Joining (1)

Beolkeok. Shuriel roughly opens the carriage door. Then, treading on slightly damp soil… soil that was damp not from the ashen snow commonly seen in the North, but from something else, she stepped forward.

‘Slightly sticky and… deep blue.’

Following behind, I too could feel the strange and unpleasant texture of the soil. Although it was difficult to properly deduce what it was, covered as it was by relentlessly falling snow, it couldn’t hide the color of the soil stuck to the deep blue liquid.

“The northern knights are all a bunch of blockheads.”

Shuriel grumbled with an annoyed expression, taking a step forward as she spoke.

“Why are the Reas warriors blocking the road to Cherenel?”

The road to Cherenel is one of the most accessible routes in the North, frequently used by merchants. For knights to be blocking such a trade route… and not even knights of Cherenel, but knights of the Frontier Lord.

• Deolkeok.

At Shuriel’s question, the massive armor twitched. Patting the solid helmet, which I doubted allowed him to see, he revealed gray eyes through the gaps and said.

“I apologize, but you cannot pass here.”

“Why?”

To the repeated question, the knight replied.

“Demons rampaged. It seems the cleanup is not yet complete, so please wait a moment.”

Demons.

Hearing that word, looking at the knight again, I noticed several signs of battle.

A blue stain on his shoulder and a slightly corroded gauntlet. The greatsword on his back was also missing many teeth.

“Oho. Demons, huh.”

“Strictly speaking, spiders. Demon spawn controlled by demons.”

Unlike the seemingly serious situation, Shuriel and I muttered with intrigued expressions. Shuriel was a demon hunter, and I was a perverted mage who, upon hearing the word ‘demon’, immediately started contemplating how to play with them.

“That’s welcome news to my ears. I was getting a little bored.”

However, the knight seemed unaware of this fact. This was partly due to the use of a disguised carriage for operational purposes, but also because the Astra who had been active in the North for quite some time was Pawin. Even though Shuriel had become famous for subjugating Pluton, most people still didn’t know what Shuriel looked like.

“So, you came down from Reas?”

“I cannot explain the details, but… I will not deny that it is related to the current situation. The affairs of the North are everyone’s affairs.”

The relationship between the five families, known as the pillars of the North, is famously strong. Judging political relationships based on rumors is incredibly foolish, but this place is already barren and unstable. They can’t afford to fight each other.

“Judging by your appearance, you don’t seem like ordinary people… I won’t ask directly, as you wouldn’t say it with your own mouth. But. That is why I cannot let you inside. We would be held responsible if you were injured.”

At that moment, the knight spoke in a serious voice. Shuriel and I exchanged glances, sharing our intentions.

‘Should we just wait quietly without digging deeper?’

After all, once we arrive at the Frontier Lord’s fortress-Reas-we will hear everything during the briefing. All events in the North are reported to the Frontier Lord.

‘It doesn’t really matter, but…’

‘We can’t just pass by demons, can we? I know.’

It’s just that he’s not the type to do that. The emotion isn’t fueled by a sense of justice or revenge. It’s just that he mechanically feels that demons must be eradicated.

‘Identity?’

‘Conceal.’

It seemed like he just wanted to take care of the demons and leave. I nodded and said.

“We’re passing adventurers. Is there anything we can help with?”

Hearing the word ‘adventurer’, the knight’s eyes narrowed.

“There’s no way such refined adventurers exist. Just wait quietly―”

“Even with this?”

I took out the adventurer’s pass that was rotting in my pocket. Yujin. Now A-class, not F-class anymore. Proof that I can wield Mana and have made contributions that everyone acknowledges.

“How about it?”

“We may be short-handed, but it’s not so urgent that we need to use adventurers.”

However, a knight cannot arbitrarily use people.

Especially if they are adventurers.

Of course, he doesn’t seem to believe we’re adventurers outright, but the biggest reason is that adventurers who reach A-class usually don’t want to do this dirty work. So, he probably thinks there’s something wrong with me, which is why I’m still doing adventurer work.

“Then get out of the way. We’ll break through on our own.”

“The answer is the same. Wait quietly.”

“This head is full of iron―”

• Kkigik.

Just as Shuriel was about to utter profanities, a terribly grating sound was heard. A crunching sound… definitely not human.

“It’s those bastards again.”

The knight grumbled, as if used to it.

• Deolkeok.

Lowering his visor, dark aura enveloped his entire body. Raising his hand behind his back, the knight lifted a man-sized greatsword with one arm and turned towards the direction of the sound.

“Retreat immediately! If you get that thing’s bodily fluids on you without an aura, you’ll melt right away!”

• Kigiigig…

Soon, the sound that had been tormenting our ears grew louder and reached us.

“Spiders?”

It was a spider.

“Kieeeeeeeek――!!!”

A fucking huge spider.

• Pusyuk!

“――Damn it!”

While I was admiring the hideous appearance with a mixture of awe and disgust, a jet-black fluid flew towards me in an arc. It was targeting me, the smallest of the group.

• Chwaak!

The knight swung his sword with superhuman speed, splitting the fluid, but without evaporating it, it was impossible to cut a liquid. Rather, it split in half, increasing the number of impact points.

‘Shin and flank.’

The areas I would be hit.

‘A strong poison that will cause shock within a minute if hit. A special feature is that it’s mixed with a lot of magic power… the hit area will probably melt like jelly… and it’ll spread, gradually rotting the area… more details…’

I’d have to get hit to know more.

• Chwaaaak!

“Ageuk――?!”

As soon as I released the accelerated thought, the poisonous liquid poured onto my body. I fell backward as if hit by a cannonball, and soon the effects of the poison began to spread through my body.

