Shinka no Mi

Chapter 167: Unknown Monster

“Fua~a…… I slept well.”

“Ah, Vitor-sama.”

Vitor the ?Resonance?, who is a 『Deity』 of the Demon God’s cult, got up while scratching his head.

In front of Vitor who woke-up, the apostles who were conducting research and certain plans in the 【Land of Anguish】 as instructed, stretch their backs all at once.

Without worrying about such states, Vitor called out to a nearby apostle.

“So? What’s it like?”

“Wha? What’s it like……?”

“Iya, I heard from Yutis that the Demon King strengthens monsters when he appears, and was sealed but, I don’t know anything else.”

In the Demon God’s cult, the apex is the Demon God, the 『Deities』 are in the next position, below that is the 『Apostles』, and even among the 『Apostles』, there was a hierarchy according to strength and contribution.

And the 『Apostles』 who were entrusted with the research of this 【Land of Anguish】, although their combat power is low, they were very active in terms of research.

Nonetheless, the people here aren’t in a position to move directly for the Demon God, and are placed in the lower stratum of the Demon God’s cult.

That’s why Yutis and Vitor are above the clouds for them, but they were surprised that Vitor, who is such an existence, does not know anything about this land.

That’s partly because, Yutis knew, that this land is important, and they didn’t think that an executive of the organization didn’t knew it.

When the apostles were stunned and stayed silent, Vitor frowned.

“Oi oi, why aren’t you telling me when I’m asking?”

“Eh? Ah, no, no!”

“Then tell me. If I look closely, it’s just looks something interesting.”

While saying that, the end of Vitor’s gaze overlooks them, and it goes to a large number of huge capsule-shaped water tanks that are lined up, and among them was a sleeping creature that Vitor had never even seen before.

To the sight that doesn’t seem to be a technology of this world by any means, Vitor is impressed.

“Haa …… is this all prepared by that guy, Yutis?”

“Tha, that’s right, but …… how did you know that Yutis-sama had prepare this?”

“Well, I guess. This star isn’t overflowing of things like this in the first place, I can only think of him bringing it from the outside. No matter how many times we go outside of this world, even though we can’t die as Deities, there’s no way out of this planet in the first place. The only ones who can get out of this…… were Yutis and Gemper, those bastards. Gemper too, can only break out with Yutis.”

“I, I see…….”

“Well? What is this creature?”

“Ye,yes. What is in this water tank is a new monster created by extracting the genes of monsters from this planet and combining it with its compatible fellows.”

“Nn? Doesn’t it mean that you just put all of it together?”

“Yes. After all, genes also have compatibility, so if we ignore that compatibility and combined them, it can’t be maintained as a living organism.”

“Then, why don’t we have that Destra bastard kill that compatibility hah. Then you can release the strongest monster, right?”

Vitor casually said so, but the apostle twitched his cheeks.

“Tha,that’s…… one of the apostles who was here once asked him that, but……”

“Nn?”

“I,it was killed ……”

“Aah……”

Vitor raised a voice of consent.

“As I think it over, I don’t think he can help you with that.”

“I,I’m not saying that it’s perfect, but still, the monsters created here are powerful. And with the monsters we’ve created here, it’ll be used as a piece to collect negative emotions to became food for the Demon God-sama.”

“I see. Can we put it to practical use?”

“Just a little bit more.”

“I understand the monster. Then, what about the Demon King who is sealed in this place?”

“That’s, it’s faster for you to look at this image.”

Prompted by the apostle, Vitor moves in front of a screen carried from the outside world.

And when the apostle operates the machine, the research process of using the sealed Demon King, and his ability were projected.

Vitor opens his eyes when he sees the image projected on such a screen.

“This guy is ……”

“This is, the result of our research. However, unfortunately, because the demon king’s ego still remains, the full awakening of his ability would be first, but……”

“O, oi oi. Isn’t this perfect? So, what will happen if this guy completely awakened?”

In response to Vitor’s words, the apostle said in a proud manner somewhere.

“――――He’ll be, invincible.”

“――――Hah.”

When Vitor laughs with his nose at the apostle’s words, he turns a warlike glare at the apostle.

“I’m not sure if he’ll be invincible, or not?”

“……”

All of the apostles on the scene stiffened by the overwhelming pressure emitted by Vitor.

