Chapter 98
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The Darkness that Swallows Gods☆ (1)
Back when I was serving in the military in my past life.
I once saw wild boars in the mountain valleys of Gangwon Province, greedily emptying the food waste bin—the swill bin. They were wild boars that lived on a nearby mountain.
I was shocked by how unimaginably huge and smelly they were.
A few of them, their bodies packed with flesh, would shove their heads into the rubber swill bin, their yellowed teeth crunching on the slop.
It was a sight that stirred a truly instinctual revulsion.
Well, after I got used to them, we started treating them like the unit's cute little mascots and teased them. The spot even became a tourist attraction for every new recruit.
If you looked closely, their eyes, at least, were lovely.
The unit members even came up with a name for them: the ‘Piglet Recon Squad.’
Although, they didn't look so lovely in the eyes of Farmer Kim, an acquaintance of the supply sergeant. And so, they all became pools of blood before the lead bullets of justice.
‘Oh, Piglet Recon Squad, why weren’t you satisfied with the swill bin? Why did you have to aim for the sweet potato field…!’
Anyway…
What I’m trying to say is.
The sight of reasonably large creatures ravenously tearing something apart is more repulsive than you can imagine.
Enough to make your body freeze on the spot.
There was a reason why swarms of small creatures devouring a corpse was a horror movie cliché. Even if it’s a pack of wild dogs or boars—creatures whose eyes might seem cute up close—you instinctively flinch.
But what if the creatures gathered together are Chaos Insects, whose smallest larval forms are as big as large dogs?
And what if there are thousands of these dungeon monsters, spewing slime, all gathered in one place?
It truly evokes, beyond imagination,
a revulsion that cannot be quantified.
I desperately wished these disgusting bugs would just stay inside their dungeons.
Shaaaaaat—!!
Kyaaaaat—!!
Kuwoooaar—!!
But they had come out.
The damn dungeon gate, like a fallen tan-skinned gyaru, had once again failed to keep its chastity. It had thrown its central door wide open, flashing an ahegao double peace sign, and spewed out Chaos Insects.
This slutty rag of a gate had single-handedly boosted the Academy City’s birth rate into the triple digits.
I gritted my teeth and charged forward.
‘You… you easy bitch…!’
The dungeon gate I pictured in my head was carving tally marks on its thigh. Without even glancing my way, it fawned over the [Priest of Corrosion], Grafvölluðr, like a harlot.
-Priest of Corrosion, your touch is amaaazing♡ It’s nothing like the lame dungeon runs by the Academy City students—♡
When we tried to enter, it acted like a chaste maiden, imposing a three-person limit,
and hiding its treasures away in dusty corners.
But for the black lizard geezer’s power, it was easier than a bride on her wedding night.
‘So it opens easily for Grafvölluðr’s power, is that it?’
This sly vixen.
But I don't just masturbate to my defeat from the sidelines.
One day, I will demolish every single dungeon gate in the Academy City.
‘I’ll make it perfectly clear that the only end for NTR is utter ruin.’
With that thought, I looked ahead.
“…!”
Disgusting cries erupted from all over the farmland, which had moments ago been filled only with silence and the sound of prayers. With the noise, the creatures revealed themselves one by one.
It stirred a chaotic sense of revulsion, like seeing a tree infested with spotted lanternflies.
Shaaaaaat—!!
Kyaaaaat—!!
Kuwoooaar—!!
The commotion caused countless birds to take flight from the surrounding forest. A sound like a downpour filled the air as they flew into the sky all at once.
A three-course meal of Chaos Insects.
Hundreds of larval, sub-adult, and adult-stage insects were running rampant throughout the farmland.
As soon as they appeared, they roared in unison.
Shaaaaaat—!!
Kyaaaaat—!!
Kuwoooaar—!!
The Chaos Insects advanced to chase the students,
shoving crops into their mouths whenever they saw them.
Crunch, crunch!
The ground was littered with the slime of Chaos Insects and half-eaten crops.
For the record, these monsters were born in the abyss and didn't actually need to eat.
A senseless act of predation.
This was a characteristic displayed by the Chaos Insects drawn to this land by the [Priest of Corrosion].
‘The [Priest of Corrosion], Grafvölluðr, was considered the strongest of the officers partly because of these psychological attacks that broke enemy morale.’
A power that, late in the original story, became a catastrophe that choked off all supplies and living spaces.
