Chapter 58 - If There Is a God (1)

"A demon...?"

The moment he witnessed it, the first to break was Windhand.

No wind or wave had ever brought him to his knees, but demons were different. Their very existence terrified him.

A moment from forty years ago, filled with nothing but despair and madness, dominated his mind.

"Why? Why again?"

He wasn't the only one.

A veteran sailor muttered while clutching his head. That single phrase represented everyone's feelings.

It was a short cry taking the place of Windhand's scream.

"Speed up the ship."

But there was one person who spoke brightly in that silence.

"Right now!"

Windhand looked back at the source of the voice as if possessed.

"So I can kill those pieces of trash!"

His single gray eye overflowed with patched-together madness, murderous intent, hatred, and twisted joy.

It was the pure color of ruin.

* * *

I didn't know what it was, but a demon had appeared for now. At that point, there was only one thing I had to do.

「Zakrati: Ramchaban Pier」

「❖ The Fangs Aiming at Zakrati

∎ Destroy the Bipurit gang's base

∎ Eliminate Demons 0 / ??」

Beat the crap out of every single demon.

"I will kill them all, leaving not a single one behind."

While spouting that kind of nonsense fully immersed in my concept, I also calmly surveyed the city. The most urgent place would be the castle where the Patchwork Golem had been seen.

The port, which was said to be the closest to the castle, didn't look completely normal either, so it seemed I had to at least lightly clear it out before moving on. Demons and humans were fighting fiercely at the entrance of the docks.

「Zombie│Pitiful ones parasitized by a parasitic demon. They are controlled having lost their ego.」

The cloudy-eyed zombies were fewer in number than the humans, but it wasn't as if the humans had the complete advantage either.

"Those Bipurit bastards!"

Humans using red cloth as their symbol were attacking the people in the port alongside the zombies.

Why they weren't being attacked by the zombies was a mystery, but I figured I could just roughly understand them as Demon Contractors.

"Bring the ship right...!"

I smashed a barrel rolling around on the deck. Then, I picked up one of the planks that came from it.

CRASH!

With a short running start, my body crushed the railing and leaped far. SPLASH! The plank I threw fell into the sea and became my stepping stone.

"Victory to my sword."

And so, my body reached the pier.

"What the hell is that bastard?!"

The ones carrying the red cloth on their bodies shouted, and I dashed across the docks.

GRAAAAH!

A few zombies that had climbed onto the bridge in pursuit of a human fleeing toward a ship swarmed toward me.

Their mouths were dripping with blood and flesh, and they held axes and harpoons in their hands.

JINGLE, JINGLE. The sound of the long earrings dangling from their ears was exceptionally distracting.

"Glory to the heavens...!"

But what did it matter if they held weapons? I was faster.

Thump. My foot stepped on the wooden dock, and with the next step, I swung my Zweihander. A pitch-black horizontal slash mercilessly cut down what were once humans.

Blood splattered out, soaking the pier red. The bodies, split in half, collapsed to both sides and fell into the sea.

"Wha-What the!"

That fearsome blow drew the vigilance of the living and the attention of the mindless zombies.

GROOOAAAR!!

Some of the zombies that were climbing onto the ship to target the humans inside, as well as a few fighting humans on the shore, flocked in my direction.

It was something to be very thankful for. If they grouped up, I could slaughter them all at once.

CLACK, CLACK, CLACK, CLACK.

My legs sprinted flawlessly across the creaking wooden planks, and my sword began to smoothly sweep in all directions.

In no time, the Zweihander was stained with sticky blood.

"K-Kill him!"

"Where the fuck did this guy come from?!"

"What the hell were the guys guarding the sea doing?!"

However, zombies weren't the only enemies. Cutting down every zombie in my way, I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword as I faced the humans standing before me.

"Fuck, kill him!"

Beyond them, I could see the people who were struggling against them screaming as they defended the port.

"You don't even deserve to live."

Soon, streaks of pitch-black energy shot out, cutting down the group wrapped in red cloth.

SLASH!

"Hey."

Just then, someone sticking close behind me spoke. A tricorn hat and long ears. It was Windhand.

"Leave this place to us and go to the castle."

I rechecked the people defending the pier, the number of remaining enemies, and Windhand's face.

