novelraw Chapter 122
Chapter 122
Chapter 122
The Calamity Beast has a code of conduct.
"Become a respectable bird that can protect what matters most." —That is the rule.
That was why she was powerless before the house arrest imposed on her by Finger Man.
Because in her mind, being a respectable bird also meant being a guardian of justice and order. A bird that cannot follow the rules cannot be a good bird.
When the silver apostles appeared atop the cedar tree, the Calamity Beast was faced with a decision.
Would she become a bad bird, or a good bird?
Of course, she wanted to be a good bird. A guardian of order.
For that, experience points were absolutely essential.
Without strength, justice could not be enforced.
Sacrifices before justice are inevitable, chii.
That is the Calamity Beast's way of self-justification.
As a result of repeating it, she came to be unfairly called "experience point trash."
In truth, she just wanted to protect.
Though she had long forgotten who or what she wanted to protect, her distant longing still transcended time and space, never lost.
The Calamity Beast restrained her body, which was about to leap forward, and chose to obey Finger Man's orders.
Doing nothing despite prey being right in front of her demanded patience, but she somehow managed.
However, once she had a reason to justify it, her patience shattered in an instant.
Mister is in danger, chii.
It really can't be helped, chii, so I'll take those experience points, chii.
Oops, I meant, to save Mister, chii.
This really, truly can't be helped, chii.
In fact, you should be grateful, chii.
Once again, the Calamity Beast gave in to her own desires.
Cloaked in a whirlwind, her bird leg pierced through the six-armed Nedda.
Just one blow left a scratch on the metal armor.
This ferocious bird was no longer the one who had once lost before Catania's Dust.
Having absorbed experience and plumped up, she was drawing ever closer to awakening.
Mister's Big Punch hadn't hurt him directly, but it had steadily built up stress on the armor.
No matter how sturdy the armor, if it kept taking damage, it couldn't maintain its performance.
Six-armed Nedda's armor had dropped to around DEF 1,000,000 in performance.
"Chii-chii-chii"
"You're Akagi's......"
"Chii-chii-chii (Translation: Mister is seriously injured, chii. But if I revive him now, someone might steal the experience points, chii. Healing comes later, chii.)"
The experience point pro once again walks the path of wickedness.
"Kachikachi (What is that bird?)"
"Kachikachi (Unknown. If it interferes, we'll just burn it.)"
Holy rubbed the Silver Shields together.
Nedda swung his spear and sword with a whoosh, readying all six weapons.
The plump white figure vanished.
At the same time, Nedda moved.
Cracks ran through the ground from the force of their takeoff.
Wrapped in wind, a metallic clash rang out beyond the speed of sound.
With each collision, Nedda was forced to release a weapon.
The hardness of the Calamity Beast's beak and its pecking attacks far exceeded Nedda's expectations.
A battle in a realm imperceptible to others.
To support the overwhelmed Nedda, beams of silver light homed in and sliced through the darkness.
The Calamity Beast knocked away Nedda's weapons with her powerful bird legs, disarmed him completely, and then grabbed his chest. With her bird leg's grip, the metal crumpled and left a footprint.
Using Nedda as a shield, the Calamity Beast withstood the silver light.
An astonishingly dexterous maneuver.
The Calamity Beast sandwiched Nedda between herself and the ground with her foot.
The weight cracked the earth, and Nedda's body sank into it.
He didn't move. He seemed to have perished.
Particles of light spilled from Nedda's body. They were experience points.
The bird gleefully began to peck at the experience with her beak.
From behind, silver light approached.
It pierced through her unsuspecting plump body.
"Kachikachi (To think you've tamed such a monstrous beast that could defeat Nedda. I suppose rotten or not, you are still of red blood descent.)"
Holy approached the Calamity Beast.
"Kachikachi (But in the end, you're still just a beast, aren't you?)"
Suddenly, a black, ominous arm extended from behind the Calamity Beast.
It gently enveloped her, healed her wounds, and then faded away like a shadow.
The Calamity Beast slowly raised her face.
'Blasphemous Regeneration' can also be used on oneself for complete recovery.
"Kachikachi (That was divine realm power... Impossible. Could a divine being truly be tamed by a human?)"
"Chii-chii-chii"
Holy slowly closed his eyes in resignation.
"(It seems this is the end for me.)"
Holy's body shattered. Silver fragments burst apart.
As if someone had smashed a fragile antique with a metal bat.
It was the Calamity Beast, having just leveled up again, who struck with her wings.
