Chapter 133
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Operation Change
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Please wait! I-I haven't failed yet!"
A demon with limbs half-melted away, red hair, a black body, sixteen eyes, four hearts, enormous bat wings, and avian tail feathers trembled as it prostrated itself.
Standing before it was a single tiny leaf insect.
For a high-ranking demon like him, this insignificant pest could be killed simply by exuding his presence, without any need for special measures.
"......"
The leaf insect merely perched on a small leaf, staring blankly at Sukra with its compound green eyes.
"Demon King! Lord of all demons and the pinnacle of our kind! Please show mercy! I will smash that damned village to pieces right now, slaughter the elves, and offer all their limbs to you! Please! Please!"
Sukra, who had been kowtowing and slamming his forehead into the ground before the motionless insect, suddenly froze in place.
How long had he remained prostrated without the slightest movement?
"Ha, haha... hahahaha..."
Slowly rising, he let out a hollow, deflated laugh.
"An opportunity... an opportunity, you say. This is my opportunity..."
Crack! Crunch!
In the next instant, his body began to undergo a grotesque transformation.
His skin tore open, forming eye sockets and mouths; his muscles twisted and swelled into unfamiliar shapes; his bones shattered and reformed into supports for a new lifeform.
It was an act of ripping apart the essence of life itself and reshaping it into an entirely new form.
He was now insect, fish, and beast all at once.
Just as Sukra had desecrated life in the Great Forest by scattering his authority and plagues, his own life was now being profaned to an extreme degree.
"Guhhh... grrrk...!"
It resembled countless births.
—Kiiieek! Kiiieek...!
—Kyaaeeee...!
—Kyahahaha!! Kyahahahaha!!
The bizarre, grotesque cries announced the birth of these lifeforms, which clung tightly to Sukra's body and became part of him once more.
They had no choice.
These pitiful creatures, born in violation of natural laws despite being alive, could not survive without a host.
"Kahk, kuh...!"
After enduring the agony of a prolonged birth, Sukra's form had changed beyond recognition.
His gaunt face and body revealed stark bone outlines, and the irregular faces protruding from various spots made him look like a sinner tormented in hell.
"...Starnassila... Alzen..."
Having weathered the pain of birth for so long, the being murmured a single name while staring piercingly in one direction.
Its eyes were abyss-deep, filled with nothing, resembling meaningless voids.
"What... sort of existence are you...?"
Muttering in a feeble voice that seemed to have abandoned all hope, the being began moving toward that direction.
As it advanced, profane authority leaked from its footsteps, corrupting all living things around it.
The assault on the elf village continued relentlessly for days.
Yet there were no precarious or dangerous moments.
The grotesquely mutated monsters possessed fragility befitting their precarious forms.
They threatened with claws, fangs, and spines that seemed crudely imitated, along with their hefty bulk, but they only looked plausible on the surface. In reality, they were so rough and sloppy that even an ordinary human couldn't be properly killed.
Though their numbers were absurdly vast and they clung to life tenaciously, that was all.
"...They take after their master."
I murmured absentmindedly while gazing at the waves of oncoming monsters.
The owner of the authority causing this phenomenon, Demon King Otilib, was a similar existence.
He lacked the firepower to one-shot properly raised characters, thrilling mechanics, or instant-death traps that made your neck hairs stand on end—but he was the type that wore players down with endless tenacity.
In that sense, Sukra might even be better.
At least Sukra had managed to create an instant-death move by combining his abilities and authority.
"......"
No, now that the game had become reality, perhaps Demon King Otilib's true terror lay not in single combat prowess.
In the game, it wasn't heavily depicted, and he could fight alone, but by lore, Otilib's authority allowed him to dominate any lifeform and manipulate it at will.
In other words, if he wanted, he could create infinite minions from his subordinates.
"Hey, isn't something off about this?"
Turning at the sharp voice that broke my reverie, I saw Weller—wielding her staff-form legendary relic 'Stubbornness of the Fool'—with arms crossed and a sullen glare.
Her unnecessarily emphasized cleavage drew my eyes involuntarily, which was annoying.
"What's your complaint this time?"
"This situation. Isn't it different from what you said? That Sukra guy was supposed to charge out after just a few days of waiting, right?"
"...Yeah, I did say that."
"But we haven't seen hide nor hair of him?"
"Yeah, it's definitely weird."
"What're you gonna do? Even elves can't fight infinitely, no matter how strong they are."
