Chapter 8: Goblins, Demons, and Children (4)

Demons are cunning creatures with razor-sharp instincts. They show no restraint in their sadism when they meet the weak, but they don't hesitate to flee when they meet the strong.  Under normal circumstances, this demon would have bolted the moment it saw Kadim drinking blood.

But the newly sprouted horn on its temple clouded its judgment.

It had finally gained greater power and now it was supposed to flee? And from a human it had been toying with just moments ago? The thought that it had been scared by a mere human who had just drunk some blood was simply unacceptable.

The demon ignored its instincts and took an aggressive stance.

—Kruk, die… A disobedient one dies.

Thud!

It kicked off the ground and charged at the human like an arrow.

Three claws stretched out like a rake toward him. Kadim lowered his stance to match the demon's height. Before, he couldn't see the movements because they were too fast, but not anymore. His enhanced vision clearly read the demon's every move.

Clang—!

The moment the hatchet and claws collided, shock flashed across the demon's face.

It retracted its intended deep slash and quickly pulled back. Its outer claw was slightly bent. If it had kept pushing forward the claw would have been completely severed.

The hatchet didn't come out unscathed either. The blade where they collided was slightly chipped. If the fight continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before the edge was completely ruined.

But Kadim didn't care.

If the axe broke, he'd use a sword, and if that got smashed too, he'd fight with his bare fists. Whether he had weapons or not didn't matter. Right now, his thirst for blood and his overflowing bloodlust were enough.

"HRAAAAAHHH!!"

The berserker let out a roaring war cry and charged. An ominous premonition once again grabbed the demon by the ankle. The demon growled like an angry beast to hide its anxiety.

—Krrrrrrk!!

Whoosh—!

The demon leaped to the left to avoid the furious axe strike. In that split second of evasion, another attack flashed out from Kadim's side like lightning.

Swish!

He swung the axe with his right hand while drawing and swinging the sword from his waist with his left. The demon barely managed to dodge the sharp blade by a hair's breadth.

—Kruk!

There was no time to catch its breath. Kadim hurled his axe at the retreating demon. The axe flew through the air with much more power than before, practically splitting the air as it came.

Crack, bang—!

Rumble—

The demon ducked just before impact and the axe missed. Instead, it struck a stone pillar behind the demon. The pillar, as thick as a support beam, was instantly shattered, and the ground rang with vibrations. Flying debris scraped the demon's skin, leaving small scratches.

The demon's blood ran cold. A direct hit from that would have turned it into ground meat in an instant. This was monstrous strength that had completely transcended normal human limits.

—What are you…? You’re not human, are you? How can a human have such power…

The answer was a sword blade thrusting at its heart.

"Hup!"

Whoosh!

Kadim had closed the distance in an instant. Thanks to his expanded muscles, Kadim's speed had become as swift as the demon's. The demon was terrified and pulled back its body while reflexively swinging its claws in a counterattack.

Kadim quickly pulled back and the claws cut through empty air. The follow-up attacks were all blocked by his blade. After a little time passed the demon's movements became predictable and it started getting counterattacked instead.

The demon ground its saw-like teeth. Speed was meaningless, and it was overwhelmingly outmatched in strength, so a frontal assault seemed hopeless.

The demon sprang up like a spring and clung to the ceiling. Then it crawled between the stalactites toward the human holding the torch. Its plan was to extinguish the fire and ambush from the darkness, surely even this human-shaped monster couldn't handle that.

Meanwhile, Duncan was struggling against the goblins.

"Agh, get away! Get away!!"

After being burned once by the blazing torch, the goblins couldn't easily attack him. Unfortunately, this only made them more vicious.

—Kieeee!

—Kieeeek!

Their tenacious focus on finding an opening left Duncan unable to think straight. It was only inevitable that he didn't notice the demon's approach.

Kadim was the first to realize what the demon was planning.

