Chapter 101
Thus began the subjugation of the cult branch.
We crossed a deep corridor.
<Stompstompstompstompstompstompstompstomp>
<Hrkhrkhrkhrkhrk>
<Grrrgrrgrrgrr>
Had they detected the intruders?
At the end of the corridor, chimeras began pouring in without end.
With nothing but a dead end behind us, we had no choice but to clash with them head-on.
“Hngh···!”
Slash-!
Following the scythe I swung with all my might, the writhing tentacles were cut down in heaps.
<Krrkrrkrrkrrkrr>
<Ghkghkghkghk>
The chimeras flailed, having lost their balance.
I drove a pitch-black crescent moon into the monsters.
Thrust-!
“Activation. Thorns.”
Burst-!
Their bodies burst apart like balloons.
Rotten blood spread foully across the corridor.
Without even a moment to catch my breath, a shadow fell over my head.
A monster that looked like a cross between a spider and a centipede was gaping at us.
<Krrrghrkgrrk>
Screeeech-!
After letting out a bizarre cry, it shot a web at us.
Miasma dripped from it, looking as though even the slightest brush would rot away flesh.
Yet I did not dodge.
Instead, I simply swung the colorful, shining sword straight at it.
‘Parry.’
Squeak-!
The web that had been hurtling toward us suddenly lost its direction.
It slid violently and stuck to an innocent wall.
The creature froze at the unexpected turn of events.
I did not miss the opening and hurled what I held in my hand with all my strength.
“Activation. Ball.”
The scythe, now reduced to the size of a ping-pong ball, shot toward the spider.
It slipped straight into the mouth of the enormous monster.
The chimera inadvertently swallowed the tiny ball.
I snickered and saw the creature off on its final breath.
“Activation. Thorns.”
Burst-!
At the quiet mutter, the monster shattered into pieces.
Chunks of flesh rained down from above.
“Activation. Umbrella.”
Patterpatter-.
Meanwhile, I stood there calmly, holding an umbrella open.
As I caught the foul, fishy stench, a blue screen appeared before my eyes.
It was the progress I had been checking continuously.
[Sub Quest]
-Title: Continued Growth! Continued Balloons!
-Content: Achieve 3,000 parries with the growth-type weapon ‘Balloon Sword+.’
-Penalty for Failure: None
-Reward: Increase the grade of the growth-type weapon ‘Balloon Sword+’ by five levels -> (Grade B)
<Current Progress>
2986/3000
It was a quest I had been working on for quite some time.
As it happened, its timing aligned perfectly with this field trip.
I continued clashing with the chimeras, steadily building up the remaining progress.
Squeak-!
Squeak-!
Squeak-!
The monsters were sliced apart without mercy.
Meanwhile, the other children were following the same flow.
“Sir Victor! I’ll assist you!”
Thrust-!
The chimeras were pierced by the tip of Ranne’s spear.
A radiant mass of light swallowed the monsters.
Her spear seemed to shine more brightly than usual.
Ranne gripped her spear tightly, then turned this way and shouted.
“Amazing! The relic’s effect seems to be quite substantial···!”
The relic the girl was talking about.
It was none other than the flag fluttering from my back.
Ding-!
[Unbreakable Banner]
-Category: Accessory
-Grade: B+
-Condition: Pristine
-Description: A flag that flutters vigorously. When activated, it increases the stats of all allies within a 100-meter radius by 25%. This effect also applies to subordinate entities controlled by allies, such as summons, spirit beasts, and clones.
It was the item I had obtained as a reward for the last game of Capture the Flag.
I had activated it as a test, and everyone seemed to feel the enhancement in their strength.
The colors emanating from the flag covered the space, sparkling as though strengthening our entire group.
“These things are seriously disgusting!”
“Soldiers! A-all at once, attack···!”
The ones who stood out most among them were, as expected, Caitlin and Alice.
Both of them possessed abilities that excelled in situations where they faced many opponents at once.
At Alice’s command, delivered while wearing her crown, the trump-card soldiers charged at the monsters.
<[♠]>
<[♥]>
<[♣]>
The nightmare fragments neither tore nor bent.
They swarmed about and slaughtered the chimeras one by one.
With the queen’s command and the banner’s effect on top of that, they were practically flying.
Thrust, slash-!
The soldiers brought down a huge chimera, then cut off its head and presented it before Alice.
“Uh, uhh···?”
<[♠♠♠]>
“Um··· g-good job···?”
<[♠♠♠♠!]>
<[♥♥♥!]>
<[♣♣♣]>
The soldiers knelt before their queen.
