NOVEL WEB Chapter 65
65. My Dragon Fang Beast
The deepest part of the Demon King’s castle──.
“…You’ve already returned, Dielva?”
“The preparations are complete. Now we wait here──”
Responding to Meriel’s question, the Demon General Dielva spoke calmly.
His expression was unreadable from the void beneath his hood.
In fact, it was uncertain if he even had facial features at all.
“Preparations, you say?”
“Explain, Dielva.”
At the Demon King’s command, Dielva bowed respectfully.
“Yes. I have placed a barrier at the location where the one with divine power resides──the capital that humans call Gran Adonis.”
“A barrier?”
“Observe.”
An image appeared in front of Dielva.
It seemed to show the capital, Gran Adonis.
Five pillars were erected at equal intervals near the city walls.
“As you can see, I have constructed a barrier by placing pillars in a pentagram shape around the capital’s outskirts. Unless all of these are destroyed, the humans of the capital cannot leave. Furthermore, no one can enter from outside.”
──In other words, they are trapped.
Meriel swallowed hard.
Sweat beaded on her clenched fist.
Alice and Lilith, who lived in the capital, were likely still there.
They couldn’t escape, nor could they receive help from outside──.
“Additionally, to guard the pillars, I have stationed my Dragon Fang Beasts.”
“Dragon Fang Beasts…?”
“They are special beasts created by fusing the fangs of Greed, the ancient dragon who once boasted enough power to slay gods and demons, with my soul.”
Dielva answered the Demon King’s query.
These beasts, combining the power of ancient dragons and high-ranking demons, were indeed formidable.
But──.
(You seem quite confident, but will it really go that smoothly? Humans can be surprisingly resilient.)
Meriel muttered to herself, then suddenly realized.
Had she begun to side with the humans?
Was she worried about those twin sisters…?
She thought, then was horrified.
(This can’t be. I am Demon General Meriel. There’s no way I would harbor feelings for mere humans…)
“Is something wrong, Meriel? You look unwell.”
“N-no…”
She stiffened at the Demon King’s question.
“Is there a problem with my plan? There is no need to worry.”
Misinterpreting her silence, Dielva continued to explain.
“If I were to directly unleash harm upon humans, I would quickly exceed the time I can remain in the human world. However, by returning to the demon realm and leaving the Dragon Tooth Beasts behind──there will be no problems.”
“…I see.”
“Of course, my avatars can only stay in the human world for a limited time… but this spell doesn’t require much time.”
Dielva turned back to the nodding Demon King.
“Soon, everyone in the capital will perish. When the poison from the pillars fills the city──no human will survive.”
※
“The situation is urgent.”
The guild branch chief in the capital said immediately.
After that, all the adventurers in the building were gathered in the hall.
There were about a hundred of them.
The others seemed to be out on assignments.
“According to reports, five mysterious pillars have appeared on the outskirts of the capital. All of them are emitting a strong corrosive poison mist.”
The branch chief had a stern expression.
“Already, there have been significant casualties among the residents of the outermost layer──the fifth layer. To prevent the poison mist from spreading further into the capital, we have deployed all our mages to create a barrier, but it is gradually being corroded. At most, it will hold for three hours.”
“Can’t we use wind magic to blow the poison mist out of the capital?”
One of the adventurers suggested.
“Of course, that was the first thing we tried. But it didn’t work. The five pillars also function as a barrier device, sealing the entire capital. We can’t blow the poison mist out.”
“Which means we can’t evacuate the residents outside the capital either.”
“That’s right.”
The branch chief nodded bitterly.
“So, our only option is to destroy all the pillars and lift the barrier sealing the capital. After that, we can blow the poison mist away. If we fail, the poison mist will eventually engulf the entire capital. All the residents will perish, including the royal family…”
In short, the strategy could be summarized as──.
[Destroy all the pillars within three hours. If we fail, everyone in the capital will die.]
──That’s the situation.
Following last month’s Gairasvrim invasion, the capital was in crisis again.
“Each pillar appears to be guarded by a beast. First, we must defeat them, then destroy the pillars. I wish each team the best of luck. That’s all!”
──After the strategy briefing, we were divided into five groups.
Due to the special nature of this mission, rank restrictions were lifted, allowing me, a D-rank adventurer, to participate.
Normally, the rank of adventurers allowed to participate in missions is restricted based on the threat level of the enemy, but given the situation, as many people as possible were needed.
I was assigned to Team A with Lilith and Alice.
And the team leader──.
“Team A is all here. Let’s destroy the pillars and save the capital!”
Ivy shouted passionately.
“I’ll complete this mission and earn my sister’s praise… Hehehe.”
“By the way, can’t we call Luca and the others? They would be a great help.”
“As long as we can’t leave the capital, we can’t contact them. Besides, no one can enter the capital from outside.”
“I see…”
So, we’ll have to manage with the adventurers in the capital.
The royal knight order was also asked for assistance, but their expertise was primarily against humans.
They wouldn’t be much help against magical beasts.
All the mages were deployed to maintain the barrier against the poison mist, so we couldn’t rely on them either.
Essentially, the success of the mission depended on the adventurers──.
Ten minutes later, our team A quickly gathered our equipment and set off towards the capital’s western outskirts.
Our team consisted of two A-rank adventurers, including Ivy.
Five B-rank adventurers, including Lilith and Alice.
And eleven of us C-rank and below.
A total of eighteen members headed straight for the pillars spewing poison mist──.