Lemegeton
Lemegeton
The first time I investigated the tracks, it was simply to check.
Which meant I had no intention of fighting.
If the other party had stumbled in by chance, my plan was to confirm who they were and leave.
There was no need to cause a fuss by revealing myself, after all.
I'd just observe from nearby, decide, 'Ah, so things like that are around now, better be careful,' and go.
But I never imagined the other party would notice me too.
At that point I could tell that my opponent had some skill of their own.
They weren't just some pushover, at least. They were someone who could sense a presence.
That thought turned to certainty when they lunged at me.
The arc of their sword swings was sharp, and I could keenly feel the trained precision behind them.
Unlike me, who swings a weapon relying on instinct, this one had actually learned the sword.
Which raised a brief question in my mind.
'But why is someone like this here?'
Judging by skill alone, they looked like they should be a knight or some A-Rank adventurer.
For now, I turned on 'Player's Eye' as a check. These days, activating this skill whenever I met a stranger had almost become a habit.
[Conditions not met!]
[Cannot use 'Player's Eye' at this time!]
When I turned it on, I got the skill-locked notification, something I felt like I hadn't seen in ages.
Meaning the opponent wasn't an Otherworlder but someone from here, a Gaian.
And when Gaians came to a place like this, it was usually for one of two reasons.
Either a veteran explorer who had come to gather something from here, or a criminal like me.
And judging by the other party's shabby appearance, they seemed to be the latter.
Someone who had fled all the way to this dangerous forest, chased by something.
I wasn't the only one who judged this forest a refuge.
Of course, few actually acted on that. But once in a very great while, it happened.
Even as I made that assessment, the fight continued.
In the middle of it, they launched a desperate, all-out strike, and as I blocked it, I sent their sword flying into the air.
I had won the fight. Normally it would have ended there, and I'd have decided whether the other party lived or died.
But then they said something strange.
"You're a Manifestor... no, a Manifestor, sir."
"What?"
"I never thought I'd meet someone like you in a place like this... I see, that explains your strength."
Manifestor. That was the term for those of demon bloodline like me. Though they were usually called bearers or Demonkin.
It seemed the other party had reached that conclusion after seeing my regeneration speed.
Rapid regeneration was, after all, one of the traits of a Manifestor.
But that was it.
'Based on just that alone?'
That wasn't a privilege exclusive to Manifestors.
Rapid enough regeneration could be achieved through magic, Holy Power, a Unique Constitution, any number of means.
Hadn't this one just extended their arm by some unknown method too?
So it meant you couldn't easily judge from regeneration alone. Let alone from that one trait.
So for the time being, I decided to play dumb.
"Manifestor? What are you talking about? You're not saying I carry Demon's Blood or something?"
"Ah, as expected, you deny it. I understand. Countless Manifestors are denied by the world because of that power."
Though of course, they were practically brimming with conviction.
According to them, whenever Manifestors unwittingly used their power, an ominous aura flowed from their bodies.
Ordinary people usually couldn't feel it, they said, but those with training like hers could.
Damn, at this rate I couldn't even play dumb.
They could feel something like that? When ordinary people couldn't feel a thing?
And the other party's reaction was also extremely unusual.
Normally, when people learned I was a Manifestor, they'd try to kill me or turn me in.
This one was looking at me with an expression of deep impression, as if they'd discovered someone precious. The sort of look where they might drop to their knees any moment.
That atmosphere... yeah, it was like looking at a fanatic.
As I stood there spacing out for a moment, the other party spoke again.
"I'll be direct. Would you care to join our cult? We would treat you with the utmost honor. Simply being a Manifestor makes you precious, but with ability like that, we could even give you an executive position right away."
Around this time, I lowered my weapon.
Not because I was swayed by their words, but because a short conversation seemed necessary.
That group they'd just mentioned, this 'cult.'
At that point I could figure out who the other party was.
The suspicious character who had fled a few days ago was this very person. I'd thought it was none of my business, but who knew they'd come all the way to this forest... truly, you can never tell with people's lives.
I looked at them and asked.
"What are you people?"
"We are Lemegeton."
As if aiming to take a salesman's attitude toward me, she answered without hiding anything.
