Onion (2)
Onion (2)
After the initial ambush, several more waves of monsters poured down in quick succession.
The first wave had been large, but the second and third were even larger.
The wasteland before the fortress walls ran with rivers of blood.
I observed more. Beneath the wasteland, the thick, dead soil was greedily drinking the blood.
The blood that couldn't be absorbed pooled on the surface.
I pressed the bridge of my nose lightly.
I couldn't smell the acrid iron tang. The only scent that reached me was the one steeped into my clothes—the faint, cherished scent of someone precious.
But the sight of the crimson rivers pooled across the ground evoked the smell of blood all the same.
'A Demon Realm.'
A place where devils nest.
That's what they've called them since the old days.
There was simply no other way to describe them, they say.
A Demon Realm is a place where a dungeon has melted into the world.
Dungeons expand endlessly. They cause outbreaks, swallow the surrounding land, isolate it, consolidate their power, then use that accumulated power to cause another outbreak and expand again.
Most dungeons that repeat this process are eventually subjugated at some point.
...In the past, they couldn't be.
In the era right after the Great Cataclysm struck, the world was so mired in chaos that merely clinging to life was an overwhelming struggle.
Few had the luxury to worry about mysterious dungeons.
There were many regions where dungeons were left unchecked. Africa, in particular, ended up being completely consumed by dungeons on a continental scale.
That is how the Demon Realms were formed.
- Grrrgle!
Bubbles boiled up from one river of blood. Fragments of mana and innate talent slowly gathered there.
- Kreuk, keeeek!
A monster pulled itself up from within the blood.
Crimson hide, wings made of blood sprouting from its back. A monster born right then and there, on the spot.
'They keep spawning.'
Before the figures lined up on the fortress walls could move, I flicked my finger. Crunch! A spike shot up and pierced through the monster's head.
- Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The same phenomenon repeated across the whole area. I tidied up the monsters mechanically and tilted my head.
Inside a Demon Realm, monsters spawn at a hideous rate.
The numbers are so vast that variants also pop up like weeds. They commit fratricide amongst themselves as naturally as breathing, giving rise to even more vicious and repugnant monsters.
And those newly born monsters aren't trapped inside an outer wall. It means they can roam the world freely whenever they please.
That's why they're called Demon Realms.
Places where evil spirits nest and hatch their spawn. It's not for nothing that they pour astronomical resources into maintaining the frontline and preventing the Demon Realms from expanding.
'Mm.'
Monsters spawning from the blood were becoming more frequent. Their level was relatively low, but I couldn't just ignore them.
"Um... Cadet Lee Ha-yul? Would it be alright if we started purifying the surrounding area...?"
[One moment]
"Ah, yes... ...It really can understand me?"
I asked the hesitantly approaching superhuman to wait a moment, then rummaged inside my subspace.
The supplies I brought into the Tower were limited, but authorized artifacts and the like could be carried in.
A blood-red Crystal Orb now rested in my hand. It was an item the 10th Iteration had passed to me right before it vanished, spending its remaining strength to do so.
I channeled a tiny amount of mana into the Crystal Orb.
- Wooooong...!
The Crystal Orb emitted a glow. The innate talent embedded within it awakened.
Everywhere on the battlefield, the blood that had congealed and pooled began to rise. It drifted lazily through the air before swirling into the Crystal Orb.
[Would you say that's roughly cleaned up?]
"Uh... yes, of course it is. Not roughly, it's more than enough..."
It didn't take long for the Crystal Orb to absorb most of the blood.
The battlefield's filth was largely dealt with. Not all of the blood, though. I didn't take the humans' blood.
'As for when and how to use this...'
I rolled the blood-red Crystal Orb in my hand. When I extended my senses, the innate talent inside seemed slightly clearer.
'I do have an idea for how to use it, but... I don't know if it's feasible.'
For now, there was nothing else to use the Crystal Orb for, so I moved to stash it back in my subspace...
- Grrrrr...
A sticky, rumbling cry came from right beside me. The superhuman near me flinched and backed away a little.
- ...What, why
Aerus. The creature I had roaming the battlefield had sidled up beside me before I knew it and was staring intently at the Crystal Orb.
Silence. But I observed drool streaming from its jaws.
- Don't get greedy for no reason and get lost. Want a beating?
- Geuruk...
- Tsk.
I let slip a strand of will-thought and raised my hand slightly. The moment Aerus saw the light gathering at my fingertips, it panicked and dismissed its summoning.
The undead Aerus hates light. It is especially mortally terrified of the unique ability White Night.
Probably because it once had its head blown open by White Night.
I shook my head and gave a small stomp of my foot.
Thud! A pulse traveled down the fortress wall and spread across the earth.
Kkigeekeek... The monsters buried in the soil or sprawled on the ground rose with a creak.
...Once the corpses, excluding the human ones, also began to rise, there wasn't much left to clean up.
