novelraw Chapter 201: Descent of Heroes (2)
Chapter 201: Descent of Heroes (2)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Jinwoo completed the seal and watched alongside Ella and Helby as the Heroes descended upon Levannas and sprang into action.
The descent scene of the Heroes heralding the start of Episode 5 was so overwhelming it could have been used as a PV trailer as-is. The way they swept away the Erosion Insects as they descended could only be described as a true display of Arsilan's majesty.
However....
"...Typical Heroes."
"Mm."
What came after was the problem.
Ella's and Helby's faces reddened slightly. They were proud of the Heroes, but there were, frankly, many embarrassing moments. The Heroes ran wild like they had arrived at some famous buffet, thoroughly enjoying their Erosion Insect party.
Whenever tunnels formed and ultra-large Erosion Insects or boss-level ones appeared, they cheered with delight. Rather than killing them, they mobilized various equipment they had brought along and even captured them alive.
The defenders could only recoil in horror at the sight.
[That one's nice and plump. Should lay good eggs.]
[Ooh! A new species.]
[Let's cage it for now.]
The demons of Levannas spoke in the Demonic Language, but through the Magic Tower, everything was properly translated for everyone to hear. Illusion magic even adjusted their lip movements, so they spoke at a level indistinguishable from locals. However, words used in Arsilan and the modern world couldn't be translated, so those came through as-is.
It must have sounded rough to the demons, because their faces went pale.
Among the large Erosion Insects, some possessed intelligence and reason, and they felt terror toward the Heroes. And for good reason, since right before their eyes, their bodies were being torn apart alive, shells and flesh separated, organs extracted.
Those with production classes in the culinary line even cooked on the spot right there on the battlefield. Buff-laden dishes were whipped up so quickly that the defenders were left dumbstruck.
Ella nearly drooled at the sight of the food. Helby smacked her lips and nodded.
"Tsk! It is pretty tasty, though."
"...This is the first time I've ever been glad to see monsters of the Erosion."
Being immune to Erosion had opened up an entirely new world! Even Helby, who had shown revulsion at first, had gradually come around to the point of seeking out Erosion Insect restaurants. It was something utterly unimaginable just three years ago.
"Even I see them as giant shrimp now."
Jinwoo felt the same way.
Not just any shrimp, but premium-grade shrimp.
The Lord of Despair seemed to have sensed the situation on the surface and hesitated briefly. For the first time, Jinwoo could read the emotion the Lord of Despair was emanating. It was an emotion not only Jinwoo but all Arsilanians could understand.
It was "bewilderment".
Its goal had been to devour everything and reshape the entire universe into a single world made of itself, yet it was the one being devoured instead. Beings that defied its knowledge had appeared, and it floundered, unable to find a way to respond.
Whiiiiish!
That became an opening, and the sealing process accelerated even further.
"Unbelievable, isn't it?"
Jinwoo asked the Lord of Despair with a smirk. The Lord of Despair momentarily forgot even its rage, unable to conceal its bewilderment. But even all of that was merely a fraction of the Heroes' infinite potential.
The potential to one day, in the distant future, surpass even the Archmage.
Every single one of them carried that light.
Heroes who despised Erosion and were armed with hearts devoted to Arsilan were the most lethal adversaries of the Erosion.
"Now it's your turn to be devoured."
It would do well to engrave the sight on that surface into its memory.
Once the wedges were fully driven into the Lord of Despair, Jinwoo extended his hand. A magic circle completed by the light of the Holy Sword connected to the wedges and enveloped the Lord of Despair.
CRRRUNCH!
The sphere containing the Lord of Despair was crumpled by the magic circle and began to shrink. It compressed like an object crushed under a hydraulic press, like a ball buried in the depths of the deep sea.
FLASH!
That massive sphere transformed into a tiny ball. When Ella and Helby extended their hands, tens of thousands of Sealing Formations materialized around the small ball. The Sealing Formations, wrought of gold and starlight, were as large as the core of a planet, yet even this was nothing more than buying time.
The Sealing Formations were already being corroded by the Erosion, but they would buy the time needed to prepare for the Lord of Despair.
Once the Lord of Despair was sealed, the Erosion Insects broke free of its control and began rampaging.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted."
"All my mana is completely drained."
With the sealing done, Ella and Helby slumped.
It had been a foe so powerful that all three of them had struggled to seal it.
"I'll handle the cleanup, so go rest. If you want to go to Earth to relax, take my card and use it."
The exhaustion-ridden expressions on Ella's and Helby's faces brightened at remarkable speed.
"You have my utmost gratitude!"
"A rather sound decision."
Jinwoo sent Ella and Helby back to Arsilan.
"Now then...."
