Chapter 95
But that silence didn't last long.
“Hmm… I see.”
I awkwardly nodded, knowing that a prolonged silence would only make the atmosphere weird.
Besides, it was the answer I'd roughly expected.
After all, she'd said that she manifested only her head for a quicker descent.
I was even slightly grateful for her honest answer.
She could've easily brushed it off with a lie. She could've said she had no intention of harming anyone, that I could rest easy, mixing in some clumsy falsehoods.
But, she deliberately gave me a blunt answer.
That she could become an enemy if released. That I should judge carefully.
She conveyed it without mixing in any lies. Thanks to that, I couldn't help but be troubled.
‘Hmm…’
Destroying the altar was definitely the right answer.
Even though I was being chased by the Knights' Order, I was still on humanity's side. And I had plenty of ill feelings towards Demons.
But… honestly, I hesitated.
It wasn't simply because of attachment.
We'd only spent a few days together, and what's so lovable about a creature with only a head to begin with?
However, keeping the altar had other practical benefits for me.
She created this Forbidden Forest.
That meant, if I destroyed the altar and sent her back, the forest would return to normal. Because the Demonic Power supplied to the forest would be cut off.
And that wasn't a good thing for me.
Just like for her, this place was my shelter, my fortress.
If it weren't for this forest, I might not even be alive right now.
Wasn't it thanks to this forest that I was holding off the Knights' Order's advance?
So, once again, I could only come to a vague conclusion.
‘Well… I’ll decide later.’
Postponing it.
Let's leave it as is until I repel the Knights' Order.
Having made that decision, I continued questioning her.
It took quite some time to decide. If I stayed silent any longer, things might get awkward between us.
The next thing I was curious about was the kings.
“You said there were four kings, right？”
“Indeed, that is so.”
“Then, do you happen to know who they are？”
“Huhu…”
At my words, she gave a meaningful smile. Then, with a mischievous expression, she said:
“That's a secret. It wouldn't be fun if I told you beforehand.”
“······”
At that, without hesitation, I stuck my finger back in her mouth.
“Kehk, Keehk…!”
It was summer.
＊
A few more days passed. Still no rain.
Thanks to that, my days were quite repetitive.
I'd wake up in the morning, have a simple meal, and talk with her.
When I had free time, I'd lightly swing my Spear or hunt.
I had to keep my senses sharp.
Sometimes, when I wielded my weapon, my nerves would unknowingly become razor-sharp.
The Mana and Demonic Power flowing around me, the sound of the wind coming from the Cave entrance, and other small sensations. Everything would feel incredibly vivid, surprising even me.
Probably because I'd been on the brink of death so many times, my senses had become much sharper than before.
Thanks to that, I discovered something new…
That there was a slightly different kind of energy here. An energy dense enough to feel even amidst this thick Demonic Power.
It didn't feel particularly managed, but it was much more refined Mana than Demonic Power, somewhere in this place.
‘The problem is, where is it…?’
The downside was that it wasn't visually apparent, making it difficult to pinpoint its location.
Well, I felt like I'd find it soon enough.
Just as I was thinking that, Barbatos, who had been quietly watching my training, asked:
“You… are certainly unusual.”
Just as I observed this place, she could observe me.
Although it had only been a few days, she could pick up on my main characteristics.
“I wondered why you had a similar energy to us, but it turns out you have the blood of a Demon.”
Perhaps it was because we'd spent so much time together. She'd noticed I was a Manifestor.
But I wasn't particularly surprised. It was common knowledge spread throughout the world, and I wasn't hiding it anyway.
Instead, I took this opportunity to ask her something.
“Speaking of which, Manifestors each have an Origin Demon, right? Can Demons tell who that is?”
“Hmm… I’m afraid I don’t know. I might be able to guess from the Tattoo…”
At that, I immediately pulled down my collar to show her the Tattoo on my clavicle.
“Such a shameless boy.”
Even as she said that, she silently checked the Tattoo.
“Horns. A very common characteristic. Most high-ranking Demons have horns. I have them too. So I can’t deduce anything from just this.”
“…Is that so?”
Tsk, I clicked my tongue.
I hadn't expected to find out right away, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed.
More than that, I was curious about something else.
“You have horns…?”
I couldn't see them at all right now.
“Hmph, I’m not fully manifested, am I? There’s no need to manifest my horns with the power I’ve painstakingly gathered. I, too, possess elegant and refined horns resembling a deer.”
“Hmm…”
I nodded. It wasn't particularly important, so I decided to move on.
Instead, I asked something else.
“Then… what are Manifestors to you Demons?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you bother planting your blood in them?”
Many lives had been ruined because of it.
There were families who had to send away their 10-year-old children, and there were many who couldn't and were annihilated together. Not to mention the fate of the children who inherited the blood. They either lived their whole lives like criminals, hunted by the world, or were caught and killed.
My situation wasn't much different.
Because of that, my face reflected my complex feelings. Perhaps this question was uncomfortable for her as well, as her expression was equally complex.
But that was only for a moment. After a period of silence, she slowly opened her mouth.
“…Manifestors, to put it simply, are keys. Keys that help us open the door to this side.”
“Keys?”
