SWNOVELXO Chapter 128
– 1 –
After waiting a short while after the battle, a tall man approached me.
He was the ‘Judgment’ dispatched from the Mammon Trading Company.
“It was an overwhelmingly impressive battle, Lady Libertus.”
“I appreciate the compliment. What’s your name?”
“I am Talalan Oversoze, the head of Unit 1 from the Mammon Trading Company.”
The man who introduced himself as Talalan Oversoze was a demon of the Bealrog race, boasting two thick horns elegantly protruding from his forehead.
With black hair, orange eyes, and patterns of fiery magic etched into his irises, he revealed rippling muscles and ashen skin visible between his suit.
Even with a suit on, he still exuded a macho vibe…
“Bealrog, huh.”
Bealrog. In human terms, that would be Balrog.
It’s a subrace of demons known for their exceptional prowess in melee combat.
While their magical abilities aren’t that remarkable, once they close in on their enemies, they can display battle prowess beyond that of demons of a similar rank.
“You recognized it at a glance.”
“Stopping one’s studies leads to stagnation.”
“That’s a wonderful mindset. Unlike those trash.”
The 2.5-meter giant who looked down at me with a gentle smile seemed to take a liking to me.
“Trash, you say…”
“Those who are neither strong nor cunning are indeed trash, Lady Libertus. They are not worth associating with.”
“I am a necromancer, Talalan. I find few talents worthless.”
“Ah, I see. My apologies for that.”
Giving a hearty laugh and a pat on his head, Talalan soon left, saying he had to report on this battle.
He mentioned he hoped to meet again for sure.
I turned my gaze towards the Dungeon Lord’s corpse.
“Huuh… Huuh…”
“Uaagh…”
Zarkra and Melzeros, who had merged into one and split apart again, were not in good shape, each with half of their bodies missing.
Zarkra was missing her lower half, while Melzeros had been sliced vertically, leaving one side intact.
Crunch! Squelch!
From the severed part of Zarkra, black eyeballs and tentacles were still growing.
It was evident that there was no way to save her by conventional means.
Using her remaining upper body, soul, and emotions as material, an alien being was trying to expand its influence.
“I will kill… kill them…”
Had she already lost her sight?
With her eyes devoid of any reflection, she turned her head in all directions while not forgetting to spit out her grievance as a troll queen.
“Crack!”
“Ugh…!”
Having received the sword from Evangeline, I swung it to behead Zarkra.
Her head was consumed by the outer force, and before her clean grudge and anger could get tainted.
It was comforting to be the one to end it.
Although it was her own doing, that fervent love was genuine.
If one sees something beautiful, isn’t it necessary to pay an admission fee?
While it might be possible to save her… she wouldn’t want that.
‘Even if she goes there, she might only face suffering… I hope her journey is at least comfortable.’
Though it might not be a proper prayer from someone who presented her with a terrible outcome, prayers for the dead are meant for the living.
Whether what lies beyond death is heaven, hell, or purgatory, there’s only one place for a Dungeon Lord to go: hell.
– 「 」…!
Not some incomprehensible existence dragged along from an alien realm.
“Don’t touch it.”
Tap.
– 「 」!!!
Shhrrr!
The black tentacle that had been growing from some unknown void towards my head trembled intensely upon touching my fingertips, as if it had encountered something terrifying.
Whoosh!
It slumped toward the ground in what resembled a bow and then vanished.
Leaving behind a black, slimy residue.
It was strange behavior.
When it disappeared, I could see the original appearance of the world that existed, yet still, that world had no influence on me.
I simply felt a natural reaction, akin to seeing something aesthetically repulsive.
“Just disgusting.”
“You’re truly remarkable, Master.”
“Don’t give me weird compliments. What is this?”
Other subordinates and aides turned their heads, seemingly unable to look beyond.
The only one who met my gaze was Evangeline, yet even she seemed to be tensing up.
“I apologize, but is it closed now?”
“Yeah. It’s gone now.”
In reply to Lan’s words, I took my staff and poked the slime left on the ground.
Shhh!
With just a simple exertion of force, it burned up and vanished.
It was a clear phenomenon of repulsion.
‘Could it be that I am an alien existence?’
