“C-Captain?”
“What is this…?”
Everyone in the vicinity turned their gaze toward the ominous energy that had begun to spread.
It was no wonder—black energy was seeping out openly like a slow-moving mist.
Even the bandits who seemed to be the man’s subordinates recoiled in fear, stepping back instinctively.
“What’s wrong? Am I scary?”
Seeing his men react like that, the man grinned as if intoxicated by the situation.
It was a grin that reminded me of a certain noble I’d encountered before.
Devil worshippers always have a screw loose somewhere.
That’s why they put their faith in devils.
“Sienna.”
“Yes?”
“Take care of the small fries for me. I need to warm up a bit.”
Well, this actually worked out.
I’d been wanting to loosen up, and now, the perfect opponent had appeared.
“Will you be alright?”
“Is there any reason I wouldn’t be?”
Perhaps sensing that the man’s presence was unusual, Sienna voiced her concern.
But I dismissed it lightly and stepped forward.
Now, let’s see…
His aura was definitely unpleasant—sinister and sticky in a way that made my skin crawl.
But when I focused, I realized it wasn’t all that impressive.
Definitely weaker than a knight.
Maybe around Jevan’s level when we first met?
A gold-ranked mercenary at best.
“Hmph… You’ve got guts.”
As I spun the worn-out spear I had taken from the bandit earlier, the man looked at me with dazed eyes.
He had been somewhat rational until just now, but he turned like that so quickly?
For the power he was using, the risk seemed disproportionately high.
He didn’t seem to be an Apostle either—his condition was ambiguous.
“I’ll kill you!”
While I was gauging him, the man, unable to bear waiting for me to approach, charged at me first.
His gear consisted of leather armor and a longsword.
A typical mercenary setup.
And judging by the quality and upkeep, his equipment wasn’t bad.
I could probably take it for myself.
He was big, too—his armor would likely fit me later.
Good equipment is ridiculously expensive when bought outright.
Right now, with money being tight, second-hand gear would have to do.
With that in mind—
Swish! Clang!
I deflected his incoming sword strike with my spear.
“Huff!”
His eyes widened in shock, likely not expecting me to parry so easily.
At the same time, I was also surprised—after just one clash, cracks had already formed on my spear.
What kind of quality is this? Is it a farming tool or something?
Thud!
I immediately discarded the spear and kicked him in the stomach.
“Hmph… That didn’t even tickle.”
Yet, despite putting my weight into the kick, he didn’t budge an inch.
Damn, I really need to eat more.
This is just making the fight boring.
Swish!
I dodged his next swing and reached out, grabbing him by the throat.
I considered just breaking it right then and there since this fight wasn’t even entertaining.
Grip!
“Hmm?”
But as I grasped his neck, I felt something odd—it was far too hard for human flesh.
This wasn’t normal.
Tsk!
I immediately created some distance and observed him again.
And then—
Ssss…
“Phew.”
Starting from the spot where I had grabbed him, his skin visibly hardened.
It roughened, solidifying like the surface of a rock.
“A rock devil, huh?”
“Now that’s the expression I wanted to see.”
Rock, huh…
Wouldn’t that make him stronger than a wood devil?
[Hah, what a ridiculous notion.]
Oh? So that’s not the case?
But rock is harder, isn’t it?
[Don’t compare a simple-minded lump of stone to a real entity.]
Fair point. Wood does have a higher energy cost.
Well, anyway—
“Ahaha!”
I examined the man, whose entire body had hardened like stone as he stared at me.
Does moving like that cause any major inconveniences?
Judging by the way he steadied his stance and charged toward me, it didn’t seem like there were any restrictions.
Since things have come to this, I might as well gauge how he fights.
I have a feeling I’ll be running into truckloads of these devil-affiliated bastards in the future.
Whoosh—!
I tilted my head, dodging the incoming fist.
As expected, having a body made of stone made him noticeably heavier.
His movements were slower than before.
But still…
How exactly do I deal with this walking boulder?
I couldn’t quite get a feel for it.
“Die!”
For now, I simply twisted my body to avoid his punches.
Back in that virtual space, the thing I practiced the most was blocking and dodging.
Avoiding an attack of this level was almost second nature to me.
Of course…
“Haa…”
The real issue was my stamina.
Back there, exhaustion wasn’t a concept.
But moving like this in reality—I could already feel my breath getting heavier, sweat forming on my skin.
This is a pain.
I really should just hole up in the forest and recover properly.
Whoosh—
I dodged another punch aimed at me and, at the same time, lowered my body.
Then—
Clench.
I placed my hand on the rock-hard bastard’s thigh.
“What are you…?”
‘Rush.’
BOOM—!!!
I gathered Aura in my hand—
And blew his leg clean off, thigh and all.
