Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 14 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Stray Corpse

“My king. Please be careful. Something has collapsed up ahead.”

Following Dora’s warning, we came to a stop. I squinted and looked down the corridor, spotting something on the ground lit by the walls’ dim light. It was still pretty far away, so I couldn’t make out anything more than a black lump.

“Is that...a person?” I asked.

“That’s right,” Dora answered, her eyesight apparently unhindered at this distance. “It’s probably a man. It’s facedown, so I can’t say for sure.” She then turned to Kudou. “What shall we do, my king?”

“It’s suspicious...” Kudou said, narrowing his eyes. “It might be a trap. Dora, go take a look for us.”

“Ah. No. Kudou, I’ll do it,” I said.

“Senpai?” Kudou looked dubious. “I don’t mind, but do you have some kind of plan?”

“Yeah. We should proceed carefully,” I answered, letting Katou down and holding up my left arm. “Please check it out, Asarina.”

“Masss—ter!”

Asarina stretched out of the back of my left hand.

“I see, meaning she won’t suffer any damage even if she’s attacked?” Kudou remarked in admiration. “How convenient.”

“She always saves my skin.”

“But even if she goes, won’t she be unable to tell us any details?”

“It’ll be fine. In Asarina’s case, we share a certain amount of sensation. Her intentions are largely conveyed to me too.”

“How truly serendipitous.”

As we talked, Asarina flipped the figure over. After taking a little look around it, she came back.

“Ssster.”

“Mm... Doesn’t seem to be dangerous. Still, just in case, we should be careful,” I reported.

“Hmph. I don’t need you to tell me that,” Dora said, transforming her arms into blades. Maybe she was under the impression her role had been taken from her. She glared at me with her peculiar black eyes. “So? Is it alive?”

“No. Looks like it’s dead,” I answered.

“A corpse. Then I suppose there’s obviously no risk of it attacking.”

Dora didn’t seem to really care that someone had died here. She started walking in front of us. I put Asarina away and got Katou back up in my arms, then followed her.

“Just let me ask now. That corpse isn’t one of your servants, right?” Kudou said, walking by my side.

“It isn’t. I would’ve been able to feel it beforehand over the mental path.”

“Is that so? Who could it be, then?” Kudou said, sinking into contemplation. “I suppose someone else could’ve gotten dragged into this as I did. It could also be one of your knight escorts, an enemy your servants have already defeated, or maybe something else entirely. I suppose it could be someone completely unrelated to this incident who wandered in here in the past.”

“It could be any of those. Anyway, we’ll find out once we check.”

We talked as we proceeded down the corridor. That was when I heard a small “ah” from Katou. She was quiet enough that I was the only one who heard her. It sounded like she realized something. I was a little curious, but by then, Dora had already reached the corpse.

“Well then...” Kudou mumbled.

There was a slight hint of surprise in his voice. One moment later, my focus returned to what was before us. I then froze at what I saw. I also felt Katou stiffen in my arms. After all, on the ground was...

“Hmm. Now this is unexpected,” Kudou said, full of interest as he squatted down next to the body.

A large amount of blood and entrails had splattered out of the corpse. This had happened some time ago. Despite the stench of blood, the majority of the stains had coagulated into a dark hue. Now turned faceup, we could see a twisted expression of fear and anger. This was enough to give me the chills, but Kudou’s faint smile didn’t flinch. Maybe this wasn’t enough to send the smallest ripple through the Demon King’s heart.

“How surprising,” Kudou said, touching the blood to check how much it had coagulated. “I didn’t think it’d be a fellow visitor.”

Yes. The corpse on the ground was that of a visitor. However, that wasn’t what gave me pause.

“Someone you know?” Kudou asked, turning my way.

“Yeah...” I replied a beat later.

This wasn’t just because I was confused. I had no idea what I should’ve been feeling. Still, I couldn’t remain frozen forever. I let out a sigh and spat out the complex feelings in my heart.

“That’s...Okazaki Takuma.”

“Okazaki?” Kudou repeated, surprise evident on his face now. “Then this is the Almighty Vessel?”

“Yeah.”

It was unbelievable, but I couldn’t deny the reality before my eyes. He was the mastermind behind this incident. After teleporting us to this place with him, Okazaki had ended up as this miserable corpse in a corridor.

“But what’s going on?” I said.

He was the primary threat to our survival. That only made his apparent death all the more confusing. Having fewer enemies was cause for relief, but this rather inspired dread.

“Why is this guy dead here...?” I muttered.

“Does this mean Rose and Lobivia fought here?” Katou asked.

