Maria and I were running along the plains road towards the crag where the traffickers' hideout was supposed to be. The journey is supposed to take about 4 hours, but at the speed we're going it would only take about 2 minutes.
"We've arrived."
The area around the crag is piled up with several smaller rocks; there are hardly any trees, but there is a strange looking lake.
"I never thought of finding this type of lake outside of Mexico."
The lake had a unique pigmentation; it was completely light red, something unique only found in lakes with high salinity.
"Apparently, the people of the city consider this area cursed, and the lake is called Bloodstream; nobody dares to set foot here."
"What a shame."
It's quite difficult to get salt in this part of the kingdom; if people knew the properties of this lake, they would celebrate like crazy. It's practically a gold mine.
"Even so, these guys are pretty clever, huh?"
Not only did they bury their base beneath this enormous rock, but they positioned it in a place where people don't go near. They know exactly what they're doing.
"I wouldn't be surprised if their area of influence were larger; besides, it doesn't seem like they're only involved in human trafficking."
I said that while looking at the large scratch marks in various parts of the area.
"Do you have any idea how to enter their base without attracting too much attention, Lucia-sama?"
"Is it necessary?"
"If we create a disturbance without any prior plan, we could endanger the lives of the prisoners and the bandits could escape... they were active for quite some time, it wouldn't be surprising if they had escape routes."
"Hmm... you're right, for now locate any entrances there might be, I'll mark the area where they have the prisoners."
"Understood."
With that decided, we each went off to do our part.
Maria has a good head on her shoulders, so she'll quickly find the entrances. As for me, I possess the ability of clairvoyance, something all gods have. I'll always know where everything is and I'll always find every place.
It's a pretty broken skill, actually, but what can I say, I'm a goddess.
Before long, the entire structure of the hideout became clear in my mind. Each room was connected to a network of tunnels that branched out in various directions. In one of the larger rooms, there was a set of cells with several guards positioned on watch.
This was the prisoner area.
"I've already located all the Lucia-sama entries."
"Huh, good job. I also finished here. The prisoners are under that beech rock."
"So what's the plan?"
"Hmm... what do you think of this? We'll seal the entrances in this area, and in the others I'll put up barriers. From here, we'll move using dimensional movement to the prison area and secure the people inside. When we're finished, we'll cut off heads."
Did you think of that on your own?
"Did you think I only had air in my head?"
"I thought she was only concerned with doing whatever interested her... and rubbing her breasts."
"You knew it."
"Not knowing would be incredible, given how absorbed she is in it."
"...."
"..."
"Okay, then let's complete the mission!"
Trying to change the subject, I quickly moved on to the rescue of the prisoners.
.............
In a dark room
A man stared coldly at the documents laid out on the table. He was heavyset, dressed in clothes that seemed to belong to a barbarian, with tanned skin and a gleaming bald head.
This is the leader of the kidnappers whose lair is currently being invaded by Lucia and Maria without his knowledge.
"Failed."
The man's mouth opened and a deep, cold voice emerged, revealing his state of mind.
"It had taken us a lot of effort to capture a high level monster, and yet they couldn't kill that sorra?"
The man asked that question to the bruised guy lying on the floor in front of his desk.
"Sorry boss, it was the fault of a Majin woman who interfered with the attack."
"A Majin woman?"
"To be exact, two mercenaries who were on their way to the city: a white horned Majin and a human woman wearing clothing that combined armor with a maid's uniform."
The one who answered was not the same guy as before, but a rather tall man wrapped in a completely black robe with a snake mask that hid his face.
"Mercenaries? Is that true?"
"We had placed a disguised sentry several meters from the target; it has now been confirmed."
"Grrrr."
This bothered him; it was a few weeks ago that someone came with a request from a nobleman.
The contents of this era set a trap for the eighteenth princess who was returning from the Iron Empire.
Attacking the royal family was practically suicide, but they offered us a huge sum of money if we succeeded.
I don't know the other party, but it's obvious they have considerable power if they can move such large sums of money.
