Worse Than Demons (3)

"We know where the underground dungeon is..."

Children this young, and they knew where the underground dungeon was?

Their frames suggested they were barely ten years old, thirteen at most.

But they were children of the slums, so I had to assume they were older than they looked.

So a child of roughly fifteen was going to tell us where the underground dungeon was?

When I heard this, my first thought was that these children might be luring us into a trap.

We hadn't covered every corner of the territory, but we had certainly traveled far and wide across it.

Until Ellie collapsed, we had wandered through countless places searching for clues about this domain.

I told the children I needed a moment to plan, then headed into the forest with Ellie.

Someone might be watching, and the surroundings were crawling with things I couldn't trust, so I decided to use the telepathy I'd learned from Kahn as our means of communication.

- Ellie, don't answer, just listen. This voice reaches only you.

When I sent the message, Ellie flinched slightly and looked at me.

So she could definitely hear me.

- We haven't covered the entire territory, but it's not like we've only visited a handful of places. Right?

She seemed to understand why I was using telepathy, because she didn't answer out loud — she simply nodded silently.

- And yet we couldn't find so much as a place that looked like an underground dungeon. All we saw were ordinary, worn-down estates.

- Which means... isn't it possible those children are leading us into a trap?

I might be jumping to conclusions, but right now, Ellie was the only person in this territory I could trust.

So here was what I'd come up with.

- Let's just go where they say it is. If it's a trap, I'll handle it with my authority.

Instead of answering, she looked at me with eyes full of worry.

I stroked her hair and continued.

- Don't worry. I'm nowhere near my limit yet.

True, I'd used the Combination Skill a few times, and I'd discovered a new form of Moonlight's Sword Strike.

But remarkably, my body still had plenty of mana, and my stamina remained fully intact.

Feeling my touch, Ellie thanked me the only way she could — by throwing her arms around me.

I stepped back out of the forest and approached the children.

"Let's go. Will you show us the way?"

At my words, the boy who seemed to be the leader broke into a wide, beaming smile.

Then, gathering the children, he led us in the direction of the underground ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dungeon.

The children guided us with surprising ease, and we followed them through the darkness.

Before long, a building appeared — nothing left of it but a bare skeleton of a frame.

And at the sight of that skeletal ruin, the children began to tremble like aspen leaves.

Even harder than they had when I first drew my sword.

Just as their reaction was starting to puzzle me—

An enormous number of figures suddenly closed in around us.

Through that perception, I counted roughly twenty armed men drawing their blades.

"I was hoping I'd be wrong."

"...What?"

At my out-of-nowhere remark, the children turned around and stared at me.

But the kind, gentle me they had been guiding was no longer there.

There was no reason to treat kindly those who had delivered us straight into a trap.

Even if they were children.

"It's a trap, isn't it. There are about twenty armed men surrounding us right now — did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"Th...that!! Please... just hear me out...!!"

Even as the children begged me, mysterious figures emerged from the shadows, encircling Ellie and me.

"Damn... you work fast, don't you?"

"No kidding. Wherever did he find a woman like that?"

"I know it's for his little sister's sake, but shoving complete strangers into hell like this... he's a real piece of work. Hahaha."

His little sister?

So this had something to do with this boy's sister, then.

"Heyyy~ leave the woman behind, and we'll let you live."

"Oh, will you?"

My words dripped with doubt, but the man only leered at Ellie with a lecherous grin.

Ellie, for her part, knew better than anyone that I would sooner die than abandon her, and simply waited with her blade half-drawn at her side.

"See, someone like her would be more than enough. Of course, your lover's going to have a hell of a time today."

"I see... Though I have to ask — why do you draw out the words 'let you live' like that?"

"What? I gave you a chance out of the goodness of my heart... and you spit on it. Boys. Tie that woman up, and send him off to the male pens."

They advanced boldly, step by step, intent on taking us — but I moved faster than any of them.

And then—

- Shriiick!

"Huh?"

With the sound of something being sliced through, the man beside their apparent leader let out a stupid, confused noise and glanced sideways — he hadn't even registered what had happened.

What their eyes found was a spray of fresh, crimson blood.

"B...Boss!!!"

Against these people, I didn't even feel the need to proclaim my Domain.

Judging it hopeless to neutralize me, about ten of the men charged straight at Ellie.

