CH 81

(Ichiko POV for the whole chapter)

“So this is the place?”

I am now hidden near the “Island of the World’s Discrepancy,” waiting for the enemy to come out.

But still, how in the world do they set up the barrier around “Island of the World’s Discrepancy”?

A thorough blockage of the dungeon should not be conceivable, based on the dungeons of other Demon Kings and the way Kurokiri had described it… no, this could be done if you consider that it is through the personal skills of the Demon King.

Furthermore, several of the monsters here supposedly have abilities like barriers, so it would not be surprising if the Demon King possesses similar abilities.

“Are they coming out?”

A hole is made in the barrier, and dozens of monsters can be spotted leaving the dungeon.

They’re making their way towards the village.

As I thought, the Demon King, Distinguishable Warrior of this place, seems to bear an acute attachment to that village.

“Shall I go then?”

And before the hole in the ward could close, I leap in at full speed and invade the dungeon.

Inside the “Island of the World’s Discrepancy” is a dungeon with rooms separated from each other by barriers.

Each island is distinctive of generation, vegetation, climate, and other aspects. It is as if they are places isolated from the rest of the world for prolonged periods of time, like a plateau that arises out of nowhere on a field or islands floating in the sea.

This isn’t an issue for me, nor is it something to be concerned about.

What is an issue for me is that the monsters inhabiting each island exhibit slightly different capabilities.

Yes, on a certain island, there was a deer-type monster with quick movements that played me for a loop; on another island, instead of slow and sluggish movement, it has strong fur, and on yet another island, instead of substantially increased muscle power, its vitality is such that it can be taken down with a single strike. Despite this, there was no discernible change in their appearance or skills.

“Phew. I guess this concludes this room.”

And now, the island monsters I just eradicated had heightened sensing abilities in exchange for discarding their aggression, which made it very time-consuming to hunt down even one of them.

Moreover, this dungeon is very complicated as it appears that you can only advance to the next island if all the monsters on the island are destroyed.

While moving on to the next island, I am trying to comprehend why there is such a setup.

Well, I suppose there are many advantages. If the monsters’ natures varied from room to room, that alone would render the combat more arduous, and if you have to eliminate them without fail, fatigue will surely accumulate, equipment will wear out, and depending on how long it lasts, food and water may pose a challenge.

Besides… somehow I feel that in addition to these advantages, the Demon King of this dungeon is also trying to ascertain which status distribution to the demons would be better.

However, since food is of minimal significance to me as a half Demon King, and with this level of opponents, exhaustion doesn’t even apply to me, therefore it’s scarcely a problem for me.

“Plus, whatever they do won’t change my plan.”

Once I have re-generated my weapon, I head for the rear section.

Regardless of the monsters that are coming towards me or fleeing from me, I will annihilate them.

I suppose it would have been about two days, subjectively speaking, after entering the dungeon.

I have entered an island with a different atmosphere than the one I have been used to.

Unlike other islands, this one is awash in artifacts and concrete structures. With the exception of one pristine structure, the buildings are covered in bullet holes, blood stains, and the remnants of explosions.

And then there is this unnaturally clean and undamaged building in the city. There is a creature whose body has been detached from the waist up and down, whose upper body is floating in a state of being covered with several kinds of trees growing from both shoulders and back, and whose lower body is a mosaic-like assemblage of several different kinds of animals. If I were to classify this creature by its appearance, I would regard it as a chimera.

“You are the ‘Distinguishable Warrior Who Isolates the Species,’ aren’t you?”

Standing in front of the creature, my right hand touches the handle of the sword hanging from my waist so that I can fly at any time, while my left hand holds the dagger for protection against enemy attacks, whenever the battle commences. And in this state, I pose the question.

“…”

However, there is no reply from this Demon King. Well, their appearance makes me wonder if they even have a mouth, so maybe they can’t vocalize from the beginning.

“If you don’t come, shall I come to you?”

When I am one step ahead of the limit range of the ≪Sword of the Formless King・Weak≫, I transfer the long sword from my waist to the place where the Distinguishable Warrior’s head is.

Zash!

The sword penetrates into the Distinguishable Warrior’s head. But the Distinguishable Warrior does not even waver.

With this attack, the Distinguishable Warrior finally registers my presence and (probably) turns their face towards me.

And in the following instant, only the lower half of the Distinguishable Warrior’s body assumes the shape of a horse and surges forward vigorously.

“Tsk!”

I fly to the side to evade the Distinguishable Warrior’s attack.

Right as the lower half of the Distinguishable Warrior’s body passes by where I was, I teleport my second sword towards the place where their heart ought to be this time.

But, as expected, the Distinguishable Warrior displays not even a hint of pain.

On the contrary, the lower half of their body, which I dodged earlier, once more transforms into a mosaic, then changes direction, this time adopting the form of cheetah-like legs and lunges at me.

“What!?”

Perhaps it is because it has turned into cheetah legs. Their speed surpasses that of the previous. On top of that, they are deploying something like a barrier in the form of a blade. It would be dangerous if I were to be struck by it. Therefore, I avoid it by teleporting myself this time.

“I see. This is the unique skill of ‘Distinguishable Warrior Who Isolates the Species’, huh? Rather than saying it is powerful, it is uncanny.”

As I stand on top of a neighboring structure, I assess the skills of the Distinguishable Warrior who is searching for me.

It is likely that the Distinguishable Warrior’s skill is the ability to reconfigure their body to suit their own convenience as well as the ability to control barriers.

But this alone does not explain why the lower and upper body are separated, nor does it provide an explanation for the fact that they are safe even if they are subjected to attacks on parts of the body that are evidently fatal. In this regard, I believe the Distinguishable Warrior’s abilities have a restriction or weakness.

“Whatever the case, the information is lacking, so maybe I should try to strike from the shadows a little further.”

I then conjure several new swords and proceed to launch an attack on the Distinguishable Warrior.

A/N:

The Distinguishable Warrior is a very creepy Demon King.