Barbarian in a Failed Game

As Yoro had mentioned, the ruler of the Demonkin settlement was determined solely by strength. Given Khan’s overwhelming defeat of Tulkan, the Demonkin of the settlement had no objections to Khan assuming the top position.

In fact, they actively sought to curry favor with him, with Tulkan—formerly known as the “Elder”—leading the charge.

“Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Send in the next person.”

“Understood!”

In an interior reminiscent of a grand mansion in Midland, Khan lounged on a comfortable chair, issuing orders while Tulkan scurried about outside.

It was as if Tulkan had wiped the memory of his humiliating defeat from his mind, displaying utmost loyalty. It was almost laughable to the one giving the orders.

“Hmm. This is simply the natural order for the Demonkin. It’s not surprising; it’s expected.”

Serving as both interpreter and encyclopedia for Khan, Yoro had become the second most influential figure in the settlement. He defended Tulkan’s behavior as if it were perfectly normal.

‘He’s really something else.’

Khan could only smirk at how Yoro, who had nearly died at Tulkan’s hands moments ago, now acted so nonchalantly. Anyone watching Yoro would struggle to believe he was a Demonkin from Hell. In Khan’s eyes, Yoro was kinder than most Midland natives.

“Ahaha. I’ve brought the next one!”

“Good, now stand facing the wall again.”

“Yes, sir!”

Confirming that Tulkan, with his exposed soft flesh, stood grinning at the wall, Khan finally turned his attention to the new Demonkin who had entered.

“They call me Lurung—”

“The name isn’t important. You’ve been briefed, right?”

“Yes! I was told to inform you of any unusual occurrences near the settlement or in the Blood Domain…”

“Then spill everything you know, whether you think it’s important or not.”

The Demonkin with claw-like pincers on a human body nervously began recounting everything he knew. However, nothing he said piqued Khan’s interest, and sensing this, Yoro cleared his throat before interjecting.

“Lurung. Could you perhaps share some more unusual or significant happenings? From what I can tell, what you’ve mentioned so far isn’t all that surprising…”

“Oh, well, there has been something rather unusual, but I’m not sure if I should mention it here…”

“Something unusual?”

Khan’s eyes sharpened as he asked, making the Demonkin named Lurung flinch and nod vigorously.

“It’s, um, a bit delicate to talk about here…”

“But what is it?”

Lurung glanced nervously at Tulkan, who was diligently facing the wall upon Khan’s orders.

Clearly wary of Tulkan’s reaction, Khan frowned and snapped.

“Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Cover your ears.”

“Yes, sir!”

Tulkan quickly covered his temples with his thick, stony hands as Khan had ordered. Khan’s nonverbal gesture seemed to ask, “Is this good enough?” while Lurung hesitated, looking distressed.

Clearly, covering his ears wouldn’t stop Tulkan from hearing, but Lurung had no other choice but to speak.

“Well, a while ago, a Demonkin from outside came looking for Elder… Tulkan. I happened to see it purely by chance, but ever since then, Tulkan has seemed very agitated.”

Lurung explained that after Yoro had missed the scheduled time and stood up Tulkan, this incident had ensued as a result.

“Though Tulkan’s temper has always been bad, it was especially worse after that… eek!”

While recounting what happened, lurung noticed that Tulkan, who was supposed to be covering his ears, had turned to glare at him murderously.

“Fine… you can go.”

“T-thank you, sir!”

Lurung, now caught between fearing both sides, was dismissed by Khan, who then brought the grim-faced Tulkan before him.

“It seems there’s something you didn’t mention.”

Khan tapped his fingers on the table, glaring at Tulkan with obvious displeasure. The whole reason for ousting Tulkan and taking his spot was to gather information. If it weren’t for this purpose, Khan wouldn’t have opted to sit in this barbaric place considering he was a modern man.

“So, who did you meet?”

“… I don’t know!”

Tulkan, who had seen his status plummet overnight, was on the verge of tears. Having to endure all sorts of humiliation to appease Khan, he now faced exposing something he had wanted to keep secret.

Khan, however, was unmoved by Tulkan’s distress.

“Not talking?”

“I-I really don’t know!”

“And what exactly is it that you don’t know?”

Despite feeling curious about how such a range of expressions could come from a stone-like face, Khan suppressed his interest and pressed Tulkan for answers.

Tulkan, on the brink of tears, began to speak.

“A stranger I had never seen before approached me and asked if I had seen any unusual creatures in the area.”

“Unusual creatures?”

“Yes! Unusual creatures! He ordered me to report to him if I found any creatures with appearances uncommon around here…? Oh.”

Overcome with a mix of sorrow and realization, Tulkan’s body began to tremble.

“As a matter of the unusual creature…!”

“……”

The silence that greeted Tulkan’s trembling words only deepened his sense of dread. In this area, it’s rare to see someone like him: unusual appearance, power that doesn’t match his build, and the inability to communicate unless you possess Yoro’s abilities.

“Sh-sheesh. Anyone can see it’s him…!”

Tulkan realized. The fearsome stranger’s ‘peculiar creature’ was right in front of his eyes.

Chatter, chatter.

His teeth clattered loudly in his overwhelming fear. And as the silence dragged on, Tulkan felt suffocated.

