Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Saf's Horn
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Kaf grabbed Saf by the scruff of her neck and dragged her through the dark tunnel. All the while as they walked, he muttered things like, "I didn't expect you to catch up this quickly," "I didn't think you'd figure it out so fast," and "How did you know I'm not human? I thought you'd hesitate a little."
At the end of the tunnel was a ladder. Kaf tossed Saf to the ground and climbed up alone, pushing open the heavy wooden door blocking the ceiling.
"Luckily, the sandstorm's kicking up. It'll erase my tracks. No, our tracks, I should say."
He came back down the ladder and grabbed Saf by the hair.
"Climb up. Or I'll drag you up by your head."
"Got it."
Saf struggled to her feet and started climbing the ladder.
"Hurry it up. If you're stalling on purpose, it's pointless. They won't even know which way we went."
Saf climbed the ladder with great difficulty.
"'They'? Who does he mean? The other bandits? Or other demons?'
When they emerged outside, a sandstorm was raging just as he said.
Her faint hope that she might at least breathe easier after escaping the dark, stuffy tunnel was dashed. Every breath sucked in a fistful of sand, and she couldn't keep her eyes open properly.
"Follow me. We'll do it again somewhere safer."
Kaf roughly seized Saf's wrist and yanked her along. His grip was so strong it felt like her bones would snap just from the pressure.
Her upper body was down to little more than underwear now, but she had no chance to cover herself. She tumbled to the ground several times from his rough handling, only to be dragged along again.
The passage didn't lead back to Redhill Village—it opened into the middle of the desert again. With the sandstorm blowing and the sky darkening, she couldn't tell which way the village was.
Kaf dragged Saf to a large rock and let go of her hand. She collapsed in a heap on the ground.
"This body won't last long. Weaker than Pendail, even. My mistake. I thought the boss would have the strongest body... I killed them all for nothing! And the one I spared turns out useless...
Kaf grabbed Saf's cheeks as she lay there and forced her mouth wide open.
"Open up! We have to do it again!"
Kaf exhaled black smoke directly into Saf's face.
*'He's doing the same thing as in the cathedral? I hate this.'*
Saf instinctively held her breath and clamped her mouth shut, but it was no use. The pitch-black evil spirit forced its way into her mouth and nose. The horrific sensation from before returned once more.
But she coughed it out after just a few hacks. It was indescribably repulsive, with a foul stench that numbed her nose, but that was it.
Unlike when Pendail had taken Kaf's body, Kaf couldn't seize Saf's.
The smoke that entered and exited her body flowed back into Kaf's mouth.
Kaf stared at her in bewilderment.
"What the hell are you? Why can't I take your body?"
Saf could only cough faintly in response.
"And these horns! What are these?"
Kaf drew his sword and pointed at her horn with the tip.
Saf instinctively covered the top of her head with her hand. Even when sleeping, Saf wore a hat—she couldn't stand having her horns exposed for so long. It felt like walking barefoot.
"I can only possess human bodies. And those horns... Humans don't grow horns. Simple enough. You're either a beast...
He grabbed her hand trying to hide the horn and shoved his face close to hers.
"...or a demon like me."
Kaf's eyes turned pitch black.
His breath was hot, like steam rising from a boiling kettle.
Saf faced his breath head-on without turning away.
"A demon?"
"Yeah, a beast wouldn't take human form. Tell me. What kind of demon are you?"
"That's what I want to ask you."
Though trembling in fear, Saf voiced the question she'd carried her whole life.
"You're saying I'm a demon? Then you should know—you're a demon! Am I a demon? If so, what kind?"
Saf surprised herself after saying it. She was the type who couldn't even raise her voice to someone mildly difficult, yet here she was yelling at a demon!
Kaf gave a meaningful smile.
"That just confirms you're a demon. A normal human would freeze in terror. But you don't even flinch at this. You are a demon."
Kaf tapped Saf's horn lightly with his sword. She couldn't move, afraid her head would get cut if she did.
He wiped his nosebleed and said,
"But watch your mouth. I could just kill you and move on. I can possess someone else's body later."
Saf could tell he was bluffing. Her fear that he'd possess or kill her vanished.
*'He can't kill me. I don't know why, but I know it.'*
Saf just blinked and listened to his threats.
"I could slit your throat right now. Compared to those bandits I killed earlier, you're no more effort than snapping a worm in half."
