136-Episode 134: Makoto Takatsuki Explores the Magic Forest




 
 --The Demon Forest.

 It is a vast dungeon located in the center of a large forest.
 This dungeon is surrounded by huge magical trees and deep fog, so even in the daytime it's dim.
 At night, it's complete darkness.
 Eerie voices and sounds could be heard from everywhere.

 In the midst of the darkness, Saasan and I used our "Stealth" skill to move through it.
With the Change skill, we have changed our appearance into zombie form.
 I'm worried about the fact that Sa-san's zombie is wearing a ribbon and has "cute eyes".

 The recommended adventurer rank in the dungeon "Devil's Forest" is "Silver Rank" or higher.
 However, normal adventurers won't face the dungeon even if they reach the Silver rank.
 The reason for that is... 


Takatsuki! Is that a dragon zombie?
Yeah. Is she asleep...? (Let's go the long way.)

 A huge bone-only dragon is lying on its side.
 It is not supposed to be breathing, but it is slowly bobbing up and down, as was its habit before it was born?

 Dragon zombies are disaster-designated monsters.
 Even if a bunch of silver-ranked adventurers banded together, they were no match for us.
 We made a big detour and went deeper.


(Wow, that's a lot of skeletons.)
(Is that ... a skeleton churning?)

 About ten or so skeletons are cancelling each other with rusty swords and spears.
 It doesn't feel like they're breaking up with each other, but rather they seem to be playing with their own people.
 By the way, an Iron Rank adventurer would be enough to deal with these guys.


''Takatsuki-kun! A big chicken drinking from that swamp? ...maybe a little cute. 
S-San that's a cockatrice. The water there is a poisonous swamp, so don't go near it.
Huh? It's a toxic swamp!

 A giant chicken demon.
 The cockatrice with its tail as a snake, "Cockatrice! He is bathing in a poisonous swamp as he says.
 Cute from a distance, but petrifies when it hits his breath.
 A super dangerous demon.
 Designated a disaster, of course.


(The strength of the demons that come out are too uneven...)

 The Devil's Forest is one of the most unpopular dungeons in the Western Continent.
 It has the highest rate of missing adventurers in the Western Continent.
 The reason why the disappearance rate is so high is because many adventurers go through the forest, the forest of wanderers, and the Devil's Forest without realizing it.

 In addition, adventurers who die are able to change their class to undead due to the miasma from the Tomb of the Demon King. You did it!

 ........There are rumors that the recommended adventurer rank will be updated to 'Gold' soon.

(If the Demon King comes back, that won't be enough though...)

"Takatsuki-kun, Takatsuki-kun, there are a lot of zombies over there!
I don't know if I'm basking in the sun...it's nighttime. Maybe he's basking in the moonlight.

 More than fifty zombies are standing or lying down in a daze.
 Their voices are just saying, "Woo, woo".
 But maybe they are having a conversation with each other.

 But still, this is the first time I've come to the Demon Forest. 

(More peaceful than I thought?)

 The number of demons is large.
 There's no doubt about it.
 The encounter rate is higher than the middle level of the Great Labyrinth.
 However, as long as the undead are 'covert', they are almost unnoticeable.

 There's also no conflict between the demons like in the Great Labyrinth.
 This may be because they are undead, so there is no competition for a feeding ground.

 Occasionally, the forest wolves and forest king bears could be seen, but the farther you went, the more undead were everywhere, and the fewer living demons there were.
 Is it that kind of segregation?


 We aimed at the Tomb of the Demon King, which was said to be located in the center of the Demon Forest.


(Takatsuki-kun? (There are a lot of strong demons over there.

 The direction of Sa-san's pointing.
 My "danger detection" skill is also responding.
 There's a bunch of pretty serious demons here.

(S-San, "covert")
Yeah, I know. (Takatsuki-kun)

 We held our breath and slowly proceeded in the direction of increasing 'danger detection'.
 There was just a bush that we could hide in, so we peered into the back from within it.
 It was in the middle of the Demon Forest, and it was like a slightly open square.
 Because of that, the moonlight allowed him to look around widely.

 I was there....


 --It was an 'army of demons' of thousands.


 A giant two-headed lion demon.
 A three-headed dog monster.
 A black gryphon.
 A northern man-eating giant known for its ferocity.

 That's about all I could make out at a glance.
 There are also many other demons that I've never seen before.

 And what was odd was that all the demons were 'armed'.
 I've never seen an armed demon in the Great Forest or in the Great Maze.
 Giants have huge swords.
 The four-legged demons have helmets and armor.

(Northern Continent.......Demon Continent demons?)

 Somehow, I could predict that these guys are also thousand-year-old demons.
 The strength of the magic power that was transmitted.
 The size of their bodies.
 The size of their bodies, the power that reminds us of how long they've lived.

(If these guys attacked the village of Canaan where Lucy is...)

 I have a bad imagination.
 Unlike McAllen, there's not a moment to lose in an elf village that has no good walls.
 And Friae-san and Prince Leonard in the village....

