Dwarves: Dragon's Ruin -2-
“GUOOOOOOH!!!”
From the hole explosively blasted through the city's ceiling, a roar that shook the entire city to its core erupted as an enormous maw filled with massive teeth—too vast to be fully captured by words alone—revealed itself.
“Death Worm!? No way!! It has to be...!?”
Parnil couldn't help but panic. The creature's form was unmistakably the Death Worm that had relentlessly tormented him. But at the same time, having observed Death Worms for so long, Parnil sensed something off.
It's not a Death Worm?
The reason for his certainty was simple.
“KUUOOOOOH!!!”
For one, the Death Worm was even larger than before, but the biggest difference lay in what composed its body. Volcanus's divinity had faintly dwelled within it, but it was still a living being with skin like tough rubber and flesh that pulsed with life. Yet this Death Worm that had appeared was made of entirely different materials. Not just its exterior, but even the massive teeth and the glimpse of its innards beyond were formed from rock, ore, soil—everything one could find underground. The shape was similar, but it was clearly a different entity. Moreover, the faint life force unique to Arakasia Great Death Worms, infused with the power of earth and heat, was absent.
This feels more like the aura of the...undead...
The moment that thought crossed his mind—
-CREEEEAK!!
-SHIIIIIIIINK!!!
The fake Death Worm's colossal maw yawned even wider, its teeth of solid metal ore parting to expose the cavernous interior. And from within that maw, eight objects streaked downward toward the surface, leaving afterimages in their wake.
“Squeak!! Bugs—bugs!! Terrifying—frightening!! Bugs!!”
“Squeeeak!! Squeak!!”
“Chitter!!”
Those positions were exactly where the ratmen—thrown into immediate panic by the Death Worm's emergence—clustered thickest: the staging area where Parnil's army was preparing to march, the breeding pits, the mushroom farms, and other high-density spots throughout the city.
The eight afterimages, trailing tails as they plummeted at high speed, sent a chill down Parnil's spine the instant he laid eyes on them.
I can't let those things hit the ground!!
And with that thought, he sprang into action.
Intercept them!!
-WOOOOONG!!!
-RUMBLE!!
Vast quantities of mana—practically infinite by human standards—surged from the Dragon Heart in his chest, gathering in his maw.
-WHIIIIIINE!!
Flames bearing heat intense enough to melt steel like thick syrup condensed in his mouth, shifting from red to white.
And then—
-KABOOOOOM!!!
Dragon's Breath
The white breath, compressed to an insane density and fired in a straight line like a laser beam, intercepted one of the objects hurtling toward the midst of Parnil and his assembled army.
Take that one out first, then the ones behind...
Parnil had expected the descending object to vaporize instantly upon contact with his breath and was already lining up the next target. But something beyond his expectations occurred.
-KUUUUUNG!!
-FWOOOMPH!!
What!?
Rather than melting away, the object repelled the breath, which split apart and scattered in all directions without penetrating it.
-RUMBLE RUMBLE!!
The splintered breath scattered like water droplets, slamming into innocent buildings and the city's ceiling, wreaking massive destruction.
Impossible!! My breath!!
Had his breath ever scattered like this in battle before? Absolutely not. Even if it didn't kill, it always inflicted severe damage. Even in the wars of the ancient gods, few besides the gods themselves emerged unscathed from his breath. As one of the world's strongest ancient dragons, his breath was feared and revered by his kin as the "Light of Ruin." A direct hit on the ceiling would pierce this thick underground mountain and beam all the way to the surface.
But what the hell is this pathetic display!?
It couldn't even obliterate a single small object and got deflected!?
I won't accept this!!
-KABOOOOOM!!!
Thus resolved, Parnil poured even more power into his breath, straining his heart.
-RUMBLE!!
Yet the falling object accelerated even faster, and the breath continued to split harmlessly.
As the object drew close enough for Parnil's eyes to make it out clearly—
“Umu!!”
It was a tall, muscular woman with black skin and pointed ears. Gripping a warhammer even larger than herself in both hands, she exuded black energy as she took the breath head-on. Despite the ultra-high-temperature white breath blasting her body directly, she showed no damage, grinning ferociously and aggressively. The black halo glowing above her head proclaimed she was no ordinary being.
That thing...!? An extinct Dwarven...!? No!!? But before that, my breath...!! Impossible...!!
