C475
**Infected by the Gray Disease.**
Who are the ones who know it best at this moment?
—Aaaah!
—No, don't push me!
Probably, those who have gathered the most information about the infected.
The members of the **Emergency Headquarters** of the Demon Kingdom.
Then, who are the ones who fear it the most?
—Damn it, why suddenly…?!
—Soon, it's going to burst!
Those who have the most contact with the infected and witness their changes every moment with their own eyes.
**Mikashi Barracks.**
There, the soldiers, paralyzed by terror, didn't know what to do.
—Damn it!
General Mol, without realizing it, let out a curse.
Mikashi, Midisi. Because of the premonition that something would happen there, he had left Cale's side to lead the soldiers.
—Calm down!
Although he shouted, the chaos did not diminish.
It was inevitable.
—Ugh, ugh…!
A moment ago...
While verifying possible infections in the barracks, they decided to eat early before nightfall.
But one of the cooks, who was distributing the food, suddenly grabbed his head and twisted his entire body.
—Ugh, ugh…
As he was a cook, he wore boots and an apron.
In the instant that his hands, which covered his body, were stained gray...
The soldiers of the territory, confused by what was happening, felt the atmosphere change rapidly.
—Get away!
A knight of the Demon Kingdom, who was supervising the place, rushed towards the cook and took off his shoes.
They were gray.
And they were rotting at great speed.
The knight then heard another cook, who was backing away in fear, say:
—A moment ago, he was perfectly normal!
That cook was in charge of supervising the others in the place and had confirmed that everything was fine.
Everyone present understood the meaning of those words.
—Everyone, step back!
The knight shouted and tried to move quickly with the soldiers.
—Grrr!
But one of the soldiers began to convulse.
—…!
The knight's eyes widened.
The gray had invaded the soldier's clavicle and was spreading below the neck.
The chaos was corrupting.
**—It's too fast!**
Until now, the speed of propagation of this infected was much greater than any other case he had seen or heard.
—Grrr!
Furthermore, the soldier's convulsions worsened.
And from his gray and putrid skin began to ooze a viscous liquid.
—…!
The knight backed away quickly.
He was not wearing clothes that could protect him from that liquid.
—Aaaah!
In that instant, the barracks began to sink into terror.
It was evident: the speed of contagion was alarmingly fast.
—It's going to burst!
Someone's words acted as a trigger.
The soldiers and knights sent by the Demon Kingdom maintained a certain calm, but the native soldiers of Mikashi, soaked in fear, fell into chaos.
—It can't be…!
How did the infected act?
During the day, they slept like corpses, while their bodies slowly rotted.
But at nightfall, they transformed into monsters, lost their reason, screamed, and attacked the non-infected.
That's what they had seen.
Of course, they had heard that they could be purified, but the soldiers of Mikashi did not trust the words of those from the Demon Kingdom enough.
—Aaaah!
—Get away, get away!
They threw the plates of food and ran to escape.
In the midst of the tumult...
**Boom!**
The earth trembled.
Because of the tremor, some of those who were fleeing fell or stopped, frightened.
And they looked towards the origin of the sound.
—Calm down.
There was General Mol-
One of the Eight Armies of the Demon King, known as "The Hand behind the Back".
Under his cold gaze, the soldiers swallowed saliva and stopped moving.
But...
—Aaaah!
The cook's body now had gray in his mouth and nose, advancing towards his eyes.
—Everyone, retreat following the orders!
Mol shouted to the soldiers.
With a gesture of his, the knights divided: some guided the retreat, others surrounded the cook.
They covered their faces with cloth, leaving only their eyes uncovered, and wore gloves.
—Immobilize him!
Mol frowned as he said it.
**—Damn it!**
The nose.
The chaos was staining the cook's nose gray and approaching his eyes.
That this was happening in minutes!
—It's terrifying!
This Gray Disease... it really was terrifying.
It did not show the same contagion pattern in everyone, but manifested differently.
That's why it was difficult to contain it.
A succession of unpredictable variables.
—Aaaah!
The cook twisted his body in agony.
Unlike the common infected, who fainted quietly, he showed a behavior similar to that of the **first infected**.
—Where is Cale Henituse?
Finally, General Mol had no choice but to mention that name.
An assistant responded quickly:
—An urgent call has been sent to Midisi Castle!
Damn it!
Right, Midisi!
If that guy was coming from there, it would take time to arrive.
—General!
One of the knights who was trying to contain the cook spoke with a tense face.
Mol looked at him, and the knight shook his head.
—If we touch him wrong, we don't know what might happen!
One eye was already stained gray, and the skin was rotting.
If, when immobilizing him, the body exploded, they could not imagine how terrible the situation would be.
—Retreat following the orders!
—To the east!
