Akatsuki Translations

In the City of Sin, Gradol, at the Grand Temple.

The Grand Temple located in the center of the City of Sin, Gradol was originally the imperial castle that had existed in this country. Due to ritual preparations for the worship of the Sun God and pure aging, it had undergone deterioration and repairs countless times, and both its exterior and interior had become completely different from what they once were.

However, there were things that had been maintained for over several hundred years without alteration.

The most notable of these would be the throne praising the Shinra, something unthinkable in other temples that revere the Sun God as supreme. Garldwin Shinra Caraleigh, the current head priest of the temple, sat on the gorgeously decorated throne where the king who once ruled the continent had sat.

A beastperson with red hair, the same as Aesula and Echelle. However, perhaps due to being over 60 years old and ailing, with aging showing on his body, white hair was mixed in with the vivid red color. The man looked terribly irritated and impatient.

“Is there still no report from Aesula?!” -Garldwin

“M-my apologies! It seems there is confusion on site and communication is…” -Attendant

“Then send someone directly, anyone!! *cough*…!!! Ah, damn it!!” -Garldwin

Garldwin’s curses were spat out at his attendants.

The current dragon disturbance, triggered by eyewitness accounts of a dragon-like being appearing in the City of Sin, Gradol, had caused great confusion even within the Temple. However, the one who was most flustered and furious was none other than Garldwin, the top of the Temple.

Amidst the frenzy and confusion, his manner of lashing out at his subordinates was ridiculously comical.

After all, he was originally in a position that could be called the mastermind behind the series of disturbances.

“Why, why is that foolish son doing this?!!” -Garldwin

His relationship with his biological son Aesula was far from good. The structure was one of conflict between Aesula, who held the real power in the country while disregarding his biological father, the top, and Garldwin, who stubbornly clung to never giving up the last throne.

Even in his old age, he loathed and stubbornly refused to hand over his power to Aesula, the young hero. As a result, it created a struggle between blood relatives within the same bloodline and caused a division even within the Temple.

The current disturbance was the culmination of that. This plan to create the ultimate weapon against the hated Proudia had also become a stage for a power struggle over the control of the new weapon.

Aesula himself took command at the scene because he feared that his biological father would usurp control of the weapon.

“Damn it, damn it! Ah, could it be, could it be that he intends to turn Uuga towards Gradol–” -Garldwin

Therefore, the king went berserk. He thought that he could be killed by his own son at any moment, and that was the truth. He didn’t know when or where it would happen. He was wearing down his sanity and becoming paranoid.

No attendant or priest could approach him, and they could only watch from a distance with trepidation… but there was a man who didn’t read the mood and asked him directly.

“Oh! Oh!! King of Gradol! Are you alright?”

It was a young man wearing a white robe with a shaved head. His long ears were a characteristic of elves… however, for some reason, they seemed slightly “short.” His appearance also didn’t seem outstanding among the elves, who were often exceptionally superior. Rather, at first glance, the impression was that of a “dull-looking ugly man.” Moreover, he seemed to have a disability in his leg, as he walked with a cane, dragging one foot.

He had a beaming smile on his face, completely oblivious to the heavy, tense atmosphere of the place. Naturally, King Garldwin was furious.

“Who gave you permission to enter here?! You Nameless fool!!” -Garldwin

“Forgive me, King of Gradol. But I must also fulfill my ‘duty’!”

Duty, there was no falsehood in those words. That was the very reason he, a Nameless one, had entered the temple.

He was none other than Klaulan, one of the top adventurers of the Adventurers’ Guild, a 【Gold Rank】 adventurer.

The reason he was summoned here was to guard against the dragon disturbance that had occurred in Gradol. However, this was actually a scheme orchestrated by the Gradol side this time, a measure to prevent the Gold Rank adventurer who stayed in Gradol from interfering.

Klaulan had to be made to continuously be on guard against a dragon that was not supposed to come. And he must not be made to suspect anything. That was how it was supposed to be, but Garldwin had no room to consider such things.

“Shut up! Disappear!! Don’t interfere!! Otherwise–” -Garldwin

“Hmm, hmm, please calm down, Your Majesty! Actually, I have confirmed a crisis! To be precise, it’s not me, but my beloved children who have.” -Klaulan

“Shu… What? Crisis?” -Garldwin

Along with the words “beloved children,” he turned around. One of the two people accompanying him, a girl who had been hiding behind Klaulan the whole time, appeared.

