abcnovels
Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Where was that damn Demon hiding?
We checked all the people affiliated with the Temple, those who visited it, and everyone else. For three whole days, we scoured every corner but found nothing.
Even with the description Deathbringer provided, which was quite detailed, not a single sighting had been reported.
“Like a rat…”
Even more frustrating was not knowing whether the Demon was hiding and we simply couldn’t find it, or if it had already fled to another city beyond our reach.
Honestly, it wouldn’t even need to go to another city. Just leaving this one would put it beyond our search range.
Maybe that’s why I couldn’t shake this feeling that we were wasting time.
While it didn’t make my blood boil like my acting would suggest, the frustration of coming up empty-handed did mildly irritate me.
“Those damnable Demons… They really excel at hiding from the light.”
It wasn’t just my character who was furious. The Inquisitor was also seething with rage. This morning, she’d spread Divine Power over the entire city, so there was no need for any further explanations.“Have you found anything?”
“Nothing.”
However, we were the only ones so worked up about this. Bers and Deb, who’d just returned from their hunt today, were busy devouring their food.
“Young hunter, eat this.”
More importantly, those two seemed to be getting along quite well. I watched as Bers pushed food, especially dishes containing fruit, toward Deb.
It was quite the heartwarming sight, though less so when you saw Deb’s face turning pale as he smiled.
“Th-Thank you.”
It seemed he was already full yet unable to refuse her kindness. He was clearly caught in a situation that he couldn’t escape so easily.
Honestly, it seemed kind of funny.
“Really, nothing?”
“No matter how many times you ask, what could I have possibly found out? All I got to smell was the stench of beasts.”
It might seem amusing from an outside perspective, but for Deb, it must have been incredibly awkward. His tone, rising in his frustration, made that abundantly clear.
“If you’re so curious, why don’t you come along?”
Deb grumbled as he shoved the fruit into his mouth, seemingly giving up on the salad Bers kept pushing toward him.
“Urgh…”
But there was some truth in his words.
As I ate my share of soup, I wondered if I should continue searching for the Demon tomorrow or join the beast hunt, as Deb suggested.
The more I thought about it, the latter seemed to be the better option.
I wasn’t some tracking specialist, but we’d already invested three days into this.
Considering we hadn’t found anything even after searching all this time, it might be best just to give up. Instead, we should focus on finding the cause of this situation.
Completely wiping out the beasts might be a solution, albeit a rather short-sighted one.
“Mhm! Mhmhm mmmh!”
At that moment, Bers made noises, her mouth full of food. She had so much food packed in her mouth that she couldn’t speak properly.
“…Berserk, please swallow first before speaking.”
“Puhah!”
It was somewhat impressive how she managed to gulp down such a large amount of food with just one swig of her drink.
“Berserk thinks I saw something strange in the forest!”
“What?”
“I didn’t really see it with my eyes… Hrmmmm.”
She crossed her arms and tilted her head in thought before an exclamation point appeared above her head. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
“It felt like something annoying was watching me and the young hunter.”
“Something annoying…?”
“Could it be the Demon?!”
“I don’t know! Just a feeling!”
“Ah, just a feeling, huh?”
The Inquisitor’s expression became perplexed at Bers’ exclamation. She’d apparently lost all confidence upon hearing that it was just a feeling.
On the other hand, Deb didn’t lose interest when she mentioned it was a feeling. Instead, he seemed to be thinking something like, ‘Why didn’t I notice?’ It looked like he’d decided to believe in that feeling since sensing someone’s gaze was always like that.
As for me, I felt the same way Deb did. After all, characters like Bers usually had intuition bordering on foresight.
Whether it was the Demon or the cause of this beast situation, something was definitely inside that forest.
“Are you certain?”
“Demon Knight?”
“Berserk doesn’t lie!”
Alright then, that settled it.
I grasped my Zweihänder, which had been leaning against the table. The sun hadn’t set yet, so we had plenty of time.
“We’ll scour the forest and catch its tail no matter what.”
Well, even if we didn’t have much time, it wouldn’t matter.
My character would never tolerate any delays in this.
“…”
“Wahaha! The forest at night sure has a nice atmosphere!”