I don't want to know what will happen if they discover we failed.
"Where is that princess now?"
"He is still within the city; our spies are monitoring his movements. He may resume his journey to the royal capital in 2 or 3 weeks."
"...Alright, we'll launch another attack then. We still have submission seals and several monsters left. As for the two mercenaries, kill them or capture them, I don't care, but make sure they don't get in our way again!"
"Then I'll send Kaller to take care of it."
PAAANN!
In the middle of the argument, another man had entered the room looking quite scared; he had several wounds all over his body and was missing an arm.
"They're invading the base!"
With those words, the boss's frown widened even more.
|Back with Lucia|
We are currently experiencing a one sided massacre against allied bandits who are coming one after another from various parts of the lair.
We had already secured the captives and placed them in a safe location on the surface.
When there was no longer any risk of hostages, we went completely crazy and started killing left and right without hesitation.
If you're wondering if I've been reluctant to kill humans from the start, I never felt that way. Even before coming to this world, I was quite callous.
"Who are those monsters?!"
"Run quickly!"
"There are barriers among the allies!"
"Don't kill me!"
Everyone's making a big fuss; if they really don't want to die, they should have done something else.
They will have to feel the pain of all those people they killed and held captive, suffering countless misfortunes.
ROAAR!
"Silence."
After saying that, Maria had grazed the head of the tiger fortress that had appeared.
In the end, my suspicions were correct; these guys also traffic in monsters. It seems they control them with a special kind of seal that's engraved somewhere on their bodies. Some of the captives also had this seal.
"What's all the fuss about?"
"Kaller sama!"
"Brother, help us, they're attacking!"
Are they attacking us?
While we continued exterminating bandits, someone quite large had emerged from one of the rooms deepest in the lair.
He had a large body, almost as large as mine, and was quite robust. His skin was light reddish in color, with two arms on each side of his body. He possessed a single reddish black horn on his forehead, and his face screamed I AM HUMAN, WARRIOR! from every angle.
This was a kijin belonging to the race of demons.
Kijin, like Majin, are natural warriors born for battle; the difference is that they use a lot of excessive violence, can grow to be over two meters tall like Majin, and only possess one horn.
Their most distinctive feature is that they possess four arms and reddish skin, which is why they are sometimes known as war demons since they are always looking for conflicts.
Although this appears to be a young kijin. Young by demon standards, he's probably around 500 or 600 years old.
Let's use that to my advantage and annoy him a little.
"Hey kid, are you lost today? Where did your mommy drop you off?"
"Who are you talking to, brat?! You damned Majin witch!"
Wow, it's catching fire quickly, as expected from a kijin. Let's add a little more fuel to the fire.
"I don't think there's another brat here. What do you say? Do you want me to take you back home to your mommy?"
"SHUT UP ALREADY, YOU OLD WHITE HORNED WOMAN!"
Hehehe, it's fun to make someone angry who's easy to anger and still comes charging towards me without any caution.
Carrying guns in both hands doesn't make you look more intimidating, you know? It just tells me you didn't have any real discipline in handling any of them.
Without even being able to touch me, I jumped, performing a simple acrobatic move, and landed on the kijin's shoulder.
"You need more training; you won't hit any moving target if you only focus on the front like that."
"BE QUIET!"
As if trying to brush an insect off his back, he moved frantically until he fell.
I jumped off her back, tucking my scythe between her arms and then giving it a slight tug.
CRASH!
"HAAAAAAA!"
His arm flew off without much effort. This guy must have been wearing some armor; at least nobody goes to war naked.
"You damn Majin"
"Wow, that's no way to talk to your elders."
"HAAAAA!"
He charged at me again, except this time there was a difference. His eyes were glowing and his entire body was smoking. This was the racial ability of the Kijin Berserker.
This ability increases your stats by fourteen percent and grants immunity to pain. The drawback is that you remain in a frenzied state and cannot distinguish allies from enemies. When it deactivates, it leaves you extremely weakened.