—You, towards 9 o'clock! In formation!
—Help those who have fallen!
Everywhere, the soldiers retreated while receiving orders.
But there were too many.
The barracks were crowded, especially because they had gathered many for the inspection and mealtime.
In addition, soldiers who still did not know what was happening were entering, increasing the chaos.
—What's wrong? What's happening?
—Damn it! An infected? Get away!
Furthermore, this was Mikashi.
They were not soldiers of the Demon Kingdom, but of a hostile territory.
That's why the soldiers did not obey.
—Damn it!
Mol finally acted.
**Boom!**
His body fell between the cook and the knights surrounding him.
—Get away!
He shouted, looking at the cook.
—I'll take care of taking him away!
There were no battle mages here.
If there were, they could at least have raised a shield to contain the situation.
But everyone was out, investigating the residents.
**—This is the only option.**
Mol decided to take the cook away from there.
—General, it would be better to eliminate the cook...
When one of the knights shouted that, Mol raised his voice.
—Don't talk nonsense!
Mol, with his talent for betrayal, was good at reading the atmosphere.
**—Kill the cook here?**
If he did, what would the soldiers of Mikashi who were fleeing think?
They themselves were escaping out of fear, but if the Demon Kingdom did not even try to save the cook and killed him...
They would say that the Demon Kingdom did not want to save him.
Because before, when the soldiers of Mikashi surrendered and asked for mercy, the Demon Kingdom killed them without mercy.
**—Karma.**
That's why Mol had to act differently.
—I will take this man to Midisi! There we will cure him!
On purpose, he said it loudly in the midst of the chaos.
So that those who were fleeing would hear it.
So that everyone would hear it.
Of course, his intentions were different.
—I will try to save him, but if it can't be done...
He would keep his word, but if it was impossible...
—There will be no remedy.
He would make the cook explode in an uninhabited place.
—There is no time.
Whooosh!
An energy enveloped Mol's body.
He approached the cook and extended his hand.
He would grab the cook who was struggling and leave there immediately.
At least, away from where the soldiers were.
—Aaaah!
The cook's eyes, stained with gray and chaos, and the terror and pain in his gaze...
Mol pursed his lips.
—Whooosh.
The Sacred Object in his chest reacted, but he ignored it.
He extended his hand.
Just before grabbing the cook by the neck...
Flash!
Mol stopped.
His gaze turned towards the sound.
A black magic circle appeared.
It was a Teleportation Circle.
—Human, we're not late!
Listening to the voice of Raon (invisible),
a wheelchair appeared over the circle.
There was Cale Henituse.
In the instant that hope illuminated the faces of Mol and his knights...
—Good.
Cale spoke indifferently and exchanged glances with Mol.
Then he looked around.
He felt the chaos, the fear, and the terror in the environment, but...
There was only one infected.
And...
—I like those expressions.
He told Mol and the knights again.
—Keep them.
The soldiers of the Demon Kingdom, who had seen Cale in the chaos, showed joy and hope.
—With this, it almost looks like a party.
There was food everywhere.
Plates abandoned by those who were fleeing, but...
—We will be able to enjoy an early and happy dinner.
Well, of course.
—Aaaah!
Although he had never tried to purify a convulsing infected,
there was only one.
—It's not bad to experience during the day what will happen at night.
This situation...
It was a good time to test the purification.
—Swooosh.
The wind blew.
Like the sound of the waves.
—Ah.
A knight let out a sigh.
He closed his eyes.
It flooded him.
The aroma he remembered.
The same one he had felt in the city of Tellia.
That wind that brought happy moments.
No, should he call it a wave of gray mist?
A gray, warm, and clear mist, full of nostalgia, began to spread from Cale towards all sides.
—Grrr...
The writhing infected stopped.
In the instant that the gray mist covered him.
His eyes, invaded by chaos, terror, and pain, looked at Cale.
The red-haired man, pale, sitting in the wheelchair.
This gray wave that emanated from him was different.
—…!
—…!
The soldiers who were fleeing, those who were turning their backs on the cook, stopped when they felt the wind, the sound of the waves, the gray mist.
They also felt the same as Mol and the knights.
Unlike the Gray Disease,
in this gray warmth...
They remembered happy moments of their lives.
The extreme fear did not disappear, but for an instant, a fragment of memory, one of joy, brought warmth to their fingers.
—Ah.
Someone fell to their knees, without strength.
He saw a gray glow coming out of himself.
Small particles of gray light.
Each soldier emanated those particles, all of the same brightness and size.
Neither Mol nor the knights were an exception.
All those lights floated towards Cale through the gray mist.
—Creak. Creak.
Cale, slowly moving his wheelchair, approached the cook.
He extended the gray mist that enveloped him towards the infected.
—Ugh, ugh...
