Chapter 24: The Forest of No Return (4)

As Nazran’s arms had many joints and were long, their attack range was extremely wide. Moreover, the speed at which he swung them was faster than any ordinary person could manage.

So the fact that every one of his swings was blocked or missed—

CLANG!

And the fact that the arms he swung got brutally chopped off—

CRUNCH—!

And that the stumps were instantly seared shut, stopping the healing—

Sizzzzle!

"Th-this, damn it!"

None of it was Nazran's fault. Not really.

His opponent was just that much worse of a matchup.

Kadim cut off three arms in rapid succession, then hurled his axe straight at Nazran's chest. The axe spun through the air, scattering heat, and struck exactly where it was aimed.

CRASH—CRUNCH!

"Gahk!"

The impact sent Nazran stumbling backward. He barely managed to avoid falling flat on his ass by bracing himself with the legs attached to his tailbone. But holding his ground meant nothing as Kadim closed the distance in an instant and delivered an even more devastating blow.

Thunk—RIIIP!

He drove his sword deep into Nazran's abdomen, then dragged it sideways, slicing through his flank.

A normal person would have gotten their sword stuck in the ribs and muscles. But the barbarian’s monstrous strength just tore through everything.

Mangled organs spilled out through the torn side, and the heated blade greedily drank in the blood.

"Ghk, ghhaaagh..."

The injury was too severe, and the burns on the wound made regeneration impossible. Nazran could only chew on his agony with unfocused eyes. Kadim saw his opening and rammed the axe in his chest even deeper.

Sizzzzle—!

"GAAAAHH, GHAAAAAAAH!!!"

The hot axe sank deeper, making his flesh bubble and boil. A final gush of blood cooled the steel, but it was too late. The leper had lost all his will to fight.

His last arm dropped uselessly to the ground. There was no way he could fight this monster of a barbarian with his original, stick-thin limbs. Gasping in pain, Nazran glared up at Kadim.

"Wh-what... what the hell are you...? Did you also get your power from a demon...? GAAAH!!"

Kadim didn't let his guard down for a second.

When facing an enemy that regenerates, you can't give them any opening. He cut off the remaining limbs without exception, then grabbed a burning log from the fire and seared every last stump. All Nazran could do was twist and squirm on the ground like a stepped-on bug.

"GAAAHHH, GAAAAAAHHH!!"

Time passed in a haze of blood and searing heat. Finally, the pruning was complete.

Nazran had no limbs left at all now. Kadim pinned him with a boot on his shoulder and put a blade to his throat. The battle-high was gone, and the leper just looked tired and beaten.

"Kekeke... Well, I really picked the wrong guy to mess with… Never thought this body could get so completely wrecked…”

"..."

"I thought you were just some big human, but you're a damn monster wearing human skin... Did you also get this kind of power from a demon?"

"..."

He did sometimes fight using demonic power, but not right now. Kadim just stared him down without responding.

Nazran put on a pathetic, boot-licking smile.

“I know it's a little late for this, but… how about you just let me live? You've already cut off all my limbs, so I'm just a powerless leper now. Is there really any need to dirty your blade on a helpless invalid who can't even resist?"

"..."

"Oh, right, right! You asked about the forest earlier, didn't you? I'll tell you everything I know. No reason to hide it now! This forest was made by a demon. A really weird demon that can infect every living thing around it with its own special power.”

"..."

With the campfire backlight behind him, Nazran couldn't make out Kadim's expression. All he could see was a darkly shadowed outline.

So he kept talking.

"Right, you've probably already guessed it, but that demon’s power is the whole ‘cut one off and two grow back’ thing. But it wasn't just animals that got infected!”

"..."

“People had no idea. They just came in, chopping down trees without a clue. Every tree they cut made the forest grow back bigger and faster. Now it’s so overgrown you can’t find your way out. A bunch of soldiers came through here a little while ago and did some major logging, which made it blow up again…”

Duncan stroked his chin and nodded.

