Full Moon Night (6)

TL/ED: Lolz

"Can we put that aside for a moment and have a conversation?"

Lina asked Ian.

She looked at Ian with a faint smile. In that expression, Ian confirmed a few facts.

Firstly, the infection of the spores had progressed quite a bit.

Most of Lina Rosewell's hair had already turned blue. It only appeared purple due to the reddish moonlight.

Secondly, the smile on her lips.

'It's not natural.'

That was a mask.

Not just the smile, everything about this woman was an act.

The worst kind of heroine.

If someone had asked the Ian from his previous life what a fake heroine was like, he would have answered like that.

A heroine shouldn't be fake.

Especially if she pretended to be kind.

The game was not reality. Players wanted to be healed through the game, whether they were tired of social life or feeling too lonely. The role of heroines in the game was to embrace such pains. Even if it was just on the screen, if they smiled brightly towards the player, healing occurred.

But what if it was all an act?

It was like breaking the implicit rules between the player and the character.

The worst of the worst.

If he had been playing a game, he would have thrown his phone away immediately.

‘... If this were a game, that's how it would be.’

If all those laughs were just a mask, the player could only feel betrayed. The suspicion of Lina Rosewell was based on that point.

But his thoughts at that moment were different.

Ian had raised his head.

In this strange place, that was reality. Originally, reality was a harsh thing. Whether the heroine was a v*rgin or not, fake or not. It was more advantageous to take care of his body and develop his abilities.

Even if it wasn't the Lina Rosewell he knew, he was prepared to accept it. Whether Lina Rosewell wore a mask or was fake. In any case, Ian had to be careful.

... So he could say for sure.

"You came to save me. Thank you."

The girl who had flaunted her overwhelming appearance with a fake smile was not Lina Rosewell.

Then what was it?

'It was a blue mushroom walking around with Lina Rosewell's mask.'

Spores of the blue mushroom.

It was no different from a state where only the shell remained.

When infected with spores, it started with just a slight increase in aggression.

And if you listened to the voices in the stimulating mind, eventually, control of the body and brain completely slipped away. At first glance, it was similar to the brainwashing of the Bloodstone Cult. But that was only a common point because the Bloodstone Cult was good at using such hallucinogenic drugs.

Ian spoke.

"It might be okay to reveal your true colors now."

Of course, there was no intention to have a conversation with the infected Lina.

Because a human addicted to mushroom spores was no different from something else wearing that shell.

He just wanted to understand the current state of Lina in this infected condition.

"What were you talking about?"

"No one around, right? Isn't this an appropriate situation to kill me?"

The infected Lina had shown intense aggression. And the target was Ian himself. Lina’s attack in the combat training exercise still came to mind occasionally.

"That's right... No one's around… But Ian, I didn't try to kill you…"

Lina had smiled sweetly.

A more coercive eye smile than Lina.

Then she had gently brought her hand to the center of her shirt and unbuttoned it.

"Would you like to try once?"

Sweet voice.

Temptation that hadn't seemed to have a plausible context.

But her appearance had packaged it as if it was such a natural act.

But Ian's gaze had remained unwavering.

At that moment, Lina Rosewell's brain had been perfectly controlled by spores.

Even the act of suddenly tempting him was probably to consume bodily fluids for recovery and spread the spores as much as possible.

"You. You aren’t Lina Rosewell."

"What. What. What. I don't know what you are talking about."

Unfortunately for her, Ian had no hobbies like sharing mushrooms and love.

"Don't stutter. It’s creepy because you don't seem like a proper human."

"......"

The infected Lina had stopped in confusion.

The reason was obvious.

The parasite spore was merely pulling out reactions stored in Lina's brain. There wouldn't be a proper way to respond to a question like, "You don't seem human, do you?"

"Come to think of it, mushrooms are essentially fungi, aren't they?"

"..."

The pupils turned and clicked as if rummaging through the brain.

It sent a slight shiver down Ian's spine.

He wanted to deal with it immediately.

With that thought came a question.

If it were the uninfected Lina, wouldn't she have attacked Ian?

'No, she probably wouldn't.'

Ian shook his head.

Instinctively and unconsciously, Lina Rosewell disliked Ian.

