Mythos Of Narcissus: Reborn As An NPC In A Horror VRMMO

Chapter 164: Lubaris, Rotten In Deceit

As the night deepened, the low, eerie howls of Bloodhounds began to echo in the distance.

It was surprising at first, but the Ordeal had been sending us an unholy amount of Bloodhounds since our clash with the Abyssal Harbingers—and I'm not one to complain, since their dangerousness lies in their numbers and speed at best.

The bastioneers took their positions along the wall, weapons at the ready, their bodies tense as the ground beneath us seemed to vibrate with the approaching pack. The Ordeal of the Midnight was nowhere near finished, after all.

And even in the temporary peace, the air felt charged with an energy that was both thrilling and foreboding.

Dame Theresa turned toward the sound, her golden eyes sharp with anticipation. With her massive cross secured across her back, she strode to the edge of the wall, her gaze narrowing as the faint red glow of Bloodhound eyes appeared on the distant horizon.

"Stand ready!" she called, her voice resounding with authority. "I shall lead our charge from here. Faith is our shield, and strength shall be our weapon!"

The bastioneers, both seasoned and new to the fight against the Ordeal, exchanged glances filled with awe and respect, and confusion. It wasn't every day they heard words like these from someone with such a presence, while they were wondering if they should take her command over their actual leader.

I gave them a nod and a smile, sending them off to be under supervision of the holy knight.

"Looks like your Scripts are starting to affect them," Kuzunoha quipped with intrigue.

"I didn't expect anything. As such, even I was surprised by the result," I chuckled.

I told Verina and Kuzunoha to focus on observing the two knights, and only to lend their contribution if it was very necessary.

After all, it was not everyday that we were able to witness something as bewitching and magical.

And for one, I did tell Theresa that I would like to see her leading the bastion under the pretext of learning human leadership. She agreed without exhausting the goodwill that was given to her through the bone cross that she received, and now I could just cross my arms behind my head and observe lazily~

Just as the pack drew closer, Dame Theresa extended a hand, her fingers splaying outward as if gathering energy from the air. A soft, warm light began to radiate from her, intensifying until it glowed like a holy aura.

The first wave of Bloodhounds lunged above the walls and at her, their crimson eyes blazing.

With a single swing of her mace, Theresa unleashed a torrent of light that surged outward, striking the Bloodhounds mid-leap.

The creatures disintegrated, their howls swallowed by the powerful energy.

The bastioneers gasped in astonishment, watching as she cleared the wall of enemies with a grace that seemed effortless.

"By the Order…" I caught Lydia whispering, wide-eyed.

Meanwhile, Dame Lubaris remained nearly invisible in the shadows, silently observing the hounds' formation and movement patterns. With deft movements, she raised her strange, alien-looking crossbow and fired bolts of dark energy, each one landing with surgical precision. Bloodhounds would stagger and fall as she struck weak points no one else could spot, her presence almost ghostly.

And if one were to try to find her, they would get disoriented by her position.

This reality-bending power was genuinely similar to that of a Calamity Object.

Verina, positioned close to me, muttered under her breath, "It's like they're on two different planes of existence. One's a beacon of light, the other a shadow on the wall."

"You almost sound jealous," I said, smirking.

Verina scoffed. "Jealous? Not quite. But I wouldn't mind borrowing that crossbow of hers for a round or two."

The Bloodhounds thinned, their numbers noticeably dwindling under the relentless onslaught of our two unlikely allies. Of course, our bastioneers did contribute a good sum of effort as they too needed their share of experiences.

If only that it works like a game where they would just level up and have their overall strength and capability enhanced out of nowhere—I found it weird why the developer of this world went for realism instead of just classic fantasy of numerical progression.

During a break between waves, the bastioneers gathered in small groups, their murmurs filled with awe as they glanced toward the Sisters of Aegis.

Kara, one of our newer recruits, approached Dame Theresa with wide eyes. "Dame Theresa, how do you get this strong?" she asked, her voice filled with admiration. "It's like you're… unstoppable."

Theresa smiled warmly, resting a gloved hand on Kara's shoulder. "It is faith and training, my friend. Faith grounds me, and training sharpens the skills needed to protect that which I hold dear."

Nearby, Lubaris leaned against a wall, adjusting her glasses with a gloved finger as she watched her companion interact with the bastioneers. Her gaze flicked over to Kuzunoha, who was observing her with a mix of amusement and wariness.

"You seem quite observant, Dame Lubaris," Kuzunoha commented as she approached—despite clearly telling them to not make much conflict with her for the sake of the bastion—a sly smirk formed on her lips. "But I wonder, how well do you fare in a conversation without that silent, judgmental stare?"

Lubaris raised an eyebrow, returning Kuzunoha's smirk with one of her own. "Silence is an art, dear animaphage. And sometimes, a stare reveals far more than idle chatter."

"You know, you remind me of an old acquaintance," Kuzunoha replied smoothly. "One who made a hobby out of saying much by saying little. They were, however, far less… ominous."

Lubaris gave a slight chuckle, one eyebrow raised. "Then I suppose I'll take that as a compliment."

Before Kuzunoha could reply, another howl shattered the brief peace, and a second wave of Bloodhounds charged at us. Dame Theresa turned to face them, her voice rising above the chaos.

"Remember, fellow bastioneers—each one of these creatures falls like any other if you stay strong and strike with intent!" She raised her mace high, the weapon glowing as holy light rippled outward, ready to face the onslaught once more. "Rain them with your projectiles! Riddle with holes in their dirty hides! And vanquish their souls under the maddening sky!"

