The Path to the Nest
We wandered through the Milano Forest, following the monster tracks Estelle had discovered. After walking for quite a while, the tube that supplied the nest with nutrients finally came into view.
"Is this the area, Your Highness?"
"Just a moment, Abel."
Estelle, who had been trailing slightly behind, grabbed my arm and gestured for me to sit.
"Why?"
I squatted on the spot and asked the reason. Estelle then pointed ahead and said,
"See over there? It looks like trees, but they're not actually trees."
"...Eh?"
What kind of riddle is this?
"My vision is still narrow♡ To truly escape from being a scrub, training the eyes is necessary too~♡"
"Then what are you talking about?"
"Look closely at those trees ahead. Isn't there something odd about them?"
"...Something odd?"
They're just trees. What on earth...
"Eh?"
"You finally found them~♡"
A few of the trees were definitely strange. Their wooden trunks were subtly moving up and down, as if they were breathing.
"This is a monster called 'Ent', which belongs to the middle-class rank. They hide by disguising themselves as trees and ambush passing targets to devour them."
"Oh... So if I had walked past without noticing, I'd have been in big trouble."
"If Abel had been swallowed by an Ent's stomach, huh♡"
...Something like that came to mind. The image of me screaming while being grabbed by an Ent. If it had actually happened, it would have been pathetic.
"Then should we take them all down?"
"Wait a sec♡ We need to figure out exactly how many Ents there are...."
Estelle scanned the surroundings and listened to something. It was a medium-sized pebble.
"If I throw this stone, they'll wake up on their own, right?"
"...Eh?"
"Celine, it's your turn too. Here we go♡"
Estelle threw the pebble at the trees. The trees she hit shook violently and revealed their true forms.
The sight of large eyeballs and mouths appearing on the tree trunks was a bit... grotesque. Disgusting? It wasn't as bad as the Agares-class monsters I'd seen before, but they were truly revolting.
The Ent hit by the pebble swung its branch-like limbs wildly and approached us.
"Celine, throw it already."
"Yes, yes...."
"Abel, please handle the Ents coming this way. You should be able to do this much now♡"
"Yes, I understand."
I drew my Holy Sword. I waited for the first Ent that Estelle had woken up by throwing the stone to approach.
...Now.
Slice!
Before the Ent could react, I swiftly severed its body. Because its form resembled wood, the sensation of cutting felt like chopping a tree.
But seeing blood spurt out, which a tree couldn't possibly produce... it was definitely a monster.
Estelle and Celine kept throwing pebbles to lure the Ents, and I cut down every one that came. Since they were middle-class, it was no problem cutting them.
"Gotcha, gotcha♡"
"...How long are we supposed to keep throwing, Saint?"
"Until all the Ents come out~."
...It felt like a pitcher training by throwing balls. Celine's arms were starting to look sore, but Estelle didn't seem at all tired. Why were Saints' stamina so high?
Anyway, there were this many Ents. If I had really walked past without noticing, I'd have been in big trouble. Even if they were just middle-class monsters, the numbers were too many...
After cutting down the last dragged-out Ent, I looked around and spoke to Estelle.
"...They seem gone now, Estelle?"
"Uh-huh♡ Then let's keep following the tube~♡"
"Yes."
#
After that, Estelle... if it was a rampage, it was a full-on rampage. On the way to the nest, she tormented the monsters she encountered with joy like someone who had found amusement. She lured monsters in every possible way—throwing stones from afar was basic, poking a Drake's nostril that was blocking the path with a branch, jumping down from a tree and kicking the ground hard to scare off Wind Birds so their eggs fell and shattered...
...Truly, when it came to this, there was no one crazier than her. Normally she's so cute.
It was the same now. Estelle snatched the prey a pack of Goliaths was carrying and ran away with it.
No, I didn't know how she stole it. Did she have any talent for thievery?
"Kyaha♡"
"They're so small but so fast!!"
"Put it down right now!!!"
No matter how quickly Estelle moved, the Goliaths' strides were so wide that it looked precarious. If left alone, they would obviously catch up eventually, so I raised my Holy Sword and stepped forward.
"...Just a moment, Hero."
