Episode 49. Rain (1)
The howls of animals echoed across the hotter-than-usual foothills of the Purgatory volcano.
Even though it didn’t exactly resonate throughout the entire mountain, it had a cooling effect.
It was hard to believe that the voice was that of a woman with white, disheveled hair, but it gradually changed into a hoarse voice.
She was originally cared for by her caring older sisters.
Could this really be the pure Angela Whitegreen? The sense of discomfort at her changed appearance was indescribable.
She, who had been like a gentle angel, returned as a white demon or a hawk. Jenny and Mary could not help but feel happy about her.
“Humans are going extinct.”
Even the thoughts embedded in their heads were not the Angela they knew. She was truly a different being… Jenny gritted her teeth and spoke.
“You… are Angela, right? It’s me. Don’t you recognize me?”
“Krrrrr.”
Instead of answering, Angela responded with a growl, and her hair began to grow and she began to transform into a fox monster.
Jenny couldn’t help but think of the existence of the lycanthrope that she didn’t want to remember. How could the child she was caring for have changed like that? Who on earth… .
“What a wonderful reunion. Very touching.”
At that moment, an old man walked behind Angela. He had a bushy beard and was Elder Enviel of the Magic League.
“It would be a waste of effort anyway.”
“Well… Elder?”
Jenny’s expression brightened when he appeared. She hoped he would turn Angela back to her original form.
“Elder, why are you here…….”
“Jenny, wait. Something’s wrong.”
Mary frowned as soon as she saw Enviel. The spirits around her were telling her that they felt an indescribable magical energy from him right now.
“It was all in vain. What do you mean?”
She asked in an uncharacteristically cold tone. At least she hoped it wasn’t a bad feeling… … .
“That’s exactly right. I was the one who created this monster in the first place.”
Their pupils shook greatly. Even so, Enviel’s words were not over yet.
“I hear you’ve trained this monster well for me. As a reward, I’ll tell you something special.”
“A monster… Don’t talk nonsense! Angela is kind and young…!”
“You’re kind and young? Of course you were like that when you were with me. You know, when I lost my memories.”
“yes……?”
Angela’s body gradually swelled. Soon, fur grew and her limbs changed into those of a four-legged creature, clearly a fox monster. As Angela transformed into that form… … Enviel spoke with a twisted smile.
“Are you seeing this? This is her true form.”
Before she was even named Angela, she was a being born from a top-secret experiment conducted underground in the Kingdom of Papyrus.
That time was 8 years ago. When the 16-year-old boys and girls were 8 years old.
In the Kingdom of Papyrus, they succeeded in capturing a divine beast, a descendant of the Millennium Tiger. The divine beast was undoubtedly capable of transforming freely from a fox into a human male.
The Papiyas Kingdom became interested in the fact that even the genes were changed to be completely identical to humans, and began to conduct experiments.
It was predicted that a human being who could control the power of the divine beast would be created, and that a biological weapon that would surpass the homunculi that were used as shadow soldiers would be born.
The experiment was conducted under the leadership of Elder Enviel, who was in charge of the prince’s tutoring.
The method of the experiment is crossbreeding. By kidnapping several human women and mating them with the divine beast, new life is created.
However, all the lives born were deformed and the mothers died from side effects. At that time, when a sharp solution was needed, Envyel discovered what was lacking.
This means that the ‘Yoho Tribe’, who inherited the power of the Millennium Tiger, is needed.
A fighting race that inherited its power from the legendary Thousand-Year-Old Tiger. Only descendants who inherited its blood were considered fit.
Surprisingly, it was close by. The fact that a deserter knight belonging to the kingdom was his descendant.
Naturally, they quickly kidnapped her and used her as a test subject, and the result was… …a huge success. Even the mother survived despite suffering from side effects.
The child that was born was a female. The divine power possessed by the divine beast and the innate physical strength of the warrior race. The combination of these two elements made it seem like the second coming of the millennium tiger from long ago.
However, as a test subject, the child’s growth environment was murky.
The child had an instinctive desire to miss his own flesh and blood. In front of the child, he brutally tortured his father, Shinsu, to death.