I shook my head. “I can’t deny it for sure, but I don’t think they’ve been here yet.”

“In that case, maybe they had some trouble among collaborators?” she suggested next.

“I guess we can’t count that out,” I said, knitting my brow.

Okazaki tended to make enemies by nature, so I couldn’t say it was impossible. Still, it felt unnatural to kill a collaborator moments after making one. Perhaps something serious enough had happened to warrant that.

“It might be far simpler,” Kudou joined in. “Because he used Fairy Ring carelessly, it’s likely the Almighty Vessel was weakened. What if, much like us, Okazaki was thrown in here somewhere other than his intended destination?” Kudou shrugged. “He had no allies nearby and he wasn’t in a state to fight. Wouldn’t this be a lousy place to be left like that?”

“You don’t mean...” I knew what he was getting at right away. My cheek twitched.

Kudou nodded. “Okazaki Takuma was so weakened he couldn’t fight. He then encountered a monster and was defeated.”

“That’s...”

I was speechless. He’d dug his own grave. He’d got what he deserved. It was entirely possible.

“No, but still, to be so weak he couldn’t fight a monster...” I said.

“Even a cheater will die when taking on a horde of monsters alone and unprepared. I’ve witnessed it several times.”

There was a certain persuasiveness behind his words. Kudou then crudely touched Okazaki’s corpse.

“At any rate,” he said, “let’s investigate a little more. We might figure something out.”

He started casually stripping Okazaki’s clothes. He didn’t show a hint of consideration for the dead, but there was no point mentioning that to him. Besides, we did have to do an autopsy. With that in mind, I decided to watch attentively. However, the unexpected voice of his servant brought the Demon King’s progress to a halt.

“My king, please wait a moment,” Dora said.

At first, I thought maybe she was criticizing his actions. That proved not to be the case. Her eyes were fixed down the corridor, her arms already in the shape of blades.

“Something is coming.”

I’d heard that same warning multiple times since coming to this place. Thinking back on it, seeing that Okazaki’s corpse was here, whatever or whoever had done it—be it a person or a monster—was likely still nearby. As such, it wasn’t strange for Dora to sense an enemy approaching. However, this time, things were a little different.

There was more caution behind Dora’s voice than anything I’d heard from her before. Her expression was extremely grim and tense. Something out there made her act like this. I got my answer right away.

“What is that...?”

A figure was headed our way down the corridor. It was huge. Its curled back rubbed against the high ceiling. Its body was far too large for its build, looking inflated like a pig’s. Its massive meaty mass was supported by several needlelike legs. I felt physiological revulsion. Goose bumps ran down my skin. All I could see for now was a silhouette, but it was still so grotesque I felt nauseous.

That thing was different. Something about it was off. Everyone here should’ve felt the same thing. On that point, Dora was decisive.

“I’m setting forth.”

Fear didn’t bind her movements. She charged just as she always had. Possessing great strength in close-quarters combat, she slashed with her blades without hesitation. Meanwhile, Kudou prepared his magic, and I positioned myself to protect the back line.

Our opponent was a monster. In many cases, they were defeated by Dora’s first attack. That didn’t fly this time, though.

“Wha?!”

Dora had dashed across the corridor, slashing at a body so large it was questionable whether it could even react—and in that instant, a long arm mowed her down.

“Ugh...!”

An unbelievably fast attack for a body that size sent Dora flying. It might’ve been slow enough to react to, but there hadn’t been any signs of it getting ready to launch that attack at all. The movement had been so revolting, like it didn’t belong to a living being. Dora slammed against a wall, scattering shattered debris all around her. With the hindrance out of the way, the enemy continued its dreadful advance.

“A-Aaa...”

Was that a roar? A chill ran up my spine. It almost sounded like a human voice. But that was impossible. How could such a thing be?

“Ma...iro...”

There was a resentful ring to it. The enormous body got close enough for me to see it in detail for myself.

“Ji...ma...”

Its disheveled blond hair was extremely dirty. Its originally graceful features were twisted with rage, long having departed the realm of humanity. Deep, crossing lacerations ran across its crushed eyes, making it all the more atrocious.

“Maji...ma...”

The voice it weakly wielded—no longer leaving any doubt that it was a human’s voice—came from its cranium. An unbearable urge to vomit crawled up my throat.

“No way, you’re...”

It was impossible. It couldn’t be. But his face was none other than—

“Travis Mortimer?!”

“Majimaaaaa... Aaaaaaah!”

The man who had once commanded the Holy Order’s Fourth Company howled, his figure twisted beyond belief.