Volume 7, Chapter 167: Beast
Volume 7, Chapter 167: Beast
A sound rang. Mordeaux Gon did not know where it came from. It seemed to be approaching from a long distance, and it even seemed to sneak up from the back of his ears.
*ding-dong*
It sounded like a majestic bell. The sound approached little by little. A tone that made one feel uncomfortable. Finally, the sound touched Mordeaux’s ears.
On this very moment… His flesh exploded. His bones squeaked. And his skin shrieked.
The flesh, blood, and bones that shaped the human being Mordeaux. All of these features became unrecognizable. Then, from his skin to his hair, an abrupt change began to occur, making a strange noise that humans did not make. An unimaginable change that even transformed his appearance.
His human bones folded in an impossible direction and creaked. His torn skin caused blood droplets to splash into the corridor’s halls and floor. The flesh made movements that were likewise impossible for humans to do. The throat made dreadful screams for a moment.
「…Ohhh…Gyahhhh…Grrrahhhhh. 」
A voice that no longer remained human. A voice that just made superimposing noises. Yes, strange and ferocious noises. But for Mordeaux, it felt like a plea. What was happening was probably the result of his prayers to God.
“But, what truly happened for real? What is this wriggling?” This was not Mordeaux’s own will. This was not even Mordeaux’s wish. Mordeaux had difficulty in moving by himself. His body snarled itself as if it had great power. His human bones crushed and turned into powder. And his organs malformed into something else entirely.
“Terrifying. It’s truly terrifying.”
Mordeaux felt fear since his body changed against his will. Unknowingly, he felt an odd and horrifying sensation because he transformed into something completely different.
“Ah, my flesh exploded, my bones broke apart, and my blood splashed and polluted the surroundings. There is nothing left from what I used to be. Not anymore.”
“But why is this body surviving? Why am I alive without losing my precious life?”
Amid the screaming plea, Mordeaux realized that his potentially dead chest gradually began to take on a form. His tattered meat pressed and altered like clay, forming a new body.
Finally, when the sound of the transforming flesh stopped, the body, which was once the human named Mordeaux Gon, had lost all its remnants.
He looked exactly like a beast shaped from a chunk of meat. Perhaps, the flesh was swollen. But the beast’s body was much larger than Mordeaux’s human self. Even in the wide corridor, the skull seemed to reach the ceiling. Its body had a large and torn mouth. It had fangs made of broken bones. A large number of arms and legs that were made of meat were writhing.
“Ahh, this is what people call a monster.”
Mordeaux clearly understood that he had become a terrifying flesh-looking monster. His former appearance disappeared from the face of this earth. For Mordeaux, the most terrifying thing was not becoming a monster himself, but having his rationality intact. Even though he had transformed all of his body into a horrid-looking monster, his spirit remained sane.
“Let me ask myself again. What is this? There is no way that God created this transformation. And there is no way that God will forgive me by having such a decayed form. What do I do now? I wonder what I should do. I don’t know.”
Filaret’s black eyes opened wide and looked down at Mordeaux’s monster form. Behind his eyes stood someone whose shock seemed to scream at any moment. For some reason, Mordeaux knew that Ariene stood behind his back, moving her lips with a hollow expression on her face.
…Good. Then, use your body to protect the Saint and spread the majesty of God to this earth. Yes, with all your strength. Only then will salvation be given.
—
I opened the gate and stepped into the Lord’s House premises. Even though it was a very dark night, I was able to see far into the interior because of the green light. I struggled to get rid of the bell sound that still stuck on the back of my ears. I tried to shake my ears while walking about half a step away from Caria.
It was an unpleasant sound. A very, very disgusting sound. A painful sound that was hard to explain. It felt as if a tongue with thorns licked my bone marrow, or perhaps, as if a knife rub the back of my teeth with force. This awful sound still stuck to my ears. I could not remove it that easily. How unpleasant.
Caria suspiciously called me out from behind, wondering what happened. I turned my head a little backwards and saw her silver hair swaying at the edge of my field of vision.
「Ahh, no. I just remembered the scars of the past in the corner of my head. 」
That’s right. I did not lie. I just remembered a little bit of the painful taste that had taken root in the depths of my memory because of the sound I mentioned earlier. But that’s it. Yes, it was when I told her those words when I felt my feet wobbling.
*bang*
The second floor of the Lord’s House collapsed, engulfing the surroundings with a loud, crushing sound. I felt numb as if the back of my ears were constraining.
I widely opened my eyes at once. I involuntarily moved my gaze toward that destruction, but the dust scattered in the air and the situation was not clear. But something grasped my eyes. I saw a giant, not very human-like silhouette, waving its shadow behind the smoke.
What was that?
Unintentionally, my lips were moving naturally. Rather than a shock, or fear, a pure question arose from my chest and popped out of my throat. What was that thing?
A demon beast. No, that shouldn’t be the case. We were at the center of the city. A demon beast would not suddenly appear in such a place. Then, was it a human? No way. Was that thing really a human being? Humans did not grow multiple arms.
So what the heck was that? My lips were strangely dry, and my fingertips were quivering as if I had cramps. I felt all sort of emotions even though I just saw a shadow behind the smoke.
「What do you think? Of course, there is no way that that thing is a mythical monster. 」
I slowly leaked some words while distorting my cheeks. My quivering hands reached out to the treasure sword located at my waist. Caria surely did the same. No, she must have been holding her weapon much earlier than I was. The edge of her lips were looking upward slightly.
「Who knows. But, it doesn’t look like it’s on our side. If that thing is an enemy of humanity, then the human world is over.」
Caria stopped speaking, and began to leak a strangely sound from her throat. I knew what was ahead without knowing it with words.
Sure, whether it was an enemy of humanity, or whether it was an ally, it did not matter much. No doubt, that thing was my enemy. Caria’s enemy too. Yes, that thing was our enemy.
After all, in the place where the dust cleared up, our Party member, Filaret La Volgograd, stood amid that chaos, glaring at the monster made of disturbing flesh.
Her appearance was, yes, undeniably brave.