“Pretty fast, huh?”
I stared at the claws of the beast that had breached the wall I created, just inches away. Claws sharp enough to tear apart a person like paper.
If those claws catch you, you’d be shredded to pieces.
“What’s this wall…!”
“Would you tell me if you were in my shoes?”
How shameless to try to get someone else’s secrets without any compensation, truly lacking in morals.
“Crafting.”
With hatred directed at the one who created this hell, I raised the ground. Countless stone spears shot up from the floor and snapped at the beast like an alligator’s jaws.
“Do you really think such tricks will work!”
“You seem to have forgotten something important.”
“Ha…!”
Wow. Quite agile. I was impressed as I watched the hulking werewolf dodge Renny’s swift strikes.
Despite its large size, it managed to escape Renny’s attacks, suggesting it was quite strong.
Still, it seemed to be on the level of that little brat… whatever its name was.
I just wanted to finish this quickly and investigate the altar a bit more.
This beast is too weak to be the deity they serve.
“How can such power come from that small body?”
“As long as I stand on this land, you cannot defeat me.”
That’s what the blessing of the World Tree means. As long as I’m grounded to this earth, the World Tree supports me.
The beast growled in response, spewing words filled with rage.
“Were you a servant of that wretched being?”
“What a rude little monster to talk like that.”
“Don’t call me a monster! I am a follower of the great one! Flangel!”
“Flangel?”
“It’s Flangel!”
“Don’t care about the name.”
Why would I care about the name of someone who’s about to die? I scoffed and stomped on the ground.
“Crafting.”
If it buzzes around like a fly, I just need to immobilize it. I spread thorns across every area, except for the oddly undisturbed space around the altar. Renny would likely be fine from such an attack, so I acted without hesitation.
“What’s this…!”
“This space is now mine. Don’t you think the unwelcome guest should leave?”
I stood still and lightly waved my hand from above to below. The beast glared at me with wary eyes, but what it should pay attention to wasn’t my hand.
It was the pillars falling from the ceiling.
Wow, it dodged well. I kept waving my hands while watching the beast dart around.
“How dare you—”
“Watch your back.”
“Hey! You can’t say that!”
“It would have dodged even without me saying.”
Looking at it move like a little rat, it sure was fast. But how long can it keep that up?
From my perspective, wanting to capture it alive and pry out some information, I hoped it would peacefully submit, but it seemed unlikely, to my disappointment.
I might as well just leave its head behind for Rue to drink its brain.
“Witch! I will tear you apart soul by soul and offer you to Lord Lugaru!”
“Shut up.”
Its claws latched onto my hand.
“What?!”
This creature was making a grave mistake.
“Do I look like a witch to you?”
Having received three blessings, my strength rivaled that of a massive monster. I grabbed its two fingers with both hands and pulled them apart like tearing paper.
The flesh between the split fingers became visible.
Blood is red, huh?
I thought it might have strange-colored blood given its appearance as an outsider.
“Gaaah!”
With a squeal, it rolled on the thorns in panic. Thanks to its sturdy body, its hide didn’t tear, but the stone spikes broke instead. But that was fine.
“Whoa. Just tearing it apart like cheese…”
“Just a bit stronger, that’s all.”
“Stronger than just ‘a bit’.”
“Enough chit-chat…Looks like it’s healing. I’ll send you to Lugaru before it gets bothersome.”
“What’s the plan? It’s pretty fast and hard to catch—”
“Even if it’s fast, if there’s no room to move, it’s like a leashed dog, right? Renny.”
“Yes.”
“Run to the altar. And smash it. It’s so precious to you, I’m sure it’ll be thrilled if you destroy it.”
In this giant room, the only place my influence didn’t reach was near the altar. Renny shot forward like a bullet as soon as I finished speaking, skimming past the beast. Taken aback, it stared at the altar in confusion.
Renny stopped in front of the altar, brandishing her sword proudly.
“How dare you touch the sacred altar!”
For a moment, its gaze shot towards the altar.
Extending my palm towards it, I spread my fingers. Simultaneously, the thorns retracted as if they were recoiling. And before it could reach the altar…
Bam.
“Don’t interfere!”
Surrounded by numerous thorns, it found it hard to move, as if a beast’s jaws had closed around it. Even the easily destroyed thorns wouldn’t break easily when pressed together.
“Watch as the glorious altar crumbles before your eyes, you mutt.”
“Who do you think you are, you human not even half a step away!”
With a sound that blended a scream and roar, the altar and statue broke apart.
Oh wow, so noisy.
“You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you!”
Ignoring the beast’s hateful glare, I raised my index finger and thumb, forming a so-called gun shape.
