Chapter 97
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 97
The sky was gradually darkening. The darkness crept in with an ominous atmosphere, seeming to encroach upon everything around it.
The monster that had been crawling on the ground stumbled several times before slowly rising to its feet.
Once it finally managed to stand, it straightened its body. As it arched its back and raised its head, the remnants of corpses clinging to its flesh fell to the ground with wet, heavy thuds.
Blood pooled everywhere, and a massive corpse twitched as if still clinging to life. Standing alone beside them was the skeletal monster.
All of these elements came together to form a single, horrific scene.
While everyone watched in tense vigilance, the monster raised its head and stared up at the sky.
A long silence followed.
No one dared to make a move.
They simply could not fathom the monster's intentions.
A baseless hope that nothing would happen as long as the silence persisted also played a part.
Five seconds, ten seconds, twenty seconds.
What finally broke the heavy silence was the very monster that had caused it.
The creature, which had been acting so erratically, suddenly snapped its head back. Its head twisted at an angle close to 180 degrees, staring directly at Melju.
Melju stared back.
A moment later, the monster roared.
*
The severed head of a mage rolled across the ground. His torso crashed to the earth a moment later, and the fluids leaking from the stump soaked the soles of the other humans' boots.
“…What on earth is that?”
The humans were struck with horror.
Although they had struggled against the giant monster earlier, each of them was an A-rank Subjugation Squad Member. They were all veterans who had cleared anywhere from dozens to hundreds of dungeons.
To reach the prestigious rank of A-class, they had crossed the boundary between life and death countless times.
They had seen countless hideous monsters and faced enemies whose mere Touki (Fighting Spirit) or mana was enough to shatter their allies' will to fight.
Yet, they had fought and triumphed over those enemies, hadn't they?
The only reason they hadn't abandoned their weapons was because of hope—the possibility of victory.
Even against the giant monster from earlier, they had believed there was a slim chance. It was a formidable foe, but not an 'unwinnable opponent.'
…But the monster before them now was truly an unwinnable opponent.
“We can’t win. Absolutely, definitely, under no circumstances can we win,” the archer said, his voice strained.
If the magical energy emitted by a typical A-rank Dungeon’s boss made one’s skin crawl, this monster’s aura squeezed the very heart.
It meant this creature was, at the very least, 'stronger than the Demon King.'
As he came to that conclusion, his thoughts raced. What kind of monster is stronger than the Demon King? The only things that come to mind are the Spirit King and the entities of the Great Evil Cave.
“We have to run,” the archer spoke again, his lips trembling.
This time, even if someone else suggested fighting, he had no intention of agreeing.
“But how? The mages who can use Teleportation Magic are…” the knight asked. From Atenbail of the Ursus Red Snake Subjugation Squad to the one who had just been decapitated—every single mage was dead.
“I have scrolls.”
The swordsman, who had kept his eyes glued to the monster throughout the conversation, only pulled out the scrolls after confirming that the enemy was momentarily still.
He pulled out four.
They were scrolls imbued with Teleportation Magic.
He hadn't brought them out initially because their party had numbered over ten, but now, almost everyone was dead. Of the five swordsmen who had started this fight, he was the only one left.
Whether by cruel irony or sheer luck, their numbers had dwindled to match the exact number of scrolls.
“Will using these actually save us?”
“It’ll chase us. It’ll definitely come after us.”
“…If we teleport in different directions, two or three of us might make it out alive.”
They whispered their desperate plans in hushed tones.
Since any option other than tearing the scrolls led directly to death, some voiced their anxieties, but no one opposed the plan.
After a brief exchange, the swordsman glanced back at the monster. Its head was still turned toward the Demon King, who also seemed hesitant to make a move.
While the monster was distracted—this was their best, and perhaps only, chance.
Without a sound, they tore their scrolls simultaneously, as if on a silent cue.
With a sharp rip, the parchment caught fire. The scrolls dissolved into thin air, releasing the massive amounts of mana sealed within them.
