Chapter 41 (1/2)

The Prelude of Collapse

The group slowly went down the mountain road.

That wasn’t unusual. For the city’s residents, it was a familiar sight.

Explorers returned alive from the labyrinth. It was a daily routine.

Even if veteran parties searched through a different area, they would usually be able to handle the exploration.

“W-we’re here~”

Quickly pa.s.sing through the gate, Lulu, who was using a walking stick, collapsed.

She didn’t think about annoying pa.s.sersby. She didn’t have the composure to.

Like caught fish, the other members also sat down, leaning against the wall of the building along the roadside.

“Seriously, I thought that we were going to die this time.”

Though Ria was the only person with a nonchalant att.i.tude, her equipment was ragged.

She didn’t have any armor, just clothes. Holes were scattered here and there, tempting sights to the men.

They were spare clothes. These were the last ones.

Even though she could use genesis magic, her magical power was precious and the other members were exhausted.

She was saving her magical power for an emergency, so she turned out like this in the end.

Indeed, it was a miracle no one died.

Serge was laying on Rudolph’s back, asleep as though he were dead.

All of the warrior’s armor had deformed from acid and extreme heat. The mages used their magical power to their limits, exhausting it until they started burning their life force.

More than a month had already pa.s.sed since the formation of the new Thunder’s Fangs.

The first agreed upon trial period had pa.s.sed and their roles were firmly set. Everyone concluded it was fine to continue as they had been doing.

Then, from measuring just how much fighting strength they had, this was the result of just a little unreasonableness.

Until now, Thunder’s Fangs had went up to the thirty-sixth floor. The final floor they reached this time was the forty-ninth.

The King Hydra, that was an extreme demon Serge Identified.

There were also unreasonably amounts of Evil Spirit Knight groups.

The army of magical creatures were h.e.l.l.

Things like the Flame Giants were nightmarish.

They defeated all of them. They didn’t run. They couldn’t run.

Defeating the King Hydra, they started to return, but were attacked en route.

“Thinking about it, the Dark Dragon might have been waiting in front of us.”

Shouldering Lulu, Ria spoke to Vargas.

“With its strength, it certainly could have been the gatekeeper.”

Leaning his back against the wall exhausted, Vargas responded.

The King Hydra was strong. It may have been on the Cyclops’ level, or possibly even stronger.

If there was a stronger demon than that, it could only be something like a Dragon. Rather, could a Dragon be stronger than that?

“Has Cell fought against a Dragon?”

Ria asked while changing the shoulder she lent out. Since elves had long lives, she believed they would also have a lot of experiences.

“Only a Sub-Dragon. Not a genuine Dragon.”

Ria had experienced slaughter if it was a Sub-Dragon. It was crushed though.

(Even so…)

Ria thought. The town’s atmosphere was strange. One of the town’s leading parties came back in tatters. Wouldn’t people call out to greet them?

There was little traffic. Normally, squalid men would be roaming the streets, but there were very few people now.

Nevertheless, it was time to rest. No matter what happened, they couldn’t fight in their current state. Apart from herself, it would take many days for the other humans to recover.

“Alright everyone~, get up~. Time to go home~”

Apart from endurance and magical power, she really wanted to go take a bath.

Everyone moving in a manner similar to a group of zombies, Ria and the rest of the group returned to the inn.

“Ueh?”

Someone let out a strange voice. There was an abnormally large amount of people inside the inn.

The dining room on the first floor was completely filled. It was still before evening. The many patrons were talking without eating for some reason.

Could they even be called patrons to begin with?

She wanted to ask what the heck happened.

Surely a Dragon didn’t appear nearby of something? If so, she could agree.

Certainly, if that was how it was she would understand.

While reading to the hotel’s counter, Ria didn’t think that her prediction would prove right.

Her prediction was off the mark.

Off in a bad direction.

When she hesitatingly asked about it at the counter, the receptionist girl answered.

“It seems the Imperial Capital disappeared.”

“Eh? Huh?”

Ria unintentionally let out a strange voice.

She didn’t understand what she meant.

If you spoke about the Imperial Capital, it was the Imperial Capital. The capital of the empire.

There was only one empire on the Dragon Bone Continent. The nation founded by the Saint Emperor Ryuke s.h.i.+faka, the empire in the center of the continent.

The empire had no name. Nameless, it was the only empire like that.