A Big Gift Package

He opened his eyes and stretched lazily.

'A new day had begun, even though the sky had never gone dark.'

Unhurriedly, Orsaga walked to the edge of the cave and looked down at the sights below, casually yawning.

Although he did not need sleep, he would occasionally enter hibernation of his own accord. There was no particular reason; it simply felt more comfortable that way.

He was currently in the free Residential Area, a place with no rules, no management, and no protection.

This was a steep cliff riddled with countless caves. The rule here was that anyone could move into any cave they pleased. If they were all occupied, one merely had to pick a cave, kill the creature already living inside, and move in.

The only problem was that if you failed to beat the occupant, you would easily end up giving your life away and providing the thoughtful service of delivering yourself right to their doorstep.

There were somewhat safer areas besides this one, but Orsaga could not be bothered to travel that far. Besides, those places operated much like official hotels, and their fees were relatively expensive.

Usually, only creatures from other worlds who had come to the Abyss on business would stay there for safety's sake. But for the native Demonic Beasts, whether a place was safe or not made little difference. With their already twisted values, nowhere they lived was particularly safe...

Casually tearing off the head of the cave's previous owner, Orsaga looked at the horn atop its head and muttered, "Magic wand, magic wand, tell me where I should wander today."

After saying that, he tapped it with a fingertip.

He casually cast a Divination Magic spell on the head.

Smack!

With a slap across its face, the head began spinning on the ground like a top.

Its rapid rotation even kicked up a large cloud of dust.

Once it stopped, Orsaga looked in the direction the horn pointed without hesitation. He flew down the cliff and slowly made his way over...

After walking an unknown distance, Orsaga suddenly felt a faint premonition.

So he stopped and looked around.

After searching for a while, he found a familiar target.

The young man from the group that had been walking behind him when he entered the city.

He still remembered the man's cry of amazement.

Yet for some reason, none of the young man's companions were beside him now. Not a single member of his team remained at his side.

Moreover, he looked utterly distraught, as though he had suffered a severe blow.

Orsaga sighed regretfully and walked toward him.

Though he did not know what had happened, following the traditions of the Bottomless Abyss, he could still guess most of it. 'Sigh, young people simply can't weather the storms. The moment they have a thought, it spills all over their faces. Though I'm only two years old myself.'

Not long after.

He casually tossed down the other man's corpse.

Wiping the blood from his hands, Orsaga had, through a round of friendly exchange between the two sides, used a Demon's Talent Abilities to learn the full story.

This unlucky young man and his team had come from a relatively prosperous plane.

There, interplanar trade was an extremely profitable line of work.

And the Abyssal route they were responsible for was one with both the greatest profits and the greatest risks.

Thus, they made all sorts of preparations every time.

When they had come to purchase goods this time, everything had originally gone smoothly. Apart from dealing with more than a dozen Lower Demons, they had not clashed with a single Middle Demon, so there had not been a single casualty.

After arriving here and resting for a while.

Yesterday, after putting in some effort, they had found the Dwarf Supplier they knew.

The two sides, familiar with the process, completed their transaction at a Black Market outside the city.

Everything had been calm and uneventful. There had been neither robbery nor traps, and everyone had been satisfied.

But the very next second, a deafening sound erupted from the sky.

Standing in the Black Market, he instantly saw the Dwarf doing business with them and his own team leader turn pale with faces as ugly as if their mothers had died.

Before he could figure out what was happening, a beam of White Light shattered the Black Market's Defensive Barrier and swallowed his vision.

Agonizing pain swept through his entire body, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

When he awoke, he found himself lying amid ruins, covered in wounds.

Other than himself, who had escaped disaster thanks to a defensive item given to him by his parents, everyone present had died gruesome deaths. Even the Black Market merchants had been cooked to medium-rare.

After using the potion he carried to heal his injuries.

Following an inspection, he discovered that the Black Market where they had been was right beside a crater dozens of kilometers across. That crater should have been left by some attack that had just struck, while the White Light had likely been the attack's aftershock.

His group had been like ants casually crushed underfoot while others were fighting—dying without the slightest value.

He did not know what level the being capable of such an attack was, but he knew the matter was not something he could involve himself in. So he could only gather the valuables and materials in the Black Market that were still usable, hide them somewhere concealed, and return to the city alone to wait for the merchant guild to notice something was wrong and send people to search for him.

And after that, he encountered Orsaga. There was no after that...

Recalling where those valuables had been hidden, Orsaga commented with a regretful expression, "Truly tragic. Still, I'm quite satisfied with this mobile gift package."

