episode_0121

====[■■■■Temple]====

The deepest part of the temple.

The knight, who had been sleeping for what felt like an eternity with his eyes closed, finally woke up from the long silence.

I feel the presence of a warrior who has come here for the first time in thousands of years.

“Ugh…”

A shape that looks like it was created by gathering shadows into a human shape and then covering it with armor.

Behind the old, rusty armor, black darkness flows like a cloak.

The knight held out his hand toward the long sword that had been left on the floor.

From inside the helmet’s face shield, a green eye glow slowly seeped out.

The knight with his sword drawn took a step forward.

Red rust dust fell through the cracks in the creaking armor.

One step, one step again.

The knight walked towards the outside of the temple. Slow but steady.

The sound of rough footsteps echoes through the quiet temple.

– Kwaduk!

Something caught on the knight’s foot and broke.

The knight looked down at his feet.

Fragments of a shattered statue.

It was a stone statue of an old god they had worshiped in the past.

The knight trampled and smashed the statue with deep hatred until it crumbled into dust.

And then walk again.

To welcome visitors.

==================

I swallowed dry saliva and tensed my body.

It was a situation that could not even be imagined. I never thought we would be separated so suddenly.

That’s also due to entry restrictions.

The fact that even Friede couldn’t follow me probably means that the entry requirement here is at least a master level.

…In other words, there will be enemies who are comparable to him.

Is this feeling stirring in my chest anxiety, or is it excitement in anticipation of battle?

Anyway, it was no longer a situation to be in a playful mood.

The right hand that holds the Durandal takes strength.

Slowly, my mind became colder. Like being doused in cold water.

It was a good thing.

Thanks to you, I have some time to look around.

It was an incredibly wide rock cavity, as if the entire inside of the mountain had been carved out.

The place where I was standing was about halfway between the ceiling and the floor, above the ground that rose up like a rock wall.

If you ask me, this place didn’t rise up, but all the other ground collapsed below and only this place is left.

At the bottom of the deep bottom, black water rose like a lake, and a dizzyingly terrible demonic energy was rising from there.

…If I even fell, I would die instantly.

Pillars rising from the floor and reaching to the ceiling support the upper part.

Most pillars are thick enough for three men to hug them.

The surface was uneven and rough, as if it was an artificially created structure. The thickness was also different.

The shape of the ground was strange.

The narrow road continued until it widened like a playground, and then there was a narrow road again.

I couldn’t see anything beyond that.

Because a castle-like structure surrounded that area.

I walked down the narrow street, holding my sword and keeping my senses as high as possible.

Beads of sweat flow down and fall on the area around my collarbone.

The stuffy air was filled with rising heat. It’s so hot.

Probably because of the geothermal heat.

Will Friede, Millia, and Damian be okay?

I don’t know what I’m doing right now.

They must be trying to break down the door since I suddenly disappeared and the door won’t open.

Friede has a lot of experience with various things, so he might have figured out that the reason I disappeared was due to space warfare.

So, are you looking into another room? Isn’t it dangerous…

“Grrrr…”

A soft cry interrupted my thoughts.

I suddenly began to feel signs of presence that had not even left a trace a moment ago.

As if a dead body had reawakened and moved.

A low growling sound. Heavy heartbeat. The sound of footsteps digging into the wall slowly gets closer.

From the bottom of the cliff.

I quickly ran towards the wide open space.

If you are attacked in a narrow street and are thrown off the ground, you will fall to your death in vain.

The moment we arrived in the middle of the clearing, they appeared.

A large hand covered in a carapace touches the ground and pulls up the body hanging from the cliff.

Three. Two in the front and one in the back.

The demon energy blooms fiercely.

No, this is not the time to be watching…!

He took out his bow and fired an arrow from the rear toward the hand that was trying to come up.

If I just take that hand off, wouldn’t it just fall down? With the same small expectations.

The arrow that was fired like a flash of light stuck in the guy’s hand… instead of sticking in, it bounced off like a lie.

The sound of metal colliding with metal resonated throughout the cavity.

All that was left of its hand was a few scratches on its carapace.

oh my god.

It’s less powerful than a sword, but you can still block it?

An arrow that can pierce rocks like a joke?

This is why a monster with a shell…!

I put my bow away and charge at the guy.

To quickly reduce the number of even one person.

It would be dangerous to be attacked from all directions by three guys.

The moment it reached within a stone’s throw of the monster, the monster suddenly pulled its body up.

