Ch.131131. Plague Wind (13)

I finally understood what they meant when they said the Sirens were the size of a mountain.

The one I had faced earlier was clearly the previous mother, who had begun to decline for some reason.

But that wasn’t important right now.

‘You idiot… you stupid girl!’

It was a mistake.

My usual self would never have made this error—my vigilance against named beasts had dulled.

That’s why I was in this predicament.

Though I came to help, I ended up being a hindrance instead—a truly disgusting situation.

This person would have handled it properly. Even without my rescue, they would have made the best decision.

I overlooked that and prioritized my personal feelings, which is why I’m now barely clinging to life, my wrist caught in Junon’s grip.

But there was still one option left.

“…Let go and run, Junon.”

“What?”

“It was my mistake. I’ll deal with that thing somehow. If you use your magic power to break through the formation for the basement kids, they can escape alive.”

Yes. I’ll tell you everything. One by one, specifically, so there’s no confusion.

“The Hipplisia stem bracelet comes undone if you apply magic power to the seam, though it’s not very noticeable. You can easily solve it and take the others with you.”

Come to think of it, there were the Sirens. They all despise humans, so I need to address that too.

Would they try to move while hiding?

“Ah… you’ll need to avoid the Sirens’ eyes. Right. Devourers are rushing in from the south to the lakeside, so the west might be a bit less guarded. Head toward where you can see the fence.”

What else is there?

Yes. I should tell her to take Cain too.

And…

…

I can’t even bring myself to say I’m sorry.

Your death,

It’s connected to my disappearance… how could a simple apology ever be enough…?

***

Shanbereshu waited in the pit below for its prey to fall.

Senia, identified as the main prey, was currently dangling while holding Junon’s hand.

And in this situation, what was this all about?

“The Hipplisia stem bracelet comes undone if you apply magic power to the seam, though it’s not very noticeable. You can easily solve it and take the others with you.”

Useless talk.

Begging to be saved, or pleading not to let go—that would be a normal person’s reaction.

So why continue with this?

“Ah… you’ll need to avoid the Sirens’ eyes. Right. Devourers are rushing in from the south to the lakeside, so the west might be a bit less guarded. Head toward where you can see the fence.”

Then she started giving specific instructions about how to take Cain along too.

What use was any of this in such a desperate situation?

Besides, if she lost Senia, there would be no turning back.

“Stop talking nonsense! We don’t have time, so hurry up and think about climbing up!”

“…”

Senia’s fingers completely relaxed their grip on the wrist they had been holding tightly. Junon couldn’t have missed this.

By now, all her previous words and actions connected.

“You… surely you’re not…”

“Go. You can at least save those guys. Even alone, I have enough skill to buy you time to escape. There aren’t any Devourers around right now, right?”

“Hey, Senia!!!”

“…this time… …promise.”

Senia muttered something while reaching for her scabbard with her other hand. The motion of striking something wasn’t an action one would expect from someone barely supporting themselves with just one arm.

She intended to strike her own arm to make herself fall.

‘This foolish idiot…!’

It was one-on-one.

Even without Devourers attacking, the creature was still a named beast. Facing Shanbereshu was out of the question.

Or did she think sacrificing herself to save others was enough?

‘That’s nonsense. Without you, we can’t even begin to defeat that thing!!’

No. Let me calm down and think this through. Where did things go wrong?

This behavior itself is unlike her.

Normally, she wouldn’t have rushed out toward Shanbereshu like this and would have focused on dealing with the Devourers.

Tactically, she would have chosen to consult with Cain and restore the barrier. The fact that everything went awry means Senia wasn’t making decisions with her usual rational mind.

The reason she was determined to enter that pit? I don’t know.

More importantly, I need to come up with a solution in this brief moment.

Below was Shanbereshu. Behind were Devourers attacking the village.

Senia, held by one arm but about to fall by her own will into the pit where Shanbereshu waited.

