Volume 2 - CH 5.2

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist, Editor: Krizzeir

Chapter 5: Let’s Overturn the Fate of Death, Part 2

「We, Dungeon Masters are always granted control over something.」

Sakuya said so as they were lying in bed.

「If it is a volcano, then you’ll be granted sovereignty over fire and heat.」

「That sound reasonable enough.」

「But it also means that we acquire the weaknesses of the things we control.」

She smiled as Aur was caressing her skin with his strong, rough hands.

「I am just like the fire itself. Once the flame of my passion starts burning, it will not be easily quenched. So make sure you’ll take responsibility for it, okay?」

Sakuya overlaps her hands with his, and whispers ticklishly into his ear.

「You said that beings like us always have something they control.」

Sakuya was the fire and heat of the volcano, Tatsuki held rule over the sea and water, and Sofia controlled the entire Dungeon itself. Their aspect always seemed to correspond with the territory they held dominion over.

「In that case, what does “He” control?」

“He” seemed to be someone who had neither land nor subordinates under him.

「The answer is simple, my Master.」

As she straddled him, she placed her hands over his chest.

「Even if you have nothing in your possession, there’ll always be one thing that you have with yourself at all times.」

Under the glow of the moonlight, her nakedness was all the more captivating.

「It is your own self, and your will that shapes the world around you.」

「Can you stop speaking in cryptic riddles?」

As he pierced himself into her, she moaned sweetly.

She blushed, and then said:

「Will and emotions can be likened to flowing water, and his anger is like a raging river. That is why…」

「Looks like the first step was a success.」

Aur gazed at the serpent’s head, as it was falling into the caved ground along with the mass of water that came with him. His head, which was originally as big as a small castle, was now shrinking, to the point that it could now fit into the passageways of the Dungeon.

If Orochi really is the incarnation of a river, then it was impossible for him to escape from its nature.

The waterways connected to the giant pitfall did a splendid job at separating the serpent’s heads.

But with that said…

「Papa! Hurts! It hurts!」

Sofia grabbed his hands tightly as she was shedding tears.

Her fingertips were deeply cut and stained with crimson blood.

“He” is not just a river. He is a muddy stream that flows and rages across eight mountains and eight valleys, destroying everything in his path. The water flew with such a strong momentum that it was damaging the walls of the Dungeon, and it was synonymous with hurting Sofia.

「I’m sorry. Please try to bear with it, just a little longer.」

Sofia could be said to be the Dungeon itself, but that also meant that healing magic would not work on her. Even if it did, she’d just be immediately hurt again. Aur could only hug her tightly as she cried, while the eight fingers on each of her hands continued to shed blood. Even if they managed to separate his heads, Orochi was not the enemy they could easily win against.

When the scars on her fingers reached all the way to the first joints, all of Orochi’s heads reached the room made by Aur’s cube in which Aur took shelter with Sofia. HE opened each of his eight mouths, spilling large amounts of water out of them.

「Now!」

At that moment, the ceiling of the chamber opened, and a large amounts of transparent liquid fell through it. It was not water, though. When it touched HIM, Orochi’s bluish body was painted in a shade of deep red. A lot of it fell into the beast’s mouth, generating copious amounts of steam and smoke.

「What is this? Poison?」

「You can say that it is, but at the same time it is not.」

Aur responded to Tena, who tilted her head, not knowing what exactly was going on.

The Iron Dwarves, known as the unrivaled blacksmiths, were also unrivaled at eating and drinking. Their ultimate achievement in the art of alcohol brewing was the Dorg Spirits.

「And you think it will do anything against him? He is also said to be immune to alcoholic beverages!」

「Maybe to your alcoholic beverages, but the ones made by Dwarves have more of a… kick to them, so to speak.」

The scent of alcohol was so strong that Tena was forced to hold down her nose.

Ordinary Spirits was made by adding alcohol made from fermented wheats or fruits to the water. During that process, some part of alcohol will inevitably dilute.

But the Iron Dwarves created their Spirits by doing exactly the opposite. They created it from pure liquor by continually heating and cooling it. The alcohol created in such a way was much stronger than any other, to the point where just a sip was enough to be the fall of, even the strongest of drinkers. Supposedly, even the dragons. They tested it once on Wolfe’s dragon form, and the effect was… more than satisfying.

This principle must still apply even on this New Continent.

Orochi’s heads wobbled, but they still tried to attack Aur with their fangs.

「Sofia, catch them.」

「All right!」

However, his advances were stopped by the leashes made of molten rock that wrapped themselves around each of its heads.

The torrents of lava could be stopped by water. So it was only natural that the reverse was also possible.

Since he was water-natured, Orochi could force himself through ordinary rocks, but not the molten, burning hot ones. Thus, Aur succeeded in sealing his movements.