For a while, when no one was able to move due to Vitor’s intimidation, Vitor suddenly withdrew his intimidation.

“…… Well, that’s a joke. In fact, I don’t feel like losing, but it looks it’ll be troublesome if I defeat it. That’s, I’m exactly wondering about what’ll happen if Destra go against this guy.”

With an innocent boy-like smile, Vitor tells the Apostles so.

“Oi, let’s get this guy done right away. Somehow, do something about his remaining ego. I’m anxious about the completion of this guy.”

“Ye, yes.”

“Or rather, to create such a 『monster』, is he going to listen to our command? It’ll be troublesome if he rebelled, you know?”

“There is, a mechanism embedded in the Demon King’s body for us to be able to control him in the early stages.”

“Hah…… if it’s embedded and it really works, then I think that him being invincible is an overstatement.”

“That is……”

“Let me affirm it if it truly works. Do it well.”

“Ye,yes!”

“Well then, I’ll be leaving.”

“Eh?”

Because Vitor suddenly went towards the exit, all the apostles who were there were taken aback.

As soon as one of the apostles returns to his sense, he hurriedly asked Vitor.

“Uh, uhhm, where are you going!? If you aren’t here, then we’ll need to find another room for this facility again……”

“Iiidiot, when I told you I was leaving, there’s only one reason, right?”

“Eh?……. Ah!”

The moment the apostle understood the meaning of Vitor’s words, a siren echoed in the facility.

“What’s that?”

“I,it’s people!”

“People!? Do you think there are other people besides us who can get here?”

“Isn’t that a mistake?”

“It’s not a mistake. And, that’s …… “

“What’s, wrong?”

Since the apostle who made the report is faltering, when the other apostles urge him to continue, the apostle continued in an unbelievable manner.

“Tha, that is…… I can only see four people.”

“Four people!?”

“They got here with such a number of people……?”

“From that, the camouflage function installed in this facility got activated?”

“Affirmative!”

“No, more than that…… The long-awaited, let’s go forward with the experiment. It’ll be a valuable sample “

“Yes!”

Without seeming to care about the apostles who were starting to move in a hurry, Vitor was already aware of the beings who were outside the facility.

“Four people…… there were people who could come here with such number of people.”

Vitor laughs pleasantly ――――

“―――― Will they entertain me?”

―――― and he disappeared from the spot.

◇◆◇

“―――― What, no…… there’s nothing here!”

“…… Glutton, noisy.”

Luthia and the others, who had left one step ahead of Seiichi and the others, had reached the vicinity of their destination, the 【Land of Anguish】.

It may take several weeks from the Royal capital, Terviel, so Rurune shouted so with camp tools on her back.

“I want to scream! I left before Milord came back, because you said that there was some unknown food! Isn’t it!?”

“……Nn. I said that. Though I’m surprised by Glutton who easily made the decision to leave Seiichi-oniichan with food.”

“Then what, is this!”

“……Wasteland.”

“I can see it by looking!”

Rurune looked around again, and laments in front of the land where even no plants are growing.

“Far from unknown food, there is nothing here!”

“……Nn. But, the fact that it’s unknown can also mean that the land is also unknown. In other words, nothing is strange.”

“Gaaahhhhhh! I was deceived!”

Looking at Rurune holding her head, Zora asks Olga while being nervous.

“Uh,uhmm, is this alright? She’s groaning with the momentum like she’s about to transform into another creature at any moment, but …… “

“…… No problem. It’s just as usual.”

“Is this always the case!?”

“…… She’s a bad glutton who doesn’t learn…… By the way, Luthia-oneechan.”

“O,onee-chan?”

“……Nn. Onee-chan. No good?”

“No, it’s not bad, but…… I, am an only child, so it’s the first time I’ve been called that……”

“…… If it’s not bad, then it’s okay.”

“Ye, yeah. So, what is it?”

“……To get to our destination, how long is it?”

“Ah…… if that’s the case, it’s just a little bit more, so……”

“Ah, e, everyone! It’s a monster!”

Interrupting the words of Luthia, Zora suddenly screamed at something.

Luthia and Olga immediately enter their battle posture in the content of her words.

Then, in the direction of Luthia and the others’ way, they saw a quadrupedal monster.

“……Strange. I didn’t feel the sign of a monster.”