Instantly, small magic circles began to form beneath their feet.
—All of this took less than a single second.
A mere blink of an eye, a fraction of a moment.
“Kieeeeeeeeeek!”
Just as the magic circles were about to solidify, the monster shrieked.
The foul, stagnant mana laced within its cry rippled outward in a physical shockwave.
The expanding black wave violently shook everything in its path.
“?!”
Feeling as though their internal organs were being turned inside out, the squad members grimaced in agony. Their stomachs churned.
But that wasn't the real problem.
The true problem was something far more critical than their physical discomfort.
Their sole beacon of hope—the magic circles.
“…No.”
—They had collapsed, shattered by the clashing mana.
The knight, the first to grasp the gravity of the situation, whipped his head toward the monster. A harsh curse escaped his lips. In the brief instant the shockwave had rippled out, the monster had already vanished.
Where did it—
Before he could finish the thought, a shadow loomed over him.
…It hadn't vanished. It had leaped dozens of meters into the air.
Crash!
Closing the distance in an instant, the monster slammed down directly in front of them.
The violent tremor threw them off balance, making it impossible to even grip their weapons. But the monster had no intention of giving them a moment's respite. Shrugging off the impact of its landing, it lunged.
In a desperate bid to block the assault, the swordsman raised his blade and the knight raised his shield.
For ordinary humans, the situation would have been pure chaos, making their reaction speed nothing short of miraculous—but then, “Gaaaaak!”
With a single sweep of the monster's arm, the knight was sent flying, shield and all.
He didn't even have time to scream.
The knight hurtled dozens of meters through the air and slammed into a massive tree trunk. The surrounding area collapsed with a deafening roar. His body spasmed violently before going completely still.
Crimson pooled from the gaps in his armor.
“Don’t you dare look down on us!!”
Watching this unfold from inches away, the swordsman let out a guttural scream and unleashed a desperate slash.
At point-blank range, his sharp blade sliced diagonally across the monster's abdomen.
With a sickening tear, the flesh split open, spraying dark blood in all directions.
And yet…
“Ah.”
Staring at the deep gash he had just carved, the swordsman let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha… hahaha.”
He had landed a perfect strike, but that was it. Because he hadn't killed it with the first blow, there would be no second. It was merely a ‘decent attack.’
That was all it was.
“Damn it.”
The monster snatched the swordsman by the waist.
As if something was boiling within its body, blisters began to swell across its flesh.
The monster squeezed. The muscles in its arm swelled to an unnatural size.
Those swollen hands gripped the swordsman and—<Mana Explosion>.
What followed was a spectacle too gruesome to look upon.
The two surviving squad members had no other choice.
They ran for their lives.
They ran like madmen, desperate not to waste the precious seconds bought by the swordsman's death.
But the monster refused to grant them even that small window. Tossing the unrecognizable corpse to the ground, it leaped dozens of meters once more, descending upon another human.
A desperate plea echoed from where the monster landed. Help me, please help me! I don’t want to die— The voice cut off with the wet sound of tearing flesh and a final, choked scream.
The sound of his comrades being torn to shreds.
Forcing himself to ignore the horrific sounds, the archer—the sole survivor—ran, gasping for breath.
His mind had gone completely blank, save for a single, frantic thought repeating like a broken record.
I'm going to die. I'm going to die. The moment I stop, I die.
Ah, how pathetic. Damn it all. Had he ever been this weak in his entire life?
Was his confidence that he could pierce the heart of any monster, and the A-rank badge that validated it, truly this useless?
The archer fled toward the forest. It was the best terrain he could hope for, given his expertise in navigating the canopy.
He ran desperately. Though the path was a chaotic tangle of vines and roots, he navigated the obstacles with fluid ease, pushing forward at breakneck speed.
…It was then, at the edge of the forest, that the fleeing archer ran into a scouting party.
“S-Savior!”
They addressed him with deep reverence. “Savior” was the least respect the common folk could offer the brave souls who had volunteered to stand against the calamity.
