Explosive Ending
“This body will support the front lines alongside Hans. Adventurer, take Kkachi and target that wrinkly frog sitting atop the distant salamander—the shaman! When it’s casting its spell, it’ll be completely defenseless, so strike then and it should be easy, nyang!”
“...Understood. I will complete the objective without fail.”
“Kkyu-kkyu!” (Yes, guide. Leave it to us!)
“What’s with you two, nyang? You’re both way too tense, nyang.”
“Ah, and Sion.”
“Nyang? What is it, Adventurer?”
“Once this mission is over... would you call me by my name?”
“Nyang? Nyahaha! What’s this, nyang!? You’ve been worrying about something like that all this time...? Ahem. I’m already used to calling you Adventurer, but if you carry out this body’s orders properly, I’ll call you by name, nyang! So don’t push yourself too hard and come back safely, nyang!”
“Yes...! I will.”
From “Novice Adventurer” to simply “Adventurer”—the title Sion used for Yuri changed with every step Yuri took toward becoming stronger. It felt like receiving an adult’s acknowledgment, like proof that she was growing into a true adventurer, an adult in her own right. A sudden greed welled up inside Yuri. She wanted to complete the mission flawlessly, to prove herself, to be called by name just like Hans, another 3-Tier adventurer her age.
“Hans, I’m dropping you now! Get ready!”
“Y-Yuri, not again!!!”
“You should be used to it by now! Hans, let’s go—time to become a hero!”
“Adventurers! This body has arrived, nyang! I’ll be rampaging for a bit, so take the wounded and fall back, nyang!”
“Sherpa Sion!? But how are you in the sky!?”
“The Goddess has sent Sherpa Sion!!! Ooh...”
After dropping Hans and Sion onto the battlefield one after another, Yuri and Kkachi soared higher to carry out Sion’s orders. The hood she had been wearing was torn away by the wind, and her jet-black hair streamed behind her.
‘...It’s cold.’
Moisture clung to her pale face. The dungeon ceiling stretched above, a hazy veil of clouds or mist. Yuri adjusted her glider wings parallel to the ground and began circling, gazing down at the battlefield from a height where she wouldn’t be noticed unless someone looked straight up.
Her half-lidded eyes settled on the frog shaman sitting calmly atop a massive black salamander, watching the fight below.
“She said the shaman would be most vulnerable while casting its spell.”
In the past, back in Terraforming, her teacher Raven had told her that the most important thing in hunting was “waiting.” So Yuri waited. She waited for the moment her prey grew confident in victory and let its guard down.
Shwaaa. The shaman’s mouth twisted. Its arms rose toward the sky. The already gray clouds began to darken. The time had come. Time for Yuri to take another step forward.
“Looks like now’s the moment.”
“Kkyu.” (I’m ready.)
Chrrrrk! The black beak-shaped gas mask covered Yuri’s pale face, and a long sledgehammer appeared in her hand. She gripped the smooth, heavy handle with both hands.
“Kkachi, let’s go.”
“Kkyu.”
—Fwoosh. With a single beat of her wings, Yuri plummeted toward the ground. The shaman’s figure grew rapidly in the translucent view of the gas mask. The earth rushed up to meet her. Just as the shaman’s hands clapped together and the lightning-calling spell was about to activate—
“Die.”
“Kkyu!”
“Gu...waaak?”
—Thud. The Frog Shaman, who had looked up sensing danger, had its head and torso smashed apart by the hammer in a spectacular explosion. The impact was so tremendous that even the Black Pearl Salamander beneath it couldn’t survive.
“Huuu... I somehow managed to complete the mission.”
Standing atop the dead salamander, drenched in the blue blood unique to amphibian monsters, Yuri smiled proudly behind her mask. She felt like she could float away with satisfaction.
Chiiiiiik.... Plop.... When Yuri lightly lifted the sledgehammer, chunks of flesh and entrails that had been stuck to the head slid off. The surrounding Frogmen, who had been staring in stunned silence, now had fear in their eyes.
“Kieeeek....”
“Kuwak-kuwak.”
An unknown being had slain both the 4.5-Tier Frog Shaman and its 3.5-Tier mount, the Black Pearl Salamander, in a single strike. None of the Frogmen here possessed the courage to challenge such overwhelming power. The brave ones had already died at the front lines. Those left in the rear were the shaman’s personal guards—cowards who had chosen survival over glory. Without their leader, the group quickly collapsed and scattered into the forest.
“Kuwaaaaak!”
“Kiek, kieeeek!”
Over a hundred monsters fled in terror from a single young human. It was an achievement no one would have believed a 1-Tier adventurer could accomplish.
“...What? They’re running away now?”
Yuri’s black-and-red eyes gleamed as she watched the prey turn their backs. She had achieved the original goal of assassinating the shaman, but it wasn’t enough.
‘I want more recognition.’