"Sorry, but my lover's stronger than I am."

The instant those words left my mouth, steel rang against steel, again and again, the clashes ringing out through the dark—

And then that sound gave way to the agonized moans of the men themselves.

"AAAAAGH!!"

"What is she?! What the hell IS she!!"

Meanwhile, I leveled my killing intent at the ones swarming toward me.

"You're not men sent by the lord of this territory, are you? So who are you?"

"H...how...?!"

"I have my ways. Tell me what I want to know, and I'll let you go quietly. Speak."

"...R...really?"

- CRAAANG!

When I slammed the Sword of the Azure Sky viciously into the ground, the men went obedient in a heartbeat.

"You... really mean it?"

Their voices had gone far softer, their speech suddenly polite. I nodded.

"I do. Now — what's your relationship with those children?"

"...Pardon?"

"Ask me twice and you die. Answer straight. I asked what your relationship with those children is."

"W...well... we use those children to lure people in, kidnap them, and... and sell them. That's our trade...!"

So that was why the children had trembled like aspen leaves the moment they saw my drawn sword.

The men had been squeezing them under threat of death, using them as bait.

And no doubt countless adventurers, moved by kindness, had tried to help them — only to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers and taken captive.

Kidnapping adventurers was one thing, but now—

Human trafficking.

My head was throbbing at the sheer depth of their depravity, crimes whose full extent I couldn't even fathom, when—

"W...we don't know if this will help, but... with the swordsmanship and power you possess, you are masters of a caliber even the lord would welcome...!"

"Go on."

"The lord himself is strong enough to kill high-grade mercenaries in an instant...! B...but masters of your caliber — even the lord would welcome you with open arms...!"

The lord could kill high-grade mercenaries?

If he were that strong, he should have appeared in the game.

High-grade mercenaries were, by definition, wielders of tremendous power — far stronger than even high-rank adventurers.

They could channel mana, and their swordsmanship and spearmanship were second to none. Fighters of that caliber.

Anyone who could toy with high-grade mercenaries was, at the very least, stronger than ordinary knights.

And depending on the individual skill of each mercenary, someone at that level might well stand shoulder to shoulder with the Five Vassals of Cumul Territory.

The lord had that kind of power... and Ellie didn't know about it?

While I was picking apart all these inconsistencies, Ellie had cut down every man who came at her and was now walking back toward me.

Remarkably, not a single drop of blood stained her clothes.

Naturally — at her level of skill, cutting those men down in the blink of an eye was hardly a chore.

"Good work. Sorry I couldn't help."

"Sorry? I'm just grateful you're helping clean up my mistake."

"That much is a given."

As Ellie came over to me, I asked her about the Heiji lord's strength — whether she knew exactly how skilled he was.

She thought it over carefully before answering.

"When it comes to combat ability, the Heiji lord has nothing. When the attacks happened, it was mostly his son who stepped forward."

If anyone knew the details of the vassals governing each territory, it was her — so her information was likely accurate.

And that man had suddenly acquired tremendous strength?

Strength enough to seize and kill high-grade mercenaries in an instant?

Warriors didn't train and struggle for nothing.

Martial arts were something that only bore fruit after a year, two years, ten years of accumulated experience and effort.

Of course, that same logic applied even to me, a Successor — which was exactly why I still couldn't beat Ellie.

And if that man, one of this territory's vassals, had truly blossomed with martial talent, there was no way Sirius or the Ellie of her early reign would never have noticed.

Which meant something smelled rotten here.

For now, it was valuable information — I'd file it away.

Still, what had that man meant about his sister?

"Back there, someone mentioned a sister. What was that about?"

"Th...that is..."

"Haah... I told you not to make me ask twice."

"...We... we captured her... to sell as 'merchandise'..."

"Excuse me...? Wait! Just now — 'merchandise'! She was sold? Did you sell her?!"

The boy who seemed to be the leader lunged desperately toward the man, demanding answers.

When I pressed him silently to start from the bottom, the man slowly began to speak.

"No... she should still be locked in our pen."

"You're telling the truth, right? She hasn't been taken away yet!!"

"Th...that's right."

Now I remembered.

That man's words.

Two years after the game's opening, once Cumul Territory fell under Asmodeus's command, it came to be called by a new name.

