My proclamation of being eaten alive was so shocking that everyone was left speechless for quite a while.
Well… it wasn’t like there was any other way. I had declared that I would willingly let a monster consume me to spread Divine Power myself, so such a reaction was understandable.
And the reason for their silence was likely because they couldn’t come up with any better methods than what I had suggested.
It might sound like I’m speaking out of guilt, but I didn’t mention this method because I wanted to suffer at the hands of the monster.
Beyond my personal desires, there was simply no better means to weaken the monster, so I had no choice but to bring it up.
That said, I couldn’t just throw a stone imbued with Divine Power into the monster’s body.
Leaving aside the issue of it possibly having no effect, it would be akin to discarding a relic…
It would be foolish to waste a crucial stone meant to be used against the Demon King in such a manner.
Rather than carelessly discarding a relic with uncertain effectiveness, it was more reasonable to take on no risk by throwing my own body into the monster to explosively spread Divine Power and incapacitate it.
Of course, others watching me might feel differently…
But given the current situation, I couldn’t afford to be concerned about such things, so I had to accept it, right?
If I had the luxury to worry about that, we wouldn’t be having such a serious conversation to begin with.
The ‘beast of unending blizzards’ that we were about to face was remarkably strong, to the point that the Grand Magician Arhen and Swordmaster Valencia had to step in.
It was impossible to directly hunt down the monster without a significant sacrifice on my part.
After all, even the so-called Hero Party that was known as a beacon of hope at that time gave up on extermination and chose to seal it instead, didn’t they?
Of course, when facing this monster, they may have been weaker than when confronting the Demon King, so it might have ended with mere sealing, but the fact that the Hero Party struggled against it gives an insight into its strength.
Well, some might think it’s not that difficult since it’s just an early raid boss.
But that’s merely a game setting.
In reality, it was a monster powerful enough to freeze the Northern Region entirely.
Even during game raids, it felt like we were essentially pushing through a storyline.
In terms of setting, it had absurd levels of power, and based on the game metrics, it had strength that could only be matched in the late game.
Despite this, the raid was possible because, although it’s called a raid, we were essentially exterminating it by pushing through the story.
However, right now, neither Evan nor I was in optimum condition, and there was no guarantee reality would unfold like a game.
And most importantly…
“If I don’t step up, it will lead to many sacrifices…”
In the game, it was written that many people had died during that time.
It was just a game, so I could overlook it, but the actual story had grown quite dark from that point onward.
In other words, to prevent such sacrifices from occurring, it would be best if I could secure a stable end to the raid like this.
Well, there’s no guarantee that no one would be injured, nor that the raid will definitely end smoothly.
Even so, compared to taking a careless approach expecting everything to go fine, I evaluated that it was more certain for me to enter the monster’s body myself and weaken it.
I just want it to be clear that my curiosity about what it feels like to be eaten alive by a monster is not the reason behind this.
This time, I am serious.
While I enjoy suffering, I am not so perverse as to relish in the destruction of the world.
This is… purely a measure to ensure that no one gets hurt and we can complete the extermination.
*
Days passed since then.
It became certain that the monster had awakened.
So far, the ground had been crumbling, and the monster had grown ferocious… but I, as the Saint, along with Esther and Evan, could feel that the monster was indeed alive.
Though weakened by years of sealing, it still radiated a strong and ominous aura.
Evan was exhausted from his battle with the wyvern, and I was barely alive but had already regained consciousness long after the monster had awakened… Fortunately, even if it had awakened, it hadn’t attacked us immediately yet.
The reason it wasn’t launching an assault right away was likely that it had only just awoken.
Once it assesses the situation and realizes we are here, it will surely come for the Erghardt family and bring ruin to the empire.
Before the monster launches its attack, we prepared to hunt it down first.
Not just us, but the imperial forces also formed their own hunting parties after hearing the news.
It was shocking news that the ‘beast of unending blizzards’, capable of turning the Northern Empire into a region plagued by never-ending blizzards, had broken free from its seal.
This was not something the Erghardt family could handle alone.
Thus, not only the imperial army but also the imperial knight order, regarded as the strongest force in the empire, and the imperial magicians were dispatched.
High-ranking troops arrived first through the teleportation magic circle installed at the ducal house, and after several days of long marching, the remaining forces also arrived.
Everyone was greatly tense at the thought of confronting a monster that was no different from a disaster.
And we…
“Aria… are you really okay?”
“Aria! Are you hurt? Are you alright?”
“If it’s too much, be sure to say so. I’m not forcing you.”
Lucia, Stella, and the others who were worried about me all gathered to ask if I was hurt and if I was really okay.
Of course, my answer was always the same.
“I’m fine, so don’t worry.”
I said.
The Divine Power I was concerned about had recovered sufficiently.
Typically, Divine Power could recover fully in about a day, or at most two, so it’s only natural given the longer time I’ve been given.
However, there was still tension lingering in the room.
Although I had suggested this method after hearing the goddess’s weaknesses…
No one had ever acted in the way I had proposed, nor was there any historic record with such information, so it remained uncertain how effective it would be to enter the monster and spread the cleansing Divine Power.
No one had ever considered the idea of being devoured by a monster to spread cleansing Divine Power throughout their entire body… Not even the Saint who had accompanied Arhen back then, as she had also been astonished by the very suggestion I made.
And…
“Treasure your own body, they said…”
I was scolded.
Severely.
Is this really the right thing? Regardless of my doubts, it makes no sense that I suggested this. They earnestly urged me to cherish my own body.
Of course, it didn’t match the personality of the character I was playing, this ‘Aria’ girl, to ask if there were any better methods… So, I simply said I was sorry, awkwardly smiled, and moved on.
That said, it didn’t suit Aria’s character at all to ask those scolding me, “Is there another method?”
In the end, no one could come up with a better method than the one I proposed.
It was only natural.
The ones who faced that monster were the imperial soldiers of long ago, the ancestors of the Martimos clan, and lastly, the Hero Party of salvation.
And most of them had perished.
Arhen and…
“Speaking of which, I wonder what that guy is up to…”
There was one more person.
The elf who had served as a scout in the Hero Party…
No, this isn’t the time for such thoughts.
Anyway… what I want to emphasize is that only a minuscule number of people have information regarding that monster.
“…”
Ultimately, we ended up without any viable countermeasures and based on the plan that I would be directly devoured by the monster to weaken it, we all set out to hunt it together.
This happened a week after the monster broke free from its seal.
