The vibration that had started ringing out from somewhere.
That vibration turned into an earthquake that filled all of Gangnam, and before long it even collapsed the roads of Gangnam that had barely been holding their shape.
And then—
KWAAAAAANG!!!
From beneath the broken ground—
The culprit behind this massive quake revealed itself.
‘......What is that.’
And.
The moment I saw it, I had no choice but to break into a cold sweat.
‘That is......!’
A gigantic grotesque lifeform that suddenly burst up from the ground.
It had slammed straight into Mountain—who’d been butchering monsters—and launched upward.
THUD.......
Then it extended a massive arm,
Grabbed between the buildings,
And looked down at the surface.
As for its appearance......
If I had to describe it, it looked similar to the other monsters gathered here.
Body parts with different skin tones.
Crude stitch marks that roughly tied those parts together.
A hideous, bizarre figure.
“......That toy.”
If there was one difference worth pointing out—
“It does look...... rather strong.”
“.......”
It was monstrously larger than the others.
And it looked far more powerful.
{Then.......}
And.
It seemed that wasn’t our imagination.
{Let’s begin in earnest.}
BANG!!!
The enormous monster’s body—
Charged at our side at a speed that looked impossible for a body that huge.
*****
KWAAAAAANG!!!
While receiving treatment from that doctor,
A few changes occurred in my body.
One of them was my senses.
Senses I probably should have had originally, but couldn’t use because of the injuries piled up in my body.
The senses every awakened person has—feeling presence, sensing mana, things like that......
And.
According to those senses—
“How many just turned to dust from that one hit......!”
Countless retainers connected to me through one link—
Had returned to dust from that single blow.
{Die.}
That wasn’t all.
{Die, die die die die dieeeeee!!!}
CRRRRUNCH!!!
-B-brothers!
-Run!!!
As if it had no intention of ending it with one strike,
It began slaughtering the vampires, throwing its whole body into it.
‘Vampires have strong vitality, but...... that only applies when the wounds aren’t fatal.’
If the heart or brain gets torn out immediately,
Or if they take injuries so severe they can’t even regenerate—
Then even vampires die.
The secret art that helped avoid that situation was [Mistform], but—
-D-damn it. It’s too fa—!
KWAAAAAANG!!!
That monster—
Was slaughtering our side so fast there wasn’t even time to use Mistform.
Even if you got lucky and saved your life through Mistform, once you use it, it takes time before you can use it again.
It didn’t look easy to escape that indiscriminate assault.
“......Inaron!!!”
When Ariella saw that, Ariella shouted with solemn mana in the voice.
And answering the call, an existence came charging in immediately.
{Yes. My queen. Your loyal hound is here.}
A powerhouse that had made a name for itself with black claws in that demon realm.
A gigantic beast that looked like a wolf in black leather.
“You felt it too, didn’t you?”
{Yes...... countless brothers and sisters turned to dust.}
“It’s no ordinary monster. It’s probably.......”
Ariella spoke with a frown, as if something felt ominous.
“The one who made these monsters...... the doctor’s true body.”
Hearing that, I stared at the monster that was still slaughtering our side.
[Combat Power Gauge]
To check the color—
Of the mana pouring out of its body.
‘I’ve never seen a monster that strong.’
Even the monsters that carried that unusually deep blue tint weren’t on that level.
Maybe.
I thought I might finally see navy—
A color I’d only ever encountered in a sealed state.
‘Huh?’
But.
The moment I confirmed the color, I had no choice but to frown.
‘......Black?’
Because it was a color I’d never seen even once since I gained the ability to see mana colors.
[Combat Power Gauge] is an ability that measures a monster’s mana and gauges its power.
It visualizes the quality and quantity of mana as a spectrum of light.
That spectrum basically follows the seven colors of the rainbow.
But black?
‘No way.’
There’s no black in a rainbow.
But what I was seeing wasn’t a real rainbow—it was mana-light.
And in the spectrum of light, black exists.
......At the farthest edge.
Beyond even violet, further out.
I felt chills crawl up my skin.
If the color I’d seen was produced for that reason—
Then that thing could be an existence of a higher order than even those violet-tier beings—
The ones that had radiated that overwhelming presence!
‘That is its true body?’
Certainly.
That bastard had never shown me its real form even once.
It always used monsters it didn’t care about losing as a medium to talk to us.
I knew it must have a true body somewhere.
I just never imagined it would be shaped like that.
“It’s no ordinary monster. Losperos, Kelembor, Kurdan. With the three of you, stop that monster.”
{Yes. May we also mobilize the elites of each tribe we lead?}
“I permit it. Subdue that thing, no matter what it takes.”
The moment the order fell—
The four great great monsters that had ruled the demon realm, each fighting in different sectors of the battlefield, all moved at once—
And moved to face that Obese Fusion.
That wasn’t all.
“And you, too!”
After confirming the great monsters moving in unison, Ariella turned her head again, stared at one place, and shouted.
“You were acting so high and mighty. You didn’t go down from just one hit, did you?”
Then—
A black-armored knight rose from between the collapsed buildings and walked out.
“......The viscount jokes well.”
Mountain stood up in the dust, with nearly 30% of the upper body missing.
But its body had already stepped beyond human.
Sssss......
The cold lingering there
Was restoring the lost flesh.
“I sent my children, but it’s no ordinary existence. So.”
“There’s no time to trade nagging. I’ll join as well.”
With those words,
Mountain threw the body toward that enormous doctor.
And shortly after—
{Enemy of our queen!}
{Die, you hideous lowly breed!}
Ariella’s retainers and Mountain—
The strongest among my retainers—
Began to engage that massive beast.
And.
Watching that, I tightened my grip on the kitchen knife and started to step forward—
But a hand blocked my path.
