Chapter 175
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 175
A weak human lay collapsed on the ground.
“…”
Swallow looked down at him with a cold gaze.
The mangled body, its limbs torn off and shattered, could hardly be called human anymore. Still, sensing a familiar energy radiating from within, Swallow figured it was the same man he had met in Knecht.
Considering they crossed paths every time he visited the Empire, the man must have held a high-ranking position. With that, Swallow concluded his thoughts and spoke, his voice as dry as his musings.
“We seem to run into each other quite often.”
Perhaps it was fate.
Either way, it was equally meaningless to him.
“I thought you died a while ago.”
He had said as much out of a sliver of consideration, but the man only offered a faint, self-deprecating chuckle before falling silent. Unmoved, Swallow raised his head and resumed his calculations.
A pity about the Empire.
It had grown faster than any other human nation, making it the most promising candidate. But with things having come to this, it couldn’t be helped. Swallow smacked his lips and glanced up at the sky.
The small magic circle that had started on his palm had now expanded to a size that could swallow the entire battlefield.
The magic he was currently casting had no concept of “completion.” It was fundamentally different from human magic, which had a clear beginning, middle, and end—a process where a spell of a specific power was cast, and the caster could adjust its intensity at will.
For this spell, the sheer volume of stacked, repeating calculations determined its power.
Though if I gather too much, it will just disperse into the void.
He turned his head toward where Patrick had been, but both he and Azi Dahaka had long since vanished. Given Azi Dahaka’s flight speed, they must have already crossed half of Riaze by now, no matter how slowly they flew.
Considering the speed at which the magic would spread, the two of them would not be caught in the blast.
Swallow flicked the index finger of his raised hand.
The calculations ceased. In their place, an amount of mana corresponding to the stacked equations began to drain from his body.
As the black mana poured out, the bizarrely shaped magic circle in the sky began to expand. It didn’t just widen; it surged high into the heavens, completely blotting out the clouds.
The black mana inside Swallow's body began to surge in reverse.
Unable to withstand the violent torrent, Demeura, which was clasped around his wrist, shattered into pieces. Soon after, his Polymorph dissolved, and dark, chaotic masses erupted wildly from his body.
Once again, the form of a colossal monster descended upon the earth.
Hexabel, who had been slowly dying while trampled under Swallow’s foot, only managed to raise her head after the weight crushing her face was gone.
She looked at the sky.
More precisely, she looked at the pitch-black darkness blanketing it. Then, she looked up at the being that loomed over her.
“Kieeeek.”
An involuntary shriek escaped her.
This was no ordinary darkness. Thin beams of red light leaked through the gaps in the sprawling magic circle. The entire area was blanketed in a black aura, as if it were another world entirely.
This was not a sight unfamiliar to Hexabel. The first time she had witnessed it, however, she had been observing the magic from the outside, not from within.
“Kahihik, kuruk, karuk.”
Watching the magic unfold, Hexabel burst into a bizarre laugh. The sound was not of her own volition but a product of the latent black energy within her—implanted by the foreign mirror—resonating with the spell.
The thousands of insects sharing her consciousness were scattered across the area, but they were all meaningless now. Only after concluding that her chance of survival was zero did Hexabel speak in a low voice.
“You…”
Indeed.
“You are a creature that should not exist in this world.”
“I know,” Swallow replied. “That’s why I’m doing this.”
The magic circle covering the entirety of Riaze poured down a torrent of black light.
Because the light was a pure, spotless black, it appeared even darker and more distinct against the surrounding pitch-black darkness. To the creatures on the ground, it looked as if the sky had opened its maw to swallow the earth whole.
Every living thing in Riaze, including Hexabel, burned to ash upon contact with the black light. Riaze, a territory the size of several average cities combined, was vanishing entirely from a single spell. It was an overwhelmingly grand spectacle, yet not a single sound of destruction could be heard.
The darkness swallowed even sound itself.
In absolute silence.
Everything vanished.
Four days passed.
Epilogue
“Ah, we’re screwed,” Patrick said, opening the internal meeting of the Primordial Core.
“We are completely screwed.”
Perhaps thinking it was important, he said it twice.
He wasn’t simply criticizing Swallow’s irresponsible attitude. Unlike usual, his assessment wasn't accompanied by a sigh. It was a conclusion reached after analyzing a vast amount of data, which was why he added one more thing:
“Haha, we are utterly screwed!”
“Enough, you bastard,” Swallow cut him off, sensing Patrick would keep repeating himself if left unchecked.
Next to Patrick was a mountain of newspapers and parchments. This immense pile, reaching his shoulders as he sat, had all been gathered over the past four days.
There was no real need to gather materials to investigate. Since the imperial capital, which had boasted of its resilience for over 150 years, had been wiped off the map in an instant, special editions of newspapers had flooded in from all directions even while they were holed up in the dungeon.
“Stop just saying we’re screwed and explain the situation.” When Swallow asked on behalf of Rene and Melju, who were blinking blankly, Patrick finally let out a resigned sigh.
“Boss, in just four days, you’ve become a total celebrity. You’ve completely monopolized the attention of both the human and monster worlds.”
“Wasn’t Lord Swallow already famous?” Melju asked.
“Miss Melju, the nature of his fame has changed. It went from ‘the longest-surviving Great Evil Cave to watch out for’ to ‘a crazy monster that suddenly went on a rampage.’”
“Sir Patrick, isn’t that an honor from a monster’s perspective? Lord Swallow has finally established his image as the incarnation of fear!”
“Well… uh…”
Is that so?
Thinking she might actually have a point, Patrick’s jaw worked for a moment.
“Anyway, it’s true that the situation is beyond salvaging.”
The imperial capital, Riaze, was destroyed.
News regarding the Empire's current state was surprisingly scarce. Human newspapers were plastered with wild speculations about “Why did the ancient monster start running amok?”
There wasn't a single mention of how many had died, how many had evacuated, or what the situation was in the other territories.
There was also no news on whether the Emperor had survived.
“He’s alive.”
Swallow had said as much when he reached the ruins of the Imperial Palace after casting the spell. The item that should have been on the altar was gone, which meant it had been retrieved and evacuated beforehand. When Patrick asked if they needed to pursue him, Swallow had simply stomped on the palace ruins and laughed.
“It’s better for me if they rebuild.”
The fact that the Emperor was alive but hadn't announced his survival meant he likely judged the current situation too dangerous to reveal himself. Patrick readily agreed. The Emperor of the Empire was no fool.
While the Empire had fallen silent, other human nations began to move.
Because each country’s stance differed, it was impossible to predict the humans’ next moves. What was certain was that the peace of all humanity had been shattered. Fear bloomed everywhere that the monster might invade their own nations next.
“Staking the long history of our ducal house, I declare that we will protect our citizens from the threat of the Black Disaster by any means necessary!”
Some took a defensive stance.
“For the peace of our people! We shall strike down Swallow first!”
Others, conversely, took an aggressive one.
“I can’t predict what the humans will do next, either,” Patrick continued. “It would be easier if they were united, but it seems every nation has a different idea. It’s probably because they all deal with fear differently. Some humans want to run away, while others want to eliminate the source of that fear.”
“So, what’s the bottom line?”
“A lot of subjugation squads might invade our dungeon in the future. Or they might not.”
What kind of nonsense is he spouting?
As Swallow’s expression stiffened in sheer absurdity, Rene, who had been listening quietly, clapped her hands as if she understood.
“Ah, so it means we might have to prepare, or we might not.”
Wait, shouldn’t we always be preparing the dungeon regardless of whether humans come or not?
Melju thought to herself but couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud, merely smiling awkwardly.
Even though they hadn’t reached a conclusion, Patrick changed the subject. “Since there’s a lot to tell you, I’ll just deliver the information first.” He picked up one of the documents piled next to him.
“Also, a letter arrived from Lord Azi Dahaka. She said that since there’s no benefit in fighting us, we should call her if we ever need help.”
