Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 32

Lotus’s gaze was fixed on Jinseong for a moment.

It wasn’t just his imagination that he felt uncomfortable under that stare.

It had to be because Lotus was now reading Jinseong’s memories and mind.

[… I don’t know anything about that. A creature like Diregie, which can be considered a hotbed of germs, would be more fitting with the term ‘infection,’ just as ‘you think.’]

Jinseong bit his lower lip as Lotus admitted he didn’t know.

What Lotus spoke of were thoughts Jinseong had already organized after being possessed in Arad, and at the same time, thoughts that arose unconsciously along with the ‘question.’

“…I see.”

The mental empathy ability of Lotus, reading memories and thoughts, was far superior to what Jinseong had expected.

[This Ozma guy, who’s unclear if he’s an Apostle or not, is the same, and so is that silent old man. Black Nightmare? It’s amusing to think that old man would even have the will to do something like that, but there’s no way.]

Listening to Lotus, Jinseong became certain.

Diregie spreads diseases. It’s .

Ozma turns normal humans into demons called ‘Disguisers.’ It’s a .

Luke drives beings into destructive impulses. That’s a nightmare, a .

These are all terms similar or synonymous with contamination. But based on what happens in Arad, and considering what Jinseong himself experienced with the Transcendent Nemer who brought him here, none of them represent ‘the contamination.’

‘Right, I didn’t think it was Luke. After all, Luke was already listed on that ranger user’s purification list, who came before me…’

That user had been investigating Prey-Isis’s contamination status.

Jinseong had already confirmed that Apostle Luke was not .

‘But at least one thing is clear. Once contaminated, the being can no longer become .’

In addition to the information from Nemer that a being once purified could become contaminated again, there was now the fact that ‘a being contaminated once can never become .’

Jinseong’s hypothesis regarding , which he had sorted out on his own, had to be both somewhat confirmed and discarded at this point.

And as if mocking Jinseong’s frustration, Lotus spoke.

[Whether it’s or not, isn’t it clear that even those stronger than her couldn’t resolve this? You know it, don’t you, human? That’s why you’re such a foolish being.]

This was a being even Nemer could not locate.

It was an entity so distorted that even the Transcendent, the Lady of Light, couldn’t interfere without causing massive repercussions.

In other words, it wasn’t an ordinary Apostle.

Then, what was the possible entity?

Either it was a being with Apostle-level power, but not an Apostle, hence evading Nemer’s notice.

Or, it was the most special Apostle.

From Jinseong’s memories at this moment, there was only one name he could conclude from all this.

The only being who was both an Apostle and could transfer other Apostles.

Hilder.

‘Ah. Damn it.’

He couldn’t help but swear under his breath.

At the same time, the thoughts that followed—were these other possibilities also valid?

‘No, but there’s still Cosmo Fiend remaining—’

Of course, such evasive thoughts were instantly detected by Lotus.

[Do you think closing your eyes will make the impending crisis vanish?]

It wasn’t something that could be concluded yet.

As Jinseong had suspected, there was still the possibility that Cosmo Fiend or other entities could be .

“…Living long enough to be lectured by an Apostle, huh. Damn.”

But Jinseong could only laugh bitterly, knowing it wasn’t the time to think like that.

Lotus, with a satisfied look, asked,

[Then, my question—]

Or rather, was about to ask.

‘It’s true. Parallel worlds do exist. There’s a Lotus over there too. Of course, that Lotus can wield its power much more freely and is currently fighting adventurers. A little better off than you, trapped on a shrine unable to move. Oh, and that Lotus was also transferred by Hilder. So, in both worlds, the one that pisses off both Lotuses the most is almost always Hilder.’

[-…Hahaha, pretending to read my thoughts, are you, in front of me?]

“This isn’t about reading thoughts; it’s just the natural flow of things, isn’t it? So, did that answer your question?”

Jinseong spoke as if annoyed, his hand subtly moving to the hilt of his sword.

It meant that his ‘conversation’ with the Apostle Lotus was now over.

While he braced his right hand in case of an emergency, his left was ready to use the [Inventory] at any time. Lotus then said,

[Though crushing your tiny body right now would be simple enough… You seem more suited to ruining her plans yourself than being under my control.]

Shuuuuuuuu——…

The surrounding space briefly shook and distorted.

[For now, I won’t kill you, foolish human. But when your blade turns towards me, you’ll taste the power that once ruled the seas.]

As Lotus’s figure disappeared, his final words echoed.

“We’ll see about that. If I had my original ‘refined blade,’ you wouldn’t be talking so easily.”

Jinseong said without backing down, speaking to the fading illusion.

And then, it happened in an instant.

“Ugh…”

“Jin…seong? What… what just happened?”

“Oh, my head hurts!”

Fiona, Lenni, and Den all staggered beside Jinseong, clutching their heads.

* * *

“Is everyone okay? It seems like Apostle Lotus tried to mentally dominate us.”

Jinseong helped Fiona and Den up.

“I saw an illusion. A terrifying—”

“Damn it, my arms are sore as if I’d killed hundreds of cultists, and it turns out it was all an illusion?”

Jinseong was the only one who had made a deal with Lotus. Though Lotus had promised not to kill them, he hadn’t said anything about not tormenting them.

A red-haired junior knight approached Jinseong.

