Chapter 121: The Chimera’s Lair

Whirl! Thud! Whirl! Thud!

The warhammer spun at a terrifying speed and smashed into the crucian’s head.

Each time, I activated the summon function.

It flew back like an arrow and stuck firmly in my grip, feeling just like wielding the real Mjolnir.

“Feels killer in the hand.”

—She loves it to death, too.

“Yeah. Luckier than expected that it’s dumber than I thought.”

The crucian was a monster boasting incredible physical abilities and a massive body.

Once that thing started rampaging, it could devastate the entire area in an instant.

But maybe because its head was like a carp’s, its intelligence was pretty low.

Just look at it now.

Shouldn’t it be finding another way instead of charging straight at me?

But the crucian just kept stubbornly digging at one spot.

And when it reached its limit?

“This is what happens.”

Crack—!

The Hector Punisher finally shattered the thing’s skull.

No matter how tough the skeleton, keep pounding and it’ll break eventually.

“Buuung… Buuung—. Shiiin…….”

The crucian gaped its mouth a few times before stopping completely.

The crazy carp bastard had finally breathed its last.

But this guy, it felt like he said something really unpleasant at the end.

“Did he just curse me while dying?”

—No. He said “bungsinn.” It’s a message calling for the carp god.

—No. He definitely cursed you.

The two guys hanging on my shoulder gave different opinions.

Naturally, the more negative interpretation came from Feltron.

“That’s why you always get beat up, you idiot.”

Smack!

—Kuek!

I flicked Feltron on the forehead and examined the crucian’s corpse.

Since it had just died, it still felt alive.

Plus, fish don’t have eyelids.

It kept its eyes wide open.

“Ugh! The smell.”

A foul stench emanated from the crucian’s body.

Like the smell of rotting corpses.

I frowned, feeling like I might throw up.

But I have to do what needs to be done.

I grabbed Shugl and Feltron.

—What?

—What the hell are you doing all of a sudden?

They flailed and struggled, but they couldn’t overcome my grip.

In that state, I tossed them onto the crucian’s corpse.

Thud!

“Now, find out everything about this guy’s body.”

—Why do we have to do that?

—Yeah! Even if we’re subordinates, this is too much!

The guys who bickered over seniority whenever they got the chance were suddenly in perfect sync.

Of course, that didn’t mean they could defy my orders.

His Majesty the Emperor’s ultimate war weapon.

The Hector Punisher was on standby.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Yeah. Go ahead, try it.”

As I grabbed the handle strap and spun the hammer, their faces turned pale.

Come to think of it, Feltron is a white bat to begin with.

He could get even whiter than usual?

Man, what a weird guy.

—O-okay.

—We get it!

Shugl and Feltron carefully examined the crucian’s corpse.

Meanwhile, I went on reconnaissance around the area.

The Earl of Coldwell had said it.

These things were a huge colony.

That meant there had been times when tons of crucians appeared.

“Just imagining it is horrifying.”

Each one had combat power far superior to an ogre.

Thinking about them swarming out made chills run down my spine.

Could I handle about a dozen?

To do that, I’d probably have to go all out, like when I took down the growler.

Fortunately, no new crucians appeared to ruin things.

Soon, the two half-demons finished their monster appraisal.

We found something interesting!

“What is it?”

—This guy was originally a carp.

“Huh?”

—It’s a real carp that’s been transformed.

“What nonsense is that? It’s this huge, and it has four legs?”

—Well, they just patched stuff on. You know, chimera?

“Ah?”

Now it all clicked in my head.

Actually, this thing I named crucian was a monster that didn’t exist anywhere.

That’s why I gave it a new name.

The Earl of Coldwell didn’t know what to call it either, so he just said carp.

Of course.

It was something unheard of and unseen until now.

“If this guy’s a chimera, that explains the rotten smell.”

—Yeah. It’s a body forcibly pieced together with black magic.

“Then, if I just take out the guy who made it, that’s it?”

—Probably? Oh, and there’s one more piece of good news.

“Oh? Yeah? Spill it.”

—I said he was originally a carp, right?

“Yeah?”

—Weirdly, except for the head, the flesh is soft. The scales aren’t that tough either. Just like a regular fish.

“…”

At Shugl’s words, I wore a blank expression.

Then what the hell have I been doing all this time?

Does that mean I beat it to death by hitting the toughest part?

In other words…….

—Yeah. You’re ignorant.

Shugl finished the thought.

Naturally, the price was a full swing from the Hector Punisher.

Swish!

—Kueeek!

Watching Shugl fly off like a twinkling star in the distance, Feltron shouted.

—N-nice shot, Chairman!

This guy, his survival skills have improved a bit.

I stood in front of the hole in the center of the pit.

Right after dealing with one crucian, I came straight down here.

I didn’t bother meeting the Earl of Coldwell.

The earldom’s remaining forces weren’t much, and I didn’t need them.

Plus, the unidentified black mage still hadn’t noticed me.

Is there a better opportunity for a surprise attack?

The best effect comes from striking when the opponent is off guard.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I leaped into the hole.

Splash!

