C462

It happened in the blink of an eye, and Jin had no chance to catch them.

"Murakan, let's chase them!"

Murakan descended rapidly again.

Murakan narrowed his wings and descended like a falcon.

"Darn it, why is it so fast?"

He said as he looked at the "murky mist" cradle surrounding the Proch brothers.

The cradle was much faster than Murakan descending at maximum speed...

And it escaped in such a chaotic and bizarre trajectory that could be described as "weird."

The cradle split into two, each holding one of the brothers, and then merged back into one, repeating its spinning motion.

The view outside the "murky aura" became hazy, and the cradle appeared even more intriguing.

"Oh, my babies. Did you miss me so much that you came to see me, right?"

Moreover, a woman's voice could be heard.

It didn't come from the giant mouth of Bouvard formed on the outside but from inside the "murky mist."

Now, Jin and Murakan were convinced that the owner of that voice was Amela.

Furthermore, they thought that she wouldn't immediately kill Lata and Fey.

-If it's not "favorable"?

-It's hard to express it in words. It seemed like she considered us as toys or playmates. She said that talking is boring and swung her sword at us.

-It's embarrassing to admit, but there was a time when I got a cut on my forehead during one of her surprise attacks.

Like the conversation the group had when they entered the islands, the part where Amela called them "my babies" was similar.

For Amela, the Proch brothers were adorable toys.

She wouldn't easily break them.

"My babies... sleep well."

She even sang a lullaby.

Amela's lullaby resonated with the tumultuous cradle and the murky mist, making it seem like they had entered someone's whimsical dream.

Hoo-!

Murakan slowed down. Now, the cradle was no longer visible to Jin and Murakan.

"That Amela seems to be a headache. I have a feeling that everyone we need these days has a loose screw in their head, like that demon woman, Zephyrin."

Instead of the cradle, they saw a much thicker and darker mass of murky aura.

The cradle had disappeared there.

"What are you going to do, kid?"

Would they continue chasing beyond that darkness, or would they consider other options?

There was no need to contemplate.

"The effect of a murky aura is a curse. In any case, we are immune, and considering that the giant Bouvard is also exhaling, it seems to have some physical destructive power, but it doesn't seem to be at an unbearable level. We'll follow it. But..."

"But?"

"Let's focus on defense and evasion until we can communicate directly with Amela. No counterattacks even if she attacks us."

"What nonsense is this?"

"Do you remember what Amela said as soon as we arrived at the central island?"

-[You're bothering me too much.]

She said it through the giant Bouvard, but it was clearly Amela's voice.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know what happened to Amela when the four main factions arrived here before us. But she expressed that she found them so annoying that she wouldn't mind killing them."

It wasn't just something she expressed with words.

Runcandel seemed to have no casualties yet, but the factions of Zipple, Kinzelo, and Vermont had already suffered irreparable damage.

The reason the four main factions gathered here in the first place was to recruit Amela.

However, the four main factions that visited the archipelago found themselves in a situation where it wouldn't be strange to have to fight a life-or-death battle with her, let alone recruit her.

If the expression "bothersome" came from an ordinary person, it might be thought that there were other intentions behind it...

But the other person is presumed to be tainted by the "Chaos."

Amela seemed perfectly capable of completely ignoring the four main factions for such a trivial reason, even if it meant parting ways with them.

Compared to Yona...

"Everyone else outside is already screwed, so there's no need for us to be a bother by provoking Amela, right?"

Jin explained this, and Murakan sighed when he finished speaking.

"Hah! Are you saying that this Murakan only takes beatings? How miserable and pitiful."

"And I haven't heard anything like that from Valkas or Lata-nim before."

With such stories, he referred to Amela's combat style.

She is one of the top three mercenaries and the best mercenary in the world, recognized even by Valkas for her pure solo skills.

Valkas and Lata had encountered her several times on the battlefield, and Valkas, in particular, had said that she was better in warfare than the entire Black King Mercenaries' body.

However, in the descriptions they gave, there was no mention of Amela using curses or that unheard-of murky aura.

"I only heard about her combat skills, the use of various war equipment that can't be imitated by others, and her brilliant strategic ability. I also heard that she plants so many traps and equipment all over the battlefield that it was hard to believe she was moving alone."

"Hmm, I see. So, does that mean Amela was hiding her skills?"

"If she was hiding her skills to that extent and could single-handedly dominate the Black King Mercenaries in a war, it would imply that Amela is close to the level of a Genesis Knight. It doesn't seem likely. I think there might be some reason for a change in Amela."

"A change?"

"Maybe a change occurred because her Chaos met Bouvard Gaston's Chaos, and it's somehow amplifying. And that's giving Amela an edge over Bouvard."

