Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Gluttonous Tamaga
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Led by Phenex, the subjugation team pressed onward.
Rumble…
Screeech… Screeech…
Advancing through pitch-black darkness, relying solely on their torches, was no small feat of courage. At the very least, human history was filled with records of humans fearing the dark.
However, those who had come here under Faust’s orders to take down the boss of the second sector were no humans, so they didn’t halt their steps.
Crunch…
Crunch…
“They’re not charging blindly just because they’ve spotted us.”
“Yeah. It’s kinda boring…”
“Fighting under unfavorable conditions isn’t exactly pleasant. Please bear with it, Lady Phenex.”
When the Goblin King Zakim had first been summoned, he’d been so arrogant toward Faust that it bordered on outright disrespect. Yet with Phenex, he was utterly deferential.
“Phenex, Faust didn’t give you any information at all?”
“My lord? Nah, he just told me to head out.”
“Hmm… That must mean he trusts you completely, Lady Phenex.”
Phenex scratched her head and grinned sheepishly.
“Well… He does say sometimes that… he can’t do it without me…”
…I’ve never said that.
Zakim fed her some sweet words.
“That’s how much faith he has in you. He must expect you’ll succeed without issue.”
Ruby snickered.
“Oh ho, laying it on thick with the honeyed words, huh? Is that your usual style?”
“Shut your mouth, you thug. Demons and their masters deserve respect.”
“Heh… Yeah? Fair enough, I guess.”
Demons.
These mysterious, beautiful beings possessed power that surpassed even their beauty. And that fact wasn’t much of a secret to familiars.
- Groooowl…
After traveling for some time, they encountered one unpleasant truth.
“The traps are still fully functional even this far in?”
“Yeah… Phenex, this…”
“Hmm… Zakim?”
“These seem to be traps that were active when this dungeon first formed. They’re quite old.”
“Wait… You mean…”
They soon reached their target location, but a massive wall blocked the way.
“Hmm… We’ll have to go around. Even Moam’s power can’t handle this thickness.”
“It’ll take us a full day.”
“No helping it.”
Thump…
Thump…
Having walked so long, Zakim’s leg couldn’t possibly be fine.
“Damn it…”
“Hey, Phenex.”
Phenex came to a sudden stop and turned around.
“Hey, let’s rest here.”
Zakim sat down, sweating profusely.
They gathered broken wooden palisades nearby for firewood and lit a fire. Smoke escaped through various cracks.
That meant air was circulating, but being underground, it was also that much chillier.
- Groooowl…
Moam shifted slightly to envelop everyone more fully.
“Thanks, Moam. I’ll remember this.”
“Pfft… Remember what?”
“I don’t forget favors or grudges. No matter what they are.”
“Oh yeah?”
Now somewhat calmed, Zakim looked around and spoke.
“By the way, this dungeon… It’s massive. For its influence to reach this far from the dungeon core means the one who owned it before Faust was a powerhouse.”
“Yeah, hmm… Wonder who it was?”
“No idea. But since the traps are still working, it can’t have been that long ago. Maybe the Underground Count, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, or the Steel Dragonkin…”
“You know about the Seven Deadly Sins too?”
“Who wouldn’t? To us persecuted sub-species, they’re no different from heroes.”
“You didn’t just live in the forest?”
“To survive in the forest, you couldn’t stay holed up there forever. When winter came and food ran low, we’d raid villages or loot merchant caravans’ warehouses.”
“And?”
“We clashed with subjugation teams in bloody battles and sent plenty of knights across the River of Death.”
“Must’ve had quite the reputation.”
“That’s why the subjugation order came down… and why one of my legs ended up like this while escaping.”
As Zakim grumbled and spilled his life story, Ruby asked,
“Can’t it be fixed? That leg.”
“Everyone who’s tried so far has failed. I’ve half-given up on it.”
“Leaving it like that could lead to rot or other problems…”
“Chop it off and be done with it. Hmph.”
Ruby smirked, seeing through the bravado.
“You’re lying, aren’t you?”
“What?”
“You don’t want to lose the leg.”
“……”
“You want to walk properly again, right?”
“Shut up. What do you know…?”
“If you didn’t, why would you sign a familiar contract?”
“……”
Ruby gazed at Zakim with eyes sparkling brilliantly.
“You’re hoping for a miracle.”
“Hmph…”
Groooowl…
“Moam, what’s up?”
Groooowl…
“…It’s not Moam, Phenex.”
Groooowl…
Phenex had dozed off against Moam, even drooling a bit from her nose.
“Man… Is she really a demon?”
“Don’t try to understand demons. Unless you want to stay curious forever.”
“You’re scared of demons?”
“I fear those who don’t fear demons.”
“Kee-hee… That much?”
“You’ve never seen one before, have you?”
“Nope, Phenex is my first.”
“Don’t get too close. They’re free spirits.”
“Free sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“Freedom means no boundaries.”
“……”
Crackle…
Pop…
“I wanna get back quick and take a bath. Think we can bathe here?”
“There seems to be flowing groundwater…”
“That’s plenty.”
“You’re Ruby, right?”
“Yeah. Pretty name, huh? Faust gave it to me.”
“How’d you lose your homeland?”
“…Why’re you suddenly curious about that?”
When Ruby asked warily, Zakim snorted.
“Checking if newcomers have any place to crash is basic.”
“Heh… Is that so? Part of your survival strategy, I guess.”
Zakim didn’t back down, lifting one thick eyelid slightly, and Ruby sighed before speaking.
