Chapter 95 – The Weeping Woman (Five)

“What have you done to Madam Renia!”

Denine charged at Ray like an angry bull.

He swung his fists relentlessly.

Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Whooosh—!

Attacks far more ferocious and vicious than what had been seen in the clearing.

The red mana coursing through Denine’s entire body indicated he was currently under the effect of Enhancement Magic.

Likely a magic granted by the power of the necklace.

Swoosh—! Whoosh—!

But the attacks were only fast and strong, lacking any special technique.

The opponent wasn’t that difficult.

Ray evaded all the incoming attacks with minimal movement and attempted to talk.

“Wait a moment….”

“How dare you threaten Madam Renia!”

Bam—!

“Let’s talk….”

“You made Madam sad! Immediately! Immediately! Leave this mansion! If you don’t, I’ll kill you!”

Crash—!

…….

Aren’t you the one making Madam sad?

Since you’re smashing the mansion apart.

And I can only leave or stay if you let me go.

For reasons unknown, Denine was showing blind loyalty toward Madam Renia.

And he had completely recognized Ray as an enemy, attacking recklessly.

‘He won’t listen to reason.’

It seemed there wasn’t much information to gain by stalling for time.

It was a clear fact that he felt strong curiosity toward the emptied Vessel.

But there was something that needed to be resolved before that.

Even at this very moment.

「Aaaaaaah──!」

Along with Madam Renia’s scream.

Thud! Thud-thud!

The mansion was collapsing.

‘Securing Philip and Veronica’s safety comes first.’

Tap!

Having made his judgment, Ray pushed off the ground and leaped up.

In an instant, he wrapped around Denine’s body, climbing up and using his limbs to choke his neck.

“Ghk, Gheuk!”

Thump! Thud!

He released the limbs and stepped back.

After confirming Denain had lost consciousness, he immediately opened the door and went out.

“There! Over there!”

“Chase him out of the mansion!”

The dim corridor.

Children running across.

Red mana coursing through their entire bodies flashed like sirens.

“How dare you try to harm Madam!”

They paid no heed to the debris falling from the ceiling or the vibrations all around.

No, to be precise, they seemed unaware of the mansion’s collapse itself.

Their mental state was not normal.

Madam Renia, the children, everyone.

Tap!

Ray turned and ran toward the opposite end of the corridor.

There wasn’t enough time to subdue all the children while advancing.

“He’s here!”

“Block him! Corner and catch him!”

Dodging children appearing at every turn while running, he quickly closed the distance toward where he felt Philip’s Presence.

And before long.

“Get away! You brats! Where are you reaching your hands!”

He found Philip atop a tall display cabinet at one end of the corridor.

“Grab him! Just reach a little further and grab his foot!”

“Pull him down and kill him!”

Philip was wielding a broomstick handle, putting up a desperate fight against the children below the cabinet.

Then, spotting Ray, his face brightened.

“Ray! Sir! You’re all dead!”

Ray didn’t slow his running speed and plunged right into the midst of the children.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Children struck on the back of the neck collapsed limply, their size making it hard to believe.

Philip came down from the cabinet with Ray’s help.

“What on earth happened? The mansion suddenly started shaking, so I came out, and the kids just rushed at me.”

“Let’s find Veronica first, then I’ll explain everything at once.”

The two ran down the corridor again.

And in the distance, they spotted Veronica with her back turned toward them.

“Veronica, are you okay……! …Yeah. Come to think of it, she’s a Wizard too.”

Philip awkwardly glanced at the broomstick handle in his own hand.

In the air before Veronica, several children were bound by wind, floating up and down.

They flailed their fists and kicked toward Veronica.

“Get out of this mansion!”

“Those who make Madam cry aren’t needed in this mansion!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

With Ray’s swift hand movements, the children’s bodies went limp.

The unconscious children fell to the floor with a thud as the wind scattered.

“Phew… The mansion’s shaking, kids are chasing us. What on earth suddenly….”

「Aaaah─! Get out─! You murderers! Get out of my mansion─! Aaaah─!」

“…happened? Whatever’s going on seems to have seriously escalated.”

The sharp scream that came momentarily.

Veronica, who had been sighing and trying to ease her tension, tensed up again and asked.

“Madam Renia came into the room I was moved to.”

Ray quickly recounted what happened in the room.

“So, she tried to use the necklace to turn you into the same state as the other kids, but when the lights came on, she screamed and ran away. To the 4th floor.”

“Uh-huh. She definitely seems connected to Mercread.”

“But why would she do that at the sight of light?”

Philip furrowed his brow.

Ray took out the diary and photo from his pocket and handed them over.

“What’s this?”

“Found it in the room.”

The faces of the two hardened as they read the diary’s contents and confirmed the person in the photo.

Especially Philip’s.

“The child in the photo… must be Madam Renia’s son.”

“…….”

“It says ‘Sorry I couldn’t protect you.’ Could it be… he’s dead….”

“…….”

While Philip remained speechless, Veronica continued her speculation.

“I learned about this from my grandfather before. Trauma. Could it be that seeing the light reminded her of a bad experience she had before? She was already emotionally unstable, and if seeing the light caused that to explode….”

A bad thing.

Probably something related to the death of her son, Joshua.

“Ray, what are you going to do?”

“…….”

The safest method was to immediately escape the mansion.

Using a Ward might allow them to withstand the mansion’s collapse, but escaping from the wreckage afterward was a completely separate matter.

They could potentially suffer serious injuries.

‘We also have to take care of Denine and the other kids, so holding out in the mansion is even more difficult.’

He had already promised to find the missing children.

Even if it wasn’t a promise, they were informants who would pound the pavement on his behalf, so he couldn’t just abandon them.

Grooooooan───!

Crash!

