บท 58: 'Eye' see you
(Third POV)
In the town of Krasma, a town at the northwest peak of the Demon continent, there were four individuals, three staring patiently at the seemingly young, barely dressed girl, staring up to the horizon for something.
Two of them go by the names of Talhand of the Clifftop and Elinalise Dragonroad. They were former members of the party [Fangs of the Black Wolf] and were assisting in finding the family of the party leader, Paul Greyrat.
The other two were demons, both looking young but having statuses that contradict their appearances despite their actual ages. Especially the one who looked like she was going to elemantary school.
The one with blue hair, wearing a pointy hat and brown robe, and holding a staff was Water King Magician Roxy Migurdia.
She was the former tutor of Paul Greyrat's son, Rudeus Greyrat. After seeing the message Paul had left for Rudeus and his party members to read, she encountered and later on joined together with Elinalise and Talhand to find Paul's family.
The woman with wavy violet hair, horns like a goat on her head, and a revealing outfit was Demon Empress Kishirika Kishirisu, who had a childish and curveless body due to only having resurrected recently (in unclear lengevity terms).
The Demon Empress was currently using her Demon Eye to locate the family of Paul.
After the escalating drinking competition, Roxy reluctantly paid off the owner the money Kishirika couldn't pay for. Unbeknownst to Talhand, it was his money. Albeit, he had drunk almost as much as the Demon Empress as he was her opponent and Roxy was too drunk to notice that she, like others in the pub, had given her money away some of her money to the owner of the establishment so that he would buy the liquor from the neighboring store after he ran out of it.
But thanks to having reached his absolute limit, he only remembers dreaming about alcohol and how it deliciously tasted.
Elinalise, on the other hand, got herself a partner and went off into the night, only cries of pleasure coming from somewhere else until even after the dawn of day had embarked.
While the Demon Empress scanned the world for the people whose names she was given, Roxy deeply prayed for the safety of her disciple's family.
***
(Roxy POV)
This is our chance. Never did I even hope to meet the Demon Empress Kishirika Kishirisu.
Rescuing Rudy and the others should be easier once we know of their location.
Rudy himself seems to have been safe after getting teleported, so I'm more worried about Lilia, Zenith, and Aisha.
As much as I would like to believe Elinalise and Tallhand that Zenith can take care of herself, we haven't found anything yet.
As we three waited, Kishirika looked around with her Demon Eye for a few seconds before coming to a halt.
"Huh. This is awkward."
"Awkward? What is?" I asked.
"This one can only vaguely locate the one called Zenith Greyrat, who is near the labyrinth city of Rapan on the Begaritt Continent, but the rest are... hold on, what is this?"
While I'm glad to know that Zenith is alive despite not knowing if she is well, I would like to know the problem in locating the rest of them.
Was I wrong, and this is just some brat trying to rig us?
I went over to her and grabbed one of her shoulders to turn her to face me, but she kept looking up at the horizon.
"Listen. You can go around and play pretend all you want, but if you trick people into playing this charade, then it will end brutally."
I tried to be strict with her due to my own experience with people outside my home village.
"This one thinks she located the ones who go by the name Lilia and Aisha. They seem to be together with a bunch of other people, including Paul and Norn."
"Listen, you can't just go around tricking people like this. You will get into serious trouble if you prank people like this."
"Wait, what the hell is goOoOoOoOoOo~"
The girl suddenly started spinning around as if she had got caught in a tornado or something.
Tallhand grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her from spinning, but she still swayed her head around in a loop before catching herself back.
"Whoah! It's like a God-class Wind Spell hit This One. What the hell is happening on the Millis continent?!"
"A Wind God attacking the Millis continent? Are you seriously thinking we would believe that? You're probably gonna tell us Paul and his family are on the continent right now while experiencing those turbulences."
"No, this one is serious. They are-"
"Found you!"
Another voice cut her off, all of us turning our heads to the source of the scream, and I was utterly shocked by the sight my eyes behold.
Running towards us was a person clad in black armor covered in scratch marks and a greatsword hanging on her waist. She had blue skin, white hair, a horn sticking out of her forehead, and black eyes with red irises.
There are many of the Demon Race who have unique appearances within their tribe, but this person right here has been known very well to be recognized for her traits.
It was none other than the infamous Immortal Demon Lord Atoferatofe, the strongest and most fearsome of them all.
Not only is she of the Immortal Tribe, known for their regenerative abilities, but she was taught in the way of the sword by her husband, North God Kalman I. She is a veteran of the North God Style and the one who taught the second-generation North God, her son Kalman II.
