Closing his eyes, Henry took a moment to process the information that had just been passed to him.
Roughly speaking, he now had a basic understanding of Orsaga's abilities—how he'd infiltrated the front line with the virus, and his general current location.
But that was as far as the intelligence went.
Even with the capabilities of those Demigod mages, they weren't able to extract anything more detailed.
All they could offer was a rough outline of who—or what—Orsaga was.
After all, records of this otherworldly being in their world were almost nonexistent, and the information they could access was even scarcer.
Under such circumstances, even the gods of this world couldn't fully discern Orsaga's nature through prophecy or similar means.
If they really wanted to understand him thoroughly, they'd have to kill him outright, extract his soul, and read his memories—only then might they get the full picture.
From what they'd gathered, the report read:
"Abyssal creature, class: high rank Demon. Entered this world 216 days ago. Primary methods: fire, virus, melee combat, spellcasting. Current estimated location: approximately 470 kilometers east of the front line…"
To be honest, this wasn't of much practical use. Nothing concrete. It only helped them confirm what kind of entity they were up against.
Glancing at the pale-faced demigod mages, Henry couldn't help but wonder, 'Is a high rank Demon really this troublesome?'
To him, the chaos they were witnessing didn't align with what a typical high rank Demon, even one at the Legendary rank, should be capable of.
Even a greater Rank Demon would have to be exceptionally strong to pull off something of this scale.
He recalled past interactions with some demons that were just barely capable of communication, and mused, "Could this be one of those so-called 'mutant demons'?"
He remembered a conversation where someone had once said:
"Demons are a chaotic and bizarre race. The weirdest things can happen among them. Don't bother trying to make sense of it—if you can't explain it, just assume it's a mutant and move on."
He had always kept that saying in the back of his mind.
After dealing with demons who frequently screwed over their own teammates in absurd ways, he was beginning to understand what that person had meant.
They were indeed troublesome, strange creatures—impossible to comprehend in both logic and power.
Without hesitation, Henry began picking out the most agile members among the demigod mages, assembling a squad to venture deep into the polluted zone and eliminate Orsaga.
Seeing this, Alison and Emosen exchanged glances. The higher-ranking Alison then spoke up:
"Henry, do you remember that high rank Demon I mentioned to you not long ago? I think this might be the same one. He struck me as particularly cunning, so we should be careful. Don't fall for a trap."
Henry furrowed his brows.
He understood what she was worried about: that this information might've been deliberately leaked to lure them into an ambush and further weaken their already outmatched forces.
But in the end, he could only shake his head with a sigh and respond, "That may be true, but the situation has deteriorated to the point where we can't afford to wait. If we delay any longer, the front lines will collapse completely—and there'll be no saving them."
Unlike Orsaga, who could afford to play the long game, they couldn't imagine what might happen if the current situation dragged on for even a few more days.
So, regardless of the danger, they had no choice but to push forward.
Seeing that he'd made up his mind, Alison sighed quietly and didn't argue further.
She understood how grim things were. If they didn't take a shot now, they might not get another chance.
All they could hope for was that the forces of the Abyss were still disorganized and acting independently, and hadn't coordinated to set up an ambush.
Even if, in her heart, she knew that was likely wishful thinking.
Given the current stakes, any intelligent demon faction would work together to stall their enemies.
Most of the others in the camp shared her pessimism. Few held any real hope for the mission's success—they were almost certain they'd walk into a trap and suffer heavy losses.
But ironically, the situation played out exactly against their expectations.
Because "coordinated effort" simply wasn't a concept that existed among abyssal creatures.
Unlike his idiotic, backstabbing demonic "teammates," Orsaga had long since chosen the smart path—run the hell away.
Though everyone in the camp believed that penetrating enemy territory was highly dangerous, the circumstances left them with no choice. A strike team was formed, however reluctantly.
Watching the squad step into the teleportation array and vanish into the distance, Henry could only look up and pray to the gods above—hoping this mission wouldn't end in tragedy.
But had Orsaga been present, he would have only sneered at such naïveté.
Putting your hopes in a bunch of half-dead mortals? What a joke.
As far as Orsaga knew, Demon Lord Ignarok still hadn't managed to insert his true body into this world.
And yet even so, the gods here were already struggling to hold back Ignarok's main legion.
Shaking his head to dispel the dizziness from the teleportation, the squad captain took a quick survey of their surroundings.
The team had recovered quickly, and the immediate area showed no signs of enemy presence. That was at least one piece of good news.
Sniffing the air, the captain frowned in disgust.
The polluted zone's atmosphere had long since been transformed—filled with poisons and negative energy, optimized for abyssal lifeforms. Even a demigod being would feel sick if they inhaled too much.
With a flick of his hand, he cast a spell to ward off the toxic influence, then looked down at the magical device in his hand.
It was a locator, crafted by a demigod mage using a trace of Orsaga's aura. In theory, it would help them track their target.
Currently, two glowing dots appeared on the misty surface of the locator—one was moving, the other stationary.
Due to the rushed construction, the device was crude—it couldn't even show distance. The captain had no idea how close either signal actually was.
After a moment's thought, he decided to check out the stationary signal first.
Before long, the team arrived at the location.
After a brief search, they found the source of the signal.
One team member poked a lumpy mass on the ground with his sword, then asked uncertainly, "Doesn't this look like a brain?"
Another responded, "I think it is a brain."
The captain stared at the gooey mass and frowned in disbelief. "What, are you telling me that bastard tossed out his own brain?"
"…Good point."
After some thought, the others nodded in agreement. It did sound kind of ridiculous.
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T/N:
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