Ch.117Devil – 2

“My lord, is this really the right place?”

“We’re almost there. Just a bit further.”

Serena approached me, surrounding her body with mana to deflect all the sand particles flying toward her.

Rather than doubting my directions, she seemed more concerned about the sand particles hitting my face during our journey.

When she reached out to brush the sand off my face, I shook my head to indicate I was fine. It would just accumulate again anyway.

Serena and I were crossing a vast wasteland on horseback.

Here and there stood bizarrely shaped rock mountains, worn down by sand-laden winds over countless years, and sparse, withered trees on the verge of crumbling.

I could taste bitterness along with the sensation of sand grains in my mouth, carried by the gusting wind.

Despite the rough environment, our horses pressed forward relentlessly, living up to the stable owner’s boasts about their quality.

Serena, wrapped in a dark gray robe pulled over her head, moved closer to me. She had cloth wrapped around the lower part of her face as well, completely covering her entire body.

Her slender thighs and toned arms were all hidden beneath the gray robe, leaving only the skin around her blue eyes exposed.

In her leather-gloved hand was World Eater in its true scabbard, rather than the iron-cast one she had been using until now.

When the jewel emitted a red light, Serena frowned and infused it with mana. The moment she did, the jewel’s light dimmed.

“Still rebellious?”

Noticing my gaze fixed on the World Eater in her hand, Serena slightly raised her right hand.

“It is, my lord, but not enough for you to worry about.”

Serena released the reins and grabbed the scabbard and handle of World Eater with each hand, pulling them apart.

With a smooth sound, the sword was easily drawn. World Eater’s metal blade gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.

“See? It comes out perfectly fine.”

Serena demonstratively gripped World Eater and swung it lightly. The mana surrounding the blade was released as a slash, cutting a straight line across the wasteland.

The sound of the slash carving into the ground echoed as it left a deep wound in the rocky, sandy surface. The gash was as tall as three adult men stacked vertically.

World Eater seemed to have the experience of forced physical purification deeply imprinted in its memory, as it was now obediently following Serena’s commands despite having regained its true form.

Seeing my satisfied nod, Serena returned the blade to its scabbard.

“Take good care of it. It should look expensive, but more like a family heirloom or famous sword rather than a demon blade. It would be troublesome if people recognized it as a demon sword. Even the most greedy individuals wouldn’t want to risk death by picking up something like that.”

“Understood, my lord.”

“Let me know immediately if you sense anything approaching. It’s likely they’ve already spotted us by now.”

“You mean anything that approaches, regardless of what it is?”

“That’s right. Human or monster, doesn’t matter. Just tell me if anything comes our way. If it’s not heading toward us, leave it be.”

“It’s happening now.”

“What?”

“Something is approaching us right now, my lord.”

At Serena’s words, I looked around but couldn’t see any silhouettes resembling people or monsters.

“Which direction?”

“East-west direction, approximately 3 kilometers away. It was heading toward us but slowed down behind that rock mountain right ahead. I’ve sensed it for quite some time, but you hadn’t specifically asked until now.”

No wonder I couldn’t see anything approaching in this wasteland where the only obstacles were rocks and sand dust—they were hiding behind that rock mountain, waiting for us to pass by.

They probably had telescopes, and since we were heading toward the rock mountain anyway, they were likely planning to ambush us when we arrived.

“Perfect timing. How many are there?”

“Sixteen in total.”

Accurately determining the direction, identity, and number of approaching entities without using magic was another fragment of Serena’s mana sensing ability.

According to Serena, she could read changes in the mana flowing through the air. When I told Charlotte about this, she immediately created a new spell for reading mana flows.

In other words, Serena could constantly use an ability that Charlotte needed to cast a spell to access.

While Christine’s mana nullification was truly an overpowered ability, Serena’s ability was equally useful in its own way.

“Do you remember the precautions I mentioned?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Recite them one by one.”

“Endure any insults they direct at you or me. Don’t swing my sword recklessly, only slightly reveal its appearance. Don’t remove my robe before you signal. Don’t kill them before you command me to. Those are the four points.”

“You remember well. You must follow those rules, okay? Especially the part about enduring any insults I receive. You must follow that no matter what. If they run away, we’ll have to find others elsewhere.”

“…Yes. Understood, my lord.”

