Chapter 73
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Bug
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The elves who had migrated from their original dungeon to the ruins had one primary duty: patrolling the forest located outside the ruins.
"Planted them all?"
"Yeah. Perfect."
In addition, they planted 'Guardian Trees' all throughout the forest. These were precious trees that created a natural barrier, causing anyone without an amulet—crafted from their leaves using elven secret techniques—to wander lost in the woods.
The existence of these trees had been one of the key reasons why the 'Cradle of the Forest' survived even as nearly every dungeon in the southern region was wiped out in the past.
"If the Master had planted them, it would've gone much faster..."
"Ahem. I admit the Master's skills are top-notch... but we can't ask the Dungeon Master to handle work like that."
"Right. Exactly."
They all chimed in together, praising their new master. A few days earlier, they'd witnessed Eugene tidying up the garden with spotless precision using the [Omniscient Scissors]. The elves' loyalty had maxed out long ago.
"Gotta be an elf half-blood, right?"
"No other explanation for that kind of handiwork. Or maybe... a high elf mix?"
"A high elf breeding with a human...? Don't talk blasphemy."
"I'm joking. Point is, the Master's that good."
Trading light banter, the elves darted across the treetops like arrows. Their movements were incredibly agile. In this tangled terrain of dense trees and underbrush, elves were likely the only demons who could navigate it like their own backyard.
-...Pip...
But there was one existence that kept up effortlessly with the swift, nimble elves.
Far too tiny and stealthy for even the elves to detect, it shadowed them undetected. After carefully circling the forest on patrol and confirming no signs of other demons or humans—not even a glimpse—they slowly made their way back to the ruins.
-Pip...
And a covert stalker trailed right behind the elves.
"We're back, Master."
"Good. Anything unusual?"
"None, sir. No traces of intruders, and the Guardian Trees are thriving. We infused Dryad-nim's blessing into the seeds before planting, so they'll mature into full trees soon and activate the barrier."
"Hm. Good. Switch shifts and handle the new seeds we bought... Hm?"
Eugene, listening to the elves' report upon their return, suddenly peered behind them with an odd glint in his eye.
"...Yeah. Hold on."
-Chiiiii!!!
With that, Eugene whipped something out of thin air and sprayed it straight at the elves' backs.
-Plop plop!!
"Whoa, what... a bug?"
"Yeah. Bugs have been crawling around inside the dungeon lately, so from now on, shake them all off before coming in from outside."
"Got it."
Once Eugene issued the order and left, the elves crouched down to dispose of the bug corpse he'd taken care of.
"Has serving the Queen and Dryad-nim dulled our senses lately? Even if it was just one bug, we missed its presence..."
"...But have you ever seen a bug like this?"
Puzzled that they'd overlooked the bug's wingbeats or aura, they examined this strangely shaped insect—unknown even to their vast knowledge from scouring the forest for ages.
"Not noticing something this big tailing us..."
"Just clean it up. We can ask Rio-nim to burn it for us."
"Hm? You use honorifics with that girl?"
"Don't you know? She's the real number two in this dungeon..."
While the elves chatted away and cleared the bug corpse, a piercing scream echoed from a dungeon far to the south.
"Aaack...!!!"
A woman with a pair of translucent wings sprouting from her back and grotesque compound eyes writhed in agony. Gone was her usual haughty poise—she rolled grotesquely across the floor.
Fly Queen Belze. Days ago, after a report from one of her controlled bugs, she'd dispatched a special specimen linked to herself toward the forest teeming with elves.
Combining her Insect Demon Tribe's innate bug-handling abilities with her Dungeon Master powers let her experience every sensation her linked bugs felt, crystal clear.
She could peer through their eyes at distant sights, sense tiny tremors, hear sounds via their vibrations, even detect flows of hidden demonic energy or mana. Infiltrating crevices with her minuscule minions to gather intel everywhere—that was her specialty.
But...
"W-What was that just now...?"
Spotting the elves through the bug's vision had gone smoothly. She'd even overheard the word 'Master'—seemingly referring to someone other than the 'Queen' they served.
