Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Buffalord
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Buffalord clutched Saph in one hand and leaped between the trees. He nearly dropped her midway but managed to grab her just in time, then tucked her into his side pouch and kept running.
The pressure on Saph's stomach was intense, making it impossible for her to breathe properly. After about five minutes of this, she felt like she was suffocating to death.
She wanted to let him know about her suffering, but her voice wouldn't come out. She tried clawing at his forearm with both hands to signal him, but her nails broke instead.
Buffalord finally stopped only when Saph was on the verge of passing out. But they weren't on the ground—they were on a tree branch.
The branch was wide enough for Saph to sit on, but it was nearly fifty paces off the ground, making her feel like she was balancing on a tightrope.
Having been unable to breathe until now, combined with her fear of heights, she grew dizzy. She lay there facedown for a long while, unable to move.
Saph looked up at Buffalord from her awkward half-sitting, half-standing position. The black bull looked down at her too, and their eyes met perfectly.
"What's your name?"
The black bull asked in a forceful voice. It was the ancient language Saph knew as Elvish.
"Saph."
Saph answered curtly.
And immediately regretted it.
'Ah, I should have pretended not to understand.'
Since it had already happened, Saph calmly asked,
"You're Buffalord, right?"
"That's right."
Seeing him admit it so readily, she realized it wasn't his real name. He wouldn't have told his rhinoceros minions his true name either.
Above all, Saph could read the demon's real name.
'Antevas...'
Knowing that would mean he wouldn't let her live, so Saph said nothing.
Buffalord asked first.
"You can use the Light of Dissolution too?"
Saph couldn't grasp the intent of the question and hesitated to answer rashly.
'I bet he saw the priest use light earlier, and he saw me trying to use healing light on the injured priest. That could lead to this misunderstanding. So how should I respond?'
Buffalord drew a scythe from his waist and slammed it forcefully into the tree trunk where Saph's hand rested. The thud of the blade embedding made Saph feel as if her own hand had been severed.
The scythe was nearly as long as Saph's leg, and a thin iron chain dangled from the end of the handle.
"I'm sparing you because of your horns. You might be one of us. But if you don't answer, I'll behead you even if you are kin."
Saph was terrified nearly to death, but thinking of Jade gave her courage.
'If I say I can't use the Light of Dissolution, then the priest becomes the only one who can. This guy would go after him. But if there are two users, he might hold off a bit. This is a chance to figure out his intentions, so I need to lie right now.'
Saph nodded and replied,
"Yes. I used the Light of Dissolution."
"Prove it."
Hoping he'd buy it, Saph showed the Light of Purification instead.
Buffalord averted his head slightly to avoid the light. Being a light that removed demon poison, it must have felt uncomfortable to a demon.
"Is that enough? If I'd known your name, I'd have proven it sooner, and you wouldn't have even realized before dissolving."
Worried prolonged exposure might give her away, Saph extinguished the light.
Buffalord asked,
"...What guild's mage are you?"
"I'm a priest with the Rom Priesthood."
"Not a mage?"
"I'm a holy caster."
"Then how do you use the Light of Dissolution?"
"With the power of faith."
Saph blurted out whatever came to mind.
"Don't lie."
Buffalord grabbed Saph's throat and slammed her against the tree trunk. His hand was so large that it crushed her mouth as well. Her chest and throat compressed, forcing out coughs she couldn't even manage properly.
"Do you know why I'm asking so politely? Your horns aren't human. They carry the aura of a demon—a very high-ranking one at that. A demon using light magic? Ridiculous! Where are you from!?"
Hearing that question, Saph's eyes widened as she stared straight at Buffalord.
"I am..."
Saph forced her mouth open through his fingers and said. A horrific stench wafted from Buffalord's hand.
"...not a demon."
Buffalord snorted.
"No ordinary human could keep such a calm expression in this situation. Even elves are gripped by fear before me. It's the survival instinct inherent in all living beings—something you can't endure. And you claim to be human?"
Buffalord yanked the scythe from the tree and pressed the blade to Saph's forehead. The cold metal touch sent chills over her entire body.
"Hmm, a waste of time. Whether you're a demon or not, I can find out just by embedding this blade."
Buffalord raised the scythe. In that position, he asked once more.
"Now that I think about it, it doesn't seem coincidental that you lot appeared right after that colt showed up here. Connected to him?"
Saph was sweating so profusely her whole body felt soaked. Yet she looked Buffalord straight in the eye and said,
"Yes!"
"I heard Goat King is dead. True?"
"It's true!"
"Who killed him?"
Saph panted heavily as she said,
"You're going to kill me anyway, right? Not telling."
Buffalord snorted hot breath.
"My mistake. Should've asked that first, then threatened... No helping it."
Saph imagined the scythe embedding straight into her forehead. What terrified her was imagining herself not dying even then.
