#045 Opportunity
#045 Opportunity
Large-scale monster outbreak. A situation where countless Magic Beasts pour out of a Dimensional Gate that suddenly forms in midair.
According to the materials I'd researched at the Adventurers' Guild, this strange phenomenon had been occurring for about ten years.
Skipping all the explanations and whatnot, as a current Demon King and former final boss of the Middle Realm, let me sum it up in one line.
Dimensional Gate.
The method is to mass-produce an enormous number of monsters in a specific location, then keep producing, raising, and gathering strength until those monsters reach saturation, and then open a Dimensional Gate to send them out to the target location.
For example, you dig out a space deep underground as wide as a human city, then mass-produce a countless number of spider Magic Beasts there.
The spider Magic Beasts devour their own kind, preying on each other, laying eggs to increase their numbers and grow their forces.
Then, when the space becomes so cramped that the colony would have to start reducing its own numbers if it stayed any longer, they open a Dimensional Gate and let every individual scatter outward.
A species capable of growing strong enough as a colony within a limited space.
A space where that species can breed from as few as hundreds up to tens of thousands.
Facilities thorough enough to conceal it completely from others.
And a Dimensional Gate capable of moving every individual at once.
If all of that is in place, then one day a Dimensional Gate suddenly opens in the middle of a city, pouring out thousands of Magic Beasts.
To summarize simply.
Mass-produce monsters underground.
Drop them into the middle of enemy lines with Spatial Magic.
Done.
From the humans' perspective, these were disasters on the scale of natural calamities: massive slaughters had been erupting without warning in various places for the past ten years.
The idea itself is truly impressive.
It's a tactic combining malice to screw over the enemy however possible with killing intent to absolutely kill them—if you gave it an operation name, you could call it 'Dark Raven.'
How do I know the tactic's name?
Because....
'This is a tactic I improved.'
500 years ago.
While advancing the Demon King Army to capture a royal palace, there was a time when a hundred thousand Demon King Army soldiers couldn't get past terrain defended by a mere five thousand humans because of a natural fortress.
Blade Cannon.
The mountain range, named because its sheer cliffs looked like blades, was impossible to cross except by the road, and the walls positioned on every slope were located where no half-hearted force could break through.
So I just opened a Dimensional Gate in the enemy kingdom's capital and sent the Demon King Army through.
Of course, in that process, I scouted the enemy kingdom's capital,
drew attention in front of the walls where the enemy's main force was gathered while locating the enemy kingdom's position and coordinates,
carefully prepared the magic to open the Dimensional Gate before the human bastards noticed,
and although enemies who noticed the flow of mana because it was such a large-scale magic rushed over and interfered with my spell,
after barely succeeding at casting, I air-dropped trolls into the empty royal castle and captured it—
It was the sort of command that would go down in the annals of warfare—mine, Belphegor's—but now Acedia was using it.
'Damn it, who goes around using someone else's tactics however they please?'
Tactics were the sort of thing that, once someone used one, people in the future would copy after reading about it in the history books—but it still burned me up that the Acedia bastards were using mine.
'If you're going to use it, use it properly!'
Originally, Dimensional Gate magic must be premised on not being detected by the enemy.
Even if detected, the location where the Portal opens and the location where it appears must never be discovered.
In fact, when I captured the kingdom with this tactic, I agonized over how to hide the Dimensional Gate opening in the middle of enemy lines.
And after agonizing over and over, I seduced the enemy kingdom's princess and had her secretly build an altar inside the royal castle to open the Dimensional Gate.
At first, one Magic Beast crossed over, then three Magic Beasts crossed over.
Then the entire force of Magic Beasts I'd diligently gathered crossed the Dimensional Gate, and the princess offered up her kingdom and became mine.
A princess who was deceived by a Demon King and brought ruin to her kingdom.
I struggled so much to hide the Dimensional Gate's location that I had to personally step in and seduce the princess.
But.
"Currently, we've confirmed a large-scale Dimensional Gate opening in a clearing near the lake north of Normance. In terms of distance, about 20 km. Considering typical Magic Beasts, that's a distance they'd reach the walls of Normance within an hour."
Why on earth did the Adventurers' Guild know that location?
Did the Acedia bastards not even know their large-scale operation had been exposed to the enemy?
Are they dismissing it, thinking the enemy won't notice if they just draw a Magic Circle in a forest or cave near a human city?
"Excuse me for interrupting. I have a question. How did you confirm the Dimensional Gate opening?"
Unable to contain my curiosity, I cut off the bald branch manager.
He blinked at me for a moment, then raised his thumb with a confident face.
"The Flame Hero, Bareness, discovered it."
"......."
So a Hero had caught them.
Then I could accept that.
No matter how careful they were, once a Hero found them, there was nothing they could do.
Getting caught by a Hero was like getting hit by a natural disaster.
"Um, Master. If a Hero discovered it, couldn't we just destroy the Dimensional Gate?"
"Good question, Lucius."
A Dimensional Gate opens space from both sides.
When opening a Dimensional Gate, a Magic Circle is needed, but on the side where it opens, mana also sparkles and forms a Magic Circle.
