The Price of a Whim
Thinking back on it, this whole situation is pretty damn funny. It all started with a sudden request from Iris. She said she wanted to see the followers who trailed after Garam. So I took her with me into their midst and we spent just a short while there. Then, purely by chance, we stumbled upon a spy working for the Demon God Worshippers. The fact that he was even carrying a communication crystal meant he wasn’t some small fry—he was a fairly big rat. He claimed he had his reasons, but that wasn’t any of my business. What mattered was that this rat had been planning to screw Garam over. Thanks to that, I beat the woman who’d led us here and dug up the truth. The result? We learned that the Demon God Worshippers were operating openly in a city not too far away.
In the end, all of this had snowballed from one of Iris’s whims.
“Guhhhk…”
“Innkeeper. I’ve got a shred of conscience left, which is why I haven’t taken your life. But if you do anything stupid, even that shred will vanish. So stay down quietly.”
“W-why on earth…”
“Why on earth. Doesn’t it strike you as strange that those words are coming out of your own mouth?”
I didn’t feel like talking to him any further. The old man probably had his own sob story. He’d likely spin some long, tear-jerking tale about how he had no choice. And if I heard it, I probably wouldn’t be able to say much in return. My answer to all that? So what?
If there’s anyone in this world without a story, that in itself would be incredible. The people who listen to those stories and the ones who pity them and sympathize are all the same. If everyone with a hard and unfortunate past ended up falling this far, the world would be quite the spectacle.
Thud!
I kicked him roughly in the face and put him to sleep. Just in case, I needed to leave at least one of them alive. I already knew from the game just how insane the Demon God Worshippers were. In the story, you never saw any of them get killed by someone else. The reason was simple—they all killed themselves before anyone could finish them off. The methods varied wildly, but I’ll explain that later.
“Master.”
When I turned toward where Iris was calling, an entrance came into view. Just as I had confirmed earlier, it clearly led underground.
“…The stench is so revolting it burns the nose.”
“Huh…? I don’t smell anything.”
“Once you go inside, you’ll smell it whether you want to or not.”
I glanced back over my shoulder. The one-eyed woman who had guided us this far was standing there. Fear toward me, terror of the Demon God Worshippers, and worry for her family—every possible emotion was swirling together, making her look utterly lost.
“You.”
“Y-yes?”
“You said your family is being held hostage down there.”
“That’s right. I’m not entirely sure… but they should be inside.”
“Perfect. Then come over here for a second.”
The one-eyed woman cautiously approached my side. She was wary of me, but she also knew she couldn’t possibly resist with her own strength. So while she remained on guard, I didn’t sense any intention of doing anything reckless.
“Since you’ve done something wrong and you want something from me, you ought to show the proper sincerity, don’t you think?”
“What do you mean…?”
In other words, you go first. There’s no way I’m crazy enough to send my own disciple into an underground passage when I have no idea what’s waiting inside.
Thwack!
“Whoa?! U-uaaaaah!… Aaaah!…”
The one-eyed woman, kicked square in the rear, disappeared beyond the entrance. The sound of her sliding and scraping suggested it wasn’t a staircase. It looked like a sloped path, probably designed so that any intruder who assumed there were stairs would slip, tumble, and roll right up to the enemy’s feet.
“So that’s why you brought her along…”
Iris nodded as if she finally understood.
“Obviously. You think I’d send you in when I don’t even know what’s inside?”
“A-are you doing this because you’re worried about me?”
“Of course I’m worried. What other reason would there be?”
“Master…”
“Don’t look at me like that. Your master will wear out.”
“Hehe, yes. Still, it makes me happy. To know Master thinks of me that way.”
After a brief, meaningless exchange, we began to hear commotion rising from below. Shouts, the clash of weapons, and screams—three of them. The noises gradually died down until, at some point, they cut off completely. The very last sound that reached us was a woman’s ragged breathing.
“Let’s head down. Sounds like she’s done making a mess.”
“So you already knew she had some skill.”
“Well. I just threw her in, but it seems she had enough ability to clean things up on her own.”
If she died, that was that. If she lived, it meant she was truly desperate to save her family. And if she had been trying to deceive us until the very end… then I’d just make sure that even if she survived, she’d wish she hadn’t.
I stepped into the underground entrance with Iris. I hadn’t noticed when looking from above, but the slope was quite steep—enough that the slightest misstep would send you sliding. The path was also narrow, barely wide enough for one person to move. Using a simple general store as the entrance and the lack of any other obvious traps made it clear. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they had set up shop in this city completely out in the open.
“Haa… haa…”
When we reached the bottom, the one-eyed woman was waiting for us, sword in hand. Around her lay two men, two women, and one child, all collapsed. Taking down those six alone—she really did have decent skill.
“Now… do you believe me?”
What the hell is this one-eyed woman saying? Did I hear that wrong?
“What?”
