Chapter 192

Chapter 192

***

Rain fell from the gray sky. With only one shabby coif worn on his head as something blocking the rain, a man moved pulling a cart.

Not exactly a path people traveled, there were merely parallel wheel marks drawn long on the grassy field. However since it was a rainy day the ground was muddy naturally so it was hard to move forward readily.

Step by step, pulling the cart with all his strength the man realized at a certain moment that he couldn't move forward no matter how much strength he gave. One wheel had deeply sunk into the mud.

"Fuck......"

He muttered curses by himself, then briefly letting go of the handle and coming out he lifted the cloth covering the cart. Thereupon strange meat chunks piled up in a heap revealed their appearances.

The things that weren't fully crushed while crushing them finely were hard to know what substance they possessed when they were intact, but a few could be guessed.

Fingers with fingernails fallen off, hair dizzyingly twisted and clumped together, things like teeth. On top of that the rain fell scattering patter.

The man scooped them with a shovel and scattered them widely on the ground. He seemingly intended to reduce the weight and lift the wheel out.

One scoop, two scoops, scooping three scoops, suddenly someone spoke to him.

"Shall I help?"

The man flinched surprised and looked back. In this wide field where on earth had they been hiding, four or five people stood wearing cloaks and with hoods pulled down deeply. Exactly like grim reapers.

"Turn off your attention. Paying attention won't do any good."

"Why? Is the vampire going to take revenge or something?"

"......What."

"Einmetz, right? We came knowing everything."

As the man whose mouth area was only seen due to the hood said his name, the face of the slaughterer Einmetz was dyed with a considerably tense expression.

"......S, so what if you know? If you know you should turn off your attention even more."

"Do you think so? Bizarre. The rumors must have spread already, seeing you don't know yet. I came from the Council of Six. To execute non-humans and humans un-human-like. Do you know what I mean?"

"......"

Einmetz honestly didn't understand, but he instinctively knew that the atmosphere was serious and his personal safety could go wrong.

So getting hit by the drizzling rain he stayed still, then threw the shovel he was holding violently and ran away.

But not even running far suddenly someone hiding in front popped out.

It was exactly as if a beast was aiming at prey, and Einmetz greatly surprised raised his hands abruptly, but instantly out of his will his body tilted to the side and he collapsed.

PEOK!

His leg burning hot he looked down, and below the knee of his left leg was gone. Only then his eyes widening to the point of tearing he felt pain. And more than the pain the mental shock of the fact that his leg was gone was greater.

"Heu-ii-iik!"

A boy holding an axe looked down at him quietly. It was Roy. Not to say like master like disciple, regarding an opponent they shouldn't go easy on his gaze was truly indifferent and cold.

Rickart approached slowly with his party. And seeing him trying to get his body up somehow with his remaining single leg to run away he said.

"Tell me where you receive the corpses from, and who supplies them, and I will let you live."

However Rickart's words didn't seem to enter Einmetz's ears. That was bound to be so since his leg was just cut off.

Whether he judged he was finished he tried to put his trembling hand inside his bosom. It was to eat extreme poison. However before his hand even entered inside his bosom, seemingly something flashed in front of his eyes and his fingers were cut off patter.

It was terror itself. Body parts being cut to pieces without even knowing what hit him. Whether the leg flying off, or the fingers being cut off. The size of the terror was to the extent of transcending the pain.

"U-eo-eo-eo......"

"Just say it. That is the way to live with your body intact at least. Otherwise even if you confess everything and live later, aren't you unable to avoid being crippled?"

Since he was already crippled he didn't know what it meant, but since there were worse crippling states it seemingly meant that.

Rickart holding his sword, along with Roy and the other Benzinen people quietly looked down at Einmetz. He looked half out of his mind, and suddenly began to laugh giggling.

"Eu-heu-heu, heu-heu-heu, ii-hi-hi-hi, ii-hi-hi-hi-hi!"

Seeing a person with his leg cut off and fingers cut off on a rainy day laughing like he lost his mind, had somewhat of an eerie part.

Whether he gave up living or went crazy already from the torture to come he couldn't know, but the shabby slaughterer laughed for a long time then suddenly looked right at Rickart and said.

But the voice had changed. It was thick exactly like a devil. Probably Papa seemed to be borrowing Einmetz's body to speak.

"What foolish action is this, King."

It was a very bizarre phenomenon but Rickart wasn't particularly surprised and merely looked down calmly. Roy and the other people had their livers chill to the extent that hairs wet from the rain stood on end.

Papa continued to speak.

"You do not know what love is. You do not understand the bond perfectly combining in a perfectly vulnerable state. The boys loved me even as they were dying, and I too loved them. By the standards of paltry humans......"