The cook had stopped convulsing,
but he still didn't understand what was happening.
He was losing his reason, but in his eyes there were still human emotions, looking desperately at Cale.
Cale took his hand.
Cale and the cook.
Around them, the gray mist, no... a Milky Way stained with silver, descended.
—*"What is created will soon disappear..."*
His voice resonated.
Only Cale's voice filled that space.
And when his words ended...
—*"...and will return to its original form."*
The gray Milky Way merged with the bodies of Cale and the cook.
—Ah...
With a brief sigh, the cook closed his eyes, as if losing consciousness.
His body, as it fell, floated gently upwards.
And as always...
Plop. Plop.
Transparent drops of gray liquid fell to the ground and were absorbed.
The trigger that would have created indescribable chaos and terror had disappeared.
The cook, with a peaceful face, was sleeping.
—…….
—…….
No one could speak.
Neither the soldiers of the Demon Kingdom, who had already experienced it in Tellia,
nor the soldiers of Mikashi, who were seeing it for the first time.
None dared to open their mouths.
—Thud.
General Mol hurried to catch the cook before he fell.
Seeing his normal face, he looked at Cale.
—…!
And he was surprised.
Cale's brow was furrowed.
Something didn't seem to be right.
—So...?
Did purifying a convulsing infected have side effects?
Mol's face tensed.
And Cale...
—*"That Sky Eating Water looks refreshing..."*
Suddenly, he heard the Glutton Priestess's moan.
—*"I feel uncomfortable... I want to drink something cold."*
Why was she talking so much today?
Cale felt an inexplicable discomfort listening to her.
But seeing that his other arm was a little paler, he raised his head and looked at Mol.
—…!
Mol was startled.
—What's wrong with him?
It wasn't his problem, but...
Cale wanted to follow the last step of the purification correctly.
—The banquet will be difficult, but...
His voice, although directed at Mol, was heard by everyone.
—At least you will be able to have a happy dinner, right?
It could be like a small celebration.
After all, they still kept joy in their hearts.
—You have to eat calmly.
Yes, of course.
You had to eat calmly.
Just when Cale was feeling satisfied...
—…….
—…….
The Wanderers Cho and Ryeon,
who had secretly infiltrated the Mikashi barracks, were paralyzed.
The gray mist also enveloped them.
And the memories and the gray light that emerged...
They couldn't think of anything.
Because they remembered something very precious, from long before becoming Wanderers.
—…….
The hand of the younger brother, Cho, was trembling.
Ryeon took her brother's hand.
Hers was also trembling.
Although they lived as Wanderers, they had never been happy.
They only survived.
But now, they remembered moments of joy.
—…….
—…….
While the faces of the Wanderers tensed...
—Heh.
Cale laughed.
And the same laugh...
—Heh.
—…!
—…!!
...sounded over them.
A childish voice, fresh and full of energy.
—I found them.
Cho and Ryeon looked up.
The two Wanderers saw dark blue eyes.
The little Black Dragon only made his eyes visible, keeping the rest invisible, and looked at them.
—Hee.
And he laughed.
—This time they won't escape.
The Black Dragon spoke with determination.
—Thanks.
In their state of shock, they had lowered their guard.
And now, someone appeared in front of them.
—Shing.
Choi Han unsheathed his sword and looked at them.
—Hoho.
—It's been a long time since we've seen each other.
To the left, Clopeh Sekka, and to the right, the Ancient Dragon Eruhaben, approached.
The brothers had taken the bait.
Finally, they found the thread of the Dragon King.
—*"Human, I found them!"*
With Raon's report, Cale smiled satisfied and looked at the sky.
His expression soon hardened.
The hot sun was hiding.
Soon sunset would fall.
Nightfall was near.
While Cale's face tensed...
—…….
—…….
The faces of the Wanderers Cho and Ryeon also froze.
And Choi Han approached them.
—Whooosh.
Wrapped in a dark energy.
The brothers, with unique invisibility skills, were stronger than Choi Han.
He couldn't lower his guard.
He had to capture them at once.
Just when Choi Han was preparing to act...
—I, I want...
The Wanderer Cho, Ryeon's younger brother, knelt down and quickly approached Choi Han.
He even let go of his sister's hand.
And he grabbed Choi Han's pants.
—Show it to me again!
His face, previously lost, now showed an intense emotion.
—…!
Choi Han stopped, surprised.
—Show me that again! What we saw a moment ago!
The Wanderer Cho shouted desperately.
His sister, Ryeon, said nothing. She knew what her brother had seen.
—Show me our mother's face! Let me see her! Or at least hear her!
Cho was clinging to Choi Han, begging.
—…….
Choi Han was disconcerted.
—Hoho. As I expected.
And Clopeh, with a mysterious smile, murmured softly.
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