Gathering Allies VII
“Haha!! Hey, what’s wrong, Demon Race scum!!! You thought you could ambush us using a defenseless girl, huh!!! Stop hiding like cowards!!!”
I dragged out the lurking demons from a nearby abandoned building, tearing off their heads and crushing their bodies underfoot as I shouted. I could sense many more presences beyond the first few I had killed, so I taunted them, but the demons remained hidden. By the way, Rio was still searching. She had suggested that she could track them by smell, but there were so many different odors that she was having trouble distinguishing them.
“Is that you? Then die.”
While waiting for Rio to make a discovery, I delivered a kick that obliterated the building the demons were hiding in. I had already collected more than enough heads as proof of their existence, so all that was left was to find and eliminate the rest.
“Sorry for the delay.”
“Are there still more left?”
“No problem. The demons are still hiding, cowering in shame, so find them and kill them.”
“Leave it to me, that’s my specialty.”
“Count on me!”
“I found them.”
“Where? Lead the way.”
“This way.”
“Got it. Fana, Stella, I leave the demons outside to you.”
“Understood.”
As I continued my rampage, Fana and Stella joined me. I informed them that the demons were hiding and just as Rio found them, I decided to follow her lead. Unable to contain my eagerness, I kept pace with Rio as she dashed ahead. Suddenly, an arm reached out from the shadows, trying to grab her. I seized the arm, dragged out the human it belonged to, and threatened to crush their limbs if they tried to escape before letting them go and chasing after Rio.
Eventually, we arrived at the entrance to the black market. It seemed that the main hideout had not changed locations from the start.
“Here, from below.”
“The main venue is likely down there. Nothing strange about that. Do you smell the demons?”
“I do. Both above and below.”
“Then let’s go. Stay back.”
“Understood.”
After confirming, I kicked the door open. There might have been someone inside, but I didn’t care; I smashed through the wall and peered inside, approaching a demon who was turning their back to me and capturing them, slamming them to the floor and crushing their head.
“Hey, you filthy demons. You all get the death penalty right here!”
I made sure everyone inside could hear me clearly. They tried to shout, growl, curse, and yell various things, but unfortunately, I had long since outgrown the age of listening to such nonsense… so I ignored them and continued my slaughter. Those dressed in fancy clothes were spared from death, having their limbs crushed to the point of unconsciousness, while the rest were systematically killed by breaking or crushing their necks. Of course, the battered and mentally broken slaves were treated gently; I removed their collars and put them to sleep before laying them down softly on the floor.
“Na ‘ho’ gope” “Kisa ‘ho’ bube” “Ha ‘die'” “Da ‘ho’ but” “Fuzaka ‘ho’ bobe” “Hii ‘good night’ kyuu” “Tasu ‘ho, will you leave me’ buhe” “E ‘ho’ dube” “Yurushi ‘good night’ uun” “Do ‘ho’ nu” “Gi ‘die'” “Ga ‘die'” “Washi wa ‘ho’ aba” “Gome ‘ho’ kope” “Yame ‘leave me’ guhe” “Odo ‘leave me’ uba”
………
“How many of you are there?! How many do you think I’ve killed!!!”
“““““Hii!?”””””
“Hand over the demons!! Release the captives!! If you do, I’ll spare the ones I brought with me!!! If you run, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and kill you!!!”
“““““Understood!!!”””””
“…You’re obedient.”
“I should have done this from the start. Do we have ropes?”
“We do, what do you want to do?”
“Bind those three fat ones over there.”
“I’ll take care of it. Also, there’s someone trying to escape over there.”
“I see… I’m sad for myself.”
“Oyuru ‘impossible’ job.”
~~Execution & Restraint in Progress~~
In a fit of rage over their sheer numbers, I threatened the surviving demons, and they quickly showed their survival instincts by binding the demons tightly and bringing them to me, while also releasing the captives. Before the Knight Order could arrive, we had completed both the release and the restraint. By the way, I didn’t leave a single demon alive; I killed them all. To be precise, while some tried to hide, I found them and executed them as a warning, and the rest of the demons who were hiding or attempting to flee were all captured and brought to me for execution.
“May I ask about the situation?”
“Sure, but first, prioritizing the transport of these people to the Healing Clinic is more important. They’ve been captured for a long time… Hey, how long have they been restrained? ‘Two months! They were given only the bare minimum of water and food!!’ Apparently. We should start with treatment and food.”
