Thank you to everyone who gave comments and coupons! Episode 149
48. Magical Beasts and the Gatekeeper of Hell – 148 – Magical Beasts and the Gatekeeper of Hell #4
Back when I was still hanging around the human Royal Palace and Mansions.
Wandering among humans and showing them friendliness wasn’t just because I enjoyed getting attention or being petted by pretty ladies. Well, there was some of that, but to be precise, I was there to soak up stories and rumors that passed through their lips—broadening my knowledge about this world.
That was when I first heard about the Platinum Hunter.
Beast slaughterers with platinum identification tags swinging from their necks, like Batus. They were said to be incredibly talented at taking down and capturing beasts.
The greatsword-wielding Batus, and the archer Max of the fatal bolt. They were so powerful they could stand toe-to-toe with the forest lords, reigning over a region of the Ancient Nest called The Magical Realm, where even the fiercest foes were nothing to scoff at.
Even among humans, Adam was exceptionally human, and aside from Batus, just looking at archer Max battling the wolf king Kublai in the Eastern Forest was enough to deem him superhuman!
There was also Yog, the hammer-wielding giant before my eyes, whose skills seemed on par with those elite hunters.
I recalled the notorious Platinum Hunter who had gone missing several years ago. This unusually taciturn hunter wielded a massive hammer that could shatter the shells of hardened beetles like they were paper and break the horns of magical beasts with ease.
‘That size isn’t just a hammer; it’s a huge sledgehammer!’
The gigantic, heavy hammer slung over Yog’s shoulder looked more massive than a siege weapon. If Batus had a large metallic blade, then surely this could be called a great hammer.
【…….】
A man, arms crossed, leaned calmly against the wall, only opening one eye to glance at me. His relaxed demeanor suggested he was quite confident in his own strength.
Azidahaka, having burned all the corpses of the walkers, turned his head towards a corner of the hall and spoke with a low, rumbling voice.
“It feels oddly negative and alien here. You’d be wise to be cautious. The elevator located on this 30th floor is a key passage down to the 1st floor. The one tasked with guarding it is likely to be no ordinary foe.”
━ I understand just by looking.
I felt my entire body bristle, fur and spikes standing on end. The aura emanating from the Gatekeeper of Hell was as cold as glacial ice.
【Kuueek, ugh!】
I swiped at the approaching walkers with my front paw, clearing the space around me. This expansive floor resembled a grand gymnasium, with high stands that resembled seats for an audience stretching alongside.
According to Usir, this was an arena. A historic stadium where a variety of desert beasts and fairy gladiators had once battled fiercely.
━ How long are you going to keep posing around? You’ll regret it!
After tidying up the throng of walkers in the hall, I directed my words toward Yog, who was still leaning against the wall, seemingly nonchalant.
【━━.】
Instead of responding, Yog pursed his lips and made a whistling sound.
And at that moment—
Ku-gugugugung.
“Something is coming from above!”
Azidahaka shouted urgently.
A massive tremor shook the tower, the ceiling crumbled, and something enormous fell to the floor with a thud.
━Juaaaak!
A gigantic, elongated body emerged—looking like it could easily reach twenty meters in length, with nothing but a mouth and sharp teeth to boast of. It was a Giant Desert Worm, a creature infamous for being dubbed ‘The Calamity Beneath Your Feet’ in the desert!
Half in jest and half in truth, it was said that most disappearances in the desert were attributed to this monstrosity.
【Looks like they really unleashed the Desert Worm. Those little folks sometimes think of the most unexpected things.】
Usir licked his lips as he gazed at the giant worm. I assessed its strength and ferocity by observing its bright red body.
━Juaaaak!
The creature’s exposed body was riddled with rough scars and wounds. It seemed the rumors about it carving out burrows by smashing rocks with its muscular mass weren’t lies after all.
【━. ━.】
Whoosh, whoosh. As Yog whistled twice, the giant worm coiled its body like a snake, angling its mouth our way.
This sight instantly reminded me of the giant poisonous snake, El-Gasa.
When I first came to this forest, I had taken down a colossal basilisk, which, as I heard later, had sustained fatal injuries from battles with humans and had hidden away for years to recover.
That creature was a scaled monster that had once dominated the Southern Forest, and if it had been in peak condition, I might have ended up as a snack in its belly.
‘So, can I think of this thing as being like a fully recovered El-Gasa?’
I thought it would be a great opportunity to compare how much I had changed from that day of reckless rage and ferocity to the calmness I possessed now.
━ I’ll handle it myself. You all stay hidden until I ask for help.
After loosening the muscles in my shoulders, neck, and tail, I stood before the giant worm.
━Juaaaak!
‘Seems like it doesn’t have poisonous fangs. It probably fights using its massive bulk alone.’
That enormous physique was a blessed talent in itself. The overwhelming reach of attack and the raw power emanating from its weight couldn’t be underestimated. After all, boxing has weight classes for a reason!
If I were to categorize the Giant Desert Worm by fighting weight, it would be past heavyweights and on to an absolute, ‘monstrously enormous and dangerous’ category. Standing before it, I looked like a small rabbit in front of a lion.
【━. ━. ━━.】
With Yog’s whistling.
━Juaaaak!
The massive worm lunged directly at me. A gigantic mass of muscle charged at me with such intensity that it almost felt exhilarating.
━Faster than I expected! Is it springing like a slingshot?
I lightly kicked my back legs up and leapt into the air to dodge the worm’s attack. As my buoyant body neared the ceiling, I twisted my tail and aimed my legs at it.
Thud!
With my firmly tensed legs, I crashed into the ceiling walls. Using gravity and the explosive power of my legs, I accelerated downward like a meteor falling to the earth.
━ Even if I’m a rabbit, I’m a max-level rabbit, buddy!