Jinwoo scanned the surroundings and located the Erosion Insect Queens. They possessed the authority to absorb Erosion energy and mass-produce eggs. With their link to the Lord of Despair severed, they were visibly flustered.
Because they held authority granted by the Lord of Despair, they were entities that could not be created within Arsilan. Their intelligence appeared remarkably high as well.
"Legendary-grade treasures."
The Erosion Insect Queens that Heroes had been desperately searching for were right here. And not just one, but three of them. Since a steady supply of Erosion Insects would need to be provided to the Heroes going forward, they had to be captured alive.
The Queens frantically burrowed into the earth to hide. When Jinwoo landed near them, they held their breath and completely erased their presence. The Queens possessed combat abilities rivaling large Erosion Insects, but they already knew they were no match for Jinwoo.
"Hmm, where are they?"
Jinwoo deliberately passed by where the Queens were hiding, pretending he couldn't find them. When he vanished into the distance, the ground trembled faintly. The Queens had let out the breath they'd been holding in relief.
Jinwoo concealed himself, then moved to where the Queens were.
Kiriririik!
The Queens dug tunnels and kept heading deeper, trying to hide completely. Their plan was to burrow deep into the planet and wait for the calamity to pass. The Queens controlled their swarms through the large Erosion Insects and could observe everything happening on the surface.
Tremble tremble!
They were going to be eaten!
They would be devoured by those unidentified monsters! Their master, who should have protected them, had been sealed away!
Just as the Queens trembled in fear and tried to burrow even deeper.
"Hello?"
Shwoop!
Jinwoo burst through the earth and appeared right beside one of the Queens.
KIEEEEEK!
The Queen shrieked in shock.
"Hideously ugly."
Jinwoo grinned at the reaction and smacked the Queen on the head. Her body punched straight through the ground and returned to where she had originally been.
The Queens trembled in agony.
Befitting their title, their bodies were enormous, but Jinwoo didn't find them particularly large. Compared to the beings Jinwoo knew, they were on the small side.
Even a mid-tier Summon from the Spirit Realm would be far larger than the Queens.
"The surface should be mostly cleaned up, so...."
The Erosion Insects that had invaded the surface had been dealt with.
Levannas had made extensive preparations to receive the Heroes, and Tiris would guide them well.
The Heroes had shown many embarrassing moments, but they were still the representatives of Arsilan. Surely they would show some dignified behavior befitting representatives?
"Hmm...."
There was a very, very slight possibility.
Slim, but... just a very slight one....
Jinwoo barely managed a nod before fastening leashes around the Queens' necks. Magic circles appeared on the leashes, and dozens of spikes rose up and dug into their necks.
KIEEEK! KIEK!
Watching them writhe in pain, bugs were still bugs after all.
Delicious bugs.
Jinwoo gathered his mana and teleported along with the Queens. The place Jinwoo arrived at was the Spirit Realm. The Spirit Realm had changed quite a bit. It was filled with various items brought from the Dimension Gate fields, and modern buildings had been erected as well. It looked almost like a small provincial city in Korea.
Behemoth hurried over.
"To grace such a humble place with your presence! Welcome!"
Behemoth bowed deeply at the waist.
Perhaps because he had grown accustomed to life in Arsilan, he was still maintaining his humanoid form. His appearance had changed significantly; he now looked like a cute beastkin child.
"Why that form?"
At Jinwoo's question, Alraune approached from the side, let out a sigh, and explained on his behalf.
"He says female Heroes like him when he walks around looking like that. Thanks to it, business seems to be going well too."
Apparently, Behemoth's love counseling service, which had moved to Alusion, was fully booked. A cute little kid giving love advice was naturally popular. However, his standing within the Spirit Realm had shrunk.
He was on the receiving end of sharp glares from the upper-tier Summons, including Alraune and Leviathan.
"Hmm...."
Looks certainly did matter.
Gazing into Behemoth's sparkling eyes, Jinwoo couldn't think of anything to say. If the guy was happy, that was enough.
"Episode 5 has begun."
"Finally...."
"The day we step forward draws near."
The Summons who had gathered around Jinwoo steeled their resolve.
A battle that surpassed even the Great War awaited them. The Summons were members of Arsilan too. They were prepared to fight to the death to protect Arsilan.
Jinwoo pointed to the side, and the Erosion Insect Queens were summoned there.
"Train those things."
All the Summons turned their gaze toward the Queens.
The Queens flinched and shrank back as the enormous beings stared at them.
Leviathan broke into a bright smile.
"Master! I'll train them! But, can I take a few legs off?"
"They seem to regenerate fast, so do whatever you want."
"I'm saved! Thank you!"
Leviathan's sashimi restaurant had apparently been struggling lately because of the Erosion Insects. Leviathan immediately pulled out a menu and added "Queen Leg Sashimi."
