In the morning, our company bid farewell to the witch and headed towards the village. Since this time we were following a young witch instead of me, in the form of Ivan Susanin, we reached our destination shortly after noon.
The village greeted us with mourning. This morning, trolls killed two more people, not to mention the herd of cows they devoured. The people were delighted to have the "magical support circus," but the local priest, on the other hand, declared that we were nobody, had no purpose, and that the circus had left, bringing only harm instead of help. So instead of relying on us, the villagers had to accept their fate, pray to the Lord, and die in His name.
After those words, I manifested a "miracle" and burned the fanatic to ashes. All doubts about our qualifications were dispelled, and the villagers immediately decided to organize a feast in our honor.
By evening, the people's emotions had settled, but trolls suddenly appeared. Since Guts was present in the village, his Brand attracted all the spirits in the vicinity. The village was located in a valley surrounded by cliffs, which prevented the sun from reaching here in the evenings, and the otherworldly creatures didn't wait for darkness to come.
As soon as the crowds of trolls appeared, the people immediately rushed towards the temple, which was the largest and sturdiest building in the village. Guts didn't run around chasing demons throughout the village; he patiently waited for them near the temple. After all, he was "paid" for killing trolls, not for saving people. There were so many disgusting creatures that the people had already begun to prepare for their deaths. But then the Black Swordsman stepped forward and swung his sword, rapidly reducing the troll population.
Schierke climbed onto the roof of the church to create a protective barrier that repelled the demons. Meanwhile, Serpico and Isidro fought the trolls, trying to keep them away from the witch. Casca also helped them as much as she could, although her ability to wield a sword hadn't fully recovered after her healing. Finally, the magic worked, and the church was surrounded by a barrier that destroyed the "dark" spirits.
But just as the people began to rejoice, an ogre emerged from behind the houses towards the church. It was a monstrous creature as tall as a three-story building. The ogre vaguely resembled a humanoid, but its anatomical structure was too absurd to consider it a "living organism." It was a being from the spirit world, its form determined by incomprehensible laws of the immaterial realm, resembling more of a dream or rather a nightmare.
"Well, finally something interesting" - Guts smirked, noticing the opponent.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the square, another monster appeared. It was a hybrid of a horse and a toad, which the locals called a kelpie. This creature immediately attacked Guts, shooting water spheres at him. While Guts could also charge himself with magic, he mainly relied on his sword. Moreover, since the battle at the Tower of Conviction, he hadn't encountered opponents that would require him to exert himself even ten percent.
"I'll hold him off" - Serpico volunteered immediately. He jumped off the roof of the church, planning to descend using his magical cape, and landed on the kelpie.
However, Guts didn't appreciate his enthusiasm. He could have destroyed these creatures in a second, but right now he was interested in the most efficient way to deal with such enemies.
"If we venture into the spirit world, creatures like these will be roaming in hordes. So, you need to learn how to quickly dispatch them, wasting minimal time" - I gave my wise instructions.
"I know" - Guts shrugged off.
The swordsman leaped towards the demon and made a test strike, aiming for its abdomen. The ogre retaliated by swinging its paw. It was then that Guts delivered a real strike, severing the outstretched limb. The demon roared, then picked up the severed wrist and pressed it back against the stump of its hand, and the edges of the wound immediately "healed," with the paw regrowing.
"Unpleasant ability" - the demon slayer muttered, preparing for his next strike, which was aimed at disemboweling the opponent.
Meanwhile, Serpico unexpectedly found himself engaged in a battle against the kelpie and received a few "slaps" from its water projectiles, which rattled his brain. However, he had nowhere to retreat because he had volunteered to destroy this creature himself.
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Guts lunged towards the ogre, swung his sword, severing its belly, and then literally jumped into the long and wide wound, delivering another strike. And another. And another. With each strike, the ogre's flesh opened up more and more, while Guts, on the contrary, delved deeper into the carcass. Eventually, he practically "drilled" through the mountain of flesh, emerging from the top and unraveling the entire body of the monster from the groin to the head. From the top of the corpse, the swordsman gracefully jumped down and admired the huge demon carcass falling to the ground, almost torn in half. And most importantly, after this "feat," Guts' clothes and cloak remained completely clean. Not a drop of blood stuck to him, creating the impression that he was not a human but an angel. However, this impression didn't quite match the black color of his cloak and costume.
