Chapter 175: Chapter 173: Give Me A Hug

Frigarach Sanctuary.

As its name suggests, it would have been the most prosperous land within human territory, but for some reason, only gloom remained in this place now infested with monsters.

The buildings that should have shone brightly were stained with blood and dust, and even the sunlight was obscured by the mist, highlighting the filth.

-Wooooooo!! Rooooooarrr!!

Even so, the cries heard from afar occasionally halted the expedition’s steps, repeatedly making us wary of our surroundings.

Even if the sounds came from a distance, we couldn’t afford to be complacent, as problems could arise at any moment.

“At least it seems there are no issues in this vicinity… But the city is so vast, it would be difficult to search everything with just this number of people.”

“Prioritizing escape over searching would be wise. It seems the entire sanctuary is beyond recovery.”

Indeed, the initial goal of conducting a survey seemed pointless now.

Logically, the right course of action would be to report what we’ve seen and experienced to the empire and request a large-scale dispatch.

Even the most complacent leaders would take action if they knew that a core area of humanity had been devastated.

“The problem is that escaping immediately won’t be easy. If the path we came from has collapsed, the only way out is the drawbridge on the other side.”

“The key will be how we break through this place before heading to the other side…”

“We’ll need to resupply before we escape. Even if we can’t find survivors or solve the problems here, we can at least secure some supplies.”

“If investigation is inevitable for finding our way and securing supplies… it would be best to set up a base camp somewhere suitable first.”

Despite the dire situation, perhaps due to their experience, the expedition managed to quickly organize and move into action without my intervention.

They kept formation, cautiously inspecting buildings and using hand signals to communicate quietly to minimize noise…

“We’ve found a suitable spot for a base camp here!”

At the call from the lead scouting party, the expedition members quickly gathered their attention there.

The destination was a cathedral with a high roof among the nearby buildings.

Since you had to go up the stairs, it was advantageous for defense, and its height made it easy to secure a view of the surroundings.

Without exaggeration, there couldn’t be a better stronghold in this area.

“This place looks good. It seems suitable for temporary use.”

“It’s unsettling to use a place of prayer as a camp, though…”

“Is that important right now? The very land serving the gods is in this state.”

“If the priests heard that, they’d think you’d be cursed.”

The soldiers entering the cathedral exchanged rough banter, but it didn’t seem entirely frivolous to me.

Unnecessary tension could sap mental strength, so lightening the mood in such situations was necessary.

“By the way, isn’t it strange? There are bloodstains in the city, but not a single corpse.”

I stopped abruptly, startled by the sudden question that had been casually thrown out.

As I turned my head back, I saw the soldiers paying attention to the member who voiced the question.

“Certainly, if such monsters had invaded this place on a large scale, there should be corpses of the casualties scattered everywhere…”

“Maybe they were all eaten?”

“If that were the case, there should at least be bones left, but there aren’t any.”

“Or they were taken somewhere else and eaten…”

Right, I had momentarily forgotten that only Flang and I knew the true nature of the monsters.

Naturally, the members who didn’t know this would think that the monsters had invaded from outside, not that they had emerged from within.

“Hero, why are you standing there blankly? Did you get hurt in the attack earlier…?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

But in the end, I decided not to tell the members the truth.

No matter how many battlefields they had crossed, they were still part of the Imperial army, not just rough adventurers.

They had joined the military with a mission to protect humanity, and knowing they had turned their weapons against their own kind would be too much.

Wouldn’t it be enough to deal with such things when facing undead?

“If we stack those broken pieces of furniture over there, it would make a suitable defense line.”

While I maintained silence with that judgment, one soldier jumped into action.

There, a pile of structures had collapsed from some impact.

As he said, it would be good to stack them at the entrance to prevent attacks in case of emergency.

But what concerned me was the thick bloodstains on those fragments.

-Kyaaa!!

And my unease proved correct.

A shadow leaped out from the pile with a scream. As it flew at the member, his face turned pale in an instant.

My spear flew out before its teeth could sink into his neck.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

-Crush!!!

The monster, with a spear embedded in its head, trembled violently.

Despite sustaining a fatal wound, it still moved, showing that a spear to the head wasn’t enough to kill it.

-Kuuu, uuuuu, uuuhk…

Yet, unlike the undead, the voice seeping from its mouth was clearly in pain.

Realizing it was the voice of a living human, I felt my breath catch, but I suppressed that sensation and conjured a rune-engraved sword, igniting flames.

The most effective way to eliminate this damn immortal creature was to burn the severed parts immediately to weaken its regenerative abilities.

“Move carefully. Even if it seemed there was only one hiding, if you get caught, I can’t cover for you.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”

As the soldier apologized, I burned all the severed parts and instructed the others to dispose of the remaining flesh quietly outside the base.

And alone, I mulled over the lingering emotions.

Disgust, filth, discomfort… And a sense of being torn apart internally by needles.

“…Damn.”

Yes, I killed a person.

Of course, it was the right thing for survival, and it was right for the victims, too, but according to Flang, the fact remained that I killed someone with my own hands.

It was different from killing the undead, who barely had any humanity left.

They were beings who had reason before they were consumed by madness, and they were people who had bodies like mine before they became grotesque.

That reality became even more pronounced when I recalled the beastman I knew becoming a terrible figure.

…Damn, I had thought I might have to kill someone someday, but it still didn’t feel right.

