Damn Academy - Chapter 148

[Episode 148] Taming the Madman (8)

Everyone, except for Vivi and me, suffered various degrees of internal injuries. Even Nielrin and Gerald, who had consumed nothing but a few sips of alcohol and cold water, could not escape unscathed.

The consumption of contaminated water was identified as the cause. Whether the symptoms would end with just one occurrence or continue to afflict us with pain was uncertain. No one had ever heard of what happens when one drinks water contaminated enough to react with holy water.
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The scout, who was the quickest to recover, went out to find any villagers but returned empty-handed.

“The village and the sacrificial site are both deserted. No one can be found no matter how much we search.”

“We should have killed all those madmen when we had the chance,” Nielrin lamented, but it was too late.

Everyone looked as though they had just realized they had crawled into a den after vomiting their guts out.

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To head towards the kingdom, we needed to cross several waterways, but the rain showed no signs of stopping. Waiting for the water to recede was futile since the guard’s time and food supply were not infinite.

We had no choice but to move. Braving the rain and continuing forward, getting as close to the kingdom as possible, was the only solution.

Gerald composed himself and issued follow-up orders. He hastily supplied emergency potions and sent a stitch flying with a request for urgent support to the homeland.

I watched as petals were swept away by the muddy water. Whether the gods were truly enraged or not, spring had ended prematurely. Barvisia was transforming into the hellish landscape we had often heard about.

I was prepared to face whatever was necessary, but I had a premonition that the struggle would be much harder than I had imagined.

***

Even as dawn broke, the guard continued to move, soaked by the rain. The continuous overnight movement left everyone exhausted.

The carriage wheels sunk deep into the wet mud, forcing us to abandon them and carry only our luggage. The water reached up to our shins with every step, making it impossible for the carriages to proceed.

The guard took only food supplies, tents for camping, and a few other essentials for survival, leaving everything else behind.

Vivi’s condition was dire.

The mud had ruined her fine clothes, turning them into a mess. Eventually, she had to discard them and change into more practical servant’s clothing.

“Someone, get this off me.”

Vivi lifted her robe, revealing her pale side where a leech, the size of a thumb, was feasting on the kingdom’s most precious blood.

The knights hesitated to touch the Lady’s body directly, unsure of what to do.
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“It’s alright, just get this damned leech off me.”

I took it upon myself to remove the leech and treated the wound with a potion.

Vivi was also adapting to the harsh environment, setting aside her dignity and formalities to survive.

The leech was just the beginning. Other soldiers were already suffering from mosquito bites and other poisonous insects, appearing as if they were struck by the plague with their necks and forearms covered in hives.

It was as if all sorts of pests had ambushed us upon our arrival.

A scout who had gone out for reconnaissance managed to capture one of the middle-aged villagers associated with the Sacred Festival.

Nielrin and his deputy interrogated him with violence bordering on torture.

They demanded to know who planned this attack on the Lady and who commanded the high priestess.

However, no clear answers were forthcoming.

“You must distance yourself from the Lady… immediately.”

After repeated beatings, the villager gave a different answer,

“The curse, the curse has already begun. It’s irreversible. The only thing we can do is to stay as far away from that cursed Lady as possible. Leave before the wrath consumes this place. If you want to live, abandon the Lady and flee. The gods will take her.”

Until then, no one believed the curse would actually manifest. The problem was believed to be the poison mixed into the water, not a sign of a curse, except perhaps for the rainfall.

That night, the guard set up camp in an abandoned village. The village was eerily intact as if it had been lived in just a week ago. Beddings, utensils, everything was left as is, except for the people who had vanished.

The next morning, a scout and two soldiers who had been on night watch were missing.

“I heard it clearly. He said he was going to urinate but never returned.”

Whether they fell into a swamp, were captured by beasts, or deserted was unknown. An extensive search revealed no trace.

Hearing the news, Vivi collapsed as if her legs had given out.

Gerald rebuked her,

“You cannot show weakness in this situation, my Lady.”

The unexpected disappearance was just the beginning.

By noon, the soldiers vomited black liquid again, unable to eat properly.

The guard was disintegrating.

***

We were surrounded by mud and muddy swampland.

“Elisha? Elisha!”

A knight broke away from the column and ran into the swamp. His comrades caught him and slapped his face until he came to his senses,

“I was sure I saw Elisha…”

“There’s nothing here. Snap out of it.”

The symptoms spread like a contagion. Even Gerald, who seemed most capable of holding on to his sanity, occasionally looked around as if he heard something.

Every time he asked me,

“Did you hear that?”

“I heard nothing.”

Gerald was the only one who could differentiate hallucination from reality, but the others could not.

“I saw it, clearly saw it. The decapitated priestess was alive, behind that tree! I must tell the Lady. We need to strike down that evil spirit.”

The guard, regardless of whether they were knights or magicians, was going mad.

And a more serious problem arose.

“Ugh!”
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I began to vomit black liquid as well.

What was the cause? Was it because I had dipped my hand in the contaminated water, or was it because I had drunk rainwater in the absence of drinking water?

There was no stockpile of drinking water for the guard. Without collecting rainwater, I would have died of dehydration before noticing anything was wrong.

If the rainwater was to blame, the problem became much graver.

