Chapter 42: Okay, if you start fighting, I’ll start fighting too.

“As a Lightning Attribute warrior, don’t you think this creature is a bit strange?”

Facing his old friend’s question, Gray withdrew the playful smile from his face, his expression turning solemn.

“A little. I don’t think the lightning elements inside them are naturally formed mana. The fluctuations are stiff and chaotic… they have the scent of an artificial product.”

Ingram fell silent for a moment before fishing an exquisite metal lighter out of a hidden pocket in his plate armor.

“I thought you quit smoking,” Gray said, raising an eyebrow.

“I did. Carrying it is just a habit.”

The knight’s fingers, despite being covered in heavy armor, were exceptionally nimble.

He gave the side of the lighter a gentle flick and a nudge.

With a click, a small, blue-black square about the size of a knuckle popped out from the bottom.

He handed the object to Gray.

“What’s this? I don’t smoke, and even if I did, I’m not some progressive who uses those electronic cigarettes—”

Gray’s voice cut off.

The moment his fingertip touched the small square, a tiny arc of blue electricity jumped out, snaking up his finger and into his arm.

The familiar, slightly stinging sensation of murky energy caused his pupils to shrink.

“—Oh, so that’s how it is.”

The young man wore a look of sudden realization, leaving Katy and Lily to exchange confused glances.

“Miss Lily,” Ingram turned and asked in a deep voice, “do you happen to know what this cave was used for in the past?”

Lily blinked.

‘Isn’t this just an abandoned mine?’

“After the ore veins in Knox City were depleted and abandoned, this place was used as an industrial landfill for Lothric City. It was specifically used to dispose of… excessive and non-degradable waste magic conductive batteries.”

Gray toyed with the miniature battery in his hand, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

“This ‘Grimmlin’ mentioned in Lily’s father’s notes… the form the lightning element takes in their bodies is almost identical to the residual energy in a magic conductive battery that’s about to be scrapped.”

“Are you saying…”

Katy followed their logic instantly, her eyebrows lifting in surprise.

“These creatures were artificially created?”

The two grown men looked at each other, both seeing uncertainty and gravity in the other’s eyes.

“In my experience, whether it’s the Church or the Military, they might be conducting biological experiments, but they shouldn’t have the ability to ‘create’ an entirely new species out of nothing.”

Ingram nodded and added, “Indeed. At the very least, the Church strictly forbids ‘creation’ technology. Creating life is supposed to be the supreme Authority reserved for the Goddess.”

“Authority, huh…”

The word seemed to strike a nerve with Gray.

He turned to look at Ingram, hesitating as his eyes flickered.

“Uh, Nathan…”

“No need to call me by my surname, Gray. Speak your mind.”

“Do you think this could be related to Eve? After all, her power seems to be Life and Abundance—”

Ingram snapped his head toward him.

Sensing the sudden, sharp intensity in his gaze, Gray quickly raised his hands.

“Easy, easy! I don’t mean any offense! I’m just exploring the theoretical possibilities!”

“Eve—cough, the Lady Saint has never once recorded using her Authority since she ascended to the Holy See.”

Ingram’s brow furrowed, his tone stiff.

“She respects life more than anyone. She would never create such a deformed product.”

Gray nodded quickly in agreement, praising the Saint’s wisdom and greatness to signal he didn’t think she would do such a thing.

He then rubbed his chin, falling into thought.

If it wasn’t the work of the Church or the Military, and it wasn’t Eve’s Authority, could these glowing fish really just be mana mutations from industrial waste?

Just as the group was lost in confusion, the three previously quiet Grimmlins suddenly seemed to receive some powerful summons.

They abruptly broke free from Lily’s embrace.

Gray, being the closest, was quick enough to snatch one, but the other two darted toward the cave entrance at an incredible speed as if drawn by some fatal temptation.

Lily tried to give chase, but the movement aggravated her unhealed wounds.

She let out a pained groan and nearly collapsed, but the knight shifted like a flash to steady her.

Katy ran after them, clutching her skirt.

After all, she was the only one present who could understand that the small fish were shouting more than just random noise.

‘Family! It’s the scent of family!’

‘Merge! We must merge!’

The girl followed the Grimmlins to the cave entrance, watching the two blue points of light fly toward the distant hills.

Immediately afterward, the ground beneath her feet began to vibrate slightly.

Thump, thump.

It sounded like something quite massive was walking, and it was getting… closer.

At the same time, a sharp, urgent buzzing sound erupted from Gray and Ingram inside the cave.

Their expressions changed as they each pulled a strangely shaped crystal device from their inner pockets.

A red light was flashing frantically on them.

“An emergency request?”

Lily, still supported by Ingram, widened her eyes in shock.

These were emergency communicators held only by Heroes of B-rank or higher who had received the highest recognition from the Adventurers’ Guild.

They were used to mobilize combat power immediately during major disasters.

Now, the communicators of two A-rank powers were ringing simultaneously, which meant—

“Dammit! Katy is still outside!”

Gray’s face went pale.

His silhouette instantly turned into a bolt of pale blue lightning as he charged toward the cave entrance.

The moment he burst out of the darkness, he looked in the direction Katy was pointing.

Behind the hills 100 meters away, a massive black shadow was slowly rising.

The two escaping Grimmlins cheerfully threw themselves at the monster, instantly merging into its body like drops of water into the ocean.

It was a stitch-work monstrosity composed of gray scrap metal, rotting flesh, and countless leaking magic conductive batteries.

It looked like a giant, bipedal manta ray.

