Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash Vol. 2

13. Duo

I can't just stay in this pigworm pen forever. These guys are getting too friendly, and it's kind of gross.

"Still, I'll miss you," Ranta said his farewell to the pigworm that was rubbing up to him. "...Yeah, no, I won't miss you at all. Don't you dare try to follow me. If you do, I'm frying you whole and then eating you, you got that?"

His words fell on deaf ears, however, as the pigworm continued to oink and nuzzle up to him.

"Stupid, clingy pigworm. This is goodbye!" Ranta shook off the pigworm as it chased him, and leapt over the fence. The only trusty follower he needed was his demon, Zodiac-kun.

"Wimpy, wooly caterpillar... Ehehehehe... Caterpillar, caterpillar... Keehehehehehe... Caterpillar, caterpillar, caterpillar, caterpillar..."

"...You shut up for a bit."

"No, you shut up... Keehehehehehehe... Forever..."

"What, are you telling me to die?!"

"Ehehehehehehehe..."

"Get lost, Zodiac-kun..."

No, instead of doing that, Zodiac-kun brought its gash-like mouth close to Ranta's ear.

"It's here... Here... Ehehehehe... One of the ones trying to kill you..."

"What?!" Panicked, Ranta looked around.

There it was. An elder. The type that carried a metal whip and steel wire. Fortunately, it wasn't looking his way, but it was coming closer.

After hesitating a moment, Ranta jumped into a different pigworm pen from the one he'd been in before. If he dove in with the pigworms, the elder wouldn't spot him at first glance.

There were pigrat pens in the vicinity as well, but after having seen them greedily devour a kobold cadaver, Ranta decided he'd rather not go in there. I wouldn't want to get eaten, after all.

And so, after frolicking with the pigworms—No, no, not frolicking with them, they were just nuzzling up to him, all right?—One, no, two of them became attached to him this time, licking his face relentlessly. The pigworms' tongues were rough, so it hurt. It hurt so bad that he was worried they'd draw blood.

Oh, crap.

"...Damn, I'm popular."

"Popular... Popular... Keehehehehe... Popular... Ehehehehe... Popular..."

"Zodiac-kun, you..."

One of these days, I'm gonna give you such a pounding, Ranta silently vowed to himself.

Today, however, was not that day.

Zodiac-kun was being felt up by the pigworms just like Ranta, but the demon could do no more than just stay by its dread knight's side. As he accumulated more vices, his demon gained access to special abilities.

From 0 to 10 vices, at rank 1, it would warn when enemies were approaching.

If it felt like it.

From 11 to 40 vices, once it had reached rank 2, it would also whisper in the enemies' ears to disrupt them.

When it felt like it.

Once he got over 41 vices and reached rank 3, it would do things like trip enemies to disrupt them.

Of course, this was also only if it felt like it.

Also, this was when the sun went down and the dark god Skullhell's natural enemy the god of light Lumiaris' powers were weakened. At rank 1, he couldn't even summon his demon during the day. From rank 2 onwards, the demon acted as if he was one rank lower during daylight hours.