When I patted their heads and praised them, they all rejoiced and raised their weapons once more.
Alice looked slightly bewildered, but then cheered on her summons and gave them orders.
Seeing them like this, even the summoned dreams seemed somewhat cute.
“Hngh···!”
Crackle-!
Meanwhile, a yellow flash streaked across the corridor amid the swarming chimeras.
It moved so quickly that the sluggish monsters could hardly even perceive it, let alone catch it.
A few seconds later, delayed impacts rang out, and the chimeras were transformed into ground meat.
Burstburstburst-!
“Phew···!”
Caitlin spat out her breath as though chewing gum.
The current lashed out ferociously, burning away every chimera that passed nearby.
“I feel like I have way too much power···?”
The girl muttered.
High-voltage current flowed violently over her bronze skin.
Caitlin took a deep breath, then shot a sidelong glare at me standing beside her.
“Fuck, hey.”
“What is it, Sir Saeugang?”
“I stayed quiet because things were urgent, but isn’t something obviously strange here?”
“What is?”
“Why is everyone taking all this so calmly···?”
Caitlin gestured around us as though she could not believe what she was seeing.
Despite being dragged into this suddenly, the others continued fighting without the slightest disruption.
“You’re all way too calm!”
“Indeed.”
Besides, each of them had a mask covering their face.
Alice and Carmilla, naturally, were masked, while Ranne and Caitlin had their faces covered as well.
The moment we entered this space, I handed each of the children a mask.
-There’s no point letting the cult get a look at our faces.
-It would be better to cover our faces with masks and use aliases as well.
-From now on, Miss Ranne is Sir Yarpa, and Miss Caitlin is Sir Saeugang.
Thus, the newest recruits of the Slayers had been brought in.
Accordingly, the organization chart had been reorganized as follows.
[Slayers]
Deputy Commander, Garurik-Victor
Executive, Maneureu-Carmilla
Executive, Eonnieon-Alice
Member, Yarpa-Ranne
Member, Saeugang-Caitlin
Our little family had grown in an instant.
As I smiled fondly, Sir Saeugang pointed this out in disbelief.
“No··· Forget the masks for a second. Everyone’s reactions are weird! Why are they all taking this so naturally?”
“You have been noisy for some time now. Be quiet and follow obediently.”
“And what’s with this woman? She’s a vampire, right? Why is a vampire popping out of your front pocket···?”
Screeeech-!
Trump cards flew past Caitlin’s face.
Behind those cards stood Alice, wearing a pitch-black crown and radiating a menacing aura.
The girl looked even more incredulous.
“······What the hell is that supposed to be?! Isn’t she the bottom of Class E? She had that kind of power hidden away?”
“Secret.”
“Agh···!”
The girl spewed out question after question, but there was little I could answer her right away.
Caitlin eventually grew irritated and charged back toward the chimeras.
Once this was over, I would probably have to explain everything properly.
“Hmm.”
Scattered breaths.
At that moment, Alice, who had been directing the soldiers from behind, staggered.
Perhaps she had overexerted herself controlling them, so I quickly reached out and supported her.
“Alice··· no, Sir Eonnieon? What is the matter?”
“I-I’m sorry. My stomach feels a little upset···.”
“Could it be that you are overtaxing your dreams?”
“No. It doesn’t feel like that··· I think I just lost focus for a moment. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Could she have sensed something?
Alice staggered for a moment, then forced herself to regain her composure and continued moving.
I merely told her not to push herself too hard.
We broke through the corridor at high speed.
‘So far, everything seems to be going smoothly.’
The situation seemed to be progressing as smoothly as flowing water.
However, this was only the beginning.
The protagonist of this quest would soon make its appearance.
‘The Bone Monster.’
The deep-sea monster, Leviathan (Project Leviathan).
A weapon being prepared by the cult.
It was a chimera whose body measured hundreds of meters.
In the original, it was also a monster capable of sinking an entire city.
In terms of sheer size, it was a creature that could even contend with the undead dragon who had ruled the seventieth floor of Purgatory.
‘If the cult releases it, the nearby cities will literally be turned into a wasteland···.’
I had to stop it.
More precisely, I had to hunt Leviathan.
You might wonder how I intended to hunt such an absurdly powerful creature···.
‘I have a plan.’
If I were not prepared even for something like this, the title of transmigrator would weep.
I snickered and cut down a few more chimeras before me.
We had been sprinting through the corridors for about thirty minutes when···.
The wave of monsters rushing toward us began to lose momentum.
Only then did we catch our breath and cross the center of a vast, continuous space.
