Ch.78Chapter 78. Warp Gate (3)

Chapter 78. Warp Gate (3)

I was contemplating whether to invest the magic stones I currently had in the warp gate.

Denzo, Kanto’s aide, carefully entered the altar and delivered news.

“A demon has settled in Tibera. It doesn’t seem like an ordinary one.”

Tibera. The region that the dark cloud demon had turned into a wasteland while trying to capture Abraham.

This is bad news in two ways.

First, Tibera is located right next to Symphonia, where our tribal federation headquarters is.

Second, we were planning to subjugate the next region after crossing Tibera, but now that path is blocked.

– What kind of demon is it?

“According to the scouts, it has no form… like a shadow. They say it seeps into the ground and crawls around.”

I’m not sure what kind of demon it is.

Gorilla, leopard, moth, spider, caterpillar, and so on.

The demons I’ve killed so far had animal forms.

But a shadow? Moving by seeping into the ground?

…The dark cloud demon also didn’t have an animal form, but rather the shape of dark clouds.

– It could possibly be a high-ranking demon.

We need to assume the worst-case scenario.

“A high-ranking demon…”

Everyone mulls over my words with serious expressions.

– I need to check it out.

I’m just as frustrated as everyone else.

It hasn’t been that long since we caught the tunnel demon, and now this thing pops up.

***

I dragged the insect-human and modified gladiator corpses I’d collected from the Imperial Arena in Polaris to Tibera.

These are corpses with their internal organs removed, preserved in salt, and stored in jars to halt decomposition.

They might be better described as mummies.

I had kept a few for research and zombie purposes, and now they’re coming in handy.

While I wanted to know what kind of demon this shadow was, I didn’t want to sacrifice tribal federation warriors to find out.

For tasks like this, it’s best to use disposable resources like zombies.

– Stop here.

“Understood.”

Lakye, who had been pulling the cart alone, approached the jars loaded on the cart while holding Totem #3.

I used Lakye, the most agile member of our tribal federation, as a delivery person—no, as transportation.

Even the monster spirit Tteunteuni, who had become incredibly strong, couldn’t carry more than three adults.

I checked the creatures huddled inside the jars and awakened them as zombies.

“Uuurgh…”

One beetle, one grasshopper, and one gladiator.

I deliberately brought one flying unit, one with good mobility, and one sturdy unit.

– Keep watch from here.

Since Lakye has good eyesight, he might be able to see the creature even from here.

I led the three zombies into Tibera.

A barren land soaked in demonic energy greeted me. It was filled with dead trees and withered plants.

This place is so vast—how am I supposed to find it?

If it were a huge creature like the tunnel demon, it would be easier to find.

I’m suddenly curious.

Are demon ranks determined by size?

The lower-rank, middle-rank, and the tunnel demon that was trying to evolve from middle to high-rank all had different sizes.

Lower-ranks were 2-3 meters, middle-ranks were 4-7 meters, and the tunnel demon was a whopping 30 meters.

From what I’ve observed so far, the larger they are, the higher their rank and the stronger they are.

Of course, these are just ranks I’ve temporarily assigned.

In the animal world on Earth, weight class is king.

No matter how strong tigers or lions are, they can’t defeat brother elephant.

One heavy kick from an elephant would probably break all their limbs.

Humans can overcome this weight disadvantage because they have cheating weapons like guns, but generally, the bigger you are, the stronger you are.

But what if demons also have tools similar to guns?

What if there are demons that can use cheating abilities to overturn the advantage that comes with size?

This is just a thought that occurred to me.

We might lose a lot if we underestimate something just because it’s small, so let’s consider this possibility.

I don’t think demons were able to bring about the end of the world simply because they were big.

There must have been something else. Some powerful means, like nuclear weapons.

– …!

After walking for about 10 minutes, the demonic energy suddenly became much denser.

So dense that the surroundings became hazy, as if covered in fog.

I moved carefully, not letting my guard down.

As it became as dark as night, I sent the beetle into the sky.

Even though it was a withered, mummy-like beetle zombie, it could still fly by continuously flapping its wings.

Is it spewing demonic energy to dominate Tibera?

I’ve never seen a being that emits such dense demonic energy in all directions.

I’ve only seen one creature capable of dominating an entire region.

