Chapter 197
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197
The shadow of Calamidad fell over the older Yaksha sister.
Ah, right.
Her mind was so hazy she’d already forgotten what she had just done.
Had she really managed to get its full attention?
To think her very first mission would end like this.
"...This sucks."
Calamidad raised its leg. Perhaps realizing she was still alive after being sent flying twice, it now seemed intent on crushing her to death.
"..."
It was a stomp, much slower than a sweep. I can see it coming, the older Yaksha sister thought, clinging to consciousness, but I can't dodge. Her body was in no condition to escape a blast radius of dozens of meters in just a few seconds.
The shadow of its foot grew, blotting out the sky.
Just as the older Yaksha sister was about to close her eyes in resignation, the descending shadow stopped.
Her ruptured hearing slowly returned, filled with a sound like groaning metal and twisting muscle. Creak. Groan.
"Sister!"
At the sound of her name, the older Yaksha sister forced her head up.
Before her stood the younger Yaksha sister, blocking the giant turtle's foot head-on.
She was holding her ground. No, she was doing more than that—she was lifting it, overpowering the full weight of the 500-meter-long Calamidad with sheer strength.
…But that wasn’t the problem.
"Hey, you…"
"Run, sister!"
"You'll die at this rate."
Of course, the older Yaksha sister knew that her younger sister's 'vessel of strength' was immense.
It was likely the largest among all living Yakshas. Though she had never met their ancestor, Kubera, she was confident her sister wouldn't lose to him in a contest of pure strength.
The problem was that her power had no limits.
A normal Yaksha only released as much power from their 'vessel of strength' as their body could safely handle. The younger sister, despite possessing a massive vessel, had no such safety mechanism. She didn't know her own physical limits. It was like trying to pour a single drop from a bottle with no neck; the opening was so wide that fine control was impossible. She simply couldn't regulate the flow.
"..."
The older Yaksha sister stared blankly at her younger sister.
The cracking sound came from the younger sister's body. Blood vessels burst across her skin and her joints twisted under the strain. This was the price of standing up to Calamidad.
"...Stop. It's too dangerous," the older sister muttered.
Whether her voice didn't reach or she was simply pretending not to hear, the younger Yaksha sister kept pushing back against the foot.
—And then.
She shoved the foot away.
"Gaaaaah!"
Overpowered, Calamidad's massive body lost its balance, teetered, and collapsed.
It didn't flip onto its back, however. Falling onto its side, Calamidad rolled half a turn before righting itself.
It might have been a comical sight for a small turtle, but when a 500-meter colossus rolled across the ground, every living thing caught beneath its bulk was crushed to death. The terrain was gouged into a deep trench, everything in its path obliterated without a trace.
"Pant, pant, pant."
Having barely managed to push Calamidad back, the younger Yaksha sister was drenched in sweat. A mouthful of orange blood, not red, poured from her lips.
Her eyes were bloodshot from ruptured capillaries. Her hands had turned black, stained by a concentration of power that had far exceeded her body's capacity.
Catching her breath with great difficulty, she spoke.
"Sister, pant, pant... run."
The other monsters in the pursuit squad hadn't been idle. Some had already set off toward Swallow to report the situation, while others engaged the creatures pouring from Calamidad's back.
The younger Yaksha sister had been riding a flying monster, surveying the area from all sides in search of a weakness. And she had found one.
As Yakshas, their bodies were covered in patterns that disrupted magic, so they could naturally recognize runes.
The pattern etched on the turtle's shell was exactly that.
"Calamidad knows how to use magic."
As if on cue, Calamidad roared. Its eyes, which had been scanning the surroundings with hostility, snapped toward the humans who had been pelting it with annoying stones.
"Kaaaaaaaah!"
As the turtle gaped its maw, a massive magic circle over ten meters in diameter began to form before it.
<White Extermination>.
It was a massive spell, slightly different from conventional magic. A colossal flash of freezing energy swept over the human encampment.
*
The vanguard, a Cockatrice, sprinted across the field with all its might.
A cacophony of sounds chased it from behind: the crash of uprooted trees, Calamidad's monstrous shrieks, and the deafening roar of the wind.
Glancing back, it could clearly see the massive shadow rampaging in the darkness.
The battle had already begun.
Faster. I have to report this faster.
The Cockatrice ran with only that single thought in mind.
It had never imagined that it, a creature that once reigned at the top of the food chain, would one day run so desperately just to deliver a message. But that thing was despair itself. A calamity. It only truly understood that after facing it.
To stop a Great Evil Cave, a Great Evil Cave was needed.
The distance… the distance is too far. The distance…
As if its mind could no longer form new thoughts, the Cockatrice kept repeating the same word. It was a creature that petrified its enemies with a single gaze, but now its own face was frozen like stone.
The Yaksha sisters were strong. Although it had never seen the younger sister's power, the older one was truly a force to be reckoned with.
Besides, the fact that she had even attempted to fight an Ancient Monster, even if it was just a test, proved she possessed a different level of courage. Everyone praised her for having a great vessel.
It acknowledged their strength. But still.
Even so, how long could they hold out?
The pursuit squad from Room 2 had already traveled south for hours without rest to reach the edge of human territory. Even with messenger monsters stationed along the route, it would take a considerable amount of time for Swallow to get the news and arrive.
Is this all pointless?
What if we go through all this trouble to call him, only to find everyone already dead?
"..."
「Your role is the most important.」
"Gurr, gurrrr."
Letting out its characteristic cry, the Cockatrice vigorously shook its rooster-like head.
