## Chapter 479 – Killing Demons
“Some people call me that. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I immediately smiled and offered him a handshake. He smiled back, taking my hand and shaking it. It seemed my face was quite well-known among the Isvantian religious people.
Well, it was quite an impactful speech back then.
And I even received a rosary.
“It’s truly an honor to meet you again like this. Your decisive punishment of the heretics back then was quite a refreshing shock.”
“Heretics need to pay for their sins and die.”
“Exactly. Those are truly righteous words.”
I chatted with him briefly about heretics. As we were talking about such things, the conversation naturally led to the fact that I had come to search for demons.
“So, even the Saint has come out to hunt demons for the sake of humanity’s well-being. I thought so before I even spoke to you.”
“Hehehe. It’s only natural. I can’t just stand by and watch this happen.”
“Hmm… in that case.”
—Rustle.
The priest took out a map from his robes and showed it to me, saying,
“May I ask a favor of you, Saint?”
“A favor?”
“Please look at this area here.”
He pointed to the Isvantian castle gate area marked on the map with his finger.
“Currently, the Holy Knights and the lord’s forces have set out to search from here to this point. So, relatively speaking, there is a gap in this area. This is because we don’t have enough troops to encircle the entire region.”
He began to explain to me in detail the marching routes of the Holy Knights and soldiers.
From what he was saying, it seemed they didn’t have enough troops to cast a complete net, so there was a gap in the search area, and he wanted to ask me to take care of that part.
“It would be a great help if you could search this area. Would you be willing to do that?”
I was wondering what nonsense he was spouting, asking for a favor out of the blue, but this was an opportunity.
There was no way any demons would be left in the routes where the Holy Knights and soldiers were advancing. Especially the Holy Knights, who were monsters at catching and killing demons. I had already torn apart a High Imp, so the Holy Knights would be even more effective.
Moreover, not only those troops but also adventurers would have joined them. It was a population overload. So, it would be better to target areas with relatively fewer troops.
To pick up any scraps in this situation, I had to aim for such gaps.
After all, the purpose of this mission was to eliminate demons and take their trophies back to the church.
“Oh, to give me such valuable information. Thank you so much. But is it okay for you to tell me this?”
“I’m telling you this especially because you are a trustworthy person, Saint. Actually, I’ve been worrying about it since last night, but this is a fortunate turn of events. This must also be the guidance of Verde.”
“Then I will help you. Don’t worry. I don’t know if there will be any results, but I’ll head this way today.”
“Thank you for your dedication. Here, this will be helpful if you take it with you.”
The priest bowed to me and took out two glass bottles from a pouch on his waist, handing them to me.
“This is holy water. It has excellent efficacy in repelling evil beings. I hope you will use it well.”
Wait, I’m getting holy water again here?
Religious people are all good people after all.
They were showing me goodwill because they trusted me, who had participated in the Holy War and achieved accomplishments worthy of being called a Saint.
The bond with religious people, connected by justice, brought me such benefits. Because I lived virtuously, various people helped me.
“Oh, you don’t need to bow. Thank you so much. I will definitely use this holy water to eliminate demons.”
“I ask for your help. I just want to subjugate the demons as soon as possible. You will surely be able to accomplish such a thing, Saint.”
“Don’t worry. Even if my body is destroyed, I will eliminate the demons.”
After finishing his greetings, the priest went to talk to the other Holy Knights. And as soon as I left the castle gate, I received information and holy water.
Things are going well.
“I can’t believe you’re famous, Darkie. Well, no one can forget that back then. Hehe. That was a long time ago.”
“Hehehe, shall we go, Saint?”
Winia laughed, and Claudie praised me. Could this be called a kind of fame? It made me feel proud, but the fact that there were many people who recognized me also suggested that the probability of being exposed to threats could increase.
“Hehehe, let’s go then.”
I should be a little more careful from now on.
Before starting, I took out the map I had put in my pouch and briefly checked the location.
“I think things will go well today. Claudie, Winia. It seems there are a few troops lacking in this area. We should go this way.”
After immediately confirming the direction, I set off with them.
The equipment was perfect. Three bottles of holy water and a Holy Knight’s dagger. The holy water would be useful.
As we entered the forest, we encountered other adventurers and found lines of soldiers, but the deeper we went, the more the presence of people gradually disappeared.
The atmosphere around us was ominous, as if demons would appear at any moment. It felt as if evil beings were lurking in the dark thickets and under the trees.
I heard a story somewhere that demons, from their very existence, were so evil that their numbers, when gathered, would affect the surrounding environment. There were also records of monsters falling into a frenzied state.
Anyway, since I had stirred up the vicinity to subjugate Elise and the Imps, it was not difficult to find the way or determine the direction. Rather, it was familiar. We crossed the forest very smoothly.
As we walked, it was already noon.
We had been walking all morning, but there were no gains to speak of.
We searched the surroundings, but we could not find any traces of demons. All we found were a few small monsters that attacked us. That’s how searches usually go.
“Shall we eat first?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
“Darkie, go gather some kindling.”
Whatever the case, if it was mealtime, we had to eat and then move. As soon as I gathered the kindling, Winia skillfully started a fire. Then she took out food from her backpack.
