Chapter 37
Chapter 37
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Screams from Underground (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Well, we'll see what comes up if we keep killing them."
"Grroooaaarrr!!"
The cave giants roared in unison. Ronan, gripping La Mancha, charged forward.
There was no need to hesitate now that he knew the sword's power. Ronan surged straight ahead and swung his blade. The legs of the lead giant were severed clean from its body.
"Grro...!"
The legless giant's body toppled forward. Ronan kicked off its collapsing back, leaping up to land on the shoulder of the giant right behind it. Slash. La Mancha traced a circle in the air, and the giant's head hit the ground.
Thud!
"Grroooaaargh!"
Blood spurted from the clean cross-section. The giants on either side roared in fury and swung their fists. Ronan leaped straight up, dodging the attack. Boom! The two massive fists collided in midair.
'They really look like utter shit.'
Had he been hit, he would've been pulverized beyond recognition—but he wasn't, so it didn't matter. Pondering left or right, Ronan chose the uglier left giant and ran up its arm.
Slash! La Mancha drew another arc. A yellowish line appeared across the giant's face from its nose upward, and the top half fell away. The giant staring at its comrade's halved face bulged its eyes wide.
"Gr... Grrogrr?"
"What're you staring at?"
Ronan spun quickly, thrusting at the right giant's eyeball. Splurt! A murky liquid gushed from the bisected orb.
"Gr, grroooaaargh!!"
A scream of agony burst from the giant's maw. Even cutting through rock-hard flesh parted like water. And this was without mana reinforcement.
The blinded giant clutched at its eye. Ronan's arm shot forward. Stab! La Mancha pierced through its fingers, scrambled its brain, and withdrew.
"Gurok."
The soulless body began to tilt. Less than a minute had passed. The blood-soaked blade gleamed ominously. Ronan glanced at the other giants and said,
"You'd think this would scare you guys by now. Not even a little afraid?"
He was starting to think this unnecessary slaughter wasn't worth it. Honestly, Ronan had hoped scaring them would make them flee. As if in response, the giants bellowed and charged wildly.
"Grroooaaarrrgh!!"
Ronan sighed. They clearly had no intention of stopping. He leaped toward another giant, muttering,
"Fine, if that's how you want it."
A serpentine trail of elegant sword strikes followed. As always, it didn't take long to finish the job.
"Whoa, that's wild. It works like this too."
Ronan dipped the tip of La Mancha into the pool of blood at his feet. The puddle shrank rapidly as a hazy vapor rose along the blade.
Behind him lay the mangled corpses of cave giants strewn everywhere. Surveying the carnage, Ronan shrugged.
"So, what were these guys even after in the end?"
"...What the hell are you?"
Doron gaped at Ronan in disbelief. Steam rose faintly from his blood-drenched form.
It was unbelievable. Ronan hadn't touched the ground once while massacring twenty-six giants. It was like watching a bird of prey hunt.
"Hey, doesn't this thing come with a sheath? Carrying it on my back like this feels like it'll slice my ass off."
Ronan swung the now fully blood-sated La Mancha through the air. A whistling sound like a ghost's wail echoed. Doron finally snapped out of it and spoke.
"Ah... We'll have to make a new sheath. Sorry, but bear with me a bit."
"Why remake it?"
"I left the finishing touches to another old codger's workshop, and these bastards busted in. It shouldn't be broken, but it's probably buried deep under the rubble."
"Hmm... Well, we made it once; we'll dig it up later. Anyway, what were you saying earlier?"
"What I was saying? Right, good memory."
Ronan nodded. Those rock-brained idiots had interrupted before Doron could finish. Still staring at the surreal slaughter, Doron continued.
"I'm thinking... maybe the cave giants' king has appeared."
"King?"
"Yeah. King, chieftain, whatever—their leader. The way they've gathered in such numbers is odd, and their actions today showed real coordination."
"Eh, isn't that jumping to conclusions?"
"Probably. But as you know, us dwarves have the most contact with underground monsters."
Doron shared the oral tales passed down among dwarves about the cave giants' king. A king several times larger than ordinary cave giants, dwelling deep underground and ruling their kingdom.
"So, the mine attacks and dozens following to the forge—that was all the rock king's doing?"
"Can't say for sure, but nothing else fits. I've never seen or heard of anything like this..."
Ronan stroked his chin. It sounded absurd yet plausible. Hell, winged baldies would descend and wreck the world in a decade—what was so hard to believe?
"Perfect. Then I'll follow where these guys came from. Kill the king or whatever, and this shit stops."
"W-Wait...! Why not hold off? You called for people, right?"
"That's exactly why I'm going now. No idea who that girl called, but no one would let a student dive alone into a monster-infested underground."
He'd realized it from their earlier charge: cave giants couldn't coexist with anything.
Resolved, Ronan stretched. He scooped giant blood on his finger and smeared it on Didikan's nose.
The blood reeked of sulfur. Didikan twitched, convulsed, and woke.
"Grahhh! Huuuh...! W-What?! What smell is th—"
"Didikan. Can you move? No—you have to."
"Ronan? Ugh... Damn it. What the hell happened? Why are there more bodies?"
Didikan clutched his head like a hungover wreck. Ronan gave a quick rundown. Hearing about hunting the giants' king out of nowhere, Didikan scowled.
"What the hell's that? A king?"
"Beats me. I'll handle it. You head up with old man Doron. Sita can heal most wounds if you ask."
"Sita?"
"You saw her. The black, shady-looking one."
"Ah."
