The muscles of his body twisted and turned, and a fist, seemingly carrying flames, struck his Handcane. The force transmitted through the Handcane, turning it into a steel spike that pierced swiftly into the opponent’s body, running straight from the opponent’s mouth and out the back of their skull.
Gobs of pus started seeping from the unsightly holes that appeared on the grotesque body. Thankfully, his Handcane was wrapped in magic, otherwise it would have been too filthy to use. Meanwhile, the foul-smelling liquid, like a fountain, spilled from the sky, as if someone had upturned a toilet over Saint Nali.
Fisher’s complexion changed abruptly, and he quickly leaped away to avoid getting sprayed with anything from the frenzied gush of the beast.
After releasing a final shriek that sounded like a woman’s screech, the creature fell helplessly to the ground, drained of strength. Yet its muscles continued to twitch awkwardly, still struggling against death.
Fisher caught his Handcane that fell from mid-air and frowned as he surveyed the nearly deceased monster on the ground.
But he had to find Elliog; just as he was about to get up, he saw Elliog emerge unharmed, leisurely walking back with two knives on her back through the wild thistles, her face devoid of surprise and still lazily yawning.
"Oh? There’s another one here that ran away. You took care of it, huh..."
Elliog rubbed her eyes, unable to muster any enthusiasm. Fisher glanced at her, noting that she had no wounds and was unsoiled, then redirected his gaze.
He squatted down and examined the huge creature on the ground, resembling a bug. He asked,
"What is this thing? Why has it appeared here?"
At the current sight, the monster seemed to mostly exhibit human features, but with many dissimilarities in its bones and certain organs, like some kind of man-made creation.
Fisher watched the girl’s face, writhing with pain as pus continued to pour from her features; his gaze was cold but he refrained from touching the monster, suspecting the pus might be poisonous.
"This thing is what they call a ’Human Worm,’" she noted disinterestedly. "It’s a creation of the Sinner I’ve been chasing. The one before you was made entirely from a human, and there are more... But he likes to destroy evidence, so it won’t be long before these things become unrecognizable, and everything, bones and all, will turn into a stinking pile of liquid. So don’t bother thinking about studying it."
Elliog wrinkled her nose, foregoing her yawn for fear of the stench reaching her.
"The Sinner I’m pursuing likes to conduct these ugly experiments, not only on humans but on demi-humans as well. That’s why Agares sent me back to the surface to hunt the culprit down. It seems he knows a Demon is after him, so he sent a few biological weapons to test my strength."
"Some of the bugs were fairly strong, but they’re all dead now. I doubt he thinks I’m easy to deal with, so he’s probably preparing to flee Saint Nali tonight."
Without a word, Fisher saw the Human Worm on the ground as if triggering a switch; its bodily fluids began to boil, quickly dissolving the bug-like and human-like creature, baring the pale bones inside and eliciting another feminine scream from the dying Human Worm.
But this time, the scream was weaker, as even the bones turned to ash.
"So, you’re going after that Sinner now?" Fisher said, turning away from the ground to look at Elliog standing next to him.
Her red hair lifted slightly, and her serpent-like eyes stared straight at the life fading before her, revealing an uncharacteristically unclear intent from a Demon.
Once the creature had fully dissolved into a puddle with no trace of its original shape, Elliog turned, yawned again, nodded at Fisher and said with a troubled tone,
"Agares is already quite unhappy with my pace. If I slack off anymore, he’ll really get mad, so I’ll probably set off tonight to chase after that guy. It’s time for us to part ways, human... But it’s a good thing for you humans. On the run, he wouldn’t have as much time to create these things, so fewer humans will die, not bad at all."
She began to laugh, then suddenly remembered something, pointing her finger at Fisher as a reminder,
"Also, kid, I saw that attack of yours earlier. Although still a bit naive, you already hold the taste of a beginner. Your body has a lot of potential to develop, so remember to continue practicing and not waste it. I’ll see if I can come back to play with you after I kill that guy, you do taste quite good. I don’t want to see you all sick and weak next time we meet, otherwise, I’ll have to drain you completely."
Elliog once again poked Fisher with her tail with a "I’m quite fond of you" look, leaving Fisher speechless. Although that was the case, he didn’t make any effort to retain her. His relationship with Elliog was a bit complicated, probably just mutually beneficial, without much deep sentiment involved.
However, his Completion Manual for the Demon Girl was being researched and was almost exceeding fifty percent completion. He estimated he could receive the fifty percent research reward for the demon entity by that evening. As usual, the manual would grant him some kind of physical item.
He had no idea whether the item was hidden in the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual or summoned from some other place.
Reflecting on his time spent with Elliog, he actually gained quite a lot. Not only had his physical needs been met, but he had also learned a number of combat skills from the demon. Fisher didn’t really lose out on much.
On the contrary, the Demon Girl didn’t receive much apart from a place to sleep. Now that she was leaving, she hadn’t even mentioned the matter of the thirty thousand Naliou...
Thinking about it, did it seem like he was actually taking a bit of advantage of the Demon Girl?
Feeling a trace of guilt, Fisher pulled out all the cash he had on him, which was roughly ten thousand Naliou, and handed it to Elliog. Elliog blinked in surprise, didn’t count it, and just slipped it into her chest pocket. After that, she yawned.
It seemed the demon really had no concept of human currency. If he’d known, he would have given her just a few thousand.
While thinking this, Fisher didn’t show it on his face, but instead said,
"So, how about we have one last meal together?"
"And maybe sleep together one last time?" Elliog replied sluggishly with a smirk, but didn’t receive an answer from Fisher.
In fact, by saying this, she was essentially turning Fisher down.
Although Fisher could clearly see a flicker of interest in her eyes, that was the slacker’s last bit of joy. Just as she said, any more slacking off could spell trouble, so she decided it was best to leave now.
"Never mind, young man. I’ll come looking for you after I’ve finished what I have to do. I can accompany you till you die, you know—human lives are so fleeting~" She smiled and waved at Fisher, her parting words laced with seductive mischief.
Then, without lingering any longer, she slung her two sickle swords over her back, draped her cloak on again, and fully covered her non-human parts.
She was about to leave.
"I’m off, roar. I remember your scent. Next time we meet, I’ll taste you again."
Fisher stayed put, not seeing her off. Only when she had walked far enough that her figure was no longer visible did Fisher turn his head.
He didn’t go back but continued in the direction from which Elliog had come.
Ahead in the distance, past the ground pine shrubs, vast swathes of earth pockmarked with deep pits that seemed scorched by lava appeared before Fisher.
As if crushed by some tremendous force, the ground was littered with cracks and shards. The originally moist soil had hardened due to the extreme heat, disintegrating into ash under Fisher’s feet.
That demon Elliog was truly not a simple individual.
Fisher took in the scene before him and waved his hand, layering magic over the traces in front of him. That way, if someone came across it later, he could explain it away as an experiment with new magic, thus covering up her negligence.