Butcher Demon Chapter 287

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The Demon's Compass

Butcher Demon Chapter 287 Haruka

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◇◆◇ (Time rewinds a little, from Gevaudan's perspective)

The girl with chestnut hair and highlights introduced herself as Haruka.

"You want some? it's cooked."

"...No, thank you..."

When I offered her a freshly grilled goblin, Haruka glanced at it briefly and turned it down without a second thought.

I don't think her lack of appetite has anything to do with emotional issues like being scared of me as a butcher or not wanting anything to do with aliens.

Right now, she seems confused, so it's understandable that she doesn't feel like eating, even if it's a fancy cheesecake, or maybe she just doesn't want to eat goblin meat.

Since there was no other option, I ate the goblin myself. Crunchy. It smells a bit like gasoline.

Haruka remained huddled up, hugging her knees, her soul seemingly exhausted as she stared at the flames. There were three tombstones, a pile of burning goblins, and a kettle boiling. Yakumo was sitting next to me, calmly drawing something.  It's quite remarkable that he can draw in this situation. And for Yakumo's sake, I, the butcher, prepare a cup of ramen. It was a peculiar setting we found ourselves in.

Struggling with sharp claws, I managed to open the lid of the ramen. The hot water from the kettle goes in. I quickly covered it back up to keep the steam in.  Even a butcher can make cup ramen!

――It's already night.

A lot has happened in this short amount of time.

While waiting for the ramen to be ready in three minutes, I started thinking back on everything that's happened so far.

As I aimlessly wandered in an unfamiliar forest, I happened to come across a girl. She was none other than Haruka. With her chestnut hair and exposed navel, she had a very healthy and appealing body, or so I thought at that moment.

Right from the start, within a mere five seconds of meeting me, she immediately sought my help. According to what I heard from her later, it was because it looked like I'm protecting Yakumo, and those words came out on the spur of the moment.

Feeling bad to ignore her when she spoke to me, I decided to have a quick chat. "Hello. What are you doing? I'm actually a former human who got lost and is in trouble. Can you tell me where we are? And if you have any food, could you spare me a little?" I tried to keep the conversation in a friendly tone. Creating a lively conversation that doesn't make me come across as a typical butcher.

Then, in that short moment of confusion, Haruka desperately said to me.

"Please help. My friend is being attacked. I'll do anything. ――"

Again and again. She pleaded, even to the point of clinging to my apron in a state of frenzy. They say a drowning person will hold onto anything, even a straw, and it seemed like someone being attacked by goblins is willing to hold onto a butcher's apron.

So, I found myself facing a tough choice between helping the girl or the goblins.  Of course, I picked the girl without hesitation. I mean, guys can get cooked and eaten, but girls not only get eaten, they also face the risk of getting violated too. So the girls definitely have the advantage in this situation. There was no question about it.

――Well, that was a joke. Seriously speaking, I had no obligation to help, but I wanted some information and, most importantly, I needed some civilized supplies for Yakumo. When it comes to which side to ally with, I choose the one I can communicate with. For now, please give me some clean water. This child hasn't had anything to drink for half a day already. Perhaps I should be the one asking for help.

Turns out, the goblins were weak.

From there, I carried out a rescue operation or more like picking on the weak. After disposing of a few goblins that had chased Haruka, I attacked about 20 goblins who were too busy stuffing their faces with another girl's flesh and let their guard down.

Just to be safe, I tried speaking to the goblins in an alien language, but I didn't receive any coherent response. It seems that goblins are not very smart. There's also a possibility that my pronunciation is off. Although I'm getting a little better in alien language, I'm still not entirely confident. Well, it's possible that they panicked because they were caught off guard by a butcher. I may have missed the right time to talk to them.

In that way, as I easily took care of the goblins, Haruka hurriedly ran to the girl.

The other girl's name was Feather. She seemed to have been thoroughly abused by a large group of goblins, with her neck broken, gaping belly button, and signs of her internal organs had been messed up by a burning stick shoved into her genitals.

Aliens do violate human women, but they don't needlessly torture them. When they play, they try not to destroy, and when they kill, they do it swiftly. In that regard, the goblins were different from the aliens I had seen before in that they seemed to be more aggressive.

