Chapter 63
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Dad
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The news that the hero, known as the right-hand man of the Radiant Hero and boasting the moniker "Iron Wall,"—the one who believed he could never die in combat against enemies—had perished.
Moreover, the state in which his body was transmitted back was the most gruesome among all the heroes' corpses ever sent to the Temple of Return up to that point. Some of the priests who witnessed the sight with their own eyes were still complaining of mental fatigue, avoiding meat at meals even now.
"To think that Lord Fallen would fall in battle..."
Because something utterly unthinkable had happened, the faces of the priests, who always maintained a relaxed demeanor, darkened.
They hadn't batted an eye when 1-star or 2-star heroes died, but this was a full-fledged 4-star hero. And not some newly minted one either—this was a major pillar who had been active since the previous emperor's reign. The news of his demise came as a massive shock even to them.
At the very least...
"The dungeon conquest was a success, though."
"Sigh... When Lord Fallen's corpse arrived in that state... Urk. I was certain the dungeon conquest had failed."
While they assumed the dungeon conquest had failed and were panicking over the unexpected turn of events, contact came in from the other personnel dispatched to the dungeon. None other than the report that the conquest had succeeded.
"Hm. So Lord Fallen fell into a trap laid by those vile demons, staked his life to destroy the dungeon core, and took them down with him..."
"Given Lord Fallen's personality, it makes sense that he'd charge ahead himself..."
It was news that was hard to take at face value. But when the priests in Delron checked the heroes who delivered the report, they found no signs of mental domination or the like. Plus, they'd recovered all the holy relics from those who died in the labyrinth earlier and returned...
"Hm. It might be good to dispatch an investigation team just to verify the facts."
"And wait for the conquest team's return. We'll need to cross-check their testimonies."
"Master. Isn't that just buying time at best?"
"That's exactly the time we need right now."
The ten heroes had fallen under the spell of Lilith’s bewitchment. To ensure they wouldn't arouse any suspicion, I sent them back with their original holy relics intact, having Lilith create illusory fakes to attach to them instead.
And with the sacrifice of Fallen and the other heroes, I instructed them to submit a false report claiming the dungeon conquest had succeeded.
'It'll be exposed eventually...'
At least this would buy some time. Just in case they had some lie-detection ability, I didn't just charm them—Lilith showed them a kind of 'dream' with her powers, convincing them from the heart that the conquest had truly succeeded.
Deep down, they'd obey Lilith's commands... but we'd done everything we could for now.
"Hm. So what about these ones?"
Aside from the ten heroes I'd sent out, there were just shy of twenty left. The dead ones were unavoidable, but I'd captured these alive for the time being.
"We'll lock them up."
"You're not going to kill them?"
At my words that I wouldn't kill them, Erzsebet looked at me with an inscrutable gaze. As if asking whether I was going to show them mercy.
"We'll keep them locked up and periodically drain their blood. For you to drink. And using Lilith's dreams, we'll trap them in their dream worlds and keep siphoning the spiritual energy Lilith needs."
But keeping them alive didn't mean I was showing mercy. It just meant squeezing every last drop out of them.
At this point, showing mercy would be going too far, wouldn't it? As I've said countless times, I need to survive first.
"Hmmm. I see."
Seemingly pleased with my answer, Erzsebet smiled faintly and approached her kin. Apparently, she could heal their wounds by expending a bit of her own blood.
'No wonder they fought without fearing dismemberment.'
They had something to rely on. I'd thought I'd lost valuable labor.
Anyway, we'd achieved a great victory in the end, so that was a relief. I'd prepared backup plans in case the main one failed... but it was good we didn't need them.
What plans? For example...
'Using [Fast Travel] to move Dray and crush them under the giant tree as a mass weapon.'
...I hadn't wanted to use a method that involved arbitrarily moving Dray, who was rooted to the ground, not knowing what might happen. Glad we didn't need it. That was a last resort if they breached here and entered the garden... Ahem.
Besides the grinder, I had the [Incinerator] hidden underground covered by an illusory floor, or I could've unleashed all the unused undead, or gone all-in assuming there was some other dangerous entity deeper in the ruins, blindly heading underground to find another door and blow it open for mutual destruction...
