How to Bring Someone to Their Senses
Eden lightly swung his palm to snap the mage out of it.
Smack!
The mage whose head whipped around—Fade—couldn't even figure out what had hit him. It was too hard to be just a palm. Immensely large, thick, heavy. And hot. Fade collapsed to the floor without even realizing he'd been muttering a berserk monologue from some play. His mind was completely blank.
Drip, drip. His nosebleed splattered on the ground, fracturing into dozens of streaks in his dizzy vision. He couldn't even stand.
Eden gazed quietly at Fade, who lay sprawled on the floor leaking blood and fluids, lost in thought.
'Did I hit him too hard?'
Eden's overwhelming strength had a minor drawback: poor control. He'd only meant to give a light tap to bring him around, but this frail mage had crumpled like a goblin pissing itself in terror.
Eden clenched his steel-hard palm a couple times.
"Snap out of it?"
"Guhk…!"
Fade looked up at him with a tear-streaked face. Eden's pitch-black eyes fixed on him, utterly devoid of emotion. That blankness terrified Fade more than anything.
Eden raised his palm again.
"Gerk…! I-I'll talk!"
About damn time.
Eden squatted down in front of Fade. Their size difference was so vast it looked like he was looming over him.
"So, who the hell are you?"
"G-Guhk. Well…."
"From now on, when I ask a question, answers come out fast—or you get another smack."
Fade wiped his tears and muttered.
"Cough. Y-Yes, sir."
018. How to Bring Someone to Their Senses
Eden stared at Fade with a blank expression. Recalling how this mage had sent a horde of corpses at the village, or used a barbarian's body to attack him—hell, turning him into mincemeat wouldn't be enough.
"My name is Fade…."
"Who asked for your name?"
"I-I'm a mage! Been researching around here for about ten years! Studying resurrection of the dead, but the mage tower kicked me out for lack of profitability, so I've been holed up here!"
Eden's slight frown made Fade's personal details spill out in a rush—age, hobbies, even his sleeping habits. Eden raised his palm to shut him up.
"H-Hiiiik!!"
Fade flinched at the sight of that palm, like it was a flanged mace.
Eden recalled the villagers' corpses shuffling on two legs. Resurrection of the dead, huh.
"Why'd you suddenly attack the village?"
"W-Well, you see…."
Fade dragged his words, glancing at Eden's face. Slow learner for a mage. Eden flicked the back of his hand up under Fade's chin.
"Keurk!"
It was much lighter than before, but broken teeth and blood poured from Fade's mouth anyway. He gasped roughly, face-planting into the dirt.
Eden didn't wait—he grabbed Fade's hair, yanking his face up. Seeing Eden's expression, Fade blurted it out.
"B-Because of the barbarian's heart…!"
"…?"
What heart?
"I thought one more heart overflowing with vitality from a barbarian would advance my research! So when I saw a savage—no, sir!—staying in the village, I just… couldn't help myself…."
Eden, whose title had jumped from savage to sir in seconds, realized the mage hadn't targeted the village. It was his heart the bastard wanted.
Eden glanced at the other barbarian corpse nearby. Besides the wounds Eden had inflicted, there was a massive gash in its chest.
A barbarian's heart. Mages loved them for research. Their heartbeats were several times faster than a normal person's. That's why so many went shirtless.
Eden asked Fade, "That guy didn't look weak enough to go down easy. What'd you do?"
"…I heard he feared battle, so I approached saying I'd teach him to build courage."
Fade mumbled cautiously, squirming.
"Said to use the method, we had to first extract the heart, the source of his courage…."
Hearing the truth, Eden rubbed his forehead. This prick could use a few more.
Eden rose with a menacing aura. Fade paled, scrambling to cower at Neb's feet.
"S-Spare me! Please! Stop that savage! I beg you!"
But Neb ignored his wailing, examining the fallen barbarian's corpse.
"Hoh… so that's the principle. I thought the direction was off."
Fade froze at her words.
"This spell was doomed from the start. Doesn't seem designed for 'perfect resurrection' anyway."
Neb rolled up her sleeve, muttering.
"Well, this much should be doable."
Her voice brimmed with confidence—hard to believe from the baggage who'd whined all day about walking.
Eden's eyes widened. A blue glow enveloped Neb's fingertips. She flicked them calmly, like conducting an orchestra, leaving trails of translucent light in her wake.
…Magic.
Something beyond physical laws. A miracle a barbarian like Eden couldn't wield.
Why hasn't she used magic like this until now? A small question nagged him as he watched.
