217

Chapter 217 — The World Is (2)

Ha, seriously? You’re really going to let yourself get eaten like this? Are you kidding me?

「…You’ve truly suffered so much because of me.」

Goddamn it! If this keeps up, your soul will be devoured by that bastard too!

「I’m really… truly sorr—」

Are you even listening to me, you damned human?!

「Shut up, trash. I’m apologizing to this person right now. Don’t interrupt.」

You green little brat……!

* * *

Would it be all right?

To whoever asked her that, she wanted to answer that if she died in battle, that at least would be a good death.

But…….

“I know. I know there’s no such thing as a good death.”

In the end, those were the words that came out first.

Even though she knew the warriors of Norda took pride in dying in battle.

The death revered by Norda warriors and the death she had come to understand were different, and that difference would never be bridged for the rest of her life.

Even if she lived as a Norda warrior and died as one.

“There’s no such thing in this world as a blessed death.”

Death was merely a fine-sounding word used to dress up being forgotten.

And to be forgotten was to be erased from the world, as though one had never existed at all.

Her eyelids trembled after she spat out those bitter words.

BOOM!

Her body was leaping upward, stepping across the surging current and the debris falling with it.

Flap.

The thick cloth wrapped around her waist spread heavily through the air.

Kyaa!

WHAM!

Standing at the edge of the collapsing wall, she kicked the merman trying to cut her.

Its head caved in slightly, and the recoil launched her upward.

The next thing beneath her feet was the nape of the monster advancing as it smashed through every obstacle before it.

The serpent’s body, spiraling around the turtle’s neck, was slick beneath her soles.

Kyaa!

The moment she felt herself slipping through the thin soles of her shoes, she moved her arms.

In an instant, she changed her grip and twisted the angle of her wrist and forearm before bringing the spear down vertically.

Scrape.

The spear turned almost simultaneously with her landing and skimmed across the serpent’s hide.

Unfortunately, she could not even tell whether she had scratched it.

Though unless the flesh split wide open, whether she left a scratch or not was equally meaningless.

“Whew.”

Besides, for now, she had no choice but to pull back for a moment.

[Where are you going?]

[I’m right here.]

[My little sister.]

For one thing, Sirens had flown in all around her.

If they attacked simultaneously, even she would inevitably struggle.

So although their words irritated her, she prioritized running along the serpent.

Its body was thick enough for one person to sprint across comfortably.

…So, are you going to die today?

Around then, someone asked again.

Her lips moved.

“Maybe.”

It was the same stubborn answer she had been repeating like a parrot for a while now.

She drove the spearhead into a gap between the serpent’s scales and exhaled.

[Cold. I’m cold. It’s so cold…….]

[Save me. Please save me…….]

Although the spearhead failed to inflict any serious wound on the serpent, she used the shaft as support and lifted her legs for an instant.

WHAM!

Her feet struck the Sirens’ wing joints one after another.

Tap.

When her feet touched down again, she quickly pulled out the spear and swung.

Those struck by either the blade or the butt of the weapon retreated, trailing blood.

THUD!

“……!”

At that moment, with a violent tremor, the enormous beast finally broke properly through the wall.

Its shell had become caught across the two walls, and it simply bulldozed forward, demolishing everything trapping it.

Her hand shot out to grab the serpent before she was flung away.

But it was far too slippery.

Instead, she used an attacking Siren.

She struck the approaching creature in the throat, stepped onto its torso, and leapt.

Her hand caught the turtle’s hide.

Seaweed, coral, and all manner of shellfish grew across the skin wrapped by the serpent, leaving plenty of things she could use as handholds.

SPLASH!

She suddenly saw seawater surging pleasantly beneath her.

Because of the structure, water only entered whenever waves struck, so there was not much of it.

Gyarrrk.

But the real problem was not the amount of water.

It was what came in with it.

Legless mermen—swept in by the first current against their will—flopped around, trying to return to the sea, while those with legs trudged forward through the mud.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Even now, the monster had no intention of stopping.

It was slow, but because of its sheer size, it still moved faster than an ordinary human walking pace.

That was deeply troublesome.

At this rate, it might catch the retreating soldiers.

She stabbed another approaching Siren and glanced below.

For now, there was some distance between them, but the soldiers were still visible.

Some had been late to flee, while others had been ordered to help civilians evacuate.

“…I’ll have to go for the head.”

Then there was no choice.

She decided to target the head, a weak point on most living creatures.

Even her blade could not pierce the torso connecting into the body, so attacking the mouth, where the flesh should be softer, seemed better.

