33
Chapter 33
The owner of the voice was a Holy Knight, his eyes glowing with a crimson light.
An ominous energy radiated from him, and his presence was overwhelming.
This must be Karon, who had taken over Rino Johnson's body.
The panicked Ox-headed Demon tried to strike Karon with his tail, but the assault from the surrounding zombie demons was so fierce that he could only make attempts.
Karon approached him with calm, leisurely strides.
Then, he raised his right hand.
Gak!
Crimson energy gathered in Karon's hand and shot toward the Ox-headed Demon, sealing the mouth that was still stubbornly trying to perform a Coordinate Transmission.
Karon possessed a means to block the Coordinate Transmission.
"To send coordinates as a final gasp. How intriguing."
As Karon murmured, the zombie demons subdued the Ox-headed Demon.
"If a target is deemed capable of dealing a significant blow to the faction, it alerts a higher-ranking entity, huh..."
Grrr...!
Held down by the zombies with its head slammed into the dirt, the Ox-headed Demon looked up at the approaching Karon with terrified eyes.
Its pupils were dilated, like those of a frightened animal.
Karon reached out to the Ox-headed Demon once more.
Crimson energy flowed from his hand, ransacking the demon's mind.
Kyaaaa! Kyaaaa!
"You know far more than the others."
The Ox-headed Demon wailed in agony while Karon manipulated the crimson energy with arms spread wide.
But why is this mister talking to himself?
Is it because he's a psychopath?
Maybe learning forbidden spells made him lose his mind... something like that.
...Judging by the way the Ox-headed Demon's brow twitched, it didn't seem like he was just talking to himself.
Can this guy actually communicate with demons?
I was surprised, perhaps because I hadn't thought of demons as creatures capable of communication.
If he dominated a demon's soul to learn their language... that would make sense.
"...You aren't ordinary creatures. You're a race artificially created solely for war. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you magical beings, or spirits."
Still, from the outside, it just looks like he's talking to himself.
I listened intently to the madman Karon's monologue.
Kyaaaa!
"Who is it? The entity above you. Were they the ones who created you? No, there is something even higher than that. What is their identity?"
The Ox-headed Demon screams, shedding tears of green blood.
"Resistance is futile. Your soul is already mine."
The demon's pupils rolled back, filled with a crimson glow.
Holy crap, he just woke up and he's already turning mid-tier demons into zombies.
Is this bastard really a Hidden Boss like me?
When the hell do I get my power spike? After Karon and the demon settle their score?
Now that I'm actually a growth-type character, this is frustrating as hell.
Just survive the early game! What's the point of that mindset? I'm getting crushed in the crossfire of giants from the start.
...Still, since I started weak, I'll be incredibly strong in the late game, right?
A growth-type who doesn't scale? That's impossible.
If that's the case, I might as well just go back to writing Kozaburo Season 2 on the community forums.
"Your memories are restricted. I can simply unlock them slowly... Who are you?"
Karon, who had been rambling to himself, shifts his gaze toward me.
- ...
Damn it, he caught me.
Everything happened so fast I couldn't even think of a response.
"You."
Karon approaches me.
My body won't move. He's trying to seize control.
"Who do you think you are, daring to use Necromancy in my presence? You are..."
Karon's voice trembles as if he's looking right through me.
"Loa...!"
He figured it out just by looking at me. This guy is really something.
This is dangerous.
"You despicable cowards. You watched in silence while the surface became this wasteland. Just like when my children died..."
Karon begins to lash out, his rage exploding as if some trigger had been flipped.
"Could you accept the surface's ruin, but couldn't stand my return?"
Should I try saying something?
- Necromancer Karon, I...
"Shut your mouth. You've manipulated many with that silver tongue, but it won't work on me."
Hey, why are you cutting me off?
"I know you're all in cahoots. Hiding like rats, watching from the shadows. It doesn't matter where you are. I will find you..."
This is getting annoying. Let me talk, you bastard.
Cooperation seems out of the question anyway, and even if it were possible, I wouldn't want to do it with a psycho like him.
Winning against demons with this guy would just lead to a zombie apocalypse ending.
"I'll find you and kill you..."