She cheerfully gobbled up the experience points.
While she was at it, she retrieved two Thousand-Style Metal Kits from within her feathers. They had belonged to Nedda and Holy.
"Chii-chii-chii (Translation: Experience points eaten when the Hero isn't around are exceptionally tasty, chii.)"
More and more, plumper and plumper.
The Calamity Beast grew visibly larger.
Mister stared in stunned silence, his gaze slowly rising upward.
She eventually surpassed even Metal's mechanical soldiers in size, and the plumping stopped.
────────────────────
Shimaenaga-san
Level 68
HP 80,123/224,790
MP 40,741/217,900
Skills
'Blasphemous Morning Star Lv4'
'Blasphemous Pact'
'Blasphemous Gaze'
'Blasphemous Regeneration'
Equipment
'Calamity Beast'
────────────────────
───────────────────
'Blasphemous Morning Star Lv4'
Rebellion against the world.
A guiding star that ravages the dark world.
Solves the death state and restores 10,000 HP.
Usable once every 720 hours. Stock: 4
Cooldown can be resolved with MP10,000.
───────────────────
"Ch-chii (Translation: I can't deny I may have grown a little too much, chii... B-but it's okay, chii, it's all for the experience points, chii. Besides, I'm the heroine, so I should be allowed to do anything, chii.)"
"You're incredible... To think Akagi is keeping such a pet."
Mister let out a dry chuckle, "Tahaha."
The Calamity Beast shrank down to the size of a balance ball and approached Mister, using 'Blasphemous Regeneration' on him.
Mister's wounds healed instantly.
As always, the effect was overflowing with wickedness.
"Chi-chi-chi"
"Thanks, birdie. You saved me."
"Chi-chi-chi (Translation: No thanks needed, chii. But more importantly, please don't tell Hideo that I got really big earlier, chii. If he finds out I embezzled 100 billion experience points, that terrifying receptionist lady will definitely arrest me, chii.)"
"Leave it to me. I'll make sure Akagi hears all about your heroic deeds."
"Chi-chi-chi!? (Translation: That's the one thing I'm begging you not to do, chii!!)"
Will the Calamity Beast's plea reach him?
With the battle over, Mister and the Calamity Beast returned to the others.
Among the supplies Jiu and the others had brought from the 15th floor supply base were recovery potions, which were used to treat the explorers.
That said, there were still many seriously injured.
Some had even lost limbs to the silver light.
An urgent evacuation was now necessary.
"We should break into Central immediately. We're out of time."
Mister picked up his axe and made a suggestion to Jiu.
Incidentally, he no longer carried the greatsword. Apparently, he canceled the skill because he didn't want to be seen with it.
"Is it just me, or is something shaking?"
Trigger Happy muttered while looking at the supply container.
Spilled bullets rolled across the floor.
The shaking gradually intensified.
Everyone instinctively crouched low, thinking it could be an earthquake.
The tremors kept drawing closer, and by the time they felt the epicenter beneath their feet...
A thunderous roar echoed from inside the nearby giant tower.
"What's going on?"
"I've got a bad feeling about this......"
The ones who murmured that were Pollen Fighter and Bradley.
"No way... could it be him..."
Trigger Happy recalled the Finger Man.
"He's coming."
Mister narrowed his eyes, spotting a moving shadow in the darkness-cloaked sky.
They sluggishly crawled out from the outer wall of the giant tower, which had been opened up by the cedar tree, and leapt down.
Inevitably, the monsters descended right onto Mister and the others below.
"U-boaa-oooh"
A grotesque shriek rang out around them.
It was the anguished wail of a soul decayed and corrupted by darkness.
Therefore, hearing it delivered catastrophic mental damage.
Ordinary explorers couldn't withstand it.
"""Uwaaaaaaaaah!!"""
The explorers screamed, their cries resonating and spiraling into further madness.
Those especially gravely wounded and mentally weakened were hit hardest—their eyes rolled back, and their reason chose self-destruction as a means to escape further suffering.
The only one who could endure that madness was Mister.
Even the strongest among them could only writhe on the ground, covering their ears and shutting their eyes, struggling desperately to stay sane.
"Shut that thing up, birdie!"
"Chi! (Translation: That's one evil batch of nuisance experience points, chii! I'll collect every last one so they don't hurt anyone else, chii! This is rightful experience, chii! It's for everyone, chii! Chi-chitchi-chii!)"
Brimming with wickedness, the Calamity Beast cheerfully charged toward the threat.