The first thought that came to my mind when that guy spoke was:
“Oh great, my life is about to get messy.”
I was already in a jam because of the Demon’s Blood, but it feels like I just stepped in deeper.
The word ‘Manifestor’ slipped out of his mouth. And he said it while the stream was still live.
Of course, I entertained a brief glimmer of hope.
“Maybe what he said didn’t make it to the broadcast? Maybe the viewers didn’t hear it because we were too far away?”
[Manifestor? What’s that?]
[Is it something to eat?]
[Wouldn’t it?]
[Seriously, you can find everything on the internet anyway.]
But just to crush that hope, the reactions in the chatroom started flooding in.
It seemed like they didn’t really know what ‘Manifestor’ meant yet, but it wouldn’t take long for them to figure it out. Given the characteristics of Otherworlders, it was obvious that information would spread like wildfire.
I sighed deeply.
“Ugh…”
I thought I had been hiding things well up to now, but here we are, the cat’s out of the bag.
Well, I had been living on the edge. More people kept entering the forest, and my cave wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret.
But to think it would be revealed so effortlessly.
“Oh, it seems our Otherworlder friend is unfamiliar with the term ‘Manifestor’? Let me explain.”
Yet, surprisingly, I felt quite at ease. I expected my heart to race with anxiety.
Instead, I felt a strange sense of liberation. It was like shedding an ill-fitting coat I had been wearing.
Of course, thinking about what lay ahead gave me a headache, but for this moment, it was oddly refreshing.
I guess I had always thought about it.
Eventually, my secret would be discovered, and it would be laid bare for all to see.
The moment my existence was exposed, it was destined to be a ticking bomb.
Thanks to that, I was able to mentally prepare myself.
Regardless, the situation had already unfolded. It would be better for my sanity not to dwell on something irreversible.
So, the first order of business was to tackle the immediate problem in front of me.
“A Manifestor, simply put, refers to those of us who have the Demon’s Blood. You know, the demon offspring that you all hate so much. Just by existing, they can bring calamity upon you!”
Even while I was having these thoughts, the guy continued his long-winded lecture.
He looked strangely pleased to be prying into someone else’s secret. Typical demon behavior; he seemed a little twisted in his own right.
Shh-!
Silently, I prepared to attack.
This time, though, I decided to do it a little differently. Since I had been discovered anyway, there was no need to hide my abilities.
I gathered the sword energy that had been enveloping my spear tip.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t use my abilities and sword energy simultaneously.
Instead, I could wrap something even more effective around it.
Drip-
I pressed my palm against the spear tip. Blood oozed from the wound, spreading slowly.
But that blood didn’t fall to the ground; it wrapped itself around the spear tip. A chilling red hue reflected in the sunlight.
The sword energy I enveloped it with had the power to crumple paper.
Not to mention its sharpness, which, if sharpened, could match obsidian.
Even he wouldn’t dare to ignore it outright.
With that, I lunged towards him.
“Hmm?”
His reaction was rather slow.
Maybe because he had been focused on the viewers during his long-winded speech, the barrier took longer to materialize this time.
He must have read my thoughts on some level.
So, I ventured a cautious hypothesis.
‘Is there a limit to how much he can read?’
Maybe he could only read one person at a time. Or perhaps he could only see in fragments.
It was a somewhat valid thought.
Even while I was musing all this, my attack surged forward.
Though his response was a bit slow, he still managed to erect a barrier.
A mana shield appeared before me, just like before. But this time, the outcome would be different.
Ka-pow-!
A sound erupted that should not have come from a barrier. Instead of a crisp ping, it was the sound of something shattering.
Phew-!
Then came the rip of flesh. The spear not only shattered the barrier but tore into his flesh as well.
“Kuuh…!”
The nonchalant expression on his face contorted instantly.
A displaced ear fell to the ground with a thud, blood, thick with dark mana, oozing out.
