Chapter 103 - Vessel

In the middle of an empty, snow-capped mountain,

It was quiet, as even the creatures resilient to the cold were asleep for the winter in the gloomy weather.

In that space, a large vertical rift tore open.

The rift, dizzyingly colored like oil spilled on land, spat out its contents.

The ones inside were a massive black-clad man and a man wearing a gray robe.

It was the man Ferda had deduced to be Gokma.

They arrived before the snowy mountain.

"Did we really have to come here?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"I couldn't think of a suitable place."

"Hmm."

The massive man looked up at the snowy mountain.

It was the place where the dark elf named Linne had operated as a laboratory director.

But that was merely a thing of the past.

"What was decided regarding Linne?"

"We decided to continue the research."

"How generous."

At that, the massive man snorted.

"As if we'd be generous. We will kill her once it's complete. She was a woman with no value other than that to begin with."

"Are you boiling the hound? I suppose that won't leave any loose ends."

The man said that and turned around.

It was then.

Gokma felt an unexpected killing intent directed at him.

He raised his hand and turned his body right around.

Something was blocked by his hand.

THUD!

The massive man's fist collided with his hand.

Though pushed back considerably by the difference in strength, he endured it with both legs.

"... What are you doing?"

"Just doing what you do."

"And what exactly did I do?"

"You were avoiding conversation, so I gave up on it too. Do I need to say more?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't think about fooling me. Weren't you bringing up that dark elf bitch just to avoid the topic?"

"What is this conversation you claim I avoided? You seem to know."

"Ferda Valdrova."

The massive man growled as if enraged.

"Why didn't you kill that man?"

"..."

"See? You can't answer."

The massive man sneered at Gokma's silence.

"I never liked you from the start. A bastard who was pathetically stabbed to death by the hero, secretly clinging to life before finally showing your face."

"..."

"You should have died right there. Not lived on so hideously just to return like this."

"If dying like that is so great..."

Gokma glared with eyes full of emotion.

"Why are you still alive instead of following our father?"

"Isn't it because of you?"

"That's nothing but an excuse. When I brought you back to life, I told you my clear objective. And you accepted it. If you're going to act like this now, how are you any different from humans who change their minds so quickly?"

The massive man's eyebrows twitched.

However, instead of escalating to violence, he withdrew his colliding fist.

Watching this, Gokma opened his mouth.

"There was a reason I didn't kill Ferda. As expected, you really can't figure humans out until you see them for yourself."

There was only one person in the past who had made Gokma say those words.

He recalled the distant past in his memories.

Gokma had looked down on the weakness of humans as trivial.

He had torn down and destroyed what they believed in, mocking their frailty.

That was why he hadn't known, even up to the moment of his death.

That someone with the power to pierce his heart would dare emerge from that weak herd of humans.

And that that man would ultimately eliminate even the Demon King.

The seed of rebellion that had castrated Godwin's will.

'The hero.'

Gokma stroked his own chest.

What had led him to his death wasn't a holy sword imbued with the blessings of all gods and dragons, but a crude kitchen knife.

Though he was resurrected now, the fact that he had died in such a way served as a wake-up call.

However, he smiled.

It was an emotion forged entirely out of joy.

Because of that incomplete death, the will was being carried on, and he had been able to become this strong.

Without a doubt, his father would also be smiling in the void.

Gokma had thought the hero was the one and only existence to make him reverse his assessment twice.

But there was no such thing as an absolute in the world.

'Ferda Valdrova.'

He was feeling the same sense of unpredictability from that man that he had felt from the hero.

Though the direction was different, the texture of the sensation was similar.

Gokma knew what that was as well.

"Hm?"

The massive man made a sound as he cast his gaze toward a spot in the snowfield.

"What is it?"

"... Someone is here."

All that could be seen was a snowfield completely blanketed in snow.

No. As Gokma turned his eyes to where the massive man was looking, he saw something noticeably sticking out.

It had a shape resembling a helmet.

Judging by its crude shape, he figured it was just a stone statue placed somewhere.

But that thought lasted only a moment; the snow piled on that stone statue shook.

It stood up from its spot.

It was an armor so rough and crude that it looked as if a large rocky mountain had been expressed in a human body.

Upon seeing that armor, one could understand how he had been able to stay still while the snow covered his body.

