Chapter: 297
Wheeing-!!
A chilling sound of flapping wings echoed all around.
A swarm of demonic beasts, shaped like small flying insects and surging like black waves from the sea, soared towards us in the sky, creating the sound.
Looking down, everything was black; if all of them were demonic beasts, I couldn’t even guess how many there were.
Considering the size of the beasts, there must be at least in the trillions—maybe even more.
Wasn’t the locust swarm, one of the great disasters described in the Bible, less than this?
“Ugh…”
“It’s getting annoying…”
The trembling voices of a few squad members could faintly be heard amidst the flapping sounds, murmuring like a scene from a natural disaster.
I turned my head and asked the trembling ones.
“Aren’t you scared? Thinking about facing something like that.”
“Well…”
Their expressions darkened at what seemed like an obvious answer.
Even though they came prepared, they felt ashamed for being afraid.
Or perhaps my question sounded like a reprimand.
Of course, I didn’t ask them to scold them.
Feeling fear was by no means a shameful thing.
After all, a swarm of insects that can control people, moving as one body in such numbers, was an enemy that was far too tricky to contend with.
But,
“Still, you don’t have to be so scared.”
“…What?”
“Just wait a little. You’ll see.”
That was, of course, the case for normal people going against such an opponent.
Wanting to let them know that, I smiled at the people and said so, then shouted towards Sylvia.
“Sylvia! Take the people up a bit and wait there!”
“Yes!”
When I shouted, Sylvia, as if she understood what I was planning, led the starry group of people upwards without questioning further.
Upon rising to a certain altitude, a barrier of starlight surrounded the starry group.
It was the same barrier that had previously protected the entire city from those demonic beasts’ intrusion.
If they managed to guard such a large area, they could hold off the demonic beasts for several days.
Of course, I had no intention of creating such a situation in the first place.
“Let’s go, Ari.”
At my whisper, Ari, who was carrying me, immediately started flying.
In the opposite direction of where Sylvia and the others were heading.
Downwards, towards the demonic beasts soaring up towards us.
“There are a hell of a lot of them.”
As I dove towards the demonic beasts that filled the sky.
The distance closed in the blink of an eye, and the beasts surrounded us as if daring to confront us head-on.
Some of the insects that encircled us burst into flames like moths drawn to a flame.
But the swarm of insects, moving like a single organism, quickly separated the burning ones from the group to minimize the damage.
In doing so, they charged towards us, not fearing the damage.
They intended to have a war of attrition until our strength was exhausted.
A strategy impossible to notice when thousands and tens of thousands of insects can burn in a second.
Numbers are the greatest strength of the Witch of Lust, and they must have thought they could contend with us using that.
But I couldn’t help but think.
“After all, they’re just bugs.”
Honestly, that was a very naive thought.
-■■■■■■■■■!!!!
As Ari let out a booming cry, the surrounding insects began to ignite fiercely.
As Ari started to unleash flames, a much wider range of insects burned, briefly creating a void around us.
In response, more and more insects surged around us, attempting to fill the gap.
If viewed from afar, it might have looked like a small sun being swallowed by a darkness much larger than itself.
However, there was one obvious fact to note, regardless of the difference in size.
That the darkness would never be able to defeat the sun.
“Ari, burn them all.”
-■■■■■■■!!!
Upon hearing my words, Ari let out a spirited shout and flapped her wings.
Then a massive gust of fiery wind began to swirl.
The insects seemed to try to block that wind by using their bodies as shields, but,
Kiiik?!
Even as millions upon millions of insects threw themselves in, realizing that the force of the wind was not diminishing at all, they emitted grotesque cries.
And while watching that, I muttered with a cold sneer.
“What do you think you’re blocking?”
In the previous battle, I had received power through flames from Ari and the other Fury Beasts.
The thought that arose was one.
If I could channel power through flames, couldn’t the opposite be possible?
To put it simply, the answer was ‘It is possible.’
Ari was currently exhibiting far greater strength than usual, drawing power from the flames I continuously poured into her from my back.
Moreover, unlike the previous battle, I felt fully rested and at my peak.
It was a combined attack of the fully powered witch and high-tier beasts.
There was no way such an attack could be blocked just by throwing bugs at it.
Kiiieeek!!!
The insects screamed grotesquely as they burned.
The front insects attempted to leap in and block the flames, but the flames had already burned through to the insects behind them.
Darkness cannot diminish light; when light and dark collide, the darkness simply disappears.
An immense gust whipped through.
And the darkness created by the insects covering the sky was also erased by the light of the small sun that erupted in the heavens.
“Whew. Good job, Ari.”
-■■■■■■!
Shortly after, Ari and I landed on the now clear ground that revealed itself after burning all the wriggling insects.
And soon Sylvia and other squad members followed suit, safely landing on the ground.
While a few members seemed a little stunned by the power I had displayed, of course, there wasn’t much to worry about.
