Chapter 100
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100
…dragged. It was dragged over with anticlimactic ease.
Swallow slammed the creature straight into the ground.
Boom!
The ground around the impact point erupted as if a bomb had gone off.
Swallow swung his arm again and again, sending repeated explosions echoing from the exact same spot.
The racket only subsided when he finally let the creature go.
Releasing his grip, Swallow strolled leisurely toward the crater. At the very bottom of the pit, the battered creature was squirming.
Crouching inside the crater like a child observing ants, Swallow reached out and injected mana into its body.
The creature expanded.
In an instant, its body bloated to several times its original size, swelling like a balloon.
Naturally, it couldn't withstand the pressure.
Pop!
The rapidly expanding creature burst with a loud pop, sending a spray of filth dozens of meters into the air.
“Ugh, disgusting.”
“...”
It had all happened in less than three seconds. And with that, it was over.
It was well and truly over.
Shards of flesh that had been blasted into the sky rained down in a torrent.
Even as the vile rain of gore pelted her, Melju could only stare blankly at Swallow.
The enemy had been incredibly formidable.
In her current state, she wouldn't have stood a ghost of a chance. It was undeniably stronger than a dragon, stronger than most Demon Kings, and perhaps even stronger than the grotesquely mutated Marmolia from earlier.
And yet.
It was over in an instant.
Feeling a bit foolish, Melju rubbed the back of her neck.
Swallow yawned, completely indifferent to the falling viscera. Beside him, Rene—who had been fretting, “Lord Swallow, if you do that, something filthy might get into your mouth…!”—also let out a yawn, whether because it was contagious or because her accumulated fatigue had suddenly caught up with her.
“By the way, what happened here?” Swallow asked, but only after all the exploded fragments had finished raining down.
His tone was light, as if telling her not to feel pressured. After a brief hesitation, Melju decided there was no need to hide it.
“...It was Marmolia.”
“...Who’s that?”
“Hmm?”
“Rene knows,” Rene interjected. “She is the Demon King who doesn’t know the value of her own fingers.”
“Huh?”
Swallow still looked puzzled, as if he had no idea who she was.
Only after Melju explained in detail did Swallow let out an understanding “Ah,” as if finally remembering.
“That was her? She didn’t look anything like that.”
“I, too, am unsure of the circumstances.”
All Melju knew was that the entity she had been fighting was, indeed, Marmolia. She had no idea where or how Marmolia had ended up like this, nor did she have a clue about the other monsters that had raided Knecht alongside her.
The only thing she knew for sure was— “Ah, come to think of it, there is one suspicious detail.”
Strictly speaking, the bizarre creature Swallow had just blown up wasn’t Marmolia herself. It was an entity that had emerged from within her and consumed her body.
When Melju explained this, Swallow fell into thought for a few seconds before replying in a drowsy voice, “If it’s a parasite, that would make sense. There are quite a few unknown parasitic species in the world. Some live in lava, while others eat their host’s head and live on by mimicking it.”
Parasites that controlled their hosts were a dime a dozen. In fact, it was harder to find ones that didn’t.
“Though I don’t know if there’s anything formidable enough around here to take a Demon King as its host.”
“In any case, you are saying it was the work of a parasite.”
“Well, there are a few things about that theory that bother me, too… But then again, do we really have a reason to find out what happened to this Marmolia in the first place?”
Saying so, Swallow flopped down, using the monster dog that had accompanied them as a pillow. The monster dog didn’t seem to mind, politely folding its legs and sitting still.
“You don’t have any other grudges, do you?” Swallow asked casually. His voice was relaxed, but his gaze as he stared up at the sky was infinitely serious.
Since Melju was now an official member of their group, not just a guest, any risk factors besides ‘dying while defending the dungeon’ had to be eliminated. Losing Melju would be a direct loss for the dungeon.
“Rene will take care of everything for you.”
