“Karbaldr, you—”
“There’s no time for idle chatter now.”
At this timing, when Dyuf and Hailga had already hardened their resolve, what Reysir was about to say to me was obvious.
He was likely trying to check my intentions by asking what I planned to do.
That was why I cut him off.
My answer was already decided anyway.
‘Besides, signs of monsters emerging are beginning to show, so I need to finish battle preparations quickly.’
I kept my gaze fixed on the distorting space.
After quickly using [Encourage] on myself and Yor, I swung my whip to generate a sonic boom and activated the [Excitation] skill.
Naturally, the targets of [Excitation] were all those traveling with me, including Yor and myself.
‘Let’s wait and see the situation before deciding whether to use [Inspiration] on the others!’
Strengthening physical abilities not only assisted in reducing damage or avoiding attacks entirely when hit by a monster but was also a huge help while moving to find the Boss Monster.
Therefore, [Excitation] had to be used in advance, but there was no rush to use [Inspiration], which enhanced Aether Attribute skills.
‘Maybe the monsters will be weaker than expected, so there won’t be a need to enhance skills. My skill proficiency is low anyway, so the effect would be minimal…’
Just as I finished that rationalization—or rather, pseudo-rationalization—the distorted space spat out something pitch black.
Crash!
A golden thunderbolt struck that spot instantly.
Since monsters are relatively vulnerable right after being spawned, it was a very appropriate response.
Unfortunately, Reysir’s attack did not achieve much.
This was because the pitch-black mass that had just emerged was not a single entity, but a group of them.
“This is…!”
Perhaps sensing the ominous atmosphere, the Original Protagonist let out an exclamation of distress.
From the wriggling black mass, an individual that had been electrocuted by the lightning fell away with a thud.
Then, as if that were a signal—
Skitter, skitter, skitter!
The things that had been tangled together in a single mass scattered in all directions with a skin-crawling sound.
Or rather, just before they could.
Dyuf demonstrated incredible reflexes, surrounding and covering the monster swarm with plant stems and leaves, clumping them into a sphere.
A sigh of relief escaped me involuntarily.
“D-Dad… that thing just now…”
“Centipedes. Very large ones at that…”
To be precise, they weren’t centipedes, but centipede-type monsters.
If you looked closely, there would be differences from real centipedes, but I didn’t want to look closely.
The readers seeing this probably wouldn’t want a detailed description either.
Scratch, scratch…
Were the monsters gnawing on the stems and leaves to escape their botanical prison?
A chilling sound drifted from inside.
I felt like covering my ears.
“Helly, burn them quickly!”
“Oh, right…!”
The moment I heard the order Reysir gave to Hailga, I worried about a horrific situation where flaming centipede monsters might scatter in all directions.
To conclude, it was a needless worry.
The Original Protagonist’s judgment was correct.
The flames Hailga created surely burned not only the sphere made of plants but also the monsters trapped inside to death.
As those beings that stimulated my physiological disgust disappeared, my departing reason returned.
‘Wait, I’m getting a sense of deja vu…’
Suddenly, a scene from the Original Work came to mind.
It was around the time when Reysir had barely managed to pull his crumbling mind together after Hailga’s death.
Dyuf had delivered the following news to Reysir: a Demonic Realm had formed in the deep mountains where no people lived, and since the monsters there were relatively weak, it was decided to maintain the environment without destroying the Core.
This meant that any scholars who wanted to research Demonic Realms were free to visit.
Upon hearing this, Reysir wrote a withdrawal form for the Academy and submitted it by mail.
Then, after finishing travel preparations with Dyuf, they set out, only to be caught in a Demonic Realm that suddenly appeared before they reached their destination.
That was when Dyuf awakened, and the monsters that appeared in that Demonic Realm were…
‘They were centipede-type monsters with countless legs!’
Back then, the distorted space had spat out a large number of centipede monsters all at once.
Dyuf had reflexively controlled the plants growing abundantly nearby to prevent them from scattering.
Then, Reysir had stabbed his spear into the plant sphere and injected an electric current, disposing of the trapped monsters by electrocuting them.
‘The only thing that’s changed is the person who handled the finishing blow. Isn’t this too similar to the previous situation…?’
The fact that bushes grew abundantly nearby was common for most Demonic Realms, so it wasn’t a big deal.
The setting also established that places where insect-type monsters appeared weren’t rare, and it was common for the same types of monsters to be found in various Demonic Realms.
Since the Dyuf of the Original Work and the Dyuf here were the same person, it was natural for him to make the same judgment and execute the same action in the same situation.
‘Thinking about it that way, it isn’t strange, but…’
The very fact that coincidences overlapped to create a situation similar to the Original Work felt extremely unsettling.
Even though Reysir remained at the Academy, unlike in the Original Work, it felt like a message was being sent that escaping the progression of the original plot was impossible.
“Meow, ny-a-oo…?”
“Karbaldr, are you okay?”
My complexion must not have looked very good, seeing as Yor and Reysir were expressing such concern.
I buried my thoughts deep in my mind and answered while feigning an arrogant expression as if nothing were wrong.
