Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: The World Eater Arrives
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Most people expect a game's final boss to have power and gravitas befitting its position. After all, it's the ultimate adversary at the end of the game.
Unless it was designed as a gag character from the start or the story meticulously built it up as something pathetic, a weak final boss battle usually draws heavy criticism.
In that regard, the final boss of *Brightist Darkness 4*, the World Eater, perfectly fulfilled players' expectations.
It was the only boss in the entire game with four distinct phases, each with a wildly different concept—and every single one was brutally difficult even on vanilla difficulty.
The backstory was flawless, its strength was demonstrated in-game, and the shifting concepts across phases more than satisfied players' fantasies.
So it was no surprise that modders creating enemy enhancement mods poured extra effort into the World Eater.
There were over ten mods that strengthened only the World Eater. The notorious ones even combined all those variants into a single monstrosity.
But.
No enemy enhancement mod ever had the World Eater crashing the main story in the early game.
—!!!!!!
A roar—no, an invisible mass too enormous to call a mere roar—erupted from its head.
Through the corridor windows, I could see buildings cracking or even collapsing from the aftermath. Just its cry alone had shattered them.
I stared blankly at the crumbling buildings kicking up dust clouds, then snapped to my senses and started running. First priority was to follow Kaykilia's orders and get out of the palace.
I hurried back to my room, grabbed my bloodied sword, and checked Lize's room just in case. The spot for her twin daggers was empty. Good, she'd grabbed them and gone in time.
As I headed out of the palace, I sighed inwardly.
*Please, God, don't let me have to fight that thing here.*
Fighting the World Eater itself wasn't the issue. I already knew the strategy inside out, and it was a foe I'd have to take down eventually anyway.
*No one can beat it right now.*
But fighting it here and now? That was a problem.
The World Eater was invincible until you completed a specific quest—no damage would stick. And that quest only appeared in the very endgame of the main story.
The late main story of *BrD4* was essentially the protagonist uncovering the truth about the World Eater and digging into its secrets.
In other words, you couldn't kill it without unraveling those secrets.
Even the protagonist suffered an overwhelming defeat in their first encounter, unable to land a single hit. There was even a special gimmick just for that initial boss fight.
*It's still fine for now, though.*
The World Eater wouldn't antagonize humans until the player started poking into its secrets in earnest.
The first boss fight happened due to a misunderstanding. The protagonist was investigating suspicious waves nearby, where a secret tied to the World Eater coincidentally lurked.
After reading the protagonist's memories post-battle and realizing their purpose had nothing to do with its secrets, it simply left—allowing survival.
*I absolutely cannot fight it right now.*
As long as I avoided having my memories read or striking first before any conversation, we might get out without a fight.
Fighting the World Eater now would be suicide.
"Delta! You okay?!"
As I reached the palace's main gate, the knight commanders—tense and ready for battle—greeted me. I'd left my armor at the mansion, so I was stuck in my uniform.
Beside them stood ranks of the Golden Twilight Knights in golden plate armor. Their weapons varied: swords, greatswords, spears and shields, axes. All familiar variants I'd seen before.
Next to the Golden Twilight Knights were silver-armored knights, and beyond them, robed mages gripping their staves with grim determination.
These were likely all the forces deemed capable of helping against a dragon.
"I'm fine, obviously. What's the situation?"
"It's extremely bad—but since you're asking about the situation rather than what happened, you've heard the news too. No need to explain, then."
I gave a wry smile. Iris's face was scrunched up in a frown. I felt the same. If this were just a regular dragon, we'd have nothing to worry about.
With the emperor herself wielding the holy sword, a grand mage centuries old, her disciples, and the empire's finest knights? Why fret over a normal dragon?
Even if dragons were like natural disasters, this lineup could handle one. Worst case, I could solo it.
The only issue would be the collateral damage to the empire from the fight—but the World Eater was different.
Even if you brought ten or a hundred times these forces, without lifting its invincibility, you couldn't win or even scratch it.
Which meant we absolutely could not let a fight break out.
"The other knights not here are evacuating the civilians. Depending on when it arrives, we'll have to brace for some casualties."
Regular knights wouldn't even serve as meat shields against a dragon—they'd be swept away by a single breath, dozens or hundreds at a time. Staying here would just mean pointless deaths.
So what else was there to do? Evacuate the civilians, obviously.
"His Majesty approaches. Follow me, Delta."
A blue magic circle appeared right in front. Iris returned to her spot. I followed her to where the knight commanders stood. The other three looked equally on edge.
A pillar of light erupted, and Kaykilia and Minerva emerged within it. Everyone knelt on one knee and bowed their heads.
"Rise. Showing gaps with pointless gestures is foolish."
