Chapter 19: The Eye in the Eye

“Hmm? What about the third one?”

Seeing Epunya suddenly pause and remain silent, Miss Vilyric couldn’t help but urge him on.

“The third characteristic… I haven’t experienced it myself, as my abilities are insufficient to draw out that aspect of the ‘Southern Disaster.'”

The President seemed a bit hesitant.

“However, I once came across an ancient book detailing the legends of the ‘Four Disasters,’ which mentioned that the ‘Phantom Cloud’ isn’t something that just appeared out of nowhere. Even if it can reproduce through parasitism, there must be a source.”

“What do you mean?”

Miss Vilyric was somewhat confused about what he was trying to express. Could it be that the ‘Phantom Cloud’ has some kind of ‘core’ weakness?

“Well… consider what I’m about to say as a reference, but don’t take it as gospel since I can’t guarantee the accuracy of this information.”

Epunya paused for a moment, seemingly reminiscing.

“Three hundred years ago, before the mythical beings faded into oblivion as they have now, that book mentioned a legendary existence that came to the southern wasteland. Unable to bear the suffering of the beings here due to the ‘Southern Disaster,’ he acted with great power to gather the endless ‘Disaster’ into clouds, which he then burned to ashes with heavenly fire.”

“It is said that this is the origin of the name ‘Phantom Cloud’; before that, it was simply referred to as the ‘Southern Disaster.’ After that battle, the ‘Southern Disaster’ indeed did not manifest for nearly a decade, and everyone thought it had been completely eradicated…”

At this point, Miss Vilyric could already guess how things would unfold.

“So later on, for some unknown reason, the ‘Phantom Cloud’ reappeared, but that presence couldn’t come back to eliminate it again due to various reasons, until today?”

Epunya nodded.

“Pretty much, so I would speculate that the ‘Phantom Cloud’ actually has a hidden source. If we cannot identify it, even if we manage to eradicate it completely, it would only be a temporary fix. This characteristic, I call ‘Indomitable.'”

This characteristic… didn’t really matter much to Miss Vilyric. The ‘Southern Disaster’ hadn’t stolen her family’s rice, after all; she didn’t need to wipe it out completely. It was just that this thing was in their way, and since the Priestess happened to be bored and interested, she had come out to investigate.

However, now that they’d managed to acquire useful information, it would be a pity not to clarify it all in one go.

‘Phantom,’ ‘Infinite,’ ‘Indomitable’—these three characteristics were indeed a bit tricky. By the sound of it, even if Miss Vilyric wanted to eliminate this thing completely, it would require some effort on her part.

Moreover, she still didn’t have a clear understanding of the true strength of the ‘Phantom Cloud.’

Using Epunya as a reference point, the range of fluctuations was too vast. She was quite curious about what level of power that so-called “legendary existence” possessed back then.

And it was somewhat strange; Miss Vilyric felt that many significant events seemed to have occurred around three hundred years ago.

The deadly battle between the black birds and the red dragon in Dragonfall Valley, Afra leading the ‘Profane Cocoon’ to betray the blood clan, the City of Courage constructing its third and fourth layers of heavenly prison, all these happened around three hundred years ago.

Now, this unique being that had once eradicated the ‘Southern Disaster’ also appeared around the same time.

Once or twice could be considered a coincidence, but with such frequent occurrences, what exactly happened during that period…

Though she was a bit concerned, now was not the time for detailed research on these connections.

The current main objective was still the ‘Southern Disaster.’

Miss Vilyric kept silent, patiently waiting for Epunya to continue. He had voluntarily invited them to discuss these matters, and it must involve something related to the ‘Phantom Cloud.’

Sure enough, he continued.

“I have a preliminary grasp of your strengths. Although stronger than that useless ‘Martial Madman’ from before, it’s still not enough…”

As if having made some kind of resolution, Epunya clenched his jaw.

“If you can demonstrate greater power, proving you possess the strength to combat the ‘Southern Disaster,’ I’m willing to risk my life to lead you to find it. I know how, and I even have some guesses about the source of that ‘Indomitable’ characteristic.”

“Oh?”

Now that was… a clue being handed to them.

No matter how you looked at it, Epunya had escaped from the ‘Southern Disaster.’ If he was willing to help, it would indeed save them a lot of trouble.

Contemplating this, the Priestess smiled softly and slowly took a bite of her food.

“How do you plan to prove that? Just so you know, I won’t be doing anything too troublesome.”

“Great! Straightforward is my style. I like Miss Vilyric’s personality. To be honest, mere physical strength is useless against the ‘Phantom Cloud.’ You must have targeting power to confront it…”

“Excuse me for a second.”

After a reminder, Epunya pulled open his tightly wrapped coat, revealing what lay beneath to the girls.

“Oh my God, by the goddess!”

“What is this…?”

The quietly munching Edwina and the Renee-Leila sisters gasped in surprise.

Miss Vilyric and the Giant Dragon managed to maintain their composure, but the former’s pupils narrowed slightly in evident shock.

On the well-toned chest of this half-beastman was a deep gray vertical pupil!

It looked a bit like a tattoo, but was entirely different. The most notable difference was that this thing… was alive!

The patterns that seemed to be painted on his skin moved on their own, locking eyes with the black-haired girl right in front of him!

Madness, loneliness, deathly silence—countless negative emotions surged toward Miss Vilyric like an unnameable spiritual pollution. An ordinary person would likely fall into frenzy and terror if they made eye contact for more than a few seconds.

No wonder Epunya had to wrap it up.

The strangest part was that from the depths of this maddening eye, the Priestess surprisingly detected a subtle feeling of being watched.

Something was quietly observing her through those eyes.

Identical yet different, ignorant yet rational.

“Hmph!”

The Little Dragon Daughter sitting next to Miss Vilyric also felt that gaze. Her golden pupils shone with a diamond-like brilliance as she glared fiercely at that gray vertical eye.

Crack ~

With a sound that was hard to describe, the feeling of being watched dissipated, and only Miss Vilyric and the Giant Dragon had the ability to hear that noise.

“Surveillance magic…? Or a clone?”

The Priestess pondered thoughtfully as she shifted her gaze away from that now devoid of mystery, silent vertical eye, while Epunya acted as if he didn’t realize anything, pointing at the eye on his chest.

“This is the influence left by the ‘Phantom Cloud’ that infected me during that initial battle. No matter what I do, I can’t eradicate it. I can only go to the temple every so often to ask the Priest for help in suppressing it.”

“If I could eliminate it, I could regain my former strength. I believe you have the ability to combat the ‘Phantom Cloud,’ so what do you say we join forces to eliminate the ‘Southern Disaster’?”

   

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