NOVEL WEB Chapter 16
It felt as if the stench of decay would rise from the hill of piled corpses. The blood pooling on the ground soaked everything up to my feet.
As soon as the video started, countless corpses of residents came into view. Bodies with stab wounds were scattered everywhere in the village like trash.
Can we even call that a stab wound? Those injuries looked more like they had been torn apart than cut. The condition of the corpses was that grotesque.
Despite it being just a game, Chaerin frowned. The unnecessary liveliness, in pursuit of realism, was annoying at times like this.
Given the chaos that unfolded around me, it seemed like the situation had been going on for a while. The surviving residents were screaming everywhere, claiming that a Mine had appeared.
Just judging by the scene, it looked like a psychopathic killer or a huge wild beast had passed through.
However, standing at the center of the video was…
“Ouch… Ouch…”
A young boy. If I had to guess his age, he had probably just turned 14.
A tiny boy who hadn’t even truly hit puberty yet. However, he was covered in blood, and tears were streaming from his eyes.
“Why… why do I have to go through this…? I was just born, why do I have to run for my life?”
But there was something strange about his eyes; they were completely black. Only the ominous red light shining in the center hinted that he had pupils.
It was what one might call a “reverse eye.”
After a while of crying, the boy opened his mouth again.
“…Just screw it. I hope you all die.”
A tone of childish sulking. But one couldn’t ignore the strength behind his words.
He then glared at the filmer.
Boom-! A loud bang echoed all around.
The filmer, appearing to be of tank class, braced himself but wore a deeply furrowed expression.
The shock seemed to hit him hard.
Since aggro had turned towards him anyway, the filmer shouted to the village residents.
“Everyone, take this chance to escape!”
“Th-thank you!”
“Thanks to you, I’m alive, young man!”
After that… it was all repetitive.
Watching Chaerin, a grown woman, being overpowered by a boy who hadn’t even hit puberty yet was quite the spectacle.
To be honest, the filmer had a few chances to attack. However, perhaps due to the boy’s young appearance, he hesitated each time.
This tedious standoff came to an end minutes later when the knights arrived in the village.
The knights, upon arriving, swiftly formed a circle and took down the Mine without hesitation, even though its form was just that of a 14-year-old boy.
Blood splattered. Innards spilled out.
After the commotion subsided, a rather high-ranking knight approached the filmer to express gratitude.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to prevent further damage.”
“N-no… well…”
The filmer scratched his head, feeling a bit dazed. Perhaps because of the death of the young boy, a sense of discomfort was clear on his face.
The knight didn’t seem too cheerful either.
However, unlike the filmer, his discomfort seemed to stem from a different reason.
The knight looked around before asking his subordinate.
“…What about the casualties?”
“Yes! So far, about 41 have been confirmed.”
“That’s quite a large number for a remote village…”
The knight’s expression turned grim. He then spoke as if making a proclamation.
“Soon, a demon may descend.”
That was the end of the video.
Yoo Chaerin immediately looked at the comments.
The reactions in the comment section were varied.
[These game developers are really outrageous again]
[No matter how much they try for realism, isn’t this just too cruel?]
[I don’t know what art they’re trying to create, but they just killed a kid~~]
[Do those knights have no humanity? ㄷㄷ]
Despite the game, the sympathy towards the kid was palpable.
[Demon descent? ㄷㄷㄷ]
[Is there new content coming? Haha]
[Finally, after half a year, demon-related content is out, www]
There were those who cared little for that and were simply excited about the new information.
[But… that kid is kinda cute, lol]
[ㄴ For real, haha]
[ㄴ Just die quickly, even if for just a second]
[ㄴ Teacher, please hold your breath for just one hour, I beg you]
Among them were some bizarre comments, making the comment section a mess.
Yoo Chaerin sifted through the comments to pick out useful information.
[So what exactly is this Mine? Is that really a human?]
[ㄴ Yeah, I asked the residents, and they said it’s because of Demon’s Blood?]
[ㄴ Demon’s Blood?]
[ㄴ What even is that;]
They were trying to figure out the reason that kid turned out that way.
[Then what about the demon descent?]
[ㄴ I asked the knight, and they said that boy and the dead were all sacrificed to the demon, and the seal of the demon has weakened significantly.]
[ㄴ Oh]
[ㄴ So that means a raid will be happening soon, right?]
[ㄴ What?]
The possibility of something new happening soon was noted.
After reading all the posts, Chaerin fell into thought.
‘Demon’s Blood…’
She thought it was a rather malicious setting, even if she didn’t know exactly what it was. How could something like that turn the young boy into such a state? It sounded somewhat like a middle schooler’s edgy naming.
Even if this game was virtual, the NPCs living within felt real.