From the sound of it, Viscount Adlen's soldiers had been through here. They must've sourced timber for their palisades and barracks from this forest.

Kadim still showed no reaction, but Nazran felt a stare so sharp it felt like it was drilling into his chest. He quickly started talking again, telling him everything.

“Me? Everything I told you before was true. I just left out the part where I got infected with the demon's power. It was actually a blessing for me. My body was rotting off, but this power gave me a whole new set of stronger arms and legs…”

"..."

“Life wasn't so bad after that. I'd light a fire every night, and every now and then, some prey worth hunting would wander into my trap. Just like you folks, kekeke... Well, in the end, that fire's what got me into this mess..."

Now that he heard everything worth hearing, Kadim's shadowed face grew heavy.

"..."

Either way, dealing with this leper came first. The man had been corrupted by demonic energy and couldn't even be considered human anymore. If he left him alive, who knows how he'd grow back…

He raised his sword again. Nazran's face filled with panic and he started babbling like a startled bird.

“H-Hey, wait a minute! I told you everything! You’re really still going to kill me?”

"..."

"I-I want to live. Please, don’t kill me. There’s so much I want to do. I want to walk down a street in the middle of the day. I want to go to a bar. I want to hold a woman… I finally… I finally got a body where it doesn't matter if parts rot off..."

Kadim's resolve didn't waver in the slightest. Instead of sympathizing with a life that had known no human pleasures, he asked this question.

"When your prey begged for their lives like this, did you ever spare them?"

"..."

For a moment, a flicker of something passed through Nazran's dead eyes.

SHLICK!

The sharp blade drew a clean line across his lifeline.

He was the kind of man who was full of pity for himself and had none for anyone else. With a stony face, Kadim picked up the head and tossed it into the ash pit where embers still glowed.

***

Demons always leak demonic energy into their surroundings. It’s just what they do. And it messes with everything around them. Monsters become vicious fiends, while humans and animals either become terrified or display abnormal behavior.

But there were also demons that didn't just affect things at that level; they actually infected others with their own Unique Nature.

These types of demons had a name:

Transmuter-type.

Kadim hated all demons, but he especially loathed Transmuter-types. These bastards were basically walking buff totems, spawning tougher enemies and powering up every monster in the area. Barring special circumstances, Transmuter-type demons are always the highest priority targets among demons.

But the reason Kadim's expression darkened right now wasn't just because the demon was a Transmuter-type. It was something more serious and specific.

He’d met a Transmuter with this exact power before.

At the end of the road, in the heart of the Demon Scape.

"..."

He remembered it as if it were yesterday.

That whole ‘doubling when cut’ power spread to all the other demons. The enemies were already a nightmare, and this made them ten times worse. On top of that, the main demon itself was incredibly powerful and tough to kill.

For three straight days, they fought a non-stop war against an immortal army without eating a single piece of bread, without drinking a single sip of water, without resting for even one second.

In the end, they somehow managed to win. At some point, they'd discovered that burning the cut surfaces stopped the regeneration. The Mage had enchanted his axe with hellfire, and when he took the demon’s head off with that, it stayed off for good.

But here was the thing that bothered him: he’d never seen two Transmuters with the exact same power.

Whether it was during the game or in his first playthrough, every Transmuter-type demon he'd encountered had a completely different 'Unique Nature.' That's why Kadim had thought of it as something unique—like a character's Unique Trait.

'It can't be the same demon. Melissa burned its corpse without leaving a speck of ash behind. So how the hell can there be a demon with the same Unique Nature...'

"Uh... M-my lord! You need to see this!”

The merchant’s frantic shout snapped Kadim back to reality. He looked up, and what he saw was definitely worth freaking out over.

At a glance, it looked like a simple wall of vines. But with even a little attention, you'd realize there's no way vines completely covered in scales like that exist in this world.

Slitherrrr—

—Hiss, hiss!

—Hiss!

It was a wall of snakes. Vertically-slit pupils all turned to stare at the intruders in unison. Dozens of snakes as thick as forearms threatened them, flicking their tongues menacingly.

