Chapter 179 : Chapter 179
Chapter 179: Hunting (2)
Even though we set foot in the ‘World of Demons’, the atmosphere didn't actually change drastically compared to inside the Wall.
Meaning, the air didn't feel different, nor did the scenery change.
Of course, there were areas like that, but for the most part, it wasn't.
Just like near the Wall, it was a cold place covered in snow all year round.
No, actually it's not exactly the same.
Because it wasn't the same kind of cold.
If inside the Wall was just extremely cold, from beyond it, it was a cold that froze everything.
In fact, the location of the Wall itself was built exactly on the boundary where it seemed uninhabitable for humans from that point on.
Actually, my fire was initially devised to withstand this cold.
Too many of my kin couldn't endure it and froze to death.
That's right.
To the extent that 「Hellfire」 was actually magic created because of this cold.
A fire that never easily extinguishes was needed, the ‘Beginning’ said.
Like that, after the ‘Beginning’ kindled a black flame that couldn't be extinguished by ordinary means, 「Hellfire」 became the magic representing the demon race.
Magic initially devised for survival began to be utilized in combat using the characteristic that it ‘cannot be easily extinguished’, becoming an object of fear for humans, who were one of their opponents.
Names like Hellfire or whatever were just names they arbitrarily attached, but since it sounded cool, I just went along with it.
If they were going to misunderstand on their own and tremble in fear, wasn't there no reason not to use it?
Fire from hell, they say.
In this world, ‘Hell’ and the ‘Underworld’ were often considered the same place, but strictly speaking, they were different places.
They get used interchangeably because both are worlds where the dead go, but should I say the recipients are different?
The Underworld was where the souls of those ruled by the gods──meaning those who worshiped the ‘god race’ represented by the 12 Gods──went.
A world presided over by the God of Death, a major deity among the gods.
On the other hand, Hell was the world of the demon race.
A place where dead demons who didn't believe in the gods went.
More precisely, should I say ‘a place they wanted to go’?
Like Valhalla, for instance.
My kin have worshiped fire.
As mentioned before, the demon race, who always had to suffer from freezing cold, considered the fire that saved their lives sacred.
They always wanted to go to a place where there was fire.
So they believed that if they suffered plenty in this cold living world and died honorably on the battlefield or something, they could stay in a warm (hot) place where that sacred fire blazed everywhere.
But humans, who couldn't understand that wish, could only think of a scary place where fire (that burns them) blazed fiercely.
That they created a stereotypical image of hell… full of pain, with lava-like fire glowing everywhere.
Like this, the image humans had of the demon race mostly stemmed from misunderstanding and prejudice.
Of course, it's true that they have a warlike nature, and (although not now, as they are united under the order called the new Demon King) it's true that they fight each other all the time, but the root of it was ultimately in ‘survival’.
The demon race's warlike nature wasn't because they were an ‘evil’ race from birth, but was acquired because the land they were born in was like this.
While fighting to somehow occupy the barely habitable land within this harsh environment, the strength that led those fights to victory naturally came to be revered.
Like that, it gradually became culture, and became their way of life.
It was all to survive.
Just like the Dark Elves of Krom, who came to have such a warlike nature due to the harsh natural environment.
Except Krom came to be treated as ‘kin’, albeit somewhat scary(?) neighbors, for the reason that they worshiped the same god race, while the demon race just became barbarians who knew nothing but war.
However, not long after crossing the Wall, having succeeded in a dice check thrown suddenly, I was the only one who could hear information about this [History] directly from the ‘Beginning’.
I wanted others to know this fact as well.
Of course, I couldn't let them hear the voice of the ‘Beginning’ just like me, but I could let them hear my voice.
So, I told them.
“──Like that, the demon race came to consider the place called Hell as their Heaven.”
I told the information of [History] that the ‘Beginning’ informed me directly, as a Bard.
“Ah, indeed…!”
Sure enough, the companions showed an intrigued reaction as expected.
“A place without this kind of cold was a sanctuary for them… I understand now!”
Of course, Miki tends to listen as if I'm saying something amazing no matter what I usually say, but this time it was the same for the others.
“Then the name of the magic called Hellfire was also initially attached by the human side?”
“Yeah, that's right.”
Rine was also asking me questions with the expression she had when she kept asking Pariah about the ‘outside’ before.
“It's a fact I was completely unaware of. Thanks to Mr. Bin, I'm learning something new again.”
Since she is an avatar born from Shurine, who is generally indifferent to worldly affairs, knowledge about the demon race would likely be all new content to her, who is ignorant compared to ordinary people if anything.
“F*ck… If it's this cold, of course fire would be god itself. It definitely makes sense.”
“It was an inevitable choice to survive from the harsh natural environment… They resemble the warriors of Krom.”
