Ch.225Disease(?)(2)

No matter how I think about it, the current situation is definitely abnormal.

Suddenly, a salt-laden sea breeze blew through a small forest in the inland region, and what appeared in the middle of the forest was a salt lake (鹽湖) that seemed like a piece of the ocean had been transplanted here.

I wondered if it was even possible for gentle waves to form on this school playground-sized lake, complete with a sandy beach. While pondering this, I looked at my companions.

“Lord Alzar, this is strange.”

“…Indeed, my lord. Why is there salt… no, a part of the sea here?”

Given that both sides were making consistent statements, there was no deception involved, but even considering that, this lake… or rather, sea, was definitely strange.

To begin with, how could someone install a magical structure of this scale without my intuition detecting it? And even if they managed that, how long could they possibly deceive my intuition?

Especially bringing in not just a lake… but part of the sea itself. As I felt increasingly uncomfortable due to my rudimentary knowledge of magic, I suddenly noticed something protruding from the water’s surface—

“—Enemy!”

My judgment was quick, and my response equally swift.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I shouted with all my might to alert everyone to the enemy presence, while simultaneously infusing my voice with the power of “Amplified Vocal Cords” to release a directional shockwave…

-KWAAAAAANG!!

Almost at the same moment the shockwave violently struck the water’s surface, strange and grotesque monsters began pouring out from beneath the water in a frenzy.

Carnivorous fish with four eyes that looked like distorted, monstrous piranhas. Ramming fish reminiscent of marlins with their massive bodies and horns. Eel-like creatures emitting energy similar to electric currents were just the beginning.

Giant frogs with fins sprouting from their backs like mutated tadpoles, massive salamanders with ugly crocodile-like scales instead of slimy skin. Lizards with gills, and monstrous six-legged alligators.

Small whales with legs and shark-like mouths filled with sharp teeth, and cephalopods swimming through the air as if they were underwater were additional threats.

There were even large fish with bizarre appearances reminiscent of deep-sea anglerfish, monsters resembling crustaceans like crabs, and sea serpent-like beasts following behind.

While these creatures varied greatly in appearance, species, and abilities, they shared several common traits.

First, they were all aquatic creatures—particularly specialized individuals based on marine life.

Of course, there were plenty of exceptions, but most were creatures that typically lived in aquatic environments like seas or rivers. These creatures now bore monstrous appearances and forms.

The other, most noticeable commonality was that each possessed certain characteristics unique to marine life.

The salamander’s skin was that of a sea crocodile, the fins on the frog’s back belonged to a marlin. The lizard’s fish gills or the crocodile-like appearance hardly needed mentioning.

What I particularly noticed was that these creatures could fly as if swimming through fog, while simultaneously emitting a salty, fishy smell similar to that coming from the lake.

Moreover, they exuded a subtly hidden, disgusting odor—so well concealed that a casual observer might mistake them for mere otherworldly creatures—the revolting stench of the demon realm wafting from them.

And I knew of several entities quite similar to these.

‘…Envy?’

When it comes to the sea and demons, it must be Leviathan, the demon lord of “Envy.” His minions, typically described as having appearances mixing crocodiles and whales, are said to appear accompanied by saltiness…

There’s a high probability that these beast-demons crawling up from the lake and staring at us with envious eyes are indeed the minions of Envy.

Anyway, recognizing this fact clearly, I began to move without any hesitation.

“Fall back—!!”

-—KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAK!!!

I naturally ejected the blades embedded throughout my armor, extending them forward, then switched to “Fish Grinder” mode to pulverize the various creatures flying toward us.

The mechanically moving blades displayed simple yet unstoppable movements, slicing through the approaching demons and literally turning them into meat paste.

Transparent blood reminiscent of seawater and chunks of flesh scattered everywhere. In less than 20 seconds, consuming about 1/4 of my total magical power, I created a momentary gap in the enemy ranks.

“—CHARGE!!!”

And neither I nor my companions-subordinates would miss this opening.

“—HIHIHIHING!!”

-PAAT—!!

At the vanguard were naturally myself and Gus. As Gus emitted a white sacred flash for area suppression, I calmly wielded my weapon, hunting down enemies slowed by the flash.

With each swing of my unicorn longsword, dozens of creatures were dismembered and scattered, while any gaps in my mounted swordsmanship were covered by my elegantly moving blade shield.

Thanks to this, I was essentially conducting a one-sided massacre of the enemies, but even so, it was physically impossible for me alone to cut down all the creatures emerging from this school playground-sized lake.

And—for that reason, I was receiving assistance from my two companions.

[HAHAHAHAHA—!!!]

First was Hannah, who charged forward with me while letting out a laughter mixed with howls, beginning to crush these seafood-like creatures with her claws and talons.

She kicked and crushed them with her legs, sliced and cut them with her claws, her movements—freely shifting between werewolf, beastkin, and wolf forms—resembling a dance.

However, the results of this dance of death were far from ordinary.

Cutting, tearing, ripping, crushing—she was a bundle of killing intent and fighting instinct. Moving as if killing was her life’s greatest purpose, she was easily sweeping away hundreds of demon-seafood creatures.

Meanwhile, Droop was also slaughtering the pouring enemies at his specialty triple speed, no less effectively than Hannah.

Droop Basilit, mounted on a warg wearing armor as red as his own. He demonstrated why “monster cavalry” are treated completely differently from other cavalry in this world.

If I had to describe his movements, they were like the biting of a beast—his savage and ferocious movements were all fatally effective against these creatures.

But if there was one thing that distinguished the warrior Droop Basilit from other warriors, it would be the various special weapons with gimmicks that he carried all over his body.

A large axe with a blade glowing red from heat, a mass-produced lance with gunpowder charge propulsion, the basilisk’s zweihander I lent him, plus numerous guns, shields, and more.

Droop, who gained countless weapons as a result of becoming Malakai’s experimental subject, was wreaking havoc with a massacre no less impressive than my own.

Amidst this one-sided slaughter happening for various reasons, I was surveying the surroundings to assess the situation even in this chaos.

The power of cultists and demons can never operate independently; it requires the assistance of a contractor or follower with a mortal soul to manifest in this distant world.

However, at this point, there were no visible cultists who could cause such an incident, and for something so grand in scale, there was a distinct lack of substance to the situation.

In other words, compared to the scale of the incident, there was no trace of those who could be called the real powers behind it. So while continuing the endless slaughter, I focused my senses on the lake from which these demon-seafood creatures were pouring—

“—Found it!!”

Thanks to this, exactly 10 minutes after the battle began, I… finally recognized the location of “that thing” causing this incident.

The location was inside the lake, the source of the salty and fishy smell. It was a space where the disgusting scent of demons could be strongly felt, while simultaneously emitting powerful waves of energy.

“Stay here and buy time! I’m going to enter that place now!”

“”—Yes!!””

And so, after a moment’s consideration, I prepared to enter the lake immediately.

From what I could sense, what appeared to be seawater wasn’t even a liquid to begin with, but something like a highly concentrated magical essence, wasn’t it?

Therefore, I had long since abandoned any worry about not being able to breathe after entering the environment. Having made up my mind, I immediately pulled Gus’s reins to guide him into the sea-lake—

【—GUOOOOOOOOO!!!】