Walking away from the residential area and going further inside a large parking lot that turned into a bazaar, he was able to see dozens or maybe even hundreds of stands with weapons, pieces of armor, even vehicles, or so on that were needed for combat. It wasn’t that different from what he saw in Sin City, but here everything was legal and no things like prostitutes, alcohol, or drugs were sold. Only energy pills and dopamine used for combat.
Darius went through the market until he reached the hand weapons.
Shotguns, machine guns, rifles, knives or swords, mines, and hand grenades. All that you wanted and feared the most was there, putting a smile on Darius’ face.
Seeing him stop in front of his shop, the vendor grinned widely and presented his goods.
"Weapons, ammunition, and explosives—all you want. But I see something else that has attracted your attention. For the price of 1.500 rozoni, this pretty’s only for you, dear sir."
An anti-tank sniper rifle with a barrel of about 1.20 meters, and a total length of close to 2 meters was hanging on the wall as a decoration; not many were actually thinking of buying such a thing.
This monster weighed about 22kg on its own, while the bullet was about 20mm, usually used for cannon rounds. The weight of the recoil after firing goes above 60 kg, and one requires a good shoulder guard for it. It was heavy with an especially long barrel; otherwise, the recoil might as well double, easily breaking someone’s shoulder bone even in a trained position.
In his past life, even before migrating into this world, a normal anti-tank sniper couldn’t actually pierce a real tank’s armor plating. As long as that tank wasn’t made in 1917 or at most in the early years of WWII, such a sniper would be useless in piercing the strong and thick armor.
But this sniper was made not just to pierce through modern tanks’ plating but to also completely blow its insides as well, the bullet itself being made as explosive rounds.
Such rifles were especially hard to manufacture, which is why they were priced about three times that of a normal rifle. The ammunition for such a weapon was also about 400 rozoni, so even fewer people would actually try to buy it.
Although it was a true weapon of mass destruction, its heavy weight and large appearance made it hard to use on the battle field, where one needed to move quickly so as not to get ambushed by an enemy.
However, it wasn’t the case for Darius, who knew the monsters’ behaviors and the way they hunted.
Back when he was a demon lord, he was able to acquire knowledge not just about the demonic cult, the human faction, or about Spirit and Demonic Wielders; but also about the monsters, the way to hunt them, the most useful weapons against what type of monster, enginery and machinery, and the neo-science that used miasma and mana as the main research points—exactly what Graham invested his life into.
"Give me that together with one box of ammos."
"That would be 1.900 rozoni, dear sir. As a bonus, here is the shoulder guard for it. Anything else?"
"… Pack it all in a backpack."
"yes yes, another 50 rozoni sir."
What bullshit. That guard was in the set anyway.
Darius snorted, and after putting the box of ammo on the backpack, he placed both the bag and the gun on his back, then started walking towards his room to grab his combat costume. It was about time he went to repair it, and while at it, he could just upgrade it a bit as well.
"Yo, look at that…"
"That guy’s mad…"
"Just what group is he part of? To buy such a monster of a weapon…"
"He might waste some painkillers just cuz’ of the recoil alone. That’s not sane."
Many people commented on Darius’ decision to buy the powerful weapon, but while the onlookers gave him shocked to mocking gazes, Darius gave them no mind as he continued on, walking inside a smithy.
"Welcome. What can I do for you?"
"Here, have a look at this and tell me if it can be upgraded."
A young man in simple clothes took off his headphones and asked Darius after he entered the shop. Everywhere on the walls were displayed pieces and pieces of armor, while there were also rare cases of melee weapons, all of them made from different materials collected from monsters since most of their bones were actually harder than metal.
Although there were weapons like hammers, large axes, and swords, the only ones actually capable enough to use them were the mages. While normal soldiers like Darius simply looked for better armor, not minding the close-combat weapons.
After taking Darius’ armor, the young man stared at it, and a frown was visible on his face.
"I’ll ask the expert to see what he thinks about it. But if I were to give advice, I’d say to just buy a new one. But anyway, wait here, please."
He went back in, and then a large man with thick arms came out while also examining the armor. In a rough voice, he said it as directly as possible.
"Sir, this can be considered a scarp petal. There are claws and teeth marks everywhere from whatever monsters you fought with, while this left arm's completely busted. I understand you wish to upgrade it. We could do that no problem, but rather than upgrade trash, why not just buy something better? I consider it to be cheaper."
Darius nodded at his advice and asked for any offers they might have.
Seeing that he had someone to talk with, the blacksmith went back in and came out with a large box in his hands. He slammed the box onto the table, and the whole room trembled for a moment.
