The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 57



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Episode 57. Tongue, Teeth, and Jaw (5)

A private house where cozy sunlight pours in through the creaking, windy windows.

Freshly boiled broccoli and potato stew, crispy oat bread, boiled eggs with toasted salt, and wild strawberry technique. A rare dinner was laid out on the table. The whole house was filled with a fragrant and sweet smell that even people who had just finished eating regained their appetite.

However, even though Duncan was starving all night, he could not easily eat food. He just lowered his anxious gaze to the floor and trembled with his hands.

Kadim bit into the stew-soaked oat bread and rolled his eyes calmly.

“Eat, Duncan. The food is getting cold.”

“… … .”

“Why, is it because of that dead wizard?”

Duncan closed his eyes tightly.

The face of the wizard who had burned to death still remained vivid before my eyes like an indelible afterimage.

I had seen the horrors many times while following the barbarians, but this time was different. That death was created by one’s own hands, not anyone else’s. His palm still vividly remembered the feeling of the moment the dagger pierced the skin of his stomach.

In the first place, it was a mistake to rush into the forest just because the day was bright and the fog had cleared. I’d rather just hide like a rat and wait for the barbarians to come back… … . There was no need for me to step forward… … . That barbarian would have taken care of everything anyway… … . If he had, he might not have become a murderer… … .

To Duncan, who was in infinite self-reproach, Kadim spoke in passing.

“You didn’t kill that wizard.”

“… … !”

Duncan gave him a quizzical look. Kadim continued, chewing on a whole, peeled, boiled egg.

“The cause of his death was that his head was split open by my axe. It’s not that there’s a flaming dagger strapped to his waist. So don’t blame yourself too much.”

“B-but, wouldn’t he have died if left in that state anyway? Since I was the one who inflicted the fatal wound, isn’t it as if I actually killed him?”

“That’s right. I can’t say that that’s wrong either.”

Duncan’s face, which had brightened slightly, became distorted. But Kadim’s words weren’t over yet.

“However, those who do not struggle achieve nothing.”

“… … .”

“A bird that does not flap its wings falls to the ground. Fish that do not swim are carried away by the current and disappear. It is only natural for a farmer who does not kill pests to reap poor results, or for a hunter who shows mercy to his prey to suffer from the cries of his hungry children. Some damn god even lets his followers into heaven only if he fights and injures them.”

“… … .”

“Therefore, the struggle of all living and breathing people to win their fair share under the precepts of the barren wilderness is sacred. If it was an unavoidable struggle, feel no remorse for your actions. Even if I saw the enemy’s blood in the process.”

“… … Well, but, what did I gain by killing that wizard? “Boo, didn’t we just shed unnecessary blood through unnecessary struggles?”

“No. Thanks to that, I got something very big that you can treasure.”

Kadim gestured toward the corner room where the woman was taking care of her husband.

“You saved the lives of the woman who set this table and her husband.”

A faint sparkle flashed across the peddler’s eyes.

“Even if you hadn’t shown up, I would have probably thrown the ax at the wizard. Then, before the wizard died, he would have swung his magic and taken the life of the woman or her husband. “By killing one scum, you saved the lives of two innocent people.”

“… … Are you saying that I, I did it? Are you saying that I really did it because I stepped forward?”

“Yes, this would not have been possible without you. Since you have proven your worth, I will continue to entrust that dagger to you. “For today, you can be purely proud of what you’ve done, Duncan.”

Duncan’s eyes were now sparkling like water scales. This is the first time that a stingy barbarian under his rule recognizes and rewards him this much. It felt like the past days, stained with terrible hardships, were colored with a variety of colors. The joy was comparable to when he married his wife and had his first son.

But… … that didn’t mean the burden on my conscience completely disappeared.

“… … I don’t know, Your Majesty. I’m so happy, but I just can’t be happy. I, I, I guess I can’t be like you. Just stabbing one person makes my heart feel so heavy… … Your Majesty, how can you be okay with carrying so much?”

A silence that makes me feel suffocated.

Kadim stared blankly at the dust scattered through the sunlight. Then he grabbed a mosquito and lightly placed his thumb on the blade. The sensation of it digging into his skin dully. He opened his mouth softly, thinking that he should grind it down before he catches his next prey.

“A sword becomes dull with use. The same goes for the mind. It becomes dull with use. After stabbing and cutting countless lives, there comes a time when how to kill an enemy and how to cut bread are of equal weight.”

“… … .”

“Of course, most people are left with irreparable scars when they become dull. Or they fall apart before they become dull. But that has nothing to do with me. Because… … .”

