SWNOVELXO Chapter 422
Kurt and his party couldn’t react in time upon seeing that silhouette and were left frozen.
“…Hey, everyone, I think I just saw something weird…?”
“That’s a coincidence. I also think I just saw something strange.”
Mari rubbed her eyes, unsure if what she saw was real, and Karina nodded in agreement, as if confirming it must have been a mistake.
“No way! How can everyone here see the same illusion at the same time? That doesn’t make sense!”
Of course, it wasn’t a mistake.
The demon’s back was witnessed by everyone in Kurt’s party.
“See, I told you! It really is a demon, right?!”
“Why would a demon, who should be hiding in the far west of the continent, be here near the eastern end?!”
“How should I know?!”
Sometimes, overwhelming surprise can slow down reaction speed.
Kurt’s party let out their shock a beat late.
Why would the demon mentioned at the end of the journal be here?
Once, the Holy Kingdom designated four races as evil beings that could not coexist with other human species.
These four races, known as the Four Great Evils, were either inherently evil or spread evil through their existence, and were hunted and exterminated by numerous nations led by the Holy Kingdom, their blood staining the land.
Two of these races were the dragons, rulers of the nation Kurt’s party had just visited, and the wizards, the original inhabitants of the ruins they were now exploring.
Unlike dragons and wizards, vampires, who cannot coexist with humans, are still hunted down immediately upon discovery.
The last of the four was the demon, the reason the classification of the Four Great Evils came to be, who once drove humanity to the brink of extinction.
Immortal beings who live forever, enslaving races that cannot use magic and devouring the souls of those who can. Warmongers who once nearly wiped out humanity.
A cursed race even more terrifying than vampires.
That was the story of demons known to the world.
The appearance of a demon, who hadn’t been seen in the eastern part of the continent for hundreds of years.
Especially Mari, Karina, and Serena, who had previously faced the vampire Damian in the Dwarven Village, were even more tense.
They vividly remembered how even a single vampire nearly led to the destruction of an entire Dwarven village. And demons were considered even worse than such terrifying vampires, the worst of the Four Great Evils.
It would be strange not to be nervous.
“The disappearance of the wizards from these ruins must be related to the demon.”
At that moment, Daria cautiously offered her opinion.
“No. Think about it. A demon, unseen in the eastern part of the continent for hundreds of years, appears, and coincidentally, an old journal mentioning demons is found. It would be more strange if there were no connection.”
Even for Daria, an experienced special holy maiden, facing a demon was a first.
While everyone was in a state of panic, Daria quickly and calmly deduced the situation, soon realizing something serious.
“…Come to think of it, isn’t the situation too coincidental?”
“Coincidental?”
“Coincidentally, during our journey, Liche fell ill near here, coincidentally we discovered these ruins, coincidentally the ruins were inhabited by wizards with healing devices, and coincidentally the old journal found here mentions demons, and now we immediately encounter a demon. Isn’t it too perfect to be a coincidence?”
The party’s expressions grew serious at Daria’s deduction.
Her reasoning was no longer just about speculating what happened in the ancient ruins but extended to the current situation the party was in.
“…With the current information, we can’t know if the demon in the journal did something to the wizards here. But what we can guess is that the demon came to these ruins, and the wizards disappeared without even tidying up their healing devices and necessary furniture. And coincidentally, after a long time, we are the first to discover these ruins, and coincidentally, our party includes a wizard.”
Her deduction lacked conclusive evidence, but the flow of the story was clear and persuasive.
At Daria’s reasoning, Arisa recalled a story she heard during a drinking session while working as an adventurer in Astram, about demons devouring human souls. Of course, Arisa hadn’t personally attended that drinking session. Before meeting Kurt’s party, she hadn’t had any real friends.
“So, you’re saying the demon lured us… no, Liche into these ruins? How?”
“Demons, like vampires, possess mysterious abilities other human species can’t use. They must have used such abilities. The purpose is obvious. Just like they devoured the wizards who lived here, they must want to devour Liche.”
“We can’t conclude that the demon devoured the wizards here. But it’s also true that the demon who came to these ruins and lured us here doesn’t seem to be friendly towards us.”
At her words, the expressions of the entire party changed.
If Liche’s illness from the start wasn’t a coincidence but someone’s scheme, and if all of this was a trap to lure them into these ruins, then they couldn’t just sit back and take it.
The party swallowed their anger and calmly kept their guard up.
“If that deduction is true, we can’t just let it slide. We need to capture that demon and find a way to cure Liche’s condition.”
Arisa, unusually proactive, strongly insisted on finding and defeating the demon.
To Arisa, harming Liche was akin to crossing a line.
“Of course. I can’t forgive the demon who harmed Liche either!”
“Actually, I was thinking the same thing. After the Great War, demons haven’t been seen in the eastern part of the continent, making them virtually nonexistent. But as a special holy maiden of the Holy Kingdom, it’s my duty to exterminate demons on sight, just like vampires.”
The party’s hearts were united, and they decided to leave the four members of Kurt’s party to protect Liche while the rest searched the ruins to find and defeat the demon.
And so, the rest of the party began searching the ruins for traces of the demon.
The ruins were large enough to comfortably fit a few dragons, but surprisingly, the party easily found traces of the demon.
Whether the demon didn’t think it was being tracked or simply didn’t care, it didn’t bother to erase its traces in the ancient ruins.
In the dust-covered ruins, the demon’s traces were as clear as footprints on fresh snow.
For Arisa, a skilled tracker, following these traces was too easy.
The problem wasn’t finding the demon’s traces.
“Squeak.”
“Wait. Do you hear something?”
“Squeak squeak.”
“I heard it too.”
The moment they thought they heard something.
“Squeak squeak squeak! Squeak squeak! Squeak squeak squeak!”
Had it realized it was being tracked?
From the cracks in the ruins, a gray wave surged from the ceiling.
“Rats! Rats!!”
“Ahhh!!”
It was a swarm of hundreds of rats.
But that wasn’t the end.
A dense swarm of insects filled one side of the corridor, as if warning them not to go further.
The closer they got to where the demon was heading, the more small creatures blocked their path.
The swarms of rats and insects were quite a horrifying sight.
But that was all.
It was almost like a joke compared to seriously trying to stop Arisa’s party, and in the end, the small creatures only delayed them, fueling the party’s anger instead.
Finally, Arisa’s party reached where the demon was hiding.
“Found… you?”
But the moment they saw the demon, the party couldn’t help but show more confusion than hostility.
The demon’s appearance matched the legends perfectly, yet was also completely different.
Large horns on either side of its head, bat-like wings made of membranes.
A blue, alien skin tone unseen in other human species.
Eyes with reversed sclera and iris.
And the swarms of small animals that had attacked them during the pursuit, as if controlled.
It perfectly matched the legends of demons controlling souls and enslaving them.
But at the same time, the demon looked far too inadequate to be the evil being behind all this.
Tears welled up in its reversed eyes, and its posture trembled, as if scared and shrinking back.
Was it even twelve years old?
By Kurt’s past life standards, it looked like it had just graduated elementary school.
Even Serena, who by Dwarven standards was an adult but by human standards looked no older than fourteen or fifteen, clearly seemed older than this demon.
“D-don’t come closer…!”
The demon girl trembled in the corner of the room, looking at Arisa’s party with fear.