She was a strange girl. Her animal ears indicated she was a beastperson, but the rest of her skin was like that of a human. Her hair color was a transparent blue. Above all, she was incomparably more beautiful than Klaulan standing next to her.

She impudently pointed at King Garldwin, whose face was bright red.

“Master, that person is done for.”

The air froze at her exceedingly rude way of speaking.

The attendants and priests turned pale, while in contrast, Garldwin’s face turned even redder. As for Klaulan standing in front of her, he slapped his forehead as if to say “oops,” then crouched down and began talking with a pointed lip, making a finger-pointing gesture at the girl’s eye level.

“Seven, my daughter. It’s not good to point at people! It’s considered rude.” -Klaulan

“Is that so? But that person is no good.” -Seven

“Hmm, hmm, that may be true, but there are times when you have to keep quiet even if it’s the truth! You may be forgiven because you’re beautiful, but–” -Klaulan

“Am I cute?” -Seven

“Of course you are! It’s hard to believe that an ugly man like me created such a beauty!” -Klaulan

Ignoring Garldwin’s fury, the two began a mock parent-child education, and the last straw of Garldwin’s patience, which had already reached its limit, snapped spectacularly.

“Th-these, these insolent ones, ki–” -Garldwin

He stood up vigorously, swinging his tin staff, and shouted that, and,

“–ghha???” -Garldwin

his body split open.

“–Huh?” -Attendant

“Y-Your Majesty!? What’s wro–gupa?!!!” -Attendant

And with that as a trigger, the bodies of the attendants and priests began to split open one after another. Split open, that was the only way to describe it. To put it boldly, it was as if a pupa was emerging, their bodies burst open and something came out from inside.

『――――ＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧ』

Squishy, dark lumps of flesh. Where on earth had such things been stuffed? Several ugly, distorted, and gigantic lumps of flesh, reeking of a foul odor, appeared on the spot. Moreover, they were alive. Making a low growling sound that reverberated in the pit of the stomach, they writhed on the ground. They defiled the king’s audience chamber while trampling on the priests from which they had crawled out.

The one where Garldwin was formerly sitting on the throne was no exception, defiling the throne that had been passed down through a long history.

“–【Slimes】, huh. I’m surprised they were stuffed in there like that.”  -Seven

There were hardly any unharmed people left who could hear Seven’s light-voiced remark.

“Hii-hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii?!! Shinra!! King Garldwin!!” -Attendant

One of the few unharmed attendants screamed. He seemed to have no understanding of what had happened. There was no way he could understand. That the royals had suddenly, without any warning, turned into ugly monsters.

『ＧＵＵＵＵＵＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧ！！！』

The slimes let out a roar, though it was unclear where they were emitting it from. And while wriggling, they gathered in one place. The lumps of flesh that seemed to fold over each other were not simply piling up. The raw, mucous sound, the repeated squishing, was the sound of “chewing.” The black lumps were devouring each other, trying to become one.

And their shape changed further. Just like a child playing with clay, bending, bouncing, and gradually taking shape. If there had been someone here who knew about the series of disturbances in Uuga, they would have understood what the giant black monster was trying to form.

Namely, the shape of a dragon which soared through the sky.

『ＧＵＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧ！！！！』

The roar didn’t come from here. It could be heard from all over the castle. It suggested that this hellish sight was not occurring only in this place. Screams echoed from everywhere, and the sound of destruction resonated. And the black lump in front of them also spread its wings. It was about to take flight.

Pointing at the black flying dragon in front of them, the girl named Seven once again declared.

“See, it was no good.” -Seven

“Hmm, well observed, my daughter! But what a disaster!!” -Klaulan

Klaulan lamented while gently stroking his daughter’s head and simultaneously holding his own head. It seemed like he was joking, but his lamentation was also genuine. In fact, Seven patted his head back several times as if to comfort him.

And the other person he had brought with him, a man with the same hair color and features as Seven, stepped forward. Readying the spear on his back, as if to protect his master, he offered a suggestion.

“Master, let’s hurry and get out of here. It’s dangerous.”

