novelraw Chapter 70 : Bulgarutu (5)
Chapter 70 : Bulgarutu (5)
Chapter 70: Bulgarutu (5)
“Do you feel anything?”
“No, nothing at all……”
At Leon’s question, Retina shook her head.
Ever since the Saint had gone underground, the Black Dragon Mercenary Corps had been divided into two groups — a guard unit stationed at the labyrinth entrance, and a search unit that pursued traces of demonic energy.
And Leon had been permanently assigned to the search unit.
It was only natural. Leon’s senses were exceptional — he could perceive things that ordinary people couldn’t. His placement was an obvious choice.
Then Ryan spoke up.
“By the way, Retina, what if something happens at the labyrinth entrance? We can’t exactly rush over there right away, can we?”
“Are you saying you don’t trust the Captain?”
“No, that’s not what I meant at all.”
Retina, by nature, was a sharp-tongued person. She was unusually lenient only toward Leon — and Leon alone.
Ryan’s face went pale. He was anxious, thinking he had offended his senior.
Seeing his expression, Retina let out a small laugh.
“Heh, I’m joking. Don’t worry, there shouldn’t be any problems. It’s not like before — now we have two mages, remember?”
“Rahan? What about him?”
“Rahan and I can communicate through magic. As long as we don’t get too far apart, we’ll be fine. There shouldn’t be any issues within this city.”
Ryan nodded. It wasn’t that he distrusted Garan. But since when did the world ever go according to plan?
Fortunately, there was a contingency. Ryan secretly sighed in relief.
“Please, don’t tease me too much. I might look tough, but I’ve got a soft heart.”
“Huhu, that’s exactly why you’re so fun to tease.”
“Anyway, I think we’ve covered just about every place. We haven’t found a single lead. Are we sure there’s even a demon beast here—”
Ryan suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Right next to him was someone who despised demon beasts to the core. He couldn’t imagine what Leon might say if he heard that.
“Leon, don’t take it the wrong way. I was just wondering if— huh?”
Ryan tilted his head. Leon, who had been standing beside him a moment ago, had vanished.
“Where did he go?”
“……No idea.”
Retina sighed at the question. It was a sigh that carried clear frustration.
Even after searching the entire city, Leon couldn’t sense even the faintest trace of a demon beast. Still, he trusted his instincts.
‘That energy I felt back then definitely belonged to a demon beast. There’s no way I was mistaken.’
That made it all the more vexing.
By now, he should have found the source of that energy — yet, no matter how thoroughly he searched, not even a speck of dust turned up.
‘If I don’t find it soon, something’s bound to happen……’
Leon clenched his fist in frustration.
That was when—
Tap, tap.
Someone poked him lightly at the waist. The touch wasn’t hostile; it was so gentle he hadn’t even noticed the person approach.
“You are……”
When he turned around, he saw the child he had met earlier that morning looking up at him.
“What is it? Did you come to ask for another chicken skewer?”
Leon asked in his usual curt tone — far too blunt for a child. A normal kid would have been intimidated.
But this one wasn’t. Instead, the child shook their head.
“Someone… collapsed.”
“So you can talk after all? You didn’t even thank me when I bought you that skewer, so I thought you couldn’t speak.”
“……Sorry.”
The child blushed slightly and rubbed their throat. It seemed speaking was difficult for them.
“Well, that’s fine. Anyway, you said someone collapsed?”
“Yeah. A human. I could feel Solar’s grace.”
“Solar’s grace? A priest, then? But why call them ‘human’? You speak as though you aren’t one.”
“……”
The child didn’t answer, turning their head aside.
…Definitely not an ordinary child. Even considering his past life, Leon had never seen one like this.
‘They look about Rahan’s age, but I can’t read them at all.’
Completely different from Rahan, whose emotions were always plain as day.
Leon thought for a moment. A human — likely a priest — had collapsed. Normally, he wouldn’t have cared. Leon was fundamentally indifferent to others. And besides, he was in the middle of a demon beast search.
If not for the child’s request, he would’ve just walked away without a second thought.
But then, an image of Frey flashed through his mind.
Perhaps the person was someone Frey knew.
With a sigh, Leon asked the child to lead the way.
Then he remembered Retina and Ryan, who had disappeared earlier.
“By the way, did you happen to see anyone else? A black-haired woman and a blond man. The woman’s pretty, and the man’s… well, he’s got a decent face. Do you know them?”
“Why are you looking for them?”
“We were together earlier, but they vanished at some point. I think they might’ve gotten lost.”
At that, the child frowned and looked at Leon as if he’d said something strange.
“There were three of you. And now, only you’re left?”
“That’s right.”
“Then maybe… you’re the one who got lost?”
“……”
It was a reasonable deduction.
Leon nodded.
“True. Looks like I’m the one who got lost. I’ll regroup later. So, where are the ones you mentioned?”
“Two blocks ahead. Just walk straight.”
“How am I supposed to find them if you put it like that? Lead the way properly.”
“……”
The child stared at him for a moment, then sighed.
