novelraw Chapter 100 : Plant Demon (2)
Chapter 100 : Plant Demon (2)
Plant Demon (2)
Laika Bisted.
Among the current adults, there would be no one who did not know that name.
A rare hero who, during the Demonkin War, decapitated the demonkin leader with a single strike.
His achievements in ending a massive war that nearly turned the continent into a hellscape were beyond words.
No matter where on the continent you went, people would immediately treat him with more reverence than even the royal family.
Praise born from overwhelming achievements.
It was only natural that the Bisted family owed its prestige to his deeds.
But then, why did Laika disappear from the continent after founding his family?
Some people tried to find him, but it was said that no trace of him could ever be found anywhere on the continent.
A man who left behind a heroic tale and then vanished without a trace.
Should it be seen as a romantic act, saying his duty was done and he abandoned all lingering attachments to the world?
Or was he assassinated by demonkin in revenge for ending the war?
Various theories circulated, but at least the latter seemed unlikely.
How could a man called a hero—such a powerful one—fall to mere demonkin?
Where did he disappear to...?
It was at this academy that he appeared again after such a long time.
People would surely be shocked.
The very fact that someone who had vanished without a trace had suddenly appeared here.
And that the mastermind behind this demon realm transformation was none other than Laika.
"Why are you...?"
Silia, who barely managed to block his sword, could not hide her astonishment.
At the same time, she shivered at the fact that she had just blocked the sword of an absolute hero who once saved the Empire.
"I wielded it with the strength I'd use to swat an insect, and yet you blocked it. Unlike the trash behind you, you've got some skill."
"..."
For a moment, Silia flinched at receiving praise from such a hero.
She had grown up hearing many stories about Laika from the family head who took her in.
Thus, she always harbored a certain reverence for Laika Bisted.
"Are we dreaming right now?"
"No... There's no way this is reality..."
The headmaster and vice-head, both missing an arm, became utterly despondent the moment they made eye contact with Laika.
The pain streaming from their severed arms made it clear this wasn't a dream.
Moreover, the one who had severed those arms was the very man they had admired as a hero.
"Get out..."
Still holding on against the hero's sword, Silia shouted at the two, who seemed to be longing for help.
"You're just getting in the way, so get out now! Do you want to die?"
"Hiiik!!"
"Y-Yes!"
Startled, the headmaster and vice-head ran away in an instant.
Thanks to Silia's shout sobering them up, they managed to act rationally in that brief moment.
Truthfully, they were people who should not have been let go.
Even the crimes discovered from their undercover employment at the academy were enough to drag them off to the 7th Legion with no room for excuses.
But with Laika's appearance, there was no room to care about them.
'They won't get far from here anyway.'
The entire academy, a city with a diameter of several dozen kilometers, had become a demon realm.
Even if they survived, escaping with all their limbs intact was impossible.
But that wasn't the most pressing matter.
"Is it you?"
"Hm?"
"Are you really the one behind all of this? Laika Bisted."
When Laika curled his lips at her question, Silia could be certain.
"Why? Why would a hero who saved the continent... do such a thing?"
"..."
Laika said nothing, only tightened his grip on his sword.
Unable to hold out anymore, Silia was flung by the increased force of his blow.
She broke through a wall and tumbled to the floor.
"Cough!"
Even though she had blocked it, blood spurted from her mouth—she forced herself to regain composure.
Although she'd been sent flying and should have gained some distance, Laika was already standing behind her.
Bang!—
Silia once again managed to barely block his sword.
Her eyes bloodshot with effort, she saw Laika smile, as if finding her to his liking.
"I thought your sword felt familiar... Are you, by any chance, Andrew's disciple?"
Andrew Weissman. The benefactor who had taken in Silia and her younger brother, who had lived a wild life in the woods.
Hearing his name from Laika's lips, Silia was taken aback.
"You know my family head?"
"Of course I do. He was the only 'human' I failed to kill."
"What?"
There was a great sense of discord in Laika's words to Silia.
Basically, family head Andrew had never uttered a bad word about Laika.
She didn't know what their relationship was, but it was clear it wasn't a hostile one.
