VOL. 7 When the Thunder Struck

Butcher Demon Chapter 273 Oberon

『So, let's get back a bit. Why did Elysium and Agartha fall out when they join forces to attack Earth?』

When I asked, Titania glared at the four girls.

『We discovered that Narus had been secretly building a dungeon on Earth right after we had started a war, he's doing it behind Father back all those time. This was the point when father's patience ran out. His anger was now directed at Narus. As a result, the Earth issue was put on hold.』

The floating sheet was pulled to the left and right, and the hidden table was uncovered.

In the middle of the revealed table, Kin was sneakly drawing a hole.

Then Kin act surprised when the army of beetles surrounding him.historical

『Dungeons on Earth?』

『Yes. The untapped magical power on Earth must be that dazzling, since Earth people cannot use the dragon's veins. As the dungeon master, he must have seen it as a treasure trove.』

『And what is magic power exactly?』

『The force that pulls life out of the current of ruination. It is also called negative entropy. It is the fire that the World has been burning since the beginning of the first dawn. The Fuel for the future. It's the time, the life span of a planet.』

『Hmmm』

『Despite the fact that all living beings require such power, Narus still constructed dungeons after dungeons in Miforsis and on Earth in order to continue the subhuman war. Through out this war, the situation is not getting better, instead, the planet is getting colder and colder. Narus refused to stop no matter what we told him.』

『He's a "dungeon master" after all.』

『He believed Narus would pave the path for Miforsis to continue developing peacefully. However, the father's expectation was betrayed. Father underestimated his bottomless greed. Looking back now, it is possible that the pretext for the invasion of Earth to stop the Changeling may have been all a lie. Narus actual goal is to wield Earth's magical power. So father changed his mind and decided to get rid of Narus.』

『Oh, that must have been a time when alien invasion temporarily stopped』

So that's how humanity was able to build the Fort when the alien attacks ceased.

『Narus mobilized all of his power and fought against father, but nature's wrath rendered all mortals diminutive, Father, with his mighty tempest in tow, drove Narus back into the capital Albasia.』

The army of beetles kicked Kim's army of ants to the ground and advanced.

Kin is cornered in on one side of the table.

『So you did it. You've won.』

『Yes. Narus surrendered.』

Gin steps forward and Kin got down on his knees.

『Father decided to bond Narus with a ritual. Narus first agreed and escorted him to the ceremony location to finalize the contract.』

Kin (Narus) and Gin (Oberon) shook hands, and Gin turned around.

『He escorted him out, and then--?』

『It was a trick.』

Kim suddenly stood up and....

He stabbed Gin in the back with a nail that he had taken out before someone can notice it.

A suspenseful, sad theme rings out. A bell cricket, cricket, and grasshopper with praying mantis as a drummer formed a musical quartet.

『Then, Narus destroyed father with the .』

『That's horrible.』

Getting stabbed in the back is a little stale for me right now.

『However, our Agartha clan is immortal beings of the planet. With the passage of time, father will surely return. Fearing for his own sins, Narus poured all of his remaining power into a huge dungeon and threw the spirit of Esteemed Father in it. That said dungeon is Tartarus.』

Kin draw a large hole on the table and threw a limp Gin (with nail stuck into it) into the center of the hole.

『So it's all connected now.』

『The creation of the great dungeon Tartarus is unimaginably taxing even for Narus, and with the backlash from father's Narus, I suppose, is dying and unable to even move his feet from the Albasia throne room. Is that correct?』

Kin is suffering from being entangled in the yellow mucus that coming from Gin.

Seeing this, Arshella answered discouragingly.

『I heard that the Demon Lord hasn't been seen by anyone other than his entourage for a long time now.......』

『It would seem so. A king who shows any sign of weakness will be quickly yanked down from his throne. It is customary. Reigning by force is like that. Since then, no new gate should have been opened between Miforsis and Earth. Narus has no power left to do that now.』

Kin, suffering from being entangled in the yellow mucus, hid himself with a white sheet.

――*bang*!

『So...... that's what happened.......』

Abigail slammed the table and groaned. The insects that were in the middle of their performance startled and looked at her at once.

『After building the fort, humans were very wary of being overpowered so we always take on the defensive role and focus our resources to the rear. But they ended up never get beyond the defensive line. Nobody knows why...if we have known, we could have put more of our men on the front lines! 』

Abigail bites her lip and scowls.

