Alms
Alms
"Huff... huff..."
Ragged breathing echoed through the air.
Dantalion, having escaped the forest, spoke.
"This expedition is a failure."
A smile still lingered on his face, but the mood was far from pleasant.
Blood still streamed steadily from his severed ear.
Perhaps even demons felt pain, because the skin around his eyes was twitching and trembling.
With Seere and now this, it felt like every time we encountered that human, a demon ended up losing a body part.
At least, unlike Seere, it was only an ear that had been cut off.
It might be a bit inconvenient, but it wouldn't hinder combat at all.
"The human world is truly filled with powerful individuals. I never imagined there would be a human of that caliber lurking in such a forest."
"...Indeed."
Harold nodded slightly in agreement. Then, for a moment, he pictured the way Yor had looked at the very end. That form radiating thick, cloying killing intent alongside a crimson-glowing spear.
The sight of an opponent sincerely prepared for a life-or-death duel was akin to a wild beast.
The pressure was so intense that even he, who prided himself on having lived a difficult life, had flinched for a second.
The very fact that Yor could wound a demon was proof of his skill in the first place.
Of course, Harold could take him if he had to.
"What shall we do? Shall we gather forces again? If it concerns the altar, not only I but the other branch leaders will lend their strength as well."
"Forget it. Now that things have come to this, searching for the altar in the forest will be put on hold for the time being."
There were too many variables. Thanks to Andromalius's arm, they had a rough idea of the direction, but that was all.
They didn't even know if the altar was deeper inside that cave or somewhere beyond it.
It would be better to simply find it later. They couldn't commit excessive military force in such an uncertain situation.
If they happened to lose it, it would cause a serious headache.
The curious thing was that the one thinking these thoughts was not the branch leader Harold, but Dantalion.
He, who was unmistakably a demon, was now worrying about the loss of combat power.
Harold found more than one thing about this suspicious.
"Lord Dantalion. Pardon my impertinence, but may I ask why you permitted the broadcast to be turned on?"
"Why, for publicity, of course."
Squirm, squirm. His face shifted. Even if one of his ears had been cut off, the transformation of his face did not stop.
Though that didn't mean his ear was regenerating.
"Though it turned out a bit differently than I intended... Originally, the plan was to showcase your group and gather even more followers."
"I see... But we already have a fair number of followers. There is no need for you, Lord Dantalion, to overexert yourself to recruit more."
"No. We need far more. Vastly more than we have now."
Harold looked at Dantalion for a moment. He sensed a strange fervor in his eyes.
Watching him, Harold asked cautiously.
"What exactly are you planning to do...?"
"I intend to build a kingdom."
Dantalion's black eyes lost their focus. As if he were gazing at something far beyond what was right in front of him.
"So that one day, when my king descends, he may easily conquer the world. A kingdom that humans would not dare to challenge lightly."
"..."
Harold nodded wordlessly. It was an ambitious dream, but it wasn't impossible.
For one who craved immense power, it wasn't a bad idea at all.
"Let us go. Another altar is bound to appear soon enough, and there is much to be done in the meantime."
And so, they leisurely made their way back to their hideout.
*
As mentioned before, the NPC named Yor was a fairly well-known figure on the internet.
What with his outstanding appearance, the fact that he was a 'man,' and his considerable combat prowess, too.
He was someone who could draw people's attention in many ways.
But that alone couldn't fully account for his level of recognition.
In the end, the reason he drew so much focus was quite simple.
Namely, the spark that started it all was the fact that a fully intact 'man' was living in that dangerous Forbidden Forest.
Why was there an NPC here? Why didn't he go into the city?
Why on earth did he live in a risky, uncomfortable forest instead of a comfortable city life?
From the moment he appeared in the game, people had come up with countless questions, offering up countless theories. Many of them were rather plausible, too.
But ultimately, unless the person in question opened his mouth, they had no choice but to stop at hypotheses.
Just as the questions kept piling up, an answer suddenly burst forth from a broadcast.
Specifically, the fact that he was a potential Demonkin who possessed Demon's Blood.
The broadcast was already a hot topic in the community because Dantalion was supposed to appear in the first place.
The viewer count had been rapidly increasing, and the surge had grown even steeper when Dantalion and Yor faced off.
It had peaked outright when the battle broke out.
Thanks to that, by the time the broadcast ended, the viewer count had nearly reached 30,000.
A number only achievable when numerous streamers hold a massive collab stream.
Even though her broadcast had been forcibly cut off by her superior, the stream itself was an overwhelming success.
Of course, given her origins in Lemegeton, more than half the chat were probably trolls... but either way, she'd certainly racked up the views.
And since so many people had seen it, naturally the community was plastered with nothing but posts about Yor. After all, not only the 'Demon's Blood' revelation, but so much else had been shown in this broadcast.
It was no exaggeration to say the entire Demon's Saga Gallery seemed to be buzzing about him.
+
[I knew he was high level]
But he's seriously fucking strong
What the hell do you have to do to be able to match that demon bastard...?
+
[And at the end he was actually pushing him back, damn]
[Isn't that seriously Knight Commander level?]
[↳ Are you looking down on Knight Commanders? lol]
[↳ So you think Yor is a joke?]
[↳ He sure is a dick though.. ha]
+
[What's that technique where he clumps his blood and coats his spear?]
I think that's genuinely the first time I've seen that in this game, what the hell is it?
