By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 16

Chapter 9, Episode 25: The Monster Under the Mask

The monster panted, although it needed no oxygen, and felt its nonexistent heart thunder to the point of rupturing. The skeletal frame of the elder faded into a human-shaped cloud of black mist. Ryoma’s blade halted a hair’s breadth away from the monster’s neck. Its gaze followed the sword from its deadly tip up to the hilt, clasped by hands of burnt flesh, then to the arms with chunks of flesh bitten off to reveal the bone and the torso marked by three deep claw marks gashed from the shoulder down to the side. Topped by a head that had been bludgeoned to a pulp, Ryoma’s body was marred by countless other fatal wounds.

“Why...?” the monster asked, hardly believing that its head was still attached to its body.

“Ah, that hurt... I thought that’d kill me,” Ryoma groaned, and withdrew his sword. As the monster sagged in relief, Ryoma’s wounds vanished. “The pain went away,” he remarked. “So it was an illusion... Those must have been memories of the deaths that took place here.”

“Why?”

“That again? Well, now we can have an actual conversation,” Ryoma said.

“Conversation? Weren’t you commanded by the gods to kill me?” the monster asked again.

Wary curiosity flashed on Ryoma’s face, much to the monster’s confusion. After a few moments of silence, Ryoma spoke up. “Oh. There’s a few things I need to say. For one, I’m assuming you read my memory to learn about the gods asking me to come here. What they asked me to do, though, is to deal with your particular power—not necessarily to kill you.”

“But they said they’d eliminate me—”

“If the gods had to do it themselves,” Ryoma said. “They’re so powerful that even the weakest thing they could do would have wiped out the entire Sea of Trees. That’s why they asked me—to keep collateral damage to a minimum. If there was no other option, I was ready to take you out. But I was never going to kill you without a conversation. As long as you release the souls of the dead and promise not to use that power again, I can keep you alive.”

“Th-Then why did you come in to kill me?! I know you meant to!” the monster demanded. Its ability to read minds told it that Ryoma’s statement now and his intent to kill the monster had both been genuine, much to its confusion.

“Because I knew we couldn’t negotiate unless I showed you I could take you out at any time I wanted. And I was ticked off by your illusions.” Ryoma added that he didn’t know if he could converse with the monster before charging into the manor. Even if there wasn’t a language barrier, he hadn’t had too much hope for a reasonable conversation—even two humans often failed at that. Since he was going up against a monster that could take out an army, he wasn’t going to hold any punches. He’d planned to capture the monster and form a contract before negotiating, but only if he could do so safely.

“And the gods had you marked as a top priority. They wouldn’t just take your word that you won’t use your powers again if I had no means to back up that claim or any plans to stop you from doing so. It’d be unprofessional on my part not to make sure I could take care of this problem if you chose to renege on our deal. Fernobelia, who’s always cautious, and Meltrize, who doesn’t know me very well, wouldn’t accept me keeping you alive,” Ryoma concluded.

“That’s why you were ready to kill me... Then what about your task to hunt the Undead?” the monster asked.

“I plan to purify them all—or release their souls, with your help. You’re not an Undead, though. You’re a tsukumogami—a sort of lingering entity born of the villagers’ magical energy over the years. More generally, you’re a fairy.” To confirm his theory, Ryoma cast Monster Appraisal. 

House Fairy (Tsukumogami) 

Skills: Mimicry (10) / Regeneration (7) / Illusion (10) / Spirit Manipulation (6) / Lay to Rest (9) / Multitask (5) / Magic Absorption (6) / Soulbind (*) 

“Fairies can be born from magical energy found in nature or from magical energy that has seeped from humans into objects—you’re the latter. Well, because the Sea of Trees overtook the village in your magical-energy-storing phase, you’re kind of both, or somewhere in between, from what I’ve been told. In any case, you’re a fairy—not an Undead. And the manor is your corporeal form,” Ryoma said.

“You knew that much and charged in anyway? That’s like running into the mouth of a beast,” the monster said, its tone a mix of disbelief and resignation.

Ryoma pinched his brows slightly. “Now that we’re unmasking you, why don’t you drop that voice? I’m guessing you’re a child under that disguise.”

