If There Is a God (8)
“Hey, Archmage.”
“What is it?”
“Just occurred to me—what happened to that plan about dispatching a Great Sage?”
“Ahem. Well… one is here, isn’t he?”
“……?”
“…Ahem.”
“…Don’t tell me it’s you?”
“Ahem-hem.”
“You piece of garbage—”
Around the time I was still wondering how the people of Zakrati and the Order had managed to call a truce, and around the time they finally caught up to me at the next enemy stronghold, the Archmage found himself seized by the collar and shaken like a rag doll by Baramson over a contract dispute.
If one of the mages hadn’t carelessly blurted out the truth—that the Great Sage who was supposed to be dispatched had simply blown off the contract the moment the Archmage wasn’t there to hound him—Baramson might still have been throttling him. Or, well, if Baramson hadn’t already sent half his men off to some city called Luwan or Luwin to request reinforcements, those companions of his might have beaten the Archmage half to death with pure verbal abuse.
“If you don’t pay the penalty fee, I’ll kill you.”
“…I’ll sell that Great Sage’s inventions if I have to. Don’t worry about the money.”
Still, the power of coin was mighty. Baramson somehow swallowed his rage. Impressive self-control, really.
KWAANG!
“Oh…… looks like the situation’s finally been cleaned up.”
“…If it weren’t for the Demon Knight, you’d be dead.”
“…I’ll have to pass along my thanks to him, then.”
Of course, as that exchange made clear, my own performance had played a part in that self-control. Naturally—watching someone raze an entire mountain stronghold single-handedly tends to conjure up a little patience even where none existed before.
“You think you can live after doing something like th—!”
“You know your place well.”
I seized the throat of this mountain stronghold’s boss—if he even deserved the title—and slammed him into the ground. From this distance and this posture, even if he tried to hurl a curse jar I would have time to react and counter.
“Do not expect to live after committing acts like these.”
“Ghk—!”
People whose necks are being crushed usually thrash about trying to pry off the hand that chokes them. This enemy was no different. He clawed desperately at the fingers clamped around his throat and even tried to go for my eyes.
Crrrk.
“Gahhk!”
His mistake was simple: I was stronger. And I was holding his neck with only one hand, which left the other free to break his resistance.
With both arms twisted like screws, the man could only groan as he was completely subdued.
“Whew, packing something real dangerous on your belt there.”
Meanwhile Dev, utterly fearless, approached and plucked something from the subdued man’s waist. It was one of those jars I had seen back at the fortress in the Gareulim region.
I was pretty sure the guy hadn’t even been holding it when I first engaged him. When had Dev spotted it?
“Th-that’s…… ghk.”
The boss twitched his broken limbs and tried to reach for it. But Dev had already stepped back. Even if the man’s arms had been intact, I doubted he could have grabbed him.
“We can begin the interrogation now.”
Dev was right. Capturing him alive had been the plan from the start.
Even so……
Mindful of my concept, I stared down at the man’s throat for a long moment while idly stroking the hilt of my sword. The Inquisitors who had been about to drag him off flinched.
“My lord?”
Perfect timing. Thanks for the cue.
I turned in response to Dev’s words. The moment I did, the scars I had carved into the stronghold the instant I stormed in—slashes from successive Chamgyeok—filled my vision from every angle.
Those were probably why even the Inquisitors, who usually inspired fear in the name of faith, were now watching me so carefully.
“It would be best to make camp here for the night.”
The sun hasn’t even set yet?
I glanced up at the sky after the Archmage spoke. A gradual wash of crimson was mixing into the blue; it really was that ambiguous hour. With a small group it might not have mattered, but right now our numbers were approaching a hundred.
“We still need to investigate, after all.”
Fair enough.
Earlier we had purified everything in such a rush that the evidence had evaporated, but this time was different. We needed to analyze the jar that held the plague curse, and we still had to figure out how the mid-rank humans had suddenly bulked up like that.
Sure, those transformations hadn’t felt especially threatening so far, but the final boss of a full quest chain would be another story entirely.
“Just how do they achieve this kind of mana density?”
“Look at this—the cross-section is rough. The cohesion isn’t perfect.”
“Even with imperfect cohesion it still took that form and flew this far?”
“Insane. Think he’d cast it one more time if we asked?”
Except the mages were acting like that—were they actually capable of investigating anything?
More importantly, what even was “mana density”? Wasn’t a rough cross-section just a visual effect?
Well, sometimes the cut came out smooth and sometimes it didn’t, but did that actually mean anything?
Clap-clap.
