34 – The Suspension Bridge Effect (5)
There were various factors related to the dangers of demons.
Their overwhelming power that transcended humans,
The cunning that defies predictions.
The relentless proliferating power that grows endlessly depending on the race.
But above all these things, it had the nature of a powerful and dangerous devil.
It resided in the intense determination possessed by those creatures.
Fundamentally, organisms have the concept of giving up.
An action taken when faced with something unbearable, be it fear, despair, or the result of a desperate calculation.
However,
The word “give up” did not exist for the devil.
Like a machine designed to carry out orders even while self-destructing.
If those guys had a target, they possessed the habit of charging towards it until the very end.
If one arm is lost, they fight with the opposite arm.
If that arm is lost too, they fight with their legs.
If even that is impossible, they bite at the ankles with their teeth until their necks are cut off.
In this way, the devils possessed an aggression with an unbearably stubbornness that surpassed common sense.
The reason why one cannot let their guard down until the end in battles with devils was precisely because of this.
However,
The best weapon that the devil possessed,
At the same time, it could become their greatest weakness.
Not knowing how to give up means not looking back.
This could become a bomb that could cause tremendous damage depending on the situation.
Just like a mouse leaping into the fire with its body soaked in oil.
The instinct of these guys who move forward without hesitation
could lead to damages that they themselves could not bear, not just ending in their own death.
And Geralt of Rivia.
He knew this fact very well.
*
A day has passed since the Devil Hunters arrived.
During that time, the demon invasion continued relentlessly.
The accumulating damages were a march of death, paying no attention.
With a humming melody, the guys ran forward and kept running.
However, despite their overwhelming offensive, all they faced was a miserable massacre.
Initially, the creatures’ attacks were demons themselves crawling out from hell.
Demons that sang eerie melodies and launched mental attacks.
The countless imperial soldiers died at the tentacles of these creatures, with their close combat abilities that surpassed the ordinary.
However, with the intervention of the Devil Hunters, the situation dramatically shifted as the creatures’ weaknesses were revealed.
The offensive was still fierce, but the number of dying demons increased exponentially.
Amidst this, the guys managed to sneak in and inflict damages, but even that was frequently blocked and prevented by the proactive intervention of the Devil Hunters.
Ultimately, the demons became ineffective compared to the pouring forces.
However, their offensive continued without any decrease.
It seemed as if the loss of limbs didn’t matter.
If they were human, they would have given up long ago, but they continued their reckless and persistent assault.
As a result, in front of the Calle fortress walls, there were not hundreds… no, thousands of demon corpses piled up.
The decaying bodies encircled the walls like barricades.
Amidst them, the stench of decaying corpses seeped through, but the endlessly crashing seawater suppressed it.
A literal mountain made of corpses.
A devastating and relentless onslaught that refused to give up.
Watching that scene,
Gabriel, who had just finished another battle, wiped the blood off his sword and quietly spoke.
“Finally, this tiresome time is over.”
“Yeah, now we can finally say goodbye to those Imperial bastards.”
Janet’s words expressing agreement.
On her face, as she wiped the gunpowder off her rifle, a deep sense of relief could be felt.
Usually, when you fight and live together, even if they were enemies, a certain bond is formed, they say.
But at least for these two, that kind of bond didn’t exist.
They were the ones who had killed countless demons over the past two weeks.
But for them, the Imperial Army was nothing more than the stench of rotten fish.
Especially for Gabriel, who had a reason to be even more hostile towards them than others.
“Well then, let’s go soon. The leader is waiting.”
“Hey there, make sure you’re still alive while we’re gone. If you happen to kick the bucket, we’ll be the ones in trouble for no reason.”
“It’s you guys who should finish things properly and come back! If you guys make a mistake, we’ll be screwed, so to speak!”
After exchanging a word stained with imperial soldiers and pure self-interest,
The two immediately descended from the city wall and headed to the meeting room, the designated meeting place.
Galad and the leader of the imperial soldiers, Nelson, were waiting for them there.
“Well, it seems like we’ve all gathered here, so let’s proceed right away.”
