I’m the Only Totem in Another World

Chapter 17: The Hybrid is Too Strong (2)

Rake jumped and climbed onto the roof of a nearby house, moving from roof to roof.

At this point, she’s closer to a ninja than a barbarian.

“I’ll go in.”

Rake climbed onto the roof of the house presumed to be the lower demon’s base and swung her curved sword gracefully.

Swish━!

A cut line appeared on the roof, and it sank down. In an instant, a hole large enough for a person to enter was created.

It’s hard to be surprised anymore.

Infiltrating through the hole, Rake looked around the house with her superhuman dynamic vision. The lower demon was quickly spotted.

The house was filled with a gloomy aura and silence, and a giant snail-shaped monster was leaning against the study, looking down at us.

And it’s one with gruesome-looking tentacles all over its shell.

Gurururu…

The creature slowly raised its body, making a strange sound.

━ It’s a horrifying creature.

Is this a demon? It certainly doesn’t look friendly to humans.

“I’ll finish this quickly.”

Rake calmly approached the creature with an agile and cautious posture.

The snail demon raised its head-like part high. Long tentacles sprouted from its slime-covered head.

I wonder what would happen if we implanted those on the scalps of people with hair loss. A useless thought comes to mind.

Ah, please get a grip, me!

Meanwhile, Rake made the first move and swung her curved sword at the creature’s body, specifically its shell.

But isn’t that a hard part? Wouldn’t it be better to cut the soft tentacles first and then aim for the head…

Slice!

With one swing of the sword, the snail demon’s shell was cut off, and green blood gushed out!

The snail demon, seemingly startled, cowered, and Rake didn’t miss the chance to close in while it was flinching.

And then began dozens of slashes.

Thud!

The creature died without much resistance, its head completely mangled.

“It was a lowly one even among lower demons. It would have been a nuisance if someone with a low-cutting weapon had faced it. Shall we wait for Kanto and the warriors now?”

Rake sat down on a nearby chair with a relaxed attitude.

Without even glancing at the giant snail still wriggling.

Gur…

The snail demon twitched and moved slightly before eventually turning into ashes and disappearing.

Is this ‘strength’? Or the composure of the strong?

━ Well done. You are a great warrior.

“I am Malak-nim’s sword. I have to be great.”

Rake spoke confidently.

Rake…is kind of cool. Is this what they call a girl crush or something?

“H-his voice is gone!”

“Something must have happened to him!”

“What’s going on!”

“Go and check it out quickly!”

It was when the cultists, sensing the death of the lower demon, started running towards us.

“Enemies of Malak-nim! Kill them all and offer them to the altar!”

Kanto smashed the village’s main gate with his double-edged axe.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaa!”

Barbarian warriors armed with all sorts of weapons stormed into the village. Since warriors from the Brown Rock Tribe were mixed in, there was no uniformity at all.

“G-god!”

“What should we do…!”

“I can’t hear his voice!”

The panicking cultists were swept away like a receding tide.

Despite possessing superior physical abilities compared to humans due to the demon’s modifications, the cultists were dying like a disorganized mob.

The war ended with the barbarians’ overwhelming victory.

[There are blessings that can be learned!]

An enormous amount of points came in instantly. Perhaps because of the dozens of cultists piled up on top of the lower demon Rake killed, the stagnant points increased explosively.

I learned the blessing and checked the information.

[Bound Totem: You can inhabit totems other than the one you descended upon. You can use blessings in that state. However, it must be a totem created to worship you. Also, the quality of blessings you can bestow upon your followers varies depending on the size of the totem or the amount of magical power used to create it.]

It’s not a binding band, it’s a bound totem. Are you going to make a bound totem band later? Can’t you stop with the totems already?

Still, this is good. It’s a blessing that can be used effectively.

The explanation is long, but the content is simple. If the priestesses make Malak totems, I can inhabit them. If I inhabit those totems, the average quality might decrease, but I can also bestow blessings upon the barbarians.

Then, if we make a huge totem filled with magical power, I can use it as my new main body, right?

It’s a better blessing than Divine Possession.

Divine Possession. I’ve used it for a long time, and I’m sure of it now, but it’s too inefficient.

It consumes too much of my mental strength to maintain the blessing. Is it because I’m possessing the body of another person, even if they are my follower?

I also feel like I’m receiving the fatigue that the follower I’ve possessed feels.

Anyway, my third blessing seemed excellent just from the introduction.

I could erect a new totem in this village we just conquered and use it for vision… No, I have a better idea.

Shall I gather the priestesses tomorrow and tell them?

