Chapter 181 (1/2)

Trace of the Monarch (4)

*”Meeeow!”

The Iponia, Cat’s cry reverberated sorrowfully.

I brought it through the [Door of Hope].

“You’ll have to help me again this time.”

It had eaten up an enormous curse called the [Seed of Mercadius] and didn’t put anything near its mouth even if after we gave it a skill card because the seed kept it full for a good while.

However, it was starved a little at the time, and recently it started pestering for food again. Hibiki once told me that it didn’t even look at C-Class or lower skill cards, unlike before.

Of course, we couldn’t starve the Iponia just because the goal why we started to take care of it had been met.

Anyway, I owe it to Cat, and it was a bit weird to call it a reward, but I thought I would continue to take care of it.

It’s a pet that cost a lot to maintain, but it was nothing for me.

And unexpectedly enough, we got help from Iponia again today.

“Meeeeeow!”

A sad cry from Cat that I had never heard of before resonated in the underground city.

As soon as I placed it on the floor, it ran, approached Hibiki’s bed, and jumped up.

Then it crouched by Hibiki’s head and licked her hair nonstop.

It showed similar behavior to how cats groomed each other.

“Meeeow!”

As if it knew Hibiki was in bad condition, it looked at her with its eyes wide open.

And then as if it had reached a decision…

Hissss!

I didn’t even tell it to, but bright light began to linger in its eyes.

“Wait! You’ll get a stomachache if you eat it up that way.”

I hurriedly pulled up the god’s power.

That was because although it had nearly reached maturity, there weren’t only one or two curses to be removed that day.

As insurance in case of emergency, I brought out the power of the god of life, ‘Rom.‘

Whooong!

The fog-like divine power was released from the back of my hand, enveloping Cat.

The Iponia leaped through a few years to reach an age when it was in the most powerful stage in its life cycle.

Perhaps it’s because it had already experienced it before, but it didn’t even panic anymore.

The Iponia glared at Hibiki’s heart with the eyes of a predator in front of its prey.

The sharp light flashed in its eyes.

“Now, there you go. Eat it up!”

“Meeow!”

A blue wave spread from Cat’s eyes.

And it poured out toward the cursed Hibiki’s heart, her Mana Core.

As the curse itself wasn’t manifested in a similar living form as the [Seed of Mercadius], it didn’t put up fierce resistance as the seed did.

There was also no howling of the hunted beast.

Shhhhh!

It was almost too easy for the Iponia.

The red Mana pattern that surrounded Hibiki’s heart weakened evidently.

Then it slowly separated from the Core and fell off.

“Hisss!”

Cat hissed.

The moment the curse was completely separated and fell out of her body, it rushed toward the Mana agglomeration, which looked like a spider’s web or a vein due to its wavering shape.

It then released a much sharper and more precise attack than when it hunted my heart’s seed.

“It’s done!”

The red Mana was torn to pieces in the air.

Cat devoured the shredded curse without leaving a single piece.

“Meooow!”

It sat in a majestic position and wagged its tail after it succeeded in vanquishing its foe.

“It’s not time to be full yet.”

Following my instructions, Cat also began to eat the curse of the remaining people one by one.

It was literally an eat-all-you-can day.

“Ah, Guild Master!”

After the curse disappeared, I approached and cast a recovery spell.

The devils were shocked, seeing that the rotten portions that didn’t heal no matter how hard they tried had cleanly disappeared as if they never existed in the first place after the curse had been lifted.

The guild members looked at Iponia and me as if we were saviors, saying that they’ve suffered indescribably terrible pain.

Hibiki, who served as the leader of the Earthlings sent to finish the quest, apologized as soon as she regained her energy.

“… I’m sorry. I should have paid more attention.”

She walked toward me like she’s ashamed and bowed her head down.

I tapped her shoulder encouragingly.

It was absolutely not something for her to be sorry about.

“No, it’s hard to predict what kind of Unique Skills your opponent has. Furthermore, if they invisibly placed the curse during a fight, it would naturally be harder to counter.”

That was the case without the [The Successor’s Eyes].

On the other hand, at that moment, unlike her, there was someone who was expressing anger profusely.

“How dare those inferior bitches place a curse on my body!”

It was the dragon that tagged along to recharge everyone’s Mana, Euclid.

She expressed her terror and shame into anger. She spoke about falling helplessly to the doings of a race that couldn’t even reach her foot in terms of Mana.

For reference, because she hadn’t been able to maintain a polymorph until she was treated, she had been quarantined by a barrier, occupying an entire vacant lot in an underground city.

There was a reason why the devils put up a new barrier.

The terrible smell emitted by a dragon rotting alive… It was similar to hundreds of tons of rotten meat piled up, forming a mountain of decay.

“Now, calm down.”

The dragon, steaming and breathing fire to relieve her rage, returned to a bald elven shape through polymorphism.

I finally addressed everyone as a Guild Master.

“You’ve done great, everyone.”

eyes.

“I know. We still have blood to be paid back.”

One hunter was killed in the collision against the Roheems.

It was a pity.

“I’ll take care of the revenge and the rest of the quest. For now, all of you return to Earth and remain on stand by.”

I added words so they wouldn’t misunderstand.

“It doesn’t mean that I’m reprimanding you for failing the mission. As long as we know that the opponent’s Unique Skill is a curse, there is a risk of taking revenge with the same member composition. It’s not like the Iponia can indefinitely eat up the skill as well. I have to step up.”

The guild members agreed and went back one after another through the [Door of Hope].

The remains of the hunter that died were also recovered and carried away with them.

However, some Hunters insisted on staying despite my instructions.

They were Nate, Hibiki, and Euclid.

Nate and Hibiki, who took the role of leading the guild members, wanted to help me since they desired to see the responsibility through the end. Euclid didn’t care about any of that. She just wanted to take revenge against the disgusting apes.

Nate seemed immune to the decay curse, so I easily allowed it, but I contemplated about Hibiki and Euclid for a moment.

“Alright, I’ll allow it.”

But I agreed soon enough.

“Even if an emergency occurs, one person… plus dragon should be able to be taken care of by Cat.”

I looked at the two humans, a dragon, an alien animal that looked like a cat, and the devil that followed me.

“Well, let’s go return this disgrace by multitudes.”

*

In a forest far from the underground city of devils, a devastating scream resonated.

“Aaaargh!”

The man tied to the tree was a species leader called the “Knight” by the devils of the forest.

His thighs had already disappeared.