Andras (2)
I had subdued a pair of Andras, one male and one female. The ones I’d already killed were beyond saving, but these two appeared to be high-ranking specimens, evidenced by the tiny wings sprouting from their backs.
Target identified: 2-Star entity.
It was a clear mark of evolution. The bird-brained humans had undoubtedly evolved into bird-brained winged humans, and that evolutionary symbol was proof of a dungeon’s influence.
"Master." Eila approached with a grim expression, having been monitoring the state of the village. Behind her stood the horse-hunter who had known the location of this place.
"They... they're all dead."
"I figured as much."
It was rare to find a place like this, where people with some actual experience—like a hunter's village—gathered. Most slash-and-burn farmers were just people hiding away to avoid war and taxes.
"You look like you have something you want to say."
"Yes... I would like to give them a proper burial."
"The humans?" I scanned the corpses. The state of their remains was so gruesome it was hard to put into words. Every single one of their faces was twisted in agony.
"......"
It was the opposite of what I’d thought. The Andras hadn't just scavenged the bodies; they had pecked open the bellies of the living to tear out their entrails. The pain must have been so intense that they’d died of shock.
"......Damn it."
If they had been the ones attacking my dungeon, I wouldn't care, but seeing innocent people die like this left a bitter taste in my mouth.
'Honestly, I’d rather just leave them and take the loot.'
The village had quite a few decent tools. I wanted to grab those and the two captured Andras, but the expressions on Eila and the other horse-hunters were sour. 'Think of it as paying for the goods, I suppose.'
"Gather them in one spot. I’ll dig the hole."
"Thank you, Master."
The four humans moved quickly, dragging the bodies to the village square. I took the only shovel in the village and began digging.
"Master, what should I do?"
"Find some rope or tree vines and bind those two up tight."
"Understood."
Ryun left immediately to find suitable restraints. She used rope found in the village's communal warehouse to bind the Andras' arms and legs, tying them up in a way that made them easy to carry.
"Ryun."
"Yes?"
"Where did you learn to tie knots like that?"
"It's how we capture prisoners in the Elf village! We're taught to bind intruders this way until we can bring them before the Elders."
"Hmm..."
Those Elf Elders were undoubtedly perverts who satisfied their dark desires in secret. Otherwise, there was no reason why female prisoners would be bound in precise shibari, or why male prisoners would be tied to accentuate their genitals. Unless Ryun was an anomaly, the Elf culture itself was likely a cesspool of twisted, repressed sexual desires.
'Unless Ryun and Luna are just weird.'
If I ever raided an Elf village, I’d have to make sure to put the Elders to work on a waterwheel. I used my enhanced physique to dig a hole large enough for twenty people.
"All done."
"Yes..."
The hunters' expressions were far from good. Seeing their own kind eaten by monsters was a sight that forced them to confront some heavy thoughts. 'Though their own comrades were eaten by my subordinates, too.'
Maybe now that their bellies were full and they were safe, they were starting to care about such things. Just as I was about to give them a sharp word, the horse-hunters slid the bodies into the pit without hesitation.
"What's this? No expressions of mourning?"
"They're dead, Master. We were just thinking that if we hadn't pledged our loyalty to you, we would have ended up just like them."
"Is that so?"
It seemed they felt more relief at having survived than grief for their kin. I felt unnecessarily awkward at their nonchalance.
"Hmm..."
Eila was frowning as she rolled the bodies into the pit. She seemed bothered by something, so I approached her carefully.
"Does this bother you, too?"
"No. Since we cannot cremate them, burying them is the least we can do. I would have liked to give them individual graves, but..."
"That won't do. It would take too long."
"Yes. We cannot stay here forever."
Eila placed the final body into the pit. They were all lying at an angle, backs against the slope of the hole. Their faces were still twisted, as if they were still filled with resentment and pain.
"...Damn it, really."
Feeling uneasy, I stepped into the pit and brushed my hand over their faces. My fingers, stained with the blood of monsters and men, closed their eyelids, and soon the twenty corpses looked as if they were weeping red tears.
"Tsk, to be attacked by such monsters of all things."
"What were you planning to do with them originally?"
"The same thing. Capture them all, and if they become slaves to our dungeon, they live. If they refuse, I raise my fist."
My plans to expand the village had gone up in smoke. I used the shovel to cover the pit with dirt. With all my buffs applied, it took less than thirty minutes to fill it completely.
"Let's pack up and leave. The goods are ownerless now, anyway."
"Hmm..."
Eila seemed to have something else on her mind.
"Why?"
"No, it's just... I thought it might be better to offer a prayer before we leave."
"A prayer?"
"It feels wrong to just take everything, so I thought we should pray to the Goddess and comfort the souls of the dead."
I doubted scavengers usually called upon the Goddess when looting corpses, but for the sake of the four humans' mental health, I clasped my hands together.
"Rest in peace. Amen. Sleep well in the afterlife. May you be born into a more comfortable life in your next one."
And don't be born as an Orc. I swallowed the last part and bowed my head. The other humans—even Ryun—were startled.
"What? Why?"
"No, Master. You... you weren't praying to the Goddess, were you?"
"Why would I pray to a Goddess I've never even seen?"
"Hup."
The hunters covered their mouths. Eila nodded with a heavy expression.
