The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns

Chapter 441

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 441

As the Tyrant Ruum awakened, changes began to occur from within the Integrated Rift.

The doors leading outside all shut as if under complete control, leaving it in a state where no one could go out anymore, nor come in.

And changes also occurred inside the rift.

The dungeon, made up of several themes, soon began to mix together here and there, and started to merge into one gigantic field.

However, since there were many fields to begin with and this Integrated Rift itself was so enormous, it needed a great deal of time to change completely.

So that was why it was a dungeon with an abnormally high amount of rewards.

A king’s tomb, treasures buried within, and countless mazes—was that only natural?

A hollow laugh escaped me.

From the moment I realized this place was the tomb of the ancient god Tyrant Ruum, I had no choice but to gather the humans who had been swept up in madness and were suffering in one place.

Most of them still had not properly escaped the aftereffects, but what else could I do?

Because subjugating Tyrant Ruum was a matter where time was gold.

“The tomb of Tyrant Ruum.”

Lispa and Luna, having grasped the true nature of this place, seemed to have sensitively detected the unusual change in the atmosphere.

Still, it looked like even they did not know much about Tyrant Ruum.

“Do you know anything?”

“Nope. First time hearing of it.”

Even so, the fact that Tyrant Ruum had existed was the truth.

If so, what could be considered was simple.

Either a being called Tyrant Ruum had appeared after Luna and Lispa were sealed.

Or it had existed even before they themselves were created.

At the very least, I thought the latter was correct.

If it had been the former, there was no way it would not have been recorded in history.

As if she had read that thought of mine, I heard Lucifer’s mocking voice.

-Have you never considered that it might be a being that should not even be recorded?

A being that should not even be recorded.

That was far too grand for a bastard like that.

But in truth, wasn’t it not exactly wrong?

That was what I thought.

Even if such a bastard became known, nothing good would come of it.

Seeing that Lucifer knew of it, Tyrant Ruum seemed to be a being from Genesis after all.

“Setting aside why you know about the bastard, what are we supposed to do?”

Basically, shallow tricks do not work on entities of the ancient-god class.

There really was no major method other than colliding with it head-on in full force and directly shattering it.

But in that bastard’s case—

There was also another method besides such a straightforward approach.

“For now, I’m going to confirm a few things and do some prep work. Luna, help me, and Lispa, please stay somewhere safe and protect Isna.”

After that, I told Eltemion and the other spirit mages to join the other explorers and wait for a bit, then left the area.

* * *

A day passed after Leon left like that.

Yog’s presence.

And the suddenly altered form of the Integrated Rift.

In that space filled with confusion because of those things, numerous figures had gathered in one place, all wearing grave expressions.

“Damn it. What in the world is going on here…….”

“The food problem is serious too. For now, the reserves are in the safe zone, so we can hold out, but not for long.”

“And you’re saying we should beat that insane monster?!”

One horrified explorer pointed with his finger at the being standing on the devastated plain spread out beyond the safe zone.

A being kneeling on one knee, using a giant sword as a cane, remaining silent as though in prayer.

That was Tyrant Ruum.

The bastard had appeared alongside a certain omen.

All at once, the form of the Integrated Rift changed.

And just as everyone was thrown into confusion—

The ground split open, and from within it emerged that being clad in full-body armor.

At the same time, all the monsters that had existed in this place scattered like ghosts and vanished.

As if to say that in this space, there were no longer any enemies other than that one.

The explorers who had first become trapped here investigated before anything else whether it was possible to escape from this place.

But—

Not a single person had escaped from here and gone outside.

This tomb had been completely cut off from the outside world.

By that point, people had reached a situation where they had no choice but to change the way they thought.

That they would have to get rid of that enormous monster in order to leave.

The problem was how they were supposed to get rid of that armored knight, dozens of meters tall.

If they were struck by the over-ten-meter-long greatsword the bastard held, they might be ripped to shreds.

Still, human greed has no end, and sometimes, one is consumed by that greed.

There had indeed been a party that, without the slightest fear, charged at that monster.

But—

In the end, they never came back alive.

When the swords of those who ignored the concerns of the others and attacked the monster reached the giant,

the eye slits of the helmet the giant wore flickered with a dreadful light, and in an instant their bodies were completely shattered and scattered apart.

Those who watched it from afar had no choice but to shudder in horror and dread.

Before they could even react, the monster had cut them down.

With that enormous body, and that enormous weapon.

It was enough to make one question just how fast it had to be—and what kind of bizarre power it had to possess—for something like that to be possible.

As a result, at present none of the explorers were able to step forward.

Even knowing the situation was bad, no one could step forward.

It was then.

“Hey. Grandson of the Azure Star lord. Got any method?”

