.｡.:✧ Chapter 51 ✧:.｡.

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
—

The beginning of the story for me always traces back to the auditorium’s stage of the play.

“Are you serious about wearing this?”

Arni Duratan handed me a golden wig that she had obtained from Professor Veritio.

Though she seemed hesitant, she showed no signs of backing down.

‘There’s no time for this.’

Sen had been scouring the academy, and I had been searching it until just moments before running into Arni Duratan and being dragged here.

“Then I’ll do it just this once, I’m busy today.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

It was annoying and irksome, but since the scene would take no more than 5 minutes, I decided to just go through with it.

Better than having her persistently follow me around.

While Arni closed her eyes to gather her emotions, I put on the golden wig.

I heard it was used by professional theater groups, not just placed on the head but secured with buttons.

‘Wow, fascinating?’

The wig stayed firmly in place even as I shook my head, useful for dynamic action scenes.

“Let’s get started.”

Arni was ready, kneeling down, and I laid my head on her knee.

“I’ve lost everything.”

“I’m still here.”

“The thing I wanted most has finally come to me in the end.”

“You fool.”

The scene was over quicker than expected, but I got up and looked at Arni with a peculiar expression.

“Doesn’t seem much different, does it?”

“…”

“You said dressing up like Ares might help convey the emotions.”

But nothing seemed to have changed.

Is it because I’m not the real Ares?

Personally, it felt like the acting became even more awkward than before, and it wasn’t just my impression.

Arni, seemingly more shocked than me, weakly nodded in agreement.

‘Tch.’

I didn’t understand why she was putting so much effort into this, but I couldn’t help her any further.

I was about to take off the wig and grab my sword when suddenly…

Screams! A beast! A beast!

Run away!

The shouts from outside startled me, and I hastily ran out, leaving Arni behind.

The festival that had been joyful until I entered the auditorium had turned into an insect party.

The creatures weren’t attacking people, but they were devouring everything from the food at the stalls to the stalls themselves.

‘This is crazy.’

Had all this happened just because I looked away for a moment?

It was clear where I needed to go.

I ran in the opposite direction of the fleeing crowd, and the more I ran, the more the foul air filled my lungs.

It was like standing in a place piled high with garbage.

“Da, Daniel?”

Though I passed by Ares, I didn’t pay him any attention, and soon, at the end of my sight, I saw a bipedal beast and a girl who had fallen in front of it.

‘Hmm?’

A special, yet expansive and thin, mana tickled my nose. It was a unique mana, reflecting the desires for survival of the witches from the Black Forest.

“Now, after giving up everything for your life, you faithless witch, filthy harlot. Even the insects won’t eat your corpse,”

‘Ah, I see.’

That single statement made me understand the situation.

Adriana must have been a witch from the Black Forest, entangled in fate, choking on her own rope.

‘As always, nothing’s changed with these people.’

I remember them clinging to me with talks of destiny when I lived in the forest.

I drew my sword and leaped towards the King of Insects, who recoiled from the first strike and glared at me.

‘It’s manageable.’

Considering each of the ancient beasts was an extraordinary being, I had anticipated possibly facing Apviel and was tense.

I found those who randomly blasted magic more intimidating.

Facing a physically combatant type like Apviel was actually easier for me.

Glancing back at Adriana, who flinched and covered herself,

“Don’t look! Don’t look at me, so ugly and filthy!”

After offering a few honest words to Adriana, struggling for survival, I turned my attention back.

Apviel, initially glaring at me, slowly opened his mouth.

“Young man, I only need to take the witch’s life. That filthy woman has violated the taboo.”

“How about we overlook that taboo? It’s all going to disappear eventually anyway.”

“What do you mean?”
“No, it’s a story for later.”

Regardless of whether the taboo disappears later, the fact remains that Adriana attempted to use forbidden magic, and thus, Apviel came as an executioner based on the ancient covenant with the monsters.

Though the academy was already thrown into chaos, there would be no fatalities. It was literally a situation where only Adriana needed to die.

‘I can’t back down now.’

If Adriana was a witch of the Black Forest, there were tons of questions I wanted to ask her. There was so much to gain.

Not just rational judgment but also personal feelings prevented me from wanting to retreat.

Witnessing Adriana’s desperate struggles reminded me of the times in my past life when I was surrounded by monsters but continued to swing my sword until the very end.

I had failed, but…

“I will survive.”

As I took my stance with my sword, Apviel charged forward with a scornful laugh, and our weapons clashed.

“……!”

“Indeed, impressive.”

Apviel’s punch was indeed heavy, proving that his physical prowess wasn’t the only reason he held the position of an ancient monster.

However, what surprised him more was my reaction. He hastily retreated, feeling a cool sensation on his left hand which he then inspected.

“Just now…”

“A bug, huh? Good reflexes.”

Seems it wasn’t just any bug.

