The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason

31 – The Battle to Subdue the King (4)

Have you ever seen the street lamps illuminating the streets on a summer night when the night sky is dark?

Or have you ever seen a rotten stray puppy that had been run over by a car for about three days?

Even though they are so different, those two things have one thing in common. Bugs swarm around them like crazy.

Various flying insects, including moths and mosquitoes, gather around street lamps, while ants and maggots, along with other cleaning creatures, gather around dead bodies.

Whenever I unexpectedly come across that scene while walking down the street, I can’t help but feel a crawling sensation all over my body.

But right now, I thought of that as something like a remedy.

Well, they weren’t meter-sized, after all.

Boooooom!!

The holes that Lily had blocked were pierced through.

At the same time, the swarming bugs that were behind them started to come in indiscriminately.

It only took a few minutes for them to fill the entire hall. Various poisonous insects flapped around in the sky, while insect-like monster creatures the size of a person roamed the ground.

Amidst that chaos, I heard a piece of bad news.

“Cough…!”

Adel had been poisoned.

Bright red blood flowed from her mouth. Startled, Lily hurriedly requested purification from Ulysses instead of continuing her incantation.

Upon hearing her words, Ulysses, who had been burning bugs with his magic power, urgently checked Adel’s condition.

“The situation is not looking good… It’s going to take about 2 minutes to purify!”

“What? 2 minutes each?”

2 minutes. Normally, it would pass by in the blink of an eye.

But during battle, 2 minutes felt longer than eternity.

Camilla spoke to me again, with great power loss.

“Hero, I can’t hold them off any longer!”

“…Let’s move to a corner. We don’t need to worry about the monsters coming here anymore, so let’s protect our party members first.”

I said, swallowing my frustration.

There was no choice. In this urgent situation, something had to be sacrificed.

If we moved to a corner, at least we wouldn’t be surrounded by bugs. However, the burden on me would increase since I couldn’t stop the monsters.

I continued speaking.

“No matter what happens, make sure the monsters don’t go towards Lily and Ulris. Let them concentrate.”

Nevertheless, there was still a corner of trust left.

Lily’s magic. With her tremendous magic power, she could deliver a decisive blow to the enemy.

And if combined with Ulris’ buffs, it might not be impossible for them to land a finishing blow.

So now the tasks ahead were simple.

Camilla would protect Lily as much as possible, and I would weaken the enemy so that she could deal a decisive blow.

As I was thinking that way, it happened.

Thud!

“Arghh…!”

A sudden heavy impact was transmitted to my side.

I turned my head and saw a tall stag beetle impaling my side.

“You damn…!”

Swish!

I swung my Holy Sword, cutting the bug off and briefly inspected my side.

Luckily, no bones were broken, but the pain made it uncomfortable to move.

Of course, it would heal quickly due to regeneration, but… every second was precious in the current situation.

I looked ahead again.

In no time, my surroundings were filled with fierce bugs and monsters.

The king was hidden among them, gasping for breath.

He’s not normal either.

Although the bugs swarmed as he intended, the king was already surrounded until his death.

I charged at him again to deliver a definite death.

Boooooom!

The force of the bugs filled my field of vision.

They did everything they could to defeat me.

Thorns, pincers, fangs, and attacks from numerous body parts rushed towards me.

Thud, snap, crunch!

I avoided what I could and took the hits that I had to.

I didn’t have time to worry about each and every one of these things.

Faster, more accurately.

I attacked, finding any gap in his defense.

In the midst of it all, it felt like I had a revelation.

No matter how many gather together, there will always be an ‘end’ to what they have gathered.

Just like how gathering grains of sand won’t create a wall.

If I push through the gap, eventually I will reach the core. All I need to do is find the gap better.

“aaah!”

[Congratulations!]

[The level of ‘Multicasting’ has increased!]

Ding! With the sound of the system alert, my field of vision expanded. My skill, ‘Heavenly Stasis,’ was still active even in this situation.

The movements of the bugs attacking me, the monsters sacrificing themselves to protect the king.

Their movements became clearer.

During that time, I noticed that the bugs were weak in their concerted efforts. Maybe because they’re just bug larvae, they’re stupid even when they gather.

As if being led, I swung my sword towards that spot.

And.

Slash!

“Urk!”

The sword made contact.

The diagonal swing of the holy sword had severed his leg.

Whoosh.

Through the gaps between flying insects, the left leg of the creature circling in midair is visible.

I called out in my mind.

“That’s enough.”

I’ve taken away its mobility.

Now, it won’t be able to dodge and evade like before.

And taking away its mobility means it’s very susceptible to a solid hit.

“Step aside.”

After struggling like that for a while, a voice rang out from behind.

A calm voice that didn’t raise its volume. But it was clear even in this chaotic situation.

Suddenly, when I turned around, I saw Lily emanating a shimmering magic. Above her head, a fiery red flame burned brightly.

Contrary to its brightness, it was a small flame about the size of an acorn.

But I wasn’t worried.

Although she can freely use the four elements, fundamentally, she relies on fire magic.

Its precision and perfection are incomparable to other spells.

“Instructing all things in the world, ignite yourself now and turn everything into ashes.”

Eventually, she threw the fireball at the creature.

The flame, flying slowly, landed smoothly on Balkan, who had suffered a serious injury.

And it engulfed the world.

“Kraaahh!!”

Fwoosh!

It took less than a second for the small flame to engulf the creature.

One of Lily’s high-level skills.

Mana Combustion.

Everything in the world contains mana.

If one can use their own mana to influence the surrounding mana, wouldn’t it be possible to use magic greater than their actual ability?

It was a magic born from that very idea.

