Chapter 66: Hunting Dangerous Entities [2]

While fending off tentacles, Louis ordered Zorba to get serious. He sent his last remaining skeleton toward him. Zorba nodded, touched the skeleton, and dismantled it into skeletal armor that covered his entire body, forming a long scythe of bone.

“Very well, Master Louis!”

Driven by nothing but the desire to fulfill his lord’s will, Zorba threw himself recklessly into battle. His Undead Bone Scythe cleaved through tentacles while phantasmal flames consumed them. Anastasia rose shakily to her feet, eyes wide. She swiftly cut down a tentacle aimed at Catrise’s back.

“Oh, thank the goddess you’re okay!” Catrise exhaled in relief. “Let us fight as one then, daughter of Tisha!”

The priestess summoned her Soul Weapon once more. Her blinding frozen hammer crushed tentacles with devastating force while Anastasia and Zorba sliced them apart. Reassured that the group could hold together, Louis rushed back to aid Mirai. He noticed the Gravewalker beginning to crumble.

When Incarnations “died,” they could regenerate after hours of rest, but Louis would lose access to its power in the meantime. He decided to recall it.

“Come back, Gravewalker! Don’t waste your life!”

The Gravewalker instantly merged back into him. His form shifted temporarily into an Ashen Dragonoid with skeletal wings, but without the Pugilist Incarnation’s metallic claws. He chose to let that one rest for now.

“Mirai, hang in there!”

Louis caught up to her, slashing incoming tentacles with his pale-light blade before thrusting his lance forward. A powerful technique erupted, piercing the Entity’s body and leaving a massive hole in a blinding explosion of holy light that resembled a roaring dragon.

“Your Majesty!” Mirai smiled through her exhaustion as Louis arrived to cover her back.

“Are you okay? You’ve taken too much miasma!” Louis said urgently. “Here!” He enveloped her in Ashen Frost, confusing her for a moment, then purified it into Pale Light. The radiance burned her skin but cleansed the corruption.

“Ouch! Didn’t you have a better way of helping me?!” she complained.

“No, you’re tough enough to take it. Now come on, let’s kill this thing! Hurry!” Louis urged.

Mirai nodded and charged beside him.

After hundreds of hours training together, their movements were perfectly synchronized. They dodged and countered attacks while combining their strength, cutting through vine tentacles and rapidly closing in on the monster’s core.

But at that moment, the cunning creature chose to flee, beginning to submerge deeper into the miasmic swamp.

“Where do you think you’re going, coward?!”

Louis’ fury flared. A massive hand of Ashen Frost manifested, seizing the creature and halting its retreat, even as the ice began crumbling almost instantly under the Entity’s resistance.

However.

RUMBLE!

“Hecatoncheires—crush it!”

Zorba’s voice thundered behind them. The zombie titan, finally finished with its own prey, stomped down on the Mutated Entity, nearly flattening it against the ground. Yet its spongy exterior prevented total destruction. Vines spread across the zombie’s legs, piercing its skin and attempting to tear it apart from within.

Louis and Mirai exchanged a glance. The prince struck the monster’s rear while Mirai rushed the front. In a single coordinated assault, blinding lance of light and blazing infernal claws, the creature’s body ruptured. Its massive core shattered.

BOOOM!

Finally, they had a moment to breathe. Both dropped onto purified soil, exhaling in exhausted relief. Their detection abilities registered no further immediate threats. For now… they were safe.

“Haaa… that was tiring,” Mirai sighed. “How big is this place?”

“Perhaps a couple of kilometers,” Louis replied. “If we hurry, we can finish this within three days.”

“A-And that includes sleeping and eating, right?” Mirai asked hopefully.

“…”

“Right???” Mirai insisted. “Ugh, Prince Louis please don’t exploit us!”

Louis smiled at her. “You are all very strong people. Three days without sleep won’t kill you. You’ll have plenty of Fantasium to absorb from these corpses.”

He rose and approached the Entity’s remains, tearing free chunks of its shattered Fantasium Core, each piece glowing with chromatic light.

“Here.” He offered her a fragment.

“…What?” Mirai raised an eyebrow. “I’m not eating this…”

“Why not?” Louis asked, crunching one like a snack. “It’s efficient, better than food. And you won’t need to use the bathroom on a Fantasium Crystal diet.”

“You’re crazy…” she sighed. “I’m not doing that! I’ll eat proper food!”

“…Fine,” Louis conceded. He wouldn’t argue. “Let’s check on the others. Zorba, Anastasia, Catrise, did it go well for you?”

He hurried over. They were barely standing, covered in bruises that slowly healed under Catrise’s Spell Domain.

“W-We’re fine…” Anastasia breathed. “Every muscle in my body hurts, though.”

“Haah…” Zorba exhaled. “Well, it was worse back then.”

“Are we taking a break, Prince Louis? Shall I prepare lunch?” Catrise asked. “I’ve brought everything for a proper meal.”

“…Yes but let me handle this first.” Louis drew a long silver pole from his shadows. It was topped with a crystal tube and intricate mechanical components. He drove it deep into the contaminated soil, activated several switches, and issued a command. “Activate Fantasy Field Cleansing Pillar.”