For a while, I observed the interaction between the dying Feather and the flustered Haruka, and it was like being put in a situation that was not mine. So, I pulled up the SUV that was about to fall off the cliff and took out a first aid kit from inside to treat Feather.

However, such efforts were in vain. I couldn't do much for her.

If only Ferris were here... Her innocent face came to mind, but in the end, I had to comfort the sobbing Haruka and put an end to Feather.

In the end, only Haruka remained. She was the sole survivor.

It seemed like this was the territory of the aliens. If we were to leave the bodies of Haruka's three friends, along with the mass of goblin corpses, it was easy to imagine that monsters would be attracted to the scene.

I burned the goblins but what about your friends?  When I asked this, Halka said she wanted to take the bodies home with her, including the rest of the men.

　I would not recommend transporting the bodies under the circumstances, but seeing her state, I couldn't simply reject her request.

As a compromise, I suggested a temporary burial, taking into account the possibility of wild animals disturbing the bodies. I assured her that we would return later with a team to recover them. She agreed to this plan.

Usually, burying three bodies would be quite a labor-intensive task, but with me, the walking heavy weapon known as the butcher, it was completed in no time. I buried the three deep in the ground and lined up three makeshift tombstones—a battlefield cross, typically used for quickly burying bodies when retrieval is difficult on the battlefield.

At that point, we finally introduced ourselves.

"Thank you for everything. I'm Haruka."

"I'm Gevaudan. And this is Yakumo. Nice to meet you."

Maybe because of the extreme circumstances in which we met and my helpful attitude, the distance between Haruka and us quickly closed, transcending the boundaries of species. She was neither frightened nor timid. She started responding to our conversations.

By that time, the sun had gone down and it was very dark. I gathered the goblin corpses together and made a big fire by pouring gasoline on them and lighting it. creating a magnificent goblin fire that lit up the surrounding area.

While we were taking a break, I thought it would be a good idea to grill some goblin meat and have a meal right then and there. So, I offered some to Haruka, but she said no. That just happened a little while ago.

By the way, grilled goblin meat has a unique smell, but if you think of it like smoked meat, it's not that bad. Grilling shellfish with gasoline is actually pretty good. With shellfish, you don't have to worry about the smell because they are steamed in their shells. But when you grill raw meat with gasoline, the surface gets charred then there is the smell. ......

How about feeding some goblin meat to Yakumo?

Absolutely not! I can't put this unidentifiable stuff in his mouth. Gasoline is filled with additives and it's bad for the body. He's not like those girls I can find anywhere and just sweep away. He's a precious responsibility.

So, how about cup noodles? A trusted industrial product with consistent quality control. A safe and secure meal that can be prepared with just bottled water. Easy on the stomach. But too much salt. Really bad on the nutritional balance.... Oh, three minutes have passed.

I hand the cup noodle to Yakumo. Here you go, please enjoy. He eagerly accepts the offered ramen with shining eyes, holding it with both hands. What should I do? I'm starting to fall for Yakumo.

"Here, you should eat too."

"Thank you."

She accepts the cup noodle. She has a relieved expression. She must really dislike goblin meat. I understand I don't like goblins too. But I'll eat it anyway. Crunch, crunch. Tasting the gasoline.

After satisfying our hunger and taking a breath, I ask her again.

"Can you tell me what happened now?"

"Yes... well..."

Haruka covers her mouth with her hand as if trying to suppress nausea. She lets out a deep sigh and starts to tell the story while gazing resentfully at the goblin fire, her words intermittently coming out.

"We were fellow seminar students in the university."

"University?"

"Yes, it's a university in southeastern Australia. We decided to have a camp in the nearby mountains in summer..."

"What? You mean right now?"

For a moment, I'm stunned by the word "Australia," and my thought process freezes.

Her story turns out to be quite surprising.

To summarize Haruka's story, she and her friends, about 20 people, had rented a cabin for a camp that turned into a party. They were just about an hour away from a wild gang bang when they were attacked by the green monsters.

There were many men in the group. They had brought camping equipment that could be used as weapons, so initially, they resisted by barricading themselves in the cabin. However, there were too many, and they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.

　Eventually, one of the windows was broken, and the place was overrun.

That's when Haruka and the other three came up with a plan and tried to break through to the nearby town in an SUV to get help. Unfortunately, they were caught up and ended up like this.

