Chapter 47: Who Are You (2)
The next day, a report appeared in the Batevil Kingdom newspaper:
[All 911 Felche Citizens Vanish Without a Trace Overnight]
[The Bizarre “Felche Disappearance” … Authorities Baffled]
[“We’re Looking for Felche’s People” … Where Could They Be?]
Flap—
“Hm.”
Abito Yully, a brown-haired boy, folded the paper after reading it with interest.
Chirp!
The messenger bird that had been waiting quietly in front of him gave a sharp cry.
A cry that meant: “Smart human, pay up.”
“Sorry, sorry~ Here, 3 sicles. Thanks as always. Good work.”
Abito smiled brightly and waved off the bird, then muttered in a low voice,
“I think I’ve got a decent grasp of it. What really happened.”
It was astonishing. Investigators were still stumped by the strange case, but he had grasped the essence after skimming a few newspapers!
“Pulling off something like this in broad daylight—or in the morning, rather—means the group responsible is… unfortunately, one of quite a few.”
If it was one of the so-called “Five Great Villain Organizations,” it was entirely feasible.
Slaughtering hundreds of people discreetly in under a day?
“It’s not impossible. They’ve got the manpower, money, and ability for it.”
Killing people is easy. Easier than one might think.
Especially if the culprit was someone with the kind of power capable of overwhelming force.
Take the Virga Village incident recently covered in the news—the culprit, the puppeteer Molga, had supposedly wiped out entire villages alone.
But—
“A disappearance case is another matter. And this wasn’t a kidnapping.”
To secretly relocate nearly a thousand people in under a day without anyone noticing?
To some secret, sealed-off place and completely erase their presence?
No.
“It would be much easier just to kill them. So it’s more accurate to say ‘they were killed’ or ‘murdered.’”
When a living being is killed, traces are inevitably left behind.
Blood, saliva, flesh—and most of all, the body.
“But if nothing was left behind… that means someone tampered with the scene.”
Hiding a few dozen people might be doable with the power of an organization.
Leaving absolutely no trace would be difficult, but not impossible with sufficient manpower.
“Still, even that would have a time limit.”
Just like in his original world, this one had forces that could transcend time and space.
“Magic.”
He was convinced that some mysterious force—magic—was involved in the Felche disappearance case.
Spatial magic-users like Sercia Edelweiss were rare, but not nonexistent.
With the support of a dozen spatial mages and some powerful artifacts, perhaps…
It could have been possible to move hundreds of citizens instantly.
“If so, the culprit might be Familia, where mages are common… or Desire… or maybe even the Witch’s Association.”
Normally, this was the point where he’d narrow down the most plausible candidates and finish his analysis.
Gathering and understanding current events and major incidents was essential for Abito’s personal goals.
But he never dug deep into cases of lesser importance. Tragic as it was… such misfortunes had become so common they were practically mundane.
Ask any fellow Hunter around about their past, and the odds are high it wasn’t a peaceful one.
That’s just the kind of world this was.
“Hm.”
Tap, tap.
Abito drummed his fingers on the desk and spun the pen in his hand.
“But something feels off. I get the sense that magic isn’t involved. Hm… I don’t usually trust abstract and unstatistical tools like ‘intuition’ though.”
Still, the Felche case had some strange elements.
“What was the point? What was to be gained from killing or kidnapping those people?”
Felche was a small and peaceful city—in other words, utterly unremarkable.
Its citizens were the same.
In this world, all actions are preceded by a gain/loss calculation.
In other words, there’s no such thing as a profitless result.
That was Abito Yully’s absolute belief about the world.
“Besides… though I’m not certain yet, a new variable has emerged…”
There was a chance the culprit wasn’t a mage at all.
Abito clearly remembered the ability of Zeraphe Gnaude, whom he had recently witnessed in the labyrinth.
“A dear gift I prepared myself.”
The way corpses had poured out of that thick tree trunk—
The Gnaude tribe, all druids who deeply revered nature, possessed a unique ability in the tree trunks they treated as their own limbs.
“An ability to return things born of nature back to nature.”
Animals and plants, for instance.
To most people, the Gnaude were remembered for harmless tasks like clearing animal carcasses or purifying contaminated areas.
But if one thought it through—
…weren’t humans also living beings born of nature?
If they could absorb animal corpses, they could likely do the same to humans.
“And there’s only one villain group associated with the Gnaude.”
It was obvious.
The Gnaude were also considered “non-human” by LAMPAS.
In this world, any race that wasn’t from LAMPAS—beastkin, minorities—were labeled “non-human.”
Even if there wasn’t much physical difference.
“A villain group made up entirely of non-humans.”
The assassination guild, Depicio.
“Hake was probably a spy sent from Depicio, wasn’t he?”
The moment Abito had encountered the non-human alliance in the labyrinth, he began observing the beastkin Hake closely.
And he was certain—there was a subtle dissonance in Hake’s behavior.
