Ch.126Chapter 126 – The Deserted Village (4)

The woman swung her hammer.

I quickly changed my weapon to an identical hammer and swung it.

-CLANG!!

“Ha, I blocked it!”

The woman shouted triumphantly, her voice somehow excited.

Behind her, the succubus cried out in surprise.

“How, how did you…?”

“For complicated matters, ask that person!”

The woman swung her hammer while maintaining the collision.

I used that force to step back slightly and readjust my stance.

“Hmm…”

My arm feels numb.

Even that brief collision sent a shock through my arm.

Not enough to make me drop my weapon, but if it had been someone else, their arm might have broken rather than just gone numb.

“Let’s see how long you can keep blocking!”

She must not normally have such an aggressive personality, but my opponent charged at me while swinging her hammer.

This time I switched to a halberd and engaged with her.

We began fighting, exchanging blows.

I deflected her attacks, dodged, and traded several strikes.

Then, spotting a momentary opening, I quickly lowered my stance and swung the halberd wide.

She leaped back to avoid the halberd and shouted:

“Thank goodness, thank goodness, really thank goodness!!”

“What’s so fortunate about this?!”

Beatrice hurled a fireball toward the opponent who was shouting with joy and excitement.

She must have been waiting for an opening, as the fireball was as large as my body.

The opponent swung her hammer in midair, easily neutralizing the fireball, and Beatrice clicked her tongue.

“There weren’t many left in the demon realm who could exchange blows with me! To think I’d find someone worth fighting right after coming to the middle realm!!”

She spread her hands slightly and began shouting loudly toward the ceiling.

Was it my imagination, or did small pieces of stone fall from the ceiling?

“What are you?!”

“Call me Baphomet!”

She stomped her foot once.

“The great commander of the Demon Lord’s army!!”

She leaped toward me and Beatrice.

We rolled in opposite directions to avoid the swinging hammer.

“First, you!!”

Seeing her swing the hammer, I quickly thrust my halberd.

I aimed for the hammer’s handle, swinging to stop her attack in mid-air.

-CRACK!!

“You dare challenge me to a contest of strength!”

I could see Baphomet applying more force with what looked like a joyful expression.

Then something stirred in her arm with a sound, and muscles bulged, breaking through the arm armor she was wearing.

Our weapons trembled in midair.

A tug-of-war began, with one side pushing, then being pushed back.

“Heh, you’re withstanding my strength?”

She smiled boldly and moved her face closer to mine.

As she applied more force, the weapon slowly began pushing toward me.

As the weapon was pushed to just in front of my nose, I found myself face-to-face with her.

“Put some more strength into it! You’ll be crushed to death!”

“…This!”

I gathered more strength at her provocation.

Ignoring the slight pain in my heart, I applied more force, and red sparks began to fly from my body.

‘I won’t be pushed back!’

As I concentrated, red sparks flew violently, and my weapon began pushing back against hers.

“Uaaaah!!!”

After this test of strength, I swung the halberd with all my might and knocked away her hammer.

The impact sent her arm upward.

“Yes, that’s more like it!”

She shouted with a face devoid of any humor.

She forcefully applied strength again and brought down her hammer.

However, since the direction was easy to read, I quickly rolled to the side.

I could see the ground where I had just been standing deeply cratered, and her laughing loudly.

“Next!”

Just as she was lifting her weapon to swing her hammer again:

“Reverse Gravity!”

With Beatrice’s voice, the opponent’s body was lifted into the air.

“What is this?!”

She began forcibly thrashing her body.

But it was meaningless since she was already floating in the air due to the magic.

Immediately, Beatrice swung her chain.

-CLATTER!

The chain split into nine strands and began binding Baphomet’s body.

“What now?!”

As her body was bound by chains, I could see her panicking and trying to tear them off.

Two strands of the chain immediately snapped.

“Tch!”

Seemingly judging it impossible to keep her bound, Beatrice began swinging the chain.

Thanks to the chain and Baphomet becoming one, Baphomet began to be swung around like a flail.

Seeing this, the succubus began screaming.

“Co… Commander!”

It was the succubus who had been hiding behind a stone wall.

However, having made a sound, she was spotted by Beatrice.

Beatrice began swinging Baphomet toward the succubus.

“Fly away!!!!!”

As the iron chain unwound, Baphomet flew like a shot put.

