CH 145

Chapter 145

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : A Name That Calls Death, Part 17 — The Princess Of Disaster

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「Calamity… right?」

「It’s been a while, Lifeless.」

The face remained that of a man. But the voice was that of a young woman. It was a strangely glamorous voice, but the fact that the voice sounded like it came from a man was not horrifying. Even Elrich felt disgusted.

「Lifeless. You, about your appearance.」

「Well, is this the first time you have seen it too? This is my true form.」

「Would it have been okay if you had shown it to me?」

The owner of the voice calling herself “Princess” giggles in the form of a man. The gesture was so feminine that even Lifeless looked a little uncomfortable.

「I don’t mind, but please don’t do that with a man’s figure.」

「Oh my, would you like that?」

「I don’t.」

Lifeless makes a gesture to get rid of her. Calamity laughs at the sight.

「Fufufu, I guess I’ve gone too far with the teasing. But I’m settling into this body nicely. Do you think I should just keep going undercover?」

「With that voice?」

「I can use any tone I want.」

Instantly, the voice reverts to that of a man. “I see,” Lifeless agreed.

「It’s convenient. But how can you control it? Your main body is quite far away, isn’t it?」

「Leave it to me, this is what I’m capable of. Oh, there are other Seekers out there.」

The man Calamity had taken over looked down at those who had been his companions. But there was no emotion in his eyes, as if he were looking at a laboratory animal, just like Anomaly.

Perhaps sensing something out of the ordinary in the way they looked at her, they all shrugged their shoulders. Seeing this, Lifeless asks Calamity.

「What are you thinking?」

「Let’s see… I think I still have a lot of strength left, so I thought I’d use them too. Lifeless, do you have any use for them?」

「Frankly, I thought about beheading the brave young man at the drop of a hat, but… I see no particular reason why I should.」

Lifeless easily makes a sad pronouncement to the young man who just came in. Calamity smiled upon hearing those words.

「Then I’ll take them in order. Shall we take a look?」

「No, I’m fine. Do whatever you like.」

And as Lifeless, having lost interest, turns to leave, Calamity’s voice comes from behind him.

「Lifeless.」

「What?」

「You’re so handsome.」

「…I’m telling you to stop.」

Lifeless then left Calamity behind and left the scene. Then Calamity, who remained behind, smiled at the Seekers. And out of its mouth crawls an uncomfortable, strange, thick, long, multi-legged creature that looks like a centipede. Instantly pulling the creature back into her mouth, Calamity delivered a cruel message to the Seekers.

「If I’m going to die, I might as well do it with a kiss… right? It’s thick and long… and… I’ll penetrate it.♪」

Calamity then kisses the nearest man. The other Seekers behind him couldn’t see this, but from the way he convulsed, they could see that the Seeker was in unusual pain. And as it fell on its back, the other Seekers could see something wriggling in its mouth.

Calamity licks her tongue as she watches the Seekers fight in fear.

「Ahhn, I feel it when you make a face like that. Don’t worry, it will get thicker and longer in turn.」

As soon as she finishes saying those words, the man who had just fallen down convulsing gets up. From his mouth, as before, a worm was crawling out of his mouth.

＊＊＊

Lifeless was standing there, feeling the inaudible screams coming from behind him. Masquerade spoke to the lifeless.

「Lifeless-sama, Calamity seems to have taken a liking to you?」

「No. She, unlike Hidden, was a joker.」

「Well, that’s. She’s a ne’er-do-well by nature.」

Masquerade answers curtly, even though the superiors she serve are different and the position of Lifeless is, perversely, superior to hers.

「Hidden-sama tells me that Calamity is a most beautiful woman. It must not be a bad feeling to be favored by a beautiful woman.」

「That’s true, but not that one. Do you know what that thing is?」

「No.」

Masquerade shook her head. Seeing this, Lifeless let out a dry laugh,「Fu…」

「You don’t want to know, that thing is too horrifying. Compared to that thing, the evil spirits that Doom has with him seem a hundred times better.」

Seeing Lifeless reveal his heartfelt disgust, Masquerade and Elrich couldn’t help but look at each other. It’s rare for Lifeless to show his feelings. She must be such a loathsome opponent.

