For I Am A Side Character - 67: The Near End of Book 1 - Part 1
In the busy streets of the city, standing far from where the hunter’s association was found. A building at the edge of the city’s grand figure stood a building under the ownership of the Armadillo Knights Guild.
Here, in the dead of night, Miles Miller was found still working this late at night.
And with his busy schedule came Juel who came to report Jason’s condition.
As Juel’s walked into his office, Miles quickly noticed his presence.
“Juel, what are you doing at this time of hour?” asked Miles.
“I came to report Jason’s condition. So far, nothing’s changed.” he said.
“Should that really be your priority? Go focus on your studies, I heard that the preliminary exams are coming up, so you don’t have time watching over another hunter.” said Miles.
“But I can’t. Right now, I’m showering him with favors so that one day he could be an asset to our guild.”
“I can see that he has value, no one doubts his skill, but in the future, you’re going to be the one who will lead this guild…and I can’t pass it on to you if you don’t prepare yourself for that role.” he said.
“You’re giving it to me?!” said Juel as he was somewhat surprised by this.
“Yes.”
“But what about Vice Leader Thil? Wasn’t he supposed to uphold that position in the future?”
“…Thil and I had a disagreement.”
“What? What happened?” asked Juel.
“It’s nothing you should concern yourself for now, just go back home and focus on your studies.” said his brother.
“O-okay…” as Juel made his way out of his brother’s office, Miles called out ot him one last time.
“Juel.”
“Yes?”
“You’re doing good Juel, and I know you’re capable…more capable than you know, so just do your best.” said Miles.
“Okay bro…”
As Juel left, Miles was now alone in his office. As he continued on his work…all of a sudden, he got a call from his phone.
“…Hmm?” As he picked up his phone, he noticed that an unregistered number was the one who called.
Feeling hesitant, Miles decided to take it.
“Hello?”
“Give us the artifact…or else, consequences will be met.” said a deep voice altered by a machine.
“Who is this?” he asked as he did not recognize the voice.
“You have two days to deliver it to the Iron Bridge…be there or consequences will be meet?”
“What?!”
After that, the call was cut off and Miles was left questioning who that person was.
‘Hmm, there’s only one valuable artifact we own in this guild…but even now, it hasn’t been fully stable.’
The one artifact in question was the one retrieved after killing the Goblin king in the Starter’s dungeon that Juel was able to obtain.
It was named the “Demon’s Lantern”. With its ability to produce a light that could influence a hunter to grow in power, it was considered a highly valuable artifact.
When this artifact was spread in the news, a lot of the people were interested in obtaining such an artifact but the guild who claimed it never sold it to anyone willing. Miles thought that he could use it on his guild members to influence its growth and grow the guild in both power and influence.
But in recent testings of this artifact, Miles came into news that this artifact had a side effect that could alter a hunter’s body.
One of its influences when used for a long amount of time was the change in personality. They become more aggressive and more unstable. It was like their personalities were altered to become something more savage like that of the Goblin King.
And after this change, their physicality was also starting to be affected. Soon, their bodies started mutating. Some of their teeth started turning sharp like fangs, their hands turning like claws and their necks, extending more and more. When Miles figured this out, he stopped all testing of this artifact and labeled it as a cursed artifact. And luckily, the physical changes of the body were operational, meaning they can be returned to normal using the current technologies in the hospitals. And as for the personality aspect, soon it was starting to return to normal. As long as the affected group was far from the artifact, their personalities started turning back to normal.
Although he stopped the testing, he had an alternate process of research to figure out a way to see if it was possible to negate the negative effects of the artifact. This was possible with other cursed artifacts. As of now, he hasn’t found any news from the field of researchers.
He kept this study a secret, even from his brother, Juel.
But for some reason, someone was able to figure out his secret.
“…This is bad. Should I take this as a threat?”
As he continued to contemplate the call, he suddenly received a message from his phone.
“..?!”
And in that message, it showed the picture of his brother just entering their home.
“…this bastard!”
As quickly as he could, he immediately called back the phone number, but as the call continued to ring, no one picked up the call.
“…Damn it!” He slams his phone down on the table and with it, he contemplates the idea of giving the artifact. But all hope was not lost.
