BXBX NOVEL Chapter 231: Errand
It would be harder to not see it due to its size. It's a giant standing a couple of tens of feet tall. It's difficult to see its actual features due to the darkness around them, but the giant's deep crimson eyes stood out the most, looking like a pair of blood moons in the sky.
Unlike others, though, Cedric's senses could see the creature clearly.
"It's a Titan Demon," Cedric whispered, his voice barely heard by his teammates.
Titan demons are creatures that boast immense size and durability. Their skins can only be damaged by specialized equipment, or at least, it would take a Planar Traveler Realm expert to do so. A creature of that size could obviously explode with sufficient strength to flatten cities in mere moments.
These demons are a rare sight, despite their size. Their numbers aren't many, and they can't reproduce that easily. Still, they are strong demons, and it is a pain to deal with them, purely because it would take a lot to bring them down.
"What's that thing doing all the way here?" Elric grumbled as he craned his neck to look up at the creature. "This is probably the first time I see one, by the way."
"That goes for all of us," Francis replied while doing the same. He then looked at Cedric and asked, "How'd you recognize it?"
"I took Demonology for my 2nd year course and did some advance reading," Cedric casually answered. "There aren't a lot of demons who could grow that large. What gave it away was the lack of horns."
Looking at the creature once more, the rest discovered that indeed, the Titan Demon lacked horns.
Demons are horned creatures, and they're rather proud of it. It's one of their defining traits as a race, but that doesn't mean that every demon out there has one. Some Demons lack horns to show for it but are still considered Demons due to the simple fact that they could utilize demonic corruption.
Titan Demons are the same, and amongst the demonic creatures who could grow that large, only their kind are hornless.
"It won't see us, right?" Erica asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm down to fight it. But Floyd and Darwin are at a very critical period at the moment. Plus, the commotion of the fight is bound to attract more demons towards us."
"If it did see us, it would've stared, throwing city-sized boulders towards us by now," Cedric replied. "As you can see, it isn't doing that just yet, so no, it doesn't see us. It probably won't either because we're too small. Unless we're barring its way, I don't think it'll ever see us."
"I suppose that it's true that they're narrow-sighted, then?" Elric responded.
"Should be... can't confirm that since we aren't fighting it. Additionally, despite its large size, it's only a Tier 9 equivalent. I said before that unless a Demon Lord comes, this base is practically invisible. Even if the base was on its way, I doubt that thing would be able to see us," Cedric answered.
Yes, despite the size of that thing, it's only as powerful as a Tier 9 superhuman. Of course, Cedric didn't say this to provoke the team into eliminating that titan. Because even though it is 'technically' weak, its physical defenses are extremely perverted. Cedric could imagine all of them spending days on end trying to put that thing down, only to barely make it happen.
The team doesn't have the time, energy, or resources to do such a thing. Simply put, it's just not worth it.
"But still...a Titan Demon, this close to us..." Chrissy muttered loud enough for everybody to hear. "This isn't a good development."
"And we're only able to see it because it's not trying to hide." Elric added, "Well, with that size, it's not like it could in the first place. But this just proves that things are escalating."
"I think you should tell Madam Fiona about this," Francis advised on the side. "I think the army would very much appreciate knowing this from us. If things are truly escalating, as you say, then any intel about the enemy forces will be appreciated."
"I was planning on doing that already," Elric grumbled. "But first, I'm going to need you to check if the transmission site is still intact. The Titan Demon passed through its location, and although the site is protected by a formation, a thing of that size could still flatten it. It would be useless to make a report if the site's destroyed in the first place."
"Okay." Francis readily agreed.
He's about to leave when suddenly Cedric calls out to him.
"You're leaving without your equipment?"
Francis paused on his steps, blinked, and smacked his face for making a rookie mistake. He then turned around and showed an embarrassed expression while striding towards Cedric. The girls just snickered at his clumsiness.
Cedric just smiled at him and handed him his repaired equipment. As soon as Francis received them, he could immediately tell the difference.
"Well, damn!" He exclaimed as he ran his fingers through his things. "It feels like the first time I bought them. Thanks!"
Francis then wore the chain vest and topped it with cloth armor, followed by his greaves and bracers, and then his black cloak, which allows him to blend into the shadows. He then placed all five daggers on his belt where they're easily accessible, and he's ready to go.
"I don't know what you did to them, but thanks a lot. I can tell that they're way better than before."
"You're welcome," Cedric replied. "Ah, can I also send you on a mini-errand? It'd be on the way, don't worry."
"What do you need?" Francis asked.
"Before that, here, take this first."
Cedric then handed him a small caged box. He then said, "This is a mini-capturing device. To use it, just point it to the target and say 'Capture'; it will then open up, shoot out a tentacle, and capture your target. It's that simple to use. You can use it on both living creatures and inanimate objects. Try it first."
Francis nodded and used it on the nearby rock. Once he said 'Capture', the box did its thing and collected the rock inside.
"Okay, that's neat." Francis' eyes were sparkling after using it. So were the rest of the team.
"It is, but do remember that it has limited space inside. It can only store a total of 25 things inside, no more, no less. Don't use it beyond that, or else everything inside will burst out and the box itself will self-destruct."
"Noted. What do you need this for, though?"
"I've sensed some Dreaming Silkworms, Demon Hares, and Hens when I got here. I'm pretty sure I've seen some Stag, Doe, and Elks around, but I wasn't too sure. If you encounter some on the way, capture them. I'll see if I can do something with them," Cedric replied.
"Wait, you plan on experimenting to see if you can cleanse them of corruption so that we can eat them?" Erica exclaimed in surprise.
"Well, yeah." Cedric shrugged. "I mean, if we can secure a food source that way, then why not?"
"I approve of this," Elric suddenly said, making everybody look at him. "Though, why Dreaming Silkworms? I understand the rest, but why that?"
"I'm after the silk they produce," Cedric replied. "I make clothes, blankets, rugs, towels, etc. with those. They're also excellent materials for other things."
"I see." Elric nodded. "Are these included in the lessons you learned from your side professions? If so, why aren't they publicized yet? They sound extremely useful."
"Well, they're not," Cedric replied in a flat tone. "I think I'm the only one making these kinds of experiments and discoveries so far. As for how I learned them, well, I spent a lot of time in Purgatory. They work there, so I'm trying to see if I could replicate them in the real world."
This goes for most of the things that Cedric has displayed so far: the formations, cleansing corruption, returning materials from the original states, etc. All of it, Cedric tried on Purgatory to admit his battle against the Undead.
He did most of it when he's certain that he wasn't being spied on by the Demons (because he already developed a good sense whenever that happened), and again, most of them did work, so now he's just trying to see if it also works in the real world.
And so far, he hasn't failed yet.
"Meat...chicken, venison, hare...meat," Francis mumbled, seemingly enchanted. "I've also seen some pork and beef around. I'll try to capture some. Alright, I'm going!"
"Hey, don't be distracted by the meat! Don't forget about the transmission site!" Elric warned in annoyance.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. But...meat!! Bye~~!"
Just like that, Francis blended with his surroundings and left the base. Elric could only sigh at his antics. But deep down? Elric truly couldn't blame him.
Because if Cedric could truly cleanse those animals of corruption and make them edible, which he sincerely hoped that he could, then the team would no longer have to endure bland-tasting and cold MREs supplied by the army.