Chapter 50: One-Horned Lord

After things settled down, Yor first led Chae-rin into the cave.

Something major had happened, but he couldn't just leave her standing out there.

There wasn't much conversation on the way to the cave. Both of their minds were preoccupied.

"......"

Of course, being human, Chae-rin felt uneasy too.

'Demon's Blood' would naturally be a sensitive topic for NPCs after all.

She could understand why he had shown such wariness until now.

'Then was that time he was covered in blood... related to this?'

Though she still had many questions.

Well, there would probably be other chances to ask later.

As they walked to the cave, Chae-rin asked:

"But is it really okay to just let that person go? Considering they even told me about it..."

"Yeah, I'm worried too."

"Then why...?"

She carefully asked with her eyes. Meaning why did he let them go peacefully.

Perhaps because she sees the world as a game, she asks so casually why he didn't kill them.

Of course, Yor had his reasons.

He had no choice.

It's true he felt sympathy for another rare Manifestor like himself.

But more than that, he was worried about Lemegeton backing them.

What would they think if he eliminated their member? They definitely wouldn't stay quiet.

While he absolutely refused to join the sect, he had no intention of becoming complete enemies either.

They were already troublesome enough, why make things worse?

Just thinking about them was giving him a headache...

'I'll think about it later.'

In the end, Yor pushed the thoughts onto his future self. Things would work out somehow.

"... Hehe."

Coming out of his thoughts, he saw Chae-rin grinning annoyingly in front of him.

Yor asked her.

"What are you smiling about with that creepy look?"

"Huh? Oh, well..."

Chae-rin fumbled her words.

She could never admit she was happy about 'having a secret that only she knew'.

Since Demon's Blood was such a sensitive topic, he probably hadn't told anyone.

What did that mean?

It meant she was the first Otherworlder to learn the truth!

Thinking about that made her feel somehow closer to him, like she could approach more easily now. She couldn't help feeling good about that.

But those thoughts were brief, as curiosity soon arose within her.

Was she really the first one to learn this truth...?

"Um, does anyone else know about this besides me?"

Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked Yor.

"Ah, yeah. Your editor already knows about it?"

And then she heard the shocking truth.

As soon as she heard it, Chae-rin internally cursed at her editor.

'Unnie...!'

Just when had that person found out about this! She always seems to be mysteriously one step ahead.

She should have shared such important information.

Well, thinking about it, it probably wasn't information that could be shared...

Still, as a close business partner, she couldn't help feeling a bit hurt.

So she thought to herself for a moment. She'd give her more work from now on.

Of course, since she wasn't an evil employer, she planned to pay more too.

As she was thinking this, Yor asked again:

"So, why did you come here today?"

"Ah!"

Only then did Chae-rin remember she had important information today.

"Yor, I have good news and bad news - which would you like to hear first?"

"Hmm... the good news first."

Yor preferred taking his beatings later.

Ahem, Chae-rin cleared her throat. As if building suspense, deliberately drawing it out.

The words that finally came from her mouth were indeed surprising news.

"Seere has been eliminated."

"What?!"

Hearing that, Yor immediately cheered.

Finally that gay bastard was dead!

Honestly, since his location had been exposed, he'd been worried about when he might come for revenge.

Seems like he got eliminated before that could happen.

Well, it would be hard to survive long with a missing left arm.

The person who eliminated him was that Battle King he'd heard about from Sephir.

Someone who dared to charge in barehanded and earned the title of 'King'.

It's not that Seere's body was weak, but what made him truly frightening was his ability.

Originally his ability specialized in stealing and using others' things.

But when he met someone who fought with bare fists from the start, he couldn't even put up a fight.

Anyway, it was extremely good news.

Not only was a threat to himself gone, but the Holy Water supply would open up again.

Though he'd stocked up Holy Water to prepare for the future, now that Seere was eliminated, there was no reason to pay high prices for it anymore.

Which meant he could get Holy Water again too.

'Farewell, Rage Mode A.'

Yor internally waved goodbye to Rage Mode A. He wouldn't miss it much.

As he was grinning to himself:

Unlike his joy, he noticed Chae-rin averting her gaze with an awkward expression.

She seemed to have more to say, but was finding it difficult to bring up seeing how happy he was.

Come to think of it, there was still the bad news left.

Feeling something ominous, Yor carefully asked Chae-rin:

"So, what's the bad news...?"

"Ah, um..."

Chae-rin continued.

"They say... another divine message came down. A prophecy about a new demon appearing..."

"What? Oh shit."

This time Yor unconsciously muttered a curse.

What the hell was this about? What kind of relay was this, getting elimination news and manifestation news together?

Still, he tried to regain his composure and asked Chae-rin.

As always, manifesting demons had names after all.

"Then what's the name of the demon manifesting this time? Do you know?"

She nodded lightly at his question.

Then slowly opened her mouth.

"It's..."

*

Wooooong!

Light poured from the altar engraved with geometric patterns.

It was a sign that the summoning would begin soon. The gate connecting to the Demon World would open and call forth the demon they had found.

Seeing this, Livia, the 3rd Branch Leader dispatched here, let out a brief exclamation.

"Wow, this one's summoning quickly."

It felt like they hadn't even poured in that much mana, yet the summoning circle was already glowing.

Whether the required offerings were originally few, or the seal had already been partially weakened when they arrived. Either way, it was quite good news for them.

This altar too was found using Andromalius's arm of course.

Thanks to Seere working hard to draw the continent's attention all this time, they'd been able to break seals without much interference.

"Oh!"

"It-it's coming!"

As time passed, the demon began to reveal its form.

The two church members with her exclaimed in wonder at the sight.

The first thing visible was its large, magnificent horn.

An extremely sharp and long horn protruding from the center of its head could be seen.

After that came a snow-white mane, and fur like white jade.

Apart from the horn on its head, it overall resembled a high-class white horse.

What people commonly call a unicorn.

Just looking at its appearance, it seemed more like a divine beast than a demon.

The only hints of its demonic nature were the thick demonic energy flowing around it and its endless black pupils.

When the demon manifested, the Branch Leader and two church members quickly knelt and greeted it.

"We welcome you, One-Horned Lord Amducias!"

""We welcome you!""

The 67th ranked demon, Amducias.

"...Hmm."

As soon as it appeared, it looked around as if displeased.

Shunk-! Shunk-!

Then without warning, it stabbed and killed the church members on either side of the Branch Leader.

"Urgh!"

"Argh!"

Horrible flesh sounds mixed with agonized screams rang out.

Just like that, the lives of the church members except the Branch Leader vanished instantly.

"Huh...?"

The Branch Leader, Livia, asked in confusion.

"W-why...?"

"Those two had lost their purity."

"?"

She tilted her head, not understanding the answer she heard.

Regardless, Amducias continued with a furrowed brow, though its voice was quite pleasant.

"How unpleasant and filthy to see non-virgins as soon as I enter this world..."

"Ah, um..."

"In contrast, you still maintain your purity. Most excellent."

The unicorn's eyes turned to the Branch Leader.

There was even a hint of favor in its gaze.

Honestly she was still confused about what the hell this was about, but being good at reading the room, Livia was able to respond quickly.

"I-I've preserved my chastity until now thinking of meeting you, One-Horned Lord!"

"Hahaha! You flatter without even wetting your lips!"

Amducias continued with a hearty laugh.

"But I don't dislike it. I am very fond of the pure ones."

Phew, Livia let out a small internal sigh.

Thank goodness. At least it seemed to like her.

Then she thought for a moment.

The demon summoned this time seemed a bit... not right in the head...