[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
Chapter 45
Grrrr-
A growl echoed from the darkness.
Heightening my vigilance, I calmly assessed the situation.
'The passage has been breached.'
I didn't know the cause, but the passage had been breached.
The seven 'Imps' baring their fangs and glowing red eyes in front of us were proof of that.
"We're in big trouble now, right? Mr. First Place."
Thompson asked , seemingly aware of the situation.
"As you can see... it seems so."
I wasn't talking about the group of Imps in front of us.
Imps were the lowest-ranking demons among the demon race.
Although we were outnumbered, considering our current combat strength, they weren't much of a threat.
However.
"It seems we won't need to go outside the border."
"Huh, how could this happen..."
The very fact that these guys were here was the problem.
If they had invaded this place, it ant they were also in Sector 7.
And that ant Sector 7 was likely devastated.
"We need to hurry. Let's take care of them quickly."
Yes, we couldn't be sure of anything until we saw it for ourselves.
Getting out of here was the top priority.
"...I'll take care of the ones in front."
Whoosh!
Barundel, who was at the forefront, swiftly kicked off the ground.
In his right hand was the vicious axe he had newly acquired.
Finally, the mont had co for his burdenso equipnt to shine.
At the sa ti.
Bang-!
Thompson, holding a giant wooden shield, encased himself in rock magic and leaped high into the air.
An intimidating jump as always.
I could imagine the fate of the Imp that would be crushed under his massive body.
"Haa!"
Following that, Kayla's barrage of flas began.
She, too, unleashed a relentless stream of larger and more powerful fireballs thanks to the equipnt she had acquired.
And next was .
Crackle! Buzz!
I instantly covered myself in lightning magic and created a sphere of light in my hand.
Simultaneously.
Dash!
I fearlessly jumped into the midst of the Imps.
My targets were the three Imps in the rear.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
The Imps, noticing the attack, rushed at from all directions, baring their sharp fangs... but perhaps because I had already encountered countless demons in Aldeon?
Honestly, I wasn't scared in the slightest anymore.
And that was probably the sa for the other mbers.
Bam! Thud! Crack! Whoosh!
Whimper! Yelp! Whimper!
The almost simultaneous attacks began to brutally crush the Imps.
Screech!
Listening to their cries, I almost felt sorry for them, but they were demons.
We showed no rcy, and the battle ended in the blink of an eye.
"Damn you, you mutts! How did you even get in here?"
Thompson, covered in Imp blood, said, shaking himself off in disgust.
"...Well..."
There was no way anyone could answer that question.
"Let's keep going."
Rather than exchanging pointless questions, we decided to move on.
And soon we were able to figure out the source of the stench.
"Ugh!"
"...What a ss."
Dozens of corpses scattered throughout the passage were visible in the light of the luminescent stones.
Most of their bodies were mutilated, as if the Imps had gnawed on them.
Worms were swarming around the decaying parts, and that was the source of the stench.
"This is more serious than I thought."
"Just from what I've seen, there are easily dozens of corpses. There's no way this many people would use the passage..."
"They must have been fleeing. If Sector 7 was breached, this would be the only place to go. People probably flocked to the main gate as well."
"...Is that so? This is the worst, Mr. First Place."
"Sigh..."
Thud, thud, thud...
We pressed on, enduring the disgusting sll.
Soon, we reached the end of the passage.
There was only a ladder leading upwards.
"This is Sector 7."
From here, Kayla took the lead.
She was the one who knew the geography of Sector 7 best among the current mbers.
"...Follow ."
Kayla signaled with her hand and climbed the ladder first, and we followed her.
After a while.
"We're on the surface."
We finally reached the surface we had been waiting for.
And as expected, the sight that unfolded before us was...
"...This place too."
It was incomparably more devastating than the underground passage.
Dozens, hundreds of corpses were scattered everywhere, and traces of resistance and fierce battles filled the streets.
"..."
No one could easily speak at the sight.
Silence hung in the air among the party mbers.
"Excuse ."
We spotted a passerby and imdiately stopped him.
Just by touching him, he was startled and said with a flustered face,
"Wh-what is it?"
"What happened here?"
"Wh-what do you an?"
"How did this place end up like this?"
The passerby, who was looking at with an incomprehensible expression, suddenly widened his eyes as if he had realized sothing.
"You... Are you people from the inner sectors?"
When I silently nodded, he glanced at and my companions and hurriedly continued,
"Reinforcents! You're here as reinforcents, right? You seem like mages!"
"..."
I could sense the desperation in his voice.
How should I answer?
"...Aren't you?"
I decided to be honest rather than give him false hope.
"We happened to stop by. Reinforcents... well, I didn't see anyone who escaped through the underground passage."
"Ah..."
The passerby's face darkened rapidly.
"You're not... here to help us?"
"Well, that's..."
I naturally looked at the party mbers behind .
Instead of saying anything, they silently nodded.
It seed they felt the sa way I did.