It is the kind of skill you only use when you are ready to risk everything.
But
"It won't make any difference."
He went from being a strong idiot to a total idiot with slightly higher numbers.
"sigh"
I prepared my scythe with the blade close to the ground. It was a stance used for scythe combat techniques.
"HAAAAAAA!"
When he was right in front of me, I moved the scythe in an inverted V shape.
"CLAAAN!"
And that was it. The remaining arms and the head separated cleanly from his body, leaving behind a dismembered corpse in a pool of blood.
"sigh" "It would have been more entertaining if he had a little more skill."
"Don't ask for the impossible, Lucia Sama."
"You're right. Let's keep going and find the boss."
Right as I said that, I saw someone sneaking behind Maria, a man in a black cloak and mask holding a sinister dagger.
Maria had already noticed him. There was no reason to dodge.
Because
CLOANK!
"What!"
The moment the dagger touched Maria's neck, it broke.
Not surprising. Even without reinforcing herself, Maria can withstand a frontal missile attack.
"curse"
"You're very slow."
Before the intruder could run, Maria deployed her shield and struck with enough force to send him crashing into the wall behind him.
POOONN!
No need to mention it. He is dead.
"Okay, let's speed this up."
With that, I took out the crossbow I had not used until now and aimed it at the trembling group at the end of the corridor.
"I would ask if they regret what they did, but it's obvious they don't."
I pulled the trigger without thinking too hard.
Screams echoed throughout the cave.
"There were quite a few monsters that shouldn't appear in a place like this. Where did they get them from?"
"It's easier to raise monsters when they're young. They're easier to control than adults."
"Although they probably don't have domestication skills, so they can't keep them under proper control. Monsters are erratic creatures without something to bind them. They will always cause disasters."
Once we finished the remaining fodder, we moved toward the chief's room.
We encountered some monsters and a few wizards, but they ended up like the rest.
Headless.
"This must be it."
In front of us stood the only reinforced door in the place, unguarded and heavily locked.
"Maria"
"understood"
BOON!
With a casual swipe of her arm, Maria broke down the iron door as if it were paper.
"So you were the ones who ruined my base?"
Behind the door, a man I shall now call Super Baldy rested on his desk like a third rate villain from a cheap story.
"No, my bald friend, it was the Tooth Fairy riding her flying unicorn while waving the Dildo of Justice at your comrades. We were only passing through."
"You bitches know what you just did?"
"What bothers you so much? The Ada thing or because I called you bald. It was the baldness, right?"
"It took five damn years of preparation to make everything work. To earn this position. What right do you have to ruin everything I worked for!"
"I asked my ovaries and they said yes."
With that declaration, I prepared my scythe and crossbow. I was not being serious. I simply did not want to kill him immediately.
Because this guy had something interesting up his sleeve.
"I will not allow you to get away with this."
He took out a black stone from who knows where.
It was a miasma stone, a solid mass of corrupted mana. In the hands of someone inexperienced, it was only good for one thing.
"CRAAAS!"
The stone shattered as it embedded itself into his chest.
"HAAAAAAA!"
Ominous energy surged through his body. Strange patterns formed across his skin as it burned and deformed.
"HAAAAA!"
What stood before us was no longer a man, but something resembling a burnt corpse with burning eyes full of hatred.
"This is the first time I've seen one in person."
This thing was a damned.
They are beings who forcibly trigger the curse seal inside their bodies after contact with dense miasma.
And this is the result.
"You damn whores will pay for this."
He was still conscious. Damned are not full monsters. They are insane half creatures.
"So, what do we do with this imitation of a Dark Soul demon?"
"We still need to bring evidence, so keep him away from the documents and make sure the head stays recognizable."
"Then let's proceed with caution."
"Don't ignore me!"
While we were discussing, he had already begun his attack.
A grotesque mouth had formed from what appeared to be its stomach, and sparks of flame were emanating from it.
"POON!"
From its mouth, it shot a blazing flame directly toward us; the heat was so intense that the rocks forming the walls were melting.
