episode_0137

Ten minutes after the search began, just as the tension began to ease, a figure suddenly sprang out from the darkness.

“Kyaaaah!”

Sparse, missing hair and teeth, bloodless lips and cloudy, unfocused eyes, and emaciated, bony ribs showing.

Its appearance was reminiscent of a zombie.

Perhaps truly devoid of intelligence, the creature howled like a beast and charged at us.

Its speed was truly like a flash of lightning.

Originally, zombies were slow, but nowadays many can run, so it’s not strange to have mana-using zombies.

While I was spouting nonsense internally, Abel stepped forward and blocked the zombie’s attack.

*Clang clang clang!*

Now that I looked closely, its fingernails were long and sharp.

Like a witch from some zombie FPS game, it swung its sharp claws, scraping at the shield.

Its lethality would probably be tremendous.

Even in games, one hit would immediately put you in a stunned state.

But unfortunately for the creature, Abel had a teammate with him, who, in game terms, was armed with an automatic shotgun.

*Boom!*

The head of the creature that was scraping at the shield was instantly engulfed in flames.

As if feeling no pain, it quickly regained its balance and tried to retaliate against the one who dared harm it, but by then, Isis’s spear was already aimed at its heart.

*Thrust!*

The spearhead pierced its flesh, creating a clean hole in its heart, then pulled out.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Then, the creature, which had been fine even when its facial skin was burning, let out an exaggeratedly loud scream and collapsed onto the floor.

Isis cautiously used the spear shaft to flip its body onto its back.

“Everyone, look at this. There’s something strange.”

“Something strange?”

“Yes. Regina-nim felt it too, didn’t you? This creature doesn’t feel pain. I think this is why.”

What she pointed to was its heart.

More precisely, it was a grotesque organism that was replacing the heart, visible through the pierced hole.

Spreading dozens of tentacles in all directions, the creature lay limp and unmoving.

“What is this? Some kind of parasite?”

“I think so. We need to be careful.”

Regina and Isis admirably deduced its identity at once.

The creature’s name was Axigutoa.

It was a parasitic demon creature that inhabited the Demon Realm, and it came over during Behemoth’s descent.

Now, the Order has purified them all, making their true forms rarely seen, but this was an underground space isolated from the outside world for hundreds of years.

Their existence was barely clinging on.

Of course, if it weren’t for us, they would have withered and died before long.

“First, let’s be careful. Focus on targeting the heart, but also destroy the brain. A confirm kill is mandatory. Ruan, you understand, right?”

“Huh?”

As I stood bewildered by the sudden mention, Isis pouted her lips in annoyance.

“You didn’t listen to Noona, did you?”

“No, I did.”

“Then what did I say? Tell me.”

“You said, ‘First, let’s be careful. Focus on targeting the heart, but also destroy the brain. A confirm kill is mandatory. Ruan, you understand, right?’ Is that enough?”

“…You heard it all?”

“Of course. I always engrave everything Noonim says in my ears.”

“Oh, really? I see…”

When I repeated it without a single mistake, Isis seemed to realize she had misunderstood, her face reddening as she turned her gaze away.

She seemed very embarrassed.

“Th-Then let’s go! We need to escape quickly!”

Her desperate attempt to change the subject and hastening her steps was quite cute.

I ignored Regina’s stinging gaze, which for some reason had turned sharp, and followed behind her.

Thereafter, the search proceeded smoothly.

Parasitic demon creatures continued to appear, and occasionally two or three would come together, but dealing with them was not difficult at all, as they recklessly charged without any skill.

Meanwhile, Regina expressed her concern as the demonic energy grew thicker.

“By the way, the demonic energy is too strong. Will this be okay?”

Demonic energy was the aura of the Demon Realm.

As befits energy derived from the Goddess of Darkness, who was completely antithetical to light, it acted very harmfully upon humans.

To the point where one’s body condition would become abnormal just by the concentration increasing.

Of course, I had already prepared everything for that.

Isis, seeing Regina’s concern, smiled sweetly at me, then took out a necklace she had kept tucked between her cleavage.

“Don’t worry about that. I have a purification artifact.”

“What? That’s…”

“That’s right. Ruan gave it to me as a gift. As long as I’m near you, you won’t be affected by the demonic energy, so there’s no need to worry.”

“……Really?”

“Yes. It’s a coincidence, but thanks to it, we’re comfortable. My little brother is truly the best, isn’t he?”

Isis’s eyes curved into a smile at me.

Watching her flaunt it proudly, Regina’s expression hardened.

She seemed to be trying not to show it, but it was obvious at a glance that she was irritated.

‘Are you jealous?’

If you didn’t want to see this, you should’ve properly killed me the first time.

Feeling exhilarated, yet not fully satisfied, I executed further provocation.

“If you’re that grateful, how about a kiss right here?”

“U-Uh? A kiss?”

“Yes. You can’t even do that much?”

As I stuck out my cheek and tapped it, Isis shrugged her shoulders deeply and whispered in a tiny voice.

“H-How can I do something like that? There are other people here.”

“Then, is it okay when we leave here and are alone?”

“……”

Her head nodded imperceptibly up and down.