"If you want us to eliminate the demons, we're willing to help."
"...Really?"
"Yes, so please explain. What happened?"
Did he find hope in those words?
The passerby's vacant eyes were quickly filled with life.
"This, this way first. It's dangerous here."
He looked around a few tis and then abruptly headed sowhere.
The place he led us to was a nearby three-story abandoned building.
Judging from the barricade at the entrance and the signs of life, it seed like this passerby was using it as a temporary shelter.
"Here... This is all I can offer you."
He held sothing out with an apologetic look.
It was a few pieces of broken biscuits.
But even this would be precious food in the current situation.
The fact that he offered this ant that he was incredibly desperate.
"We're fine, so please tell us."
"...Ah, yes."
Munch, munch.
He continued speaking while chewing on the biscuits.
"It was three days ago. A demon with a single horn, in the form of a bull, suddenly invaded this place."
"...A bull with a single horn?"
"Yes, I saw it myself, although it was from a distance. It was definitely a bull."
He said with a convinced tone.
'A bull with a single horn...'
If it looked like that, there was one that ca to mind...
But for now, I focused on the passerby's words.
"Anyway, it invaded alone and started destroying our sector."
"...What about the guards? There should be guards in Sector 7 too."
"Of course they tried to stop it. But... it wasn't a fight. It was just a one-sided massacre."
Thump! Thump!
Was it because of the biscuit stuck in his throat, or was it because he recalled the events of that day?
The passerby pounded his chest in frustration and continued,
"Ahem! Ahem! Ah, I'm sorry."
"It's alright. Please continue."
"After crushing the guards, it disappeared, and we were relieved. We didn't know why it ca here, but we thought it was over. But..."
"It wasn't the end."
"...No, that was just the beginning. The next day, hundreds of demons sward in."
"..."
"And then, well, as you can see..."
I followed the passerby's gaze and looked around.
Sector 7 was a devastating sight.
The strong stench of blood lingered in the air.
It was only natural.
The people of Sector 7, without walls or guards, would have no way to withstand hundreds of demons.
And above all...
The demon in the form of a bull with a single horn.
'Valefor.'
From the mont he, who held the position of Demon of Greed, appeared, the fall of Sector 7 within three days was already a foregone conclusion.
The one thing that bothered here was...
'Why?'
I couldn't understand why they had caused this situation.
Was there sothing in Sector 7 that they coveted?
'...Well...'
That seed unlikely.
What could possibly be left in this remote sector that even Asternon had abandoned?
I ca to that conclusion and thought of another possibility.
'Then, was the invasion itself the goal?'
It wasn't an entirely implausible story.
But it also didn't seem very likely.
If invasion was really their objective, they would have attacked Sector 6 imdiately after destroying Sector 7.
But just recalling the situation in the underground passage we had passed through...
'Then they wouldn't have left Imps like that there.'
There was no sign of that.
In the end, I couldn't co up with a clear answer.
"So... will you help us?"
The anxious passerby formally asked for help.
There was no reason not to help.
Our purpose in coming here was to hunt, and we could sufficiently achieve that purpose by helping this person here.
However.
'The other mbers...'
Before making a decision, I looked around at the party mbers who were sitting in a circle.
Fortunately, they seed to feel the sa way this ti as well.
Barundel nodded, and Thompson clenched his fist as if it were a matter of course.
And when my eyes t Kayla's...
"Wait a minute."
She pointed at the passerby with a frown.
"Hey, mister. What exactly do you want us to help you with? Do you want us to beat up all the demons wandering around here?"
The passerby answered calmly, without getting flustered.
"Yes, that would be enough. We can manage the rest on our own."
"Why go so far? Can't you just flee to another place? Why cling to this dump?"
"...Yes, mage, you're absolutely right. But... even this dump is my ho and my hotown. I want to protect it."
"Oh, is that so?"
I looked at Kayla's face, who had stopped talking.
She still looked displeased, but she wasn't showing any signs of disapproval.
When our eyes t, she reluctantly nodded.
That settled it.
"Alright. We'll help you."
"Th-thank you so much!"
The passerby repeatedly bowed, expressing his sincere gratitude.
I waved my hand dismissively and asked him,
"So what should we do first?"
"It's too late. Please rest for today. You'll be relatively safe if you stay here."
"Hmm, okay."
After the conversation, we were led by the passerby to the second floor to rest, and I headed upstairs with the party.
As we were going up the stairs, thump!
Soone grabbed my wrist from behind.
I turned my head to see Kayla.
"Why? What's wrong?"
She opened her mouth with a very uneasy expression.
"There's sothing strange. You know I'm from here, right?"
"I know."
Of course, I knew that.
This was where I first t her, after all.
But why was she suddenly bringing this up?
She hesitated for a mont and then said,
"But you see, I've never seen that mister before."
"...What?"
With those words, I could sense it.
That sothing was wrong.
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
Reviews
All reviews (0)