Chapter 87
Chapter 87
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 87
>Chapter Title: I'm a Bird, Not a Dog Bastard
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Underground in the ancient ruins.
“……Damn it all!”
A neurotic shout echoed with a sharp *clang* of impact.
The sound bounced off the cavern walls like an echo, overlapping itself. Solion ran a hand through his hair, blood dripping from his knuckles.
“Velock, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted a bastard like you…….”
A few days earlier.
- *Thud.*
When his spiritual link with Velock snapped, Solion instinctively knew something had gone terribly wrong with him.
‘Hunting? Screw the hunting…… He got eaten instead. That filthy little worm.’
Under normal circumstances, he would’ve just shrugged it off.
Salvatium. The cabal of forbidden mages.
They were comrades under that name, but what did it matter if one of them screwed up?
If anything, it would’ve been welcome.
A forbidden mage. A demon mage who had achieved transcendence, no less—their corpse was a valuable resource.
He would’ve wandered over to the site of the death with puffed-up expectations. For that corpse.
But the current situation wasn’t something he could brush off so lightly.
‘If this fails…… the elders won’t let it slide.’
The elders’ methods were surprisingly straightforward.
- The secret rites span thousands of years and are never too late. What we must avoid is the cabal’s secrets being exposed.
They pounced on anything that could fulfill the rites, but that was always the extent of it.
This time was no different.
They had dispatched him and Velock, supported the black mages, but nothing more.
It wasn’t because Destrow’s existence was unimportant.
They simply dreaded Salvatium rising to the surface more.
But.
‘Even so…… even so……!’
The punishment for failure was brutal. No, brutal didn’t even begin to cover it.
Death wasn’t the end.
The souls of demon mages were in the elders’ grasp—there was no freedom even after death.
“……Hoo. What…… what do I do?”
Solion stared at the crystal with heavy eyes.
Every time his anger flared, he’d smashed it with his fist, leaving the surface caked in hardened blood.
‘Musphelrun, that damned thing…… it suppressed the ancient wraiths.’
That was the biggest problem.
No matter how many liberation rites he performed, they couldn’t compare to the deathly aura the countless wraiths offered to Destrow.
And that wasn’t all.
[Mask…… joining. Mask…… joining.]
Two days ago, the report from the evil spirit he’d sent to scout the 4th base camp.
He didn’t know what “mask” meant, but it wasn’t hard to infer from the situation.
‘The reinforcements…… joined the 4th base camp too.’
So, what was left?
Musphelrun wouldn’t sit idle.
For some reason, it had stopped at suppressing the ancient wraiths for now, but it would charge in here soon enough.
And at the end of that…….
‘……Failure.’
Nothing but failure.
“Hoo…….”
A deep sigh escaped at the harsh reality.
But that lasted only a moment.
“For now…… right, stay calm for now.”
Solion leaned back against the crystal and looked up at the ceiling.
‘Nothing has happened yet. Nothing at all.’
The elders’ punishment? That hadn’t occurred.
Musphelrun charging into the ancient ruins? That was just his prediction.
A little calm thinking made it clear.
‘……Yeah. It’s been off from the start.’
Why hadn’t that mighty Musphelrun moved himself and instead hunkered down at the 4th base camp?
Even if half the power recorded in history was true, there’d be no reason for it.
‘There’s…… some reason.’
One more thing.
‘The reinforcements…… aren’t that many.’
Probably just a handful.
It was easy to infer, considering Velock’s habits.
That sleazy bastard talked a big game about being a hunter or whatever, but he was just a small-minded wretch with a heart the size of a millet seed.
And he got taken out?
‘The opponent…… was stronger than expected. Or there was some variable.’
It couldn’t have been a large group.
If it was, he would’ve shamelessly returned and requested more support.
Looking back at the situation calmly like this, it felt premature to despair completely.
And yet, he couldn’t keep his cool because……
“It’s this damned abomination, isn’t it. ……Tch.”
The aura emanating from Destrow was insidious.
It drained the life force of the living and gnawed at the mind like the demonic energy flowing through a demon realm.
‘I told myself to be careful…….’
It seemed he couldn’t fully escape the aftereffects.
“Hoo…….”
Solion closed his eyes and steadied his mind. Inhaling, exhaling.
How much time passed?
“……It’s settled now.”
Having driven out Destrow’s aftereffects, Solion resumed his vigil.
