Dwarf Republic.
Unlike the Human Kingdom, it’s a land of gold, abundant in numerous resources and technologies. Naturally, it was inevitable that the Demons would have their eyes set on the Dwarf Republic.
Especially after being properly tricked by the Holy Kingdom, the vermin of the continent couldn’t just sit back and watch. Thus, they decided to invade the Dwarf Republic.
However, pushing through with brute force would be too exhausting. As the Barrier of the Holy Kingdom prevented Blood Demons and higher from moving freely within, they had to resort to using poison instead.
The slowly spreading poison would rot the Dwarf Republic from within, leading to its eventual self-destruction. Slowly, yet certainly, it would become a decaying husk.
Of course, there were those inside the Dwarf Republic who sensed something was off. But most were easily handled, except for one person: Viral Emerald.
At that moment, with the ability to deal with them, he smartly chose to flee the country. And look what happened, he led the Royal Knights all the way here! At first, I was a bit flustered, but it didn’t matter.
Viral had no clue. Naturally, the Royal Knights wouldn’t know anything either. That’s what I thought—before hearing the commander’s words firsthand.
“Demons, huh.”
That single sentence filled with certainty was enough to throw me into chaos. How did he know? Viral never mentioned a word about it. How did he pinpoint the Demons in an instant?
At that moment, the commander’s eyes fell on me. I was forced to avert my gaze in panic. For some reason, the commander of the Royal Knights had definitely figured something out.
I had to kill him immediately.
I quickly reached a conclusion. If I was going to do it, today was the day to strike while I was in less-than-ideal condition after an arduous journey. Finally, the thick night shrouded the light of the republic.
I headed straight to the commander’s bedroom. The other members wouldn’t be an issue. I would deal with the most dangerous figure— the commander—directly. He seemed overly confident, as he was fast asleep.
Could it be a trap to lure me in?
That thought crossed my mind for a fleeting moment, but I shook it off. If it were a trap, he would have waited for me to enter the room. But he didn’t do that.
In other words, he was currently blissfully unaware.
That was a slight stroke of luck. Given the notably unfavorable situation for the Demons, the invasion of the Dwarf Republic couldn’t fail. With that in mind, I approached slowly.
I got close enough that I could feel the commander’s breath, yet he still lay with his eyes closed. I raised my dagger ever so gently. Still, he didn’t move.
Without hesitation, I thrust the raised dagger down. Foolish, eh, Royal Knights commander? But then, something felt off. I didn’t feel the satisfying feedback of impact.
“What the…?”
Blood didn’t splatter around. The dagger merely pierced the innocent bed. Something fur was rolling around in the air. Just when I stood there, my expression blank, due to the sudden situation.
“What are you?”
A chilling blade pressed against my neck. The sleeping commander not only woke up but, in that short moment, caught me from behind. Realizing that fact made me sweat cold for the first time.
Indeed, the commander of the Royal Knights.
Unbelievable skills.
*
Various shocking events transpired, but nonetheless, today, I decided to rest and begin my investigation the next day. The members were too exhausted to start right away.
For the sake of our safety, the Jewel Star was specially designated to guard us. Especially, Rain Emerald would be personally safeguarding me. Well, she was a sort of bodyguard, so I could trust her.
In fact, Viral himself stated he trusted Rain Emerald, even if he didn’t trust others. She was probably his closest aide. Anyway, we took a break.
And simultaneously, I thought today I could rest easy. However, underlying that thought was the question of whether she would reveal her true colors on the first day. Surely not, right?
But that actually happened.
Surprise! This person really knows how to catch you off guard.
I didn’t sense anything amiss. I was just tired, so I washed up and crashed into bed. But I had a rough night’s sleep, and when I woke up, there was a dagger right in front of me!
At first, I wasn’t even shocked. I thought it was just a dream. But it wasn’t a dream at all. While I was sleeping, Time Stop had activated and saved my life.
“Whoa, what the hell?!”
If I had panicked and jumped up, I would’ve been stabbed by the dagger and seriously hurt. I slowly and cautiously raised my body while dodging the dagger. How long had Time Stop been running?
About five minutes had passed. Just knowing how long the time had been frozen was a great help for me.
I quickly drew my sword and aimed for its neck. Initially, I intended to kill it outright, but my thoughts soon shifted. My sword couldn’t penetrate its neck deeply.
From the feel of it, it was much sturdier than Comprachico.
It meant it was at least a higher-class Demon compared to Comprachico.
If that’s the case, it likely meant it was at least a Blood Demon level. I furrowed my brows. Normally, due to the Barrier, Demons shouldn’t be able to operate here. If they could, they’d only be at the low-level.
But recently, Blood Demons had started appearing. It was proof that the Barrier of the Holy Kingdom was weakening. That was a problem, but for now, let’s focus on the task at hand.
I released the Time Stop. I couldn’t maintain it any longer due to the cooldown. The moment I released it, the creature showed visible shock.
“What are you?”
Now all that was left was to buy time until the cooldown was over. I had to keep from engaging against a Blood Demon unless I used Time Acceleration. However, Time Acceleration was my trump card.
It had to remain saved until the last moment. Honestly, the best strategy would be not to use it at all. Thus, I had to stall as much as possible, so I started talking.
It slowly rose and turned its head. The moment I laid eyes on its face, I was horrified. It was a familiar face. It had blue hair.
And the same blue eyes and girlish appearance. Rain Emerald, she was the one who had tried to assassinate me with the dagger. What the hell? Wasn’t she Viral’s closest aide?
“I aimed for you when you were dull from your long journey, but it seems I’m the one caught in a trap.”
“…….”
“It seems you have many questions for me, but I can answer a few.”
“Why did you betray me, the closest aide of Viral?”
Luckily, my show of threat had worked. My poker face training finally bore fruit. If I had shown any sign of panic, my abilities would have been called into question.
And I would have been attacked right after. Yet, the reason it wasn’t moving was that it was wary of me. So, it was likely stalling for time to respond.
I knew it, but for now, that was welcome. I needed to buy time for the Time Stop cooldown. Rain smirked and answered.
“People of the continent are foolish.”
“What?”
“Do you still see me as Rain?”
“……?!”
“AKA MPP3 TK1 MPP4 TK2 DARRRRR….”
It emitted some bizarre sounds, as if something non-human were speaking to me. It sent shivers down my spine. I gritted my teeth. I had to maintain my poker face.
Rain’s form began to melt like mud, ultimately losing all semblance of shape. Instead, what stood there was something grotesquely shaped.
First off, it was definitely not human.
Crawling on the ground was something encased in very thin threads. It had no visible face. Though eyes weren’t present, countless mouths writhed on its body.
“PL3 UT1 DDAD EMEL MPP4 DARRRRR….”
The real issue was that the countless mouths were making incomprehensible sounds. From my perspective, it felt like I might lose my mind at any moment. It was that horrifically loud.
Finally, it moved. Its tentacles lashed out. I quickly stepped back. That swing crushed the ground in an instant. Thanks to that, I barely managed to avoid a fall.
My posture was disheveled, but due to its hasty retreat, I managed to survive. I clicked my tongue and rose from the ground. Whatever happened, uniting with my comrades now took priority.
Because, quite frankly, I was scared.
What the hell was that creature?
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.