In my past life, I used to really like lemons.
There wasn’t any particular reason for it. Maybe it was the unique sour taste that appealed to me, or perhaps it became a habit after hearing they were good for my health when I was young.
Regardless, I enjoyed sour flavors. The tanginess that you couldn’t easily find in other foods always stimulated my taste buds.
Of course, that didn’t mean I ate lemons raw.
As much as I liked sour things, eating a lemon straight was just too much.
I typically ate them by lightly coating them with sugar or by squeezing a generous amount of lemon juice into my drinks. There was nothing better than squeezing lemon juice into cola while playing on the computer. I felt a slight nostalgia just thinking about it.
Anyway, the reason I’m suddenly bringing this up is...
The bra I’m holding right now has a faint sour scent.
Well, considering it’s summer and we’ve just run around at full speed, it makes sense that she’d be sweating.
Especially since, well... it seems like a lot of heat is gathering in her chest area. I mean, how is one side of the bra almost the size of my head? I took a moment to sniff the bra held in Seere's hand.
Sniff, sniff.
“Eeeeek! Why are you smelling it?! Give that back!!!”
Ha-neul shouted in near panic, her hand reaching desperately for her underwear.
But no way a mage’s reflexes could match mine.
I easily dodged her attempt.
It seemed that even the 'women' here felt embarrassed when their underwear was exposed.
Not that it was surprising. If I were in her place and someone grabbed my sweaty underwear, I would feel embarrassed too. It’s just a natural human reaction.
‘...Oh, crap.’
Still, thinking from her perspective, I could guess how mortified she must be. To ease her embarrassment, I decided to offer some comforting words.
“It’s fine. People sweat when they run, no big deal. Wow, but you really do wear large sizes, huh? It makes sense for it to get sweaty with something that big.”
“Kyaaaa!”
For some reason, she screamed even louder when I tried to comfort her.
Maybe she’s just shy because she’s introverted. I suppose I should understand that.
Honestly, I wanted to tease her a bit more, but we didn’t have time to waste, so I handed her the bra back.
She quickly grabbed it and skillfully put it back on. Watching her, with her face as red as a tomato while she fumbled with her bra, was... well, to be honest, kind of arousing. After all, I’m still a guy.
‘That’s quite the impressive ability.’
I thought that to distract myself.
Who would’ve thought that Seere could summon not just weapons, but even trivial things like this?
In front of him, even armor would be useless.
In fact, the stronger the item you wielded, the more it might work against you. Just then, a rather terrifying thought crossed my mind.
Wait, does that mean he could’ve stripped off my clothes during the fight?
‘Oh, shit...’
Seere... He’s really one terrifying bastard.
Good thing he didn’t try to steal my underwear, or else I would’ve run off into the forest bawling like a child.
‘Come to think of it, what happened to him?’
That thought hit me as I remembered seeing the knights chasing after him. Did they manage to catch him?
I didn’t have high hopes, though.
After all, Seere was an archdemon. Not that the knights were weak, but if a demon like him decided to escape, it wouldn’t be easy to capture him.
I could only hope that whatever happened, it wouldn’t come back to bite me.
Huff... Huff...
...He was lucky.
As he barely escaped the city, that was all Seere could think.
Bringing a large number of the cult’s followers into the back alley had been a wise decision.
Among those followers were high-ranking members like team leaders and area leaders. They could hold off the knights to some extent.
Especially the otherworlder followers, who didn’t hesitate to use their bodies as barricades.
That was why Seere had managed to slip away despite the relentless pursuit.
Of course, he wasn’t in good shape. His back was pierced with arrows like a porcupine, and his body was covered in cuts and bruises.
On top of that, he had lost his left arm, thanks to Yor.
His tenacious demon life force was the only thing keeping him alive, but to anyone looking at him, he was essentially a half-dead corpse.
The squad leader waiting outside the city was taken aback when he saw him.
“Seere, what happened? I’ll heal you right away!”
“It’s fine. My body isn’t like yours. I’ll recover if I rest.”
It would take some time, of course.
Especially his lost left arm throbbed painfully. He never thought he’d be left without it.
