Chapter 68: Demon Worshippers (4) |
When faced with incomprehensible situations, people tend to freeze.
That’s exactly what happened to those attending the banquet.
Even as a vassal’s head was cleanly severed, they found themselves unable to react in the moment.
In that brief instant,
Those wearing white masks completed their incantation.
“The perfect ending to a banquet is a dance! Let’s all dance together!”
Whoosh!
A whirlwind erupted at the center of the banquet hall and started quickly spreading in all directions.
It was like a blade of wind.
Crack!
The razor-sharp wind sliced past Dale, leaving a deep gash in his sturdy armor.
The magic was immensely powerful.
Esther’s face turned deathly pale.
“Wh-What is this? Th-thank you for…”
Dale interrupted Esther’s rambling.
“Snap out of it. They’re demon worshippers.”
“Huh?”
Pale who had skillfully erected a barrier next to them gritted his teeth.
“They dare to attack us directly; they must think we’re an easy target.”
Dale surveyed the damage.
The initial surprise attack had been devastating.
The vassals and servants of the mansion were cut into pieces and their parts were scattered here and there.
However, the heresy inquisitors had some skills and were successful in protecting the priests.
The demon worshippers seemed displeased with this fact.
“Being merely sturdy is useless. Let’s move on to the next phase!”
Seven demon worshippers, all masked, began chanting in unison.
Dale immediately grabbed a nearby table with both hands.
It was a solid wooden table filled with plates full of food.
Pale asked in disbelief,
“Sir Dale! That’s not something one person can lift… right?”
Dale hoisted the solid wooden table effortlessly, causing plates to scatter across the floor.
Food spilled over his body but Dale didn’t care.
He bent his knees and, with the force of a coiled spring, hurled the table with all his might.
Crash!
The table slammed into the group of demon worshippers. Even they could not continue their incantations under such an attack.
They scattered in all directions, and their eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Aha! The famed hero is here among us!”
“Just as odd as the rumors said.”
“We are in luck! A worthy offering to our master!”
As they dispersed, each began to chant their own spells.
Dale kicked off the ground and surged forward.
He charged at the nearest one whose lips curled into a sly grin.
It was a clear sign that the spell was nearly complete.
Mages were perverts who often reveled in their twisted pleasures just before completing their spells.
Dale picked up the fork that lay on the table. It was the closest piece of metal within his reach. Relying on his instincts, he stretched out his hand.
The fork flew like a dagger and burrowed directly into the left eye socket of the mask.
“Argh!”
The fork had lodged itself in the uniquely sparkling, gem-like eye of one of the demon worshippers.
Naturally, the spell he had been preparing was interrupted.
Dale closed the gap immediately, drew his sword, and swiftly struck down.
Thud!
The sword, driven from the crown of his head, buried itself down to his neck.
Even for a demon worshipper, it was a blow that led to instant death. Dale kicked the body of the demon worshipper away to retrieve his sword.
He then quickly turned his attention elsewhere.
The inquisitors and priests were managing to fight quite adeptly.
One inquisitor was shrouded in a brilliant glow and he wielded a heavy hammer while flashes of blinding light targeted the worshippers.
Whenever this happened, the demon worshippers would scatter flames, exhale cold breaths, and sometimes spew acidic mists to hinder the Inquisitor.
The inquisitor was enveloped by a protective barrier and so he absorbed every spell thrown at him while pursuing the demon worshippers.
At first glance, it seemed the inquisitor had the upper hand.
However, there was a clear difference in their objectives.
While the inquisitor aimed to eliminate the demon worshippers, their foes sought indiscriminate slaughter.
Acidic mist sprayed into the air struck down vassals, soldiers, and servants who couldn’t escape in time.
“Argh!”
“C-Can’t breathe!”
As the acidic mist entered their nostrils and dissolved their respiratory tracts, those who couldn’t endure fell to the ground.
Serious injuries ensued.
Yet, the inquisitors focused solely on the demon worshippers without blinking an eye.
Talos shouted,
“We must kill them! They cannot be allowed to escape!”
Their weapons and miracles were directed exclusively at the demon worshippers.
As a result,
As the battle dragged on, more and more people fell to their deaths.
In the midst of the chaos, one demon worshipper who had been reciting a spell for some time finally completed it.
“Ha! It’s done!”
Thump!
An inquisitor charged and struck down the demon worshipper’s head, shattering the skull along with the mask.
However, the completed spell did not cease.
Flames erupted in the air.
Green flames, identical to those emitted by the relic cannon they had encountered previously.
The wave of flames surged towards the area crowded with those who had survived.
“Light, be our shield!”
The priests hastily conjured miracles to erect barriers but it was not enough.
Despite their efforts to withstand the onslaught, the priests gradually grew overwhelmed. The malevolent flames were too powerful.
Oh god, if it continues like this…
The cornered priests bit their lips tightly and sought their deity’s intervention. A defeat here would mean the end.
Was it in response to their plea? Suddenly, the flames were cleaved apart.
“Uh?”
The priests lifted their heads.
As expected, it wasn’t their deity that had answered their prayers.
Standing before them was a dark knight.
Dale positioned himself in front of them while wielding an ominous-looking cursed sword.
Whoosh!
He swung the cursed sword diagonally with a firm grip.
The green flames were momentarily sliced away then surged back like a wave.
Dale swung his sword in the opposite direction, then again in another reversal, and yet again in the opposite direction. He repeated this action with such speed that his arms appeared a blur.
The slashes created a barrier. And the incoming flames could never breach this barrier.
My, my god.
The priests’ eyes widened in astonishment.
A swordsman who could slice through flames. They could hardly believe the spectacle before them.
When Dale had finished cutting through all the flames,
The few remaining demon worshippers looked at each other.
