The Nightmare Steed and Persistent Priests

Though I was swinging my weapon with gusto, objectively speaking, the situation was far from ideal. Their numbers were simply overwhelming, surging forward endlessly. Even as I crushed them like popping popcorn, their ranks never thinned.

“But where on earth did all these demons come from? I’ve never seen so many swarm at once while playing the game—”

These nameless demons were slow, yet their physical stats—their sheer bulk, defense, and health—were quite robust, and their attack power was considerable. Moreover, while primitive, they possessed a decent level of intelligence. Lore-wise, they couldn’t use magic due to a lack of mana, but occasionally, crude magic-wielders were found among larger hordes.

Just two or three of these demons could take down a small dragon. Consequently, such massive swarms were never encountered in the field. Even in dungeons, you’d find at most a dozen or so; any more wouldn’t aggro, no matter how much you herded them. That was simply how the game’s mechanics were set.

So why, then, were thousands of them gathered here? Was this some special event? Even if it was, this felt like a blatant breach of the game’s lore.

“Did someone forget to delete the data after a purge?”

There was no other explanation. If they could gather in such numbers, why weren’t they present during the final chapter’s destruction scene? Imagine if they had swarmed like this on the Bridge of Illusions—the cutscene would have been epic!

With the Sword of Repentance’s effect augmented by a frost enchantment, cerulean flames raged all around me. These were flames that only affected demons. Though, calling them ‘flames’ was a bit ambiguous; they appeared as fire, but their actual effect was freezing, dealing bonus damage exclusively to demons.

It was purely for show. Surely this cutscene would save properly? It would look incredible when I reviewed the footage later. Hehe. I was gleefully rampaging when, suddenly, a scream echoed from behind me.

…A scream?

“What is this!?”

Startled, I spun around to find two priests of Hamman standing there. It was Jack, visibly recoiling and fussing, and Faust, pale as a ghost. Were they insane? They saw this, and still came here?

“Get out of here, now! You’re just getting in the way!”

“We knew this was a death trap when we came! After all the worry you caused us!”

“I told you, weak, generic characters like you are useless here!”

The demons, previously swarming me, now lumbered towards the two figures behind me.

I told you earlier: even nameless demons possessed a rudimentary intelligence. Though slow as ghouls, they could still put their meager brains to use! They had instantly recognized that those two were weaker than me!

“Seriously! Useless low-levels, just trolling!”

There were simply too many demons. No matter how quickly I swept them away, they surged forward relentlessly. The two priests were instantly engulfed by the horde. I lunged towards them, mercilessly crushing demons in my path, just as a blind swipe from a demon’s claw grazed their thin armor, leaving a black, corrosive mark as it melted away.

“Get out, now, while you still can!”

“How are we supposed to escape from here?”

“After all, we simply cannot abandon Sir Haut!”

“Everyone but me is going to die!”

I knew that, too. This was merely a temporary data duplication, meaning my true self was still safe in Medusa’s sanctuary. I had planned to clear a few and then bail. While the premise dictated the village’s ruin, even a rampage needed to be manageable to be fun; this relentless, nightmarish swarm was neither enjoyable nor exciting!

Jack yelped, parrying a demon’s claw with his sword. A black, corrosive residue clung to the blade. Damn it all! They were fighting demons with unblessed, plain steel swords?

“You’re priests! Why aren’t your swords blessed?!”

“W-we didn’t expect this! It’s our first time fighting actual demons!”

“Faust! You’re a high-ranking priest, aren’t you? Can’t you use something like Sanctuary?”

“I apologize! My skills are combat-focused; I don’t have area-of-effect abilities like that!”

Seriously, these guys! I shoved them behind me, then stood my ground to block the onslaught. Of course, that didn’t mean the attacks stopped entirely, as demons were literally crawling out from every direction. At the very least, I had herded them into the range of my sword. Just moments ago, this had been exciting and fun! Now, annoyance surged through me!

“Is the village completely evacuated?”

“Ah, yes! Everyone has been evacuated! They should be crossing the river downstream by now!”

“Didn’t you say the river was too swollen to cross?”

“After seeing this, do you think drowning is a major concern anymore?”

If that was the case, they should have left this morning! Then I wouldn’t be in this damned situation!

The sun was setting, which meant the demons would grow even stronger. I mercilessly hurled back the encroaching demons. A searing pain suddenly erupted in my forearm; I hadn’t even seen what hit me.

My pride was wounded. To be injured by a nameless demon!

“This is why I hate escort quests!”

Screw it. Let’s just get out of here! I casually swung my sword with one hand, then snapped my fingers and whistled with the other.

“Impurity that pierces the night! Nightmare Steed!”

“What? What is that all of a sudden? Where is it?”

“It’s your hellish salvation, come to pluck you from the path to the underworld! Why?!”

These damn trolls! I had half a mind to abandon them, reputation points be damned, but leaving them here bothered me too much. Why were they so irritatingly persistent? I didn’t know the reason myself; the thought to take them with me had simply popped into my head. I’d figure it out later. What did the reason matter anyway?

I had worried it wouldn’t work, but thankfully, the mount summoning seemed to be functioning correctly! Black flames swirled and condensed in the air, rapidly taking the form of a horse.

The Nightmare Steed. It was literally a special reward for defeating 1,000 Bibis. Bibis were night-dwelling demons that caused nightmares and abducted children. Since they appeared randomly in populated areas, it was impossible to hunt them quickly, as only one or two would spawn at a time, making the hunt incredibly time-consuming.