When Leviathan reverted to her true form for the first time in a while, the Queens fainted on the spot. And so, the Spirit Realm gained some new friends!
Jinwoo looked at Alraune.
She was a Summon popular in Arsilan. Her flower-composed appearance was extraordinarily splendid.
She had become far more beautiful than before. If she once had the air of a rigid honor student, now she gave off the vibe of a slightly more relaxed college student. Maintaining her humanoid form and dressing in trendy clothes, she hardly seemed like a Summon at all.
Behemoth, who knew the reason, snickered and sidled up to Jinwoo.
"I know the reason!"
"What?"
"She's dating a Her..., mmph!"
Alraune tried to cover Behemoth's mouth, but it was too late. When Jinwoo blinked and looked at her, Alraune's face flushed red.
"...S-sorry."
"Oh."
Jinwoo was impressed.
"Nothing to be sorry about. Love is a great thing."
It was an uncharacteristic thing for Jinwoo to say, but he had experienced the greatness of love in Levannas. That kind of power taking root in Arsilan was absolutely not a bad thing. If Belzerad had been here, he would have beamed and congratulated her.
Love with a Hero....
Come to think of it, this had actually taken longer to happen than expected.
"Hehe, there's a coffee shop over there. Why don't you go have a chat there?"
Behemoth bowed and scraped as he led Jinwoo over.
Inside the coffee shop, one of Slime King's clones was wearing a suit and brewing coffee. Lower-tier Summons drank their coffee, then entrusted themselves to summoning circles and headed off to work. The more Arsilan prospered, the more frequently Summons were called upon. Summons possessed various authorities and were extremely useful.
Once Jinwoo sat down, Slime King personally served the coffee.
"Mm, a sweet aroma. Looks delic...."
"I fermented it myself."
Jinwoo flinched!
He stared at Slime King. A horrible thought had crossed his mind. Apparently, it had been placed inside a clone body, stored, and fermented that way. Jinwoo's hand, which had been reaching for the cup, stopped.
"Enjoy your time!"
Behemoth bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle and vanished. Jinwoo pushed the coffee cup aside and looked at Alraune.
"So, tell me what happened."
At Jinwoo's words, Alraune took a deep breath and began to speak.
"I was periodically summoned to Romance Territory. At first I participated in combat, but over time, they started asking me to do other things instead. Mostly, I worked as a clothing model."
"Hmm...."
Alraune unraveled the story of what had happened.
She had been frequently summoned to Romance Territory, and each time, a certain Hero would give her gifts. At first, she had raised his Affection Level according to the Affection Level system, but at some point, she had apparently fallen completely for the Hero.
"When I looked more closely, he was close to my ideal type. He was incredibly handsome and dependable enough that I could trust him to watch my back. Especially those eyes, fierce like a wild beast yet intellectual enough to suggest he'd conquered the great library of Alusion... the intersection of wildness and reason settled upon me like morning dew, slowly seeping into my being."
"Oh...."
Alraune's entire body turned red as if autumn leaves had bloomed across it.
This was absolutely riveting.
"A week ago, he presented me with a ring of petals carved from rubies in front of a desert oasis and asked me to be his lover. Like the sunset reflected in the oasis, my heart burned red. In the end, I had no choice but to raise his Affection Level to 100%."
She had raised the Affection Level to 100%, yet not a single post had appeared on Arsilan Worlds. Achieving 100% Affection Level for the first time was a tremendous accomplishment. It meant both parties were truly sincere.
'She must have given it because they're both sincere.'
The Hero who loved Alraune was genuine.
Alraune had barely charged any summoning fees and had stayed in Arsilan for long periods, but it must have cost a considerable amount of money to reach that point.
Without that level of sincerity, Arsilan's beings would never raise an Affection Level to 100%.
It was only natural for beings of Arsilan and Heroes to fall in love. After all, fandom was just another form of love.
There was no way to stop their feelings from developing into love.
"Three days ago, we went on a date in Alusion. We watched a movie, and it was a bit racy...."
"Mm."
"Yesterday, I moved household items into his place. We bought a bed and a refrigerator too...."
"Oho."
The story was getting progressively deeper.
Love was indeed great.
To think that Alraune, who had been the very definition of an honor student, had changed this much.
"Well, good luck. I can't say how the future will turn out."
If the saga of Arsilan continued for a long time, perhaps an unusual couple might emerge? There was still a long way to go before that, but Jinwoo wanted to cheer them on.
Jinwoo was nodding contentedly when he suddenly flinched.
"Wait, you said Romance Territory, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
If the Hero was from Romance Territory, Jinwoo knew all of them. He had been somewhat absent lately, but he had spent quite a long time as Comfortable. Jinwoo ran through several candidates in his mind, but none of them were handsome or dependable.
