Gripping the Brush (2)
The Dune tribe, with their red eyes, did not waver even before the colossal evil.
"Devour them. Eat them all up." Even as the Seven Deadly Sins' Gluttony relentlessly unleashed status ailments, there wasn't the slightest tremor in those crimson pupils.
Gluttony grew curious.
'How can a mere human...?'
Akshan. The natural enemy. It was inevitable that they would come to mind.
That these humans overlapped with demon hunters who hadn't broken even before their own kind? It was the highest of praises.
However.
"Shahin, what shall we do with them?"
The Dune tribe's demeanor was markedly different from Akshan's.
The man seeking Shahin Dune's opinion gazed at the villagers. They had already committed horrific atrocities under Gluttony's influence. Cannibalism. For any human, simply witnessing it would be enough to fill them with terror.
Yet Shahin Dune remained utterly composed, as if it were familiar.
"If it were that lord, he would surely have saved even them. But we lack such power. Offer prayers to Ashara. And pray sincerely for their souls' peace."
Once Gluttony was slain, they might return to normal. But their memories would not vanish.
That lord could heal such wounds, but they lacked the confidence to do so.
"As you command."
Schwick— Dune's curved sword danced gracefully. It was a solemn dance.
That was why bewilderment lingered on Gluttony's face.
"...What in the world are you?"
It was no exaggeration to say Gluttony—one of the Seven Deadly Sins—had watched the Arcana continent's birth from the primordial era.
Beings with such flesh and mental fortitude would have made perfect vessels. They themselves wouldn't have left them alone.
"Yet how is it that I do not know of you?"
Shahin Dune answered without hesitation.
"It's only natural you don't."
"...What?"
"Only Claudy recognized us."
"...!"
Gluttony jumped to conclusions. There must be some unbreakable bond between these Dune folk and Claudy that even they couldn't pierce.
If so.
'Unpleasant as it is.'
They had no choice but to engage in all-out war?
"Shahin."
At the call, Shahin Dune nodded.
The Gluttony that had possessed a human's skin now revealed its true form.
Swaaaaah—!
Skin tore in all directions, and an immense mass of flesh began spilling out from between. Its bulk seemed to double every second.
Gluttony's face, likewise covered in flesh. Gulp, gulp— its shape twisted grotesquely.
Mouths appeared where eyes should be.
True to its name, countless mouths sprouted across its massive body.
Hundreds of mouths uttered a sinister voice.
"Are you prepared for interrupting my meal?"
Demons evolve. A primordial evil fattened on the Arcana continent's negative emotions from the dawn of time.
Gluttony, unlike Greed, had never even tasted death.
"Answer."
The surroundings warped. In players' terms, the field was changing.
As if to swallow all creation.
Gluttony devoured everything to swell its body.
Its gaze—its mouths—turned toward the Dune tribe.
"No, your will matters not."
This body was a colossal evil.
Save for Claudy, Akshan's last survivor and their natural enemy, Gluttony was confident it could handle any being on the Arcana continent.
Just as it hadn't cowered before dragons, elves, or transcendents.
Yet Gluttony had overlooked one thing.
"Hey, one question, demon."
Shahin Dune's origins.
Shahin Dune took in the colossal evil's form at a glance.
It was vast enough to escape the field of vision. But crucially, it fit in 'one glance.'
Unlike 'that time.'
Shahin Dune continued.
"Between you and the demon kings of the Demon Realm, who is stronger?"
Gluttony wondered what nonsense this human was spouting.
"What did you say?"
Either way, it was displeasing. Inevitably so.
Comparing it to mongrel self-proclaimed kings was an insult; comparing it to the Ten Thrones' demon kings bordered on deception belittling its power.
"Insolent."
That was Gluttony's answer.
But the human's reaction was even more laughable.
Shahin Dune laughed.
"Well, even with all those mouths, admitting it must be hard. Then allow me to judge. You are pathetically weak compared to them."
"!"
Even if not apparent.
Everyone has a background they carry.
The Dune tribe was no exception.
At this moment, Shahin Dune could remain calm before the colossal evil Gluttony for a valid reason.
