I Became the Wrong Race

24 – Warlock (3)

Familiar. That was my first impression.

Bone fragments billowing over collapsed buildings, and turbid currents reminiscent of the thick muddy water of a swamp.

It had the impression of being something huge, but it was something vague and not clearly visible.

But I was somehow familiar with it. After staring blankly, I realized what it was.

It was something I saw several times in the game.

Imitation Transcendant.

A powerful ritual used by some magicians of the Inquiry School.

It is formed by gaining strength from human death and its traces. Death, the feelings toward it, and the magic that humans have built up come together and solidify.

It did not have the status of a transcendent, but it was something with the power of a transcendent. Usually, if it appears, it is something that you have absolutely no chance of winning unless you are a max level player party.

You have to run away. Something inside me grabbed hold of the thought I had for a moment.

I felt something was different.

It was only something I saw in the game, but something was different in terms of proportions.

It was small in scale. There was little destruction. Compared to its overwhelming majesty, it was shabby.

Even though it was the same magic as seen in the game. I could recognize something there.

City Hall was a pavilion. A sarcophagus that I personally destroyed and covered. That’s something that came out because I couldn’t do anything about it.

The sea of death, which originally had to be born by destroying countless graves and lives, has been reduced to the level of a lake or stream.

It was effective. What I did was not in vain. The moment I realized, confusion spread around me.

It was a natural response of humans facing death.

Running away, screaming, throwing away everything in an instant and running to save your life.

There weren’t many people left. They were either people who were too stiff to run away, or even great men with a strong will.

And I was not a great person.

I was a monster. A twisted monster who cannot feel danger in the face of death. I thought that way even as I watched the death coming.

Thanks to what I did, I was able to prevent all the humans within its radius from dying as soon as it rose.

Even the warlock had no choice but to take it out in a hurry.

It was not meaningless. Thanks to this, people survived. I felt something overwhelming, but I quickly suppressed it.

“I have work to do.”

As I spoke, the mayor looked back at me blankly. It was like I had never seen anything like it.

It was natural. Because the notoriety of warlocks is so high, the average person lives without even knowing about them.

I don’t know what kind of magic they use or why they use black magic.

I don’t know why the warlocks call their group the Inquiry School. Because I don’t know what fearful beings are lurking outside this world and the high sky.

I did not scold the man who thought of building a city hall in a charnel house.

“Start evacuation. If it’s too late, a lot of people will die. Then that guy will grow bigger too.”

“… “Your Majesty?”

“Actually, I’m not the Black Knight.”

Lies were not the right clothes for me. When I confessed it, I felt at ease. The mayor’s face looked puzzled even though he was blank, but he had no obligation to explain to me.

Instead, a pure white woman approached me and grabbed the end of her cloak.

“Isla.”

“… Are you going to run away?”

An uncertain voice. I saw the tail down on the ground and the ears standing on end.

People whose lives have an end, such as ordinary humans or shapeshifters, seemed unable to think clearly when they saw that being. Overwhelmed and unable to do anything.

In other words, I was the only suitable person who could step forward in this situation. I took out the armor one by one from my cloak and put it on.

“Right?”

“No.”

“… Why?”

The tail goes down. Although they hadn’t known each other for very long, Isla seemed to be afraid that her fellow monster comrade would die.

I could understand. Because I also missed my parents for a long time, whom I had never seen in my life.

Even if it wasn’t the same, it was similar. So I understood Isla and held her hand.

The mayor, who took this as a sign of conflict, hurriedly opened his mouth. They spent time trying to convince me that I could just run away.

“Then, then you will have to run away. If you’re not the Black Knight, you can’t do something like that….”

There was an error. Even the Black Knight can’t do that. Although I was weakened by being buried alive, it was a monster that could not be helped unless its level and stats were poor.

Even that is not something that one person can handle. That fact was clear even to those unfamiliar with black magic.

A word that tells us to run away, to run away.

A prediction that humans will not be able to endure.

It’s all true, but mine was different.

I knew the weakness of that consciousness, and I had a monster body to put it into practice.

The method is simple in words. There is a warlock controlling that consciousness in the center, and killing it is the solution.

You have to go down through that death, so it’s usually impossible.

“But we still have to do it.”

“… Why?”

The mayor questions my silent answer. As I was looking for a response, the mayor grabbed my vambrace-clad wrist.

“You can’t let them walk out on a limb. “Thanks to you, we have gained time, so it is my duty to help you escape.”

You’re acting so frustrating. I shook my hand away, but the mayor still moved to block my path.

It seemed like they wouldn’t let me go unless I gave an explanation.

So I remembered the reason.

Because people die.

If I don’t do it, who will?

If I leave that behind, what will happen to the people who pass by here?

Because this is what I have to do.

Isn’t this a bit much?

Is it my duty?

It doesn’t seem like that at all.

So many reasons and boring explanations came to mind.

After thinking for a moment, I pushed away all the plausible words and looked at what was left.

Once the fakes and excuses were removed, there was sincerity that remained.

“How long will the evacuation be?”

The mayor looked around despite the unexpected question.

“I don’t have time to count, but… maybe….”

