Chapter 28 - Before the Fruits of Choice (3)

We stopped by the Adventurer's Guild and the Temple first.

Surprisingly, we didn't visit them sequentially. I hadn't known because we hadn't been able to act separately until now, but this game strictly had a system for party members to act independently.

Thanks to that, our party split up amicably: DeB and I, and the Inquisitor and the Archmage. It was a matter of course that my side took on the investigation at the Adventurer's Guild.

"Wow... Did we come to a hospital instead of the Adventurer's Guild?"

DeB spouted that kind of crap as soon as he entered the Adventurer's Guild. But I couldn't exactly deny it either, as the situation was just that bad.

The interior of the Adventurer's Guild was filled with the groans of the injured instead of its former boisterousness.

"I only see corpses here."

"..."

Someone flinched at the biting remark. However, they didn't step forward in the end. Perhaps their wounds prevented them from standing up.

"Ah, Demon Knight!?"

Then, a quite familiar voice rang out.

It was the official, Izren.

"W-Weren't you headed to another city...?"

"Do you have information on the bugs parasitizing this city?"

"..."

She approached with a mix of bewilderment and gladness upon seeing me. But after my words followed, she quickly corrected her expression.

The seriousness of someone handling official business settled into her eyes.

"... The quest you speak of is an emergency matter, so no reward has been allocated. Formal contracts cannot be written either, meaning you will not be able to claim a fair reward later. Furthermore, I cannot guarantee your safety as an adventurer. Even so, will you cooperate?"

'Oh, her saying it like that sounds kind of badass. Though it's an unnecessary question for me.'

"I have no interest in something like a reward."

I muttered fiercely while resting a hand on the hilt of my sword.

"I simply came here to slaughter those bastards."

"..."

Was it because our goals aligned despite my rough tone? The official made a choked-up expression before soon nodding her head.

"I will bring the information immediately!"

It was a very satisfying answer.

"... Hey."

However, while waiting for the official, someone else spoke to me. It was an unfamiliar face. Judging by the equipment, I figured they were probably an adventurer.

"You'll die if you do that."

'This world really has a lot of nosy people. Ah, not that I dislike it. How many people would actually muster the courage to give advice to a stranger?'

"Even if you struggle, everyone's going to die!"

'But dropping morale like that is a bit much, right? Poking at my pride is a bit much too, right?'

"Go home and confess your weakness there. Do not pollute my ears."

'It's unknown how the quest will progress, but they must have made it clearable anyway.'

'And that meant it was something a player could resolve. Even if I couldn't resolve it, surviving at the very least would be possible.'

'Either way, that NPC's statement doesn't apply to me.'

"Even the sewers are packed full of demons! There's no way we can survive this!"

"Hah."

I furrowed my brow looking at the man howling while clutching his chest. A wave of dense fear dragged at my ankles, causing annoyance to well up within me for no reason. It was a sensation similar to when I was displeased by divine power.

"So, what do you want me to do about it?"

"—What?"

'Still, this is a bad emotion, so let's shake it off with a single smirk.'

Instead, I muttered while gripping my right arm, as if delivering a message or muttering to myself.

"I couldn't care less about my life. As long as I can kill demons."

'If I'm going to over-immerse myself anyway, hatred toward demons is better. What else would I get besides more stress if I hated people?'

"Sir..."

"U-Um, I brought it!"

I cooled the fierce glare in my eyes into calmness and reached out my hand. The official reflexively handed over the documents, then suddenly widened her eyes.

"Is it okay if I don't read it out for you?"

"There is no need."

'This damn illiteracy setting.'

I flipped through the papers, utilizing the knack of speed-reading for now. Given my profession, I rarely had to look at paperwork, and it wasn't neatly organized into tables, making it somewhat difficult to grasp the contents.

Beside me, DeB stealthily poked his head over.

"The damage... is massive."

'What the. This guy knows how to read too.'

"Yes. The people who went outside the city are one thing... but there are also many casualties caused by the demons emerging from the sewers every night."

While keeping DeB and the official's Q&A in mind, I searched for the text detailing the progress of the incident.

'Initially, many were kidnapped because they didn't even know demons were coming up. Lockdown procedures were implemented after figuring it out. Priests of the Temple and a few adventurers formed a party and went down to grasp the situation, only to lose contact. As a result of a second investigation team being dispatched, only one person barely returned alive. According to the testimony, Demon Contractors were hiding among the demons and attacking...'

'And that led to the present, defending every night.'

"The territorial army, adventurers, and the people of the Temple have joined forces to hold out and survive... but as the city remains isolated, our supplies are gradually running out. Moreover, with the injured increasing from the battles, our manpower to fight is now..."

'I wondered how they didn't know until it reached this state, but I didn't want to go out of my way to pry and find out the circumstances.'

'What needs to be resolved urgently in this situation is the sewers and the city's isolation. However, since I only have one body, I have no choice but to pick one...'

'Is this perhaps a branching point? Does the city fall if I choose wrong? Sssss.'

