Chapter 16: Arc 2 – Chapter 2: Between Monsters and Men

Going back in time a bit, I was ready to swoop down and strike my foes from above. However, I was in a predicament as to how to begin my interaction with the people below.

 

If I come in too strongly and mercilessly slay the bandits, they’ll only see me as a monster. If I try to pick off the bandits with a bow, they might attack the caravan in retaliation. I could also use magic, but I might end up damaging the caravan since I still lack spell practice. Hmm… What to do…

 

Looks like time’s up as one of the bandits that looks like the boss is readying to strike a poor kid... Not on my watch you dirty thug.

 

I made my choice quickly and decided to swat him away with World Breaker. It might be overkill, but I don’t have time as he’s about to reach the kid. As I dived down like a hawk, I readied a stance to swipe him once I bring out World Breaker. Everything was going according to plan until I actually brought out the sword…

 

Turns out I miscalculated the weight and how much my wings could bear. It never bothered me on the ground, but balancing with my wings was a whole nother story. I should take into consideration that I might be flying while carrying stuff from now on. Anyways, because of my bungle I lost grip of the sword when I spread out my wings to catch myself from the sudden drop due to the weight.

 

And of all places to fall, it was directly on top of the big guy with a scarred face who was aiming for the kid…

 

*BOOM*

 

“Ah crap! How pathetic… to think I dropped it… “

 

I dunno whether to call the kid lucky or the poor bloke aiming for him to be really unfortunate. I wonder if he’s still… nope… with all that blood… he’s definitely meat paste…

 

Well, what’s done is done. Hm? What’s that about my conscience and the first human being I killed? Well, it’s a hassle to explain but… basically, thanks to my knowledge of dark fantasy, the experience in the caverns, and my dragon mentality, somehow I hardly feel bad about it. I don’t even feel nauseated by the smooshing.

 

If I were to describe how I feel about killing him, then I guess it’s no different from feeling a bit nasty for stepping on a bug. The fact that he’s a bandit, human trash, just makes me not care about the whole affair.

 

As I was thinking all this, I descended onto the ground while taking advantage of everyone’s shock, then picked up World Breaker.

 

Uuuuurg. Nasty. I knew he was mooshed but it’s still disgusting to look at. It’s like the aftermath of roadkill.

 

I swung World Breaker to shake off the blood and gave the bandits a fierce look.

 

“Let’s see… at this point I should say a cool one-liner… hehe I got it, lets use that one… “

 

In a low voice that I believe no one would hear, I made a decision to challenge the bandits.

 

“Hey bastards… Pick a god and pray!”

 

Haha! Nailed it! I’ve always wanted to use that one. Seeing this world having multiple gods, it actually fits. Now they should all probably be riled up and ready to attack me!

 

… Was what I thought…

 

“AAAAAAAAH! DEMON BEAST!”

 

“Run fer ‘yer lives! It got boss Muld!”

 

Panic spread among the bandit camp as they all scrambled for their horses and ran in multiple directions. I turned around slowly and saw that the caravan also took this opportunity to run as well.

 

“… what in the… wha… the fuck?”

 

I mumbled stupidly as my brain somehow just broke.

 

“What the fucking hell just happened!?”

 

I was seriously pissed, but as I calmed myself, I soon noticed there was still at least one person who stayed behind.

 

Or rather… the poor kid from earlier was so frozen in fear that he fainted showing the whites of his eyes while foaming in the mouth.

 

Sigh… this is seriously depressing…

 

I sighed as I picked up the boy and put him over my shoulder. I decided to walk northwestwards continuing my journey.

 

…

 

…

 

Elsewhere on the vast plains, the group of 20 horse riders led by two on giant wolves rode onward until they arrived at a small river close to some mountains.

 

They waited at the riverbank for more than half a day until an additional group of 14 of their comrades arrived. However, they sensed something was wrong.

 

"... where's Muld?"

 

Noticing that their leader was missing, the Chief questioned them with a menacing expression.

 

The group froze and were at a loss as to how they should explain.

