Chapter 34: Giant Death Worm (1)

A demon beast. Or to elaborate, “a beast of the Demon Realm.”

Literally, it’s a term that refers to life forms other than demons that inhabit the Demon Realm.

The definition of where the line between demons and demon beasts lies can vary depending on who you ask.

Some say, “If it has intelligence, it’s a demon; if it lacks it, it’s a demon beast.” However, intelligence itself comes in varying degrees.

Some have intelligence equal to or superior to that of humans, while others are more on par with trolls or goblins.

Unlike Elpidion, where most intelligent beings take the form of humanoid races, the Demon Realm often has beings with monstrous, hideous appearances that possess high intelligence, which further emphasizes this distinction.

However, no matter what, as creatures of the same homeland, demons and demon beasts share a critical commonality.

They cannot survive outside the environment of the Demon Realm, which is saturated with an excess of magical power.

Of course, it’s not that Elpidion lacks magical power. If it did, the very concept of magic would not exist.

However, the density of magic in Elpidion compared to the Demon Realm is like the difference between heaven and earth.

And this is not just a metaphor—it’s truly like the oxygen ratio difference between the Earth’s surface and the stratosphere.

Because the fundamental environments are so different, the mechanisms that underlie the life activities of creatures must also differ.

Thus, it is difficult for the creatures of Elpidion to survive in the Demon Realm, and vice versa.

If a demon beast were exposed to Elpidion’s environment without any special measures, it would die from magical power deficiency within three days at most. The same applies to demons.

This is why Sien and his demon followers were so desperate to invade Elpidion and terraform the entire continent. If they couldn’t secure a new habitat to replace their collapsing dimension, they would all perish.

And this was all five hundred years ago.

The Demon Realm has since collapsed, and all the demon beasts have gone extinct. No one in their right mind would perform adaptation procedures to keep such ferocious beasts alive and set them loose on Elpidion.

Even if there were a few exceptions that went unnoticed, they too would have gradually died out over the five hundred years that followed.

Which begs the question:

“How is this thing here?! Weren’t all the demon beasts supposed to be dead?!”

This is why Isabella’s reaction of shock was only natural.

She was a huge fan of ‘Lier’s Chronicle’ and knew all about the adventures the Hero’s party had in the Demon Realm.

And, naturally, she was also well aware of the terrifying monsters they frequently encountered in their journeys.

The Giant Death Worm. Nicknamed “the lurking nightmare.”

Even a single one summoned onto the battlefield could shatter formations and annihilate entire units.

Of course, this creature shouldn’t be here.

“Your Highness, it’s coming back!!”

“Whoa!?”

Sion grabbed Isabella again and leaped back. Moments later, the head of the Death Worm crashed into the spot where they had been standing.

The creature burrowed quickly back into the ground, disappearing from sight.

“Not so fast!!”

Lancia dashed forward, attempting to strike it down with her sword.

-Clang!!

“!?”

With a sound of metal clashing, the sword bounced off without leaving so much as a scratch.

“…It’s no use. The Giant Death Worm’s hide is harder than steel.

Unless you have a legendary sword, or you infuse your blade with magic to enhance its strength, you won’t even be able to make a dent.”

“That can’t be…!”

Lancia muttered with a despairing expression.

Infusing a sword with magic to create an aura is a technique reserved only for true masters of the highest rank.

Naturally, Lancia was far from achieving that level.

Especially when it involves a daring plan to stage a death as a mere accident.

‘…Alright. I’ll put aside the plan regarding Beryl for now.’

After a moment of hesitation, Sion made her decision.

If the problem with Beryl had been urgent enough to require immediate resolution, she would have tried to kill two birds with one stone.

But the issue was not so pressing; she had only thought of dealing with it quickly because she wasn’t sure when Beryl’s memory might return.

So, for now, she could afford to shift her priorities. Understanding the cause of this current situation was more important.

This could potentially escalate into a world-level crisis if mishandled.

Sion reached her conclusion.

“Understood. I’ll handle this creature.”

Sion spoke as she drew the (fake) Exia from her back.

Once she decided to deal with it, it wasn’t particularly difficult to take action.

She just needed to slash it the moment it emerged.

If she hadn’t needed to keep her actions subtle, she could have eradicated it by reversing gravity and turning the ground upside down. But, of course, that method was off the table.

“My Lady, focus on protecting the Princess. If the creature targets her, be ready to grab her and flee immediately.

“Beryl, use your excellent senses to detect any ambush in advance.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

The two of them nodded simultaneously. With that, things on their side were more or less resolved.

Sion rearranged the magic within her body and began chanting a spell.

-“Echolocation.”

Commonly known as echo-location, it’s the ability to perceive the surrounding space by recognizing subtle vibrations or the reflection of sound waves.