'Then why did he say 'failed to kill'?'
Why would he say such a thing if they weren't on bad terms?
"And he was a clever 'human'. He completely got in the way of my activities."
Just what had happened between those two?
"But then, after he was expelled from his family for protecting his adopted daughter, I no longer had to deal with his interference."
Silia couldn't make sense of the story whispering into her ears.
"At first, he made me nervous, but... it turned out there was no need. He didn't even know what the 'demon realm seed' was."
As incomprehensible words flowed forth, Silia's expression stiffened.
Seeing her like that, Laika spoke again.
"Are you the adopted daughter Andrew took in? If so, I'll tell you something special."
Laika suddenly slammed his sword into the ground, which had been pointed at Silia.
"About the power of the demon realm seed!"
From the sword embedded in the ground, a jet-black energy burrowed into the soil.
That power was neither like the aura knights used nor like the demonic energy the demonkin wielded.
Within the Earth, where that tremendous power had penetrated, lay a small seed.
Laika's power tried to stimulate the seed, but was blocked by a translucent force protecting it.
"As expected, it's the lingering thoughts of Hero Frederick. Even now, it seems you're struggling to protect the seed... How pitiful, Frederick! If humanity hadn't foolishly built such a large city here, you wouldn't be suffering like this!"
"The seed...?"
Hero Frederick? The seed?
When Silia heard those words, she finally remembered.
The story Louis heard when he met Frederick's lingering thought in the sealed space beneath the academy.
Silia had been told that tale clearly and thus understood quickly.
"So you finally look like you've realized something. But it's too late. Once the seed has been stimulated, it never stops and will grow into a tree. Heroes may have worked hard to stop it from growing, but now it's all meaningless!"
Frederick's lingering thought continued to interfere with the seed's protection but could not last long.
In the end, the black energy Laika injected pierced through the lingering thought and began interacting with the seed.
Rumble rumble rumble!—
At that moment, a great earthquake began to shake the entire academy.
Additional trees sprang up everywhere, turning the city ever more into a dense forest.
At the same time, a huge tree reminiscent of the World Tree rose up from underground right in front of Silia.
Black leaves formed on the branches of the towering giant tree and began to fall.
As they fluttered down like feathers, they transformed into giant monsters, surrendering to gravity and plummeting towards the city.
With each impact, the academy became more and more a scene of carnage.
"Behold! This is the power of the demon realm seed hidden in this land. Soon, this area will become the demon realm itself."
In other words, it meant it would become a demon realm.
The city once called the city of learning would instantly become a land of death.
"You..."
Looking at Laika, Silia felt a strong sense of discord.
That jet-black energy he had stabbed into the earth a moment ago, and the way Laika spoke, as if a higher life form was looking down on humans.
Above all, she had felt this power before.
"No... Who are you, really?"
Among her team, there was a girl named Pram.
That child, thanks to having absorbed the power of Great Devil Palmon four years ago, could wield that power.
Silia, having always witnessed the Great Devil's power up close... could immediately recognize it.
"What happened to Laika Bisted?"
"..."
At those words, something inside the body possessed by Laika... its mouth twitched.
****
As the hellscape began in the academy, people were unable to cope with the sudden demon realm transformation and began dying one after another.
Those who attempted to evacuate often tripped and stumbled over each other.
Students who once acted so noble and compassionate as nobles now abandoned those they once trusted just to save themselves.
It was the same with other VIP guests.
Those who had filled their bellies because of their name recognition could no longer maintain the kindly facade they'd displayed before the masses.
As everyone cast their masks to the ground and revealed their true colors, human blood was spattered everywhere.
Guards did their best to fight off the monsters, but overwhelmed, they too had to spill their blood.
Amid the hell that had consumed what was supposed to be a festival enjoyed by all, one girl let out a sigh.
"I thought I could finally sneak away from the young master and play for a bit..."
While others were fleeing, the girl named Pram was filled with regret.
Of all times, for the city to turn into a demon realm... what was meant to be a vacation had become no different from a mission.
"Is that even possible? Does the young master seem like someone who would grant 'mercy?'"
