<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 55>
Meanwhile, while Park Ki-hyuk and his party were hunting, Park Bom was waiting at the base camp with her dad and uncles.
For some reason, Park Bom’s complexion was not good. Her cheeks were puffed up with sulkiness.
“I hate Dad. I want to go with Dad…”
She is always left behind. I hate it.
It seems she’s quite unhappy about being left alone.
However, it can’t be helped. As everyone knows, due to the side effects of sharing existence, Park Bom and Park Ki-hyuk cannot be apart for long periods. That’s why they have to come to the gate together.
Even so, there is no way to show her the hunting scene.
What father would show his daughter, at such a tender age, the bl**d-soaked battlefield where flesh is torn and spilled?
But such a deep sentiment of a father is hard for a young child like Bom to understand.
Right now, she only feels resentment toward her dad, who left her alone.
“Bapho, why didn’t Dad take Bom with him?”
At that moment, at the call of Bapho, a gray hue approached her.
Inside the gray mist was… a goat?
More specifically, a being that walked on two legs resembling humans, with the head of a goat, looking similar to a fairy or spirit.
That’s right. The identity of this being is the Demon Lord’s right arm. The Great Demon Baphomet.
Could it be that Park Ki-hyuk left Bom alone, whom he cherishes more than his own life?
He had set up an impregnable protection, and Baphomet was the key to this protection for Bom.
The Great Demon suddenly became the guardian spirit of Park Bom, the daughter of the Demon Lord.
At first, Baphomet couldn’t accept it due to its high pride as a Great Demon.
To protect humans, especially this seemingly useless little human!
But, as it was a command from a lord as great as the sky, it reluctantly obeyed, and now has genuinely started to care for Bom.
Baphomet hopped onto Park Bom’s hand and began to babble.
– Baphooo Bopoo~
Baphomet mixed in some rhythm to comfort Bom.
Its tiny limbs flailed adorably.
Such cuteness was unimaginable for a Great Demon. Who would see this scene and think of it as a Great Demon?
Perhaps moved by the tearful efforts of Baphomet, Bom’s expression softened a bit.
“Is it because you’re thinking of Bom?”
– Bopoo!
“That’s right, Bom wants to go too! She wants to be with Dad!”
– Bopoo~ Bopoo!
“Danger? That can’t be! My dad is invincible. Because…”
At that moment, their gazes crossed.
A jolt—
Nodding—
Park Bom and Baphomet exchanged silent signals and stood up abruptly.
“Invincible!”
They waved their short hands and struck a pose.
“Captain~ Tiger!”
– Ba~ Bopoo!
With fingers pointing to the sky, it was a pose that an adult would never do sober, but with the cuteness of Bom at its peak and the similarly adorable Baphomet, the explosion of cuteness was overwhelming.
“Heh. Awesome. The timing is perfect.”
– Baphooo~
The two exchanged fist bumps… no, a human and a demon. No, a child and a fairy…
In any case, the two adorable ones were chattering away.
Of course, it was one-sided with Bom asking questions while Baphomet reacted, a communication that felt more like mime than conversation, but the two had become friends across races and shared something, giggling together endlessly.
Then, after a while of laughter, the time finally came for Bom.
“Ugh. No, Bom is sleepy.”
It was nap time.
During this time, Bom’s eyelids became extraordinarily heavy.
“I can’t! I have to wait for Dad. I can’t…”
– Baphooo~ Baphooo~
“Don’t sing lullabies…”
Bom desperately fought to keep her eyes open, but Baphomet’s lullaby closed her eyes like a blackout curtain, and eventually, Bom lay down on the bed and fell asleep soundly.
Shortly after, Baphomet covered the sleeping Bom with a blanket and scattered into the air.
And where it appeared after crossing through space was…
The forest near the base camp.
Baphomet looked down from above with an arrogant gaze and opened its mouth.
– I surely warned you, didn’t I?
Inside Baphomet’s pitch-black eyes were humans.
Intruders who had attempted to approach the base camp, ignoring the warning.
– Insolent beings.
Baphomet’s gaze sank like an abyss.
A swirling space.
The intruders struggled late.
It was a mistake. Please spare us. They raised their voices.
