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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 126 Part 1

CHAPTER 126: THE DEVIL PART 1

「…… Completely destroyed?」

Hearing those not-so-casual words from Natalie-san, I couldn’t really help it but to raise my eyebrow in amazement.

「What do you mean by that, Natalie-san?　Was that perhaps the work of some catastrophe or natural disaster?」

「No…… Whatever caused that destruction, it was not natural. It was man-made. There’s no doubt about that.」

「Is it possible that…… This is perhaps an attempt from some foreign nation to invade us? A provocation?」

「No, that scenario is very unlikely, either. Or rather, I guess that my explanation here was quite lacking. We know for sure that the destruction was the work of someone, but the identity of that person is still what we do not know.」

At that moment I could see a hint of confusion on Natalie-san’s face.

The Guild doesn’t seem to have any accurate information about that incident yet, either.

Still, when compared to someone like me, who had no idea that a catastrophe like that took place in the first place, they have a whole lot more information.

So now it was the case of finding out who it was that was responsible for wiping an entire village off the map.

「Natalie-san, I’m afraid that your explanation here was way too haphazard. Frankly speaking, I still don’t understand what is going on here. Why don’t you start by telling me everything that you know about the incident, right from the very beginning?」

「O-Oh, yes, I’m really sorry about that. I guess that my explanation must have brought more confusion than actually explaining what is going on, right?」

「Don’t worry about it. Given the current situation, that’s perfectly understandable.」

I mean, we are talking here about an entire village being wiped clean off the map, leaving nothing behind.

It was only natural that you would be distressed when you were relating information like that to someone else.

「It all started with a story about a certain merchant.」

Natalie-san opened her mouth quietly and began to speak.

Everyone listened intently to her words, myself included.

「The merchant was doing business with the people of Pagos on that particular day. You see, Pagos deals mostly in textiles as their local specialty, and they had an exclusive contract with that merchant for their goods. Every month, on the same day of the month, the Pagos people would leave the village and go to meet the merchant in order to sell him their textiles. …… But for some reason, this month, the villagers did not seem to show up at the appointed location at the appointed time.」

「……………」

「The merchant wondered if something might have happened to the people that he was supposed to be meeting with, and decided to visit Pagos. Pagos was a village that was about a week’s walk from River’s End, but the merchant managed to arrive there without incident. But once he arrived…… the merchant saw Pagos lay to ruin, as if some sort of catastrophe managed to run through the entire village.」

Suddenly losing contact with the villagers that he was supposed to be meeting with.

And then a completely devastated village.

This alone shows that something unusual and dreadful must have happened to Pagos.

It’s just that……

From the look on Natalie-san’s stiffened face, I gathered that the story was not over. And that what was to come was way more serious than we could have possibly anticipated.

We were just listening to the story, but I for one couldn’t help it but to become naturally nervous.

「According to the merchant, the houses were completely destroyed, some of them looking as though they were burned down……. and the whole village was in shambles, as if a war had happened right in the middle of it. And…… the same could be said about the bodies of the villagers.

「That’s horrible……」

Kanade looked as if she was about to cry as she seemed to vividly imagine the scene inside of her mind.

「Fortunately enough…… Or I don’t even know if we should use that word here, there were some survivors left. The merchant asked the survivors what had happened. But the villagers could only say one thing over and over: “The Devil has risen…… The Devil has risen……」

「The Devil……?」

What…… What was that supposed to mean? Was that a real thing? Or maybe just some strange figure of speech?

Nina tilted her head slightly to the sight, apparently unable to comprehend what she just heard.

「I’m sorry, but that’s all we know. We don’t know anything more about this “Devil” thing…… The Guild only heard it from the villagers, but they were all saying pretty much the exact same thing…… I guess that they must have all been under the state of shock and panic from what happened. It must have been a very frightening experience for them all, no matter how you look at it.」

「…… Did the Guild only listen to the testimonies of the survivors?」

「No, of course not. I can’t really say that it was of any use or that it provided any breakthrough as of yet, but the Guild managed to perform a preliminary investigation. I mean, to the best of our ability. We went back through the history of Pagos to find out if there were ever beings called “Devils” mentioned in their records or not…… Because at this point in time even the smallest scrap of intel might prove itself to be invaluable.」

「And the result of that investigation is……?」

「…… The Devil is most certainly real.」

Natalie-san gave me a small nod with a nervous look on her face.

「After reviewing the literature relating to Pagos, as well as the past records of the surrounding areas, not to mention many other written sources…… The Guild has come to the conclusion that the creature known as the Devil actually did exist.」

「The Devil……」

「Is that the only information on this creature that you have? That it’s called the Devil? Isn’t there anything more? I mean, do we even know if that thing is a Demon, or maybe something else entirely……?」

「I’m sorry, we haven’t figured that out yet……」

At Kanade’s question, Natalie-san gave us an apologetic look.

「However, we are certain that there was something called a Devil in the past around that region. That Devil, according to the written records of the people of Pagos, seems to have been sealed away inside of a shrine deep in the mountains. So the Guild thinks that something must have happened to that shrine, and that its seal was somehow broken. And then……」

「Once the Devil broke free, it attacked Pagos?」

「Yes. That is the order of events that the Guild is inclined to believe that has taken place.」

「……………」

I could feel that the expression on my face was starting to turn grim, just like Natalie-san a moment ago.

A being of immense power was unleashed after being sealed away for Gods know how long.

And the fact that it destroyed Pagos upon its awakening only served as proof that whatever that thing was, it was extremely dangerous.