Water Magician

Vol 3. Chapter 692: Bonus Part: Ryo and Abel’s Journey Home (20)

0692 A Strange Tale of the Demon Men Cult II

The area around the outpost of the Northwestern Garrison had turned into hell.

Watching it with clear displeasure was a man with light-blue hair and red eyes.

At his side stood a girl with black hair falling to the middle of her back and golden eyes.

The girl was smiling.

It was a sinister smile, grotesquely out of place on someone so young.

Because her face was beautiful, the malice in it stood out all the more.

“Kh-kh-kh. I can feel it. The blood of the humans spilled upon the earth is becoming my flesh and blood.”

Even the way she spoke did not suit someone of a girl’s apparent age in the slightest.

“Raja, I don’t like bullying the weak.”

The light-blue-haired man muttered with a sigh.

Raja, the black-haired girl, shot him a sharp look and snapped at him as if biting.

“I know that! That’s why I came with you. If I left the command to Dainan, it wouldn’t become a massacre. You’d spare the weak and let them run!”

“Well... I can’t exactly deny that...”

“Then deny it! Listen to my orders properly and slaughter them all! You are my servant, aren’t you?”

“I won’t deny that.”

“Of course you won’t!”

The light-blue-haired man... Dainan, servant of the Demon Men, gave a small shrug, while the black-haired girl who was his master scowled in irritation.

“Dainan, the outer forts have been secured.”

“Good. That leaves the main compound. Hm? Come to think of it, we haven’t gotten a single report from the group attacking the outpost itself.”

Dainan nodded once at his subordinate’s report.

Then he realized no word had come in that the main outpost had been taken.

He turned and asked the black-haired girl beside him.

“No reports... right?”

“They haven’t taken the outpost at all. The fragments carried by those who live by battle make the strongest flesh and blood, yet hardly any of them are falling to the earth.”

“Ah...”

The cultist who had delivered the report and was still standing there listening understood none of the conversation.

He had not been told that the black-haired girl in front of him, Raja, was in fact the Demon Man they worshiped.

To the cultists, the light-blue-haired Dainan was the leader guiding them.

“Well then, I’ll go—”

“I will.”

Raja cut right across Dainan’s words.

A look of open distaste spread across Dainan’s face.

“Hey, Dainan, what is with that face?”

Raja jabbed a finger at him and barked.

“No, it’s just...”

“Whatever you were going to say, I’m going.”

With that, Raja started walking without hesitation.

Shaking his head a little, Dainan followed after her.

The outpost of the Northwestern Garrison was resisting stubbornly.

All the surrounding outer forts had fallen, but the main compound still looked untouched.

The Demon Men cultists had it surrounded, yet unlike the outer forts, they had not managed to break it.

The cultists were blessed by the Demon Men, strengthened by the Demon Men’s power flowing into them.

Even so, at their core, they were still human.

It was not easy to storm by brute force a place where trained soldiers had barricaded themselves.

Then their leader arrived: Dainan, with his light-blue hair.

Beside him was the black-haired girl he kept with him.

The black-haired girl normally stayed deep inside their stronghold and never came to a front line like this, so seeing the two of them together on a battlefield was unusual.

“How many are holed up inside?”

“Roughly two thousand, I’d say.”

“Two thousand? So more than half the Northwestern Garrison is still in there?”

Dainan sounded genuinely surprised.

“No wonder the power isn’t surging.”

Only Dainan heard Raja’s mutter.

“No, but you’ve grown a great deal in these last three months.”

Dainan murmured under his breath.

“That is because the Wall of the Corridor opened. I don’t know who opened it, but thanks to that, the ‘certain power’ from the Central Countries has begun to flow in.”

“The power from the ley lines, you mean. Before that, I was the one sending out Demon Men bugs and taking Kunmamo Castle to gather fragments, doing everything I could to keep your existence from fading, Raja, little by little. So what about my contribution—”

“I know! When I return completely, I will reward you. Besides, as my power fills, your own strength is increasing too, is it not?”

“Well, I can’t deny that.”

Raja and Dainan kept their voices low, and amid the uproar in front of the Northwestern Garrison outpost, the cultists could not hear them.

Even if they had, they would not have understood.