"...Just how many undead are you controlling..."
[Who knows. The ones I make here break easily, so they aren't combat-ready.]
"Ah, yes, yep. I see..."
Necromancy through Taesan. I tallied up the numbers that came to mind and nodded.
'They're just small fry, so they can only act as meat shields, but... wanting more than meat shields would be greedy, I suppose.'
Meat shields were the objective to begin with, so I'm not disappointed.
In fact, the undead raised with Taesan were a huge help in the battle just now.
The more fierce the fighting and the more corpses crumble apart, the better the environment becomes for a necromancer.
And I, in particular, am a necromancer with effectively no mana limitations. A battlefield like a Demon Realm suited me quite well.
- ...The King seems to be quite skilled in necromancy.
Just then, a voice echoed in my head. It was Terramor's will-thought, emanating from the Winged Garment.
- Why? Does it bother you that I command the undead?
- I would never harbor such a disloyal thought. However... yes, I am worried that handling such defiled things might somehow harm you.
- Ah, you don't need to worry about that.
At the worried tone, I smiled lightly and shook my head. The superhuman nearby held their breath.
- Taesan... since the necromancy is manifested through this unique ability. As long as Taesan's influence persists, the undead can't affect me negatively.
- Then I am relieved.
Taesan's undead isn't simply a function that lets you control the dead.
As long as Taesan stands firm, and as long as the Manifestor of Taesan maintains an unshakeable heart, ominous death energy cannot exert any negative influence.
'......'
I finished roughly tidying up and turned around. Inside the fortress walls, amidst the ongoing cleanup of the battlefield, gazes were all trained on me.
The cadets in particular looked at me with expressions that went beyond shock—to the kind of look you'd give some unknown alien.
'Makes sense.'
The me they know is a Calamity Flame Manifestor. But with me using Taesan right in front of their eyes, a little cognitive dissonance is only natural.
"That, just now... just now, what was that?"
Of all people, Aiden was nearby and asked with blinking eyes. My mouth moved for a second, but then I just gave a shrug.
[I'm not sure. It just sort of turned out this way.]
"Huh?"
[I have something to say regarding that later, but right now I don't have anything to tell you.]
How could I explain this? I also can't openly reveal the capabilities of Homogenization, and there's no need to.
'Once the meeting concludes, the Three Great Families will handle the narrative themselves.'
She wouldn't try to boil me alive now.
...Right?
[I need to build up emergency food reserves... so I'll be going now]
I moved on with a faint shudder. Maybe because the crisis of rations was so serious, I made it inside without interference.
.
.
.
Though the monster attack had ended, there was no shortage of work.
In some ways, this was busier than when the fighting was at its peak.
Healing-type superhumans rushed around frantically, tending to the casualties from the battle.
Mages hurried to reinforce the spellwork damaged all along the defensive line, while crafting-type superhumans hauled in damaged equipment, sweating through their shirts as they conducted repairs.
"Aigo, I'm dying..."
"My arm, my arm, my circuits hurt... feels like they're going to tear..."
Those who had finished the punishing battle received first aid on the spot and then collapsed inside the tents, sprawled out haphazardly.
There was no telling when the monsters would launch another assault.
While detection-type superhumans and those who still had stamina kept watch, everyone else spent this precious downtime recovering their strength.
'Professor Liana's lesson was right.'
A superhuman operating in the field had to be able to fall asleep anywhere, at any moment they desired, and wake up just as freely.
I'd cocked my head at the time, but the more time passed, the more I saw how true it was.
'Not that I've ever wanted to fall asleep just anywhere.'
It was a teaching I never properly internalized. But my body no longer needs sleep, so I suspect I no longer need to internalize it.
"...Really... you're incredible."
By the time the tent-bound figures were crawling back out, looking a bit sheepish, the sky around us had grown even darker.
Night had fallen.
So far, no monsters had reached the defensive line.
[Is that so?]
"Yes, there's no room for exaggeration. The prowess you just showed, Lee Ha-yul... it made a complete mockery of my imagination."
A crude campfire. Across from it sat the Tower Master of Space... no, Sierra, her lips moving.
"Combat ability, magic proficiency, detection, mana purity, capacity and control, necromancy that commands an entire army. And... the imitation of a unique ability? Truly, truly... I can't even single out one feat from everything you just demonstrated. It's all extraordinary."
Her face was expressionless. But her words had sped up, and the slight flush on her cheeks gave away her excitement.
'The Tower Master of Space's memories are from before my summoning... so she didn't know how much I'd grown.'
She'd skipped the process and seen only the result. That probably made it even more astonishing to her.
Even so, she seemed a bit too excited.
It brought to mind my conversations with the Association's representatives.
[...Sierra. May I ask one thing?]
"Yes, of course. Whatever it is, I will answer diligently..."
