Chapter 73 - A Gift Wrapped (1)
There were objections.
They were about how it was dangerous for the Demon King to move alone, no matter if he had the Demonic Sword with him.
"I understand."
Nevertheless, Clay spoke to the demons who had come to relay their concerns.
"But to meet Altanato, I must move alone."
To be precise, only a weapon and its user could visit the place where he resided.
In the former Demon King's diary, it was written that Altanato was in a state of hibernation, mediated by a divine object that would grant his wish on a plausible scale.
It was also written that to wake him, one had to adhere to the procedure according to the situation he had wished for.
The situation he had wished for was to forge the weapon of a person worthy of dominating an era.
Naturally, a warning remained in the diary that he had prepared it so that only a person of such value could meet him by visiting alone.
"The decision has already been made."
Through his conversation with Atanasia, he had confirmed that Altanato had indeed met only one person at a time when he was commissioned for a job.
If Altanato truly held such a wish, he had to consider the possibility that the path to him might be closed if he didn't follow the rules.
Clay dismissed the advising demons and finally set out with Siltnaro.
"My, My Demon King."
Siltnaro, walking beside him, asked.
"We don't know when the ancient god who appeared in Yafenon will arrive at Barugenia, so are you really alright with this?"
Seeing Siltnaro belatedly expressing her doubts, Clay answered softly.
"The Blood Eater will first go to a place with many people to gather more power. We still have enough time."
"I see."
Siltnaro hesitated for a moment and then opened her mouth again.
"My, My Demon King. I don't know if I should ask this, but…"
"It's fine. Go ahead."
"Why didn't the former Demon King forge me, even though he knew about it?"
If he had been able to borrow Altanato's power, he could have gained an advantage in his battle against humans.
"It's not that he didn't, it's that he couldn't."
The Demon King also wrote in his diary lamenting that he couldn't borrow Altanato's power. Even though he found out where and how Altanato was sleeping through ancient ruins, he couldn't actually gain his strength.
"Because Altanato only forged the weapons of gods, and humans."
Just from the records left in Krata's library, it was clear that Altanato had a defined standard of quality in his mind. He saw demons as beings no different from beasts. At that time, demons had not yet acquired complete intellect. Therefore, his standards were, at the time, natural.
"Even now, because of that influence, later generations of dwarves only offer their talents to human heroes. You know that well, don't you, Siltnaro?"
"Ah."
Siltnaro gasped at Clay's explanation.
"Now that you mention it, that's right. Dwarves keep a distance from demons…"
Then Siltnaro flinched as if something had just dawned on her. Clay asked the stiff Siltnaro.
"You understand now, I see."
The former Demon King was a demon, so he couldn't borrow Altanato's power, but Clay, being human, could summon him.
"I apologize!"
Siltnaro, who had stopped walking, bowed deeply at the waist.
"I have been rude to you, My Demon King!"
"It's fine."
Clay grabbed Siltnaro's shoulder and straightened her body.
"I don't mind the fact that I am human."
Instead, Clay was thinking about how he could use this fact as a weapon.
"So you shouldn't think of this as too much of a burden either. We have a lot of work to do together in the future, and I don't want to discuss rudeness over something so trivial."
"My Demon King…"
Siltnaro looked into Clay's eyes and exclaimed.
"I will do my best to live up to your expectations!"
"That's a bit much."
Clay let out a hollow laugh. Seeing him, Siltnaro muttered quietly.
"It really is better to move with just the two of us."
"What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing!"
Seeing Siltnaro shake her head, Clay turned his gaze forward again.
"We don't have time to delay, so let's hurry. We have to pass through a place where mindless monsters are swarming."
Clay fell silent as he recalled the area where there would be plenty of creatures that would charge at anything they saw, regardless of whether it was the Demon King or not.
"Don't worry, My Demon King."
Siltnaro said, her eyes shining fiercely, unlike before.
"I will cut down all the bastards who try to get in your way."
However, what she ended up encountering was not a simple monster.
"What is that?"
The forest of monsters.
In that place,
GROOOOOWL!
Stood a giant mass of demonic energy that had torn apart all the other monsters.
♧
The forest of monsters is home to various monsters.
But this one was a creature that even Clay, who had faced many monsters in his hero days, had never seen before.
'What is it?'
Its basic body shape resembled an ogre. However, its size was several times larger, and its thick arms, which looked like rock, were developed to be as long as its height.
Its two eyes, which looked like it had lost its reason, were stained with a dark blue light like a bruise.
GRRRRRRRRRR!
The monster threw the corpses it was holding and walked toward Clay.
"My Demon King!"
Seeing Siltnaro stand in front of him, Clay said.
"Siltnaro, I appreciate it, but don't forget your role."
"Ah."
She immediately transformed into a sword and was gripped in Clay's hand.
『I apologize.』
"The apology is fine."
Rather than that, the immediate priority was to find out what that monster was.
'There is nothing scarier than an unknown enemy.'
With the ancient gods awakening, a variable that he, as the hero, didn't know about was a worst-case scenario.
