Chapter 67
While seeing a demon right in front of me was certainly the most shocking part,
That wasn't what kept drawing my attention.
Recently, I'd developed a habit of using 'Player's Eye' whenever I met strangers.
That way I could determine whether they were Otherworlders or not.
This time was no exception, and thanks to that, I was able to notice something just as shocking as that grotesque demon bastard.
[Wow it's Yor]
[Yoha yoha]
[Why did he come out of that hole?]
[No run away! There's a demon here right now!]
[Yeop-yeop you bitch if you let him die I'll seriously get you banned with viewbots]
[ㄴ You have been banned by a moderator.]
It was a stream. One of the guys behind Dantalian was an Otherworlder who was streaming. Well, honestly I could deal with the streaming part.
The problem was that there was a demon right in front of me, and who knew what could happen.
"Hmm, since you seem to already know me, I'll skip the introductions. I take it you live here?"
As I was lost in these thoughts, the demon Dantalian spoke up.
The way his head squirmed and changed shape was quite fascinating.
While I'd heard about it from Chae-rin's reports before, seeing it in person was still surprising.
'How does he even eat?'
Such pointless thoughts only lasted a moment. For now, I tried to deflect.
"... Who knows."
"Hehe, your reaction suggests I'm right."
Unfortunately, such deflection didn't even last a second before being seen through.
'Sigh...'
I let out an internal sigh and asked:
"So what brings you here?"
While I was a bit nervous, demons were beings you could somewhat reason with.
Though they each had a screw loose and tended to try killing people indiscriminately.
Still, they were beings capable of rational thought.
So if I played my cards right, maybe I could get through this peacefully.
As I was thinking this, Dantalian spoke.
"Oh nothing much, just looking for something."
"And what would that be?"
"My apologies. It's not something I can easily discuss with outsiders."
He glanced briefly at the streaming Otherworlder as he said this.
Their username was... Yeop-yeop was it? Anyway, seems he was being careful with his words because of the stream.
Though couldn't he have just had them turn off the stream before coming?
I felt slightly indignant, but there wasn't anything I could do about it.
"By the way, you're quite interesting? Usually people see me and run away in terror. It seems you've met others like me before."
"......"
"Well, nevermind that. I need to check something in your home for a moment. Would you mind stepping aside?"
"If I show you the house... will you just leave?"
"Of course~ As you thought, we're beings you can reason with."
I pondered about him for a moment.
Various thoughts ran through my mind.
Why did they suddenly come to this forest?
And why did they want to investigate my cave?
My eyes briefly caught one of the arms attached to Dantalian's waist.
An arm so severely corroded that only bits of flesh remained clinging to bone.
Yet strangely, it gave off no rotting smell, only a thick demonic energy could be felt.
And that arm was pointing directly at my cave.
'Is that why they want to go in?'
That was about all my uneducated mind could deduce.
"Yes, that's exactly what you're thinking. So please step aside for a moment."
As if reading my thoughts, he confirmed it with his polite manner of speech.
I thought for a moment.
Is blocking them from entering the right answer? Or should I just let them into the house peacefully?
'I don't really want to let strangers in though...'
I had all those blood bottles stashed in the very back.
While it was a bit troublesome, I didn't have many options.
I certainly didn't want to fight a demon with the stream still running.
I could probably agree to let them in if they at least agreed to keep that streamer out.
I wanted to resolve this situation somewhat peacefully.
"Excuse me, Lord Dantalian. May I say something, though it might be presumptuous?"
If only one of those Lemegeton guys hadn't opened their mouth.
"That person is a talent Lemegeton is seeking."
"Oh, is that so? Why?"
"Well, I'm not entirely sure of the reason... But I happened to overhear that the Branch Leader and Team Leaders held a meeting about him."
I smacked my forehead. Since humans weren't enough, now they're trying to recruit me using demons.
"You heard that? Plans have changed. You'll be coming with us."
"Why are you demons listening to those guys anyway?"
"Haha, because you need powerful allies to survive long-term. Isn't the world all about mutual cooperation?"
While that made sense, hearing it from a demon felt somewhat strange.
I briefly glanced at Yeop-yeop's stream chat.
[wtf those cult freaks know Yor?]
[No way fk don't fall for it]
[Obviously some users must have told them about him you fking bastards]
[But is that enough to call him a talent?]
[I mean look at his face he does look talented lol]
Thankfully they only showed some curiosity, without digging too deep.
Of course, my answer was already decided. I firmly rejected him:
"Sorry, but no thanks."