One explorer, who knew of the existence of Eltemion, known as the grandson of the Azure Star Algran Tevne, asked.

At that, everyone’s gaze turned toward him.

“I have no method either. Not against that monster.”

In truth, no one had high expectations.

Eltemion was called a genius spirit mage, but that only meant his talent was good.

It did not mean he could exert power on the level of the Azure Star.

To begin with, that monster was of a level where it was questionable whether even Azure Star Algran Tevne, bearer of a Star title, could handle it.

“But there is someone who knows a way.”

At his words, everyone gathered around.

“What do you mean by that? There’s someone who knows a way?”

“Yes. He told us to wait a while, so we were waiting. Ah. There he comes.”

At those words, someone entered the safe zone where the people had gathered.

One man and one woman.

The man with the calm expression was Leon, and the one who drew everyone’s attention at a glance was Luna, said to be Leon’s wife.

“Th-that man?!”

Some noticed Leon’s face and flinched.

And naturally so.

They had seen that he was one of the attackers who had attacked Isna.

“That murderer is still here?!”

At the shout of one man who cried out in alarm, everyone fixed Leon in their sight with wary expressions.

But Leon casually walked over and said,

“Nothing happened, right?”

“Yeah. Other than some who rashly charged at the monster at first and died.”

The truth was, Eltemion’s efforts were also mixed into keeping them bound together so they would not scatter in confusion.

In the quiet silence, Leon slowly stepped before the crowd.

Some looked at him with distrust, some with doubt.

“From now on, we’re going to subjugate that thing. However, in the process, I’ll need a little help from all of you.”

At those indifferent words, someone reacted fiercely.

“What of yours are we supposed to trust! You insane murderous bastard!!”

“You want us to fight that thing?! If it’s a suicide mission, do it by yourself!!”

The small murmuring soon became angry shouting that rang out everywhere.

As though they had fallen into collective madness, the noise grew louder, and from all sides came cries of accusation and wariness.

But Leon calmly provoked them.

“A suicide mission? Don’t worry. I’m not so unreasonable as to ask you to fight that thing directly.”

“What?”

“Surely, you weren’t thinking of fighting that thing directly? Though if someone insists on dying, I don’t particularly intend to stop them.”

It was a calm provocation, but no one could deny it.

That was how ominous the momentum spread by that giant monster was.

“Then what are you saying we should do!”

At someone’s shout, Leon briefly explained the situation.

“That thing’s name is Tyrant Ruum. To be frank, under normal circumstances, you should assume you couldn’t beat it even if you died and came back to life.”

To evaluate it coldly—

What would happen if Tyrant Ruum, in a perfectly fine condition, were let loose right now onto the Lazarus Continent?

What would happen?

What do you mean what would happen?

It would be a confirmed destruction scenario, with the countdown ticking down.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Of course, if an archangel intervened, the story might be different… but it was uncertain whether the archangels had any room to spare to pay attention to Room right now.

Each time Leon bluntly pointed out the facts, everyone trembled all over.

“The especially bad part is that that thing will soon start moving. So I’m asking. Will you help me deal with that thing? Or will you just leave it be and watch everyone die?”

At his question, everyone fell silent and clenched their fists tightly.

“If it were me, since it’s already come to this, I’d become a hero while I’m at it.”

And yet, on Leon’s face, the one calmly explaining the situation, there was not the slightest trace of tension.

“Why should we trust anything you say in the first place? Aren’t you a murderer?”

At the cry of some of them, Leon looked at the speaker.

At that, the man flinched and trembled.

Even so, he said what he had to say.

“I saw with my own eyes you attack a woman right in front of me……”

“That girl?”

Where Leon pointed with his finger, Lispa was carrying Isna on her back while grumbling.

“Huh?”

“To be exact, she is my acquaintance and companion. She was in a parasitized state, so I was in a position where I had to subdue her.”

“Two people died!”

“Do I have to care about idiots dying because they acted up trying to protect a parasite?”

At the sight of him saying that so casually, the man opened and closed his mouth without making a sound, and the murmuring around them grew louder.

“What the hell. There were monsters like that in the rift too?”

“Then what, was that giant armored monster any less bizarre?”

“That’s true too.”

No matter how one looked at it, Isna’s condition did not seem particularly dangerous.

Her wounds had healed, and her breathing was steady, making her look as though she were simply asleep.

“…….”

Those who had lost what to say fell into quiet silence.

After that, someone else stepped forward.

“So what are you going to do? If we aren’t the ones stepping in, then who’s going to deal with that bastard?”

“The method is simple. While I keep that bastard tied down, pale forms will appear in various places throughout the inside of this rift.”

Leon gestured.

Then a cluster of light spread out and took on certain shapes.

The illusion made from the light Leon created took the forms of grotesque monsters and humans wearing specific clothes.

