Flight Through the Deep Woods
“Jean, grab some firewood and get a fire going. Pablo, cool down some water!”
“Got it, Boss!”
“This is so much fun!”
Whoosh! Fwoosh!—The boy with flaming red hair like a bonfire was Jean. He plunged his hands into the bucket of river water Rina had fetched from nearby, while the boy with frost creeping over his hair, Pablo, made ice. They were kids who'd gained classic fire and ice abilities.
During the ritual to summon Dantalian that day, nameless low-level demons of fire and ice had tried to possess their bodies. But thanks to my demand—when I contracted with Dantalian—to ensure the kids' survival, it had dealt with those lesser demons, granting them these powers instead.
This was all from the demon knowledge Dantalian had implanted in my head.
[There are exactly 666 named high demons, and everything else is just nameless small fry!]
But that was only compared to the named high demons. To humans, even low-level demons were absurd monsters.
Flap!
“Boss, I flew up to check the sky... it's all forest... I think we're lost...”
“Ugh! I figured just cutting straight through the woods would work, but maybe we should've stuck to the roads? Anyway, good job, Allen.”
“Hehehe~♪ But flying with these wings is such a rush? And swinging the tail too.”
Flap! Flap! The boy with a pair of black goat horns sprouting from his head, black bat wings on his back, and a tail ending in a snake's head was Allen. He looked just like the classic demons from movies or games. Up close, his pupils even had weird X-shaped patterns etched into them.
That snake-head tail on his butt seemed like its own creature, but he said he could control it consciously and make it move as he wanted. Out of curiosity, I'd once fed it a piece of bread, and it ate it...
Allen had said back then...
‘Boss... this feels weird...’
‘How so?’
‘Like eating bread out my asshole... but it goes straight to my stomach somehow...’
‘Uh... yeah...’
When the kids, egged on by my curiosity, tried feeding the tail-snake all sorts of stuff, Allen freaked out, bolted around trying to escape, and instinctively flapped his wings to fly. So maybe not a total bad memory? Though it was probably traumatizing for him!
“By the way, Boss. Derek's still like that?”
“*%$#&§ª*...”
“He's... uh... just leave him be. Seems like he's still got major mental trauma.”
“But dude... he looks totally insane?”
...
Squatting by the cart, drooling and muttering nonstop, the blond short-haired boy was Derek. I couldn't make out exactly what he was saying. And whatever demon he was tied to, I had no clue—even Dantalian's implanted knowledge didn't cover it. He'd been mumbling almost nonstop for four days straight, in words too bizarre to grasp.
Like, even while eating! Even right up to falling asleep!
Considering we'd all endured that vile lich's torture together, and he'd been used as demon-summoning bait on top of it... this kid, who hadn't even done anything wrong, had snapped from unimaginable agony. I couldn't just abandon him heartlessly.
Plus, I felt like something was watching us from the shadow at his feet. And seeing that shadow wriggle like a living thing... no way I could leave him behind.
Maybe some demon's still clinging to Derek... Better keep him close before he causes trouble. And I can't just ditch a kid like that anyway!
We eight monsters had to set out on a journey to find a way back to being human. We couldn't live like this forever, and I had to uphold my contract with Dantalian no matter what.
A late realization from that damn scam of a contract: my plea to save the kids' lives also meant that if I failed to fulfill it, their lives were forfeit too!
Of course, I'd told the kids everything, no secrets. That we'd contracted with a demon to survive. They were too young to grasp how heavy "demon contract" really was, but that day... they forgave me instead.
‘Thanks for saving us’...
How could I abandon them after hearing that?
“Dinner's ready. Come gather 'round!”
“““Yaaay~♪”””
Among the other slaves who'd joined our escape, Mr. Tucker—who'd run a restaurant—whipped up grilled fish and stew from freshly caught fish and foraged ingredients. Thanks to him, we could enjoy proper meals every morning and evening these days.
Lunch was just dried bread and forest berries for quick travel, so not as satisfying, but no choice. If the Colorado count's men backtracked Libert's trail and sent pursuers, we'd be screwed.
They'd been terrified of our looks at first, but now we were practically bound by fate. Over time, we'd agreed to trust each other.
They were wanderers from nomadic tribes or debt slaves anyway. None of us could live normally in that city or nearby territories. At least until we crossed the border to another country, we had to stick together as one.
Sunset came early in the forest, so when we spotted the glow fading, we set camp by the riverbank. We unpacked blankets and sleeping bags to settle in.
To fend off potential night raids from wild beasts, magic beasts, or monsters, Estelle spun webs everywhere. (Fun fact: since turning arakne, she preferred sleeping in a web hammock up in the dense trees nearby.)
Estelle had said:
‘It's comfier up here, Boss, don't worry about me. If anything hits the webs, I'll let you know.’
‘You sure? Not cold?’
‘Feels fine. My body's... changed, y'know? Now a hot fire nearby creeps me out more.’
...
‘Don't fret. I'm good. You watch the others.’
Seemed like it wasn't just her body—her habits had fully turned spider-like.
“Delicious as always, Mr. Tucker.”
“No, no—we're the grateful ones for the rescue back there, Actor sir.”
“Thank you.”
Bowing to a six-year-old is one thing, but 'sir' with my name feels off...
Not that I couldn't get it. My face was a swirling mass of black smoke shaped like a human's—faceless. From afar, I probably looked like just another monster or demon like the kids.
“So, Actor sir, what's the plan going forward?”
“Like I said before, we'll cross the border and leave this kingdom first. Then we split. Sticking with us won't bring you folks much good.”
...
“After that, your lives are yours to decide. Go deep into the woods as slash-and-burn farmers, head to another country, or wander like those Romaani folks over there—whatever suits.”
“And what about you all?”
“Hunt for a way back to normal. Might be impossible, but...”
...
“Boss! Massive vibrations incoming—this way!”
“Estelle? Vibrations? What—”
Rumble rumble!
“Hm? What's that noise?”
“Yeah, something's coming...”
...
Estelle suddenly yelled from the trees about something approaching with huge vibrations. I was about to ask what she meant when—before she even finished—loud crashing sounds barreled toward us.
Rumble rumble rumble!
“That's... hoofbeats?”
“Hoofbeats... no way?!”
“Boss! At least a few hundred! On horseback, heading straight here!”
!!!
Clop clop clop!
Hundreds charging into this dense, darkening forest on horses? No good intentions there. This wasn't a battlefield, and marching soldiers would stick to proper roads—not plunge into remote woods like this. Especially not at full gallop!
“Bandits maybe?!”
“B-Boss, what do we do?”
“Everyone, bolt into the woods and hide! Hurry!”
“““Yes!”””
No way we could fight hundreds of armed bandits and win. At my order, the group scrambled to douse the campfire and dash deeper into the thick forest.
Estelle—who'd gone ahead—had already started weaving webs as obstacles.
“Estelle!”
“Leave it to your sis! Oh—and don't touch those webs! I coated 'em in poison!”
“Huh? Oh—got it! Seal it off after we pass!”
“You got it~♪ Run ahead and wait!”
We raced along the path she marked, threading through her labyrinthine web maze into the forest depths.
We had no idea back then.
Just how terrifying Estelle's webs really were.
Or how she was subtly enjoying it.
Like a spider lying in wait for prey.