Chapter 60 – Ruined Village (1)

The party’s gazes turned. Before they knew it, Isabel had approached and was watching the boiling pot intently. Cara’s expression crumpled. This was because she could guess what was contained inside.

“You said it with your own mouth. A witch who boils soup. It would be better not to look inside that.”

“I know too. But, because this is glowing…”

Isabel said, stammering.

“Huh?”

Curiosity piqued by her words, Cara came closer and examined the pot. The surface, engraved with beast faces and skulls, was glowing faintly.

Cara racked her brain for a moment. Human sacrifice, the powerful spell the old woman had just shown, soup… Soon, she spoke as if she understood.

“I have a rough idea. This is a magic pot. And a quite wicked kind at that.”

A magic pot? As if their curiosity was piqued, Velloc and Adele also approached. With the gazes of the three focused on her, Cara smiled faintly and showed off her knowledge.

“There are things called catalysts. When you cast magic, if you use them together, they strengthen the power of the spell. This seems to be a pot that makes those catalysts. Of course, as you all know, the ingredients are…”

Cara, trailing off her words, kicked the still-boiling pot with a thud. As the pot sloshed, the figures of the victims contained inside were slightly revealed. Covering her mouth with the hem of her robe, Cara frowned.

“A magical tool that feeds on human negative emotions to add power to its master… What a truly terrible monster. This cannot be used even if purified. We must break it to pieces immediately.”

Cara spat out harsh sarcasm, but Velloc read one emotion in her eyes. It was a look of regret. In short, it was greed as a mage. However, that emotion quickly disappeared, returning to her clear brown eyes.

Velloc did not bother to open his mouth. Since no one here was honorable. Everyone had stained their hands with blood for their own respective reasons.

It wasn’t as if she had lost her mind, hugged that pot, and suggested sacrificing a few offerings. In any case, had she not exercised restraint wonderfully? She was a person of great character for that.

However, what he regretted was that these demon bastards had absolutely nothing. Giving experience points is good. But other than that, they are useless. No gold or gems, and no spell scrolls. Magic items cannot be used because they are bound with wicked spells. Beggarly bastards.

Velloc kicked the cursed pot hard. The pot rolled noisily on the floor, and the dark red stew and half-dissolved remains spilled out onto the ground. The three of them gagged at the disgusting sight.

Velloc was unfazed. With a silent expression, he raised his sword. Soon, he struck down hard. The tool that was scattering an ominous energy split wide open. The strange light flowing on the surface also subsided.

Velloc shook his sword and slung it on his back. Just as he was about to tell them to leave, there was rustling around him. Perhaps his companions also had lingering regrets, as they were searching the dead old woman’s chest and the cottage she lived in.

He harbored a bit of hope. Indeed, might there not be a hidden treasure chest or various mystical items? It was a mage’s house after all. Velloc also lent a hand.

“There isn’t much. Other than skull statues or stuffed human figures…”

“I could not find anything suitable. I am sorry.”

Isabel and Adele shook their heads.

“I only managed to scavenge a few poisonous herbs. Shall I take this opportunity to make some poison?”

Cara also spoke nonsense. Velloc frowned. Another reason to strike down and kill the demons had been added.

#

When they exited the forest, a desolate land welcomed the party. It was a bleak space without a single blade of grass. Velloc glanced around. He saw windmills smashed here and there, collapsed houses, and fields where skeletons with outspread arms were stuck like scarecrows.

In his eyes, this place was a ruin. Furthermore, it looked as though it had collapsed quite a long time ago. Cara also muttered while keeping watch on the surroundings.

“Those things are surrounding this place.”

The huge mountains of skulls they had seen before wrapped around the ruined village as if surrounding it. ‘A settlement surrounded by corpses instead of vegetation, this is truly novel.’ Velloc recalled a scene that might appear in an old horror movie.

A red moon emitting strange magical power and a land where the sun never rises. Monsters crawling out from within. Werewolves? Ragged corpses stitched together here and there? What kind of monsters would block their path this time? As he walked with these thoughts, something caught his senses.

Dozens? No, hundreds of people. They were alive. Isabel also pricked up ears and raised one hand. Soon, she pulled out the crossbow she was carrying, drew the string, and quickly loaded a bolt. The elf, holding the loaded crossbow, shouted. Unlike when she spoke to the party, her eyes were cool and her voice was sharp.

