I went forward first.
I threw a throwing axe at the closest bandit.
Whirrr— Thud!
“Gaaah!”
Though my strength had weakened significantly, and I couldn’t throw it with as much force, it still followed a smooth trajectory and lodged itself in his neck.
Sienna’s throwing axes were exceptionally sharp.
Even with the strength of an average adult male, they could pierce that easily.
“What the hell are you?!”
“This lanky bastard!”
Since I had appeared after burying an axe in one of their necks, all the bandits’ gazes instantly shifted toward me.
“Just a tall punk….”
“There’s a woman, too?”
More than that…
Now that I’d lost my muscles and body mass, I was even being called lanky.
In the past, they would have hesitated just from seeing my build.
“Get the woman behind him!”
“Break the man’s legs!”
Now, they boldly grabbed their worn-out weapons and charged.
Meanwhile, I was unarmed after throwing my axe, but…
Thud!
“Urgh!”
Weapons? I could always get more.
I reached out and grabbed the throat of the man rushing toward me.
Then—
Crack!
I used Aura to strengthen my grip and snapped his neck.
Normally, I could have done it even without Aura.
I really needed to regain my muscle mass soon.
“Alson!”
“You bastard!”
Thud!
After breaking one man’s neck, I tossed him aside and picked up a weapon from the ground.
A rusty longsword with nicks and chips all over.
…Damn, I miss Gareth’s craftsmanship.
It was a shame that my sword broke in that last battle.
Not to mention, the armor I received from the Boyd family had been dented beyond use, and my frequently worn buff coat was also gone.
At this point, I was completely penniless and unarmed.
I’d like to retrieve the equipment I ordered from the forge, but would I even be able to enter the capital in this situation?
Wouldn’t I get caught at the city gates?
After all, my current status was still that of a Boyd family knight.
And I had left my hard-earned mercenary badge back at the Boyd estate.
…This feels like starting a game over from scratch.
No status, no money, no equipment.
Even my strength and stamina were gone, leaving me only with Aura and some strange abilities.
For the next year or so, I’d need to focus on building myself back up.
But first…
Shlkk!
“Gahk!”
I needed to take care of these bandits and steal some gear.
They were all used to fighting, so at least one of them should have decent equipment.
“This guy knows how to fight!”
“Everyone, attack him together!”
As I easily took down two of them, the remaining bandits started surrounding me.
Well… to be honest, I wasn’t the real danger here.
They were too focused on the “tall lanky guy” to notice.
Behind me, a furious trainer lady was glaring at them.
Whiirrr—!!!
A sharp sound whistled past my ears.
“Guh!”
“What the— Arghh!”
Throwing weapons came flying from behind me, embedding themselves into the bandits.
Not just axes, but spikes, daggers, and more.
Sienna, who had been praising the villagers earlier, must have been truly angry now.
[These guys are absolutely vile.]
Even the devil inside me was cursing at them.
…Huh? Why was he cursing?
I almost doubted my ears.
Did I hear that right?
No matter how bad these guys were, could they really be worse than a devil…?
[Such vile insects—wouldn’t it be fine to offer them as sacrifices?]
Ah.
So that’s what this was about—sacrificial offerings.
As expected of a devil, obsessed with sacrifices.
What kind of scheme was this?
If I offered enough sacrifices, would I automatically become an Apostle or something?
[Do you truly believe I would resort to such petty tricks?]
“You might.”
A devil who had already made me an Apostle candidate—what’s stopping him from turning me into a full-fledged Apostle?
“Die—urk!”
I drove my sword into the neck of a bandit rushing toward me, then picked up the axe he dropped.
The sword I had been using was so worn-out that the axe was a better option.
[You kill people so easily, yet you cling to such pointless stubbornness.]
“…”
Well… he wasn’t entirely wrong.
But since I didn’t even know exactly what “offering sacrifices” entailed, wasn’t it natural for me to be extremely wary?
[It’s not as grand as you imagine. I merely consume the souls within their bodies as my sustenance.]
“…That’s grand enough.”
Devouring souls? That alone was a heavy concept.
Yet he spoke as if he were snacking on something trivial.
[Look at them with those knot-holed eyes of yours—see their sins. They are men who, if left to die, would end up in the hell you humans speak of. Whether they descend and are consumed there, or I consume them now, what difference does it make?]
“They are the type to go to hell.”
“What the hell are you saying?!”
I answered while observing the bandit rushing at me, spitting in rage.
He had just come out of a house, and tangled in his fingers were strands of long hair. His other hand held a sword, its blade drenched in thick, fresh blood.