“Sigh… My homeland, Rubitorium, was a forest where the night sky filled with stars.”
Groooowl…
“Our clan’s warriors were all strong and proud. We didn’t care much about continental affairs… We were too busy sorting out our internal matters.”
For a moment, Ruby’s eyes seemed to glow even redder.
“…Until those damn humans burned down our last paradise.”
“You’re from the generation that lived through the conquest wars?”
“No, I was born much later. Pure Rubitorium stock. By the time I was born, Solomon was already a figure from the previous era.”
“You’re the last child of Rubitorium?”
“Puhahaha! No, there are still quite a few survivors besides me. I just don’t know where they are.”
As Zakim tried to end the story, Ruby turned the question back.
“You?”
“My homeland?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t have one. Don’t remember.”
“Hee…”
“Goblins are idiots. Always fighting, always losing. Pathetic race.”
“That’s harsh.”
“When idiots lead, everyone dies like idiots. I killed the strongest idiot in my way. Kept doing it over and over.”
“Hmm…”
That was the reason for Zakim’s birth.
“When I finally stood before those idiots, I won for the first time.”
“……”
“That’s when the view finally got interesting.”
“What’re your plans from here?”
“Hmm…”
“There’s gotta be a reason you became a familiar, right?”
“Where do you think a goblin who lost his tribe and a leg can go? I’ll ride the waves. Hoping they wash me toward those bastards.”
“Those bastards…”
“Same as you. Fucking humans.”
“Kick… We agree on that much, huh.”
Suddenly, they realized belatedly that Phenex’s snoring had stopped.
Phenex muttered quietly.
“Don’t make a sound. Stay silent. Ambush. From above.”
“……”
“……”
“Count to three… then leap away. Uh… Ah.”
Phenex’s next words came.
“Three.”
“Damn it!”
“What the—!”
Fwaaaaaash—!
The familiars scattered in all directions at once.
- Groooaaaaarrr!
Moam couldn’t react quickly due to its massive size and ended up with one arm caught in the impact.
KABOOOOOM—!
Something long and enormous burst through the ceiling and vanished into the floor.
“…My god.”
The thing had the power to shatter Moam’s arm in an instant.
Crackle crackle…
Fortunately, for Moam, as long as its core wasn’t destroyed, regenerating body parts wasn’t difficult. If it had been anyone else caught in that, they’d have woken up in the Garden of Regeneration instead.
“What the hell was…”
Rumble rumble…
They could feel it tearing through the earth below via the vibrations.
Grrooooowl…
Dissatisfied with the ambush, it let out a bizarre wail like something from the deep sea.
“It’s retreating?”
“Let’s chase it.”
When Phenex spoke curtly, Zakim hurriedly thrust his hand forward.
“Wait… I can’t run anymore…”
Fwoooosh—!
The air vibrated, and a burning scent assaulted their noses.
Sizzle…
Phenex’s path was marked by lingering embers, charred black, revealing her direction.
- Groooowl—!
The ruin guardian Moam scooped up Zakim in one hand and placed him on its shoulder.
“Happy now?”
“……”
Zakim was speechless at Ruby’s words. It was his first time experiencing anything like this.
“Moam! Follow Phenex!”
Thud—!
Thud—!
Moam lumbered along at surprising speed with its massive frame.
It lacked explosive agility, but its base speed was decent. No, the fact that a body this huge could move this fast was miraculous in itself.
Sizzle…
Sniff sniff…
“That way!”
The scorch marks broke off intermittently, but Ruby’s nose caught the scent of burning, keeping them on Phenex’s trail.
The underground rumbling had ceased long ago. Far ahead, Phenex lit a flame as a signal.
“Ah, this door…”
“It’s the same type as that wall we saw before.”
The sturdy wall they’d had to detour around. There was definitely some spatial rift or whatever beyond it.
Whoooosh…
“Can’t open this one.”
Phenex made a gesture with her palms up. It meant even she was helpless.
Thud…
Groooowl…
Moam seemed to like the spot and rubbed its body against the door.
- Groooowl…
“What, what are you doing?!”
“Zakim, get down. Moam’s about to do something.”
Plop—!
Leaving Zakim to land awkwardly, a bluish energy began gathering in Moam’s hand.
Whirrrl…
The massive mana slumbering in its core concentrated in the giant hand and…
Crack…
Began forcing open the ruin’s door.
Groooan…
“Oh…”
“Impressive strength.”
“We’d have had to turn back without Moam.”
Phenex snorted and nodded.
“As expected of my lord. He foresaw this far.”
Moam’s eyes flashed blue.
- Groooaaaaar!
Crack craaaack—!
The door widened enough for Moam’s bulk to pass, and since it was forced open, it wouldn’t close anytime soon.
Step…
Step…
Thud…
As the subjugation team entered, the air grew heavy.
“That… a rift?”
“It’s huge.”
Zzzzzing…
“Everyone, quiet.”
Phenex closed her eyes and pressed one hand to her ear.
“……”
“……”
A brief silence followed.
“It’s here!”
KABOOOOOM—!
What burst through the ceiling was worm-like and enormous, but its maw was a horrific cylinder lined with teeth. It resembled a death worm, the kind commonly found in caves.
The problem was its size, which was far from common.
[Neutral leader ‘Gluttonous Tamaga’ is extremely angry.]
[Leader battle commencing.]
[Spatial rift malfunction seals the surroundings. Cannot escape.]
……
The second Rotten Root indigenous leader subjugation battle had begun.