"Alberto, it's you."

An appearance as steadfast as his moniker.

It was a figure truly worthy of being called a walking fortress.

"Running into you like this can't possibly be a coincidence. Were you waiting for me?"

He did not answer.

It was a matter that required no words to begin with.

He picked up the club and shield he had set down.

That heavy club over two meters long, and a shield of similar size.

The armor wrapped around his entire body was also crude and rough.

Just looking at what he wore, he seemed sluggish, and his movements were indeed on the sluggish side.

Even so, he was the most notorious figure among the Demons.

The notoriety he built was by no means unearned.

Specifically, the massive man trembled all over upon seeing that figure.

"You son of a bitch...!"

As if glad they finally met, the massive man lost his reason and lunged toward Alberto.

"Today is the day I kill you!"

His fist thrust forward with enough force to smash the armor to pieces.

Alberto also raised his club in time with that tempo.

It was right when they were about to clash.

Gokma traced his finger through the air.

A spatial rift opened up between the massive man and Alberto, swallowing the massive man whole.

Alberto cleaved through the empty air and smashed the ground.

CRASH!

The ground loudly trembled, and snow shot high into the sky before settling back onto the ground.

Alberto looked toward Gokma.

Gokma spoke.

"Please understand. He's acting like that out of resentment because you broke his limbs."

"..."

"Besides, what you want isn't those small fry, but me, isn't it?"

At first glance, it sounded like he was drowning in narcissism, but his words were the truth.

Alberto had been rushing forward with his sights set solely on Gokma, which was why he had been sitting in this spot.

"Stop this. Tracking me down won't change anything. Alberto."

"..."

"You have no magic power and nothing to your name; you are just a human. If I trace my finger once and escape this space, you will have to trudge across the continent all over again. Yet even in such unreasonableness, you solitarily seek me out."

"..."

Alberto gave no answer whatsoever.

Gokma said that, but he did not mock Alberto.

The number of Demons and demonic creatures slaughtered by his sluggishness was incalculable, and the number of collapsed settlements alone exceeded double digits.

With no one to recognize his deeds, he silently moved forward for the sole purpose of killing Demons.

That was why that man was called the walking fortress, Alberto.

"Since you hate Demons to death, I will tell only you. Do you know what I saw today?"

The face that surfaced in his mind was Ferda's.

"A vessel for the Demon King."

"..."

"He was a human with outstanding potential. Right now, he harbors the insolent desire to conquer the Land of Demons, but that will only last for a moment."

Gokma formed a cruel smile.

"What remains at the end of loss is always emptiness."

Gokma tore space open once more.

"And anger always takes root in emptiness."

With that, Gokma slipped away from the spot.

There was nothing Alberto could do.

He raised his head and looked at the sky.

Gloomy weather.

A blizzard was about to strike soon.

Strong winds would blow and snow would pile up again, but it wouldn't stop his footsteps.

His footsteps moving toward where demonic creatures resided were aimless.

But today was different.

Unlike usual, his footsteps were distinctly moving toward a specific destination.

The sudden appearance of demonic creatures.

Contrary to expectations that it would lead to panic, the morning was peaceful.

Although someone had died and there were those who were severely injured, it did not lead down a path of despair.

They were merely relieved that the worst-case scenario had been avoided thanks to their trust in the security captain William and the support of the dragon spawns.

However, there are bound to be people who dislike even this kind of atmosphere.

Hanson was exactly that kind of person.

Hanson, who had come here dreaming of the gold rush before anyone else, was displeased with this peace.

'Things need to be a bit more chaotic.'

After all, social mobility comes from chaos.

Hanson's obsession with social class was stronger than most.

He was an architect whose woodworking skills made him only second-rate in the Empire.

If someone like him had stayed in the Empire, the position of director would have remained nothing but a fantasy.

He was already holding a position far beyond his abilities.

But human greed knows no bounds.

'I want to climb to an even higher position.'

The seat of a noble.

No, even if it wasn't a noble, at least a position where the commoners here would bow their heads to him.

'It was an impossible thing for guys like me.'

Originally, it was nothing more than a pipe dream that commoners had.

Just as storytellers didn't tell tales of beggars receiving miraculous encounters to become princes and princesses for no reason, everyone carried such fantasies in their hearts.