“Understood, I’ll arrange it immediately. What about the restrained ones?”
“Where are you taking them?”
“To the Knight Order’s prison.”
“Then please assign someone to guide me. I’ll take them there.”
“Really? Then please do!”
“Alright, let’s go.”
“““““Yes!!!”””””
After that, I asked the people from the black market whether they preferred to be crushed by counting their bones or to bind themselves and be captured by the Knight Order. They all chose the latter. Finally, the Knight Order arrived. After discussing various matters, I entrusted the weakened individuals to the Knight Order and began walking towards the prison at the Knight Order’s headquarters, ensuring that the restrained individuals wouldn’t escape.
By the way, Rio had already left the scene with her brother and sister before the Knight Order arrived. Knowing I would have some time to deal with various issues, I gave her enough money (the cost of the inn) to buy a few days’ worth of food and sent her to the Healing Clinic. I informed her that I would come to pick her up once everything settled down, so I felt sorry for the doctor at the Healing Clinic, as they would have to take care of her for a couple of days. I decided to buy some fruit or sweets as an apology when I went to pick her up.
“You really caused quite a ruckus.”
“I got carried away, I truly apologize.”
“Hm? Oh, you mean the wall? That’s not a problem. We’ll say the demons planted a bomb in the wall and it exploded. As for repairs, that’s the Magic Union’s responsibility, so it’s outside our jurisdiction.”
“Isn’t there more to it? Shouldn’t we have had more witnesses?”
“That’s not a problem either. I’m currently gathering information, and those who are conscious and can survive are being quite honest. Even those whose limbs were crushed started talking honestly as soon as they regained consciousness, their faces twisted in fear.”
“…I see.”
“Ah, by the way, the king was shocked and nearly fainted, but there was no major issue. Hermes also thought it was suspicious and was planning to intrude, so there were no problems there. The only ones confused were the civilians, but once we told them it was caused by the demons, they calmed down.”
“…I understand.”
And so, we found ourselves in the interrogation room. The Knight Commander himself was in charge of my case; I had expected a regular knight to handle it… but I suppose it’s easier to proceed with someone who understands the situation.
The reason this interrogation could be wrapped up quickly was that it involved demons. Why? Because ultimately, the demons were the cause, and they were dead, so there was no need for a detailed investigation. I had experienced this several times during my encounters with the Demon King’s Army, particularly when I was hunting down the slime that was one of their executives.
“So, who was leading this?”
“On the human side? The one who initially allied with the demons was a merchant who managed the black market, and several nobles were involved to prevent information from leaking outside.”
“…A Count?”
“Two, a Count and a Marquis. They were saying something about providing money and underground routes in exchange for priority access. We’re currently conducting a home search, so evidence should come up soon. Having two landholders involved is troublesome.”
“…Are there any people involved?”
“Are you asking about proxies? That’s not a problem. There are many nobles who are third sons or younger, floating around in the Royal Castle as civil servants. We’ll have to leave the management of the territories to them.”
“…I see… Do you have details on the abducted humans?”
“Ah, well…”
“…What is it?”
“………Some have been identified, including the beastman village that was likely the starting point of this incident.”
“…The hesitation indicates that there are serious issues occurring in those areas that cannot be easily dealt with?”
“Indeed…”
“…What happened?”
“There are monsters with at least the power of high-level demons, which you may have heard of before; they are classified as disasters.”
“…What?”
Yes, I had heard of them. In fact, I had dealt with similar cases several times… but wait, does that mean the giant monster that finished off Rio’s village was classified as a disaster-level monster? However, such creatures rarely appear… could it be that,
“Is there a connection to the demons?”
“There is a strong possibility. However, we have not confirmed it, nor do we know where they are being produced.”
“And we cannot search for the root cause until we deal with the immediate threat… So, regarding the request…”
“We initially planned to ask for something else. However, the demon groups near the royal capital are beginning to unite, and the Knight Order is currently dealing with these threats.”
“I see… I have various requests I want to make regarding that request, but can I first discuss it with those I inconvenienced?”
“Of course, but I would like to discuss it sooner rather than later. Can you come to the king’s office a week from now at noon?”
“Yeah, I’ll wrap things up by then.”
“Very well. This concludes the interrogation; I appreciate your cooperation in resolving the incident and dealing with the demons.”
“Yeah. You all do your best with the aftermath too.”