Jin made that judgment based on intuition, but it wasn't entirely unfounded.

The giant Bouvard forming on the outside was almost certainly controlled by Amela.

There didn't seem to be any reason for Amela to create Bouvard with the murky aura without any particular motive.

Or, more precisely, Bouvard's murky mist.

As it is a means of controlling Bouvard's Chaos, she has no choice but to use its form.

Jin soon reached such a conclusion.

[Hmm, it seems like a bit of a leap, but it also makes sense.]

"The reason why Amela is particularly interested in the Proch brothers could be due to the Chaos."

[Aren't those snake-eyed guys different from your sister or Amela?]

"They're different, but the father of the two brothers is Smarion Proch. He is a person who turned into a monster due to Chaos. Perhaps his Chaos has some influence on the Proch brothers, and Amela might be feeling sympathy for that."

[So, what about Bouvard? Why does she show favoritism towards the Proch brothers and treats Bouvard that way?]

"That I don't know either. After all, everything I've said so far is just speculation. Hmm, but... Bouvard seems to be the type of person that disgusts everyone. I don't think there has to be any other reason to hate him."

[Ugh, my head hurts. Whatever it is, we'll have to meet her in person to find out if your hypothesis is correct. Let's go. I'll try not to counterattack.]

Bang, boom...!

The distant explosion noises from the outside were getting more intense.

The intensity of the battle between the main factions and Amela was increasing.

Jin could hear the shouts of the commanders when he focused for a moment.

"Deploy defense control around the Execution Knights...! I'll clear the way!"

"The commander was hit, fell back! The murky mist is converging!"

"Follow the best warrior and the tiger king. I'll kill all red tigers showing their backs!"

"Don't miss the magic tower vice-director's fire! If you step out of the fire, it will corrode the murky mist...!"

Jin could clearly hear their voices despite the considerable distance.

It was as if Amela had momentarily decided to listen to their reactions.

[Alright, should I kill everyone except my darlings? That would be fine, right, darlings?]

Amela spoke with unwavering confidence.

Despite facing the four main forces, she not only expected to win but was convinced she would win.

Listening to the voices from outside, it seems like Amela is overwhelming them."

With that in mind, Jin was even more certain.

He believed that, for some reason, Amela possessed a much greater power than usual.

Even though they hadn't sent all the flagbearers from each faction, there were very few individuals in the world who could single-handedly dominate people of that caliber.

It was an impossible feat even considering that Gaifa was the base of Amela and based on the descriptions of Valkas and Lata.

Murakan's black wings silently cut through the misty aura.

As they entered the misty aura where the cradle had disappeared, Jin's vision shifted from being nebulous to complete darkness.

The darkness didn't dissipate even when Jin formed a flame in the palm of his hand.

They continued forward with their Minds' Eyes opened to the maximum.

They could hear distant chants and hums from inside, as well as the sound of someone whispering in a strangely pleasant manner.

[Kukuku, you're the Elder Brother, you're the little sister. I'm the Demon King!]

It was as if a child absorbed in playing with dolls was talking to himself.

A shiver ran down Jin's spine...

But at the same time, it eerily reminded him of Yona.

Amela's humming gradually approached.

And as it approached, the darkness of the murky aura gradually dissipated.

There was a bright space in the distance, and Jin and Murakan naturally understood that it was the core of the mist, covering the entire island.

Amela was sitting in the center of it all.

She wore a camouflage outfit commonly used by mercenaries, but this outfit, made of grass and twigs, had such a large weave that it was hard to compare it to ordinary clothes.

As a result, Amela didn't seem to be wearing clothes; it was more like she was completely hidden within a round bush.

Her two hands protruded from her camouflage and toyed with small wooden dolls that looked like figures.

There were a total of three wooden dolls, and Jin immediately understood what each of them represented.

They were the Proch brothers and Bouvard.

Each of the figures corresponded to the real people standing in front of Amela and moved as they touched them.

But...

Bouvard is transparent as if it were a soul.

While the Proch brothers seemed like themselves, Bouvard took on a luminous and ethereal form.

Bouvard's doll was placed far from the Proch brothers' dolls and seemed to be throwing punches...

(Which seemed to be the actions of the giant Bouvard on the outside).

Meanwhile, the dolls of the Proch brothers were seen drinking tea and conversing.

Murakan transformed back into his human form.

Amela turned her head in surprise when Murakan and Jin touched solid ground.

She had no idea that Murakan and Jin had come so far.

[...Huh? What's going on? How did you survive to get here?], said Amela with reddened eyes.

She seemed completely bewildered and tilted her head as if she didn't understand anything.