"Demon Knight, as expected..."

Still, my deliberation didn't last long.

'This is unconditionally the sewers. My concept itself doesn't allow me to just leave the demons be, and the Inquisitor, being the Hero, would try to stay here anyway.'

'Moreover, the travel time in this game is too long.'

'Even if we break through the siege and request backup from another city, it would take at least a week for troops to arrive.'

'That amount of time is more than enough for the city to fall. I had to pierce the core of the incident with a quick and decisive battle before then.'

"Information on the inside of the sewers."

"Pardon?"

"Do you have anything organizing the demons that have appeared in the sewers, their routes, and the like?"

'More importantly, there's too much paperwork! And why are there no tables, charts, titles, or bullet points?'

'They wrote every single detail in tiny, cramped letters, making it hard to find anything. Just give me something organized.'

"Ah, w-we do. Here at the end... ah, there is a separate map for the sewers..."

At my demand, the official flustered about, and another clerk who had been reading the room quickly went inside and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a rather large sheet.

"This is the map of the sewers themselves... but according to the survivor, the paths are largely blocked and twisted. It's even more so because many entrances were sealed off entirely for defense."

'So she's telling me to explore and remember it on my own.'

"Tell me the remaining entrances."

"Here, here, and here... Ah, you probably know this one. Because the mission you took last time proceeded from here."

*'It's a stroke of luck that at least an entrance I know remains.' * I gauged its location while simultaneously checking the state of my inventory.

'If I had known this would happen, I should have packed a lot of bandages. Everything was a one-hit kill, so I didn't buy any separately. And I couldn't have even imagined a massive dungeon popping up all of a sudden like this.'

'Is it a blessing in disguise that I haven't used many of my starting items? If I give up on exploring every single path and just dash through like a speedrun, it should work out somehow.'

「❖ What Hides Behind

∎ Search the Sewers

∎ Bonus: Eliminate Demons 0 / ??」

The moment I made that resolution, the quest updated. It was a quest that told me my judgment wasn't wrong.

"I'll take it."

Even if the paths had changed, having a map was better than not having one. I folded the map and put it inside my clothes. I already had a pen on me—I forgot to return it earlier—so there was no need to take one.

"U-Um, you aren't planning to go alone, are you? It's too dangerous to go alone!"

But the moment I turned to leave, the official, Izren, cried out in shock.

"Sir Knight, are you seriously planning to go in right away?"

DeB, who had sneakily taken the documents from me and was flipping through them, was no different. Their voices were so loud that my ears hurt a little.

"You've been riding for three days and nights without resting; you should sleep for at least a few hours before..."

"What?! Then absolutely not! It will be hard to even take a rest inside the sewers! And supplies too...!"

'Well, is there a need to?'

'I realized one thing while managing my fatigue over the past three days. It was a fact I missed because my head was a bit fuzzy when my fatigue stat was high...'

'This game. There are no penalties even if fatigue surpasses 100.'

'It means I just feel sleepy and tired, but there are no disadvantages like the usual stat drops.'

'Then whatever. The time attack has to take priority. I can't let the city fall to ruin while I'm resting.'

'Luckily, as it happens. I was someone used to moving around in this condition. Due to the nature of my job, shaving off my lifespan while working was a daily routine.'

'Of course, I wasn't the one doing physical labor... but aren't they basically the same thing?'

"Stay out of my business."

"What do you mean, stay out of your business! Then let's at least regroup with the Priest and the Mage!"

'No!'

'No, strictly speaking, it's not that I don't want to, but you guys made it so we couldn't regroup!! If I wait here, you'll be like, "There's no way he would wait for us!" and raise your maces at me!!'

I gritted my teeth, thinking of that love-hate Kimchi Dumpling.

'It's not like I want to do this... okay, I do! But still, you guys are the ones who completely blocked our party actions! So anyway, it's your fault!'

"Are you really going to go alone?!"

DeB hurriedly followed behind me.

Seeing a guy of similar build to me tagging along, I wondered if this was what having a younger brother felt like. Watching him fight with Kimchi Dumpling, it was honestly obvious he was younger than me.

'Uh, does that mean the Inquisitor feels like a younger brother? No, he doesn't.'

'If you think about it, he's closer to a nephew or a younger cousin than a brother. Especially the part where he screws me over with wide, innocent eyes, but I still can't bring myself to hate him.'

"You piss off now too."

"Pardon?"

"I have no intention of dragging a weakling around. You're in the way."

In any case, I cleanly gave up on improving our relationship and spat those words out.

'I didn't want to die, so I even hypothesized that this might be reality, but so what if it is? If it's reality, I'm screwed in a different sense!'

'I might as well overcome my shame and immerse myself in the concept. Ah, not that I want to act out the demon in my arm. That was an over-the-top setting even I found hard to endure.'

"B-But."

"Isn't your job to guard the horses?"

