Chapter 4 - I Shouldn't Have Done That (4)

By the time the phrase *'A dungeon perfectly suited for losing your sense of time'* took over my mind, I was able to sweep through all the previously revealed areas.

「❖ That Which Defiles the Sewer

∎ Eliminate demons 62 / ??

∎ Bonus: Find belongings 6 / 13

∎ Bonus: Recover traces of dead adventurers 5 / ??」

The quest had progressed this much. Although I couldn't tell the overall progress, seeing that the belongings I found reached half the total, I probably wasn't too late.

I had gained a new sub-mission, too.

"Is it a dead end."

SCRIBBLE.

I took out the map and checked the path I had just swept through. The map was almost completely revealed now, leaving only one path left.

There was a high probability that either the boss monster and the belongings were gathered there, or an additional map would appear in the form of an open path.

"Tsk."

I put the pen back into the cap I had been holding in my mouth and neatly folded the map.

Waiting for the ink to dry? It wasn't a very useful action. The map was already soaked with goblin blood and somewhat tattered.

Even though the blood hadn't splattered on it directly, but was closer to the blood on my hands transferring when I took the map out, it was still like that.

Still, as long as I could recognize it, it was fine. I had almost found everything, too.

I put the folded map into my coat and searched the end of the dead end. It was because I had learned that items or objects to recover were in places like this.

「❖ That Which Defiles the Sewer

∎ Eliminate demons 62 / ??

∎ Bonus: Find belongings 7 / 13

∎ Bonus: Recover traces of dead adventurers 7 / ??」

Sure enough, a worker's corpse and an adventurer's trace were discovered. I firmly pressed my stiff eyes with the back of my blood-soaked hand.

"It's so damn hard to find..."

How nice would it have been if they marked recoverable objects with an outline or a glowing effect.

If I hadn't looked down after hearing the sound of a bone breaking under the heel of my combat boot in the very first alleyway I entered, I would still be wandering around wondering why there were no corpses.

In addition, if I hadn't tested whether it would go into my inventory even without an item marker appearing, I wouldn't have been able to recover anything.

Harboring such minor complaints, I fumbled through the discovered corpse.

It was because weight and volume would be an issue if I were to take the corpse itself. Minor items that could prove their identity, such as a pendant, ring, or adventurer's tag, were the best I could take.

'This character couldn't even keep any belongings.'

Come to think of it, this class. Right after the demon possessed his body, didn't he go berserk and blow away not only his house but also his family's corpses? Since the whole house was blown away, he wouldn't have been able to gather any belongings either.

That was just the original work's setting, and there's no rule saying the remake version would be the same, but... considering the opening cinematic, they probably kept this setting alive too.

It's a little pitiful.

SCREECH!

"Phew..."

Well, thanks to that kind of backstory, I can overly immerse myself in the roleplay!

I carefully picked up the pendant. It was because a character who didn't even have the chance to possess keepsakes didn't seem likely to treat others' keepsakes carelessly, and I judged that it was also morally correct.

Unless the roleplay itself was a setting that ignored humanity and justice, I wanted to maintain it as much as possible. Solely because it was the right thing to do.

"Come, you bugs..."

More importantly, wasn't there a more badass line than this?

As soon as I put the pendant away, I raised my sword toward the goblin that had reappeared from behind.

"I will send you back to the homeland you crawled out of...!"

Hah, even though these were lines I prepared by agonizing over them for months, it's a bit disappointing. There must be something more cringy and cool!

SLASH!

The goblins were sliced by the blade once again. The passage, where grotesque root-like things had grown as the demons made their nest, gleamed under the flickering orange lamplight.

SQUEAAAK!!

The cries of rats and goblins echoed through the cave like a round song. It wasn't exactly a pleasant sound, so my ears suffered.

But since I had already overcome the smell, was there any reason to lose to a sound like this?

