Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Forest of No Return (4)
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Nazran's arms were long and jointed in many places, giving them an incredibly wide attack range. On top of that, their swinging speed was incomparably faster than any ordinary person's.
So the fact that all the iron rods missed or were blocked...
Ching! Whoosh!
...the fact that the arm he'd thrust forward was mercilessly sliced off...
Crack—thud!
...the fact that the cross-section was seared by heat, preventing even regeneration...
Sizzle!
"Th-this... damn it all!"
None of it was Nazran's fault.
It was simply that his opponent was far too formidable.
Kadim sliced off three arms in succession before hurling his axe at the creature's chest. The blade spun through the air, scattering heat, and struck its target dead-on.
Crackle, splat—!
"Keurgh!"
Nazran staggered back from the impact. He barely managed to stay upright using the legs attached to his tailbone. But his efforts were in vain as Kadim charged in instantly, delivering an even greater shock.
Stab, crunch—!
He drove his sword deep into the abdomen before slashing horizontally across the flank.
If an ordinary person had done it, the blade would have caught on bone and muscle, widening the wound at best. But the barbarian's terrifying strength cleaved straight through everything. Mashed entrails spilled from the ruptured side, and the heated blade voraciously devoured the blood.
"Kehuk... keheeeergh..."
The wound was too severe, and the burned edges prevented any regeneration. Nazran's unfocused eyes simply chewed on the agony. Kadim pressed down hard on the axe blade embedded in the leper's chest.
Sizzle—!
"Kaaaaagh! Kraaaah!!!"
The red-hot axe blade sank even deeper, causing the flesh to bubble and boil. A gush of blood finally cooled the metal, but by then, the leper had already lost all will to fight.
His final arm fell limply. With only his scrawny original limbs left, there was no way he could stand against this monstrous barbarian warrior. Nazran glared at Kadim through gasps of excruciating pain.
"Uh... uheok... wh-what the hell are you...? Did you... also borrow power from a demon...? Kraaagh!!"
Kadim never let his guard down until the end.
You couldn't give any leeway against a regenerating foe. He severed every remaining limb without mercy, then cauterized each stump like kindling on a fire. All Nazran could do in the meantime was writhe like a crushed insect.
"Kaaaaagh! Kraaaagh!!"
Time passed, stained with blood and heat. At last, the pruning was complete.
Nazran had no limbs left whatsoever. Kadim pinned down one shoulder and leveled his sword at the leper's throat. The excitement of battle faded from the leper's eyes, leaving only resignation.
"Heh heh heh... I picked the wrong opponent entirely... Never thought this wretched body of mine would end up shattered like this..."
"......"
"I figured you were just some big, dumb human... but you're a monster wearing human skin... Did you borrow a demon's power to gain that kind of strength too?"
"......"
He sometimes fought with a demon's power, but not now. Kadim simply stared without responding.
Nazran flashed a servile grin.
"It's a bit late to say this, but just let me live. With all my limbs gone, I'm nothing but a useless leper now. Why dirty your blade on a wretch who can't even resist?"
"......"
"Ah, right, right! You asked about the forest earlier? I'll tell you everything I know. No point hiding it. This forest was created by a demon—one with a bizarre ability to spread its nature to nearby creatures."
"......"
With the campfire's glow behind him as a backlight, Nazran couldn't make out Kadim's expression. All he saw was a darkly shadowed outline. He had no choice but to press on with his anxious tale.
"Yes, I'm sure you've already guessed, but the demon's nature is to split into two and regenerate when severed. And it wasn't just animals that were affected!"
"......"
"People didn't know. They blundered through the underbrush, chopping down countless trees. That's why the forest exploded in growth, becoming so dense it's hard to find a way out now. Just recently, some soldiers came and clear-cut a bunch, making it swell even more..."
Duncan stroked his chin and nodded. It seemed like Viscount Adlen's soldiers had passed through. They'd probably harvested timber here for palisades and barracks.
Kadim showed no reaction. But Nazran felt a piercing gaze from the darkness, stabbing into his lungs. He spilled even his unasked personal history.
"Me? That's all there is to it. The only thing I didn't mention is getting infected by the demon's nature. It was a blessing in disguise for me. My body was rotting away, limbs falling off one by one... but thanks to it, I gained much stronger appendages..."
"......"
"Life wasn't bad after that. I'd light a bonfire every night, and prey worth hunting would wander in now and then. Like you folks, heh heh heh... Well, in the end, that fire is what got me into this mess..."
Kadim had heard all there was worth hearing. His shadowed face darkened gravely.
"......"
In any case, dealing with this leper came first. Tainted by demonic energy, he could no longer be considered human. Leaving him alive risked regeneration somehow...
He raised his sword again. Nazran's face twisted in panic as his mouth flapped like a tentacle.
"W-wait, wait! I've told you everything you wanted, and you're still doing this?"
"......"
"I-I want to live. Don't kill me. Ah, there are so many things I haven't done yet, so much I want to try. Stroll the streets in broad daylight, visit a tavern, hold a woman... I've finally, finally got a body that doesn't care if it rots and falls apart..."
Kadim's resolve didn't waver in the slightest. Instead of pitying the wretch's inhuman life, he posed this question.
"When your prey begged for their lives like that, did you ever spare them?"
"......"
For a fleeting moment, those colorless eyes wavered faintly.
Slash—thud!
The sharp blade traced the line of his life.
He was the sort who knew no self-pity, let alone pity for others. Kadim's expression hardened as he hurled Nazran's head into the still-smoldering ash pit.
