An uncomfortable companion (4)
"…"
"…"
"…"
Speechless.
Everyone just stood there and watched. They watched the young man walking away leaving a golden trail, and the people had no choice but to be bewildered at what they had just seen.
Airn Pareira.
The pride of the Krono Swordsmanship school, the man everyone paid attention to, and the hope of Hale Kingdom.
However, because of his many impersonators, no one knew what the real Airn looked like. They could only distinguish him through the many characteristics that were said to be a part of him.
For example, the presence of Lulu, the talking cat which accompanied him. Apart from the cat, there was also the sorcery sword which emitted a brilliant gold light.
Aron didn't have either, so they ridiculed him.
But now things had changed.
One by one, they looked at where Airn disappeared, their faces clearly indicating that they weren't able to process what they had just seen.
'I… what do I do…'
'No, if he was the real one, why didn't he say anything?'
'I, I don't think I said too many bad things!'
'It should be fine, right? It cannot be a huge deal.'
But not everyone was like that.
However, there were those among the group who were overly glaring at him and those who were admonishing him, holding onto the name of the Wise Guild. They were the people who worried the most.
Even if it wasn't much, Gael Wise couldn't ignore the influence of a young Sword Master.
What's more, if one thought about the Krono School and Airn, then they would inevitably think about his relationships with the Lindsay family and the Lloyd family.
"We will move as well."
At that moment a voice rang out. It was Gael Wise who amplified his voice with magic.
"It is good that Sword Master Airn Pareira went out, but unless we know how powerful the demon is we can't rest assured. A devil might be lurking around."
"…"
"T-then…"
"I will not force you. But we iintend to follow the young hero. If you share the same feeling, prepare yourself."
With those words, Gael Wise called the others, grasped the situation and prepared to face the enemy. The travelers were stuck with the situation. They had to face the devil.
It wasn't because they had the courage to perform such noble deeds. It was because some of them were afraid to break away from the crowd, and others didn't have the courage to look at Airn.
There were many among the group who would follow and watch the situation before deciding to fight or run away depending on how things turned out.
"I think Gael Wise thinks the same."
"Huh?"
"Airn ran to the hostage by himself to save them, but if the entire group heads there, there is a chance for Airn to become burdened and disturbed. They will pretend to follow along now. We will move slowly and look at the condition… if there is a devil there, we will have to run. If we stay, it'll just be an unavoidable sacrifice."
"…"
"Vulcan… no. Vulcanus?"
"Vulcanus is correct."
"You don't like Mr. Vulcanus much, Ethan?"
"Whatever…"
Ethan looked at Giovanni. Vulcanus waved his hand.
"You must have heard from the elf, it is what it is."
"Then he really is…"
"Ah, I don't know."
Vulcanus silenced them as he didn't want to speak.
Ethan had wondered just how impossible it would be to treat Airn the way he did before, but it was difficult to deal with this dwarf too!
Wasn't this man the best blacksmith on the continent? The one who made the Numbering Swords?
Thinking about it, it had already happened. They made mistakes.
They played too many jokes and might have said words to make them feel bad…
As he thought, Jarin approached them and asked.
"As Mr. Vulcanus said, we will move slowly, okay?"
"What?"
"I am talking about Airn. It looks like he went straight to their den, would he be fine there?"
Ethan, Giovanni and Kenan's expressions hardened. Right. They forgot it for a while, but this was the most important thing.
Even if he was a Sword Master, even if he could handle the demons, if a Devil was lurking around, it would be a bigger problem.
They didn't have the time to be lazy. But they couldn't move on their own either.
Despite their party having experts, they couldn't handle this situation alone.
"It is fine."
But Vulcanus seemed calm. He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it.
'Phew,' and exhaled it as he said,
"Let me tell you something in case you suffer later."
Most of the devils had awakened in the present human world. But they couldn't help but be puzzled…especially the ones who had vague memories of the past.
It was because the strength of the humans was much stronger than expected. The number of their kind that was subjugated without even being able to hurt the humans was exceeding double digits, and if that wasn't enough, they continued to be pursued persistently.
The Devils had to hide their nests more secretly and act more cunningly.
However, there were those who didn't do that.
Such was the case with the recently revealed devil.
He was planning to grow while enjoying the human world splendidly, rather than living his life in vain, avoiding the paladins.
'Let's enjoy it to the fullest!'
But he didn't openly go to places. Like most devils, he didn't like moving much from his home.
Instead, he focused on contracting with humans and chose to exert his influence on the outside world through the demons under his command.
