Chapter 20: 20

Tenji observed the two items in his hands with a keen eye.

They were the weapons of the "Red Demon Series", and according to the 'Book of Enma'.

The inspecting eyes became even sharper.

The Red Demon Sword, the first of the Red Demon Series.

It was a long single-edged sword, warped like a Japanese katana. The peak of the blade was black with a light glow, which changed to a special red iron color from there to the tip of the blade.

A deep scarlet cloth and cord was wrapped around the handle, and on the sword was carved a pattern of demons similar to the cover of the 'Book of Enma.'

The second of the Red Demon Series, The Red Demon Ring.

It was a so-called ring. It was made of iron, dyed almost red, and decorated with two small horns reminiscent of a demon.

Since this kind of accessory equipment is rarely found in dungeons, Tenji was also aware that it must have some use to it. However, accessory items are surprisingly expensive, and Tenji, being poor, had never been able to afford them.

He laughed spontaneously at the fact that it was now in his possession.

[I'm finally getting my own personal weapon and accessories. ......]

It was right after he muttered that.

A rustling sound began to shake the nearby bushes, and Tenji detected it.

Tenji immediately suppressed his excitement and held his sword in the middle position facing the bushes. He was not a master of the sword, but merely an amateur.

But he still felt a slight illusion that he was stronger now that he had the weapon in his hands.

"............?"

A small demon appeared from behind a bush.

He was a little taller than Tenji's waist, and had a strange skin tone, almost Japanese yellow with a slight reddish tint.

His shaggy short hair was mostly red, but had black mesh in some places. Small purple horns about two centimeters long sprouted from the gaps in his hair, and the demon's eyes were purple as well.

At a quick glance, it looked more like a "human child" than a "demon," but when looked closely, you can clearly see the atmosphere of a Demon smearing out of him.

The purple eyes are like a sign of the fifth grade.

"This is the ...... fifth-grade Red Demon. It's smaller than I thought it would be."

Tenji was feeling a little disappointed at the sight of him.

However, that would soon be debunked.

"Ong?"

　He seems to be asking Tenji something, but it was difficult for Tenji to understand just the word "ong".

Suddenly, the Demon tilted his head and asked Tenji again, "On?" asked Tenji.

[This must be the Red Demon, but he is so small. I don't know what he's trying to say at all ...... on the contrary, he's so expressionless that I can't even tell if he's actually trying to speak.]

All the while, Tenji just held the Red Demon Sword up the whole time and didn't move.

He was guessing how he should attack this quest.

There were two ways to complete the quest.

One is to escape for three hours and the other is to defeat the red devil.

He wasn't sure which of these options he should choose. He had enough weapons at hand to accomplish the latter. This was clouding his judgments.

"Ong!"

The small Demon shouted angrily.

Then the Demon's two small horns begin to glow faintly.

Tenji saw this and involuntarily took a step back.

"Ong, ong, ong!"

The Demon shouted more angrily and touched one hand to a very thick tree that was nearby. His fingertip dug into the trunk of the tree. Immediately, a crackling sound that should not have come from the tree echoed through the forest.

And the next moment the Demon was lifting the tree lightly with one hand.

Seeing this, a disgusting sweat started to flow from Tenji's body.

"Gosh, I thought you were in the fifth grade!"

From Tenji's eyes, the Demon's power clearly seemed to exceed that of the fifth grade.

It is said that an ordinary fifth grade monster can be defeated by two adults if they are desperate enough.

So Tenji also used that indicator as a guide to distinguish that this was the same level of existence as a fifth-grade monster.

However, the reality was different.

Tenji was upset because he had clearly shown his power over the fifth grade.

Suddenly, the huge tree in front of him was swung up with one hand, and his body stiffened. Nevertheless, in the next moment, his body stiffened and he ran to escape, tears overflowing slightly from the corners of his eyes.

[Impossible, impossible, impossible! Because this is indeed impossible even if I have weapons!]

The sound continued to come from behind him, and Tenji kept running at full speed, looking back over and over again.

He couldn't see the Demon already, only the movement of the giant tree that the demon helds.

He ran to the side to escape several times, but the Demon tried to swing the giant tree down to where Tenji was, as if he knew where Tenji was.

