The colony of purple organisms discovered in the underground cavity. Seeing it, Count Echo Helstein said,
“I have never seen organisms like these before.”
Eugene and Bella clenched their teeth. It was because this was not the first time they had seen them.
The monsters that had destroyed the world in the life before regression, the Voidnir.
That was the name of these organisms.
According to Eugene’s calculations, the Voidnir invasion would begin five years from now.
And yet a hidden colony had already been revealed like this.
If not for the necklaces they had received from Nidbolg, they would never have known.
Eugene sighed.
‘As expected, there’s no way they destroyed the world without any preparation.’
This needed investigation. Where and how this colony had been made, or by whom.
For that purpose, Eugene was about to step into the cave of purple cellular masses.
That was when Bella stepped forward.
“I will take the lead.”
Eugene nodded. Since an unexpected situation could occur, it would be better for Bella, the vanguard, to go first.
Eugene turned to Echo.
“I apologize during the mission, but we need to investigate for a moment. Count, it would be best for you to stay back briefly.”
“No, I would like to take a look as well. It is an organism I have never seen before.”
Had his curiosity as a scholar been sparked? He followed behind Eugene.
The field might be slightly different, but if they could hear the opinion of an expert, that was good for them.
Eugene nodded in acknowledgment.
The three entered the colony. They looked around, but there were no active creatures in sight.
The Voidnir were wrapped in cloudy membrane-like eggs, not moving at all. Eugene carefully observed the sight.
‘It looks like the entire colony is dormant.’
Bella said,
“It does not seem to be that large in scale. There appear to be only a few hundred eggs.”
“It would not be easy for organisms of this size to produce hundreds of individuals in a place like this. I would not say the scale is small.”
Echo answered like that. He was absorbed in observing the sleeping Voidnir eggs.
He seemed so excited by the fact that he had discovered a lifeform he had never seen before that he did not sense the strangeness of the current situation.
Eugene signaled Bella with his eyes to watch her words.
Realizing her mistake, Bella cleared her throat, then stuck close beside Eugene and whispered,
“There is no queen. It is a small-scale colony. The individuals are only lower-class as well.”
“As you said, it isn’t dangerous. The problem is how this came into being.”
Though they had come from the future, Eugene and Bella did not know everything about the Voidnir.
They knew large colonies built on the surface well. After all, they had gone around destroying those enormous biological buildings until they were sick of it. But even they had only seen small-scale colonies built like this a few times.
While the two, feeling the lack of information, had their faces close together and whispered, Echo, who had been examining the Voidnir, spoke.
“There are things like nutrient tubes connected from the ceiling. Judging by the fact that the surrounding soil is crumbly and there are no particular traces of anything having been eaten…… perhaps they are organisms with a reproductive method similar to root crops.”
Hearing those words, Eugene’s mind snapped awake.
“Like root crops?”
“Yes. Things like potatoes or sweet potatoes. The parts exposed outside are only stems and leaves for absorbing nutrients, while the fruit-like parts form down in the roots. Several monster species with similar ecologies have been discovered in academic circles as well. Though I have never heard of one settled this deep.”
As soon as Eugene heard those words, he seemed to realize something and whispered to Bella.
“Damn it. It’s the Gongha Tree.”
“The Gongha Tree? That strange tree in the Voidnir colonies?”
“Yes. Come to think of it, I once heard in a meeting that the Gongha Tree also had production capabilities, though not to the level of a queen. That was why they said that when clearing a colony, we had to pay attention and sever the root section.”
The two of them were Dragon Knights. They were elite forces too few in number even to send only to battlefields.
Because of that, while they often had work that involved smashing colonies, they had no work handling the aftermath.
“To think you remember even such trivial information. Well done. You are intelligent after all.”
“…….”
He had been planning to tease her if she spoke sarcastically, but because she praised him so obediently, he instead had nothing to say.
Eugene cleared his throat and said,
“At any rate, if my guess is right, a Gongha Tree will be growing on the surface. I’ll remember the coordinates, so let’s check it when we leave.”
“Understood.”
After finishing their discussion, the two approached Echo.
Echo was tilting his head while touching the vein-like things hanging in strands from the ceiling of the cavity.
“……The more I look at this, the more I feel I have seen it somewhere.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Flustered, Eugene asked,
“You feel as though you have seen it somewhere?”
“I did not see it in person. As with subterranean monsters, there are still many organisms on this continent that humanity does not know about. Was it around a hundred years ago? A book compiling mystical creatures living in various places was once published. It was old, and there was a lot of absurd content written more for interest than scholarship, so I did not read it deeply…… but I remember seeing something similar to this among the creatures in that book. Was it a strange lifeform sleeping underground? I believe it was introduced with words like that.”
“Ah!”
Eugene struck his palm with his fist. It was because Echo’s words had made him remember something.
But he could not remember exactly what it was.
