Akatsuki Translations

The battle in the Babel Sky Garden continued.

An endless onslaught of monster hordes.

And diverse large-scale attacks occurring at irregular intervals.

More monsters had already appeared than a single adventurer might encounter in a lifetime, and the “defense squad” continued to defeat them simultaneously. Yet, this battle was still merely the prologue.

It was a long-term defensive battle with no end in sight. Naturally, it was impossible to maintain peak performance throughout. The Dungeon of Sin, Proudia kept sending out monsters that launched kamikaze attacks without regard for their own lives. Keeping up with that pace was unsustainable.

“Haa!! Damn it!! This is tough!!” Ur exclaimed.

After defeating the second Hundred-Fang Lion, Ur and his team withdrew once. They returned to the inner side of the defensive wall, and the moment they entered the central “operation headquarters,” they collapsed. Fighting higher-ranked monsters in smaller numbers than usual was beyond grueling. The drain on their concentration was extraordinary.

However, the fact remained that despite their desperate efforts, Ur’s team had achieved the least among all the groups.

“The others have taken down about three, huh?” Ur mused.

『That Begude fellow was fighting his fourth one,』 Rock added.

“That’s insane…” Ur remarked.

While gulping down the prepared recovery potions, Ur admiringly commented with a bitter expression. He realized that, as Begude had warned, it was clear to everyone that they were the biggest hindrance.

Indeed, he couldn’t help but have some misgivings. It would have been unreasonable not to feel intimidated.

“There’s no need to overthink this, Ur-sama,” Shizuku reassured him.

“But…” Ur began.

“‘Thanks to’ our participation, we were able to hunt two extra 【Hundred-Fang Lions】 now. While there are conditions for participating in this battle, there’s no upper limit,” Shizuku explained.

As long as Ur’s team didn’t become a significant drag, their participation could only add to the fighting force.

It was an incredibly simple way of thinking. Because of that, there was no room for argument. Regardless of their actual ability or motivations, as long as they could contribute, everyone present would benefit.

Of course, the reality wasn’t quite so simple, but it wasn’t a bad way of thinking. At least, it was far better than brooding like Ur was doing now.

“…You’re right. I guess I should maintain that level of brazenness,” Ur conceded.

“Yes, and—” Shizuku was about to continue when suddenly:

“Proudia is moving!! Be on guard!!” The voice of the Proudia Knights’ barrier team echoed.

Ur and his companions turned to focus on Proudia. However, the swarms of monsters blocked their view, making it difficult to even see Proudia properly.

“Ur-sama, I’ll use 【Footprints】,” Shizuku said.

“Is the sound okay? Won’t it be too loud here?” Ur asked.

“I improved it after the attack on Uuga,” Shizuku replied.

Saying this, Shizuku threw【Heaven’s Weeping Edge】 into the air while holding 【Footprints】 in one hand. As the quietly glowing blade made a bell-like sound, the pages of 【Footprints】 spread open and began mapping.

“Oh…!?”

“Hmm, an interesting grimoire. Which magic author did you buy it from?”

“Save that for later, priest-sama…”

“It’s important to maintain composure. Why don’t you try to be more elegant?”

The adventurers, knights, and Sun Knights resting nearby gathered to see the image of Proudia projected by Shizuku’s Footprints. As the observation team had said, there was a change in Proudia. Above the entrance that continued to spawn monsters like a leaking faucet, several gracefully flapping white wings could be seen.

“Ten underlings! They’re forming a circle!”

“They’re opening a 【Gate】!! Be on guard!!”

About ten underlings appeared and formed a circle above Proudia, which had stopped falling. The convergence of underlings capable of rewriting space itself. Ur had a distinctly bad feeling about this.

Dragons with baby-like heads smiled in unison.

While such a smile might be adorable on a human, seeing it distort into the same exact shape simultaneously across multiple faces was utterly horrifying. The underlings then raised the spears they were holding towards the center of the circle which had created.

The circle turned pitch black. A darkness deeper than the night sky.

『――――――AAAAAAAAAAAAA』

And from that darkness, something began to emerge.

First, enormous, long claws extended out. Next, abnormally long and gigantic limbs bubbled forth. Finally, a head appeared, featureless and flat, but with two large, twisted horns on the sides.

“Over 10 meter tall, large-scale 【Demon】 species have appeared!! They’re equivalent to fourth rank!! And there are multiple of them!!”

“Demon species… Aren’t those monsters from the depths of Greed?”

