Chapter 14

Translated by AmaLynne

by AmaLynne

With Demiurge’s guidance, I arrived outside of the forest.

What lay before me is grassland that I could see to the horizon.

The sunlight that had been blocked by the forest was now shining down on us.

The greenery spread out like a carpet, swaying in the wind, forming a wavy white line.

“From here on out, you’ll be outside the wards the elves have set up. I don’t see any demons nearby now, but I’m sure they’ll be around in a few steps.”

“Hey, if I get out of these wards, will I be able to go into the forest as usual later?”

“Yes, no problem. This ward only works on demons. They seem to be able to sense the wavelength of mana they are emitting and distinguish between them. As a human being, you don’t have to worry about being rejected by the wards.”

If that’s the case, then there’s no problem with leaving the forest.

However, there was something that bothered me a little.

The reason being.

“Demiurge, you’re like the mother of all demons, right? And yet, it’s okay for you to actively go out and kill demons?”

Yes, demons are supposed to be created by Demiurge.

In other words, aren’t they like children to her?

If Demiurge is heartbroken about defeating demons, then…

“No, you don’t have to worry about it. The demons that I have created for the world are the four great demons and a few others. In addition, the demons I have created are not life, but rather a mass of mana with an ego. In addition, they have no intelligence, and do not take any action other than the command I gave them to『 destroy humans 』. Well, I don’t know what’s going on with the four strong demons now, since it’s been quite a few years since they were created.”

“Speaking of which, what exactly are the four great demons you mentioned earlier?”

“The four great demons are【 Phoenix 】,【 Dragon King 】,【 Titan 】, and【 Behemoth 】.

“Uwaa… they’re monsters with『 SS 』ranking…”

There are ranks for demons.

The lowest rank is『 F 』, and the highest is『 S 』.

However, some demons are the strongest and worst that do not fit into these ranks.

That is what Demiurge was referring to when he said that there were four great demons.

To be more precise, they are no longer in the category of demons, but are feared under the name of【 Mythical Creature 】.

I don’t even know how long they’ve been around, all I know is that they’re powerful and unsurpassed.

I didn’t even meet these guys during my journey to defeat Demiurge.

Anyway, I see. They were born by Demiurge, right?

That makes some sense.

But I shudder to think what would happen if these guys were around when I challenged Demiurge.

At that time, I’m sure I would have been beaten to a pulp.

I wouldn’t have been able to fight the Demiurge at all.

“Fufu… It’s nostalgic. I wonder where they are wandering around now. They’ve never come back to me. It’s a shame that I didn’t give them more intelligence.”

Demiurge looked distantly at the scene.

How are the demons she created doing now…

Looking up at the sky, Demiurge let out a small breath of relief.

“That’s all right. Now, to get back to the point, demons are like devices to me. They are tools that I have prepared to destroy humans. I’m not that emotionally involved with them, so please don’t worry about them, Master. And now we’re going to save the world… It’s a bit ironic, considering I’m the one who unleashed the demons on the world.”

She smiles self-deprecatingly.

However, I was relieved to see that she didn’t seem to have an aversion to actually defeating demons.

If I knew that, I would be able to defeat the demons without hesitation.

“All right. Then I won’t hesitate. We have to kill as many demons as possible and grow the world tree.”

“Umu, that’s the spirit, husband.”

“Ouu. Then, I’m off.”

I take a step out of the trees and into the grassland.

The wind was blowing through my body as I walked through the fields.

Then I feel a presence following me from behind.

“Hmm? Why are you following me, Demiurge?”

“Mu, why not?”

“No, I mean, it’s not safe, is it?”

Demiurge tilts her head in a puzzled expression.

It’s cute, but this place is not as safe as the forest.

To be honest, it would be dangerous for the current Demiurge who have no means to fight.

“Don’t worry. If the need arises, I will escape immediately. Besides, husband is here to protect me. You will protect me, won’t you? I trust you.”

“Hey, hey…”

The former rascal seemed to have a strong desire to rely on me.

But then again, she’s got a lot of faith in me, saying that I’m here and nothing will go wrong.

To be honest, my back is quite ticklish.

“And even though I don’t have the power of my prime, it’s unlikely that any attack will go through against me. This body is a lot stronger than it looks, you know? As you can… see!”

She put out her arm and punched a handy piece of wood.

Then the trunk was ripped out shallowly, and pieces of wood flew through the air.

