episode_0195

“……”

Do you know about matryoshka dolls, the traditional wooden dolls where multiple dolls fit inside one another, each smaller than the last?

They’re so famous that I doubt anyone wouldn’t know their shape.

What I just thought of was exactly a matryoshka. No, how can there be another bug inside a bug?

‘Why didn’t she tell me beforehand?’

Spitting blood from a surge of pointless resentment, I glared at Eileen. Pushed away by me at the last moment, she had at least dodged the front claw’s attack.

But judging by her considerably shocked expression, it seemed even she hadn’t known about this.

I thought Haru, that woman who knew the original story and even predicted the appearance of this demonic beast, would have mentioned its abilities.

It was unexpected. She wouldn’t have deliberately withheld it, would she? Did even she not know the details?

“Keugh…”

I instinctively twisted my body, managing to avoid getting my heart pierced.

Moreover, I was diligently trying to seal the wound and stop the bleeding with my hyper-regeneration ability, but…

It wasn’t easy. This ability could perfectly mend even fatal injuries if given time.

‘…Mana.’

I suspected it was due to the front claw that this bug extended. Just a moment ago, it was a flying insect with no concept of hands or feet.

[Chitter, chittering…]

Anyway, a large amount of mana was flowing from the front claw that had pierced my chest.

Its chittering sound was annoying enough, but its mana was also hindering my regeneration.

“Cough.”

All I could do was hold onto its front claw to prevent it from moving further. Even that made my arms tremble.

“You…!”

Still, it wasn’t a completely meaningless act. Because I held the creature back, a gap opened elsewhere.

Baek Ayun, who had somehow leaped onto the ice tree, took position behind the demonic beast with a fierce expression I’d never seen on her before.

Even while my consciousness was hazy, I moved the branches of the ice tree to support her attack, and she splendidly blew off the back of the demonic beast’s head.

Bang!

A single punch. With a violent explosion that was hard to believe came from such a small fist, the demonic beast’s brain matter and bodily fluids splattered all over Baek Ayun.

But without concern and without letting her guard down, Baek Ayun extended her arm once more.

Considering the possibility of excessive bleeding, she might not be able to pull it out, but it seemed her intention was to sever the demonic beast’s front claw that had pierced my body.

‘No.’

But that was a bad move. Unfortunately, all I could do was warn her with my eyes, and Baek Ayun, moving blindly, didn’t notice my gaze in time.

It was a mere hunch, but a prediction that was bound to be correct.

Splurch!

“…!”

It happened exactly as predicted. From beneath the exploded neck of the demonic beast, a new, even smaller creature emerged.

Just as Baek Ayun, caught off guard, frantically tried to shield herself with mana—

Crash! Gwon Hwang suddenly appeared and struck the demonic beast with a swing of his pot-lid-like palm.

[Screech!]

The demonic beast flew off, scraping Gwon Hwang’s arm with a crunch as it passed.

“…Tsk.”

Red blood gushed, but Gwon Hwang merely clicked his tongue in response.

He immediately scooped up Baek Ayun and flew back towards the ground.

“Grandfa— Father…!”

Baek Ayun tried to resist, but Gwon Hwang merely shook his head firmly.

“The longer you stay here, the more of an obstacle you’ll be.”

“…!”

Baek Ayun’s eyes trembled with a visibly shocked expression, but even to my ears, it was a reasonable statement.

It was easy to say she was Cheongsong’s strongest, but in reality, she wasn’t yet beyond an A-rank Awakener.

Wasn’t it a remarkable achievement that she had managed to burst open another matryoshka (?) doll?

“Kugh…”

Indeed, thanks to that, I found a moment to pull my body free. I pulled out the front claw, which had become half-slough, and prioritized staunching the bleeding.

The third demonic beast that emerged was being dealt with by Eileen, who had regained her senses late.

‘…Yes, it should be at least this much.’

Paradoxically, in this perilous situation, I found myself curling the corners of my lips.

I had been thinking it might be too easy otherwise.

Compared to a potential trap, considering the worst-case scenario where interdimensional demonic beasts might be that intelligent, this situation was much more straightforward.

After all, don’t we just need to deal with that matryoshka until it spits out its last doll?

If so, the solution is simple. Heal the wound and either join Eileen, who was just about to pull out the fourth doll, or…

‘Hmm.’

If the wound wouldn’t seal properly, it would still be meaningful to descend to the ground and support with long-range bombardment alongside Cheon Soyul.

I focused on expelling as much of the demonic beast’s mana as possible, which had spread throughout my body.

Though it had become a bit complicated, I still felt it was quite manageable.

