Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Golden Highway (4)
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The days of bloody hunts dragged on.
The sequence of events was much the same each time. Kadim caught the scent of demons or beasts and charged ahead. Duncan chased after him with every ounce of strength he had. He finally caught up just before Kadim passed out. He beheld the corpses with torn-open mouths, shattered limbs, and spilling entrails. He collected the demons' blood and burned the bodies clean. End of story.
At first, it had left him on the verge of collapse from shock, but after it happened five or six times, even Duncan was starting to get used to it.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Keeping up with Kadim was still a struggle, but now he had some leeway to control his breathing. The mangled corpses were as gruesome as ever, but he'd developed the stomach to look without retching. Without being told, he gathered the blood and piled the bodies for easy burning. All the while lamenting how demons could be crawling around everywhere like wild beasts.
But even after slaughtering countless demons, Kadim showed no sign of satisfaction. He muttered to himself as he wiped the axe blade clean of flesh scraps with an oil-soaked rag.
"Just small fry."
"...Pardon?"
"They're all low-grade demons. I figured there'd be some decent prey around."
To seek out another 'ruin' and carve a powerful new tattoo, he needed to stockpile usable demon blood beforehand. Yet he hadn't found any worthwhile demons, so he hadn't even needed to use the tattoos he'd already inscribed. They were good enough to stave off his worsening mania for now, but with no telling what might happen later, the regret weighed heavier.
Duncan tilted his head as he finished piling the corpses. After hesitating, he spoke up.
"My lord, don't you... gain tremendous power for a short time after drinking demon blood?"
"..."
"So, is the reason you're hunting demons... purely to obtain their blood? Or... is there some other reason you must kill them?"
"..."
Kadim hung the axe at his waist and sank into thought.
In his first playthrough, demons had been his goal, his means, and his motivation.
He'd believed he could return to reality only by slaying a great demon, making it his goal. He needed their blood to gain power, making it his means. And seeing his comrades suffer horrors at their hands had fueled his drive. With all three reasons combined, Kadim's obsession with demons had been intensely fierce and utterly justified.
Though it had later twisted into an obsession with demon blood itself... without those reasons, he never would have gone that far to begin with.
But now, in his second playthrough, the foundation of that obsession had blurred.
There might not even be a great demon in this world, and killing one might not send him back to reality anyway. The comrades who had reminded him of his grudge against demons were no longer by his side. With the two biggest signposts gone, all that remained was the 'means.'
Did he really need to keep obsessing over demon hunts? Even after his body reached superhuman levels? Even risking the mania that gnawed at his mind?
Kadim nodded slowly.
That reason alone was enough.
He had learned in his first playthrough. That all problems could be solved with power. And if some problem couldn't be solved with power, it was simply because he lacked enough of it.
A warrior's life was an endless chain of struggles. No one could predict how many brutal obstacles or mighty foes might block the path ahead. To cleave the skull of whoever had hurled him into this world, or even just to continue his journey without leaving loose ends like now, he had to be prepared.
With 'destructive power' capable of crushing any enemy, no matter the cost.
And even setting aside such practical reasons, weren't demons loathsome pests deserving death a thousand times over?
"When vermin are swarming the world, there's no reason not to kill them."
"..."
"Back to the highway. Next time, I hope we find something worth stomping."
The pair soon reached the sixth checkpoint on the Golden Highway. Passing through posed no issue. The guards eyed them suspiciously for traveling this far, but when shown the pass stamped with the Catastrophe Council's seal, they let them through without a word.
But before they departed, one guard offered a meaningful warning.
"You two aren't thinking of continuing down the highway, are you?"
"Yes... we are, but...?"
"Then I recommend skipping the village of Kibon midway. Galentana and the Catastrophe troops have sent scouting parties there several times, but for some reason, none have returned. They might have run afoul of powerful demons or beasts, so best steer clear."
"..."
A wriggling unease, like caterpillars crawling up his neck, brushed past. Duncan stiffly turned his head. Confirming Kadim's expression turned that instinct into certainty.
Kadim's lips were curling up as if he'd just heard delightful news.
Duncan, who could foresee the future, let out a sigh.
*
The road to Kibon wasn't complicated.