“Who is it! Reveal yourselves!”

-To notice at this distance? I wonder if they are demons?

-Looking at their appearance, they are elves. It is widely known that pointy-ears have good eyes and ears, Baron.

-What? You seem to be implying that I am ignorant just now. I was only suggesting we prepare for any contingency.

-Those people came out of the forest. Look at the bloodstains on their bodies. They might have escaped after defeating the monsters.

-Black armor and a greatsword? Wait… That monster knight! The knight who reportedly even smashed the castle gates!

-Then they must be human!

The murmuring grew louder. Various conversations reached Velloc and Isabel’s ears, but they did not pay heed. They had merely sensed a suspicious presence.

Adele drew her sword, and Cara raised her staff. The pupils of her eyes flashed with light, preparing to unleash the spell within. As for Isabel? She abruptly shot her crossbow toward a house riddled with holes.

Swish!

The bolt lodged firmly into the wood, and someone’s scream was heard. It was warning fire. ‘All the women around me are like this.’ By the time Velloc was admiring her relentless temperament, Isabel loaded another bolt with an unfazed face. She shouted once more.

“There won’t be a second chance. If you don’t want a wind hole in your body, reveal yourselves immediately!”

“W-Wait, don’t shoot! We are human! We are humans just like you!”

Someone shouted loudly and popped out. It was a middle-aged man with a chubby build, holding a sword decorated with jewels. Soon, starting with him, the humans who had been hiding in the ruins revealed themselves one after another.

They were priests in clerical robes, lightly armed mercenaries or soldiers, and knights or paladins in plate armor. Of course, they were not in a normal state. All of them looked filthy. The chubby noble from earlier said.

“L-Look here. Let’s put down our weapons and talk first. Aren’t we on the same side?”

The three, excluding Velloc, were still clutching their weapons. Adele snorted.

“Trusting people like you who were hiding like rats? How do we know you are not demon minions?”

“That… we had our reasons. The red-furred demon is attacking. Besides, isn’t it only natural that we also cannot trust you? Since people suddenly emerged from a place full of ghouls!”

It was true. Since there were also monsters wearing human masks. Soon, this suspicion vanished as Adele and the opponent’s priests unleashed holy power. The ghouls that followed darkness could not use the power of a god.

“Selene… What truly immense power. Are you perhaps the great warrior of the Sun Goddess?”

“This flame is unmistakable. You are the great warrior! Great warrior, have you seen the Archbishop?”

Other than that, priests and paladins following all kinds of gods crowded around Adele. Who were the ones leading them? Velloc looked around, but the people were just standing far apart, staring at them blankly. The patterns engraved on their armor or clothing were also different from each other. Isabel whispered.

“It is exactly the same as when I fell into the forest. Due to the magic of the archdevil, everyone was separated from their respective groups and scattered. That’s why…”

As Isabel trailed off, Velloc spoke.

“You mean the folks here are a leaderless, disorganized ragtag bunch.”

“That’s right.”

Isabel nodded with a stiff face, and Velloc stroked his chin. What to do with these folks… He opened his mouth.

“Instead of standing around like this, let’s come up with a plan together.”

#

A knight with a massive build, a greatsword as large as a human torso, and wearing armor with a splendid crest issued a summons. At first glance, it could be taken as an arrogant command. However, most of the people wanted to participate in the meeting. If they stayed here like this, they would either starve to death when food ran out or be eaten by monsters.

Even so, it was not as if dozens or hundreds of people could have a chat together.

In the end, only the representatives of each occupation or status gathered in one place.

They were a veteran mercenary captain whose men had all been eaten or separated, leaving only three subordinates; a country bumpkin knight who had just come to the capital in search of honor; a noble with not a single soldier; and a priest who was very young but possessed outstanding holy power.

“Can a fire start when it’s this damp?”

“With the power of great magic, nothing is impossible.”

Adele, who broke the floor of a rotten house to make firewood, threw it into an empty space. Cara cast a spell to conjure a flame, and a bonfire was made in an instant. The people sat down around the bonfire.