Because now that a successful product has been released, it is no longer useful.
The child’s hatred grew as his family died right before his eyes. #It was to use emotional stimulation to increase his strength and use it as a weapon.
Surprisingly, the child’s growth rate was about twice as fast as that of other humans. After living for three years, the child turned six years old, and after living for five years, the child turned ten years old.
Since the growth of magical power was proportional to it, it was necessary to proceed slowly.
Then one day, an accident happened. Following my father… … my mother also died.
The child’s power, which had instinctively sensed this, began to run wild and uncontrollably.
The child who realized that it was a human’s doing… … decided to truly hate humans.
Parents’ Enemy – The sight of that murderous revenge reflected in his face was truly monstrous.
If left alone, the child would not be able to withstand his own magic power and would self-destruct. In the end, Enviel took the measure of erasing his memories.
Due to the effects of the deletion, the child was reduced to the level of an infant again.
That wasn’t the only problem. The outburst was so severe that the top-secret experiment was in danger of being leaked.
In order to avoid being caught, the child who was like evidence had to be sent out.
The plan was set in stone, but the plan was still in place, because the human mother had a daughter of her own.
A girl who enlisted as a child soldier but disappeared without a trace. However, for Enviel, finding her was as easy as eating cold porridge.
She too, since they share the same bloodline, will be drawn to each other. Enviel, who found the girl, persuaded her to enroll in a certain institution.
Because that agency was the final destination for the plan to be put into action.
A town where the Purgatory volcano rises. The best educational institution built there.
Alighieri Academy.
The daughter, who was born separately, entered the academy with the goal of ‘revenge’.
The child born as an experimental subject was drawn to the Academy’s hillside by his bloodline.
The sisters met there for the first time.
* * * * *
It was a building neither too big nor too small compared to the inspection office in Alighieri Town. As it was a subordinate organization of the investigation team, their budget was limited.
He mainly runs around crime scenes, but he also takes on identification requests to make up for his limited budget.
But recently, the number of gangsters in the village has increased significantly, causing trouble.
“You said you stopped? How could that be possible!”
Ruska Mad-Eye, who visited as a client, questioned the staff at the counter.
It was an attitude that would come out when they were not treated properly for their money, but the employees’ responses did not change.
“I’m truly sorry. This is the limit of our power right now.”
The female staff member handed her a piece of parchment with the results of her autopsy. The reason she couldn’t understand it was because the results were incomplete.
“These days, due to the emergence of city thugs, investigations have increased significantly. It seems that we will have to wait a few more days to get more complete results.”
“It has to be today…!”
Ruska turned her head sharply and went outside. She was holding the parchment because she had to check the results first.
What she requested was Angela’s tail that she had cut off, her mother’s hair that was in her muffler, and her own fingernails.
I had asked them to find the common denominator between these three ingredients. The results were supposed to come out in a few days, but it was very difficult to wait that long.
Today is the day when all plans end. The final day when the Papyrus Kingdom will be destroyed by Angela’s self-destruction after she turns into a nine-tailed fox. Since Angela will no longer exist tomorrow, today is the only chance.
-Analyze three components: blood, hair, and nails found on the tail.
– We conducted a genetic test on each other for 3 days. The results showed a 65% match.
-Please understand that detailed results will be released next week.
‘Next week… …? Don’t make me laugh!’
Ruska, who was getting worked up, stared intently at the results that came out today.
65% match. Not 90, not 80, but 65%… … It really can’t be anything but ambiguous. My hands were shaking at the fact that it wasn’t a perfect result.
Even though it was imperfect, it was 65%, so what would have been the result if the inspection had been perfect?
Ruska sighed, feeling uneasy as if her will was being broken.
‘No… … That can’t be. Could it be that child… … ‘
Yes, no matter how imperfect it is, a result is a result. Unless it’s 100%, you can’t trust it.
Just take stock of how much you’ve given up for today, and you’ll realize that you can’t turn it back now.
Even if you’ve already done something terrible to that child, you’ve already crossed the river of no return.
I felt drawn to it the moment I first saw it. My mother exists in my shared memories, and the incomplete autopsy results are 65%.
