Volume 8 Chapter 20 A Peaceful Gathering
At night, our party had finally gathered all our equipment and left Bael Castle.
Mudi and Philia were like, "Hah, didn't you guys do everything? Why are we moving?" and "I'm gonna take a nap, I'm tired..." They didn't follow us. Well, I didn't expect much from those 2 in terms of morals, so it's fine.
Sur, on the other hand, said, "I'll investigate this castle a bit more," and went off on his own. There might be things left to investigate in the castle, and Mudi and the others wouldn't move, so I gave him permission.
So, the 3 of us set out to check on the villages that had been attacked by the artillery, trudging through the snow-covered road.
"Over there."
"Yeah..."
As usual, I took the lead, with Ice's ice bird guiding us from above.
The night in Nilfheim was dark, with heavy snowfall, making it difficult to walk. Our breath turned white. We could hear the distant howling of wolves.
After walking for a while, we arrived at the village closest to Bael Castle. And we all scowled.
The damage from Bael's artillery earlier was immense.
The houses were destroyed, and many Demons were stunned. Some sat on the ground, staring at their burned-down homes. Others lay on the snow-covered ground. Some tried to enter their burning homes but were stopped.
"...We shouldn't sympathize with them. I think I understand that."
Clay said with a bitter face.
"But this is just too cruel. Can we go help them, Wade-kun?"
Clay asked me with a driven expression. I forced a smile and thought for a moment, "Hmm..."
"Let's observe the situation first. Clay, you're probably the most level-headed, so your sense of judgment about demons is probably the most off."
"Huh...?"
When I looked at Ice, she also forced a smile and followed up, "I think it's a virtue on the surface, yeah...?" Clay opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the right words.
"...Got it. Let's observe the situation first. I'll follow your lead, Wade-kun."
"Okay. Let's sneak up without being noticed."
We nodded to each other and crept forward, holding our breath.
Clay's sense was not wrong on the surface. It's a correct sense. Help the weak. That's a valuable principle to respect.
But, this is hell. We've seen demons who would devour the sense of 'helping the weak' and make a mess. As a result, Clay has seen terrible things.
I still can't grasp what's the right sense in this hell. But, that's why it's correct to observe once more.
We approach the village, getting close enough to peek, and hide in the bushes to observe without being noticed.
The village is, as seen from the castle, in flames. The fire is rising, smoke is ascending, and people are in a panic, it's a huge disaster.
It's certainly a pitiful sight. The crazy Bael's bombardment has caused this much damage. But, to begin with, the villagers were the ones who tampered with the fog, which is the cause of this.
It's not about whether their tampering deserves this much damage. The problem is, what were the villagers thinking when they tampered with the fog?
In other words, according to my prediction――
The demon who was lying on the snow gets up with a "Cough!"
"I froze to death and revived! That damn lord is waiting! I'll slaughter him soon and feed him to the corpse beast, haha!"
"Eh."
Clay opens his mouth in surprise. Then, the demon who was gazing at the burned-down house stands up.
"Yeah, the meat inside should be nice and ripe, right? Hey, let's have a feast first, shall we?"
"That's my roasted corpse, sis!"
"So what?"
"I won't eat it! The first thing I eat when I revive is not my own meat!"
"You're so young... But I won't give you my meat. But then, a woman's meat is tender, you know?"
"Isn't your evaluation of your own corpse weird?"
Ice lets out a "Wow..." as he listens to the demon siblings' conversation.
A man who tries to enter the burning house is stopped and shouts.
"There's someone inside! There's a sl*ve I brought from a distant village who's inside! If they die in the fire, they'll revive here and escape, so let's go!"
"Hahahahahaha! Serve you right, you fool! I've always been jealous! Let them escape, hahahahahaha!"
I was speechless, my mouth agape. I patted Clay's shoulder and said,
"So?"
"...Thanks for calming me down."
"Alright. Let's head to the village with a carefree attitude."
We approached the village.
The demon villagers spotted us and stared at us intently. I'm sure they were thinking:
―――Can we win against them? Can we plunder them? Can we deceive them? Can we take advantage of their good nature? How much can we exploit them? Do they have any value?
