Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 361

Chapter 361

“Kieeeek!”

A metallic screech echoed, piercing the air. It was the final death cry of a massive monster, its form a grotesque blend of beast and human. The heavy body crashed to the ground, creating a tremendous vibration. Every tree nearby shook its branches. In contrast, those who had descended before the monster made no sound at all. They landed as lightly as feathers, seemingly unaffected by gravity.

Silence filled the air, so profound that not even a breath could be heard. Amidst the frozen atmosphere, only those who had defeated the monster remained composed. They nonchalantly sheathed their weapons. The process of flicking off the grime and returning the weapons to their original positions flowed gracefully, like a scene from a martial arts film. “Woahhh!” Only then did belated cheers erupt from the crowd, who had been blankly watching the spectacle.

“Wow, that’s insane. They finished it in an instant.”

“I don’t know what I just saw. Is that even possible? No one could even get close to it.”

The murmuring crowd shook their heads, wearing expressions of disbelief, as if they had dreamed it all. The monster that had been destroying everything and terrorizing the area had fallen so futilely.

The monster’s appearance had been extremely sudden. A person who had been perfectly fine just moments before had abruptly transformed into a monster and began attacking those around them. It had an appearance no one had ever seen before, and ordinary attacks were ineffective, leaving everyone helpless. Just as they were about to be overwhelmed, five individuals appeared, claiming to be reinforcements. They were known within the unit for their skills. Until then, no one had expected much from them. They were just seen as a group that would blend in with the others and provide some assistance. No one had anticipated that they would take control of the situation from the moment they were deployed, dominating the scene from start to finish.

“Aaron!”

While everyone was still dumbfounded, several men and women rushed out from the crowd. They were the mercenaries who had been his comrades before the monster’s transformation. They collapsed before the monster’s corpse.

“Ah, Aaron!”

Although it ended quickly, it was a tragedy with significant damage and even fatalities. Even if they had once been comrades, their weeping over the monster that had caused it was enough to provoke resentment from those who had not yet shaken off their fear. However, none of the onlookers expressed dissatisfaction with their behavior. This was because those who had killed the monster had bowed to them. The courteous attitude, sufficient as respect for the deceased, led everyone else to fall into a mournful mood.

The ability to naturally lead the flow and the authority to make others follow without speaking. Everyone felt it. They were born leaders.

Soon, soldiers approached and began to clean up the scene, and everyone dispersed to their original positions. Those who had defeated the monster also went through a brief interrogation before returning to their posts. The people who had stayed until the end applauded them as they left, expressing their gratitude and appreciation.

“Are those people the famous Champagne?”

“That’s right. Champagne, the smallest mercenary group in size but one of the top five in skill among the guilds.”

“Top five? With that level of skill, aren’t they the best? Even the Beer Mercenary Group, which is said to be the largest, didn’t feel like that.”

“I think so too. I thought the rumors were exaggerated, but they were actually understated.”

“Why are people like that doing mercenary work? I don’t understand. It seems like every country would want to recruit them.”

Every gaze that followed their receding figures was filled with admiration and respect. A small number of elites. Accomplishing feats without showing off. The dignity to show respect for the deceased, even to a monster. The image of them that everyone witnessed was enough to evoke the narratives of heroes in novels.

It was the first recorded history of the Champagne, the hidden dragon, beginning to show its potential, as pointed out by numerous historians in later years.

* * *

“Ugh, I thought I was gonna die. Why does a perfectly fine person suddenly turn into a monster?”

Of course, history doesn’t always reflect all the truth, so reality can be quite different. One of the figures proving that fact with his whole body was Harold, who belatedly patted his chest, his heart still racing. The group frowned at Harold’s frivolous and exaggerated behavior, but they didn’t scold him. The feelings were similar for everyone, even if the degree varied. The fact that a person had turned into a monster was a problem in itself, but the identity of the monster was an even bigger issue.

“That was, as expected, a demon, right?”

“Look at its unique appearance. I used Aura [a type of magical energy] to cut it, but it healed instantly. It had a core inside its body. It’s definitely a demon.”

