34. A White, Sticky Liquid Sprayed from the Lower Half with a Fishy Smell
34. A White, Sticky Liquid Sprayed from the Lower Half with a Fishy Smell
As the sunset faded and midnight gradually took hold,
we finally finished off the demon beasts. While everyone was busy tending to the wrecked wagons, I sat down wearily on a cart and took a moment to assess the situation with Marilyn.
"Lucky we didn't have any casualties."
"Yeah, well. It got dicey, but everyone held their ground."
That made sense. Even the Adventurer's Guild had measures in place to guarantee a minimum level of combat power, like Class bestowals. The adventurers clinging to this merchant caravan might be a bunch of greenhorns, but as long as they kept their heads on straight, they could manage demon beasts at their own level one way or another.
"Dammit. Did no one hire a single cleric?"
"You think high-class personnel like clerics ride around in the luggage compartment? They all followed the high-ranking adventurers!"
Right. The real kicker was that this wasn't a game world where you could move around just fine with 1 HP left.
Even if you won a fight, the injuries stick around. If you can't treat them, you'll die soon enough or be a liability the next time you have to move.
"We'll find a cleric later. For now, use potions for emergency first aid."
"All wounded, come over here and show me your injuries."
If there was a silver lining, it was that we were escorting a merchant caravan, and any caravan had to look after the adventurers' condition for their own safety's sake.
So we managed to snag some fairly expensive potions free of charge. But the moment the wounded adventurers actually saw the things, the look on their faces was one of pure terror.
"Aaaaargh! Get that away from me! I, I don't need any damn potion!!"
"What's that lunatic saying while he's gushing blood!?"
"Everyone who's still able-bodied, get over here! Help hold these idiots down!!"
"Aieeeee! S-Stop! I'm not... not ready yet...."
"Don't worry. It only hurts the first time."
The scene turned into utter chaos, with the wounded and the healthy all scrambling together. You might wonder why they'd make such a fuss about getting healed, but having been around the block in this world, I understood immediately why they were thrashing so hard. How to put it... The potions in this world are basically this.
Concentrated Albothyl, magnified about fifty times over.
"Kieeeeek!! Kieeeeeeeek!!"
"Aaauuugh! What did I do wrong to deserve this torture?!"
"Graaaaaagh! The Suicide Squad's secret base is in a cave north of the Empireeeeeee!!"
"Just kill me instead!!"
Yikes. That's the kind of thing that gets you in serious trouble if the Knight of Famine overhears.
Still, seeing all that feisty energy, I figured they'd be back in fighting shape soon. But the one actually leading this outfit, the merchant caravan master, had a grim look plastered on his face.
"So, what do we do now?"
That question hung heavy over both the contracted adventurers and the merchants belonging to the caravan. Without exception, everyone was voicing their anxiety about the current predicament.
Getting attacked by demon beasts was something they'd factored in, sure. But only one big bastard charging in or the occasional random spawn. That was the assumption. We could fix the broken wagons and get moving again, but no one could guarantee this wouldn't happen twice.
"I think it's best we head back and regroup."
"No, the garrison zone isn't much farther. Is turning back now really worth it?"
"There's no guarantee we won't get hit again though, right? We push on to the garrison and we could all get wiped out..."
"Are packs of demon beasts really that common in the first place? Isn't assuming they're just going to keep swarming us a bit of a stretch?"
"Think this through carefully. We had no deaths this time, but we could've easily been killed!"
Push forward to the garrison zone, or fall back for now to reassess, keeping the demon beast packs in mind.
The debate raged on. Caught in the middle, the caravan master grimaced and let out a deep sigh.
"...Grrrrmm, what a damn headache."
From his perspective, neither option was easy to commit to.
No matter how precious life was, for a merchant, credit was often valued even more highly.
If we didn't reach the garrison tonight to resupply and pick up more adventurers, the garrison itself could end up in a bind, and that would be a problem...
"...U-hyo-seong, are you okay?"
A cautious voice reached me while I was watching the scene with a serious gaze. I gathered my thoughts for a moment, quietly strapped my mask onto my face, stood up, and patted Marilyn on the shoulder to reassure her.
"I'm fine. Things will work out somehow."
My body had already been through countless dangers like this. I didn't see this situation as an impossible dead end. I had heard from Airi that I'd die during this mission, but bringing Marilyn along was part of my plan to get around that. Yeah, there was at least some way to survive whatever was coming without dying.
