Chapter 223

Deep into the night, I exhaled heavily, my gaze fixed on the last werewolf standing before us. 

It was the final Gray Werewolf.

The creature, already torn to shreds, was gasping through its punctured lung, emitting a boiling cry of agony. 

The fight against the last of the werewolf spawn had become utterly tiresome. 

They did everything in their power to prevent us from destroying their neural cores. Not only did they ambush us, but even when skewered by our swords and spears, they would break our Part-Destroyer Drills and refuse to die. They would even hug their own neural core before falling, as if they were trying to protect it.

But their annoying resistance had finally come to an end.

"You crawl out of a snake's asshole to mess with us, and this is how it ends, you bastard?" I raised my middle finger in the face of the last werewolf.

"Yeah, no matter how much you screw with the balance, I'll still clear this. Keep it up with your bullshit. It'll all be fodder for my crew."

The grand principle of RPGs: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

'I've harvested the XP from 40 werewolves, and I'm looking forward to the bonus rewards after the clear.'

As I looked down at the werewolf with these thoughts, the creature grinned. As if very pleased.

"What are you grinning about, you freak?" I muttered incredulously. 

"We have accomplished our goal, human," the creature responded, surprisingly articulate.

Caught off guard by its speech, I listened as it continued, "We've stalled you for as long as we needed to. Now, you won't be able to stop the snake."

"What are you tal—" I tried to continue the conversation, but the creature's breath cut off.

Frowning, I looked down at its corpse and then up at the neural core. The werewolves' bodies were stacked around it, adhering to it like layers of leather on bone. Lit by the bright moonlight, the sight sent chills down my spine. I gritted my teeth and opened the system window.

[Jormungandr - Status of Part Destruction]

- First Vertebra: 86%

- Second Vertebra: 99%

- Third Vertebra: 99%

'Almost done with the second vertebra...'

Just then, a notification sound rang out.

Ding!

The second vertebra's Part Destruction was complete.

All that was left was this head section. 

I took a flare launcher from my bag, loaded a yellow flare, and shot it into the sky.

Whooosh—Bang!

A yellow flare meant 'rally.' Now the rear party members would gather at the head. All that was left was to destroy the final vertebra together.

I looked at my main party members. 

They were all bloodied and had minor injuries, but no one was showing it. They were ready to resume the Part Destruction process.

"Once we bust this damned horn, it's all over," I yelled, kicking the final vertebra. 

"Let's push through for just a few more hours!"

My party members nodded in unison and began removing the werewolf corpses stuck to the vertebra.

I joined in and casually glanced toward the north.

Crossroad had grown much closer than before.

My mouth was parched, and I turned my attention back to tearing apart the werewolf corpses.

***

It took a considerable amount of time to strip the werewolf corpses of their vertebra.

By the time that task was done, the members of the rear party started to join us by climbing up on hooks.

"Once we smash this damn thing, our three days of hellish toil will finally be over, right?" Kuilan, his face flushed from operating the drill all day, and members of the Penal Squad began to yell as they took their drills to destroy the vertebra.

"We better get a generous vacation and bonus for this, Your Highness!"

"As if they wouldn't give it to us."

Despite everyone being in terrible condition, they desperately attacked the last vertebra.

Crack!

While the Penal Squad's five members were focused on destroying parts, the main party members stepped back for a brief rest.

Junior, in particular, was in terrible shape even after fighting back-to-back battles while injured.

Evangeline gently rested Junior's head on her knee and let her sleep for a moment.

I also wiped my sweaty, dizzy forehead when Reina flew up to me on a hook and spoke.

"Your Highness."

"What is it, Officer Reina?"

"We're not far from Crossroad now."

Looking toward Crossroad, now clearly visible to the naked eye, Reina mumbled. I clenched my mouth shut.

"We'll reach the city walls in less than an hour at this rate."

"What are you getting at, Officer Reina?"

"Can you really stop this serpent within that hour, Your Highness?"

I didn't answer.

Even as we conversed, the walls were getting closer by the second.

'Damn it.'

When the durability of the last vertebra reaches 10 percent, it receives various hardening buffs.

In other words, it becomes tougher. More difficult to destroy. This is the final gimmick.

We're running out of time.

Just barely... insufficient.

"...Your Highness."

Reina tapped the ground with her foot.

"This serpent Jormungandr is a 'Civilization Devourer,' as you said. It destroys worlds, consumes civilizations, and grows."

"...Yes."

"So, after it scales the walls and consumes Crossroad, it'll grow larger. After that, we'll essentially have no way to stop it, right?"

"That's right."

A moment of silence passed.

"...Your Highness, are you aware that human sacrifices have been occurring in the Imperial Capital?"

Caught off guard by the sudden topic, I looked back at Reina. The face of the Mage Officer was expressionless and cold.

"Yes, I know. They extract magical power through human sacrifices for Everblack's operations."

"That operation is managed by our Magical Corps."

As if discussing routine accounting, Reina lightly dropped the fact that they had been burning people alive.

"Because we are more skilled at managing magical power than any other army, we were moved from the First Legion to the Imperial Family's central control. We were responsible for burning prisoners and convicts in human sacrifices."

I couldn't hide my discomfort and frowned.

"...Why are you telling me this now, Officer Reina?"

"Your Highness."