Actually, it might not even be dozens. Some of the split heads and tails shared a single body. Maybe even the snake he'd torn in half yesterday was mixed in there somewhere...

"Tch."

Kadim clicked his tongue softly.

There was no point in chopping them up; they'd all just grow back. If he really wanted to get through, he'd have to use fire to scare them off. But that was a huge risk. You’d need a powerful Mage like Melissa to keep a wildfire from getting out of control.

"We're turning back, merchant. We'll have to find another path."

"Y-yes sir!"

And so it went.

The same thing kept happening after that.

Whenever they moved forward, snakes would appear, forcing them to turn back. When they turned and tried a new path, they would not get far before snakes appeared once again. The two of them wandered the forest in confusion, like rats hitting dead ends in a maze.

Kadim had a gut feeling.

This was too deliberate.

Something was blocking off all other paths and herding them in one specific direction.

The being that ruled this forest and commanded that army of serpents was setting an inescapable trap for them.

The canopy of leaves overhead grew so thick it became a black roof, blocking out the sun completely. The ground turned to mud that grabbed at their ankles. The damp, sticky sensation against their skin steadily grew stronger. At some point, palpable malice slid chillingly down their spines.

He had to prepare for the worst before it was too late.

"Merchant. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

"...Yes, my lord."

“I’m going on ahead. You stay here and build a fire. Get it going good, then light a torch from it and follow me. If you can’t find me, or if it looks like you’re about to die, just light the whole forest on fire and run for your life.”

"Wh-what!?"

"I don't have time to explain everything. But if you don't follow my instructions, both you and I will die here."

"..."

"Without a doubt. For certain."

Duncan went pale.

The barbarian had never said anything like this before. Not when being chased by a Paladin, not when surrounded by countless wolves, not even when facing a powerful demon alone. So what the hell were they walking into now?

Duncan took out his flint and began to strike it diligently, even as his body shook like a leaf in a storm.

Kadim watched him for a moment, then slowly started walking again.

About ten minutes later, he found it.

A grove of gnarled, twisted trees that looked like hunched-over old women, and a dark swamp of unfathomable depth. A terrible stench flowed in, turning his stomach. The demonic fog was so thick he could barely see his hand in front of his face.

This was the forest’s final destination, the end of the inescapable trap.

Cold shivers ran through him and his muscles started to cramp. The air was so toxic that no human could endure it. Kadim steadied his breathing and gripped his sword hilt.

Soon, a voice came from beyond the mist-like demonic energy.

—In the beginning, I was without hope.

And two lights appeared.

They were yellow, shining out of a hazy blur, and filled with a cold, unadulterated hatred.

—Because I knew all too well. I knew how many long years and how much deep patience would be needed to regain my former power. And to have to do it all over again in this backwater, so far from the Demon Scape? I regretted my choice a hundred times a day.

Four lights appeared.

Sickly yellow luminescence with an unpleasant aura. They glowed to the left and right of the first pair of eyes. They moved slowly, keeping pace with the first eyes, steadily advancing.

—But now I see it was the right choice. I've finally regained my full power, and I've managed to reunite with you at last.

Six more lights appeared. And after that, another six.

A total of eighteen glowing orbs stared down at their prey simultaneously. The massive body cut through the swamp, creating an ominous presence. A pressure as heavy as a mountain pressed down on Kadim's entire body.

The lights emerged from behind the veil, finally revealing their true form.

Reptilian skin covered in armor-like scales. A massive bulk too enormous to take in with the eyes. Nine heads concealing venomous fangs of deep blue.

—It's been a long time, Son of the Wasteland. Where are those cheeky friends of yours? Why are you wandering this forest alone like an abandoned child?

Kadim's eyes twitched as he lifted his gaze.

A giant serpent's head with two horns jutting from its temples was looking down at him.

It looked exactly the same as it had 300 years ago, back in the Demon Scape.

 

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.