But you have already committed a sin.
If you commit a sin, you must receive a proper punishment.
– It’s time for punishment.
Hands reached out from all directions, attacking the humans.
*
Meeting other parties in a gate with no personnel limit is not a special event.
Meeting humans in a gate?
Theoretically, there’s nothing strange about it. It might even be a pleasant surprise.
In a place filled with monsters that are trying to k*ll me, to encounter a human I can talk to? They might become a great advisor or a reliable ally.
Looking at it this way, it seems romantic.
But just as theory differs from practice, ideals and reality are different.
“Are these guys?”
– Yes, my master.
The intruders subdued by Baphomet were strewn across the floor.
Currently, they were stripped down to their underwear, having been slashed apart by clothes and armor.
My gaze turned to the weapons neatly arranged on one side.
“Speaking of weapons… they didn’t put up a fight, huh? They seem to have all their limbs intact.”
– Yes. There was a commotion at first, but it seems they realized their situation and disarmed themselves later.
“Good. We avoided unnecessary bloodshed.”
To put it bluntly, humans in the gate are several times more dangerous than monsters.
Think about it.
What kind of place is a gate? A dimension completely detached from reality.
What lives here? Beings referred to as monsters or beasts.
What kind of humans enter here? Superhumans who can defeat these monsters.
Then what is their purpose? The magic gems or the byproducts of monsters, more accurately, ‘money.’
Just hearing this, doesn’t it sound fishy?
In a place where power and money and battle come together, something absolute is bound to emerge.
That’s right. Crime.
The gate is the optimal environment for committing crimes.
“Wake one up. Preferably a higher-up.”
Baphomet nodded and then dragged one over to me. A guy with a scar across his face looking quite rugged.
“…But at least your daughter is pretty.”
I chuckle as I look at the necklace with a picture of a smiling girl.
The magic dissipated, and the consciousness of the fainted guy returned.
Yet, he bit his teeth and pretended to be unconscious. For someone so rugged, he was surprisingly weak.
“I know you’re awake, so open your eyes.”
“…”
“Open them in three seconds, or I’ll ensure you can’t open them forever.”
“…W-where is this?”
Attempting to act nonchalant.
Hah, look at this guy. Trying so hard.
“Stop the useless act, why did you approach?”
There are clearly manners or rules referred to in the gate, and one of the most representative rules is ‘do not approach the base camp recklessly.’
“With your gear and skills, you don’t seem to be an idiot who doesn’t know these rules… so what’s the purpose? Pillaging? Contract m*rder? Perhaps kidnapping?”
“O-oh, that’s a misunderstanding! We were just looking for a path…”
“If you’re going to give me some ridiculous excuse about taking a wrong turn, it’s best to shut your mouth. I installed the security magic here.”
“…”
“The alarm magic has sounded three times. It was loud enough to be annoying. Yet you’re standing here? What that means is…”
I held my sword to his neck.
“It’s proof you are intruders.”
“…”
bl**d dripped from the great sword, puddling below.
“My patience has run out. Speak. Without omitting anything.”
Only then did he begin to spout out incoherent words.
……
…
One hour prior to the incident.
The Keynote Party was hunting trolls and returning to the base camp.
“Did we acquire any completed products today?”
“Yes, three of them.”
“d*mn, that’s awful.”
“What’s with the cursing? We caught two of them, you know?”
“I know. I do, but it’s frustrating! The ones that were hard to find suddenly dropped all at once when it was time to leave. Who are they mocking?”
“What else can I say? What can be done? It’s luck.”
“But listening to the captain is a little frustrating. They said the positioning isn’t good, we’ve moved the base camp multiple times and only now they start coming out, yet the supplies are dwindling. Tsk.”
“I know! Ugh, it’s annoying.”
It was the 19th day since the Keynote Party entered this place, the ‘Black Forest’. Until just yesterday, they had only obtained nine troll corpses.
Almost one every two days.
Usually, catching one a day is considered decent, and getting one every two days is a total disaster.
Of course, even just selling magic gems wouldn’t be a loss, but who would be satisfied with just magic gems after entering the Black Forest?
