East Road Quest

Chapter 77: Buffalord

Buffalord gripped Sapph in one hand and leaped between the trees. Nearly dropping her once, he barely caught her, then tucked her by his side and ran on.

The pressure against Sapph’s belly made it hard to breathe. After about five minutes of this, she felt like she would suffocate.

She wanted to cry out in pain, but her voice wouldn’t come. She tried to tear at Buffalord’s forearm with both hands to signal her distress, but only succeeded in breaking her nails.

It was only when Sapph was nearly unconscious that Buffalord finally stopped. However, they were not on the ground but atop a tree branch.

The branch was wide enough for Sapph to sit on, but being nearly fifty steps high from the ground, it felt like standing on a thin rope.

Having not breathed properly and now mixed with a fear of heights, Sapph felt dizzy. She lay prone for a long time, unable to change her position.

In an awkward stance, neither sitting nor standing, Sapph looked up at Buffalord. The black bull was looking down too, and their eyes met.

“What’s your name?”

The black bull asked in a commanding voice. It was Elvish, a language Sapph knew as ancient.

“Sapph.”

She replied shortly.

And immediately regretted it.

‘Ah, I should have pretended not to understand.’

Now that it had come to this, Sapph asked calmly.

“You’re Buffalord, right?”

“Yes.”

His easy admission suggested it wasn’t his real name. He wouldn’t have told his rhinoceros minions his real name.

Above all, Sapph could read the true name of a demon.

‘Antebas…’

Knowing this could mean he wouldn’t leave her alone, so Sapph kept silent.

Buffalord asked first.

“Do you also use the light of annihilation?” Sapph couldn’t grasp the intent behind the question and hesitated to answer.

‘She saw the priest using the light earlier, and she must have seen me trying to use the light of healing for the injured priest. That could lead to such a misunderstanding. So, how should I respond?’

Buffalord pulled a scythe from his waist and thrust it powerfully into the tree trunk where Sapph’s hand rested. The moment it struck, Sapph almost thought her hand had been severed.

The scythe was almost as long as Sapph’s leg, and a thin metal chain was attached to the handle’s end.

“I’ve spared you because of your horns. You might be one of our kind. But if you don’t answer, I’ll behead you even if you are kin.”

Sapph was terrified, but thinking of Jade gave her courage.

‘If I say I can’t use the light of annihilation, then the only person who can is Priest Jade. Then he will go to kill the priest. But if there are two who can use that power, he might wait and see. I need to find out his intentions, so I must lie now.’

Sapph nodded and answered.

“Yes, I used the light of annihilation.”

“Prove it.”

Hoping he would be fooled, Sapph showed not the light of annihilation, but the light of purification.

Buffalord turned his head slightly to avoid the light. Being a light that removes demonic poison, it must have felt uncomfortable to a demon.

“Is that enough? If you knew my name, you would have proven it earlier, and you wouldn’t have realized that I had proven it and would have perished.”

Sapph turned off the light, fearing she would be found out if she showed it for too long.

Buffalord asked.

“…Which order of magicians do you belong to?”

“I’m a priest of the Rome Priesthood.”

“Not a magician?”

“I am a cleric.”

“Then how do you use the light of annihilation?”

“Through the power of faith.”

Sapph blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Don’t lie.”

Buffalord grabbed Sapph’s throat and pinned her against the tree trunk. His hand was so large that it also pressed down on her mouth. She tried to cough from the pressure on her chest and throat, but couldn’t manage it properly.

“Don’t you understand why I’m asking so politely? Your horns are not human. I sense the aura of a high-ranking demon. A demon using the magic of light, that’s nonsense! What kind of demon are you?”

At that question, Sapph’s eyes widened as she stared straight at Buffalord.

“I am…”

Sapph spoke through the gaps between Buffalord’s fingers. A terrible stench wafted from his hand.

“…not a demon.”

Buffalord snorted.

“A normal human couldn’t maintain such a calm expression in this situation. Even elves are seized with fear before me. It’s not something you can endure; it comes from the survival instinct inherent in all living beings. And you say you’re human?”

Buffalord pulled the scythe from the tree and placed its blade against Sapph’s forehead. The cold touch of the metal made her shiver.

“Hmph, what a waste of time. Whether you’re a demon or not, I’ll know if I just drive the blade in.”

Buffalord raised the scythe. In that state, he asked again.

“Now that I think about it, it’s no coincidence that you appeared right after that colt. Are you related to him?”

Sweat poured down Sapph’s body, making her feel damp all over. Yet, she looked straight at Buffalord and said…

Just before Sapph hit the ground, Ruby caught her by the waist with one hand. The other hand had already thrown a chain that wrapped around a tree branch.

As the chain stretched, her fall slowed. But the timing was so precarious that the impact of the fall was far from ordinary.

The moment they landed, Ruby almost flung Sapph away, releasing her grip.

Sapph tumbled on the ground, rolling over three times before coming to a stop.

After rolling for a while, Sapph, dizzy and in pain, tried to vomit. Gasping for breath, she reached to wipe her mouth, but Ruby shouted.

“Don’t touch!”

Startled, Sapph froze with her hands raised.

Ruby, with an angry face, looked down at her and commanded.

“Take off your clothes now!”

“What, what did you say?”

Ruby, wiping the sticky liquid off her face and flicking her hand to the side, explained.

“The stuff on my body is all poison. One of the heads of the Hydra shoots poison, and I dodged it twenty-five times, but the twenty-sixth got me. Remove anything my hand has touched. Hurry! Be careful not to let it touch your skin when you take it off.”

Then Sapph understood why Ruby hadn’t safely carried her down but had touched her as little as possible. Looking at her clothes, she saw the yellow liquid burning with white smoke.

Sapph hurriedly stripped off her clothes. All she had underneath was a thin, see-through undergarment, but there was no time for modesty.

Throwing her clothes far away, Sapph asked.

“Can’t I treat you?”

“No need. It’s not a wound, so it can’t be treated, and you can’t touch it. So go hide in that hole over there.”

Ruby pointed to a small hole dug under a tree.

“That blockhead seems pretty strong. Even if you’re in there, you won’t get hit by my stray attacks.”

Ruby kept scanning the treetops as she spoke.

“What about that big monster… I mean, the Hydra? I heard a huge roar earlier, did you manage to kill it?”

Sapph ran towards the hole Ruby pointed to and asked.

“Embarrassingly, no. I managed to cut off a couple of heads, but they just grew back. After getting drenched in poison like this, I figured it was no use and had to retreat.”

The poison on Sapph’s discarded clothes was burning holes through the fabric. It seemed more like a chemical substance created by an alchemist to dissolve metal than poison.

Ruby’s clothes were also significantly burnt, barely clinging on, and the process was still ongoing.

Sapph briefly inspected the inside of the hole. It was filled with plant roots, and small insects and worms were crawling all over, but it didn’t seem particularly dangerous. As long as there were no venomous snakes, it was fine.

As Sapph started to climb into the hole, she asked with concern.

“The poison… it doesn’t affect you, right?”

She hoped Ruby would respond with ‘This demon’s poison is nothing to me!’ But Ruby shook her head.

“I’m not sure about this one,” Ruby said.

“Somehow, I’m starting to lose my sight.”