Turning around, Guts saw Serpico being thrown back towards the church, struck by his opponent. Moving forward at supersonic speed, the swordsman approached the kelpie and sliced it into pieces. The creature couldn't withstand such an attack and immediately died.
The trolls, witnessing the death of their comrades and the two powerful spirits, decided to retreat. However, Guts had no intention of letting them go. Accelerating once again, he began running around the area, delivering maximum one strike to each troll, mostly killing three to five of them with a single sword swing. Within a minute, the invasion was over, and the streets were littered with dismembered demon corpses.
"Hurray, we won!" Isidro exclaimed with joy.
"Not yet" - I dampened his enthusiasm. - "Now we need to break into the trolls' lair and rescue the girls and women they abducted."
"Do you think they're still alive?" - Guts questioned the feasibility of this plan.
"Of course. They're all waiting for us to save them" - I exclaimed, then added in a whisper - "We need to head to the trolls' lair. You haven't forgotten that you need to kill Griffith, have you?"
"What are you planning?" - the swordsman whispered back, stepping aside.
"The trolls' lair is a passage to the spirit world. But before we go in there, you need to get rid of your companions. You don't want pregnant Casca to end up in the depths of the demon world, do you?"
"Pregnant?" Guts was taken aback.
"Of course. How could she not get pregnant with all your evening, morning, and hourly 'exercises'? Besides, Farnese also get pregnant from you. And that loli-witch is also suspiciously gazing you too. So, when we reach the trolls and find the villagers, you'll have to push them towards your harem and stay behind to cover the retreat. Once they're outside and safe, we'll venture deeper into the spirit world. Then all that's left is to find Griffith, kill him, and make our way back. And this whole demon saga will come to an end" - I explained. Guts looked at me with doubt.
"But don't worry, after that, I'll come up with something else for you to do. How about becoming the king of Midland?"
The swordsman scoffed at my suggestion and went to "comfort" Casca, especially since it was their last chance to have sex before parting ways.
Our team of superheroes then headed towards the trolls' lair. However, we had to leave Serpico behind in the village because his injuries prevented him from fighting properly. Our path was winding but relatively short. After an hour, we reached a suspicious passage deep within the dark forest. The trees here looked ancient, as old as the world itself. Their leaves rustled high above, creating an unimaginable height, while a gloomy darkness reigned beneath their roots.
In fact, we were already in the spirit world, right on the border between the physical realm and the otherworldly. But to move "deeper," we had to overcome a certain boundary between the worlds. In places like this, it was blurred but still present. Luckily, I remembered the moment Griffith escaped, so I had a rough idea of how to break through this boundary.
We followed the trail, and almost imperceptibly, the forest around us transformed into a cave. And most importantly, this cave was inhabited by thousands and millions of different "near-spiritual" creatures. The further we went, the more wildlife swarmed around us. And then, trolls poured in from all directions, and Guts began cutting a path through them.
While mortals fought against death, I studied how such a transition between the material world and... the astral plane could have formed. The deeper we ventured, the clearer it became to me that this was not an astral realm at all, but another material world that had attached itself to ours. It was like a leech sucking blood. We were constantly surrounded by blood, but gradually moving from one organism to another. And considering the scale of what was happening, it could be said that this world was actively devouring. The process of consumption had only just begun, but in a few decades, the entire universe would resemble a dream world, losing its "realness." And most importantly, I could sense the scent of Chaos emanating from the depths of this predatory world.
Finally, we reached the trolls' lair and discovered why they needed women. The otherworldly creatures raped them, and within minutes, "troll larvae" grew inside the women's bellies, hatching just like Alien creatures. These creatures would then grow, feeding on the corpses of their parents and the "larvae" of humans, meaning the children.
This disgusting "feast" was so repulsive that even I felt the urge to burn this place to ashes. However, now was not the time or place for that. Guts immediately mobilized all his companions to "rescue" the villagers, herding them into one group, while he himself set out to destroy the trolls, who clearly weren't pleased with the appearance of saviors.