Hanson's delusions were particularly severe.

And rightfully so, didn't he possess an incredible stroke of fortune?

'The armor knight.'

It would be no exaggeration to say that everything had been achieved through him.

The person was easy to handle and possessed outstanding abilities, always helping Hanson save face, didn't he?

That was how he, a mere foreman, was pulled up to the position of director.

Looking at him in the early days, Hanson thought this:

'That person will undoubtedly become a knight soon.'

That was why he flattered him and acted as his voice, speaking on his behalf, making sure to provide as much support as possible.

He thought the man would become a knight within a month at most.

However, the armor knight did not become a knight.

He was still lingering at the construction site.

'Sir armor knight needs to become a knight so I can gain power too...'

Beyond director and into a site management role,

He wanted to have more people under his command.

For that to happen, the armor knight had to climb higher.

'When he got called to the castle, I thought things were finally looking up...'

Who knew he'd be the kind of guy to kick away his own fortune?

Though Hanson said it was fine on the surface, behind his back, he was reduced to sipping alcohol to soothe his bitter heart.

What could he do?

He had no choice but to live within his means.

"The atmosphere is quite grim, isn't it!"

The one casually throwing out those words was a woman.

An age still too early to consider marriage.

The arrogant expression on her face was no different from a naive virgin.

But there was no way such an arrogant maiden could exist in this village.

This woman was definitely a newly ventured mage.

'It feels like it'll be exhausting if I get involved with her...'

Hanson looked away as if he hadn't heard her.

At that, the woman stepped up next to him more blatantly and spoke.

"Ahem, I heard that wolf demonic creatures stormed in."

"... So?"

"That 'so' is rather rude. I heard that many casualties occurred because I couldn't arrive on time."

"Only four people died."

"Do you know what 'casualties' means? It includes the injured, not just the dead."

"Even so, keeping it to this level was a good defense. If the esteemed adventurers had pitched in more, even those deaths wouldn't have happened."

"In the end, wouldn't you say it's the fault of the incompetent higher-ups for failing to respond to a situation like this?"

"... What are you talking about?"

Hanson frowned and looked down at the woman.

The woman smiled boldly and said.

"Think about it. Why did you come to this city? You came to earn money, didn't you?"

"I did, but..."

"I'm sure the employers who lured you here said this as well: that it's close to the Land of Demons, but because of that, it's actually safer. Something like that."

It was the truth.

Though he hadn't believed it, it was something he had just brushed past and accepted anyway.

Because those who came here were people who had come due to a lack of jobs anyway.

"Yet in the midst of that, you were attacked. People died. Are you planning to just stay quiet despite that?"

"... So what do you want me to do, miss?"

"Haha! That's exactly why I'm offering a method, isn't it?"

As if they were finally speaking the same language, she moved closer to his side.

A thick floral scent wafted over.

"So, you are the director?"

"I am."

"How many laborers do you have under you?"

"Roughly around 50 or so..."

"If you rope in another director, it'd be 100."

"Indeed."

"Think about it. The population of this city is nearing 600 now. Your group alone makes up 100, doesn't it? That's a staggering one-sixth of the total."

"Is... that right?"

"Do you know how much of a loss it would be if you all suddenly pulled out of a village like this?"

"..."

Come to think of it...

She was right.

Weren't we the ones keeping this construction site running right now?

If work were to stop in a place where daily labor was essential, it would deal a massive blow.

"You all are irreplaceable, valuable manpower. Shouldn't you rightfully be furious at the fact that they're working such personnel to the bone like this?"

"Hmm..."

"You all have the right to enjoy more money and a higher status. That greenhorn Regent needs to clearly realize that human lives can't be bought with just money."

Hanson thought she had a point.

Above all, these were words he heard right when his material greed was boiling over.

It was no different from the whisper of a devil.

"But how am I supposed to pull something like that off?"

At that, the woman smiled like a mischievous brat.

"There's a way for everything. I'll help you."

Despite the sudden appearance of demonic creatures, the village was successfully defended.

The casualties numbered 30, consisting of 5 soldiers, 15 civilians, and 10 adventurers who had joined the fight; among them, 4 had died, and all were civilians.

Because of that, the morning in Hestia village could not be the same as usual.

Isabella reported as follows.

"A strike has broken out."