"Here's something every soldier would droll over. An armored costume made out of a Stone Lizard. The defense is great; not even a tank shell will be able to go through this shit, while the shock absorbers we added won’t make you feel anything even after falling from the 10th floor."
The offer was more than just appealing, but Darius thought about how the whole room trembled after he placed the box down, shaking his head uninterestedly. After all, if it made the room shake, it meant its weight was on par.
"Maybe you have something for human soldiers? I won’t let anything touch me for as long as possible, but I need something that, even after being slammed through walls or cut with knives, won’t let miasma get in. If anything, I’m more afraid of the miasma than the monsters’ themselves."
"Hm~ so a light defensive equipment, yeah? I think I got exactly what you need."
Hearing Darius’ explanation, the man nodded and brought back the box, coming out with another one, a much smaller and lighter one.
"What you think of this one? Abyssal Snake’s skin armor. A high-ranked monster’s skin used to create a light and elastic piece of armor. It’s scales should protect you from bullets or other such projectiles as long as they’re not imbued with mana or miasma, while the elastic skin should absorb quite a bit of shock. So you can get trashed quite a bit before this armor starts breaking. All in all, 8k should be enough for this armor."
A high-ranked monster’s body was about 4k rozoni. So acquiring full-body armor for only double that amount was actually a really huge deal in Darius’ favor. He smiled delighted and placed the money on the table, shaking hands with the blacksmith.
"I think I’ll visit this place again in the future."
"We’re always open for business, so feel free to come whenever."
Leaving with a satisfied smile on his face, Darius continued on to the deposit.
There, he grabbed his phone and a few explosives, then searched through the messages he had received as of late:
[5 new messages]
[Are you not here yet, you bastard?]
[Oy fucker, are you playing with me? How dare you not answer my calls? Should I put a bounty on your head?]
[That’s it, you little shit.]
Warning: A Prince has placed a bounty on your head. You are being hunted.]
[Edited: The bounty has been restricted to be seen only by those under the command of the Prince who issued the bounty.]
So they decided to hunt me down. In that case, shall I make them a visit?
A nasty smile appeared on Darius’ face as his eyes flashed sharply while gazing at his phone.
"….."
He was able to feel more people looking intently at him from inside the depositing company's building after taking the phone out of the metal box that the depositing agency had reserved for him. Without looking back, he placed the phone back inside the deposit, then took other things instead, not wishing to risk having his identity discovered.
Must get out of here, quick.
He didn’t drag his feet as he quickly got away from the area, went through more buildings to evade any chances of getting tracked, then rushed towards the exit of the guarded city.
.
After two hours of walking towards the north from the western gate of the city, Darius arrived on top of a large hill, from which he was able to have a better view of the destroyed city. Sure enough, he was able to find the tallest building inside the city, together with the guards patrolling the area.
Now that I found these idiots, how should I bring the Prince outside to find out his abilities without getting recognized or dying in the first place… Huh?
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
While thinking on his own, a bright red flash attracted his attention from the corner of his eyes to his right. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination since the sky was flashing non-stop, but right after, a thundering noise resounded as another explosion flashed some more red light, making Darius understand that it wasn’t just his imagination.
That flash wasn’t lightning. Someone’s fighting there.
Normally he would’ve ignored those flashes, but a sense of familiarity made him rethink his decision, moving around the tall building and searching for a tall spot.
After about 10 minutes, he got on top of a building tall enough to see the area from close enough without being too close to danger.
"Shit, why’s this kid here?"
He looked below at an open parking area between blocks and saw Icarus Avram, one of the six heroes and the swordsman of the team, standing on top of a pile of monsters ranked between high and boss-rank. Although the rank wasn’t that great, what impressed Darius was the fact that the monsters were demons controlled by the cult. And those were not just much stronger but also able to fight as a team without getting in the way of one another. Such monsters were the perfect weapon used by the cult to face the Spirit and Demonic Wielders. But this time, Icarus must’ve taken them by surprise.
Icarus is 16 years old and comes from a prestigious family. Be it as a Spirit Wielder or as a Demonic Wielder, his only interest was to fight strong enemies. However, unlike his demonic side, his spirit form was able to think logically and take the lead of the team once everyone was gathered together. He wasn’t the strongest when it came to fighting a 1 vs 1 fight, but his true strength appeared once placed in the most unfavorable positions possible. He considered himself a monster because he was very well aware of the monstrous power he was hiding and was never sure when it would come out and devour his mind.
As a Demonic Wielder, his greatest wish was to find a way out to unlock this power and let it explode to the outside, finding stronger and stronger monsters on which to test his abilities.
