The Guardian

Chapter 223: Everyone Hates Us

In the dark of the night, in the middle of a port, a group of mercenaries walked around the site using magic to stay hidden.

It was a group of five mercenaries who were lucky enough to capture two goblins and, thanks to one of them having contacts in another area found a buyer.

Now they were carrying two bags on their backs totally immobile.

Those were the creatures that were the focus of the world... Goblins.

“It’s a pity they are males. If they were females, we could sell them more expensively,” Said one of the mercenaries.

“It doesn’t matter too much. Maybe these goblins aren’t like the ones from Terra nova, but they’re probably similar. That means if you give them some aphrodisiac, they’ll mate with anyone and you’ll have a herd of these little shits,” replied the leader with a smile and, looking at the other mercenaries, he asked. “Why do you think the players want to exterminate them? Simply, because they will be born as rabbits and you don’t need a mate of the same breed.”

The researchers who gave the reports about the age and about the qualities of the goblins did not talk about the genetic compatibility of that race.

However, all the players knew how this race reproduced quickly with any race and did not need science to look for an exact answer, in fact, they did not need an answer.

Now, for these mercenaries, as long as these creatures could reproduce, they could sell two specimens that would continue the breed.

“Is it okay to do this? If they manage to discover that it was us who let them out into the world. We’ll be worse than the Enemy of Humanity,” said one mercenary with a touch of fear.

Once spread out into the world, they would be impossible to stop... That was the general idea they all had and in a way, they could be right.

Being labeled as ‘worse’ than an individual who was said to have been a ‘genocidal’ individual was tiresome.

“Only if we are found out... We have hidden ourselves well. No one is following us and no one suspects us. And better yet, I’d love to be immortalized as the Enemy of Humanity,” declared the leader with an ambitious smile.

He was an A-Rank and had been for a long time, but that didn’t take away from his ambition.

They had done very well at their job of hiding, changing hotels, disappearing, and moving elsewhere, but if they were discovered, it wouldn’t hurt to be ‘immortalized’.

After all, that individual caused many crimes in ‘Terra nova’ and his title came from that place, but spread here.

Twenty years passed since news of such an individual first came to light, but here his name was still known and his crimes magnified by time.

Respected by lunatics, feared and hated in equal parts, it was certain that his title would continue to spread for a long time to come.

For the leader, that was great.

“I think this is the place. I don’t understand why the buyers asked us to meet here,” said another mercenary curiously.

They were in the middle of the containers in the port warehouse, near the water that would come to be the black sea.

“It’s simple. If something happens, it’s better to escape by water. Even if you’re not a water mage, you can always buy items that allow you to dive, and that option is better than fleeing through the air being a sitting duck,” explained the leader in a simple tone.

Hiding the fact that if a barrier was activated that prevented space magic while they could flee a considerable distance, they could escape using teleportation scrolls.

Just as he would do in case of an emergency.

Space security was high in this place because Constance City was nearby and they were trying to prevent people from being able to leave quickly.

Space magic was extremely dangerous and if they had no means to control it, a lunatic could carry a bomb into the middle of a building just using space magic... Something that had happened in the early days of the ‘Great Cataclysm’.

It was why space magic crawls and even blockades were common in the big cities.

Watching the time carefully, the leader felt a tremor and his expression changed when he noticed something coming up from underground.

The earth opened up in its wake and a minor demon emerged from that place along with several corrupted demons.

It was Rank-A, it had a small horn on its head and its skin was slightly reddish with sharp fangs.

In everything else, he was like a normal human, unlike the other corrupted demons, who were covered by masks and robes without revealing their figures, which were surely deformed.

The leader’s expression did not change, unlike the other mercenaries, and that was for the simple reason that he knew who his buyers were and did not care.

“Welcome, did you bring payment?” the mercenary leader asked fearlessly in the face of that demon.

The minor demon analyzed his group with cold eyes, practically checking openly if they were strong.

He gave the feeling that he would end up murdering them to take everything and that look alone made the mercenaries freeze, except for the leader.

“Take them out,” ordered the leader to his group, and they obeyed.

Releasing the goblins to show off their wares.

Those green creatures were of the smaller kind, the familiar ‘little devils’, and were now sedated by magic and some drugs.

Perfect to be taken at any time.

“Here I have your bounty,” said the minor demon, pulling out a small vial with a black, viscous liquid that was slowly churning.

Seeing the look on the mercenaries’ faces, the minor demon gave a vulgar smile.

“The elixir of strength... Our Great Lady Larzura blessed it and will allow anyone who drinks it to gain power by performing hedonistic actions.”

The demon’s explanation caused the mercenaries to freeze in surprise and, unlike them, the leader smiled at hearing such wonderful words.

He knew that the demon was hiding true information about that elixir from him, but he didn’t care.

When he had the chance to climb up the S rank, he didn’t mind being corrupted by a goddess, hearing voices, or having to sacrifice all his partners to become stronger.

That was the reason why many became ‘corrupted demons’, they were lunatics, but they had greater strength than before.

How many people died for that existence to bless that liquid? How many would die to help increase their strength?

It didn’t matter... Before the power, nothing mattered.

His hand reached out to take it, sensing that success was in sight, and at that moment he saw it.

It was like a flash he could barely catch, but when he realized it, an arrow pierced a minor demon and impaled on one of the containers.

“Ugh...”

“You guys...”

