kscans

Chapter 30 - Interlude: The Sea General and the Corruptor

One month of winter had passed. Three days later.

In the northern sea, a certain monster swaggered through the water.

The reason was its size and strength. It was one of the larger and stronger monsters of the sea, its rank among the highest. There was no reason for a creature of its stature not to be arrogant as it swam along the ocean floor as if it owned the place. Then, it saw a small shadow ahead.

The monster thought it was just some unlucky small fry in its path and continued forward without even bothering to identify it.

As it drew closer, the shadow became clearer. For a sea monster, it had human legs and two human arms crossed over its chest. Its face was a fusion of a shark and a human. It was a face the monster recognized. The being who now monitored all the seas, who hated conflict.

It was a spitting image of one of the Seven Demon Lords, Daios the Sea General.

'...Wait! That's not a spitting image, that's the real deal!' the monster realized. It tried to show reverence, thinking it might be too late, but it clung to the hope that it might not have been noticed and waited for the other's move.

Daios spoke via telepathy.

(...It has been a while. Still as arrogant as ever. Have you not corrected your attitude?)

To Daios's anger-laced telepathic message, the monster replied.

(N-Not at all, my lord! I was just thinking of correcting it right now.)

Daios looked at the fawning monster.

(Hmph. Now that I see you haven't changed, I cannot simply let this go. However, your strength is undeniable. It would be a waste to lose you here. How about it? I have a proposition that you might find appealing. Care to listen?)

The monster nodded at Daios's words. Daios continued.

(...There is a port town that belongs to the human nation, the Harg Kingdom. It is known as a vital port for trade with the neighboring country. I want you to go there and destroy every ship that passes through. However, you are forbidden from causing direct harm to the town. You are only to destroy the ships.)

Hearing this, the monster asked.

(Why not destroy the town? If it were gone, the humans would retreat from the sea without me having to destroy their ships, would they not?)

To this question, Daios replied.

(Even if you did that, they would simply build a town somewhere else and resume trade. The purpose is to destroy only the ships that travel on the sea, to make the humans understand that to venture out onto the ocean is to risk their lives. Once you have confirmed that the humans have given up building ships and stare at the sea in apathy, your mission will be complete. As a reward, I will grant you the blessing of the 'Tear of the White Whale' that resides within me.)

At those words, the monster was inwardly shocked and overjoyed.

The Tear of the White Whale. Long ago, there was a whale known as the King of the Sea. That whale was bigger and stronger than any other sea monster.

But the whale longed for the land more than the sea; it longed to be human.

The details were unknown, but the whale would often gaze upon the land, only to dive back into the depths in resignation. And so, the whale wished, 'I want to become human.' But its wish was not granted, and the whale lived out its natural life.

At that moment, a single tear fell from the whale's eye, and it became a jewel. Legend had it that by taking this stone into one's body, one could gain a human form capable of living on land.

All the sea monsters knew this legend, but none believed it.

After all, no monster had ever found the stone and become human.

However, one hundred and ten years ago...

Daios, who at the time was just a shark, was known as the Brawler of the Sea for his violent temper. In a certain deep-sea trench, he found a shining stone next to the skeleton of a whale. Daios looked at it and nudged it with his snout. In that instant, the stone began to glow and entered Daios's body.

When the light subsided, Daios had become a half-fishman, neither shark nor human.

Moreover, his inner power had increased dramatically, and the sea monsters that were once formidable opponents now felt laughably weak.

'So this is the legendary stone,' Daios thought, recognizing the light he felt within his body. But as a price, he felt the fighting instinct he had as a brawler quiet down, and his personality became one that disliked conflict. Daios wondered why, but he dismissed it as unimportant. He became a guardian of the seas, and whenever humans or nations did something in the ocean, he would act systematically, sending out assassins rather than moving himself.

This caught the eye of the Dragon King, and he came to reign as one of the Seven Demon Lords.

To return to the matter at hand, the power of that jewel could also turn sea monsters recognized by Daios into half-fishmen. In fact, several monsters had already become half-fishmen and grown stronger. And now, that blessing, that power, could be his.

The monster thought.

(I will go! I will surely fulfill your wish, Lord Daios!)

The monster, a Kraken, sent a spirited telepathic message and departed at once.