『Then, why is Titania's father's flesh now being used as a butcher?　Isn't he trapped in there?』

I asked, pointing to Gin (pierced) who was lying in the center of the hole, and Titania cast her eyes down.

『Father's soul is still in the process of regenerating his body. If the body of an ancient being like Esteemed Father is severely damaged or destroyed, it will emit a particular disaster called . In other words, Father has been trapped in Tartarus for a long time while the Curse is still being spread.......』

The yellow mucus from Gin extends out its tentacles.

『That curse is now risen up out of the soil--』

Reaching outside the hole, the yellow mucus rose up and it took the form of a small mini butcher.

Titania held the miniature butcher in her palm and said.

『Time larva. Or Aeon Preta, the flesh of the father.』

My throat rumbled at the revelation of the butcher's secret. But I've been wondering for a while now, what is the flesh exactly?　meat?

『It was an emergency act of the planet when father fell.』

『Emergency?』

『For example, a meteorite impact, a massive volcano erupting, or an invasion from the outer world. The defensive action of a planet that the verge of extinction is what causes the larva to appear. The larva takes the dying terrestrial species in its belly, retrieves its life essence, and brings it back to the father's soul. It is a cradle for the seed to be passed on to the next generation. When a planet dies and then rises again, father will rebuild his body from the gathered flesh. And we, Titania, are the ones who plant the seeds collected by Larva on the new planet and nurture new life.』

『Yasmin also said something along that line right?』

『But now, father is traped deep in the Dungeon and no one can reach him. Thus, the larvas that were unable to find the soul to return began to wander aimlessly on the surface. The emergence of the larva is the last remaining bastion for the survival of the planet. In a sense, it is an intense immune reaction of the host to clean up the malignant factors spreading on the ground and then healing the damaged host. And Right now, it is running out of control.』

『I see?』

The mini butchers started scampering around the table. They can't seem to find their way home. Titania's story was a bit difficult, but I'm getting there. Thanks to the insect theater.

『If left alone, the larvae will continue to multiply. They will wander the land, eating up every living thing they come across and eventually leveling Miforsis with a torrent that will devour all life forms. There will be nothing left, there will be nothing to sow the seeds that Larva has gathered, and the planet will become a desolate rock that drifts through space.』

The insects on the table were all caught by the mini-butcher and turned upside down with their legs twisted in pain.

When all the bugs are turned upside down, the mini-butchers pulled them all under the table and hide them, finally returning the table to its clean, spotless state.

『—but it doesn't end there. The tragedy will spread to Earth which is still linked by the gate. The humanity of both worlds will perish as a result of our inability to withstand the passage of time.』

The performance seemed to have ended.

The air in the room was cold.

――Or so I thought.

After a short pause, crabs with shells and mantis with flowers in their hands came out from both sides of the table, and everyone began to line up and cheer.

An insect group flows in behind them, and the mood brightened and grew happy.

Kin and Gin appeared and bowed. Diamond, Namiten, and a large number of other insects filled the table, and doing banzai and squats, some are flying around in the air. Curtain call.

The ladies gasped, maybe because they had heard Titania's vision of a tragic future, or because they were suddenly confronted with an overwhelming amount of insects.

『Hence, Larva----a butcher as you call it, is the body of father in a rampant state.』

『Now I understand. So you want to rescue your father from that Tartarus and stop its rampage?』

『Yes. The current situation is too outrageous for innocent creatures. It is a natural disaster. I want to retrieve the spirit of father and bring it back to Agartha as soon as possible.』

『So, I suppose you're going to prepare yourselves and attack Elysium again.』

Arshella crossed her arms and said in a wary tone.

『Ha!　What a terrible bedtime story.....』

Titania snickered at that.

『―No. I had enough.』

She continues in a harsh voice.

『In the first place, father was trying to save your people, you know?　The humans were marching energetically toward destruction with other lives in tow, esteemed father tried to guide them to the right path that can lead to the future without caring for the injury to his body. And this is what you repay him ----』

She shook her head in disgust.

『Please go ahead and starve to death. I no longer care about your future or your destiny. We will be watching from Agartha. The two planets are destined to kill each other and soon vanish from the scene. When all is lost, on a planet where you are no longer here, we, together with the remaining species will live out our lives modestly and enjoy it to the fullest with the shortened time the world has left.』