Kaf and Saf stared at each other so close their foreheads nearly touched. Black energy rose from his back, forming a massive shape. Even in the fierce sandstorm, the smoke didn't disperse.
The writhing smoke came alive and enveloped Saf's body.
The stench. The disgust. It persisted. But that was all.
Kaf's face twisted in confusion.
"Damn it! No human could lock eyes with me this long. It's beyond just holding back fear. You have to be a demon."
Kaf stepped back and asked,
"How are you so perfectly human without a hint of wrongness? Even my powers can't do that... What trick did you use? Transformation magic? Body theft? Soul swap?"
"I don't know."
"Are you really clueless, or pretending?"
Kaf snapped in irritation and asked,
"Those horns? When did they start growing?"
"I don't know. I heard they've been there since I was a baby."
"Hmm, now I get it. When I passed through the hellgate, I ended up in a human child's body by chance! Part of it stayed demonic, but the rest assimilated into human form as it grew."
Kaf crossed his arms and muttered to himself, then finally gave up thinking and shook his head.
"Whatever, who cares what you are?
I've said too much. Demon or human, if I can't possess it, I don't need it...
Kaf raised his sword and continued,
"If you're a demon like me, sorry—not."
For a moment, Saf thought if she really was a demon, dying like this might be fine. But the next words from Kaf changed her mind.
"That little brat earlier, and this Jade guy... I finally get free, and all I run into are these pests."
"Jade?"
Black smoke rose from Kaf's hand and coated the blade. Without much effort, he swung at Saf's neck. It was the same strike that had sliced through all those bandits in Redhill Cathedral.
The blade struck Saf's neck precisely. At that instant, white light emanated from her horn. The moment it touched her neck, the blade shattered, and Kaf staggered back.
The white light from Saf's horn formed a sphere around her body.
"Ho, did you... kill Father Jade...?"
The sphere around Saf swelled. Even the sandstorm was pushed away from her body. Her torn clothes and hair fluttered in a direction opposite the wind.
"Wh-what is this...?"
Kaf dropped the sword with its broken blade and backed away further.
Saf shouted,
"Tell me. What did you do to Father Jade?"
The sphere exploded, sending Kaf flying back about twenty paces.
He rolled across the sand before springing up and muttering,
"White horn on the head... white light... demon... blue hair...
My god!"
Kaf's eyes widened in shock.
"I've heard of it in hell. A horn that emits light to drive out demons. Sky-blue hair. There's only one demon with a body like that."
Kaf backed away.
"Wh-why are you possessing a human body? You're not here just to kill a lowly demon like me, right?"
"What are you talking about? Just tell me about Father Jade."
Saf took a step forward.
At that small movement, Kaf leaped back another twenty paces as if facing a dire threat. Now the sandstorm hid him from view, and the wind drowned out his voice.
"I-I was just doing what Vyfel told me! He pulled me from hell to this world and ordered me to guard the temple! You saw it—I didn't even know who you were. If I'd known it was you, I wouldn't have even tried possessing a body."
Saf couldn't stand listening anymore and yelled,
"Say that again. You know who I am? Who am I?"
Kaf ignored her.
"Even if I meet Vyfel later, I won't say a word. Angel, hell lord, whoever—I won't mention you! I don't know why you're in the human world, but I won't get involved. So let me go. Got it? I'm leaving."
Kaf shouted over the sandstorm while backing away.
Saf wanted to grab him instead.
"Wait! Tell me more. What do you mean, who am I?"
Kaf laughed.
"You really don't know? They say demons sometimes lose their memories from the shock of passing through the hellgate. Even one like you, huh? Fine, don't know—whatever. I'm out."
Kaf finished speaking and turned around. There stood another demon, red hair whipping in the wind, red eyes glowing.
"Where do you think you're going, you flower-eating punk!"
Windblown hair covered the boy's face, hiding his expression or gaze. All Saf could tell was that he was grinning, teeth bared.
Spotting the red-haired boy, Kaf froze like a statue. Saf could only see his back, but his tension was obvious.
Kaf and the boy stood motionless, like a contest where the first to move loses.
Saf couldn't keep her eyes open long in the sand and turned her head briefly before looking back. In that instant, Kaf lunged at Saf. But the boy flung his chain as if waiting, snaring Kaf's ankle.