“Good. Then I shall personally harvest the ‘God fragments’ flowing through these humans.”

“Ah...”

Raja declared that with a sinister smile.

Dainan sighed.

Raja began walking slowly toward the outpost.

As she walked, she raised one hand into the air.

The space split open.

She thrust her hand into the crack in space, grabbed something, and drew it out.

What she held was a curved sword nearly as long as her body.

If Ryo had been there, he probably would have shouted, “A katana!”

Though compared to an ordinary katana, it was nearly twice the length...

“As expected, this body is too small to wield Hotaru properly... but no matter.”

Laughing aloud, Raja kept approaching the outpost.

Apparently, that oversized katana was called Hotaru.

Meanwhile, Dainan followed about ten paces behind her.

He knew what was about to happen.

He had no desire to be any closer than that.

Still, he thought being too far away would also be a bad look.

Of course, he did not believe Raja could actually be hurt.

She was still far from complete resurrection, but he knew humans had no way of injuring her.

In outward appearance, Raja was unmistakably a girl.

Ordinarily, if such a child came walking toward them, someone would have challenged her.

Who are you? Stop right there.

That was the kind of shouting one would expect.

But no such voices came from the outpost.

The Northwestern Garrison recognized her as an enemy carrying a gigantic sword.

Dozens of arrows flew toward Raja as she approached, step by step.

Every single one missed.

Anyone sufficiently observant might have noticed that even arrows on a direct course bent before reaching Raja.

As though the very path the arrows were meant to travel had warped.

If Ryo had been there, he might have realized space itself was being distorted.

But the Northwestern Garrison did not think that way.

They assumed the archers had simply missed, that if they aimed properly next time, they would hit.

A second volley followed.

The result was the same.

“Impossible!”

“What is happening?”

Even among the garrison troops, agitation began to spread.

Something dangerous was coming closer.

Whether they wanted to understand it or not, they were made to.

That dangerous thing reached the great gate of the outpost.

“Hnh!”

It was truly one stroke, two halves.

Raja brought the giant blade down in a diagonal slash.

In a single blow, the great gate was cut down.

There was no resistance at all.

After that, it was nothing but slaughter.

Each time Raja took a step, heads went flying from soldiers’ shoulders.

Blood burst upward.

Raja walked through the red fountains as though savoring the sensation.

Dainan, following ten steps behind as her servant, remained untouched by the blood.

To be honest, he did not care much for human blood.

It was sticky, and once it got on clothing, no amount of washing ever got it fully out.

“I’m going to have to throw out Raja’s clothes again...”

That thought alone was enough to make him sigh.

“This is why I didn’t want her coming along.”

The cultists were human.

He had to keep them fed.

And that took money. They had reserves now—enough to call inexhaustible, really—but there had been times before reaching this point when things had been difficult.

Dainan was the sort who worried over such things.

The fountain show ended after about ten minutes.

“That felt good.”

Covered in blood from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, Raja spoke with a smile that was at once sinister and strangely alluring.

“So? Do you feel a little more power surging through you now?”

Dainan asked with a sigh.

“You want to know? Then I shall share the power I gained with you.”

The instant Raja said that—

“Ghk.”

The sound spilled involuntarily from Dainan’s mouth.

It was the voice of someone in agony...

“Fuhahahahaha. This is incredible... truly incredible, Raja.”

The Dainan who had worn the expression of a long-suffering man was gone.

In his place stood a servant of the Demon Men with a hideous smile worthy of Raja’s retainer.

“The power is overflowing.”

“Of course it is.”

Raja nodded in satisfaction at Dainan’s words.

The four thousand men of the Northwestern Garrison had lived through many battles, and the God fragments they carried were, in a sense, purer than those of ordinary people.

Both Raja and Dainan, who had lived a very long time, knew that.

But this time, combined with the power of the ley lines flowing in from the Central Countries, it had produced a synergy greater than anything they had ever experienced.

“The ley lines must have built up while the Corridor was closed. For these last three months, they have been pouring in at a tremendous rate. And now, on top of that, this harvest of God fragments... astonishing.”

“Then your complete resurrection may be close at hand, Raja?”

“Yes. There can be no doubt. Kh-kh-kh.”

And so, the outpost of the Northwestern Garrison was reduced to ashes.