- It's quite pitiful to see you consumed by rage. You poor thing. Go on, give it your best.
Does he think I'm avoiding a verbal fight because I can't handle one?
I immediately released the Zombie Control and shifted to Totem No. 2.
"Looooo-aa!"
My vision shifted along with Karon's scream.
Whew. That bastard is terrifying.
In the end, he couldn't do a thing, right?
Regardless, it's my victory since I dominated Karon's emotions.
Plus, I found out that the Buster Call could be cut off through magical means, so it's a win-win.
***
The Sky Tree Tribe walked through the ruins of Latria.
In terms of destruction, this place was worse than Duvenheim.
It looked like a city that had been hit by a nuclear bomb.
Some weeds had sprouted, perhaps because time had passed, but seeing the withered plants and uprooted trees rolling on the ground made it hard to hope it would ever return to its original state.
It was all the work of the Dark Cloud Demon who came to wipe out George's Raid Party.
Is this the price of resistance?
To destroy an entire region beyond recovery just to take the lives of over fifty Holy Knights?
Vile bastards. They are monsters beyond compromise.
After walking a bit further and feeling safe, I checked the community.
Karon hadn't posted anything new.
Let's start with a simple warning.
[Ultra Sanz Crazy for Massacre Mode on a Moonlit Night: (Info) Don't go to Duvenheim
Living corpses are everywhere
Zombies? Something like that, but there are zombie demons too, so avoid the area
It's really dangerous here]
I intentionally left out the part about Necromancer Karon.
Explaining that Karon woke up in the Necromancer's Tomb and took over Rino Johnson's body would only lead to suspicions about how I knew or if I was the one who woke him.
The Barbarian series I wrote remained on the community. Posts on the community couldn't be deleted.
Imagine if I exposed Karon's identity. What if Karon, who already views me as a threat, reads my posts and deduces who I am or uses some strange magic to track me?
I'd be totally screwed.
Not just Karon, but I must not reveal my identity to anyone right now.
After all, I am the god of the barbarians, who are hostile to the Holy Knights.
Everyone is a Holy Knight, but only one is Loa? I would be suspicious too. I'd look like a potential threat.
There is a reason for the saying that a two-eyed person is treated like a monster in a village of one-eyed people.
This is no fairy tale world. No one would welcome a suspicious stranger with a smile just because he claims to be on their side and wants to save the world together.
Moreover, Possessors likely have one or two mental instabilities, like Rising Phoenix. What is the chance they would be driven by paranoia and kill barbarians to find me?
I believe the chance is high.
Hana attacked the Brown Rock Tribe simply because she found them annoying.
Until I establish a power that cannot be underestimated, I must keep my identity a complete secret.
[Shotgun Attack: Suddenly?]
[Ppu Ppu Ppung: That place is basically the edge of the world.]
The comments appeared quickly.
[Corrupted Power Knight: Isn't that where the Necromancer's Tomb is? I haven't been there though.]
└ [Samurai Jackson: That was in the game. I think it was a place that gave out trash skills.]
└ [Corrupted Power Knight: Did the zombies from there come out? Anyway, thx for the info]
[I Trusted the Monkey Uncle: I looked up where Duvenheim is and it's far as hell. No reason to go there.]
They are deducing it on their own. That is a relief.
[Not a Netkama: Hey, you okay?]
I gave a brief reply to Hana's message and checked the situation again.
What is this?
- ...!
A large pile of helmets lay on a rock I passed. They were the helmets of Holy Knights.
- Wait. Just a moment.
I was in a real hurry, but I absolutely wanted to check this.
Who gathered all the helmets here?
For what reason?
As I drew closer, I saw words carved into the rock where the helmets were placed.
The crooked lettering was written in Korean.
[My community friends and the bravest heroes of Earth sleep here in this foreign land.
- Melee-type Spy]
...It is the grave of George's Raid Party.
A part of my heart felt tight.
Since no bodies remained, did they gather helmets to commemorate them like this?
Melee-type Spy... how can someone capable of such a noble act spend their time writing bait posts like the Kozaburo ones.
As they say, the human mind is a mystery.
Afterward, I arrived safely at the Golden Sun Tribe in Bolvano without any further incidents.