We live at the Foothills of Dragon Peak.
Fierce Battle: Monster Extermination Battle
“Orazzzz! These monsters with all their fancy moves are barely worth a warm-up!”
Slattann swept away all the translucent tentacles extending from all directions and delivered the finishing blow.
The soft-bodied monster, cut in half along with its core, vanished with a grating death cry.
Slattann didn’t even glance at the fallen Magic Crystal Stone and rushed towards his next prey.
The Hero and the Styler Family alone were quickly subduing the large number of monsters that appeared in the courtyard.
Then, Listea, who had been wielding the Holy Sword from the rear, called Slattann back.
“Slattann, leave this to the Styler Family. We’re heading east.”
“Haaan, why? We’ve come this far, let’s exterminate them all before moving on.”
“No, we need to hurry. I’ve just received word from the spirits. A big one seems to have appeared on the east side.”
Listea pointed east, over the Great Fortress.
Beyond the fortress roof, they could see a spiky black monster rampaging.
Two days had already passed since the operation began.
At first, the human adventurers and beast race warriors were pushing back the monsters with sheer momentum, but gradually, they began to struggle.
In fact, adventurers who were having difficulty with a large monster that appeared in a courtyard a few sections east of the courtyard where Listea and her group were fighting had started to retreat into the fortress.
“Tch. Can’t be helped!”
Slattann slashed through the monster before him and sheathed his long sword.
“Hey, Kijilum. I’m leaving the rest to you, okay?”
“You got it! I’ll show you guys and Elnea that I’m not going to be outdone!”
“Hahaha! You’ve got spirit, I’ll give you that. But don’t push yourself too hard. If anything happens to you, your wife and kids will cry, you know?”
“You don’t have to tell me!”
Kijilum, who is a classmate of mine and Slattann’s, and who married into the Styler Family as a son-in-law, raised the straight sword he gripped in his right hand and saw the Hero and his companions off.
Leaving the monsters in the courtyard to the Styler Family, Listea and her group returned to the fortress and ran through the corridors.
The giant fortress has corridors connecting its sturdy ramparts and watchtowers.
And in many courtyards, divided by a labyrinthine network of corridors, curses had been cast, and monsters were spawning endlessly.
Listea and her group, having received the spirits’ message, ran towards the east.
However, moving through the colossal fortress was not easy.
Even as Listea and her group were moving, large monsters were rampaging in the east.
“I’ll go…”
“You cannot. You must conserve your strength for when it is truly needed.”
The Giant Demon Lord stopped me as I gripped the hilt of my White Sword, ready to charge out.
“Elnea-kun. Commanders should not easily go to the front lines. Or, do you doubt the abilities of the companions you’ve gathered, Elnea-kun?”
“No, I believe in everyone’s strength. That’s right, Charlotte is right. I don’t need to go, it’ll be alright.”
I relaxed the strength I had tensed.
And from a position higher than the towers, we watched over the front lines.
“Hey, you lot! Stop your idle chatter above my head!”
Then, a dissatisfied voice came from below!
That’s right.
We were on Old Man Sleigsta’s head, watching the battles unfolding in various parts of the Great Fortress.
“Um, it’s because Grandpa’s head is the highest place to see the furthest!”
Just as Priscilla-chan said.
The only ones who could see over the fortress from a height greater than the towers were those who could fly like wyverns, those who could see far through crystals like Momo-chan, or Old Man Sleigsta’s head.
So, to check the battle situation, we were forced to position ourselves on Old Man Sleigsta’s head.
It’s not like we’re just going along with the Giant Demon Lord’s possessed spirit to do what Old Man Sleigsta hates!
In any case, from Old Man Sleigsta’s head, we watched the fierce battles taking place throughout the fortress.
However, ahead of us, the battle situation grew increasingly dire.
More and more human adventurers and beast race warriors, who had begun to struggle, were retreating into the fortress.
Following the eastern sector, large monsters also appeared on the north side.
They were spiky monsters, identical to the ones that appeared in the east.
“Guguk, Monster… Will defeat.”
Then, Momo-chan, who had been observing the large monster through her crystal, showed her determination.
Unlike when she spoke, she wove spells with a smooth incantation. While doing so, she prepared powders and wielded cursed tools.
The large monster that appeared on the north side was also enormous, exceeding the height of the fortress’s ceiling.
From its black, round body, countless sharp, long, and hard tentacles sprouted.
The thorny tentacles writhed eerily from their roots, attacking the fortress walls in an attempt to break through.
A single hawk flew in the air above that monster.
Momo-chan created an animal with magic and projected its images onto the crystal through its eyes.
The magical animals had realistic tactile sensations and moved naturally.
However, the hawk circling above the monster moved unnaturally.
Its broadly spread wings turned iron-colored, and each feather transformed into a sharp blade.
Its sharp beak began to burn with flames in an instant.
Then, the hawk let out a shrill cry into the sky and dived towards the monster.
The magical hawk slashed at the monster with the sharpness of a paring knife cutting through fruit, cutting it to pieces. Moreover, the fragments of the monster that were cut burned red and turned to ash.
“Hohou, transcending the realm of curse arts to materialize illusions. Hmm, this can no longer be contained within curse arts. Truly, it is a magnificent art that should be newly called magic.”
Old Man Sleigsta praised Momo-chan’s magic.
To be praised by Old Man Sleigsta, the guardian of the Dragon Forest, Momo-chan’s magic must truly be amazing!
“You too must continue to strive.”
“Grrr. I will do my best.”