Aliens are notoriously famous even on Earth.
As a fictional belief.
Seeing entities that have become reality in this world didn’t affect me much, to be honest, and for a moment, I wondered if I might just be one of them.
Fortunately, it seems that’s not the case.
I was relieved to know I wasn’t a friend of tentacles or eyeball clusters.
However, the other friend who was still alive next to me didn’t seem to be one.
– You… what sort of being are you? The power fused with demons… so easily.
Once a grayish-white plaster-like being, Melzeros’ body had now taken on a clearly black, gooey form.
“You too have been tainted.”
Not only that; bubbles of darkness were continuously surfacing from his body, turning into eyeballs and bursting as they looked around.
This was already a sign that his body was ruined.
‘The circuits are breaking too.’
The status of those circuits reflected in my magical sight was the same.
– Yes… it’s the price to pay.
“Price, huh.”
– I thought it was the end… But to think you would be such a being.
“Being?”
I felt a doubt at his words, as if he knew about my condition, but he was no longer in a state to answer my curiosity.
– Save me… I don’t want to lose my existence to them…
As he faced death, his senses began to numb, and he kept repetitively speaking his words.
“…”
– I took things too lightly. Ahh. I… am becoming distorted… Kihi, Ki-heehee…
In any case, to properly reclaim his legacy, it was essential to stop this ‘pollution’ at this point.
If left alone, his soul would taint even the Dungeon Core.
However, now that I had learned of my new potential, I wanted to change my method.
I slowly…
I approached him and pressed the tip of my staff against the part I assumed was his head and where his body connected.
If my thoughts were right, that alone should slow down the progress of the ‘pollution.’
– 「 」 – !!
– Gahh…!
Unlike Zarkra, he seemed to be in tremendous pain.
Zarkra, having lost all her senses, had no opportunity to recognize her suffering, but perhaps his body hadn’t simply lost its sensations so easily.
For a moment, pieces of enraged alien matter dug deeper into his body.
– Aaargh… Ahh…!
In my raised magical sight, I saw Melzeros’ body and soul simultaneously screaming.
Ignoring his agony, the alien being continued to burrow deeper.
“「Get away」.”
As I merely exerted my power and said that.
He halted.
The pollution ceased.
– 「 」!!
This time, the intruder let out an indescribable sound filled with its fear, and moments later, half of what was left of Melzeros’ body vanished once more.
The alien entity stopped its devour and returned to its world.
It was bizarre.
Whether the hunger for existence was a form of greed or merely instinct.
Stopping it surely wouldn’t have been easy.
– Thank… you.
Reviving the remaining portions of Melzeros’ body was already impossible.
Between the severed body, a mass of magic, which was clearly his ‘core’, was leaking magic, more than half of it shattered.
Even if I had acted faster, it would have been tough to save him intact.
‘Hmm.’
It was merely a gesture of respect towards the enemy and an effort for valuable loot.
My impression of him wasn’t particularly significant, so there was no regret.
Cruelty is sometimes just a means to be employed when needed.
Tap.
After ensuring that no magic was being siphoned from his body to the Dungeon Core, I fell into a brief contemplation.
There were still elements to consider.
‘Though I’m curious about my ‘existence’…’
It wasn’t difficult to delve into the memories of the soul.
However, I was hesitant since it was uncertain how intact those memories would be after being tainted by alien power.
It might not be a bad idea to at least give it a try…
‘The origin of my existence… perhaps my parents…’
I had no interest in such things.
To the point that I wouldn’t go so far as to probe into the twisted soul contaminated by alien power, risking discomfort.
In the end, I turned my body back around and began issuing orders for the climax of the war.
“Xue, Sonia. You will cross over with Mire’s squad and retrieve Melzeros’ core.”
“Yes…”
“Understood!”
“Lan and Jinkyung, go with other squads and rally the surrendering troops here, while ensuring that those who refuse surrender take an oath of secrecy.”
“Leave it to us.”
“Eve. Axe. Follow me. I want to personally retrieve Zarkra’s core.”
“Yes.”
The climax referred to, of course, was the recovery of the loot possessed by the defeated.
– 2 –
Zarkra’s dungeon was a jungle filled with the same green color as her skin.
Countless trees lined the cave walls.