I chuckled softly and remarked,
“Now that’s an expression worth seeing.”
“D-Dantalion!”
“What the hell…!!”
The faces of the followers behind him were filled with shock. From what I glimpsed, the chatroom was skyrocketing with activity.
I chose to ignore the chaos.
Though he had been careless and allowed me a strike, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
After all, he was supposed to be a formidable demon. The most troublesome among those who had descended thus far.
“Phew, hehe… I just got hit once.”
Look at him; that moment of confusion was brief as he quickly regained that irritating grin.
And once again, he unleashed his attack.
Just like before, six or so black spears materialized out of thin air. The spears appearing out of nowhere were undeniably intimidating and powerful.
Having confirmed their existence, I had a chance to evade them.
But since everything had been revealed, I decided to act as I usually would.
Whoosh, swish!
Instead of gyrating excessively to dodge, I allowed some attacks to hit.
A spear zipped past me, and blood seeped out where it grazed. I didn’t let any trickle down; instead, I gathered it all at the tip of my spear.
Injuries didn’t matter. In fact, they were beneficial. They would fuel my next strike.
Of course, this strategy wasn’t without its downsides, but I could easily manage something like enchanting my weapon.
Sadly, the attack this time wasn’t a thrust. I was too unsteady for that.
Instead, I swung the spear down violently.
Swish!
In an instant, the blood condensed in one place, taking on an easily penetrable form. From the outside, it resembled some kind of halberd. Once again, my spear struck the barrier.
Ka-zing-!
Once more, my spear dug into the barrier. His expression twisted yet again.
“Gah, uagh…!”
The mana directed towards the barrier noticeably increased. It seemed he was trying to forcibly hold back the many streams of mana he was pouring in.
In the end, his plans had succeeded. My momentum was lost, preventing my strike from landing on his body. His defense remained unyielding.
However, I couldn’t shake an unanswered question.
‘Why isn’t he dodging?’
Honestly, if he could read thoughts and knew where my attacks were headed, wouldn’t it just be easier to avoid them?
Yet, judging by his reactions, it seemed he opted to block rather than dodge.
If anything, he would cram in mana rather than evasive maneuvers.
While pondering this conundrum, I suddenly caught sight of his frail body.
He looked so unsteady that standing still seemed precarious.
‘Could it be…?’
It was a simple deduction, but I felt that it might just be true.
“Are you seriously unable to dodge because your body can’t keep up with your reading?”
“…”
“Ha, that’s something.”
He didn’t respond. But sometimes silence can signal affirmation.
Looking at that feeble frame, I could see how he might struggle to react even when predicting.
Instead, it seemed he relied on his ridiculous mana and swift magic as a crutch.
“So what’s the deal then?”
I smiled slyly.
“Does that mean if I break through that barrier, you’re pretty much done for?”
What a straightforward strategy. His shadow spear magic was definitely threatening, but when you boiled it down, that was all it seemed to be. In a way, he was like a water rocket.
I felt confident enough to think I could take him down.
But just as I readied my spear again, a sharp sound pierced the air.
Ssss-!
From somewhere, a piercing sound reverberated.
It was almost as if the air itself was being torn apart.
“?”
Something was hurtling towards us at breakneck speed. In this unexpected situation, I heightened my vigilance.
As I peered through the forest, a figure emerged.
“Haah… haah…”
It was a man. A middle-aged man with brilliant golden hair and eyes, clearly out of breath from rushing over.
The Lemegaton folks instantly reacted, recognizing him.
“H-Harold, the Third Chief?”
“What brings you here?”
I frowned. It felt like I was meeting too many characters today.
And I didn’t like his presence. The Third Chief.
From what I heard from Niki, he was the one who had pressured a mere 13-year-old boy into becoming a Mine.
What did he do the moment he arrived?
Swish-!
“Huh?”
He immediately killed an Otherworlder from his own side. His sword burst forth like a flash.