A large ceiling fragment fell down beside Ray.

The collapse was progressing at a speed beyond imagination.

‘No time to spare. The best plan is to lure Denine and all the kids out and escape the mansion.’

But if he did that, getting information directly from Madam Renia’s mouth would be impossible.

Also, the necklace might be destroyed.

And above all─

“Philip.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Do you still think Madam Renia might be your mother?”

“…….”

Groooan──

A brief silence flowed.

Even a fool could tell that if they didn’t hurry and leave the mansion, their lives could be in danger.

Yet he was asking such a question.

‘…He’s giving me a choice, considering me.’

Philip bit his lip hard.

Judging from the parts presumed to be Mercread Operatives and the diary’s contents, the possibility of Madam Renia being his actual mother was close to zero.

But it was also true that he had thought that.

How nice it would be if such a kind and affectionate person were my mother.

How her heart must have been torn when she lost her son.

‘…I want to save Madam Renia. Honestly, I do.’

What the other person’s identity was didn’t feel important at this moment.

But Philip wasn’t a child so tactless as to push his own desires at any time.

Rather, he was a child with more than twice the tact of his peers, who strongly wished not to be a burden to the group.

“No. I don’t think so.”

Philip parted his lips and spat out a delayed answer.

But Ray’s reaction was completely unexpected.

“Liar.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t lie, Philip.”

A feeling like his heart dropping with a thud.

Ray’s gaze was already directed toward his chest area—that is, the Vessel said to contain emotions.

‘Ah.’

It was a moment he felt anew.

The fact that he couldn’t hide his emotions before Ray.

“Veronica, lure Denine and the kids out of the mansion while going around the corridors. Check the numbers well so no one is left behind. The knocked-out kids weren’t hit hard, so they’ll wake up soon.”

“Okay. Got it. I’ll try.”

“Philip and I will go to the 4th floor to stop the collapse.”

Philip hastily interjected at the sight of Ray giving instructions to Veronica.

“Wait! Hold on! Wouldn’t it be better if we all just escaped the mansion together─!”

“Philip.”

Called by his name, Philip tightly closed his mouth.

Even normally, Ray was the embodiment of seriousness, but now that aspect felt even more pronounced.

“This is my judgment. There are stories I need to hear directly from Madam Renia’s mouth.”

“…….”

“So I’d like you to trust me and follow.”

He didn’t say it was because of you that he was going to the 4th floor.

Whether intentional or not, Ray was attributing all reasons for heading to the 4th floor to his own purposes.

What was clear was that it made Philip’s heart feel much more at ease.

“…Alright. You’re the leader.”

Deep gratitude bloomed in Philip’s Vessel.

Afterwards, the group quickly reviewed the plan and prepared to split in two directions.

“How often will I get to herd this many boys around in the future.”

Veronica, perhaps very tense, cracked a joke that didn’t suit the situation.

“Though none of them are my type.”

She glanced at Ray as she said this.

With a somewhat expectant look in her eyes.

Of course, the recipient of the gaze didn’t notice the look at all.

‘Oh ho.’

Philip, watching, merely twitched the corner of his mouth as if to say, ‘Look at this.’

“You should probably cover your ears for a moment. Both of you.”

Following the instruction, Philip and Veronica quickly covered their ears.

Confirming this, Ray took a deep breath.

And when his chest was fully inflated.

「I’m here! 1st floor! Central Hall!」

He let out a resounding shout.

It was an applied form of the voice amplification magic Madam Renia had used, excluding the Element of Destruction.

His voice would have echoed throughout at least the entire 1st floor.

─Over there!

─Everyone’s here!

Sure enough, before long, children appeared at the end of the corridor.

“See you later! Kids!”

Veronica, having cast Enhancement Magic on herself and surrounded herself with a small Ward, ran toward the children.

Ray and Philip, who had watched for a moment, also turned and began to run.

Grooooooan───!

The stairs leading upstairs were scattered throughout the corridors.

The boys ran.

Dodging falling fragments.

Climbing shaking stairs.

And leaping over collapsed floors.

All the while, Madam Renia’s screams continued to be heard.

“Philip, how long do you think the mansion will hold like this?”

“Huff… I’m not… huff… a builder… huff huff… so I don’t know… but… huff huff… at this rate, won’t it… collapse completely within 10 minutes?”

Ray agreed.

The mansion’s collapse was accelerating, giving the impression it was now irreversible.

Madam Renia’s Vessel must also be on the verge of exploding.

‘We need to arrive faster.’

The only saving grace was that the direction of the screams wasn’t changing, allowing them to pinpoint the location immediately.

The two boys, having run with all their might, arrived before a large, ornate door on the 4th floor.

They nodded at each other and immediately grabbed one of the door’s handles each and pulled.

Creeeeeeak──

The moment the door opened with a huge noise.

Aaaaaah───!

Whoooosh──!

A sharp scream and a massive gust of wind poured out.

It was a strong wind that would have immediately thrown them off balance if they hadn’t reflexively stepped forward to brace themselves.

“What kind of wind…!”

“……!”

The continuously pouring gale madly whipped the two boys’ hair and clothes.

To avoid falling, they kept strength in their legs and peered into the room through narrowly opened eyes.

Aah──! Aaaaah──!

Madam Renia was at the center of the room.

Whoooooosh──!

Rough winds swirled around her.

Books, clothes, furniture, wood fragments.

All sorts of junk and concrete fragments.

Various objects and materials were being carried by the wind, racing through the air.

In other words, she was at the center of a typhoon.

And at the center of the center.

Her Vessel, where emotions were running wild.

One emotion occupied the largest volume, shining vividly.

The name of that emotion was sorrow.

It was pink-colored mana.

The very color that occupied the largest proportion in the boy’s Ring.