“Fufufu. Elnea-kun, let’s try not to overdo it and use forbidden techniques, shall we?”
“Or you’ll get scolded by the Witch!”
Not that Charlotte needed to tell me, but I would never use forbidden techniques again.
I was let off the hook last time, but I know there won’t be a next time.
However, I discovered a possibility.
Just as Momo-chan has reached, by perfecting one thing, there are other goals to achieve besides forbidden techniques.
Therefore, I believe I should continue to strive to perfect my own art.
“If you intend to aim higher, you must know the foundation of art.”
“The foundation of art?”
I tilted my head at the Giant Demon Lord’s words.
“Grandpa, do you know?”
“Hmm. To know the foundation of art is equivalent to knowing the origin of one’s race. And it is said that those who know the origin of their race understand the principles of the world.”
“From what you say, does that mean you don’t know yet?”
“To understand the principles of the world, one must travel the world and observe many things. Unlike me, who has remained in one place for many years, the opportunities to broaden one’s knowledge are limited.”
I see. Even Old Man Sleigsta, who has lived for over two thousand years, still lacks knowledge in this world.
What could this “foundation of art” be, which even Old Man Sleigsta doesn’t know?
“If you want to know quickly, ask the Witch or the Rulers.”
“Impossible! That’s absolutely impossible!”
I never want to meet the Rulers of the Demon Race again!
They are too terrifying an opponent for me right now.
And the Witch is not someone you can just meet if you want to, and even if you could meet her, I don’t think she would tell you the answer.
I believe the Witch would be strict, guiding us to seek out important things like the foundation of art and the principles of the world for ourselves.
Perhaps even Ada, her beloved disciple, hasn’t been taught those things.
As I was thinking this, Old Man Sleigsta nodded.
And the Giant Demon Lord said.
“She is solitary, and therefore, she is kind to others and also strict. She will offer help, but she will not do things in another’s stead.”
The Witch is not present here.
Even if we wanted to ask for her cooperation on this matter, we couldn’t meet her in the first place, and even if we could, she would have refused.
What we can do, we must do ourselves.
Even if we had the chance to ask about the “foundation of art.” She might offer advice, but Old Man Sleigsta says she would never provide the answer in our place.
And this also connects to the current situation.
The Witch will not protect the girl and defeat the Demon King in our stead.
Thinking about it that way, the fact that the Witch does not appear in the Heavenly Mountain Range means that she is entrusting everything to Momo-chan, who guards it, or rather, she trusts Momo-chan’s abilities.
In any case, the immensely daunting trial of “knowing the foundation of art” may be a goal that we must find on our own over decades or centuries to come.
“Take your time. In a long life, idleness is the greatest enemy and the cause of death.”
“If we’re too bored, we’ll die!?”
“The most common cause of death for immortals, progenitor races, and transcendents is boredom. Those who lose their purpose in life die.”
Even with immortal long life, many choose death, the Giant Demon Lord said.
Loneliness. Boredom. Disillusionment. For various reasons, they take their own lives, lives that should have been long.
“In that regard, you are blessed with family. Your families are lively and never boring.”
That’s right. We will never choose death due to “loneliness” or “boredom.”
“…Or rather, aren’t the Giant Demon Lord and Charlotte, who have lived for thousands of years, not bored?”
“Fufufu. Elnea-kun, please don’t let me get bored from now on, okay?”
“Kyaa! They plan to play with us from now on, these demons!”
Perhaps the Rulers of the Demon Race have amused themselves for thousands of years by toying with those below them in the same way.
But, wait?
Earlier, the Giant Demon Lord called the Witch “solitary.”
Then, what has the solitary Witch relied on for sustenance during those countless millennia?
“She is searching for a being that will be eternally unfound.”
An unfound being?
What on earth could it be?
Then, the Giant Demon Lord let out a few words.
“The other half of myself… lost long ago…”
At that moment, the Giant Demon Lord’s expression was filled with sorrow.
It was strange to see such an expression on the Giant Demon Lord, who usually delighted in tormenting others with his extreme wickedness.
Perhaps because the Witch was not present, we felt it was inappropriate to pry further and our conversation trailed off.
Silence fell above Old Man Sleigsta’s head.
However, the battle situation intensified further, and fierce battles continued in various locations.
The black, spiky monster that appeared in the eastern courtyard was engulfed in flames.
Listea and her group had arrived!
“Creacio, slow down the monster’s movements with curse arts!”
At Cerise-chan’s instruction, Creacio activated his curse arts.
“Kiiri, reinforce the castle walls temporarily with sorcery. Inea, please heal the injured adventurers. Slattann and Naimi, stop the thorn attacks! Listea, you can go now, right?”
The monster’s movements slowed, as if possessed by an unseen membrane. Then, Slattann and Naimi charged in and cut off the troublesome thorns.
Finally, Listea, cloaking her Holy Sword in flames, leaped towards the black, round core of the monster.
The giant monster screamed in agony as it burned in the flames, and then burned out, becoming a pillar of fire.
As expected of the Hero and his companions.
No matter how large they were, monsters like these weren’t a struggle for them.
However, it was too soon to rejoice.
“No, no, no, you’ve got to be kidding me!?”
Defeating one giant monster did not resolve the situation.
More identical black, round monsters continued to emerge, one after another. Moreover, they were all larger than the fortress’s roof!
Furthermore, giant monsters began to appear throughout the fortress.
The battle situation, visible from above Old Man Sleigsta’s head, was becoming unmanageable for the human adventurers and beast race warriors.