This meant the symptoms of vomiting, hallucinations, delusions, and hives were not due to poisoning from the pond but because the entirety of Barvisia was contaminated.

Perhaps the soldiers’ experiences of vomiting, auditory and visual hallucinations, and delusions were becoming part of an ongoing cycle.

It seemed there might be no escape.

The fortunate part was that I hadn’t experienced any hallucinations or delusions yet. But how long that would last, I couldn’t be sure.

As I began to show symptoms, even Vivi was greatly disturbed.

Now, Vivi was the only one unaffected, while everyone around her suffered. It was as if one of the curses hurled by the old woman was coming true — her companions were engulfed in pain.

That evening, the guard was confronted with despair.

It began with the discovery of the remains of a stitch.

“That’s… a stitch from the kingdom.”

The kingdom’s stitch was tangled in a tree with its wings torn apart — the very one Gerald sent with a request for support had crashed without reaching the kingdom.

The stitch was covered in claw marks.

The guard was isolated.

The hope that the kingdom would send support if they just held on was completely shattered.

Perhaps the guard was more easily swayed because they were all out of their minds.

From then on, doubts began to arise within the guard that perhaps Vivi was truly cursed.

During the march, a knight suddenly collapsed, eyes rolling back as he convulsed, then began to babble incoherently,

“Offer the most precious thing you have. Behead it, draw its entrails, and scatter them upon this land.”

It was an inexplicable phenomenon. Perhaps we were indirectly witnessing the reality of a transcendent entity we had half-doubted.

Then, Commander Nielrin, expected to be the last bastion of hope, suddenly lost his mind, swinging his sword at the air, and the guard’s hope was completely crushed.

Everyone was going mad.

And so was I.

“Ugh!”

Once again, I started to vomit black liquid. It seems my body was also beginning to react in a chain reaction like theirs.

My head spun, and my body involuntarily leaned forward.

The last thing I heard was Vivi’s desperate cry,

“No!”

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Then, I lost consciousness.

***

The guard set up a camp on a hill.

Vivi sat inside her tent, hands covering her face, frozen in place.

Everything was deteriorating rapidly, beyond her comprehension.

Her most trusted Nielrin had collapsed, and even Damian, who seemed unshakeable, couldn’t stand it.
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The soldiers’ gazes no longer held the same loyalty towards Vivi.

It pained her that she was the only one unaffected. If she had been suffering like the soldiers, she could have encouraged them to fight through it together.

Then, Nielrin entered the tent.

“My Lady, did you call for me?”

Vivi, masking her distress, asked,

“How is Silveryn’s disciple?”

“He’s far from waking. More fragile than he appears. But I bring good news.”

“…What is it?”

“The missing knights have returned.”

Vivi jumped up,

“Really? Are they alright?”

“Yes, they’re unharmed and wish to see you, my Lady.”

Vivi placed a hand on her chest, sighing with relief,

“Let them in, please.”

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“It’s not just them. The other soldiers also wish to see you, my Lady.”

Vivi then noticed something odd.

Nielrin’s usually steady gaze was unfocused.

“The gods have a message for you.”

Nielrin swung the tent entrance wide open.

Beyond the entrance, the entire guard, armed, was waiting.

“…Why?”

Sensing murderous intent in their eyes, Vivi slowly backed away.

Nielrin, too, drew his sword, looking at Vivi.

“The lord of this land requires a sacrifice.”

***

“They desire a festival of blood.”

“The lord desires the blood of the goddess.”

I suddenly opened my eyes in the makeshift infirmary. Someone nearby muttered. Was it a dream? Or was I hearing things as well?

I turned my head. Through the slightly ajar tent flap, I saw people moving in a line, staggering as if drunk, swords in hand.

“Offer the Lady as a sacrifice.”

What I heard was not hallucination. It was a clear statement from the guard. Something was unfolding.

The scene from my premonition, previously distant, now felt imminent.

I tried to stand, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. I collapsed back to the ground, dizzy.

Potions. I need to find potions.

I crawled toward the corner of the tent where our belongings were stacked.

I managed to pull out my personal chest.

Opening it, I found my wrapped wooden sword and potions: Gryphon Potion and Frostwind Bomb, all as I had initially packed.

There was no time to hide my identity.

I quickly drank the Gryphon Potion and grabbed the wooden sword.

My arms trembled as I held the sword. Drained of strength, it was a struggle even to stand properly.

Then, I noticed something odd in the chest: a small leather pouch I had picked up without thinking. A faint blue light leaked from within.

Mesmerized, I opened the pouch.

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Inside was a glowing blue herb.
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It was the Blue Soul Herb, obtained during the last practice of the circulatory system.

***

As Vivi retreated, Nielrin advanced step by step.

“Why, why are you doing this? Come to your senses!”

She was on the verge of tears.

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“You swore loyalty to me and my father.”

She fell backward. Despair overtook Vivi’s face.

Nielrin remained unmoved.

“A tribute must be paid to the gods.”

Just then, a sphere rolled under the tent and nudged Nielrin’s foot.

He looked down, sensed the condensed magic within, and quickly leaped back.

The sphere exploded, releasing a burst of white frost in all directions.

Someone tore through the tent, charging into the swirling frost.