Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta Boku wa Raisede wa Jimi ni Ikiru ~

Episode 69: Two Demons and the Black Egg

After modifying the Good Luther MK.1 into an airship, I came to Forest Island and lectured the crew members on how to operate it.

It takes time for the crew members to become proficient in piloting, and I couldn’t just leave the escaped demons unattended.
Oh, and Bahamut too.

“Well then, let’s investigate the enemy’s base.”

I disappeared with stealth magic and activated body enhancement magic to swiftly move through the forest.
In the previous reconnaissance, I could see Bahamut’s massive body even from outside Forest Island, but now I can’t see it.
Did it go out to get food? Maybe defeating the previous Bahamut and subjugating the monsters on Forest Island together had an effect.
It’s fortunate that we can avoid unnecessary battles this time and focus on investigating the demons’ movements.

Along the way, I encountered several monsters, but they didn’t notice my presence due to stealth magic, so I ignored them and passed by.
It would be troublesome if the demons noticed my existence through a battle, and it’s Calm and the others’ job to deal with the remaining monsters.

And after a while, I arrived at a slightly open area.

“Is that…?”

There, I discovered a dilapidated structure that seemed like a ruin.

“Could this be the remains of some facility?”

The structure was in such a state that only the foundation and pillars remained, barely qualifying as a building.
The pillars were covered in ivy and moss, so even if you were searching from above, it would be difficult to find it without careful observation.

However, I focused my attention not on the remains of the ruin, but on what was sitting in the center.

“Is that…an egg?”

Yes, in the middle of the ruin, there was a large black egg.
I approached the egg and observed it.

“It’s old.
Moss is growing on it and it’s covered in dirt.
It must have hatched a long time ago.”

Since the shell is old, the hatched chick should have already become an adult, right? Or rather…

“Could this be the egg of the Bahamut we defeated the other day…?”

It’s a bit difficult to determine what kind of egg it is just by looking at the shell of a demon’s egg.
If it were an acquaintance from a past life, they might be able to tell just by looking at it, but as an ordinary human like me, it’s unlikely that I can reach that level.

“If this is the egg of Bahamut, then the purpose of the newly arrived Bahamut is…to lay another egg here? But the current Bahamut should be following the demons…”

Hmm, I can’t say for sure with just this.
Let’s search a bit more.

After leaving the shell of Bahamut’s egg behind, I continued further into the ruins.
And not long after, I discovered a stone gate standing alone in the ruins.

It had an unnatural appearance, as if a house had been destroyed and only the gate remained, the only thing left in a clean shape.
No, it’s not just the shape that’s clean.

“There’s no moss or ivy growing on it…”

Yes, it’s too clean compared to the other ruins.
And the architectural style of the gate seemed different from the other buildings.

“It’s a gate.
And it’s in working condition.”

It was undoubtedly a gate, a teleportation device used by demons.

“If it’s in working condition, it means there’s a demon nearby.”

Naturally, magic items like gates consume magic power when in operation.
So it’s common sense for magic items to stop functioning if they haven’t been used for a long time, in order to avoid wasting magic power.
Well, there’s a possibility that the current magic items of the demons are developed without considering such things.

Anyway, this gate was in working condition.
It’s definitely proof that someone is using it.

This place has been occupied by Bahamut for a long time, so it’s unlikely that a human accidentally activated it.
So, it’s reasonable to think that it’s a demon.

“And that is probably part of the demons’ plan.”

I can see that there are unnaturally stacked trees a little away from the gate.
And in the center of that, there was a large black object.

“That is undoubtedly an egg.”

If the fallen and stacked trees mean a nest, it must be a very large creature.
Yes, it’s the same size as the Bahamut that came later.

And then, the gate began to emit light.

“Someone is coming out.”

I hid in a position where I could see the gate diagonally from the front and remained vigilant about who would come out.
If it’s a higher-ranking demon, it’s easy for them to detect the stealth magic I’m using, so I have to be cautious.

And as the brilliance of the gate intensified, the stone door opened on its own.
By the way, although I’m calling it a stone, according to a researcher I know, this door is made of minerals from the demon world, so strictly speaking, it’s not stone.
Well, it’s an irrelevant story.

When the gate was fully open, two figures came out from inside.

Neither of them seemed to notice my presence, but I can’t let my guard down.
There’s a possibility that they’re pretending not to notice and will suddenly attack.

“Damn it, because of your mistake, we’re the ones who suffered.”

One of the demons muttered unhappily.

“There’s nothing we can do! They easily dismantled our magic items!”

This is the demon I encountered among the large magic items that were stuck in Megalo Whale.

“Don’t talk big about your defeat, Barghest! Because you made a mistake, I had to leave my post, and the monster I was in charge of was killed!”

“Yes, but the monsters that were killed by humans were useless anyway, weren’t they, Rodolga?”