“......Master stays here.”
“What?”
When I frowned,
Ariella shook the head.
“It isn’t that I doubt Master’s strength. It’s just.......”
“Just what?”
“Master isn’t an ability user suited for battle, are you?”
The arm grabbing my hand.
It was a slender arm—
But the strength inside it was clearly greater than mine.
“You know it too. If I want to fight, I’ve got ways.”
“I know.”
At my words,
Ariella smiled bitterly.
“But that power requires a price.”
“.......”
“You’ve only just finished paying that price. There’s no need to push yourself again. And...... even if you pay that price, it would be hard for you to become stronger than my children, or that rude knight, wouldn’t it?”
As Ariella said—
I’m a chef, not a combat class.
I can obtain powerful strength through my own means, but the price is certain.
And how big that price was—
I was feeling it even more clearly now, after finally resolving it all.
“Leave your protection to the [Blue Waterdrop] inside the shadows, and withdraw for now.”
“But!”
“If it’s an enemy my children and that rude knight can’t bring down, you joining won’t change much. And if it’s an enemy you can bring down by joining, then it’s an enemy they can bring down even without you.”
After saying that, Ariella tried to reassure me—
With a light smile.
“Don’t worry too much. Not only my children, but even that black knight—its personality is terrible, but its capability is worth acknowledging.”
But before Ariella could finish—
“......No.”
“......Pardon?”
At Ariella’s words,
I frowned and said—
“That’s not it.”
The strength my retainers have.
And the power Mountain has.
I know it better than anyone.
That’s why I’d been confident enough to pick this fight in the first place.
But.
‘That’s only when they can fight at full strength.’
Just like I’m a chef and not a combat class—
That bastard is a doctor and not a combat class.
Just like I fear death more than anyone—
That bastard fears death more than anyone.
‘That bastard is a lot like me.’
And if that’s true—
“There’s no way it didn’t prepare for a situation like this!”
“......What?”
As if proving my thought wasn’t a mistake—
{Cold one. My brothers and I will stop its movement, so use your ominous energy on it.}
“Fine.”
A monster that could speak human language.
Shining Scale Kurdan and Mountain shared a plan—
And were about to move in to break that monster...... in that exact moment—
RRRIP......!
“......!?”
The monster’s hide...... “opened.”
The multicolored hides that had been crudely ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) stitched together with thread.
They split apart, exposing vivid red flesh inside.
RRRK, RRRIP.......
That flesh stretched out long—
And something like a tube with a circular opening burst out.
And from the end of that tube—
PFFT!
Something small popped out.
It was smeared with blood and flesh so thick it was hard to recognize the original shape.
But it had a strangely yellowish tint.
[Ingredients Identification (Enhanced)]
And.
The moment I saw it, I felt chills.
[Head of a Sunbug]
[A bug that holds sunlight inside its body and possesses the power to detonate it.]
[This is the head of a Sunbug.]
FWOOOOOSH!!!
Because—
Brilliant light suddenly burst out of it.
And the moment that light hit me—
‘......It stings!’
Pain like my skin was burning
Hit with crystal clarity.
“Hmph...... I don’t know what kind of light that is, but we’ll go in according to the plan......?”
Mountain frowned at the light,
And was about to enter the fight according to the plan they’d just discussed—
{KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!}
“!?”
The four great great monsters that took that light head-on—
Let out agonized shrieks.
******
{My queen!}
When that light suddenly appeared on the battlefield,
The first thing the retainers did was throw their bodies in the way.
{Hide your body!}
Toward their master.
Ariella.
TSSSSSSSS......
The vampires’ bodies that touched the light
Burned, scorching-hot.
{We...... must......!}
{Protect our queen......!}
Even as their bodies burned,
The monsters didn’t take a single step back.
They blocked the light aimed at Ariella,
And dragged Ariella to where shadows existed.
“Ah...... that light.”
And Ariella—
Right before the retainers wrapped their bodies around Ariella,
Looked at the trace of that light that had briefly touched the body.
CRACKLE, CRK.......
“Loathsome.......”
At the skin of the arm, hideously aflame—
Blackening, burning, and tearing away.
“A natural enemy......!”
With a voice and expression filled with intense rage—
A rage I’d never seen before—
Ariella stared at that monster and said.
“......Master!”
While being pulled along by the hands leading them,
Ariella shouted toward me with a worried voice.
“I’m fine, so worry about yourself!”
Fortunately.
Even if half their blood ran in me—
My skin wasn’t a vampire’s.
Half of me was still human.
I felt like my condition got a bit worse, but that light wasn’t fatal to me.
Meanwhile......
Sssss......
That light that had pierced the battlefield so hard once—
Didn’t seem like something it could maintain for long, and it quickly died down.
{It hurts...... it hurts hurts hurts hurts.......}
{Ah...... my queen...... are you...... safe.......}
{......Cough.}
The duration wasn’t long.
But in that short moment, the damage the vampires took......
Was fatal.
‘......The sun.’
Night nobles are an overwhelmingly powerful species.
But under the light of their natural enemy, they lose their strength.
The power I’d used when I took down Ariella had been Divinity,
And Ariella had admitted that power was uncomfortable for Ariella—
But even so, the thing Ariella always called a natural enemy......
Was always that sun.
{Didn’t I tell you, Legion Commander.}
And.
The ones hit closest and most directly by the light were none other than—
The four great great monsters Ariella had been most confident in.
{A species with great potential, but many defects.}
“.......”
{At this level...... it’s not enough.}
The massive Obese Fusion—
Extended its many hands.
CRUNCH.......
{I.}
It grabbed the staggering great great monster—
“Shining Scale”—
{Do not lie.}
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAANG!!!
With its countless arms and legs—
It began a one-sided beating.