Knowing all this, my legs betrayed me, and I was frozen on the spot. I can't even remember when I felt scared like this before in my life.
To my surprise, the one the Demon Lord went after was Kishirika, who, unbeknownst to me, hid behind me.
"There you are. I was looking for you!"
The Demon Lord then grabbed Kishirika by one of her horns and lifted her up. I took a few steps back and watched the scene before me unfold to who knows where.
"T-T-This one didn't d-d-d-do anything yet! This one swears!"
"One of my descendants probably got defeated! So I need you to find out who fought him. Now get to work with that All-Seeing Eye of yours."
Everyone present at the moment was at a loss for words. The Demon Lord said it in such a joyous manner that it felt like she was somewhat excited about it. Even some bystanders who were about to run away stopped because they shouted it out loud.
"Wait, is it Kal or perhaps Alex?" Kishirika asked, having calmed herself down a bit as she asked away.
"Neither. It was my great-grandson, Randolf Marianne; Death God ranked 5th in the Seven Great World Powers. His symbol disappeared a few months ago."
"Wow, really?" Kishirika said with her arms now crossed as her interest grew despite still being held up. "This one would also like to know, who became the new number five?"
"That's why I came here for you. I got my soldiers to find you so that you would use your Demon Eye to find them. If that person defeated a descendant of mine, then I got to see for myself if that person is truly worthy of the position he holds."
"Mhm, mhm. Makes sense. This One would do the same if This One ever had a child of her own."
What is going on!? She wasn't tricking us? That means Zenith really is on the Begaritt continent. But what about the rest of them?
"Moore!"
"At your service."
On the shout of his name, one of the black-clad soldiers came next to her, holding a sheet of paper out.
"That's the new symbol that replaced Death God's. Find it."
Since their small talk cooled down the air a bit, I looked over to see what was written, or rather, drawn on the sheet of paper.
I was shocked to see that the symbol was the one from my tribe. I could feel the color on my face vanishing. Both of them are ancient and knowledgeable individuals. What if they connect it to me?
"Isn't that the Migurd tribe's symbol?"
That bratty empress!!! How could she?!
"Nah, that's impossible. A Migurd defeating one of MY descendants? Those shrimps are only worth for delivering messages, and that's it."
While I'm relieved about my tribe not being, getting degraded in public like that does hurt. Especially since she is talking about the ability of Telepathy, which I don't possess. And getting reminded about it is even more degrading.
"Alright. Let This One see what This One can do."
Kishirika used her Demon Eye again to locate that new Great World Power. I would lie if I said I wasn't curious, but I must prioritize finding Rudy first.
"Huh. That's weird."
"What is?"
The speed at which the Demon Lord switched into annoyance was immaculate. Asking for a favor and then being stingy when it doesn't work right away? How short of a fuse does she have?
"The person is in the Northern Territory of the Central continent, but the mana density over there has risen significantly last time This One had checked. This one keeps losing sight, similar to before."
"The hell are you blabbering? Are you telling me the place is turning into another Demon continent?"
"No. Even with the density of this continent, or even the Begaritt continent, This One shouldn't have that much of a problem finding anyone. Unless someone highly powerful put a high-class barrier around it."
"You dumbass. Not even that bastard Perugius would do something that dumb. Just put in more effort then."
"You don't even have Demon Eyes. How would you know how difficult it is to see through high-density mana?!"
"You're only saying that because your dumbass got killed again, and now you're back to being a weak little child."
"THIS ONE IS STILL OLDER THAN YOU, SO SHOW SOME GODDAMN RESPECT ALREADY BY PUTTING THIS ONE DOWN!"
Kishirika's outburst at Atoferatofe was returned by her grabbing the other one of her horns, which showed that she was about to rip them off her head.
"Oh, I will put you down, alright. BELOW THE GROUND THAT IS!!!"
Kishirika panicked again but was saved by the person holding the sketch of the Migurd symbol. There was some distance between them, and the person looked pale on his face.
"Lord Atofe, you shouldn't get impatient yet. All the Demon Empress needs to do is concentrate on her sight a little while more to locate the new Great World Power. Complications normally occur, so please give her more time."
"Yes! He is right! It may take a bit longer, but This One is sure it will work with more time."
"Hmph! Whatever. Make it quick."
"S-S-Sure. J-Just put This One down first. Looking at the direction makes it easier."
On Kishirika's plead, the Demon Lord put her down, a sigh of relief escaping before she realized that the rest of the soldiers had surrounded us. Even Elinalise, Tallhand and me.