“I’m the same. But as Zora said, what’s in front of us is a monster.”

“…… Its atmosphere is similar to the undead type monster I saw in the dungeon where Zora was before.”

“Ah…… that’s why, we couldn’t feel any sign of it.”

To Olga’s guess, Luthia gave her voice of consent, and they saw the appearance of the monster again.

The monster, has a body like an elephant on Earth, and its body was covered with yellow fur.

Its face looks like a baboon, and its eyes were dark, which has a reminiscent of something empty.

In addition, it has two horns extending from its forehead, and for some reason, its neck has something like dragons’ scales.

“That is…… what?”

As Luthia murmured involuntarily, the monster in front of them was the first to see.

While maintaining vigilance, Olga activates the 『Appraisal』 skill, but ――――

“……Eh?”

The result of the appraisal was『＠＊※●＆Lv:――』, a notation that Olga had never seen before.

“Wha,what happened? Olga-chan.”

To Olga, who has no words, when Zora calls out to her worriedly, Olga stays more and more vigilant, and she conveys the information.

“…… Just now, I’ve appraised it. But, there’s a list of strange symbols as its name…… “

“Strange symbols?”

“……Nn. Above all ―――― it has no level, none.”

“It has no level!?”

Both Zora and Luthia became speechless by the information Olga has given.

All the creatures on this planet have the concept of level, in which they’ll be strengthened by raising it.

An existence without that concept is, either a being that came from outside this planet, or a superior existence …… In other words, God.

There was, also the Snake God from the dungeon where Zora was, or the Black Dragon God, but a true god has a different scale from them, such as the one who created the heavens and earth.

In addition, the evil spirits drifting in the underworld, because they were already dead, they were free from the concept of level and restraint.

And, the one who unknowingly deviates from that concept …… rather, Seiichi, whose concept has run away, owns a level that’s just symbols.

In front of such a circumstance, Luthia and the others had never seen an enemy without a level. In the case of Seiichi, his acclaimed status has left him, and they can’t see it in the first place, so they don’t know that he has no level.

Before the unknown enemy, in front of Olga and the others who cannot move, the mysterious monster turned its hollow eyes toward Olga and the others.

“Oh…… oh.”

“!?”

At that moment, Olga felt a terrible chill, and she jumped sideways from the spot.

Then, the place where Olga stood until earlier, a black mist wriggles as if its swallowing her completely, and it disappear.

“Wha, what is that, just now!?”

“I don’t know. But that’s our enemy.

“I, I know it’s an enemy, but ……!”

“…… No good, we have too little information.”

As they try to approach the mysterious monster, its eyes instantly turned to Olga and the others, it attacked with its black mist again, and they can’t shorten the distance.

Because they have no information about this attack, they don’t even know if they could prevent it or even touch it in the first place.

“…… Let’s wait for Seiichi-oniichan?”

“That is……”

As Olga said, if Seiichi comes, everything will be solved.

Or rather, he won’t even realize that he had solved it, and it was as expected at the end.

However, in a situation where they don’t even know where Seiichi is right now or if he’s leaving in the first place, Luthia was troubled.

Even now, the Demon God’s cult may be crafting something in the dungeon where her father is sealed, and as she thinks about it, the seeds of her anxiety were endless.

It was the impatience she had felt since she didn’t have the power to challenge this land, and now that she’s got the strength to the point where she can come to this land like this, she felt even stronger.

But…….

“Yeah…… that’s right. It has no meaning if we force ourselves to reach the dungeon here, so here at once ――――”

The moment Luthia was speaking that, the mysterious monster was blown away.

That’s because ――――

“Wha,whawha, what are you doing!?”

“… Glutton, that’s unreasonable.”

Before they noticed it, Rurune sneaked into the bosom of the mysterious monster, and hammered a strong kick into its torso.

The monster was thrown into the air by that blow, but Rurune didn’t loosen her pursuit, and as she jumps up into the air as it is, utilizing the momentum of her front rotation, she hit a heel drop into the belly of the mysterious monster.

The impact shook the ground and created a large crater.

When the mysterious monster lies in the center of the crater powerlessly, as Rurune landed, her eyes sparkled and she stared at it.

“It’s food!”

“…… Big idiot.”

Next to the stunned Luthia and Zora, Olga held her forehead as if she has a headache.