Ch.9531. It’s Up to the Other Person (3)

From the massive body, black liquid pours and splatters through the crevices, like blood gushing from an external wound.

‘Why is a vassal here?!’

Bargo’s eyes widened again.

The Five Great Calamities exist in the demon realm.

The Demon World Tree is one of them.

It’s also called the mother of all calamities, an entity, a domain, a concept, and a foundation.

And that thing is a life form created from fragments separated from the Demon World Tree’s body.

No, is it even proper to define that merely as a life form?

If the World Tree of the middle realm bears the alternate name Life Tree, this one named the Demon World Tree in the demon realm is called the Tree of Extinction, the Tree of Death.

And as if to prove this, not a trace of life can be felt from that thing.

Could a rotting, decaying corpse look like that?

What could hardly be called scales are mushy like the bark of a rotten tree.

What could barely be called muscles appear like putrid flesh stripped of skin, blackened and festering.

Looking closely, its form was difficult to describe, resembling thick tree trunks and dead trees tangled together.

Nevertheless, it had facial features and even four distinguishable limbs.

As if to prove it has a front and back, the tail positioned at the rear is unspeakably hideous.

Like a substitute for animal fur, countless branches and vines are so entangled that they cannot be counted, and even those seem to be parasitic to the creature, their placement somewhat misaligned.

Tentacles piercing through its belly, reddish-black moss growing around its eyes, and clusters of gray mushrooms.

The overall color scheme is black, red, dark, and murky.

But when it opened its mouth to roar, there was a reddish vitality inside.

Something in the form of black teeth, and countless tentacles, vines, and branches extending like a substitute for a tongue.

Grr!

Rrr—rik!

And as it lowered its head, scanning the surroundings as if taking something in with its eyes.

It stopped its gaze in one corner.

“What?!”

It’s looking at him.

Bargo felt clear hostility and antagonism from it.

Feeling hostility and antagonism from such a being? It might sound strange, but his intuition was ringing alarm bells.

This is dangerous.

No, he would be fine, but!

“Leave this place immediately!”

Bargo shouted to his subordinates.

As if taking it as a declaration of war, the rotting, decaying earth dragon let out another strange roar.

Then it threw itself forward.

Kuuuung!

As the massive body lunged, the area shook as if hit by an earthquake.

Those who couldn’t dodge or escape in time were swept up in the aftermath, likely buried and killed before they could even scream.

“What sorcery is this?”

Bargo, who had somehow soared into the air and was now looking down at the scene.

He unconsciously cast his gaze to one side.

‘Is there a connection?’

Someone sitting down, staring at this scene in a daze.

A black-haired boy.

But on that face, briefly visible, there seemed to be some degree of preparation, as if he had somewhat anticipated something like this.

“Well, well.”

The earth dragon suddenly raised its head.

It was certain.

That thing was treating him as its target and prey.

What was the reason for this?

‘Is it trying to protect?’

Is this vassal, torn from the Demon World Tree, trying to protect that boy now?

Or is it expressing anger toward him for trying to harm the boy?

He couldn’t tell exactly, but at least the reason seemed clear.

‘Well then.’

He might as well test it.

No matter how threatening that thing might be…

…this isn’t the demon realm.

This applies to himself as well, but Bargo had already completed a long period of adaptation to this place.

The different air.

The different energy permeating the entire world requires long-term adaptation.

This world itself is like poison to them.

No.

Originally, the demon realm environment itself was a space made of poison and malice.

We were born and raised in such a place.

Consuming and accepting air, sunlight, and food that would be considered deadly poison here as if it were natural.

Why did the Demon King’s army prioritize realm erosion and demonification during the invasion?

It’s the same principle as establishing a nest and building territory in a remote place.

For those who haven’t adapted, even enduring this place is torment.

Emotions aren’t controlled, and consciousness, mind, and soul aren’t regulated by the laws of reason.

Breathing, seeing, hearing—everything is free.

Uncontrollable emotions and desires.

It’s like a rampage.

Having no restrictions, being uncontrolled.

It means being unrestrained.

In other words, it’s chaos and disorder.

What would clearly be a blessing becomes evil and poison to them.

…Though it’s nothing once you adapt.

Also, the mana overflowing here is different from demonic power.

Similar yet different.

And those who cannot adapt to it.

Become addicted to it, weaken, and collapse.

“The same would apply to you.”

If that rotting thing is decaying even in the demon realm, it couldn’t possibly adapt to this world.

In other words, the time it can remain active here won’t be very long.

But.

…Even with a short time, it could easily wreak havoc and force catastrophic damage on the area.

This has become troublesome.

If they’re not careful, they might be blamed for causing this.

If that happens, even countries that had been responding passively would likely make every effort to deal with the Empire and themselves.

‘If this was intentional, it’s truly a cunning ploy.’

But that can’t be.

It’s impossible.

Even the Demon King had to risk his life to cross worlds.

To summon something like this here?

Without contracts? Rituals? Any procedures?

