Chapter 259: Leader
「Alright, we should get going now that it’s decided. It hasn’t been long since the hero messed this place up. Once they’ve buried themselves deep into the bodies of their target, even Dean and the others who can’t See will be able to deal with them, but that also increases the difficulty level of capturing them alive and taking them with us. Although it would also depend on the attribute of the black spirits, we might be able to make it on time if we hurry up. 」
Dinosso clapped his hands once and said all that.
Compared to animals, it’s far more difficult to possess humans who have their own consciousness. The spirits will eventually completely burrow into the human’s body and integrate themselves, but maybe right now they’re still partially merged — wait a sec, the adventurers hadn’t returned yet, so does that mean their consciousness is currently unstable? Maybe their thoughts are filled with doubts? There’s also a chance that more than half of the spirits’ bodies had already merged with the humans. Ugh, I hope those folks haven’t turned into monsters yet.
If the black spirits are still in their spirit state then it’ll be over after defeating them with the spirit weapons and magic. If more than half of its body was merged with a human, then we have to weaken the black spirit first by destroying part of it before binding it up. It’s actually a pain in the neck since we can’t knock them out physically. Attacking the human’s body works too, but it’ll be a disaster if we end up killing the person.
Moreover, we have to be careful since the black spirits can also temporarily possess a person during moments of surprise, despair, or when one is too caught up in a single emotion. If a black spirit comes flying towards you, you can “switch” your emotions and it should be fine — well, that is if he or she CAN See them in the first place.
That means Dean, Chris and Retze are in danger. Dinosso told Glasses that Ash and Butler “cannot” See. Dinosso also pretended that I can’t See so I’m still a mystery to that Glasses guy.
Well, I did say the trio are in danger, but since black spirits have a hard time trying to possess folks that are favored by spirits, Dean and Chris might be alright. They’ll have a hard time because there will be a battle between the black spirits and the original spirit possessing the human. So Retze is the one in danger, then?
Or maybe he’s going to be fine because he has a spirit sword? Vine-chan can move on her own free will unlike the other spirits, so everyone is probably okay. That’s a relief.
I turned away from Retze and looked sideways — oh, that’s a scary face you have there, Ash. Maybe she’s feeling uncomfortable from being protected? I find that quite adorable, but then I saw Glasses flinch and avert his gaze when he saw Ash.
『By the way, should we strip them one by one if we don’t See any spirits lurking nearby? 』
The spirits are generally invisible if they’re hiding underneath the clothes, just like when I requested the spirits to hide in my robe and hems .
『Bayliss and I can See them. Spirits can see right through the material world. You can just ask your spirits to give you the signal, no? Then I can cut them after capturing them, problem solved. 』
..Huh? Maybe the way I see spirits is weird in itself? Well, spirits aside, normally you can’t see what’s under someone’s clothes, right? What I can see is the spirit itself, not their naked body. Even if they were naked, they still appear somewhat transparent, just like those with their clothes on. Could it be that my ability to See spirits is closer to being spirit-like rather than being 「a person who seems to be a human 」?
I’ve been adjusting the range of my ability to See spirits without really thinking deeply about it, like making them invisible or tuning it so that all I see are the huge ones, but I’m starting to have misgivings. Maybe I was correlating the physical realm and the spirit realm as I Look at things around me?
My body was also created by spirits after all. It’s actually surprising that they were able to “create” a human. Spirits are notoriously known for being awkward —or maybe unconcerned is the right term —with things that are outside the scope of their attributes. That also applies to the abilities they gave me.
I might end up ruminating deeply on this if I continued thinking about my own existence, so let’s stop it here. Just like how I can’t see how things will ultimately end for me, I can’t answer why I live too. Being concerned with the universe seems to make a better dream than mulling about these things. Just as Hamlet said,「There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy 」.
「Then, you remain here and prepare to take the possessed guys outta here. We haven’t encountered any forks in the road until now, and you’re gonna be fine even if a monster or two did appear, right? 」
Dinosso asked as if to confirm whether he’ll be okay.
Many adventurers were promoted to the rank of guild master and deputy guild master within the Adventurers Guild. There are also some who can draw magic circles but can’t actually use it, but even so, they are definitely strong if they manage to snag either position. Many adventurers are the type who won’t follow unless their leader is someone powerful, after all.
「Yes, there is no problem if it’s the 20th level. I’ll draw magic circles that will render the monsters immobile. I can also cast recovery magic a little, so please return here in case you get injured. 」
Ah, I’m right, he really is a healing mage.
Everyone here, including Glasses, is discussing the plan while assuming all the adventurers who went ahead are already possessed.
「— May I ask if you can cast light magic while in combat? 」
Glasses probably saw the light spirit ‘possessing’ me, so I nodded. You won’t hear me speak!
「Our time is limited so we’re off now. 」
「I did implore the deliverance of everyone, but please stay safe also. May the fortunes of war be in your favor. 」
Glasses bowed as he saw us off.
The transportation back to the fortress city will probably be a huge pain in the neck, but Glasses is willing to do his best, so I should also do that too. Ahh, why won’t my rating of Glasses settle down, huh.
I also realized something. Roza’s gang were all for executing the possessed guy back then. There’s a possibility that they don’t actually See, but I’m sure they noticed how weird the first guy to be possessed was behaving.
They’re going for a quick solution before things get out of hand, huh. Well, I can’t deny that there’s a possibility the person might monsterfy on their way from the subjugation site to the city.
Oy, wait a sec, Dean! Hey, Leader!! Dinosso’s completely taking over! — was what I thought, but when I looked at Dean, he was enthusiastically following Dinosso like a puppy wagging its tail. Argh, this is why fans are so — !!
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