Most Romance Heroes were streamers, so their real-life and Arsilan appearances were similar. They had only made minor corrections to less flattering features. That was actually why they felt more unique and were popular among Arsilanians.
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with a Hero matching the traits Alraune had described.
"What's that Hero's name?"
"UruBear."
"Huh? UruBear?"
"For reference, his pet name is Uru."
"Huh?"
Jinwoo froze in place.
"My pet name is Aru, but it's a pet name permitted only for Uru, so please forgive me. We are the UruAru Couple."
Jinwoo couldn't escape the shock for quite some time. Alraune showed him her necklace. Inside it was a photo of her and UruBear together, looking affectionate.
"Good grief...."
"We're planning to have about 90 children."
"Got it, so please stop...."
When Jinwoo waved her away, Alraune bowed politely and disappeared.
"......"
Jinwoo logged straight into Comfortable.
Comfortable was currently stationed near the Protective Barrier, treating the demons. There were no fatalities or critically injured, but there were quite a few with minor wounds.
"All done."
"Th-thank you."
A defender soldier gazed at him with eyes brimming with gratitude.
Jinwoo finished the treatments quickly, then sprinted and vaulted over the Protective Barrier in one go.
The Romance party was gathered, dividing up their spoils. The heaps of Erosion Insect corpses piled high brought wide grins to their faces.
"Comfortable!"
Haebyul waved with a bright smile.
"We finished dismantling everything. Now we just need to freeze and store them. Are you done with the treatments?"
"Yes, I treated everyone."
Jinwoo turned his gaze toward UruBear, who was grinning as he examined the Erosion Insect byproducts.
"Keh heh! Kahahaha! We're rich!"
The way he laughed, spraying spit everywhere, made him look like a bandit.
Jinwoo was about to speak to him but stopped. A royal Airship had landed in front of the Protective Barrier. Belzerad emerged with his knights and stood before the Heroes. The Heroes gathered and formed up before him.
"Thank you for saving Levannas. I am Belzerad, King of Levannas."
When Belzerad expressed his gratitude, the Heroes grinned. The countless Heroes who had descended upon Levannas responded with composure befitting representatives of Arsilan.
Jinwoo felt a swell of pride at being able to show Belzerad the gallant sight of the Heroes.
But when Serazade, having undone her transformation, appeared belatedly along with the staff officers,
"Noona...."
"Whoa...."
"Insane."
"Kyaah!"
"There's a glasses noona too."
"Unnie! You're so prettyyyy!"
They immediately reverted to their true selves.
The Heroes whipped out gifts meant to raise Affection Levels. At the sight, Serazade and the staff officers flinched and took several steps back.
...The pride dissipated rapidly.
"Sensing the energy of Arsilan and otherworldly souls simultaneously, might you all perhaps be the Heroes of legend?"
When the Heroes affirmed Belzerad's words, he spread both arms wide and welcomed them.
"Levannas will always welcome the Heroes."
"Dude, your Airship is sick. Can we check it out?"
"Haha, of course."
The area around Belzerad bustled with activity.
The knights and soldiers were tense, but Belzerad wore a warm expression as he received the Heroes. He could deeply feel the Heroes' love for Arsilan. He only hoped they would come to love Levannas as well.
Belzerad authorized the Heroes' entry into Levannas and pledged his full support. The Heroes set up temporary quarters outside the Protective Barrier for the time being. The Erosion Insects still needed to be dealt with.
Once the situation was neatly sorted, Jinwoo approached UruBear. He had finished his broadcast and was in rest mode.
Before Jinwoo could say anything, UruBear bowed his head first.
"Comfortable, thank you so much. I've been so happy lately, thanks to you."
"Huh?"
"I'm glad I mustered the courage after hearing what you told me. Love knows no boundaries. Hahahaha!"
UruBear looked absolutely blissful.
Jinwoo tilted his head, then checked Comfortable's logs, which had been set to auto mode.
"Ah."
He had counseled UruBear, and the automated version of Comfortable had showered him with encouragement. The gifts and the proposal location had all been planned by the auto-mode Comfortable.
[Comfortable Auto Mode Settings]
1. Give your best for the Heroes.
2. Give your best in territory and party activities.
3. Faithfully participate in all events.
Comfortable had operated exactly as commanded.
'Is it because of the Holy Sword?'
He could feel that the Magic Tower's performance had massively improved. He hadn't expected it could go this far in giving its best.
The Romance Heroes casually sidled over.
"Um, Comfortable, there's something I'd like to talk about...."
"Ahem, me first...."
Every single one of the Romance Heroes had flushed faces.
Hm.
It was summer, after all.