Hmm, so Barghest is the demon in charge of Megalo Whale, and Rodolga is the one in charge of Bahamut.

“It’s not the power of humans.
According to the familiar’s report, they defeated Bahamut with the power of a magic item.”

Oh? Could they be talking about us defeating Bahamut?

“Even though they were weakened because their magic power was taken away, they had a magic item powerful enough to defeat Bahamut.
They are indeed the descendants of the Sky Continent.”

It seems like they were indeed talking about Bahamut.
And if their magic power was taken away, it means that the Bahamut on this island was also having its magic power taken away by a magic item, just like Megalo Whale.
That Bahamut was unnaturally small, after all.

“But if that’s the case, won’t they be killed again if they prepare a new Bahamut with a magic item?”

Rodolga shook his head in response to Barghest’s statement.

“No, after defeating Bahamut, the magic item apparently self-destructed.
It seems they couldn’t prepare powerful items that can be used multiple times.”

“So there’s no need to worry about being defeated.”

“That’s right, the civilization of humans in this era is in decline.
They can’t create new magic items.”

A civilization in decline? What does that mean…

“Do you really think so, Rodolga?”

“…Well, it can’t be denied that there’s a possibility that they still have hidden magic items.”

Ah, it was an important conversation…

“Then let me lend you my power.”

Saying that, Barghest thumped his chest.

“Are you trying to repay the debt? It was because of your mistake that I had to leave my post and the monsters I was in charge of were killed!”

“But even without this incident, the humans would have used a magic item to kill Bahamut eventually.”

“Grr…”

Rodolga pondered Barghest’s words.

“That’s true.
We don’t know how many magic items humans possess, so there’s a high possibility that we would have ended up in the same situation as this time.”

“Right? So this time, I will attack the humans’ base and exterminate them along with their magic items.
You just have to protect the remaining Bahamut and the egg.”

Saying that, Barghest pointed to the black egg visible in the distance.
So that really is Bahamut’s egg.

“Fine.
Then let’s repay the debt right away.”

“Then I’ll exterminate the humans quickly and go prepare for the new prey.”

Saying that, Barghest licked his lips and snapped his fingers.
Oh, if they’re planning to harm the people of the Sky Island, I can’t just let it slide.

I’m glad Liliera stayed behind, thinking that something like this might happen.
The strength of the retaken Bahamut, Barghest, and Rodolga was unknown.

“Then I’ll go.”

Oh no, I won’t let you.
I drew my sword and leaped, slashing at Barghest who had jumped up.
This is a battle, so I won’t let you say that a surprise attack is dirty.

“Guh!?”

Barghest screamed as he was suddenly attacked.

“What!?”

And Rodolga exclaimed in surprise at the sudden appearance of me and the sight of his screaming comrade.
It seems like he really didn’t notice my presence.

“Take this!”

I delivered a heel drop to Barghest’s head, slamming him into the ground, then turned to face Rodolga.

“Wh-who are you!?”

“Just an adventurer.”

I accelerated my flight magic to charge at Rodolga, who was taken aback.

“Ku!”

Rodolga tries to intercept me and releases a red light from his palm to distract me.

“You won’t hit me!”

I adjust my trajectory to avoid Rodolga’s attack and close the distance.

“Don’t underestimate me!”

At that moment, Rodolga’s red light explodes, scattering shotgun pellets in all directions.

“How about that!”

Once he realizes that I won’t be hit, he increases the power and creates a dense barrage that is impossible to evade.
Quite impressive.

“But it doesn’t work!”

I emerge from the dust and leap in front of Rodolga.

“You idiot!?”

Unfortunately for you, even though the power of each individual pellet decreased due to the shotgun spread, my all-around defense magic is enough to withstand such weakened attacks.

“Now, it’s time for the finishing blow!”

I thought so, but then I realized that if I kill them, I won’t obtain any information about the demon.
I should change my strategy and capture them alive.
I quickly reverse my grip on the sword and strike Rodolga’s tail with the hilt.

“Guhh!?”

Even though it was an attack with the hilt, it was strengthened by my body enhancement magic.
Rodolga spits out blood and writhes in pain.

Alright, now all that’s left is to capture them with restraining magic…

“Not gonna let you!”

At that moment, Barghest, who had fallen, attacked me.

“I remember you, kid! I never expected you to chase me all the way here after interfering with me!”

No, wait a minute.
I didn’t intend to chase after you.
And come to think of it, although it’s not fully healed, are my wounds not showing any signs of recovery?

“Fuhaha! It was a good decision to prepare a high potion for the next time I fight you!”

Oh, I see.
The enemy also prepared a means of recovery.
Well, when you think about it, it’s normal.
Adventurers not only rely on the healing magic of priests, but also prepare potions as backups.