Eating salted sausages grilled over a fire always gave me great satisfaction. It was filling to eat it with cheese and jerky. I didn’t forget to replenish my nutrients with dried fruit.
We finished our meal in that way and then headed deeper.
I carefully looked around in all directions as we moved. Then, a slightly unusual footprint caught my eye. It was a footprint I had never seen before, and it was determined to be recently made.
It led right ahead.
“Claudie. Winia. Look at this.”
“Footprints?”
The two women checked the footprints.
“Winia. Do you know what kind of footprints these are? I think it’s a footprint I’m seeing for the first time.”
Having lived as an adventurer, I had seen many footprints of monsters. If I looked roughly, I could tell what kind of monster it was, but this trace was a bit unusual.
“Hmm… what is this? Judging by the size of the foot, it seems to be about the size of Darkie, but it’s not an Orc or a Troll. Do you have any idea, sis?”
“I don’t know? I don’t know all the monsters here. But it seems to be a pretty big guy. The claws also look tough… Could it be a trace of a demon?”
We would have to see more to know if it was a trace of a demon.
“Let’s follow it for now.”
As soon as we followed the footprints, we could also identify that footprints of the same size were mixed up.
I recalled what the Brass Holy Knight had explained. Lesser Demons had a habit of moving in groups. Considering the form of the footprint I had never seen before and this seemingly mixed number, it was suspicious enough.
I raised my vigilance and senses to the highest level.
The guys might be nearby.
“Hehe… demons. Demons. Beings from hell… I’m looking forward to it. I feel like my blood is boiling.”
Claudie was half-cat. She was exuding an aura that she wanted to take the blood of demons as soon as possible.
“You’re just like Darkie, sis.”
“Couples resemble each other.”
We continued to track the footprints.
They sometimes gathered in one place and sometimes scattered. I began to feel that a battle was about to take place. If the demons had heads, they would have moved while avoiding the side where the Holy Knights were.
—Whoosh.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew.
“Hmm? This is a strange sign.”
Claudie, who seemed to have felt something, took a stance. If she had caught something, there was no need to see more. I immediately stood guarding Winia and pointed my sword forward.
—Rustle, rustle.
At the same time, the bushes shook.
—Gleaming.
Then, from behind the trees, a black, large being with glowing red eyes observed us.
—A black aura settled around it.
It was obviously a demon bastard!
“…The humans here are too violent.”
Just as I was about to attack him first, a chilling voice was suddenly heard.
“It spoke?”
Winia, who had her eyes wide open, said in surprise, and Claudie pricked up her ears as if she was interested.
Whatever it was, trying to talk first was proof that he was not confident in fighting.
I slowly moved towards him, cautiously guarding the surroundings. It wouldn’t be bad to chop off his limbs and interrogate him. It would be easy to do with Claudie.
“Katt. Wait. I want to hear what he has to say.”
“…Okay.”
It seemed Claudie wanted to hear his last words.
I nodded and stopped walking.
“You who have come to find us.”
The demon spoke again.
His voice was quite heavy and serious.
—Rustle.
“Is there no thought of resolving this peacefully?”
The thing that revealed itself from behind the tree was a monster that was the very definition of a demon.
His black skin and withered muscles were grotesque, and his face looked as if only skin was barely attached to the skull of a horse.
I wondered how much he had to starve as a child to grow up like that. Was hell that harsh of a place? That might be why he wanted to cross over to the human world.
—Creak, creak.
Anyway, the horse-headed Lesser Demon crawled out using its four legs, which were quite long and slender compared to its size.
“…It looks creepy.”
That was Winia’s assessment.
He literally looked creepy.
The way he walked on four legs was not like a normal quadrupedal animal, but rather, it was an evil sight, as if a twisted serial killer was deliberately enduring pain to pretend to be a monster to torment the victims he had kidnapped.
—Malice and wickedness were melted into every step.
There was no way such a guy would want peace. All they wanted was blood and violence. And nothing but slaughter and imperialism.
“Are you a demon from Pandemonium?”
I asked the demon, pointing my sword at him.
Claudie said she wanted to hear what he had to say. If so, I could listen to a few words and then throw holy water and cut him in half with a Siljangbeogi.
“I cannot answer that.”
The demon said coldly, emitting a red glow from his eyes.
“Then you have to die, you skinny four-legged beast. What is there to pick up and eat that you came to the human realm! Answer me, demon!”
The Lesser Demon, who was silent for a moment at my rebuke, opened his mouth heavily.
“Human, you seem to want violence. However, even if you kill me, you will gain nothing.”
“What?”
“You humans know that you are receiving some kind of reward for killing us. You will gain nothing even if you kill me. Therefore, I propose that I wish to express my intention to have a peaceful transaction with you humans.”
“W-What the hell is this bullshit.”
I was quite surprised by the horse-headed bastard who used a very fluent and elegant way of speaking. Come to think of it, Hildegard also spoke very well. If they were demons from a similar place, there was a high probability that they had similar intelligence.
“You son of a bitch!!!!”
How dare this bastard!
