43 Chapter 40: The Sign of a Vulgar Mind

"I'll be a pleasure working with you, Ares," Typhon said.

Everyone went to bed soon after, but in the morning, I woke up to a cold sweat.

The stress was piling up.

I thought that everything would be smooth sailing after Enzo was killed, but that wasn't the case. I couldn't get a single break in this world.

After breakfast, Typhon returned from an errand that he had to run last night. After getting everyone ready to head out, Typhon opened Ludwig's cage and placed the owl on his shoulder.

By now, Sakimi and Marigold had changed out of their dresses from the colosseum, wearing more casual clothes. Typhon had lent Sakimi a mage's robe and a hat that was similar to her old one, and Marigold got a set of high-mobility armor and a cloak, in addition to a fancy new bow.

"I assume we'll be going to Gerandum," Typhon said to me.

"Yes. We can get a Soul Weave from the Fafnerheimlen."

The Fafnerheimlen was one of the strongest bosses in Polsius. There were other bosses that dropped Soul Weaves, but this one was the closest.

Unfortunately, it would only be one Soul Weave, so grinding for ascension materials would take a while.

"Let's go," Typhon said.

The four of us exited the Inn, and we got inside an aristocratic black carriage that was driven by a spectral horse, a type of spirit that could be summoned. The driver flicked the reins, and we headed off.

As I looked out at the scenery, we passed by multiple demon patrols. Some of them would randomly interrogate a human who casually traversed the sidewalk, often treating the passerby like a piece of trash.

In Polsius, Thello and his soldiers held an iron grip on the entire population. Enzo had a similar amount of control, but there were many parts of Rivenvalius that he kept mostly independent, such as Eden and Mechanicsville.

Throughout the ride, I couldn't help but notice Marigold's downcast expression.

"Marigold, are you worried about your spinebear?"

"Yes. I'm not sure if Thello did anything to him. But if Vortigern is still in Rivenvalius, then I'm sure he can hold out until I can see him again."

"That's good to hear."

"A spinebear is nothing but an animal," Sakimi said. "Just get a new one."

Marigold glared daggers at the girl, and the girl stared back.

"Sakimi, don't be so mean," I said. "Be more considerate."

"It's Beatrice!"

"Sakimi."

"Beatrice!"

"Sakimi!"

The young girl tried to punch me, but I caught her fist.

"You better behave yourself," I said. "Remember what Typhon said he would do if you acted up?"

From the seat next to me, Typhon smiled at Sakimi and made a peace sign.

Immediately, Sakimi settled down.

"I hate humans," she muttered to herself. "They get too attached to dumb animals, and they care about others too much. Weaklings."

From across the narrow aisle, Marigold clenched her fist, but she didn't lash out.

I glanced back at Sakimi and said, "You know, you were a human too."

"I'm glad I became a demon."

"Why?"

"I'm more powerful!"

"Does power really matter that much?" I asked.

"Of course! The most powerful person rules the world! This is why I'm gonna become the next Demon King! Or...queen, in my case!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Typhon said. "You're just a little shrimp!"

"What did you say? You better take that back!"

Typhon drew a knife, causing Sakimi to retreat.

Even in this form, Sakimi still had an ambitious, innocent arrogance. Despite how much I wanted to cure her, it was still hard to come to terms with the situation. When I first encountered Sakimi in her demon form, she was eating a human child. How many people had she devoured before then?

The thought made me sick to the stomach, and I wasn't sure if it was possible to forgive her. I hoped that the real Sakimi was still alive somewhere inside.

Once the carriage exited the capital city of Zweizen, the driver picked up the pace. By supplying more mana to the spectral horse, it accelerated to the speed of a car on a highway.

Sakimi screamed, "Waaah! What is this sorcery!"

"This is my best driver," Typhon said. "He's been training in magical transportation for years!"

Magical transportation sounded like a strange profession to say out loud, but it made a lot of sense that it existed in this world.