He had intentionally injured himself to maintain the ruse of being weak. Or more precisely… he had allowed the enemy to wound him.
On the surface, it looked like a deep and dangerous wound. But in reality, it was a part of the body that caused no real harm.
Unless he had calculated the strength and placement of each incoming blow down to the millimeter, such a feat would’ve been impossible.
“No one else seemed to suspect him, though… More surprising was the intervention of the Gold-rank Hunter.”
That had been an unexpected variable.
No one would have guessed that the elusive figure, who had maintained an air of mystery since being appointed a Top Rank, would show up during this test.
They must have scrambled to fake his death because of it.
“Since he remained in the labyrinth, I assume his disguise was discovered. I wonder if he’s actually dead now~?”
Abito whistled as he casually talked about death.
Amazingly, his solo deductions had brought him closer to the truth of both incidents.
“And then… Zeraphe Gnaude. Assuming Depicio is tied to the Gnaude tribe… why was he killed so meaninglessly?”
From experience, he knew how terrifying the ancient monster Manticore had been.
Even a genius mage like Zeraphe Gnaude—still human, in the end—couldn’t have handled it.
“If there’s a group capable of uncovering the sealed ancient monster beneath the labyrinth… they must have already known that Gnaude wasn’t up to the task.”
The Hunter Exams gathered and vetted elite candidates from all over the world.
Passing even a few stages proved a candidate’s strength and potential.
But neither Zeraphe nor any of the others had managed to land a solid hit on the Manticore. All they could do was endure.
“So they likely used Zeraphe as a sacrifice. To revive the Manticore… or to be its offering?”
The non-human alliance known as Depicio valued bonds deeply.
Even among different non-human races, unity ran strong—so for those of the same tribe, their bond must be ironclad.
And yet, the Gnaude from Depicio had abandoned Zeraphe.
Despite knowing he’d die horribly—without hesitation.
“Maybe he made enemies within his own tribe… Not that it matters to me.”
The dead say nothing.
No matter how unfair or bitter their fate, they couldn’t change the present.
For a moment, Abito’s expression darkened.
“…Anyway, I was incredibly lucky.”
Had that person not appeared just as the mutated Manticore lunged at him… he would’ve died.
A meaningless death, with nothing left behind.
“No. I won’t let you die.”
Thinking back on that moment sent shivers down Abito’s spine. That overwhelming power.
Someone who neutralized an enemy too strong for any strategy in a single instant.
The Gold-rank Top Hunter.
“I’m sure his name was… Elwin.”
If he’d wanted to, Elwin probably could have tamed and commanded the Manticore.
Something Zeraphe Gnaude had longed for even in death—Elwin could’ve achieved it with ease.
“…I need him. His support.”
Absolutely.
Abito’s eyes gleamed with sharp determination.
He suddenly stood up and rushed outside.
“I have to meet him—no matter what…!”
Earlier that day, Gale had quietly warned him.
“Sorry, but the kid’s real busy right now. Don’t think I can arrange a meeting.”
“…I see. Don’t worry. It was a selfish request anyway.”
Under the pitch-black sky, Abito ran down the empty streets, clenching his teeth.
“Someday I’ll get to meet him. He’s stationed in Mediale, and I’ll be training there for a while too.”
“About that… He said he’s leaving at dawn tomorrow.”
“…No. No way!”
If the Gold-rank Hunter left, there would be no more chances to meet him.
And it wasn’t as if another Top Rank would show up. Even crossing paths like this had been a miracle.
“Today is my only shot.”
It was the last opportunity he’d have to meet a Top Hunter.
He desperately needed that man’s help—to escape his “predestined death.”
Abito Yully wasn’t afraid of dying. He’d already been through it once. What was there to fear?
He was exceptionally intelligent and never forgot anything he had experienced.
But—
Abito clenched his fists tightly.
“…I can’t let her die.”
There was someone he wanted to save. Desperately. At any cost.
Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the Golden Palace.
“Hah…”
Catching his breath, he stared at the tall gates and walls and bit his lip.
“…Guess there’s no choice.”
Fwoosh!
His magic began to surge ominously.
He was known as a strategist who utilized his sharp intellect and rune magic to its fullest.
But seeing the magic now rising from his body… that assumption was dead wrong.
It was truly sinister.
“Come forth.”
A pale, white figure reached out from beneath Abito’s shadow, where a deep, dark violet aura spread under his feet. Just as it was about to cross into reality—
“Hm, that’s a bit of a problem. Someone inside my residence is quite sensitive to ‘this kind’ of magic.”
Whoosh!
A calm voice rang out—and in an instant, Abito’s magic vanished.
No, it had been nullified. Against his will.
“!!!”
Startled, Abito spun around. And there—
“Hello, Mr. Abito. Lovely evening, isn’t it?”
“You…!”
“You came looking for me, didn’t you?”
Standing atop the sharp iron gate, a blond-haired boy smiled, eyes gleaming.