Chapter 124 - The Hero Rides the Black Demon Horse! “Puhihihiiiiiing!!!”
The moment I burst out of the dungeon, I couldn't contain the overwhelming surge of emotions and let out a raw, instinctive neigh.
I know I should bolt right now since I'm out, I thought, but my body is burning so hot it's driving me wild—I can't hold back!
This feels like I could do anything!
"S-Se-Sema!?"
The instant we exited the mansion, Marte, who had been sitting by the entrance, jumped in shock with a horrified look on his face.
The moment we stepped outside, I shifted straight into full horse form and ignored Marte and the knights' confusion as I shouted,
"Hey, get on!"
"Y-Yes!? W-Wait, how did you even get out of th—"
"Just get on already!"
I glared at him, stamping my hooves in my hyped-up state, and Marte paled at the sight of my face, stumbling back a step.
"S-Se-Sema! Y-Your eyes...!"
"Oh, come on! If you don't get on, I'm heading straight to the church like this!? You don't wanna find your sister!?"
"...! U-Ugh...!"
He hesitated, but eventually grabbed his sword like he had no choice.
Fucking hell. What kind of hero gets threatened like this? No wonder he's dragging his feet. Move your ass already! Hustle!
"Ah! My armor and clothes! ...Knights, grab those for me! Marte, just get my weapon!"
"Y-Yes!"
Overwhelmed by my intensity, Marte grabbed the horsewhip and climbed onto my back. The second he was on, I kicked off the ground and charged out of the mansion courtyard.
Speeding toward the city outskirts, I yelled back at Marte on my back,
"You on? Here we go!"
"We're already moving! Wait, where the hell are we even going!?"
What the—Marte, you don't even know that much!?
This guy's hopeless if he can't figure that out.
"Where'd you agree to meet Bivora!?"
"The undeveloped forest area near the city...! But he can't still be there!"
"Idiot! How long do you think a wanted criminal like him can wander around!? He's probably got a hideout right near that meeting spot!"
"That's too simplistic... Ah, no. Even if that's true...! The area's huge around here...!"
Huge? That ain't a problem. With my Demon Eye, I can spot Bivora wherever he's hiding!
Horse form speed plus Demon Eye! That combo means I can scour the entire outskirts in less than half a day!
I'm convinced! I can find Bivora today! Everything's gonna go my way!
Is it the excitement flooding my body? Or this new Demon Eye? Whatever it is, this weird feeling that everything will work out has me itching to spout some chuunibyou lines!
Bivora! Tremble in fear and terror at the power of my Demon Eye!
Kuhahat!
"B-But Sema... Smashing through that rock was shocking enough, but... what the hell happened to your eyes...?"
"Huh? What's wrong with 'em?"
About an hour into scouring the surrounding forests with Marte, my insanely hyped body had finally started to calm down a bit—thanks to running at full throttle.
Marte seemed to have gotten used to riding me too, looking around from my back and tossing out a question.
What's he on about with my eyes?
"Th-They're... black now. Specifically, the whites of your eyes turned pitch black..."
What... the fuck?
Did my eyes turn into demon eyes or something?
"Your pupils shifted to a yellow-gold color too... And they're slit sideways like a beast's—kinda terrifying, honestly..."
Oh, no fucking way... Does the Demon Eye come with side effects like this?
My already ferocious look just got demon eyes on top? And the pupil color changed too...
I knew they were horizontal slits, but they were such a dark brown that the shape wasn't obvious, so I hadn't worried much...
Wonder if they go back to normal when I turn off the Demon Eye. Gotta check how they look.
"...Just flailed around in the dungeon and had a little enlightenment. Didn't even know how to use skills before, but now I get it."
"Enlightenment...? What ki— No, even so, that's insane. That rock wasn't super thick, but it was solid stone, and at your level..."
Heh heh. Kid, my raw stats could crush most mid-tier adventurers flat.
"......Can I really trust you, Sema? If anything happens to my sister, I..."
"Relax, punk. I'll find her for you."
"...Yes. Thank you..."
Honestly, locking me up like that pissed me off enough to ditch him...
