CH 29

After midnight, the village and its surroundings were eerily quiet.

Everyone was asleep, and the nocturnal animals surreptitiously wriggled about in their territories.

Meanwhile, Seto was having trouble sleeping.

He dove into his bed, but he could not stop thinking about what Gendar told him.

About the Wendigo of Death, and most of all, about that wandering woman who would be visiting him in the near future.

He said she would arrive uninvited, but no such woman came to his mind among the few he knew.

His best guess would be that she was a member of the Hero’s party, but they could not possibly bother to see him after they had kicked him out.

They were fighting for the sake of the world at the moment.

Surely they would not abandon their important mission of saving the world just to see a little guy like him.

Much less by herself…

An awfully exhausted woman… with eyes full of madness? …It’s no use, I have no idea who that could be. (Seto)

In order to clear out his gloomy feelings, he decided to go take a breath of fresh air.

Satis was sleeping in the room next door, so he made sure not to make any noise on his way out.

Being stealthy was his specialty.

[Phew. Wow… The starry sky is so beautiful in this village.] (Seto)

The air he breathed felt refreshing and penetrated deep into his lungs.

The brightness of the stars in the sky showed how pure and clear the nature of this land was.

In the middle of them all, the “moon of the 10th day” casted its beautiful light far beyond the horizon, gently enveloping those who slept peacefully at night from the sky.

Even Seto, who did not know much about the moon phases, was moved by this night scene.

[Nature is… amazing. And we live in it.] (Seto)

Seto, who felt at ease as if his worries from earlier had been a lie, turned around to go back to his room, hoping that he would be able to sleep this time.

However, right after that, he felt the presence of someone.

They were clearly showing hostility.

Seto sensed it from behind and reacted quickly.

As soon as he turned around, he drew his knife and took a stance.

The individual he found standing there, bathing in the moonlight, was someone he did not expect to see here.

[Heh… Heeheehee… Been a while, hasn’t it? Seto…] (Hydra)

[You’re… Hydra?] (Seto)

Seto’s former comrade glared at him with a vile smile on her face, and a glint of madness and anger in her eyes.

Her dignified martial arts uniform was torn in places, and her body was covered in countless scars.

There was no trace of her usual expression full of confidence and pride.

The sword that served as her weapon was tied at her waist, unsheathed, and her scabbard was missing.

That sword, which was supposed to be a family heirloom, was not even maintained, and the blade was even dented and cracked all over.

A female martial artist standing under the moonlight.

On paper only, the sight would have made for a nice painting, but the way she was now, she just looked like a monster.

Seto dropped his battle stance.

But he still kept his guard up.

He watched her every move as if to monitor her.

[Honestly, the nerve of you. Hehee…! So while we were out… Ehehe…! Working our asses off for the… Gyaha…! For the sake of the world… Y-Y-Y-… You were living a carefree life kicking back in this remote village…?] (Hydra)

[How did you find me?] (Hydra)

[“How”, you ask…? Simple, really… I gathered intel on you. They told me that… you and some beautiful woman… were on your way to this village. Hihyaahaahaha…! You even got a woman at your beck and call!? Even though you’re just a boy soldier, a lowly barbarian!] (Hydra)

She staggeringly approached him while letting out a strange laugh.

Her movements were just like those of an undead, and even Seto unconsciously felt a chill down his spine.

[It took me days to get here, you know? I ran into monsters, then it was bandits… It was horrible. Now let’s go. Right now, we need your power- Eheehee! More than- Hyaha… Ever. So? You love to kill, don’t you? You’re a bloodthirsty magic swordsman, aren’t you? Well, lucky you. you’ll get to kill a whole bunch.] (Hydra)

Hydra extended her hand.

Her arms were also covered in sword wounds and bite marks.

But even more shocking was the number of cuts on her wrists.

Seto intuitively knew that these were self-inflicted wounds, giving him a full understanding of Hydra’s current state of mind.

He had no way of knowing what she would do next.

Even so, he had to say it.

[…Sorry, Hydra. But I’m not a soldier anymore. And I’m not going back to the Hero’s party.] (Seto)

[…Huh?] (Hydra)

[I’m sure you were desperately chasing me at the request of Reid and the others, but… I have no intention of staying with you guys anymore. I want to live my own life.] (Seto)

Right after he said that, Hydra threw her fist at Seto’s face.

However, the latter successfully withstood it and quickly got back up.

He took that blow on purpose.

[Feeling better now?] (Seto)

[…Are you shitting me, you little punk? Do you have even the slightest fucking idea how shit I had to go through to find you!?] (Hydra)

[And I told you, I’m sorry…] (Seto)

[You think that’s gonna cut it!? I’ve come this far just to bring you back after those jerks actually made me promise to become their fucking slave! …So you’re coming with me. Now. You’re a soldier. You have no right to veto anything. So do as I say.] (Hydra)

[…No.] (Seto)

[You don’t get to refuse.] (Hydra)

[No.] (Seto)

[I said you don’t get to refuse shit! Just do as your elders say, you braaaaat!] (Hydra)

She approached him and hit him repeatedly on the cheeks.

Unlike Hydra, who looked desperate, Seto gritted his teeth and did not change his expression, adamantly refusing to change his mind.

He was used to being hit by adults repeatedly back in his days as a boy soldier.

It was no small feat to stand upright while enduring this level of pain.

Also, he sensed that Hydra was not in much condition to fight.

To the point that he concluded he would not need to use his magic sword on her.

[If you won’t come with me… I’ll kill you!] (Hydra)

[You’ll never be able to kill me in your current state.] (Seto)

[W… Wh… Wha… I’LL SHOW YOOOOUUUU!!] (Hydra)

Hydra drew her sword and raised it.

It would be quite easy for Seto to incapacitate someone like her who had long since lost her mind.

————However, just as he was about to counter-attack with the knife in his hand, an unforeseen turn of events took place.

Hydra could not move.

Someone was standing behind her, and gripping her blade tightly with one hand to stop her.

It was Satis, who was supposed to be asleep.

She was wearing her usual combat suit, with the lenses of her glasses shining in the moonlight.

And the look in her eyes behind those lenses made Seto gasp.

It was a look filled with murderous intent, like that of a bird of prey.

She was glaring at Hydra with pupils as constricted as those of a ferocious animal.

[Wha-!? Y-You!? You’re-!] (Hydra)

Hydra also unintentionally let her fear show through in her words.

[…And just what do you think you’re doing?] (Satis)

[The leader of the Demon King’s army, Satis! What the hell are you doing here!?] (Hydra)

[Answer my question. What. Were you doing. To this boy?] (Satis)

Satis was showing her true nature as a demon.

Female humans and female demons may look the same, but their physical abilities and latent powers were vastly different.

Right now, Satis was showing a level of hostility and aura as great as, or maybe even greater, than when she and Seto fought each other before.

The root of her hostility was Seto.

She could not stand idly by while the one who was so precious to her was attacked in the middle of the night by someone she already knew.

[D-Don’t tell me that… The beautiful woman traveling with him is…!] (Hydra)

[You said that brats are supposed to obey their elders, right? Then answer me already. …What were you doing to this boy? …WELL!?] (Satis)

Satis’ eyes widened, and at the same time, the blade snapped under her grip.

Her face was brimming with pure rage, and she looked as if she was about to explode.