Chapter 95
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Why the Hell Is That Bastard Like That?
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"......Only strong Holy Knights....... We need a lot......"
Yuderg's strategy was probably something like calling in the Holy Knight Order somehow to rescue Requiya and Fred.
"You mean drag the Hellite Holy Knights here?"
"That's the only way. They're not the kind we can take down with a handful of fighters."
A sigh escaped me.
'Crazy bastard.'
Why were all the lunatics around me?
Was it because I was a lunatic myself, forever surrounded by them even in death?
"I get your thinking. But forget it. They're not coming just because I call."
"What about Steron and Loginin? If they request—"
"I don't think so. No time for chit-chat. Sleep."
I cupped the back of Yuderg's head in my palm.
'I command you—.'
I was the one who revived a fading life with divine power.
Putting someone to sleep should be a piece of—
"Ah, sleep already."
"Not sleepy. My head's getting clearer. Feels like my energy's surging......"
Shit.
This was why they said send words to Jeju and people to magic school.
I'd thought divine power was just a source of strength you shaped with imagination into techniques, but it was both the raw power source and a perfected technique in itself.
I could infuse vitality, make overflowing power burst forth, but I couldn't manipulate others like magic that burned mana as fuel.
Suddenly, I envied black magic.
"Fine, I'll play along with your plan for now. I've got my own ideas, so don't worry about the rest."
"They're strong."
"So am I."
Yuderg was strong too.
Requiya and Fred as well.
They hadn't just been lounging safely in some fortress.
But compared to me—smeared head to toe in potions, with the stuff flowing in my blood, spit, and shit—they were just worms before an eagle.
"Aigoo—. My head's spinning round and round uwweee......"
One more junkie here.
Ibu leaned on his axe like a cane, staggering.
"Yuderg, you okay?"
"How did a lady like you end up in this hellhole?"
"Ibu, uwweee—. Doesn't like scary, dark, gloomy places at all. Uwweee—. Aigoo—, head spinning round and round......"
Yuderg's dopey grin pissed me off.
One arm gone, and he was grinning like an idiot—what the hell was so great?
"Ibu, stick with me and hide for a bit."
"J-just Ibu? What about Yuderg? Boss, this ain't right—errr?"
I hooked my arm under Ibu's and leaped high.
Hid in a tall tree and shot Yuderg a look.
'Don't resist. Let them take you nice and easy.'
Yuderg, looking up, gently closed his eyes.
I gave Ibu a simple rundown of the plan.
No point explaining in detail—he wouldn't get it anyway. Might even doze off midway.
"We'll tail them after they grab Yuderg."
Ibu stared at me wide-eyed like a good kid, listening intently.
"No time for long explanations. Just follow me."
"Yeah. Got it."
I asked nicely, and Ibu nodded with a surprised look.
Watching Yuderg surrounded by the black mist, I thought,
'What weirdos.'
Requiya, dreaming of revenge after losing his family.
Fred, chasing honor after hitting rock bottom.
I could understand their thirst for vengeance to a degree.
In a world where laws and systems mostly served the central powers,
if private retribution was the only way to save yourself and deliver justice, why wouldn't they choose it?
If they had the power, that is.
'What would I have done?'
If I were Requiya. If I were Fred.
A devil with no fixed tomorrow, a ronin stripped of the pride that held him up.
If it were me,
I'd probably have no outlet for my rage, drowned in booze until I burned out or lost my mind wandering, then dropped dead somewhere.
In that sense, Fred and Requiya were men worth respecting.
But why the hell was Yuderg acting like such a bastard?
- "It was only after losing everything that I realized the value of adventure."
What the hell was his "adventure" anyway?
Yuderg used to hang out with Steron and Loginin all the time.
I could still picture him getting all excited over Holy Knights' adventure tales.
- "Ooh, there's a monster like that in Starphaltz? A giant with two heads? Never heard of it."
What kind of adventure was worth a perfectly healthy guy losing an arm and going berserk?
'I like it, but I hate it.'
What life meaning was there in getting trapped naked on a rocky mountain, sandwiched between bandits and an army, nearly eaten by snakes, surrounded by ogres?
'Lunatics.'
I'd die and come back to life and still never understand this world's people.
Ah, I'd already died and come back.
Kraaaaa—!
Esrellak's minions overran the forest like black mist.
The biggest one hoisted Yuderg over his shoulder like a log.
Yuderg's beloved sword dropped silently into the grass.
'He dropped it on purpose.'
Kraaaaa—!
A tall, skinny one let out a roar.
His blade-sharp voice rode the mist, spreading out.
Kraaaaa—.
The others echoed him, scanning the forest.
Their eyes—pupils black all the way to where the whites should be—flashed.
'Full-on demons.'
They were hunting me and Ibu.
But we'd sealed our power completely.
The demons couldn't even detect our traces.
'They moved like beasts when charging, and now they're sniffing us out just as keenly...... Hold up, that one's movements are off.'