HWIK! PAK!

Instantly rainwater seemed to splash thud and Einmetz had half his head cut off, not his neck. The upper part of his lower jaw was completely cut off, so his lower teeth and dangling tongue were all seen. And soon relaxing the strength in his body he collapsed with a thud.

Rainwater flowed along Rickart's blade. Papa as a vampire wasn't only physically deformed but mentally too was far distant from humans.

No matter how perverted humans were, the long-lived and long-twisted mental world seemed unable to be caught up to.

"It's been a long time since I got truly angry......"

Handling work receiving requests it was good to exclude emotions, but Rickart had hostility bloom up for the first time in a truly long time.

The rain falling scattering became thicker and thicker in streaks and later poured down entirely. However it couldn't wash away even the sins permeating the unidentifiable meat chunks loaded in the cart.

Splash-......

Rickart and the Benzinen people went around the Esk region killing Papa's lackeys. Even if they tortured them it was hard to dig out information.

Still whether they gained information or didn't gain it, since they set the policy to deal with them all cleanly there were no circumstances in their hands (no mercy). The people living in Esk merely watched Rickart and Papa's fight in silence.

That was closer to a symbolic fight rather than a fight with any practical profit. A longstanding headache, but something no one could touch, Rickart and Benzinen stepped up and were handling it.

Papa was an existence like a parasite. He didn't rule people, and didn't spread influence, but since he had steadily kidnapped boys over a long period.

Here one could know how wretched an existence humans were, that even if such things happen they adapt and live passably.

A problem no one pointed out, it was no different from Rickart stepping up and pointing out that this was wrong.

Just as water rots if it pools, being a deeply closed-off region from the perspective of an outsider all sorts of strange things were happening. Looking just at Raphael he wasn't normal.

By the way at this rate the tracking of Papa and Dunkel was a distant matter.

"He is inside. That is my conclusion."

Rickart said looking at the field with dew formed after the rain. Innumerable dewdrops each shone reflecting sunlight exactly like the most noble jewels. Since they covered the entire wide field, it was a truly grand sight.

However such beauty couldn't move Rickart's heart right now.

"I also think so. If he was staying in a specific place we would have found him earlier. Perhaps he seems to be mixed among the people."

Kalla now spoke completely politely in honorifics. Because he had experienced Rickart's capabilities several times from his side. In Kalla's thought this person was truly worthy of respect whether in capability parts or personality parts.

Rickart fell into deep thought. If there was a system where directions were given from somewhere and reports went up there must definitely be a connected line, but he couldn't discover it at all.

Was the method of contacting different? Or was there some secret mark? Ah, right, elixir.

Did they say drinking that fake Holy Oil of Ilya connects the soul with Papa? Probably they seemed to communicate with something like that. Then what did we did now? The answer was one.

"Let's use bait."

"......"

Kalla immediately understood what it meant. Since Papa liked beautiful boys they would intentionally let him take one and track him.

"But who will take on that role?"

"I will do it."

Watching the dew-formed field reflecting sunlight, Roy who had been marveling at the beauty of nature stepped up.

However Rickart didn't even deliberate and shook his head.

"You're not a beautiful boy."

"Is that so......?"

Roy was on the handsome side. However he lacked the delicate fragility unique to beautiful boys, and so-called having some frame (broad-shouldered/sturdy), it was unreasonable to call him a beautiful boy.

"I will do it."

Belynn who was beside Roy stepped up. Rickart and Kalla, and Roy stared blankly at the girl as if saying what were you talking about. However presently they understood the meaning of those words.

Because Belynn had a short bob cut, if she was decorated a bit somehow she could look like a beautiful boy.

However Belynn's father Kalla gave permission immediately without even stopping her.

"Yeah, you do it."

"Ah, no, wait a moment, this is a bit......"

The one flustered was only Roy. Rather Belynn was calm. Rather than her resolve being firm, she was just calm.

"Being able to sacrifice my life for the clan is the greatest honor. I am fine. Someday we will be able to see each other again in a beautiful place like this dew-formed field."

Belynn said to Roy. Rickart felt that no matter how much he looked he couldn't understand the way of thinking of the Esk region people.

It was just strange. Everyone had one perverted part each. Meeting again after dying what were you talking about, on earth?

Roy had the thought that this wasn't right but dumbfounded in expression he couldn't continue his words.

Whatever happened Belynn was decided to be the bait by her own free will, and by the adults' decision.

Here Rickart could promise one thing.

"Belynn will not die, Roy. Because I will make it so."

Since the bait operation was decided they immediately put it into execution. Would Papa excitedly bite just because they threw bait for a day or two, but anyway decorating Belynn like a beautiful boy they planted her near a village suspected to have Papa's lackeys.

