The two of them forced their camels into a run. It was extremely uncomfortable for Adam, as he wasn't used to riding anything other than a horse. It had to be even more uncomfortable for Lilith, who had less experience at riding in general. But now was hardly the time to worry about discomfort.

As they got closer to the village, Adam sensed the demonic energy as well. He also heard the screams and saw the silhouettes of humans running around, being chased by entities that were larger and had many more legs.

Insect monsters? Adam thought. He quickly reviewed his knowledge. They're tough to kill thanks to their sturdy exoskeletons and redundant anatomy. Their field of vision is wide, and many are venomous as well. Fortunately, most of them can't use magic.

Once he was close to the village, Adam dismounted. He wasn't used to fighting on camelback, nor was this particular camel trained to handle the terror of combat: something the earlier battle had made clear.

Adam was now close enough to properly see the insect monsters. They resembled that strange insect he'd seen earlier in the desert, but scaled up massively. Their pincers were large enough to crush trees, their stingers were the size of spear points, and their carapaces were so thick that the villagers' weapons shattered against them. Their upper bodies were humanoid but had a second pair of pincers at the ends of their arms, instead of hands.

One of the insect monsters loomed over a villager, ready to tear him apart, but the monster turned once it noticed the newcomers. An ice spell flew towards the insect monster's head. However, this spell was notably slower than the fireballs that Lilith usually used, allowing its target to dodge.

The insect monster charged at Adam, presumably because he was the closer of the two newcomers. Adam stepped forward, blocked two of the pincers with his shield, sliced off a third with his sword, and dodged the fourth.

While hissing in pain, the insect monster made its next move: a thrust with the stinger. Adam ducked low and sliced the stinger off… but it proved to be merely a distraction. The remaining pincers shot towards him, and he couldn't stop them all. A pincer grasped Adam's leg and wrenched him into the air.

Adam kept a tight grasp on his sword, but before he could attempt to free himself, an ice spell hit the insect monster in the head, forcing it to drop him.

Due to a rough landing, Adam wasn't able to get up immediately. He heard an unearthly shriek, then the insect monster fell to the ground next to him, Lilith's spear in their head.

Lilith withdrew her spear and helped Adam to his feet. "You alright?" she asked.

Adam experimentally moved his leg. "It hurts, but I can still fight. My reinforcement kept the pincer from doing any serious damage. Let's keep going!"

The two of them advanced through the village. Not counting the one they'd already slain, there were six of the insect monsters. It was a number that the two of them could never have defeated on their own.

But they weren't on their own. The inhabitants of the desert village—men and women, elders and even some of the older children—fought furiously against the invaders. Although their weapons were merely tools such as shovels and scythes, even these were capable of harming the insect monsters if they struck a joint or the head. And although the villagers were hardly muscular, they fought with surprising skill and coordination.

Adam and Lilith hurried towards one battle. Six villagers were surrounding one insect monster. They fought in pairs: one pair moved in, swinging their weapons and dodging attacks, then retreated and were replaced by another pair.

Amazing… by keeping up constant pressure, they can keep their opponent from focusing on any one of them, Adam thought. For amateurs, they're incredibly good. But that doesn't mean they can't use our help!

As if on cue, one of the villagers was sent flying through the air by a blow. Adam jumped and caught him, preventing him from hitting a building. Lilith then sent an ice spell through a gap in the villagers' formation, freezing the insect monster's upper body.

The remaining five villagers had looks of surprise on their faces. Fortunately, their hesitation lasted for less than a second, then they closed on the insect monster and delivered the finishing blows.

"Are you alright?" Adam asked the villager in his arms.

The villager answered in an unfamiliar language while pointing at his left arm, which was bent at a painful angle. Judging from the context, he'd taken the insect monster's attack on that arm, but was otherwise unharmed.

Adam left the villager with his friends to receive medical care, then moved on to the next battle.

While running alongside Adam, Lilith said, "That last spell… took all of my remaining mana. I can't cast anything else tonight."

"That's fine, just stay in the rear!"

The two of them rushed through the village, helping the villagers fight off the remaining insect monsters.

