“Starting from here, huh.”
Peruda had the people from the Magic Tower to stand beside him left and right in a row, blocking the entrance. Standing in the middle, he narrowed his eyes and glared down the stairway.
“… Kuuuuuaaaaak!”
While he was staring down the dark area below the stairs, a scream could be heard from beyond the darkness.
“W… What was that just now?”
“A beast?”
“Illen, move people back.”
There were people behind the men from the Magic Tower who were watching. Peruda ordered his men to have the people move back further. He had the uncertain look on his face as usual and pulled his chin.
‘As expected. They say the occasion makes the man.’
Riley was hiding on the roof. Riley peeked a smile after seeing Peruda exuding an atmosphere that was pretty different from when Riley met him in person.
“Kuuua. Huuuuuaaaak!!”
As Riley thought about the old saying and also thought hard about the successorship, a suspicious scream could be heard again.
The scream was coming from down below the stairs where Peruda was glaring at.
“Kuk?!”
A horrid stench could be felt from below. Peruda, who was glaring toward beyond the darkness, cringed.
“… Huuuuaaaak!”
Along with the stench, something jumped out from beyond the darkness.
It was a person.
The problem was that…
“W… What in the world? What is that?”
“Uuup?!”
The entire body was full of stab wounds. It looked like a rag. The body was also missing two legs. The body was using the arms to support itself to crawl up the stairs.
“Move them back. Back further.”
Peruda waved his left arm and spread a few petals of flower. It was rare, but it was ‘flower scent’ magic that mages with plant innate type used relatively often.
It was used for smelly rooms or dishes that got prepared without eliminating odors. However… It could be also used in a situation like this.
“To the back. Please, everyone. Move to the back.”
The flower petals that Peruda spread was successful in subduing the stench from the Lower Solia to some extent. However… It seemed that was not the problem here.
‘That is not a human being?’
Peruda looked at the person who was crawling up the stairs without legs. In disbelief, Peruda furrowed his brows.
“S… Smell of corpses!”
“…?”
“That person is a corpse, a corpse!!”
Of the people who were watching from the back, someone yelled that. Peruda rapidly turned his head and had his gaze met with a homeless. Still in disbelief, Peruda stared at the existence that was crawling up the stairs.
“A corpse?”
Peruda looked at its eyes. They were pitch black as if the eyes were spread with ink. Peruda opened his mouth vacantly in disbelief.
“… Hu…. Uuuuu. Kuuuuaaaak!!”
One of the people from the Magic Tower made a light above his hand and was about to lean it toward the front. However, having heard the scream, he panicked.
“M… Mr. Peruda! There’s another one!”
Unlike the first one, which didn’t have legs and was crawling, this one was a corpse with the legs intact.
“Tsk!”
It was unknown as to how, but it was missing an arm. Just like the one that was crawling, this one had pitch-black eyes and was charging while drooling. It was certain these things should not be left to roam free.
‘As I thought…’
The dark eyed corpses were charging in order to cut and bite living beings. Looking at the corpses, Riley was narrowing his eyes like Peruda.
“Y… Young Master… T… That?”
Ian panicked after seeing animated corpses. Standing behind Riley, Ian had his jaw dropped.
“Kuuuaaak!”
“Kiiiiaaaaaaak!”
“…”
Before long, the corpses climbed the stairs all the way up. They charged in to bite Peruda. Peruda, who was cringing, raised his right arm toward the front.
“Ku.. Ah… Ug.”