Chapter 153: 151

Chapter 151: 151

Chapter 151 – A Destroyed Town

We parted with the convoy of refugees, and once again sped on our magic bike . After a while, a green patch of land came into view .

Things seemed to be the same there, and yet I sensed something different .

When we entered the area, a faint sweet scent entered my nostrils . This was quite normal .

But there’s something odd…

[There should be some people living around here, but now there are none . ]

Roxy spoke from the backseat as we passed through some houses .

It’s exactly as she said . People used to live around here . But with them evacuating, the original liveliness had gone .

When I passed by last time, the inhabitants made use of the fertile ground to grow many crops . They also used the pasture to rear livestock animals .

However, what we saw once we parked the magic bike was a totally different scenery .

The farmland looked desolate, with the crops harvested prematurely . There were no livestock animals in sight . The fences that were meant to keep them from escaping were broken in many parts .

[Unlike when I passed by back then, there’s not a trace of people left . ]

[Apparently they evacuated in such a hurry . ]

[It seems so…]

While I was discussing the city’s condition with Roxy, Mimir and Eris came to join us .

They too had the same impression .

[Eee~, I didn’t know there is actually a town here . It must’ve been built recently . Suffice to say that it’s comparable to a city now . ]

[True . Those refugees we came across earlier must’ve been the last batch . ]

The buildings looked fairly new . It hadn’t gone dilapidated yet, but I couldn’t sense any presence from within .

It’s almost like a ghost town .

[What should we do then? Find if anyone is still in the town, maybe we can gain some info from them?]

[Yeah, let’s do that . Mimir and Roxy, can you two do it?]

[ [ Yes ] ]

Having assigned the two to help, I turned to Snow who had been clinging tightly on my leg .

For some reason, she became really scared once we entered the town . She often clung to me, so at first I thought that it’s normal . But then, I realized that she’s acting unusual when I sensed that her body was trembling .

Since she didn’t show that many expressions to begin with, it’s hard to decipher her feelings .

I kept this realization hidden so that Roxy wouldn’t get unnecessarily worried .

Even so, there was one other who noticed Snow’s behavior .

[Nee, Fate . Who would’ve thought that this girl and I actually have something in common?]

[That’s quite insightful of you . ]

Eris spoke up with a smile, but her voice sounded listless . After Libra’s name was mentioned, she’s been spiritless .

Roxy and Mimir noticed this as well . Therefore they took my request for both of them to search the town without complaint .

[Don’t push yourself too hard . If it’s still difficult for you to face Libra, then just stay here . ]

[I’ll be fine… more than that, I’m worried about Snow . ]

[It doesn’t seem like she remembers anything though . ]

It might be her instincts flaring up automatically, I don’t know .

[But, judging from this, could it be that she’s related to Libra?]

[Well, even if she was… there’s no way to know right now . She doesn’t have any recollection about things prior to meeting us . ]

I gently stroked the head of Snow who was still hugging my thigh . That managed to calm her after a while .

[Yosh, attagirl . I’m going to catch up with Roxy and Mimir, do you mind?]

[Un . There is something scary in here . Be careful . ]

[I will . ]

Letting go of my thigh and accepting my hand, Snow nodded . We started walking to catch up with Roxy .

Just when we did,

[Fate-sama!]

It was Mimir who had gone to search the town in advance . Judging from her expression, she might’ve found something .

[I found some people . ]

[Where?]

[In a large mansion just up ahead . They were the family who govern this town… or rather who formerly governed this town]

[Understood . Lead the way . ]

We moved on, following behind Mimir . The mansion in question was situated in the middle of the town .

Along the way, we passed through what appeared to be the main street . I noticed the trees growing on the streetsides had shrivelled dry . Dead .

Perhaps it’s because most of the town’s residents had gone away, leaving the trees without anyone to take care of it . But even so, I felt that it’s too early for the plants to die .

[What’s wrong, Fate?]

[Nah, it’s nothing . ]

Eris walked to my side, asking why I looked away earlier . But since it’s just a passing thought, I didn’t tell her .

[Fate-sama, Eris-sama, quick!]

[Yeah, okay . ]

[Coming . ]

I guess it’ll be better to seek information from the town mayor instead . I quickly chased after Mimir, dragging Snow along .

And then, we arrived at the center of the town .

[Eh, isn’t that…]

[What is it?]

[I remember that there should be a lake over there, but it’s gone now . ]

In the direction I pointed at was a dried lake . The ground was cracked in many areas . There was not a single drop of water left .

[That way, there should be a large lake there . ]

And I heard, the water was not regular water .

When drunk, it had the power to heal wounds and relieve fatigue . Furthermore, when used to water crops, they would grow faster and resulted with a larger yield during harvest season .

It was truly a special kind of water .

[Why of course . Without such a lake, there would be no benefit for living in this land . ]

Eris commented, nodding after she took a short look at the now dried lake .

Our talk regarding the lake was cut short when we saw Roxy emerging from the mansion .

[Everyone, this way . The people inside suddenly acted strange . ]

[Eh!?]

I was quickly informed that there’s a family of three living inside the mansion .

Upon entering, I was quite amazed with just how spacious the inside was .

It was the kind of mansion that is impossible to maintain without servants .

Roxy also told me that all the workers who were employed at this mansion had quitted .

Walking down a long corridor, we came across a young man waiting in a room ahead .

He looked pale, probably suffering from some kind of sickness .