The third was defeated after Adam severed three of its legs. No longer able to support their great weight, the insect monster collapsed and was cut to pieces.

The fourth was defeated after Lilith threw her spear at them like a javelin. Although they were able to dodge the spear, the insect monster was still thrown off-balance, allowing Adam to decapitate them.

The remaining three were defeated purely by the villagers' effort. Of special note was the seventh and final one: this insect monster tried to flee after realising they were the last of their kind remaining. However, they stumbled into a net trap on the outskirts on the village, one presumably set up by the villagers to defend against monster invasions. The insect monster quickly tore their way free, but was still slowed down enough for the villagers to catch up and exact their vengeance.

After all of the invaders were killed, the villagers cheered.

Adam checked his surroundings to confirm that there was nothing else to fight, then quickly wiped the blood off his sword and inspected the edge.

It's worn down… no wonder, after being used on so many hard targets. I'll need to sharpen it when I get the chance… come to think of it, I should consider replacing it with a new one eventually. I've been using this one ever since I finished my training.

The villagers were busy with activity. Some dragged the corpses of the insect monsters away, others tended to the human casualties, and the rest gathered around the two visitors to their village. Adam couldn't understand their words, though it was clear from their body language that they were grateful. Eventually, a woman who looked to be in her forties stepped forward.

"That armour and sword, you're one of the heroes from the east, aren't you?" said the villager, in the same language used by Adam and most of the human nations. "Thank you for helping us, both of you."

"Just doing our jobs," Adam replied. "Would you like help healing the wounded?"

"Definitely."

The villager agreed and led Adam and Lilith through the village. As they passed between the rows of sandstone buildings, she explained that was one of the few who had travelled outside the village, which was why she knew the common tongue. She also explained the circumstances behind the attack: the insect monsters—or "girtablilu" as she called them—had snuck into the village, only to be noticed by one of the night guards. That guard had raised the alarm, though he had not been fortunate enough to survive.

In demonstration of this fact, they passed by an open space in which three bodies were laid on the ground and covered in cloth. Adam mentally recited a prayer to the Chief Goddess to safeguard the souls of the fallen. Beside him, he noticed Lilith lowering her head.

She obviously wouldn't follow any human gods, Adam thought. But I've never heard her talk about any gods worshipped by monsters… It must be incredibly lonely, to be estranged from your own kind yet also have no higher power to believe in.

Finally, they arrived at a house in which more than a dozen wounded people lay in various states. Several more people tended to them: judging from their levels of skill, only one was an actual healer, with the remainder being volunteers. Adam was introduced to the group and immediately pressed into service by the healer.

The top priority patient was a young woman with absolutely grievous injuries: her left arm had been crushed by pincers, while her abdomen had been torn open to the point that the intestines were hanging out. Adam could only stop the worst of the bleeding, then leave the young woman to the healer and hope that she could handle the rest.

The remaining patients were comparatively easy: mainly small cuts and scrapes, though one had a broken bone, the young man that Adam had saved earlier. Adam could heal these on his own. He also healed the injury to his own leg.

Unfortunately, in the end the first patient could not be saved. Her wounds were just far too severe, and she could only be given a quick death. For this situation, the healer possessed a herb that gave off a faint sweet smell. When she crushed some of the herb and held it to the young woman's face, her breathing slowed and soon stopped. Then two of the volunteers carried her body outside. Throughout this process, Adam couldn't do anything other than clench his fists.

Once the ordeal was over, Adam stepped outside and reunited with Lilith. Their guide led them to a different house and told them they could rest here. Additionally, another villager arrived bringing Adam and Lilith's camels, which were tied to a post in front of the house.

The beds in this house were simple constructions of stone with no pillows or mattresses. Still, Adam and Lilith dropped their belongings and collapsed onto the beds.

"That was the longest night of my life," Lilith said. "By the way, how's your leg?"

"Fine, I also took care of it while I was in there," Adam replied. "I'm guessing this is the first time you've had to fight as part of a large group?"

"Yeah… succubi in general avoid fights, and other monsters would never have allied with me," Lilith said. "It reminds me of when we tricked those lamias and harpies into fighting each other… all the chaos, where it seemed like anyone could die at any moment."

