Gathering Allies VII
“Haha!! Hey, what’s wrong, Demon Race scum!!! You thought you could ambush us using a defenseless girl, huh!!! Don’t just cower and hide, you spineless cowards!!!!”
I dragged out the demons hiding in 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 scent, but she was struggling to distinguish it among the myriad of other smells.
“Is that you? Then die!”
While waiting for Rio to make a discovery, I delivered a powerful kick to the hiding demons, obliterating the building they were in. I had collected more than enough heads to prove 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 lurking around, hiding like the pathetic creatures they are, so go find them and kill them.”
“Leave it to me; it’s my specialty.”
“Count on me!”
“I found them!”
“Where? Lead the way!”
“This way.”
“Got it. Fana, Stella, take care of the demons outside.”
“Understood!”
As I rampaged, Fana and Stella joined me, and I informed them about the demons hiding and fleeing. Just then, Rio made a discovery, so I followed her lead. Unable to contain my urgency, I chased after Rio, who had started running. Suddenly, an arm reached out from the shadows, trying to grab her. I seized the arm, dragged the person out, and upon realizing they were human, I crushed their limbs and threatened them before letting them go, continuing to follow Rio.
Eventually, we arrived at the entrance of the Black Market. It seemed they hadn’t changed the main location from the start.
“This way, down below.”
“Seems like the main venue is below. 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 down. There might have been someone inside, but I didn’t care; I smashed through the wall and peered inside, capturing a demon who was trying to turn away and slamming them to the floor, crushing their head.
“Hey, you scum who ally with demons. You all get the death penalty here!”
I announced this loudly enough for everyone inside to hear. They screamed, groaned, cursed, and shouted in anger, but unfortunately, I had long since outgrown the age of listening to such voices… so I ignored them and continued my slaughter. Those dressed in luxurious clothing were only incapacitated by crushing their limbs, but for everyone else, I made sure to snap or crush their necks, killing them thoroughly. Of course, for the battered and mentally broken slaves, I gently removed their collars and knocked them out before laying them down softly on the floor.
“Na ‘ho’ gope,” “Kisa ‘ho’ bube,” “Ha ‘die’,” “Da ‘ho’ butt,” “Fuzak ‘ho’ bob,” “Hic ‘goodnight’ kyuu,” “Tasu ‘ho, will you leave’ buhe,” “E ‘ho’ dube,” “Yurushi ‘goodnight’ uun,” “Do ‘ho’ nu,” “Gi ‘die’,” “Ga ‘die’,” “Washi wa ‘ho’ aba,” “Gome ‘ho’ kope,” “Yame ‘leave’ guhe,” “Odo ‘leave’ 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 you brought with you!!! If you run, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and kill you!!!”
““““““Understood!!!!””””””
“…They obey.”
“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… it’s sad for me.”
“Yurushi ‘impossible’ job.”
~~Execution & Binding in Progress~~
In a fit of rage over their sheer numbers, I threatened the surviving ones, and they showed a commendable survival instinct, binding the demons tightly and bringing them forward. They also freed the captives they had been holding. Before the Knights Order could arrive, we had completed the release of all captives and the binding of all demons. By the way, I didn’t leave a single demon alive; I killed them all. To be precise, a few tried to hide, but after I found and executed them as a warning, the rest of the demons, who had been hiding or attempting to flee, surrendered and were brought forth for execution.
“I see… may I ask for the details?”
“Sure, but first, prioritizing transporting these people to the treatment center is more important. They’ve been held for a long time… Hey, how long have they been restrained? ‘Two months! We’ve only provided the bare minimum of water and food!!’ Apparently. We should start with treatment and food.”
“Understood. I’ll arrange it immediately. What about the ones who are bound?”
“Where are you taking them?”
“To the Knights Order’s prison.”
“Then have someone guide me. I’ll take them.”
“Really? Then please!”
“Alright, let’s go.”