Furthermore, there was no need to hold back my annoyance here. Eliminating the sources of the sound was exactly my mission! It meant I could vent my anger without breaking character.

"I won't leave even a trace!"

Die, you bastards! Externally, as the targets of my hatred, and internally, for the sake of my ears, die! Mwahaha.

CRUNCH!

I advanced forward, crushing the heads of the appearing goblins one after another. And when I stood at the crossroads between the path I had come from and the only path I hadn't visited yet.

I shook off the blood soaking my body and stepped forward without hesitation. Soon, a massive space appeared.

SCREEEEECH!!

The revealed massive space was covered with black, sludgy strands. And inside it were dozens of goblins, but only one among them stood out.

THUMP, THUMP!

Through the goblins parting like the Red Sea, a goblin holding a staff walked out.

「Hobgoblin│A mutant born when a goblin survives consuming a large amount of demonic energy. It possesses higher intelligence and special power compared to ordinary goblins.」

A hobgoblin with bright red skin instead of olive, and a size twice as large as a goblin. Usually, even this would often appear as a mob, but right now in the early stages, it wouldn't be strange for it to act as the boss of a zone.

"Mmph, mmph!"

However, a strange sound was mixed in among the squeaking cries.

I subtly rolled my eyes. Behind the goblins, I saw a child tied up tightly.

"It seems you lots are the last of them..."

Rather than feeling pity for that, it just felt refreshing. It was because even in the original work, you could choose to save the kidnapped child or leave them be.

My choice? Naturally, it was to save them.

During my original playthrough, I played with a concept of being blinded by demon hunting, so I didn't help or save them, but I had chosen a milder form this time.

Moreover, unlike back then, now that I've grown older, I've become passionate about protecting minors. Even if it's an NPC, that doesn't change much. Kids must be happy. Unconditionally.

"Mmph, mmph!"

Well, saving is saving, and immersion is immersion. They happened to be around the same age as the youngest sibling I saw in the opening cinematic, so it was perfect for empathizing.

"You abominable demons."

Since the space was wide, I judged that a true two-hander would be fine instead of a longsword.

I put the longsword back in its scabbard and brought my hand to my back. Following the sensation practically engraved into my body, I curled my fingers, and now something hard was caught in my hand.

SHWING.

A sword reaching 1.6 meters was smoothly drawn out.

"Consider it an honor."

SCREEEEECH!

Whatever it judged my drawing of the sword to mean, the hobgoblin raised the staff it was holding.

A few goblins that had retreated toward the wall popped out and stealthily approached me. I figured it was an add-summoning pattern boss.

"For your death stands right here."

But it would be trouble to underestimate a gamer who had cleared dozens of games.

"Victory to my sword, glory to that sky...!"

I gripped the sword with both hands and held it straight up pointing toward the sky. It was an imitation of a knight.

After all, people around you are the first to attach the nickname 'Demon Knight' to this class. It means that even if that wasn't my username, some NPCs would still call me Demon Knight.

But would such a nickname be attached for no reason? Unlikely. At least from my perspective of valuing narrative and plausibility, it wouldn't.

So I judged that there would be a minimum appearance of looking like a knight to warrant people giving such an alias, and this was the result.

Ah, of course, I have no intention of acting overly knightly.

Honestly, if I was going to maintain chivalry even while hunting demons, I would have just played a Knight. A guy who quit the path of a knight to hunt demons wouldn't keep all his chivalry.

So, my habits as a knight would be exactly this much. My fighting would be like a fiend.

I immediately dashed forward and swung my sword.

SLASH!

The true two-hander tightly gripped in both hands carved through the empty air in all directions.

It was quite tricky to handle because its size was so massive, but combined with the memory of using it a few times in other games and the game's system correction, it was somewhat manageable.

SQUEAK!

After blocking a goblin that charged while grabbing the hilt and blade, I slightly lifted the hand that had held the blade, sliding it down as if skimming the blade with only my fingers.

