Chapter 32 - Before the Fruits of Choice (7)

Getting the map and marking the path as I came was a godsend.

I exited the underground passage with a limping but brisk pace, supported by the Archmage's Haste—it was the first time I had ever received a buff skill!

It would have been annoying if a demon appeared, but whether they hadn't respawned yet or what, I didn't see a single mob.

Furthermore, unlike before when I had to wander around to pinpoint the destination itself, now I just needed to move toward a set location. As long as I had a map, it meant I could take the shortest route.

Thanks to that, I was able to come outside earlier than expected, and as a result, I spotted smoke rising from one side.

I've only ever seen smoke that thick when a building catches on fire. But it was a bit strange for a fire to suddenly break out at this timing.

Above all, if it were a normal fire, there was no way red and green would be mixed in it. That was unconditionally a quest clue.

"What is that..."

"Ah, Mage!"

"And the person next to him is..."

Even if I wanted to go there, I had to escape the riverbank first.

I headed toward the slope, limping slightly. It was around the same time that the people forming a defensive line at the top of the riverbank spotted us and came down.

"I appreciate the help. However, please help him before me."

"There is no need."

My HP was almost full.

For some reason, the recovery speed had slowed down significantly once it reached 70%... but well, 70% was enough.

The action penalties from my injuries and fatigue gauge were the problem.

"Those injuries...!"

"I'll support you!"

"I said there is no need."

Actually, I needed it desperately, but my concept had to be maintained.

After all, if I were misunderstood as being consumed by a demon right now, I wouldn't even be able to resist.

For that reason, I stubbornly walked alone while holding back tears internally. The blood that had yet to dry left marks with every step.

"Do not be stubborn. Coming this far with a body whose internal organs have been gnawed away is more than enough overexertion."

"Excuse me?!"

But the Archmage finally—thankfully—ruined it. The hands of a bear-like Shaggy adventurer suddenly scooped me up.

"...! Do not touch my body...!"

"Hey, I know you're strong, but cherish your life a little."

Normally, I would have swiftly dodged it, but with my current physical condition, even resisting was difficult. The Archmage probably ordered someone else to do it because he already knew that.

"That's none of your busi—!"

"There's still a fight left, isn't there?"

"...!"

Can't you see the Archmage grabbing the back of her neck right behind you? Then again, he didn't have eyes in the back of his head, so of course he couldn't see it.

In the first place, he wouldn't know that my concept would force me to give up resting and charge forward if he said something like that.

Thanks to him, I wasn't going to get any rest either. *Aaargh. *

I glared at the Shaggy whose eye was heavily wrapped in bandages, letting out ragged breaths.

Still, it was definitely comfortable. I was slung over his broad shoulders like a sack of potatoes, so my dignity didn't take too much of a hit, either.

"Cough."

"...!"

It was a bit of a problem that my wound seemed to have reopened, causing me to cough up some blood. My HP dropped again.

"Are you really an adventurer?! How could you carry him so recklessly like that?!"

A healer who had hurried over from beyond the defensive perimeter—presumably, given the red cross emblem—scolded the adventurer who was hauling me.

Since I had already gotten all the help I needed just to get up the riverbank, it was a rather unnecessary scolding.

"I'll start treating you right aw—"

"That smoke."

The moment I was set down on the ground, I barely managed to keep myself from collapsing forward. Well, rather than me managing it, the Shaggy adventurer who had set me down had shifted his grip to support me, but whatever.

"What is it?"

"We don't know either."

"I do not see the Inquisitor. Did she perhaps head that way?"

"Ah, yes, Mage. She headed that way, saying it looked suspicious. She's probably with the group that went ahead, right? We stayed behind here just in case."

I spat out the last clot of blood that surged up my throat. The bloody mass splattered across the ground, mixed with bits of internal organs.

"Wait, this much blood...! Let's transport him to the hospital first—"

Hospital, my ass. I used the sword I had been tenaciously gripping this whole time as a cane to push myself up.

Was I playing a game, or undergoing ascetic training? I was incredibly exhausted and struggling, but I couldn't stop here.

My concept aside, come to think of it, there was no way the quest would progress if the player was missing...!

Sure, in some games, the NPCs could progress it for you... but it was a universal rule across all games that the quality of the final outcome would drop if the NPCs did the work instead of the player.

"I will go. You should rest here."

"It seems even Sages spout nonsense from time to time."

"What could you possibly do heading there in that state!"

Wrong. My HP was still hovering around 70 percent. If it came down to it, I could fight. I was even getting used to the grogginess in my head now. Probably?

"There is nothing I cannot do."

「❖ What Hides Behind

∎ Thwart the demon worshipers' plans

」

The quest probably popped that up because it expected me to do it. So I had to go.

"Hey."

But then, a voice suddenly popped out from nowhere, and I felt a dull pain strike the back of my neck.

