I stood amidst a field of demon corpses, each of which was slowly dissolving, becoming a sparkly glitter that the wind carried away. More and more demons have been coming into Mechanicsville and Eden, probably in an effort to expand their territory. I was actually glad about this because it gave me more experience points.
Maybe it was cold of me to be indifferent to the human settlements' dangerous situation, but I didn't care about people that I didn't know personally. If I ever saw on the news that someone had died, I would feel pity, but never sadness, because I never knew the one who had lost their life.
By now, it had been three months since my second resurrection, and I was now level forty-five. I had spent the entire time grinding quests. Additionally, I've upgraded all my gear to level ten, the current maximum level. I would only be able to increase their level caps once I get a certain item from Polsius, the next continent.
With the new upgrades on my skill tree, I've drastically improved my stats as well. The most important upgrades were a twenty percent boost to my special attack's charge rate, a twenty percent boost to speed, and a passive ability called Latent Power, which increases my attack by fifty percent when I'm below thirty percent HP.
At this point, I've abandoned the self-sustain paladin archetype, and I've gone for a spellcaster brawler. The Warrior class could run a similar build, but they could only have a maximum of one spell slot until very high levels.
As for my own spell slots, I could have gotten more, but I opted to get skill tree upgrades that gave sheer power. Two spell slots should be enough for me at this point in the game. Now that I think about it, I probably should have just chosen the warrior class for the raw DPS.
Anyway, throughout these past three months, I've cleared so many dungeons and hunted so many monsters that I've reached Rivenvalius's boundaries.
In actuality, the boundaries weren't too far from Eden and Mechanicsville since both cities were relatively near the coast. Still, most players wouldn't have any reason to go out this far into the middle of nowhere.
The ocean was the only thing that I could see past the infinitely tall, translucent boundary. It stretched out across the horizon, separating Rivenvalius from the mainland continents.
I would cross that sea one day.
And that day was coming soon.
Suddenly, something pricked my back. I turned to see that a demon was still alive, and he had thrown a dagger at me.
It brought my health down by less than one percent.
What a pitiful sight. He was considered intelligent compared to wild demons, but he still chose to fight me on the verge of death.
With a wave of my hand, I cast Chromius, sending a holy blast of magic that put down the demon for good.
After dying twice, I've finally learned my lesson. Since I lacked the skill to beat the videogame, the only other option was to over-level myself and brute-force my way through the main quest. It took a long time to gain this much EXP and upgrade my gear because the beginning cities only had low-level monsters, but the time investment was worth the outcome. I should be able to solo Enzo. I might even be able to fight Thello, the archdemon of the next continent.
I was once weak, but now I've become strong. Strength was the only thing that mattered in this world. Back then, I made the mistake of relying on my teammates and neglecting my own self-improvement.
The old Ares is no more.
Alone, I will tear down everything in my path.
I could only trust in my own power.
No remorse. No surrender.
***
Upon returning to Mechanicsville, I received my quest rewards for slaying the demons. It was minuscule compared to what I already had.
Next, I went to the magic shop and bought five Large Healing Potions and five teleportation runes.
Unfortunately, five was the maximum for most super-rare items. The game didn't let you fit any more in your inventory, which served as a game-balancing mechanic.
After the transaction, I still had 353,056 Szerath remaining from all the quests I've done.
Now that I was ready to set out, I walked to the city's edge and looked for a wagon driver. That was when a familiar spinebear stopped in front of me, obstructing my path. A white-haired tan elf girl san on top, casting an intimidating yet smothering gaze. Her beautiful eyes were citrine gems that shimmered as if a million lights shone through them.
"It's been a while," Marigold said, hopping off her mount.
"It has," I replied.
"What have you been doing all this time?"
"Training. Hunting demons."
"Me as well. I spent most of my time over in Festus, where demon generals kept on attacking."
"I see."
There was a short silence.
"Where are you going now?" Marigold asked.
"I'm gonna fight Enzo."
"What a coincidence. I came to do that too."
"Coincidence?" I said. "You knew I'd be here."
"Possibly."
"If you want to bring the old party back together, then you're wasting your time. I'm going alone."
Marigold sighed. "You don't have to go alone."
"No. It has to be this way."
"Ares, I don't blame you for failing."
I cast my gaze downward. "You're lying. You despise me, don't you? Because of me, we lost Sakimi. Because of me, you almost died."
"Losing Sakimi was partially my fault too. I was supposed to help her as we fought the hordes of demons."
"Still, I made a vow that I'd protect Sakimi. I made a vow that I'd protect Ayame. I failed both times. I'm...such a terrible person."
Even though Virgil said that Sakimi was still alive, only God knew what sort of torture she was undergoing.
"Stop being so hard on yourself," Marigold said. "All humans make mistakes, but as long as you can get back up, you haven't lost."
"Shut up. That doesn't make mistakes any better."
I walked around Marigold to get to the wagon drivers, but she stopped me.
"Ares, we'll be going to the same place. It would be more convenient if you traveled with me."
I scowled.
She wasn't wrong.
"Fine," I said. "But we're not at a party anymore. I'm not obligated to protect you."
"I understand. I'm not obligated to protect you either."
Now that we've reached an agreement, we both got onto Vortigern, and he trotted off. Maybe, deep down, I did want company.
But the saddle felt so empty without Sakimi.
Marigold followed the same route as the first time. We traveled into demon territory, made a shortcut through the badlands, and finally arrived at the base of Mount Candoskr.
Once again, we went around the capital city of Candoskr and trekked through the mountain's west side, where there were no settlements, save for the singular village from before, which had gotten a bit larger.
Much of the forestry had been cleared out and replaced with fields where people worked under the blazing sun. I wonder if this was their punishment for when I killed the demon patrol. The chief must have been overreacting when he said they were all gonna die.
Just then, A dirt-covered young woman approached us from the side.
"The ones from before!" she exclaimed, speaking with more fear than enthusiasm. "We've been awaiting your return!"
"You have?" I asked.
"Yes. Our new chief told us that you would come back eventually. She said it might take a while, but you arrived sooner than expected."
"New chief? What happened to the old one?"
"The new chief ate him."
I jumped off Vortigern and said, "Who is this new chief?"
"A demon. Her name is Beatrice, and she told us to take you to her when you returned here."
"Alright then," I said, walking ahead. "Where is she?"
"Right this way," the woman replied. She took us down a wide pathway that led to an oversized hut almost twice as large as the other domiciles.
Once we neared the front entrance, our guide knocked on the door.
"Go away!" a high-pitched female voice said. "I'm eating!"
"I'm with the Hierophant."
"Oh! Is that so? Bring him in at once!"
The woman beckoned for me to enter. I walked in with Marigold, who followed close behind.
In the house, a young demon girl sat on the dining table, feasting on a raw carcass. Its ribs were jutting out, and bloody flesh had spilled onto the surrounding surface.
It had no head, but it had arms and legs resembling that of a...
...human.
It was a human child's corpse.
I immediately reeled backward from the sight.
Demons didn't solely rely on humans for sustenance but eating them provided increased mana. Still, many cities and villages were required to offer sacrifices to their lords.
"Don't be shy," the girl said with a smug grin. "Come on in."
The girl looked awfully familiar. She had crimson hair, but her eyes were black with maroon irises.
Even with a fanged grin, she had a dainty face that exuded joyful innocence, and pair of scimitar-shaped horns protruded from her head, almost like a pair of antennae.
The girl also wore a red-violet Victorian-style dress with numerous frills and bows, giving a refined yet childish air.
Much of her appearance had changed, but the face was still the same.
I muttered, "Sakimi..."