Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: There Is No Demon for the Old Man (1)
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It was a scene of devastation.
The neatly laid flagstones had cracked and shattered, turning into jagged chunks of stone. Collapsed stone walls and broken street trees blocked the path like hideous obstacles. Every few hundred paces, corpses appeared—human, monster, or both mingled together. Around them, large crows and swarms of flies tangled in a feast on rotting entrails and flesh.
A decayed road unworthy of its glorious name, the "Golden Highway." Even the sky was tainted by the ruins below, casting a murky haze. And it wasn't just the road's condition that was poor. The farther he pressed on, the more an indescribably foul and sinister aura slithered across his skin.
The road's sole traveler, however, remained unfazed. Ignoring the scattered corpses and the demonic energy coiling around his neck, he strode forward with the resolute steps of a pilgrim heading to a holy site.
"......"
Kadim, who had sent out the subjugation team and set off alone.
He was lost in deep thought.
The reverse-aging demon of the reversion type. From that, he could guess the nature of the "central demon's" authority. But it was still just a vague outline; he needed more clues for concrete details.
The subjugation team could have helped in that process. He could toss them out as bait before the demon and its minions and observe. But Kadim didn't like the idea. It wasn't a matter of conscience. It was more about cost-effectiveness.
'Even if I feed them several lives, all I'd get are a few flimsy clues at best. One of them would probably get enthralled by the demon midway......'
Above all, the biggest problem was that as they all died one by one, they'd emit abundant "pain and despair." Even if their numbers weren't great, it was tantamount to stuffing fodder into the demon's maw. Just like throughout his journey so far, Kadim judged it best to gather information alone and slaughter the demon alone.
'But in the end, I couldn't figure it out properly. How those bastards can wield "Atala's divine artifacts"......'
A belated hypothesis had occurred to him on that point.
A catastrophic weapon that bestowed divine artifacts. If someone had gotten their hands on it and distributed the artifacts to others, it wouldn't be impossible for just anyone to summon them like that.
And that catastrophic weapon was one of the things Kadim desperately needed right now.
Judgment of Atala.
The war axe that had severed a great demon's neck in his first playthrough, calling forth death and ruin.
Yet right before moving to the second playthrough, it had been personally discarded by its owner—a weapon of ill fate.
The hero's party wouldn't have simply left it in the demon realm. Someone must have picked it up, kept it, or stored it away somewhere.
But with 300 years passed since then, it wouldn't be strange if it hadn't been properly guarded and some disaster had befallen it. If the leader of those warriors had coincidentally gotten hold of it and shared the divine artifacts with his followers, it all fit together neatly.
It was still just a hunch based on circumstantial evidence. There was also a chance they'd obtained the "divine artifacts" through some new route he didn't know. But if his guess turned out true...
"......"
...Kadim thought he might need to converse with the warriors' leader after the subjugation, in accordance with the "laws of the wilderness."
How much time had passed in his contemplation? Suddenly, Kadim sensed an anomaly.
Woooong—
His eyes twitched. He pulled an item from his bosom—the stone tablet from the archaeologist that tracked ruins, now emitting a faint glow.
The gem's light beam wasn't strong yet. Still, it clearly pointed in one direction like an arrow. It meant a ruin was nearby. Rare good news after a long while.
Yet Kadim's expression was somehow displeased.
'I hoped to find it after getting the "central demon's" blood if possible......'
He had gathered quite a lot of usable blood already. Blood of upper reversion-type demons, blood of upper enthrallment-type demons, blood of various mid-tier demons... But since he could only engrave one tattoo per ruin, the opportunity cost stung.
'...Should I skip it now and come back after securing the "central demon's" blood?'
After brief deliberation, he shook his head.
There were still 98 ruins left across the continent anyway. Who knew what lay ahead? It was foolish to chase greater gains while neglecting immediate preparations.
Kadim decided. He'd detour to the ruin right away, engrave a new tattoo, then head off to subjugate the demon.