A little cringey, but it was the most aggressive way to utilize the Phoenix’s blessing, so I didn’t mind how it looked. If I hit it once, everyone would have to stare at my fingers.
“If you answer my question, I’ll at least spare your life.”
Of course, you won’t come out of it unscathed.
Naturally, the beast vehemently displayed its rejection.
“My faith doesn’t crumble before a pitiful human like you!”
“Aren’t you a monster eating humans?”
Renny scoffed, retorting to its words. From a human’s standpoint, it was nothing more than a monster that needed to be exterminated, so her response was expected.
But the beast seemed utterly clueless.
“How dare you attempt to destroy our paradise… mere fodder…”
“If you submit willingly, I might even give you a nice collar. Oh, if you get caught now, a muzzle comes as a bonus.”
“Let’s see how sturdy you are.”
I gathered the power of the Phoenix at my fingertips. What first began as merely claws expanded, turning into a sphere the size of a baseball, baring its fangs.
“Farewell.”
The flame projectile I didn’t even bother to name pierced towards its heart. Blood, of course, didn’t come out.
The temperature of that flame was easily above a thousand degrees, so the moment it touched, the body would be reduced to ash.
“Human… Lugaru… will…”
“Don’t die just yet. What beast dies from just a broken heart?”
“Mad…man…”
“Renny, cut off its head.”
“Lord Lugaru…I dedicate all to you… please… descend upon our paradise…”
With those last words, it lowered its head.
Is it dead?
“It was more pathetic than I expected.”
“This isn’t the main one. It’s just a henchman.”
Though a pretty strong one for a henchman.
“What?”
“The one it serves. That Lugaru is probably planning to descend here.”
That last comment rubbed me the wrong way.
In my life, things have never ended this easily, and the outsiders always had a terrible way of getting back at me.
“In the end, there are no survivors.”
I nodded at Renny’s words.
I wished some investigators had survived. All we found were leftover humans to chew on. I would need to relay this sad news to the families.
“Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”
“Wait. I want to search for relics.”
“Oh, right.”
We began the search for relics.
———————-
“At least we’re lucky to have found a few things.”
We packed a few identification badges, clothing, and accessories into the bag and made our way out of the underground.
“Is it finally over?”
“What about your buddy…”
“…Maybe one of the corpses down there?”
Renny looked at the decorations in the temple with a bittersweet expression.
“I was often told not to run around here back in the day…”
“Kids are always like that. Ignoring adults and getting scolded is pretty normal.”
“I got scolded almost every day. I hated studying and ran away.”
“Oh, a delinquent student, huh?”
As we chatted, we moved forward. Once we step outside the temple and eliminate the remaining ones, it should be over… but still.
My instincts were going off like crazy.
“…Renny. It seems it’s not over yet, so grab your weapon.”
“What?”
Instead of answering, I pointed a finger towards the temple’s entrance.
“What? Were we in there for that long?”
“No. It’s noon now.”
I pulled out my watch and showed it to Renny. After seeing the watch, Renny glanced up at me with a serious expression.
“What…? What happened—”
Without speaking, I grabbed Renny’s hand and walked forward. She quietly followed, looking in the direction I was pointing outside the temple.
The sky.
The full moon.
“Why is there a full moon now? Just yesterday it was a crescent moon.”
“Flangel.”
“What?”
“Seems like that creature pulled some kind of trick.”
Thinking that, I turned my gaze back forward. That’s when I heard the howls of wolves coming from all directions—joyous cries.
The full moon, huh.
Soon, countless voices filled the town.
“Lord Lugaru! Our great god!”
“Bring punishment upon our enemies!”
“Step upon this land and govern all!”
“Grant us the true paradise upon this earth!”
“What the heck is this—”
“Renny. How much aura is left?”
“Barely any left.”
“Good. The real deal is coming.”
Now it’s a god.
I stared at the village, which was disappearing like a mirage, and at the werewolves that were flowing in and merging with one another.
[A half-ascendance… I don’t like it.]
“If you don’t like it, then just stay out here and live, monster.”
[How arrogant, human. Oh dear, is that you, Quartz?]
The beast’s voice dripped with unmistakable hatred and rage. The outsiders really seem to hate the Quartz Family.
Then again, nobody likes a traitor.
“Why don’t you just quietly go back, wash your feet, and go to bed?”
[Oh, I can’t do that. There’s no way I’d lose to a second-rate Quartz, right?]
A tattered werewolf that seemed to be woven together from many others grinned. Just looking at it made me feel sick.
I quietly pulled out my shovel and gripped it tightly.
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