“Is there any reason I wouldn’t be?”
“A sheltered young lord just saw arm-sized centipede monsters tangled together, moving their countless legs. Isn’t that reason enough not to be okay?”
“Do not describe it in detail. And now is not the time for such jokes.”
Instead of appearing many at once, these insect-type monsters had the characteristic of spawning in scattered distortions of space.
So, until monsters from other locations came here or a certain amount of time passed for them to “spawn,” this vicinity would be safe.
However, monsters that appeared elsewhere would be spreading in all directions even now, threatening people.
We couldn’t afford to be leisurely forever.
“Yor. Can you go up into the sky and find where the Boss Monster is?”
“Meow!!”
Later on, there would be cases where several types of monsters appeared in a single Demonic Realm, but at this stage, the types of monsters were usually unified.
I hadn’t seen anything like wings on the bodies of those centipede monsters I glimpsed, so Yor wouldn’t be attacked from the air.
Therefore, I asked Yor to scout, and he readily replied before flying high into the sky.
“It’s a good thing Yor is a cat that can fly. If he weren’t, we would have had to wander aimlessly through the Demonic Realm searching for the Boss Monster.”
Even after seeing him fly through the sky, had he never once thought that he might not be a cat?
I felt the urge to nitpick the words of the Protagonist of Another Novel, but since there was no benefit in spreading suspicion that Karbaldr’s Familiar might not be a cat, I decided to say something else.
“The reason I asked Yor to find the Boss Monster today is because I judged it wouldn’t be dangerous to do so here. In places where flying monsters exist, I will never entrust him with such a task, so give up any idea of treating Yor as a scout.”
“What kind of obvious thing are you saying? No, more importantly, are you planning to enter a Demonic Realm with me again?”
“I’m warning you in advance because we might get unexpectedly caught in one like today.”
“Does assuming that you’ll get caught in a Demonic Realm with me again mean you plan to always stick by me and play with me?”
“Is that what you think I meant?!”
Since he was just standing there doing nothing, it seemed like his body was too comfortable, causing him to talk nonsense.
When I looked at him with a disgusted expression and countered, Reysir showcased a second round of arbitrary nonsense.
“Aside from that, it’s really strange…”
“What is?”
“Even though we’re in the middle of a Demonic Realm, I’m not afraid or anxious. Is it because I have reliable people by my side?”
“It’s probably because you easily defeated the monsters that appeared earlier, and you’ve become complacent because the surrounding area has become safe.”
“Oh…”
At my pointed remark, Reysir looked embarrassed for a moment before turning serious again and guarding the surroundings.
It was then that a faint scream was heard from far away.
“Did you hear that?! Just now…!”
“Stop. If we get tied down trying to save them, even more people will die or be injured!”
“I suppose so…”
An Awakened must make it their top priority to clear the Demonic Realm by defeating the Boss Monster.
One reason is that all ordinary monsters die once the Boss Monster is killed, but the most decisive reason is that the Awakened’s own safety is at stake.
If one goes around saving every person in sight, time will be delayed, and they will have to face the Boss Monster with exhausted physical strength and Aether, which becomes a cause for failure.
‘In short, it means the probability of dying while fighting the Boss Monster increases.’
Because of this, an official Einherjar Team can only be recognized if they possess not only an “Attack Group” composed of Awakened but also a “Relief Group” composed of unawakened individuals for the purpose of lifesaving.
Currently, let alone such a system being established, even the terms Einheri and Einherjar haven’t taken root yet, but that was the setting nonetheless.
“The Young Lord is quite… cold and rational, isn’t he?”
As evident from the tone, the one who spoke to me this time was Dyuf.
“Is it not better than being impulsive and irrational?”
“Ah, I didn’t mean it in a negative way. I was just impressed and amazed that you could make such calm judgments despite this sudden situation.”
“……”
Regardless of my prickly response, which stemmed from wondering if he was criticizing me, Dyuf offered praise with an expression that felt nothing but sincere.
I felt guilty for answering sarcastically for no reason and even felt bashful from the praise, so I couldn’t stop the heat from rising to my face.
“Oh…? Young Lord, are you perhaps now…”
“Meow!!!”
He must have finally discovered the location of the Boss Monster.
At the perfect timing, the lovely baby dragon descended from the sky and saved me.
“Lead the way.”
Kyuu!
The path had become even more complicated because trees and bushes had grown randomly in the already complex city streets, but Yor’s guidance was relentless.
On the way, centipede monsters discovered us and swarmed, but this was also not a problem, thanks to Hailga burning them all—while controlling the fire so it wouldn’t spread to the surroundings.
‘She must have done special training during the break!’
This wasn’t a guess; it was a conviction.
No matter how great one’s innate talent might be, if they hadn’t practiced at all, it would be impossible to accurately hit a target that was moving constantly rather than staying still.
Indeed, if it weren’t for me, Hailga would have truly died on the day of the Graduation Ceremony.
So she must have resolved to build up her strength, and Reysir, not wanting to lose his precious childhood friend, must have pestered Hailga to train while following her around all break.