◈Episode 29 In front of the fruits of choice (4)
“It’s serious. “I haven’t seen the Adventurer’s Guild yet, but I don’t think it will be much different from the temple.”
The Inquisitor said and walked quickly.
“Maybe so.”
The Archmage agreed with her opinion.
“I think we should talk to the demon knight first. I think he might want to go to the sewer too… hmm? “You?”
Then wait a moment. She still encountered this ugly person.
“Why are you alone?”
“You’d better follow along quickly.”
“…what?”
“Knight Sari went to the sewer alone.”
It was a statement that could not be overlooked.
“Oh my…”
“You sent him alone!”
“Then what? Do you follow me? “That’s not what this job is about in the first place, is it?”
“Ha, okay. “What would you expect from a criminal!”
“You’ve never seen me commit a crime, but I’m a criminal every time…!”
“Then what if you’re not a criminal—!”
“stop!! “Isn’t that what’s important now?”
“…!”
It was only after Maisie shouted that she said no. The priority now was not to argue with that thief, but to catch up with the demon knight who had gone ahead.
“Given his personality, he would have left without even proper supplies, let alone rest. “We have to find it quickly.”
That is correct. I wanted to go down to the underpass with as little maintenance as possible, but in that case, catching up with him first was a priority.
“…After this matter is resolved, the person will be held accountable.”
“Is there anything wrong with it?”
That is something that cannot be denied.
The place where I met him was a place full of thieves and robbers, and since his first appearance seemed like he was about to attack, I only called him a thief, but I didn’t know if he had actually committed a crime.
The only time she witnessed his criminal actions was for personal revenge. Even that tends to be somewhat meaningless when the target is a devil contractor.
But still, I don’t want to admit it. It was a different case from the devil knight.
The Devil Knight only had the ‘Devil’ in his body, but he himself was extremely honest and upright. The story is that even though he was in the easiest position to commit a crime, he persevered through his own will.
On the other hand, what about that guy? What alley was there?
Even without containing the ‘devil’ and without making a contract with them, humans can commit sins. In a way, that was even worse. Even though they can live righteously, they choose evil for their own convenience and pleasure.
So she couldn’t tolerate him and was confused because she wasn’t sure what to do.
Although she can judge clearly proven sins, she has not learned how to deal with those who may have committed sins.
“…I’ll remember that.”
So in the end, she could only say that.
The world outside the temple was difficult to navigate.
* * *
“It’s weaker than I thought…”
Actually, I was a little scared because everyone was telling me it was dangerous. I guess I should say I was a little anxious because everyone scared me.
As always, joining the team was for meta reasons. Unless there is a serious balance patch, it is not uncommon for a monster’s level to rise rapidly.
This is true even if the level increases a lot. Until now, most cases had been dealt with in one blow. In most cases, it wouldn’t have been so bad that it couldn’t be killed.
However, it may not be wise to plunge head first.
“It’s harder to find the way….”
Fortunately, the hunt itself was no problem. The only problem was finding the way.
“Whew…”
How many hours had passed? Three four? Or five?
Fatigue has long since reached 100, and other than that, there is no object or system to estimate time. It must have just been old, so this was it.
The same goes for maps. Unlike the last time, where we only searched one area, this time we searched the entire city’s underpasses, so it was difficult to narrow down the scope even if we marked it on the map.
These damn devils have even dug a new tunnel…
But we can’t stop. It was too much of a waste to give up here. At this point, I’m confused as to whether I’m playing a game or going through the trouble of buying it, but either way, it’s a waste.
For that reason, I erased my distracting thoughts and wiped the blood droplets from my cheek.
It doesn’t matter because clothes get clean automatically over time, but that doesn’t include anything that gets on my skin, so I felt very uncomfortable.
It was even more so because I endured it for several hours with my groin soaked in blood.
“A hostile target exists within a 20m radius.”
However, once the detection skill is triggered, such unpleasantness must be thrown away.
I swung my weapon reflexively.
Kwasik!
The black-stained sword cut off half of the ghoul’s neck, and my foot kicked the ghoul’s stomach. If you do this, the distance between you and the enemy increases and the blade stuck in your neck is pulled out.
Suddenly!
What follows next, of course, is the act of cutting the belly skin in half. At that point, the ghoul died completely and turned into ashes.
“A hostile target exists within a 20m radius.”
As the closest enemy was discovered and disposed of, the next target was displayed.
Corner three steps ahead. It will pop out soon. Judging from the sound of it running, the type is probably a cedar tree.
then?
