, not only Lian but even Artemia reacted with visible shock.
The only one who did not realize the strangeness was Lancia herself.
“…….”
The man’s body trembled silently.
If he had possessed a face, he would undoubtedly have been smiling more brightly than ever before.