Louise Merdin, Recapturing the City (2)

Greed, jealousy, gluttony, arrogance, wrath, lust, sloth…the Demon tribe were comprised of the primal sins of humanity. Therefore, they didn’t act rationally. Even if death awaited them in the end, they chose the path that satisfied their desires. That was why they were still gathered around the lord’s castle of Merdin, although they noticed the barrier had been destroyed. They were assured that the death that covered the ground would bring the intruders to their ends, so they didn’t have to initiate the fight. And their attitudes were the same even after they received the report that enemies were heading towards the lord’s castle straight from the city’s gate while crushing the army of undead in just a few hours.

“Oh my, so it was breached. But coming towards the lord’s castle. Pathetic…”

“They are strong enough to breach the barrier, so they deserve this much welcome. How many human lives have we sacrificed to put up that barrier.”

“I hope they are strong. Should I expect this much from them?”

Arrogance had seized their minds. Perhaps a bluff was mixed with their arrogance that they didn’t need to hide from mere humans. As the Demon tribes spent four years in a city filled with death, the idea of Demon supremacy took control over their minds, so they greeted the invaders without any preparation.

“Hmm? Look, this woman…she looks like the ruler of this city.”

As they looked at Louise, who stood in front of them with outraged eyes, one of the Demons mumbled as it suddenly popped up in his mind. Louise confidently took a step forward and shook off the blood from her blade.

“I am Louise Merdin. I’ve come to reclaim my land.”

“Ha, so she is one of the descendants that ran away.”

“A girl. Ohh, she’s too beautiful. I’d love to decorate her severed head.”

“Wait a second. She didn’t’ have an offspring, did she? I’d love to eradicate them all completely this time.”

Louise laughed. There were approximately 100 Demons in front of her. Each one of them was strong ones that could be seen on the 80th floor or deeper of the dungeon. But this place was just the entrance of the castle. Perhaps the leader was at a fancier location, so these guys were just mere pawns.

“Let’s wrap things up.”

“Sure. The faster, the better.”

“Quite arrogant, then let’s see if you got the skills to fool around…”

Suddenly, the face of the Demon that spoke to Louise split in half. Louise didn’t stop with that; she took a step forward while swinging her short sword.

“This bitch!”

“She is rather swift, so take precautions. Argh!”

The short sword that enabled fast movement through its lightweight danced around in her hand, and it continuously sliced through the necks of the Demons. It was a hidden skill that could be acquired by repeating the dance movement for 10 hours against the butterflies in a secret room of a hidden dungeon. She fully acquired it through Evan, who thoroughly remembered the movements.

“I have no time to play with pawns like you.”

As the butterfly stopped dancing and sat down, the corpses of demons in her path fell down one by one. It was such an exquisite display. She might have faced some difficulties if her dungeon levels hadn’t increased, but as she had completely conquered the dungeon, she wasn’t even slightly tired. It looked like she had two hearts pumping blood in her body.

“We are done with this side as well.”

“This side too…hmm, what should we do now, Unnie? I feel the presence of the strong opponents from there, uhm…I think the opinions will now differ in the possibility of survivors.”

As Renail took some time in her thought, Louise bit her lip hard and lifted her head.

“If they survived until now, nothing bad will happen to them if we delay their rescue for a bit. I think it’ll be better to eliminate the leader first.”

“Agreeable opinion. Then let’s do that.”

“Then, we should hurry. I feel that more of them are coming this way. Although we killed them quietly with the barrier…perhaps they have some kind of communication among them.”

Save calmly reported. Louise asked him if he had noticed anything else, and he nodded, saying that there was one more.

“These guys, they seem to be Demons, but, to be precise, I believe they are a slightly different race from the Demons.”

“Specifically?”

“The name of their race is…Mahwa Tribe, I believe.”

Louise hesitated. Seven years ago, during the time when she was too young to confront the darkness that invaded the city, there was an event where her brother, Silan, led their vassals on behalf of their father, the Marquis, and commanded the army. The event where he was made the direct successor of the Marquis came to her mind. And it was clearly known as the Mahwa Tribe Prevention War among the people…

* * *

The Mahwa Tribe that took the phoenix’s body spoke of the traitor to Evan. Those who abandoned Rose without the slightest hesitation when she was really on the verge of death. Their specialties succeeded in escaping from Sherden and hid.

―Then, after looking for a place to survive…they reached Merdin.

“Merdin? Hey, that’s somewhat weird. All three dungeon cities were active in their Mahwa Tribe preventions during the uproar.”

―Did they? But it wouldn’t have turned out well. When they reached Merdin, other members of the Mahwa Tribes had already infiltrated the place.

“What…?”

Evan was dumbfounded by the unexpected information, but it was great that he was informed beforehand about it. Knowing about and preparing for the Mahwa Tribe were significantly different. The best examples were the Mahwa Tribe vaccine, Mahwa Tribe exorcism spray, and similar products.

“Mahwa Tribes are really tough ones.”

