"By the way, Davis. Although I mentioned earlier that it's a 'friend' of mine, it's best not to encounter it alone."
"When monsters are around, this 'friend' is undoubtedly reliable. It will prioritize dealing with the filth it sees, but if there's nothing like that around... it won't mind attacking you as well."
Clearly, she has a rather profound understanding of the Grey Knight's way of thinking.
From that guy's perspective, all survivors have already stepped into this "demon nest," undoubtedly posing a potential threat of corruption that urgently needs purification.
Its ultimate goal is to purge the entire manor. The choice of targets is merely a matter of priority.
"...I understand."
Listening to Fran's description, Davis's slightly relaxed brow couldn't help but tighten again.
Introducing a new threat to counterbalance other threats... Is this Dr. Fran's strategy?
Looking at it this way, the appearance of this strategically crucial manor model in her bedroom might be the best-case scenario. No matter who else got hold of this dollhouse, they wouldn't be able to utilize it more effectively than she does.
"Teacher Fran, is this the 'Corruption' you mentioned before? Judging by the wounds on its body, it must have also had contact with that knight."
Themis obviously noticed the sludge-like humanoid wandering in the corridor of the side hall and proceeded to ask Fran.
"Yes."
Fran slightly raised her eyes, also focusing her attention on this monster made of filth.
Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly noticed that the Corruption's movement pattern was a bit strange... changing from its previous aimless wandering to a strangely regular searching pattern.
As if it was following some kind of trail.
Besides, its body's "face" had grown a half-dissolved nose.
"Oh... That thing has gained a 'sense of smell.' Dug it out from whom, Gorn?"
Fran mused with amusement.
She had already discovered that the "Corruption" was tracking the trail of her own scent left in the manor earlier when she was circling with Krul.
Although the reason was still unknown, there was no doubt... compared to others, this thing was much more interested in her.
"It can actually gain senses by consuming the limbs of the dead?"
Themis pursed her lips slightly, her gaze seeming somewhat troubled.
"If I'd known earlier, I should have doused Gorn in gasoline and burned him..."
Hearing her words, Davis beside her couldn't help but feel a slight chill.
Dr. Fran carrying various tools could barely be explained as a professional necessity, but a lawyer carrying gasoline... isn't that a bit beyond the scope? Or do I actually have some misunderstanding about the lawyer profession as well?
"But what specific 'smell' is it using to lock onto me?"
Fran thought to lift her sleeve to smell it, but suddenly remembered she was now wearing the Hanovers' daughter's silk gauze dress, not her doctor's coat... so there were no sleeves, and she didn't have the scent of medicine and osmanthus plants on her.
Seeing her action, Themis leaned down slightly, keenly capturing a faint, lingering trace of fragrance in the air.
Her gaze swept over Fran's gauze dress and the snow-white stockings covering her legs, finally settling on those round-toed Mary Jane shoes.
They were a pair of neat and delicate Mary Janes, with slender straps at the ankles and lifelike white silk flowers adorning the sides.
"Dr. Fran, it's the smell of 'jasmine.'"
Themis's tone carried a note of certainty.
From this detail, Themis also sensed the hidden threat of the influence from Fran's room.
The influences from the other individuals' rooms carried direct danger. The ghostly nightmare in Davis's room, the doll in Father Gorn's room, and the bronze statue in her own room that could seal people inside.
But the influence from Fran's room seemed only to have turned her into a child, and the dollhouse in the bedroom could help her evade danger. The situation she encountered in this manor... was excessively "safe."
And if the price for all this was that the Corruption monster would keep chasing her, then it all became much more reasonable.
In fact, Davis had also suspected that the silk flowers on those shoes were the source of the scent.
But his relationship with Fran was quite distant, merely a passing acquaintance by chance... naturally, he couldn't possibly do something like leaning down to confirm the source of the scent.
"I see."
A flicker of contemplation passed through Fran's amber eyes.
"If the Corruption only pursues the scent of the silk flowers on these shoes, then perhaps it can be utilized..."
——
In the priest's prayer room, Krul weakly closed the door, then leaned against the wall, gasping with lingering fear.
Although his lungs had already been used for soup, breathing was completely meaningless for him. The reason he did this was probably driven by the residual instincts within this body...
There was no doubt, the knight armor he faced was just an ordinary shell of steel.
But beneath that steel shell lurked a "specter" like a monster. Fierce and yet cautious, it wouldn't let go of any chance to attack, but at the same time wouldn't leave any openings.
Even at point-blank melee range, he hadn't been able to touch it even once.
Even the only damage it sustained was due to fatigue wear on its armor from high-intensity movements.
"The manor's armor was just decoration; I even watched it being moved into the side hall with my own eyes years ago. It shouldn't be able to move..."
Krul thought in confusion.
Even he himself hadn't realized that his thoughts were currently in a strange, muddled state. On one hand, there were sporadic bits of "Krul's" self-awareness, but it also seemed mixed with another person's memories.
Krul's brain had also been removed for meal preparation; now he was only relying on a filthy spirit to maintain the simplest thoughts. He had lost the ability for deep contemplation.
Why was I acting as a chef in this manor? Why use humans as ingredients for the meals? Why force others... to eat their own flesh?
Once doubts about himself arose in his mind, the chain of thought would completely break, and forgetfulness would follow.
"Hiss..."
Krul felt the dark sludge churning inside his body, slowly repairing the damaged wounds from the inside out. The flesh torn open by the sword and halberd sprouted anew, corrupt and dissolving flesh burrowing out to fill the hollowed shell.
