In the end, our two araneaen pursuers were taken away by Nikeaâs escorts.
âLord Nikea, are you not planning on returning?â I asked, the manner I spoke with her this time was much more polite. She was an ally, after all. It wouldnât hurt to show her some respect.
Nikea shook her head. âNo, I must take responsibility for this incident. Please let me show you the way.â
I did wonder for a moment whether it was really alright for someone in her position to so casually decide that, but considering I wasnât any better myself, I refrained from saying anything more.
âIf this happens a second time, we shall handle it ourselves. I hope you understand,â Gi Za said.
He really intends to test my words, huh. What is he going to do if he loses his mind?
âYour bad habit is showing,â I warned him.
Gi Za quietly laughed. âThere can be no progress unless one remembers his own failures, Your Highness.â
In any case, it seems that the elves acknowledge the effect of demihuman blood as a stimulant when used in sparing amounts. Doesnât that mean that itâs essentially safe to use?
But then again, our current mission is to subjugate a demihuman who has lost its sanity after drinking too much.
âThis incident will not be repeated, I stake my life on it,â Nikea said.
Is this how all demihumans are?
âEnough of that. There should still some distance until our destination.â I said.
Nikea nodded. âYes, we need to head north a bit more. After a day of walking, the ruins of a village should come to view. That place is its base.â
The remains of the slaughtered village.
âSince we have some time until then, why donât you tell me a bit more about the descendants of the crystals.â
âAbout us?â Nikea asked, puzzled.
âYes. Being isolated from the world as I am, I know little about the descendants of the crystals. In a sense, it could be said that getting to know you is the very reason behind our trade.â
As for what Iâll do afterwards⌠Well, Iâll think about it then.
âWhat will you do after knowing?â Nikea asked.
âI am going to make a country. When that time comes, I will take those worthy with me.â I answered.
âA goblin kingdomâŚâ She muttered.
The silence that followed after was short, but it was deep. The demihumans failed to unite themselves. What I intend to do is something that they would have done had they succeeded in their first step. Unite themselves and then create a country of their own, that would have been their path, if not for the tragedy their fellow demihumans met.
When you look at it that way, it suddenly becomes obvious why Nikea went solemn. â⌠I understand,â she said, âthere was also that incident just now. Iâll tell you about us.â\nThe answer that came after the silence was exactly what Iâd hoped for.
I walked through the forest as Nikea spoke about the demihumans. Around the time when the body of the Fire GodRodo had sunk past the trees, we made camp and ate.
The history of the demihumans was much longer compared to the goblinsâ.
They are said to be one of the first created along with the elves. They had been living on the land before the humans were even created. Throughout their long history, the demihumans split off ceaselessly, until one day, the âgreat warâ happened.
In the great war, where all living creatures fought, the number of the living was greatly reduced. It was then that the humans began hunting them. With their numbers few, the demihumans had no choice but to run away to a place the humans could not reach. They ran to the depths of the forest, the untrodden lands, but they suffered even more losses.
The goddess of the underworldâs invasion concluded 400 years ago. At first, the humans did not know from where the goddessâ army would attack, so they sought to illuminate the whole world.
The deep valley, the thick forest. That was where the demihumans chose to live, but they were chased away and killed again. Even the clan Nikeaâs Araneae belonged to was driven away. In the end, they ended up in the forest. This happened 300 years ago.
The elves gave them permission to use the lands, so there was no war between their kind and the elves. In fact, they would even help the elves whenever they were in trouble.
I asked Shumea if those things really happened.
âYou think Iâd know!?â She angrily retorted.
Well⌠There is probably no human left alive from that time.
Itâs an old story, so Iâm sure it wouldnât be strange if some points have distorted, but in any case, the main point is that the humans chased them into the forest. If nothing else, their anger is the real thing. Nikea isnât one to let her emotions rule her, but I think it would still be best to keep Shumea away from her.
I learned several things from my talk with Nikea. The demihumans apparently put a lot of emphasis on duty.
I still havenât thought of a way to pull them in, but it feels like Iâve gotten one step closer to conquering the demihumans.
We goblins donât have any difficulties moving about in the night, but Shumea, being human as she is, still isnât quite used to it, and surprisingly, Nikea too. Sheâs a spider, so I thought sheâd be pretty good at it, but apparently, thatâs not the case.
Apparently, it was easier to snuggle up to fire than to the darkness. How peculiar.
âThere is one thing I want to ask. How did our pursuers know where we were?â
âItâs probably because of our special abilityskill,â Nikea said as she drew threads from the end of one of her legs. She ignored the shock of everyone around her as she wove those threads and brought them before me.
