Chapter 233
- Why me? (7)
The Demon King has appeared! The evil spirit has been revived! The world may be destroyed!
The Demon King that has appeared many times before never destroyed the world.
But most people say the world will be destroyed when the Demon King appears. Because it is a revelation from God.
Even in my previous life without evidence of God’s existence, there were many stories about the end times. Myths, prophecies of prophets, the recorded last day of a civilization, and so on.
Without evidence, people believed in such apocalyptic theories.
When the gates opened, people were saying on the streets that finally God’s judgment had come, and that you must believe in God even now.
Let alone this place being a fantasy world. It’s a neighborhood where gods want to make their existence known and do attention seeking things.
They try their best to let people know they exist, and directly pass judgment on those who impersonate them!
In such a neighborhood, when a god says ‘The world may be destroyed!’, ordinary people can’t help but tremble in fear.
That’s right. Ordinary people.
“Yes, yes, I know why you’re here. If you just pay a small fee, we’ll….”
And the extra villain who looks to be around level 1 when the max level is 10, is waving his hand at us.
Making an okay sign with thumb and index finger!
Meaning, give me money.
Roughly speaking in levels, a villain in level 1 is a small fry.
He was a guy who would have been dealt with even if just a local guard came, let alone a hero.
“You found the right place.”
“Yeah. Is this the lowest price around here? Who would help you escape for just 10 silvers around here?
As I sighed in relief, the guy boasted even more about his greatness.
“Grab him.”
“Yes.”
“Huh?”
In a split second he didn’t even notice, the hero guy slammed the level 1 villain’s face into the ground.
“Shut up.”
“Ugh ugh!”
But what we have to do now is secretly kidnap villains. Screaming ruins the need for discretion.
“Is it really that painful for you to make those noises?”
“Ugh! Uuu ugh ugh!”
Hearing the hero’s bland voice, the villain screamed as if throwing a fit.
Of course, the hero has magically sealed his mouth so only ‘ugh ugh’ sounds come out.
“Come on, don’t make a fuss and hurry up and close your mouth.”
Not something the guy who slammed his face into the ground should say, but…
“Huh? Quiet down. Huh? Still resisting? How about this? And this?”
More than a hero, he’s showing the traits of an excellent villain. But I’ll just leave him be.
He seems to be building up anger from being captured. If I let him unleash it all on me, who knows what could happen.
So it’s better for me to let this small fry villain be his venting tool.
“Alright, let’s get out of here before the guards come.”
The level 1 villain’s eyes rolled back from the harassment.
The hero who looks more like a villain carries the helpless villain away to a prepared warehouse.
“Ugh ugh ugh!”
“Uuu ugh!”
“Ugh!”
15 people were already there, bound hand and foot, and gagged.
“Is it full already?”
A warehouse rented in the hero’s name, but it looks full with just 5 adult men.
“Can’t you stuff them in?”
Hearing the hero’s words, I looked back at the warehouse. Stuffing them in, it looks like 10 could fit.
“Hmm… it’ll be a pain to clean up later.”
Working quickly but still avoiding the eyes of ordinary citizens.
Kidnapping 15 people secretly took 3 days. These small fries may have physiological limits before the main body takes the bait.
The smell of feces already faintly lingers. Cramming more people inside, the stench will be horrific! And who will have to clean that up!
Hearing my response, the hero suggested a neat solution
“Just leave them and go.”
Oh… is that so?
Well it would be convenient to just leave them, but wasn’t it rented in his name?
“If a pile of kidnapped men is discovered in a warehouse rented in the name of the Nature Religion, won’t that be problematic?”
“What does that have to do with us? The religion will take care of it.”
Wow… The coldness. Who would think this guy is a hero!
More villainous than the shivering villains over there.
-He learned from the master who is his owner.
-Should I say he learned well?
A hero of the Nature Religion yet cares nothing about it at all.
Just what kind of god is the Nature God to choose a guy like this as a hero?
-They heard masters words, the Nature God will feel extremely wronged.
-Feeling wronged for choosing a hero like that as his apostle.
“Will you go again?”
Look.
He’s already scouting the next target after kidnapping people for who knows how long.
“Yeah.”
But it’s an important task in the plan I’m executing, so I didn’t refuse.
“How long will you keep this up?”
In the middle of the street but the hero asks as if no one is around.
Well, truly no one is around.
“Until the main body takes the bait.”
So I calmly answered as well.
“I see.”
Not a small town. Not big enough to be called a city, but a decently large town.
Yet the streets are empty of people.
Occasionally I felt gazes watching us through the windows, but no one passed by on the streets.
“Will it continue to be this desolate until the Evil gods apostle dies?”
Those were the words the hero staring at the quiet streets suddenly spat out.
“Yes.”
There are many who believe in gods, but none who don’t believe in any in this world.
In such a world, when all gods speak of the destruction of the world, ordinary people can’t help but tremble in fear. Since pleading for mercy from the gods while trembling in terror at home is all they can do.
In this situation, the only people walking the streets are those urgently needing supplies.
Or,
“Wait, let me confirm….”
Soldiers grouped 15 arewalking far away.
“Here.”
Before the soldier finished speaking, the hero guy tossed something to prove his identity.
“What is this… huh?”
Seeing the hero’s bad attitude, the irritated soldier shut his mouth after seeing what was thrown.
“Oh, Hero?”
“Yeah.”
The identity card proves he is a hero recognized by the Nature Religion.
Seeing the card, the soldier gaped.
“What, need anything else?”