“That nice atmosphere has been completely ruined because of you…”
“There aren’t many adventurers in the forest at night.”
“Of course not. Unlike you, most adventurers aren’t strong enough to hunt wild beasts barehanded in the dark.”
As expected, once I decided to go, Bers even left behind her beloved alcohol and food to follow.
With Bers stepping up, the Inquisitor also resolutely declared, ‘I cannot overlook the possibility of a Demon’s presence in these woods,’ and joined us.
As for Deb, once the Inquisitor decided to come along, he couldn’t help but join as well, clutching his head in frustration.
I suspect his true intention wasn’t a genuine desire to be with us but rather an inability to leave us three loose cannons unsupervised. Not to mention, the Archmage, who usually kept us in check, wasn’t around.
“Haah. Why am I even here…?”
He always ended up as the meat shield.
“Couldn’t we have notified the Archmage before coming here…?”
Indeed. But wasn’t it the Archmage’s fault for leaving, knowing full well that the three of us left together were like a runaway train?
Or maybe he trusted that Deb would join us and act as our voice of reason in his absence?
“I left a note.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Siiigh…”
In any case, it only stressed Deb more. I felt a little sorry for him and prodded Bers for more information.”
“Where did you feel the gaze coming from?”
No matter how determined I was, I didn’t want to search the entire foggy forest without a single lead.
“Was it further in? Or maybe right from the start?”
Oh… that’s… pretty vague.
From the start or deeper in, huh? Was it watching them from inside the forest, and the closer they got, the stronger the feeling grew?
Hmm. Should we just go further in? But this forest was huge and connected to the Great Forest.
“Which direction?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure. It felt like the gaze was following us no matter where I looked.”
“And now?”
“Nothing.”
Hmmmmmm.
Did we really have to search the whole place without even a vague direction? There had to be a clue somewhere.
“If you have complaints, go back.”
“Are you crazy? How can I leave you guys alone? And besides, we’re too far in just to turn back now, you know?”
Suddenly, I remembered Deb’s testimony about feeling like a whale was floating in the sky.
He’d dismissed it, saying it may have just been a cloud, but… I don't know. It didn’t seem like a mistake to me.
Moreover, the feeling of being watched from all directions usually meant…
“That gaze. Did it come from above?”
It had to be, right? It had to have been from above, right?
Bers blinked at my question. Shortly after, her platinum eyes, shining under the moonlight, widened in realization.
“Yes, it was from above.”
My gaze naturally lifted to the sky. It was a clear night, with stars and the moon shining brightly.
I pointed my blade upward.
* * *
Boom!
> [That madman.]
Leviathan saw the dark energy shoot up into the sky, darker than the night itself.
It was such a chilling sight that even Pandemonium, standing next to him, stared blankly with their mouth agape.
> […You can say that again. Are you sure that’s not actually Wrath? Never mind his extreme temper, but a mortal vessel handling the power of Wrath that effortlessly?]
> [N-No, I swear, the vessel was definitely in control…]
It would be a major problem if Wrath had regained control, but if the vessel could manage that level of power by itself, that would be a problem in its own right.
Pandemonium and Leviathan were caught in quite the dilemma.
> [No. That’s definitely the vessel’s doing. Were it Wrath, he would’ve just incinerated the entire area instead of wasting energy like that.]
> [Hah. That’s comforting news.]
> […At best, he’s just throwing around Arcane Power.]
> [Yeah. If one looks at it simply. The issue is that a mortal is doing something that should only be possible within our King’s domain.]
> […]
> [That Gretchen. He sure is something else. Despite not being in his true form or within the King’s domain, thus reducing his power to a quarter, he still managed to do that through a mere vessel? There’s a reason he was selected as the second Wrath despite his origins.]
Pandemonium’s words made Leviathan bite his lip. His snake familiar hissed as if trying to comfort him, but the grim reality before him remained.
Behind his pale expression was a mix of relief—‘I’m glad I removed my main body from the sky’—and burning inferiority—‘Why am I fearing someone who can’t even control a mere vessel?’
> [Let’s leave for now. I don’t want to face that crazy vessel and the Hero head-on. I also don’t want to raise suspicion from this land’s Lord, whom we barely convinced to let us stay.]
> […I’ll borrow.]
