novelraw Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Episode 79
Grrrrrl.
A sharp cry, one that couldn't be made by a human, began to be heard from somewhere.
The voices of the assassins, who had been laughing just moments before, abruptly stopped.
They felt it too.
The gaze of the monsters that had suddenly appeared and surrounded them at some point, as if eyeing their prey.
"Didn't they say monsters don't appear in the North anymore?"
"They said the demon was dead, not that the monsters disappeared."
"Damn it all. That's why I said let's just kill him quickly and get out without messing around."
Silence fell among them again. As the cries grew closer, a short command was issued amidst their maintained silence.
"Retreat!"
As the assassins began to flee quickly, reacting to their movement, the monsters let out fierce cries and began to chase after them.
Count Vittora couldn't relax and smile just because the assassins who had been threatening him were gone.
Drip, drip.
Thick drops of saliva were falling onto Count Vittora's head.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
It seemed the monsters had accumulated a lot of stress after being driven deep into the mountain ranges all this time.
Looking down from high up in the sky, riding on Janet's back, Flora could see hordes of monsters moving en masse.
Near the large castle walls, some monsters, excited by the demonic energy Janet had spread, were even ramming their huge bodies against the walls.
"Ah, that's the newly built wall!"
Benio's face, smiling proudly as he said the walls were repaired solidly so no monsters would climb over, came to mind, and Flora cried out without realizing it.
「Shall I stop them?」
"Hmm……."
After watching the area near the wall for a moment, Flora shook her head.
"No. It's better than them harming people."
It was true the wall was sturdy; it was holding up quite well.
And if it collapsed this time, they could just spend more money to repair it even more solidly.
Lucifer would live without worrying about money running out from now on, so if it collapsed, it might not be a bad idea to just build a new one.
"By the way, do the monsters still listen to you, Janet?"
Monsters were originally beings without reason, creatures like beasts possessing only the instinct to destroy, whether people or objects.
However, before the pure demonic energy of the Great Demon Mors or his subordinate demons, not the turbid demonic energy of ordinary monsters, they would become frightened and obey commands.
But she hadn't found such behavior in some of the monsters that appeared recently.
When Flora curiously asked if it was because her demonic energy was insufficient or if changes had come to the monsters over time, making it ineffective, Janet, in her hawk form, nodded.
「Yes, after you disappeared, Master, impurities mixed into the demonic energy, and changes came to the monsters as well. Some monsters react to the demons' demonic energy, while others charge forward recklessly without fear.」
"I see."
「Originally, the higher their intelligence and strength, the more they tend to show that behavior. However, most monsters in the North are still influenced by my demonic energy.」
At her words not to worry about people getting hurt, Flora nodded with a faint smile.
"Okay, Janet is the best."
「You can praise me as many times as you like. Please don't hold back.」
Praise made Janet, the ferocious Northern demon, practically dance.
Amused by her joyful appearance, Flora laughed softly. Then, leaning down, she tightly hugged Janet's neck and whispered softly against the back of her neck.
"If this matter ends safely, I'll play with you all day."
「You, promised, then.」
At Janet's serious question, double-checking with emphasis, Flora nodded vigorously.
The effect was tremendous.
「I sense an aura different from the Northern humans down there. Hold on tight.」
Janet began her descent toward a remote edge of the Northern forest, one of the treacherous paths leading to other territories, where she had immediately sensed signs of life.
A fierce wind, strong enough to make her cheeks burn red, whipped past her face.
'Ooh, it's cold.'
While thrilling in a way she couldn't usually experience, making her heart race with excitement, she had a foreboding feeling she might catch a cold after tonight.
'No, I must overcome it with spirit.'
Even though it's a child's body, Flora's body inherited Lucifer's blood, didn't it?
She could definitely handle this much. So there was no need to worry unnecessarily about tomorrow's health already.
「There they are.」
While she was lost in random thoughts, Janet informed her that they had already arrived close to their destination.
"Damn it, damn it! What are these monsters! Why don't they end no matter how many we kill!"
"Number Two is already dead! Don't think about saving him, just worry about your own safety!"
By the time they got close enough to spot the people Janet mentioned, the scene was shocking for a child to see.
Three suspicious people were surrounded by monsters that looked like werewolves.