“How did you know?”

Despite the monster’s lack of expression—its face was a mere silhouette—Ryoma could see that it was taken aback by its tone and demeanor. “Just a hunch I had while we fought. A few times, once you realized I had the upper hand in the battle, your voice sounded younger. In hindsight, your asking ‘why’ to everything seemed like something a child would do.”

“Oh...” the monster muttered, and its shape shifted. Its adult-sized silhouette shrunk to that of a three or four-year-old child, its foggy outline becoming more defined. Finally, it settled into what looked like a child-sized black mannequin that moved and talked.

“Is that your true form?” Ryoma asked.

“This size feels the best. There is no human form I can call my own,” the monster said.

“I guess your true form is the manor itself... Anyway, I told you my goal and how I want to go about this. If you release the souls of the dead and stop using your power—that Soulbind skill, I guess—I won’t kill you and will leave you alone. What do you say?” Ryoma asked.

The monster timidly asked, like a child learning what a new object is called, “You really won’t kill me?”

“As long as you free the souls of the dead. The illusions you showed me weren’t my idea of fun, but I’m not going to kill a kid if I don’t have to. Even though it was necessary, I was breaking and entering here—I don’t blame you for fighting back. Even with the illusions, I was more mad at the people from my other life. It was still a bit annoying that you had to remind me of it all.” Ryoma scanned the room and the countless cuts from the tornado. “This is the most important part of the manor, like a slime’s core. It’s like I’m standing in the middle of your heart—where your power is at its strongest. The last illusion was pretty painful, but it didn’t incapacitate me. If you make me come back, I can make it here much faster next time.”

“What if I get stronger by then?” the monster dared.

“Then, that’s on me. I’ll come nonetheless, even if I have to drag you down with me,” Ryoma said.

“You’re not afraid to die?” the monster asked with audible surprise.

Ryoma gazed up at the ceiling. “Well, I’ve experienced it once before.”

“Oh.”

“If anything, it’s a miracle that I’m alive now. Part of me thinks that dying would just be going back to how things are meant to be—death still doesn’t feel real. Maybe because the death I experienced was sudden. Unlike the villagers here, I never had to wait for death to strike. I’ve never really worried about it. If I were to worry about it, the fear of death could actually get me killed if I’m facing down a monster, for example. My dad taught me that more than anything else, that I need to push my body to move and kill when I sense my own death lurking... I will never stop wondering how he survived in modern society. Why would he teach a kid that, even as a hypothetical?”

Despite Ryoma’s tangent, the monster understood well enough that he wouldn’t hesitate to invade its manor again. Even if it were to defeat Ryoma, the gods would retaliate with absolute destruction. A future battle with Ryoma meant certain death for the monster, sooner or later. Its only course of survival was to promise—and follow through with—the release of those souls and to never use its Soulbind power again. And yet, the monster hesitated to make that promise.

“Is there a reason you can’t do it, like you don’t know how to?” Ryoma guessed. “I gave you my requirements, but I’m sure you had your reasons for doing what you did. If you need something in return for releasing those souls, I’ll try to meet it—as long as it’s reasonable. I’m sure we each have a line in the sand we won’t cross. Why don’t we see if we can find common ground?”

“I’m lonely.” The monster began telling its life story, little by little. When it suddenly gained consciousness, everyone in the manor was already dead, leaving only the memories of how the village had thrived before the Sea of Trees overtook it. “Back then...they all smiled. The village wasn’t rich, but everyone seemed happy. But everything changed so fast. The village, the people in it, everything...”

As Ryoma had been told in the outermost base of the forest, the deforestation project came with a boom in the economy. But as the forest fought back, villagers became more desperate, neighbors became less friendly, and fights involving weapons were a frequent occurrence.

Listening to the history of Korumi’s demise, Ryoma contemplated. The nature of a fairy born of human magical energy imbued in objects is affected by the environment those objects were in, as well as the character of their owners. When born of objects that are well taken care of in a happy family, the fairy can be a guardian deity that protects and brings happiness to the people it lives with. When born of objects that are abused and broken, the fairy can be a hateful being bent on hurting people. From what this one’s saying, it’s the former—objects containing the magical energy that would later become its essence spent longer being surrounded by happiness. But before this fairy completely came into being, everyone in the village was gone. That’s why it said it was lonely—and probably why it gained the Soulbind skill. 