It’s a magic that allows a human body to use the same ultrasonic detection method used by bats or whales.

It’s a spell that makes it possible to see invisible enemies or those lurking underground as if they were right in her hand.

Sion used that spell to detect the position of the Giant Death Worm that had burrowed into the ground.

And then…

“…!!?”

In the next moment, her expression changed drastically.

Her face grew even more serious.

“W-what’s wrong, Master? Did something unexpected happen—?”

“…There’s more than one.”

“What?”

Lancia blinked, almost as if hoping that what she had just heard was a lie.

But Sion, with a completely serious face, spoke without a hint of a smile.

“The one we just saw isn’t the only one. There are more below.”

Her radar had picked up the movements of multiple Death Worms wriggling underground, heading in their direction.

By a rough estimate, there were about five or six of them.

“Damn it! Where the hell did all these worms come from?!”

Sion screamed inwardly.

If it were just one, she could have dismissed it as a coincidence. Maybe someone nasty had adapted a demon beast and brought it over.

But five or six? That was too much. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

These creatures were rare even when the Demon Realm was intact, with a total population of fewer than a hundred. And in the wild, their territories never overlapped.

Multiple of these creatures moving together? Unnoticed for 500 years until now?

“This is a planned crime.”

Sion was certain of it.

Multiple Giant Death Worms appearing simultaneously, creatures that were hard to find even after scouring the entire Demon Realm for a day. And their existence had not been detected until now.

These two mysteries pointed to the same conclusion.

Someone or some organization was deliberately reviving or keeping these demon beasts alive to orchestrate a massive conspiracy.

And if that were the case, in Sion’s knowledge, there was probably only one—

“! They’re coming up!”

But at that moment, Beryl’s sharp shout broke Sion’s train of thought.

Right. Now was not the time for unnecessary contemplation. The priority was ensuring everyone’s survival.

Sion turned toward Isabella and shouted.

“Princess! Can you cast a teleportation spell right now?!”

“U-Uh…?!”

Isabella, not expecting the focus to shift to her, responded in surprise.

“T-Teleport… Dimension Door, right?

I can do it! If I’m given just a bit of casting time—”

“Then please! Take the others and get to safety!”

“!? But what about you—”

“I’ll be fine!”

Sion shouted with a rather resolute expression.

In truth, for Sion, it didn’t matter if there was one Death Worm or a hundred.

If she just infused a bit of aura into her sword and swung it, she could cut down however many came at her in one blow.

But the situation would be different if she had to protect the three others at the same time.

Sion was currently pretending to be a “Hero.” Therefore, she couldn’t openly cast protective spells like ‘Shield’ or ‘Resilient Sphere’.

Likewise, teleportation was out of the question. The moment she cast it, it would expose her as a mage.

And this meant, in other words, that if another Death Worm attacked the three of them while she was fighting, there would be no way to defend them.

No matter how skilled a swordsman might be, he only has one body. He can’t exist in multiple places at once.

Fighting alongside the three of them wasn’t an option either. With enemies that could attack by burrowing up from the ground, there wasn’t a clear way to protect them even if they stayed close together.

To put it bluntly, they were more of a burden than anything else at the moment.

‘So getting them out of this battlefield is the best option. That way, I can focus on fighting without worrying about the eyes on me.’

A magic swordsman being unable to use magic is a much bigger handicap than it might seem.

 Even if it doesn’t affect his combat strength directly, it greatly reduces the range of things he can do.

Frankly, it’s incredibly annoying, so it would be best if they just disappeared somewhere already.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m not going to die from something like this! Please, just leave!”

“But, but…!”

“Go!!”

Sion urged them sternly, her face set in an expression that, to an outsider, might have looked like she was ready to sacrifice herself for the group.

With a determined tone, Isabella shook her head furiously.

“N-No…! If I have to leave my sister here, I’d rather die too! I won’t leave!”

“No, don’t be stubborn—”

“If I said no, it’s no!! Don’t argue with me!!”

The princess screamed, tears welling up in her eyes. She was resolute—no way she was abandoning someone dear to her.

‘This damned brat just doesn’t know when to listen!!’

Of course, Sion wasn’t thinking anything nearly as noble as she was.

She turned to Lancia next.

“…Lady Lancia, please take the princess and go. I’m begging you.”

“But, Master…”

Oh, for the love of—just go already, please!!!

While Sion was inwardly cursing, the Giant Death Worms had already burrowed up close to the surface.

Beryl shouted in a near-scream, her tone sharp with urgency.

“They’re coming! Everyone, watch out—”

Before she could finish her sentence, half a dozen “pillars” exploded upward from the ground as if in a violent eruption.

The spot where the three of them had been standing was obliterated without a trace in the explosion…