A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 231 : The North (10)

The outbreak of the second Black Blood Disease.

That was, without a doubt, one of the reasons the first timeline's Northern Subjugation War had failed.

『…It was my mistake. I should have inspected it myself when I received the report that the Knight-rank Magical Beast found at the 'Unknown Corner' was a Demonic Species.』

『…….』

『…Trusting the commander in charge when he said it had been handled well was the root of the problem.』

Isaac Einstein's first trap, planted in the Northern Subjugation War, the 'second Black Blood Disease', drove the Northern Subjugation Forces into fear, reminding them of the severe 'great plague' they had already experienced in the past.

Of course, since the Order had already experienced the terror of the 'Black Blood Disease' once before, they had devised countermeasures for it from the moment they began planning the Northern Subjugation.

All the commanders of the subjugation forces, including the vanguard, had prior service experience in the North.

In other words, they were all individuals who knew about the 'Black Blood Disease', and even the healing priests had been separately briefed about it.

A system was established to immediately execute any soldier showing symptoms even remotely similar to the Black Blood Disease.

After all, divine magic only worsened the condition, and the Black Blood Disease was an incurable illness.

They thought that as long as they knew the clear transmission route and countermeasures, there would be no problem with quarantine.

In the past, they had been helpless due to a complete lack of knowledge about the Black Blood Disease, but even if they couldn't create a fundamental cure, they had accumulated enough experience.

Indeed, it had proven effective when a soldier showing symptoms of the 'Black Blood Disease' at the Unknown Corner was summarily executed.

…The problem was that this Black Blood Disease was different from the one the Order had experienced in the North in the past.

The 'mutant Black Blood Disease', personally tampered with by Isaac Einstein, used a different transmission method than the existing Black Blood Disease's infection route.

Originally, it was transmitted through direct physical contact, so killing and burying the infected did not cause any problems in terms of quarantine.

However, in the case of the mutant Black Blood Disease, it wasn't transmitted through direct contact with the infected, but through spores released when the infected's corpse reacted with the mana in the atmosphere.

The existing quarantine measures were completely ineffective against it.

That wasn't all.

Unlike the original Black Blood Disease, where symptoms appeared immediately upon infection and, in severe cases, led to death within 24 hours, the mutant Black Blood Disease had a much longer incubation period.

In other words, even long after Leonardo Louis Button received the report that 'there were no issues,' it truly seemed as if there were no issues.

Of course, that was only what was 'visible to the eye'; the Black Blood Disease, which began to spread during the incubation period, was extending its reach regardless of the region.

By the time the problem surfaced and they realized the Black Blood Disease had mutated, it had already spread irreversibly throughout the entire Northern Subjugation Forces.

『…It was a stroke of luck that 'that organization' appeared and managed to contain the Black Blood Disease.』

The one silver lining was that some unknown third party appeared out of nowhere at the time and delivered a 'cure for the Black Blood Disease' to The Order's Allied Forces, allowing them to somehow resolve the issue.

Regardless of the actual damage, by the time everything related to the Black Blood Disease was over, the will and morale of the Church Allied Forces were scraping rock bottom.

So much so that it was considered impossible to continue the Northern Subjugation War.

…Of course, the Guardian Cross Order did not back down.

The reason was simple.

They had poured all sorts of effort into planning the Northern Subjugation War for a long time.

And if they were pushed back beyond the Black Sea by the 'Black Blood Disease' again and gave up the North, it was predicted to be virtually impossible for the Guardian Cross Order to reclaim it.

They had no choice but to press on with the subjugation instead of turning back.

…All without dreaming of Isaac Einstein's second and third traps that would be revealed later.

* * *

It goes without saying, but I didn't come here for something like cooperating with the 'Exorcist'.

It was just that there was no better excuse than 'Leonardo Louis Button' to mess around and operate on the battlefield, so I just made that up.

‘…No, that's not it.’

On second thought, it wasn't strictly untrue.

I hadn't gone into such minute detail, but it was true that I had agreed to lend a hand during the proclamation of the Beastkin Nation, so it wasn't exactly a lie, was it?

Anyway.

The reason I came here wasn't because of any orders or other reasons, but to deal with Isaac Einstein's first trap right before my eyes: the 'mutant Black Blood Disease'.

Well, I did dispose of the Knight-rank Magical Beast, but that was just part of the process; the real purpose was this.

Just as one couldn't say the Northern Subjugation War failed solely because of the 'mutant Black Blood Disease', Isaac Einstein had more traps laid out.

In fact, if someone were to ask which of Isaac Einstein's traps was the most fatal to the Order's forces, I could answer immediately.

The 'mutant Black Blood Disease'.

The reason was simple.

If you were to calculate it purely in terms of physical damage, the other traps lurking ahead were just as formidable.

But the fact that 'the Black Blood Disease had broken out again' and the resulting drop in the soldiers' morale couldn't be calculated with mere physical numbers.