And when he had pretty much run away, the huge tree was finally swung down.

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A roar rumbled through the air that Tenji didn't want to hear, causing birds and small animals to flee.

The position Tenji was in was an exquisite standing position, as if he was about to be crushed by a giant tree, so he kept running frantically, observing the shadow of the giant tree that was slowly swinging down on him.

And then--

The huge tree was right in front of him.

He was able to avoid the huge tree directly in front of him, but several thick branches came down to entangle Tenji.

"Whoa!"

Tenji quickly turned back around and held the red demon sword in his hand in front of him for protection.

The Red Demon Sword slashed through the tree branches that came down one after another with ease, finally slashing down all of them.

Surprised by its sharpness and durability, Tenji hurriedly started running to prepare for the next attack.

　† † † †

Tenji kept running in a frantic manner, and it was almost three hours now.

There were already numerous cuts carved by branches all over his body, as well as a few deep scars. That wasn't enough blood to kill him, but he had lost enough blood to make him dizzy standing up from time to time.

With an exhausted expression on his face, Tenji was facing that little Demon.

"..... it's been three hours."

"Ong..."

I can feel the fear and anger towards the Demon in his language.

The reason why Tenji still appeared in front of the Demon was because the count of the imitation 'Book of Enma', which was always floating right next to Tenji. The book showed 'Remaining: 3 seconds'.

"Yes, with three seconds to go, I am going to win."

But there's still three seconds to go.

The moment the Demon spotted Tenji, he rushed out at a speed Tenji couldn't bear to see, turning his empty hands into sharp, impending hand blades.

That's when it happened.

The count changed to zero.

[I've confirmed the completion of condition #3. Thank you.]

As soon as that announcement rang out, the Demon stopped standing and stopped moving like a machine that had lost its charge.

Seeing this, Tenji overflowed with a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart.

[Huh, I managed to stay alive, but ...... I hurt all over.]

The Demon slowly raised his head at the right moment as if he had heard the murmur.

His expression was not that of an angry, real demon from earlier, but an innocent face that looked like a mere child.

The Demon slowly walked towards Tenji as he wondered at the change that seemed to make him fall to his knees.

　As expected, because he had been playing tag with life and death until now, Tenji reflexively stepped backwards, readied his red demon sword and took a combat stance.

"But--"

"Ong."

　The Demon, without seeming to care about Tenji, kneeled on one knee on the ground about five meters away, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at him pleadingly, as if he recognized Tenji as his Lord and Master.

Tenji is once again upset by the incomprehensible scene.

It was then.

[Condition #4: Execute the pancreas. Place your palm on the Demon's head, state your name, and then vocalize 'I pledge my pancreas as collateral and fulfill the contract. As soon as that is completed, Tenji Amagi's contract with the Hell Beast 'Goblin' will be concluded, and he will be registered as a 'summonable Hell Beast' from now on.]

"Pancreas as collateral? What do you mean?"

Suddenly confronted with a contract he didn't understand the meaning of, Tenji couldn't help but ask back.

But the announcements didn't respond, only the quiet swaying of the trees between them.

The Goblin was also waiting for a long time, his purple eyes shining as if it was gazing at the Lord.

"I don't know, but it looks like we're gonna have to do it. It's not like we're going to get out of here either unless we complete the quest anyway."

Yes, there was no time limit on this announcement.

So there was a possibility that he would be left here without a contract for a long time.  That was convenient for Tenji.

If Tenji could summon these Goblins in the future, he would have the best chance of returning and exploring to Earth alone.

[I don't know what the deal was, but I thought that if I could return my sister alive with just one pancreatic collateral, that might be enough. I originally thought that I was willing to lose an organ or two for my sister's sake, so maybe that's why I was able to make up my mind.]

Tenji slowly stepped in front of the Demon and gently placed his palm into his bright red hair. 

"I, Tenji Amagi, will use the pancreas as collateral to fulfill the contract."

At that moment, a thread of fate was tied between Tenji and the Goblin Demon.

He succeeded in using the first hell beast, the red demon species: the goblin.

This is where it all begins for Tenji.

TL Notes:

I wonder what Godo and the others are up to.......

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