The Girl Who Needed a Horn
Four carriages raced across the wasteland.
As they left Scorched Earth, Baront, the new king of the balrog stronghold, had gifted them two carriages. The gifted carriages were more than twice the size of the ones they had before, which meant the Arian clan no longer had to ride atop them as they traveled.
Yoon Sang-hyuk frowned as he looked at Ibrahmut, who was sitting opposite him and chattering without pause.
"So that’s when I said it exactly like this. ‘The title of Demon Lord can’t forgive your sins, either.’ Kyaa-! Isn’t that cool?"
Ibrahmut was talkative. Too talkative.
He was wearing armor the same red as his hair, and a sword leaned at his side, a sword whose use in the future was frankly questionable.
Ever since they left Scorched Earth, he’d started talking, and he hadn’t stopped for half a day’s journey.
"And then that bastard..."
"Enough."
Yoon Sang-hyuk spoke quietly.
"To me...? Huh?"
"I said stop."
"Stop what...?"
Looking as though even saying more was a waste of breath, Yoon Sang-hyuk raised one finger to his lips.
"You talk too much. From now on, answer only when someone asks you something, and keep to only what’s necessary."
"...Yes."
He could understand this side of Ibrahmut, at least.
Ibrahmut was one of the true strong among the Demon Realm’s teeming monsters. Would the strong of the Demon Realm really all be so taciturn? The beings of the Demon Realm were not bound by lifespans in the way humans were. More than that, because of their standing, it would not be easy for anyone to approach them in the first place. They had probably been forced into silence for a very long time.
But understanding something in his head and accepting it in practice were different matters.
"How far is it to the Gray Wasteland?"
"This place..."
Yoon Sang-hyuk touched a finger to his lips again, then looked at Ibrahmut before shifting his gaze to Zeronia.
"If we just keep riding, we’ll get there. At this pace, we should arrive within ten days at the latest."
"By the way, maybe it’s just me, but have you always spoken so stiffly?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Your tone. Your tone. Anyone hearing you would think you were a junior soldier in my army."
"Hah, haha..."
Zeronia laughed awkwardly.
Wasn’t it only natural that she would not feel at ease speaking casually, the way she had when she first set out with Yoon Sang-hyuk?
But look at who was sharing the carriage with her.
Ibrahmut, the former king of the balrogs who had once ruled one side of the Demon Realm, Valender von Graus, the Death Knight who had defeated him with a single stroke of the sword, and then Yoon Sang-hyuk, who stood on a plane far above both of them.
When you were packed into a narrow space with three monsters you might never be lucky enough to see even once in a lifetime, it was only natural to freeze up.
"Uncomfortable? Want me to move you to another carriage?"
"N-no. Not at all."
"You say you’re aiming for the title of Demon Lord, and you’re this timid?"
"I’m not timid!"
Zeronia shouted, pointing to her chest with both hands.
"If you’re going to react, at least listen properly before you do it!"
* * *
"Lilith. Lilith."
Lying atop a container box, he called Lilith’s name. Back on Earth, the moment Yoon Sang-hyuk called for her, she would have appeared as if by magic, no matter where he was.
He missed his younger brother, Yoon Sang-min, the members of the Masked Mercenary Group, and Lilith and the others who had been classified as monsters but had fought beside him.
He missed them all.
"How much time has passed?"
He still hadn’t been awake in the Demon Realm for even a full month. If Baal’s words were to be believed, time in the Demon Realm moved in step with real time. That meant only about a month had passed in the real world as well.
"They wouldn’t have held a funeral with no body, would they?"
"Are you worried?"
Valender von Graus, seated beside him, asked the question.
"Not worried exactly... no, I suppose I am."
"That people might forget you?"
That was it.
Being forgotten by someone was a frightening thing. Back in the world of Eternal World, he had chosen to walk alone because he disliked seeing his companions vanish one by one. At the time, it had been a choice born of how hard it was to keep carrying the people who left him in his heart.
As a result, there had been no one nearby who would remember him.
But after returning to reality, there had been so many people around him.
"Don’t worry. You’re not exactly easy to forget."
"Haha, true enough. I should get some sleep."
He jumped lightly down from the container box.
"What’re you doing if you’re not sleeping?"
He saw the people sitting by the campfire.
Zeronia and Ibrahmut.
"Ah, hyung-nim. I was giving this girl a few useful pieces of advice."
Since he couldn’t hear their conversation from atop the container box, it looked as though Ibrahmut had used magic to block out sound.
"You’re not venting about how you couldn’t talk all day by unloading on Zeronia, are you?"
"Hah, how could I? The girl has tremendous energy, but it seems she doesn’t know how to handle it properly, so I was advising her."
Yoon Sang-hyuk nodded.
On that matter, in truth, there was nothing he could offer Zeronia. The energy they dealt with was dark energy, pure and simple. Its essence was fundamentally different from the energy Yoon Sang-hyuk used.
"How is she? Does she seem talented?"