Just then the Archmage clapped his hands. Because they were covered in fur the sound came out rather dull, yet that dullness itself became a distinctive signature. Every mage recognized it instantly and lifted their heads.
They looked exactly like a colony of meerkats.
“Could you hand that over for a moment?”
“Huh? Oh—yes.”
Under the gathered gazes the Archmage accepted the curse jar from Dev. The vessel was covered in dense writing, and even a complete layman could sense something uncanny radiating from it.
“A jar containing a plague curse. Anyone willing to analyze it?”
“Me!!!”
“I’ll do it!!”
…So investigation was possible after all.
Is the Archmage a god?
“Take it. If you break it your life is forfeit, so for heaven’s sake be careful.”
“Haaah, thank you!”
“I want to look too!”
“So this is a jar filled with a curse?”
“The shielding magic is sophisticated. I never expected mere demon worshipers to be capable of crafting something like this!”
“Is what’s inside really a curse?”
“It couldn’t completely mask the unique feel of Demon Energy. Confirmed.”
Now I was worried for an entirely different reason. They’re not going to pop the seal open or deliberately smash the jar just so they can peek inside, right?
“We’ve found the captives!”
“……!”
My worry never got the chance to run its full course. The topic shifted in an instant.
A group of adventurers had heaved open an underground door and were peering down into the darkness.
“Wait!”
Baramson shot forward first.
“I’ll go as well!”
The Inquisitor followed right after. A few priests capable of healing discreetly trailed them down into the underground. They were no doubt planning to treat any wounded among the captives.
Whether those people would calmly accept treatment was another matter…… but with Baramson there, it would work out somehow. Not my problem.
“Well then, I’ll go poke around and see if anything’s been hidden here.”
Dev also melted away to fulfill his usual role. The only person with nothing left to do was me.
Strictly speaking the Archmage hadn’t moved either, but he could still join the mages and examine the magic.
Up until moments ago I had practically done everything myself, too.
“Ah, right. About the dragon’s corpse—I managed to set aside your share somehow.”
Hmm, so what now? Purely from a concept standpoint I should skip rest and push straight ahead…… wait, what?
“I wanted to grab as much as possible for you…… sorry. A quarter of the corpse was the best I could do.”
What? He secured my share? And not only that—my cut is a full quarter? And he’s actually giving it to me?
“Even if it falls short of your expectations, I hope you’ll overlook it.”
I clenched my fist hard.
Fall short? Impossible! This was a reward I had already given up on receiving!
I was so pleased I almost flashed a thumbs-up on the spot. That was how satisfied I felt.
“For security we’ve entrusted it to the temple; you can collect it when we return to the mainland. Also…… the Adventurers’ Guild said they’ll have a second Merit Medal ready for you, so go pick that up once we’re back as well.”
The Merit Medal I couldn’t care less about.
It was useful, sure, but I already had one. Another would just waste an inventory slot.
I simply started mulling over what I could craft from the dragon corpse. I wouldn’t be able to replace every piece of gear, but it was still an enjoyable dilemma.
A target harboring hostility has entered a 30 m radius.
An alert pinged me right then. Every enemy originally inside the stronghold was either dead or captured, so this had to be a new arrival.
My steps carried me swiftly toward the wooden palisade.
Kiiiuuuuuuu!
A bizarre cry reached my ears—the kind of cry I had once heard while researching materials.
“Demon Energy!”
The Inquisitors belatedly tried to close in around me. That was the exact moment something entered my field of vision. Between the gaps of the wooden posts, a deer was visible.
“Demon Energy corruption…….”
To be more precise, it was a deer that had been demonicized—hide peeling away in patches, raw flesh and bone exposed.
A pitiable beast that has been consumed by Demon Energy and turned demonic. An animal that once grazed only on grass can now devour anything.
Whoosh.
The instant I spotted it I vaulted the palisade. It was a little grotesque, but a demon was still a demon. If you see one, you eliminate it.
Kiiiuuueeeong!
As if answering, the deer charged straight at me. The antlers crowning its head had grown grotesquely larger and sharper, taking on the perfect shape of a weapon.
“Rest in peace.”
Seogeok!
But after slaying a dragon, did it really think a mere deer could stop me?
I drew my zweihander, severing neck and body in a single stroke, then crushed the fallen head under my boot.
From the head that split like an overripe watermelon, something black and pulped was revealed. Whatever had eaten the brain left not a single wrinkle of the original organ visible.
“I shall purify it!”
