Chapter 109: Despair in the Shadows

Having driven the marker into the fleeing Demon, I escaped subspace and returned to the original world. It seems only a very short time had passed in subspace, and the surroundings were filled with the monsters I had defeated earlier.

The monsters in the rear had apparently avoided a direct hit from the earlier attack thanks to the distance. Although damaged, they looked like they could still fight.

“Hup!”

Strengthening my legs with Body Enhancement Magic, I leaped and surveyed the battlefield from the sky. There were no monsters around the gate; the adventurers must have driven them away. Now they were advancing, pursuing the monsters heading towards me.

“Hm? What is it? Those monsters over there are acting strangely?”

Looking closely, a group of monsters outside the ramparts protecting the town, exactly on the opposite side of the gate, was repeatedly moving, advancing, retreating, and sometimes suddenly moving in random directions.

“What on earth are they… ah.”

I tilted my head at the strange movements, but I noticed a white, round thing moving around in front of the monster horde.

“Is it Fluffy‘s doing?”

Yes, Fluffy was where the monsters had stopped. Fluffy would attack the monsters, and when the monsters hurriedly tried to get away from Fluffy, Fluffy would immediately go around to the opposite side and stop them. It seems the monsters were going this way and that trying to escape from Fluffy. And starting with the ones slow to escape, they became Fluffy‘s prey one by one.

“Yeah, it seems best to leave those monsters to Fluffy. It’ll be good exercise too.”

But let’s keep tonight’s dinner light. It would be bad if he ate too much and got fat.

“But all the other monsters are heading this way. As expected, it seems the Demon from earlier ordered the monsters to gather here.”

Immediately after the battle began, I created several walls around the town with magic to divide the monster encirclement. The monsters whose progress was blocked by those walls detoured around the walls and were heading this way.

“But why did they lift the encirclement?”

Hmm, maybe because they realized the rampart they were trying to destroy was reinforced with magic? Since there was no time, I couldn’t cast very strong defense magic, but the monsters gathered this time were just small fry with numbers on their side and not that strong.

So they probably thought it would be better to concentrate their forces and break through at a single point to destroy the wall. Structurally, a movable gate is easier to destroy to open than a thick monolithic wall.

Besides, even if the monsters aren’t that strong, if they charge relying on numbers without caring about sacrifices, the monsters that couldn’t be intercepted might break through the gate and invade the town. That’s a bit bad.

“But in that case, why didn’t the Demon come out directly?”

If it were me, I’d use the monsters as decoys and destroy the gate or wall myself for sure, though.

“Hmm, is that also some kind of strategy?”

Well, I guess I’ll understand that too once I catch the Demon who escaped later.

“For now, let’s do what I can do now! High Area Marsh Bind!”

I released wide-range binding magic towards the second wave of the monster horde that had gotten quite close. Suddenly, the ground beneath the monsters became waterlogged, turning into a bottomless swamp dragging them in.

High Area Marsh Bind—this is magic that creates a bottomless swamp over a wide area to immobilize targets. The monsters, their feet caught in the deep mud, became unable to walk properly, and once more than half of their bodies sank in, the mud lost its moisture and returned to soil ground.

“The monsters over there too… hup!”

And when I restrained all the remaining monster hordes approaching from other directions, the adventurers who were heading this way just arrived.

“W-What is this!? The monster horde is buried in the ground!?”

The adventurers who came to fight the monsters raised voices of surprise seeing the restrained monsters.

“H-Hey kid, did you do this with magic?”

Well, wide-range binding magic is a minor magic that not many people use. Most of my acquaintances were people who’d say, “If you’re going to bind them, let’s just wipe them out instantly.”

But the current me is an adventurer, not a hero. So, to sell the defeated monster materials at a high price, I have to try not to lower the commercial value of the monsters as much as possible. Earlier, I prioritized protecting the town and used area attack magic, but through the battles so far, I learned that there aren’t any particularly strong monsters.

“Yes, there were many of them, so I restrained them with magic. I still have things to do, so could I leave finishing them off to you all?”

“W-Well, I don’t mind, but… is it okay!? We’ll be taking the credit!?”

Being told they could defeat the monsters I restrained, the adventurers became excited. Well, from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know anything, it’s like being offered bound monsters on a platter.

“Yes, as you can see, there are many of them. If I were to finish off all the monsters and strip the materials alone, no amount of time would be enough.”

There’s still the matter of the Demon too. I should entrust the work I can delegate to other people.

“I-I see. Indeed, if you were to finish off this many monsters one by one, the sun would set.”

“…Understood. We’ll take on these monsters. You should go finish what you need to do.”

