NOVEL WEB Chapter 31
600 years ago, a massive star fell from Gaia’s night sky.
It was a giant star, more vivid than any other, bizarrely altering its trajectory.
The ancient people, starved for entertainment, gathered to witness the spectacle.
Before long, they realized something unsettling.
What they thought was a star was something entirely different, albeit star-like in appearance. At first glance, it resembled some bizarre fabric of a pentagram.
Once this revelation struck, the ancient people were gripped by terror and tried to escape, but it was already too late.
The fabric-like pentagram fell among them, taking the lives of hundreds.
Afterward, the massive entity of the pentagram moved about, slaughtering countless people.
Finally, it was annihilated by the heroes of that time, but later records written in blood described its true nature as follows.
‘Rank 69, Pentagram Dekarabia.’
Judging by its fabric, it was undoubtedly a life form, yet its grotesque appearance and cruelty made it unworthy of the title of life. Thus, these ancient people labeled it a demon.
This was the first recorded mention of a demon in history.
And so, those born with the demon’s blood emerged in the world, and people became widely aware of the dangers posed by demons.
Four hundred years ago, another demon descended upon the world.
This demon had a golden body with wings like a bird.
As soon as it descended, it began slaughtering innocent civilians.
It not only transformed metals into gold but also changed water into wine, showcasing all manners of whimsical acts.
Some ignorant ancient individuals were said to have followed it in awe of its strange powers.
However, that creature met an unexpectedly trivial demise.
It was decapitated by a single superhuman engaged in a life-and-death struggle. Even if the sword turned to gold, it didn’t mean the blade’s edge would vanish, and the sword’s strength could be compensated for by the superhuman’s magic.
Thus, the second descended demon met its end rather anticlimactically.
Thanks to this, ancient people began to think, “Maybe demons aren’t so hard to deal with.”
‘Rank 48, Alchemist Hagentis.’
But such complacency was shattered hundreds of years later.
One hundred fifty years ago, another demon descended upon the world.
Initially, people felt uneasy, but they were not overly worried.
After all, history had shown twice that demons could be repelled.
This time, however, it was not a massive army but merely a handful of superhumans who had managed it.
So there was a lingering hope that they could handle it again, thinking that despite some damage, it would calm down quickly.
That hope was shattered not long after.
A powerful nation of the time faced imminent destruction within just a few days.
Many strong warriors rushed to face it, but they could not stop it.
The formidable bodies of the superhumans were easily severed by the creature’s great sword, while the black flames it unleashed consumed over ten thousand people in an instant.
Ultimately, the powerful demon could only be eliminated after sacrificing more than three armies and dozens of superhumans.
From that point onward, people regained their wariness of demons.
Given the enormity of their recent experiences, all potential threats bearing demon’s blood were exterminated.
‘Rank 68, Belial of the Black Flame.’
And then there was the recent appearance of Andromalius, ranked 72.
This marked the complete list of demons recorded in history up to that point.
“Hoo…”
The fourth knight commander, Raylith, let out a small sigh as he read the historical records.
Lately, it felt like he was experiencing frequent headaches.
After all, it had been nine months since the problems stemming from otherworlders had begun to pile up.
Counting the demon’s descent, a strange cult that worshipped demons had also emerged.
Thanks to this, various officials within the empire were lamenting their headaches these days.
Problems kept arising no matter how much work they handled.
“What on earth is about to happen…”
He momentarily lamented his situation.
Anyway, what he needed to discover now was this.
Why did they steal Andromalius’ arm?
From the recorded demons up till now, they all possessed unique abilities.
There was no doubt that he would also have one. And that ability would surely reside, at least in part, within that arm.
“Ha…”
The urge to investigate only deepened his sigh.
*
“Ugh… cough…”
In a dark night sky, somewhere on the plains, three adventurers were dying.
All three were A-rank adventurers who had previously received a commission from Haneul.