This wasn’t sufficient. When she had looked down from the sky, she had seen Hans swinging his flame-wreathed longsword, becoming a beacon of hope. She had seen Sion slaughtering monsters alone, shining brilliantly. And she had seen her own proud demon, Raven, burning so brightly it seemed to ignite. To stand beside those radiant stars—
“I have to.”
She had to show something too. The results of a full year spent in that hellish demon realm. She had to prove that her teacher’s efforts hadn’t been in vain, that her comrades and the people could look at her differently. So—
Flash.
“Everyone here needs to die.”
—Fwoosh. Black wings sliced through the air. Crimson eyes traced lines as they chased the scattering Frogmen.
Pububububuk!!! Frogmen’s heads burst apart before they could even scream. Though agile on the ground, they were no match for something that could fly. Every beat of those black wings brought certain death.
“Waaah....”
“Uh....”
“Hmm.”
The adventurers who had been cheering Yuri’s victory over the shaman gradually fell silent. Even the Frogmen from the front lines, enraged by the shaman’s death, now rushed toward her. Normally they would have joined her to help, but—
“...We don’t seem necessary here.”
“We’d probably just get in the way.”
They were too afraid of interfering with Yuri’s almost artistic display of combat prowess to move. An eastern adventurer watching her hover with the long hammer murmured slowly.
“Death raining from the sky....”
That would later become Yuri’s alias. The embarrassing epithet of 【Heavenly Death】 Yuri.
***
With the shaman eliminated, the Frogmen at the eastern bridge all turned toward the rear. They had to avenge their great shaman! But Yuri, who had trained under the old Raven for a year and become one with Kkachi, was not an opponent that 2.5- to 3-Tier monsters could handle. Like a hawk hunting, she would soar high then plummet without warning, caving in Frogmen skulls.
“Gu, guwak!!!” (C-coward! Come down and fight fair!)
The wingless amphibians could only swallow bloody tears and howl in rage. Thud. One Frogman collapsed under the overwhelming gap in power. Hearing the skulls of his comrades crack one by one broke his spirit.
“Guwak....” (So this is how we all die.)
Just as he gave up everything, a tremendous roar shook heaven and earth.
“Guwaaaaaaaaak!!! Guwaaaaaak!!! Guwaaaaaaaaaak!!!”
“Guwak!?”
“Kieeeek!?”
“Kuwak-kuwak!!!”
The Road, appearing for the first time in twenty years. Their great king was moving. He was coming here to personally tear apart that insolent black bird! The Frogmen resonated with excitement at the approaching majestic mana of the Frog Lord. The great king’s procession! Let the enemies tremble in fear!
“Ugh? What’s that?”
Yuri frowned at the massive roar, confused by the Frogmen’s collective seizure, then turned toward the enormous presence descending from the sky.
“...Eh?”
What had been a distant dot grew closer, revealing its form. It looked like—
“A giant frog king...?”
It simply looked like an absurdly large frog.
“Kkyu.” (That one looks rather dangerous. We should be cautious, Savior.)
“Huu.”
Feeling Kkachi’s hostility and wariness, Yuri sharpened all her senses. She knew this would not be an easy opponent.
“Guwakwak.” (You dare show hostility toward the king? Strong, yet foolish beyond measure.)
The Frogmen quietly admired Yuri’s lack of fear even in the king’s presence, yet sneered. Their great Frog Lord was a powerful 6-Tier existence, ruler of the Green Zone. Challenging such a being was the height of stupidity.
“Guwaak...!” (Die drowning in your arrogance, enemy...!)
The moment a massive water spear formed in the Frog Lord’s hand, the Frogmen grinned from ear to ear, certain of their king’s victory.
“Guwaaaaaak!!!”
“Hiyaaaaat!!!”
Just as Yuri and the Frog Lord were about to clash—
“Stop.”
A thick, killing-intent-filled voice rang out. The Frog Lord’s body froze in midair.
“Guwak?”
“Kiek?”
The Frogmen stared blankly at their king suspended in the sky, unable to comprehend the sudden situation. Then—
Crack-crack-crack.
“Ku...wak?”
“...Guwak?”
With the sickening sound of bones and flesh being crushed, they watched in stunned silence as blue rain fell from the sky and their great king became nothing more than a corpse.
“Hmm. No regeneration ability? Hard to believe something like this is called a Lord. Don’t you agree, frog gentlemen?”
“....”
“....”
The Frogmen prayed desperately that the black demon’s cruel rage wouldn’t turn toward the ground. But their prayers went unanswered. Raven’s eyes had gone half-mad the moment he saw the Frog Lord attacking Yuri.
“Filling.”
Ekrixiphobia — Fear of explosions.
Click. The muzzle of the gun pointed toward the ground as if declaring the end of life. For a brief moment, fear flickered in the eyes of the monsters trembling beneath Raven’s glowing red gaze.
“R-Raven!? Wait a second!”
“Guwak.” (Oh no.)
“O-Oh my God. Goddess above....”
—KABOOOOOM!!!
With an explosion large enough to create a black mushroom cloud, the war between humans and monsters came to an end that day.