I turned my shoulders back and held the sword horizontally, as if I was pulling a bowstring. In an instant, black energy spread across the blood-stained sword body.
「Stinger│The weapon is filled with magic power and a magic attribute stab is performed in front.
Effect: Consumes 6 magical power. Attacks enemies in the front range with 270% damage.” This
is a skill I acquired before slashing after realizing that it was possible to use unacquired skills. I guess it’s because it’s the easiest to move.
Cough!
Kwasik!
The cedar tree that stuck out was not even able to bark until its head was smashed and it died. Thanks to this, there was no need to confirm and kill him.
“Sigh.”
Well, you have to endure the fact that yukpyeon keeps going into your mouth. Ugh, I feel uncomfortable.
I continued to move my tongue, shaking the sword from the fat and sticky fluids of the flesh. Then, all of a sudden, a ringing sound stuck in the center of my ear.
‘come.’
「A hostile target exists within a 20m radius.」
Sometimes the detection skill is activated late. Or a moment when my intuition takes precedence over skill.
I hurriedly did as my body told me to do and placed the sword in front of me. It was tilted diagonally in a posture that seemed to block something.
Cough!
The nails, which were too smooth to be said to belong to the devil—the iron armor—were blocked by the blade.
“under!”
“Tch.”
person? Is it a person?
I saw the person retreating behind with black smoke. It was overall humanoid, but its appearance was not very normal. To be honest, don’t the blackened blood vessels or blood-lined whites of the eyes with white eyes look more like those of a corpse than a living person? Or maybe it looks like it was when the demonic energy erosion reached its limit.
“Vampires│Those who voluntarily accept demonic energy and turn into demons instead of humans. “In order to maintain reason, we extort other people’s lives.”
As if to answer my curiosity, Chang provided information. Those who have given up on being human. The concept was exactly the kind of thing I would hate.
“Are you a bastard who has been taken over by the devil…!”
So I happily got angry. Snap. The enemy who had retreated to the other side rushed towards me, stepping on sewage water. The flowing black fog was somehow familiar and annoying at the same time.
“Die, traitor!”
What is a traitor? It’s funny to talk about betrayal when you didn’t receive anything from them.
If you’re going to say that, then come up with a good item! Even though it’s an RPG theme, I don’t remember ever having a single piece of equipment here!
Of course, even if I give it to you, I won’t change it if I maintain the concept image!
visor! Whip! visor!
The enemy, armed with a weapon resembling a claw, aimed sharply and persistently at my arms. It was a more agile movement than any enemy I had ever seen.
However, no matter how fast it is, it is not so fast that I cannot see and react.
That was enough.
I moved my sword in a subtle way, blocked all the claws, and put my hand in my arms. The hand quickly pulled a dagger from the stand and threw it forward.
“…!”
The enemy’s pupils suddenly widened, and the hand that had been aiming at me quickly covered his vital area. Ting! The knife bounced off the metal plate surrounding his hand.
But that broke the motion. I stretched out my right hand, which was not holding the longsword. Sigh! A hand cleverly penetrated between the enemy’s raised guard and grabbed the enemy’s neck.
“Oops!”
Just as the sound of someone swallowing their breath echoes. I slashed my sword while holding the enemy in place with my hands.
Phew!
The longsword pierced the enemy’s heart with the sound of flesh being pierced. Even if the heart had not been pierced, all major organs would have been damaged due to the angle. I will never survive.
“The traitor—!”
However, the enemy, prepared for death, tried to fight until the end. The enemy who grabbed my arm tried to dig their nails under my skin as if they wanted to cause even the slightest injury.
Crash!
“Wow!”
But is there any reason for me to see it clearly?
I used force and cut the blade sideways. The sounds of bones crunching and muscles rupturing mixed together until the body of the sword emerged from the side.
dump.
Immediately throwing away a mortal enemy. I checked my right arm. Fortunately, there were no injuries, only a mark was left on the gauntlet. I didn’t set it up for something like this, but I was very fortunate.
I already had a bandage on my leg, so it would have been a waste to use another one.
“Okay, now the path is…”
I thought about it while retrieving the dagger I was using so usefully.
This situation is the result of following only where the enemy is concentrated after determining that there must be a way where the enemy is.
And an elite level monster has just appeared for the first time. There is no way a high-level mob would appear in a useless area, so my intuition was correct up to this point.
“It’s probably here.”
Also, the vampire just popped out from the right corner. There is a high probability that the next path is here.
That’s it.