Watching it go, Daios thought to himself.

(Hmph. Do your best as a sacrifice to test the otherworlder's power. This will get rid of a nuisance of the sea. Excellent.)

With a smirk, he departed from the scene.

*

Harg Kingdom. Redorum Royal Capital.

In a small tavern.

A male archer and a female magician were drinking alone at the counter. These two were members of the 'White Wolf' party, who had lost their leader and spearman while facing the Orc King during the Monster Uproar.

After the uproar, they had left the city of Alum and come to the royal capital. The reason was simple: the man who had caused their deaths, Shinsuke, was in Alum. His rapid promotion had made them feel pressured, and their reckless actions had resulted in the deaths of two of their comrades.

They wanted to scream at him, but the Guild Master had warned them beforehand: their actions had been selfish, born from a desire for glory.

If they cursed him, no one would side with them.

So they left the city.

After arriving in the capital, they looked for party recruitment notices, but they were turned down everywhere they went. The reason: 'You don't look strong.' Since then, the two of them had spent their days drinking.

'It's all his fault!' As they wallowed in self-pity, a woman approached them.

Her face was on par with a top supermodel, her eyes were yellow, and she was dressed in the clothes of a dancer. Thinking she was a prostitute, they ignored her, but the woman spoke.

"Heeey, are you two adventurers from Alum?"

To her question, the archer replied, "Yeah, so what?"

His response was curt. The dancer smiled bewitchingly.

"Then you must know about the Monster Uproar, right? I just love listening to stories about the adventurers who were active then. Would you be so kind as to tell me?"

At first, the archer and the magician were reluctant, but for some reason, they felt an urge to talk, so they did—in a tavern filled with a sweet fragrance.

When they spoke of the uproar, they only talked about their own exploits. But when the story turned to the deaths of their two comrades, they spat out curses against Shinsuke. 'If it weren't for him, this never would have happened,' they grumbled. The dancer listened with a somber face, nodding along.

Inwardly, she was delighted.

When the tavern closed, the two parted ways with the dancer and headed back to their inn.

After walking for a while, they found themselves in an unfamiliar dead-end alley.

'Why?' they wondered. The dancer they had met at the tavern was standing behind them.

The magician asked, "Who are you? Why are you here? If you know this place, please tell us the way out."

To the magician's question, the dancer replied with a smirk.

"Oh, I know it. Because this is a place where no one will come, even if you scream. It's a very good spot for kidnapping people who've learned my identity."

As she spoke, the dancer's form was enveloped in black mist.

What emerged was a figure wearing only a black bra and panties, with two goat horns on her head, large bat wings on her back, and a devil's tail.

The two recognized this figure as a monster and raised their bow and staff.

But it was too late. They hadn't noticed that the area was filled with a pink gas. The sweet scent sapped their strength, and their weapons fell to the floor.

As they stood there stunned, two human-sized wooden crosses appeared behind them. Chains shot out from them, binding their hands and feet, and they were crucified.

As they despaired, unable to muster the strength to resist, the monster woman—Harynair the Corruptor—stood before them.

"...Don't worry, I won't eat you. I'll just let you two see a sweet dream of having a glorious adventure with your friends. When you wake up, what will you think, what will you do? I'll just have you repeat that cycle for me to watch."

Hearing those words, the two felt a terror like no other.

To be shown such a dream, only to be forced to face reality upon waking... there was no way they could endure such a thing. They desperately tried to escape their crucifixions, but their strength failed them, and their struggles only served to excite her.

Harynair purred.

"Oh, lovely. That desperation, that face... it's so arousing. Well then, I'll invite you to your dream right away. The next time you wake up, you'll both be lined up together in my garden. Don't worry, you won't be lonely. There are plenty of others just like you in the garden."

Harynair smiled bewitchingly.

That face was the last thing they saw of reality.

The next moment, they were inside the guild in Alum. As they stood there in a daze, the spearman came to tell them that their leader was calling. Without a second thought, they immediately went to him.

In reality, Harynair looked at the two of them, drool trickling from their mouths, their eyes vacant.

"An otherworlder named Shinsuke, you say? I'm so looking forward to meeting him."

With those words, she took the two of them and vanished.