Chapter 51: The Loyal Dragons
After wiping out the Elf lackeys, Sophia was safe for the time being. Demon Lord Ariel seemed to be heading toward the deepest part of the labyrinth and had not yet discovered their location. With some downtime on their hands, the two prepared to find an opportunity to learn the Human language.
They also planned to hunt down more bandits or any thugs looking for trouble; after all, human experience points were simply too delicious. Only by slaying humans could they level up fast enough to eventually rival Ariel. Thus, the two little spiders began to approach the nearby towns.
...
Meanwhile, at the deepest level of the labyrinth.
Watching her subordinates, who had followed her for many years, die one after another, Ariel was consumed by grief and rage. "Damn it... don't let me find you!" she hissed through gritted teeth.
Just then, she suddenly sensed another presence approaching. "Who?!" Ariel narrowed her eyes, her fingers curling into a fist.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
Heavy footsteps echoed behind her. She turned around warily to see a massive group of Earth Dragons slowly walking toward her. Their sheer size made the very earth tremble. These were the members of the Earth Dragon clan living in the Lower Stratum—existences on par with Araba.
The lead Earth Dragon appeared to be an Elder, radiating a powerful, suffocating pressure. Ariel stared at them, her brow furrowing slightly. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.
Earth Dragon Gakia raised its neck proudly, showing off its hard scales. "Stop the hunt for the spiders."
"Impossible," Ariel refused.
"We respect the strong. Those two were weak, yet they dared to challenge Araba. That alone proves they possess a powerful conviction. As products of the old era, perhaps we should simply step down. The new era needs existences like them!"
Gakia, the Elder, spoke with fervor, as if he could already see the hope of a new age descending. Unfortunately, Ariel would not allow it. Looking at Gakia and the gathered elite forces of the Earth Dragons, she sneered, her eyes flashing with a manic killing intent.
"I don't believe in a new generation. I only know one thing—whoever stands in my way, I kill!"
"In that case, there is no other way." Gakia let out a long sigh. "We can only defend our beliefs in our own way."
As soon as the words fell, he was the first to charge at Ariel.
*Roar—!*
Accompanied by a low draconic cry, he unleashed his full combat power.
"Heh." Ariel gave a contemptuous smile. "Attributes of a mere twenty or thirty thousand, and you think you can stop me? Laughable!"
However, in the next instant, the group of high-tier Earth Dragons worked together to cast a Dragon God Barrier, firmly imprisoning Ariel within its walls.
"Do you want your entire clan to be wiped out?!" Ariel questioned sharply.
"To protect our faith, we are willing to fight to the death! This is the final dignity of the Earth Dragons!"
The Earth Dragons remained firm. They would not allow any destroyer to trample on their beliefs! Some things were worth dying for, and they would never compromise. This was their will—a will that nothing could destroy.
Ariel looked at the stubborn Earth Dragons, feeling highly annoyed. Her eyes darkened. "Stupid Dragons."
From their actions, Ariel had already discerned their true purpose. The older a creature, the more skills it possessed, which meant it held a massive amount of "soul energy." Gakia intended to return to the system's embrace. He chose to offer his soul to help repair this crumbling world. However, he chose to return through a glorious, all-out battle—dying like a hero! Moreover, it would buy time for those two outside to grow stronger.
It was simply "Subarashii" (wonderful)!
"I'll grant your wish," Ariel grinned savagely. Her Demon Lord power surged, directly tearing through the Dragon God Barrier.
*Roar—!*
Draconic roars filled the labyrinth as an even stronger barrier unfolded. A war between the Earth Dragons and the Demon Lord erupted in the depths. No one knew exactly what happened down there. Only the shockwaves of powerful air currents constantly surging out hinted at the brutality of the battle.
...
"La~ Lala~ Hmmm~ Hmmmmm~"
The forest breeze carried the soft rustling of leaves. The air was fresh, birds were chirping, and the scenery was pleasant. Feeling the cool wind on her face, Shiro squinted her eyes in enjoyment. Walking through the forest, the two even hummed tunes comfortably, completely unaware that the Earth Dragons were currently "tanking" everything for them.
Though, even if they knew, they probably wouldn't care. They wouldn't be able to interfere in a battle of that scale anyway.
As they drew closer to the town, they began to notice traces of human activity. They didn't hide their tracks; after all, their goal was to contact humans and learn the language. However, the first reaction most people had upon seeing monsters was to run for their lives.
"We are clearly cute and kind little monster spiders. What is wrong with these people?" Shiro grumbled, watching yet another merchant caravan flee.
"Well, whatever," Shirazawa shrugged. "At least we've learned phrases like 'Help!', 'It's a monster!', and 'Run!' That's not a total loss for our vocabulary."
Shiro rolled her eyes. At this rate, it would take forever to learn the language. Just then, a woman clutching a child of about seven or eight appeared before the two spiders. She pleaded through tears, looking at them as if they were her last hope.
"Divine Messenger... please... save my son..."
Her child had cancer. The medical means of this world couldn't effectively treat it, and he was on the verge of death. Today, in the town square, she had seen flyers distributed by the Countess. They spoke of a Divine Beast—a messenger sent by the Goddess—living in the mountains.
Clinging to her faith in the Goddess and a final shred of hope, she had brought her child to the forest, praying to encounter the Divine Beast to save him. He was only eight; he hadn't seen the world yet and couldn't die like this.
The religion of the Keren County (Sariella) was the Goddess Religion, where spiders are worshipped as Divine Beasts. In reality, this was based on the Goddess Sariel (who became the System core) and her student, Ariel. As a devout believer, the woman wasn't afraid of spiders.
"Azawa, what do we do?" From her fragments of speech, the two guessed her intent.
"Let's save him. We can farm some favorability points; it'll make learning the language easier later."
"But Healing Magic shouldn't be able to cure something like lung cancer, right?" Shiro noted. Cancer cells technically want to live forever with the host; since it's not external "damage," normal healing doesn't help.
"Then we'll have to perform surgery. Cut out the cancerous cells, then use Regeneration Magic to repair the body."
"This... are you sure this will work?" Shiro expressed her concern.
Shirazawa pondered for a moment. "It should be fine. You use Miracle Magic to keep his HP up, and I'll perform the operation."
Thus, the first-ever internal surgical operation in this fantasy world took place in the middle of a forest. Seeing her child being cut open, the woman was absolutely stunned.
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