[When you were drawing in the Association representatives, did you have a reason for saying things like "you will become my subordinate"... as if playing around?]
"Ans... Pardon?"
Sierra's face froze in an instant. Question marks popped up over her expression one after another.
"What do you... ah."
The head that had been tilting gradually came to a halt. Then her eyes went wide, and her expression hardened even more decisively.
"That is slander."
[Slander? From what I heard, you, Tower Master...]
"They left out the subject. That kind of juvenile and mortifying line wasn't uttered by me. It was Gracia... the Tower Master of Harmonization who spouted that nonsense recklessly."
[...Is that so?]
"Yes, it was most certainly not me. Please clear up the misunderstanding."
[Yes... I misheard and was mistaken. I apologize.]
"It doesn't warrant an apology. Still... I didn't want to be burdened by a pointless misunderstanding."
Her reaction was notably intense.
'What is the Tower Master of Harmonization even like...'
Ariel had described her as a mid-high-rank superhuman with a mouth that courted danger, and now Sierra seemed to be saying she talked carelessly...
When I gave a vaguely awkward nod, Sierra composed herself and fixed her gaze back on me.
The same eyes as before. The same emotion, too.
Admiration, shock, hope, delight... all of it was directed at me.
'......'
But I couldn't be happy about it.
I sipped the bland soup, sifting through my memories.
'...The Tower Master of Purgatory.'
The doppelganger I'd encountered on the Reverse Side. I failed to deal with it there.
There were plenty of excuses.
At the time I'd been exhausted, bearing the suppression of the Reverse Side.
I'd had to split my attention to Senior Daera.
In order to prevent the catastrophe of the 10th Iteration fleeing, I'd had to face both the Tower Master of Purgatory and the 10th Iteration at once.
I'd been forced to push Observation past its limit, digging even into the process by which the Tower Master descended into a vessel.
'Those are excuses.'
Those were problems in the process. The result was that I let the Tower Master of Purgatory slip away.
'I should have caught it.'
That was a golden opportunity to delay the Tower Master of Purgatory's descent.
'If I'd prioritized Hellfire over the 10th Iteration, if I'd rammed Three Ends into it first...'
I can't be certain, but with luck I could have shattered it, vessel and all.
Instead, there'd been the risk that the 10th Iteration might flee, and the burden of Three Ends might have prevented me from stopping the Reverse Side's rampage.
'Tch... more excuses...'
The thought that suddenly surfaced made my face crumple. I buried my face in my knees.
'I just needed to be stronger.'
Every excuse had the same solution.
Get stronger. If I'd been stronger back then, I could've broken the Tower Master of Purgatory's vessel, blocked the 10th Iteration, and stopped the Reverse Side's rampage all at once.
Ultimately, the problem was that I had been lacking.
I'd managed not to show it, but that was why I'd ended up crying when I came to—without even realizing it.
It was unfair. I was so pathetic in my own eyes. I was crushed by the thought of how things might have gone if I'd been stronger.
I'd thought I'd done my best, but I should have tried harder. If I had...
"Ha-yul, what're you doing?"
A hand touched the top of my head. When I poked my head up at the warm, gentle touch, Yeon-hwa's face came into view.
"Don't tell me you're digging another one of your solitary burrows again? Remember what I said I'd do to you last time if you did?"
With a shrug, Yeon-hwa planted herself beside me and held out a stick.
Skewered on it was a piece of rice cake toasted to a bright golden-brown.
"Say aah. All you had was a few sips of soup, right?"
"...Yeon-hwa, did you eat?"
"I ate what you'd made earlier before I came. Even though the ingredients were limited, it turned out ridiculously good. I ate well. I never thought I'd get to eat something so lavish out here."
"Heehee."
The laugh slipped out before I could stop it, and I shut my mouth with an oops.
"Pfft, mmph..."
Before I knew it, the rice cake on the end of the stick was in my mouth. It wasn't hot. It had cooled to a pleasant warmth.
"...Well? Chewable?"
Yeon-hwa tilted her head and asked. I chewed slowly, gaze fixed on her face.
The darkness around us, her face lit by the firelight, filled my eyes.
Someone precious. My reason for fighting. The reason someone as fundamentally flawed as me persists in trying like this.
"...Yesh, it's good."
"Huh, that's a relief. Here, have one more. No more weird thoughts—just eat first."
"Thank you."
When I gulped down the rice cake, Yeon-hwa smiled softly.
I smiled back at her.
Thanks to that, my mood lifted considerably.
'As expected, I have to keep trying.'
And my will to keep trying grew even stronger.
At the far edge of my wide-spread Observation, I sensed a presence teetering on the boundary and nodded to myself.
* * *
[Unique Ability ｢Tae?｣ grows]
[Unique Ability ｢Tae?｣ grows]
...
[Unique Ability ｢Chang?｣ grows]
* * *