“Did they go through the trouble of bringing them from the depths of another dungeon? How considerate.”

“Shouldn’t we pull back the adventurers for now?”

The adventurers around Shizuku began to stir uneasily. Even Ur, who had never encountered one before, knew of these infamous monsters by name.

【Demons】

Their forms varied widely, and it was often unclear what specific abilities they possessed. However, they were universally known for their cruelty, immense magical power, and mastery of advanced magic.

They were so dangerous that there were cases where experienced silver-rank parties were wiped out by just a single demon.

And now, multiple had appeared. The tension in the area suddenly spiked.

“What type are they!? If they’re illusion-based, we can counter with the 【Unwavering】 technique!” a Sun Knight shouted.

The abilities of magic-wielding demons were diverse, without any one defining characteristic like other monsters. It was impossible to predict what they might do. The most common were those skilled in illusion and auditory hallucination magic. Countermeasures for these had been prepared. Given the limited number of participants in this battle, equipment was plentiful. After all, the world’s kings were the sponsors.

However,

“…No, no matter how you look at it, it’s not that type, right?” one of the adventurers said.

One of the demons suddenly raised its right hand, palm facing the entry point for monsters in the Solar Aegis.

『【A】』

Instantly, a sinister annihilation light was released from its palm. It instantly vaporized a portion of the monster horde that had already infiltrated the Solar Aegis and struck the knights’ defensive wall.

“Whoa!?”

Everyone at the central supply point inside the barrier fell to their knees from the impact. The magically created footing shook. The knights’ defensive wall, which hadn’t budged even when charged by hundreds of monsters, now shook violently.

“The northwest barrier is crumbling! Move to reinforce it!! Make sure to take out any monsters that manage to infiltrate!”

“They’re gorilla types!! They’re the most troublesome because we don’t have any specific countermeasures!!”

Realizing that arguably the most problematic enemy for this situation had appeared, the warriors began to move frantically. Several moved to address the collapsing situation, while the remaining members discussed countermeasures.

“That was just one attack! If all five of them descend and start rapid-firing, we’re done for!!”

“Can’t Sua-sama do something about this?”

“No, we need Sua-sama to focus on supporting the barrier team. Information squad, what’s the situation with Ikaza-dono?”

“They’re dealing with about ten Hundred-Fang Lions that appeared simultaneously!”

“So Proudia has started gauging the strength of threats against it… That was quick.”

Words were swiftly exchanged among the diverse group, disregarding ranks and positions, and the information squad compiled it all. The headquarters served as a supply base, infirmary, and operation room all in one. All this information was passed to the commanders, who would select what seemed to be the best course of action.

“May I say something?”

Amidst the chaos, Ur suddenly raised his hand. Sharp, intense gazes turned to him in unison. The looks clearly said, “If this is a waste of time, we’ll kill you.” Ur broke into a slight cold sweat.

“What is it, boy?” someone asked.

“Can I try it? That thing.”

Everyone present understood the meaning behind those short words.

When Ur joined, everyone had the details of the “weapon” he brought thoroughly ingrained in their minds. They knew its capabilities, of course. However,

“We’ve heard about it, but will it work? The distance is considerable.”

Even for these battle-hardened warriors, it was a superweapon unlike anything they’d seen before. It was understandable that they would question its effectiveness. But there was no hesitation in Ur’s expression.

“That’s why we should test it. While we still have some leeway.”

There was no room for argument against those words. The knight who had questioned Ur thought for a moment, then nodded as if he had made up his mind. He turned to face the commander of this operation seated at the center of the headquarters.

“…Captain Victor!!”

“What is it?!”

“The adventurer in question is requesting permission to use the【Dragon-Devoured】 against the demon species that have appeared.”

“Permission granted!! Strike the moment the demon species enter the Solar Aegis!!”

It was an instant decision. The knight nodded to Ur. Ur took a deep breath to calm himself, then spoke to his adventurer’s ring.

“Lynne, Echelle. Can you do it?”

                  ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】

Echelle, receiving the communication magic from Ur’s ring, responded while shaking slightly.

“Yeah, I’m fine…!!”

While clearly aware that he was shaking with nervousness, Echelle responded. His hands were unpleasantly drenched in sweat. He understood that this wasn’t good, getting like this before anything had even started, but he couldn’t relax his shoulders or stop the nausea.

“Echelle-sama. Uuga is also under the King’s concealment magic. No matter how much it rampages, it won’t be exposed.”

