Soul Devourer Chapter 8 Episode 04 — Echidna, Again
For the leveling of the Clanmasters of〈King of Swords〉,〈Ifrit Legion〉, and〈Valkyries of Restoration〉, we met at the entrance to the SS-Rank dungeon and immediately stepped inside.
The scenery changed completely.
Beyond the rugged, rocky ground stood a gigantic volcano that seemed to pierce the heavens, its summit glowing a vivid red.
The sky was covered by thick, overcast clouds, thunder continuously roared in the distance, and violent winds howled mercilessly, strong enough to make me instinctively shield my face.
Before us stretched a field that seemed to embody the threats of a natural disaster.
“Th-This is… an SS-Rank dungeon…?”
The Clanmaster of〈King of Swords〉, Suzuki Tensei, raised an arm to shield his face from the raging wind and muttered as he looked around.
“To make us fight in an environment this terrible… Are they really expecting anyone to conquer this?”
(E/N: Directed towards the Dungeon Master or the God.)
“…It's incredible.”
The Clanmaster of〈Ifrit Legion〉, Miura Karen, and the Clanmaster of〈Valkyries of Restoration〉, Kikuchi Honoka, also seemed to have never attempted a dungeon conquest under such harsh conditions, as both wore deep furrows between their brows.
“Well, shall we head to the foot of the volcano?”
“““…Yeah.”””
As we advanced toward the foot of the volcano with me leading the way, the enormous figure of a monster towering above us gradually came into focus.
It was approximately 100 meters long. With its serpentine tail crawling along the ground and its upper body standing upright, it resembled an ancient giant.
Its beautiful features were reminiscent of Medusa, yet every strand of its hair was actually a gigantic black serpent.
Its vertically slit, reptilian pupils reflected its prey, while rows of sharp, irregular fangs protruded from its mouth.
Looking downward, its body was half-human and half-serpent. Its upper body had the form of a voluptuous woman, while its lower body extended into a thick, elongated tail like that of a giant serpent.
Its entire body was covered in thick scales arranged in alternating red and black.
This was my second encounter with Echidna, the〈Mother of All Monsters〉.
“Is this really the kind of monster that appears in an SS-Rank dungeon…? This is my first time seeing her alive, but I can tell by instinct… by intuition. We can't win.”
“And that overwhelming sense of pressure… I can't stop trembling.”
“Hunter Matsubara defeated this embodiment of natural disaster all by himself…?”
Even though the 3 had already seen Echidna's form as a corpse, they stood frozen, holding their breath in the face of the overwhelming presence radiating from the living Echidna.
Although I had faced her once before and had actually defeated her, I was caught by the same sensation as the other 3.
But I switched gears and used【Armor Create】to forge 3 Mythical-grade longswords.
“Everyone, take these.”
I handed each of them a longsword.
“Hunter Matsubara, what is this?”
“I'll be blunt. With your current weapons and magic, defeating the monsters Echidna creates will take too much time. So I've prepared Mythical-grade weapons for you.”
“Mythical?”
“It's a grade above Legendary. These longswords have the『Indestructible Bastion』property, so they will never break.”
“D-Do weapons like that actually exist!?”
It was only natural for the 3 of them to be surprised, but among the foremost and ultimate forces of each country, possessing weapons like these was practically commonplace.
Even I had gotten so used to them by now that they no longer surprised me.
“As for our leveling strategy, I'll use a skill called【Mercy Strike】todamage incapacitate the monsters Echidna creates. At a glance, they won't appear to have taken any and will look perfectly healthy, but they won't be able to move even a single finger.”
“““……”””
“So use the weapons I just gave you to finish them off one after another. This is going to be fast-paced repetitive work, so empty your minds and do your best.”
“W-Wait a second, Hunter Matsubara. What exactly is the skill,【Mercy Strike】?”
“It's an advanced skill unlocked when【Discipline】reaches Lv.10. When you attack with this skill, the opponent appears to be alive and suffers no physical injuries, but the damage still accumulates properly, leaving them unable to act. It's also a very useful skill for interrogations.”
“A skill like that exists… So, basically, we just keep delivering the finishing blow to the monsters you've incapacitated, Hunter Matsubara?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. I'll do my very best.”
“I'd absolutely hate having to just deliver the finishing blow under normal circumstances, but… this time, it's because we're not strong enough. We can't complain about it.”
“Yes. Let's do our best.”
“For now, please bear with it. Once you've grown stronger, come back and hunt them properly with the rest of your clan members.”
“Yes, that's what we'll do. Don't worry. I've already thrown my pride away.”
“Good. Then let's begin the levelling!”
I alone stepped forward, toward Echidna.
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E/N:
Let's start grinding~ Let's start grinding~
Stay tuned!
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