Or did they make suitable preparations without our knowledge?

There were no signs of that, were there?

‘No.’

Now is not the time to think.

Is it because he’s risen to a position where he must lead others?

He’s developed a very bad habit.

‘Right now.’

Bargo’s body descended.

The sight was like a hawk diving toward its prey after spotting it.

His target was exactly where Kariel was sitting.

And.

As if sensing this, the earth dragon lunged forward.

If that appearance seemed like it was desperately trying to protect him… was that just a simple illusion?

Despite its massive size, it responds with surprising agility.

But since its response was a moment too late.

It could only forcibly throw its body to react to Bargo’s descent.

The rotting fabric surged up, and black bodily fluid painted the sky like blood.

Grrrr!

With a sound like a bubbling swamp, the earth dragon twisted its body once.

Bargo’s body, which had pierced through it and emerged into the air, was surprisingly normal.

This was likely because the red lightning enveloping his entire body was circling around him like full-body armor.

Kuung!

The earth dragon crashed to the ground a moment later.

As its tail swept across the area, most of those nearby were terrified and hurriedly retreated.

It was fortunate that the top of the fourth layer was relatively spacious; otherwise, it would have fallen below long ago, turning the entire village into chaos.

With just a few rolls of its body, it could easily devastate the residential areas of the village.

And just for inflicting wounds on such a creature, that commander must be quite formidable.

“I don’t think we should stay here like this?!”

At the moment that thing appeared, Luirin and Leo’s group were already rushing toward Kariel.

But the pressure emanating from the earth dragon was an overwhelming threat and violence, too much for ant-sized humans to handle.

However, the target of that rotting dragon, or whatever it was modeled after—a lizard perhaps—seemed to be that monstrous commander.

Even so, it was impossible to ignore it, as even the bodily fluids, vines, or bark-like pieces it shed couldn’t be taken lightly.

In fact, some of the fallen pieces wriggled as if alive, suddenly extending stems and forming shapes similar to beasts or humans.

With these monsters? Demons? Multiplying exponentially in an instant, responding and advancing was quite arduous.

“Why did something like that suddenly appear?!”

Luciri shouted, creating a gust of wind in desperation.

From her gloved black hands, a verdant wind leaked out.

It soon spread throughout her body, enveloping and sweeping through the surroundings.

Naturally, the abundant fur attached to the hem of her dress swayed like the mane of a living beast.

“We’ll figure that out later!”

Leo swung his sword with surprising agility.

Though he didn’t seem to have learned much, he was clearly accustomed to combat itself, cutting down the approaching monsters without hesitation or mercy.

“Ugh! My hands feel gross!”

The monsters that exploded from Luirin’s strikes.

However, they sprayed a black liquid, like sap or bodily fluid, making not only the surroundings but also Luirin herself a mess.

“My divination was uneasy! Was it because of that? What kind of calamity is this?!”

Deike was intercepting approaching enemies one by one with a small crossbow that he had drawn from somewhere.

Kieek!

The arrows seemed to have a special effect, as monsters hit by them immediately began smoking and burning.

From there.

Luciri’s wind carried the sparks, suddenly shooting flames through the air.

As the radiating flames rode the wind and became a storm sweeping through the surroundings, most of the monsters caught in it were suddenly engulfed in flames and screamed.

“This is why magic is amazing!”

“Move instead of talking!”

Luciri snapped, dismissing Deike’s exclamation.

When a monster moved roughly, Luciri would create wind to delay its movement.

Conversely, she would assist allies by pushing their backs as they leaped, or accelerating their weapons, making it easy to solve problems of insufficient strength and response.

Defense? Just don’t get hit.

While wind couldn’t block an attack, it could deflect or delay it.

Luciri was demonstrating remarkably skillful wind application in this regard.

And Leo and Deike, moving with these assists in mind, were eliminating and eradicating surrounding enemies as if flying.

While the earth dragon continued to check and push Bargo, Luirin and Leo’s group of four somehow managed to reach Kariel.

“Are you alright?”

“Master? Are you hurt?”

“……”

Kariel just nodded slightly while sitting and breathing.

He looked so critically ill that it seemed he might die at any moment even if left alone.

His complexion was completely drained of blood, looking extremely pale, and he appeared to lack even the strength to stand up.

So… he fought that guy in this condition.

That small giant who was driving away the hideous earth dragon was also sweeping away the earth dragon’s creatures that rushed at him.

Even farmers during harvest time couldn’t reap crops this readily.

That was not a wolf among sheep but a wolf among ants.

“Do you know why that suddenly appeared?”

Luciri asked just in case, but Kariel was in no condition to respond.

Even if he had been, it’s questionable whether he would have answered.

“We’ll figure that out later, for now we should leave this area…”

As Leo said this and tried to grab Kariel’s body.

Abruptly, Kariel grabbed his forearm.

“……”

As if he had just regained consciousness.

His golden-tinged eyes were staring at Leo with intense will.