‘Musphelrun…… probably can’t move.’
He didn’t know why.
But if it could, it wouldn’t have set up this massive barrier—it would’ve struck the ruins directly.
Then……
‘The reinforcements are the variable.’
But their numbers were small.
So, what options did the Musphelrun side have?
“……So that’s it?”
Connoisseurs said Musphelrun’s strategies were simple. But lethal.
You could tell just from the Final Battle.
‘He crushed a hundred thousand soldiers alone…… and struck the royal castle with a small force.’
Didn’t it fit the current situation perfectly?
No.
‘It has to fit.’
That was the only chance he had of winning.
If it really used the same strategy as in the Final Battle, then he could do something.
Or……
“If Destrow awakens, that’d be perfect.”
It wasn’t a hopeless prospect.
Even though all the ancient wraiths were suppressed, look at this moment.
*Shhh—*
The seal’s energy was fading bit by bit, even without the liberation rite.
‘Why…… is that?’
He couldn’t figure it out.
He had a few hypotheses. The most plausible one……
‘Something is stimulating Destrow.’
An object or person deeply tied to the sealed entity acting as a catalyst to awaken it.
But.
“……Tch.”
Destrow was an abomination unrecorded in history. All records erased—not even its era was known.
How was he supposed to find a related catalyst?
However……
[Heaven-defier…… are you…… coming…….]
The occasional voice from Destrow. No, not a voice—a thought.
From that thought, something was definitely there.
“The odds of some heaven-defier showing up right on time to awaken Destrow…….”
Slim to none.
So, Solion let go of the idea.
If Musphelrun pursued the same strategy as before, he’d face a small elite strike team.
‘That much…… I can handle. Hell, I might even eat them alive.’
Solion’s eyes turned upward.
But they were clouded, devoid of any sharpness.
It was because he hadn’t fully shaken off Destrow’s deathly aura.
* * *
Exactly one day since departing the 4th base camp.
The journey with the baggage was peaceful. No, it had to be peaceful.
‘The nearby monsters are all but wiped out.’
With the ancient wraiths pushing monsters to the outskirts of the Hamern Great Forest.
The forest itself was shrouded in silence.
They arrived at the barrier zone.
“Huff, huff. Mage sir. Can’t we…… go a bit slower…… just a bit slower?”
Leaving the panting baggage behind, I climbed a tree and peered ahead.
Normally, the dense foliage would block the view, but thanks to Destrow’s evil aura, the nearby bushes were withered and twisted.
It allowed a decent line of sight.
Anyway.
“……Hmm, is that it?”
Far off, a massive curtain invisible to the naked eye registered in my senses.
‘Impressive…… truly.’
A colossal dome of unknowable scale.
Facing Rihaym sunbae’s barrier in person felt different from viewing it on the topographic map in the stone chamber.
It was too vast to believe one mage—let alone one with a split core—had erected it.
But there was no time to marvel at the barrier alone; the interior was utterly wretched.
[Grrruk, gruk.]
[Keek, kieeek.]
Undead swarming inside. Their numbers were beyond counting.
The phrase “half water, half fish” must’ve been coined for times like this.
Truly……
‘Filthy.’
Even ancient wraiths couldn’t escape decay, huh.
From this distance, the nose-stinging stench was no joke.
And that wasn’t all.
They looked filthy too.
Monsters to begin with, already ugly at the base, and now rotting as undead……
Those eyeballs were rotten goblins……
‘……Real rotten goblins too.’
Anyway, a sight that’d haunt your nightmares.
As I took in the filthy spectacle, a voice called out.
“Hoo, huff…… Sunbae. Is this the place?”
Obern, gasping for breath.
This guy really needs to work out.
How was he lagging behind Rayleigh, the one with the lowest realm here, in stamina?
Sure, you could chalk it up to “he’s a mage,” but I saw it differently.
‘A true mage harmonizes mind, energy, and body.’
Look at me.
Righteous heart, pure and clear mana, a body that could trade blows with knights without flinching.
Anyway.
“But…… huff. Why move so fast? Time isn’t that tight…….”
“Not tight?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. Fair point.”
I nodded at Rayleigh’s grumbling question.
There was no set time for the operation. Or rather……
‘The strike team’s discretion.’
We could start immediately or rest first, based on judgment.
‘We can’t dawdle forever…… but no need to rush either.’
So why move so quickly?