Most were plans with unknown outcomes, so good we didn't use them.
"For now, let's clean up the traces of battle..."
There was a mountain of things to do right away, but I decided to prioritize clearing the devastated ruin corridors.
Smoke still hung thick from the fire I'd set, flames were still spreading in places, golem fragments were scattered messily everywhere, and bits of blood and flesh were splattered around.
First things first: the fire. If left alone, it'd keep spreading. So...
"Rio. Mind helping out?"
"Yes!"
I called over Rio, who was... No, why was she still fanning the flames even after it was over?
Anyway, I handed her a cleaning tool.
[Dry Mop (lv.1)]: A dry mop suited for wiping up moisture.
A level 1 cleaning tool that even Rio could use. A [Dry Mop], no less. Why give Rio a [Dry Mop] meant for wiping up water?
"Yah!"
-Pshhhhh...
'........'
When Rio uses the [Dry Mop], its moisture-wiping effect transforms into extinguishing flames.
...Why, though?
"Rio, so... instead of 'wiping the flames,' could you put them all out?"
"Yes."
"Erzsebet. Once you're done healing your kin, suck up all the scattered blood in the corridor and clean it up."
"Hmmm. Human blood doesn't taste great... but it's not inedible. Got it."
"And the golem debris... Wait, where'd it go?"
-Whirrr...
Ah, the [Robot Vacuums] I'd attached to the core were cleaning up the golem debris on their own. No worries there. Footprints and dust from the heroes could go to the vacuums too...
That left...
"Master. I've gathered all the gear the heroes used."
"Good."
Alright then.
Current Points: 9,080p
Time to refill the points I'd drained dry stocking up on defenses... What? Why so many?
'I definitely spent every last one.'
Bought tons of [Meals] for buffs, equipped the remaining golems with [Robot Vacuums], used up every point... When did they pile up like this? I don't remember cleaning anything major.
'...Does [Decomposing] people give points too?'
A profoundly queasy feeling hit me, but just recalling shredded Fallen made me want to retch, so I shoved it from my mind and got to work.
Incinerating waste in the Incinerator...
Grinding waste in the Grinder...
Decomposing all the gear... This would probably rack up a record-breaking amount of points.
Right now, with everyone inside the ruins gathered at the entrance corridor to clean up traces of the battle with the heroes.
-Pop. Pooop...
Alone in the garden, rooted in place and munching on its nutritious snack (Desmond), Dray was extending roots all over the now-quiet garden, playing around.
Dad had said he might use some movement thing to relocate it, so wait... but no word yet. Boring. This snack had to double as a shield in emergencies, so who knew when it'd vanish... Better eat as much as possible now.
"Guhhh... My power..."
Occasional mutterings like sleep-talk came from the snack, but Dray mercilessly drove roots in, sucking Desmond's vitality dry. Memories were fuzzy, but after ages without proper nutrients, it had to stock up while it could.
As it kept draining energy... slowly, changes began in Dray's main body.
-Wriggle!
The massive tree trunk. The wooden tendrils surrounding the green-haired human-form avatar embedded in its center writhed. Then, a woman radiating a mature, mystical aura rivaling Erzsebet's was enveloped in light.
-Tzzzz...
Her beautiful arms thinned. The massive twin orbs on her forest-blessed upper body shrank and flattened.
The long green hair that trailed past her waist to her ankles shortened. Her height, taller than most adult men, diminished.
When the light fully faded, the dazzlingly beautiful mature woman was gone, replaced by a cute green-haired little girl wrapped in the tree trunk.
Slowly, the trunk lowered, gently setting the girl—who seemed to have been sleeping soundly—on the ground. Then, her eyes snapped open.
-Whoosh! Whoosh!
Like surveying the surroundings, she whipped her head around, her roots—slightly raised from the soil—swaying this way and that. After diligently scanning about as if searching for something, the girl sprang up from the ground and dashed off somewhere.
"Daddy!"
Searching for the man who fed her.