"Yes?"
"There."
Celine stopped me and pointed behind the Goliaths chasing Estelle. And there was something there that wasn't a normal monster.
"...High-risk monster, right?"
"Yes, it seems like that. If we chase after the Goliaths now, that monster will probably ambush us...."
"It's fine."
"Eh?"
I immediately leaped forward.
Slice!
And I severed the Goliath chasing Estelle in one blow. Normally that would have been the end, but it wasn't now. I immediately raised my Holy Sword.
Clang!!!
"...It came?"
"!"
The sharp claw of the high-risk monster that Celine had warned about was blocking my Holy Sword. More precisely, even the claw itself was being cut. Claws were, after all, part of the monster's body, so they couldn't withstand the Holy Sword's sharpness.
Slash!
As I pushed my Holy Sword straight upward, the monster's threatening claw was severed. Judging by strength and speed... was it Gorgon-class? It didn't seem Leviathan-class.
"Abel, you're late~!"
"You didn't seem all that late... Anyway, step back."
"Yes~♡"
Estelle walked quickly to the spot where Celine was hiding. The footsteps were so cute that they didn't match the girl who had been laughing while mocking the Goliath pack earlier.
The monster whose claw was cut emitted a low moaning sound and took a stance as if about to pounce any moment. I pointed my Holy Sword at the monster and said,
"Where's your mother?"
#
Following the helpful guidance of the Gorgon-class monster that had been toyed with until the end, Abel reached the nest.
"Thanks to you, it was easy to get here."
"...Human... keep your promise...."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll let you go."
Abel released the monster's neck, which he had been dragging with one hand. The monster immediately tried to flee. But...
Squelch!
"...Promise... to keep...."
"I kept the promise. I let you go, right? I never said I'd spare you, though?"
When Abel pulled out the sword stuck in the monster's body, it let out its last dying breath and fell.
"Active...."
"You should have been more careful. Read the contract carefully."
Seeing Abel act this way without even giving the contract, Celine smirked.
"You would have spared me if you'd read it carefully?"
"No way. It's a monster."
"Hehe."
Abel poked the Gorgon-class monster to confirm it was dead, then turned to Estelle.
"It's dead. Shall we ambush now?"
"Same as usual."
"Understood."
Just like when we cleared the two small nests before, Abel raised his Holy Sword and cut the tubes leading to the nest cleanly.
Slice, slice—the severed tubes stopped glowing intermittently. Abel and the Saint hid their bodies slightly.
Then a reaction came from the nest. The Mother had sent out subordinate monsters to assess the situation because the nutrients it had been supplying had been cut off.
"Estelle, they're coming out over there."
"High-risk monster. Abel, handle it. The rest we'll take care of."
"Yes."
Abel lowered his Holy Sword diagonally. He looked at the blue-carapaced monster coming out from outside the nest. The monster was floating slightly in the air with a carapace covering its entire body.
Long tentacles dangled beneath the carapace, and on the parts with eyes, a beak-like mouth protruded. It looked like a mix of octopus and squid with a carapace slapped on top.
"...It's bigger than I thought."
I couldn't feel it from afar, but the size was much larger. The length of a single tentacle exceeded the height of a human body. It wasn't just the tentacles; the overall body length looked over 5 meters.
"Judging by the size, it's Behemoth-class. Can you handle it?"
"If it's Behemoth-class... yes, I can."
"Good♡ Go ahead and come back."
Abel gripped his Holy Sword diagonally and kicked off the ground with a full-powered leap. And a flash of pure white light flashed.
Slice――!
"Gu...g..."
No matter that it wasn't a knight-type or Leviathan-class, but a Behemoth-class monster... it couldn't react. Its long tentacles were severed in an instant by the light-like attack.
Splat, splat—watching its own severed tentacles fall to the ground, the monster opened its mouth wide. The inside of the closed beak was clearly visible, and Abel felt his stomach turn.
"Ug, it's disgusting."
As the cylindrical beak protruded and opened, rows of sharp teeth filled the inside. The monster tried to swallow Abel with its horrifying mouth.
And to make it easier for the monster to swallow Abel, other subordinate monsters came to help.
