Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 53

Arms, legs, torso.

Wrists, ankles, even the head.

Rumble, rumble!

I bound the passerby with rock magic, ensuring he couldn't break free with ordinary strength.

Not stopping there, I set up dozens of trap and detection spells around him and positioned Thompson behind him as a precaution.

"If you see anything strange, like light emanating from his body, crush him immediately. It means he's connected to the Demon Commander."

"Got it, Mr. First Place. Trust me."

"Can't I do that instead?"

"You're in charge of torture. If he doesn't answer or tries any funny business, scorch him with fire."

"I like that."

With this, all variables were eliminated.

Finally, I tapped the passerby's cheek to wake him up.

"Hey, are you conscious now?"

After a brief wait, the passerby raised his head, which had been hanging low.

"This is..."

He looked around, seemingly disoriented.

Though, with his eyes burnt and hollowed out, it was doubtful he could see anything.

"Doesn't matter. Just answer my questions. Honestly."

"..."

After a moment of silence, he let out a deranged chuckle.

"Heh, hehehe...!"

I wondered what was so funny.

"...I lost. I... I lost... Haha, hahaha!"

It was a laugh born of frustration at his current situation.

Well, maybe he really had gone mad.

"Should I roast him?"

"No, it's fine."

I stopped Kayla, who looked ready to conjure a fireball at any moment, and asked the passerby,

"How did you know there was a dungeon there?"

This was the question I was most curious about.

In the game, I had never seen a demon mention a dungeon or lead players to one.

Not in over ten years.

'That's why I thought it was blocked off by the system...'

Of course, this wasn't a game, so it was entirely possible.

But that made this question even more crucial.

Who knows? Maybe the demons were monopolizing the dungeons of the demon world to increase their power or gather artifacts.

'If they know about the existence of dungeons, there's no guarantee they're not doing that.'

If that were true... it was not a matter to be taken lightly.

It meant that the combat strength of all demons could be far greater than I knew.

A demon army using artifacts.

The thought itself was terrifying.

"If I don't answer... will you torture me?"

"Well, if necessary?"

"Hahaha...!"

Instead of answering, he just laughed again.

Since he seemed to think I was joking, I took immediate action.

"Kayla."

"Yeah."

Whoosh!

As if she had been waiting, she conjured a fireball and brought it towards the passerby's forearm.

"Gaaaah!"

His screams echoed through the building.

Honestly, it felt dirty.

This made me feel like the villain.

'...Damn demon.'

Subordinates. Those who received demon blood through contracts and reveled in slaughter with that power.

That's what they were.

Both in the game and here in reality... human trash that deserved no respect.

"Stop."

Reminding myself of this fact, I continued my questioning without a shred of guilt or sympathy.

"I'll ask again. How did you know there was a dungeon there? And how do you even know what a dungeon is?"

"...It was an order. To secure the location of the Sector 7 dungeon. As for how I know what a dungeon is... I don't understand what you mean. What creature wouldn't know that?"

This time, he answered immediately.

It seemed Kayla's fireball had been quite persuasive.

'From the way he's talking, it seems knowing about dungeons is a matter of course...'

Something else bothered me.

"An order... you mean the Demon Commander himself gave you that order?"

"Yes."

"For what purpose?"

"Heh, well? How would a small fry like me know the grand intentions of that being? I just do as I'm told."

"Can demons enter dungeons?"

"I haven't tried, but... I've heard they can't."

"Hmm."

His tone was a bit mocking, but he didn't seem to be lying.

Indeed, it wasn't as if the Demon Commander would explain his reasons every time he gave an order.

"So, you were given that task, and that's the dungeon you found yourself?"

"That's right."

"Then why did you try to lure us there? Were you aiming for our hearts or something?"

"..."

The passerby hesitated for a moment at my question before continuing.

"That's right. Although it ended in failure..."

Huh, I had a hunch because he was a subordinate of Valefor, but it was true.

His goal from the beginning was our hearts.

'So, luring us to the dungeon was just to reduce our numbers...'

No matter how I thought about it, it was an absurd plan.

There were too many variables: us seeing through his intentions, us being stronger than he expected, failing to lure us to the dungeon, and so on...

The risk was also significant.

If things went wrong, he would have to fight us in a one-versus-many situation.

In fact, that's exactly what had happened.

'Well, maybe it's not all bad?'

Of course, if we had been even a little late, his plan might have actually succeeded.

Kayla almost had her heart eaten, and we were almost lost forever, wandering in the dungeon.

Then, it would have seemed like a bold plan, not a reckless one.

"...How did you know?"

He asked curiously.

He was probably asking how I knew he was aiming for our hearts.

Well, it was half a guess, but the reason I suspected it was obvious.

"Because I've been through it so many times."

