I Became a Sick Nobleman-Chapter 201: Scattered Bodies

“Isn’t that a black human…?” Aris blurted out the exact words that Ruel had been thinking.

—There’s an out of natural order scent coming from that being.

Leo confirmed.

Noah, with disdain in his voice, remarked, “That’s just a monster, isn’t it?”

Cassion, staring at the black figure, questioned how could that thing, which only took on a human shape and was completely black, be considered human? From Ruel’s shocked expression, Cassion deduced that the black human was likely Trino Setiria.

“Watch your words, Noah.”

“But even you, Cassion-nim, can see….”

“Ruel-nim, there’s no need for you to strain yourself,” Cassion brushed off Noah’s comments and assessed Ruel. While Ruel seemed a bit unsteady, it was hard to gauge his true state, so Cassion remained cautious.

“I’m not overexerting myself. I’m fine for now,” Ruel replied nonchalantly.

Before the first Setiria vanished, besides showing him a dream by touching his forehead, perhaps he had done something else. Or maybe his powers had expanded, but for the first time, he found a means to control the power to manipulate monsters. Utilizing that power had caused him a headache, but now, with the switch turned off, the pain was gradually diminishing.

“Cassion, stop worrying about unnecessary matters and focus on what needs to be done now,” Ruel said sharply.

Although the battle wasn’t his responsibility, he had to clear the Beast Forest in Leponia to prepare for the upcoming battle and to prevent the black human from turning monsters into enemies.

“Understood.” Upon hearing Cassion’s response, Ruel decided to swiftly resolve the situation.

“Leo, let’s wrap this up quickly.”

—Alright.

Leo came down to the ground, waiting for Ruel’s command. Ruel inhaled Breath and turned to look at Trino Setiria.

-My beloved son, Ruel.

Despite Trino Setiria’s monstrous appearance, the words resonating in Ruel’s mind were incredibly gentle. If he were truly Ruel Setiria, he would have been moved by them.

‘Sorry, but I’m not your son.’

Before Trino Setiria could react, Ruel swiftly enveloped him with his shadow, much like a quilt. He then used shadow-made ropes to bind him to trees, creating a cocoon-like structure.

‘No resistance?’ Ruel pondered, noticing the unusually compliant demeanor of the black human. However, there was no time to address this uncertainty. He needed to conclude things before the appearance of the Great Man following Mayre’s disappearance.

“Leo!” Ruel called out.

—This body is prepared!

Leo stood before the cocooned Trino Setiria, leaving an afterimage behind.

—This body will purify this being!

A silvery orb formed from Leo’s forepaw traversed along the shadows, spreading its light throughout the forest. As Ruel observed the spectacle, he retracted his shadow, revealing a growing cluster of light before him.

-I’m sorry.

The clusters of light tenderly caressed Ruel’s head. Ruel looked at the cluster with a remorseful expression.

-I didn’t want to burden you with this suffering.

The true Ruel Setiria should have been present, not him.

-I love you, Ruel.

The real Ruel Setiria should have been the one to hear those words.

-I truly love you.

Ruel looked sadly at the dissipating light clusters, his eyes widening.

Rumble!

In contrast to the silvery light permeating the forest, a deep rumbling, akin to the entire forest shaking, reverberated through the air.

“I sense power coming from over there,” Cassion pointed in a direction with his finger.

At that moment, a sky-blue beam of light shot up from the indicated direction.

—Th-that’s frightening.

Leo rushed to Ruel.

Crash!

The sound of something cracking was so loud that it was unsettling. There was only one thing that could make such a noise.

‘Is the seal broken? Why?’ Ruel gazed up at the sky in confusion.

Cassion swiftly hoisted Ruel and retreated. Something indescribably huge was approaching from the direction where the power was felt.

“The Great Man has appeared,” Cassion grimaced as he spoke.

Whoosh!

Something zoomed past Ruel and his companions, creating a powerful gust of wind.

“…”

Aris broke out in a cold sweat. It felt like death itself had moved. Was that being the Great Man?