He had no intention of letting it succeed. His blood-red irises gleamed with a sinister light. His hand gripping the axe handle was filled with heavy strength.

‘…It’s a nimble one. Even if I throw it at him, he’ll just dodge it.’

Kadim decided to deliver a powerful shock to the entire ceiling instead.

He gripped the axe backwards to use it like a club. He poured his strength in his muscles like a taut bowstring. He twisted his torso and pulled his right arm far back to add recoil. The muscles of his forearm and upper arm swelled as if they would burst. Then, he released it, pushing all that strength down to his fingertips.

Crack—

The moment the axe, flying like a cannonball, hit the ceiling, a small-scale explosion occurred.

BOOM!!

A heavy tremor shook the entire cave. Stalactites and stone pillars crumbled and cracks split through the limestone ceiling. The impact threw the demon to the floor. Dust and debris rained down on the demon's face.

—Kyaak!!

Rumble—

The demon writhed and moaned in pain. Its bulging eyes were filled with dirt and dust. The shock left its ears ringing. It had completely lost its sense of direction, unable to tell which way was up or down.

The berserker didn't miss this moment when his enemy was defenseless.

Shunk—!

—KYAAAAAAAK!!

The vertically plunged blade crushed its nasal bone and completely pierced its head. Its eyes rolled in different directions, and blood gushed from its nose and mouth. Even so, the demon did not die easily, but thrashed its limbs in a frenzy.

Kadim lifted the sword with it still piercing through the head. The weight of the demon's body caused it to slide further down the blade.

—Kyaaak, kyaaaak!!

The demon didn't give up until the end. Even as its brain was being sliced by the blade it swung its claws at Kadim.

That strike never landed. Once the body had slid down far enough, Kadim adjusted his grip for a better cutting angle. Then he swung the blade fiercely, combining his strength with the demon's weight.

Crack—!

A brutal flower bloomed in full. The skull split in two and bright pink brain matter burst out.

The demon collapsed face-first on the ground. Remnants and blood flowed from the split head. The demon’s trembling hand, at some point, fell limp to the floor.

“…Hoo.”

Kadim let out a small sigh and wiped the blood from his blade. The bloodlust that had consumed his nerves was rapidly fading. It had taken longer than he expected to finish it. He had almost had to face the demon without a buff.

But it couldn't be helped. The demon was incredibly quick and the environment was his direct counter. For now, he should be grateful that he killed the demon without major injuries.

—Kie, kie...

—Kirrk, kirrr...

The goblins, having lost their master, let out pitiful whimpers. Now that the demon was dead, they wouldn't be affected by demonic energy, but they had already become demonic beasts once. Kadim decided to finish off these creatures before going to find the children.

He beheaded a goblin with a rusty sword. He pierced the heart of a hesitant goblin. He stabbed a fleeing goblin in the back. He extended his blade towards a goblin holding a torch…

"M-my lord! Why are you doing this?! It's me! Me!"

He barely managed to stop the sword just in time.

The blade was only about half a span away from the chest. A great shock filled Kadim's eyes. The face, glistening in the torchlight, hardened. Duncan clutched his chest in shock.

"Are you alright my lord? You don't look well. Did the demon perhaps... did the demon..."

He couldn't bring himself to ask if Kadim had been possessed. Kadim understood perfectly what he wanted to say. He sheathed his sword and offered an apologetic look with a troubled expression.

"...No I'm fine. Sorry. It was dark so I couldn't see clearly."

“I-Is that so? Phew, so that’s what it was. I thought…”

"The demon is dead. The surrounding goblins seem to be mostly taken care of too. The children are probably inside. Let’s get the children and go back to the village.”

"Yes yes! Understood my lord!"

The relief of having survived the threat of the demon and goblins was so great that Duncan didn't immediately think of this question.

How could someone who had tracked them through the dim moonlight of night... not recognize a person's face right under a torch?

***

The demon was cunning and evil.

The children were in the exact state Kadim had expected. No child was dead, but no child was unharmed either.