'If this guy's scythe lodges in my head..., if I just died right there...'
At that moment, Buffalord swung the raised scythe in another direction. The chain wrapped around his forearm with a whirl. It wasn't the chain binding his arm—Buffalord was blocking an attack.
Saph recognized it as the chain from Ruby's shackle.
Ruby landed at the end of the branch where Buffalord and Saph stood. His entire body was covered in sticky fluid, with leaves, wood chips, and dirt clumped all over.
Buffalord released Saph and turned. He grabbed the chain tied to his forearm with his other hand and asked,
"I've been watching—you were fighting Heldra?"
Ruby wiped the foam-mixed fluid from his face with the back of his hand and replied,
"Yeah? So what? Big lump, but nothing special."
"Funny guy. Not human, that's for sure. What are you?"
"The one who killed Goat King, and now here to kill you."
Buffalord chuckled.
"You look beat. Why not just run?"
"Scared to fight me, you cow?"
"Afraid, yeah. Touching someone drenched in Heldra's poison is risky even for me."
"Then come here. I'll share."
"No thanks."
Buffalord released the chain, and Ruby let it go easily. The chain from his shackle dangled down below the tree.
Buffalord and Ruby stood glaring at each other like warriors preparing to duel on a single log.
"Saph!"
Ruby shouted not at Buffalord, but at her.
"Jump down."
Saph realized in that instant Ruby had omitted a lot. He surely meant something like, 'Trust me and jump. I'll handle the rest.' But in the midst of this staredown, he had no time for long explanations.
'Because I'm a hostage, it'd be hard to fight, right, Ruby?'
The moment Ruby gave the order, Saph jumped without a second's hesitation.
'That's it, right?'
Saph plummeted toward the ground fifty paces below at terrifying speed.
She looked up toward Ruby as she fell.
She expected him to leap immediately to save her. But he swung the chain first to attack Buffalord.
'Ah, not saving me?'
Saph cursed Ruby inwardly as she fell endlessly.
In truth, Ruby planned to jump right after Saph. But the moment she leaped, Buffalord tried to snag her with the chain on his scythe. So Ruby had no choice but to attack him first.
Buffalord dodged the chain attack in that instant and failed to grab Saph. Seizing the opening, Ruby leaped toward the falling Saph.
He caught her waist with one hand just before she hit the ground. His other hand had already thrown the chain, which wrapped around a branch.
The chain slowed their descent as it stretched. But because he grabbed her at such a precarious timing, the impact was tremendous.
The moment they landed, Ruby practically flung Saph away.
Saph tumbled across the ground three full rolls before stopping.
Dizzy and with her stomach aching unbearably, she dry-heaved. As she panted and reached to wipe her mouth, Ruby yelled,
"Don't touch it!"
Saph froze, hand raised in surprise.
Ruby glared at her angrily and ordered,
"Take off your clothes! Now!"
"W-what?"
Ruby shook off the sticky fluid from his face to the side and said,
"Everything on me right now is poison. One of Heldra's heads spits it—I dodged the first twenty-five, but the twenty-sixth got me good. Strip everywhere my hands touched. Hurry! Be careful not to let it touch your skin while undressing."
Only then did Saph understand why Ruby hadn't held her securely on the way down, touching only the minimum. Looking at her clothes, yellowish fluid was smoking and burning the fabric where it had splashed.
Saph hurriedly stripped. All she wore underneath was a thin, see-through undergarment, but she had no time to feel embarrassed.
She threw the discarded clothes far away and asked,
"Can't I heal it?"
"No need. It's not an injury, so healing won't work anyway, and you can't touch it. So get in that pit over there and hide."
Ruby pointed to a small hole dug under the tree.
"That bullhead seems pretty tough. At least in there, you won't get hit by any stray attacks from me."
As he spoke, Ruby kept watching the branches above.
"What about that big monster..., I mean Heldra? I heard a huge scream earlier. Did you take it down?"
Saph ran toward the pit Ruby mentioned and asked,
"Embarrassing, but no. I cut off about two heads, but they regrew. Covered in poison like this, I had no choice but to retreat."
The poison on Saph's discarded clothes was eating holes in the fabric. At that rate, it seemed less like poison and more like an alchemist's metal-melting chemical.
The clothes Ruby wore were also badly burned, barely hanging on, with the corrosion still progressing.
Saph peeked inside the pit. It was packed with plant roots, crawling with small bugs and worms, but it didn't look too dangerous. As long as there were no venomous snakes.
Saph lowered herself in feet-first, then asked one last worried question,
"The poison..., it doesn't affect you, right?"
She hoped Ruby would say something like, 'This demon poison is nothing to me!' But Ruby shook his head.
"Not sure about this one." Ruby said.
"My vision's getting blurry."