Chapter 89 - Devourer Dragon (1/2)
Translator: Barnnn
Editor: Silavin
While Leon was out warning the nobility about the Devourer Dragon, Tsutomu met up with Camille and presented to her a data sheet of the Devourer Dragon that he had written beforehand. After an explanation, he handed the papers over.
Camille read through only a bit of the Dragon’s explanation before looking up again.
“…It’s stronger than the Black and Lightning Dragons?”
“Without a doubt. Please take maximum precautions… And do keep in mind that even the barrier may be breached this time around.”
“No, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’ll assume that you don’t know much about the barrier, Tsutomu, so listen — The Royal Capital has tasked House Babenberg to manage this city ever since God’s Dungeon appeared. And they’re not just for show.”
“I’d still say we have to be that careful. There’s no telling how strong this Devourer Dragon will become once it eats up the whole Stampede.”
In Live Dungeon, if the Devourer Dragon were to consume all of the monsters that spawned during the fight, it would be stronger than even the Corroded Elder Dragon. Fortunately, this did not serve to break the game’s balance, since even first-time players would know not to let the Dragon strengthen itself too much.
If assuming that this world’s Devourer Dragon had been eating the Stampede, however, it would be better to also assume that the Dragon had been strengthened to its game counterpart’s maximum potential, or possibly even beyond that. All that knowledge made Tsutomu fear the coming of the Devourer Dragon, but the Guild members around him were still quite optimistic.
Throughout the history of Dungeon City, the noble family’s two-layered magical barrier had never been breached. The last time the first layer had cracked was several decades ago, and even then, that layer was just for testing. If something was strong enough to get through, it would then face the second layer, which was stronger and had different magical properties. Such was the ironclad strategy of House Babenberg.
In the Royal Capital, the city of various magic-wielding noble households, House Babenberg was one of the top two users of barrier magic. It was no exaggeration to consider that Dungeon City’s barrier had the same defensive power as the one protecting the Royal Capital.
As such, Tsutomu’s worries might seem somewhat overblown for those in the know. Tsutomu being officially recognized as an orphan originating outside Dungeon City meant that people would assume ignorance, attributing his restlessness to his lack of local common knowledge.
Camille at least knew otherwise, ever since she had partied up with him. Moreover, it was from him that the defense force had obtained substantial information on the little-known Lightning and Black Dragons. Garm and Amy, who had also been in Tsutomu’s party before, also listened to his warning seriously.
Camille took another look at the documents, and then at Tsutomu again. She stared him in the eye and said firmly, as if she had made up her mind,
“I’ll go warn everyone. I can go ahead and submit a report to the Security Team as well, right?”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“All right, everyone, be on maximum alert!” Camille addressed the Guild staff members as she held up the stack of documents.
“…Yes, ma’am,” they answered, though most of them had their doubts.
Camille hurried to meet up with the Security Team. Tsutomu, unsure of what to do after seeing her off, felt a tug from behind on the sleeve of his shirt. Turning around, he saw Amy, her tail wagging as if she wanted to ask what was next.
“You think I should start evacuating the people now?”
“…Yes, please. Every bit helps.”
“Gotcha. Wait, will the Security Team even issue an evacuation order, though? …You know what, I’ll just talk about it with my fans first. That’ll help things go smoother down the line.”
Amy proceeded to wade through the crowd. Having a solid fanbase and being quite well-known in general, she quickly found her acquaintances and fans. Many were likely to understand her explanation and act accordingly.
“And what should I do?” Garm asked.
“I think Amy can handle the civilians just fine, so… could you go warn the other Clans?”
“All right, I got this.”
Garm was one of the rare Tanks that has always been well-respected, despite Attackers being favored over everything else until very recently. He was quite a famous figure in this line of work, which was why Tsutomu had decided to send him to warn most of the Clans.
[So we’re really up against the Devourer Dragon, huh… Gotta prepare for it the best we can.]
Tsutomu thought about what he could do now, taking into account the countermeasures he had already thought of. He proceeded to head to the Magic Stone Exchange, the Forest Apothecary, and Ealdred Crow’s house to prepare the things he would need.
――▽▽――
“…And that’s the gist of it, kids! Be counting on y’all!”
“Yeah!”
Amy smiled and waved, and the children she had been talking to hopped and waved back as they left with their mother. Once they were gone, Amy immediately searched for her other acquaintances.
She had been weaving her way through the crowd, and each time she found someone she knew, she would ask them for cooperation with the Security Team’s evacuation procedures. Her fans immediately agreed and were quick to spread the word, and most of her acquaintances were more than happy to do as asked.
“Aha! Excuse me, ma’am! Do you have a minute?”
“Hmm? Well, if it isn’t Amy! Do you need something?”
“So there’s something I need to tell you…”
Once Amy explained to the plump lady that a strong monster was approaching, and that she and her family should evacuate, the lady looked troubled as she put one hand on her chin.
“Well, that sounds like a big deal! But my husband is with those Dungeon Maniacs, you see? I’d already told him to listen to the Security, but he’d stop at nothing to see the action!”
“Ah… sounds rough.”