There’s an easy way to tell how many months it’s been since otherworlders appeared in this place.
After all, I experience physical and mental cycles every month.
And today just happened to be the 14th Frenzy, commemorating the birth of the otherworlders.
To celebrate them, I held a small ceremony deep within the cave.
Tap tap tap, tap...
I won’t go into detail about the ceremony.
Describing it in specifics would be embarrassing for me and just too cliché.
In short... I had relieved myself a few times. Quite a few, actually.
Lately, the Frenzy B had been exhibiting some peculiar changes.
Perhaps due to having seen too many stimulating scenes recently, it felt like sexual desire built up more than anger or depression.
Originally, during the Frenzy, blood would rush to my lower regions, but lately, that symptom had become particularly intense.
I couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing.
“Phew...”
Regardless, as time passed, the excitement eventually faded.
The long night passed, and morning arrived.
What remained were the strangely fishy smells and the feeling of emptiness that washed over me.
‘How many times have I done this without a partner...?'
The world didn’t seem beautiful; I just felt a sense of self-loathing. But still, it was better than feeling depressed.
“......”
For a moment, lost in thought, I stepped outside the cave.
Once the Frenzy calmed down, I always preferred to see sunlight first.
It reassured me that the night had passed, and my mood would improve slightly.
Moreover, it had become a routine over the past few decades, and now, if I didn’t see the sunlight, it felt unsettling.
As I stepped outside, the fresh scent of grass tickled my nose.
“...! ...!!”
And along with that, I heard a voice from somewhere.
It definitely wasn’t Chae-rin or Ha-neul’s voices. They had both visited recently.
However, it wasn’t a voice to be ignored.
“...Look! Is Yor here...?!”
Amid the other person’s shouts, I could hear my name.
Upon hearing that, I frowned and let out a deep sigh.
“Haah.”
I was exhausted, so who in the world was calling for me?
As much as I wanted to ignore it and go back to sleep, I couldn’t. It was uncertain whether ignoring them would make them leave.
So I forced myself to shake off the fatigue and moved toward the source of the voice. I decided to at least see who it was.
“...Oh, what? You arrived quickly, even though I just called for you. Were you nearby?”
When I met the person, I couldn’t help but frown immediately.
It wasn’t a face I was particularly happy to see. What was its name again? Niki Tanesia, if I recall.
He was a Manifestation Bearer like me and was affiliated with the Lemegeton.
Moreover, he had nearly revealed my identity to Chae-rin out of nowhere, almost ruining things for me.
Well, it ended positively, but I only had bad memories of him.
So, as soon as I saw him, I immediately growled.
“Didn’t I clearly tell you to get lost back then? Are you seriously looking to die by coming back here?”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down. I’m not here to recruit you today.”
“......”
At those words, I eased my guard slightly. I didn’t feel any real hostility from him.
He looked quite tired as well.
While I was glaring at him, a curious thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Now that I thought about it, he was also a Manifestation Bearer, so how could he arrive at this forest so early in the morning?
I asked my curiosity directly.
“What about the Frenzy? Wasn’t it the new moon yesterday? How did you get to the forest already?”
“The Frenzy? It’s a bit bothersome, but I can manage to move around adequately. So, I worked hard to get here this morning.”
I tilted my head.
...That? He said the Frenzy was merely bothersome?
A Frenzy, whether A or B, meant losing an entire day, didn’t it?
While I did wander around the forest when B occurred, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to move around with my sanity intact.
‘Maybe the Frenzy affects each Manifestation Bearer differently.’
That thought crossed my mind for a moment.
I wasn’t sure. I should have seen how others experienced their Frenzy.
As I pondered, Niki spoke up again.
“Sniff, sniff, but don’t you smell something strange? There’s a kind of fishy scent in the air...”
Upon hearing that, I felt a bit embarrassed.
Crap, thinking about it, I hadn’t really washed up after relieving myself.
There was nothing I could do. I had intended only to see the sunlight, but unexpectedly running into someone had caught me off guard.
“...Shut up. Just tell me what business you have coming here today.”
I said bluntly, changing the subject. Fortunately, he seemed to have taken my cue without any further thought.
“It’s simple. I came to share some information.”
“Information? Suddenly?”
A new information courier? That was a bit intriguing.
“...Just listen for now.”
He then began explaining what had happened the night before.
It was about the altar siege, a matter I had been completely uninterested in.
The siege of the Kimaris altar attracted a lot of attention.
Anything related to demons was always important to the Lemegeton.
Among those participating was Niki, who was somewhat of a team leader and had considerable skill.
But not long after participating, she had to hear this.
“This battle has already been lost.”
“...What?”
“The opposing side has come in overwhelming numbers. In battle, having enough people is essential; with this situation, even if we capture it, we’ll quickly lose it again. Tch.”
It was none other than the Fourth Tribe leader who said that.
The commander overseeing this battle had already declared defeat.
That was how large the enemy’s numbers were. I didn’t know how strong each individual was since I hadn’t fought them yet, but we had already lost in terms of numbers.
However, the commander couldn’t simply back down before even fighting.
At the very least, they had to pretend to fight. Doing so would help protect their reputation and avoid being labeled a coward.
Thus, the tribe leader made a different decision.
“On the night of the new moon, let’s raid their camp. With less light, even if we lose, it will be easy to retreat.”
This was essentially a show fight.
After all, they could inflict some damage on the enemy while minimizing their own losses. Among the higher-ups following the tribe leader, no one opposed this plan.
However, the downside was that Niki wouldn’t be able to participate in the battle on the night of the new moon.
