Chapter 17 - At the Cost of Ignorance (3)

I felt like blinking my eyes at this abrupt development.

Well, I knew the Draugr incident in the original game was connected to a Demon Contractor or worshiper, and since I didn't hate these kinds of events, I was finding it quite fun.

But who the hell was Gretchen out of nowhere? So out of context. It wasn't like she was Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel.

"If you have been taken captive by a heretic, I shall assist you. Let us go and enjoy a festival of slaughter."

I wasn't really surprised by the event itself. I was used to this, since most early game events played out like this.

But the name 'Gretchen' was still a bit off. Not only could I not grasp the reason for choosing Gretchen, but it also totally lacked style.

"O Gretchen?"

Still, it was the game company giving the name, not me, so I thought it'd be better to set my personal opinions aside for later. Who knows, maybe it had some kind of meaning to it.

More than anything, there was something else to note in the Demon Contractor's words. There was no way an NPC mentioning the demon in my right arm would appear for no reason.

Then the most likely possibility was that this was a personal story for the Demon Knight, right? Ah, wait, if I accepted that offer, could I betray humanity and take the demons' side?

"You sure are flapping that hole you call a mouth."

I was curious about what would happen if I accepted the offer. However, given my concept, it was completely out of the question for this playthrough.

Well, I was going to do multiple playthroughs anyway, so it didn't matter if I didn't see it now. I gripped my two-hander tightly.

"... I misspoke. I apologize. There is no way Gretchen would be taken captive by the likes of a heretic."

Regardless of my inner thoughts, when I flared up as if my eyes were going to roll back into my head, the opponent immediately backed down. Based on my concept, the reason I was angry was entirely different, but it seemed they hadn't caught onto that yet.

"But... O Gretchen, that is no ordinary heretic, but the most dangerous being known as the Hero. Cease your entertainment and strike their neck. The King will be pleased if you bring their head."

Hmm, alright. I've listened to enough of this.

If I were playing a more rational concept, I would have pretended to be on their side to squeeze out more information, but that wasn't possible with my current concept.

My character and setting would rather capture and torture them than pull off such a sly trick.

"Shall I assi—?"

"Breaker."

So, the only thing I could do was, as expected, strike first.

CRASH!

"O Gretchen?!"

Shoo. I'm not exchanging words with you.

When I was misunderstood and attacked by the Inquisitor, at least the opponent was a cleric, the antithesis of demons. But right now, I was being misunderstood as a 'fellow demon' by a 'Demon Contractor', so why would I exchange words with them?

Even if I hadn't been misunderstood in the first place, it was doubtful whether I would have spoken to them at all. They should just be glad I didn't swing my sword at them upon our first meeting.

"W-What..."

So unlike the Inquisitor, your head is flying off even if you beg for forgiveness. Hold still.

"Eek!"

Perhaps because it was a skill with such a large motion, the skill failed to hit its target. However, I managed to land a hit on the Draugr standing in front to protect the robed figure.

WOOOOO.

The fog split in half as the specter let out a bizarre sound. It was a cry close to a scream.

"I-I was wrong. Please forgive me!"

At the Draugr's wailing, the robed figure turned pale—I could see it even though their face was hidden by the robe—and fell flat on the ground.

It was a rather bizarre reaction.

"Forgiveness?"

Come to think of it, for some reason, the Draugr hadn't attacked me once. There had definitely been about two openings to attack.

Simply because it was an event? Considering the Inquisitor's case, that couldn't be it. It wasn't an easygoing game that would go easy on you just because it was an event.

"Not even death will be able to save you."

It was a bit questionable, but should I just smash them first?

I stared at the biggest threat, the Draugr, first. Technically, it was correct to kill the Demon Contractor first since they played a support role, but it didn't seem like the Draugr would easily let me break through.

"M-Messing with the Mable Trading Company was not my intention! If I had known Gretchen had your eyes on them, I never would have done so!"

What were they saying now? Why was the Mable Trading Company being brought up here?

I furrowed my brow even as I clad my sword in a skill to deal a blow to the Draugr. The out-of-nowhere mention of the 'Mable Trading Company' was worth noting.

CRASH!

"P-Please forgive me!"

