Barbarian in a Failed Game

“It’s a bit strange. There’s something different about you compared to that one…”

“Are you doubting me?”

“… You came here knowing the current situation of our tribe to support us, didn’t you? We are at war with the Empire. The undisputed hegemon of the continent, that Empire, which never shies away from cunning schemes like humans do! It’s only natural to approach a demon contractor who appeared without any prior notice with caution.”

In short:

‘How do I know you’re not an Imperial spy?’ he was asking, logically and meticulously providing reasons for his suspicion, making it difficult to respond. After all, he was indeed a spy.

『Not a spy, more like a strategic weapon deployed into their base.』

Unlike the spectating Spirit of Resentment, who found the situation amusing, Khan, the subject of the interrogation, was racking his brains for a plausible excuse.

‘I recognize this face. An old wolf beastman with a mix of gray and blue fur. Cunning Claw, one of the chieftains of the Great Forest.’

“Ch-Chief…”

The stupid bear beastman who had guided him here was restlessly murmuring from behind. He had been jubilant about his achievement of leading the demon contractor through the tunnel, only to find his superior immediately accusing him of being a spy. Realizing his life was now at risk, he must have been scared out of his wits.

But despite his intense thoughts, Khan was not panicking.

‘If it goes sideways, I can just wreck things and escape.’

So, calmly—he started organizing his thoughts. This place was inside the tunnel, essentially an advanced base of the Great Forest. The enormous dome-like space, with its ceiling and walls made of tree roots, was a product of the beastmen’s shamanic arts and served as one of their command centers.

‘Cunning Claw is a well-known named character. In the game, he was notorious for skillfully operating several guerrilla units of the beastmen and causing havoc.’

There might be several similar places, but the presence of this old wolf indicated this was an important stronghold. And one more thing could be inferred from the fact that Cunning Claw had come out to greet the ‘demon contractor’.

There was no shaman here at the moment. If there were a beastmen shaman present, they would have personally come to verify his identity.

‘I don’t need to completely fool them.’

What’s the best plausible excuse?

Going a bit aggressive and demonstrating a show of force could be one way. It’s not certain, but it’s the simplest and most direct method. However, the uncertainty is the problem.

Or maybe revealing some internal information about the Empire? That’s not feasible. During the time spent struggling in hell, the war situation had deviated significantly from what he originally knew in the game. Being overly knowledgeable about the Empire’s information would also be suspicious.

『Why not just show them that dark energy?』

Spirit of Resentment suggested the option he had been deliberately avoiding.

『That is no ordinary dark energy. It’s extremely pure—arguably more akin to the energy of a divine entity rather than typical dark magic. Even those who don’t fully understand the nature of a demon contractor will sense the difference in its caliber at a glance. Show them that, and their doubts will vanish instantly.』

‘That’s exactly why it’s a problem, you bastard.’

He knew that was the most definitive way to prove himself.

The hesitation stemmed from the inherent unease that any human would naturally feel about ‘demons’ and ‘dark magic’. Moreover, he wasn’t entirely sure about the principles behind this power and how it had transformed his body, making him reluctant to use it recklessly…

Grit—

“Is there a problem? Do you think this old man’s concerns are unfounded?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

“Hmm…”

As the old beastman’s suspicions deepened, it became hard to stay focused due to the flood of incoming knowledge. Fortunately, the headache was brief, but reviewing the newly acquired information naturally made Khan’s face grimace. To top it off, there was Esperus’ annoying laughter echoing in his mind.

As if investigating the changes within himself had triggered it, Esperus’ thoughts flooded his mind, and what he discovered was…

‘Damn it, who gave you permission to change my blood?!’

The crux of this transformation lay in the ‘blood’ coursing through his body. The current state of his body was the result of infusing it with blood extracted from the body created using blood taken from the mortal Karyan.

‘What am I, a dark sorcerer’s experiment?’

Already infused with Karyan’s blood, Esperus had mixed it with his own blood made from Karyan’s. What a bizarre combination that was! And the fact that it had a significant effect was no laughing matter.

Esperus had left instructions on how to use it quite explicitly. The dark energy that had burst out earlier was only due to Esperus playing around. Normally, it was stored in the Heart of Predation and could be drawn out at will.

Indeed, since it contained fragments of Aecharis’ power, it was the perfect place to store dark energy. Although having his body modified without his knowledge was somewhat unsettling, his overall physical specs had increased, and…

‘This will be quite useful.’

“How long do you intend to make this old man wait? If you have no intention of proving yourself…”

To deceive this cautious old beastman.

“I’ll show you.”

Esperus had shoved the usage instructions directly into his mind, and given that the dark energy’s source was the Heart of Predation and his blood, utilizing it wasn’t difficult. The techniques for manipulating blood he had honed while fighting the Blood King would come in handy.

Blood drawn from the Heart of Predation spread throughout his body. Instead of the Giant’s blood, which was only half its original volume, Esperus’ blood completely filled the void. The highly pure dark energy filled his body.

“Oh, oh…”

An exclamation escaped from the old beastman, Cunning Claw.

The dark mist enveloping Khan was undoubtedly dark energy, and it was denser than any he had seen before. Even denser than that of the demon contractor allied with the Great Forest’s leadership.

“This old man is witnessing something incredible… Such pure dark energy. It doesn’t feel as menacing as the aura from that one, but it’s all the more terrifying for that reason. The caliber is different.”

“Is this enough?”

“Haha! More than enough! I sincerely apologize for my rudeness. So, how would you like to be addressed, contractor?”

“Yoro.”