The fact that even the infected Lina had thrown magic at the back of Ian's head was because she such feelings at some point.

Therefore.

'I won't go easy on her.'

Even though her combat power had explosively increased due to the infection, she had already fought against Sharon.

Moreover, she had suffered quite a bit of damage due to the intentional explosion. Besides, mages were traditionally weak in close combat, especially elementalists who needed to summon spirits.

'I also identified weaknesses.'

Throwing in a random remark to find a reaction and exploiting the gap when the reaction malfunctioned.

Ian subtly strengthened his grip on the Lunar Staff without showing it.

Then he bluffed.

"Lina."

"Yeah, Ian, what is it?"

"It looks like you have fungus spreading on your head."

"...?"

The pupils clicked again, as if rummaging through her brain.

'… Now.'

Ian immediately closed the distance with Lina.

He had reinforced only part of his body to maximize destructive power.

Although somewhat slow, Lina's reactions were slower.

Her temples crumpled belatedly.

"Too late."

— Bang!

The staff of Lunar exploded directly on Lina's pristine forehead.

A long red line was carved vertically.

Lina's body, swaying as if about to fall, was caught directly on it.

"Kasa!"

She hurriedly called out the name of a lesser spirit.

— Whirl!

Already prepared to defend with Lunar wrapped around her arms. It wasn't strong enough to destroy the charged Lunar.

"Cele…"

More than two syllables?

Dealing with an elemental mage up close was simple.

Just prevent them from opening their mouth.

"Almighty Aim..."

Wow. Was this mushroom insane?

Ian quickly grabbed her neck.

"...Lord, descend...Ultimate!"

What demon was she trying to summon?

A neck slender and white enough to be held in one hand.

Ian sighed, then exerted pressure on his gripping hand.

"Ughhh..."

Strange sounds emanated from the infected Lina.

Her complexion was getting paler.

But Ian knew.

At this level, students from Lichten Academy wouldn’t die so easily.

"Grrrr…"

Even if a heroine makes such sounds, can it be allowed?

"Hold on."

Ian had already been almost killed by a heroine.

Heroine or not, there was nothing to be seen.

Squelch.

The parasite inside the infected Lina wriggled to survive.

Arms and legs clashed, but the impact wasn't significant.

— Kuk

He felt the power drain from Lina's body with the final death blow.

She was not dead, of course.

"... For now, the primary purification is complete."

Ian observed the now subdued body of Lina.

As he gazed slowly, something caught his eye.

"Is this it?"

Lina Rosewell's head.

A tiny blue mushroom had sprouted there.

— Pluck

Ian didn't hesitate and plucked it off.

Then, once again, he activated ‘Dishwashing’ towards Lina.

To answer Ian's questions,

He needed Lina to come back to her senses.

◆

Lina Rosewell was wandering in her own consciousness.

It was endlessly deep and dark.

She had lost her way.

A voice had been echoing in her mind for days.

Initially, it was sweet.

— You don't always have to be kind.

— Being good won't make people see you as anything more than a fool.

Words that made her think, "Could that be true?"

She brushed them aside without much thought, feeling comforted.

But as she became more distressed, the intensity of those words grew.

— Look at this, Lina Rosewell. You always took care of others, but now there's no one taking care of you, not even someone to bring you a lunchbox.

— Hey, have you seen Ian? He's a grade just higher than yours. If anything, it seems like he's intentionally trying to humiliate you.

... It was unconscious.

She paid attention to that ominous voice because, in her hardships, it felt like receiving consolation. But as she became more exhausted, that voice became stronger.

— I can give you some power.

The voice suggested. Lina agreed.

She was Lina Rosewell, needing better grades and a scholarship urgently.

Sometimes, she lost her sanity.

But she thought she could manage it.

The power offered by that thing was overwhelmingly persuasive.

— See? Everything is getting better because you're listening to me.

She fell deeper.

And before she knew it, she discovered herself sinking into the deep abyss of her consciousness.

Here, numerous past and present memories were entangled like threads.

Now, her body, which had lost control, could see and hear everything that played out like a continuous loop. Even if she closed her eyes, some scenes replayed endlessly.

"...Ian."

She suddenly called out his name.

After coming here, Lina Rosewell realized.

The sins she committed towards Ian were far from trivial.

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