"Don't even think about escaping. Moore thought about something like this happening, so he gave instructions on what to do."
Tallhand was about to say something, but a soldier other than that Moore guy tapped him on the shoulder and said, "I'm sorry. But any attempt to change her mind will be in vain. Once something stuck to her head, it will only be a matter of days before she forgets about it."
"But, how can she locate that person with only knowing the symbol?" Tallhand said with a few sweat drops rolling down his face.
"I don't understand it myself, but the All-Seeing Eye can locate people by even title, and it can fail depending on how many people share it. However, since it's the rank of a Great World Power, it can look for the specific person alone since only one can hold a specific spot at a time."
Incredible. It sounds all so complicated, but anyone in the world could be located if you had such an eye. Wait, no. There are obviously limits to it as the owner of such an eye struggles to locate anyone I asked her to properly.
While Kishirika was again using her Demon Eye (her eye almost bulging out because of how much she puts effort into it), me and Tallhand got together and Elina... not again.
"For crying out loud, woman. At least control yourself in these kinds of predicaments."
Elinalise was already on her usual behavior. Seducing men. To be precise, one of the soldiers on the other side of us.
From the bottom of my heart, I hope that she is doing that to get us out of here.
"FOUND... *huff* *huff*... him... *huff*... but still, This One's sight isn't clear. It's a bit foggy"
"Spit it out already. Who is it, and where are they?"
"On the north of the Central continent, in the capital of the Ranoa Kingdom, Sharia. Oh? Your son is with him. Even your grandson, the current North God, is in the same city."
"Alex and Kal are there?"
The Demon Lord initially looked surprised, but her expression soon twisted into a smile. Not a motherly one for hearing about her son, a grim one that was paired with laughter.
"Fuwahahaha! That's my boy! Already on to avenge his grandson."
"Looks like he is training other people with him."
Kishirika's words put the Demon Lord's laugh to a halt, putting a confused look on her face.
"Oh, wait a minute. Roxy. I found Rudeus Greyrat. You said he is your pupil, right? It seems like he is the new number five. Impressive. He must be quite strong for a human child to make it this far. This One remembers giving him a Demon Eye a year or two ago."
"..."
Hold on, what?! Rudy? The number five? How? He is only thirteen years old. Talented or not, what kind of world-class Magician has he become to earn a spot as one of the strongest?
I feel like my head hurts from all the spinning thoughts.
Before I knew it, the Demon Lord stepped before me, looking down on me menacingly.
My legs were shaking a lot as I held my staff tight with both hands, trying not to lose my grip from the sweat accumulating. Talhand and Elinalise could only watch as they knew that none of us could stop her from anything.
She reached out her hand towards me, and I closed my eyes and braced myself for what was to come.
What I didn't expect was to lose my footing as I felt getting pulled up by the back of my robe. Cracking my eyes open, I was met with unsettling eye contact with the Demon Lord.
"Since you're his master, then you will introduce me to him once we are there. Then, I will see if he is a fit for my army."
"W-wha… huh!?"
"You will come with me. Ah, and the Elf and Dwarf as well. They might be acquaintances with him as well. Men! Apprehend them!"
"Wait! What is going on, Roxy?"
Talhand suddenly yelled out, but I couldn't see what was happening since I was still being held up.
I only heard some loud bangs before it ended with some thuds.
Next, I was flung over the Demon Lord's shoulder and was gripped around my waist. What made it so unpleasant, though, was the fact that the lower part of my robe rolled up. My butt is being exposed. Everyone can see my underwear now.
"H-Hey! Put me down! I won't run away, so please."
"Now, let's depart. Moore, lead the way to the Teleportation Circle closest to Sharia."
Is she ignoring me?
"As you wish, my Lord. However, it will take a few months until we reach our destination until there. We may not find Rudeus Greyrat should he depart for another place until we reach Sharia."
"Hmm~. Good point. Kishirika, you will come as well."
"Huh? This One can't. This One needs to stay on the Demon continent."
"Nonsense! You're only saying that because you don't want to resurrect again. Come here!"
"Wah! Careful!"
In the next moment, the Demon Lord flung Kishirika over her other shoulder and held her tight over it.
"Men, let's depart!"
On her command, she followed her subordinate Moore while the rest was behind her, two of them carrying the unconscious Tallhand and Elinalise.
I just looked at the scene with a deadpan expression. What even is this?
"So~" I heard Kishirika say. "You must be quite proud of your dear pupil becoming one of the Seven Great World Powers. A high achievement inde- huh?"
I raised my staff up while shooting her a dead expression.
"What is the meaning of thi-"
*BONK*
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