Chapter 91

["Please... some food..."]

Woojin watched the demon beg pitifully for a moment, then tossed it a lump of hard bread from his inventory.

MUNCH, MUNCH.

The demon groped across the floor, found the bread, and devoured it as though it had been starving for days.

"How long have you been locked up here?"

["I don't understand... I have been here since I came into existence."]

'... Since the beginning?'

Woojin's expression hardened at the demon's answer.

"Don't try to fool me. Why is a demon on the continent? Someone must have brought you here."

Instead of answering, the demon held out a hand toward Woojin.

Clicking his tongue, Woojin tossed it all his remaining bread and meat.

["I... was born here."]

The demon stuffed the food into its mouth.

["But no one has ever asked me such questions before. Who are you? Come to think of it... I have never heard your voice before, either."]

Now that Woojin looked more closely, the shackled demon seemed blind as well, turning its head this way and that in search of him.

"... Are you saying you really were born here?"

["I have been here from the moment I became aware. So I suppose... I must have been."]

"How far back do your memories go?"

Woojin's voice trembled as he asked, betraying his tension.

["Who knows... Well over two hundred years, I imagine."]

Woojin clenched his fist tightly, an involuntary gasp escaping him at the answer.

Things had taken a different turn from what he had expected.

'Two hundred years...? That means this demon was already here before Zion Muren was even born...'

Perhaps, just as it said, the demon really had been in this cellar from the beginning.

"Karlan."

"Yes?"

"How far back does House Muren's history go?"

"Hmm... The Kingdom of Bolton was founded roughly five hundred years ago, and House Muren has existed since its founding."

Woojin cast a sidelong glance at Karlan's answer.

'Whether it was born here or someone captured it, the important thing is that it happened after House Muren was established.'

Things had grown complicated.

Either way, if the demon had been imprisoned in House Muren's cellar...

'Zion Muren wasn't the one who hid it here.'

And that meant this was not simply a matter involving Zion Muren, but the entire house.

'House Muren has been harboring a demon.'

Perhaps the whole house was connected to dark magic.

[You have obtained hidden information.]

▶ The Demon of Thorn Bach.

▶ The hidden secret of House Muren in the Kingdom of Bolton.

▶ This seems likely to greatly interest Kahira.

[Related Quest: A Contract with Kahira]

The notification sounded, and the window gave Woojin greater certainty.

"What have you been doing here?"

["I do nothing."]

"... What?"

Having devoured the large amount of food left to it in moments, the demon lay down on the floor, curling up like a child.

["... I merely sleep."]

"Master, look at this. I can sense mana in the hoses embedded in the demon's body."

Ruen pointed to the thick liquid flowing through dozens of hoses.

"Its mana... is being extracted."

It was just as Woojin had expected.

Unable to escape, the demon had spent hundreds of years in this cellar having its mana drained.

For whose benefit?

'House Muren's, of course.'

But that was not the end of the problem.

'House Muren is a knightly house. With a few exceptions, knights use aura, not mana.'

Then what had they done with the mana extracted from the demon for over two hundred years?

A chill ran through Woojin, making him shudder.

The Faceless Monster.

The monster that had survived until the world's destruction.

It occurred to him that perhaps that monster was not Zion Muren's work alone.

"I have a feeling... I've gotten mixed up in something enormous."

An ancient house of the Kingdom of Bolton, an illustrious family with more than five knightly orders under its command.

One wrong move could turn all of House Muren against him.

'The Kingdom of Bolton is the most powerful of the five great kingdoms.'

If he acted rashly, he might end up being branded the villain instead.

If a warrant went out for him, even setting foot on the central continent might become difficult.

Should he bury the truth?

Or risk his life?

It was a harder choice than any quest.

"Was Zion Muren the one looking after you?"

The demon shook its head at Woojin's question.

["I don't know who that is. The person who fed me never said a word."]

"Is that so?"

Tightening his grip, Woojin slowly raised his sword.

"Then go and find out for yourself."

CLANG!

He cut through the shackle around the demon's neck with his sword.

"Identify him by his smell or whatever it takes."

Then Woojin seized the demon's head and wrenched it back, his voice sharp.

"Fail, and you die."

* * *

"Come on, hurry it up!"

"Stop pushing! Can't you see everyone's waiting?"

"Now, now! Please calm down and wait your turn! Raid teams with a royal permit, please proceed straight through without waiting!"

The entrance to the temporary portal to Thorn Bach was packed with people.

"Wow... There are so many people here!"

The mages selected by the Red Tower were startled by the crowd when they arrived at the portal station.

"Temporary portals aren't maintained very well... Apparently they can only transport a few people at a time."

"It'd be nice if the Red Tower had a portal too."

Kim Chan spoke as he pulled his robe closed.