“Ah, eu, ah…?”

“I never thought you’d actually get hit by that.”

• Chiik…

Ignoring Shuriel’s sigh, my lower body, which I looked down at, was in a state too terrible to describe.

Holes were pierced through the areas where the poison had touched, and the melted flank spilled out blackened intestines. The shin, with its bones softened, folded over with fat, losing its function.

And the poison was spreading. My head was getting dizzy, and I felt like my heart would stop any second.

“He, eh…”

I clutched my flank with a slightly flushed face.

“I told you to be careful! I feel sorry for your companion, but at least you should run away! Heueup!”

• Seureung!

The knight ignored my fallen form and swung his sword. A flash of light spread out. And a dark trajectory was etched in the air. With that one strike, the spider’s body was split in two, and it began to spray bodily fluids in all directions.

• Chwaaaak!!

The bodily fluids spread too widely to be considered a cut. It had exploded upon death.

“Na, Nari!”

The coachman, seeing the bodily fluids flying towards the carriage, shouted with a pale face.

“Filthy and troublesome bastards.”

• Huung!

He swung the sword without even drawing it from its scabbard. It was an attack without even loading an aura, but a massive amount of wind pressure, as if a cannon had been fired, blew all the flying poison to the side.

“Kieek…”

The spider, split in half, wriggled, making a gradually diminishing cry. Soon, it drooped and melted away. With the same components as the poison it had been spewing.

“…This is a mess.”

• Deolkeok!

Hoo. With a sigh, the knight raised his visor and looked at me, rotting on the ground, with a gloomy expression.

“Civilian control is not my forte. I’m a failure.”

“It’s unsightly to be self-deprecating with that bulk. Just laugh instead.”

“Is that so? I think so too. But laughter only has value when it’s used in the right place.”

How can you laugh in front of a human who will soon be a corpse? It was a question with a hint of sarcasm.

• Kirik…

But Shuriel didn’t answer, focusing on the cries coming from deep within the forest beyond.

A sound so small that it was hard to hear, so small that only I and Shuriel could hear it.

‘At least five of them.’

‘Well, I see more like seven.’

I read Shuriel’s thoughts and answered.

‘They’re charging here, right?’

‘It seems the one that died earlier released pheromones.’

The knight didn’t seem to notice, but more ferocious spiders than before were rushing towards this place.

Shuriel smelled the increasingly close scent of poison and said.

“Before answering the question, we need to prepare to fight.”

“Hmm? I thought we cleared out all the spiders nearby―”

• ――Kieeeeeeeek!!!!

At that moment, a spider three times the size of the one we killed, a super-giant spider that was now more fittingly called a monster, crashed through the trees and charged at us.

“Son of a bitch!”

The knight lowered his visor again and gripped his greatsword tightly.

‘Shall we move soon?’

Hiding my disappointment, I regenerate my flank. I wanted to collect the poison, but the situation wasn’t favorable.

More than that…

‘The spiders were quite far apart…’

The spiders were spaced at regular intervals, but as soon as one died, they all rushed here. Judging from the knight’s words that he had cleared out all the spiders in the vicinity, the ones from other areas wouldn’t have come even if one had died.

‘A kind of report?’

He said it was the work of demons. They might be controlling this situation by borrowing the spiders’ eyes. Like Pluton, who I dealt with before, I should consider disguise or possession. I have to assume all possibilities.

‘Then, have we been discovered? The demons are gathering information even before I’ve entered Pandemonium? It’s not that surprising, but if the demons choose guerrilla warfare, it’ll be quite a headache.’

‘It doesn’t seem like demons who are curious and love to fight would do that, but…’

There are always exceptions. As always.

• Kkeudeudeuk…

The sound of flesh rising is always mesmerizing. The sound of muscles regenerating. The sight of a layer of fat covering it, and a pure white skin being added, never gets old.

“Euchha.”

When I got up from my seat, the knight and Shuriel were fighting the endlessly swarming spiders.

“These evil spider bastards!”

“There are more than I expected. Where are they coming from?”

They keep appearing even after being cut down. Shuriel shouted with an annoyed expression.

“They’re being commanded by someone! It’s useless unless we catch the main body!”

“Something’s wrong! We need to force our way through―”

Right then, I crossed my hands.

“No. There’s no need for that.”

• Chwarak!

When I uncrossed my hands, a magic circle made of several layers appeared. The magic circles, each with its own formula, resonated, rotated, and amplified.

And then, I put my left hand behind me and my right hand forward. As I extended my hand, the layered magic circles separated.

“It seems they were waiting for us to come. To give us such a warm welcome as soon as we arrived in the North.”

One, two, three… I shot blue Mana into the very center of the magic circles lined up in front of me and connected them. Then, with a clear sound of chaeng, the magic circles merged.

Then, with a light gesture, I floated it into the sky.

• Hwaaaak…

A light that brightened the earth even in broad daylight. Geometric, mysterious, and incomprehensible formulas covered the sky. Following the path of that blue Mana, what I saw was――

“Then we should answer them too. My answer is…”

―Violence.

“Fuck off.”

At that moment, irresistible violence poured down from the sky.

• Kwaaaaaaang!!!

Fireballs that melted rocks, icicles that cut just by touching them, lightning that shook the heavens and the earth, exploded towards the spiders. Kung, Kwajik, Paseuseu. The sounds of burning, melting, and being crushed tickled the ears like a symphony.

Of course, it’s an eco-friendly magic that considers Aileen and the Elves. All the magic is broken down into Mana and disappears the moment it hits the spider.

“…Is that why you told me to laugh?”

“Are you laughing now?”