The individuals clad head-to-toe in black were clearly proclaiming themselves as assassins, but the skin color visible through their torn clothes was slightly different from that of Northerners.
'A bit tanned, maybe.'
She couldn't see clearly under the moonlight, but it was definitely darker than the pale skin of Northern people.
Meanwhile, one person was lying on the ground; he was probably the one called 'Number Two' mentioned earlier.
"Janet, can you make the monsters stop for a bit?"
No sooner had Flora spoken than Janet's demonic energy began to spread densely around them.
The monsters, which had been baring their teeth ready to devour them, suddenly hesitated under the oppressive demonic energy weighing down the surroundings.
With room to breathe, the assassins didn't hesitate and chose to flee.
"That's why I said we shouldn't have listened to the Marquis and delayed the assassination time, causing this mess!"
'Marquis?'
"They said someone saw the Count going out with someone! We had to buy time to avoid suspicion!"
'Count?'
It was impressive in another way that they had the spirit to shout like that while running so vigorously.
"Janet, follow them secretly."
If the Marquis and Count they were referring to were from the North, she couldn't easily dismiss their conversation.
"If we had just killed the Count as soon as he entered the forest, this mess wouldn't have happened!"
"Wasn't it you who said you wanted to see the Count run for his life and suggested we let him go on purpose!"
"Are you saying this is my fault now?"
"Then is it my fault? In the end, we didn't even kill him ourselves; we just fed him to the monsters!"
"Anyway, he must have been torn apart and killed by the monsters, so the mission is effectively accomplished, so why are you so dissatisfied!"
With Number Two, who had been mediating between the two who didn't get along, dead, the remaining two assassins cursed and argued with each other.
"No, it must be that dead Number Two's fault! Didn't he say we should pretend to save him and take his ideas because he might be helpful to the Master's new business!"
"Now that you mention it, he did! That bastard got us into this trouble and died comfortably by himself?"
Whether it was the fear of facing death, the two assassins were shifting blame, insisting none of this was their fault.
'It would be better if they saved that noisy energy and used it to run away more vigorously.'
Anyway, fools hasten their fate.
At least, thanks to them, she could roughly grasp the situation.
'So, their "Master," a person from another region, sent assassins to Lucifer, and tried to kill the Count through a Marquis?'
Given the talk about business, it was obvious even without looking that this "Master" person was likely from Duke Deshimo's side.
「I'm sorry, Master. I spread strong demonic energy, deliberately suppressing their killing intent to ensure they didn't kill anyone, but…….」
At her sulky voice suggesting she thought she had failed, Flora said it was okay and stroked the hawk's head with her small hand.
"It's fine. Anyone can make mistakes."
「But…….」
"And listening to them, they aren't people from our territory, are they?"
They weren't people from her territory, but individuals who had entered secretly with bad intentions. Was there any need to save them?
"Maybe they're the cause of my anger?"
「Shall I deal with them?」
At the chilling voice, Flora nodded without a moment's hesitation.
"But don't intervene directly. It could become troublesome if the demon's form is seen."
No matter how careful they were, you never knew where eyes might be.
「Of course. Do you think I lack that much sense?」
Soon, a lead-grey demonic energy began to swirl around Janet.
As she smoothly withdrew the demonic energy she had spread to suppress the killing intent flowing through the monsters, a murderous glint returned to the monsters' eyes.
Groooowl.
The monsters began to chase the fleeing prey roughly, not wanting to lose them.
Far from being restrained, under the flow of demonic energy urging them to hunt, they lost all reason.
"Argh!"
"Damn it, Number Three!"
"Save me, aah!"
Horrible screams echoed through the forest. But as they had deliberately come to a remote place, there was no one to help them.
After confirming that Number Three had breathed his last and the remaining Number One assassin was also being torn apart by the monsters, Flora tapped Janet's back as if to say that's enough.
"The Count must be somewhere in this forest. Let's go find him."
If he had been dumped in the forest, becoming a target for monsters before these guys, it was time to worry about Count Vittora's safety.
'But at least he didn't run away. My discernment isn't bad after all.'
She felt sorry for Count Vittora, but news of a kidnapping was better than betrayal.
'Since he was kidnapped while working hard, it's a bit unfortunate, so I should give him hazard pay.'
With the mindset of a quite excellent employer, Flora spotted a monster identical to the one she had seen earlier.