#097. The Weeping Woman (7)
—
Tap— Tap—
Philip’s hand patted the woman’s back.
As the intermittent rhythm echoed through the space, Ray felt as if his own heart was beating in sync with it.
‘It’s hot.’
A corner of his heart burned.
It was as if scorching flames had been pressed against it.
Feeling an unfamiliar sensation, he touched his face, only to find a transparent liquid on his fingers.
……?
His confusion didn’t last long.
He realized that some emotion was spreading deep within his body and mind.
‘This is….’
It was a feeling he had experienced before, yet it didn’t surface as a vivid memory.
So, it took him a moment to recognize what it was.
…It was sorrow.
A sorrow he had forcibly turned away from, too painful to confront.
A second tear slid down his cheek and fell to the ground.
‘Why… all of a sudden…?’
Ray wasn’t aware, but the reason was clear.
The contagion of emotions.
The sorrow that had sunk deep into his unconsciousness resonated with Philip and Lady Lenia’s grief, awakening it.
「Shaaah──.」
The moment he faced the emotions he had ignored—
Memories of the underpass and the golem surged violently.
His mind throbbed.
His stomach churned, and he felt nauseous.
Grief, seen again after time had passed, revealed itself in an even rougher state.
Tears flowed.
He could no longer hold them back.
They overflowed from his palms, impossible to gather.
As Ray drifted through the currents of emotion—
The massive lump of sorrow seated in his vessel scattered into dust.
Wuuuuu──!
A sound like wailing echoed.
And as much as the sorrow’s owner had endured, it was released.
The change didn’t stop there.
Wuuuung──!
The accelerated revolution of mana left a burning pain around his heart, fully forming the shape of a second circle.
Thus, the second circle was completed.
A far greater amount of mana surged within him.
The soft pink mana, which made up the largest proportion, resonated with the lingering sorrow and shone with a piercing light.
And then—
Almost simultaneously, two things happened.
Philip and Lady Lenia, exhausted, fell asleep, ceasing all movement.
And Ray sensed something lurking within the shadows of the wreckage.
‘Curiosa.’
The moment he identified its presence, he moved his mana.
Paah──!
Curiosa emerged from the shadows and leaped toward Philip and Lady Lenia.
A thick aura of fleshly intent flared up.
At that moment—
Thud──!
Curiosa plummeted straight down, flattening itself against the ground.
“You damn brat…!”
It struggled but failed to move properly due to the weakening element clinging to its body.
The instant it lifted its head with difficulty, Curiosa flinched.
The presence before it radiated an overwhelming, terrifying fury.
“Don’t even think about touching them. If you don’t want to die.”
A voice dripping with chilling cold.
Curiosa’s body trembled.
‘What is this level of rage…?!’
He had encountered many people before, but he could swear—he had never faced such anger.
A rage so potent that simply being near it made it feel as if his body would rot away.
His whole body quivered from the shock and dread.
Yet, that wasn’t the most surprising part.
Along with fury, Curiosa sensed sorrow emanating from the boy.
A sorrow so deep, like staring into a pitch-black abyss without end.
His face—
It was impossible to tell if he was angry or grieving.
‘What the hell…?’
Curiosa knew the boy could summon emotions as needed.
But for someone to manifest two conflicting emotions at once, and so intensely—
It was beyond comprehension.
An extreme sense of bewilderment struck.
How was it supposed to process this situation?
“Grrr…!”
Curiosa tried to force its body up, but the strengthening pulse of the weakening magic crushed it back to its knees.
‘He’s wielding control magic and weakening magic?! Both are rare elements, and their difficulty is extreme!’
Just what kind of Circle did this boy have?
Did he possess both control and weakening elements within his Circle?
No mage it had met before had ever demonstrated such a broad range of magic.
And the potency of his spells was anything but ordinary.
‘Back in the last sector, he was only at the level of a 1st Circle mage.’
Or so it had thought.
The quality of his magic was high, but his mana capacity seemed limited.
That assumption had been a mistake.
The power of the weakening spell binding it now was far beyond what a 1st Circle mage could produce.
“Remove this at once…! Or I’ll kill you…!”
Crack!
2nd Circle—no, at least 3rd Circle.
Which left only one possibility.
“You…! You were hiding your true strength! How many Circles do you have? Three? No, four?! Answer me! Answer me!”
“……”
Ray silently watched Curiosa struggle against the weakening element.
He hadn’t hidden his abilities.
Rather—
A large quantity of the element required for weakening magic had remained unused in his circle.
The resonance of emotions had amplified its power tenfold.
And Curiosa had let its guard down.
It was simply the result of several factors aligning.
“I don’t see why you’re so surprised. With your strength, you should be able to break free, right?”
“The more I see, the more curious I get…! Where were you born? What is your goal? How have you lived…? It’s driving me insane…!”
Grinding its teeth, Curiosa suddenly unleashed the mana from all its circles.
Flash!
A blinding light.
When Ray’s vision returned, Curiosa was standing at a distance, free of the weakening element.
“……”
Ray wasn’t surprised.
He had expected this.
There was no way a 4th Circle mage could be restrained for long by such a spell.
However, forcing Curiosa to be cautious was enough of a victory.
Even now, the creature was hesitant, watching Ray’s every move rather than acting recklessly.
‘…At this moment, I might be able to fight on equal terms.’
A gap between the 2nd and 4th Circles was still immense.
But with his rage and sorrow unlocked, perhaps he could bridge that gap.
The fury coiling within him hissed its whispers.
「Kill him. The one before you. Now.」
「Tear his throat. Stop his breath.」
「Make sure he never dares come near again.」
It was the same as that time.