Without hesitation, Khan chose the name.

Although Esperus had resurrected, making it impossible to see him again, Yoro, who had left a deeper impression than Esperus, came to mind. More human than most humans, it seemed fitting.

“Call me Yoro.”

***

“Lord Yoro. It seems you are not fully aware of the current war situation. Would you like an explanation?”

“Go ahead.”

The war situation explained by Cunning Claw wasn’t much different from what the red bear beastman had told him, but it was more detailed.

Currently, the forces of the Great Forest had breached the Empire’s first defensive line and were occupying the territory of the Empire, pushing the front lines upward. The beastmen of the Great Forest had nothing to gain from human lands, so they pillaged and destroyed everything.

In this situation, a single fortress maintained the first defensive line like an isolated island amidst the occupied territory. They couldn’t breach this fortress, preventing them from advancing further.

“A Arch Mage is guarding it?”

“Yes. We couldn’t identify exactly who they were, but it was impossible to even approach the fortress. Even getting close resulted in a bombardment of spells, so we had to bypass it and push the front lines further. It was a fortress we had already captured once, but it was taken back by an unknown Arch Mage, according to the shaman who had initially taken the fortress….”

“Why doesn’t your king handle this directly?”

“…The king has other important matters and cannot intervene immediately.”

‘He still doesn’t fully trust me, it seems. Leaving out all internal matters of the Great Forest in his explanation.’

“So, what do you need me to do?”

Having come this far, Khan decided to continue his role as a spy. Given how much the flow of the game he knew had changed, he judged it best to gather as much information as possible before making a move.

“First, it would be best to join the other contractor.”

Another demon contractor, huh—this should not differ from the game’s flow. It was highly likely to be someone Khan knew. There weren’t many named demon contractors to begin with.

Just as Khan nodded in agreement, an explosion shook the entire dome made of tree roots as if it were about to collapse. From outside, he could hear the angry roars of the beastmen.

“The Empire’s infiltration team…!”

“That woman…! She’s a renowned warrior! It’s the mercenary unit led by the Spear Phantom of the Empire—!”

The beastmen’s voices trembled with vengeance as they mentioned the name Spear Phantom, indicating just how much trouble she had caused them. And with the information gathered from the roar, Khan’s fingers slightly trembled as well.

A woman, spear wielder, mercenary. It was a combination he was all too familiar with.

Slash!

Just as the face hidden within the dark mist grew serious, something shot through like lightning, piercing Cunning Claw’s shoulder.

“Argh…! You vile human wench!”

“Cunning Claw. You filthy furball… I’ve finally caught you.”

A woman with incredible agility rushed in, naturally drawing her long spear and charging at Cunning Claw, but she halted when her eyes met Khan’s, who was emitting an immense amount of dark energy.

“…….”

“……?”

It was a peculiar standoff.

Khan, shrouded in a dark mist, thought there was no way his identity could be revealed and decided to stay silent. However, he had never imagined the other person would also remain silent and just stare at him.

『Could she have recognized you?』

‘No way….’

His size had increased, and his appearance was obscured by the mist, making it impossible to discern anything.

However, her behavior of just observing and not attacking suggested she sensed something was amiss. Cold sweat trickled down Khan’s spine.

“Lord Yoro! We must eliminate the intruders…!”

“Yoro?”

“……”

The elderly beastman, baring his teeth at the woman who attacked him, the spear-wielding woman with a puzzled look in her eyes, and the barbarian sweating nervously inside the concealing mist.

The one who broke the strange standoff among the three was the handsome paladin radiating brilliant light, Leonir von Istanstil.

“Filthy demon…!”

Seemingly more favored by the Goddess of Justice, Leo’s sword, imbued with a clearly higher level of holy power, aimed at Khan.

Boom─!!

Dark energy and holy power clashed violently. Khan blocked the sword with his bare hand, surprised at how well he withstood it. Then, an ingenious idea flashed in his mind—a way to approach the higher-ups of the Great Forest while simultaneously dealing with this zealous paladin who mistook him for a demon or a contractor.

“Cunning Claw. Abandon this hideout and flee. It seems the Empire has discovered us.”

“Lord Yoro?! What do you mean…?”

“There’s no way they would send such a small force to attack just one hideout. Don’t waste your troops. Order a full retreat.”

“But these wicked humans won’t let us go easily….”

Rumble!

As Khan drew more dark energy from the Heart of Devouring, the ground beneath his feet cracked open.

In an instant, the atmosphere Khan exuded changed. It felt as if a transcendent being had descended. Everyone in the area felt as though their breath was taken away.

“Leave the rear to me. I will come to you later.”

“L-Lord Yoro…!”

Cunning Claw, looking at Khan with moist eyes, clenched his eyes shut, overwhelmed.

“I won’t forget this…!”

Of course, you won’t. Although it felt like a cheap drama, seeing Cunning Claw’s emotions filled with deep gratitude made Khan grin.

‘Once I send all the beastmen away, I can calmly convince these guys. They seem like they’ll understand if I explain….’

But there was one thing he had overlooked.

“There is no later for you. Filthy scum…!”

Since his disappearance after falling into the demon’s trap, his comrades had developed an extreme hatred for anything related to demons, to the point of having seizures at the mere mention of the word ‘demon.’

“You enemies of my grace, die──!”

“Wait a moment…!”

‘I’m the one you’re grateful to, you idiot!’

Without a chance to stop him,

A blinding white light rushed towards him, striking from above.

Boom!

TL’s Corner:

The cliche ally vs ally because of misundersding. It’s a cliche because it’s good. Hehe.