Velloc leaned his greatsword against his shoulder and began maintaining it. Adele diligently brushed off the dried blood from her master’s armor. Cara opened her magic book to learn a new spell, and Isabel, with one eye squinted, was checking the string of her newly acquired crossbow.

At the party’s calm demeanor, the representatives of the expedition felt a strange sense of incompatibility. Were they not even tense in this situation? Monsters could attack through this door at any moment.

At that moment, a chilly wind blew through the broken window.

The bonfire flickered, and the shadows cast on the faces of the seated people also wavered. A man gulped down dry spit. It was the chubby noble with the mustache from earlier, Baron Pigo. He spoke.

“I do not know how many hours have passed since I stepped onto this hellish land. I only participated in this war because I could not withstand Duke Georg’s pressuring. If I had not drawn my sword for the king, that greedy pig would have burned my castle and plundered my property. But to think such a thing would happen… If I had known we would fall into a hellish place like this, I would have rather locked my castle gates and clashed swords with the Duke’s subordinates.”

After he finished speaking, the baron hung his head. Next, a man whose body was covered in scars also spoke lamentingly.

“Damn it. I was crazy. To enter such a death trap blinded by money, when my mercenary career spans over twenty years. There is no death trap like this. When the moon shines, coffins sprout from the ground, and corpses hanging from trees suddenly snap their eyes open and tear my subordinates apart. Now, some red demon even appears from the sky and takes people away…!”

“Selene… Is this truly your will? Is this a holy crusade?”

Was it because the warm heat rising from the bonfire and the surrounding darkness intoxicated them? They were all crying and making confessions. Velloc frowned. The planning meeting he wanted was not a forum for venting emotions.

The nobles should be talking sharp, spitting out information about the surrounding terrain or monsters. Mercenaries or knights should be able to draw their swords at any moment for gold and honor. The fanatics in pure white robes should know how to sacrifice their own bodies for the god they served.

Yes, if all of them combined their strength, they could easily pierce the heart of the demon. But what was this state? Was it not too pathetic? Should they leave these fellows here and depart by themselves? The monster butcher, who was not an ordinary person, thought so. And his companions thought so too.

Adele snorted.

“I’ve been watching you for a while, and it’s pathetic. You do nothing but tremble in fear.”

“Tell me about it. What’s the use of hundreds of people gathering? Every single one of them is huddled in a corner.”

“Are those toys in your hands? Demons are also living things that die if stabbed. And for the undead, you just have to smash their heads.”

Just a few hours ago, Isabel had been terrified, but this time she spoke confidently. Velloc smirked. It was because her sudden change in attitude was amusing. Isabel also seemed to realize her slip of tongue after speaking. She hung her head low. Then, with a flushed face, she fiddled with her crossbow.

Hearing this, the baron spoke passionately.

“Do you think we didn’t fight them? We fought. We drew our swords and charged bravely! But those monsters toyed with us and ate us!”

Well, for you to say that, your body and that sword feel a bit mismatched.

Kirrrk!

At that moment, along with a noisy flapping of wings, a screech like scraping metal resounded. There were several. The representatives, except for Velloc’s party, ducked their heads all at once. They shouted in terror.

“It’s them! They have appeared!”

“F-Fuck. Who are they going to carry away this time!”

Velloc quietly watched their struggles for survival. Soon, he rose from his seat. The paladin of Helena, the red-haired witch, and the boasting elf also stood up smoothly. Seeing this, the baron was startled.

“W-Where are you going?! Quick, come here and hide! No matter how amazing your swordplay is, you cannot kill those monsters—”

Instead of answering the baron’s words, Velloc drew the sword slung over his shoulder with a whoosh. The blade, which had absorbed the blood of countless demons, gleamed ominously. With the heaviness felt in his grip, the knight took his steps. The bonfire receded, and only the sound of his boots echoed quietly.

He pondered for a moment. What answer should he give to those fellows? ‘Experience points came walking on their own, so shouldn’t I go greet them?’ Or, ‘Do you want to huddle here like this, get eaten, and starve to death?’ Or else… Velloc pondered briefly and smirked. It was because a very exemplary answer came to mind. If he were a real knight, wouldn’t he have answered like this?

He threw out a word. It was a voice dry enough to be cold.

“There is no heaven in the place you flee to.”

The four went outside.