The moment he had unleashed extreme rage while fighting Walter.
The difference was—
Even while consumed by powerful emotions, he could still think rationally.
He wanted to fight.
His instincts screamed for it.
But if he did—Philip and Lady Lenia might be in danger.
…That couldn’t happen.
Suppressing his emotions with difficulty, Ray focused on the conversation.
“I knew you were lurking around. You still have a lot of questions about me. But I didn’t expect you to attack suddenly. Why?”
“Why? Why?! Do you really think I’ll tell you that?”
Curiosa snarled, its movements suggesting it was more focused on Lady Lenia than Philip.
And it was desperate to extract information from him.
Piecing things together, the answer was clear.
“You don’t want me to get any information. That’s the only explanation.”
Curiosa did not answer.
The roughly quivering black fabric spoke for the emotions it was currently feeling.
“You… If you didn’t have the answer I was looking for, you would’ve been torn to shreds and killed long ago.”
“You must be curious about how to manipulate emotions. If I gain information from Lady Lenia, then in future exchanges, you’ll be at a disadvantage. Because the number of things I’m curious about will be reduced.”
Ray’s words hit the mark.
What Curiosa sought was the method to manipulate emotions.
It was willing to pay any price to unravel the mystery.
However, the one holding the answer was not willing to pay that price.
*Crack!*
Last time, it had let it go.
It had been tempted by the idea of leaving the most pressing question like the strawberry on top of a cake.
But now, facing the boy again, the curiosity surged to the point of driving it insane.
If only it could learn how to control emotions, it would tear this damn brat apart immediately.
No—perhaps it wouldn’t kill him.
It was still curious about what would happen when the boy met the Doctor.
However, showing him a bit of “spice” was certainly possible.
After all, losing an arm or a leg wouldn’t hinder him from dragging the Doctor’s attention around.
“Step back. If you lay a hand on Philip or Lady Lenia, I will take it as a sign that you never wish to exchange information with me again.”
…But it didn’t seem like it would be that easy.
During their last encounter, the boy had never been so willing to offer information so freely.
Thinking back, even the exchange rate of their questions had been terribly unfair.
“You cunning little brat.”
“Thanks.”
“What?”
“Niles said so. That cursing in a fight is the highest form of praise.”
“……”
Who the hell is Niles?
Curiosa, its bloodshot eyes filled with rage, turned its gaze toward Lady Lenia.
It was thinking—It needed to eliminate that woman before the boy could extract information from her.
But to think that in the short time it had stepped away, the situation had progressed this far.
It should have just killed her immediately without hesitation.
It regretted it, but regret was always too late, no matter how soon it came.
And for now—
“Don’t you have anything else you’re curious about? Another piece of information to trade…?”
It had no choice but to swallow its pride.
After all, it was nothing more than a cursed monster, shackled by its insatiable curiosity.
“I don’t. Not right now. I don’t want to tell you anything more about myself.”
“…….”
“And from now on, don’t interfere with me obtaining information about Murcred and the Doctor. The moment I sense any interference, you can consider the method of controlling emotions something that will never come out of my mouth again.”
Curiosa’s body trembled violently.
Ray ignored it and turned toward Philip and Lady Lenia.
*Shaaa… Shaaa…*
Soft breathing sounds could be heard.
The two had fallen asleep, holding onto each other.
‘From the moment we entered the mansion, Philip’s vessel was filled with sorrow.’
The sorrow from parting with his mother.
Sorrow buried deep in his heart for a long time, unable to be released.
When he faced Lady Lenia, those long-stagnant emotions resurfaced, and through the process of being comforted, a great deal of it had been released.
Now, Philip’s vessel was as clear as a sky after the rain.
‘…And me as well.’
The sorrow of losing Niles and his siblings.
The grief that had remained stagnant, unable to be resolved, had similarly dissipated to a large extent.
But Lady Lenia’s case was different.
Though she had been comforted by Philip, her emotions had only settled for the moment.
The volume of sorrow within her had not changed significantly.
She remained on the brink of danger.
‘Even after being comforted, her emotions haven’t diminished much.’
There was only one possible reason.
The necklace was suppressing the outburst of emotions.
*Slide.*
Ray retrieved the necklace.
But the red aura surrounding her vessel did not fade.
He instinctively understood—
To truly free Lady Lenia’s emotions, the necklace had to be destroyed.
And if it wasn’t destroyed, her vessel would be unable to withstand the burden of her emotions and would shatter within minutes.
“…….”
As Ray hesitated, Curiosa noticed the situation.
In an excited voice, it shouted,
“That necklace! You must be curious about what it does! You want to investigate it thoroughly, don’t you? Hehehe! But what a shame! If you don’t break it right away, that woman’s mind will be ruined!”
“…….”
“What’s the hold-up? I get it now! You’re just like us! You’re not allowed to feel emotions freely either, are you? Most of the time, you act like you have no blood or tears, but when it’s convenient, you selfishly allow yourself to feel! A monster—just like us! Isn’t that right?”
The longer Ray hesitated, the more amusement Curiosa seemed to derive from it.
“You want to analyze the necklace and get information about the Doctor, don’t you? Well? What’s there to hesitate about? Of course, you should choose the necklace! Even if her mind breaks, her memories won’t disappear! That means you’ll still be able to extract some information from her!”
It wasn’t entirely wrong.
Even Walter, whose vessel had shattered, had been able to hold a somewhat normal conversation.
*Click. Clack.*
Ray toyed with the necklace in his hand.
And then—he made his decision.
Philip would surely understand.