She crashed through the cave wall along with the succubus.

-BOOM!

The wall they crashed through and destroyed apparently led outside, as light from outside began to stream in.

Seeing this, Beatrice shouted fiercely.

“Togu!”

“Right!”

I nodded at Beatrice’s call and ran toward the hole in the wall.

Climbing over the wall and going outside, I saw Baphomet getting up.

“That hurt a little.”

She said with a smile.

There was a crack in her thick-looking breastplate, probably from the impact of being thrown.

However, there wasn’t a single scratch on her gray skin.

Meanwhile, the succubus beside her lay unconscious, bleeding from the head.

Seeing this, Beatrice spoke with a deflated expression.

“Tough one.”

“I’ve trained hard.”

Baphomet proudly showed off her arm muscles, as if boasting.

“This is getting cumbersome now.”

She put her hand on the breastplate that was cracked and no longer serving its purpose.

Then she tore it off.

-CRACK!

The breastplate shattered with a terrible sound.

She also removed her helmet, tossing it aside as if it were cumbersome.

Except for the cloth binding her chest and gauntlets, her upper body had no protection.

“Now, let’s do this properly.”

With a smile on her exposed gray face, she flexed her muscles.

Just like her arm muscles earlier, her body began to bulge with muscle.

Beatrice and I looked at each other once and took our stances. That’s when:

“Holy Light!”

Christina’s voice came from behind us.

Soon, light shot toward Baphomet, who visibly panicked and jumped to the side.

She quickly picked up the succubus and jumped, but her shoulder was slightly grazed by the light.

“Kugh!”

Baphomet, who hadn’t made a single sound of pain until now, grimaced and grabbed her shoulder.

Despite just barely grazing her, the shoulder appeared blackened as if burned.

Then Christina appeared behind us with a calm face.

“I sensed a more evil presence and quickly came up.”

Perhaps because she was facing demons, Christina was different from usual—calm and serious.

Looking at Christina, Baphomet twisted her face and shouted:

“Damn slave girl!”

Baphomet continued shouting.

“Slave girl who can do nothing without her god! Interfering with a warrior’s battle!!”

Christina responded by silently firing another Holy Light at Baphomet.

Baphomet grimaced and jumped to the side while holding the succubus.

But this time, she didn’t just dodge.

“You think I’ll just take this?!”

I saw Baphomet throw her hammer.

Beatrice and I quickly moved to intercept it.

“‘Protect the lambs.'”

Christina calmly created a shield, and the light shield blocked the hammer.

The shield shattered, and the hammer fell powerlessly to the ground.

“Begone, demon!”

Perhaps because she was a priestess, Christina shouted with an unusually firm and stern expression.

Baphomet responded with an enraged face:

“You think I’ll leave?!”

She shouted as she put down the succubus.

“Not until I land a blow against you who imprisoned our ancestors, us, who fought for freedom from the gods, trying to starve us to death in the prison called the demon realm!!”

Just as Baphomet was about to shout something more and Christina’s expression hardened further:

[Stop.]

At the sudden voice, Baphomet looked around in surprise.

Christina and Beatrice also looked around, startled.

[There’s no need to look around.]

The succubus suddenly rose.

She was still bleeding from her head.

‘What is that….’

That wasn’t the same succubus as before.

It was as if someone was forcibly controlling the succubus’s body.

My instinct told me so.

“Reveal yourself, demon!”

[I don’t feel the need to, slave of god.]

Someone borrowing the succubus’s body spoke thus.

And before that succubus:

-THUD

I saw Baphomet kneel.

“Demon Lord…!”

[Calm yourself, Baphomet.]

The succubus spoke while bringing her hands together.

Magic gathered, and Beatrice quickly waved her hand while Christina swung her staff.

I quickly changed my weapon to a bow and aimed at them.

Instantly, icicles and arrows of light began flying toward the succubus.

[A warrior’s pride should move for the future.]

It was a voice as if admonishing Baphomet.

Baphomet quietly bowed her head and listened to that voice.

[Don’t forget this in your excitement.]

Whoever was borrowing the succubus’s body created a black sphere and launched it, which soon exploded in midair along with the icicles and arrows of light.

Baphomet moved to stand in front of the succubus.

The icicles and arrows of light that penetrated through the black sphere struck her, and finally, the arrow I shot pierced the shoulder that had been touched by Christina’s light.