The dark cloud demon.

I used the beetle zombie to penetrate deeper into the darkness of the demonic energy.

Even sunlight was no longer visible.

Huh, what’s this?

[Control is no longer possible.]

The signals from the other two zombies were cut off. Both of them, in an instant.

Has it started attacking?

Just as I was trying to fly higher,

Black spikes shot up from the ground and pierced through the beetle zombie’s body.

Shhhk-!

I tried to escape, but it was impossible due to the follow-up spikes.

It became like an insect pinned to a styrofoam board.

Laughter echoed from somewhere.

A deep, extremely vile and evil laugh.

Four green glowing eyes and irregularly protruding sharp teeth.

Crunch-!

That was the last sight seen through the beetle zombie’s eyes.

– The shadow demon is…

After transferring my consciousness to Totem #3, I relayed the information to Lakye.

“So it is a high-ranking demon.”

Lakye looks at Tibera with concerned eyes.

– Can you see it?

I had to rely on Lakye’s superhuman vision.

“No. The demonic energy makes it hard to see. The energy is… spreading little by little. Very slowly, but definitely expanding.”

This is the worst.

After consuming all of Tibera with demonic energy, it will come for our Symphonia.

Even if we trained our Japanese paladin, Noah, in demonic energy blocking skills, he wouldn’t be able to block such dense energy.

The situation has changed.

This is no time to save magic stones just to control a few metal golems.

The warp gate—we should open it.

***

I relayed this information to the leadership, and we decided to open the warp gate.

“The warp gate is open!”

Harry, who had been holed up in the sewers for days tinkering with the warp gate and magic stones, delivered the good news.

Finally.

“The warp gate has a mass limit. Only five people can cross over.”

Five, huh.

Lakye, Paya, Harry, Luna, and Noah.

If it’s five, I’ll take them.

Kanto needs to stay as the commander, and Muri and Rachel aren’t combat-ready.

The newly joined chiefs and priests aren’t that strong.

Paya can now summon Tteunteuni, so it would be good to bring her along.

– These five will do.

“Um, am I going too?”

Whining again.

Noah reached level 3 in the last battle and learned the “Celestial Shield” skill.

Now he can summon a shield that can block any attack for 10 seconds.

He must come with us.

Ignoring Noah’s whining, I called the party members who would go through the warp gate to the sewer.

“Now step into the magic circle.”

The 5-person party, including Totem #3, stood inside the warp gate’s magic circle.

Harry mutters an incantation.

The five bodies were enveloped in light.

Our vision went dark momentarily, then the scenery changed.

We were transported to the middle of a brick corridor.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a demon-infested lair.

The corridor was taller than the underground laboratory.

“Tteunteuni should be able to move here. Should I summon him?”

Since we don’t know when a battle might start, it’s good to summon him in advance.

– Go ahead.

“Tteunteuni!”

Squeak!

Our party walked down the corridor with the summoned Tteunteuni.

After walking for about 10 minutes, we came across a massive door engraved with a magic circle.

I was just contemplating whether to have Harry open it or just break it down.

The door opened automatically with a creaking sound.

– Let’s go.

A dark auditorium greeted us, but as we stepped forward, lights came on one by one, brightening the space.

[Welcome, visitors from Symphonia, to my secret vault!]

Oh, that startled me.

Suddenly, a hologram of a teenage girl appeared above us.

She looked like a mischievous girl.

[My name is Beatrice, the Seven-Colored Magician.]

A confidently smiling girl. Does she think everyone will know her just by her name and title?

“…It seems to be the residual consciousness of the great magician Beatrice. A figure from 200 years ago.”

Harry spoke as he looked at the girl who introduced herself as Beatrice.

Residual consciousness. Well, I guess she left part of her consciousness or soul behind through magical means.

But why does she appear as a kid? Is this her childhood appearance?

This great magician has quite a unique taste.

[Why such gloomy faces? You’ve been given the opportunity to inherit my knowledge and become the greatest magicians in the current Empire. You could show a bit more joy.]

The hologram tilts her head, seeing our blank expressions.

Hmm, the Empire.

“The Empire has fallen.”

Harry, exchanging glances with the party members, conveyed the truth.

[…What?]

Beatrice’s mouth falls open.