Still, just in case, I scratched the wall with my longsword and left a mark. This would have been impossible if it had been a stone wall, but now it was covered in black strands that could be plant roots or something, so it was possible to make as many marks as possible.
Phew.
“Gotcha.”
At that time, something stuck in the back of my neck. Looking at the small radius of the sting, it doesn’t look like it was pierced or cut.
“A hostile target exists within a 20m radius.”
What is more problematic about this game is that it activates detection skills arbitrarily. Sometimes it rings like a knife the moment you get within 20m, and sometimes it doesn’t ring until you can hear it later.
Do you have any skills to counter enemies? Or lack of skill level? Either way, I’d like some clarification.
“I don’t know why Gretchen betrayed me, but…”
I checked the rapidly rising poison level and gently rolled the dagger that I had not yet inserted through the gauntlets. The enemy behind me won’t be able to see this because it’s covered by my torso.
“Now back into his arms—.”
And the moment the poison level reached 90, I turned around and swung the dagger.
“Gagging!”
I swung the key vaguely anticipating the position where the voice would be heard, and bingo. He cut his throat exactly.
Ting!
With the hand holding the long sword, he quickly pulled out what was stuck in the back of his neck. The poisonous needle bounced on the floor and soon sank beneath the sewage.
“Big, big!”
Then all that’s left is to deal with the guy who stuck the poison needle, right?
When I saw the person grabbing his neck and trying to stop the bleeding, I held my sword straight. The enemy’s eyes, reflected in the light, were filled with fear and he stretched out his hand as if to tell him to stop, but it was none of his business.
“Go to hell.”
I took on the enemy’s supply and demand. It was too gross to keep as a trophy, so I just threw it away, but whatever.
“A hostile target exists within a 20m radius.”
“…Did you send us with just a vampire and an assassin to deal with that monster?”
“It’s okay to ask for time…!”
However, new enemies were added in the meantime. Seeing as they aren’t wearing shadow robes, I guess they’re not demon contractors but just melee-type enemies that require a bit of strength? If it’s annoying, it’s annoying, and if it’s nice, it’s nice.
“Have you come to stick your neck out?”
After all, if it comes out this far, I can be sure that I’ve found the right path!
“good night. “I’ll cut off their heads, you bugs!”
Thank you for welcoming me, you bastards!
* * *
“Priest, you’re safe!”
“Hey, put away your weapon!”
“Open the road immediately!”
“Yes…”
The Inquisitor came out of the sewer pipe while being greeted by people. The Archmage has already climbed beyond the defense line, supported by people.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I am okay. However, Archmage….”
“It’s not a serious injury, so don’t worry, priest.”
is it. However, at the time of the injury, the situation was already bad.
“I’m sorry, Inquisitor. If only I had reacted a little faster…”
“It’s not the Archmage’s fault. “Wasn’t it an unreasonable rush from the beginning?”
Archmage is not the type of person who originally uses his body.
Moreover, what were their activities like over the past few days? I don’t remember any rest in the past week. He rarely slept on time at night, skimped on meals, and was constantly on the move.
An average wizard would already be in serious trouble. It was only because the Archmage’s race was the Shagi, and they were born with superior physical strength and quick reflexes, that they were able to endure.
“Rather, I am truly sorry. “If only I had moved a little faster…”
But what about her? Although the divine power may cause some pain, it gave her almost infinite stamina and the power to resist demons in return.
The story goes that as long as her will does not break, she can fight even when the rest of the world falls.
Despite this, he was unable to overcome mental fatigue and allowed the attack against the Archmage. He was disqualified both as a warrior and as a Heretic Questioner.
“…The driver who said he was going to look for me…”
Moreover, he could not even achieve the goal that caused his unreasonable entry. The Inquisitor gritted his teeth and shook his head.
“I couldn’t find it.”
The traces of his progress were found. It was strange that I couldn’t see the corpses of demons who had been butchered without even using tracking magic, lying there like signs.
“You went too deep inside.”
Just like that. His forward speed was just too overwhelming.
Even though he cleared things up and moved on, the number of enemies was so large that other demons took his place.
“This old man should have stayed outside. “I have caught the Inquisitor’s ankle.”
“no. Even if I went in alone… I would have ended up coming out alone.”
The purpose of this entry was to catch up with the demon knight, persuade him, and bring him outside. This is because I was too tired to explore the underpass right away.
So I tried to suggest that we take time for maintenance and conduct a proper search… but now I haven’t even had a chance to persuade them. Now they had only one choice.
“Rest, Archmage. We will enter in five hours.”
Rather than overdoing it and taking more damage, they should rest and recover their stamina.