“Yes, you could also call them propellant. Opening a door to a world you have no connection to is not an easy task. At the very least, you need a medium to connect the two. That’s why we barely managed to pierce a hole and scatter our blood, creating mediums. That’s all.”
“······”
I nodded appropriately. It was something I could somewhat understand.
Manifestors were ultimately tools for summoning Demons.
However, there was still something that bothered me.
“Now, let’s end the subject here. More importantly, what do you usually eat here? I’m curious about the food on this side.”
One of those things was her attitude.
Seeing me seemingly agree, she naturally tried to change the subject.
‘It seems like there’s something more…’
Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out what it was.
Perhaps because of the difference in our positions as a human and a Demon, she often answered readily but also hid things frequently.
It meant she still maintained a certain level of wariness.
‘I wish Dantalian’s Ear would work…’
Unfortunately, that Item didn't work on her.
Was it because she was also a Demon? Or was it because she was stronger than Dantalian?
Whatever the reason, it was an unfair situation. It had been working fine until now, but it had to malfunction at a time like this.
In the end, I couldn't figure out what she was hiding.
So I had no choice but to go along with her change of subject.
And so another day passed.
＊
30 days since I entered the Deep Layer.
7 days since I settled at this altar.
Just when I thought summer would end like this, the rain I'd been waiting for finally began to fall.
Plip- plop- pitter-patter-
A very heavy rain, loud enough to resonate even in this underground space.
The smell of water and earth wafted through my nose. A hazy fog gradually settled over the vast forest.
The sight of rain in this place, where everything was green, was quite dreamlike.
‘Finally.’
Watching it, I started preparing to leave.
The decisive battle would be the day after the rain. But considering the distance between the Deep Layer and the Middle Layer, it was right to start moving now.
It was fortunate that the rain didn't come at night. If it had, I would have had to move through the rain all night.
“…Are you leaving?”
As I was getting ready to leave, someone's voice came from behind me.
It was Barbatos’ voice, of course. Although we’d only been together for a week, her face was filled with deep regret.
Well, she'd been alone here for over a hundred years, so it was understandable that she’d be sad to see me go.
“Yeah, I have to go now.”
Unfortunately, I couldn't take her with me.
It was strange to carry around a Demon’s head, and she couldn't leave this place anyway.
Connected to the altar, she was bound here until the day of her descent.
“…I thought you’d destroy the altar and leave in the end. You’re actually leaving it. Strange fellow.”
“Why? You said you’d be looked down upon by the others if you returned to the Demon World. Isn’t it beneficial for you too?”
“That’s only if I return of my own volition. If the altar is destroyed by someone else and I’m forced to return, they won’t say anything. Because there’s justification.”
Of course, even if she said that, I had no intention of destroying her altar.
Other Demons would probably insult me, saying I'm no different from Lemegeton… but this forest would be maintained only if she was here.
I wasn't going to give up my shelter so easily.
And she didn't seem too keen on returning to her original place either.
“Hmph, fine. Go. Go far away.”
Thinking that, she started grumbling.
She was quite expressive despite her gentle appearance.
I chuckled and said:
“I was planning on it anyway.”
But only after I've taken everything I need.
Having finished my preparations to leave, instead of heading straight out, I circled the altar.
“Hmm? What are you doing?”
And then I abruptly demolished a wall that felt particularly out of place.
“Ah, no! Stop it…!”
I ignored the panicked voice coming from behind.
Rumble…
As I demolished the crude wall, a small space was revealed.
And a large quantity of Herbal Medicine piled up within that space. Seeing that, I grinned.
“I wondered why I couldn’t find any.”
To think it would be gathered in a place like this.
I could roughly guess how and why she gathered it. It was a kind of Offering for her descent.
Herbal Medicine was a plant with densely concentrated Mana, after all.
She recycled the Herbal Medicine, purified once by consuming Demonic Power, in this way. Truly a convenient investment method.
‘She probably had the animals gather it like this.’
She probably wouldn’t have expected me to find it.
She would have tried to hide it, after all. But since my keen senses picked up the unusual energy, it was inevitable that I would find it.
I gathered the Herbal Medicine piled there. The quantity wasn't as much as I thought, probably because she’d already used some, but it was still enough for me to level up.
Showing the Herbal Medicine to her with a mischievous expression, I said:
“This is confiscated.”
“You little…! Put it back! I worked hard to gather that!”
“No way. Do you expect me to just watch you descend?”
She’d declared that she’d become an enemy if released, so I couldn't just leave it alone.
She probably hid it knowing that, too.
Of course, she struggled quite a bit.
Just like when I first put my finger in her mouth, she yelled at me with an annoyed face.
I laughed heartily at the sight. She only had a head, so she wasn’t very scary.
Instead, when she calmed down a bit, I said to her:
“I’ll come visit from time to time if things work out.”
At those words, the noisy Barbatos fell silent.
And then, as if complaining, she muttered.
“…Insolent brat.”
With that, I left the altar.
Suddenly, I thought of the Knights holding out in the Middle Layer.
And the Otherworlders who would be near them. No matter how many there were or how prepared they were, it didn't matter.
I had made even more preparations than them.
Soon, the world would have to acknowledge me.
So, I started to return to the Middle Layer once again.