Side: Ludia
As we defeated the saurus subordinates that descended from the Solpreza Mountain Range, we headed towards the Demise Species, Thanatos.
Their massive bodies, about 50 meters tall and 100 meters long, and the fact that there were multiple of them made them incredibly easy to find.
However, some of them were lying down, so we could only find one immediately.
There were reports of at least two Thanatos, possibly three or more, so we couldn’t afford to let our guard down.
But…
“Yamato, this is strange!”
“Yeah. Even though we’ve gotten this close, only one of them has moved. The others… I think there are three lying down, but what are they doing…?”
Just as Purim and Yamato said, despite their saurus followers being defeated and us closing in, the Thanatos showed no significant movement.
We had approached to within about 200 meters of the Thanatos when we finally confirmed there were four of them.
Yet, only one showed any intention of fighting us; the other three remained lying down, unmoving.
Well, one of them did seem to be moving slightly.
But what surprised me even more was that the Thanatos approaching us, and the ones lying down, were all heavily wounded.
The wounds on the two that weren’t moving seemed particularly deep, almost fatal.
What in the world is going on…
“We have many questions, but they’ll have to wait! At least one is coming at us, so let’s take it down first!”
“Got it!”
“Okay!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
That’s right.
Even injured, they are Demise Species. If we get caught thinking, we’ll be easily defeated.
There are other monsters too, so like Yamato said, we’ll think about it after it’s all over!
“No holding back!”
No sooner had she said it than Purim donned Seraphim Penetrator and pierced through the Tyrannosaurus and Diplodocus before her.
Both were M-I Rank Monsters, but they were no match for a serious Purim.
“I’m coming too!”
Athena, partially dragonized in both arms, wielded her Crysta Light Spear, imbued with her Unique Magic Blaze Light Blade, and flew through the sky using Flying.
She then sliced down an Aerotitan, a P-R Rank Monster, and severed the wings of a Titanopterus, an M-I Rank Monster.
“Haaah!”
That Titanopterus had its head removed by my sister’s ice blading.
Furthermore, immediately after, her Unique Magic Drag Bite Blizzard formed an ice dragon’s jaws that swallowed a Dreadnought, an A-C Rank Monster, in one go.
Even though a Dreadnought has a colossal body that surpasses a Thanatos, it’s amazing it could swallow it whole.
I believe this is only possible due to the increased magic power after evolving into an Element Dragonewt.
But I can’t fall behind!
I imbued my Flare Grapples on both my arms and legs with my Unique Magic Fire Ring Impact and delivered a combo attack to the other Dreadnought, then slipped beneath its body and kicked it upwards with the final stage of Fire Ring Impact.
Of course, kicking a nearly 100-meter-long monster into the air was impossible, but it still went up about 20 meters. I quickly overtook it, donned my Unique Magic Assault Blazer, and snapped its neck!
As I landed, I didn’t forget to store the Dreadnought using Storing.
A monster nearly 100 meters long falling down could cause significant damage, not just hinder everyone.
Yeah, the flow of attacks has become smoother, and I might be able to incorporate Storing well. Once this is over, I should compile it as a new Unique Magic.
“Athena!”
“Yes!”
Then, Athena, fully dragonized, along with Yamato on her back, used the Dragon Resonance Magic Breath Edge Blaster to sweep away the P-rank and M-rank monsters.
Oh, it hit the Thanatos too.
It took significant damage from one blow, and without missing a beat, Yamato’s Unique Magic Gracious Bunker landed, and it was defeated. I was surprised.
But Yamato said it was already injured, and the injury must have been far greater than I imagined.
Otherwise, even Yamato wouldn’t have been able to defeat a Demise Species so easily.
If they had used an Engraving Divine Artifact, that would be another story.
“That’s the end. It was surprising, but the Thanatos’s wounds were worse than I thought. Even though they are S-rank monsters, Demise Species, there’s definitely a monster that could defeat four of them this one-sidedly.”
“Yeah. This is seriously bad.”
The last Tyrannosaurus flew into the air, burned by Purim’s Seraphim Tornado, and was defeated by my sister’s Drag Bite Blizzard.
After collecting the defeated monsters, including the Thanatos defeated by Breath Edge Blaster, I approached the three lying Thanatos and examined their wounds. One that was already dead had its right arm missing and its tail torn off. Another had multiple large holes in its abdomen.
The one that was still barely alive seemed to have died while we were fighting. It had a large wound extending from its left shoulder towards its torso, and it was a wonder it wasn’t severed in two.
I don’t know when the Thanatos evolved, but having four of them is an abnormal situation. The fact that there’s a monster that can defeat them makes me feel like the end of the world is approaching.
“I believe only a Demise Species could defeat another Demise Species, but even so, this is terrible.”
“Yes. There was also a Vortex Dragoon, so the highest possibility is a Dragoon Demise Species, but even then, I can’t believe they could defeat them this one-sidedly. First of all, there shouldn’t have been any Dragoons in the Solpreza Mountain Range.”