We straightened up. Minerva wore her usual bathrobe-like attire, while Kaykilia was in the suit she'd worn when summoning me to her bedroom—perfectly fitted.
Seeing it now, I could guess what a suit really was.
*Combat formalwear, huh.*
It seemed the emperor's phase-two boss fight outfit in her battle had evolved into this suit. She only ever wore two types of clothing anyway.
*...Wait. If that's her combat formalwear now, what was she doing in it before calling me?*
If my knowledge was right and her combat formalwear had become a suit, what had she been up to in it before summoning me?
Had she fought someone?
"Everyone, prepare."
Kaykilia drew her holy sword and intoned curtly. It was brief, but enough. The mages, led by Minerva, channeled mana into their staves; the knight commanders raised their weapons.
I had to stop this.
I needed to say we couldn't hurt it right now, that charging in would only get us killed, and there might be a way past without fighting—so hold off.
*But...*
Could I even stop this? The knight commanders might listen skeptically, but Kaykilia and Minerva?
They'd shown intense interest in me, but would they just nod and stand down for talk in this situation? I wasn't sure.
Worse, if luck was truly against us, the World Eater might get curious at my words and try reading my memories.
That would doom us all.
*...For now, just watch.*
Even Kaykilia and Minerva would want to avoid a dragon fight if possible. They wouldn't strike first out of emotion alone.
From afar, a chillingly massive shadow began approaching. Just flying overhead whipped up enormous winds on the ground.
It looked like in the game. The classic dragon head, twin horns jutting up, scales in two colors covering its body tightly.
Four pairs of massive wings. Arms and legs like gnarled muscle masses. A tail stretching far behind.
*...Why is it so huge?*
Aside from being several times larger than in-game, the appearance was unchanged.
I was stunned inwardly. In the game, the protagonist's weapon could reach its head; now, even stretching my arms all out, I doubted I could touch it.
Murmurs spread through the Golden Twilight Knights. Some knights were already trembling, dropping their weapons. The other knight commanders didn't look much better.
Kaykilia and Minerva held out best, but their grips on the holy sword and staff were white-knuckled.
*So this is how it's implemented.*
I'd read that merely revealing itself plunged living beings into terror. Only the protagonist was mostly immune.
I wasn't sure if my immunity was like the protagonist's or due to the black magic on my head.
—Kwaaaaaang!
The World Eater spread its colossal body and descended before us. The impact alone snapped nearby buildings like twigs.
It looked huge flying in from afar; up close, the sheer scale was overwhelming.
It rivaled or exceeded the rock centipede that matched a high-rise apartment. Even just looking up required craning my neck far back.
—!!!!!!
A roar exploded from its maw—sound incarnate. This time, I reflexively clamped my ears, not from fear, but sheer noise.
Thud. Nearby knights began collapsing one by one. Iris, Claudia, Erika, Lize, the Golden Twilight Knights. Everyone here was affected.
Mages with inferior physiques fainted first, then regular knights, vice-commanders and commanders lost consciousness.
Finally, the centuries-old grand mage and the holy sword-chosen emperor crumbled, unable to endure.
"..."
One roar.
A mere roar swept over us, and I was the only one left standing.
Its ferocious red pupils turned to me.
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Its massive eyes spewing crimson glare made my body stiffen. That single pupil rivaled my height.
Yet compared to its whole body, even that eye was minor. It was disgustingly enormous.
Truly colossal. I wondered how *BrD4*'s protagonist ever felled it—it was absurdly huge. Patterns aside, one breath would kill before evasion.
Its vertical slit pupil, radiating menace, fixed on me. I was ready to draw my bloodied sword and charge if it showed any sign of reading my memories—consequences be damned.
If it read them, it was over anyway.
From its perspective, it had to kill me for knowing its secrets—and with its size, targeting just me would vaporize the area.
If I died either way, might as well go down swinging.
*At least it doesn't seem eager to fight right now. Small mercy.*
Whatever the situation, it just stared, showing no intent to attack. For a hopeful moment, I thought it might just leave.
—!!!!!!
As if mocking my optimism, its jaws split wide, unleashing a fierce roar. I plugged my ears again. Insanely loud.
Brushing off a dragon's roar as mere noise already transcended humanity. Everyone else had passed out, after all.
Even the emperor couldn't endure, so I was truly an exception.
*That was... Dragon Tongue, right?*
By lore, this roar was Dragon Tongue—the dragons' language.
Not the fantasy trope of words laced with power; just normal conversation. Normal for dragons, anyway.
So the roar from the palace corridor and the one after landing were attempts at communication—for the World Eater alone.
Humans couldn't endure it and collapsed; even the protagonist, who shrugged it off, couldn't understand it.