“Ah, this is strange. Are you sure you guys caught it? Didn’t Rian contact us at the end? Did you erase that from memory?”
The ones that had brought them to the brink of death were just a handful of humans.
They belonged to that cult causing a stir lately, the Lemegaton.
What on earth was their level of power? Even considering they ambushed us, easily overpowering A-rank adventurers was remarkable.
While they lay dying, one of the cult members spoke.
“Leave it. It seems that someone else was put forward to report. These guys know nothing.”
“What? Did he really go that far? How much of a coward is that guy?”
“Probably being cautious. You idiot. Now we’ve lost the lead on why Rian contacted us.”
“No, wait a minute; we at least need to know what the requestor looked like. Hey, what did the requestor look like?”
The woman who had been threatening the adventurers with a dagger asked.
But she got no answer. Before she could hear the response, the adventurers’ breathing ceased.
“Tsk, I told you to injure them just enough.”
“I didn’t expect them to die this easily, Chief.”
“Enough. Let’s go. We have places to be.”
With that, they got up and began to walk somewhere. The woman referred to as the chief held Andromalius’ left arm.
The snake coiled around that arm twisted its head this way and that, guiding them.
The power they gained from the arm was simple yet powerful.
It helped find whatever the user desired, albeit with a limited number of uses.
After a while of walking, they arrived at a remote mountain range.
The chief looked at her subordinates and commanded, “Dig here.”
At her words, the cult members began to dig into the ground.
Thud-
After digging underground for some time, something solid blocked their path.
As the cult members brushed off the nearby dirt, an altar with a specific engraved pattern came into view.
Seeing that, the chief slightly curled her lips upward.
“Finally found it.”
An altar where a demon was sealed.
As previously mentioned, demons were sealed all over this world, waiting to be released or offered tribute.
Of course, true to the word “sealed,” most were hidden deep within the earth.
With the help of items, they could finally discover one after centuries.
The person referred to as the chief momentarily examined the altar.
A relatively smooth seal resembling two wings was engraved upon it. It was likely the seal of Seere.
She gently caressed the seal drawn in the center and thought,
“I’ll soon extract it.”
Thus, the world was in disarray.
From a grand perspective, it resembled a ticking time bomb ready to explode.
Troubles erupted all over the place.
But from a more personal perspective.
For instance, from the viewpoint of someone living solely in the forest.
No matter how chaotic the outside world was, Yor still couldn’t care less.
*
“Hmm…”
It had been weeks since I reported the strange being I caught.
My daily life hadn’t changed. Eat, sleep, hunt, and fight loneliness.
Occasionally, I would welcome guests from the forest and endure the rage.
My goal remained survival and living in peace. If possible, I wanted to make some friends too.
Living life like this, I found myself becoming curious lately.
There was no particular motive; I was just genuinely intrigued.
Isn’t there a time when such thoughts just pop into your head?
Why is the sun hot? Why do seasons change?
Those sudden curiosities.
There’s no essential value, just pure curiosity popping up in my mind.
What I became curious about was of a similar nature.
“What’s wrong?”
As I briefly lowered my head, a voice came from the opposite side.
It was Yoo Chaerin. I spotted a red dot floating beside her.
That meant she was currently streaming. It felt like it had been a while since I appeared on her stream.
And indeed, it had been a while. She was busy leveling up these days.
“No, I just suddenly got curious about something.”
“What is it?”
[What is it, what is it]
[My bro.. What you’re wearing today is kinda sexy… hehe]
[Just spill it, babe, this lady will tell you all]
[Who are you calling ‘babe’, you nasty bitch]
At my words, she expressed interest. As my information source, there were times she’d answer my questions. Conveniently, the interest I was curious about was also related to otherworlders.
I asked her my question without hesitation.
“By the way, how do you otherworlders get involved with us here?”
My unexpected question disrupted the previously calm stream.
Chat briefly froze, seemingly unsure of what to make of my query. After a moment, Chaerin responded.
“Uh, uh? What do you mean…?”