Adam nodded. "I've fought in a large group just once before. It was… back when I was still with my human friends. We came to a village that had been raided by giant ants for several nights. Since the enemy was too numerous, we got it into our heads that we could train the villagers to help us fight. It was a foolish idea—you can't teach someone to be a soldier in a few hours—and the only reason it worked at all was Hogan."

"Hogan?" Lilith said. "If I remember right, he was the oldest of your group?"

"He was… and definitely the smartest of us as well," Adam said. "You see, he used to be a scholar from Welsple, and he only took up arms after a monster attack that damaged his academy and killed several of his students. Anyway, the point is that he knew how to teach people. Most importantly, he knew how to focus on only the essential things. He taught the villagers how to hold a spear and thrust it at a narrow spot, and to keep going even in the face of attacking monsters. Because of that, when the giant ants arrived again that night, the villagers were able to surround the tunnels they made and stab any ant that emerged, forcing the ants to retreat. The next morning, we followed the giant ants' traces to their nest and smoked them out. That was definitely the biggest battle I've ever been in, with dozens of ants… if it weren't for the villagers, we would never have won. But we did, and we killed every last one of them."

Lilith didn't reply to these words.

"The villagers here are a lot more skilled… must be a necessity when they live in such a harsh—Oh, do you want to sleep now, Lilith?" Adam said. "Sorry for—"

"No, it's fine, I'm still wide awake," Lilith said quickly. "It's just—when I hear these stories of yours, I keep wondering what it would be like if—if it weren't just the two of us."

Now it was Adam's turn to be silent, as he tried to think of a reply.

"I know it's a stupid idea," Lilith continued. "The chances of finding another human who can work with monsters, or a monster who doesn't see humans as food, are non-existent."

"Come on, it's not that bad…"

"Really? In that case, tell me: where could we possibly find…"

Until they fell asleep, Adam spent the time trying to cheer Lilith up.

-ooo-

The next morning, Adam and Lilith explored the desert village. The chaos of the previous night had prevented them from properly seeing any of it then.

The village was relatively small, with a population of just under three hundred, crowded into less than fifty buildings. It was built around another oasis, and the villagers drew their water from this in addition to setting out pots to catch the occasional rain.

Then there was the culture. The local clothing was long and covered the body, similar to what Adam and Lilith had bought, as this was a necessity in the desert conditions. The cuisine was also a product of the environment: Adam was especially shocked to see the strange insect, the one that girtablilu were similar to, among the foods on offer. It was apparently called a "scorpion" and, while initially reluctant to try it, Adam discovered that it tasted delicious.

But despite all of these differences, they were the same as the people Adam was familiar with: they farmed and hunted for food, wove and repaired clothing, cleaned their houses and otherwise did their best to survive.

Throughout their exploration, Adam and Lilith were the subjects of curiosity and gratitude. Most of the local villagers didn't know their language, but now Lilith was able to solve that problem with her translation spell. They were hit with a non-stop barrage of questions about the world outside the desert, mixed with thanks for their assistance in last night's battle.

"Hey, is it true that the sea has so much water in it that you can't even see the bottom?"

"I—I've heard the same thing, but I haven't actually seen the sea myself, so I can't say for certain," Adam replied.

"Hey, that magic you used back then was incredible!"

"Thank you!" Lilith replied.

"Can you teach me how to do it?"

"Um, that might be a bit difficult, since I—I—" Lilith said, looking around in a fluster.

"Sorry, but it takes a long time to learn such magic," Adam interjected. "Several years at the very least."

The conversation continued in this vein for quite some time. While she needed help on several occasions, Lilith nevertheless managed to keep talking for the whole time, a major improvement compared to before. The two of them also learned about the other humans in the desert: there were many villages like this one, none of them much larger in size, and the harsh environment meant that they rarely traded or even communicated with each other. Each of the villages was forced to be self-sufficient out of necessity. The isolation was similar to the monster society that Lilith came from, albeit for different reasons.

