6: 6.
information 6: 6.
information During the journey, I wore a cloak that covered my body.
I was getting rather annoyed by the insects landing on me.
These mindless little creatures kept crawling onto my body, and some of them even bit me, which was becoming quite irritating.
I kept the flintlock hidden beneath my cloak in case another Blight like the one from earlier attacked us.
The appearance of that creature was disturbing enough to make me want to stay awake for an entire day.
Although, I didn’t really need sleep anyway.
After walking for quite some time, we finally reached a village.
The village was surrounded by a wooden palisade, with many knights carrying swords and spears stationed around it.
There was also a wooden watchtower with two knights standing on top, each holding a crossbow.
This must be the village they were talking about.
But why were there so many knights?
There were far too many of them for a simple village.
“Why are there so many knights?” Sera also looked confused.
Marc and Sera seemed surprised by the number of knights guarding the village as well.
As we approached the village gate, a knight carrying a spear came toward us.
“Halt.
Who are you, and where are you coming from?” “My name is Sera Lotusiana, daughter of Vric Lotusiana.
My residence was attacked by Blight, and we came here seeking shelter.” So that’s her family name and her father’s name.
“Who are they?” The knight looked behind Sera.
“They’re people traveling with me.” For some reason, the knight stared in my direction for several seconds.
No.
He was staring directly at me.
Was there something wrong with me?
Was I a wanted criminal?!
The knight eventually stepped aside and allowed us to pass.
But he kept staring at me.
He was starting to make me nervous.
After entering the village, I saw many knights busy with various tasks.
Ordinary villagers and knights were working together to carry wooden crates filled with important supplies, such as food.
A female knight wearing an armored dress noticed us and approached.
She had green eyes and blonde hair tied back.
A greatsword hung from her waist without a sheath.
“Who are you?” Her voice was firm.
“My name is Sera Lotusiana, and they are my companions.” “Daughter of Baron Vric Lotusiana?” “That’s right.” “My name is Arturia, captain of Division 13.
What brings you here?” “My residence was attacked by a group of Blight, so we decided to leave.” “Damn.
They’ve already gotten this close.” Arturia placed a hand against her chin and muttered to herself.
Sera looked around at the busy village.
“What is happening here?” “We’re preparing to evacuate the villagers to the fortress after receiving reports that a group of Blight is invading the surrounding territories.
We can’t leave the villagers here, so we’re securing them and preparing for evacuation.” Sera looked surprised by the kingdom’s response.
“So when will you leave?” “Tomorrow.
We only just arrived and immediately began preparing for the evacuation.
We haven’t even had time to rest from the journey, including the horses pulling the wooden carts.” Marc approached Sera.
“Lady Sera, what do you think?
Should we go with them?” “Yes.
We can’t keep traveling on foot, especially when there’s a group of Blight invading the area.” Arturia looked toward Marc.
“What is your name?” “My name is Marc.
What do you think about the Blight invading this territory?” Marc wanted to know Arturia’s opinion.
“A coordinated group attack by Blight.
It seems that something is leading them.
Without a doubt, it would be a Nullifer.
Judging from the scale, I’d say it’s probably an Incursion-Class.” “I was thinking the same thing.
Blight don’t usually attack in coordinated groups unless something is leading them.” For some reason, I was completely confused.
I didn’t understand a single thing they were talking about.
“Nullifer?
Incursion-Class?
What are those?” Arturia looked toward me.
For some reason, she immediately drew her sword and moved as if she intended to attack me.
I instinctively pulled out my flintlock and aimed it at her.
She immediately stopped.
The other knights who witnessed my actions instantly drew their weapons as well.
Even the archers raised their crossbows and aimed them at me.
In an instant, the peaceful atmosphere became tense.
I’m pretty sure she would’ve cut me down if I hadn’t drawn my weapon immediately.
“Wait!
Stop!” Sera shouted, trying to stop Arturia and her subordinates.
“He’s with me.
Don’t attack him.
I guarantee that he’s not dangerous.” Arturia stared sharply at me for several seconds before lowering her sword.
“I’m sorry.
Lower your weapons!” She ordered her subordinates.
They lowered their weapons as instructed.
I lowered mine as well.
“I’m sorry too.” Thankfully, nothing worse happened.
Damn.
That scared me a little.
Sera looked at me for a moment.
“I think I know why Arturia became so wary of you.” “Why?” “Your gaze is rather frightening.” I’m just not a very expressive person.
Back in my previous life, people used to call me a walking corpse rather than a normal human being.
“My face is just like this.” “You asked earlier, didn’t you?” I simply nodded.
“You also didn’t know what Blight was.
So I’ll explain everything to you.” Sera proceeded to give me a lengthy explanation about Blight and why they existed.
In short, this world had a naturally occurring energy called Flux.
Flux flowed throughout the world.
However, Flux could become contaminated or corrupted.
The corrupted form of Flux was called Taint.
Taint could cause abnormalities in nature and various forms of life.
When Taint affected living creatures, it could cause Taint to develop within their bodies.
Humans born with Taint within their bodies were called Witches.
Only female babies could survive being born with Taint.
Male babies would die in the womb.
Witches always possessed some form of abnormality, but those abnormalities were considered abilities that ordinary people didn’t possess.
However, there was always a price to pay if a Witch overused her abilities.
Meanwhile, when Taint affected the natural environment, it could cause Blight to emerge in areas where Flux was abundant.
In other words, Blight could emerge when Taint and Flux existed in the same area.
Normally, however, the ratio was extremely low, almost reaching zero percent.
The probability of Blight appearing increased dramatically when another Blight was already present in the area.
A Nullifer was a Blight that had evolved and gained enough intelligence to control other Blight.
However, Nullifers could not control other Nullifers.
Because of that, a chain of command between Nullifers was impossible.
Nullifers had three threat classes.
Incursion-Class.
This was the lowest threat level.
An Incursion-Class Nullifer could threaten a small territory.
Various countries frequently encountered threats of this class, and they were usually eliminated before they could evolve into something more dangerous.
Catastrophe-Class.
A Nullifer of this class could cause massive destruction, potentially devastating an entire country.
Such a threat could force multiple nations to form an alliance just to deal with it.
A Catastrophe-Class Nullifer could also cause severe ecological damage, forcing an entire region to be placed under absolute quarantine.
In other words, no one would be allowed to enter the affected area.
There were several Black Zones scattered throughout the world because of such incidents.
There had even been a country that was completely destroyed by a Catastrophe-Class Nullifer.
And finally…
Extinction-Class.
A Nullifer of this class was considered a threat to the entire world.
An Extinction-Class Nullifer could plunge an entire planet into crisis and potentially destroy the existing order of the world.
Fortunately, these Nullifers existed only in myths and ancient stories.
According to those stories, Extinction-Class Nullifers remained hidden and had no interest in destroying everything.
Some ancient accounts even described them as being worshipped as gods.
No one knew why they weren’t interested in destroying the world.
Still, I might have an idea.
Even if they possessed enough power to destroy an entire planet…
Why destroy your own home?
And that’s when I realized something else.
The name of this planet was Oura.
Perhaps from now on, I couldn’t call it Earth anymore.
I would have to call it Oura.
It was quite a long explanation, but I only focused on the information that seemed important.
“You know quite a lot.” I complimented Sera.
“I learned most of this from books I read at the residence whenever I was bored.” Afterward, Arturia escorted us to the knights’ encampment.
We were allowed to use one of the tents to rest.
Sera decided to separate from us temporarily and stay in the same tent as Arturia.
Arturia didn’t seem to mind.
She understood that Sera was the only woman in our group.