"Help me!!"
"Grab him!"
《Glory Sword》
《Divine Arrow》
The holy sword glowing like the sun and arrows of wind intercepted the monsters. Thanks to that, Abel could focus only on the high-risk monster. Abel lowered his body greatly. The muscles across his tensed body pulled tight, and he sprang forward like an arrow.
Again, a pure white blade flash. And the Behemoth-class monster's disgusting beak was split in half, and the monster's body tilted sharply.
"Guuurk...."
"...Being a floating type, it's less picky than Gorgon-class knight monsters."
It wasn't that heroes thought knight-type monsters were troublesome for no reason. Abel wiped the monster's blood from his Holy Sword and looked at the falling monster. But something was odd.
"...Did I cut that side too?"
The upper right part of the falling floating monster's carapace was open. There was also an empty space, as if something had been inside.
"Abel!"
"Yes?"
Swoosh—something fell, slicing through the air. Abel looked up in the direction of the sound. Above his head, from the sky.
Clang!!!
"...Where did that come from!?"
Fortunately, Abel reacted with tremendous speed. But because he took the full impact of the falling attack, even with his body reinforced by blessings, his arms started to ache.
The monster, which had a brand-new blue carapace like the floating type I'd seen earlier, impaled Abel with a spear. It had seven small glowing eyes embedded in its eyeless face.
Watching Abel barely withstand the monster's spear, Celine muttered.
"You have to save the Hero...."
"Celine, let it go."
"Yes?"
《Glory Blade》
The sword of sunlight cleanly cut down the other monsters coming from behind Abel. Estelle, the owner of that holy technique, told Celine.
"Abel can do it♥"
"...Yes."
Thud!
Abel kicked the monster trying to pin him down with his foot. The monster's body recoiled slightly, creating space for Abel to escape. Using the brief gap, Abel took a new stance.
"Is it a Leviathan-class knight monster? Or Behemoth-class?"
It was confusing. But Abel immediately saw the next movement and was certain. When the monster gripped its spear and moved again, its speed was similar to the Leviathan-class knight monster I'd seen in the Glacier Mountains.
"...It's Leviathan-class."
Abel took a deep breath. And he tracked the movement of the charging Leviathan-class monster with his eyes.
Even though he hadn't been able to read it before, thanks to his experience fighting Barbatos-class knight monsters in the Apollo Kingdom, he had no trouble reading the Leviathan-class monster's movements.
Clang!!!
This time he didn't block the spear head-on. Abel parried the side of the incoming spear, deflecting the attack so it wouldn't hit his body. Of course, the timing wasn't perfect yet, so his cheek was slightly cut and blood trickled.
"...It hurts."
When you deflect an attack, a counteropportunity comes. Abel pushed the monster's spear aside and swung his Holy Sword.
Crack!
The Holy Sword's sharp edge sank into the monster's body. And Abel pulled his Holy Sword downward.
Crunch!!!
The monster's hard carapace was torn by the Holy Sword's edge. At the same time, blood gushed forth. The seven glowing eyes went dark.
But the monster, as if making a final desperate effort, fixed its grip on the spear and brought it down to Abel's side. However, Abel was no longer the naive Hero who couldn't react to such things.
Abel's Holy Sword sliced through the monster's spear with a slice. The monster's spear was cut off just before reaching Abel's side and fell to the ground.
With no weapon left, the monster's eyes finally went dark, and it fell forward. Abel wiped the blood flowing from his cheek as he looked at the monster that had fallen with a thud.
"Estelle, Celine. Let's go in!"
"...Come this way, Abel."
"Yes?"
Abel ran to Estelle calling him. Estelle placed her hand on Abel's cheek wound and poured divine power into it.
"If you're not injured on the face, what happens if your face is injured~♡"
"...Hehe."
"The Hero's face is a treasure, after all."
"Eh?"
Estelle didn't deny Celine's words at all. In that atmosphere, Abel felt slightly embarrassed and scratched his head.
"Abel, if your head is itching, you should wash your hair~ It's dirty♡"
"...I washed it today. You saw it, so..."