Didikan nodded. He eyed a cave giant's head rolling at his feet with disgust. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Wait, Ronan."
"What?"
"What's this?"
Didikan nudged the head with his foot. Squinting at the back of the skull, he pointed.
"This."
"What is it?"
Ronan narrowed his eyes. A faint, glowing rune-like marking was etched there, utterly out of place.
"They got tattoos too?"
"Doesn't feel like it. Something's off... Hold on."
Didikan checked the other corpses. Same mark on each, in different spots.
His werewolf instincts screamed warning. Grimacing, Didikan called Doron.
"Doron, come look at this."
"Hm?"
Doron waddled over and examined the mark. Stroking it with his wrinkled hand, he said,
"This... No idea. Looks like magic, but..."
"Magic?"
"Yeah. But what kind? No clue. It was on the giants' bodies?"
Ronan nodded. Doron tugged his beard, then shook his head. Even after centuries, he'd never seen it.
Mysteries were piling up. Ronan cursed.
"Damn, making me more curious. I'll be back."
"You'd go anyway. Be careful."
"Yeah, Ronan. This feels off."
"No worries. With this, what've I got to fear?"
Ronan waved La Mancha. He saw them off, then headed deeper. Soon, a massive tunnel sloped downward, fresh with giant tracks.
"Cave king next, now mystery magic."
The eerie passage held only darkness. Distant water dripped.
Should've grabbed a torch.Wonder if everyone's safe by now. Ronan pondered as he walked.
How much time passed? His view widened into a vast chamber. Ronan stopped. A subterranean wonder dwarfing Gran Cappadocia unfolded before him.
"This is... incredible."
The space stretched endlessly. Ronan gawked around, dazed.
Glowing moss in every color blanketed the distant walls and ceiling. It felt less like a cave, more like being tossed into a starry night sky.
A stream flowed from somewhere. Strange flying creatures—bird? Insect?—fluttered about. Giant mushrooms dangled tentacles like jellyfish.
The underground sky hosted its own ecosystem. A real village could thrive here, not just a forge.
'Do the rock people's kingdom actually exist?'
Ronan stepped forward slowly. The damp floor bore countless fresh giant footprints. Hidden? Or did he kill them all? Either way, they'd gathered here recently.
'No, something's wrong.
Ronan grunted. All tracks were fresh. A kingdom should've had older traces. He theorized:
Giants patrolling the depths gathered here briefly. Then moved en masse to Gran Cappadocia. As if under orders.
"Oof!"
Staring at the ground, Ronan's forehead bumped something. Cursing, he looked up at a yellow crystal wall.
It curved gently upward. What the hell's this in the middle of the chamber? Casually scanning it—
"Fuck."
Ronan gasped and staggered back, nearly dropping his hilt.
Not a wall. A giant, body encased in crystal, crouched. Ronan had mistaken its back for stone.
Its size dwarfed normal cave giants. Even crouched, unfolding would be unimaginable.
But something was off. Ronan tilted his head.
'...Dead?'
It didn't move. No heartbeat, no sulfurous giant breath.
What is this? A cave giant? As Ronan leaned in—
A voice echoed from across the chamber.
"A problem?"
"Not sure. But connection to the last subject severed."
"Damn it, now what? No giants left."
"Doesn't matter. Facility's destruction confirmed."
Ronan instinctively hid his presence. Pressed to the giant, he crept toward the voices. Soon, a man and woman came into view.
"Fine then. The Empire's metallurgy and smelting will stagnate hard."
"Likely regress. Most artisans dead."
'Who the fuck are these guys?'
Ronan frowned, eavesdropping. Both human-sized. Woman in a stark white robe, man in armor.
The robe was odd—hood covering to her nose, like a reaper from a fairy tale. She raised a palm, cutting him off.
"Hold on."
"Hm? What?"
"Intruder."
"Intruder? Mana wards detected nothing."
"Sulfur smell. Right there."
She nodded toward Ronan. The armored man tilted his head.
"Really? Can't smell it."
"Wait. I'll check."
"Nah. Fireball'll show us."
The man raised his arm and chanted. A fireball shot straight at Ronan.
"Such bullshit...!"
Ronan rolled aside, cursing. The fireball hit the giant, exploding thunderously. Seeing him, the man whistled.
"Whoa, something was there."
"Quick movements. Don't let him escape."
"Got it. Fire Wall."
As Ronan turned—the inferno erupted, boxing him in. The man approached slowly.
"Who're you?"
"...That's my question. What're a man and woman doing alone down here?"
"Heh, cheeky brat. Don't like you."
The man snapped his fingers. The fire walls closed in. Mushrooms and moss crackled and popped.
"What to do? Kill him?"
"Many questions, but... yeah."
"Right. Petty errors like this could delay the Stars' Descent."
"What?"
Ronan's eyes widened. His heart raced at the phrase. Hearing him, they turned.
"What, kid? Last words?"
"What'd you say?"
"Hm?"
"Stars' Descent—what's that mean?"
They exchanged glances. The woman shook her head. The man scratched his neck, eyeing Ronan.
"Loose lips... Regrettable, but can't answer that. You're dying anyway—say something else."
He shook his head wistfully. Ronan gripped his hilt. Breath quickened. An excited voice slipped out.
"No. You will answer. Both of you, come with me."
"Grab me?"
The man scoffed. This guy's hilarious. Before he could speak, Ronan vanished. The severed fire walls flickered in the dark.
The man's eyes bulged. A voice whispered in his ear.
"Yeah."
Ronan reappeared between them. Thud. The man's left arm hit the ground.