Shahin Dune recalled that day.
Back then.
It had appeared from the sky.
For the first time, Shahin Dune's red eyes trembled faintly.
"...!"
Gluttony noticed Shahin Dune's agitation.
This fool, so confident before them, now swept by negative emotions just from reminiscing...
'What memory did he recall?'
The doubt lasted only a moment before Shahin Dune spoke.
"Just a single forearm gripping a sword. Laughable, isn't it? The sky split, and out came a mere forearm. Yet that one forearm destroyed our homeland, the Seorn continent."
"Seorn...?"
Only then did Gluttony realize.
The Dune tribe!
Ah, so that was why they hadn't recognized them. These were not beings of the Arcana continent.
But clarity still eluded. A single forearm annihilating the Seorn continent? Even the Seven Deadly Sins' Wrath couldn't...
As denial swirled, a phrase flashed: 'demon kings of the Demon Realm.'
Gluttony gaped its mouths in disbelief.
"A Ten Thrones demon king...!"
"That's what you call them."
Shahin Dune revisited an ancient memory. Strictly speaking, not his own.
The moment his ancestors fled the doomed Seorn continent for Arcana.
A memory etched indelibly in red eyes.
Yes, that legacy had guided his steps here.
Shahin Dune spoke.
"Its name was Baal."
"...!!"
Gluttony's mouths gaped wider, replacing eyes.
Everything made sense. Baal, first of the Ten Thrones, could raze a continent with one arm.
Suddenly, their very existence puzzled.
Gluttony asked earnestly.
"How did you survive Baal?"
Until recently.
Shahin Dune might not have answered.
Even he, inheritor of the purest Dune blood, struggled to fully read the memories in his red eyes.
He glimpsed that day's scene, but hazily, like through thick fog.
Yet he had realized.
For some reason.
From a certain moment, the scene sharpened. The memory clarified.
Shahin Dune smiled.
"I'm wondering myself. Why didn't I notice sooner?"
The moment of annihilation.
Baal's sword had paused, if only briefly but surely.
Because Baal's sword swung at empty air.
Screams of Demon Realm demons echoed in memory.
—"Why waste such a grand sacrifice, Baal!! Do you know the price the Demon Realm paid for this day? We cannot be satisfied with mere Seorn. Honor the contract. Open the gate to the Arcana continent with that sword!!"
The demons hadn't witnessed.
But Dune's red eyes saw clearly.
In Seorn's final moments, a silver-haired man had blocked Baal.
Yes, Claudy.
And for some reason, the Claudy house head he met at the banquet recently.
—"I know all, even without being shown."
—"Even how to hunt you, Baal."
—"I expected no understanding from inferior kin."
—"Count it an honor. I shall make you comprehend myself."
His provocation bought time.
Allowing the Dune tribe to survive and set foot on Arcana.
"Why did I not recognize my Dune savior?"
Not mere words.
He despised himself for accepting Claudy's invitation yet failing to recognize, failing to give proper thanks.
Shring—!
Thus, now was the time to prove.
That his loyalty to Claudy stemmed not merely from their great house.
So Shahin Dune spoke no more.
"Muttering to yourself since earlier...!!"
Pfuk—!
Avoid needless talk with demons.
That was his lord's teaching.
.
.
.
It wasn't just happening to Gluttony of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Chwk—!
Sloth of the Seven Deadly Sins awoke to icy sensation.
"...Huh?"
Opening his eyes, he saw himself bound to a chair, limbs restrained. Doused in cold water.
Sloth recalled.
Just dozens of minutes ago, he'd closed his eyes for a nap...
"Oh dear, Nephthys. Looks like you called me."
Nephthys, the true-named demon infiltrating the Goddess Church.
She'd sought his aid, and with no response, seemed to have fallen to hell already.
Quite some time must have passed.
Sloth exhaled lazily.
"Yaaawn. A pity."
Though limbs bound, Sloth felt no危機.
A day or two? He'd gotten drunk possessing a human, unpaid the bill, and ended up jailed.
That was his last memory.
"...?"
But the brightening view was ominous.