“Follow me.”
“Hmm.”
Leon followed the child, and soon he saw several figures lying on the ground. Five in total. Their chests rose and fell slightly — they weren’t dead.
“Are these the ones? They don’t smell of alcohol, so why are they sleeping out here?”
Just as Leon was about to wake them, a memory flickered through his mind.
‘I’ve seen these faces before…’
And not long ago, either.
‘They’re the Holy Knights.’
The fallen people were identical to the Holy Knights who had recently gone missing — except they weren’t wearing their armor.
A sudden sense of unease washed over me.
“Kid, do you know why these people were lying here like this?”
“Yeah. The demons did it.”
“Demons? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t… know about demons?”
The child asked with a startled look. There wasn’t a trace of deceit in that expression of confusion.
“People here are weird. How can you not know what demons are?”
It was a child’s statement — something that could easily be dismissed as nonsense.
But I didn’t brush it off.
“What’s your name, kid?”
“Requilith. Of the Great Blood of Night.”
“The Great Night? What’s that supposed to be?”
My face hardened. Judging from the situation, the people who had collapsed were surely Holy Knights.
And if what the child said was true, it meant those “demons” were the ones responsible.
‘Who on earth are these demons? I’ve never even heard of such a race — not once, not even in the books I’ve read.’
I sighed. Too many stray thoughts. I needed to think simply.
‘The demons disguised themselves as Holy Knights and infiltrated the labyrinth entrance without proper permission. Their intentions are clearly impure.’
This wasn’t something I could keep to myself.
I hoisted the fallen men onto my back. Their weight pressed heavily against me.
“Kid, I’ve got a lot of questions. Follow me, and I’ll buy you ten more chicken skewers.”
“……!!”
Requilith’s eyes gleamed as he nodded eagerly.
So the rumors about Bulgarutu Mountain’s chicken skewers being delicious were true.
With that, I started heading back toward the labyrinth entrance, where Garan was stationed.
“Hmm? Leon? What’s that you’ve got on your back?”
As soon as I arrived, Garan approached.
“I heard from Retina — you suddenly disappeared? What happened?”
“Please, take a good look at their faces.”
“Hm? ……These men?!”
Garan’s face grew grave.
“Where did you find them?”
“They were lying unconscious in a back alley where no one usually passes. I found them thanks to this kid.”
Garan glanced at the child standing beside me.
“What’s your name?”
“……”
No answer. The kid fidgeted, clearly nervous.
Seeing that, I said,
“Requilith, I’ll add one chicken skewer for every question you answer.”
“Requilith.”
As expected — chicken skewers did the trick. Requilith’s hesitant pronunciation suddenly became clear.
“……Quite the peculiar kid. Leon, I’m sure you’ve already asked him most of what we need. Keep questioning him — those impersonating Holy Knights are no small matter. I’ll report this to the Guild.”
“Understood.”
With that, Garan moved quickly. Rahan sent a message to Retina to return, while the others tightened security around the area.
The situation was urgent. Before Garan returned, I decided to extract as much information as I could.
“Requilith, you said the demons knocked these people out? Then are you also one of them — one of the so-called Great Blood of Night?”
“Yeah. But I’m only half. Even among demons, there are ranks.”
“Ranks?”
“I’m a demon who’s useless in battle. In other words, a defective one.”
“Useless in battle, so you’re called defective… Sounds like they have the same values as warriors. Do you know why they disguised themselves as Holy Knights?”
“Yeah. They said… they were going to kill the Saint.”
“……!!”
Everyone around us gasped in shock.
To kill the Saint — an act that would turn them into enemies of the entire world. And yet there were those who intended to commit such a crime?
“This labyrinth here — the demons made it too. It’s a magical construct meant to lure the Saint in.”
“……”
One shocking revelation after another — the torrent of information hit like a flood.
Even Kazan, who had seen countless battles, could barely speak. The gravity of the situation was beyond measure.
I thought to myself.
‘What are these demons really? Why would they want to assassinate the Saint?’
It was a matter far more serious than killing the ruler of a small kingdom.
This was the Saint recognized by the Holy Kingdom itself. Whether they succeeded or failed, the demons would be hunted for life.
‘Even the Emperor of Belgarion wouldn’t dare attempt such a thing.’
And yet there were beings out there who would.
That was when it struck me.
I recalled the memory of the World Tree — the beings outside that even the Evil God had feared, the demon beasts he left behind in his dying breath… and now, the existence of the demons.
My mind sharpened, and I asked,
“Requilith, can you wield the power of Jeozudin?”
“Jeozudin? You mean the Demon God of this continent?”
“Demon God? If you mean the Evil God, then yes.”
“Of course I can. Every demon can wield magical energy.”
At that moment, a strange energy began emanating from Requilith’s body.
It was foul and unsettling — the kind of aura that made your hair stand on end, as though every sense in your body was being forcibly awakened.
The energy I’d been feeling since arriving in this city… was right in front of me.
The energy Requilith called magical energy —
It was none other than the aura of a demon beast.