Her companions, Simon and Rozen, scolded her.
"Don't be so relaxed—start fighting!"
When Victor shouted loudly, Pram had no choice but to begin casting magic.
"Yeah, fine, I get it, I get it."
While people fled from the monsters, these five boys and girls were strangely calm.
An adult tried to shout and tell them to evacuate, but there was no need.
They were casually hunting monsters with their own strength.
If anything, it was the adults who ought to be evacuated, not them.
"Pram. What's the city situation?"
When Victor asked, Pram spread her magic power, sharing her sight with dark spirits scattered throughout the city.
Thanks to that, she could share the situation.
"It's more serious than you think. Monsters are everywhere, a fog of curses has descended and is turning people to powder. There's only one escape route, but monsters block it everywhere."
In the end, there was no viable way out.
While the academy had gathered skilled people, they were not strong enough to face the monsters of a demon realm.
For them, running away was the best they could do.
"There's no answer to this."
"Yeah. If it weren't for the barrier the young master set up in advance, we all would've been massacred by now."
Behind them stood a massive barrier called a shelter.
Within the barrier were people they had evacuated.
This barrier, their own deployment as part of the 7th Legion, all seemed done in preparation for this situation.
"Hey! Let me in!"
But a problem occurred.
"This is a barrier, right? I said let me in!"
Due to the festival season, countless guests were swarming the academy.
They too were desperate to squeeze inside the barrier.
Although that was its purpose, the problem was...
"Sorry, we're at full capacity."
"What does that matter!! Just kick people out from inside!!"
Their attitude was far from rational.
They were intent on dragging out the people already inside to make room for themselves.
"There's only commoners inside the barrier! Which of us is more important? Don't you know?"
"If you don't want to see something nasty, kick those people out right now! No one who's ever messed with our family has gotten away unscathed!"
Unfortunately, the other four were busy fighting monsters, so only Pram was left to deal with the people.
If they were monsters, she could've killed them mercilessly—but she couldn't do that to people.
As a result, Pram was furious to her very core.
"What do you want me to do, you jerks?! If you wanted to survive, you should've come early and grabbed a spot! Why are you complaining when you're late?!"
"What?"
"You think you're the only humans? Are those people inside not human? They all waited fairly, so what's your problem?"
Provoked by Pram's fiery attitude, some noble brats drew their swords.
"This cheeky brat...!"
No one knew who she was.
The instant they decided it wouldn't matter to kill her... a monster ambushed from behind.
Crunch!!—
Just before the monster's claws could sever the noble's neck, Pram used 'Attraction Magic' to pull him in and then exploded the monster.
"Who just called me a cheeky brat?"
"..."
After Pram so easily hunted the monster, the nobles fell silent.
"I was really looking forward to this event... At last, I thought I could finally have some fun... I was looking forward to my vacation...!!"
Having been stressed for some time, Pram wore a savage expression.
"I barely escaped one demon realm, and now it's another...! Why does a demon realm spring up everywhere I go?! I just want to play! Playing is the best!!"
At her shouting tantrum, no one dared to argue.
"Another wave of monsters and demon realm?! Damn it!! I'm already pissed off enough—why do you losers have to add to my frustrations?!"
As many monsters gathered, Pram looked just as intimidating.
People around her concluded that messing with her would mean death.
"It's all because of that stupid young master! At least gift me some souvenirs during festival season! How could you betray me like this?"
"Hey, Pram!"
"I've tried so hard to get on his good side! He always favors Rio! Isn't he really too much?"
"Pram! Look behind you!"
Suddenly, Victor shouted in terror, but Pram didn't hear.
"Is he looking down on me because I always call him young master? Fine! I'll just call him Louis now! I'm actually two years older anyway, so that's only right, isn't it?"
"Pram, you idiot, look behind you! Behind you!!"
Behind me what?
Is it a monster?
"Huh?"
When she turned around, there was no monster in sight.
"Hello?"
Instead, her young master—much scarier than any monster—was there, smiling brightly.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
It's a fookin cliff.
【(⩌‸⩌ )】