““““““Yes!!!””””””
After that, I lined up the people from the Black Market, asking them whether they preferred to have their bones counted while I crushed them or to bind themselves and be captured by the Knights Order. They all chose the latter. Finally, the Knights Order arrived. After discussing various matters, I entrusted the weakened individuals to the Knights and began walking towards the prison at the Knights Order headquarters, ensuring that the bound individuals wouldn’t escape.
By the way, Rio had already left the scene with her brother and sister before the Knights arrived. Anticipating that I would have some time to be scolded, I had given Rio enough money (the former lodging fee) to buy a few days’ worth of food and sent her to the treatment center. I informed her that I would come to pick her up once everything settled down, so I felt a bit sorry for the doctor at the treatment center, as they would have to take care of her for a couple of days. When I go to pick her up, I plan to bring a gift as an apology, perhaps some fruits or sweets.
“You really caused quite a ruckus.”
“I got carried away; I’m truly sorry.”
“Hm? Oh, you mean the wall? That’s not a problem. We just said that the demons who were brought in set a bomb on the wall and blew it up. The repairs fall under the jurisdiction of the Magic Association, so it’s not our concern.”
“What about everything else? 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 honest with me. Even those whose limbs were crushed started talking honestly in fear the moment they woke up.”
“…I see.”
“Ah, by the way, the king was shocked and nearly fainted, but it wasn’t a big deal. Hermes was suspicious and was planning to infiltrate, so he said it was fine. The only ones confused were the citizens, but once we told them it was caused by the demons, they calmed down.”
“…I understand.”
And so, we were at the scene for questioning. The Knight Commander himself was assigned to me; I had expected a regular knight to handle it, but… well, it’s better to have someone who understands the situation to facilitate the discussion.
The reason this can be wrapped up quickly is that it involves demons, so the questioning can proceed swiftly. Why? Because ultimately, the demons are the cause, and they are dead, so there’s no need for detailed investigation. I’ve experienced this several times during my encounters with the Demon Lord’s Army.
“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 it seems several nobles were involved to prevent information from leaking out.”
“…Was it an earl?”
“Two, an earl and a marquis. They were apparently saying they would provide money and underground routes in exchange for priority access. We’re currently conducting a home search, so evidence should surface soon. Having two landholders involved is troublesome.”
“…Are there any people involved?”
“Are you asking about proxies? That’s not a problem. There are plenty of nobles who are in limbo at the royal castle, especially those who are the third son or lower. They’ll be in charge of managing the territories.”
“…I see… Do you have details on the kidnapped humans?”
“Ah, well…”
“…What is it?”
“………Some have been identified, including the beast-folk village that likely started this incident.”
“…The hesitation suggests that there are serious issues occurring in those areas that cannot be easily dealt with?”
“Indeed…”
“…What happened?”
“At least, there are monsters with the power of a High-Ranking Demon or higher; you might have heard of them, but they are classified as disasters.”
“…What?”
Yes, I’ve heard of them. In fact, I’ve dealt with several cases equivalent to that… No, is that what it means? The colossal monster that dealt the final blow to Rio’s village was classified as a disaster-level monster. But they rarely appear normally… Could it be,
“Is it related to the demons?”
“That possibility is quite high. However, we have no certainty, nor do we know where they are being produced.”
“And we can’t search for the root cause until we deal with the immediate threat… So, regarding the request…”
“Initially, we planned to ask for something else. However, the demon groups near the royal capital are beginning to unite, and the Knights Order is out dealing with these issues.”
“I see… I have several requests I want to make regarding that request, but can I first discuss it with those I’ve inconvenienced?”
“Of course, but I want to discuss it soon. Can you come to the king’s office a week from now?”
“Yeah, I’ll wrap things up by then.”
“Good. Then this questioning is concluded. Thank you for your cooperation in resolving the incident and for your efforts in slaying the demons.”
“Yeah. You all do your best with the aftermath too.”