They veered off the highway's center onto a fork as marked on the map. A narrow side path appeared, hemmed by tangled pigweed and nameless weeds forming a ragged fence. It wasn't as neatly paved as the highway, but it had a modest charm of its own.
The sun, having rolled halfway across the heavens, now touched the horizon and vanished. Sunset glow touched the underbrush like crimson fabric riddled with moth holes, then sank into the pooling shadows and disappeared. Amid the deepening dusk, a crooked signpost reading 'Kibon' came into view.
Near the village, Kadim spotted two telltale signs.
One was a foul stench, like incense steeped in poison and smoldering. The other was a procession of hundreds of maggots crawling toward the brush in formation.
"Ugh, what a shock! Ew... what are all these bugs...?"
The eerie part was how only the horned maggots headed straight for the brush, while the hornless ones wandered aimlessly and erratically. Duncan saw it as just a disgusting sight, but Kadim gleaned much from it.
'We came to the right place.'
He had a rough idea of the demon type. And what had likely happened to the village and the scouts.
Kadim told Duncan to hand over the vials portioning out the demon blood. Tense with inexplicable anxiety, Duncan nonetheless obeyed the barbarian's command.
Night's heavy darkness blanketed the village. Kadim slowly scanned the surroundings.
It was small enough to take in at a glance with neck craned. Houses lined a central dirt road. Faint light leaked from window cracks, suggesting people still lived there, accompanied by the occasional clatter of dishes and murmur of voices.
"The demons haven't touched the villagers yet, my lord...?"
A question laced with faint hope. Kadim shook his head firmly. Gripping the axe haft, he approached a nearby house and knocked.
Thud, thud, thud—
The door creaked open, and a woman peeked out cautiously.
"Wh-who is it?"
A thinly trembling voice and ordinary brown eyes. No stench. Scratches marred her forearms, but no signs of demonic possession. She was just a plain housewife.
Even so, Kadim kept his grip on the axe.
"A passing mercenary. Looking for demons. Seen any around, or beasts?"
"D-demons? You're hunting demons?"
"Yeah. Find 'em, kill 'em."
The woman startled, froze, then glanced warily outside with guarded gestures. She jumped again at the sight of Duncan behind him but nodded in relief once assured they were together.
"Mercenaries hunting demons, right? Come in, both of you... It's late. Have you eaten?"
She brought thick stew of broccoli and potatoes, with chunks of oat bread as thick as her forearm. Wondering if it was safe, Duncan relaxed upon seeing Kadim tear into the bread and down the bowl. He fielded the woman's incessant questions about their arrival.
"I see. You came here on purpose after hearing there might be demons..."
"Yes, ma'am."
"How's the situation on the Golden Highway? Are the Catastrophe troops still clashing fiercely with the demons?"
"W-well, it didn't seem like the Catastrophe troops were fighting fiercely or anything..."
While they talked, Kadim closely examined the house.
Cheap candlelight cast flickering shadows. The plank floor bore dirt footprints of varying sizes, along with heavy scratches and drag marks. A rusty leather knife, iron belt, and liquor bottles cluttered the wooden shelves like junk. Stacked crates cleverly blocked a door in the corner.
...Squirm...
A faint wriggling sound came from beyond.
As expected. Kadim cut into the merchant and woman's conversation.
"Why hasn't your husband come out?"
"..."
"You don't live alone. Someone's clearly in that room."
A precarious silence flickered like candle flame.
Duncan froze in shock. The woman swallowed nervously. She squeezed her eyes shut, agonized, then forced out words.
"...I wasn't going to say. If word spreads in the village, who knows what might happen."
"..."
"But since you're here to hunt demons, I'll tell you specially. What happened to our village... and my husband."
The woman stroked the scratches on her arm and spilled her tale.
Recently, disappearances had plagued Kibon. Several men who went hunting in the nearby forest never returned. Rumors of demons snatching them soured the mood, just as a Catastrophe Council scouting party arrived. The villagers asked them to search the woods.
"But... that scouting party never came back either. Not even the villagers who went along as guides."
Similar incidents repeated several times after.
New scouts came seeking the lost ones. Each time, villagers warned them about the woods. And those scouts, along with their local guides, vanished without fail. The woman's husband was among them.
"Eventually, the scouting parties stopped coming. No one left to find my missing husband. I suggested to the other bereaved neighbors that we search the woods ourselves, but... they all scowled and waved me off. Can't blame them. Who'd go where dozens of able men vanished without a trace...?"