Eugene held his head and fell into thought. When he fell silent, Bella spoke to Echo in his place.
“Would you have any intention of researching this organism?”
Echo stroked his chin.
“Hmm…… I specialize in subterranean monsters, you see. However, I do know one friend who is interested in things like this. If you are all right with it, I can introduce you.”
Fortunately, the conversation flowed smoothly. Bella’s motivation rose, and she asked,
“Good. Would it help if we captured a few?”
When she asked while pointing at the Voidnir sleeping inside the eggs, Echo nodded.
“That would be good too, but naturally, the best thing would be to observe the habitat directly. To understand a creature’s ecology, the best way is to see how they live and grow.”
His eyes turned toward Bella.
“Come to think of it…… have you seen these creatures before? Ordinarily, when people see things like this, they do not even try to approach, but somehow, you seem familiar with them.”
“…….”
Bella’s words caught in her throat.
Frank and honest. Having hardly ever lied in her life, she did not know how to naturally slip past this kind of question.
“Er…….”
She did not know what to say.
“Hm? Are you unwell somewhere?”
Count Echo asked about Bella’s condition as if puzzled.
It was simply a statement of concern, but to Bella, it sounded like a suspicious interrogation.
Even if she had been told to face an army of a million alone, it would not have been this difficult.
A woman who had not shed a single drop of sweat even after experiencing an incomprehensible event like returning from the future to the past began sweating cold sweat.
“Ugh…….”
When Bella, unable to endure it, looked at Eugene with an expression begging him to save her.
Eugene suddenly struck his palm with his fist and shouted,
“I remember! Kagan’s Encyclopedia of Mystical Animals!”
Echo struck his forehead.
“That is right. That was the book!”
“I think there was a similar creature written about under the title, Legendary Strange Lifeform Sleeping in Darkness.”
“Yes, I believe there was.”
“Wasn’t the creature called the Mandrake in that book similar to this as well? It seems like it would be interesting to research.”
“That is true. There certainly seem to be common points.”
In an instant, Eugene drew Echo’s attention away. Then he began chatting as if he were a student and professor burning with scholarly passion.
Having escaped the crisis, Bella stroked her chest in relief. From beyond Echo’s back, she spoke only with her eyes.
‘How do you know all that?’
Eugene shrugged. Then he spoke with slight mouth movements and gestures.
‘What’s wrong with that? I’ll have you know I was praised as the next-generation Tower Master! Do you know how many books I’ve read?’
She wanted to tell him not to brag, but it was true that she had received his help this time.
Bella gave a bitter laugh.
Thanks to Eugene’s chatter, Echo’s doubts about the two of them vanished as if washed away.
“In any case, let us leave this place alone for now. It would be better to identify and preserve the location, then bring an expert here and examine it together.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Echo and Bella nodded at the same time.
The three had finished their agreement and were about to leave the Voidnir colony.
Chirrrrrrk-
Something made a strange sound like the cry of an insect.
The three turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
And they discovered it. Among the clumps of eggs hanging from the ceiling, a creature with a snake’s body and a bug-like head was flapping something like wings.
Chirrrrrrk-
When the creature vibrated the wings on the sides of its face, they trembled and made a tearing sound.
Echo tilted his head.
“Hmm…… Is it a creature that lives here?”
The creature cried out in that strange sound once again.
Tension spread across Echo’s face.
“This is not good. Somehow, it seems like a warning cry.”
Then,
Wriggle. An egg hanging above Echo’s head suddenly began to quiver.
Crack— the egg burst open.
The grotesque creature inside dropped toward Echo together with sticky fluid.
KYAAAAAAGH—!
“Aaaaagh!”
A scream and a monstrous cry rang out at the same time.
THUD!
The monster that landed on the ground growled and raised its forelegs, which resembled those of a mantis, above its head.
SWISH!
“Hah! It woke up!”
Just now, if Eugene had not pulled his body back, the foreleg swung by the monster would have sent his head flying.
Covered in the bodily fluid that had fallen from above his head, Echo lost his balance as if in a panic and babbled nonsense.
WHIRRRR!
Nibiru, the Wood Golem protecting him, blocked the monster’s path. The spider-shaped golem showed spirit that suggested it would not lose even if it fought the monster standing before it.
But that was not the end.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Sounds of flesh tearing erupted from every direction.
The eggs that had been wrapping the monsters like translucent membranes burst one after another, and bodily fluids spread everywhere.
Thud.
Thud.
THUDTHUDTHUD!
The monsters that fell from the ceiling landed on the ground with heavy rumbles.
They were large enough that an ordinary wolf would not even be a match.
Their purple carapaces reflected the nightstone’s light and gleamed slickly.
They had six legs. Like hunting dogs, they had front and hind legs, with another pair of bladed legs attached above their shoulders.
Their heads were covered with carapaces like an insect’s, and their long, slit, hexagonal compound eyes glowed red.
