“By the way, I’m a rather special kind of undead. I heal quickly,” Luscelt boasted.
Lucil was stunned. He knew about the undead—well-known fellkin with high resistance to physical attacks and a measure of immortality. To kill an undead, one needed a weapon blessed by the Church of Angels or magical attacks. But he had never heard of an undead that could heal its wounds. Luscelt must be a mutated variant of the undead, as he claimed.
However, Lucil had no interest in his species right now.
“You bastard! Why did you kill Apollo and Ligg?!”
“Apollo…?”
Luscelt tilted his head, genuinely confused by Lucil’s outburst. He wasn’t trying to provoke him; he truly didn’t know whom he was talking about.
“Ah! Those two lying over there?” He finally realized.
“Yes!” Lucil’s anger erupted at Luscelt’s feigned ignorance.
The undead responded nonchalantly, “There’s no particular reason. If I had to say, it was because they were in the way of my fight against Yerkchira. But really, does it matter?”
“What…?”
Lucil was left speechless by Luscelt’s words. This man had killed Apollo and Ligg for no reason, and now he dismissed their deaths as unimportant. The shock at the man’s nonchalance overshadowed even his rage.
“And Pelorro…”
“What?”
“What did you do to Pelorro?!”
Lucil demanded to know the fate of the last guild member, who was still missing. Unlike Apollo and Ligg, Pelorro’s body was not among the dead.
Could Pelorro have been captured and subjected to cruel treatment by Luscelt and his cohorts? Given that Luscelt had killed two of his friends so callously, Lucil feared the worst for Pelorro. Seeing his glare, Luscelt smirked.
“Oh, him? Sure, I’ll let you see him. Come on out!”
Luscelt called out into the trees. After a few moments, the sound of footsteps approached.
“Pelorro!”
Emerging from the shadows was Pelorro, showing no signs of injury. His eyes were vacant, and his usual lively demeanor was absent, but he was alive, and that was enough to make Lucil feel relieved.
“You’re okay! Thank goodness… I’ll get you out of here!” Lucil drew his sword and faced Luscelt. He knew he wasn’t optimistic or foolish enough to think he could defeat the man who had just overpowered Soulgros, but with a comrade in danger, he had no choice but to fight, regardless of the odds.
“Ahyahyahya! Aren’t you misunderstanding something?” Luscelt laughed, showing no fear even with Lucil’s sword pointed at him. His reaction made sense, given his overwhelming strength.
“Misunderstanding…?”
Luscelt’s laughter grew louder as he leaned in, his grin widening.
“Go on, tell him yourself. Aren’t you comrades?” he said, shoving Pelorro toward Lucil. Pelorro didn’t resist, simply stumbling forward. His lack of reaction to the rough treatment puzzled Lucil.
Pelorro was typically an expressive man, and such behavior should have provoked anger or defiance. Yet he stood there, looking down with a pained expression.
“Tch. If you can’t say it, then I will,” Luscelt sneered.
“I… I am…” Pelorro began hesitantly.
“Pelorro…?” Lucil asked, his voice filled with concern.
Luscelt’s grin grew even more sinister as he continued, “He’s not what you think, Lucil. He’s a spy from Heinichen. He’s been feeding us information all along.”
Lucil’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. “No… that can’t be…”
“Believe it, kid. Your dear comrade here has been working for me from the start,” Luscelt confirmed, enjoying the look of betrayal on Lucil’s face.
Pelorro still showed no reaction, and Luscelt sneered in contempt.
“You… Lucil, right? Let me tell you the truth!” Luscelt’s voice was filled with malicious glee.
He relished the thought of the despair this revelation would bring to Lucil. The very idea sent shivers down his spine. Though he wanted Pelorro to confess himself, his desire to see Lucil’s despair overwhelmed him.
“This guy betrayed you and had those two killed!”
“What?” Lucil’s eyes widened as he looked at Pelorro, who remained silent. A strained, unnatural smile formed on his face. Cold sweat trickled down his temple as he asked, “That’s a lie… right?
“He’s lying, isn’t he? You would never… kill Apollo and Ligg, right?”
“…”
In reality, it was Luscelt who had killed Apollo and Ligg. But if Pelorro had assisted him, that made him a murderer too. Lucil desperately wanted to believe it was a lie and reached out to Pelorro, but he remained silent. Frustrated, he raised his voice. “Say something, Pelorro!”
Pelorro flinched, finally lifting his head. Slowly, he opened his mouth.
“It’s true. I sold them out to Luscelt.”
Pelorro’s confession was the last thing Lucil wanted to hear.