Demonic Conqueror [LitRPG, Isekai, Progression]

Chapter 21.4



Patting her on the shoulder once, Simon walked up towards the hideout. This next step required him to be in close range. He came to a stop beside the wooden cabinet positioned in front of the door.

Inside, a chorus of agitated voices grew louder. The bandits had noticed that they were starting to feel a mite toasty. It wouldn't be long before they rushed outside.

Everything up until this point – assassinating the guard, spreading the not-oil, lighting the fire – had been the easy part. Operation Barbecue's real success hinged on keeping the rats confined to their sinking ship.

The transmigrator raised his Demonic right arm. Barrier. 360 MP. Maximum strength.

A translucent rectangle appeared in-between the front door and the wooden cabinet. Simon slotted his Barrier neatly in the middle, like a massive sheet of paper slipped through a tiny gap.

Second later – although the cabinet was obscuring his view – he heard the creak of the hideout's front door inwardly swinging open. There was a loud thump as a particularly eager bandit immediately ran forward–

And collided with the Barrier blocking his path.

The voices fell silent, likely dumbfounded over what they were seeing. From the bandits' perspective, their escape was being barred by a magically-enchanted cabinet Artifact. How else could they reconcile the sight of a glimmering forcefield superimposed over a piece of basic wooden furniture?

More noises crept into Simon's ears as he heard the shing of multiple swords being drawn. The bandits reacted in a manner befitting their station – by mindlessly hacking at the first sign of trouble. They assailed the 'Artifact' with gusto, swords crashing into the Barrier again and again.

It held. In fact, they hadn't come close to breaking it. While these bandits may have been dangerous to Joe Schmo off the street, compared to the Ravenous Wanderer or even Armand Calloway, they were no better than big fish in a small pond. It would take them time to breach a Barrier empowered with the sum total of Simon's MP.

Time that they...actually, that they did have. Death from heat and smoke inhalation wasn't anywhere near instant.

If the bandits had stayed calm, assessed the situation, and deduced that this strange 'Artifact' had to have a limit, then the Barrier would've eventually fallen. 360 MP was a lot, but it wasn't infinite, and it couldn't have withstood a concerted assault forever.

That was when the voices quieted once more. Simon grinned, knowing that they'd encountered his failsafe.

Attached to the cabinet, barely visible through the shimmer of Barrier and the worsening haze of smoke...was a letter. Just two curt sentences: a declaration and a lifeline.

"Kill each other.

The last one alive goes free."

As far as traps went, this one was painfully obvious. Even when accounting for how the bandits were stressed, panicked, and beginning to run lower on oxygen, nine out of ten people wouldn't have fallen for such a blatant ploy.

Thankfully, there were eleven.

A scream of pain. Shouts of outrage. Frantic babbling. Like listening to a radio drama, Simon closed his eyes and enjoyed the varied sounds emanating from inside the hideout.

Let's see...can only hear every other word...but yeah, someone lost it. Attacked his cohort. Stabbed from behind. He's shouting about how he doesn't want to die, and...

Simon hummed appreciatively. And how 'she never deserved to be leader anyway'? Hah, he's using the letter as an excuse to mutiny. Probably been planning this for months.

Shockingly, their group of cutthroat, backstabbing murderers didn't seem very internally cohesive. Grudges and grievances rose to the surface, the fire almost forgotten as half of them began spouting threats at someone or other. A noble few attempted to restore order, pointing out that they were screwed if they didn't soon escape...

Yet it was too late. Sparks had been thrown onto the powderkeg – all it took to light the flames of discord.

Although Simon did respect the lone bandit who'd never stopped attacking his Barrier, even as the rest of the group imploded. If the rest had kept their eye on the prize as well, I might've needed to bring out my second failsafe.

The mutiny commenced in full. It was a lopsided battle; the prime mutineer ringleader had grossly overestimated his support. His side wouldn't last long, doomed to be put down after a swift, brutal struggle.

It didn't matter. Just by arguing and fighting – thereby wasting time, thinning their numbers, and using up precious oxygen – they had already sealed their fates. Even if they all relentlessly attacked the Barrier from here on out, they would be so weakened that, when it broke, they'd be easy pickings for Simon and Katarina.

With a hint of disappointment, the transmigrator noted that he hadn't gained any EXP from the mutineers' demise. Instigating the death of another yields no Experience, he confirmed.

That was to be expected. The system hadn't granted EXP back when he killed a slaver with poison. If the death was too indirect, it didn't count – otherwise the gods' champion would be incentivized to increase their Levels via mass slaughter of vulnerable areas. He doubted that he'd get anything if the bandits burned to death or suffocated from arson, either.

Still, killing bandits was its own reward. Caelryn would be a marginally safer place after tonight. While it was more of a band-aid solution than anything else, as long-lasting change needed to come from the top, at least this would help staunch the city's bleeding.

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Today was a good day. A content smile inched up Simon's face. He'd gotten to test a hypothesis, have a heart-to-heart with Kat, and even make a bit of progress on the side. No complaints.

From him, anyway. The bandits were becoming quite vocal about their predicament.

Minutes passed. Their struggling went from intense to fatigued as smoke and heat filled the hideout. The Barrier was heavily damaged by now, but their attacks were growing feeble, their bodies slowing as a makeshift oven cooked them alive. Some tried searching for weak spots in the walls – a last-ditch effort ruined by the fortifications that they themselves had installed.

Wish I'd brought some marshmallows to roast, Simon mused, ignoring the pleading and begging from inside. Though Kat probably wouldn't approve. Gallows humor isn't for everyone.

One-by-one, the voices faded as death or unconsciousness took them. The silence of the grave encroached upon the sounds of life, taking its due with each person who fell.

All that remained was a single stubborn bandit – the same who'd been incessantly attacking Simon's Barrier from the start.

That's good enough. If any others are still alive, I can finish them off personally and reap a solid Harvest. As for the straggler...

I think they've earned one last look at the night sky. Simon dismissed his Barrier.

With a crack of abused wood, something resembling a person plowed through the cabinet.

Tortured wailing gurgled from the charred-flesh-thing's throat as it collapsed into a heap on the ground. Severe burns had been seared all across its body, with most of its clothing having fused with its skin.

"Henry," Katarina breathed, dashing over to kneel beside him.

Simon raised an eyebrow, questioning how she could tell at this point – but a quick Identify proved her right. This was Henry. Looking...a tad worse for the wear.

The transmigrator paused in the middle of lifting his Demonic arm. Would rather Harvest him and wash my hands of this situation, but...

He looked at Kat. This could be important to her. "Do you want to bring Henry to a healer?"

She didn't answer, but he could see that she was listening. "He likely won't make it," Simon continued. "His odds of survival are exceedingly low. But it isn't impossible, and we do have the funds to afford treatment from a high-Level mage. Your call."

Still no answer. Katarina stared down at the young man who she'd once thought she knew, an unreadable expression on her face.

Finally, she spoke.

"It isn't fair, is it? That I'm here and you're not." Henry had already blacked out, but she talked onward as if he could hear her. "Truthfully, I don't see much difference between us. We both lived comparable lives. Struggled in similar fashions. Why is it that I've found a benevolent Demon willing to put trust in me, while you've consorted with humans who were far more monstrous?

Kat hung her head. "Even the Demon's soul-Scrying magic seems to have faith in me. Don't understand it. I'm not any more or less special than you. With the slightest twist of fate, I could've been the one choking on lungs full of smoke as my skin blistered and blackened."

She glanced down at the knife attached to her hip. "I could lie, claim that I was rewarded for refusing to kill an innocent, while you were punished for succumbing...but we're both smarter than that. No one is rewarded for compassion. I was lucky – that's all. The whims of the world just happened to favor me. Offered up a chance like no other."

Sighing deeply, she stood up. "And I won't squander it. Farewell, Henry."

With an air that there was nothing more to say, Katarina turned away from him, facing Simon. "Please make it as painless as you can."

Nodding, the transmigrator grabbed Henry and activated Fell Harvest. It didn't take long for his breathing to cease.

Alert: A life has been Harvested!
3 stat points added to Unspent Points!

As the system notifications popped up, a vague...something stirred within Simon.

He couldn't bring himself to feel sympathy for Henry, not after the Sin Scry vision he'd witnessed, but he could still admit that the deck had been stacked against the thief-turned-murderer. If he'd grown up in a better environment, he wouldn't have felt the need to hitch his future to a gang of killers – felt that his only way forward was to walk a trail of blood.

That's why I've transmigrated. Even in an ideal world, cases like Henry will still exist, but I'll improve things as much as I feasibly can. Give everyone the fairest shot possible.

And to do that, I need more power.

Simon strode towards the burning hideout, on the hunt for survivors. He was almost to Level 19. If any of them were unconscious and still alive, they'd get him over the hurdle.

In a way, he was grateful for remorseless monsters like Armand and these bandits. They made things so delightfully...black and white. If everyone was like Henry, with his underdog background and accompanying 'What Ifs?', Simon would've had to agonize over every opportunity to gain EXP.

But this?

This, he could feel good about.

--

A life has been Harvested!
3 stat points added to Unspent Points!

A life has been Harvested!
3 stat points added to Unspent Points!

Your Level and Stats have increased!
Level: 18 → 19
Intelligence: 36 → 40

Alert: Heroic Valor's bonus has activated!

For performing an act of community service – excluding how you handled Henry – you have received bonus EXP!

Your Level has increased!
Level: 19 → 20

4 stat points added to Unspent Points! Allocate them at will!


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