The World Does Not Exist for ■■

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: ford53
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< Chapter 15: The Inevitable Encounter of the Mob(2) >

Screech.

A heavy van, commonly referred to as such, came to a stop at the entrance of the pier.

“They arrived quicker than I expected.”

No sooner had Seti finished her statement than the van’s door swung open.

Despite the van’s size, only a single person disembarked.

Dung Beetle concentrated mana into his eyes to get a clear view of the person stepping out of the vehicle and immediately furrowed his brows in bewilderment.

‘…What’s this?’

The individual who got off was a neatly dressed man in a suit.

If there was an issue, it was that his head was somewhat… grotesque.

‘A pig’s head?’

Instead of a normal face, there sat a pig’s head on his shoulders, the kind you might find on an altar.

To call it a mere mask or a disguise would be inaccurate, as there was no space visible between the head and the neck.

Either he had hollowed out a real pig’s head and was wearing it upside down… or it was indeed his true head.

Either way, it was equally bizarre.

The pig-headed man sniffed around momentarily before starting to approach Seti and Dung Beetle.

Dung Beetle gestured towards Seti with his chin, asking in essence, ‘What on earth is that thing?’

Seti shrugged in response and answered.

“He’s a herdsman sent by the government to pursue me, as well as their hound. Looks a bit strange, doesn’t he?”

“…A beast-man?”

“In a place that’s neither Africa nor a protected area, would there be beast-men? He’s just a… modified human.”

“…Human?”

Dung Beetle would have believed it if someone said it was a monster from beyond the dimensional gate.

He swallowed his next words. On second thought, it wasn’t all that strange.

Wasn’t this the same government that had built corpse warehouses to trade with a necromancer? Adding one more monster to the mix was really neither here nor there.

“…So, that pig-headed thing is what you wanted to show me as a reason to hate the government?”

“It’s one of the reasons. I’ll show you the real deal in a bit. Hmm… But I think you should hide for now…”

“Now? Where do you expect me to hide he…”

Before Dung Beetle could finish his sentence, Seti dragged a bent metal plate from the ground towards him.

Dung Beetle didn’t say a word until she covered him with the metal plate.

“Hmm, this should be enough, right?”

“…Is this what you call hiding?”

“Yes, you now perfectly resemble a corpse crushed under a metal plate.”

“…”

“Rest for a while.”

Dung Beetle did not refuse Seti’s suggestion. After all, the whole point of starting this absurd question game was to buy time for his body to recover.

While their conversation paused briefly, Dung Beetle focused on the sensations in his leg.

Pain was gradually returning to his toes and knee, a sign that the broken bones and nerves were finding their way back into place.

By the time his body had recovered to some extent, the pig-headed man’s footsteps had approached quite close.

Within a distance that could be reached with a single step, the man quietly surveyed the surroundings.

The filth-covered ground, the remnants of the explosion, the corpse of the titan… and lastly, Hong Seti, leaning on the Warhammer.

After a short silence, the pig-headed man addressed Seti.

“Candidate, you engaged in unauthorized combat. This is a violation of the regulations.”

The pig-headed man’s voice was more ordinary than expected.

However, as soon as Dung Beetle heard it, he frowned, sensing the mana within the voice.

Although he wasn’t well-versed in magic to explain precisely… the mana layered over the man’s voice was similar to the necromancer’s curse.

In other words, it was repulsive.

“You’ve also used Warhammer without permission. Candidate, to violate two regulations… Do you see the rules as a joke?”

“…”

“Explain exactly what happened here.”

“I refuse.”

“…What did you say?”

“I said I refuse.”

“Regulation Article 15: A candidate may not refuse a herdsman’s request. Regulations exist to be followed candidate.”

As Dung Beetle listened to their odd exchange, he pondered what sort of dialogue this was.

Herdsman, regulations, candidate.

It was a sequence of words that gave no clear starting point for inquiry, but one thing he could be sure of.

Seti had prepared herself for something… to show him this spectacle.

If not, the depth of emotion stirring in her blue eyes as she looked at him would be inexplicable.

“Answer me candidate.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I will not tolerate further deviance. If you refuse once more, I shall punish you according to the regulations.”

“Then punish me. I refuse.”

As soon as Seti gave her curt reply, the man, as if waiting for this moment, raised his hand.

“I acknowledge the candidate’s deviance. I will impose sanctions.”

Snap.

With a light flick of his fingers, the man activated the spell that had been charged.

Contrary to Dung Beetle’s concerns, it wasn’t a grand spell.

It was merely something akin to pressing a switch – a simple magic.

However, Seti’s reaction to being ‘pressed’ by this ‘something’ was far from simple.

“…!”

She immediately fell to her knees and began to shiver violently. Soon after, tears flowed from her tightly closed eyelids.

While it seemed like she was merely trying to endure something, Dung Beetle, able to feel others’ mana, realized what was happening inside her.

‘…It’s twisting her body.’

Mana was flowing backward through her veins.

The mana wrapped around her muscles was inversely piercing them, and it pressed down on her vocal cords and lungs, preventing even a scream.

From all the movement of mana, a very finely tuned malice was apparent.

A technique designed only for pain, not allowing for death or unconsciousness.

No defense or resistance was possible.

The mana attacking her body was her own.

Dung Beetle silently watched her struggle with the pain.

In the back of his mind, a thought arose about fleeing… but curiosity held him in place.

Why was this girl showing him such a state?

Why had she asked about his lineage and why he hated the government?

And above all… why had she helped him kill the necromancer?

