Episode 89

Swoosh, the pouring rain showed no signs of stopping. The already gloomy Demon Lands became even worse with the rain. It was truly the worst of the worst. On top of that, the chilling aura of dark mana pricked at their skins, making it impossible to rest properly.

…In other words, the moment they entered the Demon Lands, a race of extremes began—whether the demon’s minions died or the mercenary group died.

Vice Group Leader Palmer seemed to have read the situation and called the group leaders together. Everyone gathered with haggard faces.

“We’ll only suffer more if we keep going like this… Whether it’s a Demonic Siren or whatever, let’s wrap this up quickly.”

The bulky Palmer clenched his fist, as big as a pot lid, and said in a strong tone.

“Let’s do it. Let’s move our asses and kill that son of a bitch. I’m sick of this hardship, damn.”

“If we spend the night here, a major accident will surely happen. We must end it this time, no matter what.”

Everyone seemed to hope for that. Group Leader Allen felt the same.

Before entering the Demon Lands, they had already checked which direction to go. Thus, the group leaders agreed to minimize rest and march forcefully.

From that moment on, the relentless march began. Of course, that didn’t mean they loosened their guard around them. This place was the Demon Lands, teeming with monsters, after all.

And now, the mages, who had been holding up well until now, seemed to start breaking through their resistance. It seemed like a signal was coming to the Milk-Jug Mage, Elena, too.

As they approached the problematic location, the aura of dark mana became more rampant, blurring the distinction between day and night. The mercenaries began to suffer from constant hallucinations and auditory illusions. Of course, the Allen-Mercenary Group was no exception.

The Itty Titty Swordsman Natasha also struggled with countless illusions. In particular, she was nearly seduced by the dizzying temptations of Group Leader Allen several times… Of course, as it happened repeatedly, she did develop some resistance, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t swayed by the temptations.

‘…Such filthy desires, I shall overcome them with my willpower…!’

Still, compared to the Demonix Disease, this was nothing. No matter how much she liked Group Leader Allen, it would be weird to just bluntly propose sex… No, rather, she was angry at the demon bastard for resorting to such acts. To treat the strong bond between them as merely sexual!

Natasha believed that she and Allen were connected by something more noble. Something that couldn’t be sullied by mere sex.

She gathered her strength and continued to walk. Now, she had certainly developed a firmness that wasn’t shaken even by illusions.

‘…Yes, this is good training. With this opportunity, I will be reborn with an even stronger mental fortitude…!’

As the endless forced march continued, the Itty Titty Swordsman looked toward Group Leader Allen, slightly worried about his condition, but then something caught her eye. Almost simultaneously, the group of mercenaries came to a sudden halt, as if they had agreed to do so.

…Something was dangling from every tree. At a glance, there were easily hundreds of those objects.

“Shit…”

Not only were the missing humans there, but all sorts of creatures were hanging from the trees as if they had been hanged. The corpses were lying on the ground, emitting a terrible stench as they rotted away…

In a scene that seemed like it could only exist in a terrible nightmare, they wondered if they were perhaps seeing an illusion. It was a scene that was hard to believe.

Ironically, they could no longer see any illusions. After all, the Siren’s Song was a charm magic meant to lure prey to this place. Now that the prey had come here on their own, there was no longer any need for charm magic. It was time to hunt.

The group of mercenaries gripped their weapons tightly, ready for anything. The Allen-Mercenary Group also lined up, prepared to fight at any moment.

As the group formed a circular formation, Vice Group Leader Palmer signaled to advance with swift hand gestures. And the mercenary group slowly moved towards their target.

The Allen-Mercenary Group scanned the surroundings with fierce eyes, making sure nothing was missed. They soon reached the place where humans, animals, and monsters were hanging. The excrement they dropped formed piles of dung below. Corpses were mixed with the feces, emitting a terrible smell.

The stench was so foul that the Milk-Jug Mage couldn’t help but frown. It felt as if her nose was rotting away.

The sight of creatures hanging like fruits extended far… Upon closer inspection, each life form had grotesque tentacles inserted into them. It seemed they were sucking nutrients and energy through them.

