Taking a deep breath, the coral scent of the sea entered my nose.
This was my first time actually going to the sea.
Back in my old world, I never got the chance to, since I was too sick.
But now, as I stared at the sea from this giant cliff, I couldn't help but feel at peace.
It really was beautiful.
The fish, dolphins, and even whales.
The horizon...
I really wished I could've seen this in my old world.
"Hey."
Isabelle placed a hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of it.
"How long are you planning to stay up here? The others arrived a few days ago, so we need to introduce ourselves."
Oh right.
Even if this place had terrible conditions for buildings and other stuff, there was still a bustling city right by the sea.
I nodded at her.
"You and Natasha go on ahead. I'll be there in a moment."
"..."
"You said that last time."
Hmm?
She sounds a little upset?
"And? I was right behind you."
She just stared at me for a moment, then shook her head.
"Forget it."
Without saying another word, she walked off.
She met up with Natasha and began climbing down the cliff before heading straight for the city.
I didn't get what she was mad about.
Was it something I did?
She was acting a little off since the temple.
Guess I'll just have to ask her later.
Until then, I continued to stare at the sea.
I wasn't staring just because I wanted to admire it.
Instead, I was looking for something.
Soon, I found it.
Right by the horizon, a black pillar emerged, then sank under the water again.
It was there for just a moment, but it reminded me of the game.
The main character noticed something was off when he saw that pillar.
In reality, that wasn't a pillar.
Instead, it was a siren.
But not just any ordinary siren, but a demonic siren.
They weren't limited to just water.
They could take the shape of any human in that city and lure them away into the sea, then eat them.
These disgusting things were one of the reasons why these people were going missing.
But...
The trees with corpses.
This was a part of a ritual.
Both the sirens and another group of demons were involved in it.
For starters, I needed to find these demons who were masking as regular people, and then use them to figure out where the core of this ritual was.
The people and the location were always random, and if I wasn't 100 percent sure, the demons could just trigger the ritual.
Even if it was half-assed, it would take a lot of lives.
Though, one easy fix for this was to gather all the people in one spot, and then use my Telekinesis on them.
It might not be totally accurate, but it would be better than looking for them one by one.
Shaking my head, I stood up and floated down the cliff, stopping myself right above the city.
When I spotted Isabelle and Natasha, I gave them a quick wave and landed on the slightly squishy ground.
The moment I did, I saw one of the Top Priority cadets.
A skinny brown-haired boy with a shield over his back.
I believe his name was Reinhardt?
I remember he had a very special Gift that made him invincible for a while.
If I could keep this guy alive until the end, he would make for a solid meat shield.
Hehe.
If only.
He was a total coward who abandoned the cadets and joined the demons.
In every single route.
But since the mission had just started, I should test him, shouldn't I?
Walking up to him, I placed a hand over his shoulder.
Ugh...
I felt like some cliche high school bully.
"Reinhardt, right? It's nice to meet you," I said. "What do you say the two of us grab a drink?"
"Uh... Amon Everness?"
Even if he's a coward, he can't really hide his disgust, can he?
"Could you let me go, please?"
I did just that.
"Sorry if I came onto you too strong. I just need someone to clue me in on everything that has happened here. As you know, I was a little late."
He just smiled at me.
But his smile didn't really reach his eyes.
"Okay. I'll treat you to a drink then."
He waved at the person he had just been talking to.
It looked like any ordinary old man.
A bushy beard and clean clothes.
It didn't mix well, but after enveloping him in my Telekinesis, I couldn't feel a demonic core.
He was just an old man without a fashion sense.
I gave him a nod, and alongside Reinhardt, we entered some random inn.
We sat down by a table, and after ordering some ordinary beer, Reinhardt began to recount the information.
"In short, what the headmaster told us is mostly all that these people know. However, the old man I just talked to said he saw something in the water when he was fishing the other day."
A siren, maybe?
"Have people started going missing a bit more frequently as of late?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"A lot of people went missing a year ago. Ever since then, it's been pretty tame."
So the demons were already in the final phases of their plans.
This protagonist buff to always arrive just before something big happens...
Fuck Kevin.
Aside from that, Reinhardt gave me some basic information about the habits of the people and a few maps showing where the disappearances happened.
Lastly, he raised his glass of beer.
I wasn't sure why he was forcing himself to toast me.
Still, I raised my glass and clanked it against his.
Right as I was about to take a sip, a foul scent passed my nose.
It disappeared as quickly as it came.
But...
It was coming from this glass of beer, wasn't it?
It has only been one or two days since Reinhardt and the others arrived.
How did he already get turned over to the other side?
