TEOCH 14

Rehas carefully checked Rohan’s breathing. Though his complexion was as cold as a corpse, the breath flowing from between his lips was still warm.

Noticing the worried gazes pouring in from those around him, Rehas gave a slight nod. The people gathered inside the tent let out a collective sigh of relief. Ever since Rikiel and Tristan, both in a battered state, had brought the unconscious Rohan back to the safe zone, they had been constantly worried about his condition.

Rehas gently removed the matted hair clinging to Rohan’s face and silently stepped back. In his judgment, Rohan seemed to be alright. Though he was currently unconscious and sweating coldly, if they kept him warm and let him rest, it seemed likely he would wake up soon.

Of course, that was only based on outward symptoms. As Rehas stepped back, Damian cautiously approached and sat down.

“It’s a relief that he seems alright, but… just to be sure, may I take a closer look?”

“Well, go ahead. He looks fine on the surface, but we can’t know for sure what’s going on inside.”

Damian carefully lifted the blanket and examined Rohan’s side. The wound, which had been described as so severe that his insides were visible, had now healed so cleanly that no trace of it could be found.

After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and touched the wound. Even the texture under his fingertips felt no different from human skin.

“It certainly looks like there’s no problem at all to the naked eye. To think this is really the work of a parasite…”

But when he infused a slight amount of mana into the wound, the situation changed. A sharp, resonant hum rang out, and Damian recoiled his hand as if he had been burned.

Shaking off the lingering tingling sensation in his hand, Damian widened his eyes. Rohan’s side, which had seemed perfectly fine just moments ago, was now emitting a red aura. Rikiel muttered with a slight frown.

“It’s the same ability that mantis had. It returns the damage it receives.”

“A counterattack? No, if it were a counterattack spell, it would create something like a barrier. Could it be a retaliation spell then?”

“Your guess seems correct. Rohan called it a retaliation parasite.”

“I knew it. Hmm…”

“Do you perhaps know anything about this parasite’s true nature? How can we remove it?”

At Tristan’s worried gaze, Damian tilted his head slightly and placed his hand on Rohan’s side again. Fortunately, there was no reaction this time. This was because Damian was now using a simple detection spell rather than directly injecting mana.

However, after sensing the flow of mana for a moment, Damian shook his head silently, contrary to Tristan’s expectations.

“It seems difficult to remove this parasite.”

“Is it impossible?”

“Right now, this parasite is completely fused with Mr. Rohan’s body. It’s essentially acting as a replacement for parts of his body. It’s not just the skin tissue and muscles; it’s even taking over the functions of the damaged organs. Removing the parasite now would be akin to cutting out his organs.”

“To think he put such a gruesome bug in his body…”

Tristan’s pale face was filled with sorrow and guilt. Rikiel tried to comfort him, saying it wasn’t his fault and that he had fought bravely too, but Tristan still looked deeply troubled.

The helplessness felt in the face of the first demonic beast, the guilt over the hero who had taken on such danger because of him… Knowing well the emotions Tristan must be feeling, Damian decided he needed to reassure his king a little.

“There’s no need to be so anxious, Your Majesty. This parasite doesn’t seem to harm the human body.”

“Is that true? It won’t hurt him?”

“Yes. Not all parasites are harmful to the body. Mr. Rohan likely knew this and decided to use this bug. Of course, to keep the parasite from becoming aggressive, he’ll need to eat a bit more, but other than that, there aren’t many precautions to take.”

And don’t hit his side, even as a joke, unless you want to get hit by the retaliation spell. When Damian added this, Tristan gave a wry smile and nodded. He seemed considerably relieved by the assurance that the parasite itself wasn’t particularly dangerous.

While Damian and Tristan conversed, Rehas glanced outside the tent. It was already getting dark. Of course, being the demon realm, it wasn’t exactly bright even during the day, but as soon as darkness began to fall, the surroundings turned pitch black in an instant.

It seemed they would need someone to stand watch. So far, the sunlight had kept the demonic beasts at bay, but the situation might be different at night without it. Standing guard in case of any unexpected circumstances wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Of course, the person to stand watch was already decided.

“Why don’t both of you get some rest? You both seem very tired.”

“I need to look after him a bit longer. But Rikiel, you should at least get some rest. You’ve been through a lot too.”

“I’ll take the liberty of resting first. My apologies, Your Majesty.”

Rikiel, who had been holding on despite looking like he might collapse at any moment, fell into a deep sleep, almost fainting, as soon as he lay down with Tristan’s permission. It was no wonder, considering he had not only fought a fierce battle with the demonic beast but also carried the unconscious Rohan and the exhausted Tristan back almost single-handedly.

Though not as bad as Rikiel, Tristan was also exhausted. He might have enough energy left to tend to Rohan for a few hours, but he didn’t seem fit to stay alert and guard the surroundings all night. In a weary voice, he asked Rehas and Damian.

“What about you two?”

“I’ll stand watch. We need to respond immediately if anything suspicious happens.”

Rehas answered, glancing at Damian. Having gotten a few hours of sleep during the day, he hoped the mage might join him in keeping watch.

Fortunately, Damian acted as Rehas had hoped. While Tristan carefully wiped Rohan’s sweat with a damp cloth, the two stepped outside the tent to stand guard.

The first night in the demon realm was approaching.

Rehas draped the mysterious demonic beast’s shell that Rohan had brought over the tent. According to Rikiel, it was the shell of a creature resembling a silkworm.

