Volume 4 Chapter 40-2 The Needle of Demon Exploration and the Roar of the Forest
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
’Thanks, I appreciate it.’
The call ended, and the room in the Love Hotel fell into silence once more.
But outside, the ground still rumbled with a terrifying noise.
The sound of a horde charging, trees being uprooted, the cries of beasts, and the roar of monsters mixed together.
It felt like the forest itself was screaming.
”What should we do…?”
We need a plan.
* * *
”Alright, leave it to me.”
”Got it, I’ll handle it!”
”Ready to go anytime!”
The plan was set.
Yomi stood by the door, chanting the spell.
In both hands, she held 2 spellbooks: ‘The Magic of Light Trajectories’ and ‘Book of Weaving Radiance.’
As I opened the door, Yomi cast the defensive magic.
”Mana Weave!”
A beam of light shot out and began to weave together.
It formed a net of light, surrounding the door.
Just as the monsters charged, they collided with the barrier──but it didn’t budge.
Next, Lifia used her detection magic.
”Mooluumve, find the voice, the whispers of people. Gather the winds… Mool-Korrig!”
The air trembled, and wind gathered around her.
She was searching for any sign of human presence nearby.
In the chaos of the monsters, she focused only on the trace of humans.
It was no easy task.
Sweat beaded on Lifia’s forehead.
”No one! I’ll keep going!”
She seemed to have found something.
Lifia exhaled, then began chanting again, this time for an offensive spell.
”Oh spirit, oh wind,
Your name is Mooluumventas,
Become the sword of our master,
Strike down our master’s foes, clear the way for our lord──Tempest!”
The air around her quivered, and the wind howled.
The Spirit Magic was activated.
A tornado was unleashed.
The raging wind tore through the monsters and trees, even ripping into the ground itself.
Trees were blown apart with a crash, their thick trunks soaring through the air.
The earth was gouged, rocks shattered, and monsters were torn apart.
Dirt, flesh, and debris mixed together, filling the air with a muddy, chaotic torrent of wreckage.
The storm raged on, but after a while, it finally began to settle.
The dust and leaves that had been thrown up slowly drifted back down to the ground.
The dust cleared.
What lay before us was an open expanse of land.
The ground was torn up ── a crater, like something out of a nightmare.
The forest just… gone, ripped wide open.
There was a hole about a kilometer wide, right smack in the woods.
Any monster nearby got wiped out.
No survivors.
No clue how much it’ll help with the whole stampede, but at least it took some heat off our backs.
Still… Lifia’s magic is unreal.
Never changes.
”Haaah…”
Lifia almost collapsed, no strength left ── I caught her before she hit the ground.
”A-ah, I’m so sorry, Master.”
Her voice shook.
She was struggling just to breathe, sweat running down her forehead.
Shouldering that much offense magic would’ve been nothing.
But the spell to make sure no humans got caught in it… that’s what dragged her under.
”No, you did amazing. You really saved us.”
I said that, and Lifia’s eyes started to shine ── just a bit, but she was close to tears.
”That was awesome!”
”Spirit Magic can really pull this off…?”
Kéa and Yomi were both struck dumb.
They’d never seen Lifia go all out before, had they?
Come to think of it, I don’t think she ever showed her real magic til now.
We let Lifia rest for a bit.
She drank a custom cocktail ── Love Hotel-brand energy drink and a Greater Healing Potion, all mixed up fancy.
”Thank you, Master. I’m okay now.”
The moment she finished the drink, color started coming back to Lifia’s cheeks.
She bounced back quick.
Nothing to worry about anymore.
After that, we started heading deeper into the woods again.
The stampede was still raging.
But thanks to Lifia’s mega-magic, it wasn’t as wild as right after that first roar.
Most of the monsters tried to steer clear of us.
A few still took a shot, but nothing major.
We cleaned them up without breaking a sweat.
”Haah!”
Kéa chopped down an oncoming monster ── a wild boar, about as big as an elephant ── in a single swipe.
Gone.
Our advance was smooth after that.
At last, we closed in on our target.
The monster we’d come for.
”Master, there’s a monster in my search field… pretty sure it’s the one who caused that roar.”
Lifia’s voice trembled with nerves.
”I’ve never seen a monster like this. And near it, there’s…”
Lifia looked lost for words.
Totally thrown.
She tried to explain…
”There are humans… and human-like beings.”
Humans in this forest, during a stampede?
Wait… maybe not humans.
Who… are they?
”Are they fighting the Beast of Roar?”
”No… it looks like they’re just following the giant.”
Following?
I can’t get a read on this.
If they’re not fighting, they’re probably not adventurers hunting the monster.
So many unknowns…
”Guess we have no choice. We’ll get closer and figure it out.”
We move carefully.
Pushing through branches, hiding in the bushes, we make sure the wind doesn’t betray us.
Keep quiet.
Keep hidden.
And then we saw it.
A massive shadow.
It slowly moved forward, knocking down trees as it went.
”What… is that?”
A groan slipped from my lips.
The silhouette looked like a giant lizard.
But of course, it wasn’t just any lizard.
It had skeletal wings, walked on 2 legs, dragging its tail behind it.
It was like something from a legend or a fantasy.
A dragon.
A massive one.
Taller than the trees.
Maybe over 20 meters.
But… something wasn’t right.
Its scales were cracked, or falling off.
In some places, dry, white bone showed through.
Its skin was rotting, blackened, barely holding onto any form of flesh.
Its eye sockets were empty.
Just holes staring back at us, sending a chill down my spine.
Black mist rose from its nostrils, and foul, decaying fluids dripped from its mouth.
”A… dragon corpse?”
It didn’t look alive.
But… it was moving.
It walked on its own, heading toward the forest’s edge.
”Ugh… probably a dragon zombie.”
Yomi answered, grimacing.
”I’ve read that when powerful curses or magic take over monster corpses… they turn like that.”
Horrible.
Why does something like that even exist?
And then, more strange things.
Around the giant rotting dragon’s feet, there were several dark figures.
All cloaked in black robes, faces hidden by deep hoods.
I couldn’t tell if they were men or women.
Without a word, they silently marched behind the dragon zombie.
The scene was like some crazy cult ritual, so bizarre it sent chills down my spine.
”Who the hell are they?”
No one could answer my question.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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