My rejection didn't seem to bother him at all. His smile only grew wider.
Quite an unusual reaction. His face changed once again as he turned to the follower from earlier and asked:
"By any chance, must we only use peaceful methods to recruit talent?"
"Uh, well... The Branch Leaders all think differently about that so I'm not sure."
"I see!"
Dantalian nodded vigorously.
And that's when it happened.
A strange sense of foreboding gripped my senses. Warning bells suddenly rang in my head.
My hearing caught a subtle disturbance at the edge of my perception.
I immediately rolled to the side.
Whoosh-!
Soon after, a spear shot through where I had been standing. A solid, sharp spear made of precise mana. If I had stayed put, it would have pierced straight through my shoulder.
I frowned deeply.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"My, I was hoping to at least wound you a bit. Your reflexes are quite impressive."
"I asked what you think you're doing."
"What else? I'm trying to recruit you."
I drew out my spear.
"You think I'll join you if you do this? If anything, you're just making me more resistant."
"Hehe, well that remains to be seen. And this isn't just about recruitment. You've made me quite curious."
"Oh for fuck's sake."
I couldn't help but curse.
Why are demons so interested in me? Do I have some kind of demon-attracting pheromones or something?
"Oh? So you've met other demons before?"
Even as I was thinking this, his attacks continued.
Whoosh!
Another spear shot toward me. A black spear as dark as his heart.
Both its power and speed were far from ordinary.
I had to use somewhat exaggerated movements to dodge his attacks. Getting grazed was fine, but there was currently a stream running.
[Wow wtf can he see those?]
[Run away! You can't die!]
[How is he dodging those holy shit]
Once a fight breaks out, you have no choice but to fight.
From my rolled position, I shot toward him. The sharp spear blade rushed in swiftly.
Despite the speed of my strike, his expression didn't change at all.
Rather, as if he'd expected it, a barrier appeared to block the spear's trajectory.
Clang!
Along with the clear sound, his eyes filled with even more interest.
"So that's why you weren't afraid of me - you had confidence in your abilities."
"......"
"But that alone doesn't explain everything. You seem more worried about something else. Rather than fearing for your life upon meeting a demon, you seem more concerned about your location being exposed. As if you have something to hide. Right?"
I kept my mouth shut. This guy's deductions were frighteningly sharp.
From asking if I'd met demons before earlier, to what he just said now.
His insights were as sharp as blades, almost like he was reading others' thoughts.
"Do you think I can read minds?"
...Yeah, just like that.
Wait, can this guy actually read minds?
"Come now, you don't really think I can actually read minds, do you? I'm just making humble guesses."
While his tone was denial, I could vaguely sense it.
The playfulness in his voice.
So that statement was a lie. He was telling a blatant lie.
"You're smarter than I expected. Well, fine. Let's say I can read minds as you think and continue our conversation. While you seem wary of exposure, I can't quite tell what you're so wary of. Tell me, what are you worried about?"
I held back both my words and thoughts.
Of course, thoughts aren't something you can control at will just because you want to.
But you can guide them away from certain topics by focusing on other things.
So I swung my spear.
After adjusting my grip on the spear, I swung the shaft toward his right flank.
"The right, I see."
Unfortunately it was blocked. But I had expected that much.
I immediately followed up with my next attack.
Clang!
Using the rebound force from the barrier, I spun my body. This time I viciously swung the spear at his left temple.
"Left. How predictable."
The fight continued like this for a while.
I pressed my attack fiercely to minimize stray thoughts. But none of my attacks managed to reach him.
Because he could read thoughts.
Every time I attacked, a barrier would appear right on time to block it. Though I did wonder why he never tried dodging.
By this point, I couldn't help but feel it.
'He's on a different level.'
He was at least a cut above any demon I'd met before.
It was frustrating how he didn't even flinch at my attacks.
What made it more annoying was that he wasn't just defending either.
Whenever he found an opening, he would launch attacks at me too.
While I could detect disturbances with my hearing,
There was a limit to how many invisible magic spears I could dodge.
Then an accident happened during all this.
Shik-
While desperately dodging attacks, I finally took a hit.
It was a mistake, but also unavoidable. My concentration and stamina weren't infinite after all.
The wound was trivial. Just a small scratch really.
However, the fact that I was wounded was itself the problem.
Shhhhk-
The wound healed at rapid speed. Of course he wouldn't miss such a scene.
His eyes lit up more clearly than ever before. A smile crept across his eerie face.
"Aha."
Then he spoke in a very pleased voice.
"So you're a Manifestor after all."
The stream was still running.