The Result of the Hostage Standoff (1)

“So what if you glare at me, you bastard? Ahahaha!”

This time, my prediction had been dead on. For all the grand entrance he’d made, there was unmistakable confusion in the eyes fixed on me.

He must not have expected the situation to involve his own child being held hostage, because the sight of him standing there in silence and glaring at me was almost comical.

My own behavior—using his offspring as a hostage—was admittedly a little trashy, but the situation itself was beyond beautiful.

“Grrrrr….”

I could see him trying to move.

As I slowly shifted Yuliena and moved the sword toward the pitiful newborn in my grasp, the beast seemed to freeze in place as if struck by a binding spell. It wasn’t just him, either.

The other monsters he had sent this way were also unable to move, as though some kind of magic had pinned them down.

Is he holding them back?

He was a little more reasonable than I’d expected.

Thanks to that, I was able to observe him in greater detail.

He was bigger than I’d imagined—far bigger, in fact.

Even from a distance, his form came through clearly.

A body covered in black scales, with a pair of enormous horns rising from his head.

Of course, those horns were not mere decoration. No doubt they’d been the decisive factor in smashing the western wall in an instant.

That’ll sell for a fortune.

And it wasn’t just his horns that looked valuable.

His skin, black as pitch, was threatening at a glance. Even from here, the sheen of that hide made it look like it could shrug off spells below Rare grade.

If I had to guess, armor made from that hide would swallow most monster attacks whole.

He was clearly a dragon of some kind, and his long tail was equally striking.

That could probably be made into a weapon too….

Of course, I’d never once heard anyone say dragons like the ones in stories actually existed here.

He wasn’t the kind of monster that stood atop humanity, hurling magic around at will, either.

Still, I could feel an enormous amount of mana radiating off him. I wasn’t sure whether all Legendary monsters were like this, but there was definitely a certain intelligence in his gaze—enough that he could be classified as a sapient being.

One thing was certain, at least: he had maternal instincts.

When I looked at him through the Mind's Eye, information poured down at once.

Her stats….

They were absurdly high. If I assumed monster and human stat calculations worked differently, then these numbers far exceeded anything I’d expected.

Her strength was lower than Cha Heera’s after the rampage, but the two of them weren’t even in the same weight class to begin with. A body that huge, with that sort of raw power behind it, was no exaggeration at all—she must have several times the efficiency.

Endurance at 132, mana at 125. I’d never raided a Legendary-grade monster before, but it was only natural to wonder whether a city’s total fighting force could possibly handle one.

Probably….

Probably they could. If it came down to a direct clash, Castle Rock looked a little… no, a lot disadvantaged, but still….

I had that monster’s precious child hostage.

The city had fallen into silence under the pressure of the Legendary monster’s voice and presence, but that was no problem.

Being a sapient being was actually in my favor.

If I thought about why she hadn’t acted aggressively in the first place, the answer was obvious.

She could have knocked buildings aside with that massive tail and punched a hole in the wall with her breath, so why had she waited so quietly?

Because she couldn’t confirm my position.

Anyone could see that the child moaning pitifully beside me had a fragile body.

She had clearly been frantic, worried sick that something might happen to her beloved child.

She’d probably even considered the possibility that if she unleashed her breath to break through the wall, her own offspring would be caught in the blast.

There was no reason to take on such an intelligent beast head-on if I didn’t have to.

The mother, who had been tearing through the western wall in a frenzy, suddenly turned to look at me and fell silent, and the troops who had been thrown into confusion were no different.

They were trying to figure out why this oversized monster, which had been calmly watching the situation until now, had suddenly stopped, and whether something else had happened.

It was, of course, my job to command the troops, who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now seemed utterly unable to cope with the sudden turn of events.

As soon as I opened my mouth, the reaction from the humans was immediate, and honestly, it was kind of amusing.

“Let’s protect Castle Rock! Everyone!”

My voice, amplified by magic, clearly reached the walls.

The bewildered troops burst into a roar in an instant.

“It’s just a monster! We have to show that filthy monster that tried to invade Castle Rock exactly how strong our power is! Defensive units, cast shield spells in case of any surprises, and the rest of you, focus on the monsters in front of you! Concentrate magic and arrows on the right flank! Melee units, protect the ranged units and finish off the monsters still outside the walls!”

“Waaaaaaah!!”

“Victory is right in front of us, everyone! All units, fire!”

It happened in an instant—colorful spells launched from the wall and rained down on him.

His stats were high, yes, but when this many people unleashed magic at once, even his hide seemed unable to withstand it.

Watching him stagger for a moment nearly made me laugh out loud.

This couldn’t even be called a raid anymore. It was more like beating on a sandbag.

Perhaps out of instinctive defense, he seemed ready to whip his tail, but he must have understood what Yuliena circling lovingly around the child meant, because he stayed obediently still and didn’t resist.

“Kieeeeeeek….”

Again, the child’s pitiful cry rang out.