Fast-forwarding to Merdin’s castle. Shine mumbled in a dull tone while using Evan’s Special Spray around the walls. Evan nodded and participated in the quarantine measures after coming down from Gnar’s back.

“Tell me about it. Those who should’ve been eradicated in Yo-Ma Great War 2 are still rampaging here and there without knowing their place.”

“But I think they will regard you as the toxic one since you are using that spray even here.”

“I’ve reconstructed the spray so that it will eradicate the modified version of their modified genes. I’ll be thankful if they regard me with that much respect.”

According to Evan, he altered the vaccine and the fumigation spray that could completely destroy all possible mutant strains of Mahwa Tribe after analyzing the data from those he met in the Volcanic Desert. Still, Shine didn’t understand a single word.

“Master, I’ve fulfilled the task.”

At that moment, Raihan and Mirole, who were acting separately from Evan’s party, returned from their patrol in the area where immense mana was felt. There was a Blood Crystal covered by cloth in Raihan’s hand.

“As expected, there was one of the Four Heavenly Kings. It seemed hostile towards the Mahwa Tribe that took control of the lord’s castle. I’m not sure what’s going on in Merdin.”

“Haven’t you heard the details?”

“Yes. They looked like they just gathered around. Without giving me a time to speak, they started swinging greatswords at me.”

“Greatsword?”

Come to think about it, an image popped up in Evan’s mind. Mirole added more flesh to Raihan’s report.

“That Heavenly King controlled the Devil Rune. Perhaps all the Mahwa Tribes here have the same ability.”

“And you’ve defeated the Heavenly King that controls the Devil Rune without a sweat. Well, it’s not surprising, though.”

Evan took a closer look at the Blood Crystal. He didn’t know it was possible, but he could identify the owner of the crystal just by that. It was one of the Four Heavenly Kings from Yo-Ma Great War 2, Lupark of the Greatsword. The main antagonists in Yo-Ma Great War 2 were the Mahwa Tribe, so depending on the route taken, the player could encounter the Heavenly Kings of the Demon tribe or ignore them. This guy should’ve been skipped and had waited in the Demon realm until he was summoned four years ago during the time of chaos.

He looked very stupid, yet he had the skill to temporarily put immense power into his horrifying attacks. His magic sucked, but his physical attributes made him a top-tier monster even in Yo-Ma Great War 4 standards. Evan recalled the time when he defeated him in the game and glanced at Raihan.

“Weren’t his attacks heavy?”

“In fact, I aggroed it, so the moment it lifted its greatsword, Ms. Mirole shot and punctured its shoulder. And thanks to that, the great sword fell onto its own head and split itself in half.”

“That’s one hell of a tactic that’s only possible in this world.”

Maybe while it was locked up here for four years, it may have gathered an unmeasurable amount of power through countless experiences which it couldn’t possibly go through in the Demon Realm. The Blood Crystal of Lupark had the densest aura among all the crystals Evan obtained so far—except for the one from the phoenix. Evan showed it to Shine.

“Shine, do you want it?”

“Hmm, I don’t think it’ll work on me. Besides, the ability is useless for me. Take it, Master.”

“It’s not like I can absorb it if I take it…”

And something happened at that moment. Evan’s boots suddenly shined, and the Blood Crystal melted and was absorbed by it. Evan remembered that this wasn’t the first time he saw his boots shine near a Blood Crystal.

“It’s just like the time with Rubecca. Will something happen once you absorb all the crystals of the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“Didn’t we defeat all the Four Heavenly Kings?”

Shine spoke as he was lost for words, and at that moment, Belois and Arisha, who went on a patrol on the other side, waved their hands at Evan while riding on Belois’s broom. There was a brightly shining red crystal in her hand.

“Master, there was one of the Four Heavenly Kings!”

“Look at this.”

“Go on and take it all by yourself, Master.”

But unfortunately, Evan couldn’t absorb the crystal brought by Belois. Maybe Evan’s Annihilation was a picky eater, unlike Shine’s sword that absorbed most crystals. Evan regretted it, but he gave it away to Shine. As Shine took the opportunity and had his sword absorb it, he asked a question.

“Don’t we need to enter the lord’s castle? You’ve said it by yourself that most of the Mahwa Tribe are concentrated inside, didn’t you?”

“Hmm, they’ll be fine. I’ve vaccinated everyone against the Mahwa Tribe, and Save, who has to power to see the truth, is by Louise’s side. Moreover…”

In fact, there was one more secret agent whom he brought from Sherden. As Evan mentioned such, Shine’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s Maybell Noona.”

“How did you know that!?”

“Who else with the stealth skill is undetected by my search skill except for Maybell Noona!?”

Maybe it was Shine and not Evan who first realized that Maybell’s abilities exceeded humanity’s limits.

“You can’t detect Lucid.”

“I can detect him, you know!? I can catch him by a narrow margin!”

At that moment, it was Lucid’s first time meeting with someone who had the same ability as him. He fell in love for the first time…but such a lovey-dovey story wasn’t noticed by anyone yet.