Manowa

「Whoa, seriously!?」

Lyle said reflexively, and everyone in that place had the same impression. They had truly abruptly welled up.

The impetus for this event was dowsing. Kazane"s planned dowsing with the Artifact『Infinite Key』bore fruit with a reaction underground, just like Morphia suspected at the beginning.

Excavating the ground was fundamentally a laborious task, but it wasn"t difficult work for Kazane. She immediately used Golem Maker to dig a hole in the direction of the reaction to try to burrow to the Magic Life Stone in one go. Up until a dreadful number of Military Ants came swarming out.

Then Kazane shouted「Gyaaaaa!」

「Kazane? Kazane!? Ah, her eyes rolled back in her head!?」

When Kazane was suddenly shocked into grogginess by the situation, Yumika supported her and pulled back.

Insects alone weren"t a problem for Kazane, but swarms were absolutely no good. A long time ago, she fell asleep on the porch while holding ice cream, and the detestable memory of waking up with her arm dyed jet black was brought back.

No matter how much time pa.s.sed, no matter how much she tried to seal away that memory, the past eternally pursued and tortured Kazane. It might be the grudge from flooding their nest while saying「Water torture.」

「Jeez, it can"t be helped. We"ll rout them with my Thunderstorm, Naoki"s magic swords, and Tatsuo"s Beam!」

「Roger. I"ll wipe Aneki"s backside for her. Nn, I"ll wipe her backside? Well, I can"t be helped. Let"s wipe Aneki"s backside.」 [TL: Kanji for b.u.t.t-wiping can mean literally wiping your b.u.t.t, but is usually an idiom for cleaning up somebody else"s mess, and Naoki gets distracted by thinking about Kazane"s b.u.t.t because, well... he"s Naoki.]

『Kuu, Mother"s killers. Please leave it to me.』

Naoki was operating normally. And in Tatsuo"s mind, it seemed Kazane was dead.

Louise fired Thunderstorm at the swarm of Military Ants. Then Naoki continually fired his dragon flame magic sword"s Breath attack, and Tatsuo also continually fired his Beam.

The White Party had a small repertoire when it came to area and penetrating attacks. To begin with, those three people suppressed the appearing monsters while their companions moved to attack the ones who slipped through.

「Muu, it looks like it"s my Railgun"s turn.」

『There is a tunnel underground. It will collapse. Idiot.』

Jinrai pretended to ponder when he simply wanted to shoot, and Mefirus stopped him.

Anyhow, the Military Ants were coming out one after another, and Louise and the other"s Magic Power wasn"t infinite. Tiara"s Flame Knights and Tatsuyoshi-kuns Dragoon and Normal boxed them in, and they used human wave tactics to exterminate the ants.

And after continuing to kill them for almost an hour, Military Ants finally stopped coming out of the hole.

「Is, is it finally settled?」

Tiara was tired, and she slumped on the spot. By the way, Tiara had been vigorously operating the summoned knights, but naturally, the person herself was in the rear. She had been entrusted with Kazane by Yumika and had been cuddling to comfort her while she operated her summoned knights in the back. And Kazane was settled in Tiara"s cleavage. It seemed she felt a mother-like sense of security from that valley.

Then Kazane said「It"s over? It"s really over?」with teary eyes. Her mental age seemed even lower than her appearance suggested.

While stroking her head, Tiara watched the hole for a while, but nothing came out. So Tiara tenderly said「It"s okay already」to Kazane. It seemed Kazane finally calmed down, and she left Tiara"s chest and tottered over to the hole.

「Are you okay?」

「Hahahaha. I don"t know what you"re talking about.」

Kazane so replied to Jinrai"s question, her eyes still full of tears.

「Well then. Since it has calmed down, I"ll quickly deal with this.」

Kazane said strongly, her mind full of doing something to this hole by whatever means possible. She wanted to forget it had ever existed. However, even if she filled it, she wouldn"t be able to stand the thought of the creatures swarming beneath the ground. She wanted to hit the entire nest with something like insect repellent, but she didn"t have such a Skill. So she decided to use another Skill as a subst.i.tute.

「Skill・Dragonization」

A blue dragon appeared when Kazane"s Skill was activated. Tatsuo said『Mother has revived from the bottom of h.e.l.l』, but Kazane never died. And it seemed that in Tatsuo"s mind, Kazane was going to h.e.l.l.

Then with all her strength, blue dragon Kazane ama.s.sed Dragon Spirit in her dewlap and transformed it, then immediately thrust her head toward the hole and emitted Crystal Breath.

That Breath permeated the hole and Crystallized everything within range. Kazane continued to emit Breath until her Magic Power was exhausted, and when everything was finished, Kazane cancelled Dragonization and collapsed on the spot. While saying『I did it』.

By the way, Morphia had been watching from the side, and the succession of the Devil King"s secrets had been established in his mind: first form= young girl, second form= black armor, and final form= dragon. The Devil King"s true figure was a dragon. The connections, such as the matter of her conversing with the huge dragon, now all made sense to Morphia.

And the crystal cavern was completed. Kazane immediately entered the transparently shining cavern entrance without resting. She was scared, but she wanted to confirm with her own eyes that she had killed them. She wanted peace of mind.