“Gaaah! Aaaghhh!!”
So what if you’re made of stone?
I’ll just blow you up.
The man, now missing a leg, rolled helplessly on the ground.
“Sienna.”
“Yes, yes.”
I turned to Sienna, who had already dealt with all of the man’s subordinates.
“Handle the cleanup for me.”
“…Huh?”
“I have a lot of questions for this guy.”
I’ve been living up in the mountains with my eyes shut to the world.
It’s about time I caught up on what’s happening.
“Graaagh! Aaagh!!”
The man writhed on the ground, his body reverting to normal flesh as the shock of losing his leg took over.
Grab!
I seized his hair.
“Let’s go.”
“Huff… Huff…!”
And so—
Dragging the half-conscious man behind me, I entered a warehouse.
“…”
“…”
No one in the village could stop me.
**
After that.
A lot happened inside the storage shed where the village kept its miscellaneous junk.
[Brutal, aren’t you?]
“Well, I spared his life, so it’s fine, isn’t it?”
I looked down at the man before me.
No, if what he spilled earlier was true, his name was Juan—a devil-worshipping scumbag.
“Ugh… Uugh…”
Soaked in water, beaten senseless.
His condition wasn’t great, to say the least.
“More importantly, it seems like the situation is worse than I thought.”
[That does appear to be the case.]
I pulled up a nearby chair and sat down.
With my body like this, even torture was draining.
“Haa…”
My gaze naturally drifted toward his leg—it had already regenerated.
“There are going to be plenty more like him, aren’t there?”
[Most likely. It seems those inspired by Me are starting to take action.]
He wasn’t an Apostle, that was for sure.
But he wasn’t just some low-tier devil worshipper either.
Something in between?
According to a certain devil’s own words, he was a “missionary”.
A recruiter tasked with bringing in new devil worshippers.
From what I’ve heard, the Kingdom is currently swarming with them.
At this rate—
It seems the Adel Kingdom has become some kind of gourmet paradise for devils.
I really need to get out of this damn country.
[No love for your homeland, huh?]
“The country’s never done anything for me.”
Born a pauper, raised as a slave gladiator—why the hell would I feel patriotic?
If I owe anything, it’s to the Boyd family, not this kingdom.
Come to think of it, I wonder how the young lady is doing.
Even Sienna didn’t seem to know the details.
But then again, she’s the Boyd family’s precious daughter.
I doubt there’s much to worry about.
She’s probably been moved to the Boyd Margrave’s territory by now.
With Lowell and her escort knights accompanying her, the journey should have gone smoothly.
Anyway.
While I was organizing the information I got from Juan, the man in front of me, he started stirring.
“Ugh… Urgh….”
Looks like he’s come back to his senses.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
“Huff… Huff…!”
As soon as he saw me, his whole body started trembling like he was about to pass out again.
“P-Please… Please, spare me…!”
“That’s for the village to decide.”
Tap. Tap.
I lightly smacked his cheek with the sword I had taken from him.
This thing’s actually pretty good quality—should work as a temporary weapon.
“T-They won’t let me live…!”
“And you think I will?”
I already got what I needed through torture.
I never promised him anything.
This wasn’t like the devil worshipper I let go last time.
“P-Please…!”
“Beg the villagers, not me, you bastard.”
And with that, I left him behind in the warehouse.
I had tied his joints up tight with a thick rope meant for cattle—no way he was getting out on his own.
His fate was up to the village now.
Stepping outside, I surveyed the damaged town.
Since I’d been in the warehouse for quite some time, the fires had mostly been put out.
The remaining villagers were busy moving the wounded or dealing with the dead.
Fortunately, the village was fairly large, and we had arrived quickly.
Overall, the damage wasn’t as catastrophic as it could have been.
Besides, since the bandits attacked on a weekday afternoon, there weren’t too many casualties.
Most of the men had been out working when the attack happened, and they returned late to a village already in the process of recovery.
Now that things were settling down, I figured I should head back to the forest.
I started looking for Sienna.
I spotted her in the distance, hood pulled low.
“Sienna.”
“Oh, Rain.”
As I got closer, I noticed her face was completely stiff.
What’s up with her?
Is it because of the villagers?
“Something wrong?”
“A-Ah, well…”
She kept glancing at a piece of paper in her hands, her expression frozen.
“What’s that?”
Did the villagers seriously send us a bill for damages?
“Let me see it.”
“H-Here….”
When I held out my hand, Sienna hesitantly passed me the paper.
“This is…”
And the moment I looked at it, I understood why her face had been so serious.
Because the paper—
“What do I do…?”
[Sienna Greth]
Was a wanted poster with Sienna’s name and appearance described on it.