“Activation in progress… Extracting Fantasium from the environment… Cleansing surroundings… Stabilizing Elemental Harmony…”

The device spoke in a calm mechanical tone. Shockwaves of chromatic light pulsed outward. Within seconds, the swamp began evaporating. The sky above cleared to a faint blue. A circular area around the pillar rapidly reverted to normal.

“Oh, is this the technology you mentioned from your father, Prince Louis?” Mirai asked.

“Yes. Don’t get too close,” Louis warned. “It absorbs excess Fantasium and purifies the environment. It was designed to slowly dismantle Fantasy Fields as part of the Reconquest Project. These are still prototypes—used sparingly—but as the son of the VPI leader, I secured several. The long-term plan is to perfect them, mass-produce hundreds, and deploy them worldwide to cleanse the planet and make it habitable again. Beyond that, the ultimate goal is to refine this technology until it can sever the connection between Earth and the Dimensional Labyrinth entirely.”

“I see… that’s incredible,” Mirai said quietly. “I wish technology like this had been developed earlier… maybe decades ago.”

“This has been the work of countless souls across many decades,” Louis replied. “It would have been impossible to achieve much sooner. Still, I’m relieved now that I didn’t bring Melisa or Selene. Against foes like these, they would have died.”

“Yes…” Mirai nodded solemnly. “I was disappointed when you didn’t let them come… but now I understand why.”

“I originally thought this place would be manageable even for children, that they could handle plant monsters and gain experience,” Louis admitted. “But against Entities, I can’t afford to lower my guard.”

“I wish they didn’t have to fight at such a young age,” Mirai said softly. “They need a couple more years to grow up.”

“Unfortunately, this world won’t wait for them,” Louis replied. “I gave them special protective clothing and equipment, like all of you have, but even then, I wasn’t certain they would survive. They still need training. The Academy will be the perfect place for them to fully develop their abilities. Both have the potential to awaken as Spiralwalkers.”

“Really?” Mirai asked, surprised. “Huh… they really are talented.”

“Yeah… it’s done.” Louis looked upward. A 500-by-500-meter area had been fully cleansed, from the containment barrier entrance to their current position and slightly farther south. “I brought four more pillars, but I think we’ll need two or three additional ones. I underestimated their range and efficiency. Even as prototypes, these are remarkable.”

“Indeed. Your father is truly a genius, Lord Louis,” Zorba said, having quietly joined the conversation. He studied the glowing pillar with admiration. “This technology is most impressive. There is nothing like it in the Vultarn High Dominion.”

“I guessed as much,” Louis replied. He extracted the large flask from the pillar’s top, then placed a small silver sphere on the ground. It activated, opening a tiny black portal. “Teleport this to base. Analyze the components and send me everything you discover.” He placed the glass tube inside; it vanished instantly.

“What is that?” Anastasia asked, approaching the group in awe.

“A teleportation device,” Louis explained. “It cannot move people or large objects. It’s designed to instantly send samples of corrupted substances, Entities, and similar materials back to headquarters. They’ll analyze them and report back within a couple of hours. That way we can determine the origin of this Corrupted Field, the Entities’ weaknesses, and much more.”

“Interesting. That will make our tedious work here much easier,” Zorba remarked. “Can they send us equipment as well?”

“Yes, they’ll modify and upgrade existing models on the spot,” Louis answered. “Well… technically not design new ones, just improve what already exists.”

“How is it possible for the VPI to produce such things so quickly?” Anastasia wondered. “I’ve always been curious…”

“It’s because of the factories infused with Fantasium and Yggdrasil technology, developed by my grandfather, the Dragon King, and his second daughter, Aunt Kate. She possesses an extraordinary unique Affinity for Technomancy. She can materialize all kinds of technology. She has infused her power into various machines now operating within the VPI.”

“Well… that’s incredible,” Anastasia murmured. “We should rest for now and catch our breath,” Mirai suggested wearily.

“Everyone! Tea is ready. I’ve also prepared stew,” Catrise called out.

Louis turned. She had already set up a table, chairs, and a bonfire. A pot of stew bubbled invitingly over the flames.

“Hurry before it gets cold.”

“How did she do that so quickly?” Louis stared in disbelief at his god-like maid, who could adapt to any environment and bring comfort to her master in an instant.

♢♢♢♢

The moon gazed upon the uninvited guests, its crimson eye straining to discern who they were and what they wanted, only for them to vanish mysteriously from sight.

Along with the sudden blindness in one of its blind spots, the deaths of many children echoed through its body and soul like agonizing needles piercing its very essence.

Parts of what it was died.

Across the endless, twisted reflection of black tar, the moonlight shimmered with wrath. The desire for vengeance boiled within its ethereal being.

Yet another connection called.

“I call upon you, Great Grievance. Please grant us the power to fight back against the tyranny of our rulers.”

The Moon fixed its crimson eye upon them. Scarlet moonlight descended, bathing the frail lifeforms from the world it sought to assimilate.

It was communicating.

“You ask for only one condition? Yes, of course!”

The summoner smiled as he heard the demand, filled with joy at their apparent shared purpose.

“Please do not worry. Our goals align perfectly. Let us transform this territory into our own nation, a country of true freedom, no longer controlled by the Royal Family.”

He did not realize that the entity he addressed did not think like a human.

And soon, when the last seal cracked, the barriers would no longer contain Him.

A low, distant rumble rolled across the sky, as if the moon itself had just laughed.

—–

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