 

"I asked you all a question... I said... WHERE'S MULD?"

 

In a panic, they all started answering hoping not to enrage the Chief any further.

 

"He's been done in, Chief! By a Demon Beast!"

 

"That's right! It wasn't our fault! That thing flew high up and dropped a huge chunk of steel on the boss!"

 

"You have to get revenge for the boss, Chief! You're the only one strong enough to take on that thing!"

 

They all started firing off what's on their mind, and this greatly grated on their chief's patience.

 

"... ENOUGH!"

 

They all became silent, and some could be heard gulping.

 

"... so let me get this straight... a creature you think is a Demon Beast appeared and killed Muld... and you all thought to run with your tails between your legs..."

 

The Chief closed his eyes as if a calm before a storm...

 

"YOU IDIOTS! The Demons all live far to the north beyond the Darkfire Mountains! Coming here means they'll have to get through the Kingdom of Argodia who they're at war with! Even if it were a Demon Beast, there are fourteen of you! How strong could it be if it decided to kill Muld with an ambush! I should gut the lot of you!"

 

All the bandits started shivering. When their Chief gets mad, heads are almost sure to roll.

 

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"Doruk! Take this lot and find this so-called Demon Beast. I want its head as a trophy to hang! This will be a reminder to anyone who dares to challenge me, Bolgruk of the Vadar Mountains, that only death awaits them!"

 

Doruk beat his chest in acknowledgment then faced the group.

 

"You heard the Chief! Lead on you cowards!"

 

Doruk then took the men and rode with them back towards the path they came.

 

...

 

...

 

It was already evening when I finished setting up camp as the boy continued to slumber. At first his sleep seemed calm, but as time drew on he started shifting about while mumbling.

 

"Hrmm… Mom... Dad..."

 

A dream of his parents eh? Must be a good dream then. I think of mom and pops every now and then while imagining how much fun we'd have had.

 

"*hic*... I'm sorry..."

 

... or not... damn... I'm not sure how to deal with this...

 

The only thing I could think of was to stir him from his sleep, so I fanned some of the skewers I was roasting over the fire to his direction. It seemed to work as his nose started twitching.

 

"Uuurg... huh?... where?..."

 

Aha! Success. I definitely don't wanna deal with a sobbing brat in his sleep who probably has family issues.

 

"Hey, kid. Looks like you're finally awake. Hungry?"

 

I tried to call out to him in the friendliest way I could think of, but unfortunately he still reacted in the way I expected.

 

"Gaaaah! Demon Beast!"

 

He tried to back up but perhaps I should have warned him that we were camping on top of a 3-story rock formation. He slipped off of the edge and started screaming some more... Geez... give me a break...

 

"Waaaaaaa- huh?"

 

His surprise was understandable. After all, I caught him with my tail and lifted him back to the spot in front of me in the campfire.

 

“Don’t start killing yourself after I just saved you. It would have made the entire effort completely pointless. Now, sit and eat. ”

 

I tossed him a skewer as I heard his stomach grumble. He caught it, and then stared at it first before he started questioning me again.

 

“You’re not going to kill me?”

 

“… Kid, I recommend you start using your head. If I were going to kill you, you wouldn’t be sitting in front of me right now while having this conversation with me.”

 

“But, aren’t you a Demon Beast? Don’t your kind kill people just for fun?”

 

“…Alright, I’ve been hearing you people call me that all the time since earlier. Explain to me what the hell’s a Demon Beast. Just for your info, my pops told me I’m a Dracovian.”

 

“Um… you don’t know what a Demon Beast is? And what’s a Dracovian?”

 

“… you should really learn some manners, Kid. I wouldn’t be asking if I knew, so either you answer my questions first or you eat.”

 

He turned red for a bit and took cautious nibbles as he stared at me, but he soon started gorging himself on the meat skewer. Seems he decided to eat first. Good choice. It was getting cold.