They all seemed like real people who felt emotions, pain, and laughter.
Therefore, such tragedies couldn’t be taken lightly.
Of course, as a gamer, she decided she just needed to enjoy the game.
She pushed those bad thoughts aside and focused on new content.
Fortunately, she didn’t connect that Mine with Yor.
Winter had come to an end, and it had been a week since spring arrived.
The once splendid moon was nearly gone and was gradually darkening.
What did this mean?
It meant the time for the monstrous transformation was upon us once again.
Today was the new moon, so I had to face the Akuma boiling within me once more.
However, this time, I wasn’t worried.
Because I had Holy Water with me!
Holy Water was quite important to me in many ways.
While it did weaken my power, it only acted on Demon’s Blood and not on my body.
What did this mean?
It meant that if I used it during Transformation A, I could prevent my blood from going wild. If used well, I could pass through the transformation almost painlessly.
I used about 3 bottles of Holy Water per transformation.
With 6 bottles in hand, I had two months’ worth of transformations covered for free.
So, I couldn’t help but feel good.
‘It’s supposed to be something you can’t obtain easily.’
Thanks to Chaerin, I was able to acquire it relatively easily. It was a benefit gained from interacting with Otherworlders.
Anyway, today I had nothing to fear.
Transformation A, bring it on!
But as night fell, what came to me was…
“Submit your body to me.”
A disgusting voice ringing in my head. Transformation B.
Realizing that, I cursed under my breath.
“Ah, damn it.”
Unfortunately, Holy Water does not work on Transformation B.
Feeling a strange rage boiling within me, I dashed out of the cave.
As previously mentioned, Transformation A affects the body, while B affects the mind.
A was visible in how the blood went wild, as we saw last time.
So how exactly does B impact the mind?
The answer is simple. It amplifies emotions.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Once I stepped outside the cave, I bizarrely felt my heart racing.
It wasn’t because I was out of breath. It was a bodily reaction to manipulate anger.
Something heated up in my head, and my chest felt tight. Negative thoughts kept trying to invade my mind.
And… I could feel some blood rushing down south.
I had no choice. Transformation B stirred not just emotions but also instincts within a person.
The more complicated and twisted a person’s heart is, the easier it is for the demon to tempt them.
“Aren’t you dissatisfied with the world? How long do you plan to keep running away from life?”
I couldn’t tell if the voice in my head was an actual demon or just an auditory hallucination.
All I knew was that if I surrendered my body to that thing, I might cross a river from which I could never return.
Thus, the way to deal with Transformation B was the opposite of A.
While A required staying still deep in the cave, B called for me to go outside and run around as much as possible. If I stayed still, my emotions would consume me.
I needed to distract myself from the voice and not lend it an ear.
“Growl! Bark! Bark!”
“Grrrr!”
Even if it was a moonless night, enemies were scattered everywhere.
I could see the glowing eyes of mutated animals or monsters. The moment they saw me, they charged.
I didn’t bother to avoid them and slaughtered them all.
Night was originally their territory. No matter how skilled I was, fighting those creatures in the pitch-black darkness was tough.
With each battle, I bled, and my body was covered in wounds. But it didn’t matter.
I needed to vent this unmanageable rage now.
I needed to release my stress.
In the midst of it all, the voice slowly returned.
“Speak what you desire.”
What I truly desired was a harem of beautiful girls.
A room filled with beautiful girls. Soft skin and ample bosoms!
My dream was to establish a paradise of indulgence with the world’s strongest beauties.
Listening to the demon’s voice, I sometimes had to throw in such nonsense too.
If I listened to this serious guy’s words, my depression would rise automatically.
People need to live with jokes. The world is too harsh otherwise.
As I was contemplating this, the thing spoke again.
“Don’t lie.”
I replied to it aloud.
“What?”
That I didn’t want a harem of beautiful girls?
That was absurd!
Isn’t it natural for a man born with one rod and two jewels to desire such a dream?
If you’re a man, it’s normal to wish for a harem of lovely girls.
That’s why I thought most of the “men” in this world were gay.
Of course, if in this world, there is someone who wishes for a harem of beautiful girls, I’d be willing to recognize them as a man.
In the midst of it all, the thing continued.
“Don’t you truly desire something else?”
Something more than a harem of beautiful girls?
I unthinkingly asked.
‘What is that?’
It answered.
“A return to civilization.”
‘……’
“I will grant it. If you submit your body to me, I will make that dream come true. No, I will change this world itself for you.”
I was at a loss for words for a moment. But soon after, I coldly replied to it.
‘Not necessary.’
Because I knew its words were simply a facade of temptation.
Because I knew it was an unattainable dream. Without hesitation, I could refuse its proposal.
So I spent the night darting through the forest.
The sun finally rose a few hours later.