"..."
"But... I couldn't give up. To others, the missing were just one of many family members. But not for me. No children, no siblings, parents gone... He was my only family left..."
"..."
"In the end... I resolved to go alone if I had to, and set off for the woods."
The forest had changed from her memories.
No dazzling sunlight or fresh air. Thick, murky fog blanketed everything, swarming with bizarre venomous insects. Intermittent cries—beast or scream?—echoed. Terror clutched her throat, urging flight at every moment.
But after wandering long, she found him. Her husband, passed out on the dirt.
Not in great shape, but... she'd found him, at least.
"...I couldn't tell anyone. They'd say my husband was demon-possessed. So he's stayed in that room since returning. But you two look experienced with demons. You can see he's not possessed, right?"
"..."
"See him yourselves and confirm. Convince the villagers not to misunderstand. I'll reward you generously, whatever you ask."
Her hands shook as she cleared the crates. Kadim stood behind with a hardened expression, cracking his neck. Duncan waited meekly, gauging the mood. At last, she opened the hidden door. They beheld it.
A cramped room shrouded in translucent darkness like a veil.
And on the bed, a massive beast tightly bound—a thorned maggot.
—Skreee, skritch, skreeee...
A wet, sticky wail. Antenna-like horns quivered over its single eye. Venom drooled from scythe-shaped jaws. Countless legs writhed like waves. So huge that each twist of its segmented body made the bed quake as if to shatter.
"Wh-what in the...?"
"..."
Duncan froze in stunned horror. Kadim frowned silently. The woman stroked her thorn-pierced arm wounds, eyes mixing anxiety and hope.
"That's my husband... He's still in shock and doesn't talk much, but otherwise he's fine. Eats well, walks fine, everything else..."
"..."
"A-anyway, he's fine, right? My husband? Definitely not demon-possessed?"
Kadim stared at her steadily. Cheeks flushed in the firelight, brown eyes trembling faintly. Still no signs of possession.
But not being possessed didn't always guarantee a sound mind.
"Grab that woman, Duncan."
"...Pardon?"
Before Duncan could obey, or the woman stop him, Kadim yanked the axe from his waist and hurled it like thunder.
Splat—crunch-crunch-crack—!
—Screee, screeeee!
The silvery blade sank into the maggot's carapace. Sticky flesh burst, green ichor spraying everywhere. The halved head thrashed, horns and thorns rigid, wrecking the bed and floor until it finally slumped lifeless.
—Screeeee...
"...Huh?"
The woman turned to stone.
Her breathing quickened. Eyes shook perilously. She stood as if the world had crumbled. Then, glaring at the barbarian, she impulsively snatched a scythe from the cupboard.
"Ah, a-ahh!"
Duncan yelped and pinned her arms from behind. He barely stopped the wild swings, but she shrieked like a fury, thrashing heedlessly.
"Aaaahhh! Aaaaahhhh!!! My husband!!! You killed my husband!! After I got him back!!! After I got him back!!! Aaaaahhh!! Aaaaahhhh!!!"
"..."
Kadim approached and slapped her cheek hard—crack. The jaw-jolting impact halted her frenzy. Once somewhat calmed, he gripped her cheek with one hand and forced her head toward the bug.
"Look closely. Does that really look like your husband?"
"...Mmph."
"Does this filthy, worthless maggot larva really look like your husband?"
"Mmph, mmph, sob, mmph..."
"Don't sell yourself for false comfort. While you worship this larva as your husband, your real one suffers under demonic thrall. And don't expect me to find and save him instead. Why? Because if I find a demon-possessed human, I'll kill them on sight before they become a nuisance."
"..."
"Pull yourself together. And head back to the woods as soon as possible. Before the demon—or I—takes your husband's life."
"..."
"No one will fight your battles for you."
The firm voice pierced her ear. Her shaken eyes steadied.
At last, strength drained from her body. She dropped the scythe and collapsed face-down. Her back shuddered; bitter sobs leaked onto the planks.
"Hic, kuhh... Sniff, heup, kuhh..."
Kadim gazed coldly, then left. Duncan hurried after.
Whether she'd fight to the end for what she truly sought, or choose false comfort and forget what mattered.
The choice was hers alone.