Chapter 458
Chapter 458: Groping in the Dark
――The time rewinds slightly to the hill of Kaemuran, one night after the Demon Lord’s Prince’s attack.
“Ugh… this is just too much!”
Rujiakka, the Beastman vampire hunter, lamented alone on the blood-soaked battlefield. The black cloth eye patch covering his eyes meant that Rujiakka had never seen light since birth, so he couldn’t see the state of the battlefield.
However, under the gentle sun, he could feel the nauseating stench of dried blood, mud, iron, charred flesh, and grass wafting around him, and he had a painful awareness of the horrific situation laid out before him.
Around him were the sounds of soldiers from the duchy, people associated with the Holy Church, and the non-combatant comrades from the vampire hunters. Everyone was bustling about, busy with recovering and cleaning up bodies. To avoid hindering them, he felt around the grass with his staff, following a familiar scent.
“This is… Giel’s smell…?”
Sniffing and snuffling, Rujiakka detected the scent of the silent mid-ranking vampire hunter, carefully walking forward…
“Oh…”
A sticky feeling brushed against his foot. Wet earth soaked with half-dried blood. No solid feedback could be felt as he prodded with his staff. Only widespread softness, resembling pieces of flesh, could be sensed.
From there, the smell of Giel’s blood and guts was thick in the air.
“Damn it…”
Rujiakka gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his staff.
This battlefield was filled with things like this. Through some foul sorcery, the victims of the Demon Lord’s Prince had literally been turned to ground meat.
And Giel had become one of them…
“Damn it… this is just too much!!”
Shaking with rage, grief, and deep frustration, Rujiakka trembled.
——In the end, among the combatants like Arthur and Bishop Lexar, only Yesera, the Forest Elf, returned alive.
She, too, had suffered severe burns and was still in critical condition, unconscious. When found, she had nearly breathed her last. Even now, diligent treatment by apprentice priests was ongoing, with lesser miracles repeatedly cast.
… As for the priests of the Holy Church in Kaemuran, all personnel had deployed and had not returned, leaving no healers available to treat severe burns. They were reportedly requesting reinforcements from nearby cities, but the closest city, Sokfol, remained occupied by the Imperial Army, and it would take a while for others to arrive.
Perhaps if Yesera regained consciousness, she would be able to heal herself and return… but whether she could hold out until then was uncertain. Rujiakka had been told by the apprentice priest in charge of treatment, “Tonight is likely the critical point.”
“Hey, Rujiakka! Are you okay?”
While he was in sorrow, he heard a familiar voice and footsteps. It was another non-combatant vampire hunter, a Dog Beastman.
“I’m okay…”
Rujiakka replied weakly.
“This… it’s Giel…”
“Seriously…?”
The Dog Beastman squatted down and sniffed around.
“Yeah… seems like it.”
The Dog Beastman let out a sad whine. Then there were moist sounds as he seemed to gather meat pieces. Apparently, it was the remains of Giel that could just barely be recovered…
“… Rujiakka, how can you discern scents from so far? My nose is about to get twisted and I’m done for.”
“I’m like that too, but well, I’m managing somehow…”
The two of them spoke with the dialect of their respective tribes while hanging their heads.
The damage to the bodies was so severe that the Beastman vampire hunters were searching for the unaccounted-for members of the Holy Church.
However, the situation here was far beyond that of an ordinary battlefield, with the smells mixed beyond recognition, causing most Beastmen to have their sense of smell half-numbed. Conversely, because Rujiakka was usually hypersensitive to scents and trained to distinguish various odors, he was managing to move based on smell even in this battlefield. Most of the “traces” of recovered vampire hunters were due to Rujiakka’s keen nose.
“I was surprised to find Arthur…”
The Dog Beastman muttered somewhat vacantly.
Arthur’s body had been found relatively quickly, but because the young man in his mid-20s had turned into a wrinkled old man, everyone had been left speechless.
Yet, Rujiakka could not see the aged figure of Arthur; he only noticed the familiar body odor, so he still couldn’t register that surprise. Of course, it was sad that he had died…
“His left arm’s shield has been stolen… that lousy Demon Lord’s Prince.”
“Truly a terrible story…”
“Well, the bodies that were found are being gathered over there. It’s said that the mages from the city will burn them sequentially…”
The Dog Beastman moved Rujiakka’s staff to guide him.
“Got it… I’ll look for everyone else in the meantime.”
“I might not be of any help, but I’ll help with the heavy lifting. … Rujiakka, are you really okay alone? It’s dangerous around your feet.”