'In reality, the accompanied message popped up for him, but he never actually said he would join us, right? Even though he just let the Inquisitor and Archmage take the horses to the Temple despite being the horse watcher.'

'Ah, for reference, we didn't donate the horses. Leaving them at the Temple was just the safest option.'

"..."

Anyway, there was no reason for him to accompany me. That was an undeniable fact.

"... Right, my job was to guard the horses."

Having realized this himself, his lower face visible beneath the hood quietly shifted. His slightly parted lips seemed to convey his daze.

"But Sir..."

'Ah, I'm not listening, I'm not listening.'

I picked up my pace. Fortunately, DeB didn't say anything more, nor did he follow me.

Soon, I saw the sewer drain below the riverbank that I remembered.

"Are you backup?"

Fitting for a defense location, quite a few people were stationed in front of the drain. Seeing them all wrapped in bloodstained bandages, it seemed the defensive battles were quite rough.

"Who are you?"

I took out and showed my Adventurer's Token, withdrawing it the moment the other party confirmed my identity.

"Wait, where are you going? If you're backup, follow orders!"

Barricades surrounded the riverbank, but there was one narrow path left open, perhaps for clearing corpses. I strode through it without hesitation.

"Hey!"

When someone tried to block me, I could unintentionally see their bulging veins.

Veins stained black. An added effect of demonic energy erosion. Or a side effect, you could say.

"Are you seriously planning to go in there?! Are you crazy?!"

Letting the other's words flow in one ear and out the other, I turned my gaze elsewhere. Besides this NPC, there were quite a few people with black veins and bloodshot eyes.

'It bothers me a little too much to ignore. If they turn into demons, it'll just be a headache for me. And...'

"Take this."

"Are you dea— What?"

Well, it just so happened that I had medicine. And I would never need to use that medicine forever.

"This is an antidote! I heard there wasn't much left...!"

'Above all, if I can clear the way by getting rid of dead stock, then thank you very much!'

While people's attention was drawn to the demonic energy antidote, I went down the riverbank. The people belatedly recoiled in shock, but I had already made my way down.

「A hostile target is present within a 20m radius.」

At that moment, a red gleam began to shine from the darkness of the sewers. Pitch-black feet stepped onto the entrance where the iron grate had been torn off.

"...! It's a demon!"

"Hey, get up here right now!"

Talk about good timing. I drew my two-handed sword while trampling over the corpses of various demons.

"You'll die if you do that!!"

'Let's see, who's coming out.'

「Three-Eyed Hound | A demon that resembles a dog but possesses three eyes. Its third eye can see through walls.」

「Ghoul | A demon that indulges in rotting flesh. It only dies if its stomach is slit, but resurrects if its stomach is slit twice.」

There were skeletons, goblins, and even those two types I was seeing for the first time today.

I took my stance while looking at the things crawling out of the drain.

"Damn it, give up on that crazy bastard! Take your positions right no—!"

"Victory to my blade, glory to the heavens...!"

This time, I skipped the act of raising my sword to the sky. Instead, I widened my stance and swung the two-handed sword tightly gripped in both hands horizontally.

CRUNCH!

The head of the corpse I was stepping on shattered, and the dark energy stretching out from the blade flew forward in the shape of a crescent moon.

SLICE!

Tilted slightly more than horizontal. The bodies of the demons in front of me were all split in two.

The flying sword aura—Slash—was what caused this.

「Slash | Swing your sword to fire a powerful dark-attribute slash forward.

Effect: Consumes 40 MP. Attacks enemies within range with 300% damage.」

The skill description goes like that, but for reference, I haven't leveled up the skill itself yet. The reason I could use an unlearned skill anyway was simply that the Stinger bug I thought might be a misunderstanding was real.

Ah, the trigger is just desiring the dark energy to wrap around. I thought I might need a trick like pretending to use Breaker while taking a different motion, but even that was unnecessary.

I still don't know what mechanism makes it function. But a player isn't someone who fixes bugs; they're someone who exploits them.

Thanks to that, I saved points.

"W-What the..."

Moving on, everyone in the area let out dumbfounded sounds as the enemies were utterly decimated in a single breath. It was a very good sign.

'I can go without getting held back for now.'

I quickly checked whether the monsters were alive or dead. None were left alive. In other words, there were no obstructions on this side either.

CLACK.

Sheathing the two-handed sword, I rested my hand on my longsword just in case and advanced step by step.

Of course, I didn't run. It was true I was in a hurry, but there was no reason to run like a criminal. It wouldn't look cool either.

GRRR!

However, one Three-Eyed Hound I thought was dead snapped its eyes open and leaped up from the pile of corpses. It truly looked like a demon, considering only its head was alive and moving despite its body being torn in half.

SLICE!

*'Whoa, thank god I saw it.' * I drew my longsword without even giving it a glance. The blade swam through the air like flowing water, cleaving its head in two.

Since there was nothing left to interfere with me now.

I cleanly stepped into the sewers. A grotesque passageway, with dark strands clinging stickily to it, welcomed me.