“Ah, no!”
The soldiers who quickly handed over the identity card began to salute and leave.
“It’s convenient as expected.”
As expected, freely walking around with a high pass – how heroic.
“Is that so?”
Well, although the hero who put away his ID looked full of displeasure,
“Or should I heal you and switch out?”
It’s not like I don’t have someone to replace him.
“No!”
The hero smiled quickly as if he hadn’t been frowning just now.
By the way, the replacement I have for him, my detector shuttle – is lying in bed sleeping.
Of course it’s not just sleeping. It’s passed out after getting beaten up by The Metal Bat.
“From what I know, Hil is quite strong in combat…”
“But it can’t be compared to a hero who beat up dragons!”
I follow behind the hero eager to go kidnap people.
Rusty is one to manage, and people to kidnap are two.
Even if the streets are empty, it’s best to only send the minimum needed to kidnap.
After all, the other one has escape concerns… so needs to be periodically put to sleep.
“Now where was it, the destination this time was that alley?”
We enter an alley that looks unsafe no matter who sees it.
The so-called back alleys that exist in any decently sized city, at least one or two.
It was a space inhabited by all sorts of villains, from local delinquents to con artists and criminals.
“What’s going on?”
As soon as we went a bit inside, a man looking like the impressionist painters like Van Gogh and Gauguin appeared.
By the way, the connection was impressionism.
“Th-that is…”
Seeing that, the hero guy started shaking.
“Um, uh… we’re here with my father…”
The trembling figure was like a pure deer.
With his trained body hidden behind a voluminous robe, who would think this guy is a warrior who even slayed a dragon?
“Ah, that?”
Despite the hero’s terrible pronunciation, the impressionist-faced man seemed to understand.
“Help… es-cape?”
“Yes, yes!”
Happy that his words were understood, the hero’s expression brightened. Of course he is just acting.
“Hmm… Lately fewer people have been coming, is there a reason for escaping late?”
The man seemed to fully understand what we were trying to say.
“My father insisted he couldn’t abandon our hometown… so it took time to persuade him.”
“Well, that can happen.”
The man looked at me as if I was pathetic.
Well, I can understand that look.
This place is a city in the kingdom right next to the Livelar City Alliance.
A city established to deal with the demons, far inferior to the Empire but with almost no equal compared to other kingdoms, that Livelar City Alliance.
Even that Livelar City Alliance was annihilated instantly by the Demon King’s army.
So where would that army aim next?
Of course the nearby kingdom, this city, doesn’t know when the Demon King’s army could invade.
-That’s because of the master right?
-Oh right! Logically this is the place.
Even ignoring that the goal was me crossing over to this continent, the Demon King’s army is right next door!
No matter how much they call it the land cultivated by their ancestors, there’s no way no one wants to escape.
But to a lord, the population is property that can’t be casually let go.
That’s right. Unlike small villages where escaping is easy, cities with walls don’t let their precious workforce run away.
They close the gates and prevent people from leaving, then the lord yells ‘Everyone, don’t worry! The wonderful heroes will smash the Demon King!’.
Of course I’d bet that the lord himself will run away alone when the Demon King’s army comes.
-What about the master’s?
-Mine is precious.
Though occasionally there are freaks who fight to the death in the name of noble honor, let’s just bet on the hero.
“Surveillance has gotten tighter lately so the cost went up, is that okay?”
As if surveillance matters. It’s helping people escape through underground passages anyway. No matter how many more guards there are, the danger doesn’t increase.
Of course unless the secret passage actually leads to a human trafficking hub rather than an escape.
“Of course. This is small but…”
But we weren’t planning on paying any money either.
Money we’ll never pay, what does the amount matter!
“Oh my, that’s quite tasteful.”
The man smiles as he flicks the coins I gave him.
“I’ll personally introduce you to the good ones.”
The man laughing boldly called out someone from the alley he came from and attached him to us.
Following that guy through the winding alleys, we arrived at an alley most suited for committing crimes.
“Wait here a moment.”
The man yawned as he went back the way he came.
And after about 10 minutes passed.
“2 people?”
A small fry villain level 1 with scars on his face approached us.
“Another dud, huh…”
A sigh slipped out naturally.
Seeing my sigh, the hero guy grabbed the small fry and slammed him to the ground, knocking him out.
The hero who had been taking out his stress on small fries finished this one in a single strike.
Which means!
“Hooked one this time!”
“Yes.”
Hearing me, the hero guy smiled brightly and replied.
“I thought kids have gone missing lately around our turf… So it wasn’t runaways after all.”
“There should be more people.”
“Truly the end times. That there are guys in this city who don’t understand the meaning of messing with us.”
“Messing with us Darkness, who even the lord can’t touch… What pathetic whelps are they!”
I look at the four men and women running out, saying one word at a time.
Seeing him walking around with fifteen subordinates behind him, he must be at least a mid-boss!
“I think I’m pretty confident in my skills!”
“It’s impossible since our Four Heaven Demon Kings have appeared!”
“You will regret opposing us!”
“The only thing that will happen is death anyway!”
One by one they spit out third-rate villain lines as they swagger out.
But what can they do.
“Wh-who are you!”
Getting caught by the hero who beat an ancient dragon tens of thousands of years old, let alone the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings, means game over.
“Who are we, you ask?”
A blood-stained street.
Seeing the four Heavenly Kings looking at him in horror, the hero guy smiled like a villain.
“Former Howling member… villain.”
Hey, you’re a hero right?
Hmm..