NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 114
“Uh… me?”
When I handed over Plauros’s claw, the first thing she did was just stare at me blankly, as if startled.
For someone like her, used to the life of an Adventurer, Yor’s actions were momentarily baffling.
Adventurers are all about calculating their own gains. Even monster leftovers follow that rule—if a body is left behind, the one contributing the most to the fight gets dibs on it.
And Niki thought that in this battle, no one had shone brighter than Yor.
Sure, she had held off the Demon for a while, but ultimately, it was Yor who delivered the final blow.
He probably could’ve taken it down all on his own if it weren’t for the surrounding heat… Niki mused.
So, seeing her casually handed an item by him left her completely dumbfounded.
Honestly, she hadn’t even begun to grasp the fact that she had anything to do with a Demon.
As the saying goes, the involved parties often don’t realize what’s going on.
But Yor saw things differently.
The very ability to fight like this was made possible by having the right environment set up. And the fact that Niki played a significant role in that was undeniable.
‘And I’m curious too…’
Of course, the main reason was to confirm her words. Absorbing a Demon’s body, which was the source of her blood, could free her from her rage.
There was no better opportunity than now to find out if that information was true.
And this Demon seemed to have a deeper connection with her as well.
“Yeah, hurry up.”
Thus, Yor placed the claw in Niki’s hands. And as expected, his assumption was right.
As soon as the item touched her hands, it seemed to melt and seep into her body.
“Uh, uh…?”
Just for a moment, Niki was stunned, but soon, changes began to manifest in her body.
A dense magical aura surrounded her for a fleeting moment, then absorbed entirely into her form.
Whoosh—!
As if her nails were lengthening like Plauros’s, darkness seeped into her irises, forming reverse eyes. At first glance, it looked like a scene of her turning into a Mine.
“…!”
Yor and Sephir tensed for a second at her unsettling transformation, but that didn’t last long. The magic soon settled down, and Niki returned to her usual self.
Aside from her slightly longer nails and hair, externally, she looked pretty much the same.
However, it seemed Niki herself could sense something had changed.
“What the…?”
For a moment, she stared blankly, then clenched her hand like a cat and swiped her claw through the air.
Slash—!
A blaze erupted, carving deep into the stone floor, leaving clear claw marks. Not only that, but embers flickered and danced in the scorched earth.
Going by that power and technique, she looked just like Plauros.
‘No way…’
In fact, she might even be stronger. It was as if Niki’s original prowess had mingled seamlessly with Plauros’s abilities.
After that, Niki moved a few more times to gauge her strength. Flames followed her attacks, and heat radiated from her body, warming the air around her.
At times, a dense magical aura flowed out to engulf her, causing her eyes to shift into reverse form, much like a Mine.
But unlike a typical Mine, her mind stayed intact. In fact, it seemed she could control her Mine form at will, gathering the magic like it was nothing.
Yor had never seen anything like it… No, it was something that seemed unheard of even throughout human history.
Traditionally, becoming a Mine symbolized crossing the point of no return; it meant losing oneself to the power and destroying everything in the process.
So, Yor looked at Niki with an expression of sheer amazement.
In a moment of levity, he had a silly thought.
‘Whoever ends up sleeping with her is doomed…’
Getting scratched by those sharp nails might as well mean losing all skin on their back.
In bed, they’d need to be ready to face their doom. Of course, he didn’t dwell too much on it since it had little to do with him.
As she got lost in her own world, testing her new powers, she finally came to her senses and muttered.
“What is this…”
Her state of shock at what had changed about her was evident.
At that sight, Yor gave her a light round of applause.
“Congrats! You’ve been freed from the Rage.”
His voice carried a hint of envy. For anyone with her powers, the Rage was an immense chain holding them back.
Given the congratulatory moment, he figured he’d add the support he’d failed to deliver earlier.
“With that, you could probably secure a proper status for yourself, right?”
Why people with these powers struggled to fit into society mostly boiled down to public perception.
But the next reason definitely was tied to ‘Rage’ as a variable.
Ultimately, that perception was significantly shaped by the fear instilled by the Rage.
Going through fits of uncontainable Rage monthly, one could be instantly turned into a Mine if their heart slipped even for a moment.
From the perspective of regular folks, it was like having a bomb that could go off at any moment.
But right now, that threat had vanished. There was no chance of an explosion anymore.
And she could even prove that to others.
Though, the likelihood that people would accept it immediately was low.
At first, they might even react negatively. Someone could very well launch an attack.
But with persistent effort… and by proving herself, acceptance would come in time.
After all, her strength now could no longer be dismissed.
People would realize it was beneficial to have her as an ally.
“…Ah.”
Once Niki understood that, she let out a quiet voice. It was filled with a multitude of emotions.
Her voice held the weight of the grievances accumulated throughout her life, mingled with excitement for the changes ahead.
Yet, the most evident emotion behind her words was unmistakably joy.