As if they were prisoners hanged, they dangled silently, a sight that seemed to tense everyone up. Even Kalisman, the most experienced among them, appeared to be facing something like this for the first time.

“Tentacles might suddenly spring out from anywhere. So be careful.”

The cautious archer, Gheorghe, also held a dagger instead of a bow. The Milk-Jug Mage was also ready to cast spells at any moment.

The rain continued to pour without pause. Water dripped down from the lifeless tips of their feet as if they were urinating. The mercenary group trudged through the waterlogged ground, continuing forward.

Just then, the aura-sensitive Blind Saintess briefly gave a warning.

“There’s something ahead.”

It was obvious without looking. It must be a minion of the Demonic Siren. Whether it took a human or a monster as its form was still uncertain.

Regardless of money or anything else, it was a scourge of the continent that must be eradicated at all costs… Of course, it would be even better if money was involved.

“Ordnung, come to the back and stand with Gheorghe. The enemy might target our rear.”

“Yes.”

The Blind Saintess, who was in the second row, moved to the third. This meant that Natasha in the front had to bear a greater burden, but her abilities had almost returned to their peak. She still couldn’t quite match the Blind Saintess, but she had become the second most powerful in the Allen-Mercenary Group after Ordnung.

The Itty Titty Swordsman, holding a round shield in her left hand and a short sword in her right, continuously scanned her surroundings like an eagle, advancing without pause.

And suddenly, from somewhere, a scream burst forth, and tentacles flew towards the Allen-Mercenary Group like arrows.

——!!

Natasha, with dazzling movements, blocked and cut the tentacles flying towards her. The other members also showed skills worthy of long-term contractors selected by Allen.

“Let’s move faster!”

At Allen’s urging, the members quickened their pace. The tentacles flying towards the back of their heads were all brilliantly blocked by the Blind Saintess. She, finding the skirt wrapped tightly around her legs cumbersome, pulled it up to her thighs. Then, her white, slender legs were exposed.

Soon, something huge was seen crouching in the distance. Allen called the name of the Milk-Jug Mage.

“Elena, fire away!”

Dozens of tentacles were flying towards them, and there was no time to identify what it was. They had to shoot first and ask questions later.

Elena fired a Mana Bullet, but it was blocked by the tentacles midway. The fact that it knew to block the magic meant it knew it shouldn’t get hit. From there, Allen roughly figured out that the main body wasn’t the monster.

‘It’s hard to hit with magic because of the tentacles…!’

But it was too inefficient to keep shooting magic until it hit. Elena would probably collapse from mana exhaustion before that.

Explosions from various magics being fired by other mercenary groups could be heard, but they would soon realize that it wasn’t very effective either.

‘There’s no choice. We have to go in for a close attack.’

The mercenary group, like a swarm of bees, furiously fought off the attacking tentacles, continuing to advance. Occasionally, with a loud bang, the magic hit its target, causing explosions. Milk-Jug Mage, too, whenever possible, fired a Mana Bullet.

Once they had closed in enough, the figure of the Demonic Siren finally began to come into clear view.

It looked like dozens, hundreds of worms tangled together, coiling up. Just looking at its shimmering outer skin was enough to make one feel nauseous at its ghastly appearance.

The tentacles attacked even more fiercely… Thinking the prey was much stronger than expected, the opponent seemed a bit taken aback.

At that moment, the Mage Group Leader, who had been chanting for a long time, shot powerful fire magic at it. The blazing fireball pierced through the tentacles blocking the way and exploded right on the creature’s body.

——!!

At the moment of joy, thinking it had hit…

The objects hanging from the tree all fell with a clatter. And then, the tentacles that had been sucking their nutrients joined the attack.

————!!!!

A mass of tentacles, partially distorted by the flames, writhed violently… Now, they have escalated from prey to invaders in terms of danger.

“Damn it!”

The number of tentacles had increased at least two to three times. By then, even the agile Blind Saintess began to feel her limbs slowly becoming dizzy. She was somehow blocking them, but it didn’t seem like she could hold out for long.

