It was an unfamiliar sky. Not the murky, yellowish sky covered with what seemed to be remnants of humanity, but a clear sky where the sun shone brightly.
“Rather you… being weak and all. Why do you keep stepping forward? You make people worry.”
Altera suddenly appeared in my field of vision and grumbled at me as I got up. What exactly did I do? I remember going into the warehouse to look for treasure, but after that, everything is a blur.
“…Where am I?”
I know it might sound foolish, but I genuinely have no idea where I am. No matter which way I turn my head, all I see are buildings that appear perfectly fine. This certainly isn’t any place I recognize.
Above all, my head hurts. Could it be magical exhaustion? Even though my fingers weren’t shaking, they appeared blurry to me. Or maybe it’s just that I didn’t notice my hands trembling.
“Stop your nonsense and drink this. Seriously. You’re crazier than those religious folks who lock themselves in the cathedral and pray all day.”
Akashi shoved some strange potion into my mouth. For a moment, I almost slipped into prayer out of surprise, but somehow managed to avoid a disaster.
After finishing the whole bottle, I finally began to recall where I was and what had happened. This was outside the castle. And there wasn’t a trace of mold anywhere.
So… did I succeed? I wasn’t entirely sure if invoking the Goddess’s name would work, but at least everything appears normal now.
Come to think of it, when did I end up holding this thing? I remembered carving and writing on the medium, but I don’t recall acquiring this item.
This large, glittering bone-like… sword. It looked like it was made entirely of metallic bones, giving off a rather eerie vibe.
“…What is this? Why do I have this thing…?”
Seriously, what is this? Although it looks cold and foreboding, it strangely feels warm and comforting. Despite its terrifying appearance, I feel inclined to keep it close.
“What do you mean, it’s a reward. A thank-you for your somewhat idiotic good deed. Just hold onto it for now. It’s not a proper artifact, but since it came from that lump of flesh, it should sell for a decent price.”
That origin story involving the “lump of flesh” is quite unsettling, but I guess I’ll keep it anyway.
“I shouldn’t have come. I thought we’d at least find something useful, but… Ah, Alterra’s egg was delicious, though.”
When I stood up, Yuna was already there, complaining. She had her luggage fully packed, as if she was ready to move as soon as I woke up.
…You were waiting for me. For a moment, I wondered if freeing those souls was a mistake, but recalling the clarity of this sky and the face of the medium looking at me then, it didn’t seem so.
They were truly suffering. I need to help them. Besides, I even received this small reward.
“…Sorry for making you wait. I’m not sure how long it took, but judging by the setting sun, it must’ve been a while. Alterra, did your strength return?”
Instead of answering, Alterra levitated a brick effortlessly. Hmm. That gives me a sense of how long I’ve been lying here.
“Well… let’s go. There’s nothing left to do here, and we’ve brought peace to the people. Thanks, Akashi. Without you, these people would’ve continued to suffer.”
“I wanted those things to suffer more, but whatever. If you’re grateful, just ask someone to remove this seal later. It’s such a hassle, you know?”
That’s problematic. Without responding, I brushed off my clothes and stood up. Good clothing, huh? Even after rolling around in that place, there wasn’t a speck of dust or blood on it. Worth every penny spent on these shoes.
“Well… since Alterra’s back to full condition and we’ve got a new sword, let’s go!”
—
Despite the mishap in between, it seems we can still cross the mountain range within two weeks as planned. The reason we aimed to cross within two weeks—due to the unexpected incident—was revealed to Myungho.
Still, I don’t want to stay in this gloomy mountain any longer. Between monsters, wild beasts, and the mist so thick it clings to our horns…
Well. Thanks to the premature event, I found someone I can truly trust. But that doesn’t mean the memory has become any less unpleasant. It really hurt to the point of death.
If Yuna or Akashi had found me, something unimaginable might’ve happened. Anyway, I want to get out of here quickly. Since coming to this mountain, I haven’t had a single good memory.
At least, the descent has sped up our progress over the past few days, but avoiding battles has forced us to take detours.
With beasts lurking at every path, ugh. Sometimes I had to create the path myself.
“Still, thanks to Alterra, we got here much faster. Normally, it would’ve taken months.”