Providentially, the light beam pointed in the same direction he was heading. As he followed the ruined highway, the ray grew steadily brighter until it clearly indicated beyond a distant village.
Kadim had a feeling he knew that village. Silmont, the subjugation team's third target.
"......"
The village outskirts were even more dismal than the highway.
Piles of rotting corpses sprawled over trampled grass, arrows embedded in them, broken spears and swords, footprints pooled with congealed blood. Traces of desperate struggle for survival.
The battle clearly hadn't ended in humanity's victory. Human corpses were far easier to find than monster ones. Fields that were once livelihoods had become gardens of bones and guts, and from the collapsed roofs and walls of homes, faint smoke rose like a consumptive puffing a pipe.
But something was off the more he looked.
'...Why are there only old men's corpses?'
Sapless skin etched with the rings of time. Every single body was that of an elderly man, without exception.
It didn't seem like the villagers had used the old folks as meat shields in their dire straits. There were too many, and some were even heavily armored like heavy infantry. Unless Silmont was a village inhabited solely by the elderly, it was an inexplicable oddity.
An eerie premonition chilled him. To learn the details, he'd need to find survivors. But sensing no signs of life around, he considered just following the light beam when...
No. There was a human presence. At the village entrance, a shadow hastily ducking behind a boulder.
"......"
Kadim raised his axe. Anyone surviving alone in a place like this might not be mentally sound. Preparing for a possible attack, he slowly approached the rock.
It was unnecessary worry.
Hiding behind the rock was a frail old woman too weak to lift a hoe. She wore tattered rags, and upon spotting him, her eyes welled up instantly. Kadim lowered his axe, intending to ask about the village tragedy.
But the old woman spoke first.
The first words out of her mouth were, without a doubt, the most absurd thing Kadim had heard since arriving in this world.
"...Daddy?"
"......"
The old woman wiped her tears and cracked a smile at the corners of her mouth.
Kadim stared at her blankly. He stood frozen like a statue carved from stone, for a long, long time.
Quite a few troublesome monsters still lingered in the village.
- Keeeh, keeeeh!
- Keeeeeh!
A pack of hobgoblins prowling the streets with glowing red eyes. Unlike regular goblins, they were aggressive and agile, the kind even seasoned mercenaries hesitated to face.
However, they were no match for Kadim.
Whirrrrr—
- Keeeeeh!!!
Craaaack—!
- Keheeh...
The axe blade shattered their skulls. Scalp and chunks of pinkish skull flew, and crimson blood gushed from mangled eyes, noses, and mouths.
No matter how agile, they couldn't evade the axe blade. If they barely closed in, slashing cuts split flesh and bone. The hobgoblins couldn't even scratch Kadim's skin. They charged mindlessly and were massacred in seconds.
Whoosh, whoosh, whuuung, thwack!
- Keheeh...
Kadim wiped the brain matter from his axe blade with his sleeve. Mopping up the rest posed no issue. A bigger headache loomed elsewhere.
"Wow, Daddy, you're amazing..."
"......"
"Keurk, keurk, Daddy, Daddy, you know, I was so scared... But I listened to Daddy, hid real good without getting caught... Keurk, keurk, ah, now that Daddy's here, I don't have to hide anymore, right?"
The old woman clung stubbornly to his heels no matter how he tried to shake her.
Kadim furrowed his brow deeply.
"...What happened in the village? Why are there only old men's corpses everywhere?"
"Dunno, I don't know... Keurk, keurk... My legs hurt, I'm tired and hungry... Let's go home, I wanna see Mommy..."
No matter how he pressed, no proper answer came. The old woman just whined like a child repeatedly. Was her mind regressed to infancy from shock? Dementia? Or...
"......"
Suddenly, Kadim's gaze shifted to the hobgoblin corpses.
Come to think of it, he'd never seen hobgoblins traveling in such a large pack.
Hobgoblins were evolved superiors from goblins that survived long enough. But goblins' average lifespan wasn't that long. So many surviving and evolving simultaneously was virtually impossible.