It was only then that his figure clearly came into view.

Is he a little over 2m tall? It wasn’t that big.

The length of the body stretched backwards seemed to be over 6m.

The body of an insect surrounded by a carapace.

The carapace on its back had sharp spines.

Each of the six legs sprouting from its grasshopper-like lower body was twice as thick as my legs.

The legs wiggle up and down like waves.

Where the head should be, there was something similar to a human upper body hanging instead of the head.

If it had been a horse instead of a grasshopper, wouldn’t it have been possible to call it a centaur?

Its upper body was also covered with a shell, and it held a two-handed ax in its hands.

Although it was a bit large… it was definitely a human weapon.

okay. Hybrid monsters are a mixture of various creatures.

…It means that there are cases where people mix.

The head on top of the neck also had a human face.

No, should I say it was a human face?

It was so ugly that it made me nauseous.

The eyes fell out of their sockets and wriggled in the air like the eyes of a snail, and the nose became limp and resembled an elephant’s trunk.

The skin on the ears and chin also hung down and trembled like tentacles.

The only parts that still had human features were the mouth and lips.

That actually made it even more disgusting.

Really, are there any monsters that look somewhat normal?

They all look disgustingly hideous.

This was a monster I had never seen before.

If I had to give it a name, would it be something like a grasshopper man?

Locust Centaur….

We could just call it Locust.

The scientific name for a monster is chosen by the person who first discovered it.

It had a terrible smell.

The smell of rotting flesh and all kinds of filth mixed together.

My expression suddenly darkened.

“Kiaaa!”

The Locust charged in with a menacing roar.

Moving the six legs back and forth.

I grabbed Durandal, which had begun to emit a light blue light, with both hands and rushed at him as well.

—-

– Quaaaang!

The ax and the long sword collide, making an explosive sound.

Although it wasn’t full power, it was a slash with quite a lot of force, but the guy wasn’t pushed back at all.

The ax also chipped, but was not completely broken.

The Locust pushes down on me with its axe, thrusting its front legs like a spear into my abdomen.

Yeah, it would be nice to have eight limbs!

He twisted the sword and let the ax fall, rolling to the side.

Sharp claws pierce the air, and an ax struck at an angle shatters the ground.

The floor explodes with violent vibration.

The flying fragments hit the armor.

“Kit!”

Before I can even get up, the other leg is aiming for my head.

Damian almost fell victim to this attack.

Raise your fighting spirit even further.

The permeating karma elevates the body.

The left hand rose up like a snake and grabbed the guy’s leg.

“Haaa!”

Just swing your right hand.

Even though it was swung with one hand, the speed was several times faster than before.

The blue tiger bit the guy’s leg.

– Quad deuk!

The carapace is crushed with sparks.

Durandal’s sword rips through the creature’s flesh and digs deep into it.

Green fluid gushed out.

Just as I was about to completely cut off one leg, the guy swung the ax again.

Tsk.

It’s a shame.

Pull the sword and throw yourself backwards.

The ax cut through the air.

The carapace that rubbed against the pulled out blade was ground apart and sparked strong sparks, but unfortunately, it was not completely cut off.

Still, at that level, you can say that that leg can no longer move.

It was barely connected by a single piece of carapace, and all of the flesh inside had been cut away.

“Kiaaa…”

The Locust is angry and pounds on the ground.

The bodily fluids flowing from the wound were scattered around, creating toxic smoke.

8 seconds to this point. The search war is over.

It was a more difficult monster than I thought.

His physical abilities are similar to mine.

The strength of the carapace is stronger than that of black iron…and the ax is comparable to my sword.

To be precise, a strange magical power was wrapped around the ax blade and protecting it from damage.

I don’t know if he’s using magic, or if the ax itself is enchanted…

Does not matter. If it were a magic effect, it would become weaker every time it collided with Durandal.

Because the true silver sword cuts off magical power.

In the end, if it was one-on-one, he wasn’t my opponent.

…The problem is that it’s not one-to-one.

I glanced behind me.

Before I knew it, the two Locusts had begun to rise above the ground and were slowly pulling themselves up.

If the three guys start swinging their arms and legs together… I think it’ll be hard to avoid.

As expected, I need to get rid of this guy as quickly as possible.

He took out a frostbite from the case behind his back.

You said you suppressed the curse, right?

I’ll trust you, Lacey.

I took off the gloves I was wearing, put them in the case, and pushed my hands into the frost.

A familiar cold feeling penetrated my left arm.