Huesen’s face became serious at Iril’s answer. Demons were creatures formed from the accumulation of magical energy, belonging to the Demon Realm. They rarely appeared in the Middle Realm [the human world], so little information was known about them, but the Champagne mercenaries had fortunately (?) encountered them in the past. It was when they were commissioned to guard the Land of Death in the south—the ‘Black Forest.’

The Black Forest, known to have an environment similar to the Demon Realm, was indeed a place where magical energy flowed. Especially during the Darkmoon Festival (the week of the Demon God’s birthday, when the moon and stars do not appear), the magical power became as strong as in the Demon Realm, and demons were sometimes born. However, this phenomenon only occurred deep inside the forest, and even if they were born, they were incomplete and died within a few days, so they never came out. Because it was such a secretive phenomenon, very few people knew about it. It was only because the Champagne mercenaries happened to visit the forest at that time and got lost, going deeper than they thought, that they encountered it.

In any case, thanks to that experience, they were able to remain calm while dealing with the demon today. However, just because they had successfully resolved the situation did not mean they could take it lightly. Even when the high-level demon beast Behemoth had appeared, they hadn’t taken it this seriously. No matter how strong a demon beast was, it was still just a beast. It had a body that could be cut and severed. With luck, it could be killed with human strength and weapons. But demons were different. They were living creatures, but their bodies were just lumps of slime. They couldn’t be cut in the ordinary way, and cutting them only caused them to split and multiply. Unless the core, their weakness, was destroyed, they were practically invincible, and it wasn’t easy to find the location of that core.

It would be fortunate if this incident was accidental, but if it was an enemy’s scheme, there was no guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t happen again. If it happened simultaneously in multiple locations, the Imperial Army would not last long and would collapse in an instant. Not knowing about the seeds of the Demon Tree or that El had already removed most of them, they couldn’t help but worry.

“I have a bad feeling about this from the start. Isn’t this an ominous sign?”

“Nonsense.”

Huesen dismissed Mighty’s muttered words with a single word. They had been waiting on the outskirts for a while after returning to the unit due to identification and unit assignment issues. They had just gone through the return process and were moving when this happened as soon as they were assigned, so everyone was already in a bad mood. It was even worse because they had cut down someone who was an ally, not an enemy. Moreover, on the battlefield, even a small complaint could easily become a jinx. Mighty often made insensitive remarks and often incurred the displeasure of the group, but such a statement now was a clear mistake.

While the others glared at the flinching Mighty, Huesen clenched and unclenched his fist with a slightly strange expression. Sherry, noticing that he seemed to be deep in thought, gave him a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong, Huesen?”

“Something’s strange.”

“What is it?”

“It was a little… too easy, wasn’t it?”

Even with the disjointed words, they weren’t greatly taken aback. It was because everyone was vaguely feeling the same way.

“Oh, really?”

“I’m not the only one who felt that way, huh?”

“Something was, like, really easy.”

“It’s a demon… but we caught it pretty easily, right?”

After uttering a word each, they exchanged strange looks.

Demons were truly dangerous beings. When they encountered them in the Black Forest in the past, they had almost died. Even then, it was only because Matthew had accidentally discerned the demon’s core that they survived; if it hadn’t been for him, they would all have been buried in the Black Forest that day. The fear and despair engraved at that time were so great that everyone unanimously vowed never to go to the Black Forest again. But somehow, the demon that had been so terrifying seemed too easy this time. Its speed and strength seemed weaker than before, and the location of its weak point, the core, was so obvious that there was no need to find it. It was so different from what they remembered that they were even confused about whether they should take this situation seriously.

However, the scale of the damage was too great to say that the demon was weak. It also didn’t make sense that no one had succeeded in suppressing it until they stepped in. In the end, the conclusion could only lead to one thing. It wasn’t that the demon had weakened, but that they had become stronger.