Whoosh.
As I plummeted, my claws scraped against the skin of the desert worm.
━Juiiik!
The worm thrashed wildly, writhing as if salt had been rubbed into its wound.
It was a massive injury, enough to split its rock-hard exterior. It would be strange for it not to feel pain.
But soon, I found my expression turning sour.
━Yikes, this little bugger is playing dirty.
The cracked skin of the Desert Worm was starting to close up with little tentacle-like growths.
‘An incredible regenerative ability.’
It reminded me of the tentacle armor worn by the maid Harmony back at the mansion of Mendel.
‘This is going to be annoying. Is it that time again?’
I called out to Usir and Azidahaka, who were watching the fight from behind.
━Hey, give Yingyi the water you brought! Fill him up as much as possible!
“What are you talking about all of a sudden…?”
━Just do it! Or else you’ll all end up roasting!
“Uh, okay…”
Azidahaka fetched a small glass bottle from his bag and poured the water inside over Yingyi.
Watching Yingyi’s body swell up, I turned my attention back to the gigantic bug.
━Juaaaak!
Before long, the giant bug had fully healed its wounds and let out a more furious roar than before. It was clear that it was ready to attack in a fit of rage.
‘Time to think of something to get me angry. Something intense. Hmm. Ugh! The blistering heat. The fine dust sent by China… that raccoon who secretly ate the fruits I was saving for myself.’
In order to use my ultimate technique, Flame Heart, I needed to stoke my feelings to a fiery level—fury that could cook a steak!
While Azidahaka unleashed fire through a physical method, my blue flames boiled forth from deep within.
‘Can’t stay like this. I need more anger!’
━Hey, say something to get me riled up! Just blurt out anything! Feel free to curse me!
“Dumbass!”
【Idiot.】
━That’s weak!
“Castrated brat!”
【Baldy.】
━Hmmm.
While those weren’t the worst insults, none of them sparked enough anger for me to burst into flames.
‘Maybe coming up with slapdash insults won’t do the trick after all,’ I thought when suddenly—
━Gyuuiiing.
━…what the hell? That was rude, bro!?
Hearing an insult I never expected sent my rage shooting sky-high, turning my vision red. With my heart bubbling like magma, I shouted at the giant worm.
━d*e! I’m unleashing the ultimate destruction upon you!
Whoosh.
The ultra-high-temperature flames erupted from my mouth, heading straight for the giant worm.
━Juiiiak!
The energy output, capable of burning anything to ashes, turned the regenerating tentacles and the gigantic worm into crisp powder.
━Crush! Smash! Big Clap!
I opened my front paws wide and laughed heartily, surrounded by the swirling ash and flames.
“Unbelievably strong firepower! To incinerate such a monster down to the bone in just seconds…!”
【So hot it looks white instead of blue! It’s even trying to burn the walls of the building…!】
Usir and Azidahaka trembled in awe at the might of the flames that erupted from me.
【…….】
Inside the wide hall, which began to ignite, the fallen Yog prepared for battle, raising his giant hammer.
━It’s too late to fight now. You should have jumped in alongside the worm. Now it’s my turn…!
I tensed my back legs, channeling all my strength as I lunged toward the platinum hunter, Yog. My body sliced through the barrier of blue flames, darting straight toward Yog like a released arrow.
It was a simple movement, but with a speed close to 100 agility points, not many could react to it.
━Feel my Hand Crusher!
My rapidly swung front paw connected with the head of the corrupted Yog.
Boom! Bang!
Yog’s body slammed against the wall in a crumple, twitching uncontrollably.
Whoosh!
A huge tentacle burst forth from Yog’s bleeding mouth like a snake emerging from its hole.
【Chiiiiiik!】
The tentacle screamed like a banshee. I quickly ground my feet into the floor and leap toward Yog, who was pinned against the wall.
Whoosh, snap.
The tentacle that sprouted from his mouth whipped through the air like a whip embedded with sharp glass, but in the heat of battle, it seemed slow to me.
━It’s still my turn to attack!
Boom! Bang! Bang!
━d*e!
I ruthlessly pounded Yog’s body with my fists clenched.
“Is that what a magical beast looks like after becoming an adult in the Magical Realm…? Even blind, I can tell it’s a terrifying mass of violence and destruction…”
【No matter how strong it is, I thought it would take at least half a day to deal with the Gatekeeper, but I did it in just a few minutes. I’m starting to feel scared. I had my suspicions, but it’s clear this isn’t just a simple magical beast. What on earth is that thing?】
Hearing the fearful voices from Azidahaka and Usir, I took a moment to calm my excitement and catch my breath.
━Hoo. Hah.
As the dense violence coursing through me from Grid Ratel and my Flame Heart gradually began to cool, I looked down at my front paws smeared with red bl**d and the crumbling wall.
━With this much damage, it shouldn’t be able to regenerate anymore.
I frowned as I looked at the shattered corpse pieces of the fallen abomination strewn across the debris of the wall.
All that was left behind were a massive hammer and the belt it had worn, along with the packages attached to it. I picked up one of those packages and tossed it to Usir.
━Check if there’s anything useful in there, and toss Yingyi back to me.
━Gyuuiiing.
Azidahaka took the swollen Yingyi and threw it my way.
I caught the swollen creature full of water and pointed it toward the burning outer walls and floor of the hall.
━Now it’s your turn. Spray water like you did to put out the fire in the mansion!
As I squeezed Yingyi’s swollen body with my front paw, droplets began to spray out in all directions.
Chiiiiiik.
[Author’s Note] If you enjoyed reading, please hit the recommendation button at the top of the mobile screen! You can gift a happy day to a writer with a mere 2 seconds of your time! @[emailprotected]
