230. Crack (2)
Ed borrowed a horse from the stable and headed to the first city.
It was natural for the monsters to run excitedly at the appearance of a formidable prey that was not moving in a group but was running alone across a desolate field.
Doo doo doo doo!
The earth shakes. A cloud of dust rose and a swarm of monsters were seen coming from afar.
Nevertheless, Ed’s expression did not waver.
‘It’s been a while since I used my unique ability.’
Rather than stopping, the horse continues to run without even slowing down, holding the reins tightly with one hand and putting the other hand to its mouth. He bit the end of his white gloves and pulled them off.
A strange black pattern that even covered the back of the hand was partially revealed.
Ed was born with demonic energy in the wind. It was not created solely from a combination of pure wind and demonic energy, but there was a sacrifice in the form of a human corpse.
The body of a human general who was lying on the border between day and night on a strong windy day. The body was corroded and decomposed by demon energy and then reassembled to form the body of a demon, and the swirling wind mixed in there became its unique ability.
Perhaps because of his unique ability, or because his body was half-covered in the human world, unlike a demon born by eating a corpse, his hair had pale sunlight and his eyes had a clear sky, so he received a good response from Deon Hart relatively early on among the demons. .
[nice to see you. This is Ed, who will be serving Demon from today. I heard that your physical condition worsened while preventing the hero from committing suicide. We will do our best to help you so that you do not feel any inconvenience.]
[The color…]
[Yes?]
[…No. Please take care of me.]
At that time, Ed remembers that, although it was only for a moment, the red eyes that had built a thick wall looked back and forth between my eyes and my hair, and then relaxed a little. Later, I heard in passing that, unlike other demons, its appearance, including color, was similar to that of a human.
Then Ed realized.
Ah, Demon-sama, you feel aversion to ‘demon-like things’.
Since you are human, there is nothing you cannot understand. To be precise, it seems like you feel aversion to ‘things that are different from humans’, so it would be better to hide the characteristics of demons.
To me, the only characteristic of demons is the pattern that extends from their arms to the backs of their hands. Your arms will be covered anyway when you wear a suit, so you just need to cover your hands. So I always wore gloves.
‘Master Deon…’
After all the effort, the distance that had been narrowed grew further again.
Why are you suddenly distancing yourself from me? Did I do something wrong?
The consciousness, which had gone astray, reaches Deonhardt again and hovers in place. Feeling his chest tighten, Ed stopped thinking and looked straight ahead.
“…A lot of those birds flocked there too.”
He stretched out his bare hand towards the horde of monsters blocking his path.
Since there is no one around except monsters, there is nothing to worry about. He rode the horse without hesitation and glared at the monsters.
The distance decreased at a rapid pace, and just before the collision, the pattern on the back of the hand moved.
Kwagwagwagwak!!
The monster was torn apart. No, for a moment even the noise was torn away.
The black wind that swirls and tears everything in front of it slowly disappears. The pattern on the back of Ed’s hand had long since disappeared.
After a few seconds, noise began to fill the quiet space again. Ed rode his horse without hesitation into the open space, as there was only noise and the monsters had not yet arrived.
For the first time in a while, I felt my heart beating faster and filling my empty arms with air again.
‘One hour until you can use it again.’
The remaining time must be used with caution.
Still, the monsters seem to have stopped in fear due to the sight they saw a moment ago, so they will be able to reach the first city before it becomes dangerous.
In the first place, he didn’t become a candidate for corps commander just because of his unique ability, which had fatal limitations.
Ed rode the horse calmly, without any signs of anxiety.
***
A boring afternoon with nothing to do.
Thump thump!
The doorkeeper, who was dozing off against the door, was startled by the sudden vibration and noise and straightened up.
His eyes widen in disbelief as he realizes that the reason for the noise is because someone is knocking on the door outside. That’s right….
‘Surely there were no visit plans today?’
In other words, the current visit is extremely personal, which means that those who are out now are a minority, not a majority.
‘A small number of people broke through that horde of monsters?’
The reason why the castle gate, which was always open, was closed except in special cases was because the number of monsters had increased significantly.
I briefly suspected that I might have mistaken the sound of a monster hitting a body outside the door, but it was clearly a knocking sound. A restrained collision sound made by striking with intention at regular intervals.
I hurriedly picked up the communication table.
“Hey, someone is knocking outside right now. “Can I open it?”
– ….
“Hey?”
– Uh… uh…
Are you saying I can open it or not?
If you open it without checking properly, you could cause a disaster by letting monsters into the castle walls. The frowning gatekeeper spoke strongly into the communicator again.
“Say it straight. Don’t open it? “Would it be necessary to have troops to block the monsters during opening?”
– …You can open it. No need for troops. Because there are no living monsters.
The reaction is somewhat strange, but this is what the guy who checked the outside directly from the castle wall said. There was no reason not to believe it.
I grabbed the device that opened the castle gate. It’s clear that there will be a small number, so there’s no need to open it too much, just open it a little. If there were a large number, they would have made a schedule in advance and contacted us before coming, so there is no possibility of a large number.
When the device was moved, there was a heavy sound like “kugugung” and a slight gap appeared in the gate. As if they had been waiting, someone on a horse came through them.