Myungho was still talking as if everything went well. Looking at the results alone, everything did turn out fine… right?
If only he hadn’t caused that commotion earlier, I might’ve truly believed that. Well, at least that also ended well, so it’s fortunate…
While I was relaxing and mumbling to myself, I sensed unnatural vibrations through the fog.
The herds of animals we’d been avoiding were now heading toward us. Even though we carefully avoided leaving any clues about our position, they were moving straight toward us.
And one more thing. Among the four-legged creatures and the larger two-legged ones, something human-sized, invisible, was approaching through the fog.
Out of suspicion, I threw a boulder toward the expected path, and as expected, it shattered mid-air, revealing the identity of the unseen presence.
It was the female creature known as a member of the Demon Tribe we encountered before. She still wore that peculiar mask covering her nose and mouth, and her attire resembled that of a prostitute.
“…I don’t know how you detected me, but it’s irritating. My stealth was perfect. Was it the vibration? Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We meet again, boy.”
Upon seeing me, the demon frowned in displeasure. Then, upon spotting Myungho, she confidently mimicked an older woman’s voice with authority.
She threw her sword toward my neck, but without looking, I immediately drew my greatsword. I knew it would block. I quickly prepared for combat.
“…We’re having a civilized conversation here, but this primitive keeps interrupting. Should I respond in his primitive language too?”
With that, the demon snapped her fingers. From beyond the fog emerged several monstrous beasts with fierce eyes.
Judging by the vibrations, there must be over a hundred of them, following her commands. This will be troublesome.
I was about to tell Myungho to prepare when, out of nowhere, Akashi burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching his stomach and pounding the ground with his knees. His behavior was so erratic that it was more frightening than contemptible.
How could someone change so drastically all of a sudden?
“Hahahaha!! Hahh, ahahaha! Impersonating… purebloods, hahaha! Somehow, it felt too generic! Maybe this is what demons look like under their pretense, ha! Pathetic! So pathetic! Haha!”
The demon, despite her covered face, clearly shifted from shock to anger within moments after hearing Akashi’s words.
“Impersonation? Are you calling me a half-breed? I may not know much about demons, but isn’t that one a pureblood…?”
“Half-breed? Looks like a pureblood to me. Those horns…”
I’m not sure why the word “half-breed” came up, but it seemed directed at the demon. I don’t know much about demons, so I have no clue the difference between a half-breed and a pureblood.
“…How do you know that?! My disguise was flawless, personally crafted by Him… How did you detect it?!”
“Half-breed, whoever ‘He’ is that you speak of… You’re beneath me. Young Hero, please lift some restrictions temporarily. I swear by my name that my magic won’t harm you. Just let me teach this half-breed a lesson.”
Myungho hesitated but handed over the spellbook to Akashi. Then, Akashi grinned menacingly and opened the book.
As if preparing for a massive explosion, he cast a simple magic arrow instead.
Something the mage from the hunting party used to casually throw at me during idle times. Surely this wouldn’t break her barrier.
Compared to my own weaker protective barrier, this felt even more feeble—an insignificant amount of mana forming a pitiful arrow.
However, against my expectations, the magic arrow easily pierced through and shattered the demon’s mask.
“Uh?”
“Block it with your own power, half-breed. Your precious ‘He’ won’t save you now.”
Behind the broken mask, all I could see were wide-open blue lips, stunned. Apparently shocked, the demon didn’t even try to dodge the next arrow, which struck her abdomen.
“My barriers were intact, how…?!”
Her earlier confidence was gone, and now the demon awkwardly flailed about, struggling to evade the slowly incoming magic arrows.
It was like watching a master toy with a beginner. Akashi deliberately spaced out his shots, even though he could’ve fired rapidly.
“Foolish creature, that suits you better.”
“That’s a bit harsh.”
Myungho, seemingly forgetting that he was being targeted, showed sympathy for the demon. Even I felt a little sorry for her.
But isn’t this entirely the fault of the demon who recklessly provoked us without knowing her limits?
After rolling around on the ground, the demon, apparently infuriated, shouted toward the sky and disappeared into thin air.
Then, the previously dormant beasts roared loudly toward the sky and charged toward us.
“…Not sure what Akashi did, but this is going to be a long fight. Get ready!”