*****

The news of the Northwestern Garrison’s annihilation reached Farafao Village at noon the following day.

Someone from the town of Juraju had come to deliver the report.

When they heard it, not one of the villagers could speak.

In that silence, the first to open his mouth was Ronja.

“Juraju... is the town safe?”

“Yeah. The town’s untouched. Those Demon Men cult bastards attacked only the outpost and slaughtered every soldier there. Someone else should’ve already run to report it to Count Fanran too.”

“Count Fanran... that lord with lands off to the east?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s pretty far away.”

“He is. Still, we had to notify someone...”

Ronja, asking the question, and the messenger answering it both understood that the report would take days to arrive.

That was how far away it was.

That was precisely why a force as large as the four-thousand-strong Northwestern Garrison had been stationed in such a remote frontier.

And yet it had been wiped out in a single night.

“Abel, the ones who attacked the Northwestern Garrison... this was Demon Men-related after all, wasn’t it?”

“Most likely.”

A little apart from Ronja and the others, Ryo asked, and Abel answered.

Abel answered, but he looked as though he was thinking about something else.

“Abel, is there something bothering you?”

“Yeah. They attacked the garrison outpost, but they left the town of Juraju right beside it untouched, didn’t they?”

“That’s what it sounds like. Why, though? Did they run out of time after attacking the outpost? Maybe they’re planning to hit the town tonight?”

“No. I don’t think they will...”

Abel gave a small shake of his head.

“I think they target fighters—adventurers and soldiers—not ordinary civilians.”

“Ohhh. Then the Demon Man that appeared in the kingdom too... what was his name again... was he the same way?”

“Yeah. Garwin. At first, even we didn’t understand the pattern that clearly. But after getting sent to the Eastern Countries, I kept thinking it over. For some reason, I think they’re after the lives of people who fight.”

Abel spoke while thinking it through.

His conclusion was correct, but there was no information here that could prove it with certainty.

In the course of resurrection, a Demon Man required God fragments.

The people who carried many of them were humans—especially soldiers who had strode across battlefields, or adventurers who had survived repeated brushes with death.

When they died, the God fragments inside them flowed into the earth together with their blood.

That became the power driving a Demon Man’s resurrection.

If Abel had known even the term God fragments, perhaps that knowledge might have connected with what Ryo had learned in the Western Countries...

“So even when Abel is convinced, huh...”

Ryo gave Abel a dubious look.

Their positions were reversed for once.

“Hey. What’s with that look?”

“This is the look Abel always gives me.”

“Is it? No... now that you mention it, maybe it is...”

“Well, now you can enjoy what it feels like to be looked at like that!”

“You say that, but...”

Abel gave a wry smile.

Then he continued.

“Anyway, that prediction just now—it’s a hypothesis Viscount Deveau once raised.”

“Lashata Deveau? The temple’s keeper of traditions?”

Ryo remembered meeting her during the Demon Men bug incident.

She had been exceptionally capable when it came to old traditions—so much so that the temple had made a special exception just to keep her within its ranks.

“At the time, Viscount Deveau herself didn’t sound especially certain. But now, I think we have to assume she was right.”

“If Lashata says so, then it must be true!”

“So when I say it, you still can’t believe me?”

“Of course not! The trust and track record are completely different!”

For some reason, Ryo declared that with absurd authority, looking down on Abel from above.

For the record, Abel was His Majesty the King, and Ryo was the Premier Duke.

In a sense, Abel was Ryo’s direct superior.

And yet Ryo was the one acting more important.

“Speaking of Lashata, she helped us in Kona Village. Back then, it was Demon Men bugs...”

“Demon Men bugs?”

Abel tilted his head at Ryo’s words.

Just then, Ronja happened to come over.

So Ryo decided to ask.

“Excuse me, Ronja.”

“Yes?”

“A long time ago around here... did you ever see bugs about the size of a pinky fingernail, with ten legs? The kind that ooze red liquid like blood when you crush them?”

The moment Ryo asked, Ronja’s eyes widened.

“Yes. Yes, we did. We called them blood bugs. There used to be a lot of them around here... They were here all year, but now that you mention it, I haven’t seen them lately.”

“Lately?”