After all, she was also a Manifestation Bearer.
Fortunately, her Frenzy was on the milder side, but it was still not enough for her to participate in combat. So she decided to wander around the nearby village while the battle unfolded.
Although her body felt prickly, moving around was better than sitting still and enduring it.
As she walked under the dim night sky...
“—How dare you...! To ignore the solemn laws of the kingdom and hide a criminal!!”
“I’m sorry! Please spare my life...!”
“Such nonsense! Those who threaten humanity must pay with blood!”
“Ahhh! Father! No!”
From somewhere, the sounds of a chaotic outcry reached us. There were even faint sounds of weapons clashing.
“...What is this?”
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Niki headed toward the source of the noise.
What she found were several cold, lifeless bodies and one knight, wounded and gasping for breath.
Though she hadn’t participated in the battle, she had been in the area for a few days and recognized the bodies.
They were the village chief’s family. For some reason, the knight had killed them.
Her gaze shifted deeper inside. There, she saw a new figure: a girl holding her head in pain, adorned with a dark red tattoo on her thigh.
“Ah, my head...!”
She was a Manifestation Bearer. Niki had not expected to find a new Manifestation Bearer here. This unexpected fact caused her eyes to widen for a moment.
Quickly, she pieced the situation together.
A wounded knight had stumbled into the village chief’s house, discovered the hidden Manifestation Bearer, and killed the chief.
Just like possessing the blood of a demon, hiding a bearer was a serious crime.
“Ugh, what the hell is this!”
Regardless, she couldn’t just stand by and watch.
As a member of the Lemegeton and as one of her kind, she couldn’t allow a Manifestation Bearer to die.
Thus, Niki quickly dealt with the knight and took the little girl with her.
Even in a Frenzy state, she had enough strength to handle a single wounded knight.
With the village chief's family all murdered, she had no choice but to save the girl.
By that point, the child was half out of her mind.
“Ugh, sniff... Chief. Mom, Dad...”
The Frenzy already made her suffer, and now she had lost those who took care of her.
Niki felt a moment of sympathy for the little girl.
Niki headed toward the tent where the Fourth Tribe leader was. The commander was still analyzing the battle situation without participating.
Upon seeing Niki enter the tent, the tribe leader asked,
“Hmm, what’s going on? And who is that little one?”
“She’s a Manifestation Bearer. I saved her from being killed by a knight.”
Niki briefly explained the situation to the tribe leader.
“Hmm, oh...”
After hearing the story, the tribe leader nodded as if he found it intriguing.
“It’s interesting that a Manifestation Bearer was hiding in such a small village.”
“Indeed. But do we have an extra tent? I feel we need to protect her for a while.”
“Just a moment... wait here.”
The tribe leader briefly glanced between the girl and a map on the table.
He seemed to be deep in thought.
After a moment, he turned to the girl with a crooked smile.
“Hey, kid. Don’t you hate those guys?”
“...What?”
By that point, the girl was still lost in her grief.
Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at the tribe leader.
“Don’t you despise the knight who killed your family? Fortunately, I have a way to help.”
“What? No, wait a minute.”
Niki stepped in at that moment, as she could easily see what he was trying to do.
She interrupted the tribe leader, asking,
“What the hell is this? Instead of comforting the child, you’re encouraging her to unleash her rage?”
“Think rationally, Niki. Look at how many people have gathered in one place. What do you think will happen if we drop a demon here?”
Surely, many would be sacrificed at once. The tribe leader chuckled as he continued.
Niki cursed and tried to stop him.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
“You bastard...”
To be honest, she had no particular interest in demons.
After all, the reason she joined the Lemegeton was that it was a comfortable place to live.
She was already born a criminal, so she had dipped her toes into crime.
But this was too much.
Encouraging a child to sell her soul was beyond unacceptable.
However, it was already too late. The child was already somewhat drawn in by the tribe leader’s words.
“What’s the method...?”
The girl looked at the tribe leader with tear-filled eyes. Although she was still crying, hatred was beginning to flicker in her gaze.
The tribe leader spoke to her in a gentle voice.
“The method is simple. You already know what it is.”
“......”
The next part was obvious. No further persuasion was needed.
The child became a demon and killed a total of 120 people.
And the 13-year-old girl met her end in glory.
“...I hate to admit it, but you’re right. This place serves demons.”
After that, it became straightforward.
Niki, who didn’t want to see her kin go berserk and who felt disgust toward the tribe leader, headed straight toward me.
Our relationship wasn’t particularly good, but at least I was one of her own kind.
“I know it’s a comfortable place to live, but they see us as tools.”
The knight had caused the trouble, but in the end, it was the Lemegeton that turned the child into a demon.
She seemed to have many thoughts about it.
I was also in shock.
Another demon had appeared. And a staggering 120 people had been sacrificed. Couldn’t a demon show up again?
I felt sympathy for that child, but at the same time, my perception of the Fourth Tribe leader soured.
But more than that, questions arose.
I looked at her and asked,
“Did you run all the way here just to deliver that information? Even in a Frenzy state?”
“...Yeah. Honestly, I don’t like you, but since we’re of the same kin, it’s still relevant. You haven’t joined their side yet.”
Niki took a breath and continued speaking.
“And I didn’t just bring this one piece of information. There’s another piece that would be particularly helpful for our kind.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you. There’s a way to eliminate the Frenzy forever.”
I focused more intently on her words.
Huff. She took a deep breath and then said to me,
“There’s a way to eliminate the Frenzy forever.”