According to what Sienna told me—
Until this morning, this had been a peaceful village, filled with kind and friendly people.
And yet, these bastards had ravaged such a place.
They would pay for it, even in death.
[Exactly. You are merely passing immediate judgment on those who are doomed to punishment anyway.]
Who was I to judge anyone…?
Thud!
Yet here I was, swinging an axe—no different from exacting personal vengeance.
[Have you only now realized it? Yes, offer their blood and indulge in your own desires.]
“Guh…!”
I looked down at the bandit whose head I had just cleaved with the axe.
And suddenly, I knew.
The method to offer him as a sacrifice naturally came to mind.
I just had to summon thorns and pierce his heart.
A simple ritual.
By doing just that, I would be able to wield that crimson-black power more freely.
[Recover your body quickly. In time, it will become even stronger than before.]
Yes.
As Silvanus said, my withered limbs would soon regain flesh and muscle.
Gareth’s swords and all other equipment would no longer be necessary.
For the power of the thorns would be both my sword and my armor—the spear to strike down those who stand against the descent of Silvanus.
I shall offer this body to you—
“Snap out of it!”
“Ah.”
[…Tsk.]
…Offer what, exactly?
Sienna’s shout jolted me awake, my eyes widening in realization.
Before me lay the corpse of the bandit—
And my left hand, which had been sinking into his chest.
…Shit.
I nearly did it.
“Are you seriously pulling this on me?”
Was this the devil’s temptation?
I had almost handed him a sacrifice, naturally, as if it were the most logical thing to do.
[Hmm, just a little joke.]
Try that joke twice, and I might just cut off my own left arm.
The mark was on my left hand—maybe severing it would help?
[Be mindful of losing parts of your body so carelessly.]
“Don’t talk to me for a while.”
More importantly, I really needed to be careful.
It was absurd how my wariness had dropped just because we had exchanged a few conversations.
Damn that voice.
It was like countless beautiful women whispering sweetly into my ear.
Hearing such a sweet voice, it was only natural for a man’s heart to waver.
“…Hah.”
But I had to pull myself together.
After all, wasn’t it just a voice?
Rather than a devil with nothing but a good voice, the real saint of this era—Sienna, with her generous heart—was far better.
I still couldn’t forget the size of that underwear that had been mixed in with the laundry.
[How vulgar.]
…Vulgar? It’s still better than secretly trying to manipulate someone.
And I told you not to talk to me.
Not like I could block my ears from hearing you.
“Rain, are you okay?”
Just as I finished surveying the aftermath, Sienna approached me with a worried expression.
“Ah, yes, I’m fine.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard….”
See?
When I was nearly ensnared by the devil and left vulnerable, the only one offering me comfort was Sienna.
[If she knew you had just been thinking about her underwear, she wouldn’t be acting so kindly.]
Yeah, well, no way she could hear my thoughts.
Unless you’re some kind of creepy mind-reading devil.
[…]
Well, more importantly—
“Are those the last ones left?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
My gaze drifted past the fallen bandits and settled on a group watching us warily from a distance.
A large man, who appeared to be their leader, stood at the forefront, his subordinates sticking close to him as they glared in our direction.
“…Where the hell did you come from?”
“Does it matter? You’ll be dead soon anyway.”
I answered nonchalantly, picking up a spear from the ground and slowly walking toward him.
“Any chance you’ll let us go?”
“And why would I do that?”
“…We’ll leave this region and never return. We’ll leave behind all our remaining money and equipment.”
Hmm.
He really wanted to live.
For a bandit leader with a sizable group to willingly give up everything—it meant he was truly desperate.
However—
“That’s everything I’d get from just killing you.”
If I killed him, he’d be gone forever, and I’d still get the money and gear.
I spun the spear in my hand and pointed it at him.
“Besides, there are too many eyes watching.”
Looking around, I noticed that the surviving villagers had gathered and were watching us intently.
I planned to visit this village often in the future, so I might as well make a good impression.
“…If it’s blood you want to see.”
But then—
At my words, the man’s presence shifted.
“Quite the confidence.”
“A foolish man.”
And suddenly—
A foul energy, almost like Aura, erupted from him.
“…Huh?”
A thick, sticky, and unpleasant aura.
“Because of you, everyone here will die today.”
But the sight of that crimson-black energy—
It was familiar.
[Hooh.]
…So, he was connected to a devil as well?
[That is a familiar presence indeed.]
Well, damn.
I hadn’t expected this to turn into a proxy battle.