But Lifeless said just that and acted as if he had already forgotten about the Princess. And his body also reverted to that of the original boy.

「…Fuu…」

「Are you going to go back to the way you were?」

Elrich asks.

「…I don’t want to use too much force… if not that, I’m pretty worn out, and I’ve got work to do from here on out… Besides…」

「Besides?」

「…I got a little overexcited… I almost killed Alfiris and the others… Self-control is fundamental for those who use magic… Kukuku, I’m still young…」

There is a good reason why Lifeless has the appearance of a young boy. The release of magic ignites his seething fighting instincts, so he manages to keep himself in check by reducing his form and suppressing his magical powers.

Such Lifeless laughs happily as he recalls the battle that just took place. He regarded Alfiris as a good opponent. It had been a very long time since Lifeless had fought an opponent that he truly enjoyed so much. It might be more interesting than when he once fought the Great Archfiends. That is why Lifeless thought.

「（…This woman named Alfiris must have emptied her magic once while we were fighting…but she used her magic without regard…what is the meaning of this…? Plus, that use of magic… the idea is great, but… that much fighting… where have she practiced that…）」

As if Lifeless was meditating, he stood there with his eyes closed, thinking. At that moment, a thought occurred to Lifeless.

「（…Assuming Alfiris lacked combat experience… that means she came up with that fighting style and practiced it on the spot… there was a short pause before it actually came down to me… If that was just a pause to gather her thoughts… that means she’s Level 1 with the Curse Mark released…

…Perhaps… If she gets more experience and learns how to fight… In fact, I don’t know if the woman even noticed it herself… but every time she used it, the power of her magic gradually increased…

…And… how did she notice that Kunoichi was coming into the ward, something even I didn’t know was going on outside…?）」

Lifeless slowly opened his eyes. There is a different sparkle in his eyes than before.

「…How dangerous…」

「Huh?」

Suddenly, Lifeless’s voice made Elrich blurt out a sigh of relief. But when he turned around, Lifeless’ face was as serious as if he were in the middle of a battle.

「…Masquerade…」

「Yes?」

Perhaps sensing Lifeless’ state of mind, Masquerade no longer had the same antics.

「…As planned, when Calamity is done, start the infiltration… I’ll leave it to you to figure out how to do it…」

「Understood. Just to confirm, the minimum requirement is to create a spark for a fight with humans. If possible, we could lead the Seekers to enter the shelter of the Arnelian religion?」

「…That’s right… perhaps you don’t have to carry it so far to get what you’re after…」

「Hah?」

「…I’m talking about here… by the way, Bloody Maria’s men are infiltrating Arnelia… there’s a guy named Yuwain or something like that, so say hi to him when you go undercover… He’ll probably try to make contact with you…」

「I understand.」

With that said, Masquerade headed toward Calamity. Elrich spoke to Lifeless, looking somewhat concerned.

「What is on your mind?」

「…I figured I might as well kill Alfiris…」

「But aren’t you being stopped by the Master?」

「Sure, messing with Alfiris would be a big penalty… and personally, I’d like to see that girl grow up more… however…」

Thoughts turn in Lifeless’ head. Should he kill Alfiris or let her live? Eventually, his head was fixed on one decision.

「…She’s still dangerous… Alfiris is a gem that could reach our realm… for the sake of our plan, let’s kill the uncertainties while we can…」

「Yes, but then…」

「…Don’t worry… I’ll just say it was my idea… you’re not coming…」

「So you’re on your own then?」

「…No… I’m taking my direct Archfiend… I’ve got about 10 of the best ones from Anomaly… And did I look like I was at full strength just now…?」

Madness dwells in the eyes of the Lifeless. The light of that madness was so endlessly strong and deep that Elrich involuntarily shuddered.

「（How much power does this man have hidden in him?）」

「…Well, I’m leaving… you can take some time off while I prepare…」

「Huh? As in right now?」

But without waiting for Elrich’s reply, Lifeless leaves the scene with transfer magic. Calamity’s action was echoed by the screams of the Seekers, and Elrich was left alone in Mutrio with flames and desolation.