“Hehehe, hehehehe…”
In an enchanting forest bathed in gentle moonlight, a girl sat and laughed eerily. She had a stack of papers on her lap, furiously scribbling on them with a fervor that bordered on madness. The writing wasn’t in the common script of the kingdom, but in demonic runes so horrifying that merely glancing at them could drive a person insane.
The girl used these infernal characters solely to prevent anyone from stealing a peek at her work, raising questions about her humanity—not that she was human. Among the bizarre members of Yerkchira, only she and Master could decipher the entire stack of writings.
“Phew… I-I finally finished this section,” muttered the girl with gray, drill-like hair—Krankheit. She smiled with satisfaction, though her grin held a tinge of self-deprecation, as always.
“This place is so quiet… Our guild is so noisy… I can’t focus on writing there…” Krankheit gnawed on her nails, exuding an aura of irritation. The guild headquarters of the Messianic Legion of Yerkchira was always lively and noisy, filled with shouts, curses, and murderous intent—a wonderful place.
However, when Krankheit was writing, she needed quiet.
For someone as introverted as she was, the constant din was nothing but stressful. But even if she complained, there were a few members who would likely take joy in making even more noise to bother her.
Yerkchira thrived on such mutual antagonism.
“I can’t write this forbidden book in such a noisy place…” Krankheit flipped through the stack of papers, nodding in satisfaction. A single glance at the pages, crammed with the menacing demonic script, was enough to threaten one’s sanity. Even the guild members wouldn’t want such a dangerous tome written at headquarters. Krankheit’s goal was to become an alluring, intelligent woman like the protagonist of the book Master had gifted her, The Fallen Angel of the Enchanting Nation. Her forbidden book was filled with notes on how to achieve that persona and her fantasies of what it would be like. Whenever she tried to write at the guild, members—usually Corine—would invariably interrupt her, which was incredibly frustrating. After all, only she and Master were permitted to view the forbidden book.
However, the malevolent energy radiating from Krankheit as she wrote in demonic script was enough to make even her comrades like Corine wary of her presence.
“Well, I’ve written down everything I thought of… I suppose it’s time to return to the guild. Master might have come back by now,” she muttered, her voice slipping into its natural tone before she consciously adopted a more mature demeanor. Recently, thanks to frequent practice with Master, she had been able to maintain this facade for longer periods of time. Still, strong emotions could quickly cause her to revert to her true self.
Some guild members who knew the real Krankheit often laughed at her attempts, but she knew repetition was key to making this new persona stick. If they laughed again, she would just show them another nightmare. Resolute, she stood up from the stone she had been sitting on.
“Huh?” She unintentionally let out a rather undignified sound, inappropriate for the elegant woman she aspired to be. The reason for her surprise lay in the scene before her. The forest she had been in was typically serene, with gentle moonlight and a peaceful atmosphere where townsfolk often came for picnics. But now, the forest had transformed. The trees were twisted grotesquely, growing in unnatural, sinister ways, their branches devoid of leaves and life. The once bright moonlight had turned into a dull, foreboding red, casting an eerie glow over everything.
“Is this… an illusion?” Krankheit’s switch to her adult persona was immediate. She sensed someone nearby and instinctively donned her mental mask.
She was very familiar with such drastic changes in her surroundings. This rapid shift in the environment was something she had experienced before, something she knew how to evaluate accurately.
“Correct,” came a voice in response to Krankheit’s monologue. The voice sounded gentle and somewhat timid, which surprisingly made Krankheit feel a bit of kinship with it, despite knowing it was an enemy. Emerging from the twisted trees was a young man who looked equally timid.
“Oh, are you the one casting this illusion?” Krankheit asked.
“Y-Yes. My name is Ild, and I’m an adventurer from Heinichen,” the young man replied, blushing at Krankheit’s feigned sultry demeanor. Krankheit was thrilled to play the part of an adult woman. Unlike the members of Yerkchira, who knew her true self, strangers like Ild had no idea who she was, allowing her to wear her mask of maturity with enthusiasm.
“You are under the influence of my illusion magic,” Ild stated.
“Oh, dear. That’s quite troublesome,” Krankheit replied, maintaining an air of nonchalance, though she was genuinely surprised. Illusion magic was exceptionally rare. Unlike the more accessible elements like fire or water, mastering illusion magic required significant talent and effort. Its power was formidable, enough to ensnare even someone as skilled as Krankheit.
As Krankheit pondered her next move, Ild spoke up apologetically. “Um… would you mind surrendering?”
“Oh? And why is that? Aren’t you going to kill me without hesitation?” Krankheit asked, taken aback by the unexpected request for surrender. She had been playing the part of the sophisticated woman so well, yet all she could muster in response was another “oh.”
“Well, our master, Luscelt, wants to kill all of you from Yerkchira and make Heinichen the most powerful dark guild in the kingdom—no, the world. But honestly, I don’t care much about being the strongest. Unlike Luscelt and the others, I don’t enjoy killing unnecessarily.” Ild smiled wryly.
Despite being under Luscelt’s strict rule, his words reflected a leniency unusual for a dark guild member. It was an attitude that might endear him to ordinary people, as his words seemed considerate of Krankheit’s well-being.
“That won’t do,” Krankheit said coldly, dismissing his offer without a second thought.
“Won’t do…?” Ild echoed, taken aback.
“Yes. Yerkchira the Messianic Legion cannot afford to lose to another dark guild,” Krankheit declared. For her, the guild’s defeat meant Master’s defeat as well, and that was something she could never accept.
“That’s unfortunate,” Ild muttered, his demeanor shifting drastically. Gone was the timid, gentle young man; in his place stood a cold, sharp member of the dark guild. No matter how kind-hearted he seemed, Ild was still a member of the Steel Matriarch.
“You can’t escape my illusion magic. Here, you will die while dreaming,” he stated, the space around him beginning to distort and warp. This demonstrated how deeply Krankheit was ensnared in his spell. The battle seemed all but decided. Illusion magic was potent; once caught in it, escaping was nearly impossible without help. Only those with exceptionally strong wills or who were well-versed in illusion magic themselves had any chance.
This confidence allowed Ild to confront the notoriously fearsome members of the Messianic Legion of Yerkchira despite his natural timidity.
“How terrifying. Will you show me a dream so wonderful that I won’t mind dying?” Krankheit asked, a seductive smile on her lips. In the back of her mind, she thought that if it were a dream of being pampered by Master, perhaps she wouldn’t mind dying. But she kept this thought hidden, maintaining her alluring facade.
Despite being enemies, Ild’s heart skipped a beat at Krankheit’s captivating smile.