“Group Leader!”

The Pinkette Saintess called out to the Group Leader as if there must be some way. Allen quickly scanned the other mercenary groups. However, they, too, seemed almost out of options.

Somehow, they were blocking the onslaught of tentacles, but they were gradually being pushed back. The left flank of Old Dog Kalisman, had already been pierced by a tentacle. However, he did not fall and defended until the end.

Allen wanted to send the Blind Saintess to the creature, but if she were to leave, they would all be in danger. That being said, it was not possible to send just anyone.

“Natasha!”

So, he called out to the Itty Titty Swordsman.

“Can you break through? There’s no one else among us who can do it!”

“I will try…!”

Natasha shouted with a voice full of determination. Then, she increased her momentum, slashing through the tentacles as she charged forward.

It seemed that Vice Group Leader Palmer from the Viola Mercenary Group had stepped forward. Of course, skilled individuals from other mercenary groups also emerged. They knew they had to kill this mass of tentacles.

The Itty Bitty Swordsman deftly dodged, blocked, and sliced through the swiftly flying tentacles. However, she couldn’t avoid all of them completely, and her right side got slightly torn.

Ugh…!

A chunk of flesh fell off along with her leather armor, and blood gushed out. Yet, she didn’t even flinch. She knew that losing focus for even a moment would directly lead to death.

Still, it was somewhat bearable because she wasn’t alone. Otherwise, she would have already been torn to pieces by the tentacles and turned into a lump of meat.

The first to reach the mass of tentacles was Vice Group Leader Palmer. He swung his fearsome-looking axe as if it were a mere stick, wildly hacking at the body of the tentacle mass. As the tentacles were cleanly severed, a terrible stench emanated from the contents that burst out.

The Itty Bitty Swordsman, sensing danger behind Palmer, quickly flew towards it, and together they struck down the approaching tentacle. Of course, there was no leisure for the bulky Palmer to say thanks. It was urgent just to block it now.

Meanwhile, once again, the flame magic of the Mage Guild Leader whooshed towards them. Of course, the mass of tentacles that had already been hit once gathered dozens of tentacles like a shield to block it. This time, the magic couldn’t penetrate the tentacles… However, for the mercenaries who had just found a moment to catch their breaths, it was an excellent opportunity.

The mercenaries close to the mass of tentacles swung their weapons wildly, thinking this was the moment. Still, being that they were all skilled, each strike was incredibly powerful.

————!!!!

The mass of tentacles, facing the mercenaries, withdrew all its tentacles being used to fight and attacked those who were wildly hitting its body.

“Damn it!”

Natasha fiercely fought off the tentacles that rushed at her in a frenzy, reminiscent of her fiery temper from the past.

Just when she failed to notice a tentacle about to strike, an axe cleanly severed it. It was Vice Group Leader Palmer. This time, it was Natasha who couldn’t express her gratitude.

Fortunately, the mercenary group quickly came to their aid and collectively confronted the tentacles. By then, the mass of tentacles was already dying.

In a last-ditch effort, the creature used the Siren’s Song, but it was futile against them, their eyes wild with the frenzy of bloodshed.

The Itty Titty Swordsman, clutching her wounded side, stepped back and quietly watched the tentacles disintegrate into chunks of flesh.

That’s when Group Leader Allen approached Natasha.

“You did well, Natasha.”

“…Thank you.”

“I knew you could do it… Well done.”

Allen embraced Natasha in his arms.

‘Ah…’

His warm embrace. For that moment, even the pain of her injuries was forgotten.

“Let’s leave now.”

“It’s not over yet.”

“No. You’ve done enough. You did well. Now you need to heal your wounds.”

Group Leader Allen said this with a gentle smile.

It was indeed a touching scene.

…If only Group Leader Allen hadn’t been standing there, stark naked from the waist down, his penis dangling.

“Good work, Group Leader.”

Natasha swung her sword, slicing Group Leader Allen in half. Then, like a mirage, he vanished.

———♬

The illusion was over.