> [Hmm?]
> […I’ll borrow from you. I’ll also entrust you with acquiring Nightmare Shards from Sloth.]
> […Oh my. Do you even know what the cost of that will be?]
> [Hah. There’s nothing as foolish as making a deal with you.]
> [And yet you’re going through with it?]
> […Yes.]
Leviathan didn’t bother with deeply considering whether this was the right choice.
> [If it means I can humiliate him, it’s worth it.]
Jealousy and envy were the furthest emotions from wisdom.
* * *
Boom!
I finally lowered my sword after unleashing a strike powered by every last bit of my Arcane Power.
Predictably, none of my scattered attacks had hit anything. Whether there was truly nothing in the sky or my technique simply lacked the necessary range, I couldn’t tell.
“If you’ve run out of Arcane Power, should we continue?”
“…Don’t join in on this madness, too, you damn iron wall.”
“Why would you call this madness?! Don’t insult the Demon Knight’s actions!”
“Then you think it’s normal to suddenly attack the sky with that, that, that thing?!”
“I-If there’s an enemy in the sky, such actions might be very necessary!”
Seriously, why were they fighting over something I did?
I sighed deeply as I watched the two dumplings squabble.
I then surveyed the area, which, thanks to my actions, was now a 16-square-meter clearing. The shockwave had completely obliterated a tree and blown away the fog, leaving the space wide open.
Good grief. If I was going to use this skill, I should have practiced narrowing its area of effect and extending its range beforehand. But here we are.
It seemed I was still a long way off from mastering this skill.
“Oooh! Impressive as ever. How do you condense your Arcane Power like that?”
On the other hand, Bers looked rather impressed by my brute-force approach.
“I-I want to do that, too!”
Her simple-minded nature found this direct, destructive attack quite appealing indeed.
“Hmm, like this? Like this?”
If she could mimic this in one go, I might feel a bit offended, right?
I watched Bers as she attempted to gather her Arcane Power. Straining with all her might, she successfully formed a tiny orb of light in her hands.
Boom!
“Pahah!”
No matter how hard she tried, it just wasn’t working. I instinctively knew that Bers wouldn’t be able to use this technique.
“Don’t have enough Arcane Power…”
She had too little Arcane Power, far too little to even meet the minimum requirements.
“Uuurgh.”
Even though the incomplete orb of magic had exploded, Bers acted as if nothing had happened.
Her palms showed no signs of injury. I didn’t know whether it was because of her thick skin or because she’d simply used too little Arcane Power.
“How can I get as much Arcane Power as you?”
Well, for me, Arcane Power and Stamina just steadily increased with each level up.
I didn’t know how to increase it through regular training. If there was a method like that, I’d like to know, too. Who wouldn’t want free stat boosts?
“I’ve heard that the amount of Arcane Power one has is entirely innate…”
“Urgh. Really?”
“Yes. Although training can help increase it somewhat, I’ve heard it doesn’t lead to any significant changes.”
…Is that so?
Then why did my Arcane Power almost double when I removed the seal?
I had some ideas as to why, but… I’d prefer not to think about it. Let’s just say there simply isn’t a way.
Let’s just assume this character was born with a ton of Arcane Power.
“That’s a shame.”
Meanwhile, Bers seemed rather disappointed by the notion that Arcane Power was mostly innate.
I was worried she might throw a fit, but luckily, she seemed to accept that some things are simply impossible.
“So, what will you do now? It doesn’t seem to be in the sky…”
On the other hand, Deb had no time for idle conversations about Arcane Power. He was already worried about what to do next, and he was right; this was the most crucial issue.
Based on the clues, I’d guessed it might be in the sky and launched an attack, but nothing seemed to be there—at least, I hadn’t hit anything.
So, we were left with two options.
“Should we just head back—”
Admit defeat and return.
“I’m not leaving without finding that Demon.”
Or refuse to give up and continue searching the forest.
For the record, my character would always choose the latter. At this point, it felt as though a devil was whispering, ‘Are you scared?’ in my ear, so there was no way I was backing down, either.
“Wahahaha! Let’s go!”
“Yes! Let’s keep searching!”
“Uuuurgh.”
Wahaha. Let’s go.
____