Akatsuki Translations

The Great Dungeon Flood which occurred about 600 years ago.

There are several reasons why humanity, living in extremely limited lands, does not expand toward its occupied territories again such as the barrier of the sun god to protect humanity from the invasion of various monsters, the lack of temple construction and the number of priests supporting it to activate it. Even if they were able to, there are many hurdles such as the cost of construction and the escorts needed to protect against the attacking monsters.

Unless it’s a place like the surroundings of Gradol, where the number of monster appearances is extremely low, it’s difficult to increase the number of satellite cities easily.

However, beyond that, there is an existence that makes city construction and the expansion of human survival zones difficult.

『――――ＺＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥＥ……』

It’s the prowling of “super” large monsters.

Large dungeons outside the survival zone were left unattended, resulting in an overflow, and ferocious monsters from the deep layers spilled out, devouring the magical power above ground, and were left unattended without being defeated by anyone, repeatedly growing without limit. Monsters classified as supergiant-class, which both the Temple and the Adventurer’s Guild deemed impossible to deal with.

With a few exceptions, they don’t actively move and attack cities on their own. However, they occupy the same place, and if humans approach, they will attack as a monster’s instinct dictates.

Due to such habits, there are many blank zones that must never be entered. Those are the most main reasons why humanity is currently forced to give up on expanding the human survival zone.

『ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…………』

The giant “magic flower” dug into the earth, 【Blood Emperor Rose】, is one of them.

With a total length of over 50 meters, the ridiculously tall scarlet flower is beautiful from a distance, but it’s a blood-stained rose that brings death if approached. The endlessly growing thorns on its thick stem tear apart and kill anything that even slightly enters its territory, scattering it on the ground. It sucks the flesh and blood from the roots and blooms even more beautifully.

Its territory is so wide that it’s impossible to approach. As a result, there was no choice but to leave it alone, and the rose, no longer hindered by anything, greedily slaughtered the surrounding beasts, the Nameless who unfortunately strayed off the route, and even fellow monsters, and continued to grow.

Ignoring the optimistic expectation that it would eventually break under its own weight, the monstrous flower, which had already become taller than an ordinary mountain, continued to hunt for prey day after day.

“【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】 【Anti-Supergiant Extermination Roar】 fire.” -Ur

『ZE―――――――――』

Until it was burned away by the destructive light emitted from a giant familiar.

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Inside the command center of Dragon-Devoured Uuga

“…It’s as terrifying as ever. This thing.” -Ur

In a room that controls the commands of Dragon-Devoured Uuga, Ur expressed his thoughts while slightly pulling back, watching the 【Blood Emperor Rose】, which had reigned there for a long time, collapse in an instant through the farseer crystal and fall into a vortex of heat, destruction, and light.

The extermination of the bounty that had been left unattended for many years as difficult to deal with, a battle that should have originally been faced with careful preparation and time, was settled in less than a minute when Uuga was involved. It’s now terrifying to think that this was originally intended to be used as a city siege weapon.

“It’s a good thing we were able to seize it, Ur-sama.” -Shizuku

“I have serious doubts about whether we should be the ones holding it… and strictly speaking, it’s not ours in the first place.” -Ur

Sitting enthroned at the top center of this room, where Ur looks up, is Echelle Loine Raleigh, the current owner of 【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】. She is the master of Uuga. Originally, since the satellite city Uuga is a city that should be under her management, even if the form changes, that connection won’t change.

That’s what he thinks, but as for Echelle herself, she shakes her head and clearly states.

“Uuga belongs to Ur.” -Echelle

“Don’t make things complicated, Echelle.” -Ur

“I am Ur’s, so this is Ur’s.” -Echelle

“Seriously, don’t may that insane claim in front of the guys from Gradol.” -Ur

When Ur says that, she falls silent, but her gaze filled with conviction doesn’t change either.

Even two months after the Uuga incident ended, there was no change in her dependence on Ur. He had hoped that the recent busy situation and passage of time would make things a little better, but her dependence seemed to have intensified instead. It was troubling.

Two months had passed since the incident with the “Dragon-Devoured Uuga”.

This incident, which began when they were attacked by the Dragon of Sin, Lust, reached a tentative conclusion by placing Uuga under control and repelling the Slime King… or so they thought. Troubles often take more time to deal with the aftermath than the problem itself.

Especially this time, rather than Uuga, the 【Primary Star City】 City of Sin, Gradol was hit by far greater chaos, and as a result, Ur’s group, Diz, and Echelle ended up having to spend very busy days explaining the situation.

Of course, they also provided an explanation at the Gradol Temple. However, it was closer to a threatening warning of “don’t disclose the many things you learned this time” rather than an interrogation.

Naturally so. To put it bluntly, this incident was a scandal far beyond disgrace, where “the royal family of Gradol joined hands with an evil cult, plunged the city into evil, and tried to rebel against the Wise Heavenly King.”

On top of that, the rebellious royal family was almost completely wiped out except for the lowest ranks. There were too many points that the scrambling priests absolutely could not make public. If it became public, the ongoing chaos would become even more impossible to settle.

If they spoke, they wouldn’t get off lightly. The priests repeatedly emphasized this with an almost murderous intent, and Ur and the others acknowledged it and even had to make a magical contract. That’s how desperate the other side was.

Thanks to that, they were able to avoid talking about the things they wanted to keep hidden—the matter of Aesula.

Aesula was treated as having died in battle against the evil cultists who plotted in Uuga, and his funeral had already been held. Neither Ur nor Echelle had any intention of delving further into that matter.

Although Ur experienced a dizzying level of busyness in this way, the busyness of Diz and Echelle was even worse compared to Ur’s.