“Hahahaha! Brave warriors of the Blue Moss Tribe! Strong warriors of the Brown Rock Tribe! We did it! We defeated the demons and their worshippers!”

Kanto swung his double-edged axe around, praising the warriors. He’s a first-class performer and showman.

━ Tell Kanto to go back.

“Understood.”

I’m getting tired now. I’ve used Divine Possession for too long.

“Now, let’s go and have a feast! Warriors of the Brown Rock Tribe! You can look forward to it! Our tribe’s traditional liquor is amazing!”

“Ooh!”

Following my order, Kanto led the men out of the village like an American football quarterback. He’s a typical alpha male.

━ I’ll go ahead and wait.

I took the opportunity to naturally withdraw from Divine Possession.

I didn’t want to feel like throwing up again because of Rake, who’s as fast as a cheetah.

* * * * * *

After the injured warriors were healed by my blessing, ‘Healing Totem (Intermediate)’, a grand feast was held.

It was a feast to welcome the newly joined tribe and celebrate the subjugation of the lower demon and its worshippers.

More than half of the poor chickens living in the chicken coop, or rather, the House of Feathers, became snacks for the barbarians due to Kanto’s strong initiative.

Paya seemed displeased, but she seemed to understand and acquiesced.

“…Then I split the creature’s head in half with this double-edged axe━!”

The loudest voice from both tribes, Kanto’s, could be heard all the way to the altar.

That bastard is drunk again and bragging about his exploits. He’s a young geezer.

It was when I was listening to the noisy feast from afar, a mixture of children’s laughter, women’s applause, and men’s cheers.

“Would you like a drink? Do you have a part that acts as a mouth?”

Rake, the only barbarian who didn’t participate in the feast, shook a wooden cup in front of me.

━ I can’t drink.

“That’s a shame.”

It’s a shame for me too. On Earth, I used to enjoy buying a can of beer after my part-time job at the convenience store, going home, and drinking it while watching YouTube.

By the way, why is this woman drinking alone next to me?

━ Why didn’t you participate in the feast? You killed the lower demon. You could have bragged about it.

“Wouldn’t it be unseemly to brag about one’s own exploits?”

Kanto is suddenly being dissed. This friend has some serious Kantophobia.

“And, I’ve never shared a meal with the tribe members.”

Was it not Kantophobia but just general humanophobia?

━ Why is that? You’re the chieftain, aren’t you?

“Well…”

Rake grinned.

“It’s because our levels don’t match. They are different from me. In every way.”

What is this, elitism?

“I didn’t take on the role of chieftain out of a great sense of duty or responsibility either. I’m just significantly superior to them, so it naturally turned out this way.”

Is it because she’s a demigod, a hybrid of a god, so she naturally became arrogant?

Rake took a sip of her drink and spoke again.

“They don’t think of me as one of them either. Have you heard the rumors about me?”

━ To some extent.

“Have you also heard that no one believed my mother’s words at first, that she met Rakan in a dream and made love? And that she was bullied because of it?”

━ That’s the first time I’m hearing that.

Rake smiled bitterly.

“No one talks about things like that. They said that a civilized prostitute was secretly selling her body… They said that in front of my pregnant mother. Only Priestess Muri believed my mother’s words.”

Discrimination and exclusion. It’s the same wherever people live.

“My mother died after giving birth to me. She died young because her human body received Rakan’s energy. I was alone as soon as I was born. It’s a boring story, isn’t it?”

Rake didn’t call Rakan ‘-nim’. She didn’t call him ‘father’ either.

━ I didn’t know about that.

She wasn’t just a simple supremacist.

“It’s okay. It’s all in the past. I’m not alone anymore… I’m starting to feel tipsy. Would it be alright if I leaned on you for a bit?”

━ I don’t mind.

Rake leaned against the totem and gently closed her eyes.

Rake must have had a hard time too. She went to fight the demon right after the forced march ended.

I’ve been through a lot today too… I fell asleep feeling Rake’s warmth.

No, I almost fell asleep.

“W-what are you doing here! Chieftain Rake of the Brown Rock Tribe! You should go inside and sleep!”

Paya, who had come to the altar with a bucket and towel at some point, screamed.

Ah, was today the day to polish the totem?

“You’re noisy. I was just closing my eyes for a bit because I was tired.”

Rake opened her eyes slightly.

“I am the priestess of the Blue Moss Tribe! Chieftain Rake! Use honorifics!”

“I’m tired again because of you. I’ll stay longer.”

“I-I’ll call my brother, no, Chieftain Kanto!”

“Do as you please.”

Rake closed her eyes again and tried to sleep.

She’s really not suited to be a chieftain.