"This is just my opinion."
With that certainty, I prepared to suggest the best course of action I could think of. The mask was a precaution, just in case anyone recognized me and caused a commotion.
"I think we should head toward the garrison zone."
"Go to the garrison? Are you out of your mind?"
"I understand your concerns. We're almost at the garrison. So it's fair to suspect that if demon beasts popped up this close, the garrison might not even be functioning."
Yeah, the road wasn't the only dangerous part. Areas near garrisons were typically cleared on a regular patrol basis. So a pack attacking us this aggressively meant things were bad enough that they probably hadn't been able to do any subjugation work for at least half a day.
"But everyone, think about it. If the garrison zone had fallen, they would've sent a courier or a carrier pigeon to warn us. No matter how dangerous it is outside the Empire's borders, a place specifically established by the Empire with such care for external defense and scouting wouldn't be that incompetent."
"W-Well, if no warning attempt was made at all, then the danger can't be that critical..."
The moment their resolve started to waver after that fairly reasonable logic.
Before anyone could raise a real objection, I hurried to hammer the nail in.
"And above all, since we've already encountered a group of demon beasts moving with coordination, there's no guarantee we can safely get away even if we turn back."
"And why's that?"
"Usually, when they swarm in packs like this, it means the area is a demon beast cluster, or there's a tamer nearby leading them."
A cluster is a place where conditions naturally create a constant spawn of demon beasts. But the garrison wouldn't leave such a place to form unchecked, so that possibility was out.
"Beasts that can direct other demon beasts... Don't tell me!?"
"Yes. It's likely the Demon Lord's army has converged near the garrison zone for some reason and is locked in a standoff. We likely blundered into the middle of that standoff when we arrived."
The Demon Lord's army.
Decades ago, they tore through a dimensional gate, turned everything they set foot on to rubble, and established themselves as the main enemies of humanity. Although their appearance wasn't directly tied to the creation of demon beasts, the number of beasts skyrocketed after the dimensional collapse. Some demons were also born with an innate talent for commanding them.
The fact that monsters operating on pure instinct were moving this collectively... The only real explanation was interference from the Demon Lord's army.
"But the fact that the beasts are roaming this area instead of sticking close to the garrison likely means the Demon Lord's army hasn't managed to truly breach it yet. The tamers leading the beasts are probably scouting for weak points or indiscriminately spreading them out to block any outside reinforcements."
"...That does make a disturbing amount of sense."
"If the area is really crawling with these monster packs, then fleeing means there's no real guarantee we can cleanly escape either."
"It's dark, and to make it worse, we're in the middle of a forest..."
Good. The opposition was slowly starting to see things my way.
With this many wounded on our hands, if we retreated and bumped into another pack, we wouldn't be getting through it as easily as before. If retreat meant just as much risk, joining the still-standing garrison to resupply and shore up our numbers might be a better ticket to survival.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Just as I was about to drive that point home, a shout rang out from the crowd. Striding toward me was a black-haired woman in a leather belt and cloak—standard adventurer getup.
"Retreat is dangerous, so you want us to run into a garrison that might be clashing with the Demon Lord's army? You do realize that plan could just get us wiped out alongside the garrison, right? Are you seriously saying that?"
"I admit, if the Demon Lord's army is there, it'll be dangerous. But we accepted a request to come here, didn't we? You only get paid by taking on that kind of risk..."
"Hah! You make it sound like we came here ready to gamble our lives."
Her voice was more spite than persuasion. She scrunched up her face and glared at me with fire in her eyes.
"I only took this request because I thought we could do a little scouting and milk it for some easy cash. I bit because it was labeled as safe for low-rankers. Being forced into a fight way more dangerous than what was advertised is a blatant contract violation!"
"No, it's not a violation. The garrison's entire purpose is to handle this, and us passing through safely was always contingent on there being no incidents..."
"Who the hell cares about technicalities right now!? What matters is that I, the person who accepted the request, didn't sign up for this!"
She snapped, yelling at the top of her lungs, her glare sharp enough to kill. Every fiber of her aggressive posture radiated the conviction that her opinion was one-hundred-percent correct.