(What do we do now? Should I go back and let everyone else go? But Lucy has a family. (Maybe you'll say you'll stay and fight for your village.

 That's when he squeezed my hand.
"Sa-san?
Takatsuki, you don't have to go through this alone.
 Saasan smiles.

"Did I look weird?
He looked so grim.
 I see, I didn't know he had that look on his face.

'Good, good, Takatsuki-kun is so serious!
 He patted me on the head.
".........
 Kosoba Yui.

 When I was in middle school.
 He's smaller than me in height, but his birthday is earlier and he has many younger siblings, so he treated me like a little brother.
 At first I thought, "What's the big deal?
 I don't have any siblings and I don't remember being spoiled by my parents, so it was fun for me to see her act like an older sister.

 She stirred my head, just like the old days.
 I'm starting to calm down.

Come on, Mr. Sa-san, let's go back to the village.
Yeah, let's go back and figure it out together.
 There's no point in worrying about it here.

 The purpose of this demon army is unknown, but it won't be unrelated to the resurrection of the Demon King.
 Besides, if we want to stop the Demon King's resurrection, it will definitely be a barrier.
 I'll tell that to the Tree Nation first.


 --And when I was about to go back.


What the hell are you guys doing?
 A voice fell from above.

"?
 I looked up at the same time as Saasan and I did.
 And there was a huge shadow.

(When did it happen?)
 I'm pretty sure he wasn't there before.
 And then it just moved away?
 In a big body? Not a sound?

 It was, in a word, a giant jet-black centaur.
 The horse's legs were as long as an elephant, and it had eight legs.
 However, its hooves do not touch the ground, but kick in the air.
 I wonder if it runs in the sky. 
 Is that why it didn't make a sound?

Can't you speak? A lowly family member.
 She speaks in a stronger tone than before.

(Yikes, maybe it's a senior demon race.)
 Prince Leonard told me about them.

 Among the demons, those that can talk are the demon race.
 Furthermore, it seems that the demons that don't suddenly attack you are most likely to be advanced demons.
 The senior demons are proud of their own name and look down on those who start fighting without saying their name.

''We are an undead tribe living in the Demon Forest.
 Sa-san answered.
"Can you hear me? Then I'll ask you. Then let's ask the question, where do you people belong?
....
 Sa-san shuts down.
 I'll have to answer this one.

'This is Master Setaker, sir.'
 I'll give you the name of the only demon tribe I know.
 It's the legendary demon king's confidant, it's not like he doesn't know.
 But the other party's reaction was not good.
 They only frowned.

'.........that son of a b*tc*. The shame of a demon tribe that was defeated by a human hero a thousand years ago.
....
 Eh, Mr. Setaker.
 It's got a bad reputation.

"Didn't you like what you heard about the Lord? But he had to get his strength out of Eveleth, the outer king, a weak man who was a lowly demon race. What good will it do for the next battle?
 That's a hell of a way to put it.
 But Mr. Seteker, you were weak to begin with, weren't you?
 A hard-driving cadre, eh?

May I ask your name, please?
 Apparently, I have a feeling that the demon race in front of me is also a famous guy.
 An elite demon tribe, I mean. 

"I am Demon King Zagan's personal attendant, the Ten Claws, a Jimbara.
 It's the Demon King's officers again!
 It's good to see you!
 For now, I knelt with Sa-san.

''Even though I don't know, I beg your pardon. Jimbala-sama. You are here for the resurrection of Demon King Bifrons-sama, aren't you?
 In the meantime, I'm going to go out on a limb.
 While we're at it, let's see if we can't get something out of him. 

"By order of Lord Zagan, I have no choice. A human hero will prevent the Immortal King's return. We just have to avenge them. At the back here, a young demon tribe member is performing the Immortal King's resurrection ritual. ''Don't go any farther,''
'Ha! Yes, sir!

 Wow, you've taught me a lot.
 So this is the tomb of the Demon King behind here.
 The young guy is really Archbishop Isaac of the Order of the Serpent. I'm sure.
 He's busy resurrecting a thousand year old vampire named Seteker.

I'll be very careful.
Excuse me.
 Me and Sa-san thanked the Demon King Zagan's executive officer, Jimbara, and stepped back.

 I felt his eyes on me for a while, but he suddenly disappeared.

(Space transfer (teleportation)?
 That's why I didn't notice it.

 He looked like a warrior-type demon race, but maybe he was a magic warrior who could also use magic.


 A good enough distance away from the army of demons.
 Me and Sa-san sighed heavily.

'That was scary, Takatsuki-kun.
Yeah, it's not a good idea for two people to go together.
 At the level of the Demon King's Army's leadership, the 'covert' skill might be suspect.
 Relying too much on skills is a bad idea.

 I had the misfortune of meeting the Demon King's leadership two days in a row, but I managed to survive.

(Don't be too reckless.)

 Sa-san was about to put himself in danger.
 Let's wait for the tree country's strength to come together.
 With that in mind, we headed back to the Elf's village where Lucy and the others were waiting.


 What greeted us upon our return was.....


 -- it was the village of Canaan, surrounded by flames.