"......"
Various clues pointed to one conclusion. Much about the demon's authority—its range, conditions—remained unknown, but... Kadim decided to visit the ruin for a tattoo, then seek more clues.
First, though, he needed to shake this old woman.
"Where's your home? I'll escort you there."
"Keurk, keurk, huh? C-Can we go home...? O-Over there, that's our house. Hurry, Daddy!"
The old woman beamed and dashed off. Her aged joints couldn't support her zeal, and she tumbled immediately. Kadim sighed, picked up a hobgoblin spear shaft, and fashioned a cane for her. Even leaning on it, her wrinkled face stayed wreathed in smiles.
Upon reaching the doorstep, Kadim intuited that smile would soon vanish.
Dark red bloodstains visible at a glance, the acrid stench of death assaulting his nose.
Kadim's lips tightened. He left the old woman outside and entered first. Sure enough, the expected horror greeted him.
A male elder's corpse, rotted with upper and lower body severed. A female elder's, skull smashed, brains spilled across the floorboards. Likely once the old woman's family.
"......"
It was none of his concern.
But even repeating that, something stuck in his craw. The old woman's wrinkled smile, her innocent expression oblivious to her family's death.
Tsk. He clicked his tongue and hurriedly cleared the bodies. Fortunately, an adjacent room made hiding them easy. Kadim moved the corpses, dragged table and jars to barricade the entrance.
After sweeping away the putrid brains with his foot and tidying up, he finally let the old woman inside. Bewildered, she searched for her mom. Kadim gripped the old woman's hunched shoulders and scolded firmly.
"Listen carefully. It's not over yet, so you need to hide more. I'll leave some food—ration it. If you hear monster cries, curl up and don't even breathe. If you hear human voices, check the window carefully and call for help."
"......"
"I have somewhere to be. I'm going."
The old woman's smile faded.
Her cloudy eyes quivered. Her gaunt frame trembled like an aspen. She tried to speak, but terror and grief choked her into mere groans.
"...D-Da, Daddy, Daddy, eh, eeeh, eeehk..."
"......"
"Don' go, don' go..."
Kadim exited without looking back, crushing the doorframe to bar monster entry.
Crunch, clunk—
He wasn't a merchant skilled at coaxing children. This was the extent of what he could do. With luck, heavy infantry or mercenaries would rescue her.
No more... need for him to concern himself.
Following the light beam, he reached a low hill.
Humm, humm, humm—
A stone slab engraved with ancient script, buried in the grass. Placing his hand on it, the surroundings peeled away like worn wallpaper, transporting him to the ritual space just as before.
Squish squish squish...
Stale air sealed for 300 years. Torches ignited in unison, revealing a seamless, smooth passageway. Kadim proceeded inside without hesitation this time. Passing walls, ceiling, and floor packed with red ancient script and murals, he reached the passage's end.
Beyond the door lay a circular chamber. Not too unfamiliar. The diameter of about forty paces, the ring of torches on the ceiling—all nearly identical to the room where he'd fought the earth warriors before.
But one major difference existed.
A deep, large pit gaped in the chamber's center, filled with transparently glowing liquid.
"......"
'Of course, you must overcome the trial like this time, proving you are the "Great Warrior of Atala"......'
Kadim hadn't forgotten the advice from the wilderness shaman Beshaka, whom he'd met first. One hand gripped Salmon, the other Mosquito. He slowly approached the center. The trial likely involved that pit.
His guess was spot on.
Bubbling, gurgling—!
The liquid boiled, something erupting violently. Simultaneously, ruin-bringing metal extended from Kadim's hand.
Whirrrrr, splash—!
"......"
The axe blade hit true. But the foe took not even a speck of damage.
A divine form leisurely rising its massive body, gazing down at Kadim. This enemy wasn't one ordinary attacks worked on. A clear voice echoed in his mind.
Kadim gritted his teeth. He'd tried to hold back curses this time, but he couldn't.
'Fucking shamans, pulling the same damn tricks again...'