The old man, Redhead, even the silver-haired knight, Shuhan.

Whenever something happened, they all went on about a mage's heart.

That incident with the monstrous silver-haired knight wasn't even over yet.

He was probably still out there somewhere, targeting my heart.

"Sigh..."

I was truly sick and tired of anything related to my heart.

Anyway, that aside...

This resolved the questions related to the dungeon, but there were still more to ask.

The location of the survivors, the reason why the demon army invaded Sector 7, what they were currently plotting...

Just as I was about to continue with the next question,

"Aah... Aah...!"

He suddenly started moaning.

At the same time,

Sizzle!

His body heated up and turned red, as if it were being scorched by fire.

We reflexively assumed a fighting stance and raised our guard.

"...A connection?"

We had indeed spent quite a bit of time.

Perhaps by now, the Demon Commander had noticed and was attempting a connection.

If so, we had to deal with him before anything happened.

However,

Sizzle!

"Ugh, G-Gaaah!"

A different situation unfolded than what we expected.

His body started burning from the tips of his toes.

Just like paper being set on fire.

I had seen this a few times in the game.

I immediately stopped Thompson and Kayla, who were about to attack.

"No need to intervene."

"Gaaaah! S-Save me...!"

There was only one reason for a demon subordinate to end up like this.

When their contract was terminated.

In other words, the Demon Commander had unilaterally broken the contract.

He probably decided it was better to abandon him than to empower him.

"Va... Valefor..."

The passerby, who had been groaning in pain for a while, now seemed to be free from it as he slowly tilted his head back.

And stared blankly into the void.

With a viscous purple liquid flowing from his hollow eye sockets.

"...Aah."

There's a saying.

It is said that right before a subordinate dies, they can see a vision of how they could have lived if they hadn't made the contract.

If that were true, how would he be feeling right now?

Would he be regretful? Or would he be content?

The answer remained unknown... but one thing was certain.

Whoosh!

Whatever it might be, this was the end that awaited a demon subordinate.

"..."

Silence fell as the passerby turned to ash and completely vanished.

"...Let's go."

I was the first to break the silence.

If we lingered on things like this, we couldn't move forward.

***

"...This is really bad, isn't it?"

Thompson said with a grave expression as we descended the stairs.

"...How could you forget about him? Yuhan, did you really not know either?"

Kayla also spoke, her face pale.

Even in the face of crisis, they usually remained calm, but now both of them couldn't hide their surprise.

No, it wasn't just the two of them, but three.

Including me.

'We're screwed...'

This was a serious situation, even I didn't know what to do.

I couldn't believe it myself; what was I supposed to say when I saw him...?

"...He's not dead, is he?"

"..."

"..."

Kayla's abrupt question brought another wave of silence.

No one could refute that possibility.

No matter how strong he was, there was no telling what could happen after all this time.

The only fortunate thing was that no demons had come up to the second floor.

If something had happened to him, the repercussions would have surely reached us.

Perhaps realizing this, everyone started to breathe sighs of relief.

"...Miss, don't say such ominous things. Our dwarf friend isn't that weak..."

"...R-right?"

And finally,

Thud.

We set foot on the first floor and witnessed an unbelievable sight.

"..."

"..."

There, piled up like a mountain, were demons, their heads crushed, easily numbering in the hundreds.

Everyone was speechless at the astonishing sight, mouths agape as they looked around.

After a long moment of stunned silence,

"...Dwarf Mister!"

Kayla suddenly dashed off somewhere.

She headed towards the top of the mountain of corpses.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack...!

Kayla frantically rummaged through the pile of bodies, as if she had seen something.

And then...

From within, someone familiar was pulled out by Kayla's hand.

"Mister, Dwarf Mister!"

Barundel Damascus.

The one who had protected us, the comrade we had completely forgotten.

Thud, thud, thud!

Kayla shook the unconscious Barundel.

Thompson rushed over and checked Barundel's pulse, and I also placed my ear against his face.

'...He's alive.'

Fortunately, he was breathing.

Though whether this was fortunate or not...

"Ugh, ugh..."

A moment later, Barundel let out a faint groan.

Kayla asked with a relieved expression,

"Mister! Are you alright?"

As if awakening from a coma, Barundel slowly opened his eyes.

He made eye contact with each of us, then said,

"...Who are you?"

Kayla and Thompson were horrified.

"...What do we do? He must have hit his head!"

"...Dwarf Mister! You really don't recognize me?"

The atmosphere grew heavy with the realization that our precious comrade was injured.

Everyone was at a loss, their eyes filled with worry.

And I was the only one...

Who was gravely concerned about this situation for a different reason.

'We're so screwed...'

My eyes met Barundel's.

A chill ran down my spine.

Did no one really see it?

That look in his eyes, filled with not just anger, but utter fury.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]