Since the man had at least made him a profit, Orsaga casually spat a mouthful of flaming saliva onto him, burning him completely to ashes. At least that spared him from having his corpse taken away as someone else's rations.

He paid no attention whatsoever to the other creatures that had been watching from nearby.

Just as Orsaga had said earlier, this human truly had been immature.

In a place like the Bottomless Abyss, where the strong devoured the weak, wearing the expression of a bereft dog was itself courting death.

It was practically announcing to everyone: come beat a dog when it's down!

Even if he had not run into Orsaga, the predators around him would have taught him what cruelty meant.

Here, the slightest opening would bring a pack of people chasing after you, snapping at your heels.

There was no need for fear, no place for weakness. Only the toughest and cruelest beings deserved to survive here. Any creature whose mind was not strong enough belonged on the prey side. No matter how powerful it was, in the eyes of other predators, it would only be a larger piece of meat.

No matter how large or strong a cow was, jackals and wolves would still try to bite off a piece, even if they clearly knew it could easily gore them to death.

Herbivores might use strength and size to make carnivorous predators feel fear, but they could never suppress the greed rising in those predators' hearts.

One of the most important reasons no one dared provoke Orsaga even in this hellish place was his bearing—or rather, his aura. Anyone who saw him could instantly tell that Orsaga stood on the side of the predators.

Simply standing there, he involuntarily gave off a thick stench of blood, while the dangerous aura around him carried no intention of concealing itself.

At a glance, he was a dangerous target who could strike at any moment!

That was why, when Orsaga had merely glanced at that team back then, they had drawn their weapons and gone on guard.

Even his gaze alone made them feel as though it were a signal of attack.

The hunters nearby who had been trying to pick on a soft persimmon might have wanted to attack that human.

They might even have already been openly and secretly competing to decide who would make the first move!

But when facing Orsaga, even though he had brazenly stolen their prey right before their eyes, none of them dared step forward. They knew perfectly well that the guy before them would not mind killing them as well while he was at it.

When predators faced a higher-tier predator, they instinctively retreated. That was the law of the jungle creatures were born with.

In the Bottomless Abyss, it was an ironclad law!

Watching Orsaga's departing figure, as he could not even be bothered to spare them a glance.

After exchanging a few looks, those creatures left one after another as though nothing had happened, leaving only a pile of fine ashes on the ground to scatter in the breeze...

A few days later.

Inside a restaurant decorated in a somewhat indescribable fashion.

Looking at the roasted unknown meat before him, Orsaga casually tore off a piece and put it into his mouth.

After chewing a few times, he commented with satisfaction, "Mm, it tastes really good."

The member of the opposite sex leaning lightly against his shoulder also tore off a slice of meat and placed it in her mouth. After chewing elegantly a few times, her face showed a tempted expression. "It truly is delicious."

She was a female Naga dressed in exquisite battle armor, breathtakingly beautiful and charming.

Her upper body resembled that of a human woman, with a curvaceous and voluptuous figure covered in slender emerald-green scales. Her lower body was somewhat like that of a snake—not thick, but very long, roughly seven or eight meters in length, making her appear quite slender.

Orsaga did not care much about such trivial details. Possessing an aesthetic sense that blended human and Demon tastes, he could calmly accept monster girls as well.

Besides, she had approached him herself, so he was not losing out!

He simply thought she suited his tastes, so he did not turn away what came to him.

Ever since personally killing Trina, he had become much more open-minded about this sort of thing. He did not have a private car for the time being, but taking the bus was not bad either. In any case, he did not need to take responsibility.

After spending several days together, he had not even asked her name.

She was merely an insignificant toy, nothing worth caring about, so there was no need to know.

As the Naga ate the delicacies before her, a trace of pain flashed across her face when she thought of the price of the meal. If not for this powerful Balor, she, a mere Lower Demon, would never have been able to afford such food.

Thinking of that, her movements became increasingly ingratiating, and she wore the manner of a delicate little bird leaning on a man.

Although, strictly speaking, she was slightly larger than Orsaga.

After all, Demons like Orsaga, who were not only generous but also handsome and good-tempered, were truly rare.

This was an excellent thigh to cling to!

Paying no attention to her thoughts, Orsaga had been living quite well lately ever since accepting a kind-hearted person's assets. He ate well, drank well, slept well, and everything went smoothly.

Bored out of his mind, he thought, 'It's still a little boring. It's about time to go to another world...'