There was a sound. Where it was coming from, Mordor Gorn could not tell. It seemed to be approaching from far away, or even creeping up from behind his ears.

　Gong--gong--gong--.

　It's just like the sound of a solemn bell. The sound is getting closer, little by little. The sound is soothing, even comforting. And then, finally, it touched Mordor's ear.

　Instantly, his flesh explodes. His bones creak. The skin screams.

　The flesh, the blood, the bones that had made Maldoror who he was. And then everything from skin to hair snaps and snaps and snaps and snaps, making strange noises that no human being should make. It's as if they were meant to be.

　Bones creak as they are folded in impossible directions, cracked skin splashes blood down the corridor. Flesh flailed as it was forced to move in ways it shouldn't. My throat rumbles for a moment with an impossible scream.

"--Oh--Geez----GeezGaaaaaah!

　It is no longer a voice. It is a voice that is no longer a voice... a voice that has been made into a mere noise by the superimposition of strange and savage voices. But to Maldoror it was nothing but a pleading cry. It must be a prayer to God.

　What's happening? What's stirring in my body. It's not Mordor's will. It's not what Mordor wants. Not a finger does Mordor want to move. And yet the body is abducted as if by some great power, bones turned to crushed dust, organs transforming themselves.

　Fearsome. There's no limit to how fearsome it is.

　Fear that your body is being tampered with outside of your will. This hair-raising sensation that before you know it, you are being transformed into something else entirely.

　Oh, now the flesh is exploding, the bones are splintering, the blood is splattering and staining the surroundings. There is no place left in my body where I can say I am safe.

　So how is it that I am still alive? How is it that I'm alive without losing my life, which should be so fragile?

　Trampling on Mordor's screaming pleas, on his death-wish heart, on everything, the flesh begins to transform, to take on some form, little by little. The flesh is kneaded and tossed like clay, forming a new body.

　Finally, when the sound of the flesh transforming ceased, the body that had once been a human being named Mordor-Gorn had lost all vestiges of its identity.

　It looked exactly like a beast sculpted from a lump of flesh. Perhaps the flesh was swelling, but the beast's body was much larger than Mordor's. Even in the wide hallway, its skull almost reached the ceiling. On its body is a mouth that has torn flesh wide open. Fangs with broken bones protruding from them. Flesh-stiffened arms and legs wriggling.

　Oh, I guess that's what people call a monster.

　Mordor was made to understand that he had become a fearsome flesh monster, that he had been stripped of his former form. And to Maldoror, the fact that his mind was still sane even though he had been transformed into that monster, even though his entire body had been transformed, was more frightening than anything else.

　Let me ask you once again. What is this thing? It's not a form that can be forgiven by God. This is not a being created by God. What have I become now? What am I trying to become? I don't know.

　The black eyes of Fialaert, whom Moldow despised as a monster, are staring at Moldow with wide eyes. In the depths of his eyes, there was an astonishment that made him want to scream at any moment. And why, he wondered, did Alueno, who was behind him, move his lips, still with a vacant expression on his face.

　--Good. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun. Very well. Then help will be given.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Open the gate and step into the grounds of the lord's house. Even in the dark of night, I could see much further into the garden, probably because the light green pillars of light were closer. I walked about half a step in front of Kalia, pulling at my ears, struggling to get rid of the bell-like sound that still refused to leave my ears.

　It was a nasty sound. A very, very bad sound. An indescribably painful sound, like having the marrow of your bones licked by a spiked tongue, or having the back of your teeth forcibly scraped by a blade. It's still stuck in my ear and won't come out. It's uncomfortable.

　Kalia calls out suspiciously from behind me, "What's wrong? I turn my head back a little and see a strand of silver hair waving at the edge of my vision.

"Oh, no. It's nothing, I was just thinking about the old scars in the corner of my head.

　Yeah, that's right. Oh, no, nothing. Just a little reminder of the taste of pain that had taken root deep in my memory because of that tone. That's all. And that's all.

　--Boom, boom!



　The second floor of the lord's mansion collapsed, spreading a loud crushing sound around. The back of my ears went numb, as if in convulsions.

　I opened my eyes as quickly as I could. My eyes widened as quickly as I could, and I turned my gaze toward it, but there was a cloud of dust, and it wasn't clear. But I saw something, a huge body that didn't look very human, its shadow rippling in the depths of the smoke.

　What the hell was that?

　I couldn't help but notice that my lips were moving spontaneously. Rather than shock or astonishment, a pure question welled up in my chest and flew out of my throat. What the hell was that?

　A hexenbiest. No, it can't be. This is the center of the city. There's no way a hexenbiest could just appear out of nowhere in a place like that. Then it's a man. Bullshit. That can't be a man. Humans don't grow multiple arms.

　Then what the hell is it? My fingertips trembled as if in convulsions and my lips were strangely dry, even though I had only seen the shadow in the smoke.

What do you think it is? Of course, we don't want any mythical monsters showing up here right now.

　Her cheeks twisted as she slowly let the words slip out. His trembling hand reached for the jeweled sword at his waist. I'm sure Kalia is the same. In fact, she must have been readying her weapon much earlier than I was. The edge of her lips turned slightly upward.

"Well... Whatever it is, it's not on our side. If it's on the side of humans, then the world is finished.

　Besides," Kalia continued, her voice strangely smooth. I don't need to tell you where I'm going with this.

　Yes, whether it's an enemy or a friend of humanity is beside the point. I'm pretty sure it's an enemy to us.

　At any rate, when the cloud of dust cleared, our party member, Fialat-La-Borgograd, was standing there, staring at the fearsome fleshy monster.

　His appearance was nothing short of heroic.