The preparation costs to enter the Black Forest, like curse-dissolving potions or wound-healing potions, are substantial. Naturally, parties expected results above the costs and efforts they put in.
For these reasons, none of the Keynote Party were satisfied with their current results.
Yet here they were, having acquired three corpses in just one day.
Having gotten nine over 19 days, and now three in one day?
What a twist of fate.
And it was here that the problematic statement arose.
“Captain, how about asking for ‘cooperation’?”
“….”
Cooperation.
The word made the captain’s expression turn grave.
Outside, it’s just a term meaning to help each other, but within the gate, this ‘cooperation’ carries numerous implications.
“Hey, don’t do that again.”
“I’m just saying! Aren’t you a little disappointed? Just when they finally seem to be appearing, you want us to continue like this? Aren’t you disappointed?”
“…It’ll only make our reputation worse if things go wrong. Let’s just go, Captain.”
“Right. Besides, there’s been weird ‘rumors’ circulating lately, if we get misinterpreted, it’ll go south.”
“No, seriously. Did I say we should k*ll or take? I’m just saying we should get supplies or food with magic gems.”
“Hey, that’s the same thing.”
The gate.
A place without laws, where power reigns, and ‘cooperation’ often means following the law of strength, and sometimes ‘coercion’ occurs in the name of cooperation.
For instance, it goes like this.
If a hefty guy stands behind someone who has come to buy something, it’s hard to find someone who can firmly deny to sell in front of them.
Especially in a place without laws?
It’s no wonder the unwritten rule of ‘do not approach another party’s base camp’ was created. In the lawless world of the gate, it was better not to meet other humans if possible.
But human greed is boundless, and rather than what’s good for all, they seek what’s best for ‘me’.
“…Fine, let’s at least just talk. Don’t misunderstand. We’re only buying food, food only. Keep that in mind. Only food.”
The captain ultimately chose profit over rules.
This is the reason why Park Ki-hyuk was currently kneeling before them.
……
…
“So you’re saying you wanted to hunt more but had no food, so you attempted to ‘cooperate’ and extort from another party?”
Hah…
It’s so absurd that I can’t even laugh.
I looked down at the guy kneeling before me.
“I really only wanted to buy food! I had no intention of causing any trouble!”
“Is that your defense? What about the alarms? You should’ve stopped if the alarms went off, right?”
“Th-that’s…”
“What’s that?”
“T-that…”
The guy who was rolling his eyes, finally spat out.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
“Haah.”
In fact, such cases weren’t rare.
Especially in popular gates like this ‘Black Forest’, it often happens that people inadvertently invade the base camp. That’s why they set up alarms everywhere.
What can you do?
After a moment of contemplation.
My decision was.
“Just go.”
“…Huh?”
“I said just go. Didn’t you hear?”
“Thank you!”
“Be careful next time.”
Are they reflecting on themselves?
I don’t really know. I’m not a mind reader.
However, the fact that they disarmed themselves after Baphomet appeared and that their spirit wasn’t as dull as expected was taken into consideration.
And most importantly, the girl smiling in the necklace caught my eye.
“That girl in the necklace is your daughter, right?”
“Yes…”
“She’s cute. Take good care of her.”
At the mention of his daughter, shadows crossed his face for the first time.
It’s something to be embarrassed about. Attaching a picture of his daughter to the necklace while doing such things.
Still, it seems that a father is still a father. At least he understands shame.
‘I’ve changed quite a bit.’
If it were the old me, I would’ve cut off a limb or something and had a conversation, but now I can even have human-like thoughts. I suddenly feel how significant Bom’s presence is within me.
Thus, this intruder incident seemed to wrap up.
All the intruders looked at me as they disappeared into the forest, and finally, the last one said goodbye, when suddenly he spoke an odd sentence.
“Recently, there have been mysterious ‘attacks’ occurring in the Black Forest. However, according to witnesses, these attackers are said to be ghosts…”
Ghost attacks.
Honestly, at that time, I didn’t take it seriously.
Would a Demon Lord like me fear mere ghosts?
Yet exactly three days later.
We witnessed a shocking scene.
“…Is a banshee eating a troll?”
Something strange was unfolding.