ROAAAAAR!
The monster, which had now closed the distance, raised its enormous arm.
CRASH!
A fist came down with a speed that was incongruous with its bulky physique.
Clay raised his sword and blocked the fist before it could land.
CRACKLE!
But that wasn't the end of it. The monster kept pressing down with force on Clay, who had already been pushed back by the impact and was embedded in the ground as if creating a meteorite crater.
Additional cracks were appearing in the ground, unable to withstand Clay's sturdy legs.
"This is unpleasant."
He could forgive the unannounced attack, but a fist that could directly clash with the blade of a demonic sword?
'If it were a normal monster, its fist would have been severed and then some.'
For whatever reason, it was clear that those oversized arms had achieved a hardening to an extent that was beyond words.
"Siltnaro. I will pour all my demonic energy into you."
However, what he was holding was a demonic sword.
No matter how hardened it was, if it couldn't be cut, then the sword itself would be considered dull for its reputation. If he wanted to save face, he needed to regain its sharpness.
WHOOSH!
The blade, which had been further honed by the explosive release of demonic energy, began to dig into the monster's fist.
GROOOWL!
The monster, with the arm pressing down on Clay, whipped its other arm horizontally like a whip.
BANG!
Clay was forced to give up the power struggle and threw his body away. An impact struck the spot where he had just been standing.
"You fight like a monster."
Movement based on instinct. The speed at which it meticulously aimed for the opponent's weak spots was more than enough to replace a strategy designed by intellect.
ROOAOAOAR!
Naturally, the monster didn't stop there. It immediately pulled itself out of the destroyed terrain and swung its arms like weapons at Clay.
Despite its strong sharpness, Siltnaro could not easily sever the monster's arm. It only left a wound with each clash.
'And that wound is healing immediately.'
Was there a monster without any information that could do this?
With that sudden question, Clay, who felt something, quickly turned his head.
"!"
For a brief moment, someone showed only a shadow from atop a tree in the distance and then disappeared.
'I see.'
This wasn't the power of the monster alone. There was someone helping it heal.
"Siltnaro."
Clay gripped the sword hilt tightly.
"Maintain this sharpness for three minutes."
WHOOSH!
Clay charged and immediately swung his sword at the monster. When the monster blocked the attack with its hardened arm, Clay swung his sword again. And he swung it again and again, cutting a part of its body that the arm couldn't block.
GROOAAAN!
The monster let out a roar like a groan and staggered back.
"So you can feel pain, it seems."
Even if it had lost its reason, if it had a sense of pain, the story was different.
"I'll check how much you can endure."
Only its two arms had the hardness to block the sword.
If so, he could decide the match in a short time by aiming for other parts.
ROAAAAAR!
The monster, which had already healed its wound, roared from the front. As if going against that roar, Clay ran and swung his sword from the bottom up.
FLASH!
A crescent-shaped slash was shot at the monster like an arrow.
The monster instinctively raised its two arms to block the slash.
SWISH!
Clay dove under the monster's two arms. Clay, who had slid across the ground, severed one of the monster's ankles and used the remaining momentum to get back on his feet.
The monster, which had lost its balance, hunched over. Clay immediately spun and jumped, trying to strike at the monster's neck, but he failed.
The monster, which had instantly healed its ankle, found its balance again and stood up straight.
"Gotcha."
However, Clay was not discouraged. Knowing this would happen, he stepped on the monster's body and jumped once more, swinging his sword at the real 'enemy' who kept casting healing magic.
SWISH.
His sword brushed past the enemy, pulling back the hood they had pulled over their face to hide.
In that brief moment, Clay and the enemy met eyes.
The enemy, smiled.
They smiled as if they were happy to see Clay, even after being attacked.
"…"
Clay, who passed by the enemy and landed back on the ground, lowered his sword and raised his gaze diagonally.
"That was close, brother."
Blue hair.
The eyes that looked down at him, exuding strong demonic power, were clearly the eyes of someone he knew.
"Yuru."
Clay spoke in a low voice.
"You were waiting for me on the path beforehand."
"I had a feeling you would come this way, brother."
"How did you guess?"
Yuru tilted her head at his question.
"I didn't guess."
She smiled once more.
"It's fate."
"I didn't ask to hear your trivial talk."
"Hmm~, but it's true. I was just here to wrap a gift."
Wrapping a gift.
The phrase, which was quite incongruous with the situation, made Clay frown.
"A gift?"
"Yeah."
Yuru pointed at the monster.
"I got something for you in Yafenon, but I thought you'd be suspicious if it didn't have any wrapping. But it doesn't matter now that you know."
"I see."
Only then did Clay understand how that monster had come to be.
"So you implanted it with a core so it could gobble up demonic energy."
"That's right. Before I put it on your finger, I wanted to fill it with a lot of demonic energy."
Yuru pointed to her ring finger and said.
"Don't forget. No matter what ordeal you face, brother,"
Her eyes held fanaticism.
"I will be at the end of it."