“My body is covered with a thin membrane made of mana. Well, it’s almost useless against attacks, but it can protect me from a little impact. So, why don’t I come with you, husband? I want to see my husband fight bravely. I won’t bother you, okay? Hey?”

Demiurge looks up at me with her eyes.

If that’s true, I can’t take someone with no power into a dangerous place no matter what they say.

“Hahh… When the time comes, you should really run. I’m not that good at everything. There’s a good chance I won’t be able to protect you at all.”

“Umu! I won’t bother my husband. Nevertheless, it is husband. If I’m in danger, I know he’ll risk his life to protect me.”

“You know…”

That’s a really nice thing to say.

But I am also naive.

If you really care about your partner, the right thing to do would be to leave them there.

However, when I used one of my class,【 Hunter 】’s【 Search Enemy 】, to check the surroundings, there was no monster with such a high threat level.

Judging from the signs, it’s probably a slime.

So it’s not that dangerous.

We can’t be too sure that other demons won’t appear from somewhere else, but the current situation is not that dangerous.

“So let’s get going, shall we?”

“Umu.”

Demiurge and I walked straight through the grassland with a beautiful view, our backs to the forest.

◆◇◆◇◆

After walking for a while, we found a translucent green object.

I hid behind a rock in the grassland and observed the creature I had found.

It’s a【 Green Slime 】.

They are more powerful than the normal blue slime.

However, its defense is not that high, and its only attack is physical.

Aside from the fact that its mucus can be used to make medicines, it is a demon with nothing special to say.

However, there are stories of people who were caught off guard and were suffocated to death, so being careless is a big enemy. No matter how weak they seem, they are demons. The slightest carelessness can be fatal.

Besides, Demiurge is behind me now.

I have to be careful.

“Well, the numbers are… 1, 2, 3…”

There are six of them. I searched for signs of my surroundings, but there was no sign of any other slime or another type of demon.

“Mu, slimes?”

“Yes, there’s six of them, and I don’t see any others, but at least the Demiurge doesn’t come out of this rock.”

“Umu, I understand.”

“Then… I’m going…!”

I leap from the shadows of the rocks and quickly close the distance to where the Green Slimes are.

The green slimes noticed my presence and shook their bodies.

“Huh!”

I thrust my hand knife into the nearest slime.

They can’t maintain their bodies as long as the nucleus in their bodies is destroyed.

Therefore, I destroyed the core without hesitation.

Then, the slime’s body exploded, spraying green mucus as it died.

Immediately, small blue crystals rolled out of the slime’s body onto the ground.

I had never seen such a phenomenon before.

Leaving the crystal lying on the ground, I quickly set my sights on my next prey.

“Yosh! That’s one! Next!”

I dodged the slime’s body attack just in time, and swung my hand sword to slice through its core.

According to Demiurge, I’d been asleep for two years.

This was the first time I had fought in two years, but my body seemed to have remembered my movements.

My body moved more easily than I expected.

I picked up a pebble lying at my feet and threw it at the slime at a distance.

With a sharp *bang*, the stone struck the slime, destroying the core inside its body.

This was the third one. Half of them left.

I fought on, trying to regain the instincts of my prime.

But it was only a slime. The battle was over in a flash.

“Phew, that’s all of them.”

After defeating the last one, I looked around for signs of life.

There was a possibility that they might still be hiding.

But all I could sense was the presence of Demiurge, and nothing else.

“Is it over?”

Demiurge came running up to me, probably because she confirmed that my battle was over.

“Ou, it looks like there are no more demons nearby.”

“Umu, you’re used to fighting.”

“Well, at least that’s what I thought.”

Even though it was a higher species, it was still just a slime. As long as you’re not careless, you won’t have a hard time defeating them in the first place.

“Now let’s retrieve the anima crystal.”

“Yes.”

And so, we retrieved the Anima Crystal. We headed back to the forest to return to the World Tree.

In the middle of this, Demiurge called out.

“By the way, husband, you’d better be careful next time. The slime’s staple food is mana… so our clothes made of mana are a treat for them. You’d have melted your clothes off if they’d gotten to you.”

“Wha?!”

I was told a terrible thing afterward.

Th-That’s close!

If I had been attacked by the slime, I would have been completely naked in the worst-case scenario!

If I look closely, I see that the sleeves of my clothes are slightly melted!

At this moment, I was truly relieved to know that my clothes were intact.