But since I don’t remember of any calamity named Icarus Avram from the game or my past life, he must’ve died while pursuing his goal…
"Tsk. Is there no one stronger around here? What’s with these insects?"
His eyes were red after getting corrupted, while his normally blonde and soft hair was now spiky and a few shades darker. His physical changes were obvious at this point.
The Demonic Wielder version of Icarus Avram… While in his corrupted form, Icarus’ only drive was the desire to fight strong enemies, feel his heart pumping, and get as strong as possible for the thrill of it. I’m in Sora’s world, and I remember that there was no Demonic version of any hero present in the story back when I played the game, and neither have I found any back in my past life… Did something change? Or is it because I’m moving faster than in my past life? By the looks of it, Icarus already ended up in conflict with the cult, so he must’ve been hunted down by the cult since I was unable to hear anything about him back then…
While seeing him standing on top of cultist demons, all bored and disappointed, a sudden idea appeared in his mind.
"Well… Since he will get hunted down anyway, why not make some good use of him until then?"
.
"Damn it. Should I just visit that fortified city near the border? Maybe there are some bastards that might make me feel something."
Bored and indifferent, Icarus got up from the pile of dead demons and wanted to make a move, only to stop dead on his track, feeling as if a presence was checking him from a distance.
Who?!
He turned right at the man dressed in black slim armor on top of a building, a grin forming on his face right after his red eyes flashed dangerously.
"Found you~."
He grabbed his great sword and dashed with incredible power towards the said building, then jumped about 3 floors in the air. He crashed into the building, then, using his bare hands alone, crawled the building like a madman, leaving deep marks in the concrete wall.
"Heh, thank you for not running away-… Wait, a human?"
The moment he jumped up on top of the building with his great sword on his shoulder, he was surprised to see that the one who greeted him wasn’t some demon, neither a mage at least, but a simple human.
.
Seeing his surprised expression, Darius smiled behind the mask and bowed his head respectfully.
"Good day. I see you’re already hunting in this area. Am I right? I apologize for disturbing you. I was just curious about who it might’ve been."
"…. And what does a lone human think he’s doing around here?"
"I’m just finding and reporting back dangerous monsters, groups of monsters, or bandit bases to my boss. I'm a scout. These weapons are for self-defense."
Darius shrugged his shoulders, and seeing him so calm after facing his aura, Icarus squinted his eyes, but then an idea struck him.
"You said you’re looking for dangerous entities around the city? Tell me, have you found any?"
"Well, yeah. But why's Sir Spirit Wielder asking?"
This fool thinks I’m a Spirit Wielder, haha~! Good. I’ll make use of him for a while to have my fun. Let’s see if he can help me out a bit.
Icarus’ facial expression was enough to make Darius understand what he was thinking, making him have a hard time keeping playing the idiot with an actual idiot.
Indeed, after miasma corrodes the mind, some people actually turn a few times dumber for some reasons….
Icarus then slammed the sword on the ground, cracking the roof of the building and saying impatiently.
"As a Spirit Wielder I can get rid of those danger factors myself. So tell me quick, where can I find them?"
"Hmmm…."
Darius thought for a bit, but without wasting time, he just shrugged his shoulders and pointed in the distance.
"See those buildings? Behind them is a larger, towering one used as a base by a group of very dangerous bandits. I have no information about how many there are, but I can guarantee that their boss is strong enough to mop the floor with boss-ranked monsters like the one you dealt with a while back."
"Eh, doesn’t sound like that much of a deal... But still, better than nothing."
Icarus smirked, and in a flash, he summoned his aura to his legs, propelling himself like a cannon shell and breaking the whole roof of the building. This in turn made Darius fall right between the boulders, a visible surprise flashing through his eyes.
"For telling me that, I won’t finish you just yet. So try to stay alive! Hahahaha~!"
Laughing aloud in the distance, Icarus disappeared while jumping on top of more buildings, going to the targeted area. Meanwhile, Darius tried to get out from between the boulders that crashed onto him. Thankfully, the armor was strong enough to resist the impact and crushing weight. From underneath, now he simply needed to cut the boulders and metal pipes with the plasma knife and move them away.
Indeed, Demonic Bearers are only good dead after all.
The veins on his forehead were pumping visibly as he got up from inside the rubble, annoyed. But after hearing a loud rumbling from the distance, all that rage turned into satisfaction, successfully making two danger factors hunt each other down.
After another 20 minutes as it took to get in a safe area to look from a distance at the base from before, ruins were the only thing that greeted him.
