Retribution (4)

After Renzo left, I was the only one left conscious in this mansion.

Heldre is dead, the Indus personnel were dealt with by Manggot, and the Indus leaders are unconscious.

It would seem like the most ideal situation for me to take advantage of, but...

In reality, it's an extremely difficult situation.

'Seriously, not even a single drop of mana left.'

I tried weaving in order to undo these spiderwebs, but there was nothing I could work with. I wouldn't be able to cut them with a crude weapon, and the only way to cut through them in one go would be to use void weaving to sever the spiderwebs.

Void weaving is only possible inside Menosorpo, so that's naturally out of the question.

And more importantly...

'...I'm sleepy.'

My tough schedule after the second semester started, along with the consecutive incidents and accidents that kept happening. The consecutive battles and mana depletion from consuming Dragon Heart. And now my current physical state.

My fatigue had reached its limit.

I looked ahead. Thompson, Cain, and Skyler are still collapsed. They're still just unconscious, they haven't been restrained or incapacitated.

I somehow need to take action before they regain consciousness.

'This is bad.'

My eyelids are heavy.

My head slowly droops. A sigh escapes my lips, as if my insides are completely empty.

In the end, I couldn't beat the overwhelming sleepiness and fell asleep tied to the chair.

* * *

Kraken ran away with all its might.

It couldn't escape through the portal, because the portal's location was set to Heldre's mansion.

It ran through the forest crazily. Branches and thorns scratched at its body, but it paid them no mind. It could heal minor wounds like that anytime, and they didn't matter to it right now.

"Haa, haa...!"

Kraken's breath came in ragged gasps as it ran, its body growing more elongated as she crashed through twigs and stones. At this point, there was hardly anything left of its human figure.

"Frondier is in control of the entire Manggot!"

It knew that Frondier was being escorted by one of the Manggot. It met her at Constel's assembly hall.

However, it had always thought that it was the Manggot who were using Frondier. It didn't know what their goal was, but Frondier must've had some value to them. Still, it couldn't be that significant.

Yet here were so many Manggot members were moving for Frondier!

It needed to hide for the time being. It would change its face and stay hidden for a long, long time.

Yes, until there was no one left who remembered it-

"Halt."

Suddenly, someone blocked Kraken's path as it was running at incredible speed.

Kraken stopped and looked at the woman in front of it.

"I've been looking for you. The culprit."

"...Culprit?"

Kraken tilted its head in confusion.

It didn't recognize the woman's face, but it did remember the uniform she was wearing.

"Ah, you're from Morion."

"I'm glad you're quick on the uptake. Put your hands up."

Esther, the warden of Morion, glared at Kraken with cold eyes.

Kraken let out a chuckle and opened its mouth.

"How did you know it was me? No, how did you even know I was here in the first place?"

Kraken's question was justified. Kraken could completely change its face, making it untraceable. Eyewitnesses were meaningless. So how was Esther standing right there in its path, as if she had been waiting for it?

"Simple. You're with Indus. A monster pretending to be human."

Originally, Esther had traveled to Constel to investigate Renzo's movements after his death.

During that time, she received a message from her clone. Someone had infiltrated Morion and fled with Renzo's corpse.

Afterwards, Esther set out to find the culprit who had escaped with Renzo. The original reason she was heading to Constel was to find out why Renzo had died, so finding the criminal would expedite matters.

Above all, her personality was more suited to tracking down criminals.

According to the information from her clone, the criminal was a monster, likely hiding within a human organization.

"A monster infiltrated a human organization. Then, there's only one place that comes to mind."

Upon hearing that information, Esther immediately thought of 'Indus.'

Esther had sensed something sinister about Indus from the start and had embarked on an investigation. While everyone else was oblivious, she alone detected that unpleasant scent.

Though they had been slipping through the net and escaping up until now, Indus had recently left mistakes here and there. Recently, a clear member of Indus was caught.

Most of those incidents were related to Constel or its students.

'If I follow those traces, it will become clear who is at the center.'

And Esther found one person.

'Frondier de Roach.'

From Serf to the present. He was always involved in incidents that slowly unveiled the other side of Indus.

Moreover, Renzo, who seemed unrelated to Indus at a glance, also had a connection to Frondier.

After all, it was Frondier who had reported Renzo's infiltration into Constel.

Whether Frondier had cut off Renzo's arm or not, he must have had some inkling of Elysia's plans at the time.

'And now, Frondier, on his way back from a school trip, was said to have been kidnapped.'

This is a piece of urgent news that came in from Constel not long ago.

Frondier, having no choice due to Renzo's threat, stepped out of the train, and his whereabouts thereafter are unknown.

"If the monster that rescued Renzo truly belongs to Indus, then it's natural that Renzo would move with the same purpose as Indus. Though, how long that will last is anyone's guess."

Therefore, Esther, who had long sensed that Heldre was a leader of Indus, headed towards Heldre's mansion.

As she approached the mansion, she already sensed a massive mana and blocked the only escape route of Kraken, who had almost successfully fled.

"In this forest, without even flying, the speed was incredible. It seems like you barely used aura to avoid being tracked, which actually gave me more confidence. It's impossible for a human to achieve such speed with their bare body."

"…Heh."

Kraken opened its mouth wide upon hearing Esther's explanation, not even sure if it was already smiling.

"The people of Morion, not much of a big deal."