The mountain cabin was not too far from the university, she says.

In other words, this place is in southeastern Australia.

Unbelievable, right?

Because 88 is located in Central Asia. If believe her story was true, I went from being in the middle of the Eurasia continent in the morning to Australia in just half a day.

Was it because of that sci-fi scale moth that Titania summoned? I thought we were transported to Mifosis when it crashed, but could it be that I was the one who got transported...?

"What about the terminal signal?"

When I ask, Haruka tilted her head, "Terminal?..."

I see. Terminal is a term only used by the Fort dweller. Since she doesn't know about it, she's not affiliated with any Fort. And when it comes to communication devices for people in the inner-city uses...

"――Smartphone, right?"

"Oh, right... Well, around noon, there was a loud noise, and after that, the signal completely disappeared. So we couldn't even call the police, and that's why we..."

As she says that, she takes out her communication device from her pocket and shows me the screen. No service.

"Um, by the way, ......."

As I take the smartphone and fiddle with it, Haruka asks nervously, "What about that child...?"

Her gaze is fixed on Yakumo, who is sitting on the outdoor chair, swinging his feet. He looks a bit sleepy.

"Yakumo. He's a human."

"..."

It's clear from her expression what she's thinking. She's not believing it.

But that can't be helped. After all, he has a third eye on his forehead. Incredibly suspicious. It's moving around too.

"Well, actually, I'm troubled too. I think it's because of the "thunderclap" that did this."

"Huh. ......."

"He has an older sister Natsuki. They've been separated now. So, I want to deliver Yakumo to her. But before that, I want to cure this disease."

"Is there really a disease that makes you have three eyes...?"

"Well... now that you mention it..."

I couldn't help but look up at the night sky. There is no way there is.

"Natsuki doesn't have this third eye. I don't think it's genetic."

"Natsuki..."

"She's of Asian descent. Come to think of it, she looks a little like you?"

I hadn't paid much attention to her being Asian due to her intense gaze. Looking at her again, Haruka's facial features may lean towards a more juvenile look. She has a healthy tan, which makes her a little different from Natsuki, but she is beautiful, and if you look closely, she has an intelligent eye.

"I'm studying abroad in Australia from Japan. Natsuki is a common name in Japan. Maybe we're from the same place. Yakumo-kun, ●▲＃〆▽△※▼★◎○?"

"What was that just now?"

"I tried speaking in Japanese. I thought he just didn't understand the language..."

"Oh, I see."

She thought that the reason the Yakumo didn't speak was because he didn't understand our language.

"Well, Yakumo understands the common language. He's just super, super quiet."

"Is...is that so?"

"I doubt he understands Japanese, actually."

And I don't either. The common language is used in the Fort because of the fact that people from all over the world are drafted into the Fort. When a new Fort is built, each country has a quota for conscripts.

"Both Yakumo and Natsuki were born and raised in Fort, they say."

"Fort?... You mean the fortress city for the Interdimensional War?"

"Yes, that's right."

"So, what about you...?"

"Well, I'm probably in the same boat."

"You said you used to be human."

"I've been through a lot. This is how I am now."

I lift up the paper bag on my head up, and Haruka shows a slightly startled expression when she sees Butcher's real face.

"...An alien?"

"No, I discovered new information in this morning. It turns out that I'm not an alien."

"???"

Fufufufu. She's confused.

I show off a little bit of knowledge.

"In this world, there's Earth and Mifosis—the aliens' planet. And there's another world thing, right? I consider myself a member of Agartha, which is the third force according to Titania."

"So, that means...?"

"According to Titania, Agartha has given up on both Earth and Mifosis. Oh, by the way, Titania is my ex-wife who is trying to get back together with me somehow. She's incredibly beautiful, isn't that amazing?"

"???"

She widens her eyes. Her surprised expression is cute in a childish way. Even though she looks like a big sister type when she's silent.

"Agartha has distanced itself from both Earth and Mifosis, and it seems they don't care anymore, so I guess I'm not your ally, but I'm not your enemy either."

"You're very knowledgeable...?"

"Kind of."

I feel a little pleased. After all, the only ones who would know this as Earthlings are me, Abigail, and Natsuki. I'm quite knowledgeable indeed, fufu!

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