I racked my brain as I struck down with my sword.

Why was the trading company from the previous city being mentioned right now of all times? And the name of the very group I had received and completed three whole quests from, at that.

It was something I had already expected, but as I thought, were you the ones behind it?

"Draugr!"

The Demon Contractor finally set up the Draugr as a shield, and the Draugr eventually bared its teeth. It clumped its smoke together to form limbs and raised a blade and shield.

The Demon Contractor must have even cast a buff on it, as the Draugr's glowing eyes grew stronger and a red light began to circulate around its body.

"Such a pathetic trick...!"

But there was no reason for me to lose to that. I couldn't know its exact level, but since I had come here matching the quest's recommended level, there was no way I'd be pushed back!

CLANG!

Breaker. The diagonally swung sword hit the Draugr's shield, shifting its direction. Because of that, instead of hitting the ground, its tip seemed to scrape the floor, and I flipped the hand that had gripped the ricasso.

The blade, somewhere between an upward slash and a thrust, deflected the Draugr's sword. *THWACK! * My foot pushed the Draugr's shield away as if stomping on it.

"... Hss."

Exhaling through the opening I had created, I recalled the skill effect that had just wrapped around my sword.

Since the skill Breaker had activated when I slashed downward diagonally, it wasn't strange for the black aura to branch out in streams.

But it was somehow strange that the aura had still been extended even when I slashed upward. I had a new thing to test out.

WOOOO.

While that thought was taking place, my body was faithfully advancing forward. I freely switched my hands again and swung my sword.

Following the target mark that was floating only over its head because it was an incorporeal form, the blade coated in black aura shot out.

SLASH!

SCREECH!

The Draugr's body split in half, then it quickly retreated backward and merged back together. This was why incorporeal forms were so tricky.

"N-No. A heal."

"Struggling, like the insect you are...!"

I couldn't let them heal it. I pulled back my right hand that had gripped the sword and slipped it toward my chest. A dagger tucked inside my coat was caught between my fingers.

THWACK.

"Aargh!"

As long as your aim was good, a dagger was a pretty useful weapon. After checking the dagger lodged in the robed figure's shoulder—it was closer to their chest—I adjusted my grip on my sword.

My aim wasn't bad, but it wasn't at the level of landing a headshot with every throw, so I was satisfied with that much.

WOOOO!

Besides, there was the Draugr lunging at me right now for me to be engrossed with the Demon Contractor.

I dodged the fog rushing in to grab my ankles and raised my two-hander like a guard. Of course, since holding only the hilt would get me pushed back, I didn't forget to support the blade by gripping it with my gauntlet-clad hand.

CLANG!

The Draugr's blade was blocked by the part of the sword stretched between my hands, and I shoved the Draugr away just like that. Even though it was incorporeal, it materialized when attacking, so this much was possible.

THWACK!

The moment the shoved-away Draugr allowed me some distance, I tested the question I had gotten just earlier.

If the effect was maintained for a few more seconds after striking down, would the effect continue even if I did a quick consecutive motion? And if the effect continued, what about the skill's effect?

No, in the first place, how far was the form of a downward strike allowed to deviate?

Until now, whenever I used Breaker, I used it with the feeling of striking down with all my might. Because it felt like the skill would only activate that way.

But earlier, my downward strike had half-failed due to the Draugr's shield, yet the skill had actually continued on for a while.

Didn't that mean I didn't necessarily have to strike down with all my might?

Focusing on that question, I slashed down with lessened force. It wasn't even very difficult. Because my right arm was gripping the blade rather than the hilt, even if I put a lot of force into it, it wouldn't be enough to strike all the way to the ground.

SLASH!

Thus, my blade slashed the Draugr, and the skill effect was maintained even after that.

*Screeech. * It was still maintained even when I thrust the blade forward like a stab, pulling my gauntlet-clad hand back along the blade as if sweeping it so as not to be hindered in the process.

CRUNCH!

SCREECH!!!

「❖ The Evil Hidden in the Town

◆ Capture the Demon Contractor 0 / 1」

The Draugr, pierced through the center of its target mark, slumped downward and scattered as if melting away. The fog blanketing the surroundings visibly lessened.