Though their expressions were obscured by masks it seemed they had not anticipated that someone could fend off the flames.
They quickly communicated with just their eyes.
And soon came to a unanimous decision.
“Retreat!”
The four demon worshippers scattered in unison.
Three of them headed towards the entrance of the banquet hall.
One threw themselves out of a window.
Crash!
The window shattered upon impact with the demon worshipper and broke into countless pieces.
Amidst the grating noise, both the inquisitors and Dale started their pursuit.
Dale chased after the one who had escaped through the window.
This was because all the inquisitors had rushed to the entrance, and also because the banquet hall was on the third floor.
Observing the demon worshipper safely flee even after falling from the third floor, Dale didn’t hesitate and leaped out of the window.
Thud!
His landing kicked up a cloud of dust. The meticulously maintained flowerbed was now in disarray.
His body shook with the impact of the fall, but that didn’t matter.
Dale sprinted and quickly started closing the distance between himself and the demon worshipper.
The fleeing demon worshipper glanced back. A strange light was flickering in his gem-like eyes.
He seemed to be surprised that his pursuer was catching up so quickly.
“I’d advise you to stop following me. It’s for your own good!”
The demon worshipper shouted with a playful tone as he increased his running speed.
Instead of replying, Dale drew and hurled a dagger. The demon worshipper dodged it reflexively by bending at the waist, then clapped his hands together in a taunting gesture.
“I did warn you, didn’t I?”
Suddenly, beneath Dale’s feet, a complex and geometric magic circle appeared.
Rune magic?
In the next moment,
A pillar of fire erupted from the magic circle. It was a pillar of fire so hot and powerful that it could be felt from a distance.
The demon worshipper shook his head with mocking laughter as he watched his handiwork.
“See, this is why you should listen when someone gives you advice… Huh?”
Dale walked out through the pillar of fire. His entire body caught fire and his armor melted in places, yet none of his injuries were fatal.
That was enough.
Dale asked.
“Is this all you had prepared?”
“…You are stronger than I expected.”
Having said that, the demon worshipper attempted to flee.
But Dale’s sword was quicker.
The cursed sword swung horizontally and sliced through the demon worshipper’s waist.
The demon worshipper was now bisected and floundered on the ground. Blood and entrails spilled from the cut.
This was proof that he too was once human. This was the most troublesome aspect of the demon worshippers.
Dale leaned over the upper half of the demon worshipper and ordered.
“Tell me everything you know. The hideouts where your friends are lurking. The plans you’re concocting here. All of it.”
“Heh. Hehe. You don’t really expect me to answer that, do you?”
Of course, that was not the case.
The minds of these demon worshippers were all twisted beyond recognition, making it impossible to pry open their lips with ordinary torture.
The demon worshipper started mocking Dale.
“You fools who do not even know the name of the one we worship will soon face your doom. It’s a pity I won’t be around to hear the agonized screams you will emit then.”
But even if that time came, would Dale ever scream?
Instead of responding, Dale casually dropped a name.
“Ganiagos.”
“….Huh?”
Great shock flickered in the eyes of the worshipper who had remained calm even after being torn in half.
“H-How?”
“It wasn’t hard to guess.”
The white mask concealing the face. The worshippers dealing with various anomalous spells. Lastly, the contagious green flames.
These characteristics pointed to one particular demon.
“I’ve met your master more than a few times.”
The way Ganiagos toyed with his opponents using a variety of spells was notoriously tricky.
Being a demon that particularly frustrated players in the game, it was no surprise that Dale remembered him vividly.
The flustered demon worshipper became angry.
“You’ve met our master numerous times… Don’t lie!”
“So, you’re admitting that your master is Ganiagos?”
Realizing his mistake, the demon worshipper clamped his mouth shut, but it was already too late.
Dale fell into deep thought.
I had my suspicions… but to think they were true.
Dale had guessed the identity of the demon back when he was dealing with Lapin.
Recalling the name Ganiagos wasn’t difficult even then, given the considerable evidence suggesting it.
However, there was one lingering question.
Ganiagos was supposed to be dead.
In the past, when Dale fought Hasina in the dwarven ruins he asked her why a mage like her would follow any other demon but Ganiagos.
Hasina responded then that Ganiagos had been dead for quite some time.
Dale was astounded then.
Not just anyone can kill a demon.
Yet Ganiagos was dead. However, followers who worshipped the deceased demon were now causing chaos.
Dale asked,
“Shouldn’t you be quiet if your pathetic master is dead? Or maybe find another demon to follow. What’s with all this fuss?”
At Dale’s question, the body of the demon worshipper trembled violently, conveying humiliation and rage.
And the demon worshiper shouted with a voice as harsh as raking gravel.
“He is… He is the exalted one! Not someone for a corpse like you to speak of!”
“Isn’t Ganiagos the dead one? Wouldn’t that make him the corpse, not me?”
Ignoring Dale’s words, the worshipper screamed,
“He will return! We will make it so! The time is near!”
The demon worshiper who shouted like that could not overcome his anger and stretched out his arms. He aimed his sharp claws at Dale’s helmet.
Dale swiftly swung his fist. Though he started later, it was Dale who struck the target first.
His fist shattered the worshipper’s skull along with the mask.
The worshipper’s body crumbled.
Dale immediately drove his gauntlet in.
He felt a satisfying surge of life force filling him up. And his body healed instantly.
However, the memories of the demon worshipper were too vague and chaotic to be decipherable.
Dale rose to his feet and looked up at the night sky of Kaelum filled with fog.
Only the ominous crescent moon emitted a faint glow through the mist.
Plans to return…
Dale finally understood the worshippers’ goal.
They intended to resurrect Ganiagos.
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