I flicked the blood from my blade just as one of the Inquisitors came running up in a fluster. He dropped to his knees before the deer’s corpse and began slowly reciting a prayer.
Purification that Kimchi Mandu would have finished in moments stretched on for a full three minutes. As a bonus, a single bead of sweat even formed on his cheek.
It was only a drop, yet its mere existence seemed to illustrate the gulf between the Inquisitor and ordinary priests.
“…….”
Separately, what now? No matter how I looked at it, this had all the hallmarks of a time-attack quest.
I kept a polite social distance from the Inquisitor who was still radiating Holy Power and sank into thought. Overhead, gold was steadily overpowering blue.
“Hoo.”
The moment the Inquisitor finished purifying, I spun on my heel and strode back into the stronghold. My eyes swept the crowd and locked onto Dev.
“Find anything?”
“Huh? Only one so far.”
Maybe because I almost never spoke first, Dev—who had just finished searching one area—pricked his ears straight up and shook his head rapidly.
“But I did find a letter telling them where to send people—”
Snatch.
I snatched the paper Dev was fumbling to offer and scanned it at once. Destination: the base beneath Turtle-Hand Rock. That was the clue.
∎ Locate Bipurit’s bases — 3 / ?
∎ Eliminate Bipurit’s bases — 2 / ?
∎ Bonus: Kill Bipurit
The quest, which had refreshed once more and settled into a fixed form, quietly ticked its counters upward.
“Climb carefully.”
“L-light……”
“We’re alive……”
At roughly the same time, the group that had gone underground began climbing back up while supporting people. Thankfully, no kill-or-be-killed clash with the Order had broken out. That didn’t mean the captives were exactly welcoming the Order’s help, either.
“First, treatment……”
But for me, that was enough. As long as we were in a situation where words could still work, it was fine.
“Demon Knight?”
“You lot.”
I stepped past Baramson and held the letter out toward the newly emerged people. Inside I thought, Do these guys even know how to read? and felt a brief flash of regret, but the letter was already out. If needed I could just read it aloud for them.
“Anyone here know the location of Turtle-Hand Rock?”
“…Turtle-Hand?”
“If it’s Turtle-Hand……”
Maybe because I had spoken in such a high-handed tone, the people flinched and began exchanging nervous glances. My eyebrow twitched.
“You can’t just demand answers out of the blue like that—you’ll scare them.”
Fortunately Baramson stepped in and mediated. Perhaps because they were all from the same region even if the cities differed, the people listened well to him at least.
“Turtle-Hand Rock is just over those two hills.”
In any case, the words I had been waiting for soon came out.
The location was now fixed. We could depart.
“A base under Turtle-Hand Rock. So that’s next.”
“…I think I already know the answer, but I’ll ask once more. You don’t intend to leave right this instant, do you?”
“That bastard Bipurit…… gathering people for what……”
“My lord, I still haven’t finished searching everything.”
In order: the Inquisitor, the Archmage, Baramson, Dev.
I handed the letter back to Dev and started walking. The fact that Dev shrieked and flailed his arms after I casually tossed the paper his way was none of my concern.
From here on it would be a forced march, managing fatigue as carefully as possible! Concept or no concept, this was clearly a time-attack quest, so we had to push the progress bar as fast as we could!
“Ah—if we leave right now the people—”
“Now that demonization of the land has been confirmed, moving quickly isn’t wrong…… but the people are the problem.”
“Pardon? Demonization?”
“Hold on—what’s happening?”
“Demonization means demons start spawning, right?”
True to form, my actions prompted the Inquisitor, Baramson, and Dev to each prepare their own reactions. They would have, that is, if the Archmage—who had remained aboveground and therefore witnessed the entire incident—hadn’t spoken first.
“…Then we must advance at once. The longer we leave it, the more dangerous this land becomes.”
“D-demonization on this land? Wait—then what about the people? What happens to these people!”
“Whoa, can we even handle this with our numbers? More importantly, my lord isn’t stopping for even a single step!”
Faced with the newly added problem, the three of them reacted in completely different ways for completely different reasons.
Me? Naturally I ignored every last one of them and kept walking. The newly discovered victims needed rescue, true—but that wasn’t my job.
If it wasn’t my job, it was better to cut it out of my mind and focus on what I could do.
“It would be best to split our forces, Inquisitor.”
And among the things I could do, the single most helpful and the one I was best at was just one.
“I will remain here and lead them. I shall take charge of both their protection and the purification.”
Charge forward at full speed and slaughter every last one of them.
“The three of you should follow the Demon Knight first. That will be most efficient.”
The party split.