Of course, I wasn't exactly sure why the power of an officer who had been reduced to a pool of blood by my fist had been revived… but I had a pretty good idea.
‘Jin-su Kang, you clueless oaf. To think you’d bring back the ability of a character who already made a heroic exit from the story.’
Good grief… because of your trolling,
the Academy City is a mess again, isn’t it?
It’s not cute at all when a guy in a dark, brooding body causes trouble.
Trolling is only forgivable when you’re wearing a cute girl skin.
‘…Just like this pink-head, Clara.’
Fortunately, we arrived just as that social outcast Jin-su Kang’s trolling was beginning. As expected, the pink-head was much better at this.
Shaaaaaat—!!
Kyaaaaat—!!
Kuwoooaar—!!
Watching the scene, I muttered.
“Looks like we made it just in time—☆”
Beside me, Kara and Lotha drew their respective weapons.
A large flag-spear from Kara’s back… and a golden wand and a modest grimoire from Lotha appeared.
“This scene looks familiar.”
“We couldn’t do anything at the start of the semester, but things are different now!”
Our surroundings were chaotic, filled with the sounds of fleeing agriculture department students and the screeches of Chaos Insects. Everyone was moving in one direction, crashing into each other and screaming.
“Kyaaaah—!!”
“Wh-what in the world is…!”
“We have to run!!”
We ran in the opposite direction of the fleeing students—towards the swarm of attacking Chaos Insects.
Our paths crossed, and our eyes met.
The agriculture students’ eyes widened when they saw our faces.
“Y-You’re…!”
“How did you…?!”
The situation was so urgent they hadn’t even had time to report it to the Disciplinary Committee.
The reason why only the group from could have arrived here was simple.
‘To think an image of Chaos Insects suddenly appearing would flash before my eyes…’
An image of Chaos Insects abruptly attacking the farmland.
The moment I saw it, I gathered my juniors and set out.
It would have taken too long to inform everyone else individually, so I just sent a note to [The Verdant Greatbow] Anna and the head of the Theology Department, Nella, and we rushed over ourselves.
[Something big is about to happen at the farmland, so gather all available forces and come.]
‘Anna should be able to figure it out from that, right?’
And so we arrived on the scene.
As expected, there were people who needed our help.
We answered them with a grin.
“Just a passing pink-head—☆”
“A passing cat! Nyan—!”
“A passing revolutionary, I am—!”
“…”
They couldn't manage a reply, simply hesitating for a moment before fleeing into the distance.
I was just trying to make a little joke for them, since they usually call us [The Three Heroes] and seem to find us intimidating.
“…”
“…Was that a bad idea?”
“…The Senior Comrade said they would like it.”
Damn it.
This is why you shouldn't try to be funny in front of these pointy-ears.
I unleashed my sorrow upon the Chaos Insects.
“I won’t forgive any Chaos Insect that claws at a maiden’s heart—☆”
So I fired off a single shot of [Pink Lemon Sherbet],
and the creatures that had been adorably reduced to chunks of meat regenerated.
What the.
This was a first.
I muttered blankly.
“…Ahaha—☆ What a mess.”
“It seems wiping them out all at once is impossible. We must buy time until [The Verdant Greatbow] and the Disciplinary Committee students arrive…!”
But it was too early to declare defeat.
There was something I wanted to test on these Chaos Insects.
‘Just how many times will they regenerate?’
With that thought, I persuaded Kara, who was advocating for a containment strategy.
“No! If I just had the weapons and the budget, I could do it—☆”
“Oh? Really? Nyan—! Here!”
Lotha had reached a point where she could cast simple spells with a single ‘Nyan!’ Once she broke through that barrier, her rate of improvement was remarkable.
She thrust out both fists and cutely said, “Nyan!” and a cat-shaped greatsword materialized in the air.
“Ah, it’s been a while since I felt this cool, heavy sensation—☆”
“…? Didn’t you take it to practice just the other day…?”
“Shh, be quiet, my little kitten—☆”
I brushed aside the minor correction.
*Clank—!*
Then, toward the charging Chaos Insects,
I unleashed my second secret art, one that was relatively less wasteful.
“[Blue Sweet Macaron]—!!”
As I swung the greatsword, the air trembled, and a wave of ether shot forward. It was a massive shockwave that easily covered dozens of meters.
*Kwoooong—!*
Countless hearts contained within it pulverized the enemies, grinding them to dust. The ether of [Vibration], which alters the world, transformed into physical force, relentlessly pounding them.