I heard a stunned gasp escape Yepyeop’s lips before she disintegrated into shards of light.
Naturally, the ‘Player’s Eye’ flickered out.
I still didn’t know why he had turned on the stream, but it seemed the odds were quickly turning against them, so he completely wiped it.
Even though Otherworlders could resurrect, his hands showed no mercy.
Only after clearing the audience did he finally introduce himself.
“… Nice to meet you. I’m Harold, the Third Chief.”
“Wait, are you here to die too?”
“Why would I do that? I just rushed over to inform you of the danger.”
He certainly appeared frantic.
Sweat was beading on his forehead.
Still, did he honestly make it here so quickly?
“Has it been less than an hour since the battle began?”
Whether he had been nearby or had some sort of means to get here, I wasn’t sure.
Probably the latter. Considering how he had swung his sword and that sharp sound just now, his speed was anything but ordinary.
I raised my guard and addressed him, “So, what’s the plan? Do you intend to die by my hand too?”
“You seem awfully bloodthirsty for a man. After all, you must be living a hard life.”
He continued.
“By the way, do you think you can take us on? You look strong enough, but it might be a bit tough to fight both Dantalion and me.”
“…”
This time I couldn’t respond. He was right.
I could take on the minions that Dantalion brought, but the Chief was a different story.
The main issue was that I had never faced someone of his caliber before.
I had heard that the Chiefs were all incredibly powerful, but I had never seen that strength with my own eyes.
When it came to fighting, the ultimate danger was never knowing what curves would be thrown at you.
You never knew what might come flying your way.
An unknown strongman was always scarier than a clearly S-ranked adventurer.
I could cover myself to an extent with my abilities, but with Dantalion also present, I found myself hesitating.
As I scrutinized him for a moment, he spoke again.
“Let me make a suggestion.”
“… What is it?”
“It seems like it would be a waste for us to keep fighting. How about we just stop here and go our separate ways?”
In other words, he was suggesting a truce.
The demon they worshiped had already sustained injuries. Neither of us wanted a grueling fight.
So let’s just call it a day.
To be fair, it was a reasonable suggestion. Logically, it made sense.
From my point of view, there was no need to risk it by fighting each other.
However, if you looked at it from an emotional standpoint, a different answer emerged.
“Fighting would be a loss?”
I wrinkled my brows as I replied.
“I’ve already lost plenty here. Do you really think I’d just quit and walk away?”
No way, I wouldn’t allow that.
With that, I readied for battle once more. I still had plenty of blood amassed at the spear.
Gu gugu gugu!
The dense mana and killing intent mixed, creating a terrifying atmosphere.
Just then, I calculated my next move. Exactly how much blood would I expend this time? If this dragged on, my tattoos would surely fade, right? The aftereffects would hit hard too.
But I didn’t care. Even if it meant mutual destruction, I was determined to take them down.
“… So you really do want to fight, huh?”
He escalated the tension.
Mana swirled like lightning around him.
“In that case, it can’t be helped.”
What he did next was beyond anything I had expected.
“Catch you later.”
Swish-!
He abruptly turned and bolted, dragging Dantalion along with him.
His followers were frantically trying to keep pace, looking utterly bewildered.
“Harold!?”
“Damn it! Let’s go!”
It seemed they were just as shocked and scrambling.
Thus, all that remained was the ear that Dantalion had dropped and me alone.
I mumbled in disbelief.
“What the…?”
He was quite the fascinating character.
And just like that, the battle was over.
But the real trouble was just beginning.
Now that my identity as a Manifestor was revealed, I had no idea who might come looking for me in the forest.
I needed to think of a way to take care of this place.
Just the thought of it gave me a headache already.
Well, I was quick to accept it.
‘… What can I say? It is what it is.’
The situation had unfolded already. Instead of stressing over what had happened, it was time to start figuring out solutions.
With that thought in mind, I decided on my first action.
“Alright then.”
Let’s burn down the goblin’s lair first.
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