Of course, not only the companions, but the two Irons brothers who became temporary companions were also listening intently to my story.
“Their roots are not evil but driven by the environment… It's a story that makes you think a lot.”
Of course, my eloquence in telling it like singing an interesting myth definitely played a part too.
“…….”
Rather, the only one not saying a word was Lily.
Naturally, it didn't mean she wasn't listening to my words.
If anything, maybe she listened more intently than others.
That's how much she must have had on her mind.
Lily, in whom half-demon blood flows, still hiding the horns and tail she had since birth under that veil and nun habit.
Especially as a cleric serving a god, she was someone who grew up hearing the most stories about ‘devils’ being evil existences.
After all, they were existences directly hostile to the god(s) they served.
But such a story that those devils were actually existences quite different from our thoughts… she couldn't have accepted it simply as an ‘interesting story’ like the others.
“Ah, then perhaps… did the commonly spoken ‘contract with the devil’ also stem from such misunderstanding of ours?”
“That's a very good point, Miki.”
In the current situation where we are going to make that ‘contract with the devil’, even though it's a disguise to draw out Johannes, it could be called a particularly timely question.
That's right.
People inside the Wall usually have the perception that a ‘contract with the devil’ is a contract where one's soul is taken away.
“Our general perception is that it's because devils greatly enjoy grasping others' souls.”
Well, there are indeed guys who like and enjoy doing such things.
Like Luce.
But that's just because that guy has that kind of personality.
“Even the essence of that is a bit different. That's because they needed a ‘thorough contract to the point of using life as collateral’.”
“Because war is frequent?”
“Yeah. It developed as a kind of deterrent.”
In a world where the strong prey on the weak and you don't know when you might get killed, they tried to maintain civilization through ‘contracts’.
So they gradually developed a strong ‘binding force’, more precisely a kind of ‘contract magic’, that even takes away the opponent's life if that contract is broken.
That kind of thing started to be accepted in the way that ‘devils covet souls’.
In other words, inside the Wall.
“People have thought that beyond the Wall is a demon's den where they always only beat and fight each other, but actually, they were maintaining order to some extent through those ‘contracts’──is the story.”
Otherwise, wouldn't they have perished long ago?
How could it be maintained when they only kill each other every day?
In this land where it's f*cking hard just to live anyway.
“It's because they don't know everything.”
What happens outside the Wall.
“Because there are almost no cases of observing outside the Wall. Actually, how many people would there be who have come directly outside like us. So they are just guessing that they must be continuing to kill each other.”
Like that, they continue to reproduce preconceptions stemming from misunderstanding and prejudice.
Stories that ‘devils are such existences’.
“…Mr. Bin, you seem very knowledgeable about the demon race.”
At these words from Gabriel, I shrugged my shoulders and answered slyly.
“Since I'm a Bard. I was able to hear various stories by meeting this and that person.”
“Did you perhaps meet many demons too?”
“Haha. Would I have only met them. ──Well, actually, I am very close with an ‘informant’ who is extremely knowledgeable about the atmosphere outside the Wall.”
“Ho-oh.”
Of course.
Close indeed.
He resides right inside my body, after all.
The companions, who seemed to notice immediately that I was talking about the ‘Primordial Demon King’ sealed within me, all showed various reactions.
Toric smiled bitterly right away, and Ibi shook her head in disbelief.
On the other hand, Miki flinched and then looked at me with worried eyes that seemed to say ‘Is, is it okay to say even that…?’.
“Hm? What's wrong all of a sudden, Miki?”
“Yes?! W-Why me!? I, I didn't say anything!”
When Raphael, who saw that obvious reaction right next to him, asked in puzzlement, Miki showed a reaction that could only invite more suspicion.
That effort to keep my secret somehow was commendable.
Even if it seemed not helpful at all.
Actually, I made this joke in the first place because it wouldn't matter much even if I was found out by those two.
If it's those two Irons, they would probably—maybe not right away—understand my circumstances quickly.
Because they actually accepted my words from just a moment ago that ‘the demon race are existences different from our thoughts’ quickly.
And I actually believed that most ‘people inside the Wall’ would be like that.
Preconceptions stemming from misunderstanding and prejudice are bound to be broken someday once the truth is known.
Of course, the companions here right now accept my story immediately because they ‘trust me’, and it will take some time for others.
But even if it takes time like that, I believe that someday that preconception can be broken.
──That is why I came this far.
Because if the war the Demon King is trying to start really breaks out, even the opportunity for that preconception to be broken will disappear.
I had to stop him.
Only I could stop him.
A Malevolent Star shall rise in the sky, and the Wall shall crumble.
That's right.
As prophesied, I came to break the Wall.
Not through war, but through dialogue.
Solving problems through dialogue.
Isn't that originally the role of the Bard class?