Chapter 68
My first thought when he spoke was.
My life is now royally screwed.
I was already screwed once by demon blood, but now I'm screwed again.
Because the word 'Manifestor' just came out of his mouth. And worse, while the stream was still running.
Of course, I briefly ran through some hopeful circuits.
Maybe what he said didn't get picked up by the stream? Maybe the viewers couldn't hear it because they were too far?
[What's a Manifestor?]
[Is it food?]
[Obviously not]
[Who cares, you can just look it up online anyway]
But as if telling me to give up such hopes, the chat responses came flooding in immediately.
They didn't seem to know what 'Manifestor' meant yet, but it was only a matter of time before they found out. Given how Otherworlders operate, it was obvious this information would spread like wildfire.
I let out a long sigh.
"Haaah......"
I thought I'd kept it well hidden until now, but things finally blew up.
Well, it had been precarious for a while. More and more people kept coming to the forest, and my cave wasn't exactly perfectly hidden.
But I never expected it to be revealed so unceremoniously.
"Ah, it seems the Otherworlders aren't familiar with the term 'Manifestor'? Then allow me to explain specifically."
Yet strangely, my mind felt calmer than expected. I thought my heart would be pounding from anxiety right now.
Instead, I felt an odd sense of liberation. Like taking off an ill-fitting piece of clothing I'd been wearing all this time.
While thinking about what comes next gave me a headache, this moment itself felt almost refreshing.
Maybe it's because I'd always been thinking about it.
About the moment my secret would be discovered and exposed to the world.
From the moment my existence was revealed, it was a bomb waiting to go off eventually.
Thanks to that, I was mentally prepared in a way.
Either way, what's done is done. There's no point dwelling on things you can't change.
So the first thing to do now is deal with the immediate problem.
"Simply put, a Manifestor is someone who has our demon blood. The demon-blooded that you all hate so much. Those who can bring calamity to you just by existing!"
Even as I was thinking, he was in the middle of giving a speech.
He seemed to take great pleasure in exposing others' secrets. Like a true demon, there was definitely something twisted in his personality.
Shhhk-!
Without a word, I prepared to attack.
Though this time, in a different way. Since I've been exposed anyway, there was no need to hide my abilities anymore.
I withdraw the sword energy that had been wrapping my spear blade until now.
Unfortunately, I can't use my ability and sword energy simultaneously.
But I can employ something more efficient instead.
Pit-
I cut my palm on the spear tip. Blood oozes from the wound.
But instead of dripping to the ground, it wraps around the spear tip. A cool red glow reflects in the sunlight.
This is power that can crumple even a sword wrapped in sword energy like paper.
Not only is it incredibly hard, but when refined its sharpness can rival obsidian.
Even he won't be able to simply ignore this.
With that, my spear rushed towards him.
"Hmm?"
His reaction was a bit slow.
Maybe because he was in the middle of his grand speech to the viewers, his barrier went up later than before.
Even though he should have read my thoughts too.
So I made a careful guess.
'Maybe there are limits to the mind reading?'
Like only being able to read one person at a time. Or only being able to see fragments.
It seemed like a reasonable assumption.
Even as I made these guesses, my attack continued forward.
Though his reaction was delayed, he still managed to put up a barrier.
Once again, a mana barrier blocks my path. But this time, the result will be different.
Crack-!
A sound that shouldn't come from a barrier rang out. Instead of a clear ringing, the sound of something breaking.
Shunk-!
And the sound of fabric being pierced. The spear didn't stop at breaking the barrier, but went on to tear his flesh.
"Ugh...!"
His composed expression finally crumpled.
Thud, one of his ears fell to the ground. Thick blood infused with demonic power dripped to the floor.
I smirked and said.
"Now that's an expression worth seeing."
"L-Lord Dantalian...!"
"How could this...!!"
Horror spread across the faces of the cultists behind him. The chat window I glimpsed was scrolling too fast to read.
I didn't bother paying attention to that.
Even though he let his guard down and gave me an opening, I couldn't afford to get careless myself.
After all, he was supposed to be a powerful demon. And one rated as the most troublesome among all those who had manifested so far.
"Heh, hehehe... You got me there."
See? That bastard. His pained expression only lasted a moment before he recovered that irritating smile.
Soon his attacks came flying again.
Five or six black spears appearing out of nowhere. They were clearly threatening and powerful.
Now that I've confirmed them, I could dodge.
But since everything's been revealed anyway.
I decided to just act like I normally would.
Shunk, shunk!
Instead of excessively twisting to dodge, I allow some attacks through.
Blood seeps from where the spears grazed me. But I don't let it spill, gathering it all at my spear tip.
The injuries don't matter. No, they're actually good. They provide fuel to strengthen the next strike.
While this isn't without side effects, I can handle empowering weapons just fine.
Unfortunately, this attack couldn't be a thrust. My stance was too unstable for that.
Instead, I swung the spear down hard from above.
Shhhk!
In an instant, the blood gathered into a form suitable for cutting. The appearance almost resembled a crescent blade. Once again my attack met his barrier.
Crack-!
Once again my spear pierced through his barrier. His face twisted for a moment.
"Kuh, ughh...!"
The mana flowing into his barrier visibly increased. As if trying to forcibly block an already broken defense with sheer mana.
His gambit ultimately worked. My strike lost momentum and failed to reach his body. His defense was still solid.
But there was still something I didn't understand.
'Why doesn't he just dodge?'
Honestly, if you can read thoughts and know where attacks are coming from, wouldn't it be better to just dodge?