Damn, her speech of war was really something. I even got goosebumps, despite holding no weapons on my arm.

One of the interesting things I want to mention about Theresa was about the fact that her Psychic Sensitivity was 0%.

This meant that she was completely immune to any outside influence that was given and exuded by every Calamity Object. Things like fear-inducing entities or magical spectral entities won't have any effect on her.

Likewise, things like third-party buff and any useful or even positive psychic influence won't be applied to her as a side effect.

'Look at our bastioneers go~'

Per Theresa's warcry, we took up our positions again—except for me—the bastioneers launching bolts and arrows toward the approaching horde. This time, though, I noticed something odd as I fired from my own vantage. A strange shimmer flickered in the air around certain bastioneers, almost like a mirage.

It wasn't long before Kuzunoha's voice slipped into my mind, speaking through a telepathic channel she'd quietly set up for me and my confidantes.

"Keep your guard up around Dame Lubaris," she cautioned, her tone clipped and tense. "I've intercepted at least three foolhardy reality-altering spells from her side, each one subtle enough to evade most wary of detection."

Verina, listening in, grimaced. "Great. And here I was, thinking her quiet act was just an eccentricity."

"Eccentricity my foot," Kuzunoha muttered darkly. "Her spells would have bound a handful of you to her influence had I not intervened. Consider her words and actions… unreliable."

Lupina let out a low whistle, that whistle didn't get isolated within her telepathic channel, so she looked like whistling for no reason from the outside. "So, she's a sleeper threat. Wonderful. Remind me to stay out Verina's line of fire, just in case."

"Oh, she'd like that," Verina remarked with a smirk. "Maybe she'll think twice before flashing those eerie grins."

"Did you get discovered when you thwarted her attempt?" I asked.

"Heh," She proudly grinned. "She was but a young and naive opponent when it came to a war of subterfuge and spellcasting."

"Said the one who got thwarted for the whole afternoon on her first day of appearance," Verina quipped. "Can't even save her own ass, and crotch, heh."

"I didn't do anything harmful to any of you because of the contract, alright?" Kuzunoha said with an annoyed tone. "Not to mention, Narcissus is too precious for me to cast anything in my trusty arsenal."

"Sounds like your arsenal is not that trustworthy," I spoke out.

The telephatic channel went busy for a moment as we absorbed the information, each of us more alert than before.

The remaining bastioneers seemed unaware of the big picture, which was for the best. But Kuzunoha had already whispered warnings to them discreetly, enough to keep them wary without sparking panic.

The break ended, and for the next few hours, wave after wave of Bloodhounds charged, their numbers seemingly endless.

Dame Theresa maintained her steadfast resolve, each strike of her mace leaving trails of light in the air, disintegrating the Bloodhounds with righteous power, while her sanctified whips lashed with pure gilded light.

And each time the hounds regrouped, Lubaris would disappear and reappear, picking off the stragglers with unnerving accuracy and effortlessly fading into the shadows again. Kuzunoha would often report at times like this, in which she caught Lubaris in her dirty action, but still keeping it a secret that it was Kuzunoha who caused Lubaris' power to get nullified.

Lubaris would often wear an expression of annoyance and utter anger. Sometimes, the emotion would be so obvious that my bastioneers would feel intimidated to even be in her vicinity.

Strangely enough, Theresa appeared to be oblivious to all of this. I wanted to ask her about what was the deal with her partner in pilgrimage, but she seemed to be genuinely uninformed of what Lubaris had been doing, based on her action and body-language.

Unless that she was just that stealthy with her knowledge of Lubaris' antics.

As dawn approached, signaling the end of the Ordeal, a collective sigh of relief swept through the bastion. The Sisters of Aegis had more than proven their worth, but the tension remained, primarily because of Lubaris.

It was also nervewrecking to realize that the world-wide rearranging of lands and regions was still ongoing.

The fear that it prolonged greatly for days and end gave us a shudder on how to proceed with our limited supply—with no new animal to hunt, and no trees or natural vegetation to harvest.

Though, seeing that both Theresa and Lubaris literally came from the neighboring land like it was a public transport, we might try to switch land for our bastion if that comes as a necessity.

"The sixth day has arrived," I muttered with mixed feelings.

Theresa gathered the bastioneers near the gate, offering them a warm smile. "I thank you, all of you, for the opportunity to fight alongside such resolute souls. May you continue to hold firm and know that the collective hope of humanity stands behind you."

Dame Lubaris nodded, her tone calm and formal. "It has been an… enlightening experience. Your resilience is noted and respected."

"Consider us honored to have earned it," I replied, keeping my gaze steady on Lubaris. "Should you ever need aid in these, ever-moving lands, know that our doors are open."

As they turned to depart, Theresa and Lubaris both nodded their gratitude. The bastioneers, many of them exhausted but brimming with a newfound respect, watched them go with mixed expressions of admiration and relief—and unsolicited dread that came from the warning given by Kuzunoha on how Lubaris might attempt to screw this bastion like the snake she was.

Just as they crossed the threshold of this land, while Theresa was waiting for the proper timing to leap from one moving land to another—Lubaris paused, casting a glance back over her shoulder.

Her expression shifted slightly—her eyes gleamed with something far darker, and a slow, inhuman smile crept across her face. In that single moment, her expression was chilling, almost devoid of humanity.

Under my breath, I caught a faint, almost whispered mutter from her as her lips barely moved.

"

I found you.

"