[My name is Ted, the Mayor’s son . Firstly, to the Holy Knight Sirs… Thank you for coming by despite our place’s current condition . As you can see, this place can no longer be considered a town . Therefore, I’m sorry to not be able to provide any satisfactory hospitality . ]

[No, it’s alright . ]

Rather than that, there’s something more important .

[By the way, where are your parents?]

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[They collapsed earlier today, and are currently resting on the bedroom . Thankfully Roxy-sama was there to help me . ]

When I glanced at Roxy, she simply smiled back at me .

[When I examined them, they were growing weaker and weaker . The land itself might have been the cause . It might be because of that infamous city eating monster, or probably this man who is only known as Libra . I do not know, but either way it is bad news . ]

[It certainly is…]

Even the condition of Ted here seemed worsening as time passed by . His forehead was drenched with sweats .

It’s best to keep the talk brief and let him rest .

[Then let’s get straight to the point . When did the man who called himself Libra arrived in this town?]

[About a month ago, Around the same time, the lake’s water level began decreasing . He said that there was something lurking here that is bad for us――he’s implying to the beast hiding underground . So we told him to leave the town . We drove him out without listening to what he had to say .

[Umm, did he leave right away after that?]

[Yes, but the lake rapidly dried up after that . Outside of this town is wilderness . People of this town relied on the power of the lake to make a living here, so with the lake dried, they had to give up and move out . And that man――our situation only grew worse after he left . ]

[So there are others who decided to stay aside from your family?]

[Yes . other than my family… there are 10 other people staying in this town . ]

With the lake dried up, they could no longer grow any crops here . And the water they had stored up was running very low .

The questioning look on our face must’ve been very obvious .

Ted gave us an answer before any of us could ask .

[That’s the faces of people wondering why we insist on staying . The rest who remain in here, including me, were the first to discover this oasis in the middle of wasteland . We were originally exhausted from our travel and had no place to go . Finding this oasis was a great relief for us . Right then, we swore that no matter what happened, we won’t ever leave this paradise…]

[But, this place is no longer a paradise, and yet you still stay?]

[Yes . As I said, we will not leave from here no matter what happened . ]

But at this rate their bodies will only grow weaker .

Even so, when I was about to try to convince Ted to leave, Eris placed her hand on my shoulder .

[Fate, don’t . It’s no use . ]

[But…]

[Your intention is correct . But they’ll only find your good intentions as a nuisance . ]

Eris then turned to Ted, staring at him straightly .

[Right?]

No matter how many times we ask… the answer would remain the same .

Sighing, I looked outside through the window . The trees dried up at a gradual but visible rate .

The leaves, having lost the vitality that supported them, fell down .

It’s like their aging had been fast forward .

[Look at the ground]

[That’s…]

We rushed outside, finding the cracks on the dried lake grew wider .

Following that was an earthquake .

The trees uprooted, and the houses crumbled .

[Don’t tell me, this magic power…]

[It’s like someone is fighting underground . ]

I could feel the spiking pressure from under my feet .

There’s no doubt . This magic power certainly felt the same as what I sensed from Libra back when I met him at Tetra .

Snow grasped my hand tighter . She muttered while looking down to the ground .

[Fate, it’s coming . ]

[What!? Everyone! Stay away from here!]

[Fate . ]

[Fate-sama . ]

[It’s one thing after another . ]

From the cracks on the ground, gigantic tendrils of a plant-like creature burst forth .

It was so huge that it filled almost the entirety of my field of view .

[Mimir! Take care of Snow!]

[Yes . ]

[Roxy, secure the exit]

[Understood . ]

Eris and I, weapons drawn, cut apart the giant tendril in front of us .

『Fate, it’s useless to cut down these things』

[If even you say that, does that mean this is that so-called city-eating monster?]

No matter where I turned, the tendrils were everywhere around the town .

There were too many to count already .

More and more tendrils burst out of other spots as I cut one . Too many to cut down all at once with normal slashes .

『Yeah, it is . Although I believe this one should still be an infant . Libra might have done something to it, causing it to go on a rampage . Moreover, it is unlikely that we’ll be able to get rid of it』

[What…oi oi, are you kidding me?]

Smaller tendrils sprouted out from the stump that I cut down .

This is a whole different dimension of regeneration .

[In that case!]

I infused fireball magic into my black sword .

Then I tried to cut the tendril down once more with the now fire cladded sword .

[Are you kidding me?]

[These tendrils are actually resistant to fire . ]

[Is there actually a plant that can’t be burnt?]

The only silver lining was that our enemy this time was not an Area E, so Roxy and Mimir’s attacks worked against it .

But their help would mean nothing against this enemy which has a division capability that surpassed normal regeneration . It could even worsen the situation .

[It’ll be bad if we stay put for too long . Should we evacuate outside?]

[I don’t think we could at this point . ]

The tendrils surrounded us like a cage . Since it’s not belonged to Area E, Eris and I wouldn’t take damage from it .

However, with our space to move restricted, we were forced to go on the defensive .

We had too little information about this city-eating monster . Even Greed did not know how to kill it .

[Guess no other way but to attack…]

I tightened my grip on the black sword . Readying myself to slash at the tendril, when

『Hold it, Fate』

[What is it?]

『Something is strange』

I didn’t know why Greed said so . But when I turned around again, the earthquake stopped .

[It’s dying… No . It’s decaying]

[Fate . ]

Right at that moment, something happened to the tendrils that had been bursting out from the ground .

Somehow, all of them started crumbling into dust . On the other hand, Eris seemed frightened upon seeing this .

Which means, the culprit behind this…

As I thought so, a man emerged from among the crumbling tendrils .

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