"Stubborn folks like you don't listen to reason... wait, what...?"

It didn't hurt, but it didn't feel very pleasant, either.

I slowly lifted my head, which had jutted forward slightly, and turned around.

"Uh..."

'Did you just hit me?'

"..."

"..."

I glared at the adventurer from the Cutie race—the same race as DeB. Veins naturally popped out on my neck even without me actively immersing myself in my role. The recipient of my glare awkwardly averted his eyes, though.

"He is right."

Yet this Archmage old man, far from taking my side, was just sitting there spouting nonsense. Furthermore, his next action was quite similar to what the Cutie adventurer had just attempted.

RATTLE!

"Just rest for a bit."

'... Do you not remember the horrible time I had getting tied up in chains earlier?! Don't tie me up with Binding, aaaaagh!!'

"How dare you... interfere with me...!"

"It is for your own good."

'If you're going to do this, knock me out properly, you damn NPC...!'

"That is not for you to decide!"

I had already figured out the trick to coating my bare body in skills. *CRACK. * Feeling a strangely refreshing sensation in my tingling right arm, I ultimately shattered the Binding.

"...! You, just now—!"

At the same time, a fresh wave of annoyance washed over me. *'Do you think I'm doing this because I want to?! Do you think I went in there alone because I wanted to?!' *

'No, it wasn't just the concept. To begin with, this game... a game made like this, I can't take it anymore either...!'

RATTLE!

'Is it because he's an AI? He really doesn't seem to learn.'

I cleaved through the chains shooting up from the ground, swatting them away with my right hand. A black afterimage abruptly etched itself in the air before vanishing in an instant.

'Should I kill him?'

'So damn annoying.'

SLAM!

I drove the longsword I was holding into the ground. I felt like if I kept holding it, I might end up throwing it at him, even if I didn't swing it.

'And getting hit by a two-kilogram chunk of iron would definitely leave a bruise.'

"Mage! Do not test me any further...! I am not confident I can control myself if you push me past this...!"

Concept aside, I meant that sincerely.

I would have rather he struck my solar plexus hard like Kimchi Dumpling did. Using Binding on someone who had recently had chains wrapped tightly around their neck was just too cruel. Sure, expecting that level of sensitivity from an NPC was a tall order, but still!

"...!"

*'Dammit. I feel like absolute shit.' * Of course, the root cause of my irritation wasn't the Binding, but the overwhelming fatigue that had piled up in my bones. Even so, it didn't change how I felt right now.

It was a total clusterfuck. I needed to alleviate my exhaustion to think straight, but I was in no position to do so.

"... Step aside."

There was no other way to resolve this. I just had to finish the quest as quickly as possible and go to sleep.

Paying little mind to the terrified faces slowly backing away from me, I headed toward the rising smoke.

*'How am I supposed to walk all the way over there?' * I still had a long way to go.

* * *

Deathbringer crouched down in front of a pile of corpses. Right before him lay a person with a knife lodged in their neck.

"... Demon worshipers aren't that big of a deal after all."

Who could have known that the highly suspicious group he had tailed would turn out to be demon worshipers?

Furthermore, managing to follow them all the way to their hideout, which was disguised as a trading company, was a stroke of pure, overlapping luck.

Witnessing the ritual they were conducting; impulsively setting a fire because he simply couldn't leave it be; and even that fire spreading to the magic circle and sacrifices, completely ruining their ritual—all of it had been pure luck.

And to top it off, the fact that they hadn't summoned a demon in advance!

Thanks to that, he was able to slaughter them one by one, slitting their throats and driving his blade into their hearts. It might have been a different story if a demon had been present, but killing humans was his specialty, so it hadn't been difficult in the slightest.

"I didn't think I'd ever have anything to do with this lot."

He scratched his head as he looked down at the person he had killed.

Was it simply because he had never faced them directly like this before? Somon's underground didn't count, since he had just assisted the Mage from the rear. Up until now, he had vaguely assumed they would be impossible for him to handle.

But now that it turned out that wasn't the case, he found it truly fascinating.

"So even if they make a pact with a demon, a human is still just a human..."

Of course, it wasn't solely because his skills were extraordinary. He could be certain of that. This outcome was the result of a great deal of fluke and luck.

However, just because luck was involved, did that erase what he had achieved?

At the very least, he had learned through this incident that under the right circumstances, he could kill Demon Contractors too. A vague impossibility had transformed into a tangible possibility.

And there was quite a vast gap between those two states.

He could do it if he tried. He wasn't just dead weight; with a little bit of effort and caution, he could pull something off just like he did today.

"More importantly, what should I do about all this?"

The only problem was cleaning up the aftermath.

He scratched his cheek as he surveyed the blazing pile of corpses, the ruined magic circle, and those who had lost their lives by his hand.

"If I send up a signal, someone will show up to check."