*
An island located a few kilometers away from the coast of Kalle.
To be precise, it was a place that was a little too small to be called an island, and a little too large to be called a reef.
Towards that place,
Me, Jeanne, Gabriel, and one of Nelson’s subordinates,
quietly began to move on a small boat.
A chill wind,
the sound of heavy waves.
And, the ominous melody that resonated through them.
“Hum~ Hum~ Hum~~”
It should have become familiar by now, but that sound still irked my nerves.
However, despite the sounds coming from various places, the atmosphere around the boat at this moment was anything but peaceful.
If it were a normal time, there would have been a long-lasting battle breaking out long ago.
However, the demons continued to move forward without paying any attention to the situation of the ship.
Their gaze, riding on the sea water, was entirely directed towards the brightly illuminated walls of Calle.
From Noble mtl dot com
Considering the demons’ sensitivity to human presence, this could be seen as strange, but there was a reason for it.
The disguise we were currently wearing on the ship.
We were using the corpses of the demons we had obtained from the previous battles to cover ourselves.
We chose the cleanest ones we could find.
However, it was a difficult task to bear the burden of these rotting, dirty, and damp corpses that were starting to ooze.
Furthermore, the rocking waves were shaking the ship violently.
Even I, who proposed this plan, felt like I was being turned upside down.
The other Devil Hunters felt the same way.
Even Nelson, who was a member of the Navy, showed signs of being on the verge of death due to seasickness. This was a desperate situation.
“I can’t believe… In the game, it ended with a debuff that made us unable to attack, but I never thought it would be like this in reality…”
The situation clearly showed why the game character, who swung his sword even while his body was burning, couldn’t do anything in this state.
However,
Even if we wanted to vomit, we suppressed it with all our might.
We knew very well what would happen if we spilled our vomit here.
As uncomfortable as it was, since we couldn’t change the discomfort with our lives,
We pressed down on it with all our might, using all our strength to steer the ship towards the approaching island as quickly as possible.
And a little while later…
“Oop!”
“Woahhhhh!!!!”
As soon as we arrived on the island, we rolled out of the boat and started vomiting uncontrollably.
I also managed to regain my senses after expelling whatever was inside of me.
“Phew…Phew…That was truly an experience I never want to have again.”
“F-for the first time, I agree with your words…”
After barely managing to handle the situation, we stood up from our positions.
Unlike the seas of hell we had seen on our way here, where demons were abundant, not even a single ant could be seen in this place.
It was thanks to this that we were able to vomit without any worries.
Having barely survived the agony and endurance, we slowly began moving towards the inside of the island.
*
“Truly, there is nothing here. Just as you said.”
“After giving it our all for four days, it’s only natural for there to be a gap. But we can’t let our guard down. If we leave it unattended, the void will quickly be filled.”
“Hmm…”
As much as we killed, it was a nauseating fact that we had to face another group.
Nelson, while sticking out his tongue at their insane reserves,
couldn’t help but feel a slight regret.
“If we were able to use those guys as weapons, they would be an incredible force…”
Despite being demons known for their extreme aggression, if used wisely, they could overturn unfavorable situations in one fell swoop.
It was currently impossible, but Nelson silently followed Geralt, wondering if someday a similar situation would be possible.
At that time.
“Huh?”
“What’s that? What is it?”
A strange scene caught their eyes.
It was the sight of numerous demons lying prostrate on the ground.
As if worshiping someone, they were bowing towards the entrance of the cave.
What was even stranger was that
despite coming close enough to clearly recognize this side,
they just continued to bow with a stiff posture.
“We’ve arrived. Right there.”
With those words, Gaellad advanced confidently, loading his gun.
He walked boldly through the motionless demons.
Following behind him, the devil hunters moved with intense tension.
Although they couldn’t erase their concern that these guys might rush towards them,
based on the trust that had built up by coming this far, they quietly followed him.
After a moment.
A scene began to appear before their eyes.
It felt like… a stone statue,
looking at the distant moon…
The figure reminded them of a giant eagle.
‘I actually meet you like this, you abandoned son of a b*tch Atos…’