Once they calmed down, they realized that someone with such strength was on their side, and their faces brightened as they kept praising me.
“Miss, this is no joke! I feel so reassured all of a sudden!”
“Haha, truly incredible. You weren’t lying when you said we’d see.”
I smiled in satisfaction at how the morale of the squad had risen as intended.
Hubris can be poisonous, but being confident is far better than being overly afraid.
Well, I was just a little concerned to show them that they didn’t need to be so afraid, as I had said earlier.
Though the Witch of Lust was not an easy foe, we had enough strength to confront her.
If we truly had no chance of winning, we wouldn’t have gone through with this hunt in the first place.
Anyway, in that good atmosphere, one of the squad members who had been praising me said to me.
“Anyway, thanks to you, we’ve landed comfortably in enemy territory. So, shall we charge straight ahead to where the witch is?”
“Yes, but I don’t think they’ll let us pass easily either.”
I gestured around.
It hadn’t been long since we landed, but already dark shadows were swarming from a distance.
Realizing that insect-shaped demonic beasts couldn’t match my abilities, they had come up with a force mostly made up of other kinds of beasts.
From among that force, a beautiful woman walked out, addressing us.
[Oh my, who might this be? What brings you all the way here?]
It wasn’t the true body, but it was undoubtedly the Witch of Lust.
I shrugged in response to her words.
“I thought I’d pay a visit since you invaded last time. By the way, it’s strange that the host isn’t even showing her face when the guest has come so far. Are you feeling insecure about that face after I personally helped with your makeover?”
[You little…! You’ll pay for this!]
It seemed I had struck a nerve with my jab about her scarred face, as her expression twisted angrily.
The Witch of Lust cursed at me before muttering while glaring daggers.
[But it’s alright. I don’t know how you found this place, but since you’ve walked in here on your own two feet, your end is near. I’ll take my revenge for ruining my face and arms.]
“Oh? How coincidental! I came here to finish you off as well. This time, I won’t stop at just your face and arms. And by the way…”
Saying this, I smirked and gestured over my shoulder.
“You seem quite flustered for someone speaking so bravely? Judging by the way you deliberately showed up from the opposite direction where your true self is hiding. Just wait a little. I’ll come find you myself.”
[Wha…!]
Leaving the startled, twisted-faced puppet behind, I swiftly turned towards the direction where I felt the Witch of Lust’s power, shouting to the others.
“That way! It’s not far, so let’s break through!”
Shouting this, I aimed to be the first to pave the way.
But I was stopped by other squad members.
“Whoa, wait a minute! Miss Witch, you should rest while we go ahead.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ve done enough for now. Just sit back and relax.”
“No, I’m fine…”
The squad members insisted I take the safest position in the ranks, forcing me into the middle.
I tried to resist, feeling quite fine, but,
“Even if you’re alright, it means we’re not. If all you’re going to do is follow us, there’s no point in us joining the hunt!”
“Right, give us a chance to shine too!”
Eventually, I had no choice but to yield to the squad members’ resolute determination.
With a sigh, I entered the middle of the ranks, and Sylvia, who was already there, welcomed me with a smile.
“Welcome, Scarlet! Hehe, you’re looking a bit displeased. Are you bothered by how the squad members are treating you?”
“No… It’s not that I’m bothered, but I just feel like I’m the strongest here, so is this right…”
When I expressed my complaints, Sylvia laughed once.
“Well, that’s a valid point, but you don’t have to worry too much! The reason is—”
She pointed ahead.
“Everyone here is plenty strong.”
And where she pointed,
“Let’s go!!”
“Run, run! The one who takes down the least buys dinner later!”
The squad members were dicing the demonic beasts using swords, axes.
Some used special powers, some magic.
Each in their own way, they were slaughtering the demonic beasts.
Seeing that, I realized anew.
That these people were the cream of the crop of humanity, selected after much filtering.
Except for a few, everyone present here were seasoned professionals that had hunted demonic beasts for at least several years, if not decades, on the front lines.
They were not your everyday insect-shaped demonic beasts, and against a force like this, they were no match.
Let alone, even the weakest among us from the Dolos family could blow away a considerable demonic beast with a single punch.
Witnessing that, I was able to charge forward down the path the squad members had opened with a much lighter heart.
Occasionally, the swarming insect-shaped demonic beasts would be cleaned up by Sylvia and Ari, following us from behind, so our speed was absolutely unstoppable.
Even if I was at the front, I wondered if I could push through any faster as the hunting party advanced towards the location where the Witch of Lust could be sensed.
“…Oh.”
However, the advance came to an unexpected halt.
“…It’s the sea.”
“The sea, isn’t it?”
It turned out there was an ocean in our path.
“Where’s the witch?”
Moreover, the place where the witch could be sensed was,
“…Under the sea.”
Under the sea.
English: “Under the Sea!”
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