The King of Gradol, who had been keeping Klaulan in this place, was already dead. Since Klaulan no longer had a reason to diligently remain here, it was a very sensible proposal.

However, Klaulan shook his head.

“No, Five. There are still unharmed priests and attendants, right?” -Klaulan

As he said, there were indeed attendants and priests in this place who had not split open. They were pitifully screaming with their knees giving out. The young man named Five slightly frowned.

“Are you going to save them? Even though they tried to use us for their own benefit and tie us down?” -Five

“Our job is to protect. Besides, there may be unrelated citizens of the city and Nameless ones outside of them. This chaos is probably not limited to just inside the Temple.” -Klaulan

“They are unrelated people with no blood ties to us.” -Five

“But they shouldn’t have to die, right? These are merely the words of my fellow man, however.” -Klaulan

Klaulan nodded to his own words. Seven nodded to his words just like him and applauded him.

“You’re so cool, Master.” -Seven

“Being praised by my daughter is the best!!” -Klaulan

Klaulan patted Seven’s head again. Five let out a deep sigh.

“…Understood. I’ll inform the other siblings as well. But your safety is the top priority.” -Seven

“Hey, hey, I won’t die that easily either! Prioritize the other powerless ones over me–” -Klaulan

“T h a t i s n i c e.” -Five

“Hmm, my son is scary! Then let’s go with that!! You be careful not to get injured too!” -Klaulan

Five smiled slightly at Klaulan’s words and then gripped his spear tightly. Instantly, with a popping sound, magical power surged around him. Not magic, but the rush of physical magical power that only masters could produce distorted the air around him.

“I’ll keep that in mind. After all, I belong to you.” -Five

“A son who can’t leave his father! That’s also adorable! Well then, shall we go?” -Klaulan

Klaulan tapped the cane he had been using. A giant magic circle was created under his feet. However, what appeared from there was neither an attack spell nor a stored material.

They were people with the same blue hair color as Seven and Five, both men and women. They each held weapons and stood up as if to protect Klaulan.

“I am the【True Human Creator, Klaulan】! My brethren, let us defeat these things in place of the 【Hero】!” -Klaulan

The battle began in the center of the Sin City of Gluttony.

　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

At the same time, in the temporary city of 【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】.

“What the hell is that…?” -Jain

Jain heard such a voice while withdrawing from the forest where he had annihilated the Sun Knights. One of his subordinates pointed with a furrowed brow in the very direction of the forest area where Jain and the others had been fighting until just a moment ago. It was easy to tell because black smoke was still rising.

Of course, what the subordinate was pointing at was not the black smoke.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Something… No, isn’t there something squirming in there?” -Jain

“Something…”

In the smoke, a shadow seemed to be wriggling. Jain also looked back and saw the squirming shadow in the smoke. For a moment, he thought it might be a Sun Knight they had failed to finish off, but he had confirmed with magic that all signs of life had been extinguished.

In the first place, they had already taken quite a distance from the forested area. The black smoke in sight also looked quite thin, but it was a huge conflagration that set the entire area ablaze. If there was “something” that made the smoke appear to waver–

“…What is it?” -Jain

Jain furrowed his brow. The wavering of the black smoke had grown larger.

No, it wasn’t the wavering of the smoke. The swaying shadow in the smoke wasn’t a shadow either. It was just difficult to see because its body was pitch black and the colors overlapped.

That was a dragon. The black dragon that had been rampaging in the temporary city. It,

『『『ＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧ』』』　

appeared in large numbers.

“Wha!!?” -Jain

As if mocking the astonished Jain, a large number of black dragons came flying at a tremendous speed. And they instantly ran over Jain’s head. For a moment, the sun was obscured by pitch-black wings, as if the dark of night had come. And before Jain and the others even had time to react properly, the flock of black dragons had flown away.

However, that wasn’t all.

“Jain-san!!”

One of the subordinates shouted. Their gazes were not only on the forested area, but similar eerie roars were echoing from various directions. And with a slight delay, black dragons began to take flight. The abnormal sight was so overwhelming that even the White Serpent, the silver-ranked adventurer guild, could only be startled.

Jain was of course also similarly confused. However, on the other hand, he also noticed a pattern.

