The Druid Who Swallowed Mother Nature - Chapter 17



Only Noblemtl

Episode 17. Answer me.

The room was filled with countless unidentified research instruments and experimental equipment.

Cloudy smoke flowed from the flask containing the black reagent, and something cultured stirred inside the broken glass plate.

The most striking feature was a huge glass tube with pipes connected in a haphazard manner.

Shards of broken glass were scattered on the floor, as if something had burst out from inside.

Hela asked me, looking straight at the warlock standing at the center.

“Warlock? Why is a Warlock here when there are Corrupted?”

“That must be his problem.”

It’s unusual considering that Corrupted is a discarded byproduct, but that’s just how Warlocks are.

Crazy people who can’t be judged by normal thinking.

Trying to understand it with common sense just gave me a headache.

“Damn, this is outside the scope of the request.”

Hela frowned.

Basically, it is better not to touch any agenda items outside the scope of the request.

The first reason is that unnecessary favors can easily accumulate, and the second reason is that there is no reason to do so.

There is no compensation for dying in an unexpected situation.

Even if there is compensation after death, it is not something that mayflies hope for.

As with the runaway goblin, if you survive you can get as much money as you want, but it’s not something to be weighed against your life.

“I was just trying to get a moderate amount of prey, but maybe my calculations were wrong. I didn’t eat that many, but some unique rats came to me.”

Even in the face of the enemy, the black magician remained calm and composed.

He muttered to himself with an unfocused gaze and a small voice.

“I was hoping to just stir things up a bit and then leave, but I didn’t know that I would end up making the landlord’s bedroom dirty with my feet.”

The unpleasantly scratchy tone betrayed his discomfort.

“I will give you a chance.”

But the warlock soon relaxed his shoulders and made a friendly offer.

“I bet you don’t want to get involved in something useless. Just pretend you didn’t see anything and leave. I’ll let you go.”

“I think I missed one part of the explanation.”

I responded with a snort.

“Even if we say we’re going, we don’t have the heart to send them off safely without doing anything.”

I remember the guy’s first words clearly.

The theft of life through curses is the basis of black magic.

“Of course, if you mess up someone else’s front yard, you’ll have to pay the price.”

A snickering, eccentric laugh escaped the warlock’s lips.

“Your skin will peel off. Starting from the tips of your feet, then gradually up to the crown of your head. Your muscles will melt and holes will form in your bones. It will be so painful that you will want to die. The pain you will experience will be the source of my magic. I can’t wait. It will be more beneficial than the loss of your test subjects.”

The rapid mumbling of his speech was creepy.

A behavior that hints at madness, like looking at a broken doll.

This is because the dark magic has penetrated deep into the marrow and contaminated the mind.

“Fuck, the price is ridiculous. If you have a front yard, you should at least take care of your pets. A dog bites a person, and you blame it on someone else.”

Hela showed her blatant disgust towards such warlocks.

“Aren’t you going back?”

“I’m not an idiot, so maybe you didn’t hear what I was saying earlier?”

Hela clicked her tongue and adjusted her spear.

“It’s outside the scope of the request, but I can’t help it. I guess I’ll have to go back and take care of that kid.”

“You are making a foolish choice.”

The warlock’s expression hardened.

As soon as the empty laughter stopped, the atmosphere changed.

A heavy pressure weighing down on your shoulders.

The materialized black magic rose above his hand and formed a sphere.

“I will take your heart.”

Soon, black magic power stretched out like a whip and shot out.

The debris that was placed in the shooting orbit was skewered.

It was a grand magical event that threw away things like secrecy, but its power stood out.

Kwaaang!

However, the trajectory was honest and upright, unlike the wizard’s sinister nature.

If you can predict it, avoidance is easy.

As the black magic passed over my chest, a blue flash of light ran right next to me.

“It’s over.”

Crunch!

It was a lightning-quick strike that even the Warlock’s body vision could not keep up with.

The warlock’s head flew into the air as Hela’s spear blade flashed.

Only the hands and feet of the guy who didn’t notice the death were flailing around in the air in a strange way.