Yet looking at his reactions, he insisted on blocking everything with barriers.
He absolutely refused to dodge, if anything.
While pondering this, I suddenly noticed his body.
That frail, weak-looking body that seemed to struggle just standing, let alone dodging.
'No way...'
It was a simple guess, but somehow I felt it was right.
"Don't tell me you can't dodge because your body can't keep up even though you can see it coming?"
"......"
"Hah, seriously."
He stayed silent. But sometimes silence is confirmation.
Well, with that frail body, it makes sense he couldn't react even if he could predict.
Instead he covers for it with that ridiculous mana and quick spellcasting.
"What's this then."
I smirked.
"So you're nothing special once I break through that defense?"
It was a remarkably simple strategy. His shadowless spears were certainly threatening, but that was all he had.
In a way, he was like a water rocket.
This much I could handle. I felt confident I could take him down.
Just as I readjusted my grip on the spear.
Shrieeeek-!
A piercing sound rang out from somewhere.
A sharp sound like the air itself was being torn.
"?"
Something was approaching this location at incredible speed. I raised my guard at this sudden development.
Finally, a human figure burst through the forest.
"Hah... hah..."
It was a man. A middle-aged man with brilliant golden hair and eyes.
He seemed out of breath, like he'd rushed here in quite a hurry.
The Lemegeton folks seemed to recognize who he was and reacted immediately.
"L-Lord Harold, Third Branch Leader?"
"What brings you here?"
I frowned. Today I'm meeting quite a lot of characters.
And I didn't like this one who came either. The Third Branch Leader.
From what Nicky told me, he was the one who drove a mere 13-year-old child to become a Demonkin.
The first thing he did upon arriving wasn't attacking or talking.
Shunk-!
"Huh?"
It was killing his own ally, an Otherworlder. His sword flashed out like lightning.
A dumbfounded sound came from Yeop-yeop's mouth before he dissolved into particles of light.
Naturally, the Player's Eye disappeared too.
I still don't know why he was streaming, but seeing it start to work against them, they just removed it entirely.
Pretty merciless handling, even for someone who can resurrect.
Only after removing the watching eyes did he introduce himself.
"...Pleased to meet you. I am Harold, Third Branch Leader."
"What, did you come here to die too?"
"Of course not. I just rushed over after hearing things were getting dangerous."
He certainly seemed to have rushed here.
Beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
But still, to get to this forest so quickly?
'It hasn't even been an hour since the fight started?'
I'm not sure if he was nearby, or if he had some other means.
Probably the latter. Judging by how he swung that sword and the sound of air being torn. His speed seemed far from normal.
Raising my guard, I said to him.
"So what now? Planning to die by my hand together?"
"You're quite bloodthirsty for a man. Well, understandable given the life you've led."
He continued:
"But can you handle it? You seem strong, but dealing with both Lord Dantalian and myself might be a bit much."
"......"
This time I had to stay silent. He was right.
While I could handle those cultist lackeys Dantalian brought, a Branch Leader was different.
The biggest issue was that I'd never faced one before.
I'd heard Branch Leaders were all strong, but I'd never seen their abilities with my own eyes.
And the most dangerous thing in combat is variables.
Not knowing what might come flying at you from where.
A mysterious strong opponent who might do anything is scarier than an S-rank adventurer with clear abilities.
While I could cover for some things with my ability, with Dantalion here too... I couldn't help but hesitate.
As I glared at them for a moment, he spoke again.
"So, I have a proposal."
"...What is it?"
"It seems fighting further would be disadvantageous for both sides. How about we call it here and go our separate ways?"
In other words, a truce.
Their worshipped demon was already injured. Both they and I would find it burdensome to keep fighting.
So let's stop here.
It was certainly reasonable. Rationally speaking, it made sense.
Even for me, there was no real reason to risk continuing the fight.
But emotionally, I came to a different answer.
"Disadvantageous for both sides?"
I frowned and said.
"I've already taken plenty of losses here. You expect me to just end it like this?"
No, I can't accept that.
So I prepared for battle once again. The blood coating my spear tip was still effective enough.
Rumble!
A vicious atmosphere arose from the mix of demonic power and killing intent.
Meanwhile I made various calculations internally. How much blood would I need to consume this time? The tattoo would surely spread if we fought long? The after-effects would be severe too.
But it doesn't matter. Even if it means mutual destruction, I'm determined to take them down.
"...So you'll stubbornly insist on fighting."
He raised his energy.
Lightning-like mana swirled around him.
"Then there's no choice."
His next move was something I never expected.
"Farewell."
Shrieeeek!
He just grabbed Dantalian and flat out ran away.
Their figures rapidly disappeared at high speed. To think he'd build up such an atmosphere only to flee without hesitation.
"Huh?"
I was stunned for a moment by the unsightly display.
Thanks to that, I could only watch as the remaining cultists escaped too.
"L-Lord Harold...!"
"Damn it! Wait for us!"
They seemed just as flustered, quite panicked.
All that remained was Dantalian's dropped ear and me.
I muttered with an incredulous expression.
"What the..."
He was a strange one in many ways.
And so the battle itself ended.
But the real problems were just beginning.
Now that I've been revealed as a Manifestor, who knows what kind of people will come to the forest.
I need to think about how to dispose of this house too.
Just thinking about it was giving me a headache.
But I accepted it quickly enough.
'...Well, can't be helped.'
What's done is done. Rather than agonizing over what's passed, it's time to slowly work out solutions.
After pondering briefly, I decided on the first thing to do.
"Alright."
First, let's burn down the goblin camp.