The Chaos Insects vanished without even a scream.
But from within the dust, I felt the presence of them regenerating.
“…!”
Not missing that presence,
I fired off the technique again and again, trying to obliterate every last trace of them.
“[Blue Sweet Macaron], [Blue Sweet Macaron]—!!”
Enough to open a macaron shop with the skill name alone.
Enough to completely overturn the surrounding farmland into barren dirt.
Even after I’d unleashed an endless storm of pulverizing waves… they regenerated. They reassembled at an unrealistically fast speed and started charging forward again.
Shaaaaaat—!!
Kyaaaaat—!!
Kuwoooaar—!!
The pink-head’s plan had failed spectacularly.
Truly a testament to this pathetic pink-head’s skill.
“…”
“…”
“…”
We steeled ourselves as we watched. We had been through too much to start screaming and panicking now.
“Let’s just switch to an aggro-and-containment strategy—☆”
“Understood!”
Kara scattered dozens of ether conductor cubes from a pouch on her belt. They swelled in mid-air, quickly becoming man-sized square robots that began to move.
“[Revolutionary Comrades]!! Come forth, all of you—!”
*Kzzt—!*
*Kzzt—!*
Kara immediately slammed her flag into the ground, activating her second ether skill.
“[Flag of Revolution]—!!”
*BOOM!*
As the flag struck the ground,
a huge shockwave spread out, enveloping the nearby [Revolutionary Comrades].
Instantly invigorated, the Revolutionary Comrades waved their slender arms and formed a phalanx. They surrounded the sub-adult and larval Chaos Insects from all sides, lashing them like whips.
*Smack—!*
It looked playful, but a single swipe of their hands dented the Chaos Insects' carapaces. Painful screams followed.
Shaaaaaat—!!
Kyaaaaat—!!
The whipping from the [Revolutionary Comrades] rained down endlessly, like an ancient form of torture. With dozens of them forming a phalanx, a moving wall of attacks, the Chaos Insects were completely disoriented.
While they bought time, Kara thrust her spear at the necks of the sub-adult and larval Chaos Insects that slipped through.
“Haaap—!!”
With a kiai, the tall girl, who stood over 180cm, leaped into the air and swung her glaive.
The broad blade drew a crimson crescent in the air, slicing off the heads of the Chaos Insects that were writhing under the barrage from the [Revolutionary Comrades].
“Nyan!”
Lotha’s fairy tale magic followed.
As she conducted with her wand, faint golden specks fell from the red ether she wove in the air.
“[Memory of Lunch, a Full Nap, a Heart Grown Languid]—!”
Four cats, each as large as a small vehicle, appeared in the air.
*Meeeoow—!*
They moved sluggishly forward.
And then plopped down in a single file line, each facing the rear of the one in front.
Shaaaaaat—!!
The sudden appearance of the feline barricade made the relatively smaller, caterpillar-like larval Chaos Insects flinch and hesitate to approach.
“Kiyop—☆”
I weaved through the gaps with my greatsword and spear, continuously taking the heads of any Chaos Insects that poked through.
*Pshuk—!*
*Pshuk—!*
*Pshuk—!*
The relatively sturdy adult-stage Chaos Insects would quickly regenerate and pop their heads back up even after being decapitated.
Kuwoooaar—!
“It’s you! I sense wickedness in your head—☆”
Hmph.
You were trying to do something lewd to me, weren’t you?
Just like in a dirty comic!
I gripped the spear in my hands tightly, spun it in the air, and used the centrifugal force to slice the creature’s head open like a cake.
*Fushaaa—!*
A fountain of blood, as massive as its ridiculously large body, erupted.
And so, we managed to pin down the Chaos Insects.
And then…
Through the gaps, I saw more Chaos Insects falling from the sky.
They were dropping from the distant heavens, a merciless barrage like a missile strike.
“…!”
“…Senior, above you…!”
“What is that…!”
When I looked up,
I saw a giant dragonfly in the air, vomiting and scattering Chaos Insects. It was flying at an altitude beyond the reach of our attacks.
A dragonfly with hundreds of horns.
The older brother of the [Twin Priests], ‘Góinn’.
The bastard shouted from the air in a contemptuous voice.
[You flightless inferiors are getting cocky.]
This… this cowardly bastard…!
How dare he attack the weakness of us ground-pounders…!
“Get down here this instant! Let’s fight fair and square with propaganda and fabrications—☆”
'Góinn', you bastard. I'll make a real corpse out of you.