Chapter 95
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Rage
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'For now, should I just leave that alone?'
The central part of the map, glowing brightly amid the rest of it painted pitch black, did catch my eye a bit. But I decided to check out the areas around this ruin first. I'd occasionally gotten reports from the elves and peeked outside through the [Robot Vacuum]'s camera, but looking at the surrounding terrain on a map like this felt refreshingly novel.
'Can it zoom in too?'
I tested it by pressing on a section of the map and dragging my finger, and sure enough, it zoomed in and out just like using a smartphone. Caught up in the fun of seeing unfamiliar landscapes nearby, I poked and prodded at the map this way and that.
"What's that blue thing? A lake?"
I tapped on a blue patch on the map not far from the ruin. I'd thought the area was nothing but dense forest, but apparently there was a lake nearby.
'If the demons set up a settlement around here, that spot would be perfect.'
I tapped the map thoughtfully, picturing Alfred off negotiating with the demons to squeeze tribute out of them. If I positioned the demons around there moderately and had them offer up crops or other goods as tribute now and then, making the elves patrol all the way out here...
Dispatching staff to the designated area.
"Huh... Huh?!?"
Lost in thought, I absentmindedly tapped the map twice with my finger, and out of nowhere, a system message popped up as the [Staff Dispatch] function activated.
"Wait... that's not it!"
I hurriedly tried to cancel, but did this system even have a cancel button? The staff member I'd just selected—Aqua—was dispatched to the lake location I'd been tapping moments ago.
Meanwhile, deep underground in the ruin...
"Whirrr~♬ Whirrr~♪"
Having lived reluctantly in the stinking, filthy water until now, Aqua hummed cheerfully in the lake that had finally regained its pristine clarity, using the tools Eugene had given her to clean the sediments settled at the bottom.
"Uiiiing...♥"
Aqua wriggled her body happily, thinking of the benefactor who had cleaned the entire lake for her. Not widely known, but sirens who lived in water prized clean water above all else.
The reason land humans and demons rarely spotted sirens was that shallow waters easily got polluted for various reasons, so most sirens dwelled in deep ocean trenches or lake bottoms, out of sight.
And before her, someone had performed the miracle of purifying an entire massive lake in an instant?
"Uiiiing... whirrr...♥"
He was the epitome of an irresistibly attractive male. She'd rejected him somewhat because of the blood-scented female nearby, but the fact that he'd left her such a gift meant he surely had feelings for her.
For some reason, that blood-scented female felt oddly familiar—maybe they'd known each other a bit before she lost her memories—but alas, sirens, often mockingly called 'fish-heads,' weren't the sharpest species. Aqua quickly brushed off the vague unease and diligently cleaned her home.
[Staff Dispatch]
"Whirrr?"
In the midst of her cleaning, her body suddenly enveloped in bright light, Aqua's form vanished from the underground ruin. And then...
-Splash!
"Whirrr?!"
Aqua popped into existence mid-air under the clear sky, looking around in panic. Unable to defy gravity, she plummeted straight into the small lakeside.
"Uiiiing..."
Aqua blinked, surveying her surroundings. Genuine sunlight, not artificial lighting. Lush foliage encircling the lake. And a lake that looked nothing like the one she'd been sleeping in...
'Uuunng... Outside?'
Instead of speaking aloud, Aqua assessed where she was. That male had said her lake and his place were inside some ruin, but this looked unmistakably like the outside... Why was she here?
"Is this the place?"
"Yes. Numerous demons have headed this way."
While looking around, voices reached Aqua's ears. Hoping they might explain where she was, she parted the water and swam toward the sound.
"The southern front really is the weakest, just like they said. Every last one of them is pathetically feeble."
"Still, hasn't the overall demon level risen strangely these past few days?"
"Hm. True. Starting a few days ago, it wasn't just a few individuals—the demons' power seems to have risen across the board, slightly."
A group of knights in pristine white armor washed blood and grime from their swords at the lakeside. Spotting them, Aqua halted her rush and dove back into the lake's depths.
"Whirrr..."