At this point, the only option was to gamble.

“…”

Swish.

Finally, she gave up.

As the strength left Junon’s hand that had been barely holding on, Senia felt her body falling.

Satisfied with this, she gathered magic in her legs and headed down the slope toward Shanbereshu under her own power.

She drew her sword as she stepped onto ground much lower than before.

But then.

Swoosh!

Another friction sound came from right beside her. The sound of someone sliding down the slope echoed twice. What could this mean?

Junon, who she thought had just accepted letting go of her arm, had come down here too.

“You… why did you come…”

“One person alone isn’t nearly enough.”

“Don’t underestimate me. Even like this…!”

Senia’s protest couldn’t continue. She couldn’t speak carelessly when she didn’t even know the extent of Junon’s true abilities.

Meanwhile, Junon precisely explained why he had come down here.

“You’ll buy time so I can escape with the kids? Can the Sirens get out on their own?”

“That’s for me to solve! It has nothing to do with you!”

“It has everything to do with me. Very deeply.”

“Huh. That’s ridiculous.”

An obvious lie.

She knew better than anyone that Calix had no relationship whatsoever with the Sirens.

Why had he come down here where there was not even a glimmer of hope? Senia was at her wit’s end.

But even in this moment, Junon intended to achieve results without injecting a single ounce of personal emotion.

“You seem quite displeased, so let me tell you. Without you, we can’t catch Shanbereshu. Does that make more sense?”

Senia’s shoulders flinched at the unexpected statement.

What did he mean that she was needed to catch Shanbereshu? His tone was full of certainty, as if they could actually face that thing.

“Magic Eye. Only your power, Senia, can pierce through Shanbereshu’s weakness.”

“Weak…ness?”

Does such a thing exist on that massive body?

Immediately, Senia scanned Shanbereshu’s body but couldn’t see any obvious vulnerable spots.

In combat, there should be clearly visible areas—the flow of magic, movement pathways, the core of manifestation—but none were apparent now.

“Hey. No matter how I look, there’s nothing like that! It’s still not too late. If we go up right now…”

Junon cut off Senia’s words, still full of confidence.

“The offspring only have blood vessels filled with magic and magic circuits. What do you think the mother has?”

“That’s…”

In the chicken or egg debate, the prevailing answer is that both are wrong.

But in a situation where the chicken already exists, the egg is undoubtedly laid and raised by the chicken.

Indeed. The mother must have reproductive tissue to give birth to offspring.

“I think you’ve got it. If we cut that out, no more Devourers will emerge. Since you’re not targeted by the Devourers anyway, we can try this.”

“…Really?”

“Really or not, we have no other option. I’ll handle the taunting and parrying. You cut out the reproductive organ, which is also the magic circuit.”

Senia stepped back to avoid hindering Junon, who was trying to create an opening in Shanbereshu’s attack.

Junon’s voice reached her as he issued attack instructions.

Despite having to face a named beast with just the two of them, his expression was resolute, and his back seemed more reliable than ever.

It was as if he was telling her it was too early to give up.

Thud!

“Three steps to the right. The magic power covering it has multiple layers, so peel them one by one.”

She didn’t know what the outcome would be with someone who could predict even the different walking patterns of individuals.

But if there was a glimmer of hope, it might be worth betting on Junon. With that thought, she gripped her sword properly.

“I’ll pair with you. Clash together with me and deflect it.”

***

How much time had passed? They fought with all their might in this forest, in the pit created by Shanbereshu, but it was a foregone conclusion that the two would tire first.

And since Senia had rushed into the forest, the number of Devourers had noticeably decreased.

Cain now had to find the two people bearing all this burden—Junon and Senia.

“This way! Here’s the pit that creature made!”

“Damn, so it dug from here. What a persistent beast.”

But. What is this…?

“What… is this?”

“What, you’ve never seen this before?”

The Sirens spoke as if they were familiar with it. Some even complained that they were sick of seeing it so many times.