Hela spat on the floor.

“You idiot, a wizard allows a warrior to approach without even preparing a defensive spell?”

Finally, the body of the warlock who had been kicked rolled on the floor.

The compatibility between a wizard and a warrior is determined by the wizard’s preparedness.

The key to victory was whether or not the wizard could block the approach of a warrior armed with sharp weapons and incredible physical abilities.

In that sense, the black magician was naive, as if he had never experienced a close combat.

The guy allowed Hela to approach him so foolishly, without even having a prepared spell.

It was a natural result that the two sides lost their heads in one fell swoop.

“… … Look straight ahead.”

“what?”

“There is no bleeding. He is alive.”

But I didn’t let my guard down.

It is a world where advanced magic engineering is mixed with fantasy and all kinds of monsters are running rampant.

A monster that doesn’t die even if its neck is cut off is not surprising.

“… … Hmm, I’m definitely not sensitive enough with this body. It was an expected development, but I couldn’t react.”

A voice flowed from the separated throat.

It was a majestic sound, as if magic had been used to replace the severed vocal cords.

“Damn, he really isn’t dead.”

“The body is just a shell.”

The body that had been on the floor walked briskly and lifted my head.

As the neck was attached to the cut surface, the magical power that had become thin like a thread sewed up the wound.

‘Is this a life vessel?’

A magic that splits and stores the soul.

Although it is rare to run it due to its instability, it is something that any sponsored warlock should prepare for.

‘Based on what you said, it seems like there might be a connection.’

However, it is foolish to believe the enemy’s words at face value.

First of all, if the Life Vessel existed, the spirits who were wary of black magic would have informed me first.

All sorts of methods he might have used flashed through my mind.

After considering numerous possibilities, only one seemed plausible.

“You experimented on the chimera on my body.”

“You have a good eye for detail.”

The tough life force of a chimera could regenerate and survive even if its neck was cut off.

The black magic that emerged from the body of the man who nodded turned into a thick fog and covered the room.

“That’s good. The data has been collected and it’s time to start testing the results. I’ll correct any errors through experimentation.”

The sound of bones crunching and bodies bursting in the fog was chilling.

A blurry silhouette vaguely hinted at the process of change.

It was a fabled process of shedding human flesh and transforming into a chimera.

‘Is this why I was left in the abandoned laboratory after experimenting on chimeras with my body?’

The unfinished research would have had aftereffects.

It was a magic that would quickly reveal itself as a catastrophe if it went to the city and would be chased by the city government’s condemners.

The surveillance and tracking magic installed outside the building seemed to be a means of protecting oneself from intruders.

Strictly speaking, that wizard was also corrupted.

All I had was a shred of reason and an obsession with unfinished research.

“Ugh.”

It was not the time to just sit back and watch.

Hela realized something was wrong and ran, but the black fog surrounding her body did not allow her to approach.

It seemed to be a subject that changed the body, as well as a kind of defensive technique.

Simple but effective.

Hela spoke urgently, repeatedly waving her hands without being able to approach.

“Damn, should I just leave it like this?”

“We will activate the curse based on the traces we left at the scene.”

Many traces, such as the magical traces and hair of the Corrupted that could be used as a medium for curses, were left behind.

Of course, you could hire a warlock to defend against the curse, but that would cost a lot of money.

It wasn’t easy to find those connections.

It would have been quicker to commit suicide here than to run away.

“Then you do something about it! I can’t just sit there and do nothing until that kid finishes his shit!”

“I’m already trying.”

A black magician bonded with a chimera.

Its brutality was easily guessed without needing to be described.

If possible, it is best to cut it off in advance.

And I had the ability to do that.

Hurrah!

A magical power hidden between the fog was burning.

Connect the dots using fog to form a line.

It was an advanced study that took the form of a magic circle in itself.

I don’t know which company pushed for it, but the achievement was quite outstanding.

I don’t know why I shook my hands without seeing the end.

‘The things to do are the same.’

Don’t be fooled by the flashy appearance, but see through to the essence.