To comprehend Dragon Tongue, you had to slay a dragon and absorb its power. That's why mid-game dragon subjugation was mandatory.
But understanding didn't mean using it—the protagonist was human, after all.
*So it just tried talking to me...*
It hadn't come here to fight someone. That alone eased my mind.
But regardless, I couldn't respond. It had to change communication first.
I waited silently. It roared several times, then seemed to realize the human before it didn't understand and halted.
Pure mana floated before me, clumping together. It writhed into a human shape.
Legs touched ground first, then torso. Arms sprouted from shoulders, followed by a round head. Finally, ears and mouth formed.
A blue, shadowy human silhouette. Going this far meant it really wanted to talk.
"Truly... peculiar..."
The mana-shadow opened its mouth. It sounded human, yet oddly off-putting.
"Our tongue... you endure... yet do not comprehend..."
Struggling with the tiny form relative to dragon standards, its speech stuttered. Still intelligible.
"Whether I'm peculiar or not... isn't your business. So, why are you here?"
I briefly debated polite speech versus casual, but figured it wouldn't care either way, so I went casual.
Dragons might not even grasp human etiquette.
"To meet... a human..."
"Meet a human? Who?"
"One created by god... yet forsaken by god... the slayer of that creation..."
*Not me again?*
Dizziness hit. It came for me? The main story was thoroughly derailed. This wasn't what slaying the forsaken creation was supposed to trigger.
I'd never dreamed processing the lord like in-game would snowball this far. That was the true starting point of all the chaos.
Kaykilia's interest, Stella seeking me, heading to the Holy Kingdom, smashing the forsaken creation—all stemmed from taking the demon-possessed book.
Now even the World Eater showed up because of it. Hopeless.
"...How did you know that human was here?"
"Its power... all absorbed... by one human..."
Power absorbed.
Vague, but likely experience points. Killing the forsaken creation gave me its EXP, boosting my level—not entirely wrong.
The World Eater caring about the forsaken creation made sense.
Left unchecked, it would destroy the Holy Kingdom and then the world—only the protagonist could rival the World Eater.
Of course it'd pay attention.
Why not crush the threat early? Because in its home turf, the Abyss, even the World Eater couldn't guarantee victory.
Despite runes blocking Abyss incursion, the protagonist soloing in and decapitating it was insane.
And that protagonist was me.
"The human who absorbed that power is me."
"Correct..."
"So, now that you know, what? Gonna kill that human?"
"Kill...?"
Its tone lifted slightly, then the dragon roared. I plugged my ears again.
"If you wish... I shall."
"No need."
I refused flatly. No ambiguous answers lest I get breathed to ash.
"Came here... to confirm... with my own eyes..."
"Who killed the god-forsaken creation?"
"Yes... if that human... is a threat... must eliminate..."
Its glare intensified menacingly, but soon calmed to vertical slits.
"Yet... the human before me... is weak... far weaker... than the fallen ones..."
*Stats-wise, yeah.*
I'd grown overwhelmingly since waking in prison as the Forsaken One, but to the World Eater, I was still nothing.
Even the collapsed Kaykilia or Minerva would dwarf me if statted like a player.
Humanoid NPCs or bosses were one thing; monster bosses like the forsaken creation defied player scaling.
More stats meant diminishing returns—health in thousands, strength thousands, endurance thousands.
A level 62's stats were negligible.
*Yeah, better this way.*
Better overlooked as insignificant than marked as a threat.
*Please just assume that and move on,* I prayed inwardly.
"Something else... must be there... the power that slew it..."
*Damn it.*
I clutched my head as its words shifted. No brushing this off.
*Isn't there any way out?*
Other bosses, I could complain and fight now. Not the World Eater.
Can't damage it physically—how to win?
Plus, far larger than in-game, one aerial breath from above spelled instant death. And such patterns existed.
"Crave... truth..."
*Crap.*
Its eyes blackened. Simultaneously, the mana human's head sprouted eyes—black vertical slits like the dragon's.
Spotting them, I whipped out my bloodied sword and slashed. The blade cleanly severed its neck. The head rolled to the wall.
It stopped facing the wall, but soon new eyes and mouth grew from the back of its skull, facing me.
The new mouth on the occiput flapped, forming words.
"Why... did you... attack this...?"
*...So it comes to this.*
It tried reading my memories like in-game, and I reacted on instinct. I'd braced for it, but it still tasted bitter.
With humans, I could claim self-defense; but this was a dragon. One that could end the world.
No self-awareness of its suspicious act—it'd see interference as hiding something.
Similar situation happened in-game.
"Speak...!"
The severed head's eyes bulged; the dragon's body glared red.