His thoughts—first shocked by her identity, then doubly horrified that his breath was shrugged off like flashlight beams—were cut short.
“Umup!!”
-WHOOSH!!
-KABOOOM!!
Because the woman, now close enough—Lexi—swung her hammer.
The immense force shattered the air, generating a shockwave that smashed straight into Parnil's head.
-CRACK!!
-CRUNCH!!
The moment the hammer connected, the dragon's tough scales and skull crumbled like biscuits. Brain fluid, blood, and chunks of brain matter sprayed everywhere, the resulting shockwave ravaging the surroundings.
“Kieeeek!!!”
“Squeak!!”
“Graaah!?”
Nearby ratmen were bursting or crushed by the shockwave alone.
“Umu!!”
-THUD!!
As Lexi landed, the massive dragon corpse collapsed to the ground, sending a huge shock through the earth.
“Squeak!?”
“Squeak squeak!!”
The demons and Vermin King near the dragon had already burst from the earlier shockwave. All that remained were the lowest-grade ratmen fodder among the monsters—cowards with morale so low it had burrowed underground. Naturally, they immediately fled.
“Umu...”
Lexi eyed the fleeing ratmen with pity.
“Umuu!!”
She issued a commanding cry with a proud expression, as if ordering someone.
Then—
-THUD!! THUD!! THUD!! THUD!! THUD!! THUD!! THUD!!
The ground suddenly erupted, revealing seven short, armored figures. Their stature, form, and armament were unmistakably dwarven, but the lifeless, chilling aura they exuded marked them as the Seven Dwarf Knights who had served Princess Scaletta—Lexi's template—to the bitter end. Empowered by Lexi, they had become her undead kin, the Undead Bound to the Earth, continuing to serve their lord even in death.
-CLANK!!
-SHHH!!
-CLING!!
The seven Undead Bound to the Earth readied their weapons to pursue the fleeing ratmen.
-KUUUNG!!
As earth-born undead, they could swim through the ground. Their bodies sank into the soil and swiftly chased after the ratmen.
“Umu...”
Lexi remained behind to guard the dragon corpse—a prize her master would love.
“Squeak!!”
“Squeak!!”
-KABOOOM!!
-KUUUUNG!!
As she waited, massive roars from her kin and her master's destruction echoed alongside the ratmen's terrified screams everywhere.
“Umuu~”
Lexi waited for her master, treating the destruction and screams like background music.
The result of undead-ifying the earth itself with Marb-Horde and merging it with Arakasia Great Death Worm power allowed Lexi to manipulate and absorb the earth to form a Death Worm body. Perhaps because her power surpassed the original material's, the earthen Death Worm she created was even larger. It moved like a fish in water, letting us pierce through the underground swiftly and reach Karmataji in no time.
Upon arriving in the ancient dwarf empire's capital, what we saw was—
“Chitter!!”
Filthy rat bastards that looked like they carried plagues.
“Hyat hya!! Filth is disinfectant!!!”
-RUMBLE!!
“Squeeeeak!!”
“Chitter!!”
They looked downright evil at a glance, and the spirits haunting this place raved madly that these demon beasts under the Demon King were one cause of the dwarf kingdom's fall, begging for revenge. So we descended with the Living Death servants and massacred the rat fuckers.
In my case, I spread black flames everywhere, incinerating their nests along with the rats—those disgusting shitholes that'd infect you just by looking.
“Au!!”
“Uue!!”
“Huaa~”
“Dauu!!”
“Nyanyaaa!!”
“Hau!”
The Living Death girls scattered through the city, slaughtering ratmen in their own ways. The ratmen were so filthy I ordered everyone to avoid close combat as much as possible. Even melee specialists like Kangjang or Dena had some ranged attacks, and since the ratmen were so weak, it wasn't an issue.
“Nya nya nya nyaaa!!”
Nero especially darted through the ratmen like a fish in water, massacring them gleefully.
-Umu!!
“Hoo? A dragon? And an ancient one that can speak?”
While we were exterminating the filthy rats, a telepathic report came from Lexi.
-RUMBLE!!
-FWOOOSH!!
“Squeeeeeak!!”
I'd just finished disinfecting my area with black flames and used Dimension Door for instant spatial transfer to Lexi's location.
Dimension Door