This was an encirclement. It was the formation of the Sun Knights surrounding Uuga. Black dragons had appeared from the group that had been narrowing the circle and closing in…!?

“Wha, what the hell are those!?”  -Rabin

“…” -Jain

Jain didn’t respond to Rabin’s words either. Jain knew where the black dragons were headed. The western part of 【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】, the direction the 【Hero】 had headed. Even Rabin’s 【Intuition】 wasn’t necessary. It was immediately clear that some terrible situation was unfolding.

Jain put the adventurer’s ring he had equipped to his mouth and activated the communication magic.

“Can you hear me, Ur! A large number of dragons flew in your direction! I repeat! Dragons are flying in your direction!!” -Jain

　　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Western Part of Dragon-Devoured Uuga

“……—Shizuku!!!!!” -Ur

“…!!” -Shizuku

With Diz’s sharp warning, Ur reflexively leaped out. He scooped up her body in his arms and withdrew from the spot. At that instant, the place where Shizuku had been was overflowing with a “black mass.”

“Shizuku! Are you alright?!” -Ur

“I’m fine, but…” -Shizuku

While being held by Ur, Shizuku observed the enemy that had tried to attack her and furrowed her brows. The pitch-black liquid mass squirming and defiling the earth, she recognized it from inside Uuga’s body–

“It’s a slime, isn’t it? And this one is…” -Shizuku

Slimes were merely common monsters. The problem was that this black slime was exactly the same as the ones that had appeared inside Uuga’s body, and moreover, this slime had crawled out of Aesula’s ashes of all things.

“Ufufu, ahaha! Playing dead! Isn’t it well done? That child is specially made, so it’s resistant to both fire and ice!! Though the outside seems to have been fragile.” -Yog

Amidst Yog’s voice that sounded like a child boasting, the black slime underwent further changes. It swelled larger and larger, incomparable to its original volume. In no time, it transformed into a giant that must have been several meters tall.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

“Akane!!”  -Diz

《Nyawaaa!!! 》 -Akane

Sensing something, Diz moved first, and Akane responded to it. Stretching her body thinly, she surrounded Ur and the others, forming a barrier. Immediately after that,

『ＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧ』

pitch-black slimes gushed out from various places on the ground.

“F-From where…” -Ur

And their movement wasn’t limited to just the ground.

“Dragons!!”  -Shizuku

“Wha!?” -Ur

Ur, whose processing power had been unable to keep up with the massive amount of information, turned his eyes to the sky at Shizuku’s words. Indeed, they were dragons. The dragons that Ur and the others had defeated inside Uuga, “about several dozen of them were flying toward them in a flock.”

“———-…” -Ur

Ur’s speechlessness was understandable.

What awakened Ur’s frozen thoughts was the communication magic that reached his ring.

《Can you hear me, Ur! A large number of dragons flew in your direction! I repeat! Dragons are flying in you direction!! 》-Jain

“…I can hear you, Jain. We’ve confirmed it here too. It’s happening right now.” -Ur

Ur replied in as calm a voice as possible, but the sight unfolding before his eyes was not something he could calmly observe.

『ＧＧ『ＧＧＧＧＧＧ『ＧＧ『ＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧＧ『ＧＧＧＧ』』』』』

The slimes overflowing from the ground and the flying dragons that had arrived, they were all converging in one place, to where Aesula’s remains were. Slimes of various sizes collided, overlapped, wriggled, and took form.

The initial growth was trivial, and now Ur found himself looking up at the gigantic slime that had swelled up to several dozen meters, with a half-exasperated, half-incredulous expression as if he had been told a joke.

“A【Slime King】…” -Ur

『――――――Ｇ――――ＧＥＧＥＧＥ』

The mountain-like pitch-black squishy lump of flesh distorted. It swayed. The amorphous mass took shape. Wings stretched from its back. Fangs grew. A bloated belly protruded, and disproportionately thick and short arms and legs extended from its torso. They took the form of a dragon. Distorted and ugly, but unmistakably that of a dragon.

“I guess it went pretty well over here? Ufufu, ahahaha!!!!” -Yog

Only the gleeful laughter of the cultist’s severed head resounded distinctly in that place.

Dragon-Devoured Uuga Disturbance Final Battle

【Slime King】 Subjugation Begins