Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

Correction of typos made on 8/16.

This is Satou. Even though I muttered to myself, "I need to pay attention to the arm," I completely forgot halfway through—typical careless Satou.

Anyway, it’s just one arm. Let’s just crush it quickly and be done with it.

◇

"W-what is this arm?!"

The fat priest of Zaikuon was instantly killed when his vital organs were torn apart by the sharp claws.

And it seems that Woosu, who wielded those poisonous claws, couldn’t keep up with the situation...

"Th-that arm!"

"Isn’t it the same one from yesterday?"

Zena nodded in agreement.

"Do you know something about it?"

"It’s the arm of the high-rank demon that attacked the lord’s castle yesterday," replied the handsome middle-aged priest earnestly.

...What’s going on?

There shouldn’t be any possibility that Woosu was originally a demon race.

Then, although the reason and method are unknown, it must have parasitized Woosu as a host.

I checked Woosu’s information again.

...There it is: status ailment: demon possession. If only I had seen this earlier!

Using cheat abilities without mastering them is useless... No, reflection comes later.

The problem is how to defeat it.

"If we forcibly pull it out, that man might die too—what should we do?"

"This isn’t the time to be so complacent; we need to call for reinforcements immediately!"

"I’ll try to hold it off! ■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■..."

Priests’ spellcasting is so long.

"Zena, please go call for reinforcements. The fastest way is to get to the central street and send a message using wind magic," I said.

For now, I had Zena head to a safe zone.

After a brief hesitation, Zena said, "I’ll be back soon," and ran off.

The poisonous claws tried to attack me, but since Woosu was too stunned and had collapsed, the claws couldn’t reach me.

The arm was growing from around Woosu’s chest.

At first, it was about a meter long, but it was slowly getting thicker and longer.

Is it growing?

A holy stone thrown by the crowd hit Woosu’s temple with a solid sound.

Then, an arrow suddenly flew in from behind and pierced Woosu’s medulla oblongata. While stunned, three more arrows followed and struck as well.

Turning around, two hunters were standing in the shadows, bows drawn.

"...Prey should be taken down when you can," one said.

When did you two even appear?

This world really treats life lightly. They don’t even try to check if Woosu is salvageable. Maybe I’m just too naive.

Woosu’s corpse, which was supposed to be down, rose up like a Jiangshi, his joints locked as if playing a reverse video. Black light leaked from his body.

"Insects, thanks for destroying the host’s troublesome brain. I, in gratitude."

...Demon-kun, you’d better keep quiet.

"...■■■■ ■■■■■ Sealing demon circle 《circle of anti-evil》!"

"How petty. I find that laughable."

The handsome middle-aged priest calmly cast a spell, and a glowing magic circle formed to seal the Arm Demon.

Despite mocking, the Arm Demon couldn’t escape from the magic circle.

"Grrrrr. Magic can’t be used with a human throat! I miscalculated."

The priest began chanting the next spell.

The hunters, deciding they couldn’t bring the enemy down with arrows, retreated.

Only I, the handsome middle-aged priest, and three beast girls remained in the square.

Though curious, the crowd peeked from the shadows of the surrounding buildings.

Everyone fled so fast...

The beast girls were chained to stakes hammered into the square, so they couldn’t escape.

First, I needed to ensure the beast girls’ safety. Otherwise, I’d forget why I even fought that fat priest.

Tearing the chains would surely draw attention, so I pulled out the stakes cleanly and led them out of the square. It didn’t look like I used much force, so they’d probably think the ground was soft.

"Get to safety quickly. Since I can’t remove the chains, the three of you should hide together in the sturdy shadows of a building."

"No, we can’t," said the catperson hesitantly.

Apparently, Woosu had ordered them not to leave this place, and if they disobeyed, their collars would tighten and kill them... troublesome.