After catching 1,000, you’d enter any Demon Temple, smash everything, and the Nightmare Steed would suddenly burst out of the temple’s final reward room. Defeating it would then bind it to your service.

Should I call it a demon, or not a demon? Lore-wise, it resided in Hell, but it wasn’t truly a living being; it was ambiguous. It was one of the most popular mounts, easily counted on one hand. After all, it was a horse-shaped mass of black mist with piercing crimson eyes! It looked amazing!

Most importantly, it was immortal. While many other mounts were cool, they could die if not properly cared for. This one, despite its physical form, was fundamentally an ethereal being, meaning it couldn’t die. It was a hassle that it couldn’t enter temples or sacred grounds, though.

“W-what is that now?”

“What in the world is this…?”

“Bite your tongues! Shut up!”

I tucked the two priests under my arms and swiftly mounted the steed. The moment I was aboard, the Nightmare Steed shot into the air. I casually pushed them behind me and gripped the reins tightly.

“Hold on tight! I won’t save you if you fall off midway!”

As I steered the horse and glanced down, I saw demons swarming below in such numbers it made me wonder where they had all crawled out from. I must have been crazy! To think I could sweep all of them away! Had they been conducting a stress test?

The teeming masses below reached up towards the sky, but they had no hope of touching the Nightmare Steed soaring through the air. Determined to escape, I spurred the horse on, heading blindly towards a distant glimmer of light.

“Damn it! I should’ve at least salvaged some junk items!”

I felt like I’d only incurred losses!

I wasn’t even sure where we were. I had just followed the distant light. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small village. The moment I dismounted them, the two priests began retching uncontrollably onto the ground.

Jack’s reaction was expected, but seeing Faust crawling around and throwing up felt strange. It was… a bit of a turn-off. So even popular characters had puking animations.

I dismissed the Nightmare Steed and stripped off my heavy armor set.

“Why are you taking that off?”

“I can’t wear this anymore.”

I couldn’t believe they were worried about my clothes at a time like this.

My armor was thoroughly soaked in blood from all the chaotic swordplay, so I casually incinerated it with a basic fire spell. The Sword of Repentance remained clean due to its special property, but its durability had dropped by three points.

“I really should have grabbed some junk items. Only my sword’s durability got chipped. What a waste.”

“You… you were thinking about salvaging items even then?”

“Go back to puking. It’s better when you’re quiet.”

The two stared at me with dumbfounded expressions. Now that I told them to puke, they didn’t. They were truly contrarians. The leather heavy armor burned away quickly. I stomped my foot on the ashes, crushing and scattering any remaining embers.

Now what? I had initially thought it might be convenient to join a large group. I also saw it as a good opportunity to raise the affection of a popular character like Faust. However, it seemed the quest line was longer and more complicated than I anticipated.

It was a shame, but I truly didn’t want to deal with this anymore. Despite my thoughts, I forced a smile onto my face. Then I extended a hand to the two priests, who were still sprawled on the dirt floor.

“So, do you think you like me more now?”

They stared blankly for a moment before taking my hand and getting up. They looked a mess, swaying like newborn fawns. Then they looked at me again with peculiar expressions.

It was odd. In games, AI was typically restricted from being upgraded beyond a certain level of sophistication. This was legally prohibited to prevent players from confusing the virtual world with reality if the AI became too lifelike.

Of course, the AI in 『The Garden』 had been notoriously primitive, being an older game. Even so, for it to improve this much felt dangerously realistic.

[Emotional expressions and dialogue modified. Mechanically.]

“What are you talking about?”

“Still no luck, huh?”

Even though I knew the system wasn’t functioning properly, confirming it made me feel even worse. I wasn’t the type who enjoyed getting overly immersed.

“Well, what’s the use of worrying? There’s nothing I can do right now.”

I don’t know. The developers should have managed this properly, I suppose.

The village was smaller than I’d imagined. There wasn’t even an inn. They said the nearest inn was further downstream. So, we found an empty house nearby. It seemed deserted for a long time, covered in thick dust.

“I don’t really like these empty houses; they often trigger hidden quests…”

“What’s that? Like rats or bugs?”

“Something like that.”

Hidden quests usually offered decent rewards, but they were too long, which I disliked. Of course, I didn’t have to complete them; they were just side content. Still, once a quest marker appeared, it would nag at me constantly.

Feeling the need to clean up, I conjured large water droplets with magic, which astonished both of them. They asked if I could use magic. I don’t know why they were making such a fuss about a little magic. If I’d burned down someone’s roof with it, maybe, but not this.

The anger from the earlier rampage and being trolled was still simmering, and their constant overreactions only added to my irritation. Still, I held it in.

Right, well, they’re just programmed. They’re just doing what they’re told, so what good would scolding them do?

After getting them washed and fed, they at least looked somewhat human again. Their discarded armor, however, was in tatters. It was so damaged I doubted it could ever be worn again. Even nameless, a demon was still a demon. They weren’t something a low-level NPC from the early story could handle.

They were only in this state because I had blocked everything. Otherwise, their flesh would have been torn off and melted away in an instant.

“Are you alright, Sir Haut?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You were fending off all those demons by yourself.”

At least this one had the decency to feign concern.

Faust’s popularity as a character, paradoxically, seemed to stem from not being involved with the player. I couldn’t think of any other reason. Aside from his looks, I didn’t know what was so great about him. Was his performance good? Did he listen well? Did he give good rewards? He just got in the way unnecessarily and needed rescuing as if he were some useless princess. If I’d had to drag him around from the start, I would have grabbed him by the collar and slapped him, affection points be damned.