That was an incomprehensible phenomenon. Of course, it was true that their skills were better now than in the past, but it was because they had accumulated experience, not because their abilities themselves had grown significantly. No, until recently, they had felt that their bodies were not as good as before. But at some point, they stopped thinking that way. When was that? Following Huesen, who was tracing his memories and examining his body, Harold also swung his arm greatly. He felt that his muscles were more flexible than before, whether it was just his imagination or not. The parts that used to feel stiff didn’t bother him as much as before.

“I’ve felt like my body has been lighter recently. I thought I was losing weight, but…”

“To think you could lose weight while eating so much. That idea is even more appalling, Harold.”

“What! Why! What! It could happen! I just felt like I was digesting better than before!”

“Oh, actually, I feel the same way. Like everything I eat goes straight to my muscles?”

“Really? I felt that way too.”

“Me too.”

“What, so everyone was feeling it?”

It would be one thing if it was just one person, but the fact that everyone was feeling the same way was no ordinary matter. After being bewildered for a while, they soon began to put their heads together with serious expressions.

“When did it start? Did we eat anything good recently?”

“Like some kind of tonic? We’ve been broke lately, right? We’ve always been eating the same things, so what tonic are you talking about?”

“Sometimes we ate out at restaurants, right? What if the chef accidentally put a precious medicinal herb that he kept as a family heirloom in by mistake…?”

“Does that even make sense?”

“If not, how else are you going to explain this?”

“Instead of that, think carefully. Was there anything different from usual? Anything strange.”

“If we’re talking about strange things… that priest was strange.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at Iril’s words. The priest of Eluin who had accompanied them for a while while returning to the unit. What they couldn’t deny was that the priest was really strange. His unrealistically beautiful appearance. The atmosphere that subtly overwhelmed the surroundings to an indescribable extent. The fact that he almost only drank alcohol.

“…Come to think of it, there was one day that was different from usual.”

Mighty’s one word was enough to reignite a memory that everyone had forgotten. They simultaneously recalled the same situation.

It was before Matthew had accidentally joined them. After they started traveling with the mysterious priest of unknown origin, the Champagne mercenaries took the easiest route possible. All expenses, including food, were paid by them. It didn’t seem like the priest was penniless, but for some reason, they felt like they shouldn’t receive money from him. It wasn’t something they had agreed to in advance, but everyone vehemently refused whenever the priest tried to contribute.

The problem was that they weren’t in very good shape. The Champagne Mercenary Group’s finances had been precarious ever since Harold lost his money pouch. They had never shown it, but the priest had eyes and wouldn’t have been unaware of their obvious situation. That’s why he never asked for anything. When ordering at a restaurant, he always chose the cheapest items.

It was so heartbreaking to see the noble (in terms of appearance and demeanor) priest, who seemed to have grown up drinking only precious holy water, drinking only cheap alcohol. Even when they recommended something better, he refused, making them feel embarrassed. So one day, Huesen made up his mind and spent his emergency funds to order more expensive alcohol than usual.

“If you only drink such low-quality things, you’ll ruin your palate. You should have something good sometimes.”

It wasn’t a very precious alcohol, but it was quite an unreasonable amount for their circumstances at the time. Still, he didn’t regret the money at all. He poured it into a glass and offered it before he could even refuse, and the priest accepted it as if he couldn’t help it. He looked at the glass with a slightly strange look before slowly passing the alcohol into his throat. Even though they knew it was rude to watch someone else eat, everyone unconsciously watched him at that time. For some reason, they couldn’t take their eyes off him.

“Not bad.”

The group’s faces lit up at the positive response. The priest, who had finally realized that everyone was watching him, smiled (everyone held their breath here).

“Since I’ve received a favor, I’ll do the same.”

The empty glass was refilled with alcohol. Huesen’s eyes widened as he saw the glass heading towards him.

“No, I’m okay…”

The priest quietly stared at him as he tried to refuse. He felt a strange force from his beautiful blue eyes, which were always hard to look at directly. Huesen accepted the glass as if he were possessed. In that way, every Champagne mercenary in that place received a glass of alcohol and drank it.