ALL NOVEL Chapter 221: Her Awakening
The Queen Ant suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said something incomprehensible.
How does this Ant even know about my skills?
(Our Lord……? Lord Schwarz ……? Could this guy be one of Schwarz’s companions?)
Certainly, he had Shadow Wolves and Lesser Wolves with him when he fought at the shopping center, so it’s not surprising that he has monsters with him too.
I’m surprised that he was able to get monsters of other races to follow him.
“Please…… you….. Schwarz-sama …… sa–“
I was about to ask her what she meant when she fainted.
What should we do ……?
A monster that can communicate with us.
If it is also one of Schwarz’s comrades, then it’s not a bad idea to defeat it right here.
“Waun, waunwaun”
“…… (shake shake)”
Momo and Aka stared at the Queen Ant and me alternately.
‘What are we going to do about this?’ They seem to be saying that.
“Hmmm, ……. I’m not sure what to do. Let’s restrain her so she can’t move and take her with us.”
I can sense that she is very strong, but if Aka and Momo can restrain her properly, it will be fine.
(…… Are there any signs of other monsters……?)
For the time being, we decided to move to the side of the “Safe Zone”.
When I reached the edges of the ‘Safe Zone’, Ichinose and the others were already waiting for me.
“Thank you for your hard work. ……You’re back early.”
“We came as soon as we got the mail.”
I guess they were in the middle of training.
Nishino and Rikka-chan were pretty battered.
Ah, Shibata is here too. From today on, you’re participating in the training? He looks even more battered than Nishino and Rikka-chan. It looks like he can barely stand up. …… Um, you don’t have to strain yourself, you know?
Rebel had her staff slung over her shoulder.
“And, what about the Wolf King’s companion?”
“Ah, that.”
I pulled the Queen Ant out of the shadows.
She hasn’t woken up yet.
Just in case, I’ve still asked Aka and Momo to restrain her with their ‘shadows’.
Rebel stared at the Queen Ant.
“Hmmm….. she’s pretty small for a Queen Ant. I think she’s a special species that mutated because of the Wolf King’s skills. That’s very interesting. Kazuto, can you release her?”
“Is that okay?”
“No problem. As long as I am here, nothing will happen.”
“……Understood.”
That’s a lot of confidence she has.
Well, since Rebel is so confident, it will be fine.
I looked at Momo and Aka and asked them to release her.
She looked at the Queen Ant again, and then, this time she looked at Shibata.
“Shibata, you come over here for a minute.”
“……What’s up?”
Shibata was somewhat surprised since he did not expect to be called, but he walked towards Rebel when she beckoned him.
….. Shibata, you’re much more honest than you were with me. Why so?
“Hey, these wounds, what do you feel about them?”
“Oh, the wounds? …… Hmm?”
Shibata stared at the Queen Ant lying on the ground and tilted his head slightly. He touched the Queen Ant’s body a little and frowned.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
“Did you find anything?”
“Che”
Hey, why did you just click your tongue?
I was only talking to you.
“…… Her wounds look like she didn’t put up much of a fight. If the wounds were caused by fighting, there would be some sort of marks of resisting, but in this case, I can’t see any of that. It’s as if she just silently accepted the blows.”
“……”
You can tell that much just by looking at the scars?
You’re amazing Shibata. I’m impressed.
“I agree with you. You’re a doctor, you have good eyes.”
” …… The, there is nothing special about this.”
Shibata looked away shyly. He is a real tsundere.
You are more tsundere than a Shiba Inu.
“Waun….?”
Momo is an exception.
Please stay just like you are Momo. You’re so cute.
“Well, we can ask her about the details after she wakes up. Shibata, go ahead and treat her.”
“Oh, leave it to me.”
Shibata immediately began to treat the Queen Ant.
“The possibility of a trap can’t be ruled out, but with that wound, it’s unlikely, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Rikka-chan asked this question naively. It was Nishino who replied to her answer.
“It’s possible that they deliberately set this up to catch us off guard. I mean, let’s act injured, get into the enemy’s territory and blow ourselves up… That’s not an impossible scenario, right?”
“What is that, scary! ….then, this?”
Saying that, Rikka-chan tilted her head.
“If it’s on purpose, then the wounds on its body look more like that, don’t they? It’s a ‘shut up and accept it’ kind of scar, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But if that’s the case, there’s no need to sacrifice your life to this level, right? It is such a heavy wound that only Kazuto, with his wide range and high level enemy spotting skills, could have noticed it. The chances of her dying without anyone finding her were much higher.”
“Oh, I see. ……. But if that’s the case, I’m even more confused?”
“Well, yes. But we can just ask her about it when she wakes up.”
That’s right.
This Queen Ant can use telepathy, and I didn’t sense any desire to fight from her.
We can ask her about the situation when she wakes up.
Oh, before that, I should ask Igarashi to appraise her.
As soon as I sent the mail, Igarashi arrived.
“Appraisal again….. I feel like I am only being called for appraisal-related work these days…..”
Well, don’t mind. Just get on with it, please.
After Igarashi told me about the Queen Ant’s status and skills, we continued to take turns watching and training.
A few hours later, the Queen Ant regained consciousness.
“…this is?”
“You seem to have noticed.”
“……! Who?”
“Death King Rebel, Kudou Kazuto’s companion, the owner of ‘Precocious’ standing there.”
The Queen Ant looked at me and seemed to have grasped her situation.