Too glittering for a jail. Everything visible was gold and jewels.
Clink— even the chains binding his limbs were treasures.
Sloth's languid face twisted.
"...Ha?"
Silver restraints.
Sloth realized instantly. They knew his identity.
A voice from the darkness.
"We do. I despise the lazy, deputy. Even I have a favorite saying: 'If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.' It didn't arise in vain."
"We know. Countless lost jobs to the master's strict evaluations. Thanks to that, I lose sleep nightly, pondering if mere flattery suffices these days."
"Ahem. Unnecessary jests when I must intimidate..."
Cough brief, words continued.
"Anyway. Our colossal evil, Seven Deadly Sins Sloth, root of the sloth I most abhor in this world. Let's tally the gold coins I've spent tracking you!"
Not just any demon. They knew he was Sloth?
Only then did Sloth feel危機.
Silver restraints or whatever. He had to break free, even if limbs melted.
But they anticipated even that?
"Note those silver restraints are dwarven-made. Dwarven-make, hard to obtain even with endless gold. Break them, and it won't end prettily."
"...!"
"Not that you have the strength."
No strength?
Sloth bristled. He was a colossal evil. No restraint could hold...
Chwk— cold water poured again.
Sizzzle—!
No, not ordinary water.
"This is...?"
Sensation so scorching he'd mistaken it for cold.
Yes. An immense volume of holy water poured over Sloth's head.
"With Muon's Goddess Church holy site gone, procuring holy water cost a fortune, deputy. How much loss has our Diamond Merchant Guild suffered precisely?"
"Holy water prices up tenfold. Transport costs fivefold."
"Ten, plus five... Damnable demons."
Scritch-scritch—!
From the darkness, only the nervous scrape of a pen on parchment.
Sloth's mind raced amid searing.
This is dangerous.
Sloth ground teeth strategically.
"Petty, human."
"Petty?"
"Hiding in shadows to deceive me?"
"Ah."
Eye contact would let him unleash power to escape.
But contrary to hope, the reply came from darkness.
"Grasping one's place is a merchant's virtue. Objectively viewing both sides enables deals. Same now. Unlike red eyes, I'm not strong. Just money. So I hunt you my way."
"...!"
The voice's owner: Diamond Merchant Guild master, Gamond Phil.
Gamond faced Sloth clad in silver armor and jewelry, doused in holy water.
Different from Shahin Dune's method, but equally effective.
Gamond to deputy.
"How was that line? Decent, right, deputy?"
"Ruined by the addendum."
"Standards so strict."
Gamond grumbled, but wasn't in the mood.
Money-first Gamond couldn't help hating this demon.
"Know this? My Silk Road spanned the continent. But demons turned Arcana to wasteland, costing Diamond Guild immense damage. Gut-wrenching, but... like natural disaster, not covered by imperial insurance. But..."
Gamond's eyes blazed.
"If smashing the sunny side, shouldn't the shadows get smashed too? Deputy, true? Orc Auction's underground unscathed?"
Diamond Guild and Orc Auction.
Two guilds dividing Arcana's light and dark.
But demons shook that balance.
Gamond wiped damp forehead from holy water.
"Feels like unfair contract, deputy."
Thus, joy at Claudy's order. Just what he wanted. Poured vast gold gladly.
Devised meticulous plan, executed.
"Odd, right? Intact tavern in ruined continent. Perfect spot for sloth just then. Remarkably lenient owner."
"...!"
"Had you cared, maybe not a demon? Anyway. All a trap to lure you from the start."
Gamond coldly calculated profits.
"I hate the lazy, Claudy hates demons. No issue. Right? So I can treat you more cruelly, deputy?"
First hearty agreement.
"Master's words are utterly right."
Simultaneously, holy water poured from ceiling.
"Thiiis bastaaard...!"
Sizzzzzzz!
*
No questions asked. Tempest tore into the colossal evil's throat.
I gazed coldly at the prey.
"If forgotten, I'll remind you."
If too grand a picture to comprehend.
I'll etch the artist's intent directly into that inferior mind.
Under the demon-eye telescope adorning the night sky, I declared.
"I am your true fear."