“There’s no harm in staying on friendly terms.”
“However, she added that while she would gladly come if called, we should try our best not to call her.”
“Is she telling us to call her or not?”
“I think she means we should call her, but also not call her.”
“Did you and Azi Dahaka get hit in the head together?”
Did my magic somehow reach them?
If the spell had hit them and scrambled their brains, it was definitely his fault. At the sudden realization, Swallow shut his mouth.
“Ah, and we also received word from the monster merchant guilds.”
“Are they sending food?”
“Of course not. It seems most of the large merchant guilds were secretly trading with the corrupt nobles of the Empire. The scale of that market was massive, and they contacted us to let us know it blew up overnight.”
Unlike the other documents, the parchment from the merchant guild was exceptionally fancy. Unrolling it with a flourish, Patrick scanned the contents.
“It seems they suffered quite a bit of damage. They’re beating around the bush to gauge our reaction… Ah, here’s a phrase that sums it up perfectly.”
“What does it say?”
“‘Please show us mercy,’ it says…”
“…”
“The parchment is slightly wrinkled. I believe those are tear stains.”
“…”
Speechless, Swallow hung his head. Glancing at his reaction, Patrick set the parchment down and continued.
“The monsters are in an uproar too, Boss. Nilkumbal has been completely dismantled, and Sand Hell’s position will be in jeopardy if a new boss doesn’t emerge soon.”
Rene chimed in.
“If we discount that dungeon from the Seven Great Evil Caves… out of the remaining six, only three are running properly. Cradle Margar, Cheite Castle, and here…”
Rene trailed off as she looked around. The dungeon was still a mess, littered with popcorn they hadn’t cleaned up yet. Her conscience pricked her too much to say it was running properly.
“Excluding… here, that makes two.”
“Oh, Lord Swallow! You are a true Great Evil Cave Slayer!” Melju exclaimed.
“That’s not a compliment, Miss Melju,” Patrick said.
“My fists have never known mercy,” Swallow muttered. “Demon Kings, Great Evil Caves, humans—all are equal before me.”
“Destroying everything isn’t something to brag about, Boss.”
And does it even make sense for a monster to talk about equality?
“…Anyway, in times like these, a new Great Evil Cave needs to emerge quickly to quiet the chaos. But since the Empire, which designates the Great Evil Caves, is paralyzed, the dungeons are in utter disarray. They’re apparently fighting among themselves to claim the title, like some kind of martial arts tournament. If this gets any worse, we might have to step in.”
“That damn Hexabel…”
I wondered what kind of mess a bug would leave behind when it died. Turns out, it’s this.
As if he didn’t want to hear any more, Swallow rolled from side to side. Every time his massive frame shifted, stalactites rained down from the cave ceiling like a shower.
“And Miss Melju has something to say.”
“Yes!”
Taking Swallow’s mental state into consideration, Patrick handed the floor to Melju. Only then did she approach Swallow, rummage through her sleeve, and pull out a sheet of paper to present to him.
“While you and Sir Patrick were away, a missive arrived.”
“Can I just burn it without reading it?”
That’s work. More work. At the thought, Swallow’s face filled with dread.
Reading the dread on the ancient monster’s face, Melju spoke soothingly, as if comforting him.
“It is not bad news! It is glad tidings. Lord Swallow, do you remember when we rescued the monsters from Knecht?”
“Yes. I put in a lot of effort.”
“That’s right. You killed a lot of them,” Rene added.
“Yes, exactly! You know the Yaksha tribe you visited back then? This is a letter from them.”
“…What does it say? Are they asking me to compensate them for their dead leader?”
“They say they are sending the two strongest members of their clan, and they ask us to take good care of them.”
“The two strongest?”
“Yes. It says they are sisters. Apparently, they are of Kubera’s direct lineage, and the letter asks that we assign them to a room befitting their skills.”
“Which means…”
Puffing out her chest proudly as if it were her own achievement, Melju announced, “Yes, we have new family members!”