“This is…… what?”

“Don’t try to understand it. There’s no point. From now on, you’ll go around the field in groups of three or four, and you’ll be able to see pale human-shaped forms and monster-shaped forms.”

Lady Behena Mobierty carefully asked,

“Humans and monsters?”

“You are to find all of those human-shaped forms and kill them. Sometimes, you may also see monster-shaped forms and human-shaped forms fighting among themselves. Even then, without exception, you only need to kill the humans.”

At the incomprehensible order, the murmuring among the people grew louder.

There was not the slightest trace of jest on Leon’s face.

“I don’t understand. Why, if there are monsters too, are you telling us to attack humans rather than monsters?”

To side with monsters against humans and attack humans.

It sounded absurd once one actually heard it, but it was necessary.

After a brief moment of thought, Leon explained carefully.

It’s a monster called a tyrant, but at a glance, the bastard is a being like a queen bee.

“This may be hard to understand right now, but think of it like a queen ant. Even soldier ants are weak when they’re young. So a bastard that’s no different from a queen ant is hiding its young.”

In other words, the humans appearing in the illusions were all no different from young concealed in camouflage to protect the offspring.

Of course, since Tyrant Ruum was not actually an insect, they were not truly offspring, but it was certain that they were beings that strengthened its power.

“What happens if we don’t kill the human-shaped forms?”

“What do you think? They’ll grow up and get absorbed by it.”

“Absor…… bed?”

“To put it as an analogy, it would be like fighting a queen ant that has gained as many lives as the total number of all ants in an ant colony. And on top of that, that queen ant keeps getting stronger, enough to kill people.”

People’s faces turned deathly pale.

Even if exaggeration was mixed into the analogy, the meaning itself had still been conveyed clearly.

“That’s impossible…… there’s no way a monster like that could exist in the world……”

“Then does a knight dozens of meters tall make sense?”

At someone’s remark, some nodded in agreement.

That was true too.

To begin with, the Integrated Rift was the kind of place where it would not be strange no matter what happened.

At that moment, breaking through the people’s confusion, Leon once again emphasized one more thing.

“Oh. And one more thing. It’s the most important part. In the middle of all this, someone might suddenly snap and start worshipping that thing.”

At those words, everyone once again wore expressions saying they could not understand.

“Stop them no matter what, even if you have to knock them unconscious. They’re no different from the human illusions. However, you don’t need to kill them, so just knocking them out will do.”

The existence of the people was the existence of the tyrant, and the source of its mighty power.

And also—its shackles.

“Will that really…… be enough? And what do you intend to do?”

“Do you think that monster will stay still while the source of its power is being destroyed? There has to be someone to stop it from moving.”

People swallowed dryly.

It was then.

Someone let out a snort.

“So you’re saying we should move according to your orders? Don’t be ridiculous. Why should I listen to what you—”

Srrrng……

With that chilling sound, the man froze in place.

Because condensed aura-swords that had formed in midair were aiming at his neck from all sides.

“Hiiik?!”

The man, having sensed the chilling presence coming from the aura-swords, turned pale in terror and froze completely.

At the same time, currents of aura and mana that shook the surroundings began to flow out from Leon’s entire body.

Everyone flinched and stepped back.

It was a primitive and simple method that fundamentally crushed refusal and suspicion.

“I have no intention of tediously and pedantically persuading you, so just die then.”

“Hrk?!”

And as a bonus, it would preserve the fact that he had interfered with a plan to suppress, at the earliest and weakest stage, a monster that would threaten the continent.

Though he spoke playfully, there was not a trace of playfulness in Leon’s eyes.

It was true that, compared to Yog, Tyrant Ruum was less threatening.

But that did not mean Tyrant Ruum was weak.

At that moment, someone asked carefully,

“But then… how do you know facts like these?”

“I’ve caught something similar before.”

“You’ve caught…… something like that before? A monster that huge?”

“The size was different.”

To be precise, it had been a bastard several times bigger than its current size.

Whether the people knew Leon’s inner thought or not, their murmuring grew louder.

“If that’s the case…….”

“Can he really hold out against that monster in the first place?”

“How should I know?”

“If it wouldn’t be too rude…… may I ask just who you are?”

One explorer carefully raised a hand and asked.

“Just a wastrel from a noble house. So, are you going to do it?”

“I’m not that strong. Is that still okay?”

“To erase illusions, all you need is an arm capable of swinging a sword.”

“If we don’t do it, won’t we all die anyway?”

“Usually?”

“In that case, I’ll do it. If we just stay put, we die. If the plan succeeds, we all live, right? Damn right, I’ll try being a hero too.”

When one explorer, who looked timid, said that, others began stepping forward one by one as if in agreement.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]