「Aur, he’s coming!」

But the battle was far from over.

As Tena shouted her warning, a purple liquid shot out of Orochi’s throats. It was a venom that melted everything it touched.

「Sofia, grass!」

「On it!」

When she put her hands forward, many blades of grass sprung from the floor, creating a wall that prevented the venom from spreading further. Even as it wilted and died when it was touched by it, the new blades took the place of the dead ones in the blink of an eye.

「What is that grass?」

「Bird food.」

「Say what?!」

That was a little too much for Tena to handle. Something like that was able to stop the deadliest poison on the continent?

「Back on my home continent, we have that one monster called Cockatrice, basically an oversized chicken with serpent’s tail that turns whatever its beak touches into stone. But there is that one plant called Herunda Grass that does not turn to stone when it comes in contact with its beak, and because of that he made it, his main source of food.」

「All right, but this one here does not turn things into stone, it melts everything, including stone!」

Aur nodded calmly. Tena was right about that.

「Cockatrice is actually a hybrid created from the union of a small dragons called basilisks with bird-type creatures.」

「They don’t look like they are particularly strong.」

Tena commented when Aur created an illusion of basilisks to show her what he was talking about. They were about as big as the palm of the hand, and they looked more like lizards rather than dragons.」

「But their poison breath is a vicious one. Just a little of it is enough to kill every animate and inanimate being alike. Birds in the sky, water rocks, the soil… wherever there are basilisks, the land changes into a barren wasteland sooner or later. Even when they are hunted, not even a spearman riding on top of a horse is completely safe, as the poison will travel through the spear and kill its user, and oftentimes even a horse. So in that regard, basilisks are just like vipers.」

「Your continent has some seriously messed up creatures.」

Tena trembled at the thought that there are beings in the world who rivaled Yamata no Orochi in terms of poison.

「That grass was made specifically to counter the basilisk threat. Of course, Cockatrices are immune to their poison, and even feed on basilisks due to their size. This makes them quite easy to domesticate and even keep as pets if done correctly.」

「Who would want something like that as a pet?!」

Tena cried out in astonishment.

「What? Is there something wrong in keeping domesticated pets?」

「No, no, of course not. Keeping such vicious beasts as pets, now I’ve heard everything!」

「They are also a powerful asset to have on your side.」

「Yeah, sure, whatever floats your boat.」

「Are you making fun of me?」

「No, not at all.」

Tena deduced that further discussion would be fruitless, despite still having some major concerns about using Cockatrices and basilisks in battle.

As they finished their little chat, Orochi was still spilling more venom out of his mouths.

「Now.」

Aur opened one side of his mantle and activated a magic circle that was drawn on it. Little by little, a shape emerged from it.

「The preparations are complete, Lilu.」

「Roger, just leave the rest to me!」

Aur’s beautiful magic item inventor finally made her appearance on the battlefield.

Orochi’s scales were supposed to be so hard that even the King of Heroes could not harm him with his sword. And despite making him so drunk that he was barely able to move, they still had to put him down somehow.

「I’m going then!」

Lilu materialized a magical gun that she made and aimed it, keeping it stable thanks to the two leg-like things supporting it from both sides. It was a magical sniper rifle that fired cannon sized bullets with superb range and accuracy. It packed a punch of a cannon, while simultaneously retaining the positive qualities of a sniper rifle.

But it had some colossal drawbacks.

First of all, the recoil was too big to shoot with it while holding it with one hand. In order for it to be effective, it had to be affixed into the ground.

Secondly, charging a shot took time, so continuous fire was out of the question. And hitting a moving target was next to impossible.

It had excessive power and potential to kill with one shot.

But.

After the charge was complete, Lilu released the bullet with thunderous roar.

The bullet hit Orochi right between the eyes and pierced the hard scales as if they were made of butter, and came out on the other side of his head while splashing blood and meat half a mile around. It flew along half of the waterway, where it finally lost its momentum and disappeared.

Shock impulses ran throughout the rest of his body, and the resulting heat ignited the Spirits both inside and outside of his enormous body. In this regard, the Dorg Spirits was more like a fuel than a drink. Finally, Orochi’s body exploded in a grotesque shower of blood and guts.

「….Such tremendous power!」

Aur murmured while using his cube to prevent the blood and pieces of meat from falling on them.

「So, do you finally realize my greatness as an inventor? Don’t be shy, go ahead and praise me!」

「Over my dead body.」

Lilu got angry and threw a tantrum while pouting her cheeks.

「I’ll think about praising you if you repeat that shot seven more times.」

「Like hell you will! But I’ll do my best either way!」

Lilu shouted as she prepared to fire another shot.