"I need to find that knight, tear that iron shell of his to pieces. And that woman... she must die too!"
"I'll use her open-eyed head to garnish the platter of the main course..."
He gritted his teeth with extreme force, almost shattering them.
Although Krul was undoubtedly a defeated fugitive at this moment, he had indeed glimpsed the hope of defeating that suit of armor.
That guy's steel body couldn't withstand prolonged high-intensity combat movements and was gradually showing signs of damage.
He had even seen with his own eyes the seams and rivets at the armor's joints cracking.
The knight's armor couldn't repair itself, but Krul could gradually heal his wounds, even grow new limbs... With this shift in balance, that knight would eventually perish due to increasingly unbearable wear and tear.
As long as there was enough time to wear it down...
Knock, knock.
Just then, a light and crisp knocking sound suddenly rang out.
The sudden noise made Krul shudder violently. Even though he was the monster spreading fear in the manor, he still couldn't suppress the trembling in his body at this moment.
Did that knight find me?
No, impossible.
That guy's highest principle of action is "efficiency." If it really knew I was in the room, it would probably just break down the door and start attacking immediately. It would never specifically knock to alert me.
But... who on earth is knocking?
Krul originally thought he no longer harbored emotions like fear, but at this moment, he genuinely hesitated about whether to open the door.
The next moment, the door to the prayer room was pushed open. Fran, holding a candle lamp, walked in with a smile in her eyes.
"Pleased to see you again, Mr. Krul."
She glanced at Krul's legs, propped up by corrupt flesh, the professional smile at the corner of her lips remaining unmoved.
"It seems you've found some rather unreliable folk remedy to treat your legs. I wonder how your recovery is going? Would you like to come to my clinic for a course of treatment?"
"It's you!"
A roar akin to a beast's issued from Krul's throat.
The suppressed frenzy and rage instantly boiled over again. At this moment, the only thought left in his mind was to tear the person before him to pieces.
"Hmm... Assaulting a doctor is a serious crime, you know? It's against the law."
Seeing Krul about to charge, Fran didn't hesitate. She took out Haida's pistol and pulled the trigger three times in succession.
With the sudden roar of gunfire, three 8mm steel-core bullets accurately struck his left knee, completely severing the newly fleshed joint from the middle.
As his center of gravity suddenly became unstable, Krul uncontrollably fell to the ground.
...It has to be said, Sister Haida's enchanted bullets were really effective against this kind of derived evil spirit. It's a pity the entire magazine only held 12 rounds. Including these three shots, she had already used 7 bullets.
She should have taken another magazine from her waist at the library ruins; it's a shame she didn't think of it then.
"Damn it! Damn it! I'll make you into sashimi..."
Krul crawled on the ground with all his might, while the severed leg's cross-section continued to ooze filth as malice surged.
But soon, he saw another person block his path.
It was Lawyer Themis.
She gently adjusted her deep black overcoat, making the wine-red business suit inside fit her body more closely.
"Mr. Krul... According to worldly law, death is the final judgment. You are no longer among the living, and in principle, no longer need to face judgment."
"However, the precepts I uphold apply to the dead as well."
Themis looked down at the person on the ground, her gaze carrying an emotionless indifference.
"Being forced to consume corpses in a desperate situation where the urn is empty and the cup dry, while bordering on blasphemy, can be considered a necessary emergency action. But killing and consuming a fellow survivor while they are still alive is an indefensible crime."
"However, I have not verified or investigated the details of your past experiences, so I will not pass further judgment."
On the way to find Krul, she had already heard from Davis about the events on the Fenrir and understood the origins.
Of course, that was only Davis's side of the story. Even though Themis could determine he wasn't lying, she couldn't hastily pass judgment based solely on that.
Only upon seeing this monster filled with filth with her own eyes did she finally reach a definitive conclusion.
"Krul, you are now utterly corrupted, filled with nothing but malicious intent to deprive others of life, having assaulted others not just once..."
"You can no longer be permitted to remain in the world of the living."
While pronouncing the judgment on Krul, Themis silently suffused the surrounding area with spirituality, gradually transforming this place into her own domain.
If it were in the courtroom materialized from her own room, this process would be swift and effortless. For her, the "courtroom" possessed a certain sanctified quality that could enhance her spellcasting.
But in the priest's room... she had to take it slow.
"You keep spouting 'sinner,' 'dead one,' spouting nonsense... did you catch some delusion from memorizing legal codes?"
In response to her pronouncement, Krul let out a sneer of disdain.
As time passed and midnight deepened, he could feel the power surging within his body growing stronger. The limb severed by Fran's gunshots had already been replaced by newly grown corrupt flesh.
"Aren't I standing right here alive before you? When did I..."
"...die?"
When Krul said this, he suddenly paused as if stunned. Then his expression began to twist grotesquely.
At some point, Fran had taken out her brass pocket watch, holding the chain and gently swinging it.
Under the mental disturbance of this relic, the safety mechanism in Krul's mind was interfered with. It could no longer completely reset his psyche through forgetfulness as before.
"You mean, I've already... died?"
His voice was halting, as if in unprecedented confusion.
Death is the ultimate fear residing in all living beings—cold, empty, irresistible. Under the sudden surge of fear, the smoldering resentment in Krul's chest abruptly cooled.
Themis glanced back at Fran and, understanding her intent, added another line.
"Krul, why don't you take a good look at yourself? Can this current form still be called 'alive'?"
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL