The Babysitter Wants to Stop Dying

Chapter 36: Marvas (1)

‘This is going to overflow if I’m not careful.’

No wonder he didn’t pee at all before bed, he just had to save it for now……. Parenting really doesn’t go as planned.

There was nothing I could do. I hadn't even thought of packing any, so of course there were no spare diapers.

“What’s wrong?”

Romero’s gaze turned this way.

“It’s not a big deal, it’s just time to change his diaper.”

“Whaat! That’s a real emergency. Delphi, shouldn’t we get moving now?”

I didn’t say he had to go, I said he already went, but Romero looked as if she’d heard something catastrophic. Her thick eyebrows knitted together and the corners of her drooping eyes shot up.

“It’s not that urgent……”

Before I could finish my sentence,

Kugugung-

The ground began to rumble.

Not a gentle shake, but enough to make my butt bounce.

“Ms. Romero. Now.”

With perfect timing, Delphi called to Romero.

“Alright!”

Kwa-deuk!

As if that was the signal, Romero shot to her feet. At the same time, the wooden stocks that had bound her crumbled as delicately as if they were made of wet paper.

“Vice-Captain, untie us too-.”

Phillip rattled the wooden stocks on his hands up and down with a monotonous request, and Romero grabbed my wooden plank first with one hand. And then,

Kwaduk!

The wooden plank shattered just from her grip.

……Phew.

Even though she was on my side, a chill ran down my spine. It was unlikely to happen, but the desire to not get on her bad side, which I didn't have much of to begin with, completely disappeared.

“Next!”

After lightly breaking Phillip’s and Delphi’s as well, Romero lowered her stance as if to jump up.

“Lottie, I’ll finish this quickly and let you get your diaper changed.”

Romero, who had promised a diaper change with a serious face, kicked off the ground lightly.

A clean movement with no unnecessary flourishes. Like a tiger that had truly been tied down with a thumbtack, she landed lightly outside the pit, looked somewhere, and then vanished from sight in an instant.

“Arsen, do you want to go out, or stay here? Both are fine. If you want to stay here, I’ll have Phillip stay with you.”

“The newbie is a weakling, so wouldn't it be better to stay here? You could die if you’re not careful.”

Delphi, who was also getting ready to move. Phillip raised his eyebrows at her suggestion.

I thought for a moment before replying.

“I’ll go outside too.”

It wasn’t that Phillip was uncomfortable, but there was no need to stay here.

I had to improve my abilities one way or another. To do that, I needed to grow, and there was no reason to miss an opportunity to get a free ride like this.

No matter what happened, these people would save me, right? Even if it got dangerous, I was confident I could protect at least Lottie with my life.

“Alright? Then do that.”

“U-eh? W-what is this?”

Delphi, who had nodded nonchalantly, suddenly hugged me from behind.

A soft sensation touched my back without warning. Before I could even be stunned by the warm and cozy feeling, my feet were in the air.

Uh, uh, wa-wait, what is this……?

“W-wait a minute! Ms. Delphi……!”

Uwaak-!

But before I could even properly get the words out, Delphi had thrown me.

Literally,

Whoosh.

***

“I should have just stayed inside, Lottie.”

Before I could even guess what ability Delphi had used, I, who had been unceremoniously thrown outside, was only able to get up after rolling over once.

As I dusted off my tingling hand that had been hit while protecting Lottie, my surroundings came into view. The atmosphere was completely different from the somewhat friendly one below.

An unusually strong wind blew from all directions, cutting through my skin, and the pitch-black trees were losing their shape under the murky gray sky as if they were crumbling.

I hugged Lottie, my senses on high alert at the rumbling ground.

No matter how positively I tried to think, it was not a good sign. Something was definitely showing off its presence.

“Heave-ho! Oof, what’s this. Why is it like this here.”

Phillip, who popped out next, also looked around after a clumsy landing. As for Delphi, I have no idea what her ability is, but she climbed up on her own.

There was nothing to step on or grab onto, so that was even more surprising.

“Where could Ms. Romero have gone.”

Romero was not near the pit. As I looked for the most reliable person in this situation, Delphi raised her finger.

“……That way. She’s over there.”

Following her gesture, I could faintly see Romero’s back in the distance in the forest. And in front of her, something was floating in the air.

An unidentifiable shape that seemed to be shimmering air, or perhaps shimmering liquid, was repeatedly expanding and contracting in the air.

“Phillip. Delphi.”

Our steps, which had been moving towards Romero, stopped in their tracks.

Romero’s voice, which reached all the way here even though we were dozens of paces away. She wasn’t shouting, but it felt like a growl right in my ear.

Ah, right.

It was a similar tone to that time. The low but fierce voice she had used in Eastbourne the moment Mago said he didn’t know Camila’s whereabouts.

The postures of Phillip and Delphi, who had been moderately relaxed, immediately straightened.

“It’s a high-ranking devil, alright. Go to the village and don’t let a single one of them escape. They’re all Devil worshippers.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Simultaneously with Phillip’s cheerful reply, the two of them turned around and started running towards the village at a terrifying speed. In an instant, I was left alone with Lottie, blinking blankly.

This made it certain.

Romero was usually treated like a fool in the Knights, but when it came to business, she was the type to get things done…….

“W-what! Why is Arsen still here!?”

“……Pardon?”

The admiration I had just felt, canceled.

Perhaps to check if Phillip and Delphi had heard the order properly, Romero glanced back, and she jumped so high it was visible even from this distance.

“Why, why didn’t you follow them?”

At Romero’s incomprehensible question, I looked in the direction the two had disappeared, but there was no trace of Phillip and Delphi.

I scratched the back of my head, wondering for a moment what she was talking about.

“Even though he’s a weakling who takes so long to manifest his body, you two are in danger! Of course, it’s fine since I’m here……”

I could see Romero’s eyebrows furrow from here.

‘Well, I didn’t go with them because you so precisely left my name out.’

It was a little absurd, but I didn’t show it and just waved my hand.

“It seems too late to run away now, so don’t worry too much. I’ll stick right by your side.”

At this point, it was better to be with Romero than to chase after Phillip with a child alone.

At that, Romero made a troubled expression and started walking towards me, but then she stopped abruptly.

Kugugung-

I widened my stance on the violently shaking ground. Having experienced this a few times, I felt like I had mastered the art of balancing.

[Khahahahahaha!]

A disgusting laugh that sounded like it had been scraped with sandpaper came from behind Romero.

[It’s been a while since I had a sacrifice. I can finally regain my strength!]

A voice boiling with joy, mixed with the sounds of the forest.

[The time for revenge against the damned donkey has come!]

The murky particles that had been gathering and dispersing began to merge into one with a flash of light. Without needing to know anything, the phenomenon clearly heralded the appearance of something sinister.

[O foolish lambs, worship this Lord Marvas and meet your glorious death!]

Fwoooosh-!

‘Is this what a devil is?’

A devil, which I was seeing for the first time in my life, was extremely loud. Perhaps empowered by its self-luminescence, the already strong wind, which my upper and lower body had been enduring well, mercilessly whipped around me.

“Ugh, dust.”

I couldn’t open my eyes at all because of all the things being carried by the wind. Lottie, also feeling unwell, whined and clung to me.

“Kuhk……. Ms. Romero, are you okay?”

Romero was much closer to the being presumed to be Marvas than I was. It would be more intense for her, not less.

But what I saw when I barely opened my eyes was not Romero dodging the flying dust and debris, nor was it Romero with a slight frown of displeasure.

She was taking all the hitting branches and stones with a face devoid of any emotion.

Like a wooden doll with its strings cut, without a single trace of playfulness or her bright demeanor.

Her head was tilted to the side, and she seemed to be lost in thought, looking somewhere in the empty air, not at me.

For a moment, I felt a chill at her inhuman appearance.

“……Hmm.”

Romero, in that same posture, turned around and spoke with a low hum.

“You, you do have a demon stone, don’t you?”

As if by a lie, everything around us fell silent at the same time as Romero’s nonchalant question.

***

Krrrrrk-!

A sharp sound like a beast’s roar was heard, and then a fierce wind blew again.

“Ah, seriously, stop it already……!”

This damned Marvas, is he the spirit of the wind or something? He doesn't know when to stop.

As I was enduring all the things flying at me, scratching my arms and legs, something finally revealed itself.

[How dare a mere foolish sacrifice utter the words ‘demon stone’! All of this must be atoned for with excruciating pain and blood!]

With a roar of anger, a foul stench instantly spread in all directions. As the wind gradually died down, the smell became even stronger.

“What is this smell……”

I wrinkled my face and lifted my head, and I had to swallow the rising bile at the sight of Marvas, who had finally revealed himself.

“Wow, what a gruesome face.”

Putting the smell aside, I couldn’t believe my own eyes, seeing such a horrific appearance.

Marvas’s appearance was that of a half-man, half-beast, a little over 2 meters tall.

A shaggy black lion’s head and a thick tail. A face more horrific than a severe burn mark, as if it had been melted in the fires of hell. And its body, with gaping holes, was dripping with yellow pus from all over, literally a living plague.

‘Even for a devil, what an incredible visual.’

Thanks to Marvas, I had to suppress my nausea with all my might. Especially his face, which was almost completely crushed on one side, was terrifying to look at.

In the darkness, the devil’s one remaining red eye flashed.

[Wait. You are no ordinary sacrifice.]

Marvas’s growling voice echoed eerily through the forest. In front of him, Romero answered in a voice completely devoid of emotion.

“Can't you tell by looking? A sacrifice? I'm the hunter who came to catch you.”

[A hunter? It’s not just that. Even though this body has lost its strength, I still have that much insight. You can’t fool me.]

Marvas’s one remaining eye narrowed.

At Romero, who just tilted her head crookedly at his words, the devil began to take heavy steps. Lumps of yellow pus the size of a fist fell to the ground with a splat.

[You are of the same kind as me, aren't you? Right?]

Marvas, now only a few steps away from Romero. At the devil’s strange words, I frowned without realizing it.

Of the same kind.

Could there be a stranger thing to say?