But whatever. You're in a shitty spot too, and in a way, it's thanks to you I got the Demon Eye.
Might as well test it out while grabbing Bivora. Be my solid backup in return, hero boy.
"Man, you're fast. And you don't even get tired running like this..."
"You were pretty damn quick yourself? This speed's no sweat for you, right? Hell, you were flying around too..."
"I can use Fighting Spirit for short bursts, but not sustain it long. Even optimizing it, I top out around 30 minutes..."
Oh ho... Flip that around, even top-class heroes are capped at about 30 minutes in a fight?
Makes sense... Pulling off that Ouroboros battle for hours would be broken otherwise.
Still impressive as hell. Fighting Spirit isn't even meant for running.
But... if I master it, running would be a joke compared to this. Depending on how much I train it, I might even mix it up with heroes in combat.
And that's not all. With the Demon Eye, I feel like I can finally use every skill!
Heh heh. My era's finally here! No more worries in this horse life!
"......! Wha—...!"
"!? Sema!? What the—?!"
"Shh. Quiet."
While chatting idly with Marte and scanning the city outskirts, my Demon Eye finally picked up human presences.
Beyond the trees a ways off. One decent-sized Esser signature and a faint, tiny one.
Gauging the vague numerical values appearing as colors in my head, I slammed on the brakes and crept silently toward those two signatures.
I can only sense the Demon Eye's power intuitively for now, but the color-like inputs in my mind feel crystal clear.
Marte the hero shows as a gaping hole, like something unstable and ominous—probably the world-ending hero trait.
Ignoring the small one for now, the big one's a solid size, bigger than the knight order. That's gotta be Bivora.
Not sure if "color" is the right way to describe it... It's not visual; more like vague numbers imprinting in my brain.
I'm not used to the Demon Eye yet, so focusing too hard on the details gives me a headache, but with this size difference, no doubt...
"......Found 'em."
"......!"
Muffling our footsteps and parting the underbrush, I peered into the distant woods. There was a slanted pit with a crooked wooden door, and next to it, Bivora sitting by a small tent.
Some kinda burrow vibe with the door propped open. Inside the pit, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a human head...
Too far to see clear, but could that be...?
"...Your sister?"
"......! Yes! Right no—!"
"Shh, shh. Quiet. Think before you charge. He's as good as caught anyway. Calm down."
"Ugh...! Nngh... Yes."
I stopped Marte from drawing his sword and rushing in, then whispered as I set him down quietly.
"Not sure if I can take Bivora yet. You handle him; I'll grab your sister."
"Got it. Without the hostage, he's no match for me."
"Right. Thief background, huh? Probably got good ears... Let's charge together from here. At our speed, we'll pin him before he reacts."
"Yes. Then your weapon..."
"Oh yeah, that. Can't carry it in human form or I'd be naked. Just leave it here."
Grabbed it thinking I'd need a weapon, but now that I'm calm, no point—naked horse-man with massive swinging balls and just a whip? Kinda...
...Come to think of it, I put Marte on without considering my horse balls. He must've missed 'em in the rush...
Gotta be careful on the way back so he doesn't see.
"...Kill him on sight?"
"No. We need to capture him. He deserves death row basically, but we gotta follow due process."
"Fine? Whatever you're cool with."
Ugh, lame. Why keep a criminal alive? Was gonna help with body disposal...
Eh, if he's fine with it...
...Huh. Why am I kinda disappointed? Was I always this ruthless...?
I tilted my head at the odd regret, then shook it off as Bivora shifted his seat.
Focus—Bivora first.
"Ready...?"
We exchanged glances and nodded. Deep breaths, power to the legs, eyes on Bivora...
The moment he turned his head the other way.
"...Now!"
Marte and I kicked off with a massive boom, charging straight at Bivora.
"Bivora!!!"
"Wh-What the—!? Gahk!!!!"
I skidded to a halt at the wooden-door pit just as Marte snatched Bivora's head like a hawk.
Bivora's body yanked along, slamming into the ground and cracking it. He was pinned without twitching a finger.