“They’ve made a big mistake. If they want to threaten me that badly, they better be prepared for the fucking worse!”
***
As the days passed, threat after threat was sent to Miles’s phone. All of which was targeted at his brother.
He tried investigating who the enemy was, but no matter how much he tried, the enemy was just slicker in hiding their tracks.
Until finally on the day of the threatened deadline…a message was sent into his phone. Somewhere in an abandoned warehouse, his brother was seen being tied in chains and was severely injured.
“!?” seeing this, Miles no longer had a choice.
***
At the sound of his heart beating, Jason awoke from his rest…and with it, the smell of a lingering demon passed by under his nose.
Somewhere in this city…a demon was lurking.
With no proper control over his body, Jason walked out of his room and made his way to where this scent was leading him.
It didn’t matter what was happening, all that mattered for him in that moment was to kill off the scent.
Like a lifeless body, Jason simply walked.
***
Although it was said that Jason was fated to be a Hero in this world, in truth, he was more of a hunting dog than anything. The ignition of his Birth Skill had influenced his entire nature from being a hunter to that of a Hunting Dog. As long as a Demon lurks in the vicinity where he could smell it, he will do his job and kill the demon with no regards of any kind of mercy.
Soril knows this all too well…from here on out, Jason will run wild until he will find the Demon that his nose is driving him crazy to find.
“…it has started.” he said as he looked from the top of a building.
‘Right now, Jason doesn’t have control over his Birth Skill…with the scent leading him on, it’ll take a few minutes before he could pinpoint the actual location. By then, before he could reach the Iron bridge, Miles Miller would be dead by then.’ thought Soril as he gazed from the top of a building.
‘I can’t let that happen…I have to assist him by leading him on….to do that, I have to create the scent of a demon.’
Wearing the Aranean Light Armor Set, which covered the entirety of his face and body, no one could recognize his identity as long as he keeps this on.
As Soril jumped down from the top of the building, he landed straight to where Jason was found. There, he was simply walking into the middle of the street, causing traffic and searching for the location of the demon.
*Boom!*
As Soril landed, he faced Jason and raised his hand. There, from his fall, he caught the attention of the wildly acting hero. With his hands raised, he used God’s gift.
[God’s Will]
To activate “The God’s Will” is to bridge the chasm between the mortal and the divine, to become a conduit through which the universe channels its boundless creativity. It begins with a whisper of intent, a stirring in the soul that resonates with the omnipotent pulse of creation.
As the wielder focuses their mind and spirit, they draw upon the wellspring of their own determination, their own unwavering resolve to shape reality according to the divine plan. With each breath, they weave intricate patterns of possibility, their consciousness intertwining with the cosmic tapestry of existence.
In the moment of activation, there is a sublime communion between mortal and deity, a fusion of wills that transcends the limitations of the material realm. It is as if the universe itself pauses to listen, to heed the call of its humble servant.
And then, with a surge of power that reverberates through the very fabric of reality, “The God’s Will” is unleashed. From the depths of nothingness, new worlds spring forth, teeming with life and possibility. Mountains rise, oceans swell, and galaxies spiral into being, all shaped by the guiding hand of divine inspiration.
Yet, such power does not come without cost. To wield “The God’s Will” is to bear the weight of responsibility, to understand the delicate balance between creation and destruction. For every act of creation is also an act of sacrifice, a testament to the eternal dance of order and chaos that defines the cosmos.
In the end, to activate “The God’s Will” is to embrace one’s own divinity handed by God, to become a vessel through which the infinite potential of the universe can be realized. It is a journey of enlightenment, a testament to the boundless creativity that lies within.
A tool that makes one’s own path a form of miracle.
And as of this moment, only one form of creation was in thought.
Demons…the very scent they hold is as distinct as that of a human soul. Bounded by the moment they were born; a Demon’s scent holds a demon’s identity as a demon. Without it, one can never be truly called a demon.
And these thoughts…Soril knew just what it meant to create a Demon’s scent…
It isn’t foul…just sinful. To have this scent is to be a demon…
With a strong imagination for it, Soril willfully brought on the power of God’s will.