âWe can make our threads as thick and as tough as we wish. Iâm sure someone mustâve attached an extremely thin thread on you and your men.â Nikea used one of her other legs to shoot out a thread just thick enough that we could see it, and wrapped it around the nearby trees.
So this is their special ability. Demihumans canât use magic, but in exchange, theyâve been blessed with special abilities and a powerful body. It seems Selenaâs info was right.
âI see. Yet even with those special abilities of yours you still canât defeat the man-eating tiger?â
The wall of threads I saw back in their village was not something that could be easily destroyed.
âEveryone has their strength and weaknesses,â Nikea curtly replied.
I silently nodded in response. She probably wonât reveal such crucial information to me. Weâre not so close that we would be comfortable telling each other our weaknesses.
âA four-legged creature is approaching, Your Highness,â Gi Ji said.
âIs it far?â I asked.
âNo, itâs almost here!â Gi Ji replied, but by the time he finished speaking, the surrounding trees rustled.
Was it drawn by the light?
It struck out with the spear in its hand against the trunk of a nearby tree, and then⌠it stood. On the other end of its cracked skin was burning red flame.\nIs there fire underneath its skin?
The spear that penetrated the tree was red and hot; the tree it penetrated quickly charred.
âItâs here. Gi Za, Gi Do, cover me!â
âTurn Me into a BladeEnchant!â
Black flames clad my long sword as I stepped out. Our clash was only for an instant. A strong wind accompanied that thingâs spear as it swung it down.
Sparks flashed from its spear.
The heat coming from that thingâs hands was heating the spear. Demihumans canât use magic, so that means⌠thatâs its special abilityskill!
If the araneae have their threads, then the centaur have their equivalent. Isnât it hot? It seems its skill works completely different from my black flames.
The black flames looking like fire is nothing more than a coincidence in invocation of ether. This enemy is different. Even its very body is literally burning from within.
Our weapons clashed. One was a long sword clad in black flames, the other was a burning red spear.
As black flames mingled with red, I challenged the enemy to a melee. The enemy had the advantage in reach, so the closer we fought, the more advantageous it would be for me. As our weapons locked, I tried to push forward, but the enemy deflected my sword and swung down its iron spear.
In that instant, I closed in on the enemy. The one-eyed snakeâs blessing made the flow of ether smoother, allowing me to inject ether directly into my legs.
My sword wielded under my arms, I sent forth an attack that would quickly settle the battle.
In an instant, one step forward!
The attack unleashed, faster than any other!
The centaur howled, and in the instant my sword was about to reach its body, a wall of flames blocked my view, slowing down my attack.
I tried to cut the wall of flames down from the side, but the enemyâs spear came sweeping into my arm. When it hit, I was sent flying like a ball.
What kind of unreasonable strength is this!?
âGUu!?â I stifled the cry of pain that sought to come out as I once again wielded my sword. But when I glanced at it, I noticed it had already been broken. I threw away the sword and took out a new one from the remaining swords sheathed by my waist.
âGYaUAAAaGAGAAaAA!â The centaur howled.
I thought it would attack, but it just struck its spear into a nearby tree.
Whatâs going on? Well, in any case, it would be rude to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Not a trace was left of the wall of flames that had obstructed my vision. Belatedly, pain came running through my body. It sought to take away my consciousness, but I endured it.
After sending me flying, it seems to have changed its target to Shumea and the others.
As it howled, it kicked its hooves against the ground.
âTch, Selena, itâs coming,â Shumea said to Selena as she took on that incoming pressure head on. She didnât bother to try and hide her shaking legs. Wielding her spear, she stepped in front of Selena.
âGi Za, support them!â I said.
âOn it!â Gi Za replied.
Gi Za and Gi Do invoked their magic. Although it wasnât from pointblank range, the wind magic they unleashed had formidable firepower, but a swing of the centaurâs spear was all it took for the centaur to dispel it.
He invoked his wind a second time. This time it was far stronger, a cyclone even forming.
The centaur howled as it swung its spear against the cyclone. The wind caught fire as they clashed, and in the end, it vanished, but it was not for nothing, as the centaur stopped moving.
âMy life is like a cloud of dustAccel!â
Ether blew up from behind me, propelling me forward through a wall of air.
I kept going even as my body neared the centaur, then I⌠rammed my body into it!
Our bodies only touched for a moment, but my shoulder and my arms already smelled burnt. But thatâs only a given, I suppose. After all that thing is burning hot enough to spread its heat into the spear.
âIâm fine!â I swung my sword to show I was alright. At the same time, I clad my sword in black flames again.
It was time for round two.
As the enemy howled, I howled back with my World Devouring Howl.