Being so doubtful and secretive they wondered if this would work, but since Rickart and Benzinen people had gone around killing lackeys so much there was also the expectation that the non-human pervert wouldn't be able to withstand his lust.

And if using bait they had to prevent being doubted, so they couldn't deploy protection personnel nearby.

Only Rickart alone from very far away, exerting concentration highly like entering meditation training erased all other things of the world from his consciousness and chased only Belynn's presence.

Closing his eyes, perfectly still, he stared piercingly at only one small light in the deep and deep abyss. The distance between Rickart and Belynn reached almost several hundred meters.

Other personnel were watching only for when Rickart would react, from a place further away. Roy's intestines burned (worried sick) the most.

To keep his promise with Roy, Rickart maintained his concentration missing meals day and night.

Then one night, the small light ended up turning off gasp. Rickart abruptly opened his eyes and darted forward out exactly like a diving falcon toward the place where that light was. Thereupon other five senses conveyed Belynn's location.

It wasn't a metaphor he truly ran like the wind. However the sound of stepping on the grass was barely made. Only a sound going swoosh, exactly like the sound of stroking silk with a hand was made slightly.

His hand was already on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

He could feel Belynn's presence receding quickly, and another presence kidnapping the girl. Then as the distance between them narrowed rapidly, the kidnapper stopped abruptly.

Now coming into the field of vision, the distance between the two narrowed even faster. Rickart was certain that he was Dunkel. And he drew his sword with the mindset of cutting off lukewarm old affection.

HWIK! PAK!

HUUUUUUUUNG!

Rickart's sword like a beam of light cut the empty air. A rough wind sound rang passing by the kidnapper. Since the kidnapper had to avoid it quickly he had to let go of Belynn, and Belynn collapsed with a thud on the grass in an unconscious state. Not that she was dead.

"Roy! Kalla!"

Rickart shouted loudly in the middle of the night. They were already in the middle of running over but since Rickart was so fast they were in a state of missing the location. However due to him shouting just now they found the location again and ran over.

Rickart to secure Belynn's safety first grabbed and lifted the girl in an embrace with one arm, and the sword tip aimed at the kidnapper. He was wearing a mask but clearly, it was Dunkel.

"I didn't know I would see you again like this, Dunkel."

Thereupon Dunkel took off and threw the mask and said. Eyes seemingly dead were revealed under the disheveled hair.

"What on earth are we doing here, Ricky. Do you want to be the Demon King protecting the world, or do you just want to be a murderous Hero."

Dunkel said as if throwing a tantrum. It was annoyance about Rickart obstructing him up to now. What on earth did it have to did with you that you interfere with my work.

"What are you even talking about. Doing the lackey role of a small-fry vampire at most. I'm disappointed."

"Papa is not a simple vampire. He's a devil. A real devil. I'm saying he's an existence who gained power and became a devil. And the one who made a contract with that devil and breathed power into him is me. Kalla or you, both are completely guessing wrong. Killing Sally was largely because she knew too much information overly. It wasn't any sense of betrayal or anything."

"......Don't tell me you're doing this bullshit because of that damn revenge?"

"Then what would I do it for! Me! Why would I have rolled like a dog under Helauman! Whether this bastard or that bastard everyone is lukewarm! Or the bastards who got drunk on paltry camaraderie and forgot the village's revenge! Or you who spared me when you should've killed everyone if you're going to kill them in the Crusade! Everyone is equally soft!"

Before they knew it Kalla and Roy, the Benzinen people arrived, and heard all of Dunkel's shouts. Roy first received Belynn hastily from Rickart.

Dunkel huffed and puffed considerably whether his resentment had piled up all this time.

"Since everything was taken from me, is killing everything so wrong? Answer me, Ricky."

"Then you should kill everything with your own hands what kind of act is all this. Weak bastard."

"If I were as strong as you I would have done so. Ultimately you cannot understand humans. Because you've never been weak."

Dunkel definitely seemed having his mental state not very good. However they were words that couldn't just be denied completely.

By the way in conclusion Rickart an outsider was in the middle of saving the Esk region people from the demonic hands of Papa and Dunkel. Whether that truly accorded with justice was unknown.

Because it was a fact that the Esk region people joined forces together and massacred and destroyed Benzinen village due to lowly greed. If so who would condemn them? It was a truly difficult problem.

"Guide me to the place where Papa is. That is your last humanity, Dunkel."

Rickart said. However sadly, Dunkel abandoned even his last humanity. It seemed to be the most extreme example of how vengeance ruins a person.

The night was cold. The moonlight fallen on the blade was also cold. Even the lukewarmness now felt cold. Summer wouldn't be far off though.