As expected, adventurers are quick to understand, which is good! If this were a knight order from my previous life, time would have been wasted fighting over credit.

“Don’t worry, I’ll report to the Guild properly that you restrained the monsters, and ask them to ensure you get your share!”

“Eh? No, you don’t really have to go that far… wait, you are…”

Seeing the faces of those adventurers, I remembered. They are the adventurers who participated in my dismantling class.

“Thanks to you, we learned how to dismantle dragons and even received sharp weapons. We’ll return the favor for that!”

“That’s right. We dismantlers will help too. After all, dismantling monsters is our specialty!”

“Exactly!”

Looking around, there were not only adventurers but also dismantlers who participated for the town’s defense.

“Everyone…”

“Alriiiiight! Then I’ll finish off that monster!”

“Ah, you bastard! That’s an A-rank monster!”

“Heheh, the opponent can barely move, first come first ser… guwah!?”

Ah, one of the adventurers who headed for the monster was hit by the monster’s tail and blown away.

“Idiot, that’s what you get for being greedy. Many monsters can attack even with their legs sealed! Fight carefully!”

“YEAH!”

Adventurers are quick once they decide what to do. Everyone swarmed the monsters at once.

“Watch out for counterattacks with the tail!”

“I know! But it’s way easier than fighting normally!”

“Yeah, yeah, plus we have this dragon armor and spear!”

“I can’t fight without this anymore!”

“I’ll hunt monsters like crazy and definitely buy this equipment!”

The adventurers headed towards monsters that suited them: monsters they could win against easily, monsters that would counterattack, and monsters that were dangerous even with their legs restrained. Some attacked monsters above their rank and were blown away like the person earlier.

Or rather, if they’re going to buy dragon equipment, they should buy something better instead of makeshift items like these.

“To think it would be like a festival when we were fighting for our lives just a moment ago.”

While I was thinking such things, Liliera and the others arrived.

“Good work. Was the gate okay?”

“Yes, halfway through the monsters stopped attacking and started heading this way, so it became much easier as we were just attacking the fleeing monsters from behind.”

I see, it seems the change in the Demon‘s policy made the battle easier for Liliera and the others too.

“But it’s a waste. That was Big Bro’s magic, right? Why go out of your way to give the credit to other guys?”

Jairo seems dissatisfied that I left the subjugation of the monsters to other adventurers. Even though they said they’d prepare a share for me.

“There were too many of them. Rather than finishing them all myself, I thought I should leave this to them and prioritize chasing the Demon.”

“Ah, if it’s a Demon, it can’t be helped… right?”

“WAIT, A DEMON!?”

Liliera and the others looked at me with shocked faces.

“What!? A Demon appeared again?”

Yes, again.

“I thought it was strange for the town to be suddenly attacked by such a massive horde of monsters. So a Demon was involved.”

Everyone showed faces of acceptance, saying they could understand if that was the case. Compared to before, everyone has gotten used to it.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Liliera asked me about the plan for after this.

“Since I succeeded in attaching a tracking marker to the Demon‘s body, I’m thinking of turning invisible and chasing him, then crushing them all together once he joins his comrades.”

“Crushing Demons all together… huh.”

“Thinking normally, he’s saying something outrageous… but when Rex says it, it sounds like something that can be done normally, so we have to be careful.”

“I know.”

Eh! I think defeating Demons can be done normally, though!?

“But if that’s the case, we shouldn’t follow you. Turning invisible is that thing, right? The one where we have to hold hands. It’s fine if we use it outside like before, but if the escaped Demon‘s hideout is narrow, we’ll just get in the way if we follow. If someone accidentally bumps into a Demon, it’s over.”

Indeed, since I made my magic so that companions can also turn invisible together, touching someone marks them as a companion, allowing us to see each other. So if we make contact, we might involve people who aren’t companions in the magic. Liliera‘s opinion that it would be terrible if we were discovered before confirming the total number of Demons is certainly correct.

“You’re right. First, I should go reconnoiter what kind of place the Demon fled to.”

“With Rex, it seems like reconnaissance will turn directly into resolving the incident, though.”

“I think so too.”

Why is everyone harmonizing since a while ago?

“Then I’ll be going for a bit.”

“Yes, we’ll help finish off the remaining monsters until Rex returns.”

“Please do!”

Alriiiiight, then let’s go chase the escaped Demon again!

◆

“D-Disappeared… N-No, is it teleportation magic… !?”

I saw that scene.

The human, no, the Dragon Emperor suddenly disappeared.

That is undoubtedly teleportation magic.

But impossible; the current humans should have lost most of their technology in the great war of the past.

