[Vol. 7] Chapter 252: The Plague
It was clear that the old Tower Master held great authority here. As soon as he spoke, the entire tower fell silent. But Carol didn’t pay any attention to the confused staff around him. Instead, he kept his eyes firmly on the Tree Spirit woman who had just been knocked back. His expression was serious, and his tone was calm but heavy.
"Sillu Lingmu, explain to me, what just happened?"
"Huh? I… I don’t know? What was that thing…?"
Because "Tiffany’s" palm had only hit the gray shield earlier, and since the Deputy Tower Master herself was clearly a strong warrior, she looked a little messy, but didn’t seem seriously hurt. Instead, she raised her hand in confusion, watching as faint gray mist began rising from her body, as if reacting to some outside force. She seemed just as puzzled as everyone else.
"No need to act so surprised. She probably had her memory erased from the moment she met that enemy, and was also ordered not to notice anything strange about herself. She’s strong, but… not very sharp. As a fighter, she neglected to train her mind. That’s likely why someone chose her as their weak point."
As the young mage girl spoke so calmly, Tower Master Carol looked back at her in shock. Then, as if realizing something, his eyes suddenly widened.
"You mean to say… the person who bypassed the core defenses and let the enemy in from the inside is…!"
"Who else could it be? The only people with that kind of access are you and the other deputy tower masters. And look at her now, it’s already obvious, isn’t it? You’re an old-school warrior. You should be able to sense the difference in magical energy without me having to explain it."
"I… I did it?"
Hearing their conversation clearly, the woman looked completely stunned. She slowly lowered her head and stared at the strange mist she couldn’t seem to stop from rising off her body, her face full of confusion.
"No… no way. I didn’t do this. My job was to protect… my job? My mission…? My mission… mission… mission… mi—gyyaaaahhh—uhhhh…"
As if something inside her had been triggered by those words, her body suddenly froze. Her pupils shrank, and just as she tried to speak again, her body began to twitch and shake uncontrollably, like she’d been shocked.
Her speech turned into terrifying gibberish, her arms and legs flailing in unnatural ways. It was like watching a creature trying to mimic how a person acts, but failing completely. What had moments ago been a clear and intelligent person was now something strange, like a puppet trying to pretend to be human, with no control over its limbs or voice.
"Uhhhhh..."
As the Tree Spirit woman named Sillu began to twitch and shake, a strange liquid, like a mix of blood and drool, started to drip from her mouth. But what truly terrified everyone was that even this liquid was not normal. It was thick and cloudy, made from the same strange gray mist that now poured out from her skin, nose, and mouth. The smoke-like fog grew heavier and thicker, making the whole scene feel eerie and terrifying.
"Sillu!? Damn it… Twelve Tower Guards! Activate the Nature Formation! Restrain her,now!"
"But, Tower Master… she’s Deputy Tower Master Sillu…"
"Just do what I say!!!"
"Yes, sir!"
Carol truly deserved to be one of the Seven Tower Masters. Even though he was clearly shocked by what he saw, he reacted immediately and gave the right orders without hesitation.
Following his command, twelve bright green lights lit up across the control room. Guided by Carol, they combined into a glowing green net, aiming to trap the Deputy Tower Master, who was now twitching nonstop and spewing gray mist and liquid like a living disaster.
"Uhh… uhuhuhuh heheh… mission… I am… guuhh—cough cough cough…"
Sillu, who had almost completely lost her human shape and now looked like a person made of smoke, didn’t react at all to the green net moving toward her. She just stood there blankly, while more and more of the strange gray substance poured from her body like a fountain.
The gray gas and liquid didn’t just spill out. They actually soaked into the floor and walls like acid, turning everything it touched into the same sickly gray color. It spread outward quickly, with no end in sight, filling everyone with dread.
Whether it was stone, the special metal used to build the tower, or even tables, chairs, and tools in the control room. Anything that touched the spreading grayness was instantly turned gray itself. It became another source of infection, like a plague spreading out of control. The onlookers panicked and quickly backed away, terrified of getting even a little bit of it on them.
"A plague…? The Demon Lord of [Defilement]’s power…? But how is this possible...?"
Even while trying to control the green net, Carol’s eyes narrowed in shock. Despite all his experience, even he couldn’t hide the surprise and fear in his face.
As someone who had lived for hundreds of years and was considered a respected elder among the Tree Spirits, Carol had personally seen demons with his own eyes. He had even witnessed the horrors during the Demon Wars against the Holy Empire.
As a healer, he had dealt many times with patients infected by the [Defilement]. The illness had no cure, and the terrible, gruesome symptoms had left a deep impression on him.
Now, seeing Sillu in her current state, with only slight differences in the color and feel, was almost exactly like the late stages of infection by the [Defilement]. How could he not feel worried and afraid?
This was the inside of the [Tower of Nature]. With the gray substance spreading so fast and without stopping, it was only a matter of time before the entire control room, and even the whole tower, would be swallowed up. For now, it only seemed to change the color of whatever it touched, but everyone there could clearly tell. This was just the beginning of something terrifying.
“Close the net!”
Finally, with a loud shout from Tower Master Carol, the green net rushed down and turned into a glowing green barrier. It wrapped around Sillu and everything that had been touched by the gray substance. The inside walls of the control room glowed brightly in response, lighting up the whole space in a jade-green color.
The strange force was instantly stopped in its tracks. Even Sillu, now fully trapped, couldn’t move at all. A wave of cheers broke out among the people nearby.
“Yes! We did it!”
“Tower Master is amazing!”
“Whew...”
Having temporarily regained control of the situation, Carol let out a small breath of relief. He was just about to turn and thank "Tiffany" for helping to find the traitor, but suddenly he froze as if sensing something. His face changed again, and for the first time, true shock and fear appeared in his eyes as he stared at Sillu.
It turned out that just after being suppressed, Sillu’s body suddenly released even more thick gray matter, like a rubber ball bouncing back hard after being pressed down. The unknown substance clashed wildly with the green light of nature and even started to overpower it. The protective barrier around her began to turn gray as well!
“This… This can’t be happening! That’s the power of a Law! How can it be losing?!”