Chapter 202: The Traces of a Bloody Death

Gently caressing the footprints with my fingertips, I checked the condition of the earth.

[By the looks of it…… It’s already been a long time since these people passed through here.]

If they’re on the move, it doesn’t seem like they would be around anymore huh.

I stand up.

[We should go.]

[Yes.]

We began advancing with caution.

Like that, we made our way through the dense bushes……

[……This.]

Seras gasped.

There were several Golden-eyed monsters before our eyes.

There were around twenty of them…

And all of them were corpses.

Blood was splattered all around.

They were splashed on the trunks of trees and the grass.

Fragments of flesh were also scattered about.

If this was a scene of a crime, it would have been quite a “gruesome scene”.

Kneeling down in front of the nearest corpse, I examined it.

I then raised my gaze and looked at the other corpses.

[What a surprise.]

This isn’t within the depths.

But even if it wasn’t, the monsters in the Golden Demon Zone were feared in this continent.

Even so…

[Some of these monsters tried to get away.]

There were signs that they had tried to escape.

A monster from the Golden Demon Zone had been frightened so much that it tried to flee.

The people responsible for this carnage, they were at least—–

People that don’t have any problem fighting against Golden-eyed monsters in the Demon Zone.

I can see it in the bodies and the conditions of the scene.

All in all, these monsters were killed without being able to fight back at all.

Moreover—— they weren’t overlooked.

It’s not just one or two monsters that tried to escape.

There’s also one that had its defenseless back slashed……

They didn’t overlook the monsters that tried to escape and went out of their way to chase them down and kill them.

[There are a lot of monsters that seem to have been slashed with swords…… From Seras’s eyes, how good are they?]

[They must have been quite experienced in the way of the sword.]

Seras guessed without a second thought.

[Even more than you?]

[——I’m not sure without seeing them myself. However, I’m sure that their abilities aren’t average. Most of all……]

[It doesn’t seem like they were seriously fighting these monsters huh?]

[Yes.]

[……………………]

Who are they?

What the heck are these people doing here?

We followed more footprints.

Looking at the direction of the footprints…

For now, it seems that they were headed in the same direction we’re heading.

The corpses of monsters lying around became a familiar sight for us.

There were even some corpses that were being pecked by a bird.

Judging by the footprints, there must be at least eight of them.

Speaking of which……

I haven’t encountered any monsters since I left that ruins where we interacted with Erika’s familiar.

Were the monsters within this area hiding in fear of the people who did this?

[If they were on the opposing side, it may be quite troublesome.]

[……The closest forces from here would be Mira and Urza but…]

Speaking of proximity—– the Faraway Country is also around this area.

The Magic Knights?

Or the Brilliant Squadron?

Or perhaps……

There’s another group around.

[Speaking of being curious, we still didn’t receive any information at all……]

*rustle*

As we passed through the bushes, I stopped talking.

Seras’s eyes opened wide.

*Gulp*

And then, she gulped down.

[This is———-]

Different from a while ago…

Seras reacted differently than when she saw the group of Golden-eyed monsters.

This time, she could feel surprise from seeing something beyond her imagination.

[…………………….]

Well, it can’t be helped.

Corpse.

No matter who looks at it, it would be a corpse of “that”.

I look towards “that”.

With a slightly dry voice—— Seras spoke out what “that” is.

[———-A Human-Faced.]

Sogou Ayaka’s name has recently been spreading out in the public.

However, it was once thought that one would have to rely on the Goddess or on the “Humanity’s Strongest” to defeat these vicious beings.

[…………………..]

I check the corpse and its surroundings again.

Judging from the traces I found, this Human-Faced’s opponent was a humanoid using a weapon.

It most probably doesn’t seem like a fight between two Human-Faced.

Nevertheless.

This Human-Faced has been miserably torn to shreds……

I don’t know how strong this Human-Faced was when it was alive but——

[This Human-Faced tried to run away once.]

That Human-Faced with someone holding strength that made it try to escape.

Speaking of the powerful people that I know of…

The Goddess.

The Heroes.

Alion’s Sixth Cavalry.

White Wolf Knight Commander, “The Black Wolf”.

The Mad Emperor.

Other than them, yes……

There are also some people we haven’t heard anything yet.

I think I first heard of him from Eve?

He’s apparently one of the powerful people.

However, there was very little information about him.

Eve, Seras, and even Erika don’t know about him that much.

If I remember correctly, his name is——

[It may have been that “Heroic Sword” fellow huh.]

The Next Chapter will be updated on Wednesday, September 30.