No, it should never be.
I hoped it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.
Before I knew it, dark clouds had settled low and the once bright light had disappeared. Not even the ray of light peeking through the clouds could be found, and the ground was covered in shadows.
“No… absolutely not.”
“What do you mean it’s not?”
At that moment, when I was hoping for some hope, I heard a voice from behind. It wasn’t the first time I had heard that man’s voice.
“Lyman? Why are you here?”
“Long time… No, what are you doing here? Why don’t you hurry up and run the race?”
You could argue back saying, “Then why aren’t you running?” but I didn’t have the presence of mind to do that. It was because I was psychologically unstable and my speech became weak.
“No, it would be a waste of effort to run. If I’m unlucky, the whole village might be blown away.”
“what……?”
“I’ll get straight to the point. You’d better get out of this town.”
Lyman glared at what he said.
It’s because the guy intercepted everything he was trying to say. It’s like he knew everything.
When I looked again, I saw that he had a few fluttering pieces of paper in his hands.
“You know that guy named Elder Enviel? Believe it or not, he’s planning to release a divine beast and blow up this village.”
“How can you prove that?”
Ruska’s rebuttal was delayed by a beat due to her embarrassment. Lyman spoke in front of her, emphasizing the paper he was holding.
“There’s a backer who investigates such things. Anyway, read this for more details and then decide.”
“What is this?”
“This is Elder Enviel’s top secret experiment diary. Well, I’m busy so I’ll stop now.”
Lyman lowered his eyes meaningfully as he turned away.
Ruska tried to grab hold of Lyman, saying, “Wait a minute!” But he had already jumped up and disappeared into the distance.
The journal of the top secret experiment, I felt something when I heard that. I heard that the cause of my mother’s death was the worsening side effects during the experiment.
I had the ladder to truth in my hands. I had what I had been longing for, so there was no reason to hesitate.
Ruska turned the pages one by one, making a fluttering sound.
At first, I just boldly let it go. It would be foolish to hesitate when faced with the truth I wanted to know.
But the hand gestures became heavier and heavier as time went on.
It is not a crime to find out the truth. Rather, it is a right, but the consequences of digging into it are all your own.
Knock knock-
A drop of water falls on the experiment log. It gradually escalates into a shower.
Ruska had already turned the page to the end. She had read it all, so she had no regrets.
However, her body remained stiff as she was hit by the rain. Her arms, which she had been holding up, hung down as if she had lost all feeling.
A journal of experiments with drooping hands.
There were pictures of his mother and Angela… … hung in large letters on the door to show their relationship.
The rain poured down incessantly, as if a dam had burst in the sky.
* * * * *
“It was a good thing I left some extra!”
The first place I stopped by after leaving the cabin was the dormitory. I thought I was going to die running that long distance again.
If I had set my stamina stat to even 1 less, I would have had trouble breathing.
And luck was on my side. The forest where the cabin was was connected to the lake where I was fishing. Since the mountains were connected, the road itself was a shortcut.
I went to the dormitory alone, packed the important items I had stored in my bag, and went out after replenishing my water supply.
Knock knock knock-
“Oh my gosh……”
As soon as I went outside, it started raining.
It’s not that I didn’t expect it, but I’m worried that I might fall on the way there. I’m worried that if I do something wrong, the things in my bag might get damaged.
“Please stay safe on your way. This is our only hope of stopping the Gumiho.”
Thanks to the rain hat I prepared in advance, I didn’t have to worry about getting rained on.
While others might be avoiding the rain, wondering what a bolt from the blue it was, there is one person who, far from being able to avoid it, will just stand there and get drenched in the rain.
Ruska Mad-Eye. She has lived only for revenge, but it all stems from the sorrow of losing her family.
Even if she is not a mother, what choices would she make if she had a ‘family’?
She must have noticed everything by now, seeing as it’s raining.
Angela Whitegreen. That the child was her sister.
‘You’re going to be in a lot of pain too.’
I headed to the foot of Mount Purgatory, recalling the days when I played as Ruska.
There’s not much left until the end of Chapter 2.
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