About fifty minutes later, we made it to the neighboring city of Gerandum, situated in the suburbs of Zweizen, the capital city that we just came from.

The buildings were much smaller, and the lifestyle was similar to a pastoral medieval society, where demons served as lords of the land, making the human serfs work the fields and mine nearby caves.

But in reality, Gerandum was a labor camp—one of the largest in all of Polsius.

Usually, people who committed mid-level crimes would be sent to this place as punishment. Because of the terrible conditions, many of the laborers experienced cruel injuries and deadly diseases, but demon clerics would heal any debilitated individuals. Still, the healing was minimal—just enough for someone to be able to walk and work.

While we passed through the fields and entered the inner city, laborers and pedestrians eyed our out-of-place carriage. Eventually, a demon soldier stopped the driver, asking for an ID.

The driver waved his hand and muttered something, which somehow made the demon back off and bow respectfully, letting us continue onward.

"Was that mind control magic?" I asked.

Typhon shook his head. "Mind control is a strong word. I'd prefer to call it suggestion magic. Since our carriage looks so fancy, it only takes a little bit to convince the demon that we are royalty related to Thello."

"Ah. Makes sense."

After making our way across Gerandum, we took an inclined road that led up a hill. At the end of this hill, there should be a massive hole in the ground, forming a cave that led to the Fafnerheimlen's dwelling.

Typhon reached his head outside the window and whispered something inaudible to the driver. Just then, the entire carriage shook as if an ogre had just kicked it.

"What the hell that?" I exclaimed.

The carriage shook again. No—it wasn't the carriage. It must have been the ground shaking.

"Is it an earthquake?" Marigold asked.

"It's a monster!" Sakimi said.

"Don't be crazy," I said. "I don't see anything."

"I wasn't kidding," Sakimi said. "I can...feel its presence."

For a second, I was confused, but then, a chill struck my spine, as if I had been dipped into a frozen lake. The gelid shiver ran down my entire body, striking every nerve with the force of a hammer.

The ground shook again.

What was this feeling of utter terror?

What was going on?

A couple of miles up ahead, something enormous emerged from the trees. It was a wriggling, pink mass of flesh and tentacles with a single head shaped like an obsidian obelisk. There were no features, and the head was completely smooth in appearance, except for a bright spotlight that illuminated anything under its gaze.

As the creature crawled out of whatever hellish den it came from, its undulating flesh formed into a bipedal giant with four whip-like arms that extended to the ground, each one ending in a flail that contained dozens of razor-sharp claws.

The sound of clicking—akin to a tiny frog's croak—reached my ears. Amidst that clicking noise, a deep guttural buzz echoed through the entire surrounding landscape. I've heard this sound many times before.

This abomination was known as the Fafnerheimlen.

"Typhon!" I yelled. "We need to get out of here!"

"I know!"

The driver immediately turned the carriage around, and we headed back to Gerandum. It seemed that the Fafnerheimlen was heading toward Gerandum too.

This wasn't good.

The Fafnerheimlen was a monster created by the archdemon of Enfernius, Zarathustra. All she wanted to do was create a child, but she ended up with this eldritch horror instead. Eventually, the Fafnerheimlen ended up growing out of control, prompting the Primordial Goddess of Order, Casoh, to step in and seal the beast away.

Now, the seal had been broken somehow. The Fafnerheimlen was supposed to stay in its dungeon, and Casoh's magic should have kept him trapped. Could it be that Casoh's death had weakened the seal? Even then, who the hell would let out the Fafnerheimlen?

"It's an absolute monstrosity," Typhon said in horrified awe.

"We need to kill that thing as fast as possible," I said. "You know what's gonna happen if we can't stop it in time, right?"

"Yes. I know all about its power. Anything under its spotlight will get turned into a mindless doll."

The Fafnerheimlen was a walking disaster that wiped out entire countries—humans and demons alike—during its reign of terror. It had the strongest control magic in the world, being able to create its own army from a single glance.

If the Fafnerheimlen was left unchecked, all of Polsius may be doomed.