‘…one person?’
I waited, thinking the group would come in later, but no one came.
He asked if the gatekeeper, who was rather still, looked strange.
“What are you doing without closing the door?”
“The group….”
“No one.”
her.
Unbelievable. Did you really come alone? The suspicion that raised its head for a moment soon disappeared as I sensed the evil magic coming from him.
‘…It’s worth coming alone.’
It’s overwhelming, so I can’t tell for sure, but it seems like most of the troops in the Demon King’s Castle are close to the executive level.
Even so, he would usually bring a companion with him in case of an unexpected situation, but does this mean he is confident in his own abilities?
Anyway, they say there are no more demons coming in, so the castle gate must be closed again. I put my hand on the device again. And the gatekeeper, who thoughtlessly glanced outside the gap in the gate for a final check, froze.
‘…Has a storm full of blades passed by?’
Although it was an extremely limited sight seen through a narrow gap, there were shockingly numerous remains of monsters scattered there.
Many, many, many words pass through the firm gatekeeper and head inside. It was only after his presence disappeared that the gatekeeper was able to recall one memory.
‘I said I was strangely familiar with magical powers…’
I remembered. 0 It felt like the evil magical power of the adjutant who was by the corps commander’s visit.
…Wait, what does that mean?!
***
The one remaining unique ability I had saved was used in front of the castle. If you just leave it alone and it comes with you when you enter the castle, you will be in trouble.
The adjustments were not done properly for fear of damaging the castle walls or gates, so some ugly remnants were left behind, but the monsters were cleared out anyway.
‘Where should I go anyway?’
After leaving the horse behind, Ed stopped and looked around.
All you can see are unhealthy types like alcohol and gambling. The thought that I should have gone to the fourth city, even if it was a little further away, slowly dawned on me. The fourth city is a resort city.
‘…No, as soon as I got there, I wouldn’t have been there long and I would have had to start again.’
I gave up my regrets and fell into thought again.
This city of entertainment may be just as good as a city of recreation to some, but not to me. Ed thought for a moment and then walked away with the intention of having a drink for the first time in a while.
There were plenty of bars so there was no need to go through any trouble to find them.
Ed went into an eye-catching bar, sat down, and ordered just one drink. The alcohol content is not that strong.
“Brother, is that going to be the message?”
“I have to go back soon.”
Since I came alone without any demons to take care of me, it would be difficult to drink to the point of intoxication.
The bartender, sensing that there was no room for further persuasion due to his firm attitude, clicked his tongue and turned around. Ed lifted the glass that came out shortly afterwards.
It was only when I took a sip that a long snake-like arm draped over my shoulder.
“What’s going on with the devil who doesn’t even drink alcohol? “Do you think there’s something troubling you?”
A thin black tail flutters in the corner of my eye.
A black tail with a pointed tip is a characteristic of incubus and succubus.
…Yes, this was a city of entertainment. I should have gone to the fourth city. Ed’s expression hardened.
“…Aga.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
The incubus rolled his eyes lazily and waved his hand.
…One day, Ed almost exploded with hostility toward Hien and warned him not to approach Deon again. At that time, Hien said something wrong, so Ed strangled him and Ben stopped him. At that time, Ben said this.
[Understand. That guy has bad memories about incubuses and succubi.]
[Mistaken for succubus and incubus and confessed wrongly…]
The incubus called ‘Eiga’ in front of me right now is the target of that damn incident.
The person I truly loved when I thought she was a succubus. My first love, who couldn’t contain the overflowing unfamiliar emotions and eventually confessed to me, revealed that he was an incubus and mocked me.
Incubus and succubus can change their bodies according to the other person’s taste, and if the other person does not have an external preference, their basic body condition does not change much, so there was no choice but to be confused about the gender of Eiga, who is basically a skinny body type. At the time, I had no external tastes and I thought the other succubus’ basic body was a bit plain.
They abused it like that.
“…What kind of face are you clinging to me with?”
“Oh, you’re being too tight. Still, can’t you be a friend who listens to your concerns? “There is no particular prejudice against incubus or succubus.”
“Thanks to you, it’s been a long time.”
“I’m so sorry.”
His tail touches Ed’s neck as if he is apologizing but not at all sorry. The sharp end poked my cheek playfully. Ed yanked it away and growled.
“It would be difficult to show one’s tail like this in front of prejudiced demons. “This is one of the reasons why you are looked down upon.”
As if living as a parasite on others is not enough, the tail that exists on all incubuses and succubi seems to be asking them to recognize us and discriminate against us. The appearance that shows a sense of unity among the free-spirited demons is the same as asking people to recognize them and discriminate against them.
Regardless of whether Ed’s spirit was vicious or not, Eiga grinned as she gently wagged her tail to pull him out of his hand.
“For something like that, the reaction is milder than expected. “Let go of your tail so obediently.”
“….”
“Would you like me to tell you something in return for not hitting your head on the table as soon as you saw me? “I don’t know what the problem is, but if it’s a problem in an extremely private relationship rather than a public one, it’s definitely a problem with your attitude.”
“….”
“Because your attitude was always half-baked at crucial moments.”
It’s not like the demon’s personality changes easily. Eiga clicked his tongue.