“I’m fine. I have the staff Yesera made for me.”
Rujiakka waved the wooden staff. This white staff had been magically created by Yesera for when he acted alone, and it even had some protective power.
It held a prayer to keep Rujiakka safe…
“Oh… right.”
The Dog Beastman fell silent, thinking of Yesera, who was likely undergoing desperate treatment.
“… I understand. But if you run into trouble, just shout loudly. I have great hearing and will come running.”
“Thanks, I’ll do that.”
Parting from the Dog Beastman, Rujiakka resumed his search for the unaccounted-for members.
Everywhere he went, the smell of death permeated the air. The odor of burning intensified, and the grass felt increasingly coarse.
“Ah…”
Then, he sensed an overly familiar smell.
“Lexar…?”
Since becoming a vampire hunter, he had been alongside Yesera…
Consumed by revenge against vampires but possessing a strong sense of responsibility, humor, and plenty of compassion for others…
His… distinct blood scent.
“Ah… ahhh…”
A repugnant feeling traveled from his foot.
No mistake about it.
Lexar was scattered around.
Ignoring the dirt and fur getting dirty, he seated himself on the ground and felt with his staff, finding a hard sensation.
Carefully reaching out, he touched it—and concluded it seemed to be a fragment of Bishop Lexar’s twin holy sword.
“… this is just too much… this is just too much…”
A sharp sensation stabbed at his nose. Memories of their journey flooded back.
He was a great person. A kind person. Though vampire hunting was fraught with danger, he had never felt displeased while traveling with him.
“Rujiakka, you will become the greatest vampire hunter. I guarantee it.”
He had scouted Rujiakka, who felt out of place due to his keen nose and lack of experience in their hometown village, and had shown him a wider world…
That journey had come to an end.
Without being able to say a final farewell.
“… ugh… ugh!”
Rujiakka struggled to hold back tears. He pushed all the joyful memories out of his head, recalling only the painful and distressing moments to cool his heart.
Now was not the time to cry.
If he let snot run down here, his only strong point would be rendered useless.
That wouldn’t do! He was Rujiakka, the “Nose King”!!
He couldn’t show such an embarrassing display and face Bishop Lexar like this…!!
“I’ve come to welcome you… Lexar…”
Ignoring the dirt on his hands, he gathered the scattered meat pieces and wrapped them in a prepared cloth.
At the very least, he wanted to offer the minimal farewell of a priest of the Holy Church…
“… huh? What’s this…?”
Standing up, Rujiakka sniffed again.
This… had nearly vanished amidst the charred smell, but he recognized it.
It was at least not from the vampire hunters. Nor from those associated with the Kaemuran Holy Church whom he’d remembered on set off. Who was it…
“… Alexander?”
No way.
Is he also here?
Sniffing around the ground, Rujiakka found—’that.’
“………”
A charred chunk of meat.
It seemed to be a severed left arm.
Sniffing carefully, he confirmed. —Without a doubt, it was the scent of Hero Alexander. Extending his claws, he scraped the charred exterior and dug into the rare meat while apologizing quietly, “I’m sorry.”
He registered the smell of blood.
“Ugh… wow.”
Then, amidst the blood scent that surrounded him, he noticed a significant amount belonging to Alexander.
“………. Alexander also… had a strong sense of responsibility, didn’t he…”
He felt sad. Like Arthur and Lexar, Alexander had also thrown himself into this battlefield.
And he had fought alongside them.
——Had he survived, he would surely be a topic of discussion like Yesera.
But that wasn’t the case. The left arm lay fallen, and the fact that blood was splattered everywhere meant… Unless the Imperial Army had rescued Alexander, seeing as they were the type to abandon even wounded allies like the critically injured Yesera, the chances were bleak…
“… this is just too much…”
Though Rujiakka hadn’t known Alexander for very long, he had been encouraged by his courageous and bold character.
Those… good people were the first to go.
One after another, they died. … I wonder how Alexander’s lover, Leila, is doing. She’s also supposedly a light mage? Did she throw herself into battle as well?
If so… he had to search for her.
After wandering the battlefield for a while and gathering pieces of his acquaintances, Rujiakka walked toward the direction the comrades had indicated.
“Rujiakka! How did it go…?”
“Here’s… Lexar. This here is Archie. And then this is…”
“………”
As he displayed the packages one after another, though Rujiakka couldn’t see, he understood the comrades surrounding him wore expressions of deep sorrow.
“… Yes, I confirm this…”
The sound of a pen scratching on paper. Likely a monk from the Holy Church.