I smiled at the demons and said,
"We're here to plunder! Everyone, surrender now!"
"Wade-kun!? Wait, Wade-kun, isn't that going too far? Can't you just hold back a bit?"
Clay's frantic response was hilarious, and I couldn't help but laugh. Then, I whispered, "It's all an act, it's all an act."
My declaration sent the demons into a panic. They started arguing among themselves, saying things like "That guy's crazy" "He's got too much power to take advantage of us" "He's worse than me, a total scammer!"
"Huh?"
"Look, it's like...we're having a conversation with a completely different creature..."
"No, I think that's a good way to put it. They're a different species, after all."
It seems that the values of "good people are weak" and "bad people are strong" are prevalent here. In reality, just one of my reckless words was enough to make the demons see us as equals.
So, all that's left is to show them our power. The phrase "surrender" also implies "if you surrender, we won't take anything more than that." If we kill a few of them, they'll stop there.
On the other hand, if I hadn't said that, yesterday's village would have been completely destroyed.
Those who don't make demands are either too weak to do so or have desires they can't express. I'm sure that's how these demons think.
I'm not a good person, and I don't have any pride to uphold. So, I thought it was only natural to follow the local customs when in Rome.
"Ah, um...we're, uh, struggling because of Lord's bombardment, you see..."
As the villager demon said this, it approached us. I used my Ajna Chakra to sense that it had a hidden blade in its hand.
The demons waiting behind me are slightly smirking, so there's no mistake――this is a special attack. I let them revive in the village, so I'll just go ahead and do this.
"I don't care."
So I punched that demon's head with my fist. The sound of its head bursting was loud. The smirks on the demons behind me instantly disappeared.
I approached them with a cheerful smile and said,
"I'm here to plunder. Kneel down."
'Yes...'
All the demons within a 10-meter radius (≈ 32.8-foot radius) knelt down. The first stage is going well. Demons don't have pride, so this part is smooth sailing.
And at the same time, pretending to obey while not actually doing so is also a characteristic of demons. So I used Ajna Chakra to see what's beyond my line of sight.
"...Huh?"
I sensed a strong killing intent from 2 people targeting us, and I felt a sense of discomfort. This isn't the strength of demons around here. It's top-tier strength, even among gold-ranked. My whole body tensed up just knowing we're enemies.
But, it's those guys, after all.
"Open season!"
With a loud electrical explosion sound, a yellow-haired girl jumped into the air, surrounded by snowflakes.
"There they are! Masters are here! Please take care of them!" "Yeah Beautiful demon duo!" "Our savior!"
The demons cheered loudly. I guess they've gotten used to being around here. Thinking that, I got ready.
First, I caught the girl falling from the sky with my bare hands. Her fist pierced my torso, but I won't worry about that much.
"Let's do this! Take this!"
A huge snake illusion attacked us. I readied Durandal and swung it down.
"What?! Can't stop it!" "No way! Hydra lost?!"
At the same time, Toxy and Sandra, who were saying such things, suddenly turned pale. I let out a wry smile and then gave them some advice.
"Toxy, Sandra. When you're going to hit someone, take a good look at their face first."
""Ah...""
Toxy, who had created an illusion and attacked from a distance, and Sandra, who had directly charged at us with lightning, both turned bright red for an instant before quickly turning pale.
"Woah! Sorry! Sorry, Wade Are you okay?"
"This is a disaster. I never thought Wade would be tainted by hell, not even with my eyes, Sandra."
"No, I'm just hurt, so it's fine, I guess."
As I repair the hole in my abdomen opened by Sandra with my Anahata Chakra, I turn around to look behind me.
There, Ice is standing with a terrifying smile, looking at Toxy and Sandra.
"...Toxy-chan, Sandra-chan...?"
"Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh." "Wade, I love you. Let's meet again in the next life."
Toxy, who's panicking, and Sandra, who's already resigned to her death. I quietly move away from the 2 and tell them "I'll talk to you later, after I'm done with Ice" before turning my attention to the other demons.
There, the demons realize that the two who was their ally was actually an enemy in disguise, and they're all kneeling on the ground, including the demon who was hiding and waiting for an opportunity to attack.
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