After all, isn't there a saying that 'wars are fought with morale'?

In the end, the Northern Subjugation War began to fall apart entirely when they were rendered helpless by this mutant Black Blood Disease.

Everything that came after was just stomping on what was already broken and shattering it into smaller pieces.

“It seems we don't have much time, so I'll explain as I take measures.”

Ssk-

“…It would be best if everyone except the Commander left. The work of an Exorcist is, for now, confidential.”

He could have been offended by the order to leave, but the adjutant who had guided me nodded and immediately lifted the tent flap before the Commander even gave the order.

Nod-

Seeing him leave without a single complaint or a hint of hesitation, it seemed he already thought this wasn't a place for him to be.

Flap-

After the adjutant left, the tent flap fluttered shut, and only the soldier's groans and screams echoed inside the barracks.

“…Is there anything I can do to help?”

The Commander asked in a low voice, and I answered curtly.

“Hold this man down so he doesn't writhe. You're strong, right?”

“…….”

Flinch-

His body flinched once.

I knew why. If this were the original Black Blood Disease, my words would have been tantamount to telling him to risk infection.

“It'll be fine. This is a completely different type from the original Black Blood Disease you've experienced, Commander.”

Tuk-

When I showed him by touching the soldier's body myself, he nodded with a tense expression and grabbed both of the soldier's wrists to restrain him.

The soldier's body, which had been writhing in agony, his limbs twisting in different directions, instantly went rigid.

The strength of a high-ranking Priest Paladin, superior to a 3-star Hero, had completely bound his body.

I grabbed the soldier's head and tilted it back.

Then, from a pouch I had prepared, I took out a single red stone.

“That is……!”

The Commander's eyes widened as if he recognized the stone.

“…You know what it is?”

“I saw it a few times when I was on missions with Sir Button for work. I don't know its exact name, but… it's a tool for dealing with the Demonic Species, right?”

Nod-

“Then there's no need for a separate explanation.”

“……?”

“Because this is the entire procedure.”

Shunk-

I jammed the Quark I had taken out into his forehead.

With the unpleasant sensation of it digging into flesh, the Quark embedded itself halfway into the soldier's forehead, and then something strange began to happen.

Fshhhhhh-

The necrotic areas at the tips of his fingers.

The blackened skin began to travel up his arm toward his forehead.

“……!”

“This works like a charm on the Demonic Species.”

Isaac Einstein's 'mutant Black Blood Disease' from the first timeline, evolved to give The Order's Allied Forces a harder time, had certainly been fatal to the Order.

The incubation period was longer, and having to re-verify the disease's mutation process was an incredibly deadly and dangerous step when dealing with a plague whose Trait was 'contagion'.

However, as they say, it was an equivalent exchange.

In all things, if there is something to be gained, there must be something to be lost.

In this case, it was this very part.

As could be inferred from the fact that the Knight-rank Magical Beast was a Demonic Species, this mutant Black Blood Disease was linked to the traits of the Demonic Species.

Because of this, Isaac Einstein could arbitrarily modify the disease's symptoms, transmission method, and incubation period, but in exchange, the Black Blood Disease, which had no weakness other than 'early quarantine containment', gained a new weakness: the 'Demonic Trait'.

As a result, the mutant Black Blood Disease was inevitably affected by the 'Quark'.

This was because the Quark possessed the power to absorb and restrain the power of all Demonic Species, regardless of their type.

“…….”

Of course, it was hard to call this a fundamental cure.

There was the problem of appearance, walking around with a Quark embedded in one's forehead, and if this man hadn't been the only patient in the first place, it would have required a huge number of Quarks.

Quarks were not a common enough resource to be stuck into just anyone like that.

Due to the nature of a plague, Quarks could only be used as a countermeasure in the early stages before the disease escalated.

If the number of infected had grown enormous, this shortcut using Quarks would have been impossible, and they would have been unable to devise any other method.

Just like in the first timeline, until 'that organization' appeared and provided the cure for the Black Blood Disease.

…Well.

It was a rather meaningless story, given that I had come here myself to embed a Quark into an early-stage patient like this.

“…Is it over?”

Shrug-

“For now.”

The Commander, 'Christopher Christian', asked cautiously, and I replied with a shrug.

No further explanation was necessary.

Fshhhhhh-

The black, afflicted area had vanished as if washed away, and the eyes that had rolled back to show only the whites now had their pupils back in place.

Ssk-

Even after Christopher Christian let go of his hands, the soldier's body no longer showed any signs of seizures.

However, the Quark embedded in his forehead had turned black.

For now, this was okay.

“Tell him not to touch that red stone on his forehead for the time being. It's not a fundamental cure, just a temporary measure for now.”

“…….”

“And one more thing I didn't mention earlier, don't report this to your superiors separately. I have a direct hotline to Sir Button.”

Flap-

“Then I'll be going. I have other things to do.”