"Go, and save the Lord."

A desperation that couldn't bear to let go of hope even amidst despair.

"Please, save him."

'... I'm not sure why the relationship between the Lord and a privateer captain would be this desperate, but at this level, I'm certain they won't collapse.'

Swallowing my bewilderment, I reached my hand into my inventory.

TOSS!

"This is..."

What I threw to Windhand was a Demonic Energy Antidote.

Since I had no use for it, I had only bought back exactly 1 of the 5 bottles I used in Tatara... but having even that one bottle was better than nothing. I might not have bought any at all, considering it dead stock.

"An antidote?"

I didn't know if it would even prevent infection from a bite. However, getting corrupted by demonic energy when scratched or struck by a weapon was a certainty.

If it could at least resolve that much, at least ten people would be able to keep their lives. It would be better than nothing.

"Why are you giving this..."

'Why else? I'm giving it to you so your guys can take it.'

Swallowing those words completely, I started running to honor Windhand's request.

The zombies and the Bipurit gang targeted me, but the difference in speed was too severe. I was able to shake them off in no time.

The only problem left for me was that the incline of the road kept getting steeper, thanks to the castle being located at the highest point on the island.

「A hostile target exists within a 30m radius.」

KREEECH!

At that moment, some bizarre monster plummeted from the sky and slammed into the spot I had just passed.

The flimsy roof let out an ominous sound as if it were about to cave in. As for why it was a roof, it was because I didn't want to follow the winding roads and had been parkouring across the rooftops.

「Gargoyle│A demon that flies through the night sky with flames harbored inside its body. It sometimes conceals itself by clinging to walls with its hooked wings.」

Setting that aside, the monster—which resembled a bat but had a torso larger than me—raised its head.

Even without the description saying it harbored flames, I figured anyone would think it was about to spew some fire just by looking at its belly. The inside of its thin belly skin was glowing bright red like a paper lantern.

GURGLE, GURGLE.

It even readied itself to spew fire right then and there. It was a sign I couldn't easily ignore.

FWOOOOSH!

As expected, the bastard spewed fire. My body, leaping to the side at just the right timing, rotated almost a half-circle to dodge the sweeping flamethrower—as it turned its head, the flames naturally followed me.

"Don't get..."

Right about then, the Gargoyle snapped its mouth shut, seemingly out of lung capacity. My body had completed an elliptical half-circle, almost entirely capturing the Gargoyle's back.

"...in my way!"

CRUNCH!

The oak-bark roof chafed against my feet, smashing a few pieces of tree bark.

SLASH!

The Gargoyle's tail was cleanly severed by the sword path that swung out like a baseball bat. I had intended to slash its torso, but the bastard sensed the danger and attempted to fly, throwing off my point of impact.

KREEECH, KRECH!

However, with flying creatures, their wings don't necessarily have to be cut off for them to lose their ability to fly. The Gargoyle, having taken to the air, lost its balance and immediately staggered.

Naturally, I didn't miss that opportunity.

CRUNCH!

The roof heaved once more, and my body leaped up to stomp on the Gargoyle. STAB! The Zweihander, held in a reverse grip, plunged into its neck, and after I changed my grip and violently twisted it, half of its neck was torn away.

「A hostile target exists within a 30m radius.」

But that wasn't the only enemy. I forcefully stomped on the body of the bastard that was just starting to plummet.

BOOM!

Something akin to an explosion rang out in the air as my body soared upward. My next target was another Gargoyle that was just approaching me.

KREEECH!

Unable to predict that its prey would fly up, the Gargoyle twisted its body to dodge me, and I swung my sword exactly as planned. The Zweihander swung down like a decapitation, cleanly severing the Gargoyle's head.

CRASH-SMASH!

The Gargoyle plummeted, and the roof completely caved in. It must have been too flimsy of a roof to support the weight of that massive body.

Thump. I also landed perfectly right next to that Gargoyle. Dust, wood chips, and the Gargoyle's head rained down with a rustle from the punctured roof.

"W-W-What in the."

Straightening the knees and waist I had bent during my landing, I dusted my shoulder off with my right hand. The homeowner, who had luckily avoided getting crushed, stared at me blankly.

'I mean, it's not like I wanted to do this.'