“What is the situation? If you require reinforcements, we can request aid from the Subjugation Agency immediately—”
“What good will reinforcements do now, you fucking idiots?!”
It was too late. Far, far too late. Unable to control his rising panic, the archer screamed at them. As the scouts cowered in terror, he forced a semblance of calm back into his voice.
“Forget about reinforcements. Just run. Go back! You need to evacuate everyone, right now…”
His lips trembled so violently he could barely form the words. But as he struggled to speak, a sudden fluctuation of mana rippled from behind him.
The tension drained from the archer's face, leaving it completely blank. The only emotion left was absolute resignation. He let out a hollow laugh, finally understanding the reactions of his fallen comrades.
He finally understood why they had smiled in their final moments.
“S-Savior? What’s wrong?”
“Ha… haha. Savior? What a joke.”
As the crushing wave of mana closed in, he whispered, “It’s over, you fools.”
A cataclysmic spell swallowed the forest whole.
*
Now, only the two of them remained.
Unlike the humans, Melju did not run. It wasn't out of despair; she simply knew, with absolute certainty, that attempting to flee was pointless.
The creature…
The monster before her had just finished slaughtering the humans. Throughout the entire process, it hadn't spared Melju a single glance. It was as if it had cleared the stage specifically to leave the two of them alone.
The creature…
“Marmolia.”
Though skeletal and emaciated, it was undoubtedly Marmolia.
The broken horn, the half-regenerated fangs visible whenever she opened her mouth—her appearance now resembled the form Melju remembered.
If her previous form had been a mere shell, she had now revealed her true self.
“Gaak… aaaak… Gaak.”
As if responding to Melju's voice, Marmolia let out an agonized shriek. She was a hideous sight. Though her frame retained the silhouette of her original self, her once-beautiful skin was now melting away in a grotesque slurry.
Ever since she had unleashed that high-tier spell upon the forest, her decay had rapidly accelerated.
“Ga… aak…”
Marmolia stumbled forward, taking slow, agonizing steps while shrieking continuously. Yet, Melju understood the meaning behind those cries.
—Because a telepathic message had been echoing in her mind for some time now.
[It hurts… it hurts… My body… it’s melting… My body…]
Her melting flesh dripped to the ground like hot wax. It was the price she paid for her newfound power—her very body was collapsing.
She wouldn't last much longer.
Anyone could see it; the physical degradation was too obvious to ignore.
[Melju… I… My body… it’s melting… My body…]
Marmolia herself seemed to understand this.
And yet…
[It hurts… it hurts… sob… hic… It’s so hot…]
She did not ask for help.
She did not beg for her life.
[But… before that happens…]
[I think… I can still kill you.]
Suddenly cutting off the telepathic link, Marmolia kicked off the ground and lunged at Melju.
Her speed was staggering, easily matching the explosive leap she had performed earlier.
Some human vanguards used boots enchanted with <Light Feathers> to achieve bursts of speed, but Marmolia was easily twice as fast.
By the time Melju registered that Marmolia had moved, the distance between them had already shrunk by over ten meters.
Melju, however, had been preparing her magic ever since Marmolia first crawled out from the giant corpse.
Abandoning any thought of Teleportation Magic, she had chosen to muster the absolute limit of her offensive power.
For some reason, Marmolia had made no attempt to interrupt her casting.
If I can just hold out, I win.
Melju was certain of it.
To win this battle, she didn't even need to push Marmolia to the brink.
Time itself would kill her.
Her collapsing body would weaken with every passing second. Melju only needed to survive until the decay progressed halfway—she just had to buy time.
Aiming at the charging Marmolia, Melju unleashed the high-tier spell she had prepared.
A torrent of absolute zero, designed to freeze her in her tracks, swirled toward the oncoming monster.
A violent blizzard raged within the confined space.
The jagged shards of ice swirling chaotically through the air were as lethal as razor-sharp blades.