“Yes... for about three months, I’d say. Strange, now that I think about it.”

After giving that answer, Ronja was called away by the other villagers and left.

“Ryo... those blood bugs—did you call them Demon Men bugs? Then are they...”

“Yes. I think they’re something like the first stage in a Demon Man gathering power. Apparently they appeared in Kona Village too. But over there it didn’t last for very long... probably because they stole a vampire’s power.”

“I remember seeing a report about that. The vampire who was drained of power... was that Count Haskil Carinikos?”

“That’s the one. The vampire himself said his power had been taken. So normally, I think they gather strength over a long period, just like the blood bugs around here.”

“He said they vanished about three months ago. Right when the Wall of the Corridor opened...”

“Yes. I’m sure that’s connected. And that may be how the servant of the Demon Men gained strength.”

Both Abel and Ryo gave small shakes of the head.

“Orenju during Garwin’s case, and now this light-blue-haired one... are all servants strong swordsmen?”

“Garwin was the Demon Man you fought in the kingdom, right? His servant was strong with a sword too?”

“Yeah. Very.”

“According to red-clad Merlin, even among Demon Men there are differences in traits—in what they’re best at.”

“And yet their servants are all good with swords?”

“That may be the case. Which is a problem.”

Again, both Abel and Ryo shook their heads a little.

*****

At one of their strongholds.

“Hm...”

The black-haired girl tilted her head.

“Do you think you’re close to awakening, Raja?”

The light-blue-haired Dainan asked.

“A little more. Just a little more... but is there no human anywhere carrying a great many God fragments...?”

Raja muttered it without much expectation, but Dainan answered that something did come to mind.

“There is?”

Raja frowned and shot the question back at him.

Her expression was openly ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) skeptical.

At the same time, though, a trace of hope seeped through it too—the kind that said if such a human truly existed, it would be a lucky break. It was a complicated look.

“The other day, I reported that some of the cultists fought the people from Farafao Village...”

“I remember. Their leader... Ronja, was it? Those three wiped them out, didn’t they? Could it be that Ronja?”

“No. After that, I attacked them myself...”

“What? You did not tell me that!”

Dainan answered with an awkward look, and Raja flared at once, anger sharp in her eyes.

“Sorry. It was a little hard to bring up.”

“Why was it hard to bring up?”

“The truth is... he took my strike. No, not just that. He took the barrage after it as well, perfectly.”

“What? Is this Ronja really that strong?”

“No. It wasn’t Ronja. It was a swordsman newly added to Farafao Village. One who wields a demonic sword.”

“You may look like that, but you are my servant. And your power should have grown as well... Are you saying someone blocked every one of those attacks?”

“‘Look like that’... really?”

Raja stared in shock.

Dainan put on a wounded expression.

“Well, whatever. He does sound very promising. But... why was it so difficult to tell me?”

“Because... if I told you, Raja, you’d try to fight him.”

“Yes. Naturally.”

“That’s why.”

“Hm?”

“That demonic-sword wielder is my prey!”

Dainan’s demand was unusually forceful.

Raja stared at him in surprise.

He had been her servant for a long, long time—truly a very long time—and it was rare for Dainan to demand anything in such a tone.

“Well, I only need to recover the God fragments after the demonic-sword wielder dies. So I suppose I can leave him to you.”

“Thank you.”

“But merely watching sounds dull. Shall I handle this Ronja fellow instead?”

“Ah, speaking of which, there was a magician with him. Like a partner to that demonic-sword wielder.”

“Oh?”

“I think that one was very strong too...”

“Hm. Then you would assign that one to me.”

Raja shrugged.

Then she spoke.

“Very well. I shall deal with this magician of yours. That said, I will still watch over your battle.”

“Wait. You’re not going to interfere, right?”

“How persistent! I said I would not interfere.”

“And yet you’re going to watch... only watch? Really?”

Dainan’s eyes had the look of someone staring at something profoundly suspicious.

He clearly did not believe Raja would simply stand there and watch without interfering.

“This is a battle against the demonic-sword wielder you are so obsessed with, is it not? Such a thing is not often seen. It sounds entertaining.”

Raja laughed loudly after saying that.

“We move at once.”

And so, the sudden assault by a Demon Man and her servant was set in motion.