Demons always exude demonic energy around them. Nearby creatures inevitably suffer its effects. Monsters become savagely ferocious, while humans and beasts are gripped by terror or exhibit strange behaviors.
But there were demons that went further, infecting others with their very unique natures. Such demons were called "Mutators."
Kadim despised all demons, but he loathed Mutators especially. They endlessly spawned calamities, serving as totems that buffed demons and monsters across wide areas. Unless there were special circumstances, Mutator demons were always his top priority targets.
But Kadim's grim expression wasn't solely because this demon was a Mutator. There was a far graver, more specific reason.
He had encountered this "unique nature" Mutator once before—in his first playthrough.
In the Demon Realm, the journey's end where only death and ruin awaited.
"......"
The memory was still vivid.
The trait of regenerating into two when severed spread to countless demons. Enemies already horrific became several times harder to handle. Even the demon lord itself wielded immense power, impossible to slay easily.
Three days of grueling battle without a bite of bread, a sip of water, or a second's rest against an undying horde.
He'd won somehow in the end. He'd discovered that cauterizing the stumps halted regeneration. A mage had wrapped his battle axe in hellfire, and the demons whose heads it severed never regenerated again.
The issue was that he'd never encountered another Mutator with the same "unique nature."
Whether in the game or his first playthrough, every Mutator had a different trait. So Kadim had assumed they were unique, like character-specific abilities.
'It can't be the same demon. Melissa burned its corpse to not even a handful of ash. So how could another with the identical nature appear...'
"Uh... m-my lord! Look over there!"
The panicked merchant's voice snapped Kadim back. He looked up, and the sight before him was indeed startling.
At a glance, it looked like mere vines. But a closer look revealed the truth—no vines in the world were covered head to toe in scales like that.
Ssssslither—
- Hiss! Hiss!
- Hiss!
A tangled thicket of snakes. Vertically slit pupils all fixed on the intruder. Dozens of arm-thick serpents flicked their tongues with menacing hisses.
Or maybe not dozens. Some split heads and tails shared a single body. Perhaps even the snake he'd bisected yesterday was among them...
"Tch."
Kadim clicked his tongue softly.
No matter how much he chopped, they'd surely all regenerate. If he absolutely had to pass through, he'd have to burn them out. But that carried great risk—controlling a spreading wildfire was a feat only for a grand mage like Melissa.
"We're turning back, merchant. We'll have to find another way."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Similar incidents kept occurring after that.
They'd advance, encounter snakes, and turn back. After detouring, more snakes appeared before long. The pair wandered the forest aimlessly, like rats bumbling into dead ends in a maze.
Kadim's instincts told him it was too obvious. All other paths were being blocked, herding them in one direction.
By whichever entity ruled this forest and its snake legions.
It had set an inescapable trap.
Overgrown greenery formed a pitch-black canopy, blocking even a sliver of sunlight. The muddy ground clutched at their ankles like mire. The damp, sticky aura pressing against their skin grew ever stronger. At some point, a tangible malice slithered chillingly up his spine.
He had to prepare for the worst before it was too late.
"Merchant. Listen carefully to what I say."
"......Y-yes, my lord."
"From now on, don't follow me. Gather firewood here and start a fire. Once it's lit, transfer it to your torch and trail behind me. If you can't find me or your life is in danger, just set fires everywhere and run whichever way you can."
"Y-yes!? "
"No time to explain in detail. But if you don't follow my orders, you and I will die here."
"......"
"Without a doubt."
Duncan was stunned.
The barbarian had never said anything like that before. Not when pursued by holy knights, surrounded by countless wolves, or facing a mighty demon alone. So what threat loomed now?
Trembling, Duncan pulled out his flint and began striking it steadily. Kadim watched him a moment before slowly resuming his steps.
About ten minutes later.
Twisted dead trees stood like hunched crones, beside a black swamp of unguessable depth. A foul stench wafted up, churning the stomach. Thick demonic energy clouded vision, making it hard to see even a step ahead.
This was the forest's terminus—the end of the inescapable trap.
A chill ran through him, muscles twitching. The air was too toxic for any human to endure. Kadim steadied his breath and gripped his sword hilt.
Soon, a hollow, echoing voice rang out from the fog-shrouded demonic haze beyond.
- At first, it was utterly hopeless.
And two glowing eyes appeared.
Within the hazy glow, pupils brimming with stored malice. Yellow eyes gleamed with eerie intent.
- I knew it all too well. How many long years and deep patience it would take to reclaim my former power. To repeat that endurance here, in this remote backwater cut off from the Demon Realm? I regretted my decision hundreds of times a day.
Four eyes emerged.
Sickly yellow glows exuding an ominous air. They shone to the left and right of the first pair, advancing slowly but relentlessly as the central gaze pressed forward.
- But looking back, it was the right choice. I've fully regained my old power at last... and finally reunited with you.
Six eyes appeared, followed by six more.
Eighteen lights in total glared at the prey simultaneously. An immense bulk parted the swamp, radiating menace. A mountain-like pressure crushed down on Kadim's entire body.
The lights piercing the veil at last revealed their true form.
Reptilian flesh clad in iron-like scales. A colossal size too vast for the eyes to take in. Nine heads concealing azure fangs.
- Long time no see, son of the wilds. Where are those reckless comrades of yours? Why wander this forest alone like an abandoned child?
Kadim twitched the corner of his eye and raised his gaze.
A massive snake head with two horns sprouting from its temples looked down at him.
Exactly as it had appeared 300 years ago in the Demon Realm.