 

As he was busy eating I decided to size him up as an adventurer. The boy’s really short at around 160-ish centimeters, although he appears to be around 15 or 16 years old. He has messy brown hair and wears a headband with a metal protector in the center, like the ones from those ninjas in that popular manga and anime series. He has a cape and the standard adventurer’s tunic that you see in most fantasy games or stories. His face? Something about it screams main character of some JRPG. His eyes are amber and he has an upturned nose along with a defined chin.

 

After some grub, it seems he started becoming chatty. From what he told me, Demon Beasts are basically beasts in the form of men. Unlike beastkins who only have small traits from their animal counterparts like tails and ears, Demon Beasts retain more of their animal side. Werewolves or minotaurs, for example, can be classified as Demon Beasts. Also, he told me they were created by the Demon race of the north as war potential, and they’re clearly at war with the humans and beastkins. Now I get why everyone started screaming when they saw me. Looks like I woke up on the wrong side of the continent… Not that I’d regret meeting pops though…

 

“So… tell me, what are Dracovians?”

 

Looks like he’s done and it’s my turn. Heh. Seems his fear has switched over to curiosity.

 

“Let’s see… according to pops, us Dracovians are the highest race of dragons. Taking the form of the lesser races while retaining our dragon heritage, we were created by the Dragon Gods to be protectors of this world… or so I’m told.”

 

Somehow, he looked skeptical and looked at me as if I was crazy.

 

“That can’t be right. Everyone knows there are only five dragon races created by the Dragon Gods. There’s the Neydra who reside in the sea, the Gouran who live deep within the earth, the nomadic Valdra of the sky, the mighty Godos who live in volcanoes, and the mysterious Astir who are said to reside only in dreams. They are said to appear in the form of the races that are closest to the element they belong. I’ve never heard of Dracovians… you didn’t make that up to make fun of me did you?”

 

“… what fun would I get by lying to you? Besides, I only told you what I was raised to believe, and pops even told me I might be the last one. He was human so he could be right. Although, I don’t really care whether you believe me or not. More importantly, it looks like I need to change my appearance a little if I’m to travel. Are there any races that I may come close to in appearance?”

 

“Hmm… other than Demon Beasts, you look a lot like the lizardmen and scalekin. They’re different from Demon Beasts even though they come in many shapes and forms, but they’re hostile to people since they serve the Serpent Queen who hates humans for encroaching on her home. Although they’re a kind of beastkin, they don’t really associate with the other beast tribes. Some of their kind are also known for mating with monsters, so they are greatly feared.”

 

To sum it up, I don’t look remotely close to any of the friendly races. I’m gonna need to change up a bit and try to look less menacing. I can’t change my face, I tried that before but I can at least shorten my horns. My wings will have to go, and I can at least shrink my body to look leaner and more athletic rather than buff. I can change the length of my tail, but not its thickness. I also grew some large spikes on my knees and elbows, so I’ll need to keep those in check.

 

"Heh. Kid, you sure know a lot. Is it part of being an adventurer?"

 

“Somewhat. Though I love reading in general so I tend to know more than most at Orgo... By the way, this meat is delicious! I don’t think I’ve had meat this juicy and tender before. Is this Tri-Horned Pig?”

 

Hehe. Looks like the kid’s taken a shine to me thanks to the meat. Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let him know.

 

“Haha… no, it’s no pig. It’s this big guy behind me. Tried to attack us the moment I set up camp up here so I showed it who's boss.”

 

What appeared like a huge rock I was leaning on was actually a giant bird I slew. It was really annoying to fight since it was very agile and could summon lightning, but thanks to it I got a good grasp of mid to short-range air combat.

 

“E-E-EEEEEEEH!?”

 

Hmm? The heck did he bug out for? It’s just a big bird.

 

“T-T-Th-That’s the Storm Roc! T-The ruler of these plains! I-It’s a lesser-grade A rank beast that’s unmatched in the sky! N-None of the adventurer parties in Orgo can ever hope to match it! Wh-What are you!?”

 

Sigh… after all his stuttering and frenzy, I just can’t help but think that there’s actually another thing I have to take into consideration as I travel… this world’s common sense…

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