I had no way of knowing whether this tiny thing could distinguish its mother or not, but for some reason the sound really did feel sorrowful.

If she had been some idiot monster that charged in mindlessly no matter what, child or no child, this might have been more troublesome, but for a foolish beast taking every pitiful little wail from its offspring as a heavy mental attack, the answer was simple: discipline.

The magic and arrows falling again and again were piling up with every passing second, and the situation was honestly hilarious.

“Just a little more! Everyone! The enemy is in a completely helpless state right now. Victory is just around the corner!”

Helpless state!

“Today’s victory will be remembered forever in Castle Rock! Everyone, this is a victory forged through sacrifice! Just a little more—push harder!”

This is the power of the ruler of all creation! You primitive monster!

“Let’s protect our home!”

When I thought about how much all this was worth, my heart beating a little faster was only natural.

Of course, I did feel a little guilty.

Our Lady Dialugia’s increasingly pathetic appearance, as magic and attacks continued to pour in, was downright miserable.

Every time she twitched as if trying to move, I kept threatening her adorable child, so I suspected she’d already concluded resistance was pointless.

She didn’t seem to understand that if she died, her child would be next.

Even if she did understand, there was nothing she could do right now.

That was what maternal instinct was.

No parent wants to watch their child get hurt right in front of them.

Ugh… I do feel a little bad for her, though….

That tiny speck of sympathy kept poking at my conscience, but obviously I had no intention of stopping.

Honestly, if I didn’t go this far, taking down this monster would turn into a massive headache.

There was an easy way to win, so why fight fair and square?

Half of Castle Rock’s population might die, and it wasn’t even impossible that we’d be pushed back.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a terrible situation for that gentle mother, who’d had her egg stolen out of nowhere and was now suddenly under threat herself, but I didn’t exactly have any other options, either.

It can’t be helped.

As if deciding it was finally time to finish her off, the melee units were now swarming in and stabbing away at her, and the sight of it was ridiculous.

For a Legendary-grade monster, she was unbelievably helpless.

That was when I noticed her staring at me, her mouth shut tight.

What…?

Before I could even blink, some strange force—something different from mana—seemed to be flowing toward me.

What is this…?

My body wasn’t actually wrong.

And yet, the sudden sensation of weakness, as if my strength had been drained from me, was absurd.

It was only natural to worry that she’d pulled some sort of trick.

I was just about to wonder whether I should cut off one of the poor thing’s legs as an example when a status window appeared before my eyes.

Wha… what the hell?

The cause of that sudden weakness was obvious.

Damn it.

I could call the +5 mana a nice bonus, but realizing I was about to die right this second happened almost instantly.

I hurriedly turned my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head toward Dialugia, only to see the players, intoxicated by victory, gathering their power to unleash Castle Rock’s glorious finishing blow.

If that attack landed, I was going to die along with her.

“S-stop attacking! Stop attacking!! Stop attacking!!”

Right now, preventing that final strike was the most important thing.

Given that monster’s endurance, she’d probably survive stubbornly enough, but this was my life on the line, so feeling uneasy was only natural.

As if they’d heard my command, the spells falling on her stopped at once, but Dialugia was no longer merely staggering—she was swaying like she might drop dead any second.

She looked as though she’d fainted, motionless now, and honestly, the sight was ridiculous.

By this point, she was so obscured by the buildings that I could barely see her anymore.

My heart started pounding in panic at the thought that some insane bastard might try to land the last hit just for the experience.

No, no, no….

“Toward the monster!”

“Pardon?”

“I’m heading toward the monster right now.”

“A-ah… yes. Understood.”

How many times have I been running back and forth now?

As I entrusted my body to a member of the Red Mercenaries while clutching the child in my arms, the scenery flipped once more.

By now, it was such a familiar sensation that it almost felt comfortable.

But the course of the siege had changed again.

Apparently because Dialugia had lost consciousness, the monsters who’d been quietly acting as sandbags began to run wild.

“Capture the named monster alive! Focus on clearing the monsters outside the walls!!”

Please don’t kill her….

“I’ll say it again! Capture the named monster alive! Focus on clearing the monsters outside the walls!!! After sealing the collapsed wall with shield magic, we’ll fall back into a defensive formation again! Capture the named monster alive!”

Why can’t I see her?

Even after nearly reaching the western district, I still couldn’t see a trace of Dialugia.

Frustrated, I got down from the Red Mercenary’s arms and ran ahead, but there was nothing to see.

No—there was something. A human with a pair of huge horns on her head. She had been subdued by several troops and was looking at me pitifully.

I was a little bewildered, but it only took an instant to realize that the woman with the huge horns was Dialugia.

“Ah… baby!”

Anyone looking at us would think I was the villain and she was the victim.

“You’re okay… baby… you’re okay… you’re okay….”

Seeing her spit up blood in distress, I could only shout in a rush, “Get your hands off her! You bastards!”