Ch.17Chapter 17. Half-Bloods Are Too Strong (2)

17. Half-Blood is Too Strong (2)

Lakye leaped up onto the roof of a nearby house and moved from rooftop to rooftop.

At this point, he seemed more like a ninja than a barbarian.

“I’m going in.”

Lakye climbed onto the roof of the house suspected to be the lesser demon’s hideout and swung his curved blade with flair.

Slash-!

A cut line appeared on the roof, and it immediately caved in. In an instant, a hole large enough for a person to enter formed.

I’m beyond being surprised at this point.

Lakye infiltrated through the hole and surveyed the inside of the house with eyesight superior to that of humans. The lesser demon was quickly spotted.

A house filled with ominous energy and silence. A giant snail-like monster was leaning against the bookshelf in the study, looking down at us.

And it had hideous tentacles protruding from various parts of its shell.

Grrrr…

It made a strange sound as it slowly raised its body.

– What a horrific creature.

So this is a demon. It certainly doesn’t have an appearance friendly to humanity.

“I’ll finish this quickly.”

Lakye approached the creature with composure. His posture was agile and cautious.

The snail demon raised the part that looked like its head. Long tentacles sprouted from its head, which was covered in mucus.

I had a useless thought about what would happen if we transplanted those onto bald people’s scalps.

Ah, please focus, me!

While I was distracted, Lakye moved first and swung his curved blade at the creature’s body, specifically its shell.

Wait, isn’t that the hard part? Wouldn’t it be better to cut the soft tentacles first and then aim for the head…

Slash!

With one strike, the snail demon’s shell was cut off, and green blood gushed out!

The snail demon seemed surprised and recoiled, and Lakye didn’t miss the opportunity to dive in while it was vulnerable.

Then began dozens of slashes.

Thud!

The creature died with its head chopped off, unable to put up any resistance.

“It was a low-grade one even among lesser demons. It would have been troublesome for someone with a weapon of low cutting power, but for me… Shall we wait for Kanto and the warriors now?”

Lakye sat down leisurely on a nearby chair.

He didn’t even glance at the giant snail that was still writhing.

Gurr…

The snail demon twitched and barely moved before finally turning to ash and disappearing.

Is this what ‘strength’ is? Or is it the composure of the strong?

– Well done. You’re an amazing warrior.

“I am Malak’s blade. I have to be amazing.”

Lakye spoke with confidence.

Lakye… is kind of cool. Is this what they call a girl crush or something?

“H-His voice has stopped!”

“Something must have happened to him!”

“What’s going on!”

“Hurry and check!”

The cultists, sensing the death of the lesser demon, were rushing toward us when…

“They are enemies of Malak! Kill them all and offer them to the altar!”

Kanto smashed the village gate with his double-bladed axe.

“Uwaaaaah!”

Barbarian warriors armed with all sorts of weapons stormed into the village. With the Brown Rock tribe warriors mixed in, there was no uniformity at all.

“G-God!”

“What should we do…!”

“We can’t hear his voice anymore!”

The confused cultists were swept away like the ebbing tide.

Despite surely having physical abilities superior to humans due to demonic modification, the cultists died like a disorganized mob.

The war ended in an overwhelming victory for the barbarians.

[There is a blessing you can learn!]

An enormous score came in instantly. Perhaps because of the lesser demon Lakye killed plus dozens of cultists, my stagnant score increased explosively.

I learned the blessing and checked the information.

[Binding Totem: You can dwell in totems other than the one you’ve descended upon. You can use blessings in that state. However, it must be a totem made for your worship. Also, the quality of blessings you can bestow upon believers varies depending on the size of the totem or the magical power used to create it.]

Not a binding band but a binding totem? Are you going to make a binding totem band later? Can we stop with the totems already?

Still, this is good. It’s a useful blessing.

Though the explanation is long, the content is simple. If priests make a Malak totem, I can dwell in it. If I dwell in that totem, I can bestow blessings on the barbarians, though the average quality might be lower.

So if they make a huge totem infused with plenty of magic, I could use it as my new main body?

This is a better blessing than divine possession.

Divine possession. After using it for a while, I can clearly see it’s too inefficient.

It consumes too much of my mental energy to maintain the blessing. Is it because I’m possessing someone else’s body, even if they are my subordinate?

I also seem to feel the fatigue experienced by the subordinate I possess.

Anyway, my third blessing seemed excellent just from the description.

I could set up a new totem in this village we just raided and use it to monitor… no, I have an even better idea.

I’ll gather the priests tomorrow and discuss it.