The tall building completely collapsed, blood and corpses were littered everywhere, and sounds of battle still resounded between only two people right in the middle of all that, the destructive force between the two powers sending boulders flying with each strike.
"GROAAH!"
A loud roar resounded as a burly, large man brandished his great sword towards his enemy, each slash cutting the ground below. The force behind his every strike shook the ground and sent wind-slashes everywhere, the buildings around them having large cuts all over them.
"You infected bastard! How dare you strike the Black Wind’s base?! Don’t you know who’s our backer!?"
His words were spiteful and genuinely enraged, but his enemy was only more amused, blocking and dodging his every strike with a wide grin on his face.
"Your backer? Is he stronger than you? If so, then call them over! You’re already passable, but I’m curious to know someone even stronger!"
"You insect bastard!"
The one he was fighting with was Icarus, and the weight behind each of his strikes not only blocked the Prince’s slashes but also pushed him back, making the big guy’s face distort, understanding that he has no chance against the little kid in front of him.
Of course you can’t beat him, moron. If the corrupted form of Icarus were to be integrated into the cult, with his actual strength alone, he could reach [King] rank without a problem.
Darius observed from above, and a smirk was etched on his face.
There were four main branches that kept the cult in order, together with a hidden one:
The first branch is [Military] and from the lowest rank to the highest, they are: [Soldier], [Colonel], [Commander], [General]. Their job was to infiltrate within the military powers of the human coalition, work as bandits to gather materials and resources, and get rid of any possible threats to the cult.
The second branch is [Priesthood] and from the lowest to the highest, they are: [Monk], [Priest], [High Priest], [Head-Priest]. They are the researchers and developers of the cult’s main database, gathering information and creating new devices that the Human Coalition isn’t even aware of. Because of the great amount of information accumulated and even stolen, Darius was able to greatly advance technologically after stealing all the information from the goddess.
The third branch is [Royal guards] and from the lowest to the highest, they are: [Knight], [Paladin], [Guard], [Head Guard]. They are helpers and vasals of the [Royalty] branch and help them administer their respective areas.
The fourth branch is [Royalty] and from the lowest to the highest, they are: [Prince], [Duke], [King], [Emperor]. Their main job is to rule over and make the cult’s will inside companies, districts, cities, or whole areas of influence, be they inside the Human Coalition or outside of it. Many would say that they are the main rulers of the cult, but in truth, there is another hidden branch of the cult that truly holds the greatest power within.
And that branch is the [Demonic] regiment, and it’s formed from the [Demon Elite], [Demon Priest], [Demon Guard], [Demon Lord]. They are the ones who supervise the other four branches and make sure they’re doing the cult’s will and are not separating themselves from the cult for personal gain. They are secretive, keep in check every other branch, and are chosen between the strongest and most able through the ranks of the respective regiments.
And finally, the [Devil] is the one who rules them all. The one whom even Darius doesn’t know who they are or how to reach that title, finding out of this rank only after he killed the goddess in her weakened state from summoning the heroes together.
.
So that bastard was also a Spirit Wielder…
Observing the two fighting, Darius understood that the one with the rank [Prince] wasn’t a mage, his sword seemingly glowing weaker while turning more transparent as time passed, showing his weakened spirit.
Spirit Wielders were called like that because they were able to materialize their spirit into the main weapon presented within their subconscious. The same as Icarus, the spirit materialized a great sword, and the will behind his sword was alimenting his power to control the mana around like his own limbs.
But since a spirit and demonic wielder gain power from within their spirits, the one with the stronger will wins. And in this case, since Icarus's the one with the greatest will, his spirit's also stronger, inevitably making him the dominant one in the battle between the two.
-CRASH!-
"Graagh!"
Finally reaching the end of this battle, Icarus slashed strongly and smashed the prince’s sword into pieces, sending a sword-slash flying through and then behind the prince that cut a whole building in two.
-PFFT!-
With a large cut on his body and his sword shattered, the prince fell on his knees while vomiting blood all over the floor, his body trembling from the pain and pressure.
"M-my… sword…"
A broken spirit weapon meant a broken spirit. And as a Spirit Wielder, a broken spirit meant you were nothing more than a normal human, or, if lucky, a very weak mage.
"You were fun to play with, but weaker than I expected."
With a wide grin on his face, Icarus stepped right in front of the man with his sword on his shoulder.
From a distance, Darius watched as Icarus made fun of the prince and then slashed him in two. After wiping the blood off his blade, he propelled himself back in the direction he had come from, possibly in an attempt to locate Darius and inquire about a potential new foe.