"True. But don't you think we could hold out for a few years at least?"
I nodded toward the elves energetically firing arrows and spells, and she nodded back with a face that couldn't hide her exasperation.
"...I'm a bit thrown off by how ridiculously strong the elves are, but there has to be a limit."
"Probably."
"...Hey. Are you answering like that on purpose just to piss me off?"
"How'd you guess?"
Griiiind!
"D-Dangerous!"
The ice spike she launched ground against Pashtra's battle axe.
Freezing cold ice particles covered my face, finally snapping me back to my senses.
"Ah~ Feels refreshing. These days, I feel empty without it."
"Cut the crap. Spill what you're thinking."
"...Well, if he doesn't come to us, we'll have to go find him... but that's pretty much impossible."
"Because his stealth skills are unmatched?"
"That's part of it, but with his authority, reshaping terrain or setting traps is child's play. If he wants, he could pick us off one by one and wipe us out in seconds."
"So, no way around it?"
"......"
After a moment's thought, I shook my head.
"Let's wait a few more days. If he still doesn't show, we'll have to go all out."
"How many days exactly?"
"Don't be so nitpicky. Loosen up a bit—it's not like it'll hurt."
"......"
She glared at me with half-lidded eyes, then sighed.
"Fine. Got it."
"What's this? Agreeing so easily? Will the sun rise in the west tomorrow?"
"Shut up."
With a prim retort, she turned back toward the barricade where the elves were stationed.
She seemed ready to dive back into the fray without tiring.
"Don't overdo it. Take it easy, sis."
"...You should cut back on the drinking yourself."
"Huh?"
I blinked at her in confusion, and she hurried away faster than usual.
Did Weller just worry about me?
"That's scarier..."
What shift in her mood was this? Or what was she scheming? Shaking my head, I looked up at the sky.
The enormous magic circle Benuit had deployed adorned the heavens, ominous and forebodingly dark.
Something had definitely intervened as a variable.
I thought that while watching the monsters grow stronger and more refined over time.
—Graaaaaah!
—Kyaaaaah!
The monsters now roared with fairly convincing voices rather than ear-splitting shrieks, their eerie yet vibrant eyes gleaming.
Their claws and fangs gleamed with a metallic sheen, and their well-structured legs propelled them forward at speeds incomparable to before.
Of course, monsters were still monsters.
Their forms resembled no earthly beast or monster, grotesque and bizarre like clay mangled by a child.
Yet the fact that they were starting to feel more plausible was far from good news.
"Sukra wouldn't pull something like this."
He could probably do it if he put his mind to it, but given his personality, he'd sooner empower himself and charge in solo.
Just like in the game.
Not stupid but not clever either, hot-tempered with little patience, despising the weak—it was hard to imagine him holing up somewhere researching his authority and fussing over life-sculpting.
"...Tch. That damn bastard's being a real pain."
Tsking in irritation and frustration, I chugged my booze, lit a cigarette, and stood up.
"Murel."
"Yes."
"Gather everyone. Looks like we'll have to poke around ourselves."
"Understood."
She melted into the shadows and soon assembled the entire party.
"Phew... Everyone's noticed the situation's changed, right?"
"Yes!"
"Y-Yes!? It has!? What's changed!?"
As everyone nodded, only Lempong Pashtra jumped in surprise, looking around.
Her airheaded innocence made me chuckle involuntarily, and I smacked her ample rear with a sharp slap.
"Kyaaak!?"
"Just switching from defense to offense."
"Oh... that's it! Even better! Defense-only doesn't suit my style anyway!"
She hefted her battle axe eagerly, her face beaming with a hearty smile.
"Heh. Same here, Pashtra. Don't ever change—stay like this forever."
"Huh? Uh... is that a compliment?"
"It is."
"Thank you! Yes! I won't change a bit!"
Her pure smile was so purifying that I patted her head.
"Phew... Alright, let's go."
"Hey. We're marching out—shouldn't you say something to boost morale at least? Stumbling around drunk will kill any morale we have."
At Weller's words, I tilted my head and scanned the group.
They neither agreed nor disagreed, just offering awkward smiles.
"Sigh... Sis, do I seem like the type? Let's just go casually. Hit 'em quick and simple, then head back."
"God, you're impossible..."
I shrugged at her peeved glare, then eyed the incoming monster waves and activated the 'Ring of Absolute Provocation'.
In that instant, the plague pervading the entire Great Forest surged skyward, blanketing everything in pitch black.