“I asked if you believe me now.”
“What are you talking about? Speak clearly.”
“I killed the Demon God Worshippers with my own hands. This proves that although I cooperated with them, it wasn’t by choice. My family was taken hostage, so I had no…”
It was nonsense not even worth listening to. I closed the distance in a single step and grabbed the one-eyed woman by the throat, lifting her into the air.
“Guhk!”
“Hey. You keep spouting weird bullshit. Why the hell would I believe you?”
“I-I! Khk! T-those people!”
“Those people what? Did you really think killing a few of them would prove anything? What if you were all working together? What if this was just part of the act?”
“Th-that’s ridiculous… How could you even predict…”
“If you want to live, if you want to save your family, throw away any thoughts of bargaining. Just do as you’re told. Exactly like how you tried to approach the Sword Hero because the Demon God Worshippers ordered you to.”
“Khuk…”
“This is your final warning. Don’t push your luck. If you open your mouth one more time without knowing your place, I’ll cut off your family’s heads right in front of you.”
With that, I tossed the woman roughly to the side. Her current situation was already pathetic, yet she kept talking nonsense. It was disgusting. Proof? Nothing had changed at all.
“Lead the way. We’re moving forward.”
At my words, the one-eyed woman, still coughing, stepped in front of me. She advanced first into the pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen. Iris and I followed slowly behind her.
We didn’t walk for long. Before long the path ahead began to brighten, and then a space so vast it made you forget you were underground suddenly opened up before us.
“…We’ve been waiting. Intruders.”
And in that space, dozens of men and women stood glaring at us.
“You!”
Iris’s expression turned fierce as she glared at the one-eyed woman. She seemed to think the woman had led them into a trap. But the woman herself was staring fixedly at the people tied up among the Demon God Worshippers. One man beaten so badly he was on the verge of death, and beside him a small boy who had been pummeled until he was a bloody mess.
“U-uuuuh! Uuuuuuh!!”
I had kept my suspicions, but it seemed it really was true. There was no need to go that far if it was just an act. When the one-eyed woman gripped her sword and let out a strange sound, one man stepped forward.
“I had a feeling. Not only did you fail the mission we gave you, but you even betrayed us.”
“You sons of bitches! I told you not to touch my family!”
“It’s truly pitiful that you believed us. What can we do? It seems we touched them quite a lot.”
At the man’s words, the one-eyed woman let out another scream. She tried to charge at them, but when daggers were pressed against the man and boy’s throats, her eyes widened and she froze, unable to do anything.
“Today, our almighty Apostle will personally descend upon this place. He will quench his thirst with their blood and ours, then spread even more death. Consider it an honor to take part in it.”
…All I could think was that these were truly incredible bastards. They spoke so casually about sacrificing not only other people’s lives but their own as well. Every living creature is supposed to struggle for its own survival, yet these things had somehow erased even that instinct.
“I was worried we might be short, but now we have three more offerings.”
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill every last one of you!”
“How foolish. Death is the most peaceful sanctuary. No one can refuse it.”
The way he said that while pressing the dagger even closer—talk and action never matching up was the same for every cult, it seemed.
“Iris.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Can you handle them alone?”
“All the people here?”
“Yes. Every single one.”
“…It might be a little difficult without killing them. Especially that one over there…”
Iris pointed at a man. The one standing behind the guy who kept provoking the one-eyed woman. From the aura I sensed, he seemed to be the strongest here. By Iris’s standards she was probably still above him, but in such a cramped space, a one-versus-many fight could create too many variables.
“Then I’ll take that one.”
“You, Master?”
“Yeah. The rest are yours. Kill them or spare them—do as you like.”
“Yes, understood!”
With a powerful shout, Iris burst forward with explosive speed. At the same time, the Demon God Worshippers who had been standing there like some holy apostles began to be swept away.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The man who had been about to move in response to Iris’s actions. I stepped in front of him and stared him down.
“You get to play with me.”
“…Who are you?”
“No need to tell someone who’s about to die.”
“…Confident, aren’t you. Are you perhaps a knight?”
“Definitely not. I hate stuffy people like knights more than anyone.”
“…Strange. Why can’t I sense anything from you? Who the hell are you?”
Ha, this bastard. The way he acted like he was someone important really pissed me off. Only someone on the level of my master could pull off that kind of arrogance and make it believable.
“Kuh?!”
So I raised sword energy at my fingertips and sliced off his right ear.
“Khuk?!”
The Demon God Worshipper clutched the right side of his head, blood pouring between his fingers as he flailed in panic. He didn’t seem to have any idea what had just happened. Watching him, a sneer naturally formed on my lips.
If he wanted to hurry up and meet death so badly, I might as well send him there quickly.
“You bastard! I’ll—!”
A single red line was drawn across the man’s throat. A moment later, he sprayed blood everywhere and collapsed forward.