Suddenly, tiny droplets of tears formed at the edges of her eyes, unwittingly clinging to her.
Gradually, the droplets grew, trailing down her cheeks.
In a choked voice, Niki murmured.
“Thank you… really, thank you…”
Before her eyes danced a fleeting dream.
A dream of mixing in with people, laughing and chatting away. A world free of glaring guards trying to imprison her.
She no longer fretted over when she might be caught.
This was a dream she had long thought unattainable. But now, somehow, it felt within her reach if she just tried.
And thus, her soft sobs echoed across the vast, empty plain.
***
Even though they caught Plauros, that didn’t mean the fight was over.
There was still that guy Andras left to deal with.
As much as I wanted to see Niki have a full-on meltdown, I had no choice but to calm things down a bit and head toward the Knights.
After all, if things went sideways, there could be casualties on the Knights’ side.
The sword swung by Andras was notably dangerous. It was literally a weapon perfect for slaying living beings.
At least, I had something to tease Niki about for a while, so I settled for that.
When we finally reached the Knights’ area…
The fight was already over.
And it had ended in the Knights’ favor.
“Huff, huff, did we make it…”
In the middle of the battlefield, Odelia was leaning against her great sword, catching her breath.
She looked exhausted, with burns scattered all over her body, but it seemed like she was going to live. The same went for the rest of the Knights. I even spotted my party sprawled on the floor, gasping for air in one corner.
It seemed they had gone through quite the rough battle, but hey, they’d emerged victorious.
“Hmm…”
Well, they were technically the Knights, after all. Their reputation might have dipped somewhat lately, but they were far from being overlooked forces.
After catching her breath for a while, Odelia finally stood up and made her way over to a spot.
She picked up a chunk of dark-colored metal that lay on the ground.
It was a fairly large piece, radiating a strong magical energy, suggesting it was likely an item dropped by Andras.
Odelia glanced at the metal and then at me before saying,
“I’ll divide this item for sure once we tally the contributions. Don’t worry, I won’t forget your share.”
It seemed, as the commander of the Knights, she had to keep track of treasures, and she was mindful of my presence.
Well, I wasn’t just a passive participant, so it would’ve looked awkward if she just took off with it.
But hey, her intention to share something was enough to lift my spirits.
As for the two members of Lemegaton beside her… I chose to keep my mouth shut regarding their performance.
It was a blessing we weren’t at each other’s throats right now because it’d hardly be surprising if we ended up clashing any moment.
Thus, we returned to the territory, having successfully completed the Demon hunt.
***
And that very night we returned home… Lemegaton was preparing to leave.
“…You’re leaving already?”
“Yeah. Staying in the same territory as the Knights just means more chances to clash.”
That night, beneath a crescent moon, Yor bid farewell to the Lemegaton crew.
Man, who would’ve thought he’d find himself peacefully saying goodbye to them? Even he found the situation amusing.
He paused in his farewell wave to ask Niki,
“What about you? What are you gonna do now?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You just got the power you’ve been wanting. Doesn’t it seem like you can act freely now?”
It was a fair point. She now had a way to prove she wasn’t a bomb waiting to explode, and she’d gained the strength to protect herself.
At Yor’s question, she hesitated.
“…Well.”
Then, she glanced at Sephir beside her.
Now that he was here, it felt like Sephir’s gaze on Niki was particularly sharp, almost like he was monitoring her as she prepared to leave.
After a brief moment of doubt, Niki finally replied,
“For now… I think I’ll stick around.”
At those words, Sephir let out a sigh of relief.
Sure, ‘for now’ might imply she could leave at any moment, but… let’s not dwell on that.
Frankly, it was an unexpected response.
Given her desire for acknowledgment, it had seemed like she’d be out the door any second.
“That’s surprising. I totally thought you would leave that group.”
“Well, it’s where I’ve been living. And I’ve built relationships here; I don’t want to just up and leave without good reason.”
Even if it hadn’t been her conscious choice to enter, Lemegaton was the only group that welcomed her when she was being chased from society.
And there were at least a couple of bonds formed here. She didn’t want to part with those relationships so abruptly.
Even if they had taken her in for their own reasons, she would naturally feel attached.
She also figured Lemegaton wouldn’t just let her walk away.
Of course, staying in Lemegaton meant she’d continue struggling to fit into society.
After all, it was a criminal group universally rejected by different nations.
Staying there for long wouldn’t yield pleasant experiences.
But she wasn’t particularly worried.
In stark contrast to her seemingly hopeless future, it felt like she could be acknowledged as a genuine human if she put in the effort.
It was that glimmer of ‘possibility’ that mattered. She didn’t care how tough the journey became.
Because she was willing to strive to be recognized not as a seed of a Demon, but as one clear human being.
After all, humans lived on the possibilities they could see.
“Well then, we’re off.”
With that, she smiled and said goodbye.
At that moment, Yor saw her shine brighter than he’d ever seen before.