If only he had stayed a bit longer, I could have sliced off his left hand, but it was a close call.

Apviel looked at me with shock and asked,

“Who are you?”

“My name? Daniel McLean.”

“Are you really human? How could you match my speed…”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his remark. I lost count of how many times I’ve heard that from ancient monsters.

“I’m a Sherpa, simply put, someone who guides through the forest.”

To the same old question, I always gave the same answer.

Yes, I was merely a sherpa.

Fighting to survive in the forests of the demon world, eventually becoming part of your food chain, residing at the top tier alongside you.

“Do you know about us?”

“Know? More like half of you would be dead by my hand in another timeline.”

“What?”

Confused, Apviel was taken aback as I charged, slicing through the bug barrier and embedding my sword in his shoulder.

“Ugh!”

“While I had injuries and was aging, making it quite challenging.”

Now, I’m an unscarred, perfectly healthy 18-year-old.

And no, I didn’t neglect my training.

In short, I was forced into my prime.

Continuously attacking, Apviel looked for an escape, but turning his gaze elsewhere naturally created an opening.

Crunch.

“Aaaagh!”

Apviel clutched his pierced right eye, writhing in pain.

Pulling out my sword, dark red blood poured out.

The bugs tried to protect their king, but a swing of my sword simply scattered them with the wind.

“I’ll let you go. Just leave.”

“Kr, ugh!”

Killing Apviel here would be pointless, and if I did, the bugs might rampage, causing more damage.

If I implant a trauma now, it’ll be easier to handle them when entering the forest later.

But Apviel, perhaps because he’s a bug, proved to be more resilient than expected.

“Do you treat me as a bug…”

Well, you are a bug.

“If you kill me now and break the covenant, the witches of the Black Forest will come for you. Let’s stop here.”

His inability to kill others was simple. Breaking the covenant would cause the witches to swarm him and lead to his demise.
However, he merely scoffed with a hollow laugh.

“You act as if you know everything.”

“……?”

Wondering what he was suddenly talking about, Apviel began to chuckle and started to gather the insects around him.

The buzzing and fluttering of Elgrid’s insects seemed to gather, sounding as if all were converging.

The swarm turned into dark clouds, obscuring the sky, their mass growing larger as they flew towards me.

“Using ‘the earliest apocalypse’ as an excuse, one can kill a human and still find a pretext to break the covenant.”

“……What?”

“I’m saying I will kill you.”

I shook my head at his chuckling and asked back.

“Wait, the earliest apocalypse?”

“You don’t know about that, do you?”

Apviel started laughing uproariously, but after a moment of contemplation, I responded coldly.

“You’re talking about Rin, aren’t you? a girl with long black hair.”

Apviel’s laughter froze in place.

With an expression that asked how I could possibly know, I glared at him with utter coldness.

“You know something.”

“……!”

Suddenly, without realizing it, I emitted an intense murderous aura and took a step forward, causing Apviel to step back.

In my mind, I was contemplating capturing him to extract information, but it proved to be quite difficult.

‘As long as Apviel is alive, the insects will continue to appear.’

Regardless of the approach, it was going to take time, and there was a chance that the real swarm led by him could arrive.

‘i have no choice, if he shows no signs of backing down, I’ll have to kill Apviel here. But since Adriana is here, I’ll either get information through her or enter the demon forest myself.’

Given what Apviel knows, it’s likely that other ancient demons or witches of the black forest might also be aware.

Honestly, it was shocking to learn that my past life connections knew secrets about Rin, but since they had so many secrets themselves, I didn’t pry too hard at the time.

Just as I was unaware that Rin would be the cause of humanity’s end.

They probably never imagined I’d be involved with Rin either.

Setting that aside for later, I intended to strike Apviel down, but he flattened himself and started to crawl away like an insect.

“I will not forgive you for this humiliation!”

“What else should an insect do but crawl?”

I wanted to chase after Apviel, but the key was dealing with the countless swarm pouring towards me from the sky.

“I’m weak against such a mass attack.”

With my limited ability to manipulate mana, catching them with a sword had its limits.

Just when I thought I needed help, a giant storm blew in the sky.

The storm began to suck in the insects, tearing them apart and raining down their corpses.

It was magic I knew.

Though the scale and proficiency were far less than my memory, it was undoubtedly familiar magic.

“If I block the insects, can you kill that demon?”

A calm, soft voice.

Within it, a firm conviction.

The scent of the forest tickling my nose.

Fluttering blond hair and clear blue eyes.

“……”

An elf, wielding a sword and staff, stood beside me and asked.

Though my mind was clouded as if struck by a hammer, my mouth automatically responded out of habit.

“As usual.”

The proud elf, who would never just stand by as told, ended up coordinating more often with me.

I would handle the main demon, and you would deal with the surrounding ones.

Yes, just as usual.

* * *

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