But unlike what I expected, a strange sound came.

“Huh? It wasn’t just dark and black?”

Surprisingly, right below the hole was filled with something pitch black.

Like a swamp, maybe?

My ankles sank in, which was fine, but it didn’t go any deeper.

Then how did the crucian pass through here?

—Ah.

Lost in thought, I moved back to the edge of the pit.

I wasn’t sure if this was the answer, but it was worth a try.

Just do it the same way.

Pass the crucian’s body through again.

If that works, I could slip in with it.

“But how do I move this big guy?”

Using Beast’s Heart made my strength insanely powerful.

But how to move a monster that looked like it weighed at least 8 tons?

Of course, doing it directly was out of the question.

This is when you use your brain.

Crack!

I jammed the Hector Punisher into the crucian’s gills.

This should hold without coming out.

In that state, if I go to the hole and activate the summon function?

“Come.”

Rumble rumble rumble!

The crucian’s corpse was dragged along, with one side sticking out sharply.

Because the Hector Punisher was summoned with such strong force.

“Yes!”

A brilliantly clever trick that gave me chills.

I cheered and reached out my right hand, but realized something was wrong.

“Uh? It’s coming faster than I thought?”

If that massive body dragged and hit me, I’d probably bounce far away.

Like Shugl did with the golf swing.

So at the last moment, I dodged slightly and yanked out the Hector Punisher.

Then the summon ended, and the crucian’s corpse stopped in the perfect spot.

“Whew! Almost went to the grave.”

—Too bad.

“What, punk?”

—I mean, it didn’t arrive exactly, right?

Feltron flapped his wings frantically, making excuses.

No matter how I thought about it, it felt like he was disappointed there was no accident.

But it was plausible enough, so I let it slide once.

On the surface, it was true.

“A bit short. Well, whatever.”

I pushed the crucian’s corpse hard with my foot.

The body, precariously balanced, slipped right into the black pool.

Then, something amazing happened.

Ssssssh!

“Oh!”

—Whoa!

—Wow!

The crucian disappeared quickly, as if seeping in.

I hurried to go in with the guy’s body.

But why did I just hear a strange sound?

“Huh? When did you get back?”

At some point, Shugl was clinging to my right shoulder.

I’m sure I whacked him with the warhammer and sent him flying far away.

—What form am I in now?

“Sugar glider?”

—Exactly! So gliding is totally doable. Mwahaha!

Whether real sugar gliders could fly hundreds of meters in the air was questionable.

Usually, they just go from tree to tree, right?

Of course, this guy’s a half-demon.

Not a real sugar glider, so it’s plausible.

—Aah! At this rate, it’ll all go in without us.

“That won’t do.”

At Feltron’s warning, I quickly climbed onto the crucian’s back.

The slimy scales and stench made me gag for a moment.

But to enter the black mage’s hideout, I had to endure this much.

Sssss!

A moment later, I was falling from the ceiling of a dark cavern.

Actually, it was totally expected.

A place where a shady black mage and monsters live—there’s no way it’d be normal terrain.

“Cha-hat!”

Boing! Crack!

I jumped off the crucian’s corpse and moved to the cavern wall.

Then I swung the Hector Punisher hard.

Crash!

The warhammer’s shape was quite different from a regular hammer.

It had a flat part, but the head was small, and the opposite side was pointed like a pickaxe.

Plus, the top usually had a spear blade.

The Hector Punisher was similar, just smaller, so I could use it like an ice axe.

You know, those hooks for climbing ice walls.

“Whew!”

As my falling body fixed in place, I let out a sigh of relief.

Even with my superhuman physical abilities, I didn’t want to fall hundreds of meters.

I couldn’t gauge exactly where the bottom was.

If I crashed down there, my legs would probably break.

“I made it in, but…….”

It was too dark to see anything.

I had something prepared for times like this.

I used it effectively when I fell into the Sordin Order’s trap, too.

I immediately took out the luminous stone.

But maybe because it was old, the glow seemed dimmer than before.

“Ah, I should’ve asked the Earl of Coldwell for a new one.”

This territory has a luminous stone mine.

Of course, I didn’t think I’d end up coming this far back then.

Actually, this whole thing wasn’t planned at all.

But so what.

Adventure has its thrill in handling unexpected situations.

“But didn’t he say it was a colony? Why don’t I see any?”

I shone the luminous stone around, but not a single crucian in sight.

Just an artificially made cavern and passages branching off everywhere.

“It can’t be that carp bastards come swarming out of all those holes, right?”

—What?

An ominous feeling made me mutter, and suddenly Shugl perked up his ears.

I looked at him, wondering what he found.

“What’s up?”

—It’s a flag.

“What do you mean? Is there a monster like that?”

—No, a death flag.

Right after Shugl’s words, a strange presence approached.

Rustle rustle!

Like stepping on fallen leaves, and soon I knew what it was.

Just like I said, something burst out of the holes.

With insane cries.

“Carp!”

“Carp!”

“Carp!”

“Carpsin!”

Ah, seriously.

My bad feelings keep coming true, and it’s pissing me off.