Abel, who had received treatment, judged that there were no more monsters in the nest. No more monsters were coming out.
"I'll go process them."
"Yes."
After all, only Abel's Holy Sword could kill the Mother. Unless Estelle used her divine power. Abel walked alone into the nest.
After walking a bit inside, a monster with a long head and gray carapace covering its entire body was visible in the center of the nest. The eyes staring at Abel with fear were E-yan, the easy-to-identify eyes.
"You."
"A human like you... how..."
"Do all these Mothers always have the same repertoire? More importantly, I have something to ask you."
"...A human asking me a question?"
The Mother shrieked.
"Do you think I'll answer you, a human?!"
#
"Sob... I... I was wrong... I'll tell you, so stop...!"
The Mother finally surrendered when I started cutting its hair and stabbing it in the neck with the Holy Sword. In a life-threatening situation, but still showing pride.
"You know me. You said you brought me here for that big head of yours."
"...Ah, I know. Father commanded every daughter. To bring the Hero named Abel from Daisy Village."
Finally, the conversation was flowing. The fact that the big nest was the correct target was clear.
"All Mothers? Then why aren't Mothers sending monsters to where I am?"
"Th, that..."
Thud!
When I drove my Holy Sword into the ground, the Mother panicked.
"Hiik, ah, I know! I'll tell you, so move that thing away!"
"Okay."
"We follow Father's orders, but there's a command designed to be prioritized from the moment we're born."
"What is it?"
"Reproduction and birth. In other words, we can put off Father's orders under the pretext of expanding the nest's scale. Since we always prioritize expanding the nest and increasing the number of monsters...."
So that's why the monsters weren't swarming.
"Then the ones with large nests aren't moving...."
"...No need to take unnecessary risks when you already have a force. That's why I didn't go looking for you."
I see.
"Then what about the ones that follow?"
"Th, because the situation is favorable, or because the opportunity came at the right time... I also sent my children to catch you because you came looking yourself...."
"Are there cases where the Mother herself comes out?"
"We, we don't have combat power, but...."
Then what about the Amon-class monsters that appeared in Vesta Kingdom and the Mother? The Mother had moved directly.
"Then why does the Mother come out directly?"
"Ah, perhaps she trusted the child next to her... or maybe she was moving the nest."
"Um."
That makes sense. An Amon-class monster would be believable. It probably wasn't moving the nest. There was also the Mother's words.
It was most likely that the Queen herself came out to watch the battle. To see her army obtain the prize that was me.
"Then you know why the Demon King is targeting me, right?"
"Th, I don't know. Father didn't explain the reason. It's a strange command for us too. He said to capture, not kill, the existence that threatens his life...."
The Mother was really talkative. Thanks to that, I was comfortable, but usually if there's loyalty, you wouldn't easily speak ill of the monarch's orders, right? Do these guys not have loyalty to the Demon King?
"You know quite a bit? It's been very helpful."
"Th, thank you. Then you'll spare me?"
"Should I?"
"...You're too much! I told you everything I knew...!"
"Because I know what harm my children would cause to humans, I will spare you."
The Mother bowed its head deeply. Then suddenly tears poured down.
"I, I have never taken my children out of this forest... but you came and killed all my children and tried to kill me too...."
"...Eh?"
The monster said it had never gone outside the Milano Forest?
"How can I believe that? And monsters reproduce freely anyway. Those individuals who went out could have harmed people."
"H, humans don't know, but I can control my children! Outside is dangerous, with humans lurking, so I stopped them from going outside... anyway, even staying inside the forest is fine."
Thinking about it, the North Queen had maintained its force in the Glacier Mountains and hadn't attacked the Apollo Kingdom by bringing its force. The Agares-class and Barbatos-class monsters that invaded were after the North Queen died.
"...Because you settled here, humans can't enter the forest."
"Eh, stop forcing it! In this remote forest, who besides weirdos like you would come in?!"
"I don't know."
Noisy. Actually, everything this guy said was true, and there's no point in arguing.
Truly.
I raised my Holy Sword high.
"Hi, hiik!! Sp, spare me! If you spare me, I'll tell you what Father's orders are even in the future...!"
"...What?"