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墨書 Inktalez
The next morning, as we stepped out of the inn, we found ourselves surrounded by a number of villagers. We looked at them warily, but it seemed they meant no harm. An elderly villager spoke to us, "I know you all come from outside, seeking to kill the Demon King. Over the years, many have died at his hands. If I were you, I wouldn't attempt it."
I shook my head and replied, "Our mercenary group has accepted this mission, and we will see it through. It's either complete the task or die far from home."
The old man shook his head, looking at us with a gaze that was both profound and sorrowful. His eyes held a mix of emotions—sadness, desolation, mockery, and a glimmer of hope. The others stood in the distance, shrouded in mist, their faces barely visible but seemingly adorned with faint smiles.
As we left the market, those villagers remained in the fog, watching us depart. They stood there like living corpses, unmoving in the mist. We pressed on; as Juan Juan had mentioned, the Shadow Maze was vast—so vast that we still hadn't seen the so-called castle of the Demon King.
Suddenly, something darted out from the shadows.
It moved quickly and collided with me, nearly knocking me off my feet. We immediately became alert and realized it was a person. Unlike the villagers who resembled living dead, this individual exuded a different aura.
However, his chest was hollow; there were no organs inside—just emptiness. We could even see through his chest cavity to what lay within his abdomen. It startled us. This person had no heart or lungs, yet he was still alive.
"This isn't the time to talk; they're coming after us!" he said urgently. "Run! They will be here soon."
His expression was frantic, and his voice sounded mechanical—raspy and cracked. Following his gaze, we could vaguely make out figures moving in the distance—more than ten of them. Seeing that we hadn’t moved yet, he urged us more frantically, "Hurry!" Without waiting for us, he dashed away.
My subconscious told me this might be an opportunity. Without thinking much further, I said, "Follow him."
We nodded and followed this Heartless Person as he led us through winding paths for an unknown distance until he finally stopped. We collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. He patted my arm and said, "Buddy, you look like you're from outside. What brings you to the Shadow Maze?"
We weren't sure if this person could be trusted; after all, we were in the Demon King's territory. So instead of answering directly, I asked him back, "Who are those people? Why are they chasing you? And what happened to you?" I pointed at his chest.
He sighed and glanced around at the fog surrounding us. It seemed he had made a significant decision before speaking again: "Just by looking at you all, it's clear you're outsiders. But some things can't be shared with those nearby; they must be spoken to strangers."
He paused for a moment to clear his throat before continuing: "To be honest, I'm part of the resistance against the Demon King's army. My position in the resistance isn't too low either; I was leading twenty men on a mission—now I'm the only one who returned alive. In fact, I might have just saved your lives. Do you know what those people are?"
"I don't know," I shook my head.
"Those people are the Demon King's Guards." He leaned forward to look into the distance and noticed that they hadn't followed us here yet; only then did he relax enough to continue speaking: "They react more violently to outsiders than they do to members of the resistance. We would just be gutted like fish; as for you... don’t think you can survive this place. They will lock you up in the most terrifying cells and torture you to death."
"Why is that?" Before I could finish my thought, Mary couldn't help but ask.
The Heartless Person clicked his tongue twice and replied: "No outsider has ever dared to come to Shadow Maze. Those who come fall into two categories: warriors seeking to kill the Demon King and restore light to Shadow Maze or those wanting to kill him to take his place as king. The Demon King cannot allow either type of person to live."
“Rebels?” I asked. “How many of you Rebels are there, and how long have you been established?”
Before I could finish my sentence, suddenly, a dagger appeared in his hand, trapping me beneath its blade. Yan Junde immediately raised the sword he was holding and said, “What are you doing? Let us go, Captain!” Mary and Juan Juan also drew their daggers, confronting this person.
“What do you want?” I said calmly to him.
Heartless Person fixed his gaze on the weapons in the hands of the three and replied, “I don’t want anything. I just want to know your purpose for being here. Earlier, I mentioned two types of people; which one are you? Are you the warriors who bring us light, or the demons who replace the evil?”