‘I won’t be able to use my left arm for a while...’
Other wounds might heal, but it was clear that his left hand wouldn’t regenerate.
A demon's body was unique in that way. Until he retrieved his lost arm, he’d have to manage as a one-armed demon.
With a serious expression, Seere stated,
“I encountered a very strong Manifestation Bearer.”
He briefly explained what had happened in the city.
He talked about meeting the Manifestation Bearer in the back alley and how he had nearly faced disaster in the battle.
The squad leader's eyes lit up as he listened.
Though Seere had become a rather unwelcome presence for him, Manifestation Bearers were incredibly valuable to the cult.
They could make direct contact with demons and could offer sacrifices remotely.
For Lemegeton, Manifestation Bearers held a position akin to saints or holy figures.
And with this one possessing real skill, it was no wonder the squad leader’s eyes were filled with interest.
Honestly, Seere wasn’t particularly fond of the idea, but he needed the cult’s assistance to capture this person.
Whether they recruited him or sacrificed him, one of those options had to be taken.
So, he provided the cult with information about the target.
“He’s a man with brown hair and blue eyes. There’s a high chance he lives nearby. Don’t inform anyone else—our priority is to find and capture him first.”
Though, the information was slightly inaccurate.
A raid boss named Seere had appeared in the city.
Naturally, the news spread rapidly throughout the community.
After all, it was a demon showing up in one of the cities of a major empire.
A commotion was to be expected.
And of course, word got out that Seere had nearly been defeated.
At the center of this news was a mysterious hooded NPC.
Although there wasn’t a video, a single photograph had been captured.
The photo showed the hooded NPC slicing off Seere’s left arm with just a dagger.
With players present at the scene, one sharp-eyed player had noticed the perfect moment to take a screenshot.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.
Naturally, that image was uploaded to the internet, and, as the player hoped, it ignited the community’s discussions.
[Is Seere actually weak?]
An archdemon getting wrecked by some NPC in the slums, lol.
[Seems like all demons are just hype, lol.]
[I didn’t expect him to get his arm chopped off so easily, though.] [Damn, he’s one of the few hot male characters, and now he’s gone!ㅠㅠ] [The game devs seem to really hate male characters.]
[But seriously, doesn’t the one-armed look seem kind of sexy?] [Huh?] [Bro, what?]
[Where did that hooded NPC even come from?]
Just popped up out of nowhere, cut off Seere’s arm, and bolted. If I see him, I’m definitely taking him down.
[Capture Lemegeton]
[But is that NPC a guy or a girl? The hood covers everything.] [From the body shape, it looks like a guy...] [Oh.] [Oh, really?]
[By the way, isn’t this all just ridiculously hot?]
(Video)
Here’s a clip of the hooded NPC escaping while the knights chase Seere. Every time Seere gets hit, he winces in pain while running away. Why does it look so pathetic yet attractive?
He probably went back to the cult and secretly cried, right?
I just want to comfort him and catch his tears... Damn, I’ve already used this material too many times. Guess I’ll go for another round.
[Dude, seriously;]
[The Han River isn’t far. Just go jump in.]
[You’re a Lemegeton cultist too, you idiot.] [As expected, it’s all nonsense in the comments, lol.] [I’m a Lemegeton follower, so don’t blame us for this kind of stuff, dammit.]
[I should dump this in the comments, haha.]
The atmosphere was surprisingly peaceful.
As is typical for those who dwell on the internet, they were engaged in lively discussions about this fresh topic.
Fortunately, no one connected the hooded NPC to Yor.
There were plenty of NPCs in Demons Saga, and just as many who could show up unexpectedly.
While there was curiosity about the identity of the NPC, no one was digging too deep into it.
After all, Seere’s incident had taken up almost all the community’s attention.
...But there was one person.
Someone who frequently met and conversed with Yor could see something different.
You know how, after seeing someone enough times, their silhouette becomes somewhat familiar?
Im Ha-neul enlarged the photo of the hooded NPC and thought,
“...This looks oddly similar.”
It was like someone she knew had a similar body type.