"Her grasp is good. But even if she understands well, it’s useless if her body can’t keep up. There was too much being forced into a vessel too small; it was on the verge of overflowing, to the point where the vessel itself was about to crack."
In other words, Zeronia had been in a dangerous state.
"So after I clung to her, she finally found some value in her existence."
"How can you say something so hurtful?"
Changing his mind about sleep, Yoon Sang-hyuk went over and sat by the campfire. Valender von Graus also took a seat beside him.
"Go on. Keep talking."
Ibrahmut smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth.
"As I said earlier, her current state is like a vessel on the verge of breaking. Normally, one gains energy and naturally awakens, becoming a higher existence. But your case is a little different, isn’t it? There are two ways to solve the current problem."
Zeronia looked at Ibrahmut with hopeful eyes.
"First, you throw away everything except the energy you obtained through your own effort."
"Th-that’s impossible."
Zeronia said in alarm. How much had her brothers suffered to obtain the power she now possessed?
"I’m not telling you to choose that method. The next way is for you to attain a level of rank that suits that energy. For the record, I understand the plan your brothers had to make you into a Demon Lord. But as things stand, you can’t become one."
"..."
"Do you think a man who is simply strong can beat someone who not only fully controls his power, but also possesses the skills that belong with it? Absolutely impossible."
Yoon Sang-hyuk asked,
"When you say attain rank, do you mean awakening?"
"If that were possible, it would be ideal, but it’s not so simple. As I said just now, this girl’s power isn’t entirely her own. There’s no telling when she’ll awaken. If she’s lucky and her body can endure until then, that would be fortunate. If not..."
Ibrahmut puffed air into his mouth and mimed something exploding.
"That said, it’s not as though there’s no other way. Since this girl’s vessel can’t contain the energy, we make a vessel that can."
"A vessel?"
"Yes. Most high-ranking demonfolk have horns. For a demonfolk, large and beautiful horns are the very symbol of their power. Even among higher beings, there’s a limit to how much the vessel can be enlarged, so they create another vessel to store their energy in, and that vessel is the horn."
Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at Ibrahmut and asked,
"You don’t have horns."
"That’s because I’m in human form. My true form is not like this. My horns are so huge and beautiful that even Demon Lords once looked at them and admired them. But at some point, walking around in human form all the time became a trend in the Demon Realm."
"There are plenty of others who don’t do that."
"Those ones are either demons who never had horns to begin with, or pathetic trash too useless to take human form."
"Then Zeronia has to make horns too?"
Ibrahmut shook his head.
"Unfortunately, the dark elf race cannot make horns. That’s because dark elves are not native-born of the Demon Realm."
"That’s right. Our race chose the Demon Realm side during the war between the Demon Realm and the Divine Realm long ago, and after the war ended, we migrated here."
"That is why you cannot have horns. If you want to create a vessel, you’ll have to use another method."
"What method?"
"This girl must contract with a higher existence."
Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at Ibrahmut, clearly not understanding what he meant.
"There’s no need to make it complicated. Through a contract, a higher existence can directly create a vessel inside this girl’s body."
"Can beings of the Demon Realm really make contracts with one another?"
"She’s a dark elf, isn’t she? Since she’s half-blood, it’s possible. If anything, it’s better to contract with a higher-ranked being. At the same time, making a contract means that being becomes her patron. If she contracts with someone without power, it’ll be troublesome in many ways. But... why are you looking at me like that?"
Yoon Sang-hyuk smiled faintly.
"Because I thought you were the perfect fit."
"Pardon? Me?"
"That’s right. Think about it. I’m not a being of the Demon Realm. Valender here is a Death Knight, but it’s hard to call him a being of the Demon Realm, either. Sure, I joke around with Baal and drink with Vassago, but that doesn’t mean I can exactly ask them for a contract, does it? But!"
"But?"
Ibrahmut frowned.
"You’re different."
"Why am I different? As you can see, I do have some standing in the Demon Realm. Demon Lords below the tenth rank can hardly even meet my eyes."
"Exactly, that’s what makes it better. You told me to call you hyung-nim. That we should live like family. What’s good about family? It means you can handle little favors like this, doesn’t it? I used the Heart of the Phoenix for you, and I even gave the essence of Ifrit to your heir. And you can’t do this much for me?"
"The situation is different, isn’t it? If I make a contract and become her patron, there’ll be all kinds of troublesome things from here on out. I’ve only just become free, and now you want me dragged into more irritating messes?"
"So you’re saying no?"
When Yoon Sang-hyuk narrowed his eyes and asked, Ibrahmut laughed awkwardly.
"Well... I wouldn’t say I dislike it, exactly, but we should also ask the person involved what she thinks..."
"I’m fine with it."
"Hey! You can’t decide something like that so casually. Do you think a contract is a joke?"
"If it’s Ibrahmut, I think I can trust and follow you. You think well of me too, don’t you, Lord Ibrahmut? I’ll do it."
"I’m asking why you’re the one making that decision!"
Yoon Sang-hyuk laughed, stood up, and gave Ibrahmut a light pat on the shoulder.
"Congratulations on the contract."