Chapter 39 : The Demon of Embay Forest

Except for the time he visited the Rasel Kingdom, Jaeho had never once left the Ferma Barrier.

This was his first expedition across the continent, and considering his current level, it was quite late.

Moreover, unlike the Elves who moved comfortably under the protection and care of their ironclad defense, Jaeho traveled entirely on his own power, which was no small ordeal.

But in the end, he managed to leave the Barrier and enter the Sitra Continent.

“This definitely feels like a completely different continent.”

Jaeho observed the new flora scattered everywhere and shared his thoughts.

“Is that so? I wouldn’t really know….”

Even just by looking at Jaeho, Samantha could tell he was surrounded by all sorts of new things, but she herself was completely unfazed.

“Let’s gather some herbs as we go.”

Jaeho had made tremendous progress compared to when he was working hard in Luxi Forest.

Pat pat pat—

No matter how unfamiliar the flowers were, he was now adept at using the encyclopedia and collecting them, and there was no hesitation in his hands.

“…Could it be that Alicia actually collects flowers in real life?”

Samantha asked quietly as she silently observed his movements.

“No? There’s no way someone would be working in the game. She just does it because she likes it.”

It was unbelievable, but fortunately, Samantha had seen enough to accept it.

“Enjoyment….”

She, too, had received such gentle guidance from Jaeho.

“Now that I think about it… you have a strangely smiling expression?”

There was a faint, meticulous smile hidden somewhere on Jaeho’s face as he looked at the flowers in the dim light.

The moment Samantha discovered this subtle difference—something no one else could see—her face flushed slightly.

“Huh?!”

Startled by her own reaction, Samantha was taken aback.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

Click—

Samantha turned her head sharply.

“Oh, nothing. I thought I heard something from behind.”

Though her face was bright red enough to be seen from afar, luckily her flashy fashion distracted Jaeho from noticing.

“Monster? I didn’t hear anything.”

“Well, maybe. But I’ll check just in case…”

Paah—!

Something suddenly burst out of the bushes?!

“Really, it was here?!”

Samantha shouted in surprise.

True to her rank as a junior ranger, she swiftly drew her dagger and swung it toward the enemy.

“Pok pok—”

“Keehyeok!!! P-please spare me!”

“?!!”

Samantha’s dagger struck a red creature with barbs sticking out all over its armor.

“Th-this is…”

The armor was covered in countless thorns that made you question whether normal daily life was even possible.

Its arms and legs were bare with white skin exposed, and to top it all off, it had glaring horns on its head.

“Ah, a demon?!!!”

Jaeho jumped up in shock.

“A demon?”

Samantha had never seen a demon directly either.

But the opponent looked like a typical demon, so much so that she could not deny Jaeho’s words.

“I’m not a bad demon!!! I’m a good demon!”

“?”

The words made no sense.

“Aren’t you a demon because you’re bad in the first place?”

“Usually, yes, but…”

“Kihihi!!!”

The demon screamed as if overwhelmed by injustice.

“We were just living peacefully!”

Though the demon’s shouts confused Jaeho’s mind, he was already a veteran who had faced countless chaotic situations.

“In my experience… this is the spark for a troublesome incident.”

“You mean…”

“Well, you’re a demon anyway, so let’s just take care of it!”

It looked weak at a glance.

Besides, the fact that it appeared begging for mercy and had various small wounds here and there indicated it had been severely beaten somewhere.

If it was going to fight, now was the best chance!

“W-wait… kuhk!!”

Samantha’s dagger pierced the demon sharply.

Although most of her skills had disappeared after changing jobs, her proficiency with daggers remained intact.

Pok pok pok—

“Kyaak!!!”

Jaeho’s Elbo strike, which had previously swung wildly in the air, now hit squarely.

[ <Elbo Spiritization> applied to <Spirit of Vitality> ]

[Deals powerful holy damage to the target]

“Kyaaaak!!!”

From the demon’s point of view, Jaeho’s attack felt like being struck by a sharpened iron plate.

“Is this really level 100?”

Samantha’s mind spun as she watched.

No matter how she looked at it, the demon seemed to be more terrified of Jaeho’s attack than her own.

But the damage being dealt was clearly to Samantha.

Jaeho’s attack was more of a form of torture than a killing blow!

[Title acquired <Demon Torture Technician>.]

[Demons feel intimidated by you.]

The System confirmed it.

“P-please…! Let’s at least talk for a bit…!”

The demon writhed on the ground in pain but refused to die, and just as it began to look pitiful—

Pooof—!!!

“Hyeok?!”

“W-what…?!”

Suddenly, black smoke erupted around the demon, forcing Jaeho and Samantha to step back.

As the smoke cleared, revealed was a two-meter-tall demon exuding an apocalyptic aura.

“Please don’t do this! I don’t want to fight!”

Jaeho, staring at the demon, turned his head to Samantha.

“Crum, shall we hear it out first?”

***

“I am the demon Sikude.”

The demon introduced himself.

His appearance had reverted to that of a seemingly weak little demon from before.

“And I live in Embay Forest nearby.”

“Damn. So it really was there.”

Jaeho frowned deeply.

He had wasted effort trying to avoid Embay Forest, but the System had inevitably pushed him there.

“…But, could you take off that eyepatch?”

Sikude cautiously spoke while glancing around.

“Hmm? This?”

Covering one of Jaeho’s eyes was !

It was a measure to confirm whether Sikude was telling the truth.

“Just relax and tell me.”

“You’re so scary… Ah, no, never mind!”

[The demon Sikude feels fear toward you.]

“This is so annoying.”

He didn’t want to be treated like this even by a demon.

“We lived as a small tribe in Embay Forest… but recently, it has turned into hell because of sudden appearances of Elves…”

Jaeho and Samantha exchanged complicated glances.