As one of the Seven Heavens and subsequently a representative of the Wise Heavenly King, Diz naturally had to govern the chaos of Gradol in the absence of the Shinra, and it was a big deal for Echelle, whose own family had been caught up in an unprecedented tragedy.

The royal family of the Temple. All their assets, technology, business, secrets, relationships, and transactions were suddenly lost, so filling those gaps was essential. And the surviving Echelle was indispensable for that “gap-filling”.

Of course, it was clear to anyone that it would be difficult, or rather impossible, for her alone to handle the agency of the Caraleigh family. There were other surviving blood relatives, but those who were not involved in this case were, in the end, the kind of people who would be excluded from the Uuga incident, so their abilities were limited. The work was concentrated on Echelle, who was also a central figure in Uuga. The workload became enormous. If Kalkara had not been constantly assisting her with almost no time to sleep, Echelle would probably still be endlessly signing documents in the office of Gradol’s temple even now.

And that sums up the events that occurred over the two months.

The hellish chaos subsided, a new family to take on the role of Shinra was decided, and the succession was completed. At least on the surface, stability was maintained to the extent of feigning tranquility—except for one point, the decision on how to deal with the existence of the 【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】.

　―― It’s a dangerous monster created by evil heretics! It should be disposed of!

　―― How do we dispose of that giant? If we lose control and it goes on a rampage, it will be destruction this time for sure.

　―― If it’s currently under the control of Echelle Loine Raleigh, isn’t that not a problem?

　―― So you’re saying we should leave it alone? Such an existence with so much potential? Nonsense!

　―― Using something we don’t understand without understanding it is not sane!

According to what Ur heard from Kalkara, who was going back and forth between Gradol and Uuga, it seemed that there were also conflicting opinions within Gradol. Naturally so. Ur was also at a loss as to how to handle this existence.

Ur was well aware of his own capacity, and it was true that he was aiming to reach gold rank now, but as expected, this Uuga vastly, enormously exceeded Ur’s capacity.

In a word, he had no idea what to do.

The Gradol side was probably the same. That’s why they requested the extermination of the supergiant-class bounty, the 【Blood Emperor Rose】, which existed around Gradol. To ascertain just how much value this Uuga had.

And this was the result. It eliminated the supergiant-class bounty without any difficulty.

Its value increased even more. It became even more difficult to handle.

“Ur, how’s Uuga’s condition?” -Lynne

“Lynne. As you can see, it has magnificently destroyed the Blood Emperor Rose.” -Ur

“I see. I’m glad the spell formula adjustments went well.” -Lynne

Lynne, who had come to the command tower, was dressed differently from a witch again. It was closer to a craftsman’s work clothes. Only the giant broom-like staff was the sole witch-like part. Currently, she was entrusted with the role of adjusting this incomprehensible existence called Uuga.

Based on her knowledge, technology, and the experience of having been involved in the production process, she was currently entrusted with adjusting Uuga. When she was first ordered to take on that role, Ur thought Lynne would refuse because it would interfere with her research on the White King Formation, but surprisingly, she happily took on that role as well.

The reason is told by the respectful gazes directed at Lynne by the several magicians who came from Gradol to serve as her assistants.

“The White King Formation is amazing. It can even adjust such a giant familiar.” -Assistant

“Praise it more.” -Lynne

It seemed to be a good opportunity to make known the usefulness of the White King Formation.

“Originally, it was the key to operating the city without relying on spirits, so long-term adjustment was the highlight of the White King Formation… Well, Uuga was an exception in many ways and it was tough.” -Lynne

“It was super unbalanced and difficult to modify?” -Ur

“That’s before Uuga was constructed. Once Uuga was born, that stabilized. But still, this familiar is extreme. Especially its means of attack.” -Lynne

The huge core inside its body converges magical power, gives it directionality, and releases it all at once. The 【Ultra Roar】 that had blown away most of the Slime King’s mountain-like body and now toppled the Blood Emperor Rose. It certainly wasn’t on the level of being called extreme.

It was terrifying just to think about what would happen if it was carelessly fired towards the city area.

“Rather, it’s natural to see that it was created for that purpose. Spell formulas clearly designed to interfere with and destroy barriers are incorporated.” -Lynne

“For an attack on Proudia… How insane.” -Ur

Echelle lowered her face bitterly. She probably imagined the situation her younger brother and her own family had tried to bring about, not just the intentions of the heretics.

“I’ve adjusted it now, so there’s no problem. At the very least, Uuga’s current 【Roar】 cannot shatter the barrier of the sun. It’s specialized against monsters.” -Lynne

“That’s a relief for now… I need to communicate that to Gradol as well, including the results this time, using communication magic.” -Ur

“Tell them it was adjusted thanks to the 【White King Formation】!” -Lynne

“Got it. Well then, let’s confirm the annihilation of the 【Blood Emperor Rose】, collect the magic stones, and that’s it. Let’s discuss the results of this time tomorrow.” -Ur

Ur stood up from his chair and stretched. Although he essentially hadn’t done anything this time, being inside this giant familiar and bearing the responsibility of handling it still imposed a strain. If any trouble occurred, the responsibility would be his. With nothing having happened, the burden on his shoulders lifted a little.

“Are you withdrawing, Ur-sama?” -Shizuku

“I’ll stay until the magic stones are collected from Uuga. I’m the guild master after all. The others can disband. Echelle, you don’t need to watch either as long as you give instructions, right?” -Ur

“I’ll stay with Ur.” -Echelle

“…Yeah, well, do as you like.” -Ur

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【Blood Emperor Rose Subjugation Battle: Results】

・Blood Emperor Rose defeat reward: 200 gold coins (held by Gradol)

・Blood Emperor Rose obtained magic stones: Equivalent to 50 gold coins (held by Gradol, partially absorbed by Uuga)

・Drops: Blood crystal petals (held by Gradol)