“Are you alright, Jinseong?”

“Yes, I’m… Are you okay, Lenni? No problems with your body?”

“Yes, it seems so. Like Den, I just feel like my muscles are sore from fighting those illusions.”

Watching Lenni awkwardly smile while massaging her arms and shoulders, Jinseong nodded.

At least this wouldn’t cause a significant decrease in their strength.

‘More than anything, it’s fortunate that Lenni’s relatively healthy… I should be grateful.’

If Lenni’s health had been poor, or if she couldn’t unleash her usual energy, that would’ve been a major problem.

Watching Lenni help Fiona and Den, Jinseong surveyed their surroundings.

The angle of the light coming in from outside the ruins told him that some time had passed.

‘I only skipped out on a brief conversation, but… how much time has passed? Where is the user now—hmm?’

The contaminated card hadn’t appeared yet.

This meant the female Archer user’s quest was likely progressing in its contaminated state.

As Jinseong was contemplating how far the quest had advanced and where the user might be, he heard hurried footsteps.

“Lenni, Fiona, Den!”

“Have you seen the adventurer? Have you seen the adventurer?”

The urgent voices belonged to none other than Ban and Aganzo.

Even Robato, the knight of the Principality, was rushing after them, and judging by the expressions of the three, the situation wasn’t good. And with Aganzo’s earlier question, Jinseong swallowed dryly.

Just hearing it was enough for him to guess what had happened.

“Captain? Ah, no, we haven’t really seen the adventurer here…”

“Damn it. They suddenly went off like a mad person and vanished.”

Lenni shook her head, and Ban sighed in frustration.

The adventurer, in other words, the user, had separated from Ban, Aganzo, Robato, and Isadora, then suddenly headed off somewhere else?

Right after coming out of the Blood Prison, no less?

‘…It’s begun.’

Jinseong took a step back.

Aganzo asked Ban,

“They seemed strange. It might be related to Lotus’s power growing suddenly. What do you want to do, Ban? If we try to find the adventurer now—”

“I know, I know. We can’t order Hats and the others to help. With the Blood Prison cut off, they’ll be too busy dealing with all of Lotus’s eggs.”

Although Ban briefly explained what had happened in the Blood Prison, Jinseong could tell just as if he had seen it himself.

‘Marcellus, who Isadora trusted, has completely fallen into darkness. They won’t be able to help, so in the end, the Iron Wolf Knights have to handle everything.’

Lotus’s power felt stronger, but they had fewer hands to deal with the situation.

In this state, where more responsibilities fell on fewer people, there weren’t many options left for the four Weapon Masters and the commander of the Iron Wolf Knights.

“For now, Ban, you and I should focus on Lotus. Before Lotus becomes even stronger.”

“That’s the best choice. I’ll tell Hats and the others to deal with the eggs while following us. Lenni! Fiona! Den!”

Their priority was, of course, to confront Lotus.

But what if that wasn’t enough

?

“Yes, Captain!” “Yes!” “What are your orders?”

The three responded loudly.

Ban gave them their instructions.

“Find the adventurer and stop them from doing anything rash. It’d be best if you could snap them out of it, but if not, at least buy some time. And G.S.D.’s disciple—”

Then he looked at Jinseong.

But before Ban could say anything, Jinseong stepped forward.

“I’ll follow Lenni and these two to find the adventurer. I know the paths on Behemoth’s ruins better than anyone.”

“Ah, that’ll do. Alright, I’ll leave it to you then. Let’s go, Knight of the Principality and Aganzo.”

“Mm. Let’s go.”

Ban led Aganzo and Robato as they rushed toward Behemoth’s second spine.

The loud noises and war cries coming from behind were probably Hats and the other Iron Wolf Knights dealing with the ‘minions.’ Jinseong quickly moved.

“Let’s go find the adventurer. This way.”

He couldn’t tell exactly where the user was, but based on the direction Ban and Aganzo had indicated.

And remembering that everyone would eventually gather at Lotus’s second spine.

Jinseong could move forward without hesitation.

“Jinseong? Why are you suddenly wearing that mask?”

“It’s nothing.”

But Jinseong wasn’t at ease.

The one consolation was that the GBL mask he had concealed his expression and emotions.

Even as he ran swiftly, Jinseong couldn’t stop thinking.

‘If I wanted to… No, I can’t. That’s not an option.’

Is this the right thing to do? Is this the correct way?

He had the power and the means to fix it. But he couldn’t.

‘You made up your mind long ago. That’s why… you went around Hendon Myre together—trying to bring as much joy as you could.’

Having done his best within his limits, Jinseong had made his decision.

“Th-there!”

“We found the adventurer!”

Fiona and Den’s voices rang out.

The female Archer user was shooting arrows as if possessed, running off somewhere.

“We need to stop them! Fiona, Den! I’ll go ahead and stop them, you follow right after!”

Lenni ran towards the user.

Fiona and Den, gripping their weapons, followed the user as well, as Jinseong watched from behind.

Because his feet had already stopped.

Gulp.

Jinseong swallowed dryly, feeling regret.

Lenni would soon catch up to the adventurer, the user.

With the help of Fiona and Den, she would try to save the user from the hallucination caused by Lotus.

And then?

‘…She’ll die.’

Lenni would die. Right here, right now.