Had Flang been enduring this all along?

“Hero, this way.”

As I was barely holding back my nausea, Sanson approached me.

He, who had gone upstairs earlier, quietly gestured upward as if he had something to show me.

Following him upstairs, I saw through the window a magnificent city within the walls; the central and tallest castle was likely the residence of the Pope.

-Kyaaah! Kyaaaah!

But what truly caught my eye were not the grand castles, but the swarming black dots below them.

Each shadow beyond the mist let out horrific screams, all of them evidently the monsters we had encountered.

“The monsters are gathered in groups. It seems there’s something near the papal residence…”

Logically, it was odd for such creatures to congregate in one place unless something had lured them there, perhaps the same thing that had turned the people here into monsters.

“…One thing is certain.”

But ironically, dealing with just a few monsters here puts us to the test.

Seeing a number of monsters that could be called an army, only one thought came to my mind.

“Avoiding the center means we won’t get caught up in unnecessary danger.”

Whatever happens, I just want to get out of this hellish place.

Only a very human thought.

From the beginning, all I knew about what happened here was that, for unknown reasons, the people inside the sanctuary turned into monsters.

That alone was not enough for me to resolve the situation here or uncover the truth.

Even though I had grown stronger than six months ago, I was still fighting from a position of weakness, not able to act as an absolute power.

So, it was a sound decision to leave anything beyond mere survival to the empire.

This thought persisted until late into the night, after the sun had set and some measure of safety was secured at the base, as I looked at a note.

[Read this when you’ve entered the sanctuary and are about to leave it.]

The last note left by Airi.

The note foretold my entry into the sanctuary, but it was meant to be read when I was about to leave.

That at least meant I would reach the point of leaving the sanctuary safely.

Thinking that, the quiet atmosphere in the base didn’t seem all that bad.

It wasn’t the calm before the storm, but rather a true sense of safety.

“Fortunately, the monsters aren’t gathered much except in the center.”

“If we cause a commotion, the surrounding monsters will gather, but aside from the center, they are scattered and not too dangerous.”

“Their tenacity from drinking vampire blood is troublesome, though…”

The soldiers gathered at the base after finishing their respective searches to exchange information.

Their opinions were generally positive, and there were also plenty of useful supplies they had gathered from around the city.

“The supplies are in good condition, so even if we’re isolated here for a long time, self-sufficiency shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’m surprised there are so many intact items. In a city this devastated, you’d expect a lot of looting.”

“Well, it’s not too surprising since the monsters don’t know the value of these items.”

Since we had resolved the biggest issue of supplies, we wouldn’t have to worry about food until the expedition returned to the capital.

Of course, staying too long could risk spoiling the stored food, but with the monsters scattered outside the center, it wasn’t a major concern.

“Hero. According to the returning scouting party, there are no significant dangers on the way to the exit on the opposite side.”

“We checked, and the drawbridge is down. As long as the chains don’t snap like before, getting out shouldn’t be a problem. But to be safe, I think we should stay here and watch for tonight…”

“Right, moving hastily and provoking something would be troublesome.”

The monsters are gathered in the center now, but who knows what will happen after we leave.

So, it was best to stay at the secured base for a day and leave with the supplies we’d gathered the next day.

When we first got isolated, I thought we were in big trouble… but fortunately, it seemed we could get through this without major issues.

“Then leave the rest to us, Hero, and take a rest inside.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“You’ve already pushed yourself fighting Phobia earlier, haven’t you? And there’s no immediate danger, so leave it to us for now.”

“We’ll call you right away if anything happens. Until then, please rest.”

“…Then I’ll leave it to you.”

I wanted to be sure to keep watch myself, but as a human, my stamina had limits.

Accepting their advice, I decided to rest and went inside to prepare for a break.

Until I encountered someone staring blankly at a candle inside.

“Ah, Master…”

Francheska.

The protector of humanity, who had been taking a passive stance since entering the sanctuary.

Of course, given the situation, I couldn’t push her, and I advised her to rest instead of doing any rough work, thinking the other soldiers might be scared.

“I told you to rest, but can’t you sleep?”

“Sorry, but my body doesn’t need sleep.”

“…That must be inconvenient.”

Come to think of it, her doll-like body allows her to work tirelessly.

As I recalled that forgotten fact and made a bitter face, Flang looked up at me and asked.

“Are we escaping tomorrow?”

“For now, that’s the best option. Or do you have something else you want to do here?”

“…No. I also think the expedition should return as soon as possible.”

After a brief silence, she answered.

She seemed to be contemplating something, but at least she didn’t seem to have any plans to investigate this place excessively, which was a relief.

Yes, Flang also had things to do, so she must feel the same about wanting to leave quickly.

“But before that, one thing…”

Relieved that our thoughts were aligned, I was only momentarily at ease.

As I was about to prepare for sleep, I noticed Flang hesitating in front of the candle.

“Before you go to sleep, can you grant me one request?”

Her face slightly flushed, and her gaze, shifting away from me, returned nervously.

“A request? What do you mean?”

Not understanding the meaning, I asked again, and Flang cautiously spoke.

“Please, hug me.”

“…What?”

“Before you go to sleep… I want you to hug me.”

“……”

After staring in silence for ten seconds.

Finally understanding what Flang said, I exhaled and asked her again.

“…What do you mean by that?”

You know I’m going to be a father soon, right?