His expression hardened and he shook his head.

“No, I don’t know.”

It was consideration. Out of consideration for me, I tried not to say anything. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid people would think that if I ran away, they would die because of me.

He was a good person. Did I deceive you for no reason? I said while thinking.

“If I run away, a lot of people will die, right?”

“… That.”

“There will be a lot of deaths and injuries. “I’m not sure if that’s right.”

That was me. I wasn’t good at speaking, so I couldn’t say anything plausible.

But even if it was vague, I revealed my true feelings.

“But no matter how I escape from here, I will always think about this.”

I didn’t know much about it before this happened, but I was a person with a pretty strong sense of guilt.

“I think it often comes to mind when I close my eyes for a moment, when the cool breeze blows and feels good, when I laugh and talk or eat something delicious.”

I still haven’t forgotten the sad face of the man-eating baron or the helpless expression of the mercenary called Starblade.

It will probably last a lifetime. I suppressed my laughter.

“Then I don’t think it will be very enjoyable to live in.”

“… Ah.”

Removing Isla’s hand from the cloak, I approached the ruins of the city hall.

Death was still looming over him, clamoring to escape from the weight that was weighing him down.

“I don’t like that. “I’d rather do anything than have that happen.”

That was my reason. I’m doing this for me.

I was a bit selfish to do something cool like self-sacrifice.

“So Isla, don’t follow me and wait. “She will be back soon.”

As I approached, death fluttered and stretched out its hand towards me.

Death grabs my wrist and wraps itself around my body like a tentacle.

Thoughts that were not mine poured from my head to my whole body like crumbs.

“… Ugh.”

Thoughts were followed by emotions and pain. A sharp, cool sensation that makes your hair stand on end.

In that way, my body was slowly dragged away.

An uneasy feeling as if submerged in water. With the feeling of being sucked in from the part where I was caught, I was sucked into death, hearing the voice calling me for the last time.

It felt like I was being swallowed alive by a swamp. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life, but the strange fishy feeling made me think it might be like this.

Even that didn’t last long. Immediately after, countless things poured towards me, covering my entire body.

The pain of tearing my skin, the pain that cuts through my flesh, and the pain that felt like every single nerve cell was being torn apart swept through my body.

It wasn’t mine. I know because I experienced it in the game. This is an illusion created by ‘Death’, a counterfeit transcendental being.

It was something created by gathering the thoughts of those who were dead and buried. So it doesn’t exist.

Still, it was terribly painful. The pain naturally continued into my memories.

The most painful memories of my life. The darkest shadows in my life that I don’t even want to think about.

The mischievous guys I met on my way back home after receiving dinner in the cafeteria.

When I was an elementary school student, I had to collect the exploded instant curry in a bag and return home after stealing it and throwing it on the floor.

I remember having to bring my older sister who was working because my parents weren’t there, and even then I couldn’t avoid being teased.

When I was a middle school student, I got used to life and stopped counting the loss, so I naturally discussed ‘non-participation’.

And yet, the antipathy I heard from my older sister. The harsh words I sinfully uttered to my sister.

I was unable to overcome the tears, guilt, and the immature pointing of a finger at me for running away from home for a short period of time, and ended up swinging my fist.

The humiliating experience of coming to visit her, repeatedly bowing down, and having to kneel down with my older sister to apologize and hope for mercy from her.

Memories that once ate away at me came back to me. My personal death, buried and covered in dust for a long time, grabbed my ankles and dragged me into deeper death.

Ah, this is why you die if you lack abilities. The new memory naturally showed me the path I should take.

I needed escape.

So, I deliberately and desperately recalled happy memories.

There was a friend I made for the first time. He was a good guy who did not criticize me despite my family situation and poverty.

He listened to my childish concerns and gave answers in an adult manner, but he also shared my childish concerns as an equal.

One day, I moved away without leaving any contact and never saw him again, but thanks to him, I was able to gain courage.

Even his face was blurred, but only the words he said were engraved in my memory in print.

‘Yes, I love you too, sister.’

I also remembered the candid conversation I had with my sister. It was a memory of hugging, apologizing for saying something harsh, and smiling and affirming the expressions of affection.

Even though it was right after a fight, my sister’s arms were warm and she taught me what the word mother felt like.

Even the conversation we had became blurred, but I was able to live diligently based on what I felt at that time.

The sense that I am becoming a better person.

I want to work hard.

Working hard again.

I remember trying to somehow overcome this sh*tty life.

I have nothing, I have nothing to have.

This is the reason why I, who fell here and was robbed of the only thing I had just because I chose the wrong race, can still do my best.

So I strengthened my will and went down to the very bottom of death.

I clearly chose the wrong race and ended up becoming a monster.

That wasn’t everything to me.

Tuhwaaa!

Falls to the floor through the murky, thick death. When I got up and stopped rolling on the floor, someone was standing opposite me.

A warlock whose ten fingers on both hands were cut off and worn away through frequent torture and pain.

Still, a scholar who wanted to complete what he was researching.

Unlike me, a person who gave in to reality and chose the wrong path.

“… How?”

I faced her.