Versatile: Alternate World



At the current temporary outpost of the demons, the commanding officer of the demons, Lakius is trying to ascertain whether he should unleash the beast he was currently holding in a cell to stir up danger in the tribe. However, this monster is different. Aside from its ability to produce demonic dogs by devouring something, its violent nature that Lakius has keeping its eyes off as this monster can either benefit him or something that would be the cause of his death.

However, there are times when he has to make a choice. And perhaps right now was something he had to make sure he had to do it. With the enemies slowly closing in, there is a chance that he might fall today. However, if he does, he wants to ensure that not only falls today. He grabs an iron chair, holds the keychain in his belt tightly, and waits. There is only one answer to this once the enemies have arrived but right now, all he can do is wait.

...

...

...

The commanding demon pleaded for his life after beating him black and blue, but I don't think I will even need to think twice about sparing him because he is commanding the demons and might be one of the brains who instigated the attack as well.

Grabbing his head and slowly crushing it, the demon started convulsing as he tried his best to remove my hand from crushing his head. However, he has no strength to keep it and the gauntlet is just slowly dealing his skull continuous damage. He tries to kick but fails as he squirms for his life. Until the very end, he tried his best to get out of my grasp but my grip was much stronger than his own strength and before he could even break free, his skull caved in and his head exploded in my hands which also ended his life as his body limped and stopped moving.

The moment he died, I threw the dead body of the commander to the attacking demons and saw their commanding officer with a head that exploded to pieces.

"The commander is dead! Run!"

Riko fired multiple fireballs in their direction. "You won't escape from us!"

But I stopped Riko from chasing and killing them.

"Why are you stopping me?" Riko frowned.

"Because we needed them alive to follow them," I answered as I sent Shikigamis and attached them to the demons, allowing me to keep the location of where the demons were going."

Then I turned back to the girls. "But before we go and chase them, we will have to see the damage done by the demons and the demonic dogs. We might have killed them but there might be some damages done as a result."

Hearing that, the three nodded and we returned to the camp. Arriving there, the countless bodies of the demonic dogs that were killed were all sprawled out on the ground alongside the dead bodies of some demons that were killed by Riko, Rika, and Zena. I didn't personally see Zena do her kills but based on how Rika was praising Zena's abilities in battle, she must be pretty intense and leveled. She might have not been captured by demons back then if not for her sacrificing herself just so her friend would not be killed and captured.

The soldiers are gathering back the arrows that they fired off from the dead bodies while Ragga is assessing the situation and the condition of the walls and gates closely.

"How is everyone?" I asked as we approached Ragga.

"Oh, Manato. Thanks to you and your companions, we avoided the brutal result of their attack. Without your help, we might have incurred lots of losses and everyone might have been dead or captured by now."

Rika approached the gate and assessed the gate for a bit.

"The gate needed some replacement. This is no longer going to provide any defenses if the demons attack again. I suggest you use a thicker and sturdier wood, or if possible, use iron gates instead of wood. They can last longer if that is the case."

Ragga nodded at the suggestion. "Indeed. But we will have to prioritize healing the wounded first and once everything is back to normal, we will change the gates to a much sturdier material."

"Ragga, we will be chasing the fleeing demons right now. We will not be able to defend against any attacks while we are away and only some of my Desert Wolves can help fend off the attack in case they come back for more. I will hand back the rights for the execution of the demon prisoners to you instead."

"Is that so? Then, we will have to do that. If you are sure that you can track down the enemy and stop them, then I hope you succeed."

I nodded in response. "Of course. We will not disappoint. And we will bring back the peace you all had before the prophecy was given out. We will end them once and for all."

Once we told Ragga that, we began chasing the demons. I left the remaining Desert Wolves in the care of Ragga for now until we are back as I am quite sure that the demons are going to find an opportunity to fight back. Meanwhile, we will be coming to the base of the demons. It seems I was right about them running back to their outpost camp. Thanks to them, now I can go straight to their camp and fight.

"Lucia, I think you should also participate in this battle."

Lucia then appeared from the Summon's Area. "Then, at your service, Master. I am here to provide help."

We continue to move and Zena who was ahead of us while using her super speed ability that seems to be similar to the speed of a wolf, sniffs in the air and growls.

"We are almost there."

I can say that she is correct as we are indeed closing into the camp. There are lots of demons in the outpost so we will have to push through them or slay them all. Based on how my companions do the work, they are more on slaying them all.

But then, as we got close, I suddenly lost contact with all of my Shikigamis deployed. They all happened at the same time. It's not removed but it is also clear that they didn't disappear either. As I can still feel them, I think I know why.

DEATH.

The death of the person or monster or even demon that I attached a Shikigami with will also kill the shikigami, which will result in me losing any control and sight of the shikigami. However, even though I lost contact or severed contact with it, I can still feel its presence which means the shikigami was not destroyed but the one I attached it with did.

Arriving at the outpost, the smell of putrid blood can be smelled from the fort. The place was totally quiet as well. Blood was splattered all over the place and I don't think this splatter from the blood comes from anything other than being attacked by a violent monster. Weapon attacks are not capable of doing this kind of splatter.

Lucia and Zena immediately went alert and we looked at them as they seemed to have detected something.

"Something is coming," Lucia readies her spells.

"I can sense a very dangerous bloodlust coming inside this place. Everyone, we needed to be careful."

Hearing this, we slowly enter the outpost while we look around. Then, we heard a very loud scream inside. However, his screams didn't last long as they soon started to sound incoherent like he was gargling some water. I think he was vomiting blood and his screams were muffled by it as a result. Perhaps the guy was even dead.

We didn't rush inside. We can't afford to rush into the scene only for us to get attacked as well. As we approached the innermost area of the outpost, we saw different body parts of demons scattered around the place. Arms, legs, and even some torsos are present as well. Blood littered the ground and vandalized the walls as well.

Seeing everything in detail, I ready my Versatile Weapon. As we turned around, we saw a huge black beast that was currently feasting on the demon remains, probably the ones who screamed earlier.

We didn't make a sound at all, but it seemed the monster was already aware of our presence as it stopped eating and faced us, revealing itself as a big black dog. Although the beast looks like a hairy black dog, the size is very big, to the point that it is twice the size of the largest land animal currently alive on Earth.

As its eyes lit up, I immediately recognized the beast. And I never expected it to be here, currently feasting on demons.

The Black Dog Barghest, the walking calamity, and according to the lore, if it was left alone without defeating it, Black Dog Barghest would become the second Cath Palug and will become the next beast that will endanger destroying the world.