Like that, when my hand passed the parrying hooks and reached the ricasso—the unsharpened part of the blade above the crossguard—I gripped it firmly and swung. It was a form where I moved the hilt to the left and the hand holding the ricasso to the right to swing.

SLASH!

After splitting the falling goblin in half, I quickly readjusted my grip. The hands that sequentially flipped the sword's hilt slammed the two-hander down onto the ground.

THUNK!

The head of a goblin trying to scratch my leg was pierced.

I stomped on the goblin, pulled out the sword, and swung it once again. A fourth goblin died. It was the moment all the adds temporarily summoned by the boss bastard were eliminated.

Then I needed to hurry up and deal damage before the next adds popped out.

While the goblins hiding in the caves on both sides popped out, I advanced forward. The guy who was trying to attack me along with the adds freaked out and stealthily tried to pull its body to the side.

But the two-hander was a whopping 1.6 meters long, you see.

I swung the two-hander even before the goblins could block me. The sword swung with complete disregard for defense slashed through the staff raised by the boss hobgoblin and its body.

Wow, I guess this game has weapon destruction too. I shouldn't wield wooden weapons.

Since the adds popped out for now, I also pulled my body back. Backpedaling, the retrieved sword became a shield and blocked the goblins' bodies.

Just then, a goblin that clung to my back dug its nails into my exposed nape. Thanks to my reduced pain settings, only a stinging level of impact came through.

"Ridiculous..."

Separately, my HP drained quite a bit, so I swiftly grabbed it and threw it. However, in that brief moment, another one stuck to my thigh.

They were a one-hit kill, but they were so small and numerous that it was incredibly annoying.

"Obediently die, you maggots!"

If I dealt with the one attached to my thigh first, it seemed the ones rushing from both sides would cling to my shoulders. Therefore, with a scowl, I swung my sword like I was going wild.

The two that were running over were cleanly cleaved in half.

After that, I snatched the little demon digging its nails into my thigh and threw it onto the floor.

CRUNCH!

My combat boot stomped on the goblin's head, completely crushing it. Leveling close-quarters combat was worth it.

SQUEAAAK!

Even though I went that far, the goblin adds just wouldn't stop. It was probably because the boss kept giving orders.

Then I should prioritize killing that guy.

After checking my remaining HP, I kicked off the ground. Then, gripping the ricasso and the hilt firmly, I swung in all directions.

The magnificent blade swung without a specific target, keeping the charging goblins in check.

Had I swung about four times like that? I caught up to the boss retreating while surrounded by goblins. The goblins that rushed me in between tore my clothes and scratched my skin, but they weren't major injuries.

THUNK!

Right before attacking the boss, I struck down one charging goblin.

Including the ones in the back, two were pierced simultaneously, and thanks to that, the blade was practically fixed in place.

It was exactly what I wanted. After letting go of the hilt and ricasso, I grabbed the longsword at my waist with my left hand.

I had no hesitation in abandoning the weapon itself. Earlier, I accidentally dropped my weapon, and it just stayed right in that spot.

The smoothly drawn blade slashed a goblin the moment it came out, aiming beyond it.

SPLAT!

A stream of blood soaked my cheek, the nape of my neck, and the vest and shirt under my coat. It was the blood of the boss hobgoblin obtained in exchange for allowing a few goblins to dig their nails into my body.

SQUEAK!

SQUEEEAK!!

Was it the price of having its head pierced through? Or was it the victory of the weapon? The boss hobgoblin died instantly.

「Fear and Confusion│When their leader is killed right in front of them, some enemies will be terrified and flee or lose their will to fight.」

The goblins were even agitated because their superior died.

"Weaklings."

After pulling out my sword from the boss hobgoblin, I kicked the terrified ones and cleaved them with my sword.

In the process, I also recovered the true two-hander. To kill a large amount of enemies in a spacious area, the two-hander was better than the longsword.

"Go to hell."

