I Have a Question
I Have a Question
Six hundred years ago, a single great star fell in the night sky of Gaia.
It was a colossal star, uniquely vivid and moving along a strangely shifting trajectory.
In need of spectacle, the people of antiquity gathered in one place to watch it.
And before long, they came to realize something.
That falling thing they had taken for a star was actually something resembling a star, yet utterly different. At first glance, it was a bizarre pentagram-shaped something made of fabric.
The moment they realized it, the ancient people tried to flee in terror, but it was already too late.
The fabric pentagram fell into their midst and, just like that, claimed the lives of hundreds.
After that, the enormous pentagram something rampaged in every direction, slaughtering countless more.
In the end, it was annihilated by the heroes of that era. Later, a chronicle written in blood described the creature's identity as follows.
'69th-Rank, Pentagram Decarabia.'
Seeing that it was made of fabric, it was clearly a living being, yet its grotesque form and cruelty made it loathsome to even call it life. Thus, the ancients defined it as a demon.
That was the first recorded account of a demon in this world.
Thus were born those who carried demon's blood into the world, and people came to be widely aware of the danger posed by demons.
And so, four hundred years ago, another demon descended upon the world.
It was a demon with bird-like wings and a golden body.
As soon as it descended, the creature slaughtered innocent common folk.
On the other hand, it also performed all manner of bizarre antics, turning metal into gold and water into wine.
Some ignorant ancients are said to have even worshipped it, enamoured by those wondrous abilities.
Yet that creature was extinguished more futilely than one might expect.
For a single transcendent had challenged it to a life-or-death duel and struck off its head. Even if the material of the sword turned to gold, its keen edge did not vanish, and a transcendent's magical power could easily compensate for the blade's strength.
And so the second demon to descend met its end all too easily.
Thanks to that, the ancients are said to have thought something like this.
Perhaps demons are more manageable than expected?
'48th-Rank, Alchemist Haagenti.'
However, that complacency was shattered several centuries later.
One hundred and fifty years ago, a demon descended upon the world once more.
At first, people were uneasy, but they did not worry.
After all, history already contained two experiences of repelling demons.
What was more, it was not by armies numbering thousands, but by a mere handful of transcendents.
Thus, somewhere in a corner of their hearts, they thought it would surely be dealt with this time too, that although there might be some damage, things would quickly settle down...
Such hopes were dashed before long.
It is said that a great power of that era was brought to the brink of annihilation within a matter of days.
Many mighty warriors attacked him, but none could stop him.
The transcendents' robust bodies were cut down futilely by the greatsword he wielded, and over ten thousand people were burned away by the black flames he scattered.
That powerful demon was finally extinguished only by grinding down three or more armies and dozens upon dozens of transcendents.
From this point on, people once again recognized the gravity of the demon threat.
The trauma suffered then was so immense that from that time onward, all latent dangers bearing demon's blood were put to death.
'68th-Rank, Black-Flame Belial.'
And most recently, the 72nd-Rank, Andromalius.
That was the total number of demons that had appeared throughout history.
"Huuuh..."
The Fourth Knight Commander, Rayleigh, let out a small sigh as he read the ancient records.
Lately, it seemed headaches were plaguing him more and more often.
Even without that, the problems caused by the Otherworlders were still piling up like mountains nine months later.
On top of that, there was a Demon Advent, and now some strange cult that worshipped demons had surfaced.
Because of this, various imperial officials had been complaining of headaches these days.
No matter how much they dealt with one issue after another, problems kept cropping up.
'Just what is about to happen to this world...'
He lamented his own lot for a moment.
In any case, what needed to be uncovered now was this.
Why had those bastards stolen Andromalius's arm?
Looking at the demons recorded so far, each possessed some peculiar ability or another.
Surely that creature would too. And whatever that ability was, it was bound to reside, even if only in part, within that arm.
"Haaah..."
His sighs only deepened, given that he was the one tasked with investigating it.
*
"Keuh-heok... keuk..."
In the dark of night, somewhere on a plain, three adventurers were currently dying.
All three were the A-Rank Adventurers who had previously taken on the commission from Im Ha-neul.
"Ah, this is strange. Did you guys really catch them? Lian called us at the very end. Did you delete that from your memory?"
And those who had driven them to the brink of death were just a few human beings.
