The hero arrived at the Dwarf City.
The hero arrived at the Dwarf City.
"Ow…."
Karen muttered as she stared at her finger bitten by the skeletal lizard.
Crunch.
She looked in bad shape, so I hurried over to her and stomped on the lizard gnawing at her finger, crushing its waist.
Even as red blood dripped from her finger, Karen gazed up at me with a vacant stare, making me grimace despite myself.
I couldn't help but feel disappointed in her—far more fragile mentally than I'd expected from a mage.
'She breaks down from something this minor?'
All she'd done was climb the mountain diligently. Sure, I'd roughed her up a bit along the way and pushed her to her physical limits on purpose, but I'd never imagined it'd shatter her mind like this.
"Get a grip, Karen Cross."
"Huh? I'm fine, though?"
I balled my fist lightly at Karen, who grinned dumbly up at me.
She flinched.
A twinge of guilt hit me at her instinctive fear, but in her current state, knocking her out was probably kinder.
"Urk!"
She went limp with a weird yelp as my fist sank into her gut, and I pulled a potion from my bag, sprinkling it on her finger.
As expected from one Jena had packed—it worked better than hoped. Her mangled finger healed rapidly.
Confirming that, I eyed the lizard's skeletal remains, still twitching on the ground even in pieces.
"This is somethin' else. Doesn't look mechanical, though."
James sidled up beside me, poking at the skeletal lizard as he muttered.
Of course it wasn't some machine.
"Demon King's army. More precisely, Bahamons's doing."
"Bahamons?"
James tilted his head at my near-certain words.
Come to think of it, the dwarves knew as little about the Demon King's army as anyone.
I had no choice but to explain Bahamons to them.
"He's a lich, the Lord of Death. He raises the dead as his minions."
"...And that's just a lizard?"
One dwarf snorted skeptically.
Dwarven humor differed from humans'—the others burst out laughing, clutching their bellies.
"Haa…."
I sighed at the dwarves, utterly devoid of any tension.
James finally elbowed the chuckling bunch, calming things down.
"Obviously, he doesn't use lizards as minions. Well, he does command hundreds of undead lizardmen, so it's not entirely wrong."
"Hundreds of lizardmen, huh."
Only then did the gravity sink in; their big eyes started darting around.
"So what's this lizard, then?"
James, ever the group leader, was quickest on the uptake.
"Probably woke up from death under Bahamons's influence. He has the power to revive corpses around him without lifting a finger."
I answered, recalling how that bastard had tormented me endlessly in my previous life.
True to form, Bahamons didn't create monsters himself—his mere presence animated nearby corpses. Soldiers charging him would rise as undead, turning their blades on allies.
'And he's the perfect pick for assaulting the Dwarf City.'
I scowled, reassessing the situation.
The Dwarf City sat high in the mountains, and their nonchalant attitude stemmed from its near-impregnable defenses. In my past life, most of the Demon King's forces collapsed from exhaustion before even reaching it.
But Bahamons's minions were all undead—they never tired.
'The thickheaded Demon King wouldn't have thought of it. Must be Baal.'
I pieced together the Demon King's moves.
Lilite hadn't known, so Bahamons's maneuvers were stealthy. Only Baal could've orchestrated that, as far as I knew.
The problem? Baal was moving faster and more aggressively than expected. Maybe he'd sniffed out the Demon King's regression—or confirmed it himself.
'Good thing I asked Jena von Darius to handle it.'
I scratched my head, recalling my conversation with her before leaving Caliban Territory.
"Hero, we leave it to ya."
"...Outta nowhere?"
I blinked at the dwarves lined up before me.
While I'd been lost in memories of Jena, they'd whispered among themselves and suddenly shifted tone.
"A lich with hundreds of lizardmen? Even our kingdom's tough, but that's a hassle."
"No worries. Didn't the last hero handle the previous Demon King?"
"Yeah, Grandpa told me the same."
I scowled at their casual offloading, chatting like it was gossip.
These lecherous shits invoked the previous hero, expecting me to solo Bahamons.
"I don't care what the last hero did. I can't do it alone."
"...Huh?"
"You dwarves, men among men, aren't dodging a fight, are you?"
"...N-No, course not! We're not those kinda guys!"
At least dwarves were less shameless than elves, caring a bit about face.
And if they pushed me to fight, they'd forge top-tier gear—no need to snap.
"Anyway, how far's the city?"
"Almost there. Just a bit more."
At James's words, I hoisted the still-slumped Karen onto my horse and mounted up.
A short climb later, as James said, the Dwarf City emerged—carved straight from the cliff face.
Feeling Karen stir behind me, I spoke to her.
"Karen. We're here. Wake up."
"Uh, huh? Ah…."
She jolted awake at my voice, then gasped in awe.
Her shock erased prior events; the Dwarf City was breathtakingly beautiful.
'Even on a revisit, it's a sight.'
I thought, gazing at the indescribably stunning Dwarf City.