One demon's head swung stiffly from right to left.
That mechanical motion reminded me of something.
'A cam......?'
Like a remote-controlled CCTV.
Back when I lived with the kids, I'd set up cameras for late nights.
Based on what I'd seen so far......
Was that one being puppeted by the black magic user?
'Watching through his minion's eyes.'
If a demon spots something suspicious, it alerts the puppeteer, who then takes direct control of that one.
So...... the demons were sensor-equipped hunting dogs.
Not "if,"—it fit too perfectly.
'Was Charles like that? The armored ogre too?'
Possible, but no certainty.
We'd jumped straight into fights, and they died too quick for observation.
Kraaaa—!
The one carrying Yuderg suddenly roared.
Then they started moving out.
Probably figured more searching was a waste of time.
'That way.'
The demons headed north in unison.
That direction led to a rocky cliff. From my high perch, I could see their goal with my own eyes.
Human in form, but no longer human.
I withdrew the brief pity I'd felt.
And enacted another plan change.
"Come to me—."
I called to one hanging upside-down from a nearby tree.
A honey-bat the size of my thumb.
It flew over quietly and clung to my index finger.
Staring into my eyes, awaiting orders.
"You'll remember the border city in the west. The inn I stayed at too."
The black-faced rat-like thing nodded faintly.
"You can slip through gaps as thin as a blade, right? Get into the inn's basement. There'll be a mine. Find the one covered in volcanic rock. Looks like a tiger, bigger than a cow. Might be even larger now. And its body runs hot."
The honey-bat rolled its eyes.
If it failed, oh well.
I just wanted to roll the dice one more time.
Since I couldn't figure out what his damn "adventure" was, maybe I'd get a kick out of seeing if my idea worked.
"Bring it to me. Cross Fiore territory, go through crowded areas, shortest path. Even better if it's near an army. Know what an army is? Humans in similar shells gathered together, like your kind."
I called it a whim for fun, but bats had good memories.
"I trust you. I'm counting on it."
They'd relay the message somehow.
If not, they'd beat it into him or something.
What if I gave a sure sign?
"Take this."
I summoned a drop of lava like blood at my fingertip.
Coated it with a pea-sized bit of ice.
Proof that Kalruk called for Grrrr.
Whish—whish—.
The bat clutched the ice-trapped flame and flew west.
"Ibu, wait here for Loginin."
"Why?"
"Sorry. No time. Sorry I can't explain. Sorry I can't stay with you. Just this once."
Strange feeling.
Felt like I'd said this before sometime.
Ibu nodding like a good kid didn't feel unfamiliar either.
"It's 'cause it's important, right? Right, boss? Say it is."
"Yeah. It's important, so that's why. Doesn't mean you're not important."
Felt like I'd said that too.
"No matter what, don't come down till I leave this forest. Wait for Loginin, then follow the bird. You can do that?"
You can do that? Felt like I'd asked someone that once.
"Leave it to Ibu! Ibu's super noble and listens real good."
"Yeah. Nobler than anyone I know. More precious too."
Why the hell was I spouting this cheesy crap?
Ibu thumped his chest.
"Trust Ibu and go, boss."
"Alright. I'm off."
I left Ibu and hopped down lightly.
The black mist, not yet dispersed, brushed my body. Sticky like red lights luring drunks.
"Boooss—. Heyyy—. Wasn't that too quick to jump dooown—?"
Ibu whispered from the tree.
Trust me my ass—he couldn't hold it in.
"On purpose."
"Purpoose—?"
"Big picture of the plan hasn't changed."
"Ibu's still dumb. Head's suuuper dizzy—. Spinning round uwweee—maybe that's why baa—."
You were always dumb.
I grabbed Yuderg's sword.
The Red Dragon Knight's blade.
'Thought it'd be soaked in blood.'
But Yuderg's sword radiated a clear, pure aura.
If Loginin's was just sturdy, razor-sharp steel, Yuderg's had a chilling energy infused in it.
I looked up.
Ibu, eyes meeting mine, grinned sheepishly.
I know you saw, damn it.
Through the dense trees, blue sky peeked.
'Yeah. It suits you, Yuderg.'
Sky blue.
The color that stayed untainted even under thunderclouds or lightning rips.
'Divine power isn't the only force that counters dark magic.'
Just like bug spray isn't the only way to kill pests.
Following blood trails, demon corpses littered the path. Clearly ensnared by black magic.
But they hadn't revived.
Or rather, failed to after Yuderg's sword.
Maybe that's why Requiya and Fred pulled Yuderg out.
Just my guess.
Insight Ability gave no answer.
'Means I'm not convinced enough.'
Kraa—!
A hidden demon burst from the bushes.
'I command you—, Sword of Divinity—.'
Yuderg's sword, cloaked in divine power, blazed brilliantly.
'Subdue the profane power.'
Like Luke's twin blades.