“I know. I know. I’m fine…”

Responding to Kalkara’s words, she took several deep breaths. She knew she wasn’t in a good state. Haste and nervousness never lead to good results. Echelle was desperately trying to control herself.

“You might as well relax, since there’s little you can do in this situation anyway,” Lynne said, addressing her.

She stood at the center of the command tower, wearing her full equipment used when deploying the White King Formation, along with “gauntlets” as beautiful as the night sky. She gazed intently at Proudia and the giant demon species that had appeared above it, reflected in the farseer crystal.

“Lynne,” Echelle called.

“Don’t worry. Even if you make some ridiculous mistake—”

She gripped her staff tightly and thrust it into the ground like a sword. The broom-like tip of the staff split into countless strands, spreading out around her in an instant.

“The White King Formation is invincible.”

“…Yeah.”

Echelle nodded at Lynne’s confident declaration. Her trembling ceased. Her usual demeanor, bordering on madness, brought Echelle a sense of comfort.

It was just the same thing they had been doing for the past few months against various giant monsters. There was no need to rush.

“【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】 【Ultra-Long Range】 【White King Guided Convergence Cannon】 ready!!!”

　　　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

The giant figure over 2 meters tall, the blue-furred beastperson, the Proudia Knights Captain, Victor Bluesky

When asked for permission to use the 【Dragon-Devoured】, his thought was “might as well give it a try.”

To begin with, this 【Sun-Devouring Ceremony】 was a decisive battle that could potentially determine the fate of the world. Its preparation required extensive time, resources, planning, and training. The coordination of the knights serving as the barrier in place of the 【Solar Aegis】 was especially crucial.

The selection of participants and their coordination training took years.

In short, it was impossible to suddenly incorporate something that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the past few months into the strategy.

For the strike force centered around adventurers, there was no issue with adding last-minute participants. Having more combatants was always welcome.

It was fine for promising new adventurers to join that unit. Exposing rookies with potential to the heat of battle was extreme but could provide good experience.

However, it was difficult to decide what to do with something as massive as the 【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】. He had heard of its capabilities and confirmed its results. But it was far too new. There wasn’t enough track record to rely on it. They couldn’t base their strategy around it in the end.

That’s why they were giving it a try.

It would be helpful if it could at least serve as a fixed artillery position, but at worst, as long as it didn’t accidentally hit allies, anything would do. They could just leave it be.

The current position of the 【Dragon-Devoured】 was at a distance from not only the 【True Babel】 but also from Proudia. Due to its sheer size, it couldn’t get extremely close to Proudia. Its 【Roar】 would naturally be an ultra-long-range cannon from that distance.

There was even a question of whether it would hit accurately.

“The demon species have entered through the hole in the 【Solar Aegis】. They will descend into the Sky Garden soon!!!”

Listening to the information squad’s report, Victor confirmed the demons’ descent. The hole in the 【Solar Aegis】 was guided to open at the position furthest from the center of Babel. Thus, the demons’ landing spot was at the edge of the garden. If possible, he wanted to deal with them before they approached the barrier, but—

“Uuga’s 【Roar】 is coming. Everyone, please don’t move,” Ur of 【The Walker】’s voice sounded.

Simultaneously, a white flash of light shone for an instant from the northeast.

『AAAAAAAAAAAAA——————A?』

The flash was instantaneous.

Among the warriors present, hardly any could follow its movement with their eyes.

Victor, an outstanding commander and expert, barely managed to track it with his eyes. The light pierced through the bodies of several descending demons. Moreover, this light “returned” multiple times, tearing the demons to shreds as if sewing them together.

It wasn’t just a heat ray aimed solely at destruction like the giant demon had used earlier.

It was clearly a highly sophisticated magical destruction.

『AAA!!! AA!! AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!??!』

Faced with the light’s omnidirectional trampling, the demons were helpless. The five large demons that had appeared soon collapsed, their bodies riddled with numerous large holes.

It was an instant kill. All the warriors who witnessed this scene cheered.

“This might be an extraordinary reinforcement——but,” Victor also exclaimed in admiration. However, he simultaneously shouted with a stern expression:

“【Walkers】! Have the 【Dragon-Devoured】 be on guard!!”

There was strong conviction in the general’s tone. He was a battle-hardened veteran who had experienced this 【Sun-Devouring】 numerous times. He thoroughly understood the behavior, or rather the nature, of the 【Dungeon of Sin, Proudia】.

Tenacious and cowardly, therefore—

“Proudia will take notice of it!!”

There was no way it would leave an entity it considered a threat to do as it pleased.