Bleeding, Baphomet looked at us once, then slightly turned her head toward the succubus.

“…I will obey your words.”

Unlike before, Baphomet muttered in a calm voice.

As she turned her back, Beatrice shouted:

“Stop!”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve realized there are more important matters.”

The hostile attitude from earlier was gone, and she spoke to us in a cold voice.

“For the future…”

Muttering something quietly, Baphomet lifted the succubus.

Perhaps due to firing the black sphere, the succubus hung limply.

“I’ll postpone our match.”

As she stomped the ground, dust rose.

“Should we chase them?”

“…No.”

Whatever method she used, she was already far away.

We could chase after them, but it would be troublesome if we lost them or were counterattacked.

“…Things are going to get complicated from now on.”

Beatrice frowned as she took out a cigarette and smoked.

+

Beatrice stayed outside to smoke more, while Christina and I returned to the cave.

When we returned to the prison in the cave, people were lying down.

Sera was giving medicine to some of them.

“Are the people okay?”

“Fortunately, most of them should be able to resume normal life after a few days of rest.”

Sera pointed to one side with her hand.

Most were lying down, almost unconscious, but some of the stronger, younger men had already recovered somewhat and were sitting and resting.

“It seems they would temporarily stop extracting mana when lives were in danger, trying to extract it for as long as possible. Paradoxically, that’s what prevented a catastrophe.”

Despite her words, Sera’s expression was dark.

It must be because some people were already beyond saving.

“If only I had prepared more proper medicine in advance…”

She seemed to believe she lacked the strength to save everyone.

She looked a bit depressed, perhaps from exhaustion, so I approached her and put my hand on her shoulder.

“You did well.”

Perhaps because I suddenly put my hand on her shoulder, Sera stared at me blankly for a moment, then blushed slightly.

Christina winked at me once, then approached Sera.

“Sera, let’s check the patients’ conditions once more together.”

“Ah…”

When Christina spoke with a smile, Sera’s face brightened.

She managed a small smile as she looked at Christina and me.

“Thank you, both of you.”

“Shall we go then?”

When Christina took her hand, Sera nodded and went inside.

The two immediately began checking the patients’ conditions and taking necessary measures.

As if trading places with them, Eve approached me.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

“I’m glad things seem fine here too.”

Despite my words, Eve looked somewhat tired.

Unlike Sera or Christina, she probably hadn’t cared for patients much before, so she seemed to have used more energy.

“Eve, do you know anything about demons?”

“No.”

Eve nodded carefully.

“At least, at that point in the future I saw, I didn’t know about this.”

If she had known, she would have taken measures on this side as well.

She truly didn’t know.

“Surely that succubus desperately tried to prevent news from spreading.”

Capturing adventurers and merchants was also partly to prevent information from spreading.

“What should we do today?”

“Today we need to take care of the villagers. We can’t just leave them like this.”

Eve said, looking at me.

“Fortunately, according to Seraphina and Christina’s diagnosis, some people will regain their strength tomorrow. We’ll have to leave the rest to them.”

“Will that be okay?”

“We’re also short on time, so we should quickly pass on information about the demons to someone else and entrust it to them.”

After saying that, Eve looked at me with a worried expression.

“More importantly, are you okay, Kay?”

“I’m fine.”

In truth, I wasn’t completely fine.

My heart had started to hurt a little.

I felt like I had pushed myself too hard while blocking Baphomet’s attacks.

‘It should get better with some rest…’

I need to be careful about recklessly drawing on my strength during battle without thinking.

“But who are we going to send the information about demons to?”

I’ve become a target of the Emiris Order, so I shouldn’t approach unnecessary people.

“Of course, we should inform Count Metis. After that, we’ll have to leave it to him.”

“I see.”

We can’t try to solve everything ourselves, and if we did, the Emiris Order would likely frame me with another false accusation.

“I feel a bit irresponsible about this.”

Although we don’t have an obligation to stop them, it feels uncomfortable to know about it and ignore it.

As I was thinking this, Eve gently approached and took my hand.

“Right now, we need to focus on what we must do, and what we can do.”

“You’re right.”

Eve was right.

The reach of my hand is limited right now.

It’s impossible to accomplish everything.

If that’s the case, I should focus on what I can do.

“We need to hurry to the Count’s estate.”

Eve nodded at my words.