That was quite strange.

That they were casually traversing this enormous crevasse in the earthen mountain.

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t know. Humans haven’t been properly informed about Shanbereshu’s existence.”

He heard it clearly with his own ears.

They definitely said Shanbereshu… why would that name come up here now?

There’s no way the creature that Tembris had subjugated could be here…?

“A few months ago, there was a maternal succession. That’s why we migrated south from Bevre Lake in the north. The new one was so violent it tried to devour every living creature in the area where we lived.”

“Succession? What do you mean?”

“Even Devourers, who routinely self-destruct, need a mother to be born. That’s why the succession continues. They bestow the mother’s power on just one individual to continue the generations.”

“That can’t be…”

If that’s the case, does it mean the culprit behind this earthquake, the leader of the attacking Devourers, is a newly born Shanbereshu?

“Since we named it Shanbereshu and requested help from the principality, we’ve witnessed the succession, but this one is unprecedented. A creature this large must have grown to the size of a mountain by now.”

Considering the magnitude of the earthquake, its diameter would certainly exceed the size of a mountain.

But… to face a named beast the size of a mountain with just two people?

“Damn it!!”

“Hey! What are you doing rushing off alone like that!”

There was no time.

No matter how powerful Senia was with her Magic Eye, or how skilled Junon was in commanding the battlefield, it was too much. Even if the two fought with all their might, defeat was inevitable.

Thud! Thud!

‘It’s close…! I’m almost there!’

Until he could see Devourers nearby that were either dead or barely breathing.

When Cain had run for several minutes and the darkness in the cave cleared to bright light, he could see a man with black hair, red moisture clinging to it, flowing down his face.

“…You came, Cain?”

“Sir…!”

“Huff, huff…”

Senia wasn’t in good shape either. Judging by her slight limp on her left foot, she was barely holding on.

The Sirens would soon arrive here. To buy that time, Cain had to endure for the share that these two had been bearing.

“I’ll help!”

Without rambling on further, the most optimized power for buying time now was Junon’s strength.

If he followed Junon’s orders and endured in his way, it would be enough. But…

“What…? What’s happening…”

His own power wasn’t manifesting.

“…Forget it. Senia and you, step back for a moment.”

“Junon…?”

“Sir?”

It seemed strange that he suddenly asked them to step back when an additional person should have lightened their burden.

No, Junon must have some intention. If he could see one step ahead in this situation, it should be fine.

Meanwhile, he could gather his strength and check what problem had occurred.

It would be just for this brief moment. Just stepping back for this instant.

However…

Crash!

“S-Sir!!”

“What…? Ju-Junon… what are you doing? Stop this right now…”

There was no time to check anything.

The space from outside the cave to the inner entrance was narrowing. The bedrock, destabilized by the magic armor manifested in Junon’s hand, collapsed helplessly.

“You’re in the way, you fools…”

“You crazy bastard!!!”

“This isn’t right… such an absurd act…!”

“Shut up and get out of the way because you’re interfering!!”

This made no sense.

Was this his judgment?

That in that pit, the one ally they trusted would block the entrance by collapsing it and face Shanbereshu alone?

Even more desperate than Cain to rush forward was Senia.

“Let go, Cain… I said let go!!!”

“No matter what, we can’t go through that gap!”

“That’s right, Cain. Take Senia and get out of here completely. Do you understand me?”

“This can’t be… right? There… there must be a way for you to escape too…”

“Sir!!!”

From the moment he collapsed the wall, they knew they couldn’t fight alongside Junon.

In other words, the two had essentially been saved by Junon.

The entrance was blocked, and Senia and Cain’s vision was once again engulfed in darkness.

“Damn it… damn it! It won’t budge at all…!”

“You crazy bastard… if you were alone, you could have abandoned me and survived. Why, why are you taking on that role!!!”

They had been deceived. Too stupidly, that kind-hearted person’s nature hadn’t changed.