He just needed to gather people's attention for now. At least one of them was bound to be affiliated with the city lord or the Temple, and they would come here to investigate the cause anyway. Then the cleanup would be handled automatically.

Thus, Deathbringer lightly vaulted his way out of the building. He then crouched on the rooftop behind a sign that read 'Gridana Trading Company.'

In his hand was a dye powder he had acquired in the past and carried in small amounts. It was a substance that changed the color of the smoke when tossed into a fire.

FSSSS.

Its effect was just as excellent as its hefty price tag; the smoke from the massive bonfire he had lit as a signal rapidly took on color.

He had mixed two colors together just to be safe, so someone was bound to come investigate.

"Perfect."

Now, all that was left to do was to hide. Even though he technically hadn't done anything wrong, it was the sensible choice.

After all, there was no guarantee that the people responding to the signal would be his allies.

"... Wow, they actually recognized it right away."

Case in point: a rather suspicious-looking group was sprinting straight toward him right this moment.

"What to do."

Outwardly, they looked no different from ordinary civilians, but to the eyes of an active Thief, their flaws were plainly visible.

Clean shoes that didn't match their worn-out clothes; uncoordinated stains that made their attire look pieced together from multiple people; and pale skin entirely unmarred by the sun.

That was the extent of the details he could spot while hiding from a distance; up close, it would likely be even worse. No matter how he looked at it, they were sketchy.

"Were we found out?"

"Dammit, we just needed a little more time..."

And them loudly blabbing incriminating remarks without an ounce of caution just cemented his suspicions.

Discarding the excitement and confidence that had bubbled up from his recent victory, Deathbringer tried to analyze the situation as calmly as possible.

Keeping them alive to track them down would be more useful than killing them. But even if he tailed them, was there anything he could actually accomplish?

The massacre just now had only been possible because countless variables had overlapped in his favor.

He needed guaranteed firepower. Firepower like that obnoxious Priest or the Demon Knight—the kind of overwhelming force that could ruthlessly sweep away the demon worshipers regardless of what traps they had prepared.

"Dammit, this was our golden opportunity to dispose of the Hero."

"It's already over. And it seems our forces in the underground passage have been entirely wiped out anyway."

The problem was that he only had one body, meaning he couldn't simultaneously tail them and relay the message to his allies.

"Let's fall back. Our priority right now is escaping the city."

"Right."

'Ah, I really didn't want to resort to this.'

Suppressing his mild revulsion, he quietly held his breath. *RIIIIP. * The sound of something tearing rang out.

"Let's bail before they get here!"

A new shadow merged into the shadows of the fleeing men.

'Lead the way for me.'

Shadow Mark. It was a technique that only a select few within the information guild could learn.

It was also their most exceptional tracking technique, allowing the user to ascertain the target's location by tearing off a piece of their own shadow and attaching it to the enemy.

"Then I should head to the Temple..."

Ah. He had forgotten.

"There's no way those damned bastards would ever listen to me."

When he had tried to go check on the horses earlier, those bastards had told him to piss off, claiming they couldn't verify he was the owner. That was why he had been forced to perch on the outer wall to watch the horses in secret.

Would those very same Priest bastards actually believe him now? No, absolutely not! There was no chance in hell!

"The Adventurer's Guild is my only option."

The place had been full of weak-looking weaklings, so he wondered if they would even be enough.

Still, it would be better than going after the cultists alone. He had shown his face there, so at the very least, they would hear him out.

"Haaah."

'How did I even end up getting dragged into all this?'

Deathbringer let out an exasperated sigh and forced his legs to move. As this was an urgent matter, he had to set aside his personal gripes and run.

"You!"

"What. If it isn't the stiff-neck."

It was a twist of fate that he ran into someone so unexpected.

"Perfect timing. Hey, you stiff-necked zealot. I found the guys I suspect are the Demon Contractors. Care to tag along?"

"... Are you absolutely certain?"

"Dammit, then forget it."

"No, I will go! Lead the way!"

Their precarious dynamic right from the get-go certainly wasn't just his imagination.

* * *

"Excuse me, what happened here?"

"Huh? Who the hell are yo—"

"Ah, aren't you the Mage who accompanied the Priest?! And... you're alive too? Did you make it out of the underground passage alive?"

"He is utterly exhausted, so it would be best if you didn't speak to him. More importantly, could you step aside for a moment?"

"Ah. Yes, of course. Take your time."

"..."

"The Priest mentioned that these were traces of a ritual... do you see something different, Mage?"

"... This is."

"Is there a problem?"

"It appears the Inquisitor came and went. Do you know where she headed?"

"Excuse me? You mean the Priest? She took some of the investigators and headed down the western street. We stayed behind here to protect the evidence."

"The western street. Understood. Demon Knight! Let's go immediately!"

"Wh-what is it?"

"We must catch the demon worshipers before they slip out of the city or switch to another ritual!"