"To put it simply, we are a cult that serves demons. And we treat Manifestors such as yourself with the highest honor. Because you are people capable of directly communicating with the great demons."
She went on.
"Are you not uncomfortable living in this world? Join us! Together, let us enjoy their authority and build a kingdom of our own!"
The tone in which she said this was filled with goodwill.
She was literally trying to escort me away, as if dealing with a noble guest. Honestly, it was a little surreal since I'd never received that kind of treatment before.
Still, I was a bit suspicious for now, so I said this.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in cults."
At that, the other party's face went cold.
"...I see."
She spoke dully.
"Then I have no choice but to take you by force."
And then she suddenly started doing something strange.
Naturally, she wasn't at a level where she could subdue and take me. What she chose was a different method.
She suddenly bit her own arm hard and began scattering blood on the ground.
Unless you had regeneration like me, even that kind of wound was fatal in this forest.
Meaning the other party was making another desperate move here.
She lightly drew a sigil with the blood scattered on the floor. In a shape like a magic circle.
Questions welled up inside me.
What's that? Blood Magic? She knows how to use something like that?
That sort of thing would normally be classified as black magic.
Even as I thought that, the magic continued.
The magic circle made of blood emitted light. Small static crackled, and a voice came from beyond the circle.
A strange Demonic Energy could be felt from the magic circle.
-Received.
"This is Lian."
In an instant, chills ran all over me. Damn it, it was a means of communication. I couldn't let her keep talking like that.
My reaction was immediate. I grabbed a dagger and immediately prepared to throw it at her.
Wooong—
The moment a faint sword aura flickered at the dagger's tip, I hurled it at the other party.
Mana lost its power quickly once it left the body, but at this distance it would be enough.
-What is it?
"Yes, I discovered something unusual and am contacting—"
Thuck—!
Soon the dagger embedded itself in her forehead. A slightly grotesque scene unfolded before my eyes.
Unable to finish what she was saying, she collapsed on the spot.
-Lian? Lian, what's happening? Respond.
Even after she fell, the voice kept coming from beyond the magic circle. A slightly husky, flat-toned female voice.
Fearing discovery, I held my voice and began erasing the magic circle with my foot.
Ominous things like that had to be wiped out quickly.
-I repeat. Respo...
Krzz—Krzz—
As I erased the magic circle like that, the voice from beyond gradually faded.
Only after I'd wiped away all the sigils and a long time had passed since the voice fully vanished did I let out a sigh of relief.
"Hoo..."
Anyway, what a peculiar person.
Lemegeton? A cult that serves demons?
Maybe because the Otherworlders—the players—had come here, all sorts of strange things seemed to be happening lately.
Still, up until now it had all been completely unrelated to me, so I'd just been ignoring it.
But seeing her attitude of deep reverence, apparently it was related to someone like me after all.
'I don't know.'
Having thought it over for a long while, I decided to shove the questions into a corner of my mind for now.
I couldn't just keep thinking forever; I had to deal with what was in front of me first.
A corpse lying silently, a dagger driven between her brows.
Most likely, pursuers would soon be turning the area upside down trying to find this one body.
Since she was a follower of some unknown cult.
Just thinking about that was already giving me a headache.
"Even so, I can't exactly take this body and report it myself..."
If the body were at least found, the pursuit squad wouldn't have to ransack the place.
It was while I lingered over that dilemma for a moment.
"...Ah!"
A fantastic method suddenly flashed into my head.
Before long, I was able to put that method into action.
*
The next day, Im Ha-neul went to Yor's cave for the first time in a long while.
And there she was able to witness the strange combination of Yor's bright face and a corpse with a hole in her forehead.
After hearing out all of Yor's request, Ha-neul asked him again, to confirm she'd heard correctly.
"So... this is the suspicious person, and you caught her?"
"Yeah."
For reference, it had been a few days since they'd dropped formal speech. Perhaps because Ha-neul, if only slightly, was a bit older.
Even so, it felt odd for her to use polite speech.
Because of that, they'd begun using casual speech at Yor's suggestion... but anyway, what mattered now was this issue.
"And you want me to take this body and report it to the guild? Saying that I caught her?"
"Yeah."
"Will they believe I have that kind of ability?"
"Dunno."
Haah, Ha-neul let out a sigh.
She too felt a headache coming on.