Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 50

Heh, heh, heh… So, I’ve been discovered… No matter…

“What?! Phile? What’s happening?”

A disturbing voice echoed from within Eranda’s arms as she frantically tried to shield the child.

It was likely the demon that had possessed Phile.

“A demon, huh…”

“Indeed. I am Ruin Demon.”

“Again…?”

“Again? Ah, yes… One of my kin, whom I dispatched to another region, was slain. So it was you who killed them. Then I shall take my vengeance.”

As soon as it spoke, it floated into the air, dispersing black energy.

It was certainly putting on a show, but I wasn’t convinced it could actually back up its threats.

Are all these demons overconfident fools?

Or perhaps they lack the ability to sense magical power disparities?

Regardless, if it was coming for me, I wouldn’t show mercy.

“Lax?!”

“Hmph… Demon’s Blade.”

“What?! How…?”

With a single slash of my sword, I severed the demon’s connection to Phile, cutting only the entity itself.

“You…! I won’t forgive you! Now, you die!”

“Blade Rush!”

“Gaahhhh…!”

I secured Phile in my arms and continued to tear the demon apart.

At the same time, Shifa stood protectively by my side, ensuring neither I nor Phile was exposed to the demon’s shattered remains.

And just like that, the Ruin Demon vanished completely.

Despite everything, the infant slept soundly, oblivious to the chaos.

With the demon’s presence eradicated, the ominous aura surrounding both Phile and Eranda dissipated. I handed Phile back to Eranda.

Then, I headed toward the room where the Viscount lay sleeping.

The lingering demonic energy in the mansion had disappeared, and I could sense that the Viscount was waking up.

“Lax… Shifa… I am sorry. This happened because I was too complacent.”

As I suspected, the Viscount had awakened and was struggling to stand.

“Father!”

“Viscount, please don’t strain yourself.”

But his body was weak, and his legs wobbled. Shifa rushed to support him.

However, this was bad…

“Shifa, step away!”

“Huh…?”

I grabbed Shifa’s arm and pulled her away from the Viscount.

A blade swung past us.

When I turned to look, the Viscount was gripping a sword.

I was genuinely surprised—I hadn’t even noticed his movement.

“Father?”

Heh heh heh… You noticed? You must be quite the skilled adventurer, Lax…

Before it could finish its sentence, I blasted it with magical energy, sending it flying.

It seemed the Viscount had been possessed as well. And I hadn’t realized until I sensed the danger to Shifa.

Was this the power of their concealment ability?

From the looks of it, this was another Ruin Demon.

Now that I had confirmed the presence of multiple Ruin Demons in the mansion, I tried tracking them based on the magical signatures of the ones I had already slain.

Wait… hold on…

Everyone here is possessed?!

“Kill Lax!”

“Kill Shifa!”

“Kill Michelle!”

As soon as we became aware of them, the demons’ voices rang out in unison, emerging one by one from the humans they had been using as vessels.

“We’re not running… No, the numbers are manageable—about a hundred at most. Let’s wipe them all out. Disemna has probably already noticed us by now anyway.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

From that point on, Michelle and I focused on cutting down the Ruin Demons.

Shifa supported us with healing and defensive magic—honestly, she was a godsend.

Claire was also eliminating the demons with magic, carefully avoiding harming the possessed servants.

…Wait, was she always this strong?

Well, whatever. The important thing was getting rid of these demons.

I expanded my search radius beyond the mansion, toward the Adventurers’ Guild and the town itself.

Aside from one specific location, the only place where people were possessed was the Viscount’s estate.

“The moment we clear out the demons from the Viscount’s mansion, our next target is the casino!”

“Yes!!”

Heh heh heh… So, I’ve been discovered. It’s too late now—this town is finished.

“Like hell it is!”

Weak-willed humans… So quick to hesitate, so quick to suffer, so quick to die. Your feeble emotions hold no real power.

The Ruin Demons spewed their disgusting words one after another.

And one by one, I erased them.

Ahahaha. A useless, abandoned child.

Why were you the only one to survive? It should have been you who died in your brother’s place.

You must feel so proud of yourself, shoving your sister aside.

The bastards even hurled vile words at Shifa.

Unbelievable.

First, I’d shut them up.

“Restraint.”

“Huh?! Lax, what are you doing? Restraining me in the middle of enemy territory—isn’t that a bit cruel?”

“What?”

For some reason, the spell targeted Claire.

What was even stranger was that she dispelled it instantly.

…What?

Since when could she do that?

“Lax, you underestimate me too much. I don’t mind being physically bullied, but emotional torment? That’s where I draw the line. I’m not that weak.”

…Wait, what?

Wasn’t she just a firepower specialist who blew things up?

Wasn’t she?!

I was starting to doubt my own memory.

Would I have recruited someone like that into my party?

No… why did I recruit her?

Where did she even join us?

…This is suspicious.

“What’s wrong? Staring at me like that. Have you finally realized my charm, now that we’re surrounded by demons? Well, I suppose I can’t blame you.”

“Appraisal.”

“Ah—”

Name: Claire Orphegorl
Birth: Daughter of MelЖna and MiÃil
Additional Information: DisξΔnaΝν√ταЖ†¥＠生命ΦßЙシタ魔ΞΔΩ… (Deciphering failed.)

…Wait a damn second!

What the hell is this?!

“We’ll deal with this later…”

Even as Claire blasted the Ruin Demons with magic, she muttered those words to me.

But right now, all I could feel was suspicion.