That consideration also played into the decision.

And to do that, she had to climb higher.

She found herself grateful that the serpent had provided a spiral path and ran upward at full speed.

KYAAAAAA!

The serpent let out a long cry.

Apparently it had noticed the intruder climbing along its body.

Its body began whipping and bending.

Tap!

“—!”

She somehow caught onto moss and seaweed, narrowly avoiding being thrown off…

But the spear slipped from her hand.

Her brow furrowed.

Now all she had left were her two bare hands.

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* * *

I’m the one who asked you that, remember?! I asked if you really didn’t care what happened even if your soul could never be saved!

「Ha. You’re really asking me that? You? Of all people, you—!!!」

Give me control, brat!

「Fuck off! If my life was doomed beyond salvation anyway, then what wouldn’t I do if it meant dragging you into the abyss with me?! Never. I’ll never let you return alive—!」

* * *

“Evacuate first!”

“Damn it, I’ll follow soon, so stay alive!”

Leaving those words behind, the Inquisitor rode the Demon Knight’s horse onward.

Perhaps because she was heading toward its master, the horse was unusually cooperative today.

Usually, whenever she tried to sneak up on it, it would snap its head around immediately.

Wind poured over her lowered body as the streets, gradually emptying as people evacuated, streaked past.

“AAAAAAH!!”

“HYYYYUNG!!”

Kyarrk!

And at some point, demons began appearing.

The first was something with a lion’s head, bear’s paws, and the body of a bull covered in a shell.

A Tarrasque.

It was a high-ranking demon, a draconic subspecies one would normally only see on the northern front.

“Stop!!”

Why had a Tarrasque suddenly appeared?

She briefly wondered whether it was connected to the surging Demonic Energy, but another scream cut off her thoughts.

What she needed to worry about right now were the people being attacked by the Tarrasque.

Countless corpses already lay beneath its feet.

Her hand raised the mace.

KYAAAAAAAGH!

“Hup!”

The demon trying to attack the people slammed into her golden barrier.

The Inquisitor charged forward at full speed.

It would have been disastrous if the horse had frozen in fear, but perhaps because it resembled its owner, the Demon Knight’s horse was exceptionally fearless.

Fortunately.

Scrrrk!

It even turned an ankle at just the right moment, making it easier for her to strike the Tarrasque.

The Inquisitor opened her eyes wide and swung the mace.

The instant the golden barrier disappeared, the mace slammed into the lion’s head that had been rubbing against it.

CRACK!

Under the tremendous force, the Tarrasque went flying with its skull caved in.

Of course, she had put slightly less Divine Power into the blow to conserve strength, so it did not die instantly.

The Tarrasque staggered back to its feet like someone suffering from a concussion.

“Let’s go!”

Prrr.

She could not waste this opportunity.

She urged the horse closer, then leapt from its back when it conveniently turned sideways at the right moment.

BOOM!

Gripping the mace in both hands, she brought it down on the Tarrasque’s head and crushed it completely.

Prrr.

The horse stopped a short distance away and snorted proudly.

“H-huaaah…….”

“Are you hurt?!”

How many people had that Tarrasque killed?

She offered a silent prayer and mourning to those already dead, then hurried toward the survivors.

Two young brothers and what appeared to be a mother and daughter from another group.

Four people in total.

“I’ll heal you, so run immediately! Stay close to the buildings as you flee. Demons will be less likely to spot you that way.”

After healing only their most urgent wounds, she added, “I recommend abandoning your luggage so you can travel lighter,” and climbed back onto the horse.

The intelligent animal seemed to understand how dangerous the area was and did not stray from her for even a moment—outside of combat.

“Let’s go!”

The Demon Knight would surely be sad if a horse like this got injured.

She decided to send it back once she reached a suitable point.

She was somewhat worried about it returning alone, but that would still be much better than taking it with her into that inferno.

She should probably cast a blessing on it just in case.

Grrrk.

Phee-hing.

“Demon— Huh!”

…Perhaps a blessing would not even be necessary.

While dealing with skeletons that had suddenly jumped out, she saw the horse shatter a demon with a rear kick and could not suppress her admiration.

She did not want to entertain idle thoughts at a time like this, but the Demon Knight truly had brought along a horse just like himself.

That thought did not last long either.

“Uwaaaah!”

“I’m coming!”

Every other block, screams reached her.

No.

Gradually, even those became fewer.

Only corpses remained in abundance.

“A Dullahan!”