“What are you doing?!”

“?”

It would have been so, if not for the sudden arrival of the white-haired girl.

Eileen and I, in the middle of tearing off the fourth demonic beast’s neck, flinched and turned our heads.

There, a girl whom I presumed to be the Saintess of France, though it was my first time seeing her directly, was looking up at us in shock.

Lucretia Hael, with an expression that said she was going crazy, shrieked.

“It’s not enough to just hold it in one place and seal it, but what are you going to do by continuously shrinking the demonic beast’s body?!”

“…What?”

“That demonic beast, you won’t be able to finish it that way, no matter how many times you kill it and break it apart?!”

I turned to Eileen in surprise. She had just driven a metal shard into the demonic beast’s neck and stopped, now looking back at me with a similar startled expression.

With a strange look, I questioned her with my eyes.

‘Did you not know?’

“…”

Eileen kicked the demonic beast without a word and returned to the ice tree.

On the surface, she seemed calm, but I could tell.

That woman was flustered.

And quite a lot.

“Haa.”

…Anyway, this is why she’s the ‘cult leader who didn’t properly inform me of anything,’ isn’t it?

Gnashing my teeth at Haru inwardly a few times, I drew forth my ice power.

It was difficult to immediately determine the truth of Lucretia’s words. But I figured there was no harm in trusting her for now.

C-c-crackle!

[Screech!]

I trapped the demonic beast—which seemed somewhat weakened, but also as if it were putting on a clumsy act—inside a block of ice.

If I used my full power, I might be able to restrain it for about ten minutes.

“…Hmph.”

Was it because I had just been spitting blood? I felt the mana throughout my body twist as if convulsing, but I forcibly endured it.

“You…!”

Either way, my complexion must have been quite haggard. Immediately after the Saintess’s appearance, Cheon Soyul hastily flew over, stamping her feet, and hugged me.

It wasn’t as if I couldn’t even maintain a flying spell properly and needed to be supported.

‘Hmm…’

Still, as I buried myself in her soft embrace, my fatigue seemed to dissipate a little. It was probably just my imagination, though.

“Goddess, please bestow upon your servant the power to restrain this demon.”

It was then, as I enjoyed a brief rest while being hugged by my wife.

The Saintess, Lucretia, extended her hand forward with a comical declaration.

Though she spoke in such a way, it seemed to actually have an effect. Receiving sparkling light from the sky, she touched the demonic beast.

Flash!

Immediately afterward, a bright light that filled my entire vision converged on the demonic beast I had frozen.

Soon, a white barrier unfolded, along with a hallucination that somehow seemed to shimmer like a cross.

With it already frozen by me, and now with the Saintess’s barrier added, the demonic beast truly seemed unable to move, solidified in that state.

“…That method won’t work. I told you to follow my instructions, didn’t I?”

Around that time, Lucretia parted her lips, her voice low and grave.

Her gaze, which briefly swept over me before glaring at Eileen, was extraordinary.

“No matter how different our stances on the disposal of the core are, splitting the demonic beast like this will ultimately harm everyone… Why don’t you understand, Eileen Lewis?”

“…Hmm.”

At her fiercely growling words, despite her outwardly benevolent appearance, Eileen groaned.

Her complex emotions were clearly displayed on her face. In a way, it seemed like resentment towards Haru, similar to mine.

Perhaps that woman also didn’t know these details, so she might feel wronged?

It was a trivial matter, though.

Anyway, I scratched my cheek, awkwardly stuck between Eileen and Lucretia.

It was then I wanted to ask if everyone intended to keep floating in the sky like this.

“…So…”

Lucretia turned her head towards me. Her expression subtly softened, and her subsequent question was simple.

“Who are you, and where are you from?”

“…”

I immediately stiffened my expression. While I had no intention of uttering arrogant words like, ‘Do you not recognize me?’ an inexplicable playfulness surged within me.

So, I solemnly delivered the most fitting answer that immediately came to mind.

“Yang Chan-ho.”

“…Huh?”

It was the first time Lucretia’s consistently serious expression shattered.

I suppressed the laughter that instinctively tried to burst forth and added another remark.

“That’s right, I am the hero of South Korea… Agh!”

Then Cheon Soyul silently pinched my thigh. When I turned sharply with a “why?” expression, she had buried her face, flushing as if utterly embarrassed by me.

“…Ahem.”

I awkwardly cleared my throat.

Seriously, can’t I crack a joke? How embarrassing.

“Eh, ah, um…?”

Lucretia was still struggling to follow the situation. Her blank expression, turning her head back and forth, somehow reminded me of a meerkat, making her look cute.