I, on the other hand, gladly received it as I calmly walked forward; this was not something that would affect me.
"DIE, you bitches!"
"Shut up already, I don't understand a damn thing."
"BOON!"
With a direct kick, I sent him crashing to the ground when I got close enough.
"HOAAAAR!"
It seemed he didn't like me, as several flaming bone spikes shot out from his back toward me.
"You're not a damn porcupine!"
Ignoring the key attack, my scythe struck his back and pulled him, splitting his torso on the right side.
"?"
Or so I thought; the two divided halves quickly reunited.
"ROAAAAAR!"
The ugly thing wasted no time and jumped away from me.
"If this thing regenerates, a physical attack won't be enough."
Having said that, I took out the grimoire for the first time since this journey began.
[Penitential Stakes]
I recited one of the spells inscribed in the book, which caused several spikes of light to shoot toward the cursed one.
"GRUUAAAR!"
The stakes were inserted into various parts of his body, pinning him to the ground. Since the material of the stakes was sacred, it caused him constant harm, as the damned have a weakness to the sacred.
"and with the finishing touch"
[Erosion]
A reddish beam of light rose from just beneath his feet and slowly began to disintegrate his body.
"Very well, so far so good. I still need his head."
The Consoling spell was only partially effective; his entire mana and spiritual circuit had already been destroyed, so he could no longer regenerate.
In short, he was completely dead.
sigh "The whole place ended up a mess, Maria. Did you secure the documents?"
"Long before the fight started… didn't Lucia-sama tell you to be careful of your surroundings? What would you have done if the files had been destroyed?"
"...sorry, I'd forgotten. And anyway, if that happened, I could just make another copy by reading this guy's soul."
I said that as I raised my head from what used to be the head of the drug traffickers.
"Could that be it?"
"I can try."
"..."
"Don't look at me like that, you know I haven't been a goddess for very long."
"That may be the case, but I would prefer that he didn't draw powers based on the stories of his world."
"What's wrong with that? It's the best fuel for creativity. Most of the spells and tools I made are from manga and video games. By the way, you've already read the files, right? What did you find?"
"Firstly, the base we are attacking now is just one branch of many that exist in the kingdom; it also encompasses many illegal and legal businesses, probably as a way to cover up the former."
"Well, guys like these are basically rats; they multiply and spread, consuming anything in front of them. It's no surprise that it's an organization deeply rooted in the kingdom."
"They extend their influence not only to the kingdom of Galark but also to the Iron Empire."
"Don't you know where their main base is?"
"I don't think they'll put that kind of information on paper, but they're most likely in the Iron Empire."
"Why do you think that?"
"Most of the goods traffic from this base goes to the other side."
"That's a good point. Is there anything else?"
"There was also a letter half floating near a bonfire. I analyzed it, mentally reconstructing its burned patterns, and it appears to be a murder request for Princess Celestina."
"So it was these guys. Do you know who the sender is?"
"It's anonymous."
"Hmm… well, what the heck. Sooner or later, we'll find the culprits. If they did something like this once, they'll do it twice. Anyway, let's see what treasures they're hiding around here."
I really don't care who's responsible or not; I already have Celes under surveillance. Anyway, if anything turns up, I'll take care of it right away.
"'?" "An egg?"
While searching (looting) the room, in a secret compartment I found a black egg with strange red patterns.
Name: Assimilation Egg
Grade: Unique
Description: An egg that usually spawns in dungeons. It possesses the ability to absorb and adapt the mana from the surroundings or nearby creatures. Consequently, when it hatches, it results in a being with the characteristics of the mana it has consumed.
"Did they want to make a unique kind of monster with this? I'll keep it! Something amazing might be born if I raise it."
"Lucia-sama, are you finished yet? Remember, we have to take the captives to the city."
"Oh, I'll be right there."
It's getting quite late; I suppose I'll postpone my walk through the market until tomorrow. Well, it was quite entertaining, actually.
Well, all things considered, today has been a quiet day.