It was that cult called Lemegeton, which had recently been causing a stir in the world.
Whatever the true scale of their power, they had effortlessly subdued A-Rank Adventurers, even if it had been through a surprise attack.
Leaving the adventurers on the verge of death, one of the cultists spoke.
"Leave them. It seems someone else was used as a proxy to report. These ones know nothing."
"What? He went that far? What a cowardly little shit."
"He was being careful, you moron. That means the trail for why Lian called has gone cold."
"No, hold on. We should at least find out who commissioned them. Hey, what did the client look like?"
The woman who had been threatening the adventurers the whole time while holding a dagger asked.
But she never got an answer. The adventurers had breathed their last before she could.
"Tch. That's why I said to wound them just moderately."
"I didn't expect them to just drop dead like that, Branch Leader."
"Forget it. Let's go. We've got a long way to go."
So the bastards got up and began walking somewhere. In the hand of the woman called the Branch Leader was Andromalius's left arm.
The serpent coiled around that arm turned its head this way and that, guiding them somewhere.
The arm's ability they had acquired was simple yet powerful.
It let the user find what they desired. Even if the number of uses was limited.
After walking for a long while, they arrived at a remote, uninhabited mountain range.
Looking at the direction the serpent indicated, the Branch Leader regarded her subordinates and gave the order.
"Dig here."
At her words, the cultists began digging into the earth.
Thunk—
After burrowing underground for some time, something solid blocked their path.
As the cultists brushed away the surrounding dirt, an altar with a single sigil engraved into it appeared.
Seeing it, the Branch Leader's lips curled up faintly.
"We've finally found it."
An altar where a demon was sealed.
As mentioned before, demons were sealed all across this world, and one could find and break those altars, or offer sacrifices to them.
Of course, true to the word 'sealed,' most were hidden deep within the earth.
With the help of the item, they had been able to discover an altar for the first time in hundreds of years.
The figure called the Branch Leader examined the altar for a while.
A seal on which something like two soft wings was depicted. Probably Seere's seal.
She caressed the seal engraved in the center and thought to herself.
'We will bring you out soon.'
Thus, the world was turbulent beyond measure.
From a macroscopic perspective, the world was like a time bomb ready to burst at any moment.
With troubles erupting everywhere.
But from a more microscopic perspective.
For example, from the perspective of someone who lived out his life solely within a forest.
No matter how chaotic things became outside, to Yor it was still none of his fucking business.
*
"Mmm..."
A few weeks had passed since I caught and reported those suspicious bastards.
My daily life hadn't changed. Eating, sleeping, hunting, and fighting loneliness.
Occasionally welcoming the guests who visited the forest, and enduring my berserk conditions.
My goal was still survival, and a peaceful life. And if possible, making a few friends too.
That was how I lived my days. However, lately, I had something I was curious about.
It wasn't with any particular intent. It was just something I'd become purely curious about.
Don't those moments come up sometimes?
Why is the sun hot? Why do the seasons change?
Questions like that, which suddenly pop into your head.
Curiosities with no particular value, yet that abruptly surface in your mind.
The thing I had suddenly become curious about was a similar kind.
"What's wrong?"
As I sat with my head bowed in thought for a moment, a voice came from the opposite side.
It was Yoo Chae-rin. Beside her, I could see a red dot floating around.
Meaning she was currently streaming. For some reason, it felt like it had been a while since I'd appeared on her stream.
And it actually had been quite a while.
Lately, she'd been devoting herself fiercely to levelling up.
"Ah, no. Just suddenly had something I got curious about."
"About what?"
[What what what]
[Our guy... what he's wearing today is pretty hot too... hehe]
[Tell me everything, sweetie. I'll tell you all about it.]
[Who said he's your sweetie, you bitch]
At my words, she showed her interest. As my source of information, there were times she answered my questions like this. Coincidentally, the thing I was curious about was also related to the Otherworlders.
Without any hesitation, I asked her my question.
"Now that I think about it, you Otherworlders, what do you do when you have relations with the people here?"
My utterly out-of-the-blue question, a stark contrast to the calm stream atmosphere.
At those words, the chat window froze for a moment as if completely baffled. After a brief silence, Chae-rin asked me back.
"Wha, what? What do you mean...?"