I am the Great War of Atala ̶̛̛̖̣̟̙̠̖̌̌̃̃͐̓̽̄̓͌̅̕̕̕̕ ̷̜̯̼̬̙̦̘̳̇̃̔̓̎ ̶̢̲̣̭̭̍̀̒̕͝ ̷̌̌̑ ̡̹̈̈̐̉̀̾̑̏̍̊̅̈ ̶̨̭̃̈́

̵̨͇̝̣̂̿̽̄͐̕̕̚ ̷̢̭͇̭̎̑psȋ̅͝ͅ ̷̡̮̗̠̖̰̫̱̣̜͑̅ ̶̣̞̗̽̍̍̂̓̑̂̽̔̕͝͠͝… … … … Because I didn’t do it.

All this slaughter was committed by the brutal savage, Khadim.

“… … .”

“… … “Will I get better?”

Kadim barely managed to swallow back the words that were about to come out in his throat. Her heart was pounding violently. A cool sensation slid down my spine, and red blood appeared on the whites of my eyes.

I forgot. A defense mechanism that suddenly popped up. I barely managed to pull myself together, but the lingering feeling didn’t go away easily. I pressed my temples with my middle finger and thumb. Yeah, damn it, I did drink a lot of blood yesterday.

“Will I get better? Why are you doing this? Are you okay?”

“… … It’s okay. It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry about it.”

“… … .”

“I think I need to get some fresh air for a while. “Please wait and get some food.”

The barbarian spirit rushed out the door in an instant. Squeak, squeal, the amplitude of the shaking wooden door gradually narrowed, and the large light visible through the gap also became smaller. Even though the door was completely closed and the savage’s back disappeared, Duncan’s gaze did not leave that side for a while.

He stared at the closed door for a long time like a dog waiting for its master who had run away, and when the savage did not return at all, he began to pick up some oatmeal bread and boiled eggs to eat.

*

The highest level of the tower, between the dazzling light and the scattered clouds.

Today, only the owner of this tower, wearing a white hood, was sitting there.

The Mage Tower carefully placed his hand on the translucent crystal ball. The ‘Eye of Callisto’, a powerful magic tool that allows you to look at the entire world from one sitting, gave off a brilliant light.

Wooooow –

The place he decided to look into this time was the area of ​​the Golden Road, which was infested with demons.

It wasn’t just to check on the movements of the reinforcements that had been dispatched. Previously, I had thought that other cities would take care of the demonic rampage on their own, but something didn’t feel right. There was nothing to lose by personally checking to see if there was any powerful threat that could harm the Magic Tower.

The image was not as blurry as when looking out at the underground fortress near Remtana. Since the Golden Road was not far from Vestana, a clear image was reproduced as if it were seen right in front of one’s eyes.

The horde of disaster troops who built a defensive line and huddled together, the reinforcement troops who wandered here and there in search of demon corpses, and… …the lower and middle level demons who spread magic and commit slaughter.

“… … .”

After completing a general inspection, the magic tower owner burst into laughter.

It was a pointless worry. Although they were quite numerous, those demons posed no threat. Perhaps, if we work hard to send out the disaster army from Galentana, it will be suppressed naturally. Rather, it was close to good news for the Magic Tower, as it was able to secure a large quantity of the devil’s accessories needed to manufacture magic stones.

Beyond the 15th Gate, the 14th Gate, the 13th Gate, the 12th Gate… … No matter how I looked around, it was the same. As expected, the chairman of the council was right to make a fuss. I’m contemplating whether to bring back the reinforcements I sent, leaving only the personnel to retrieve the devil’s body… … .

That thought changed when he reached a forest between the 6th and 7th gates.

“… … !”

The corpses of monsters and soldiers who were horribly mutilated and burned, and the wizards mixed in among them.

It was one of the reinforcement troops dispatched.

They were not attacked by demons or monsters. Most of the corpses were so damaged that it was difficult to recognize them, but the ones that were still intact showed fatal wounds inflicted by the blades.

Suddenly, the death of Ymir Demil came to mind.

He mobilized an army of monsters and took over the body of an ogre, and yet he was helplessly torn to pieces by someone. The image was blurry, so I couldn’t see the scene clearly, but the ominous traces were clearly etched in my mind. It was too clean to be the work of a demon, but too cruel to be the work of a human.

Similar traces were seen on those corpses.

“… … .”

If the culprit was really the same, I couldn’t just leave it alone. This unidentified stranger seemed to have great hostility towards the wizard, as he killed him every time he met him. The magic tower lord quickly swept the crystal ball. He quickly figures out the whereabouts of the gunman and tries to send a tracking team there… …

His hand suddenly stopped and stood still.

Then it slowly moved in the opposite direction.