The thick vines obscured the sky, and the ground was littered with unknown grasses and flowers that obstructed movement.
The very trees were infused with magic, thereby confirming it was indeed a dungeon; otherwise, I would have suspected that the gate was connecting to a strange place.
“This woman…”
As I stepped through the shadows of the forest, I reached the end.
There, with a light green Dungeon Core, was a legacy of Zarkra that I had not anticipated.
“… Who are you?”
Her child.
A troll woman of human height and build, with wise eyes shining bright.
She looked more humanly beautiful than her father, with striking similarities to her mother.
Aside from her hair being red, she carried the alluring aura that was identical to Zarkra.
Despite her young age, the level and density of magic residing within her was unmistakably that of a ‘Dungeon Lord’s child.’
“Could it be they were really a couple?”
“That can’t be. If Zarkra was officially married, she wouldn’t have just kept her husband as a summon.”
“… So it was just a casual relationship.”
“It’s quite likely they genuinely began to develop feelings for one another.”
Nodding along with Evangeline’s speculation, I swallowed my bitter feelings.
I could have never imagined that a Dungeon Lord might actually become a parent.
Even though I had already confirmed that Serika was someone’s child, and I had also realized that I might have parents somewhere.
The inverse of such was unimaginable.
‘It’s possible for there to be children in the future, hmmm?’
Unconsciously patting my stomach, I shook my head at the chill rising from my spine.
I pictured myself laughing while cradling a child among my own people.
But that was not just about whether it was plausible or not.
‘Disgusting.’
With my love twisted as it was, I couldn’t even separate fondness from possessiveness.
Even if that child was my own, I wouldn’t be able to provide complete love.
‘There’s no way a child growing under such a person would flourish properly.’
This was a story entirely different from me accepting my possessiveness.
I had no intention of birthing another existence that would grow up as an unfortunate being in this world.
‘What should I do?’
I stood at a crossroads of choice.
Though the parents were not in an ordinary relationship, I had still ended up killing both her mother and father.
“I’m the one who killed your parents.”
“Ah…”
Bitter truth and sweet lies.
Among those, I chose the former.
She was neither a being I intended to protect, nor someone who needed safeguarding.
Then, a lie would only hinder her ability to survive.
“… I see.”
As expected, her response was very composed.
Which makes sense.
‘With such a level of magic, her cognitive ability must be akin to an adult.’
Her magical ability was impressive, even by ordinary standards. A Dungeon Lord’s level, referred to as upper tier or formal.
Children gifted with such magical talent develop faster than their peers.
They can do far more than a regular child.
‘Not a genius, but just that way.’
It was like being born with more than one invisible hand or foot from the get-go, meaning perceiving and manipulating things would come much quicker.
She might be younger in actual age, but if measured in human terms, she’d be seen as more mature.
Both body and mind.
“I have no intention of passing down the grievances that existed between you parents and me. However…”
Zarkra’s child was presented with three choices.
If she did not know who I was, she might leave this place unharmed.
In case she did know who I was…
‘She could either die right here or live like she’s dead.’
“…”
Though I did not explain everything, she seemed to understand my unspoken thoughts.
Her dull eyes gazed up at me.
“Please…”
In a gesture of submission apparent to anyone watching, she bent her body.
“… Please allow me to recover my parents’ remains.”
“Don’t you resent me?”
“For demons and monsters, strength and struggle are akin to life itself. We have no intention of directing the resentment we lost for our parents, who perished in a war we initiated, toward the Lady.”
“You’re quite mature.”
The difference between a child possessing an adult’s cognition and genuinely ‘becoming an adult’ was worlds apart.
Was her mother exceptional, or was it a matter of innate talent?
To my eyes, she was undeniably valuable.
Whether she was sharpening the blade of resentment or it was a feeling of sincerity.
“What is your name?”
“My name is Piera.”
In that moment, what had until now been merely a supposition transformed into certainty.
It was reminiscent of the name ‘Hira Jull,’ which I thought might be her father.
However, going forward, there will be no need to use that name.
“From now on, you shall be called Berggrisa.”
“I accept my new name.”
Berggrisa, or Berggrisar.
‘Giant of the Mountain.’
That was her new name.