“Yeah. Also, many hunters enter the Solpreza Labyrinth, so there haven’t been any Labyrinth Surges, let alone Labyrinth Exiles.”
“Right.”
I know that too, but if so, it makes me even more unsure of what’s happening?
“We’ll investigate that later, but the most likely scenario is that a Dragoon exiled from the Maldoso Labyrinth made its way to the Solpreza Mountain Range unnoticed and evolved into a Demise Species.”
Purim answered my question with a guess, but now that she mentions it, it seems quite possible.
“That’s a problem too, but there are still monsters left. Mako and Flam seem to have arrived too, so let’s talk about it later.”
“Ah, you’re right.”
There are indeed still monsters, so protecting Solpreza is the priority.
When Yamato told me to look towards the town of Solpreza, I saw Mana, Mako, and Flam heading our way.
After reuniting with the three of them, we spent about an hour to successfully annihilate the monsters that had attacked Solpreza.
Side: Flam
By the time we joined them, the讨伐 of the Demise Species Thanatos and Tescatlipoca had already concluded.
However, the fact that there were four Thanatos, and three of them were already dead, was astonishing.
“Impossible…”
“While the simultaneous appearance of an Orc Emperor and an Orc Empress has happened before, so the situation is similar to that.”
About three years ago, an Orc Emperor and an Orc Empress evolved in the Mylight Mountains. Both are Orc Demise Species, and the only difference is male or female, so it can indeed be considered similar to the current situation.
“No, that is true, and it’s still a big problem, but the fact that there’s still a monster that can defeat four Thanatos so one-sidedly is a bigger problem.”
“It’s probably a Dragoon Demise Species, but even against the same Demise Species, being defeated so one-sidedly is truly astounding.”
The Grand Dragoner’s Master is struggling to find words, and Mana agrees, but it’s exactly as he says.
“I agree. However, to investigate, we’ll need at least several Ancient Class individuals. With a monster capable of slaughtering multiple Thanatos, even a High Class might get in the way.”
The Grand Dragoner’s Master is troubled, and understandably so. Thanatos are Demise Species of the S-rank monster Allosaurus, so they are considered S-rank standard Demise Species. In reality, even normal species have individuals capable of defeating monsters a rank higher, so whether this expression is accurate is questionable, but we’ll set that aside for now. The fact that these Demise Species were defeated are all stories from within the last three years. These are the 13 Demise Species: Orc Emperor, Orc Empress, Slume Lord, Antlion Empress, Hanuman, Kobold Emperor, Nidh, Cetus, Zirko, Ouroboros, Phoenix, Sleipnir, and Leviathan. Yamato was involved in the defeat of half of them. The Orc Empress was defeated solely by Purim, the Phoenix by Mako, and the Kobold Emperor, Nidh, and Cetus were defeated by Yamato’s parents, Asuka and Maoh. Thus, it can be said that the Wing Crest or its affiliates have defeated all but Sleipnir. Sleipnir alone was defeated by the Grand Order’s Master and his wives, but there are no other defeat reports. Also, those who directly confronted Demise Species were individuals who had evolved to at least Ancient Class. However, it’s not that High Class individuals have never encountered them. In fact, the Dragoness Ménage, who are said to be the strongest in Valentia and encountered the Kobold Emperor, were gravely wounded. Kobolds are C-rank monsters, which means they are two ranks lower than Allosaurus. Facing a C-rank monster’s Demise Species, the strongest hunters of Valentia, while prioritizing retreat, were still dealt with one-sidedly. As the Grand Dragoner’s Master says, dispatching High Class individuals for investigation is difficult. On the other hand, although Ancient Class individuals have increased, there are still only a few dozens, most of whom belong to Amister. In Valentia, there is only the Grand Dragoner’s Master. Therefore, if an investigation of the Solpreza Mountain Range is to be conducted, we can only request it from the Order’s Guild or the Hunter’s Guild Amister Headquarters, and preparations will be necessary, so it will take a considerable number of days.
“This is a problem that can’t be ignored. We’ll go investigate after this.”
“That would be helpful, but the reward will be the standard amount, you know?”
“We can’t just ignore the fact that there’s something that can take down four Thanatos all at once. Besides, Wing Crest has six Element Class members, so we’re the most suitable, aren’t we?”
“…I’m sorry.”
The Grand Dragoner’s Master frowns, but as Yamato says, we are indeed the most suitable.
“No, then we will head to the Solpreza Mountain Range as soon as preparations are complete.”
It’s unlikely there are any Thanatos left, but with a monster that can defeat multiple Thanatos, we need to be thoroughly prepared. Tescatlipoca had also descended, so the monster is likely at Treasure Tree. Therefore, we will go by air as close as possible and then switch to land. Athena is already fully dragonized, so we can’t ask her to dragonize again considering the monsters that might be there. We’ll either have to call Eos or approach by Airship. Either way, it seems like an investigation that could cost us our lives.