Could a mere silkworm grow this large? Rehas thought, recalling the giant caterpillar that had chased them earlier in the day, and clicked his tongue lightly. If the owner of this shell made a cocoon, that would be quite a sight, he mused idly as he busily moved about.

Once he finished, it was Damian’s turn to shine. Damian lightly waved his staff, placing a blazing fire atop the tent.

Is this crazy mage trying to burn the hero? Rehas thought, his jaw dropping, but fortunately, the tent remained unscathed, not even singed. Spotting Rehas gaping, Damian gave an awkward smile.

What Damian had created was merely a flame with its temperature carefully controlled to avoid being too hot. Rehas realized Damian had made the flame to keep the tent warm, and Damian realized his sudden magic had startled Rehas.

They chuckled and sat down on the ground. Feeling the chill rising from the earth, Damian frowned and waved his hand. As the blazing fire seeped into the ground, the floor became pleasantly warm. Rehas’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“You’re quite skilled. Can you keep this up all night?”

“It’s not a difficult task. A low-temperature flame doesn’t require much mana… Oh, and if possible, I’d prefer if you spoke casually.”

“Hm?”

“We’ll be exploring the demon realm together from now on, won’t we? It feels a bit uncomfortable to be addressed formally by someone old enough to be my father.”

Damian made this suggestion because he had noticed Rehas consistently spoke informally to Rohan. After briefly considering the nature of his relationship with Rehas, Damian simply concluded it would be better for Rehas to speak casually to him as well. The stern-faced hunter tilted his head for a moment before responding.

“Really? You’re an odd one for a mage. That’s more respect than a mere hunter like me deserves.”

“…You’re quite adaptable, aren’t you?”

Damian found it amusing that Rehas immediately switched to informal speech without a single humble refusal. He chuckled with curiosity, but Rehas himself didn’t even blink.

It’s only natural for people to grow thick-skinned with age. No matter how great mages were supposed to be, Rehas’s philosophy was that they were all just human once you stripped away the trappings. Of course, he had never voiced this belief in his entire life, but this was the demon realm, after all. Human world titles held no meaning here.

“Well, whatever your status, that doesn’t matter, does it? The important thing is that Mr. Rohan chose you as a comrade.”

“Is that so? That does make sense. I’m not much to boast about, but since he’s the hero, his choice is probably worth respecting.”

Damian shrugged lightly, and Rehas gave a short laugh before suddenly turning to look at the tent. He thought about Rohan, who was likely sleeping inside.

A young man who had accepted him without even asking his name, despite brushing off everyone else who approached him looking for someone to join dangerous missions. That young man was the hero destined to defeat the Demon King, sent to this world.

The hero from another world, the messenger of the gods, the prophesied symbol of hope to save the kingdom.

Thanks to the vague oracles from the temple and the countless exaggerated rumors they spawned, there wasn’t a single person in the kingdom who didn’t know of the hero’s existence.

Rehas, who had been drowning in liquor ever since the demonic beast invasion, was no exception. But he had never felt the desire to meet him. After all, the hero was someone from another world, who would fight with a raised sword in another world and ultimately return to another world. It had nothing to do with him.

Yet somehow, Rehas had ended up entangled with this young man. He hadn’t particularly sought revenge against the demonic beasts, but his self-destructive search for death, like a moth drawn to a flame, had led him to this demon realm. It was certainly a strange fate. But what Rehas found truly strange wasn’t his own fate—it was the young man himself.

“Come to think of it, he’s quite a character.”

“Hm?”

“I’m talking about Rohan. A normal person wouldn’t think to put a parasite in their organs, no matter how desperate they were to survive, right? …I’m not trying to badmouth him; I just find it fascinating that he could even come up with such an idea. Someone like me, with no brains, would’ve died because I couldn’t even conceive of it, even if I knew the parasite wasn’t dangerous.”

“Well, yeah. He’s an impressive person.”

Damian said this with pure admiration, but Rehas wondered if “impressive” was really enough to describe the young man.

Not that he wasn’t impressive. Considering he came up with such an idea in a life-or-death situation, he was clearly quick-witted, and the fact that he actually went through with it showed he had plenty of guts.

But was “impressive” really the right word? How should he put it? It felt more like…

‘The kind of idea only someone who places no value on themselves would come up with.’

Of course, it was a ridiculous thought. If he truly didn’t value himself, if he wasn’t desperate to survive, how could he have come up with such an idea? Yet to Rehas, Rohan’s decision kept being interpreted in a different light.

A reckless disregard for his own body, as if it didn’t matter if it got a little damaged for the sake of his goal. A numbness so ingrained that he didn’t even register the revulsion or pain. These thoughts kept creeping into Rehas’s mind, leaving him with an uneasy feeling.

It would’ve been easier to just admire him purely like Damian, but for Rehas, who had once wandered in search of death himself, it was impossible to simply overlook it.

‘Is he going to be alright, that young man?’

‘If you take this job, you’ll likely die.’

Rohan’s calm words kept echoing in Rehas’s mind. Perhaps those words applied to Rohan himself as well… Rehas tried to push the thought out of his head and turned his gaze away from the tent.

“By the way, it’s troublesome that a mere insect can use magic by hosting a parasite. We’ll need to be careful from now on.”

“Yeah, it’s scary stuff. What kind of world is this place?”

Fortunately, Damian changed the subject, and Rehas could focus on the conversation, shaking off the ominous thoughts. The two chatted through the night.

The magical campfire burned as if using the tent as kindling, and the night sky, faintly reminiscent of the human world, remained cloudy and hazy. The two guarded the tent from the darkness, waiting for their hero to awaken.