“Now, I’ll repay the debt from before! If I defeat you, who can stop our plan, it will be a great achievement!”

It seems like they’re overestimating me.
But I have no intention of losing to you.

“Stun Hold!”

“Wall Guard!”

The lightning magic I unleashed to capture Barghest is blocked by a wall of rocks.

“Yes! If I knew you were planning to capture me, I could have prepared for it! My Wall Guard can withstand even advanced magic!”

Oh, that’s interesting.
It has low attack power but excels in defense, huh? And although they underestimated me in the previous battle, this time I won’t go down as easily, right?

“Then! Burst Slash Rush!”

I strike the wall of rocks created by Barghest with a sword enhanced with magical power, delivering a series of continuous attacks.
And with the second attack, the wall that withstood the first attack is cleanly severed.

“Gyaaaahhh!”

Barghest’s scream echoes from behind the wall of rocks.

“Wait…?”

Wait a minute.
You boasted about your defense, right? Then why did it break in two with just two attacks? This magic is supposed to be a continuous attack with a sword that enhances cutting power, but this is just a regular two-hit attack.

And as the wall of rocks crumbles, the severed body of Barghest, hidden behind it, is revealed.

“…Um”

I’m perplexed by the unexpected fragility of Barghest’s wall of rocks.
Were demons really this weak?

“I… can’t believe it…”

Then, I hear Rodolga’s weak voice from behind.
When I turn around, I see Rodolga, blood dripping from his mouth, staring at me in disbelief.

“Who are you to easily break through Barghest’s impenetrable defense…? Who are you!?”

Huh!? Impenetrable defense!? With that!?

“Um, like I said before, just an ordinary adventurer.”

It’s embarrassing to say it twice…

“Just an ordinary adventurer!? Don’t mess with me!”

Rodolga shouts in anger, but I really am just an adventurer.

“Kuh! Then at least the eggs!”

Rodolga flaps his wings and flies towards the eggs.

“What are you planning!?”

He’s trying to do something to Bahamut’s egg.
It must be a plot that needs to be stopped!

“Wait…”

Just as I was about to chase after Rodolga to stop him…

Zuzuuun!! Along with a sound, a black mass fills my field of vision.

“Huh?”

Looking up, I see a massive figure that could be mistaken for a mountain.

“…Bahamut”

Yes, it was the appearance of the storm monster, Bahamut.

Oh no, I was so focused on the battle with the demon that I didn’t notice Bahamut approaching.

“…”

Bahamut gazes at me.
I meet its gaze head-on.
If I look away, the instinct screams that the battle will begin.

How will Bahamut, who has intruded into its territory, react to me? No, before that, if it was following the demon, it might attack me together, right? Hmm, that would be troublesome.

Crack…

In the silent world where not even the sound of insects can be heard, I hear a small noise.
Bahamut averts its gaze and looks beyond its body.
Something seems to be happening.
And then, I hear the sound of cracking again…

Kyaa!

A small but lively voice reaches my ears.
Could it be…? Then Bahamut bends down, still holding the hatchling in its mouth.

“It seems the chick has hatched.”

The newly born Bahamut lets out a cute cry.
And in the next moment, Bahamut flies up into the sky with the hatchling in its mouth, disappearing into the distance.

“I guess it doesn’t want to fight while protecting its child…”

Well, it’s a relief that we didn’t have to resort to unnecessary killing.
And as I remembered Rodolga, I turned my gaze back to the nest…

“Crushed.”

Poor Rodolga was flattened under Bahamut.
Hmm, does this mean that the fear and subservience to the one who controls me were overcome by the desire to protect its child?

“In the end, I couldn’t learn about the enemy’s plot.”

Not only Rodolga, but the gate was also crushed, so I don’t even know where it led to.

“Well, I guess it’s good enough that I was able to prevent the demon’s plot.”

Yeah, if I think about it that way, it was quite an achievement.

“Well, let’s go back then.”

I am Bahamut, the ruler of the sky.
I was being forced to obey a pesky demon, but when I returned, the demon was weakened, so I took the opportunity to crush it.
Hahaha, it feels good!

But then, I noticed that there was a dangerous human.
Just by looking at them, I could tell they were dangerous.
After all, the human’s claws exuded an incredible sense of intimidation.

Uh-oh, what should I do? I’m in big trouble.
I want to run away right now, but my child is about to hatch, so I can’t just leave.
I don’t think I can win in a fight, and the silence from the other side is really scary.

And then, it happened.
Cracks appeared in my child’s egg.
Is it going to hatch? Is it really going to hatch? Hang in there! Hatch quickly!

Kyaa!

Alright, it’s hatched! Now let’s run away! And so, I successfully escaped from the terrifying human with my newborn child.
Ah, that was scary.

“In the end, I couldn’t learn about the enemy’s plot.”