Unstable arcs of electricity crackled across its body, emitting a nauseating, charred stench.

“Roar—!!”

The shockwave of the roar made the surrounding trees tremble.

Ingram rushed out of the cave with Lily, and even he couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air at the sight.

Though he couldn’t sense any mana, the pressure and size were unmistakable.

It was at least a Night Glow Level threat.

“Prepare for battle, Gray.”

Ingram set Lily down and pushed her toward Katy.

“Take her and evacuate. Leave this to us!”

“Got it.”

Gray drew his blade, his gaze instantly turning sharp.

“Take Lily to the Association, Miss Katy. Do not come near here until either I or Ingram return.”

Katy nodded, guarding Lily as they backed away, her eyes fixed on the monster.

Her sharp eyes caught sight of several weapon remnants embedded in the monster’s bloated body, all bearing the mark of the Tactical Armament Department.

There was even half of a lab coat.

The truth behind the disappearance of Lily’s father was likely…

“Stop dazing out and move!”

Gray’s rare shout interrupted Katy’s thoughts.

“—I understand!

Mr. Gray, please be careful!”

She gritted her teeth, supporting the weak Lily.

Chanting recovery and haste spells under her breath, she fled toward the forest in the opposite direction.

Behind them, the thunderous sound of slashes and the Saint Knight’s grand incantations intertwined and gradually faded into the distance.

***

The two of them ran for over one kilometer until the monster’s roars and the sounds of battle grew faint.

“Ha… ha… I can’t… go on…”

Lily’s legs gave out, and she slumped against the roots of a tree, gasping for air.

“Katy, you… you go back to the Association for help. I can’t run anymore. I’ll rest a bit and catch up…”

Katy stopped, turned around, and reached out to pull her up.

“How could I leave you here alone, Lily?”

What a joke.

This place was crawling with monsters.

Lily’s current combat strength was no different from a blank sheet of paper.

Katy had no desire for Gray to return only to find his friend had become a breeding bed for some magic monster.

“But—”

Lily looked up to say something, but the words were swallowed back.

She discovered to her horror that the blue eyes of the blonde girl beside her were undergoing a localized, eerie transformation.

The originally round pupils instantly elongated and contracted, turning into two vertical slits that radiated a sinister purple light.

Those were not the eyes of a human.

“Eh? Katy, your eyes—”

Thud.

Katy raised her hand without hesitation, delivering a precise knife-hand strike to the back of Lily’s neck.

The girl didn’t even groan; her eyes rolled back as she collapsed limply into Katy’s arms.

“Sorry about that, Lily.”

The girl gently placed her on the grass beneath the tree, a hint of apology in her tone.

“For the sake of your sanity, and so I don’t have to kill you, it’s better if you sleep for a while.”

A lonely round of applause drifted down from the air.

“Splendid, truly splendid.”

Katy straightened her back and looked coldly at the sky.

A demon wearing deep crimson velvet robes and a gold-rimmed monocle was hovering there.

Holding an exquisite cane, he looked down at her with the gaze of someone watching a circus performance.

“Who would have thought that the dignified Thirteenth Calamity Pillar, after being exiled to the Human Realm by the Demon King, would fall so low as to share such deep sentiment with a human? Isn’t that right, Noctiluca?”

Katy—or rather, Noctiluca—curled her lip in disgust.

“Mammon? What’s the matter? Was your Third Labyrinth speed-run by a Hero? Are you homeless now, so you came here to pick through trash?”

Faced with her provocation, the Great Demon of Greed did not get angry.

Instead, he flashed a smile full of mock pity.

“Still as sharp-tongued as ever. Unlike a pitiful exile like you, I am here on the Demon King’s personal orders to welcome a new sub-generation back into the swarm.”

Katy sneered, the cold light in her vertical pupils becoming apparent.

The fragile aura of a Priest vanished completely.

“Coincidentally, I’m also acting as an undercover agent among these humans by the Demon King’s order. According to the rule of ‘first come, first served,’ this area is under my jurisdiction.”

“The Demon King’s order?”

Mammon laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, doubling over.

“You? A failure who couldn’t even protect her own Labyrinth? You think His Majesty would ever look at you again?”

Noctiluca’s jaw tightened.

She remembered his face very clearly—the way he had added fuel to the fire and kicked her while she was down in the Demon King’s Palace.

“Mammon, do you know what I hate most about you?”

The girl slowly raised her hand, her fingertips tracing the seductive and complex marks on her abdomen.

“Oh? I’d love to hear it.”

“It’s that disgusting way you pretend to have the air of a human noble when you actually despise humans to your very bones. Transform.”

Hum—!!

The air suddenly vibrated.

As the mark left by the Demon King was activated, Noctiluca’s power as a Calamity Pillar was fully unleashed.

A massive hammer, pitch-black and radiating an ominous light, appeared out of thin air in the girl’s hands.

The moment that weapon, named Nocturne, appeared, the smile on Mammon’s face froze.

He hadn’t expected this crazy woman to actually dare to manifest her weapon and start a fight right in the middle of human territory.

“I’ve always been curious about the true strength of the Greed Demon who manages the Third Labyrinth.”

A cruel arc curled on Katy’s lips as the head of Nocturne pointed toward the demon in the sky.

“Authority: Eternal Vision.”

The moment the words left the girl’s mouth, a faint green barrier instantly expanded, swallowing them both.

The figures of the two Calamity Pillars vanished from the physical world, leaving only the unconscious Lily lying quietly under the tree, blissfully unaware of everything that had transpired.