Not something noble — the Slave Pit.

Because people had sprung up who kidnapped humans and sold them off as battle slaves, labor slaves, sex slaves, and worse.

But the Empire, utterly incapable of catching Asmodeus, could not even cross into Cumul Territory's lands; the region had long since degenerated into complete lawlessness, and even infiltration was nearly impossible.

In the end, it was only when a player wielding the power of the Four Divine Beasts, together with the Successor of another Divine Beast, marched in and scorched the land that the Slave Pit was finally blown apart.

The players who saw the Slave Pit with their own eyes reacted violently.

The place where the captives lived went beyond squalor — it wasn't an environment a human being could survive in at all.

And even in those conditions, people clawed and struggled simply to live on, laid bare before the players' eyes.

The game community caught fire.

Accusations flew, starting with whether the developers had a slave trade of their own somewhere, all the way to whether someone who had actually run such a place had made this game.

Despite the uproar, the game company never said a single word about it.

No denial. No confirmation.

In time the fuel ran out and the community's flames died, but I still remember that game's screens with perfect clarity.

Because I was one of those players.

That landscape of flames and rusted iron — and the people so broken that even the light scared them.

It wasn't the light they feared. It was being sold.

After that, the players stopped calling it by its official name, the Slave Pit, and began calling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it the Demon's Den instead.

And no one knew the truth of that Demon's Den better than the children of the slums.

The slum children would have been targeted first — captured, then sold at high prices to others under the name of "merchandise."

And this boy, this leader among them, would have been no exception.

God. Where exactly did everything start rotting?

"Th...the lord placed an order for 'merchandise,' so we were on our way to deliver her in person..."

"In person?"

"Yes..."

She's here right now?

I spread Dragon's Senses wide, extending my perception across the entire area to search for the captive.

And there she was — behind a tree, a brown-haired girl, hands and feet bound, trembling in fear.

And the boy standing before me had brown hair too.

So he really hadn't sold her. Just like he said.

"Haah... so you really didn't sell her?"

"Y...yes??!"

The boy and the man both jolted in alarm at my words.

"Ellie — about two hundred meters into the forest, there's a brown-haired girl tied to a tree by her hands and feet. Bring her back, would you?"

"Understood."

Ellie nodded and darted off to find the girl with astonishing speed.

Just how far had these people rotted?

I'd wrung out every scrap of information worth taking.

Which meant there was no reason left to keep these men alive.

I used my Moonlight authority to cast an illusion over the children, who were still trembling as they stared at me.

Once the illusion took hold, their trembling stopped, as though the fear itself had ended.

Not that the children were innocent, of course.

But more than that, I believed it was the environment — the world that had forced these children into such acts — that was truly at fault.

How could these children possibly stand against a band of grown, hardened men?

Of course they had gone along with it, eyes open, knowing they were being used.

Survival came first.

So I would suspend judgment on the debt these children carried.

Though the man lying crumpled and helpless at my feet would face summary execution.

"I've changed my mind. You have all committed sins worthy of hell itself. Die in agony — with the pain of your entire bodies being seared away."

The same thing I had done to the fiends at Sky Village.

Currents erupted from my hand and coiled around them.

"If even one of you endures this current, it will only grow stronger. Eventually its power will climb to the very limit of what a human body can survive."

"You said you'd send us off without pain!!"

"When did I ever say that? I said I'd send you quietly. Never that it would be painless. A tremendous wind is about to sweep through here. Naturally, I won't be able to hear a word of your screaming."

"...!!!!"

"Then hold on as long as you can. Inside an endless hell of current, coiling tighter and tighter around you."

With that, I called Jeongryeong and had her whip up a furious gale around those creatures — men who were less than human.

In the meantime, Ellie returned, the brown-haired girl cradled in her arms.

I snapped my fingers to draw the girl into the illusion as well, then left the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scene with Ellie and all the children.

It hardly mattered — the high-voltage current would scorch those men's bodies to ash and burn every last trace of them away.

Before long, the sun was rising.

Judging the spot safe, I dispelled the illusions over all the children, the girl included.

And since Jeongryeong was still with us, I asked her to blow a powerful wind around us so that none of our voices would carry outside.

- Snap!

With the snap of my fingers, the children slipped free of the illusion.