“Ah, no, it is fine. I have no other grudges,” Melju replied, waving her hand.
While the other Demon Kings under Yubar might not look kindly upon her, considering how easily they had submitted at Judeca, it was unlikely they would make the first move.
“...Then let’s go back. In times like these, leaving quickly is the best option.”
They had already caught a glimpse of the town’s situation when they entered Knecht. Although the human subjugation squads seemed to have brought the situation under control fairly quickly after reorganizing, the number of people killed in the initial onslaught appeared to be quite high.
What human would want to remain in a town overrun by monsters? Many would likely try to flee. Since the majority of the population consisted of transient subjugation squad members, far more people would be trying to escape this place than other towns.
“If we’re late, we’ll miss the carriage. Since we’ve finished recruiting the monsters anyway, let’s just go home.”
This was something Swallow had realized after spending a few days in Knecht—staying here any longer wouldn't let him rest peacefully. Especially now that they were in contact with Patrick, there was no way he would leave them alone.
As Melju reached to retrieve her staff, which was lying some distance away, the monster dog serving as Swallow’s pillow suddenly bolted toward it.
With its pillow abruptly gone, Swallow’s head slammed onto the ground.
A comical “Oof!” escaped his lips.
“Ah, that son of a…”
As if the ancient monster’s words were entirely beneath its notice, the monster dog didn’t even look back. It scooped up the staff in its jaws and trotted over to its master, Melju.
When Melju patted its head and thanked it, the monster dog, perhaps feeling the praise was insufficient, scooped up a mouthful of the flesh scattered on the ground and brought it over.
“No, it’s dirty! You mustn’t eat that.”
When Melju waved her hands in refusal, the monster dog shook its head, scattering the bits of flesh in all directions.
Swallow, who had been watching the scene with dumbfounded eyes, stood up and scratched the back of his head.
“...If you’ve got everything, let’s go.”
Just as they began to walk away—
“Lord Swallow.”
This time, it was Rene’s voice.
Swallow turned, his expression hardening as he noticed the unusual look on her face.
When Swallow had killed the creature using a degraded version of <Mana Explosion>, fragments of flesh had splattered everywhere. The monster dog had just scattered those very pieces all over the place. One of them had landed on Rene’s maid uniform, and as she went to brush it off, she seemed to have noticed something.
“These things…”
As she spoke, Rene squeezed the piece of flesh in her hand.
The crushed flesh oozed a liquid that dripped down from her small hand. Lacking any viscosity, it fell like water—it was clearly not ordinary blood.
Its true nature was something only Rene could recognize.
Something she could perceive precisely because she was a ‘homunculus maid’.
“...These things, they are homunculi.”
*
Silence hung heavy inside the Magic Tower Polaris.
The trump card they had played to draw out Swallow had been eliminated the very moment it appeared.
There hadn’t even been time to test its strength, let alone analyze its combat patterns or weaknesses. In fact, during that brief clash, Swallow didn't even seem to be trying.
“...”
No one dared to speak. The leader of the Magic Tower stood with his mouth agape in sheer shock, while the magic scholars, unable to hide their dismay, anxiously watched Ar’s reaction.
Hadn’t they called it a ‘confident masterpiece’?
No, it didn’t lose because it was weak.
In truth, the creature had been incredibly powerful. Having utilized every possible method to augment its strength, it could have easily crushed a minor Demon King like Melju.
“I-It was designed to fight on equal terms for at least three minutes… against the standards of other Great Evil Caves…” a magic scholar from the ‘Third Eye’ stammered out excuses in a panicked voice.
While Swallow, who had just demonstrated his terrifying power, was a source of dread, the scholar truly feared Ar. If Ar were to utter a single word—“Punish them”—the two knights standing beside him would execute them in an instant. Ar was more than capable of doing so.
“Sir Sturman, what do you think?”
Showing no sign of even considering the scholar’s excuses, Ar suddenly turned to Sturman.