I deliberately averted my eyes from the homeowner and opened the front door right next to me—or rather, kicked it open—and went out.

'I hope that person evacuates to a safe place.'

KREEECH.

Separately, the Gargoyle whose neck I had torn earlier was wedged in the alley between the houses, making its final struggles.

STAB!

My sword gifted the bastard its eternal rest.

'Now then, shall we keep going?' Leaving the brief interruption behind, I continued on my way. Soon, something resembling a castle came into view. The explosions were echoing from beyond it.

"Tsk."

'Isn't the castle built way too high up? It's really annoying to climb.'

Muttering my complaints internally, I dashed toward the castle. The descending iron portcullis was firmly shut, but it didn't matter. I just had to cut or smash it.

GROOOAAAR.

It was just that I couldn't attempt it right away because, how cute, a horde of zombies had gathered in front of the castle gate.

I considered launching a slash but ultimately gave up on the idea. It was because I saw people through the gaps in the iron bars.

If the slash were to somehow pass through the iron bars and reach them... I really didn't want to imagine what would happen after that.

GRRUK?

I just charged headlong for now. Because I hadn't hidden my footsteps, a few zombies looked back at me. They were already too late.

Ground Crash. Leaping up and slamming roughly into the ground, my sword plunged down with that momentum and spread magical power in a spherical shape.

As a black storm fiercely cleaved in all directions, the zombies' bodies were sent flying. The tumbling bodies were completely covered in wounds as if they had been hacked up by blades.

But there were still some left. I swung my sword wildly, cleaving, slashing, and chopping up the survivors.

"B-Behind you!"

During all this, someone beyond the iron portcullis shouted at me. It was in the exact next second that I crushed the head of a zombie that had been trying to bite my ankle from behind.

I had already known, but it was quite commendable that they had gathered the courage to tell me anyway.

SWOOSH.

I twirled the Zweihander to flick off the blood on the blade. Open the gate! It seemed someone beyond the castle gate shouted that.

"We have to go right now!"

"HIIIEEEGH!"

How should I put it? Rather than trying to let me in, their attitude was closer to trying to run away since the zombies were gone.

I quietly watched them before slowly approaching the castle gate.

"Hurry and raise the gate!"

And when I had almost reached the gate, it lifted up little by little.

"Hurry up and get out!"

"Don't push!"

"HIIIEEEGH!"

Setting aside my own chance to get in, the people were acting truly desperate. Even though the gate wasn't even a quarter of the way open, they were squishing themselves down just to squeeze through.

'I know my taking out the zombies in front of the gate secured our immediate safety, but isn't this a bit too hasty?'

"Get out fast!"

'Or maybe the situation inside has gotten so serious that plunging into the unknown is a better alternative?'

I passed through the now fully opened castle gate. It was basically like pushing through a crowd of hundreds, but I wasn't particularly shoved aside.

"KYAAARGH!"

"Block it, block it I said!"

"HIIIEEEGH!"

And then I saw it.

The Patchwork Golem tearing through the space inside the castle walls and turning the soldiers into a bloody pulp; the zombies pouring through the hole the Patchwork Golem had made to bite chunks out of the people; and the Gargoyles flying around spewing fire.

"Gahahaha, kill them all!"

"Cut everyone down!"

And the Bipurit gang mixed in among them, committing a massacre.

"Save me!"

'Ah, is this the Sindorim hell-train? There really are a ton of people.' By forcefully pushing the people away, I cleared a space to take a running start.

I felt bad for the people I shoved, but I couldn't just stay stuck here, could I? Not while the soldiers were dying left and right in the meantime.

STOMP!

"Gah!"

"Wah!"

Because I stomped my foot a bit hard to launch myself, the earth vibrated. The people around me screamed, and my body soared into the air.

SMACK!

But just launching myself would have been a bit anticlimactic. So, I stepped on a Gargoyle that was flying through the air, eagerly hunting for people.

Then, pressing down on it as if lying face-down, I wrapped my arm around its neck. You could say it was like locking its long neck in that wrestling move where you clamp the head in your elbow crease and squeeze—a headlock or chinlock, or whatever it's called.

Only this time, it wasn't to choke off its breath, but to forcefully twist its head upward.

FWOOSH!