The younger Yaksha sister, the administrator of their room, had told it so herself. All it had to do was run. If it did its best and still failed, that was a problem for later.
"Gurr, gurrrr."
For a long time. For a very long time.
Until the noise from behind faded completely. Until Calamidad's massive shadow was hidden by the trees and could no longer be seen.
The Cockatrice ran.
But its stamina was not infinite. It grew breathless. Gasping for air, it let out its strange, peculiar cry.
Breathing while making that sound allowed it to run just a little bit longer.
"Gurrrrrrr."
The sound went on and on, eventually beginning to sound like a human weeping. After crying like that for a long time, the Cockatrice finally stopped. Traveling a distance it had spent hours walking without a single break was simply impossible.
Give up. Rest.
Just as those two words began to consume its mind, a voice spoke.
"If my memory serves me right, are you not a fellow monster assigned to Room 2?"
The Cockatrice raised its sagging head.
"You seem to be in a dire situation. Is there anything I can do to help?"
Standing before it was a powerhouse who had drawn considerable attention during the test.
*
The flash of freezing energy swept over the humans who had been camped on the plains, pelting the beast with stones.
No screams were heard. The older Yaksha sister didn't know if it was because her eardrums had yet to recover, because the distance was too great, or because they had died before they could even scream.
But since the plains were flat, one thing was certain. The humans had been annihilated without a trace.
The grass and trees around the impact zone were frozen solid with frost.
It didn't shoot it from its mouth.
The younger Yaksha sister had said Calamidad could use magic. And the older sister had just seen it with her own eyes.
A massive magic circle had formed in front of its mouth.
—Their prior intel never mentioned the turtle could cast magic.
"This is a complete mess..."
All the information they had was based on what spread after the northern count's territory drove Calamidad away with anti-air magic and artillery. They shouldn't have assumed that was the extent of its abilities.
They should have thought more deeply about why Swallow had warned them not to touch Calamidad, a creature rumored to be so cowardly.
"..."
The older Yaksha sister staggered to her feet and assessed the situation.
Few of the monsters were unharmed. Four lay collapsed right in front of her. She didn't blame them, of course. If anything, she felt sorry.
Even though she had been too busy staying alive to issue orders, her subordinates had done their absolute best. Earlier, when the second stomp had knocked her unconscious for several seconds, the monsters of Room 2 had harassed Calamidad, delaying its advance.
The time they bought allowed the younger sister to arrive, saving her life.
…
Yet, despite their sacrifices, they had nothing to show for it.
There's no time for despair.
She had to figure out their next move. The older Yaksha sister reconsidered her options.
First, with too few mobile monsters left, a strategy of dividing tasks was impossible.
In that case, I guess it has to be…
Should she, the one who currently held Calamidad's attention, act as bait and lure it far away to keep the egg safe?
"That might not be a good idea, sister."
Whether she was thinking the same thing or had read her mind, the younger Yaksha sister interrupted her thoughts.
"We've already provoked it as much as we possibly can."
"Think about how Calamidad has moved so far."
"..."
"It might not leave a certain range from its nest. And you saw that magic just now."
It had a way to intercept enemies from a distance. If the older sister tried to draw it away, she might just get hit by that spell.
After a moment's thought, the older Yaksha sister spoke.
"Even so, it's our best option right now."
"..."
"The second egg broke, but that bastard isn't reacting to it. It's already lost its mind and doesn't even realize another egg is gone."
Nothing was certain. They could only find out by trying. However…
"It's worth a shot."
"Then let's do this, sister."
As they spoke, a massive, heavy current of air swept over them.
Calamidad's foot came down again. Perhaps due to the lingering aftereffects of its spell, its speed was slower this time. The Yaksha sisters dodged, fleeing in opposite directions.
And immediately after,
"Hey! You…!"
Grabbing a tree trunk with one hand, the younger Yaksha sister stepped on Calamidad's foot and leaped.
Perhaps because she'd managed to control her power output this time, unlike her sister, the younger Yaksha reached the shell in a single bound.
Unable to bear the pain this time, the younger sister let out a groan.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
"..."
—There was no turning back now.
First, the younger Yaksha sister threw the tree trunk she was holding with all her might. Since she hadn't drawn power from her vessel, its force couldn't compare to her older sister's—yet the trunk still flew with considerable force, striking the piece of wood the older sister had driven into Calamidad's neck earlier.
As the wooden stake in its neck twisted, Calamidad thrashed in agony. In that opening, the older Yaksha sister ran toward its head with all her might.
Once again, the massive pupil of the colossal Calamidad met the red gaze of the older Yaksha sister.
"Dumbass."
Amidst the crushing pressure weighing down on her, the older sister shot it a defiant middle finger and kept running.
The forefoot came at her again. The foot thrust forward to crush, not swing, and was manageable as long as she avoided the gale-force winds generated by its massive bulk.
With all her might, the older Yaksha sister dodged the attacks and kept moving forward. If the turtle kept stepping forward like this, it would go exactly according to her plan. She wasn't entirely unprepared; she would tear the scroll in her robes and hide in the nearby bushes once Calamidad left its nest to target only her.
During that time, the younger Yaksha sister climbed up the shell and ran toward Calamidad's neck.
The patterns on the shell glowed red, radiating intense heat from the aftereffects of the magic. For the younger sister, running across the shell felt like walking through fire. Blisters erupted on her feet. Her entire body screamed in protest. Yet, she kept running.
By the time she finally managed to climb onto Calamidad's neck,
"...No."
"Gyaaaaak!"
The turtle roared as the patterns on its shell flared with light.