No, he wished those lips would never open.

But contrary to his hopes, Khan’s lips parted and-

“You….”

“Of course, it couldn’t possibly be you, Lord Khan! Keh-heh─!”

Instinctively sensing danger, Tulkan hurriedly interrupted, as if trying to cover Khan’s mouth.

“That insolent fool! I never liked him ordering us around above his station! Just give me the command, and I’ll capture him right away…!”

Tulkan’s eyes rolled, trying to gauge Khan’s reaction as he babbled out of a survival instinct.

Tap. Tap.

Was Khan contemplating Tulkan’s words?

Tulkan nervously watched as Khan tapped his fingers on the desk, then gulped.

Finally, hearing Khan’s response, Tulkan grinned broadly.

“Then, bring him here.”

***

The place Tulkan went following Khan’s command was far from the demon’s residence. Because of the frequent red storms supposedly created by Esperus’s wings, even powerful demons like Tulkan rarely ventured to the Storm Lands.

There, the demon who had recently visited him seeking information about the ‘peculiar creature’ must be waiting for Tulkan.

Gulp…

Although Tulkan had confidently declared he would capture the creature, his heart couldn’t help but race now that he was actually facing it.

He hadn’t directly measured their strength against his, but Tulkan instinctively knew that his opponent was formidable. Moreover, this creature was a demon from outside the bloodline.

‘It seems like he has some backing….’

But.

No matter how great that backing was, the imminent fist was scarier. Considering that even the general of the legion, who had placed Tulkan, constantly fighting other demons for the ruler’s seat, couldn’t break through Tulkan’s stone skin in one blow-

‘It’s certain. That guy is a monster. Perhaps comparable to a general of the demon legion….’

Since he had chosen his side, Tulkan decided to go all the way. You never know. That brute might just become the next lord of the Blood Domain.

‘Heh heh. If things turn out that way, there might be some rewards for my early loyalty—’

Lost in his thoughts, Tulkan was shocked when a new figure appeared without any warning and spoke to him.

“You’ve come here, so you must have found something.”

“…!”

He was so close that he could touch his nose if he fell, yet Tulkan didn’t notice his approach until he spoke, causing cold sweat to trickle down his face. The thought that something was wrong was definitely not a mistake.

But Tulkan had long since steeled his resolve.

“Yes! I found the peculiar creature you mentioned!”

“Explain.”

“…It was a much smaller, weak demon. But no notable physical characteristics were apparent. Most importantly, it didn’t seem to understand our language at all.”

Tulkan spouted lies fluently, surprising himself at his acting skills, and then looked at the ‘figure’ for a reaction. Covered in a cloak made of beast hide, only golden scales peeked out from the demon’s body.

“By any chance, did that creature have gray skin?”

“Y-yes. It was gray.”

“…Where is it now? Have you made direct contact with it?”

That was an unexpected question. However, Tulkan, riding the momentum, squeezed out an answer effortlessly.

“No. The city’s butcher thought it was a dead body and brought it, but it turned out to still be alive. It’s barely clinging to life, though.”

Did his desperate acting work?

The demon with golden scales nodded his chin.

“Lead the way.”

“…O-of course.”

Momentarily enraged by the demon’s superior attitude, Tulkan exercised immense patience to suppress his anger.

‘Anyway, that monster will crush you!’

Turning towards the residence while seething inside, it happened.

Whoosh! Thud!

“Ugh!”

Intense pain surged through his spine and spread throughout his body. But whether by chance or not, recalling the pain when he was hit by Khan helped Tulkan quickly regain his senses and roll on the ground.

Boom!!

Seeing the bone tail embedded in the spot where he had been moments ago, Tulkan urgently shouted in panic.

“What are you doing?!”

“You’re the one playing tricks. Obvious, petty tricks.”

Caught?!

Horrified, Tulkan rolled on the ground again, as the tail burrowed into the Blood Domain.

But without time to be relieved or despaired, the demon with golden scales retracted its tail and rapidly closed the distance with ghostly movements.

“Ugh!”

Guarding against the frontal attack, Tulkan protected his face with both arms and groaned. The tail, bent at a bizarre angle, struck his back.

Thud.

Tulkan, who was overwhelmed so suddenly and easily, knelt down. The demon with golden scales who stopped in front of Tulkan coldly muttered.

“This is why mercy is a luxury for worms.”

The bone tail began to entangle Tulkan like a living snake. The grip was so strong that even Tulkan couldn’t break free.

“What I’m curious about, I’ll ask after reviving you as an undead.”

At the word ‘undead’, Tulkan’s eyes widened in fear.

“Somehow, this all seems familiar.”

The voice Tulkan had been waiting for interrupted with a thunderous noise.

Boom──!!

Despite not being directly exposed to the attack, Tulkan, whose hair stood on end, suddenly realized he was freed from the demon’s tail and quickly created distance.

However, the demon with golden scales showed no interest in Tulkan, whether he escaped or not. Their attention was entirely drawn to the new arrival.

“I didn’t expect to see someone who was already in my grasp again.”

And the same went for the interrupter who saved Tulkan.

“Darkin Perayas. It’s good to see you again in this way.”

“Gordi… Khaaaan──!!”