Opening two Dimensional Gates at once and linking them together—that was the essence of Dimensional Gate spatial magic.
The problem is that since the magic is cast assuming the two will connect as one, if one side is destroyed, both are destroyed.
Even if it does form, accidents can occur, like being sent to the wrong coordinates or only half your body being sent.
"To eliminate the threat of Magic Beasts, you just close the Dimensional Gate before it opens."
Eliminate danger before the sprout grows.
That was the correct answer. That was the safe choice.
But.
"Lucius. There's a fruit you can pick and eat as much as you want, as long as the seed doesn't scatter on the ground. So what would you do?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, if there's an opportunity that's dangerous but lets you take a risk and gain an enormous reward, what would you do?"
"......I'm not sure?"
Lucius tilted his head.
I was about to explain it to him, but the bald branch manager seemed about to speak, so I pointed at him.
"...Normally, a Dimensional Gate should be closed before it opens. However, right now the Flame Hero, Mercenary King Bareness, is here. And... no, it's still difficult to explain, but the Adventurers' Guild can say with confidence that we have the ability to reap sufficient gains and close this Dimensional Gate before it runs rampant."
The Dimensional Gate running rampant.
"Lucius. No matter how hard a hole is to insert into, if you keep thrusting and spreading it, it's bound to open up."
"R-right...?"
"Same principle. At first, a Dimensional Gate's space is small enough for one or two Magic Beasts to come out, but as the Magic Beasts cross over one by one, they gradually widen the space."
At first, small enough not to be detected by the enemy.
And a Dimensional Gate is made assuming that gradually, large-scale Magic Beasts will cross outside.
"So you wait for the timing when it opens, then catch the Magic Beasts pouring out recklessly as they come out. Then what do you get?"
"Uh, you can hunt as much as you can handle?"
"Right."
At least, until just before the Dimensional Gate runs rampant.
It's a Mana Stone Party!
"The Adventurers' Guild declares, as of today, current time 09:19. We will hunt the monsters crossing over through the Dimensional Gate formed at the lake north of Normance, and close the Dimensional Gate before it runs rampant and a 'being of darkness' crosses over."
And so.
"The estimated time the Dimensional Gate opens is around 20:00 tomorrow. We look forward to the participation of many adventurers who will subjugate the monsters emerging from the Dimensional Gate, and the Adventurers' Guild will...."
Gulp.
"Conduct a raid together with the Hero, Bareness."
A raid.
It refers to a Mana Stone Party that hunts the monsters crossing over from a Dimensional Gate.
* * *
After safely completing our D Rank registration at the guild.
Before resting, our conversation topic was naturally the Dimensional Gate and the raid.
"Rosemas, have you ever participated in a raid?"
"No, I haven't."
A situation that even Rosemas, who had been quite active as an adventurer, had never seen.
I wanted to contact Morgen, who would know the details about raids, to get information, but because of all the people trying to register for the raid, the receptionist didn't even have time to drink water.
In the first place, she had already done enough just by replacing our wooden adventurer badges with bronze ones when we reached D Rank.
There were too many people to leisurely chat or check other requests, so we just decided to return to our lodging.
"Then shall we finish talking about the raid after we get back to the lodging...."
However.
Before returning, after purchasing a few things.
"Rosemas, you eat this, right?"
"I like tomatoes."
"What about cheese?"
"...I don't really like ones that are too strong."
Elves like vegetables.
But that doesn't mean they don't eat dairy products at all.
Because 500 years ago, I made them that way.
-Demon King! As a representative of the elves, I demand improved meal treatment for the captured elves!
-So you're saying you can't eat meat even if it kills you? Fine. Then eat this.
-...What is this white, sweet thing? Don't tell me, Demon King, y-you bastard's—
-Hahaha! It's a food made in the Demon Realm called 'ice cream'! A food made using milk. Heh heh.
-Milk... you say? Ah, that's fine. Eggs are not, though. Hehe, too bad, Demon King. This is—
-I put in more honey and sugar than this fist.
-Aaaaaaaaah————!!
By capturing elves as prisoners and choosing food to feed them, I came to understand their dietary habits to some extent.
They don't eat foods with life in them, but milk or processed milk products—mainly things like cheese—aren't completely off the table.
"I'll take this and this."
"That'll be 2 Silver, customer."
I picked out various foods for Rosemas and for Lucius.
Rosemas put the things I bought into a paper bag while looking at me with uneasy eyes.
"Um, Witch."
"Yeah, what?"
"These... are ingredients."
"Yeah. What about it?"
"What do you mean, what about it...."
Rosemas pointed at the bag with a face that genuinely couldn't understand.
"Didn't you say we'd eat something delicious?"
"Yeah. So?"
"These are just food items."
"Right."
"...You're not just going to lay these out and eat them, are you?"
"Are you joking?"
Rosemas had quite a few quirky sides.
"Who buys ingredients and just chews them whole?"
"...Ingredients?"
"Of course. I said we'd eat something delicious."
"I'm going to cook. I'll borrow the inn's kitchen."