“What’s the difference?” I didn’t answer him directly because I didn’t know whether he was truly a rebel or something else.
“Of course there’s a difference.” He pressed the dagger firmly against my neck and said, “If it’s the latter, I will kill you. Because a demon we know is far less terrifying than one that comes from outside. I think you should understand this; at least we know many of the current demon king's peculiar habits, which is advantageous for us.”
I frowned at Ami and said, “Is it really that easy to kill a demon king? Has anyone ever killed one before?”
“Of course!” Heartless Person trembled as he spoke. “The wound on my chest is a gift from this demon king; he is already the Third Generation Demon King. He was once a warrior but ultimately betrayed us. He couldn’t resist the temptation of power; he came for the light but ended up dissolving into darkness!”
He grew more agitated as he spoke, his voice sounding like someone tearing apart dry parchment, making it quite uncomfortable to listen to. “If the First Generation Demon King began to rot and darken everything, and the Second Generation Demon King turned it into a synonym for slaughter, brutality, and bloodlust, then the Third Generation Demon King has transformed this place into hell! It has become paradise for the dark world!”
“Those who claim to come with light often fall into darkness and become darker than darkness itself!” he shouted hoarsely. “Those warriors, if they fall, are even more terrifying than demon kings. We have suffered because of this! Tell me, does it matter?”
We were all shocked by his words; we hadn’t expected that the third generation demon king was once a warrior. No wonder the king sought out our Mercenary Group instead of sending national warriors to handle this matter. The king must have feared that warriors would fall again; if that happened, his people would no longer trust their warriors or their king.
“What is the name of the demon king?” I asked. “If we know his name, we can learn about his origins; only then can we kill him. To be honest, we are neither warriors nor demon kings. We are just Mercenary Group, and our mission is to kill the demon king.”
Heartless Person seemed to be hearing such words for the first time. He exclaimed, “What? You are from Mercenary Group? You are from Mercenary Group?”
He trembled as he spoke, dropping the dagger to the ground in a strange reaction. We exchanged glances, unsure what impact our identity had on him mentally. Then he said, “You are actually from Mercenary Group. The prophet once said that those who can defeat the demon king are neither warriors nor demon kings. I never understood it until now!”
“Only those who have no connection with us—who bear no hatred or compassion—can truly kill the demon king!” He trembled with excitement as he continued, “It must be true; you will definitely be able to kill the demon king.”
I signaled everyone to put away their weapons and asked, “What exactly is going on? What prophet?”
He replied, “When the third demon king—the former warrior—arrived, he prophesied that warriors would ultimately fall and become demons. We all didn’t believe it; we thought it was nonsense. But in the end, that prophecy became reality. In his dying moments, he left behind one last prophecy.”
"Those who can defeat the Demon King are neither warriors nor the Demon King himself," he said. "Such a person is only among you few!"
I had many questions in my mind about the history of the Shadow Maze, about the warriors and the Demon King. But before I could ask, we heard distant roars; the Demon King's Guards had already tracked us down. The Heartless Person picked up a dagger and said to us, "Run!"
There were at least twenty Guards, and with just the five of us, victory seemed impossible. We had no choice but to continue hiding with him.
Suddenly, we saw more than ten of the Demon King's Guards running towards us from not far away. At that moment, our chances of winning were utterly gone. They gradually formed a circle around us, trying to trap us inside. Someone shouted, "Those four are outsiders. Kill them without mercy; the Demon King wants them dead, not alive."
In an instant, the archers in front began shooting arrows, and we found it nearly impossible to defend ourselves. Just then, the Heartless Person stepped in front of us, using his body to shield us from the incoming arrows. Struggling, he pulled out a map from his stomach and said with difficulty, "I'll cover for you; you need to go now!"
With that, he charged forward into the rain of arrows, causing the archers to retreat. Taking advantage of this moment, we rushed toward an opening.
"Go, hurry!" He waved a dagger like a monument, a solitary warrior.
"My mission is complete!" he shouted loudly. "Go find that place; there will be someone waiting for you there."
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