“This ‘Hero Alexander’ does not seem to be a personnel from Kaemuran, nor is he listed among the vampire hunters…”
“They say Alexander was on leave and traveling with Lexar and the others, assisting in vampire hunting… so I don’t know the details of his affiliation.”
“I see… Any family name or epithets?”
“… I’m sorry. Just … Alexander.”
It seemed there was some backstory, and Rujiakka hadn’t pressed any further, so he bowed his head, not wanting to make excuses.
“I understand… Thank you.”
The monk sighed heavily, a hint of despair in his tone. With no clear affiliations or family name, there was a possibility of multiple heroes sharing the same name, and any report to the homeland would likely take time to verify. Considering that heroes continue to fall in battle right now, this was even more pressing…
“Rujiakka… this way.”
With the Dog Beastman wrapping his arm around him, Rujiakka walked slowly.
——An overly familiar, distinct, scent of death.
“Arthur…”
There, the aged body of Arthur lay with the bodies and remains of the Holy Church personnel found on the battlefield piled around him.
Kneeling carefully, Rujiakka reached out to Arthur.
It looked like he had been laid on his back… his skin was wrinkled. As if flesh had been carved away, his body had grown so thin it resembled a withered tree. The young man who had been so vibrant and full of life… why had this happened…
Was this also the Demon Lord’s foul sorcery?
If so, how cruel…
“Lexar.”
He placed the cloth containing the meat pieces gently aside.
“Archie… Lenny… Ralph…”
Similarly, he laid down the other barely gathered pieces of flesh. And then—
“—Alexander.”
Lastly, he placed the wrapped left arm.
Curiously, it seemed to complement the missing left hand of Arthur.
“… Everyone, please step back. I’m going to set fire…”
A quiet, unfamiliar male voice. It must be a mage from the city—Rujiakka and his comrades took a step back.
““【—You who love your neighbor and protect your neighbor with all your might】””
Apprentice priests began to recite in trembling voices.
““【—You who take up the sword to confront the humanity’s foes and raise the shield for your beloved children】””
But soon, their voices transformed into strong and clear tones.
““【—Light deities, bear witness. Grant them peace】””
Even Rujiakka, who was deprived of light, felt something—though not a sound or scent—seemed to transmit.
““【—Holy radiance, come upon them】””
A scorching wave surged forth. The magic fire.
The smell of meat and bone burning.
——The Holy Church cremated the fallen soldiers on-site as much as possible.
No matter who they were, whether a great hero or a new apprentice.
As an organization, they would not hold funerals or send the remains or belongings back.
Because doing so would place an enormous burden on logistics and transportation.
To fight against humanity’s foes, they had maximized efficiency as a result. Therefore, even the legendary hero who had pushed the Demon Lord into a corner and the seasoned vampire hunters who had struck devastating blows, along with the priests of the local Holy Church and the flowing heroes.
——All would equally be burned by the silver flames and turned to ashes.
The raised apprentice priests, standing proud and chanting prayers, now held back their tears.
The comrades of the vampire hunters stifled their noses and held back their sobs.
“………”
Rujiakka also felt an indescribable sense of loss as the familiar smells gradually turned to charred and then unknown scents.
The remains of Arthur, the pieces of Lexar, and Alexander’s burned left arm—all vanished.
Rujiakka, who knew not the light, could not see this scene…
——Yes, Rujiakka knew not the light.
So he hadn’t realized.
When he picked up Alexander’s left arm, scraped the charred skin off, dug with his claws, and registered the scent of blood…
Beneath the charred skin, peering at the rare meat and dripping blood—
That it was of demonic blue.
——Rujiakka had not been aware of it.
“………”
With a sigh, Rujiakka blew his nose forcefully with a handkerchief.
Turning his back on the cremation site, he walked back to the battlefield.
“Rujiakka? What’s wrong…?”
The Dog Beastman noticed and called out to him.
“… I’ll sniff around the battlefield a bit longer.”
Rujiakka answered quietly, having come to a stop.
“I might be able to trace the Demon Lord’s scent.”
“Even for you, that would be tough…”
The Dog Beastman sounded troubled.
“Trying to find an unknown scent among all that noise…”
“I’m aware it’s difficult.”
Rujiakka turned back.
“But for everyone, this is all I can do.”
He smiled sadly.
“………”
To the perplexed Dog Beastman, Rujiakka turned forward again, checking his footing with Yesera’s staff before returning to the battlefield.
To his battlefield. With the determination to find out who was behind it all—
He continued to search.
For the traces of the Demon Lord’s Prince.
