Chapter 31
600 years ago, a large star fell from the night sky of Gaia.
It was a massive star, notably brighter than others, with an oddly changing trajectory.
The ancient people, who had few sources of entertainment, gathered to watch this star.
And soon they realized.
What they thought was a star falling was something entirely different, though star-like. At first glance, it appeared to be some bizarre pentagram made of fabric.
The ancient people, realizing this, tried to flee in terror, but it was already too late.
The fabric pentagram fell among the crowds of people, instantly claiming hundreds of lives.
Afterwards, this massive pentagram continued moving about and massacring countless people.
Though it was eventually destroyed by the heroes of that time, historical records written in blood would later identify its true nature.
'Rank 69, Pentagram Decarabia.'
Though it seemed to be a living being given its fabric form, its bizarre appearance and cruelty made people reluctant to call it life. Thus, the ancients classified it as a demon.
This was the first recorded encounter with demons in this world.
And so people with demon's blood were born into the world, and humanity learned of the dangers demons posed.
Then 400 years ago, another demon descended upon the world.
This one had bird wings and a golden body.
As soon as it manifested, it began slaughtering innocent civilians.
It would also turn metal into gold and water into wine, displaying various bizarre abilities.
Some ignorant ancients were so impressed by these strange powers that they began worshipping it.
However, it met a rather anticlimactic end.
A single superhuman engaged it in mortal combat and beheaded it. Even if a blade turned to gold, it didn't lose its edge, and a superhuman's mana could compensate for the weapon's hardness.
And so the second demon to manifest met a rather pathetic end.
This led the ancients to think:
Maybe demons weren't so unstoppable after all?
'Rank 48, Alchemist Hagenti.'
However, such complacency would be shattered centuries later.
150 years ago from now, another demon manifested in the world.
While people were initially anxious, they weren't too worried.
History had already recorded two successful demon defeats after all.
And those victories came from just a handful of superhumans, not armies of thousands.
Given that track record, they assumed this one would be dealt with too, that even if there was some damage it would quickly be contained...
Such hopes were soon shattered.
They say one of the major powers of that time was brought to the brink of destruction in just days.
Many powerful warriors rushed to face it but none could stop it.
The superhumans' mighty bodies were helplessly cleaved apart by its greatsword, while its black flame incinerated over ten thousand people.
This mighty demon finally fell only after sacrificing three armies and dozens of superhumans.
From that point on, people once again became acutely aware of the threat demons posed.
The trauma from that incident was so severe that afterward, they began executing all those with demon's blood as potential threats.
'Rank 68, Belial of the Black Flame.'
And up until the recent appearance of Rank 72 Andromalius.
That was the total number of demons recorded in history so far.
"Hah..."
The Fourth Knights' Order Commander, Ryleigh, let out a small sigh while reading through the historical records.
Lately it seemed like he was getting headaches more frequently.
The problems caused by the Otherworlders were still piling up like mountains even 9 months later.
And now on top of the demon manifestation, some strange cult worshipping demons had appeared.
Thanks to all this, various imperial officials were complaining of migraines these days.
Because new problems kept arising no matter how many they dealt with.
'What in the world is about to happen...'
He lamented his situation for a moment.
Anyway, what he needed to figure out now was this:
Why did they steal Andromalius's arm?
Looking at the demons recorded so far, they each had their own unique ability.
So this one surely must have had one too. And that power would still linger somewhat in that arm.
"Haah..."
His sigh only grew deeper as he contemplated having to investigate this matter.
*
"Kuhek... Kuk..."
In the dark night sky, somewhere on the plains, three adventurers were currently dying.
All three were A-Class adventurers who had received a request from Im Ha-neul before.
"Ah, this is strange. Did these guys really catch her? Ryan contacted us last, remember? Did you forget that?"
And the ones who had driven them to near-death were just a few humans.
It was that Lemegeton sect that had been causing such a stir lately.
Their strength was considerable - even if it was a surprise attack, they had easily subdued A-Class adventurers.
As they lay dying, one of the cultists spoke.
"Leave them. Seems they had someone else make the report in their place. These guys don't know anything."
"What? They went that far? What a coward that bastard is."
"He's just being cautious, idiot. Now we've lost the lead on why Ryan contacted us."
"No, wait, we should at least know who made the request. Hey, what did the client look like?"
The woman holding the dagger asked while threatening the adventurers.
But she would never get her answer. The adventurers had already breathed their last before then.
"Tch, that's why I said to only wound them moderately."
"I didn't think they'd just drop dead like that, Branch Leader."
"Whatever. Let's go. We're in a hurry."
With that, they stood up and began walking somewhere. In the Branch Leader's hand was Andromalius's left arm.
The snake coiled around that arm turned its head this way and that, guiding them.
The ability they gained from the arm was simple yet powerful.
It helps the user find what they desire. Though there were limits to how many times it could be used.
After walking for quite a while, they arrived at a remote mountain range.
Looking in the direction the snake indicated, the Branch Leader ordered her subordinates:
"Dig here."
At those words, the cultists began digging into the ground.
Thunk-
After digging underground for a while, something solid blocked their path.
As the cultists cleared away the dirt around it, an altar appeared with an engraved symbol.
Seeing this, the Branch Leader's lips curved slightly upward.
"Finally found it."
An altar where a demon was sealed.
As mentioned before, demons were sealed in various places around this world, and these altars could be destroyed or offerings made to them.
Of course, befitting the word 'sealed', most were hidden in the world's depths.
But with the help of the item, they were able to discover an altar after hundreds of years.
The one called Branch Leader examined the altar for a moment.
A somewhat gentle seal depicting what looked like two wings. Probably Seere's seal.
She caressed the seal engraved in the center while thinking to herself.
'I'll free you soon.'
The world was in utter chaos like this.
From a macro perspective, the world resembled a time bomb that could explode at any moment.
Trouble was breaking out everywhere.
But from a more micro perspective.
For example, from the viewpoint of someone who only lived their life in the forest.
No matter how chaotic things were outside, Yor couldn't give less of a fuck about it.
*
"Hmm..."
Several weeks had passed since catching and reporting the assailants.
My daily life hadn't changed. Eating, sleeping, hunting, fighting loneliness.
Greeting occasional visitors to the forest while enduring Rage Mode.
My goals were still survival and living peacefully. And if possible, making some friends too.
That's how I lived my daily life. But lately something had been making me curious.
There wasn't any particular intent behind it. I was just purely curious.
You know how it is sometimes, right?
Why is the sun hot? Why do seasons change?
Those kinds of random questions that pop into your head.
Just pure curiosity that suddenly emerges in your mind, even if it's not particularly meaningful.
What I was suddenly curious about was similar to those kinds of things.
"What's wrong?"
As I was lost in thought with my head down, a voice called from across from me.
It was Yoo Chae-rin. I could see a floating red dot next to her.
Meaning she was currently streaming. It felt like it had been a while since I'd appeared on her stream.
And it really had been a while.
She'd been focused on leveling up lately after all.
"No, just suddenly got curious about something."
"About what?"
[What is it what is it]
[Our oppa... looking pretty hot in that outfit today too...hehe]
[Tell noona everything baby, I'll explain it all]
[Who you calling baby bitch]
She showed interest at my words. She would sometimes answer my questions like this, being my source of information. And as it happened, what I was curious about was related to Otherworlders.
I asked her my question without hesitation:
"Come to think of it, how do you Otherworlders handle relationships with people here?"
My completely out-of-nowhere question in the middle of a calm stream.
The chat window froze for a moment, confused by my words. After a brief silence, Chae-rin asked me back.
"W-What...?"