The fire attribute mana soon spread throughout the world, igniting the surroundings.

Not just her own mana, but by using the mana pervading the heavens and earth, the impact was beyond imagination.

Kkuuaaahhh…

For a while, the screams of the creature echoed in the pile of flames.

I let down my sword and let out a deep sigh.

*

···It’s over.

That thought came to me automatically.

As far as Luke knows, there aren’t many people who can survive in a fire like this. Even if they manage to survive, further battles would be difficult.

After all, this is the point where I have used the last survival skill, ‘Transformation’.

Luke could breathe a little easier.

Camilla and Adele sighed with relief as they looked at the motionless bugs. Even though they were only dealing with a limited number of monsters in a corner, it was starting to reach its limit.

They stared blankly at the burning insect king.

Lily felt pride in her final strike.

It was a strike that she had created by unleashing her skills and all of her magical power for about five minutes. Without proper defense, there would not be many who could survive this technique.

She was confident in their victory.

And Ulysses silently rejoiced.

“It’s done.”

Finally, at last.

“It’s over!”

They could finally escape this suffocating space.

They were able to defeat the terrifying insect king.

“We did it. We did it!”

She had always hated bugs. That hadn’t changed even though she had memories of the past. Adaptation and dislike were separate matters.

Or rather, because she had memories of the past, as well as having personally experienced the power of the insect king.

This victory felt more fulfilling than anything.

Everything was much better than in her previous life.

Unlike last time when they got through the starting point, this time they fought off the bugs for a staggering 15 minutes, and during that time, they successfully chipped away at the insect king.

They overcame all the skills he had shown in their previous life, and the heroes were able to save their lifespan.

Of course, she couldn’t say there were no crises at all…

From her perspective, it was a perfect victory.

It was tough, but they won.

There were hardships, but they came out victorious.

The hero and his party members were intoxicated with early victory, each experiencing their own sentiments.

However.

There was one overlooked fact.

Despair quietly blooms when hope shines brightest.

“······We lost.”

The Insect King was a genius.

From a young age, he created his own unique magic called Insect Arts and became a prodigy.

No one ever underestimated his abilities.

But at the same time, he could also be described as ordinary.

Although his talent was abundant, compared to the other Four Heavenly Kings who were born exceptional, he was ultimately just an ordinary person.

When comparing him to dragons that soar through the sky, monsters born with extraordinary abilities, and giants that tear apart the earth, he was nothing more than an average mage.

For him to one day rise to the position of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, it surely required tremendous effort.

He studied dark magic.

He created creatures such as the outer-eyed bugs and dimensional thorns.

To compensate for his lack of strength, he spent the whole day summoning bugs, and when his lifespan became insufficient, he sacrificed his own body to become a lich.

In this way, as he sharpened his knowledge of the Insect Arts to the utmost extreme, it had already reached the realm of authority.

The Insect King.

A being who dared to obtain the title of king using the most insignificant existences. Starting from the very bottom, he only relied on his own abilities and became a monster who attained a place of calamity.

“···However, I cannot die like this.”

His stubbornness and determination were closer to that of a madman.

“I cannot let down the expectations bestowed upon me by him. Even if it means sacrificing my entire life, you all will never be able to leave this place.”

In an instant.

Roarrr!

A magic circle appeared on the ground.

A very large magic circle that filled the entire spacious surreal room.

“What?!”

“Wait, what is this?!”

“I can feel a wicked energy.”

The party members began to panic at the ominous purple light that filled the room. It was no different, even if they were holy maidens.

“What, what is this?”

This is a scene I’ve never seen before in my past life. In other words, this is the first encounter of King Chung in this life.

An enormous amount of mana, unlike anything seen before, surges above the magic circle.

The Saint looked with a bewildered expression, trying to see where the hero was. Perhaps he might know something.

And so, the face of the hero she saw, Luke.

“Dammit.”

He was filled with confusion.

“Don’t really lose your mind…”

Anger, bewilderment, and futility flashed in his eyes. He stared at the magic circle as if he were glued to it for quite some time.

Then, in a voice that no one would hear, he muttered quietly.

“Why is the Solitary Summoning spell coming out on the first boss…”

At that moment, all the insects and monsters in the virtual reality were sucked into the summoning circle. Not just in the virtual reality, but also in Chungwai City.

“The transcendent who was born in ancient times, the worst of all creatures. I release the prohibition placed on you and call you.

I will give you whatever you desire. Eat to your heart’s content.

If that’s not enough, I can give you half of my body.

I will present you with all the rare delicacies of the world.

So, manifest yourself here right now.”

Not only that, but even part of King Chung’s body, which was already burnt to a crisp.

Right now, he’s willing to sacrifice everything he’s built to summon solitude.

After much struggling, the summoning circle called forth ‘something’ here.

Crash!

The virtual reality collapses.

The virtual reality, equivalent to several sports fields, collapses in an instant.

Stones fall from the ceiling, and the closed sky is pierced.

It was nighttime outside. The dimly shining moonlight briefly illuminated us, but soon ‘something’ covered the sky tightly again.

Squirm, squirm, squirm!!

It was a massive centipede.

A centipede of a size that could easily be several meters long. Luke momentarily froze in the face of the overwhelming body that filled the night sky.

He knew very well what that was.

Of the three solitudes that have disappeared from the world, the third.

The Hunger Ghost (식기아귀).

His insatiable gluttony would one day swallow the world.

Merged with the creature on top of Agwi’s head, only the upper body of Chungwang emerged as he uttered a word.

“Today, I have been defeated here. However, there will be no victor.”

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

[Fate Compelled!]

On Luke’s blank retinas, crimson windows blinked fiercely.