“Aris!” Cassion called out to Aris.

This was not the moment to lose focus; their priority was a swift escape. Noah was already in the forest on a separate mission. Cassion hastened his steps, with Aris following closely behind.

“Are you okay?” Seeing Ruel tremble almost to the point of seizure due to the Great Man’s presence, Cassion wanted to administer a sedative immediately. Leo, also trembling, helped steady Ruel.

“Crazy.” Ruel breathed out heavily and inhaled Breath with his trembling hands.

With Mayre gone and the seal shattered, along with the sudden appearance of the Great Man, had everything unfolded prematurely, contrary to expectations? As thoughts raced through Ruel’s mind, his eyes widened.

‘What the hell? So that’s why Trino Setiria was so compliant?’

Mayre’s mission was to uncover the source of the monsters’ corruption. Hadn’t she resolved it beyond just identification? Could Mayre’s disappearance be linked to this? The one eliminating the guardians must have been aware of this fact.

‘Damn it.’ Ruel frowned. If his suspicions were accurate, it meant he had been used. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Aris, take care of Ruel-nim,” Cassion paused briefly to entrust Ruel to Aris. Protecting others wasn’t his role, past or present. What he did best was to strike.

Ruel was carried by Aris. Even though he knew he was a burden during battle, there had never been a moment as painful as this one.

‘Damn it. I can’t stop shaking.’

Aris quickly wrapped his outer garment around Ruel’s waist to prevent him from falling, noticing Ruel’s trembling hands clutched around his neck.

“You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

—Y-yes, This body is here too.

Aris and Leo reassured Ruel. However, despite his frail body struggling contrary to his mind, enduring was challenging.

‘Damn it.’

All Ruel could do was use Breath to alleviate the shortness of breath that accompanied his trembling. Aris ran again, not looking back. Just as they were almost out of the Beast Forest, the forest shook.

Boom!

Simultaneously sensing a sharp killing intent from behind, Aris had no choice but to turn around to shield Ruel.

“Ugh.” Aris groaned. He had been pushed back in the clash of forces. But soon, his churning insides calmed down.

Cassion stood before him, dispelling the oppressive force. Someone was approaching him with heavy footsteps.

“Surprised?” The voice was not Treitol’s; it was one that Ruel recognized well—the Great Man. The shadows of the forest vanished, replaced by darkness swirling ominously in his hands.

“What held the guardians in this world was some foolishness like sentimentality and duty. I never thought you’d complete Mayre’s mission with your own hands,” he sneered at Ruel.

Cassion’s brow twitched when his face was exposed. A black thread was wrapped around his neck, as if it had been forcibly connected to his head. Cassion became aware of the imbalance between his neck and head almost instantly. The body sealed in the Beast Forest was the head.

Thump!

Ruel felt his heart sink. Every time he approached, the blood in his body throbbed as if it had seen something it hated. Ruel was already struggling to calm himself, and the shadows were also moving uncontrollably, making him feel like he was going to die.

“I am here now. Setiria.” The Great Man’s black eyes blazed with intensity as black liquid oozed from his form. He wrapped himself in a cloak of black smoke, like a god of death. In an instant, the forest was engulfed in silence.

“Aris! Run!” Cassion’s voice shattered the silence, a dagger clenched tightly in his grip, beads of sweat forming on his palms for the first time. He couldn’t tell if the Great Man was weak or strong. No, he didn’t even feel that he existed.

“Foolish one,” the Great Man pitied Cassion. No matter how much one struggles, everything lay in the palm of death.

The Great Man raised his hand. A viscous darkness began to rise from the ground, threatening to engulf Cassion at any moment.

Growl!

At that moment, the sound of a beast howling echoed.

‘Ruel-nim?’

Cassion was startled as the monsters approached.

‘No, Ruel-nim isn’t in a state to use this kind of power right now.’

However, the scattered monsters formed a line and charged toward the Great Man.

“…Ha.” The Great Man’s gaze turned towards Ruel, who was trying to escape. “You tried to stop me with such trivial things?”

