MCPTD 08

Chapter – 08

“Alright then. I’m going to dig a nice deep hole so you can never crawl back up to the surface. Who wants to go in first?”

A cold smile appeared on his lips.

Can he… communicate with monsters?

A creature that looked like an orc quietly raised its hand.

“Uuuh…”

“Oh? So you’re saying you were just planning to dig back down into the rift and disappear?”

“Uuuh!”

…What? They can actually understand each other? He understands orc language?

What exactly am I looking at right now?

My eyes trembled in confusion while the man continued smiling gently, still holding his shovel.

“I don’t really feel like letting you go though.”

At that moment, the monsters caught in his gaze instantly turned into ashes and vanished.

What… what even is this?

While I stood among the evacuated civilians watching the situation unfold—

the man buried every monster into the ground and drew a sealing formation. He was completely erasing the rift.

After finishing the entire ritual, he raised an eyebrow with a fierce expression.

“Another day of successfully protecting world peace.”

What kind of line is that…?

But I didn’t have time to observe him further. He muttered something about needing to close the next rift and disappeared in an instant.

“W-what… was that?”

As I muttered to myself, a man in knight attire passed by and said:

“Looks like it was your first time witnessing Lord Aldehyd’s might.”

“Aldehyd…?”

That lunatic is him?

The strongest man who suddenly appeared and unified the continent—someone who didn’t exist in my previous life.

“He handled the rift in just five minutes without even a minor injury. He’s truly incredible. Some people call him a mad dog, but that’s all nonsense.”

That much was true. If it hadn’t been Aldehyd, there would have easily been a hundred casualties.

But…

Something feels off.

I had been used by too many people in my previous life to simply accept him as a hero.

At the same time, I had learned something:

There is no such thing as kindness without purpose.

Just like how my good deeds had the purpose of “dying well,” he must also have a purpose of his own.

After that day, I began chasing numerous rifts as well. Using knowledge from my past life to evacuate people in advance.

But Aldehyd… that man was always faster than me.

He always appeared before I could, finished the sealing perfectly, and muttered things like:

“Looks like the world will be peaceful again today.”

As my suspicions about him continued to grow—

the day of the mass suicide incident caused by the giant poison butterflies arrived.

* * *

The western port city, Vein.

A small rift had formed beneath a lighthouse cliff.

It was a very urgent situation.

Hot water, like lava flowing from the rift, heated the air intensely.

Knights shouted frantically:

“Emergency! Everyone evacuate!”

“All civilians must evacuate!”

If even a little more time passed, the boiling water might engulf people.

After everyone—including the lighthouse keeper and fishermen—had evacuated,

one woman with brown hair and brown eyes sat calmly on an empty bench reading a newspaper.

That woman was me.

Siena Vuetri.

I took out a small conch-shaped hand mirror from my pocket and smiled.

Brown hair. Brown eyes. Good. The change worked.

This mirror was an ancient magic artifact from the Vuetri family treasury.

Rumored to have been created by the witch from the legend The Little Mermaid, it was a disguise artifact that could change a person’s appearance.

Why did I come here in disguise?

Because this poison butterfly monster is truly dangerous.

I planned to secretly observe how Aldehyd would respond and how the situation would unfold.

Not far away, Aldehyd and the entire Imperial Knight Order stood near the rift.

Soon monsters would emerge.

Yet the Mad Dog, Aldehyd, remained completely indifferent. His face showed no emotion.

At that moment—

a monster emerged from the rift.

A kraken-like creature lashed out with tentacles covered in vicious suckers amid violent waves.

“Bold creature.”

Aldehyd simply stretched out his hand without even chanting.

That was all.

The monster shattered instantly and crumbled into dust.

A chill close to terror ran down my spine.

Just how strong is he?

The monster was dealt with just like that.

Too easily.

Aldehyd spoke calmly:

“Moving to the next phase.”

He extended his hand over the remains and quietly chanted a short incantation.

It was the sealing formation.

Once done, no rift would ever form there again.

In other words—post-processing.

“The next rift is…”

He murmured as if sensing something.

“Near the warehouse on the opposite side.”

“W-what?! That’s where the civilians evacuated!”

It seemed even he hadn’t predicted the exact location. Aldehyd narrowed his eyes.

Across the harbor stood old warehouses—wet wooden floors, broken crates, damp ropes, and sour smells.

From there, the vibration of another rift spread.

I already knew.

In my previous life, a rift appeared there too.

I immediately ran toward the civilians and shouted:

“This place is dangerous! You should all leave!”

As soon as I finished speaking, people felt the tremor and hesitated.

On the other side, Aldehyd was also giving evacuation orders.

“Evacuate all civilians.”

As the knights moved quickly, I also moved.

I had something to do from the rear.

Today I deliberately wore a gray hooded robe that covered my face.

The poison butterflies release toxic flower powder that disturbs human emotions, causing depression and anxiety.

It was a type of robe I often wore when going out as a child.

For a brief moment I remembered a foolish boy I once met while wearing it.

Then—

“Alright, grab the teleport scrolls!”

“Yes!”

“Teleporting!”

While everyone was distracted—

This is my moment.

I placed my hand on the ground.

Normally, stabilization mages can only cast spells on humans.

But I was different.

I can spread stabilization magic to inanimate objects.

Though only weakly.

The toxic pollen that causes emotional instability and suicidal impulses—

In the past, many rescued survivors later committed suicide because of it.

But what if I cast stabilization magic on the pollen itself?

Its unstable nature would change, and people’s minds would become peaceful instead.

But secretly. Without anyone knowing.

If people found out I could stabilize even non-living things, it would cause problems.

After finishing my simple preparations, I looked up again—

and for a brief moment, Aldehyd’s gaze landed on me.

What was that?

His eyes felt strange.

I stiffly adjusted my robe.

Afterward, I teleported with the other civilians to the safe rear zone.

I had saved everyone from the poison butterflies.

Things were going according to plan.

Though I still hadn’t figured out Aldehyd’s purpose.

But his gaze kept bothering me.

What was that look?

It lasted less than a second—

but it felt intense.

At that moment, noisy voices rose among knights using telescopes.

“W-what is this?!”

“The poison butterflies are dying all at once?!”

The safe zone was about 30 meters from the warehouse.

I looked through the telescope over their shoulders—

and my eyes widened in shock.

What is wrong with him?

Why did that man suddenly look like he snapped?

* * *

The giant poison butterflies turned to ashes without even screaming.

Aldehyd remained expressionless.

As if brushing off dust.

Instant death.

It took less than a minute.

As the butterflies disappeared, the sea fog cleared.

His adjutant Paul cautiously asked:

“Lord Aldehyd… did something happen today? You’re very different from usual.”

“Yeah.”

Aldehyd answered flatly:

“I saw a gray robe.”