Eventually, one of the villagers said, "Hey, do you think they could make it to the Pyramid?"

"That's just a myth!"

"There's no way something that convenient exists!"

Adam frowned in confusion. "What is this 'Pyramid' you're talking about?" He asked. "I only know of it as a shape…"

These words caused the villagers to argue over whether the Pyramid was reality or merely myth. Eventually, one of the older villagers stepped forward. "Quiet," he said. "I will try to explain this matter to our visitors."

The other villagers ceased their argument immediately.

"Alright. Now, where to begin…" the elderly villager said, his eyes growing distant with recollection. "First, the Pyramid is a great structure that supposedly exists to the west of here. It's said to resemble a mountain carved by human hands. Some claim that there is more than one of them. As to its significance… This is a story that I heard when I was still a child, and it was old even then. I was told that this desert was once a great green land where water flowed freely and there was never any shortage of food, like the lands to the east. I was told that there was a great kingdom here, and the Pyramid is the only relic of that era."

"But what could have destroyed that kingdom, and made all this land into what it is now?" Lilith asked. "Monsters?"

"Possibly, though there are many other explanations, such as the people of that kingdom losing the gods' favour," the elderly villager replied. "In any case, it's rumoured that great power sleeps within the ruins of the Pyramid. Power that could be used to purify the desert of monsters and return it to the green land it once was…"

Adam and Lilith looked at each other sceptically.

"Yes, it seems too good to be true," the elderly villager continued. "And many have gone into the desert chasing after such power, but none have ever returned. That is why many of us believe it is just a myth, passed down through the generations to keep our people from falling into despair. I'm sure that you have similar stories where you come from."

"It's can't be just a myth!" shouted another villager. "Nobody would pass down that story if there wasn't some truth to it!"

"You're a fool, there's no way something that convenient would exist!"

"What did you just call me!?"

The argument started out again. Adam was about to intervene, but the elderly villager waved him off, saying that such arguments were a common way for his people to vent their frustrations.

As a result, Adam and Lilith returned to the house that had been given to them. Both of them started packing up their belongings.

"Chances are that it's just a myth," Adam said. "Back in Merith, there were countless stories like it: heroes from past ages still being alive, to pass down their power to the worthy. But—"

"But it's the only hope we've got of making a lasting impact," Lilith said. "We could go around to the other villages, kill all the monsters attacking them, and once we leave, more monsters will colonise the region."

"My teachers would call me foolish for trying something like this," Adam said. "They always told me to remember that I'm not invincible, even if I'm a hero. And there's the many others who've tried to find this Pyramid and failed."

"To be honest, I can see their point," Lilith said. "But we have something that none of the others had."

"We're a human and a monster working together," Adam finished, as he loaded the last of his armour into the camel's saddlebags.

"Though if you don't mind me asking, why are you going along with this so quickly?" Lilith asked. "I was wondering if I would have to persuade you."

"It's true, I've definitely changed," Adam said, smiling. "It's not just that I'm now fine with working with you. I'm willing to take more risks now. I think… I think it's because I'm sick of seeing people dying. I now believe that things shouldn't be this way, that people shouldn't have to die like this."

These words would have been unthinkable to the Adam of a mere six months ago. If that Adam had heard someone else saying such words, he would have suspected them of heresy for questioning the Chief God's designs. But after a month of working alongside a monster and accomplishing nothing but good…

They left the house and announced their intentions to the villagers. As expected, there was a mixed reaction. Some of the villagers were hopeful of the pair's success, asking them to return with tales of what they discovered. Some were worried for their safety, so they warned them of the desert's dangers and suggested ways to improve their chances. And some, after hearing the announcement, simply shook their heads.

Adam and Lilith left the village and rode off into the desert. They headed for the west, where most of the stories agreed the Pyramid was.

For the first few minutes, they were on flat sand and could still see the village. But eventually they had to cross a dune, and there were no more signs of civilisation. Just more scorching sun and barren sand.


AN: I have a question for readers: what do you think of my pacing? Some other authors would have made the girtablilu battle and the village exploration separate chapters. Do you think I'm going too fast? Alternatively, do you think I'm going too slow?