Her response was slower than usual, suggesting she was quite displeased with the idea of having to endure while I was being mocked.

But what could we do? To prepare the sacrifices, we first needed to confirm what kind of people they were.

I slightly opened the pouch tied to my saddle to reveal the gold coins inside, adjusted my attire made of high-quality fabric, and our horses steadily walked toward the rock mountain.

“Their movements are becoming more restless, my lord. They will likely attack us soon.”

“Alright. Just keep going as we are.”

As Serena said, when we approached the rock mountain, we could hear sounds of movement from above. They didn’t seem to care about concealing their presence.

From the looks of it, they were the kind of opponents I could handle even without Serena, yet here I was, having to pretend to be robbed by such lowlifes.

‘If you fail to die this time too, just wait and see.’

I glared at World Eater.

The reason I was out here in the wasteland, cosplaying as a rich young master—something completely out of character for me—was all because of the demon residing in that sword.

If it later made excuses about insufficient sacrifices, I would throw it straight into purgatory to melt, regardless of any other options.

“Halt right there!”

An arrow struck the ground right in front of me with a thud. Taking that as a signal, several more arrows flew toward us. I gently gripped the reins and stopped my horse.

Serena held the still-sheathed World Eater in one hand, pretending to scan the surroundings cautiously. Several arrows were also embedded in the ground in front of her horse.

Rough-looking men poured out from nearby. There was no need to count them—they would be exactly sixteen, as Serena had said.

I glared at the men who began to surround us, my expression showing annoyance.

“Who are you?”

“Us? We’re just very kind adventurers. You look scared, but there’s no need to be afraid. See how nice and friendly we look?”

“Ah, you do look that way.”

“Hey, you’re quite understandㅡ”

“There’s a saying that ugly people tend to be kinder. I don’t know if that’s true or just self-consolation from people like you, but if it is true, you must be as kind as a holy maiden from the Sacred Order. Maybe you should have more confidence?”

My sarcastic remark wiped the smile off his face. Chuckles leaked from the circle of men surrounding us.

“You little bastard!”

“Oh, it was just a joke. You looked so kind and friendly that I thought I’d make a little joke, but you can’t take it. So, what brings our ‘kind and friendly adventurer’ to this wasteland? And why shoot arrows at travelers minding their own business?”

As I emphasized the phrase “kind and friendly adventurer” twice, his face flushed red and blue, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Honestly, I was surprised.

He had more patience than I expected. I thought he would snap and charge at me with curses. It seemed I needed to continue this conversation a bit longer.

“…Well, this kind and friendly adventurer stopped you to offer some help.”

“Help? I can find my way just fine without it. You’ve got the wrong address.”

“No, you definitely need our help.”

“For what reason?”

The man spread his arms wide with an exaggerated gesture.

“Because there’s a giant death worm ahead! This wasteland is their territory. If you don’t want to be eaten along with your horses, you obviously need to stop here. Don’t you agree?”

A giant death worm, huh? Was there such a thing in this wasteland?

I glanced at Serena, who subtly shook her head from side to side. It meant there was no such thing.

In other words, this talk about a giant death worm was just a complete lie mixed with bluster to intimidate us.

“That sounds scary. So, what’s the connection between this giant death worm and you stopping us?”

“There’s a big connection! I’m a very kind and friendly adventurer, you see. So how could I stand by and watch a refined young master like you walk ignorantly into that wasteland and end up feeding that creature? Of course I had to stop you and warn you.”

“Warning? That’s nice. Thanks for the advice. Now that I’ve heard it, can I go?”

“Oh no, that won’t do. We saved your lives, so naturally you should pay a life-price before leaving. Surely a young master like you isn’t so stingy?”

As he spoke, the man slightly raised his weapon. The other ruffians forming the encirclement followed suit.

“We didn’t request this information in the first place.”

“My, my. You’re completely ignorant of how the world works. How do you expect to navigate this harsh world with that mindset? Hmm? Regretting it after being eaten by a giant death worm won’t do you any good. We prevented that from happening! That makes us practically the saviors of your life!”

“Stop talking nonsense. Move aside and let us pass.”

As I showed clear annoyance and tried to start my horse moving, an arrow immediately flew and landed right in front of the horse’s hoof.

It was a bit closer than the first arrow they had shot.