*Grind!*

At the same time, Regina’s teeth ground fiercely from side to side.

The sound was so loud and terrifying that everyone’s gaze focused on her.

“Regina-nim. What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“…No. I just felt like something was stuck between my teeth. More importantly, let’s go. We need to get out of here quickly. Who knows what might happen outside.”

“Yes. Let’s do that. Let’s hurry.”

At Regina’s desperate attempt to change the subject, Isis seemed to realize it wasn’t the time for such things and regained her usual composure, hastening her steps.

***

Meanwhile, at that moment, the fortress was in great chaos due to a sudden monster wave.

“How far have the monsters come now?”

“Yes. They are at the entrance to the mountain range. The strange thing is that they aren’t approaching any further. As if they had received someone’s command.”

“Hmm… Are they waiting for the king to make an appearance?”

Bruno gazed into the magic mirror.

He couldn’t accurately estimate the distance, but the intense demonic energy he felt from afar stimulated his competitive spirit.

He was preparing to spread his tightly folded wings and soar powerfully.

Just then, Leona appeared.

Red hair and golden eyes. Armed with heavy armor, along with her magnificent and noble appearance, she looked like a Valkyrie of the battlefield.

“Commander-nim. I will report on the damage. We have confirmed the return of 55 academy students. There might be students who haven’t returned yet, but even considering that, I don’t think the total will exceed 60.”

“60… So 20 people died?”

“…Yes. Among them are Second Princess Regina Solias, student council president Isis Friuli, and Abel, an Order’s collaborator.”

“That’s a big problem.”

The academy was where all the talented individuals of the Empire gathered.

For 20 of those talents to die was a very great loss.

Furthermore, each of those individuals was not to be underestimated.

Regina Solias, being of royal blood, needed no lengthy explanation, and Isis Friuli, the student council president, was evaluated as someone who would become a great pillar of the Empire in the future due to her outstanding leadership and personal combat power.

And Abel, from what I heard, was a Hero candidate, so if his death is confirmed, this would be his greatest mistake since being appointed Commander.

“I might get fired for this.”

Of course, he was just saying that.

In a situation where they had lost talented individuals, firing someone of Bruno’s caliber would be madness.

Still, the fact that it had become difficult hadn’t changed.

“What did the accompanying professor say?”

“I barely managed to stop him from going to look for them himself. He accepted it when I told him that protecting the returned students was the priority.”

“Excellent. Then, let’s start preparing. It seems he’s coming.”

“He…?”

“Look over there.”

*CRASH!*

No sooner had Bruno pointed to the magic mirror than the towering mountain range collapsed.

From amidst the wildly swirling dust, a colossal beast, a whopping 70 meters in size, revealed itself.

With black horns and the face of an ox, the name of this monster was Behemoth.

Though slightly smaller than the individual that appeared 600 years ago, its power and momentum were not to be underestimated.

As it appeared, the monsters at the entrance to the mountain range all bowed their heads to the ground in reverence.

Soon, Behemoth’s mouth opened.

─ROOOOOOOAR!!!

A roar filled with savage bloodlust and demonic energy reverberated in all directions.

The faint-hearted could suffer a heart attack just by hearing it. Many soldiers fell into a panic.

At the same time, the monsters moved.

─Screech!

─Roar!

─Screech!

As if to offer their lives at the king’s command, they roared one by one, surging towards the fortress like a wave.

Bruno shouted loudly.

“All troops! Engage the monsters! I will take care of that big ox-headed brute, so you all focus only on the enemies in front of you! Understood!”

[Yes! Commander-nim!]

“Good. Then… Deputy Commander. I’m going, so you command the army from here. Understood?”

“But…”

“If I don’t go, who will stop that bastard?”

A decisive battle with Behemoth was unavoidable.

Since they were going to fight anyway, staying here to face it was madness.

Just from the aftermath of their collision, most ordinary soldiers would die, and there would be no meaning if the result of a difficult fight was annihilation.

At the very least, if they were going to fight, a place where enemies were scattered was far better than where allies were.

Leona couldn’t bring herself to refute him.

“Then I’m counting on you. See you later!”

*CRASH!*

Leaving a promise, Bruno leapt powerfully and soared to the ends of the sky.

The distance between the fortress and the mountain range was compressed in an instant.

Standing below the clouds, he emitted an enormous amount of electricity from his entire body. As he raised his arm, a giant axe formed above it.

So strong was his power that space itself distorted, and dark clouds swirled and gathered.

The power of a mere human moved the sky.

Even the monsters, currently in a frenzy, flinched at his overwhelming majesty.

Soon, when the changes in the sky ceased, Bruno descended with the axe.

*Rumble! Rumbllllle!*

The axe streaked across the sky, causing thunder and lightning.

─ROOOOOOOAR!!

But Behemoth did not flinch at all before that attack; it leapt powerfully and thrust its horns towards the axe.

Between its two horns, dense demonic energy rapidly condensed, forming a pitch-black sphere.

Finally, the two collided.

*CRAAAASH!!!!*

At the moment of impact, the world’s colors split into two.

Pure white lightning and jet-black demonic energy dyed the entire world in black and white.