It was a demon’s version of “You won’t believe this, but…”

“What exactly happened?”

“I don’t know. Suddenly, the area started to smell like that nasty Elf scent… gurgle? Come to think of it, it still smells…”

“Were you chased by Elves? Maybe there are Elves nearby.”

“Th-that’s impossible! They completely cut off my older brother, so they couldn’t have followed us!”

“That’s good… at least.”

Indeed, it was a demon.

“Then why is there such a disgusting smell…?”

“Tense situation, probably.”

“Yeah… that’s probably it.”

[Due to your evil name, the demon Sikude is convinced.]

The demon reluctantly accepted it and continued his explanation.

“Anyway… the Elves suddenly attacked us, and we were completely defenseless… sob!”

“Uh… well… even if you say that, you can’t blame the Elves if they killed you.”

“W-what cruel words…!!”

“No, it makes sense since you guys chased out the Elves that lived in Rijellan Forest.”

“Th-that’s…”

An undeniable truth.

Sikude’s eyes darted around, trying to find an excuse.

“We’re a different tribe!”

“Hm?”

“There are countless kings and nobles even in the human world, so it’s the same with demons, right?”

It made sense.

“We already crossed into the Middle Realm five hundred years ago but got trapped there. When the passage to the Demon World was blocked, we had no choice but to stay in Embay Forest!”

“Why did you cross into the Middle Realm?”

“To communicate with the Human World…”

[The opponent is lying.]

Jaeho tightened his gloves again.

“W-wait! Actually, it was a vanguard for invasion! But not anymore! We’ve become very good demons now!!!”

[The opponent is telling the truth.]

Jaeho was conflicted about how to handle Sikude.

He seemed to be telling the truth, but he had no clue how to accept the notion of a ‘good demon.’

“No, wait. Why am I hesitating?”

Suddenly, Jaeho realized.

“In the end, nothing has changed. You still did unforgivable things to the Elves.”

“?!!!”

Sikude was flustered.

“But I’m merciful.”

“T-thank you!!!”

“???”

Samantha looked at Jaeho with a suspicious gaze.

—You saw how he transformed earlier. No need to kill him unnecessarily; just let him go.

Jaeho waved his hand toward Sikude.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t see this, so get lost quickly.”

“B-but…”

Sikude stammered and hesitated.

[Tolval Quest]

[Sikude is a pitiful demon who fled from cruel Elves.

If you help rescue him and his tribe, you will gain their favor.]

[Success condition: Rescue Sikude and his demon tribe.]

[Reward: Increased affinity with Sikude and his demons.]

“Crazy!!!”

An involuntary curse escaped Jaeho’s lips.

Samantha, too, was dumbfounded when she saw the Tolval Quest appear before her.

“This crazy System has zero sense?!”

Jaeho, who was supported fanatically by the Elves, was now told to save demons?

No, fighting and winning against the Elves in the first place was absurd.

Jaeho himself had seen their overwhelming strength up close!

“No! I won’t! I can’t! I don’t want to kill myself! Go back!”

“Please help us!!! When I got beaten up earlier, I realized! Although you wear a human disguise, your fists resemble those of the Elves! Maybe you can persuade them… ugh!!!”

Suddenly, Sikude vomited.

“Hyukin, were you the source of that disgusting smell?!”

“Disgusting!”

“But this familiar revulsion… and even the taste of the fist earlier… could it be…?”

Sikude’s eyes widened.

“I-it’s the Spiritization Medal!!!”

“?!!!”

How could he identify Jaeho’s identity in a single glance was beyond comprehension.

Moreover, the relationship between the Spiritization Medal and demons was obviously not good…

“Damn! Samantha! Prepare the potion!!!”

“Yes!!”

Pok pok pok—!!!

Pak pak pak pak!!

“Kyaaaak!!!”

Since it had come to this, Jaeho had no choice but to fight as fast as he could, whether it worked or not.

“Stop! Enough!!!”

But this time, Sikude didn’t transform.

He silently took the blows without dodging Jaeho’s relentless strikes.

“The Spiritization Medal is our friend!!!”

“What the hell is this crazy guy talking about?!”

[The opponent is completely truthful.]

“?!!”

The overwhelming presence of ‘complete truth’!

“T-Tinlight!! Tinlight helped us hide in Embay Forest, so we owe him our lives!”

The situation was getting more complicated.

“What the hell has Tinlight been up to?! Don’t you know anything?!”

The question was directed to the Spirit of Vitality, the only one who could know about the incident.

[ <Spirit of Vitality> ‘does not recall…’]

“Tell me! I said tell me!!!”

[…….]

No response.

It seemed like he decided to pretend not to know.

“He really is a Spiritization Medal bearer! Finally, the heir to Spiritization appears!!!”

[Tolval Quest]

[Spirit Artisan Tinlight is so friendly that he builds relationships with all beings.

He even dealt with the demons who burned the Elves’ homeland.

The demon Sikude, who is connected to him even in life.

His tribe might have the ‘something’ left behind by Tinlight.]

The newly updated Quest completely blocked Jaeho’s retreat.

And ‘something’!

Something that strongly stimulates human curiosity!

“Ugh… damn it!!! Fine! Let’s go, let’s go!!”

“R-really, Alicia?!”

Samantha asked, shocked.

Jaeho, who was fanatically supported by the Elves, was going to save demons against the Elves?

“Those Elves might be different from the ones in Elysia!”

“I know…”

Though the chaotic situation’s outcome was unpredictable, it was clear that it would turn out even more gruesome than expected.

Let’s just see if there’s a way once we get there! As always!

Or more precisely, “Only Jaeho thought so.”

No one else did.