"KRAAAAAAAK!! KRAAAAAAAK!!"

"Matum, Gehenna, Matum, Golgotha, Matum, Grimos..."

"The destruction and death of humanity comes from the white valley where maggots and bones boil, the bird that devours eyeballs steals the light of the prophet..."

"Don't abandon me!!! Don't go!!! I said don't go!!!"

Just a moment ago, they had been frozen like broken dolls in the darkness. When the light fell on them, they started to writhe and scream.

“H-Hey, kids? Are you okay, uh, uh?”

They didn't seem to understand his words. Duncan looked back at Kadim with a pale face.

"What in the world happened here my lord...?"

Kadim didn't answer. It wasn’t a situation where he could explain, nor did he have the leisure to. Instead, he gave instructions on what to do now.

"Tell the children to follow you and lead the way. I'll follow behind."

“Y-Yes? But they’re all in that state, will they follow me…?”

“…They’ll follow.”

Kadim bit his lip. It wasn't a method he wanted to use, but there was no choice. He couldn't carry all these children and he couldn't keep going back and forth through the cave leaving the children who weren't in their right minds.

Thud!

Kadim went to the back and struck the wall hard to draw their attention.

"Everyone look here."

Then he lifted up the demon's corpse with its head split in half.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAK!!!"

"Waaah waaaaaaaaaak!!"

"Uhuhuk uhuhuhuhuk!!"

The children jumped to their feet, screaming convulsively. Duncan also cried out in shock. Then he barely composed himself from his panic and led the children.

“F-Follow me! Kids, don’t be scared! The demon is already dead. You just have to follow me, okay? Good kids?”

"Uhuhuhuk uhuhuhuk mommy..."

"Uhuuuuuuung..."

The process wasn't good, but the result was.

The children no longer screamed or chanted bizarre incantations. They quietly grabbed Duncan's sleeves or pant legs and headed out of the cave. No child hesitated or fell behind. From behind, a massive barbarian carrying the demon's corpse was following them.

When they emerged from the cave, it was already morning. Duncan couldn't have been happier to see the morning sunlight breaking through the leaves. He wiped each child's snot and tear stains with his sleeve and headed toward the village.

At the village entrance, parents were waiting. The fathers coughed awkwardly and glanced sideways while the mothers desperately called their children's names and came running.

"Amelia!"

"Ronny! Ronny!!"

"Celine! Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"Thank you Elga. Thank you..."

On the surface it looked like a touching reunion. The reality was completely different. Only the mothers were shedding tears of emotion; the children either stared at the ground with empty eyes or wore expressions of strange terror.

The parents soon noticed this too. Most accepted it as just a temporary condition. The children probably didn't understand the situation they had been in. They were still in shock from being kidnapped by a demon. They would get better soon.

Only one person knew that wasn't the case.

Kadim looked up at the sky and let out a short groan. He had a bitter taste in his mouth.

After the reunion, the villagers' gazes shifted to the barbarian.

He was covered in blood and carrying the corpse of a demon with its head split open. He had really killed the demon by himself. The villagers were momentarily engulfed in fear by his overwhelming power and terrifying appearance.

Still, he was the benefactor who had saved so many children. The villagers hesitantly approached Kadim one by one. They bowed their waists and lowered their heads in gratitude.

"Thank you so much, mercenary. If it weren't for you, our child would have..."

“We’ve prepared a stew with chicken and barley. You must be tired, so please come to our house and have a meal…”

Kadim shook his head firmly.

"Give that food to the children who returned instead. They couldn't sleep all night and were crying, they must be hungry. I need to rest first."

"..."

To survive, he wouldn't hesitate to cross through bloody swamps and drink filth. But when it wasn't a matter of life and death, he would give his piece of bread to someone hungrier.

This was his last principle to avoid becoming a demon who had lost his humanity.

Kadim turned his back on the watching villagers and entered a nearby hut.

It was time for some overdue sleep.

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