As if to confirm Ryoma’s theory, the monster continued. It spent its days in a reverie of memories left to it, peeking out of the manor window every now and then in search of any survivors. Instead, it found wandering Undead and soils of the deceased. Even before it learned to lure souls in, there were spirits trapped in the village, denied their passage to the gods. But the wandering spirits eventually faded away from the village. The monster longed for their souls—for companionship. Before it realized what it was doing, it had attained its power.

“I see... Your wish, mixed with your magical energy, became a sort of spirit manipulation or a curse that bound souls. Remily once said that anything was possible with magic, as long as you had enough magical energy to spend. Your Magic Absorption skill must be what the gods were talking about when they mentioned the ability to use the natural pool of magical energy. A few factors lined up for you to get here.”

“I’m not sure... I just don’t want to be alone,” the monster pleaded, sounding like it was on the verge of tears.

After contemplating for a while, Ryoma suggested, “Do you want to be my familiar, then?”

“Familiar?”

“I plan to frequent the Sea of Trees in the future. It’s great for gathering materials, experimenting, and just taking some time off. Having a base camp where I could spend the night would really help me out, and I can teleport to any of my familiars with a combination of Taming magic and Space magic. I’d be able to come see you more easily than just about anyone else. And I need a place to house my goblin familiars. They haven’t caused any trouble yet, but if they keep multiplying like they are now, they might scare the neighbors. That won’t be a problem here. Besides...if I spread the word through the duke, we might find some oddballs who’d want to live here. What do you think?”

“I never even thought about that,” the monster said. “People stopped coming, so I thought...no one would ever come again.”

“It’s a tough environment for most, I admit. But that doesn’t bother me. I know I barged in here and all, but I think I brought you a pretty good deal.”

The monster remained silent for several minutes, until it finally reached its conclusion. “I’ll let everyone go.”

“Great!”

“I will...but can you return everyone trapped in your...slimes, I think? The soul has to be in the manor for me to revive or release them. And I want some more time with some of the souls,” the monster said.

“I can get them out of the slimes anytime. As for the extra time, I can’t wait a century or anything like that, but I could give you a little bit of time. We can talk about the details later, but why don’t we form a Taming Contract, agreeing to set those souls free? Once you’re my familiar, we can somewhat communicate from afar.”

“Come here.” The monster pointed its hand to the desk behind it.

“I thought that desk might be the core of this room—you kept it behind you the whole time,” Ryoma said.

“Yes. Every master of the manor used it—the ones who laughed, the ones who yelled, the ones who cried... This room was used for meetings too.”

“It carried the history of Korumi village and the magical energy of its villagers,” Ryoma said. “Here goes—Taming Contract!” At the casting of his spell, Ryoma sensed the monster accepting the surge of his magical energy. So far so good. Maybe because we agreed on it beforehand, he guessed. Binding their magical energy together, Ryoma formed the contract. “Do you feel off in any way?”

“Um... No,” the monster answered.

“Then it’s a success for now...” Ryoma said. “Now you need a name.”

“You’re going to name me?!” the monster asked excitedly.

“I can’t keep calling you ‘the monster.’ Especially if we’re going to stay in touch. Don’t expect a masterpiece, though, I’ve never been great at giving names...” Intimidated by what looked like a flash of anticipation in where the monster’s eyes should have been, Ryoma scanned the room. Soon, his gaze settled on the desk he had used to tether the contract. “How about Korumi?”

“Like this village?”

“You’re a fairy born from a manor that kept watch over the village’s people and history. In a sense, you’re the last member of Korumi village. If you don’t like it, I’ll—”

“I like it! I like it! I like it! I’m Korumi!” Korumi shouted, sprinting around the room with its arms raised high.

Ryoma sensed Korumi’s joy through their bond, and heard rapping from all four walls of the room, just like an effect in a haunted house. “As long as you’re happy with it... I’m glad I could end this quest this way.” Quietly, Ryoma sighed in relief that he had gotten through the most difficult part of the gods’ quest without harming Korumi.