With his sharp gaze, he dismantled each part of the magic circle and hammered the blueprint into his head.

Structural vulnerabilities, loose screws that I should exploit, were drawn on the flat surface.

‘The problem is… … .’

The point is that you have to break through the defensive spell to directly interfere.

The overwhelming destructive power, the growth path of my world tree was a piece that had not yet been awakened.

‘… … No, wait.’

Suddenly, realization struck my mind like a bolt of lightning.

The world tree that governs providence and harmony, and the spirits’ reaction to black magic.

My body moved before I could even guess the possibility.

“The World Tree rejects any being that deviates from its providence.”

It was the will of the world tree.

Clang!

A stem extending from the tip of the finger raced through the black fog.

The defensive techniques that had been tightly packed together to block his approach were torn apart like pieces of paper in front of him.

“what……!”

The shock of the black magician who realized the change was heard.

Fog burns along the trajectory of the stem.

The light emitted by the spirit running along the stem took on real heat the moment it came into contact with black magic.

“and.”

This was visible to Hela as well, and a soft gasp erupted.

A mystical sight, as if the sky were a canvas with halos of light painting a picture.

Apart from its violent firepower, it was dazzling enough to take your breath away for a moment.

‘Is this why the spirits were wary of black magic?’

Incineration, not interference. It is a conflicting energy.

The guess that it was due to the influence of natural affinity was not wrong.

A natural enemy relationship.

What I saw in my eyes was the aftermath of the black magic.

Krrrr!

When the connection point of the magic circle was cut off, the space that was under the control of magic began to vibrate and even the building shook.

“Oh, oh, oh!”

The warlock tried to repair the magic that was beginning to crumble.

However, the spirits that had escaped the control of the World Tree began to run wild.

The act of pure destruction without any laws or direction was beyond the reasoning of a warlock.

The crack grew uncontrollably and soon collapsed on its own.

“Kwaaak!”

The warlock let out a scream that was as if ripping apart his body, twisting his entire body.

It is a great magic that transforms the human body.

It would have been almost impossible to handle that backlash.

Phew!

“Ugh, I lost my eye.”

The transformed body of the warlock was reflected beyond the sagging fog.

The unfinished magic left behind only aftereffects, crushing and distorting the human body.

As Hela had said, the figure was so distorted that it was difficult to look straight at, and it looked more like clay than a person.

“… … .”

I found familiarity in it.

A writhing, proliferating mass of flesh, unlike typical chimeras, with no visible original form of the fused creature.

The image of the goblin from District 7 running wild overlapped.

“……you.”

I grabbed the foaming warlock by the collar and pulled him up.

“Who provided this magic?”

“Krrrrr.”

The development of magic is a difficult task that requires many years and flashes of inspiration.

Unless this guy is a genius of the century, there is no way he could have developed it alone.

It’s magic with a circle.

The experiments conducted at this facility would have been a grafting of magical decay and chimera research into the original form.

The result was right before my eyes.

“Answer me.”

“Gulp!”

But the only sound coming out of the warlock’s mouth was the groan of an unknown beast.

“Hey, it’s already too late.”

Phew!

The blade pierced the warlock’s beating heart.

They crushed, tore, and tore it to pieces so that it could never be revived.

The warlock’s focus loosened and soon he flowed out like liquid, slipping through my grasp.

“That’s what a warlock says. He probably won’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“… … .”

Deep down, I agreed with Hela’s opinion.

From the moment he was subjected to the magical recoil, the guy had already lost his wits.

Even if you pursue it to the end, you probably won’t get the answer you want.

‘… … I should have had a serious talk before fighting.’

I knew it wouldn’t work out anyway, but I couldn’t help but feel regretful.

Who would have thought that I would actually find a link to the rampage in the Corrupted quest?

I missed a huge clue right in front of my eyes.

‘But there is still income.’

I wish I had heard it directly from him, but there was no way to find out.

‘I guess I need to buy information from Hynax.’

A company that sponsors black magicians.

If I could dig them up, I would be able to uncover the secret clues I was looking for.