As the Great Man’s index finger moved, raising one corner of his mouth as if it was funny, black smoke spread among the monsters.

Sizzle.

Ruel forced the monsters to retreat as he watched them melt upon touching the black smoke.

“Run.”

What had led them to attack the Great Man was not his own power. They had bared their teeth at the Great Man instinctively as they were freed from their bonds.

-May glory be with you.

With a parting word offered in the hope of victory, several connections to the monsters were severed. Though they were monsters he had only seen for the first time today, his heart ached. Ruel pushed aside his sorrow, leaning against the rising headache to regain his focus and think.

‘The smoke has corrosive properties.’

His current objective was to escape, not to fight back. But he could not overlook the fact that the monsters had given their lives to let him know this.

“Is this the end of resistance?”

The moment the Great Man moved, Cassion also sprang into action.

Swoosh!

A sharp purple aura sliced through the Great Man’s neck, but his head remained connected to his body by a thick black liquid, resembling a black-blooded man.

‘He doesn’t die?’ Cassion stepped back and clutched his dagger tightly.

“Your efforts are futile,” the Great Man declared, turning to face Cassion with a gaze filled with pity. “Don’t hold on to hope. Be consumed by despair.”

The darkness the Great Man wielded shot towards Cassion in a swift motion.

Fwush!

As the darkness approached, Cassion made a split-second decision to block it rather than retaliate.

Clang!

Cassion’s fingers trembled under the overwhelming force.

“Blame your foolishness for choosing Ruel Setiria and die in regret.”

Suddenly, a massive hand emerged from the shadows between the Great Man and Cassion, sending shivers down Cassion’s spine with its ominous presence.

Shudder.

As soon as he saw the hand, he felt a warning that his body was in danger. It was different from the shadow hand that Ruel used. Just touching that hand felt like it would truly bring death; it reeked of ominous danger.

Swoosh!

Three arrows flew from somewhere, aiming for the Great Man’s head

“…?”

Cassion was surprised by the sight of the arrows hitting the head precisely.

‘Is he not reacting? Or is he choosing not to?’

He rolled his eyes as he pulled out the arrow lodged in his head. His hand melted back into his shadow.

Sizzle.

Cassion could clearly see the Great Man’s body melting, not sure which powder was on the arrowhead. Then, arrows filled with aura flew from another direction. Unlike before, the Great Man raised his hand, using black liquid to block them.

‘This time he blocked it. But why?’

Cassion held his breath, keeping a tight eye on him. The darkness that appeared in the Great Man’s hand emerged once more.

Slash!

With a swift movement, Cassion intercepted the darkness aimed at Noah with his dagger. As Noah made his escape, Cassion found himself under attack again, defending against the darkness with his dagger.

Ting!

The impact of the darkness pushed Cassion back slightly. Then, two arrows hit his forehead.

Sizzle.

A melting sound could be heard where the arrows hit.

‘He didn’t notice again.’

As if mocking Cassion, who was carefully observing him, he laughed.

“Despair can only be given when one is filled with hope.”

As the Great Man stomped his foot, black liquid gushed up from the ground. Cassion moved his feet backwards to avoid the liquid.

‘He’s gone.’

Sizzle.

With a foul odor, the area where the liquid touched sank deeply. Everything, whether it be trees, grass, or soil, became stained black. Cassion, smelling the scent of death rising from the rancid smell, turned his head toward the direction where Aris and Ruel had fled. With a sneer like a beast eyeing its prey, Cassion chased after the Great Man.

“Listen well, Cassion. First, assess his full power. And if possible, don’t reveal all your strength. It will make you seem more desperate.”

He remembered Ruel’s order. What an arrogant command that was. Even though he had increased his own worth, not revealing his entire strength without knowing how much strength the enemy possessed was absurd.

Nonetheless, the wolf moved in delusion to hunt the sheep, unaware of how deadly that sheep was. Cassion evaluated the Great Man as best he could. Now he needed to go beside Ruel. To ensure that he would not be bitten by the wolf.

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