Without showing any resistance, she began to tell us what was going on.
“So you’re saying that this intelligent zombie suddenly appeared in front of you and subdued the Wolf King?”
“……Yes.”
The Queen Ant’s low level telepathy made it difficult to sort out the information, but in summary, it seems that’s what happened.
After that, the others in the pack fought back against the intelligent zombies, and they managed to sneak her out and escape alone with their ” Shadow Movement”.
The only problem was that her skills were inadequate and she was torn to pieces because of the turbulence within the shadows.
“…… subjugated the Wolf King, huh? It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?”
“Yes…..”
The fact that Schwarz was subjugated was a surprise in itself, but the fact that the other party was an intelligent zombie was beyond surprising, and it almost felt like a bad joke.
” Moreover, the “advance team”……. Did he really say that?”
“Yes….”
Moreover, the “advance team”―― they were in contact with people from other worlds.
What the hell is going on here?
“Rebel, how is this even possible?”
“…… subjugating the Wolf King? Or how that intelligent zombie is able to communicate with the otherworlders?”
“Both.”
“I’d say …… both are impossible. …… I’m a little surprised myself.”
Rebel covered her mouth with her hand.
“Kazuto, are you sure this intelligent zombie is the owner of ‘Pride’?”
“Yeah, that’s what he said.”
— “Pride”, a deadly sin skill like Ono’s “Envy” and Peony’s “Gluttony”.
He said he was the first in the world to get that skill by killing people.
My precociousness is based on the condition that I was the first one to kill a monster in the world. It’s not surprising that there are skills with similar requirements.
“If so, I’m even more confused……”
“What do you mean? We don’t know the effects of the Pride skill, so we have no idea what it means.”
The one who raised her voice was Rikka-chan.
Ah, that reminds me, I haven’t told her yet.
“It’s the same as Kazuto’s ‘Precociousness’, he gains more experience. On top of that, the owner of ‘Pride’ is able to increase the effect of his skills the more advantageous the situation is to him.”
“That’s such a cheat!”
Rebel laughed at Rikka’s complaint.
“But as a drawback, the more disadvantaged you are, the weaker the effect of your skills will be. Unlike the four major skills, such as ‘Precocious’ and ‘Detection’, the deadly sins skills have clear weaknesses and disadvantages.”
“Ohhh, I see. So, what does that have to do with what you said?”
“Don’t you see? According to this Queen Ant’s story, that intelligent zombie appeared alone in front of the Wolf King’s pack, right? He was at an overwhelming disadvantage in terms of numbers and status. It’s like he was voluntarily suppressing ‘Pride’s’ benefits.”
“Oh, that’s true.”
Rikka-chan clapped her hands.
“Then, is it possible that the intelligent zombie’s status and skills were superior to Schwarz’s?”
“The deadly sins skills are not as good as the Six Kings skills. There is no skill that can make up for that difference and can be acquired in such a short period of time. And, it is impossible for a skill to subjugate the ‘Wolf King’….”
“Is it possible that the …… advance team did something to the system?”
“I can’t rule out such a possibility. But, regardless of what skill is used, it is impossible to subjugate the ‘Wolf King,’ unless the Wolf King himself is willing to submit himself to the other party and agrees to the initial contract.”
“…… It’s certainly impossible then.”
In other words, we don’t know anything, but we do know that the situation has gotten worse.
The advance team, the intelligent zombie, and the Wolf King.
The three of them teaming up is nothing but the worst possible scenario.
I wish I at least knew how that intelligent zombie subjugated the Wolf King……
But Rebel said that it’s almost impossible to do that.
(Hmm? Wait….? The Wolf King himself accepts …… the initial contract ……?)
I don’t know what it is, but something is bugging me.
The means to subdue that Wolf King……
And the skills of that intelligent zombie…….
Maybe we’re missing something important?
–This world is a shithole.
This was her honest and sincere feeling.
She wanted to live freely, but this world was too suffocating for her.
Everyone lies, they deceive others, and even deceive themselves to live.
They deceive others with words and expressions they don’t want to say, and build up a relationship that is only superficial.
It was extremely difficult to breathe.
Every day was a series of continuous stress.
She hated the world, she hated other people, and above all, she hated herself, who had to lie to fit in.
That’s why she was delighted when this world changed.
She thought that the norms of the past were overthrown and everything had become a world of truth, a world without any lies.
This was the world she had always wanted.
She was no longer bound by anyone, and she could live freely, baring herself to the world.
That is what she thought.
But there were rules in this world, too.
A very simple rule: the rules of the weak and the strong.
But what did that matter?
She was weak, but she had adapted to the world faster than anyone else.
Other people were just a stepping stone to gain power, and she greedily sought wisdom and strength to survive.
Still, she was defeated.
By someone more powerful than herself.
She begged for her life in the most hapless, ridiculous, and disgusting way possible.
In the end, she was swallowed up by the power she thought she had acquired, and died without a trace.
–That’s how it was supposed to be.
“So why am I still alive ……?”
Why am I still alive?
I can’t remember. Just what the hell happened after that?
“Hello, are you awake?”
“…… Who the hell are you?”
“I’m the one who brought you back to life. Ah but, it’s not quite the same thing as ‘reviving’ you.”
“……?”
I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
“Well, I’ll tell you more later. You’ll get used to your new body soon enough. Until then, you can rest and relax. ‘Demon Master’ ‘Sayaka Katsuragi’.”
*****