"...I understand, Master. You are of the Demon King's lineage. The Goddess is the one who watches over the Human Alliance. I failed to realize that the object of your prayers might be different. Please forgive me."
"No, there's no need for that. Do humans really believe in the Goddess?"
"Yes. Even the Elves believe. The Goddess Church."
"I didn't know that."
The Goddess Church, huh? "I'll believe if she increases my gacha rates."
"Pardon?"
"I'm a follower of the Great Success Church."
If believing in the Goddess could increase my odds by even 1%, I’d bow to her three times a day, facing every cardinal direction. "Now, let's take these two and head back."
"Are we going back?"
"Yes. Just getting these two is a huge achievement."
Know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. I hoisted the Andras onto my hips. "Heh, even the name is so explicit... Keuhup-keuhup."
Andras. One of the 72 demons of Solomon. I remembered them being the 63rd-ranked demon. If I could extract information from these two, I’d likely find the confirmation I was looking for.
'The Andras Dungeon.' Just like Forneus, the Andras' dungeon must have opened nearby. 'Raiding another dungeon is way more profitable than looting a slash-and-burn village.'
And I would raid the owner of that dungeon, the so-called beauty, [Andras], as well.
"Hehehe."
"Ah, that's the laugh you make when you're thinking about a new woman, Master."
"......."
How did she know? Ryun was smiling brightly at me, but that smile felt chilling.
"Master, let's hurry back and have dinner!"
"Y-yeah."
I carried the two Andras, while the horse-hunters and Eila gathered clothes and various tools.
"What should we do about that one?" The horse-hunter pointed to the Andras whose head was buried in the dirt. Even though a bird-brain was inside, the exterior was undeniably a naked man and woman.
"Hmm..."
My hands were still slightly sticky with blood. I set the two Andras down on the ground.
"We should leave a warning."
I wrote a suitable message on the corpses of the Andras so that if a scout from the Andras dungeon ever came by, they would report it to their master without fail.
"That's just like you, Master."
"Right?"
"So, when are you going to eat me?"
"Your level is still too low."
Ryun's level had only increased by 1 during this scouting mission.
Evolve Ryun (★★☆☆☆)
📍 Expected Result: High Elf (★★★☆☆)
🎁 Condition: Reach Lv 35 (23 / 35)
She still had a long way to go to reach level 35 for her 3-star evolution. "So, be patient. Understand?"
"Hing..." Ryun just licked her lips while staring at my crotch. Eila, standing nearby, approached me with a flushed face.
"M-Master. What about my evolution...?"
"You can't evolve anymore."
"What? Is it because I'm human?!"
"No, you can't evolve, but being reborn is possible."
For Eila, who had been reborn as a member of the dungeon through Solomon's system and my grace, there was only one path of growth left. "When we get back, I'll put it inside you one more time."
"......Thank you."
A 6-star Ryun and a 6-star Eila. I welcomed the two Andras as 'prisoners' of our dungeon to prepare for the invasion of the Andras dungeon, the place that would become the stepping stone for Ryun and Eila's growth.
* * *
Back at the dungeon, I first threw the Andras into the prison cells. They still hadn't regained consciousness. After much deliberation, I decided to mess with the female Andras.
'Just close your eyes and do it!'
If I didn't look at her head, her body was a masterpiece of feminine curves. Thanks to Ryun's shibari, her body parts were accentuated in just the right way, enough to stimulate my new sadistic urges.
Flutter. The palm-sized wings on the Andras' back twitched. Realizing she was slowly regaining consciousness, I touched those wings immediately.
As expected. The Andras' wings were indeed an erogenous zone, and thanks to the restraints, I could confirm her detailed information. And as expected, the Andras were minions of [Andras].
'She created a race named after herself.' The demon Andras must have created new monsters based on her own name. Forneus was a pervert who only kept beautiful races in her core, and I had seen the races that were mercilessly torn apart in that process.
'Bitch.' Every time Forneus eliminated and devoured them, she would call me in to watch with my own eyes. Calling me in under the guise of being a tribal chief, only to eliminate "ugly monsters" in front of me—it was clearly meant to mock and torment me.
'That's why I have to get stronger.' As an individual, as a dungeon master, and as the future Great Chief who would lead the Kumcheoku tribe.
"So, you're going to have to exert yourself."
I grabbed the rope binding the Andras and lifted her. Thanks to Ryun's tight knots, she was brought out of the cell without the restraints loosening.
'The chance of escape increases outside the cell, but that's fine.'
"Master, what about dinner?"
Ryun, Eila, and the others, including my daughters, were gathered together to eat. The steaming stew had been made by boiling Slime Dragon fluids for a long time in a deep pot looted from the village.
"Ugh."
They had made it with the ingredients Ryun and Eila had on hand, but could that really be called food? I was conflicted.
"Papa, you aren't going to make us eat this while you eat that, are you?" Meari pointed to the Andras in my hand. I felt guilty and couldn't answer. I couldn't tell them in front of everyone that I was going to eat the Andras separately for effective information gathering.
Kkeureureuk. Lime ladled some stew into a bowl and handed it to me. As someone who needed Lime's help, I had no choice but to accept the bowl.
Slurp.
"Is it delicious?!"
"......It has a very unique flavor."
That day, I realized why I kept begging them to have dinner with me, or asking for a private meal for two. Lesson of the day: Don't boil jelly on purpose.