"If you've got some kind of martyr complex and want to march off to die, I won't stop you. But don't drag me into your death wish! Unlike you, my life actually matters to me!"
"Y-Yeah, she's right! The Guild screwed up by not telling us about this in the first place!"
"I'm going back!"
One by one, more people started siding with her. By the time their numbers swelled close to a majority of the adventurers, the merchants watching the situation unfold seemed to lose their nerve as well, shooting apologetic looks at the caravan master.
"We're sorry, Master. We came here to make a living, too... Taking a massive risk like this is..."
"...Understood. I have an assignment to fulfill, so I can't go with you. But at the very least, I'll provide you with supplies and a wagon for the road back."
Seeing the two factions as irreconcilable, the caravan master reluctantly conceded. After a bit more haggling, the woman who'd lashed out at me and her followers loaded a minimum of supplies onto a few wagons. They were making ready to head back the way we came.
The moment our headcount was slashed by more than half. The ones who stayed were veterans with proven skill and a sense of duty, but with the safety of numbers gone, the situation felt a lot grimmer.
"U-hyo-seong."
It was worse because not all who remained were combatants. Non-combatants like Marilyn were still here.
"Is it really going to be okay? Following your guess... the Demon Lord's army is waiting ahead..."
Marilyn's eyes kept darting nervously toward the path to the garrison zone. She was probably sensing the ominous future waiting for us.
"...Yeah. Based on everything I've been through, I think this is our best shot."
I spoke to encourage her while I slid the note out of my coat and took a moment to mull things over before my eyes. Even if I hadn't gotten this note, I think I'd have chosen to head for the garrison regardless in this kind of situation. The real "crisis" where I'd have to open this thing was probably lurking further ahead.
I'd been told to save manipulating variables as an absolute last resort. But even knowing that the time hadn't come yet, I felt a creeping impatience bearing down on me now. Because I still couldn't tell whether the "survival" this note promised applied to everyone here with me... or if it was just for me alone.
"KYAAAAAAAH!"
A scream rang out at that very moment. The caravan master, who'd been about to set off, froze, his hands tightening on the horse's reins. He, and everyone else, whipped their heads toward the source of the scream. It was the very same adventurer who'd argued with me earlier.
"GYAAAH! Y-You filthy monster bastard... W-What the hell did you spray on me!"
They hadn't gotten far yet, so the scene entered our field of view perfectly: a single demon beast had ambushed their group. Its lower body had split open and fired a load of mucus, which now drenched the body of the female adventurer it had singled out. White, thick, sticky goo splattered all over her—her chest, her face, everywhere.
"Urk! It... it stinks like fish... W-What is this!?"
The woman grimaced as the liquid soaked into her. Then, seeing it start to sink in as if burrowing into her body, her eyes went wide with dawning horror.
"F-From its lower half... this white, sticky liquid... No way!?"
Right. Just as she suspected.
-Hiiiisssss!
What the monster had sprayed on her was an acidic liquid.
"KYAAAAAAARGH!"
Her body melted gruesomely as she shrieked in pure agony. The acid dissolved her clothes first, then quickly ate into the skin and flesh, causing the innards to spill out. Even those dissolved into a wretched mess, pooling on the ground until the ravenous beast opened its lower mouth and began feasting on the remains.
"Shit, it's more of them! We're getting ambushed!"
"Why the hell is it targeting us!?"
"Shut up and just deal with them! Hurry!"
"N-No good. There's too many— Gaaahk!!"
The demon beasts had been hiding in the forest's dark, waiting to pounce in force. They might've held if their defensive line was intact, but that group had already lost over half its combat strength. If we left them, it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out.
"Wh-What do we do!? At this rate..."
"Forget about them! We're leaving!"
The adventurers hesitated. The one who cut through that hesitation with a harsh shout was none other than me.
"J-Just leave them behind...?"
"They're already surrounded, and the ambush took out a ton of their numbers. If we try to help now, it's going to cost us just as heavily!"
If we'd been on the same path, we might've stood back-to-back to survive. But they'd already split off, and now we had neither the means nor the obligation to bail them out. As heartless as it sounds, we had to leave them. Otherwise, everyone here was going to die too.
"...Dammit! Let's move!"
The caravan master reluctantly agreed with my assessment, barking orders at the merchants to get their wagons moving. Soon, the carts carrying me and the other survivors were racing roughly through the forest path.