Once I killed the boss, its adds were dealt with in no time.

Spitting out a dreary voice with a joyful heart, I slaughtered them one by one. I absolutely didn't miss the ones trying to run away either.

It would be exhausting if I missed them and couldn't complete the quest.

"How utterly trivial."

After killing them all, I muttered while shaking off the blood on my sword.

To be honest, I didn't feel anything like it being trivial when fighting, but that's just how bluffing is. It starts with making up words that aren't there or exaggerating.

"To think they couldn't even handle these things and left them alone until now..."

Still, it's no fun just bluffing, so I added a bit of my character's personality.

Reflecting the setting where he pretends to be strong to hide his weak parts but is actually soft-hearted, I spoke in a slightly bitter voice. Whispering softly so a bit of pity could be felt.

"Tch..."

Topping it off with a pitying click of the tongue at the end, good! Perfect! This year's Over-Immersion Award is mine!

"Mmph..."

Around that time, a moan was heard from one side.

Only then did I recall that there was a target to save. It wasn't exactly that I forgot, but it seemed I pushed it too far to the back burner.

"Kid, you got lucky."

I approached the wall where the child was caught with a deliberately chilly expression. The child was hanging on the wall by strands that could have been plant roots.

RIP.

I ripped them all off with my hands. My grip strength was stronger than expected, so I could pull them away smoothly without any embarrassing moments.

"Th-Thank you..."

The rescued child seemed a bit older than the sibling in the opening cinematic. Still, they were small enough to barely reach my chest.

My dead sibling must have been even smaller than this.

"... No need to thank me."

Recalling that fact made me empathize even more for no reason. A kid even smaller than this died, and she was my little sister, and the bastard who killed her resides in my arm?

It was a miracle he didn't go crazy. I'd have drawn my sword vowing to beat all the demon bastards to death too.

"Protecting the weak is..."

Anyway, right now I was delivering my lines. Leaving a child who reminded me of my dead sister, and unlike the past where I couldn't save her, I was in the position of having saved someone.

How would one feel in that situation?

"As a knight, it's only natural."

I made the end of my voice tremble slightly, and raised my hand. It was to pat the child's head.

However, since I was ambidextrous leaning toward right-handed, my right hand was raised first unconsciously.

That wouldn't do. The concept I chose considered this right hand so terribly that he even switched his dominant hand. In the midst of that, there was no way he would make contact with another person, especially a child, with this hand.

"Knight... Are you a knight?"

I pondered for a moment.

Should I act like an asshole to the kid too, or be kind to the kid.

Wouldn't the latter be right? My current state of having completely thrown my manners out the window was just putting my guards up to avoid looking weak. In the past, he was an aspiring knight who protected the weak like the elderly and children.

So it didn't seem like he would act like that toward a child too. Unless it was pushing them away, maybe.

"Yes."

I quickly came to a conclusion.

Let's keep the frost laced in every word of my voice, but just make my tone a bit softer. If the voice is cold, even if the tone is fine, most people consider them a guy with a busted personality.

Of course, character interpretation wasn't the only reason I chose this side. The bigger reason was that the NPCs here were made too well, so while I might act out to an adult, I didn't want to show a nasty attitude to a kid.

Kids, kids must absolutely be protected and happy...

"... Why were you tied up here."

"Mom... Mom didn't come back since the day she went to clean the sewer... so I came to look for my mom. I'm sorry..."

Oh, you poor baby. You got caught looking for your mom. This mister is crying, I'm crying.

"... That's not something you should have to do, kid. You should have trusted the adults and waited."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize to me. I am not the one who should receive an apology."

Even if it was a game, things like this felt heavy. Because it was a dangerous worldview, parents dying off so often, or children being left behind.

Hmm, maybe I should call my mom and dad to say hello after a long time when the game is over.

Thanks to this, I even had the thought of acting like a dutiful son for the first time in a while. It was the positive function of gaming.