Not only the visual effect, but the skill effect itself had continued and inflicted damage like this, so the experiment was a massive success.

"What!"

Right on cue, the Demon Contractor screamed. If they had assisted the Draugr by using attack magic or something, they wouldn't have been pushed back so helplessly. Why they hadn't done so was a mystery.

"Hoo."

Still, they must have had their reasons. Or it was the game's forced narrative.

Thinking that, I adjusted my grip on my sword. *Tap-tap-tap. * The sound of footsteps, along with rough breathing, could be heard from afar.

"...!"

Did someone come after hearing the commotion? I glanced in that direction, and the Demon Contractor also turned their head while clutching their bleeding chest.

"Demon Knight!"

"... Damn it, a heretic!"

Ah, come to think of it, those two were around.

"...! Are you a fool who sold both your body and soul to a demon! I shall join you, Demon Knight!"

"My, you were already fighting."

The Inquisitor, catching sight of the Demon Contractor, bared her fangs and raised her mace, and the Archmage also raised his staff.

Suddenly, it had turned into a situation where I was blocking the rear while those two were blocking the front, effectively surrounding the Demon Contractor.

"Damn it, why are you betraying us, Gretchen!"

"...!"

The Demon Contractor finally cried out in resignation. Seeing the Inquisitor's expression harden, I wondered if she was going to misunderstand again.

"Why—!"

"Where does a traitor to humanity find the gall to speak of betrayal!"

Thankfully, she didn't seem to misunderstand. Seeing that she wasn't pointing her weapon at me, it didn't look like she was going to turn hostile over that single remark.

"Why?"

Anyway, standing still after hearing that also wouldn't fit my concept, so I scrunched my nose and swung my two-hander. Of course, the thought that they might die from it didn't cross my mind.

"How dare you ask me for a reason, you insect!"

After all, a capture quest had popped up, so there was no way the target would die. Rather, reducing their HP to zero should trigger a cutscene of them being pinned down and captured.

Ah, of course, for some reason this game had never shown a cutscene after the very beginning, so I couldn't be entirely sure what would happen.

CRASH!

However, my attack ended in failure. It was because a flying magic bullet struck my two-hander and deflected the direction of my attack.

Thanks to that, the blade smashed into the ground right next to the Demon Contractor. The Demon Contractor screamed as the earth split open.

"Are you getting in my way...!"

I didn't know why he had interfered, but I flared up in anger first.

Damn right, I'd heard all sorts of nonsense from a hateful demon bastard, and even got accused of betrayal at the end, so how could I not be angry. Even my venting was blocked.

"Calm down. We can gain much more by capturing that person alive than by killing them."

"I cannot let a demon bastard live!"

"There might be other demons in the city besides that person, no?"

The Archmage struck his staff downward and cast Binding. The ones bound were my arms and the Demon Contractor.

"A Draugr is no ordinary demon. It's a demon that is even harder to summon alone in a city like this. There is a high chance they have a backer."

Shattering Binding's chains wasn't difficult. But that brief moment was precisely what the Archmage had been hoping for.

"So calm down and endure. If you kill that person now, you might soothe your momentary rage, but you won't be able to save any potential victims that may arise. Do not let your anger blind you."

"..."

No, well, I know that too. I was trying to subdue him too. I really wasn't trying to kill him...

Could it be that the suppression quests here required you not to drop their HP all the way to the bottom?

「Capture | Captures must be attempted while the target's health is partially depleted.

If the target dies during the capture, the capture attempt will fail.」

"... Damn it!"

SMACK!

"Keugh!"

Telling me this just now. What a legendary game.

Feeling a headache coming on, I kicked the Demon Contractor once and sheathed my two-hander. Thankfully, no one stopped me from at least kicking them.

"... They mentioned the Mable Trading Company."

"Hmm?"

Ah, right. I should bring this up too. I had no idea if they would react or if it would affect the story, but I was curious.

"That is... incredibly important information."

As expected of a god-tier game, it really was on another level. Of course, there was no knowing if this would really alter the story, but at least getting a response was better than nothing, right?

"I shall take them in."

Meanwhile, the Inquisitor, who had been shifting her gaze, bound the Demon Contractor once more with a holy spell.

It was time to return to the Temple.