◈ 223. [STAGE 9]
Even with the shutdown protocol, it’s late at night.
“Whoop whoop whoop.”
I gasped and glared at the last werewolf in front of us.
It was the last gray werewolf.
The man whose limbs had already been ripped off was gasping for murky breath with bloody cries from his torn lungs.
The battle with the last werewolf cubs was really boring.
These guys did everything they could to stop us from destroying the core.
Not only do they take turns attacking and interfering, but they also break the drill to destroy parts and die while being stabbed by our swords and spears.
Wouldn’t I die hugging the nerve centers with my body before collapsing?
As if trying to protect this nerve center.
But that nasty resistance was over.
“Is this the ending that disturbed us until it crawled out of the snake’s ass hole, you bastard?”
I put my middle finger up in front of the last werewolf’s face.
“Yeah~ No matter how much you mess with the balance, I will clear it. Please continue to scream like that in the future. We’re going to eat them all deliciously and use them to help raise our children.”
Rules of RPG. Trials that don’t kill me only make me stronger.
‘I ate enough experience points for 40 werewolves, and I’ll take care of additional rewards after clearing them.’
Thinking so, I looked down at the werewolf,
but I smiled.
laughed
the guy
As if very satisfied.
“… What are you breaking apart, you monster?”
I mumbled because I was dumbfounded.
“We have accomplished our goal, humans.”
A verbal answer came back unexpectedly.
I didn’t know how to spit out the words, so he continued to mumble to me, who was surprised.
“We took as much time as we aimed for. Now you guys can’t stop the snake.》
“What are you talking about this… .”
I tried to continue the conversation, but he stopped breathing.
I looked down at that corpse with a furrowed brow, then looked up at the nerve center.
Around the nerve center, the corpses of the last werewolves were piled close to each other.
The figure bathed in the bright moonlight is somehow like a bone clad in leather.
I got goosebumps. I gritted my teeth and turned on the system window.
[Jormungand – Part Destruction Progress]
– 1st Center: 86%
– 2nd Center: 99%
– 3rd Center: 100%
When you think that the 2nd Center is almost over.
Tring!
Along with the notification sound, the destruction of the second core part was also completed.
All that remains now is this head part.
I took a flare gun from my pocket, loaded a yellow flare, and fired it upwards.
Pyuuuu- boom!
The meaning of the yellow flares is ‘Gathering Order’.
Now all the party members in the back row will gather together with their heads. All you have to do is work together to break the last nerve center.
I turned my gaze to the main party members.
Everyone was covered in blood and suffered minor injuries, but they didn’t show it and are trying to resume the destruction of the parts.
“Just break this fucking horn and it’s all over.”
I shouted, kicking the last nerve center with my foot.
“Let’s do our best for the next few hours!”
The party members nodded their heads in unison and began tearing the corpses of werewolves that were attached to their nerve centers.
I also glanced north while helping out.
The figure of the Crossroads was much closer than before.
My mouth was dry. I turned my attention to tearing apart the werewolf’s body again.
***
It took quite some time to remove the werewolves’ corpses from the nerve center.
By the time the work was finished, the party members in the back row rode hooks one by one and joined them with their heads.
“If you break only this damn thing, the three days of hard work will be over, right?”
Kuilan, who had been playing around with the drill all day, and the punishment squad members, who were yellowing, shouted and grabbed the drill and began to break the nerve center.
“Please take a vacation and give me a generous bonus, Your Highness!”
“Don’t give. Of course you won’t take care of it.”
Everyone was in a mess, but they desperately clung to the final destruction of the nerve center.
Kaga gagak-!
While the 5 members of the penal unit went to work on destroying the parts, the main party members stepped back and took a short break.
In particular, the condition of Junior, who continued to fight despite injuries, was very bad.
Evangeline put Junior’s head on her lap and slept for a while.
I was tired too, so I ran my hand over my messy forehead, but Reina flew in on a hook and spoke to me.
“majesty.”
“Why but Sir Reina.”
“It’s not long until the crossroads.”
Reina muttered as she glared at the crossroads now clearly visible to the naked eye. I kept my mouth shut.
“At this speed, we’ll reach the wall within the next hour.”
“… What do you want to say, Sir Reina?”
“Can you stop this snake in just an hour, Your Highness?”
I didn’t answer.
Even while they were talking, the wall was getting closer every moment.
‘Damn it.’
If 10% of the durability of the last part of the three nerve center parts is destroyed.
At this time, various hardening buffs are applied to the last nerve center.
In other words, it becomes stronger. This means that it is more difficult to destroy than before. This is the final gimmick.
Time is running out.
barely… … not enough
“… majesty.”
Rayna kicked the bottom of her feet.
“You said this snake, Jormungandr, is a ‘devourer of civilization’. Crush the world, eat civilization, and increase my size.”
“… okay.”
“Then it will grow bigger after crossing the wall and eating the crossroads. After that, there will be virtually no way to stop it, right?”
“Yes.”
There was silence for a moment.
“… majesty. Did you know that human sacrifice has been practiced in the ecliptic?”
At the sudden talk, I turned to Reina. The old wizard’s face was expressionless and cold.
“okay. They extracted mana through human sacrifice and used it to activate the Dark Beast Everblack.”
“It is our magic corps that is in charge of the human sacrifice.”
Regarding the story of killing and burning people, Reina spat out lightly in the tone of ‘taking care of accounting’.
“It’s because they are better at using magic than any other army in the empire. So, we moved from the 1st corps to the center of the imperial family and took full responsibility for human sacrifice, burning prisoners and prisoners for firewood.”
