'Von Derk, the Wandering Knight.'
I stared at the rusted knight before me.
Von Derk's state was truly horrific. The skin showing through the rusted armor was crawling with ghastly maggots, and black blood streamed from his melted-away eye sockets. Even the bone visible through the rotted flesh was stained black.
Black magic became a byword for terror because of curses. Yet not even black magic held a curse this horrific. He looked as if he'd been cursed by a god.
'The Outer Gods are gods too, so a god's curse it is.'
An Aberration is what they call those wholly devoured by a Fragment of the Outer Gods.
Just then, Von Derk's hollow eyes turned to me. Four arms jutted out at grotesque angles — two gripped a round guitar, the other two a long, rusted sword. A sword so caked in rust there was no telling how many years had passed.
But the aura wreathing the blade hadn't rusted. Blue aura blazed as if oil had been poured on fire, every strand of it solid as iron tempered thousands of times. Though it merely wavered, it swelled to fill the whole space. A truly fierce presence.
"A high-rank knight—"
Milo muttered in a trembling voice, full of fear. As Milo said, Von Derk was a high-rank knight. A high-rank knight is about professor-tier. He was only this strong because we'd arrived in the shortest possible time, thanks to Evangeline; had more time passed, he'd have grown far stronger.
A professor-tier Aberration on the day of the entrance ceremony. Deeply bullshit — but even so, this counted as quite mild.
Aberrations are strong at the baseline, being those devoured by a Fragment of the Outer Gods. Which is why you need a strategy. Aberrations each have a different strategy. For instance, against a Lich — a black-magic-nature Aberration — you have to destroy its hidden Life Vessel.
It was the reason Aberrations were a fucking pain. Hard enough just to face, and on top of that you have to figure out the strategy for each type.
Evangeline, though, was the exception.
'Because Evangeline has a quest window.'
The quest window already holds information on the Aberration, so you can use it to learn the strategy. The reason Evangeline's role in a Rift was crucial.
Of course, a C-rank Rift's Aberration I could handle without a strategy. At my current level, strategies only became necessary from A-rank Rifts up. Still, I needed to train Evangeline in advance, for what was to come.
"Evangeline."
Evangeline was openly eyeing the Aberration with contempt. A Fragment of the Outer Gods and Evangeline were polar opposites.
"Yes?"
"Find the Aberration's weakness."
"What's that supposed to, all of a sud—"
Without explaining, I stepped forward.
Von Derk's hollow darkness turned to me. The already roiling aura blazed up as if doused in oil. A sharp killing intent tickled my throat.
Not bad. But that was all it amounted to.
"Gate Opening."
The right side of my chest tore open and chains burst out. The chains were blacker and thicker than before. Von Derk hurriedly thrust his sword. Too late, of course. The chains had already spread. Like a net, they fanned out and covered Von Derk.
Von Derk gripped his sword in a reverse hold and stabbed upward, meaning to knock the chains aside with aura. A fine reaction. The trouble was that those chains were black magic, not aura. A chain pierced by his aura simply burst, scattering black curse like blood from the severed link. At that he hurriedly drew his sword back. The sword-shaped aura spread out to shield his front like a buckler.
The buckler of aura blocked the chains in front of him. Not a bad response. If the chains had been one or two.
A single chain pierced his back. It had been precisely in his blind spot, so he couldn't react in time. The curse scattered from the chain stained his body black. His movements slowed noticeably.
Just as the chains moved to skewer him in succession—
Tring — a crisp sound came from his guitar. A fine sound, ill-suited to his horrific state. His slowed movements sharply quickened. And not only his speed — his aura grew keener and clearer too. His honed presence bore heavily down on the air.
The Aberration's awakening — Phase 2, in common terms.
'Then me too.'
I drove the index finger pressed to the right of my chest in deeper.
「———————.」
The horrid, clammy breath echoing through my mind deepened a notch, and the chains grew thicker and denser. The entire space was blanketed in chains. However much keener his aura had grown, against those packed chains it was a candle before the wind.
Through the dense chains, I saw his black eye-light waver. As if flustered. He hadn't expected an opposing Phase 2. Thought he was the only one with a Phase 2, did he. A funny one.
"All right, let's begin round two."
The chains, far denser than before, covered him.
「.......!!」
The Aberration wailed as if in protest.
***
"Is it true it was a Republic attack targeting the headmaster? Then the existing rumor that the headmaster is connected to the Republic—"
"Hm."
At the Vice-Headmaster Sen Vandro's brief murmur, Karel stopped. Sen Vandro was looking elsewhere.
"What is it?"
After a moment's thought, Sen Vandro answered with his usual benevolent smile.
"A Rift has opened."
"A Rift has opened—! On the grounds?"
"Yes."
"Goodness! Is it the work of the Republic?"
With the Republic's attack on the headmaster having just happened, Karel naturally suspected the Republic. Sen Vandro lightly shook his head.