“This place··· is truly strange. I never imagined such a vast space could be hidden beneath the deep sea.”
“I-I know··· The ceiling is so high we can’t even see it, and the corridors twist around like a maze···.”
“What the hell is this place even for? Fuck, there’s a cult branch in a place like this?”
“Shh! It sounds like something is approaching!”
The children walked along while surveying their surroundings.
Then, all at once, the entire corridor began to tremble.
Rumbleeeee-!
“W-wait···!”
“Is something shaking?!”
As I stared toward the end of the corridor, I saw some shape approaching.
It was an enormous silhouette large enough to fill the entire broad corridor.
The children stopped short and looked up at it.
“That’s···.”
Bright-blue tentacles writhed everywhere.
Countless teeth were embedded among them.
The tangled tentacles stretched out like sea serpents.
Yet its form was somehow too crude to be called a living creature.
“Fuck, is that thing actually alive?”
“It’s impossibly huge···.”
Its skin was peeled away in places, with its entrails trailing out.
A foul, fishy stench stabbed into my nose.
It looked like something that had never finished developing.
It was swimming through the air toward us as though the air were the sea.
[Name: Failed Experiment of Something (Project Leviathan-Failed)]
-Race: Chimera
-Classification: Boss Monster
-Description: A failed experiment from some project.
Creak-.
It opened its enormous mouth wide.
Inside the mouth made of tentacles, more tentacles writhed and knotted together.
“That thing··· it’s coming toward us?”
Caitlin muttered those words.
The next moment, it spat out tentacles woven together like a spear.
Thick miasma seeped over the tentacles, enough to make black haze rise from them.
Screeeech-!
The spear came flying down the corridor.
A single brush against any one of us would have caused a critical injury.
Moreover, the spear itself was enormous, measuring several dozen meters.
“Everyone, behind me···!”
I shouted and swung the colorful, shining Balloon Sword.
With my other hand, I pressed the button on the pocket watch.
Click-.
A quiet friction sound, and the world began playing in slow motion.
I lightly shaved away the spear that had flown right up to my face.
Squeak, whoooom-!
Perfect timing.
The parry landed cleanly and deflected the tentacles in the exact opposite direction.
The enormous spear reversed course and pierced straight into the monster’s torso.
<KIEEEEEEEK-!!!>
A scream rang out with enough force to tear through our eardrums.
Even as it writhed, the creature charged toward us once more.
‘This should do it.’
I did not dodge.
Instead, I merely gave the signal.
“Miss Caitlin!”
“Fuck, I know···!”
Crackle, crackle-.
Moving in response to my signal, Caitlin launched herself forward.
A vivid yellow flash filled the corridor.
But she was not the only one.
While I blocked the first attack, everyone else had been preparing a powerful strike.
“I’ll go too···!”
“Evade in front!”
“Soldiers! Hold the monster back so it cannot approach any farther!”
Electricity, light, blood, and dreams.
Four attributes dyed the corridor in every color.
-Lethus-Style Lightning Magic, Eleventh Form-
‘Thunder Field’
-Kihano-Style Spearmanship, Eighth Form-
‘Falling Star’
-Blandir-Style Blood Claw Technique, Tenth Form-
‘Blood Storm’
Ding-!
[The effect of the item ‘Unbreakable Banner (B+)’ has been applied.]
[The attack power of all allies has increased by 25%.]
Boomboomboomboom-!
Cracklecrackle-!
A violent explosion swallowed the corridor.
The attributes intertwined and erupted, leaving the monster engulfed in light for a long while.
Only after the flash that had shone for so long finally faded did the monster spit out what it had been chewing.
Whooooom-.
The body that had been swimming through the air crashed into the floor.
The monster burned away without even leaving a dying cry.
Its corpse hung limp, reduced to nothing but a ragged mess.
“Phew···.”
A perfect parry.
Immediately afterward came the perfectly coordinated attacks of my group members.
Even as I clenched my tingling hand, I stared at the screen that had appeared before my eyes.
Ding-!
[Sub Quest Cleared!]
-Title: Continued Growth! Continued Balloons!
-Content: Achieve 3,000 parries with the growth-type weapon ‘Balloon Sword+.’
<Current Progress>
3000/3000
[You achieved the conditions through astonishing perseverance!]
-The grade of the weapon will increase as a reward.
-A special function will be added to the weapon as a reward.
[This weapon has drawn closer to meeting the conditions of the ‘Holy Sword’!]
‘Success.’
Whoooosh-!
The next moment,
Brilliant light burst forth from the Absolute Balloon Sword.