Chapter 325: A Foreign Object inside the Stomach

「That’s why…that young lady and you will die here. You will die without accomplishing a single thing.」

While saying so, the demonic being made its body bend down severely while growling. There was so much malicious intent in those words that it seemed like blood would splatter.

It seemed I wouldn’t leave this place for a while. At least, the Steel Princess Vestaline Geluah went through. This place felt too overwhelming. I could even feel a strange itching on my spine.

I looked at its eyes and horns while chewing on its devilish words. Those words emitted an ominous green, demonic aurora. I unintentionally wanted to look away and narrowed my eyes. I had seen those eyes several times on the past journey.

What a bad luck. I didn’t want to see those eyes again.

Just by appearing in my sight, I felt like those words pierced my chest. I took a half step back with my right leg and placed the tip of the white sword downward.

The name “magical beasts” was not really the name destined to a single species. Those who had demonic power, but who strangled human beings’ necks easily, were generally called “magical beasts”.

Therefore, there were races who were foolish to believe that magical beasts were a species because of some scholars’ theory.

Some took the form of beasts, others took the form of inorganic matter, some spew miasma, and others spread poison.

Among them, the one who spit an aurora like this was the worst. The moment I saw such being, I sensed death embracing my fate. Precisely because of such dangerous element, there were very few adventurers who had seen it personally and lived to tell the story.

The demonic aurora that that being was spewing out was the proof that it had been accumulating magical power in its viscera for a long time. I was sure that said being had eaten and killed many humans in the past, a number that was most likely disturbing.

In that sense, a magical beast shouldn’t behave like that. To be precise, an existence that had become like this might not be called a magical beast, but something else.

This thing had already torn the skin of a beast and transformed into a purer demonic nature. An existence that was said to be a manifestation itself. Unknowingly, I was biting my tongue inside my mouth.

…I should have killed it with that one swing earlier.

My canine teeth bit through my lip. My heart was about to burst with so much regret.

That moment may had been an opportunity that would never come again. Such a bad premonition covered my spine and permeated my bones.

I slammed my foot into the corridor covered in blood and shook the tip of my sword. A bright aurora shined before my eyes.

Its appearance was like a spider waiting for its prey to jump into its stomach.

Reason told me that I shouldn’t let my legs slip forward. It was a crucial moment. After all, no one would be a fool to enter a fortress alone with bows and arrows and tightly closed gates.

That’s what it meant if I were to charge recklessly now. I took the air from the bottom of my lungs and let out a sigh.

Ah, c’mon. It felt frustrating to be in this position. Even so, I bounced my lips confidently.

「Sorry, but I’m not willing to sell my life just yet. Some people need my help and there’s a lot of things I have to do. Can’t you wait for a while? After that, we can put price tags on our necks again.」

That hero wouldn’t have said such words or show weaknesses. Even though “he” showed different expressions, “he” dismissed “his” pale and weak-looking face immediately, while rejecting the idea to retreat.

“He” would have slashed away the demonic nature in a way that I couldn’t even think of. But would “he” do it with just one swing?

My cheeks distorted. My eyelids rose, and I felt as if something hit my heart. My fingertips, which should have been shivering in the cold, were strangely hot.

I knew what I had to do despite the perilous situation. At least, the person I knew was that kind of person. “He” was an undeniable hero, gifted with a noble soul and unrivaled bravery.

Therefore, there was no way I’d stand still in a place like this.

With my own hands, I defeated the hero that resembled the sun, and more than anything else, the existence I longed for. There was no way I would show to an enemy that I looked weak and frightened.

In other words, I would be smearing mud on “his” name if I did such a thing. Ah, no matter how many times I defiled my name, I would not accept “his” name to be defiled.

I had no choice but to move forward.

I hit the floor with a great force that it almost crushed it, just by twisting my ankle. My hips that drove my body with an amazing momentum attracted the blade of the white sword. It got sharper and faster.

Hopefully, a flash like my hero Helot Stanley’s.

The white sword cut through the sky with a trajectory. With one swing to smash the skull of the two-horned demon. Just for the purpose of killing this demonic nature.

At the same time, a white lump of iron fell on that being’s head.

…In an instant, the scene in front of me turned red.

A dull color pierced through my flanks and shoulders, or rather, my entire body.

—

“A guardian. How long had it been since I was tied to this land and called that name? The title that was originally supposed to be respected had disappeared, and even the name that was given to me had been lost.”

“That’s why, so to speak, the guardian is now my name”, the two-horned being understood. It wasn’t particularly inconvenient, and there was only one person calling that name, so it wasn’t a problem.

Seeing the blood dripping from its own neck and the swordsman holding up the white sword as if tempted by its own invitation, the guardian made a secret oath.

A small oath that could be said to be primordial, even for magical beasts.

“I will definitely kill him here. First, I must praise him for his bravery and his undying spirituality that makes me even feel the brilliance, and then, kill him.”

“My true nature for countless of years as a magical beast is whispering from within my body. That’s the correct reason.”

“People who used prudence and cowardice as shields in order to step back were harmless. People who relied on partners in order to the whole job were harmless. People who shouted at the threat of monsters and trembled weakly were harmless.”

“Humans who couldn’t see through traps and wielded brute force, still dying in the end, were also harmless. It didn’t matter if they died while showing off their courage.”

“There was no other choice but to kill the human beings who still showed bravery while their hearts were trembling with cowardice and stupidity.”

“However, there were a few who didn’t succumb to the tyranny of magical beasts, therefore, they didn’t die that easily. This is the worst kind of human being. It’s not a good thing in leaving that human’s blood behind in a scene. Too ominous and harmful.”

“Magical beasts had always reacted negatively to such humans, and I understand why it is important for me to know these facts, because they’re crucial for my survival.”

“So I must kill this guy. He will surely become an enemy of the magical beasts and thus of my own master. There is no longer any reason to stall.” The guardian understood that much.

The blood that shouldn’t have existed in the guardian’s small body stained the walls and floor of the connecting corridor. Of course, it was not scattered randomly. Rather, it was a method that the guardian didn’t want to take if possible.

However, the situation did not allow the guardian to save its blood. Therefore, all it had to do now was embrace and act proudly. The guardian moistened its throat as much as it could.

Blood was life, equal to soul. Sometimes it was an existence in itself, and sometimes it could be the price to get something.

This time, the two-horned demonic being paid its full price. In that case, it made sense that its hand should be rewarded accordingly.

The aurora emanating from its horns roared with a burst of green light. For the first time in a long time, this menacing being could feel its own body writhing. Its fingertips held enormous strength.

「This prison is my body. You are already in my stomach. 」

While muttering those words without making a loud sound, its lips pulled away. The swordsman was reflected in its eyes.

In an instant, objects that resembled fangs or bones thrust from the wall and floor, making the dull reddish color stand out. While overlapping each other, those objects were aiming to destroy just one thing.

“To remove a foreign object from my own body. To crush what should not have entered my own stomach.” Those objects had just one aim and growled in the process.

…In a blink of an eye, the demonic being’s bones and fangs pierced the body of the brave hero.

“I will definitely kill you here.” The guardian whispered deep in its gut.

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Terrifying…I hope Lugis is okay.

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