"Nothing we can do. Portals are the alchemists' business."

"That's unnecessarily realistic. It's not like every city has a portal, either... Getting around is more of a hassle than you'd think."

"It's not realistic. This place is a reality in its own right."

"Still, it's much better now. Back in the early days, there weren't even portals. Just getting to the hunting grounds was hard."

"At this rate... will we even get there today?"

Kern, the intermediate mage leading the reinforcements, merely snorted at his question.

"Get there? We're just going to kill some time here, then head back once it's over."

"... What?"

"You saw the news on Game Station, didn't you? Even the five great kingdoms' knightly orders have been decimated. Going now would only cost us EXP."

"But..."

Kim Chan hesitated at Kern's words.

"Then why are all these people so desperate to go to Thorn Bach?"

"Look closely at what they're wearing."

Now that he looked, unlike the mages in their equipment, everyone gathered at the portal was wearing basic clothing.

"They're leaving all their equipment behind."

"Why?"

"Why else? They're going to pick up dropped loot. Think about it. With top raid teams and even knightly orders dying out there, imagine how many items must be lying around."

"Oh..."

Kim Chan realized anew just how differently people could view a battlefield.

"Our seniors approved this too. The Red Tower was held up by other portal users until the situation ended. Understood?"

"Yes!"

"There are level-fifty hunting grounds nearby, so go hunt there instead of lazing around."

"Sir, may I go to Thorn Bach on my own?"

"Why? Want to grab some loot too?"

"Hehe."

One of the mages listening to Kern scratched his head as he spoke.

"Go if you want. But take off your robe first. And if you cause any trouble acting on your own, you'd better be prepared for the consequences."

"Understood!"

"Dismissed."

Kern waved them off carelessly, as though they were a nuisance, and headed for an inn.

"Uncle! Hurry! Hurry!"

"Yes, yes. I'm coming. Wait, wait...! Let me through!"

Just then, a familiar voice reached Kim Chan as he lingered among the dispersing mages.

A dwarf was pushing his way through the crowd.

"... Gareth?"

Kim Chan looked at him.

* * *

"Keep pressing the attack!"

"Raaaaah!"

"Raaah!"

["Grrrr...!"]

The knights hurled harpoons at the fallen Black Dragon.

RATTLE!

They pulled with all their might on the harpoons entangling his wings and tail.

["You... What have you done?!"]

Bensina cried out in apparent pain, but the knights seemed unable to hear his voice.

"Attack!"

THUNK! THUNK!

CRUNCH!

The knights' spears and swords pierced Bensina's skin and sank into him.

["Aaargh...!"]

He screamed in pain and thrashed, but the harder he struggled, the deeper the harpoons dug in.

'We can win.'

Watching the Black Dragon draw ever closer to defeat, the knights' fighting spirit burned hotter.

"Die...!"

"Die...!"

["I cannot use magic... What have you done?"]

Bensina growled at Zion.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Looking for excuses now that you're about to lose? Even a dragon is nothing but a lowly creature in the end."

["Shut up...!"]

RATTLE!

Bensina opened his jaws toward Zion, but the harpoons anchored in the ground held him immobile.

"Everyone, stop."

BOOOM!

It happened just then.

"...?!"

"Look out!"

The knights hurriedly stepped in front of Zion as a sword came flying toward him.

"... Who goes there?!"

At Duran's shout, Woojin emerged from the mist.

"The situation has changed."

THUD!

Woojin tossed something in front of them.

["This is..."]

The sight shocked not only Bensina, but everyone present.

"A-a demon...?!"

"Why is such a horrifying thing here...?!"

'Judging by the knights' reactions, they don't know.'

["Grr... Grr..."]

The bound demon writhed as though even the faint sunlight filtering through the mist repulsed it.

["Gack...!"]

Woojin walked up to Zion, dragging the legless demon behind him.

"Is this the one who fed you?"

"W-what are you talking about?! What are you all doing?! Kill that demon at once!"

Zion shouted urgently.

But at that moment, Woojin shoved the demon's head against Zion's chest.

"... Urk!"

Despite his high level, Zion's physical abilities were poor. Unable to dodge, he toppled backward onto his backside.

"Lord Zion!"

"You bastard...! How dare you...!"

Just as the knights were about to rush Woojin,

["This smell...! This sweet scent of rowan... Yes. This is the one!"]

The demon thrashed and shouted.

"W-what...?!"

Flustered, Zion roughly shoved away the demon lying against his chest.

"I found it in House Muren's cellar."

"...!"

The knights moving to block Woojin faltered at his words.

"What should I call you?"

He bent down toward the fallen Zion.

"You have no mana, so you're not a dark mage... Right, how about this?"

Grinding his teeth, Woojin addressed Zion.

"You demon-worshipping bastard."