“Hahaha! Brave warriors of the Blue Moss tribe! Strong warriors of the Brown Rock tribe! We did it! We defeated the demon and its worshippers!”

Kanto swung his double-bladed axe around, praising the warriors. He’s first-class when it comes to performance and showmanship.

– Tell Kanto we’re heading back.

“Understood.”

I’m getting tired now. I’ve used divine possession for too long.

“Now, let’s go feast! Warriors of the Brown Rock tribe! You can look forward to it! Our tribe’s traditional liquor is amazing!”

“Ohhh!”

Following my command, Kanto led the men out of the village like a football quarterback. He’s a typical alpha male.

– I’ll go ahead and wait.

I took that opportunity to naturally withdraw my divine possession.

I didn’t want to feel like vomiting again because of Lakye’s cheetah-like speed.

***

After the injured warriors were healed with my blessing ‘Healing Totem (Intermediate),’ a grand feast was held.

It was a celebration to welcome the newly joined tribe and to commemorate the defeat of the lesser demon and its worshippers.

Due to Kanto’s strong initiative, more than half of the poor chickens living in the chicken coop—I mean, feather house—became snacks for the barbarians.

Paya seemed disapproving but appeared to understand as she nodded in acceptance.

“…and then I split the creature’s head in half with this double-bladed axe-!”

The voice of Kanto, the man with the loudest voice in both tribes, reached all the way to the altar.

This guy is drinking and bragging about his exploits again. He’s such a young boomer.

While I was listening from afar to the bustling feast filled with children’s laughter, women’s applause, and men’s cheers all mixed together…

“Would you like a drink? Do you have something that functions as a mouth?”

Lakye, the only barbarian not participating in the feast, waved a wooden cup in front of me.

– I cannot drink.

“That’s a shame.”

I think so too. Back on Earth, I enjoyed buying a can of beer after my convenience store shift and drinking it while watching YouTube at home.

By the way, why is this woman drinking alone next to me?

– Why aren’t you participating in the feast? You’re the one who killed the lesser demon. You could have boasted about your exploits.

“Isn’t it tasteless to brag about your own achievements?”

Kanto suddenly getting dissed. This person seems to really dislike Kanto.

“Besides, I’ve never once dined with the tribe members.”

So it’s not just Kanto she dislikes, but humans in general?

– Why is that? You’re the chief.

“Well…”

Lakye smiled wryly.

“We’re not on the same level. They are different from me. In every aspect.”

What is this, some kind of supremacist ideology?

“I didn’t become chief out of any great sense of duty or responsibility. It’s just that I’m vastly superior to them, so it inevitably turned out this way.”

Has she become naturally arrogant because she’s a half-blood of a god, something like a demigod?

After taking a sip of alcohol, Lakye spoke again.

“They don’t think of me as one of them either. Have you heard the rumors about me?”

– To some extent.

“Did you also hear that at first, no one believed my mother when she said she met and made love with Lord Lakan in a dream? And that she was bullied because of it?”

– That’s the first I’ve heard of it.

Lakye smiled bitterly.

“No one talks about that. They said a civilized whore was secretly selling her body… They said such things in front of my pregnant mother. Only the priest Muri believed her.”

Discrimination and ostracism. People are the same everywhere.

“My mother died after giving birth to me. Having received Lakan’s energy in a human body, she was destined for a short life. I was alone from the moment I was born. Boring story, isn’t it?”

Lakye didn’t refer to Lakan as ‘Lord.’ Nor did she call him ‘father.’

– I didn’t know about those circumstances.

So she wasn’t just a simple supremacist.

“It’s alright. It’s all in the past. I’m not alone anymore… I’m starting to feel the alcohol. May I lean on you for a moment?”

– I don’t mind.

Lakye leaned against the totem and gently closed her eyes.

It must have been hard for Lakye too. She went straight to hunt the demon after a forced march.

I’ve also been through a lot today… I fell asleep feeling Lakye’s warmth.

Or rather, I almost did.

“Wh-What are you doing here! Chief Lakye of the Brown Rock tribe! You should sleep inside!”

Paya, who had somehow come to the altar with a water container and cloth, shouted loudly.

Ah, was today the day to polish the totem?

“You’re noisy. I was just resting my eyes because I’m tired.”

Lakye opened her eyes slightly.

“I am the priest of the Blue Moss tribe! Chief Lakye! Use honorifics!”

“You’re making me even more tired. I think I’ll stay longer.”

“I-I’ll call big brother, I mean Chief Kanto!”

“Go ahead.”

Lakye closed her eyes again, trying to sleep.

She’s really not suited to be a chief.