The groan of pain sounded from the corrupted demon and when the minor demon glared at them in anger, believing that they betrayed him, the leader stepped back as he sensed the danger.

*BOOM*

Like a meteorite, a young woman fell from the sky, and even though she looked thin, a huge explosion along with a crater was created under her feet... As if she weighed several tons.

The leader drew his sword at high speed, as he watched that minor demon’s arm suddenly ignite in instantaneous combustion.

A psionic appeared with a team and they attacked the corrupted demons.

“Leader!”

A shout came from behind his back and as the mercenary leader gave a sidelong glance, he noticed that from the darkness of the night, a shadow stretched across the floor and walls of the containers.

Black arms were coming out of that deep darkness, trapping and attacking his group from behind, leaving his team to reveal terrified expressions.

However, the leader didn’t have time to help him when he noticed that the young woman’s fist was coming.

*BOOM*

The leader had raised his sword to protect himself with the flat side, but he had underestimated the strength of such a fighter, and his body flew like a feather through the air.

With his experience, he controlled his body and fell to his knees, feeling his hands numb from the intense pain of the fighter’s brutality.

He was about to raise his head to show her his anger, but when he did, he received a punch to his cheek.

“Ugg...”

The force made him spit blood, and the blow was so hard that his mind went blank for a moment, feeling his brain being churned inside.

On the ground, the pain suddenly attacked as he felt his jaw was broken and the next moment he could feel a light spreading through his body.

It was just like when a healing scroll was used and that was why the leader did not resist and let it affect him, thinking that it was a member of his team who cast a healing spell.

It was his mistake.

“UGgggg...”

The young woman kicked him in his stomach and the leader felt not only double the pain but also felt his ribs cracking inside him... It was as if his bones were weakened.

Only when he hit the container and coughed up blood did he realize that this ‘healing’ was actually a healing mage attack.

By reducing the strength of his bones, he made a blow that would normally cause moderate damage, break his bones.

“The mercenary leader is down. The target is injured, possibly his ribs are broken and some organs are punctured. Medical attention is required,” reported the fighter with a flat tone.

She only needed a glance, as if she knew her strength and ability perfectly, as well as the damage she could cause.

The leader coughed up blood and watched as it splattered his clothes, only when a light covered him could he feel the pain as he was healed.

As if his bones were returning to the same place as before and his insides were recovering from all his wounds... It wasn’t enough to fight again, but enough to avoid death.

“Here I am also finished.”

“And here.”

Reports came from all around and, without needing to throw an artifact to contain him, a paladin stepped up to make sure he didn’t escape.

The leader could see that his team was caught by several black arms coming out of the back of a young woman he recognized because of watching the international tournament.

The glutton used her black arms to trap them all and completely immobilize them.

On the other side, the demons were completely cornered, and the minor demon had his arm completely burned off.

All the while an S-ranked psionic looked on, causing fire to spread around him.

“Oh, Great Lad... Aghhh!”

“Shut up, you filthy demon,” spat the young man as the minor demon tried to utter the name of his goddess for help.

The minor demon’s tongue caught fire burning his mouth... That young man had started a fire inside an individual.

The fire was quickly extinguished, leaving the demon with his mouth full of nasty blisters.

“Don’t let him do anything cunning. We don’t know if it can commit suicide, so keep the healers close. Also, don’t ask questions or talk, as he may be under contract,” ordered the psionic solemnly.

One could tell he knew how to deal with demons, but this time, the minor demon gave a smile that slowly turned into a chuckle.

“Hahaha...”

His laughter spread, and under everyone’s gaze, his belly completely swelled.

“Watch out!” The archer immediately shouted, but the psionic only watched silently.

*BOOM*

An explosion sounded as that minor demon’s belly exploded, spewing black maggots everywhere and staining everything around it.

The mercenary leader’s expression turned pale as the worms tried to find a living host to corrupt, but the young man who had been closest didn’t even flinch.

The surrounding barrier stopped everything disgusting, and then he waved his hand, burning everything completely.

“I hate demons...” He muttered as he saw that his capture target had died with no one being able to do anything.

******

A small laugh came from an individual standing in a building near the harbor.

“Everyone hates us,” He muttered as the screen revealed the Church of Order raiding party.

His vision was intertwined with a minor demon’s eye through magic, and it was he who blasted that minor demon.

Even though the other party didn’t know anything, he couldn’t help but try to let those maggots enter a captain of the Executors of Order.

And so he exploited the other corrupted demons until light magic stopped the last one from a paladin.

The signal cut out, and he laughed in amusement at his little game and stood up.

His figure was slender, very different from other demons of his kind, but he was tall.

His red horns rose from his skull among his reddish hair, while his skin glowed a shade of red from the dim light in the room.

He was Demon Lord Pezak, a member of the demonic cult that worshipped Larzura.

“I hope you will please me with the gift... Our Great Lady will be very pleased if I give her a wild creature with strong desires like goblins,” murmured Demon Lord Pezak earnestly.

All creatures had instincts and wild nature, but they restrained themselves by using their reason and intelligence, but it shouldn’t be like that.

They needed to free themselves, and their goddess could give them that freedom... A freedom from all dark desires, to indulge in debauchery and hedonism, enjoying the most primitive pleasures with total and complete reason.

It was why these creatures that seemed to have such strong wild instincts were the perfect creatures to be set free by his lady.

“I will do my best,” replied a simple voice from the darkness.