Volume 12 Chapter 13 Pursuing Renril
Surtr was defeated, and the Domain Control was lifted. After confirming that, I turned to my friends, and my old man was crying his eyes out.
"Gross."
"Wade~~~! You, you've really grown up to be something! ~~!"
"Ugh, stop it."
I kicked away the hand that was trying to hug me and walked towards Toxy.
"We won."
"Yeah, I saw it. That's our Wade for you."
"Wade-chan is beaming with pride! Toxy-chan is loved, isn't she?"
"Cut it out, Philia! That's enough! We're a married couple, after all!"
The 3 of us made a ruckus, laughing loudly. Then, as we looked at Surtr, who had lost both arms and fallen, Toxy said,
"Hey, Wade. When everything is over, I want to go somewhere with you."
"Yeah, sure. Where do you want to go?"
"...to visit my father's grave. To be honest, there are some complicated circumstances, and I've never been able to go. It takes a bit of courage, so..."
I hugged Toxy, who was shaking slightly, and said,
"Ah, let's go. Is it after we defeat the Roman Emperor or something?"
"Haha, that's still a ways off. But it might be just right. By then, I think I'll have... gained the resolve, too."
"Got it, let's do that."
I nodded to Toxy and then changed my tone.
"No time to fool around. What's next?"
"Ah, Wade-chan, Wade-chan. Actually, I have a message from your master, Mudi."
"What did that crappy master of mine do?"
Suddenly, I felt a hit on the head. What's with Mudi, monitoring us from afar? Does he have nothing better to do?
"The plan is, 'Take care of Surtr, and then head to Bazaar.' I think Rollo-chan and the others probably went that way too?"
"That makes sense. Got it, let's head there honestly."
As I nodded, Toxy said, "Ah, but there's something else."
"Ice-chan is placed in a nearby abandoned building. Philia only did some minor adjustments so she wouldn't get hit by meteorites."
"That's right, we need to retrieve Ice-chan too."
"And if we leave Surtr like this, he might die and revive near Wade, so we need to stop the bleeding from his arm wounds too. There's more aftermath than I thought..."
The two of us shared a bitter laugh. After thinking for a bit, I said,
"Then how about I go to Bazaar with my old man first, and you two catch up later?"
"Yeah, got it. Let's do that."
I parted ways with Toxy and the others. Then, I saw Surtr's fallen form.
Surtr had lost both his arms and was lying on the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Toxy approached him, seemingly intent on finishing him off.
As I thought that, Philia suddenly returned alone and whispered,
"Wade-chan, that fight just now was great. I felt a little saved, even after hundreds of years."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"It's a secret, Wade-chan♪."
With that, Philia left again. I was left tilting my head in confusion.
After that, I saw Surtr. We had a huge fight, and I beat him to a pulp without killing him.
Right now, Surtr has lost his arm and is on the verge of passing out due to excessive blood loss. This is the middle of a fierce battle. It was fun when we were fighting, but seeing him in this pitiful state makes me feel sick.
"...They came at us, so there's no helping it."
You can't win without hurting them. But no matter what, it's still a gruesome sight. It's only natural to think so. I switch my train of thought.
Anyway, my next move is decided.
"That's it, let's go, old man..."
I turn around, and then I notice.
My old man's body is fading away.
"...Old man?"
"Ah, this is...bad, Wade. It seems like my magic has reached its limit at a bad time."
My old man shrugs his shoulders.
"As expected, taking on a god-class giant's attack was too much. It's impressive that I lasted this long. A new record, huh?"
"...Just to confirm, that's just your phantom body that's broken, right? It doesn't affect your real self?"
"That's how this magic works, after all."
"Okay, good. Thanks for your hard work."
When I say that and turn away, my old man looks at me with his fading body, peering at my face.
"What's with you? Are you worried about me, Wade?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Just disappear already."
"Hahaha. You're really...alright, then."
My old man says this as he returns to his main body for a brief moment.
"I don't need to give you any more of my power. I know you can do it. I'll just quietly stay in my cell, feeling like a sinner."
"Don't say that."
"That's right. That's exactly how it is. So, go do your best, Wade."
With that, my old man disappears like the wind.
I glared at it, took a deep breath, and slapped my face with both hands.
"Yeah, let's do this!"
I sprinted through the slum, searching for my next target, heading towards the bazaar.
* * *
Lillu, the number 2 of the Klainatzirks, who followed Leader Kyrie, first met Kyrie when she was a beggar in the corner of the bazaar.
Begging in the slum and begging in the bazaar are different. Those who go to the slum are truly worthless. In the bazaar, even beggars have value.
'Huh? A beggar?'
'Ah, it's a beautiful day today! Please, have mercy on this pitiful me...!'
Anyway, she flattered and sucked up to people, trying to get them in a good mood. If she couldn't make them feel superior, it was already game over at that point.
That's right. Begging requires skills too. The skill to evoke pity. The skill to make people feel good. The skill to bring good feelings to others is required.
Moreover, begging comes with risks. If she fails, she gets kicked out, and if she gets caught by slave hunters, it's all over. That's why having a quick escape route is essential.
However, in this Nilfheim, even that small freedom is not allowed to be enjoyed.
'Heh heh. I'm lucky. You're coming to me from begging, so that saves me the trouble of dealing with sl*ve goods.'
'Stop it! Let me go! I may be a beggar, but I'm not a sl*ve!'
Lillu was dragged away, taken to a storage warehouse for sl*ves, and restrained.
Of course, Lillu struggled. She flailed about, and her fists flew everywhere. She was hit. She was hit many, many times, and was beaten to a pulp.
Ugh, she tried to bite her tongue off. But, even for an immortal demon like her, it takes courage to bite her own tongue off.
'Huh? Ah, you're trying to kill yourself by biting your tongue off! You're not gonna escape, you trash!'
And then, she got caught and was beaten up mercilessly. She couldn't even commit suicide by biting her tongue off, it was that bad.
That's when she thought, "It's over." Her freedom, which she had been cherishing while begging, was being taken away.
In the end, she was dragged off and locked up in a small room where they kept all sorts of goods, just like the other goods. She was left there, battered and bruised.
She was quietly despairing, and that's when it happened.
'Hello there, sl*ve traders! We need a new base of operations, so we're taking over this place!'
A group of people dressed up like circus performers, led by a demon with red hair, appeared out of nowhere. They swiftly took out the sl*ve traders and took control.
She was stunned by their impressive skills. Lillu was just staring in awe.
'Oh, this one... is probably a sl*ve to be sold, huh? Well, we don't need them, so we'll just set them free!'
And with that, the red-haired demon, shining with light, kindly set her free. She thought to herself,
The freedom she had been clinging to, even when she was begging on the streets.
That freedom was something she had been preserving, just for the sake of meeting the red-haired demon, Kyrie.
So...
"Leader! Leader! Leader!"
"Shut up, you're being too loud."
Pursuers. Renril or something, it seems that demon, a split personality of Lillu, has caught her.
When Lillu was caught, Kyrie ran away just like that.
But Lillu knows. Kyrie, as the leader, would never abandon Klainatzirks to die.
She'll definitely come to rescue her. Believing that, Lillu screams.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)