This helped the army of the Veil Devil to confuse the surroundings around them and gain power. After abducting the humans and corrupting them, they were transformed into servants. The good news for the veil devil was that the paladins were recently called back to the capital of Avilius.
He, who should have been subjugated right away, was holding onto life a little longer and that was why he thought he could create a kingdom of his own and take up the position of the Demon King.
Confidence arose within him the faster he created his servants!
A single human man attacking such demons of his was nothing more than a weak mosquito.
"Hmm, hmm."
He didn't care in the beginning.
Even though the monsters were quickly falling, they were just consumables to him.
The demons who sensed the intruder, were already moving there, so the situation would be resolved in a while.
The veil devil continued to do what he was doing. He glanced at the torture tools he arranged in a meticulous manner.
Wheeing-
"Um…what is that?"
"It seems like the intruder is pretty good."
"…"
"H-He will be dealt with right away."
Seeing the demon leader who left to handle it immediately, the anger of the veil devil softened.
He felt like he wanted to blow up his men's heads.
But the demon which left now was the most useful of the ones he turned, and he looked after most of the matters regarding the veil devil.
His mind was full of thoughts on how to corrupt the 4 experts he captured and how to make them his own. That was why his response to this intruder was delayed.
After a while, the veil devil sensed something strange and clenched his fist.
Chh!
The tools for torture, which he had carefully maintained, were distorted. But he didn't have the time to worry about it.
The landscape within the nest, along with the state of his contracted humans and his servants conveyed it.
They were not there anymore.
More than half of them were gone!
It was when the veil devil thought it was absurd, and looked at the demons who were left.
Whooo!
"Ugh!"
The devil frowned.
Putting his hand on his trembling head, he recalled the human man he saw from his subordinate's view and remembered the blow.
The golden great sword which seemed to be capable of breaking through anything.
He saw the aura sword which tightly covered the surface of the great sword. Confirming the presence of the Sword Master, rage flowed in his black eyes.
"How dare that bastard try to take over my kingdom…!"
Woong!
The veil devil stretched out his arms on both sides. And an eerie darkness wrapped around him like a veil. The devil who grew three times its size in an instant sharpened his claws.
He was in the middle of creating a kingdom!
At this rate, he was going to build an army to tackle the paladins!
However, a certain guy had come and stood in his way and messed up all his plans.
He couldn't tolerate it.
What this man did was a sin which couldn't be repaid even in death.
'I will turn you into a demon.'
The devil had an evil smile. It is difficult to corrupt a human with a strong will,especially so if it was a human with excellent skills. This was because they were confident that they could achieve everything without giving up on anything.
To sign a contract, a human would have to need a desire for it. They needed to be frustrated about something he could never reach.
That was the specialty of the veil devil. He would cast a veil of darkness over the minds of others, causing a feeling of extreme frustration and deprivation.
Thinking about it like that, he thought that today's happenings weren't too bad.
A single Sword Master had entered his nest. So, it was unlikely that the man who came was a fool.
But,
"…"
The moment when his eyes met the human swordsman who finally appeared in front of him.
He saw the will of the swordsman in his eyes.
The moment the man came face to face with the devil with a firm sword and faith…
The veil devil had to change his thoughts.
Tung!
Kwakwang!
The devil stomped his feet. His body vertically shot up and flew upwards for a long time after breaking through the ceiling.
And he wasn't falling. The veil of darkness around him was acting like wings. He realized that he had no chance of winning after he saw the eyes of the man. The devil's speed of running away was as fast as Kirill's Griffin.
'It will be difficult to catch up.'
But it is fine.
Airn looked up at the sky and raised the greatsword above his head.
A black existence which seemed to melt the light of the sun was fleeing farther and farther away.
But he wasn't worried. He didn't hesitate, and there was no fear that he would miss the devil.
Before long a golden aura was shot out from Airn's Sword.
"…!"
Whoop!
Whoop!
And that was it.
Airn, who completely erased the devil's body as well as the curse of it, slammed the sword into the ground.
Thud!
He came here to take down the devil, but also to rescue the innocent ones who had been kidnapped. The energy of good intentions flowed through the sorcery great sword.
Seeing that the devil's nest was slowly being purified, Airn rushed to check the physical condition of the hostages.
And it happened really quick.
The work was done too.
For that reason, none of the people of the merchant party could appreciate Airn's work. But no one doubted his strength.
"…"
"…"
"…"
A bright warm light was creeping in the twilight.
At the center of it was the hero who was taking care of the hostages, and the people watching it without a word.