Then what was this?

After the Tarrasque, she even encountered a Dullahan, and an extremely unpleasant suspicion arose within her.

After all, neither Tarrasques nor Dullahans were demons one encountered easily.

A Tarrasque required hundreds of sacrifices to summon.

A Dullahan required the corpse of a knight who had been beheaded on a battlefield—and decapitation absolutely had to have been the cause of death.

No matter how thoroughly the Demon Contractors responsible for this had prepared, summoning both at once should have been difficult…….

BOOM!

Because it had been created from the corpse of a knight, the Dullahan possessed outstanding swordsmanship.

She blocked the entirety of its technique with her shield alone.

Then, when the Dullahan’s flurry ended, she simply crushed it beneath Divine Power.

She needed to conserve her strength, but fighting a Dullahan cautiously would take far too long.

Time itself was worth its weight in gold right now.

She had to judge carefully.

CRACK!

The Inquisitor’s mace shattered the Dullahan’s frozen heart.

Kik, kik!

Now Gremlins were appearing as well.

She ground her teeth at the low-ranking demons that resembled goblins.

At this point, she would actually prefer high-ranking demons.

Those came one at a time, so she only needed to handle them herself.

But low-ranking demons, which were merely too strong for ordinary people and appeared in large numbers…….

“Th-thank you.”

“Go!”

If even one slipped past her, not just that man but the horse would be in danger too.

After encountering two high-ranking demons in succession, the Inquisitor put aside the question of where so many demons were coming from and shouted.

“Take this horse with you too! It belongs to a knight, so hand it over to someone working for the Temple or the castle! You must return it!”

“Y-yes, understood!”

Would a civilian really be willing to return such a magnificent, obviously valuable horse?

She hesitated, then quickly memorized the civilian’s face.

Gray hair. Blue eyes.

Whether she could preserve that memory through everything that would happen afterward was another matter.

“You go with that person too. Thank you for bringing me this far.”

Prrf.

At least she felt somewhat relieved because the horse was intelligent.

Thinking that it was normally merely disobedient but understood conversation astonishingly well at times like this, she released Divine Power.

A golden barrier stopped the Gremlins.

“WAAAAAAH!”

Meanwhile, the horse ran off with the civilian aboard.

Waaaaaaaah.

The miserable scream of someone who had never learned to ride and was forced to begin immediately at a gallop echoed down the alley.

That would draw demons’ attention.

She had no opportunity to give that advice.

She put away the mace and continued forward, smashing Gremlin skulls with swings of her shield.

There were no more screams now.

Perhaps there were no survivors left.

“……!”

Instead, the air began changing.

Hot breath entered her lungs, while searing heat lightly scraped at her skin.

The giant of fire that had seemed so far away was now right in front of her.

“Demon Knight…….”

Where was the one who had gone to stop that thing?

Could he perhaps be lying somewhere over there like all those other people…….

Kuaak!

CLANG!

She instinctively swung her shield at a grotesque monster spilling through a narrow gap.

Reflexes forged through years of training had judged it to be some sort of amorphous creature.

And amorphous creatures often seeped around the edges of shields.

She absolutely could not block them normally.

SPLAT!

“A Mimic!”

She hurriedly drew her mace and prepared to respond.

Mimics occupied containers capable of holding things, or narrow gaps, then swallowed whatever approached.

They were relatively troublesome demons to fight.

After all, Mimics were a subspecies of Slime.

Unless she wanted to experience everything except metal dissolving the moment it touched them, she had to avoid physical contact entirely and destroy the core.

Though occasionally, the truly worst ones could even dissolve metal.

“Whew.”

Should she overpower this one with Divine Power too?

But she had already spent far too much on her way here.

And the Demonic Energy ahead had not diminished in the slightest!

She gritted her teeth as heat once again rose through her body.

Should she go?

Or should she stop here and kill only the demons coming out?

Could she even handle that place alone in the first place?

The weight of a decision far too heavy for her to make alone—yet one she alone had to make—pressed down on her shoulders.

She wished the Archmage were here.

Or, at the very least, the Demon Knight, who would eliminate her choices by charging ahead first.

Or perhaps Slick, who could ease her burden simply by discussing the matter with her.

The Inquisitor pressed her lips tightly together.

[Why are you standing there?]

Then the demon called to her.

The Mimic stopped immediately after the question and showed no further intent to attack.

[You should hurry over and kill the Great Demon, Hero.]

Truly.

A demon’s temptation.

* * *

…Is someone there?

「……!」

……!