There was no connection between them.

Their encounter a few days ago was brief, he had unilaterally learned martial arts by watching her, and they had agreed to trade the unicorn’s horn for mutual benefit.

Frankly, wasn’t their relationship only slightly better than that of a street vendor and a customer?

As a series of questions chased each other in Dung Beetle’s mind, Seti’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“This, should be… enough to… show you… I don’t… get along with… the government…!”

At Seti’s words, the pig-headed man tilted his head as if he didn’t understand, and he prepared the same spell he had used on her a moment ago.

Watching the silent scream that followed, Dung Beetle sighed softly.

To resolve the questions in his head, he had no choice but to continue the question game.

His judgment was short, his actions quick. He pushed aside the metal plate that Seti had covered him with and rose to his feet.

The bones that had been shattered were now adhering, and the torn muscles were back in place.

He wasn’t in optimal condition, but he was far from the worst.

“…Zombie?”

The pig-headed man tilted his head in confusion at the sight of Dung Beetle suddenly standing up.

Given Dung Beetle’s bloodied and torn attire, it was understandable to mistake him for a zombie.

But no zombie would suddenly throw a grenade without a word.

“What madness—”

The moment the pig-headed man uttered a curse at the sight of the incoming grenade, it exploded.

Boom!!

With the explosion’s roar, Dung Beetle sprang from the ground.

He closed the distance almost as if flying, then channeled mana into his legs and delivered a sweeping kick to the pig-headed man’s neck.

It was a decisive surprise attack, but Dung Beetle clicked his tongue shortly.

He felt no impact at the tip of his boot.

Upon creating some distance to inspect, a blue shield had unfolded around the pig-headed man’s neck.

“Non-lethal skill? You’re using a non-lethal skill…!”

The pig-headed man, having mistaken his footwork, trembled in disbelief.

“How dare…! A candidate attacking a herdsman!”

Enraged eyes glared at Dung Beetle as the man prepared the same spell he had cast on Seti.

Dung Beetle didn’t bother to correct the man’s misconception. Instead, he feigned an evasive maneuver, further deepening the man’s delusion.

“This, this… filthy traitor! The blood and sweat bound in the non-lethal skill, do you have no shred of patriotism?!”

“…A pig-headed patriot, George Orwell would be shocked.”

“Shut up!!”

The pig-headed man charged at Dung Beetle, driven by fury and certain of victory.

The repugnant mana rapidly completed the spell, and without a moment’s hesitation, he snapped his fingers.

Snap.

The spell, unleashed at an unavoidable speed, struck Dung Beetle.

But the spell had no effect on him.

He wasn’t a candidate, and he didn’t even know what that meant, being a civilian.

“What? How… cough!”

Above the bewildered pig-headed man, Dung Beetle’s foot descended.

A shield unfolded too late, but the power within his downstrike had long since surpassed the limit of the shield.

Crack!

The shield crumbled, the hastily gathered mana dispersed, and the direct hit caused the pig-headed man’s face to split open with a crack.

The flesh and cartilage of the pig split in half, revealing the face hidden within.

“Ugh, ah…”

With skin as dried as a mummy’s, clumps of talisman stuffed into the eye sockets.

The face that emerged from between the pig’s blood and flesh was as bizarre as the pig’s head itself.

“Ugh… my… head, my head is…”

Dung Beetle narrowed his eyes and examined the man’s mana.

“…Undead?”

Though not as much as the titan created by the necromancer, he could sense a twisted mana that was different from that of ordinary zombies.

“…It may look that way, but he’s alive. He’s a modified human, created by pouring the necromancer’s curse into him. For the government, they are quite precious.”

Soon free from the pain, Seti spoke up.

Turning to look at her, Dung Beetle saw she was using the Warhammer as a walking stick to stand.

“This is?”

“You don’t need to know mana to use magic if you have a medium. Though it’s just basic magic and a few curses.”

Dung Beetle glanced at the modified human for a moment before reaching out to grasp his neck.

There was a slight struggle, but as Dung Beetle exerted a bit more strength, there was a crack, and the man’s breath stopped.

“Ah…”

Seti alternated her gaze between the corpse and Dung Beetle with a slightly surprised look.

“Why, did you think I wouldn’t kill him?”

“No, not that… I just thought you’d ask more questions before killing.”

With that conversation, an awkward silence filled the space between them. Seti took a moment to catch her breath, and Dung Beetle sorted through the questions that surfaced in his mind.

After a while, Seti was the first to speak.

“…Shall we continue the question game? It’s your turn to answer, Mr. Dung Beetle.”

Why did you kill the government people?

Dung Beetle recalled her last question and answered calmly.

“The government killed my colleagues.”

“…”

“They sold their lives for meager sums and were going to sell their corpses to the necromancer.”

After a brief pause, Dung Beetle added.

“I plan to kill every person responsible. That’s why I threw a grenade at the government’s people, and that’s why I just snapped the neck of that modified human. Does that answer your question?”

“…Yes, it’s honestly more than I expected.”

“Then it’s my turn to ask.”

Dung Beetle fiddled with the last grenade as he pondered.

What to ask? There were many questions that came to mind.

What is non-lethal skill exactly, why did you stalk me, what is your relationship with the government.

What was your purpose in showing me that scene earlier, why did you help me kill the necromancer…

…Why, why, why?

Numerous questions disappeared beneath the surface of thought, failing to find the form of words.

However, one question pierced through all doubts and spilled out.

“Seti.”

Dung Beetle asked, his voice calm.

“What do you want from me?”