Kaf face-planted hard.
A dull thud echoed, and broken teeth spilled from his mouth.
"Trying to grab a hostage again? I saw that coming a mile away with a guy like you."
The boy laughed as he yanked Kaf toward him. Kaf clawed at the ground in resistance, leaving long gouges, but he was dragged along anyway.
"Damn brat!"
A sword of black smoke formed in Kaf's hand and flew at Ruby's neck. Ruby blocked it with the chains in both hands.
"Who're you calling a brat, you flower-munching honeypot maggot!"
Saf wondered if she'd misheard.
*'Honeypot? Maggot?'*
The black smoke blade shattered, fragments dissipating like extinguished candle flames. In the gap, Kaf leaped high and vanished into the sandstorm.
The boy spun his chain idly, scanning around—like a cat eyeing the air to chase dust motes. He looked carefree.
The chain spun faster and louder in his hand.
Whirr. Whirr. Whirr. Whirr.
The boy hurled the chain into the sandstorm and yanked it back. Kaf emerged again, ankle snared, face-planting into the sand.
The boy dragged him close and swiftly bound his limbs with the chain.
"Gotcha!"
The boy laughed loudly as he stomped Kaf underfoot.
"You bastard!"
Kaf's roar pierced the wind, despite his bindings. Black smoke poured from his nose and mouth, enveloping the boy in an instant.
"Wanna try possessing my body? Give it a shot."
The boy sneered.
The black smoke swirled around the boy's face and body for a while before being sucked back into Kaf's nose and mouth.
"Damn it!"
Crimson blood gushed from Kaf's nose and mouth.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why can't I possess you or that girl?!"
"That girl?"
Kaf and the boy's gazes turned to Saf simultaneously.
The boy asked her with curious eyes.
"Who are you?"
"I-I'm... Saf."
"I'm Ruby. Where'd you come fr—"
"Uwaaaagh!"
Kaf thrashed and screamed beneath him, cutting Ruby off.
Ruby tapped Kaf's head with his toe.
"Give it up. If I can't break this chain, you think you can?"
"What the hell are you? Who are you to be this strong?"
"I'm an angel. Didn't I tell you over a hundred times at the temple?"
"No, you're no angel. Angels don't look like you!"
Kaf panted, then suddenly said to Saf,
"Lady with the white horn! This guy's claiming to be an angel. Use your power to smite him. Even if you're a demon-slaying demon, angels are your enemies too, right?"
"What're you talking about? White horn?"
Ruby looked at Saf demanding an explanation, but she just shook her head.
"I don't know what you're—"
"Eh, demons twist truths and invent lies anyway—ignore him. More importantly, don't let that light from your horn go out."
Saf belatedly covered her horn with both hands.
"It's not something I control."
"Who's ever heard of a mage casting spells unconsciously?"
"It's not magic..."
Saf said uncertainly.
"Then at least uncover the horn. I followed that light. Jade's heading this way too."
Saf slowly removed her hands from the horn and asked,
"J-Jade?"
"Yeah, no point naming him—you wouldn't know. Guy walks slow as hell."
Ruby peered into the sandstorm where he could barely see ten paces ahead.
"Jade? You just said Jade?"
Saf asked.
"Yeah. Jade. Tell him thanks when you see him. He dragged his injured body all this way to save a total stranger like you."
Just as the light from her horn was about to fade, a man slowly emerged from the sandstorm. Covering his face with his hand, he struggled toward Ruby.
"Good. You caught him."
He looked down at Kaf. Ruby replied boastfully.
"Of course. This guy's not even a warm-up."
"The captured woman is safe...?"
He turned to Saf and lowered the hand covering his face. His face was filthy, his clothes a mess, but Saf recognized him instantly. Years apart, yet he was as clear as if they'd met yesterday.
"Father Jade!"
"Saf?"
Jade approached with a shocked face.
"Really... Saf, is that you?"
"Yes."
"How are you here...?"
"I followed you. I came after you, Father."
Saf was so excited she trembled, clenching her fists, but her legs wouldn't move—she couldn't stand.
Jade knelt on one knee before her.
"Seeing that blank face confirms it's really you, Saf."
Jade pulled Saf into a tight embrace. She squeezed her eyes shut and hugged him back fiercely.
Ruby tilted his head and asked,
"What? You two know each other?"