As everyone swallowed hard, the veteran knight standing firmly by Ar’s side replied immediately.
“It is as expected.”
Next, Ar’s gaze shifted to the green-haired escort knight. Instead of answering, the knight gave a slight nod.
“Let us return.”
Ar merely smiled.
He rose from his seat and turned toward the door. It wasn't just the smile on his face; his every gesture held none of the anger everyone had anticipated.
Just like his two knights, Ar had also expected this.
He knew that no matter what kind of monster they created through alchemy, it would be helpless before Swallow. He had believed from the start that they wouldn't even be able to scratch him, let alone defeat him.
There was no need to call Uin, after all.
What he had actually worried about was the possibility of Swallow not showing up. That would have complicated things, as it would mean they couldn’t easily predict his movements. In that scenario, Ar’s side would have had to clean up Marmolia themselves—a tedious chore.
Indeed, Uin Historia had been kept on standby for exactly that contingency.
“Let us hurry.”
Compared to that alternative, the current outcome was quite satisfactory. All that remained was to make a swift departure.
As Ar walked away without another word, the two knights followed close behind. The magic scholars exchanged anxious glances before trailing after them.
“W-wait, please hold on!”
As they were about to open the door to the tower stairs, the leader of the Magic Tower cried out pleadingly.
Ar, who was in the lead, stopped. The two knights turned back, their expressions dripping with displeasure. The veteran Sturman’s gaze was particularly fierce—a glare intense enough to make even the Magic Tower’s leader, a man of formidable standing, shrink back.
Yet, refusing to back down, the leader squeezed out his words.
“Deputy.”
“Speak.”
“Is this… is this the end?”
Hearing this, Ar turned around, his tone as nonchalant as ever as he deliberately locked eyes with the Magic Tower leader.
“Thousands of people have died… Not just one or two, but thousands! If this is truly the end, what happens to those who died?”
“What is the meaning of this?” Ar asked, not addressing the leader, but one of the other magic scholars.
“My apologies. We certainly discussed this beforehand when we made our deal.”
“I-I knew there would be casualties! But you clearly said it was an ‘unavoidable sacrifice for the future of humanity.’ You never said this many would die. And even if I accept that as truly unavoidable, this is completely…”
Their deaths have no meaning at all.
The leader hung his head, muttering the last words so softly that no one could hear.
“I am sorry. I spoke out of turn…” he submitted immediately, likely realizing that Ar’s gaze had grown progressively colder as he listened.
“An easy misunderstanding to make, I suppose,” Ar said, observing the shift in the leader’s attitude. His voice was stiff and cold.
That we gained nothing?
Wrong.
Half-baked power is of no use against Swallow.
There are beings that the monster prioritizes enough to personally step onto the front lines.
Had they not confirmed all these facts—which had previously been mere assumptions—with absolute certainty in such a short time?
As expected, power had to be concentrated.
“Their sacrifices were not in vain.”
That wasn't all.
The mass-produced 5th-generation homunculus they had deployed was a top-secret creation. It was impossible to identify it as a homunculus by its outward appearance alone; only those who had reached the pinnacle of alchemy would be able to tell. In other words, very few could recognize them.
At the very least, no such person currently existed in Knecht. There was no way a mere monster could figure it out, either.
Thus, this incident could be neatly written off as a vague, natural disaster.
…Chaos within the Empire would only accelerate the war.
‘Creating a situation that forces the use of a Masterpiece’s power’ was also the fastest way to gather the Masterpieces.
“In any case, there are many brave humans in Knecht. The casualties were only half of what we anticipated.”
Leaving behind those words, Ar exited the Magic Tower. The leader watched his retreating figure with a dazed expression.
In any case, Swallow does not destroy human towns.
That ancient monster was not a mindless beast that engaged in wanton destruction. When visiting a human town with a specific purpose, he would not engage in unnecessary slaughter unless, as before, ‘what he sought was held by humans.’