"A Rift is not something a mere human can open. It is a trial handed down by Him directly."
"That's right."
At Sen Vandro's gaze, Karel hurriedly nodded.
The Theocracy had originally defined Rifts as heresy. But recently there were those whose attitude toward Rifts had changed, and Sen Vandro was the foremost of them.
"Faith is like iron — it grows harder only when struck by fire and hammer. The Rift is His fire, and His hammer."
"Yes, exactly."
Karel nodded without a shred of doubt.
"Where is it? I'll go at once."
Karel rose without hesitation. Sen Vandro gently took him by the shoulder.
"There's no need to rush."
"And if someone else snatches it first?"
"The only ones who can sense a Rift are the headmaster and the Chairman. Smokescreen though it is, the headmaster is being treated for the aftermath of the attack. The Chairman isn't one to bother moving, so there's no need to hurry."
"But what if someone caught in the Rift breaks it?"
At Karel's earnest worry, Sen Vandro let out a short laugh.
"A Rift is a trial He handed down Himself. You've received special training, so you're fine, but others can never break it."
"Never?"
"Yes."
At the confident answer, Karel forced down his excitement. Sen Vandro spoke, wearing his usual benevolent smile.
"To break a Rift, you must find the Aberration and slay it. Finding the Aberration is only possible with a superb adventurer — and only when luck is on your side. The odds of someone caught up by chance finding the Aberration are vanishingly low."
The wrinkles at Sen Vandro's eyes deepened a notch.
"And even if a miracle occurred and they found it, they'd need a power matching the Aberration's affinity. An expert-level one, at that. Why do you suppose we chose you, Karel?"
"Because I handle both aura and divine power, so I can respond to any nature."
"Exactly. Better, in fact, to die without ever finding the Aberration."
Sen Vandro gazed out beyond the window.
"For the Aberration would be a most horrific trial indeed."
Karel offered his condolences toward whoever had been caught in the Rift.
***
Evangeline looked down with dull eyes.
There was the Aberration, in its horrific form. Its bearing was savage enough to prickle the skin. Even to Evangeline, the Aberration was very strong.
And yet the Aberration sat meekly before Evangeline. Because of the hundreds of chains wrapped around it, binding it tight. It looked, somehow, like a wrapped present.
The problem was—
"Read."
—that the recipient of the present was Evangeline.
"......Yes?"
"Read it, I said."
Grave — the one who'd wrapped the present — pointed at the Aberration and ordered. Following his finger without thinking, Evangeline met the Aberration's eyes and hurriedly dropped her gaze.
"R-read what?!"
"Read this."
Grave said it in an irritated voice, as if exasperated. Evangeline felt wronged.
"How am I supposed to read this horrible thing!"
"That, you'd know."
"I don't! I really don't! I'd bet anything!"
"Bet what."
"Everything!"
Grave heaved a deep sigh. Evangeline flinched in spite of herself.
Grave's eyes turned to her, openly full of a look that said she was pathetic. The look Evangeline hated most. Just then, Grave said in an irritated voice,
"You can't even do this much? Useless."
And there it was — the words Evangeline hated most.
Her eyes sharpened on their own. Before she knew it, she shouted.
"I'll do it."
"Good."
She regretted it instantly, but it was already out.
'Right, he says I can do it. Might as well try.'
Meaning to at least make a show of trying, she looked at the Aberration.
'Yeek! It's scary as hell!'
Evangeline hurriedly dropped her gaze.
***
'Dropping her gaze at the sight of an Aberration—'
I swallowed a sigh.
Binding an Aberration takes several times more effort than killing one. Even now I could feel my life force draining through my skin. Any other black mage would have thrown a fit about what a waste it was. But there was no helping it.
"Bleh— gah! Sorry! It's just that you're so horrifically ugly—!"
"Evangeline, isn't that a bit too harsh?"
"It's the truth that it's hideous!"
A mere C-rank Rift's Aberration. Completely neutralized, at that, and Evangeline was a total mess. From the look of her state, that mental fortitude would faint at the mere sight of a B-rank Aberration. Training her early really was a good idea.
"Can't you just cut its neck?"
Just then, Milo asked — politely, unlike before. Of course, his tone was as graceless as ever, so it came out sounding snippy.
When I looked at him, Milo pointed at the Aberration.
"Didn't you say catching the Aberration closes the Rift? Looks like cutting its neck now would catch it, so — do we cut it?"
"Not yet."
I shook my head firmly. At that, Milo's face turned grave.
"There's more?"
At his question, I turned my gaze.
Evangeline was crouched in front of the Aberration, prattling something. A pathetic display that brought on a headache just to watch — but there was no helping it.
"Catch it by the strategy and the reward's bigger."
"Eh? What's a strategy?"
"There's such a thing."
"No, if you're not going to tell me, don't bring it up—"
I lightly ignored Milo's grumbling.
Just then—
"I-I see it!!! I see it!"
Evangeline threw both hands up.