## Chapter 558 – The Little Match Girl

ㅡKUUUUOOOOOOOOOOO!!

The frenzied Sasquatches attacked the black-clad figures indiscriminately. The figures were helpless against the onslaught, but they eventually managed to fight back, relying on their numbers.

ㅡFwoosh!

Some of them seemed to be mages, as purple fireballs and energy arrows flew around frequently. The Sasquatches hit by the magic writhed in agony, coughing up blood.

The figures protected those mages as they fought.

“…”

But damn it, that purple fireball looks familiar.

I’ve seen something similar countless times.

As I realized this, a deep hatred began to boil within my chest, along with a throbbing rage, feeling like it was coursing through my veins and piercing my brain.

“Heretics.”

Mainly `heretics` used that kind of magic.

Aren’t those bastards heretics?

And right now, Hildegard has sensed the power of a demon and tracked it down. What that means is simple.

ㅡThere’s a high probability that heretics are employing demonic power.

“Winia, I’m asking just in case, but what kind of purple magic is there?”
“…I don’t know. I don’t know that one.”
“What? There’s something Winia doesn’t know?”
“There are some things I don’t know.”

I was wondering if other mages besides heretics used that kind of magic, but it seems I won’t be able to find out.

Anyway, we lay flat on the ground, gathering attention from our surroundings to cover our faces and heads, and watched the battle between the Sasquatches and the figures.

“Katt-nim, I’m sure. I can feel the power of a demon. I don’t know which side, the Sasquatches or the humans, but they’re exuding that energy.”
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know, Hildegard.”
“Hehe.”

I can’t be 100% sure that they’re heretics yet.

Purple magic can’t be the only one. The black clothes are suspicious, but I don’t know for sure.

But one thing is certain: they are currently using the power of a demon. If that’s the case, then they are targets for annihilation, no matter what.

Because I have to complete the mission of Saint Kadia.

ㅡKUUUUAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!
“KYAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

The battle soon reached its climax.

The Sasquatches, constantly hit by magic, fell. As two more fell, the remaining ones fled madly towards the other side of the snowy mountain.

The humans had won.

But it wasn’t a sweet victory. There were a lot of casualties.

The pure white ground was stained with crimson blood. Counting the number of survivors, there were only five. Almost ten people had been killed by the Sasquatches.

In contrast, the total number of Sasquatches killed was three.

It was a 5:20 fight, so the exchange ratio wasn’t good.

“Katt-nim. I think it’s over.”
“Yeah. I’m watching.”

After the battle ended, they took a short break and began to collect the bodies. But I don’t know if they’ll be able to collect them.

There weren’t any intact bodies.

The humans hit by the Sasquatches’ forepaws exploded and disintegrated into the air. They were just gathering the pieces of meat and laying them down.

Besides that, one guy was cutting open the Sasquatch’s stomach and taking out its insides.

Is he taking trophies?

After taking everything they could, the people who gathered the bodies moved strangely, as if performing some kind of ritual, and then shot fireballs to cremate the bodies.

It seems to be a kind of funeral procedure.

After finishing the rough work, they gave some kind of silent tribute and began to move somewhere.

It seems they’re thinking of returning to their base.

If so, then I have to track them.

“Let’s follow them now. Hilde, can you do it?”
“Yes! Of course, I can! Just leave it to me!”

I’m going to keep a little distance and secretly follow them using Hilde’s radar.

I need to be as careful as possible.

Just a while ago, the paladins were searching. But they haven’t been caught until now. That means they’re very careful and good at hiding.

Only a very small number of them have been caught.

They must be aware that they are being chased. Fortunately, it was snowing a little.

That should help with the footprints.

“Hey, Darkie. But this seems pretty dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to just find out their location and go back and report it?”
“Let’s see first. If it’s dangerous, we’ll back off, and if it seems doable, we’ll stick our heads in. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything dangerous. I have a brain too.”
“If Darkie says so… I’m still a little worried.”
“What’s there to worry about when you and I are here?”

The combination of a skilled warrior and a mage is truly a combination suitable for murder.

First of all, they haven’t noticed our presence. That means we have the initiative. A mage’s surprise attack boasts almost the same power as a grenade launcher.

So, there’s nothing to be afraid of yet.

“Katt-nim. They’re getting farther away little by little.”

Hildegard, who had her eyes closed, informed me. It seems that the humans really did borrow the power of a demon.

Those damn demons…!

ㅡA kick for guaranteeing fair labor rights!!
ㅡThe right to worker liberation!

I could still hear the prophet’s cry in my ears.

His conviction was genuine.

He was just deceived by a demon.

Demons tempt and corrupt humans with sweet words. As a seeker of fusion Confucianism, I will never just let that pass.

“Let’s go down.”

Immediately, while guarding the surroundings, I went down the slope with bumps here and there. As expected, I slowly and carefully held Winia’s hand, who was having a little difficulty.

“…Darkie’s been reliable lately.”
“Hehehe, I’m a prospective paladin.”
“Paladins are so amazing.”

As I went down, the traces of the fierce battle came into view in more detail. They had roughly cleaned up, but they couldn’t clean everything.

“…”

There was nothing to be found in the cremated bodies. The same goes for the Sasquatch’s corpse. Everything that could be a clue was burned or taken away by them.

Maybe these corpses will soon be eaten by hungry monsters. Winter is a hungry season, and there are plenty of guys who will tear apart and eat the burnt corpses.