Their sharp faces, made of shells combining triangles and diamonds, were truly brutality itself.
Grrrrrr.
In an instant, the bastards surrounded the three. Hundreds of red gleams filled the inside of the dark cavity.
“H-huuuuuh!”
Echo, terrified, froze.
Nibiru, the golem that had stepped forward to escort him, also shook its legs with nowhere to go, as if confused by the number of enemies being far too great.
But Eugene and Bella, the pair of Dragon Knights, merely wore peaceful faces.
Bella asked,
“What do we do?”
Eugene clicked his tongue.
“Just kill them all. We don’t have any tools to capture them anyway. And I got a feeling.”
“What feeling?”
“The feeling that this is only the beginning.”
Even if not here, it seemed they would be able to obtain the samples needed for research.
That was what Eugene meant.
A grin spread across Bella’s lips.
“Then I will handle the bastards.”
Bella stepped forward, passing Nibiru.
Echo, trembling, grabbed Eugene’s arm.
“M-Mr. Eugene. C-can we escape this?”
“Do not worry. There is no problem.”
Reassuring him, Eugene began casting.
Blue mana light rose, and the formula woven in an instant burst outward.
<>
A hemispherical blue curtain enveloped Eugene, Echo, and even Nibiru inside it.
Glitter, glitter. The mana barrier shone like sapphire.
Echo recognized it as crystallized arcane force.
A high-strength defensive wall that ordinary arcane mages could not even deploy.
It would be difficult for mere beast claws to even scratch it.
But that was not what Echo was thinking.
“I-it is reassuring, but will simply holding out with this be enough? Would it not be better to create an escape route with attack magic or something……?”
Heh. Eugene laughed.
“Escape? They’re the ones who should do that.”
As he said that, he jerked his chin toward Bella’s back as if telling Echo to look.
That was the moment Echo’s eyes turned toward her.
“KAAAAAAAGH!”
With a roar loud enough to make the cavity ring, the Voidnir charged.
The bastards abandoned Eugene’s barrier, which looked solid at a glance, and prioritized Bella.
The blade-like claws of the monsters flew with a chilling ghostly gleam, aiming to tear apart the slender body standing before them.
Bella had her arms crossed in front of those monsters.
And she did nothing.
Papapapak!
Dozens of blades stabbed into the woman’s entire body.
“Miss Bella!”
He had not expected her to stay still like that.
Shocked, Echo screamed and squeezed his eyes shut. In his mind, Bella’s body being horribly cut to pieces and her scream appeared and then vanished.
But no matter how long he waited, no scream was heard.
“……?”
“Kirrk?”
The Voidnir, sensing something strange, let out a puzzled cry.
Hoo. From between the blades of the monsters tangled together in chaos, a low sigh flowed out.
“This will not even serve as a warm-up.”
A clear voice rang out.
Bella, who had been observing the Voidnir with blades stabbed all over her body, let out a sigh.
She stomped her foot.
Crack- the ground split in the shape of a spiderweb, and at the same time,
BOOOOM!
An explosion erupted, and a shock wave burst out.
The blades embedded in her body all broke away, and dozens of monsters were thrown into the air.
The rising dust cleared, revealing a white body outside.
Silver scales rippled beautifully.
Sharp protruding horns jutted from her shoulders and elbows.
A tail protruding from below her waist stretched down to the ground like a whip, and two horns had grown and risen from above her silver hair.
Was it a dragon?
No, her face, arms, and legs were all in human form.
Bella’s revealed appearance looked, in a way, like a female knight wearing silver armor.
A half-human, half-dragon form.
Bella did not need weapons.
She had been born a dragon, and among them, a Silver Dragon said to possess the most powerful body, and she had even learned the strongest martial art, the Adamantine Refinement Great Art.
Her body itself was already the strongest weapon.
Step.
When Bella set her foot down, the group of Voidnir flinched and trembled.
They had instinctively realized that the opponent before them was dangerous.
The Voidnir were combat weapons that did not know fear, but that was only when a command entity existed.
The bastards who were not under control were nothing more than beasts moving only by instinct.
“It has been a while since I faced an enemy in this form.”
Muttering that, Bella seized the head of the Voidnir standing before her, and the dragon’s claws dug into the Voidnir’s skull.
CRUNCH!
There was the sound of bone collapsing whole. The Voidnir whose head had been seized thrashed in pain and clawed at Bella, but only the screeching sound of metal being scraped rang out.
“Be quiet.”
A firm grip seized the bastard’s maw. Bella spread her arms to the left and right.
RIIIIIP—
The writhing body tore apart like a sheet of paper.
Green bodily fluid splattered, and two limp chunks of meat fell to the ground.
Echo’s mouth fell open at the horrifying sight.
Eugene shook his head as if sick of the savage warrior’s performance meant to overwhelm the enemy, and Bella muttered,
“I will kill you all.”
The silver beast leapt into the herd of prey.