How the fuck did it pierce a shield that dozens of players couldn't break through?
+
[I'm a wizard, looks similar to some kind of dark magic]
[↳ If I learn that magic, can I do that too?]
[↳ But that literally only lets you move blood, I have no clue how he reinforced and wrapped it like that;]
[↳ Ah, stop getting my hopes up for nothing]
+
[Anyway, doesn't this screenshot look cool as hell]
(Image)
Magic clearly ripped his flesh but he still counterattacked, damn
Does this guy not feel pain...?
+
[He's so damn tough and cool]
[True man approved]
[It's a bit brutal so it's tough to watch, but the guts on him are insane, how does he keep pushing forward like that?]
[↳ I fell for him even harder today..]
First of all, the most immediately visible posts were about the battle scenes.
After all, they were the most visceral and spectacular.
As time passed, the players' levels had become high enough not to be outclassed by NPCs,
but that didn't mean they could contend with Transcendents. That summit was still distant and far off.
Thus, the clash of powerful beings made for excellent content in and of itself. There was, of course, the admiration, but also much to learn if one delved deeper.
+
[Doesn't this basically mean we have a strategy for Dantalion?]
His magic is annoying, but in the end, if you can just pierce that, he's got nothing.
That's totally doable.
+
[And you think you can pierce it?]
[↳ The point is we have a way to catch him, dumbass]
[↳ Whether I pierce it? Someone else will pierce it and we'll catch him]
Posts like that.
But if you looked for the most common topic, it was still, ultimately, the 'Demon's Blood.'
By now, the players were of course aware of 'Demon's Blood.' There had been many events revealing it, and much damage resulting from it, too.
They knew its dangers, and they knew how the general NPCs perceived it.
To the people of Gaia, a Manifestor was a sinner who deserved to die on the spot. They were also time bombs that could go off at any moment.
Because there was no way to cure them.
Even for the sake of humanity's safety, eliminating a Manifestor on sight was taken for granted.
Those with extreme views didn't even see them as human. There were cases where they were viewed simply as demon spawn or lackeys.
It was understandable.
Their lives were on the line, after all. The narrow-minded perspectives of medieval people likely played a part as well.
But those who could view the world from a step back, unlike them,
and those who could see diverse perspectives through the internet, were able to feel a slightly different emotion.
+
[So does that mean this Yor guy was hiding and living in that forest his whole life?]
Probably the reason he doesn't live in a city is because he could be killed if he's found.
So doesn't that mean he was just barely surviving while holding his breath in the forest?
Wow... that's kind of rough
+
It was sympathy.
*
Maybe it was because I was burning down a goblin house for the third time already.
I could feel that the goblins' intelligence had risen quite a bit. I never imagined they'd figure out how to coat the outside of their wooden huts with mud to prevent fires.
Because of that, I couldn't help but be flustered for a moment when I first saw it. You could feel their tenacity not to fall for it a third time.
But just because they did that, it didn't mean they could escape the hands of a seasoned arsonist like me.
If slapping mud on made it hard to burn, all I had to do was scrape off all that mud and then set the fire.
Fortunately, the goblins, with their half-baked intelligence, lacked the engineering to build full-fledged adobe houses.
Though it took a bit of time working secretly in the dead of night, I managed to ignite their homes once again anyway.
The sight of the absolutely pissed-off goblins was a bonus.
I felt a little sorry for them... but at any rate, this would make it a bit easier to notice danger early.
"Hoo..."
I had reinforced the watch like that.
What I did after that was thorough preparation.
I still hadn't been able to leave my home.
It was right that I needed to leave immediately, but there were too many things to prepare first.
I hadn't finished sorting through the stockpile in the storage, and finding a new place to live was a task in itself.
Of course, if a subjugation squad came charging in, I'd have to bolt right away... but that wasn't the case now.
Since there were only a few days left until the waning phase, I couldn't just recklessly move my base.
About two days passed that way.
Suddenly, I recalled the time Im Ha-neul first discovered my identity.
I had been on extremely high alert back then, too. Nothing was different now.
Those were two fairly blood-draining days.
Even when trying to sleep at night, I had to worry about whether someone might come charging in. It was a relief at least to have the hearing the unicorn had gifted me.
As time passed in that manner, people finally came to the forest.
They were the first to come looking since Dantalion had left.
Step, step.
Hearing the footsteps of those approaching, I raised my guard to the maximum.
Fortunately, the number of people seemed small. Two at most.
To find out what they had come for, I tracked those two.
And so, what I met were two female Otherworlders.
Both were faces I'd never seen before. Even so, I felt no hostility aimed at me.
"...What do you want?"
The only somewhat peculiar thing was that they looked like they were about to cry the instant they saw me.
It felt as if they were looking at something pitiful. Exaggerating a bit, it was an expression that looked like they might leak a few tears if you poked them.
Soon, the two women handed something to me.
"Please eat this."
It was bread. Sausage bread with a pleasantly savory aroma that looked quite modern. Aside from that, various other kinds of bread were packed in a paper bag.
"*Sob*, we heard you like bread, so we brought some. Stay strong from now on."
With those final words, the women turned and headed back the way they came.
They hadn't asked any questions, nor done any harm. It was as if their sole purpose had been to meet me and give me bread.
"...What the hell?"
I stared blankly in the direction they had disappeared.
For some reason, I felt vaguely pissed off.