The result was astonishing. Over the fallen barbarian's body, a transparent version of his living self materialized.
"……!!"
Fade gaped, his swollen face in shock. It wasn't full bodily resurrection like his research—but you couldn't call this anything but revival.
Gordon of Torgard
The barbarian from the village, returned to the world, looked around as if grasping the situation.
Spotting Eden, he grinned.
A handsome, warm face. Eden felt a twinge of annoyance—this guy's more barbarian than my barbarian ass.
Anyway, he raised his palm toward Eden like a high-five.
The barbarian greeted him in a faintly echoing voice.
…?
I am Gordon of Torgard.
Torgard, the northern barbarians' homeland. Eden recalled the lore from the game Ascending Hero.
The barbarians' greeting. Like a noble's formal introduction.
With a short grunt, Eden gripped Gordon's hand mid-air.
"Eden of Seoul Special City."
Shoulda said Anyang, Gyeonggi-do.
Eden briefly mused, then tested his strength. It should just be a soul, but a clear sensation transmitted through his hand.
Tremble…!
Their arms shook. A clash of raw power, like arm-wrestling in mid-air.
The winner was, predictably, Eden.
As expected, you're strong. You win.
Gordon didn't even check his arm, now bent sideways. A brutish greeting, but Eden sensed a certain romance in it.
Gordon's form faded back into the air.
…Thank you, mighty warrior.
Those final words lingered.
Eden felt an odd sensation. Talking to the dead, huh.
And Fade, who'd watched it all, malfunctioned with a creak.
"…How? I researched for ten years and couldn't do it in an instant…."
More unhinged than after Eden's slaps. Giggling to himself, muttering, staggering blankly.
'Snapped?'
Makes sense—ten years alone in a cave fiddling with corpses would break anyone.
Eden paid little mind to the mage's breakdown, so he reacted slowly to what happened next.
"So that's how it was… heh heh. You foresaw this moment? Should've quit ages ago… keh heh."
Fade pulled a tattered parchment from his robes. His eyes locked on Neb with murderous intent, bloodshot and veined.
"…Thanks! For making me give up, you damned things…!"
"What bullshit—"
Before Eden could finish, Fade collapsed in place. His flesh withered instantly to a skeletal husk.
The air shifted.
[…….]
Eden gripped his axes. An ominous sensation prickled. Heart pounding, spine chilling.
Suddenly, something materialized over Fade's head.
[Mm…. This fragrant scent of despair.]
An incomprehensible entity.
[Always so sweet. Harvest time: a mere 9 years, 7 months, 18 days, 22 seconds. Beyond calculations. Most satisfactory.]
A massive ring-like form, a void pierced with holes, filled entirely with darkness. Red eyes floated in its center.
[Imperfect transmission of impossible magic. Remarkably efficient. Logged.]
The darkness muttered to itself.
Eden knew what it was. A harvester of intelligent beings' negative emotions, finding joy therein.
"A demon."
Its voice made the void—demon's—round red eye twitch.
[Who?]
Eden felt the cave oppressively filled, like plunging into ocean depths. But he showed no sign.
[Another intelligent being. A joyous meeting. Desires? Granted. Wishes fulfilled. For a pact and due price.]
The demon hovered over the dead mage, eyes fixed solely on Eden.
'Only partially manifested here.'
Eden judged from its gaze. It hadn't noticed Neb, perhaps because she stayed silent.
A 'way home' flashed in Eden's mind, but he dismissed it.
Demon. A boss from Ascending Hero. Thrived on suffering. Even if its words held truth, Eden wanted no part.
Especially after Fade's end.
[Awaiting words. No fear. Honest contract. Anything desired—]
Eden cut it off.
"Your life."
[…….]
"That's all I want."
The demon fell silent after its monotonous tone.
Then.
Its red eye curved into a long arc.
[Puh.]
Laughter. The eye was laughing.
[Puhhahahahahahaha—!!]
Dozens, hundreds of eyes emerged from the darkness, all fixed on Eden.
The demon laughed long, then went abruptly silent, like a switch flipped.
[The city 'Mordelan'.]
With that final word, it vanished.
Eden realized the answer was its main body's location.
Coincidence? Fate? Either way, not as distant as he'd thought.
Thus, only Eden and Neb remained in the cave.
A sudden question popped into Eden's head, and he turned to Neb.
"Hey."
"What is it?"
"In a world where gods exist just fine, why the hell do demons stick around?"
Eden couldn't wrap his head around it.