That ominous term made her scrap her original plan of just scouting the elves. Instead, she had the bug tail them. That was the mistake.
'Half-blood. A half-blood.'
She'd glimpsed the black hair unique to half-bloods. Seen the elves treat that man with utmost deference.
-Swish!
"...!!"
Yet that man had pinpointed her bug—the one she'd enhanced for even greater stealth—with razor-sharp eyes. Eyes like a janitor spotting a single speck of grime.
And then... and then...
"Kughhh...!!"
Belze shuddered, recalling 'it'—the sensation transmitted through the bug afterward. Something utterly horrific, as if denying her very existence... no, the existence of all bugs. The instant that bizarre aura struck, an instinctive revulsion surged from the deepest recesses of her brain.
'Eliminate... must eliminate it!'
She had no clue who that man was or why the elves served him. That forest was supposedly where a newborn dungeon had popped up recently, only to get smashed by heroes led by a 4-star...
But now that she knew such a monstrosity lurked there, she couldn't just leave it be. No way she'd sleep soundly.
"My children!"
Forcing down her fear, she bellowed toward the dungeon depths. Her voice echoed long and loud, answered by a cacophony from within.
"Weeeeng...!"
"Aeeng...!"
"Shak shak shak shak...!"
"Hasegi....!"
In seconds, swarms of bugs blackened the dungeon interior. Elite leaders, bolstered by her ancestral 'Curse of Solitude,' commanded the masses—letting her wrangle numbers beyond her natural limits.
Thanks to that, when it came to sheer volume, no dungeon could rival her.
"You have somewhere to go."
She relayed the location of her fallen scout to her obedient hordes. At the queen's command, the bugs surged out of the dungeon en masse.
-Fwoooosh...!!!
Every plant along their paths was devoured root and stem in an instant. Small critters vanished without a scrap of flesh. Like a colossal locust plague—not a single blade of grass left behind.
"...Erzse. Something really going on?"
"Slurp... What outta nowhere, Master?"
"No... You always said memories and power didn't matter much, and you weren't big on sucking blood anyway. But lately, aren't you overdoing it?"
"Huek...!!"
I casually tossed Lilith—who'd been drained by Erzse yet again today—into the next room. She feeds on others too, but she keeps targeting Lilith especially. The poor girl's face looks half-gone.
"Succubi are half-ethereal. She won't die from a little nibble."
"...D-Die... Even so, every day like this... she'll die..."
"...She says that?"
"Just drama. Don't buy it."
"No, seriously. Why?"
I figured maybe just bullying Lilith, but no—she'd been guzzling elves' blood too. And especially latching onto Lil like glue while the fairy's been hanging around Dryad aimlessly lately. Her blood intake had spiked.
Passed it off at first, but this feels excessive.
"Just wait for the payoff, Master. It'll be worth it. Nothing bad, I swear."
"Hmmm..."
But she just dangled that vague promise and clammed up on why the sudden blood binge. [Blood Contract] could force answers outta her, sure...
'...Might as well trust her for now.'
She pulled ditzy stunts now and then, but never outright screwed me over. So I decided to give Erzse the benefit of the doubt and wait.
"Still, ease up. Look at this. Bite marks plain as day..."
"...That one's not mine though?"
"Huh?"
I lifted Lilith's neck to show the massive mark on the back, pleading for restraint. But Erzse stared back like I'd lost it. Our eyes met.
-Pip!!
"Gah!"
Right then, a massive bug barged between us and sank its fangs into limp Lilith's neck.
"What the hell?!"
"This bug's using her as a blood pouch...!"
Erzse flipped out at the sight, instantly shaping a blood club and smashing the bug flat.
"Guk!"
...Lilith underneath it, too.
Something about Lilith's treatment feels off... Have I been stressing Erzse out too much lately? Maybe hand back the [High-Pressure Cleaner] to cheer her up...
"...Hm? Hang on. This bug..."
Erzse—who'd smashed the bug, not Lilith—stared down at it gravely. Moments later, a single word escaped her lips.
"...Insect Demon Tribe?"
-Weeeeeeng!!!!!
Simultaneously, an enormous black swarm of bugs came pouring in from the dungeon entrance.