Flames shot up through its throat but were quickly snuffed out. Forcing its head back so it wouldn't aim its flames at the people must have choked it.

KREEECH!

The hacking bastard wildly twisted its head back and forth and veered off to one side. With my added weight, its flight was quite unstable, but it didn't just drop straight down either.

Even better, the direction it was heading had no people. It was a stroke of luck for me.

I hurriedly pulled back my left hand and drew a dagger. THWACK! The mana-infused dagger plunged into the center of its forehead and sliced all the way up.

The skull and brains inside getting crushed was a bonus.

KREEECH!

Its wings stopped, and the plummet began.

As soon as I felt that, I let go and put strength into my feet. The Gargoyle, crushed beneath my feet, plummeted completely to the ground, and I once again flew through the air.

TAP!

KRECH!

My next destination was also a Gargoyle. Strictly speaking, I hadn't stepped on its torso but grabbed onto one of its wings.

Still patting myself on the back for my excellent mid-air control, I tore the bastard's wing membrane with my dagger and jumped down.

The Gargoyle with the torn wing smashed into the outer wall of the castle. I was in a similar predicament, but considering that I used the wall to spring back off, I think our performances should be evaluated differently.

SWOOSH!

Finally, I threw my dagger at the Gargoyle that was the closest to me. I missed the forehead I had aimed for, but since it struck the gap between its jaw and neck, the damage wouldn't be weak.

That bastard plummeted too.

CRASH!

At that point, my aerial hunt was over. My body fell to the earth, creating a small crater.

Was it because I used mana enhancement on my body before dropping? My HP didn't drop at all.

GROOOAAAR!

Instead, the zombies and the Bipurit gang swarmed toward me. They had been rushing over to kill the people fleeing past the soldiers, but since I dropped in right next to them, they changed their target to me.

But this just made things better for me. It was much better for them to rush at me than to target people who had no means to defend themselves!

I swept away all the bastards lunging at me and ran in the direction of the golem.

GROOOAAAR!

"Gaaah!"

Then I grabbed the nape of a zombie trying to bite a fleeing soldier. Throwing it hard sent the zombie tumbling away.

STAB! What followed was my blade slitting the bastard's throat.

"H-Heugh."

The person I saved quickly ran away. I didn't even expect a word of thanks, so I just hoped he would manage to run away and live.

"I-I can't hold out..."

"Please save me...!"

I quickly assessed the situation. With the castle walls having collapsed and the zombies and Bipurit gang pouring in, the soldiers' formation was practically in ruins.

They were forcing themselves to hold out, but the entire frontline was constantly being pushed back to avoid the approaching golem. There was no need to even mention the Gargoyles attacking people from the sky or the cowardly Bipurit gang.

"Gaaah!"

The zombies were individually weak, but their speed and overwhelming numbers were also a problem.

When one person got bitten, that bitten person would collapse and immediately stand back up as an enemy. I urgently needed to handle them too.

SLASH!

Still, it seemed the zombies and humans could at least be fought off somehow.

After helping out a few people I saw along the way, I targeted the Patchwork Golem first.

The casualties that would occur in the meantime were unavoidable. I just had to trust that they would hold out well.

"Move."

I dashed forward, hacking the zombies to pieces. As I did, the golem—which had seemed small due to perspective—grew larger.

'Is it about 4 meters tall at that point? Since its body is horizontally massive too, it looks even bigger.'

Maybe it was because it was made using humans as materials, but its appearance was disgusting, and the stench was atrocious.

'If you put a design like this in a comic, it would get slapped with an adults-only rating instantly.'

"Gaaah!"

"Gahahaha, die—?!"

I kicked away a zombie that had somehow gotten hit by the golem's fist and sent flying toward me, then grabbed the nape of a Bipurit gang member who was about to pounce on a young soldier.

CRUNCH.

My gauntlet crushed the opponent's neck, and I tossed him onto the ground.

"Huh...?"

"Fall back."

'Is it in range now?'

I gripped the Zweihander tightly.

"Unless you want to get cut down with it!"

Whether they heard my words or not, the allies were already running past me to escape the golem. There was nothing but enemies ahead of me now.

Amidst the ruined formation, I swung my sword.

SLASH!

Soon, the monster that was said to require hundreds of lives to kill declared its silence along with a storm of blood.