Even for us Demons, it’s a technology the Clan of Wisdom only recently revived!?

“This… has become a serious matter.”

If humans can use teleportation magic, we have to significantly revise our strategy.

Yes, a major correction might be needed for our, the Demons’, re-invasion plan.

“Maybe failing the Dragon Emperor‘s assassination was actually the correct answer.”

Yes, although I failed to assassinate the Dragon Emperor, there are still chances to assassinate him.

More importantly, learning that humans possess teleportation magic is more significant.

If we had executed the re-invasion plan without knowing this, we would have received a painful counterattack by the humans’ teleportation magic.

“Good grief, playing dead was the right choice.”

That’s right. In the Dragon Emperor assassination earlier, the position I was assigned to happened to have a large number of monsters.

I thought it was annoying that the credit for assassinating the Dragon Emperor would be taken by the others, but in this case only, it worked in my favor.

Thanks to that, I was able to survive the Dragon Emperor’s attack by using the surrounding monsters as shields.

If I bring back this information, I probably won’t be punished for failing the mission.

Far from that, due to the achievement of bringing back information of strategic value, I might even be entrusted with operational command somewhere instead of a member of the Clan of Wisdom.

“Luck has turned my way.”

The Dragon Emperor is already gone.

Since he said he would chase the Clan of Wisdom, the Dragon Emperor probably headed towards the hideout.

In that case, I should head to the main base.

I’ll make a report there, and then head to the hideout to subjugate the Dragon Emperor.

Oh? In that case, the Dragon Emperor not only had his information about teleportation magic known, but by heading to the hideout alone, isn’t he practically unarmed?

“Kukuku, Dragon Emperor. Not confirming the corpses thinking you annihilated us was your undoing.”

I was about to return to the main base hurriedly, but I suddenly changed my mind.

“It’s annoying to just go back like this. I want at least a souvenir.”

Yes, if I return to the main base like this, it’ll look like I ran away home.

That’s not fun.

Fortunately, the Dragon Emperor isn’t here now.

And surrounding me are humans carried away with excitement.

“Kuku.”

Then there is only one thing to do.

Although injured, these level of humans won’t even be a handicap against me!

I’ll slaughter the remaining human warriors all together!

“Fuhaha-guwah!?”

It was at that moment. Severe pain ran through my back just as I was about to stand up with loud laughter.

“Wh-What is it!? Did I injure my wing in the attack earlier!?”

I spread my wings to check the injury and turned my gaze while twisting my neck backward.

My wing is heavy; this might be a serious injury.

“…Wh-What is this!?”

I was surprised by that sight.

Surprisingly, a white, round fur ball was stuck to my back, near the base of my wing.

What on earth is this…?

“Kyuu.”

It was at that moment. The white fur ball moved with a cry.

“A living creature!?”

While feeling surprised at the creature I had never seen before, anger welled up in my heart.

“You beast! Do you intend to eat the wing of a proud Demon like me!”

Dominated by anger, I decided to tear this fur ball apart in front of the humans.

“Fur ball! I’ll dye that white body deep red!”

I grabbed the two horns growing from the fur ball and tore them apart as if spreading them left and right.

I tore it, or so I thought…

“I-Impossible!?”

Unbelievably, the fur ball’s body didn’t budge!?

“Kuh, you!”

I immediately got serious and put strength into both arms.

But even though I’m using my full strength, this fur ball shows no sign of suffering, let alone being torn apart.

“Kyuuu~? Kyukyu?”

I don’t understand what it’s saying.

But there was no doubt I was being insulted.

“I-I’ll kill you!”

Unforgivable! For a lowly beast to mock me, a Demon!

“You deserve ten thousand deaths!”

I released maximum magic at the fur ball in front of me with full magic power.

“Eat the magic of us Demons, incomparable to humans, at point-blank range!”

The magic power was converted into physical force and exploded in front of my eyes.

The foolish fur ball is pitifully charred.

“Hmph, was that a little immature of me… WHAAAAAAT!?”

I thought I had slaughtered it for sure this time.

I was convinced it wouldn’t retain a decent shape.

And yet!

“Kyuu?”

That fur ball was standing in front of me as if nothing had happened.

“N-Na… na…”

Impossible, that’s impossible!

I am a Demon, you know!? A Demon boasting physical strength greater than humans and possessing magic power greater than humans!

Taking my attack, it doesn’t have a single scratch!?

What on earth is this creature!?

“Kyuu~n.”

The fur ball lets out a mocking voice.

Directing eyes at me that seemed to say, “Is that it?”

And I saw it.

The sight of the fur ball opening its blood-red mouth wide.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

Ah, I should have just run away quickly without getting greedy…