In the corner of my eye, I saw the bartender looking at me.
When he spotted my gaze, he glanced away.
Curious, I enveloped him in Telekinesis, and as expected, I felt a demonic core in his throat.
That's one of them.
How many more in total there were... I wasn't sure.
But since I wanted to see how this would play out, I turned my head slightly and pretended to drink the poisonous beer.
Instead, I used Telekinesis to pour it down my cheek and onto the gap in the floor.
When I was done, I slammed the glass down and gave Reinhardt a thumbs up.
"You chose some quality spot for beer. You know, when we get back, I'll be sure to treat you to the best spot I know too, alright?"
"Haha... Sure, Amon Everness. I'll be looking forward to that."
We exchanged a few more pleasantries, and after standing up, we went our separate ways.
I hadn't realized it earlier, but the sun had already set.
Smiling to myself, I walked into an alleyway behind the inn.
I took a few steps, then pretended to stumble.
When I hit the ground hard, I acted like I was unconscious.
A few seconds went by, then a minute.
I was honestly starting to think that poison was just meant to kill me.
But after exactly one hour, I heard footsteps behind me.
The footsteps stopped in front of me.
I checked with my Telekinesis, and it turned out to be a demon.
A moment later, that very same demon picked me up and began taking me somewhere.
Bingo.
***
I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but by now, I was deep in the forest.
Clearly, this demon wasn't on the sirens' side.
Instead, he was one of the demons who were turning people into trees.
And the way he did it was simple.
He fed a demonic seed to a regular human, and after the human's body rejected it, the demon would place the human against a tree, making the tree absorb the human.
It was a gruesome process.
Really reminded me of why this was called an impossible death game.
The demon eventually set me down on the ground.
I heard rustling, and then he reached his hand for my mouth.
But by then, I had stopped the act.
I pushed the demon back and then stood up.
Once it realized what was happening, it stared at me with a surprised look.
"You were awake? How dare you hide..."
I didn't let it finish its words.
Instead, I used a tiny bit of Telekinesis to crush its limbs and leave only its upper body.
It didn't even wince.
"So you're one of those types who doesn't feel pain, huh?" I mused. "Let me guess, your demonic core self-destructs like a bomb if you die?"
The demon flinched.
"Human... Who are you?"
I wagged my finger at it.
"Tell me where the core of this ritual is. If you do, I'll let you live."
The demon scoffed.
"I may have been tricked once, but I am not stupid, human. You won't be able to stop what's coming."
"That's fine with me. I can always try another demon," I said bluntly.
Then, I crouched down and picked up a pebble.
I tossed it into the air, and then caught it between my fingers.
"I've been meaning to test out my Mass Manipulation on someone. I can change the weight of a basic pebble so that it's like a boulder."
And ever since getting my affinity...
"I also wanted to test out my railgun. Stand still, 'kay?"
The demon seemed confused at first, but as lightning began to subtly crackle around the pebble, its eyes widened.
It opened its mouth, but before it could even utter a word, the pebble zipped through the air with a thunderous roar and then tore through the demon's skull.
But that was only the impact.
After the impact, a massive shockwave resounded, destroying the rest of the demon's body and knocking over at least a hundred trees all around it.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
I was sent flying back by the shockwave.
Just barely catching myself before hitting a tree, I looked at the mess I caused.
And it really was a big mess.
There was a giant crater where the demon had stood and a massive ravine extending a few hundred meters ahead.
There were barely any trees in sight anymore.
It looked like some godly swordsman had come down and slashed somebody.
But in reality, that was me just throwing a pebble.
I could barely contain my excitement.
Though...
I did have to patch this up.
So that was exactly what I did.
***
I flew through the sky, and eventually, the outline of the Mudflats' city came into view.
The demon had taken me pretty far.
On one end, I didn't have to worry about anyone seeing that mess.
On the other, if the demon was that cautious, then I only had a few days at most to find someone who could lead me to the ritual's core.
Was it possible for me to search the area and find it by chance?
Maybe, but it would take too long. By then, it might be too late.
Also, this ritual was only the start of the problems.
Whether this ritual goes through or fails...
A really powerful being was going to show up anyway.
I knew how to fight it.
With my current power, I was sure I could defeat it.
But I needed to somehow defeat it without killing it.
I practiced a lot...
I even had the Lightning Affinity which directly countered that being.
Could I really do it?
Maybe I was just being too paranoid.
Melina, Isabelle, and Kevin were here.
These three alone were a powerful force.
I didn't have to do everything alone.
That's why when the sun rises, I'll let them in on the plan.
But until then, I have a whole city filled with demons to scout out.