And with his will, light started appearing from his hand and to it, creation was underway.
‘Come on…Focus!. Focus!!’ screaming inside, he struggled to conjure the profoundness of what it meant to create something out of nothing…
Soon, as the light faded from his hand…what remained was his willful desire.
The Scent of a Demon on his hand.
But even with such a simple cast of creation, it took a toll on Soril’s mind.
“Hgg!”
But the moment he created the scent of the demon on his hand, without warning, Jason jumped straight towards him and swung his hand.
“Rahh!!”
A simple swing from his strong resilient body would flip a car easily, but Soril raised his hand and blocked his attack.
*Thud*
From there, Jason was stopped from his place.
Judging from the force of his attack, it was surprising to find that Jason was weaker.
‘Huh…I thought he was stronger than this.’ He thought as he was able to catch his hands.
‘That doesn’t matter…his flames is the one thing that matters.’
As he thought of this, he quickly lifted Jason up from his feet and agitated him by kicking him straight in the chest. The power of his kick caused Jason to be thrown back straight to a building.
*Boom!*
But without even a single second to pass, Jason was back up again and started running straight to Soril. His eyes were filled with rage, something Soril had never really seen in Jason until now. Seeing this, it was the perfect opportunity to run.
‘Okay, let’s get going then.’
As he said this, he ran straight to where the Iron bridge was.
Running at a pace that seemed incomprehensible to the civilians, it won’t take long before they would reach the Iron bridge.
Even without looking back, Soril could feel Jason’s murderous intent…so he knew just then that Jason would follow him to the ends of the world just to kill of the scent of the demon.
***
As Miles Miller decided on accepting the proposal made by this mysterious group, he picked up the artifact in his hand which was inside a special briefcase with a special lock.
As he was making his way down from his guild’s building, the moment he got off the elevator, he was confronted by 10 men dressed in black.
“…W-what is going on?” asked Miles as he did not recognize any of these men.
As he stood confused by this confrontation, a man wearing all red came to approach him.
“…Miles Miller?” asked the man in red.
“…Yes?”
“We’re here under the order of the Red Door Organization.”
“What? The Red Door?”
“If you don’t want to have your brother killed in the next hour, please follow us.”
“W-what!? Were you the bastards who took my brother!? Step back…if you don’t hand me my brother, I won’t give you the artifact!”
“We know… and previously no, that lowly addict is long Dead…but currently yes, we are in hands of your brother.” as the man in red said this, he snapped his fingers and showed Miles the severed head of a person he once knew.
“Thil…no.”
Thil, the Ex-Vice Leader of the Armadillo Guild Knights.
From the original story, it was supposed to be just Thil who introduced himself as the Antagonist of this story…with his recent obsession over the Demon’s Lantern, he grew addicted to the power brought upon each use.
With it, when Miles knew this, he tried to stop Thil. And Thil grew mad and tried to kill Miles to obtain the power from the lantern. But being the Leader of this Guild, Miles was stronger and with it, Thil was defeated and thrown into the feds. Yet because of his obsession, he was able to escape before he was put into a cellar.
Being a Hunter, he was able to escape the Police.
Now he was on the track of obtaining back the Demon’s Lantern, yet as he was reaching the end of this negotiation, here entered the Red Door Organization.
A Cult following of men that worships the Demons.
And the Recent target of the House of Shadows.
They were not supposed to be a part of this story, but somehow, for some unforeseen element, their appearance in this part of the story changes the flow of the end of the volume.
Gypsy’s assumption was right, a Stronger enemy did arise in the end.
And as Miles stood nervous in front of the man in red, the man in red simply smiled and held on Mile’s shoulder.
“Step back! This briefcase contains the Artifact! With just one small drop on the floor, this briefcase will destroy the Artifact! So give me my brother!” shouted Miles.
“Don’t be afraid, we’re doing this for the greater good. We know what that briefcase is, so if you keep your end of the deal, we’ll show you something nice in the end.” said the man in red.
“.…” Miles hesitated for a bit, but seeing the sight of Thil’s severed head, he gave in to the man in red’s proposal.
And with it, Miles was forcibly brought away.