I jumped down from the tree, landing lightly.
“‘Ever heard the saying, “the early bird catches the worm”?’
“I have, sir.”
Yeah, no way he hadn’t.
It was a pretty famous proverb, even among the illiterate street rats of the Black-White Slums who hated writing.
“But why bring it up all of a sudden…….”
“It’s a brutal saying. From the worm’s perspective—wake up early, and you get eaten.”
Back in my Black-White Slum days, I’d pondered this.
Am I the bird or the worm?
If I’m the bird, waking early makes sense. Gotta snag worms before the others.
But if I’m the worm?
‘Truly horrifying.’
You wake up diligently, only to end up in an early bird’s belly.
But.
“I’m the bird.”
“What the dog…… Gahk!”
Disloyalty from a guy who swore fealty—spitting curses at his master. I lightly disciplined Rayleigh for it and turned toward the ancient ruins.
“I’m the bird.”
I ignored the faint “dog bas……” by my ear.
Point is.
“So, we move early.”
“……Pardon? What does that…….”
Rayleigh’s face stiffened as realization dawned.
But I didn’t care.
“Operation starts now.”
Operation name: [Early Bird]
It started with Shine’s tip-off.
Not long after departure, when we were about to set up camp.
- [An evil spirit scouted us and left.]
- Again?
Even when entering the 4th base camp, Shine had spotted one.
First time since then.
- [No idea what it’s up to. Looks like a weak one, too messed up in the head to scout properly.]
- Scheming something……
- [Pretty regular intervals.]
My instincts kicked in.
‘They’re up to their tricks again.’
People need to evolve.
And after facing the first demon mage, my feeling was this:
Don’t give these bastards time to prepare.
Give ’em time, and they’ll pull some cursed nonsense.
Sure, how elaborate could it be……
“Parasite.”
*Crackle!*
[Parasite, parasite! ……You damned thing.]
I summoned Shine in front of me.
The parasite was ready.
Next up: me and Obern. The two mages.
“Obern.”
“Yes, sunbae.”
“Draw the mana accumulation circle.”
“……Ah, y-yes! On it!”
The mana accumulation circle here was the same as the one in sunbae’s stone chamber.
The auxiliary core magic circle was separate, of course.
Anyway.
“Parasite.”
[Parasite, parasite! ……You dog. Can’t you drop it just when I respond?]
“Handle this well, and I’ll make it permanent.”
[……Rot.]
My Early Bird plan was simple.
“I’ll send mana, you slice the demon mage. Obern, finish the accumulation circle fast.”
In mana-rich Hamern Great Forest, the circle’s efficiency was insane.
Unfold a breathing technique on top, and Shine would have plenty to rampage with.
‘He’s got reserves too…….’
The more, the better.
[Rot, but…… I probably can’t take the demon mage alone.]
“I know, weakling.”
I wasn’t expecting much anyway.
Even if Shine was a master knight, transcendence was only mental; the body was a false phantom.
Half-baked transcendence.
‘Can’t even output freely.’
How could he slice a demon mage?
“Just…… hold out.”
[Hold out?]
“Yeah. Till I get there. Hold out.”
Shine’s role was just to buy time, keep the demon mage from scheming.
Yeah, just that.
[You sick bastard…….]
Shine grumbled in despair.
“Hoo, huff…….”
As Obern hurriedly pulled mana stones from subspace to draw the circle without catching his breath.
“What’re you waiting for? Go.”
[I’m going, fine. But…….]
“Yeah, you take the demon mage’s head.”
Shine shot into the undead horde. Rihaym sunbae’s barrier only affected ancient wraiths, so he had plenty of freedom.
Was an evil spirit watching now? Who knows. If so, even better.
They’d scramble to prepare against Shine.
‘……That’s what slaves are for.’
I smirked broadly.
Oh, one more with a grin.
“No idea what…….”
Quick-witted Rayleigh.
He sniffed out he wouldn’t have to fight, like a ghost.
Face pale one second, rubbing hands and smiling the next.
But.
“No idea what…… but brilliant strategy, sir. A hegemon of the era. Smarter than a two-headed ogre…… Gurk!”
Always begging for the stick.
Anyway.
‘……It’s started.’
I sat and began the breathing technique.
Mana pouring out from my core. Truly…… a damned parasite.
Spares his own, gobbles mine.
“Tell me when the accumulation circle’s done.”
With that, I closed my eyes.