Taking a deep breath, Reina continued,

"To cut to the chase, there's something called a 'Shutdown Protocol' currently installed in Crossroad. It's a magic circle designed for human sacrifice."

...She spat out something crazy.

My eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?"

"While Your Highness was away, we who came down as reinforcements installed it here. In fact, that was the very reason for our deployment."

Reina matter-of-factly explained to my frozen self.

"Since Your Highness has shown an overt hostility and rebelliousness toward the central authority, it was deemed necessary to put you on a leash, so to speak. Hence, it was installed."

"What does that—"

"It's intended to be a form of coercion, in case you disobey the Imperial Family's commands in the future. We inscribed the magic circle without supplying it with magic power, so it went undetected by others."

My trembling hand clenched into a fist.

"If this Shutdown Protocol is activated, it will incinerate all humans within the fortress and use that massive energy to magically seal off the entire area. Once sealed, it becomes impervious to any external intrusion."

"..."

"It's generally installed in areas suspected of rebellion or in conflict zones with enemy states. We just set it up and monitor. If we detect any subversive activities—boom!"

Reina snapped her fingers and grinned maliciously.

"...That's basically what the spell is."

Wham!

I lunged at her, grabbing Reina by the collar. I gritted my teeth and finally spoke.

"So you're saying, you've essentially put bomb collars on my citizens...! What's your kind explanation for this, Commander Reina?"

"...The Protocol can stop Jormungandr. That's why."

Reina looked up at me with emotionless eyes.

"You said yourself, Your Highness, if Jormungandr isn't stopped, the world will end."

"..."

"Directly north of Crossroad lies the Imperial Capital, New Terra. If Jormungandr grows even larger and crushes New Terra, can you imagine the consequences?"

The image of that beautiful coastal city being trampled by a gigantic serpent flashed in my mind.

"The lives of millions in New Terra will be endangered. Not just that—every city in Jormungandr's path would be laid to waste."

"..."

"More than half of the Empire's population and 80% of its industry are concentrated in the Imperial Capital. Losing it means the Empire's destruction. As a soldier, it's my duty to protect the Imperial Capital and the Empire."

Reina spoke calmly.

"Isn't it a cheap price to pay if the lives of a few tens of thousands in Crossroad can preserve the whole Empire?"

"I'm the lord of Crossroad! You think I'll allow that?!"

"I am a soldier of the Empire, Your Highness. What I aim to protect is the Empire and the Imperial Family's well-being, not the preservation of some provincial backwater."

Reina casually glanced to the north.

"Two of my subordinates are already preparing to activate the magic circle."

My fist trembled.

The two mages who were left behind when Jormungandr caused the avalanche.

Could it be they didn't fall behind but deliberately stayed back...?!

"And when I send the signal through this transmitter, we'll immediately execute the shutdown protocol."

Reina shook a black transmitter from her bag.

"That would stop the serpent from crossing into Crossroad, giving us ample time to comfortably destroy its vertebra."

"You think I'd accept such a proposal?!"

"Didn't you say you're fighting to protect the world, Your Majesty? Please make a rational decision."

With the switch in her hand, Reina coldly presented her case.

"Crossroad, and the world. Lose both, or just one."

"..."

"If Your Majesty fails to make an accurate judgment..."

Reina raised her finger to the transmitter.

"...I will have no choice but to decide at my discretion."

***

Meanwhile, at Crossroad.

"The city feels eerie because it's empty..."

"Haha, that's true. Everyone has evacuated to the north."

Walking through the alley in front of the temple, Damien and Kureha were casually chatting.

While all the residents had fled to the northern part of the city, the two had secretly stayed behind to spend time together.

They'd been hiding to sleep, hiding to eat, and even when people from the temple came looking for them, they hid together in some corner of the alley.

In short, they were partners in mischief.

"This is kinda fun, isn't it?"

The two had grown close in a few days, and the older Kureha spoke openly with Damien.

"I'll probably get in trouble when all this is over tomorrow, but it feels fun because it's like I'm disobeying my mom and hanging out."

"Hahaha, true."

Tomorrow, when the evacuation decree ends, they'd likely get a good scolding from Saintess Margarita and Lilly, but doing something they weren't supposed to was thrilling. Damien's face had lightened considerably.

"The monsters should be attacking soon..."

Looking toward the southern wall, Damien mumbled.

Both were wide awake because the monsters would soon invade, so they were walking through the deserted streets.

"Whenever there was a defense battle, I'd always participate. But being this far away actually..."

"Actually, what?"

"Makes me more nervous."

Damien looked down at his empty hands.

"I thought I'd feel better being far away, but..."

"..."

Just as Kureha was about to say something, in response to the boy who felt more uncomfortable being away from the battlefield,

"Huh?"

"What?"

They spotted something strange.

Just as they stepped into the city's central square, where there should have been no one... two wizards, one in a white robe and the other in a black uniform, were drawing a blood-red magic circle.

They were two mages from the reinforcement party. Damien blinked.

'Weren't these the people who had left to fend off Jormungandr?'

"What are you wizards doing here?"

Upon hearing Damien's shouted question,

"...Eh?"

"...Gah!"

The mages, Kitty and Piggy, who were preparing the shutdown protocol, broke into a cold sweat.

An awkward silence fell among the four.