I frowned, not hiding my displeasure.
“… Why are you telling me that story now, Sir Reina?”
“majesty.”
Reina took a deep breath and said,
“I’ll finish it and tell you. Right now, a human sacrifice magic circle called ‘Shutdown Protocol’ has been installed on the Crossroads.”
… made a crazy sound.
I opened my eyes.
“what?”
“While Your Highness was away, we, who came down as reinforcements, installed it here. In fact, that was the reason for our dispatch.”
To me who was frozen, Reina continued to explain without hesitation.
“Since Your Highness was excessively hostile to the Center and showed signs of rebellion, the Center decided that it was necessary to put His Highness on a leash. So I installed it.”
“What is that-.”
“To be used as a means of intimidation in the future if Your Highness does not comply with the imperial family’s orders. It was done in secret. I only engraved the magic circle and didn’t supply magic power, so it didn’t get noticed by others.”
My trembling hands clenched my fists tightly.
“When this shutdown protocol is activated, all humans within the dungeon are burned, and all spaces in the area are magically stuffed using that immense energy. This space becomes impossible to invade from the outside.”
“… .”
“It is mainly installed in areas suspected of rebellion or areas of conflict with enemy countries. I just set it up and monitor it, and if an impure movement is detected, boom!”
Reina snapped her fingers and laughed bitterly.
“… It’s kind of like this magic.”
Knock!
I rushed in and grabbed Reina by the collar. He gritted his molars and spat out words.
“So now I have bomb necklaces hanging around the necks of my citizens… ! Why are you kindly telling me, Sir Reina?”
“… Because by invoking this protocol, Jormungandr can be stopped.”
Reina looked up at me with emotionless eyes.
“You are the one who said that the world will perish if Jormungand is not stopped, Your Highness the Prince.”
“… !”
“There is New Terra, the ecliptic, due north of the Crossroads. What would happen if Jormungandr became even bigger and trampled on New Terra?”
I pictured a giant snake stomping on the beautiful coastal city I had seen just a few weeks ago.
“The lives of millions of New Terra residents are at risk. Is that all? Every city in Jormungand’s path will be wiped out.”
“… .”
“Half of the empire’s population and over 80% of its industry are concentrated in the ecliptic. If the ecliptic is lost, the empire is doomed. As a soldier, I have the duty to protect the imperial capital.”
Rayna calmly affirmed.
“Wouldn’t it be a cheap price if the entire empire could be preserved with the lives of tens of thousands of Crossroads citizens?”
“I am the lord of Crossroads! Do you think I would tolerate that?!”
“I am a soldier of the Empire. majesty. What I want to protect is the well-being of the empire and the imperial family, not the preservation of these provincial towns.”
Reina glanced to the north.
“Two of my men are already preparing for the magic circle maneuver.”
I clenched my fists.
The two wizards who initially fell out when Jormungand was swept away by a landslide.
Could it be that it wasn’t a dropout, but a deliberate departure… … !
“And when I send a signal to this beacon, it will immediately run the shutdown protocol.”
Reina took out a black beacon from her bosom and waved it.
“Then this snake will stop from crossing the crossroads and we will have time to break the nerve center.”
“Do you think I would accept an offer like that?!”
“Didn’t you say that you would fight to protect the world, Your Highness? Please judge soberly.”
Shaking the switch in her hand, Reina coldly shook her head.
“Crossroads and the world. Will you lose both or just one?”
“… ”
“If Your Highness cannot judge correctly.”
Reina put her finger on the beacon in her hand.
“… I have no choice but to decide at my own discretion.”
***
same time. cross road.
“How eerie the city is empty… .”
“Haha that’s right. Everyone has fled to the top.”
Walking through the alley in front of the temple, Damian and Kureha were exchanging casual conversations.
While all the residents evacuated to the north of the city, the two secretly remained in the city to spend time together.
They hid and slept, ate, and hid together in the corner of the alley even when people from the temple came looking for them and called their names.
In short, it was a bad comrade.
“Isn’t this kind of fun?”
The two became friends in a few days, and Kureha, who was older, was talking to Damian.
“I’m going to get a bit scolded after tomorrow, but it’s fun because I don’t listen to my mom and I feel like I’m going out to play.”
“Hahaha I will.”
After the evacuation order ends tomorrow, Marherita and Lily will be very upset.
Damian’s face was quite relaxed because it was thrillingly fun to do something that he was told not to do.
“It’s time for monsters to attack soon… … .”
Looking towards the southern wall, Damian murmured.
It was time for the monster to attack soon, so both of them couldn’t sleep, so they were walking along these empty streets at night.
“… I always participated in defense battles, but since we’re so far away… … .”
“How about rather?”
“I am more nervous.”
Damian looked down at his empty hands.
“I thought it would be comfortable if we were apart… .”
“… .”
Hearing the words of a boy who would be more suited to being away from the battlefield, Kureha looked at Damian with a little pity. The moment you want to say something.
“huh?”
“what?”
Found something strange.
The central square of the city where the two of them had just entered.
Obviously no one should be here… … Two wizards in white robes and black uniforms drew a bloody magic circle.
They were two wizards from the reinforcement party. Damian blinked.
Surely they weren’t the ones who left to defeat Jormungand?
“What are you doing there, wizards?”
Damian, who was hesitant, shouted and asked,
“… Eh?”
“… omg!”
Wizards Kitty and Piggy from the reinforcement party, who were preparing for the shutdown protocol, broke into a cold sweat.
An awkward silence passed between the four of them.