“Hey, Darkie, try to move while stepping on the footprints they made as much as possible. Got it?”
“I know that much.”
“I can fly, so I’m okay!”

I’m jealous of wings at times like this.

Immediately, I moved in the direction they were heading.

You never know, there might be guys who have created outposts in the middle to monitor the movements of the surroundings. Maybe there are guys hiding and ambushing us.

I spread my extremely refined senses around me.

I moved ahead with my Living Sword drawn, preparing for ambushes and enemy scouts.

“Winia. You can use the shield instantly, right?”
“Of course. But if we get attacked first, we’re running away. Got it? We don’t know the scale of the enemies, so if we’re discovered first, there’s no chance of winning no matter what we do.”

Winia said bluntly.

That’s obvious.

Since she’s saying the obvious, it means she’s worried.

“Yeah. If we get attacked first, let’s run away.”
“Good thinking.”

If we discover them first, we can try to do something, but if we get caught first, there’s no chance of winning. We don’t know what scale the guys we don’t even know will attack us with.

We’ll just drop the game and go report it.

Let’s be careful about that.

In that way, I compared Hildegard’s radar with the traces of their movement and carried out the pursuit. It’s roughly matching up.

“…”

I’m getting nervous.

They weren’t very good at fighting. When they fought the Sasquatches, I could see them panicking.

They haven’t undergone inhuman training, and they’re not afraid of death. The only thing I’m worried about is their scale. Initially, there were about 20 people.

If they’re operating that many soldiers, it’s dangerous.

There may be more people in the main base. Of course, there’s a high probability that what I saw earlier was their maximum force, but still. Anyway, I have to investigate first.

ㅡCrunch, crunch.

There was nothing special during the move. I was just a little slow because I was compulsively checking all the surrounding terrain.

As I was chewing on jerky from time to time while tracking, I finally saw what was presumed to be their base.

“…A cave?”
“Katt-nim. I think it’s inside there.”

There was a slightly secretive-looking cave in front of me. The entrance was cleared of snow to some extent. There was a path with a lot of traffic, and there were quite a few footprints.

A cave in a very secluded place and suspicious guys living there.

It was clear that these were crazy bastards. That means there’s a high probability that they’re heretics.

…But should I go in?

I can’t make a proper judgment.

“Hey, Darkie. Let’s wait for now. Let’s do some surveillance.”
“Okay.”

Immediately, I moved to the wooded area above. From now on, I need to camouflage myself and monitor that place. I don’t know how big the force is, or if there are any guys out there separately.

I don’t think there will be that many.

If it was a large scale, it would be difficult to survive together in this midwinter, and the probability of being caught would increase.

A squad-level scale is appropriate.

It would be even better if more than half of them died in the battle earlier.

First, I took off my bag and hid it, then took out the tent tarp, laid it on the ground, and camouflaged the surroundings. This side is higher than the cave, so there’s little chance of being caught.

“Hmm… I want to go in and scout myself, but if there are demons on that side, I think I’ll be caught. So, I can’t use my magic recklessly right now.”

Hildegard says she’s hiding her power right now. If there are demons on that side, they’ll be able to sense it.

“It’s okay. You stay here with me too.”
“Hehehe. I’m so happy.”
“Seriously… Darkie and Succubus, be quiet. Lower your voices as much as possible.”
“Okay.”
“Yes.”

So, we lay down in that spot and watched the cave entrance. Thanks to Hildegard’s magic, it wasn’t too cold. However, it was difficult because I always had to be careful about the snow melting.

Soon, the sun began to set.

There wasn’t really any sign of people in front of the cave. Was the group that went in earlier the last one? Anyway, I need to take turns standing guard overnight and monitor it.

“…Seriously, what kind of hardship is this? Well, I can do it. But Darkie, be prepared when we get back. I won’t let you go all day.”

You’re the one who needs to be prepared, Winia.

“When we get back, I’ll be Slave Kim Katt.”
“Hehe. That’s good then.”
“Hilde, can you still feel the energy from inside?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
“What’s the probability that you’ve already been caught?”
“Succubi are good at hiding their energy. I’m hiding it as much as possible for now. If it’s a strong demon, they might have noticed… But it’s strange that the guys who borrowed the power of a strong demon were annihilated by those Sasquatches. There’s no problem.”

That’s credible.

So, we took turns sleeping while monitoring the cave. It wasn’t a problem for me and Winia, who had been rolling around as adventurers anyway, and Hildegard didn’t complain, saying she was happy just being next to me.

So, the night passed and the sun rose.

“…”
“…”

I held my breath and looked at the cave.

In the first place, my stamina had increased, and I was nervous, so I didn’t feel tired at all. Rather, I examined the scene with a clearer mind than ever.

ㅡ…
ㅡ…
ㅡ…

After maintaining silence and staring for an hour, two black-clad figures were finally spotted coming out from the inside.

Should I monitor the traffic more?

Or should I finish them off now and infiltrate the inside?

“…Hilde, if we capture them alive, can you use mind magic on them?”

I lowered my voice to the extreme and asked Hilde.

“I think I can… But then I’d have to reveal my power. The moment I do, there’s a high probability that the guys inside will notice.”
“Hmm…”

Then it’s better not to.
I continued the surveillance for now.

There wasn’t much traffic. Occasionally, two or three people would come out, look around, and go back in. As for guard duty… Are they not really standing guard?

No one was coming in or going far away.

While I was deciding what to do, two more guys came out of the cave with something like bags.

The guys who were chatting and moving came down to a place quite far from the cave.

“Those fucking bastards dare…!”