Aside from Kazane, who had the『Night Vision』Skill, the other members couldn"t move freely in the dark. Yumika hurriedly took out an Indestructible Crystal Lamp and followed after her, and Jinrai and Morphia accompanied her as well. The other members would stand by on the surface. There was the possibility that monsters would approach. Not everyone could go underground.

Also, Yuuko-nee didn"t follow her master. She crouched on the spot and started napping instead. This was an action to make up for Kazane"s lack of Magic Power through Photosynthesis, and Tatsuo immediately jumped into her fluff, forming a healing field.

◎ Angelite City, Crystal Cavern

「This is quite the fantastic scene, isn"t it.」

That was Yumika"s first impression after entering inside. Illuminated by the light of the Indestructible Crystal Lamp, the cavern was shining up to the end of the pa.s.sage. Kazane"s Crystal Breath had completely Crystallized the outer layer of the cave.

「Hmm. An ant nest? It looks like they burrowed here for the Magic Life Stone.」

「It"s only slight, but there"s a scent. Some are still alive.」

Kazane said while glaring at the depths. She was able to confirm with her『Dog"s Sense of Smell』Skill that there weren"t enough monsters to make a swarm, so composure could be seen in her facial expression.

「Since they"re still alive, does that mean they aren"t normal Military Ants?」

「I think so. They seem strong. There"s also something different a little behind them. It also seems stronger than a Military Ant, but it looks like it"s been weakened by Crystallization.」

Crystal shards crunched underfoot as Kazane replied to Jinrai"s words while she walked. Morphia silently watched that scene.

(What is this appearance? That girl made this place that looks like a G.o.dly realm. It couldn"t be... is she some kind of divine spirit?)

It seemed his perception had been slightly revised from Devil King to something with divine attributes.

And with her mental stability regained from the surroundings calming down, Kazane noticed that Yumika walking together with her was somehow strange.

「Nn. Yumika, what"s up?」

Yumika was startled like she had just noticed her as she turned her gaze to Kazane after her question, but she simply groaned「Mmm...」She was about to say something, but she replied「After all, later.」

「I"m curious, though.」

「Sorry. I want to talk in a calm place. Right now is a little...」

If she was that insistent, Kazane had no choice but to give up. It looked like she was willing to talk about it, so she thought she"d ask again once they left this place. Right now, she would concentrate on what was ahead.

On the way, they caught sight of several swarms of Crystallized Military Ants, so Kazane and the others destroyed them as they advanced. Crystallization from Crystal Breath was a Status Abnormality, so they weren"t dead. The possibility of them being resurrected was low, but it was safer to finish them off.

Then, when Kazane and her companions proceeded further, they came into an open s.p.a.ce.

「That?」

「That.」

Kazane nodded after Jinrai"s remark.

There was a huge ant at the bottom of the s.p.a.ce. There were large glowing purple gems and stones on its abdomen, and it was surrounded by partially Crystallized ants that looked two sizes bigger than Military Ants.

「Queen Military Ant and Guard Military Ants? Well, as expected?」

Morphia frowned after Jinrai spoke.

「There"s a hole in the back. That direction is... Mt. Mordo? I see.」

「You"ve realized something?」

Jinrai asked after Morphia muttered. Then Morphia answered Jinrai"s question.

「Since about 20 years ago, there has been a bizarre increase in the number of Military Ants in the mountains beyond Parne Village in the west. But the cause was unclear. The only method was trying to decrease their number, but...」

「Did they exit over there after being born here?」

「It"s quite a distance from here, but it makes sense if they were born here. We haven"t been able to exterminate them for the last 20 years. It seems the only result was wasting our time.」

This place was only discovered due to Kazane"s『Infinite Key』and『Golem Maker』. There was a good chance that this place would have been left undiscovered for decades without her.

「So then, what to do? Shall we call everyone?」

The opponents seemed to be reasonably powerful monsters. It seemed the Magic Life Stone was already incorporated as a Core, so that probably made them even stronger.

「Hah, Yumika and I alone are sufficient for this degree.」

However, it seemed Jinrai was already eager. Even if they were said to be strong, they were a species stronger than Civil Ants but weaker than General Ants. Their rank was considerably lower than the Odan.o.bunagas they had fought on the surface.

Morphia immediately started preparing for battle. Jinrai and Kazane, the greatest war potential as far as he could see, were here, so if they intended to fight, he had no objections. Also, Yumika muttered「Eh, we"re doing it alone?」after it was decided, and Jinrai scolded her by saying「Stop being absent-minded.」

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Summoning Fighter

t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Draghorn Tonfa x2, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Eating Ogre King"s Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Acc.u.mulator, White Magic Acc.u.mulator, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring

Level : 36

Health: 145

Magic Power: 304+420

Strength: 67+20

Agility: 71+14

Endurance: 38

Wisdom : 72

Dexterity : 47

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior"s Memory: Lv2』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog"s Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv3』『Rush』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『High Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『St.u.r.dier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Devil King"s Intimidation』『Stone Minotaur: Lv2』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『s.p.a.ce Expansion』『Pseudo-Silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』『Boost』『Monkey"s Strong Arm』『Two-sword Style』『b.o.o.bies Plus』『Living Armor』

Kazane:「I hate swarms.」

Yumika:「Weren"t you fine with the Monster House in Rock Hold Cave?」

Kazane:「At that time, there were creatures other than insects as well. It"s only no good when they"re all moving together as a swarm.」