A chilling feeling slowly ran up my spine. Suddenly, I felt a threat that was even more ominous than that strange man. The hand that was slowly sweeping the crystal ball gradually became faster. After passing the 7th gate, I reached the 8th and 9th gates and traced the source of the energy… … .

A blue pattern invades the symbol and glares at him. And the faint sound of clock hands.

Click, click… … .

Ppajik –

A crack appeared in the ‘Eye of Callisto’.

The top of the tower bounced off the inner representation as if waking up from a dream.

“… … Oh my, damn it.”

A deep wrinkle formed between his eyebrows under his hood. His dry fingers nervously tapped the cracked crystal ball. After a long period of agony, Matopju finally muttered into the crystal ball connected to his direct staff office.

“Convene the council of elders immediately. Contact the elders who have left the tower separately, and summon all battle mages of Conjurer rank or higher to the Hall of the Lanterns.”

Matapju paused for a moment before finishing his speech decisively.

“On the Golden Road, a ‘High Devil’ has appeared.”

*

Kadim and Duncan left the key and continued their journey.

“Thank you, mercenaries. Thanks to this, she was able to come to her senses and get her husband back from the devil. This is a small amount, but it will help with future travel expenses… … .”

Before leaving, the woman offered him a small pouch of money and expressed her gratitude. Kadim declined. It was only because the woman never gave up that he got his husband back. He couldn’t accept payment for something he didn’t do.

Also, the woman’s fight was not over yet. Her husband lost an arm and suffered the aftereffects of being deceived by the devil, so he will definitely become a different person than before.

Nevertheless, will you protect what you have regained and fight against life to the end, or will you give up everything and run away or become frustrated?

Still, the choice was left to the woman left behind.

The Golden Road is back again. Kadim did not reap much harvest while crossing the 7th and 8th gates. It was not easy to find even living monsters, let alone low-level demons, as the Chamsa Army diligently subdued the demons here. There were a lot of blood stains and debris on the road.

“Perhaps it is because the 9th gate is the gateway to Galentana, Your Majesty. If this side were to be occupied, it would mean giving up the front yard, so the council would have put in effort to subdue the demons.”

Duncan explained with a look of relief that he couldn’t explain. Kadim’s face hardened with disappointment.

I obtained a bucket of high-level devil’s blood, but since it was the blood of a charmed species, the effect was very limited. Before finding a new ruin, we had to collect as much blood as possible and select the most useful blood.

Fortunately, I was able to find one original devil in the middle. His leg muscles were malformed and he had a horn on his temple.

Blah blah blah – !

– Kyaaaaaaa! Kyaaaaaaa!! My, my legs… … .

Kwa-jik!

Although the speed was fast, the movement was simple, so it was not difficult to kill. He used his strength to cut off his legs and suffocate his body. As he pierced an artery and received blood, Kadim was lost in thought for a moment.

Why were wizards collecting demon corpses? Even though they said they would only receive blood, judging from their overreaction, it was definitely not for incineration. In other words, there is somewhere to use it… … .

Rattling.

Kadim quickly figured out why.

Just like last time, when I met the wizards this time, I could sense a lot of mixed and diluted magic. And in Kadim’s pocket was a piece of stone taken from the wizard’s heart, which was the source of that energy.

‘It looks like the devil’s appendages are used as ingredients for this ‘magic stone’. Then everything is explained. If Elgar’s hounds found out, they would be very upset.’

If the speculation was true, it was not very good news. This means that wizards can first subdue useful demons and then get rid of the corpses. It was absurd to think that they would now have to compete over the devil’s corpse.

Phu, huuurururuk – !

Once all the blood had been collected, Duncan incinerated the demon’s corpse without being told to do so. Kadim nodded slightly to indicate that he had done well. Still, I couldn’t neglect cleaning up after him. There may still be monsters around, and if you eat the flesh of a dead demon, even a normal monster will turn into a vicious monster.

That thought changed within seconds.

A sudden, stabbing sensation in the back of my head like a sharp awl.

“… … !”

It was as if my pain perception had transferred to synesthesia, and my vision was immersed in a thick darkness where I could not see an inch in front of me.

Kadim’s eyes opened bright blue after overcoming the darkness. Her muscles twitched reflexively. However, a thrilling smile appeared on his lips.

“Leave the body where it is, Duncan. I’m leaving right now.”

“Yes, yes?”

Kadim runs without any explanation. Duncan walked quickly without even knowing what was going on. It took him a while to catch up and then he finally had a chance to ask.

“Ugh, ugh, uh, what, what’s going on, Your Majesty? Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?”

Kadim pointed beyond the next gate, still smiling ferociously.

“Over there, a very good quality blood bag has appeared.”