And then—

"Sion!"

"Big brother!!"

Just as I'd suspected — the boy who led them was the older brother of the girl called Sion.

It was a touching reunion, to be sure, but I had no intention of simply watching.

"So your name is Sion?"

At my words, every child — Sion included — froze solid.

Then Ellie, watching from behind, let out a sigh, walked over to Sion, knelt on one knee, and spoke.

"Sion, listen carefully. To save you, your older brother did something very, very wrong."

"Wh...what? Something wrong?"

"Yes. He led those scary men to that frightening big brother and big sister over there, so that they would be captured."

".....Big brother..."

Even at his little sister's voice, the boy could not lift his head.

At the very least, he understood how heavy his sin truly was.

Ellie suddenly reverted her hair to its natural color.

Her black hair returned to the golden hue I loved so much.

She could only do this because I had told her in advance, through telepathy, that I'd already raised a powerful wind all around us to seal our voices.

She strode toward Sion's brother as though she might draw her sword at any moment.

"I am Alice Cumul, Lord of Cumul Territory. And that man there is the Successor of the Azure Dragon. What you did just now very nearly planted the seed that would destroy this entire continent."

"!!!!!!!"

Terrified by our utterly unexpected identities, the children wet themselves and sobbed.

Watching them, Ellie's hand trembled violently.

Given her nature, she couldn't bring herself to speak harshly to children.

Even though she had come within a hair's breadth of dying to them moments ago.

What was I to do with someone so good-hearted?

I caught her hand and pulled it back, tucking her behind me to shield the children from her gaze.

Then, still holding Ellie's hand, I spoke.

"You endangered the Successor, and the master of this land. Your sin is grave — a great crime that cannot be forgiven."

At my words, the boy leading them pressed his knees, his hands, his forehead to the ground and spoke through his tears.

"Take my head, and forgive them. Those children... their only crime was following my orders. Please — take my head, and set them free."

"......"

"I beg you... Successor... I know full well that I, who aimed for the lives of the noble, have no right to ask anything of you. Even so, please — take my head in their place."

"...I only wish for your anger to fade... please, I'm begging you... let them go..."

"Haah...."

"You were used, all because you were weak. But that does not absolve your debt."

"Because of what you did, countless people have been kidnapped. Many of them may already have been sold. But if you wish to lighten that debt, even a little—"

"Guide me to the slave traders' base. An act like that will improve your debt by at least a sliver. Only then might those who died unjustly because of you find some measure of release."

My words amounted to a full suspension of their punishment.

Though I suppose I wasn't exactly in a position to lecture Ellie about being soft...

So, leaving Ellie to watch over all the children except Sion and her brother, I set off to strike the slave traders' base.

Ellie seemed grateful that I had stepped in so sternly in her place.

At the same time, I caught her quietly blaming herself for not being able to face the children firmly herself.

I gave her forehead a kiss, stroked her hair, and told her:

"Still, Ellie. That kindness of yours isn't something just anyone can have. Just as every person's talent is different — to those children, your kindness will become a brilliant light."

"I scared the children too badly. Keep them safe until I come back. I'll veil this place with my Moonlight authority before I go, so don't worry."

That said, I was anxious, so I intended to finish this as fast as possible and return to Ellie. With Leon's help, I moved quickly.

Before we parted from Ellie, the boy who had introduced himself as Leon clung with both hands to my clothes to keep from falling off my back, guiding me along the right path.

The reason Leon knew the way was that the slave traders must have told him — it was how they lured in adventurers.

He'd surely realized that his own strength could never threaten them, after all.

And with confidence in their own numbers and power, the traders would have felt no fear dealing with adventurers either.

"Here it is!"

At Leon's words, I leapt down from the trees and landed on the ground.

- Thump!

I touched down lightly, but Leon was badly dizzy and gagged.

Even as he retched, he pointed a finger at a building the color of deep, dark gray.

"That building, right?"

- Nod nod!

"Uuorgh!"

He was on the verge of vomiting, but his determination to give me the information anyway made me crack a wry smile as I advanced toward the building.

Just before entering, I summoned two wind wolves to keep watch at Leon's side — insurance against any unforeseen danger — and then entered the building.

And when I finally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stepped inside, what met my eyes was a scene of utter, unspeakable misery.