Realizing the voices belonged not to demons but humans, Aqua quietly eavesdropped while hiding her body. She couldn't quite recall her past clearly, but humans gave her an instinctive wariness.
Their equipment maintenance polluted the lake water with blood and filth, making Aqua grimace, but she silently waited in the depths for them to pass.
"Tch. So... any leads on that demon group we spotted earlier?"
"Yes. According to the scouts, over a hundred demons are gathered in the forest about 1.2 km from our position."
"Over a hundred, huh..."
Hearing his subordinate's report, the hero at the front of the knights unrolled a map and gauged the demons' reported location. Realizing something, he furrowed his brow.
"Isn't this... the place where Fallen perished recently?"
About three weeks ago, shocking news had spread through the empire: Fallen, a top-tier 4-star hero, had met a gruesome end while tackling a newborn dungeon in the south.
The surviving heroes claimed they'd conquered the southern newborn dungeon thanks to Fallen's sacrifice, but...
'Their statements at the time seemed fishy somehow.'
The survivors had all corroborated that they'd succeeded in conquering the dungeon, but some doubted their words. Magic detection tools confirmed they spoke truth, yet much about their tale rang suspicious for a successful raid.
No demon heads or trophies brought back, no notable spoils, and could the rest have cleared a dungeon that killed a 4-star like Fallen?
"Those guys... could they be remnants of the dungeon? Or maybe..."
The dungeon Fallen had sacrificed himself for—they claimed to have conquered it. Perhaps it still stood intact. The 3-star hero Grichul, dispatched from the capital to the south, gravely cross-referenced the map with the demon intel.
"Any info on mixed-blood demons or blood-wielding ones?"
"No. Mostly weaklings, but... the notable thing was a report of spotting elves."
"Hmmm..."
'Whirrr?'
Eavesdropping from underwater, Aqua vaguely sensed who they meant by 'mixed-blood' and 'blood-wielding demon': the dashing male who'd visited her recently, and the blood-scented demon who'd gotten between them.
After some deliberation, Grichul drew his weapon.
"Everyone. Rested enough?"
"Yes, sir!"
Their original goal was to raid one of the south's identified dungeons, deemed severely understrength. They'd marched south for that, slaughtering every demon in their path...
"We're heading to the forest where Fallen fell."
"Pardon...? Sir Grichul, that's the exact opposite direction from our target dungeon..."
"Defying orders?"
They'd only been investigating demons that might impede their march, yet suddenly the command changed their route entirely. The other heroes and knights looked flustered.
No matter how weak southern demons were, this was over a hundred strong—and in a forest, no less, with elves that could overpower average knights one-on-one...
"Sir, slaying demons is noble, of course, but might it delay our dungeon raid...?"
"I'll take responsibility. We head to the dungeon where Fallen fell, assess its current state, and figure out why demons are gathering there."
Grichul overrode the objections and turned his mount around. The knights, bound to obey the field commander, followed with lingering doubts.
"First, move to the site and exterminate every demon we find."
Having heard reports of over a hundred demons already gathered, he ordered annihilation without mercy. After a brief pause, he added:
"...And if we spot any blood-wielding or mixed-blood demons, prioritize eliminating them."
Mentioning the demons said to have emerged from the dungeon Fallen headed to.
That was a mistake.
-Rooooaaar!!!
"Wh-what is that?!"
No sooner had Grichul finished speaking than the lake they'd been resting at churned violently. The calm waters swirled into a vortex, converging in one spot. From its center emerged a half-human, half-fish figure with dazzling blue hair, glaring at them with a wrathful snarl.
And system messages invisible to Aqua flooded in.
Employee 'Aqua' enters [Rage] state.
Ignores some player commands; dirties surroundings instead of cleaning. Calm your employee quickly.
Talent [Water's Protection] evolves to [Torrent's Rage]
Talent [Water's Grace] evolves to [All Drown]
'Who's gonna remove whom?'
The beaming smile she'd shown Eugene was gone, replaced by icy fury as she glared at the humans and bellowed her rage-infused will.
"Uiiiing!!"
".....??"
Of course, its meaning didn't reach the humans.