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 82: Chimera Disposal Site

After defeating the chimera infused with the fragments of the Demon and White Calamity, we returned to the camp inside the cave with the undead who were related to the ruins.

“So, is this undead a survivor of the ancient civilization?”

“Strictly speaking, we should call it a leftover from death since it’s undead, right?”

Rodi jokingly teases Wanda, a senior member of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“We are having a serious conversation now, Rodi of Seiran.”

“My apologies.”

By the way, Wanda, who was supposed to be waiting outside the cave, came here because Risou, who was acting as the deputy supervisor in the cave, insisted that this is not just a simple monster subjugation and we should consult with the guild’s supervisor.

“…Indeed, I am Gunai Dorskpin, the director of the Chimera Research Institute.”

Thinking that the conversation wouldn’t progress like this, the undead casually introduces himself while shrugging his shoulders.
Oh, that’s his name.

“I apologize, I am Wanda, the supervisor dispatched by the Adventurer’s Guild.”

After the greetings, Wanda explains the cause of the incident this time and that we were dispatched to investigate the ruins.

“So our goal is to investigate the ruins and the continuous appearance of monsters from this cave.”

“Hmm, those kids over there were saying something similar.”

“I would like to ask you, who lived in that ruins.
Do you have any idea?”

“Well, I will explain.”

Saying that, Gunai starts by explaining the purpose of the ruins.

“When I was still human, humans and demons were fiercely fighting each other.
We, in order to protect the world and our country from invaders, and the demons, in order to make this world their new territory.”

Gunai takes out a small metal rod from his pocket.

“The battles intensified, and both sides devoted themselves to the research of magic and magic items to defeat the enemy.”

Then, he points the rod towards the ceiling, and small fireballs shoot out from the end of the rod, knocking down the bats that were on the ceiling.

“Something like this.”

“Wow…”

The adventurers’ gaze is focused on the metal rod in Gunai’s hand, the magic item.

“The battles intensified, and not only the research of technology and tools, but also the research of monsters began.
As a result, the Chimera research was born.”

Next, Gunai points to the Chimera that the adventurers are sorting with the magic item rod.
Those are the materials of the Chimera that we brought back as souvenirs.

“Research in various fields intensified, and due to the aftermath of the battles, the Sky Continent collapsed, leaving only small islands, and giant holes and cracks were created on the continent, causing seawater to flow in and form new bays.”

“W-What kind of battle was it…”

“It was like a battle of gods…”

The adventurers who were listening to Gunai’s story while working mutter in disbelief.

Well, even in the previous era, research on magic and magic items to fight against demons was flourishing.

“At that time, a white magical beast appeared on the battlefield where humans and demons were fighting.
It attacked both humans and demons indiscriminately.
Both sides were confused by the sudden event, but they quickly counterattacked.
They said to defeat the reckless beast… but it turned out that we were the reckless ones.”

As Gunai utters the word “magical beast,” he tightly grips the magic item in his hand.

“That magical beast that intruded the battlefield attacked and annihilated everyone, regardless of whether they were humans or demons…”

With a pained expression, Gunai breaks the magic item in his hand into two.

“We were completely wiped out.
The human army, the demon army, all were massacred by that cursed magical beast…”

“…!?”

Hearing that the ancient civilization’s army and the demon army were completely wiped out by a single magical beast, the noise in the camp disappears.

“The magical beast that ravaged the battlefield traveled around the world.
It didn’t just attack battlefields, but also towns, bases, and even small villages.
Many people became victims, and even the demons fled back to their original world.
We who were left behind desperately fled and took refuge underground.
We obtained a temporary safe haven and built a research facility there to study and defeat that magical beast, White Calamity.
That was the Chimera Research Institute where I was… the ruins you came to investigate.”

“…”

The shocking confession leaves everyone at a loss for words.

“So, what happened to that White Calamity? Did you ancient people defeat it?”

Gunai shakes his head in response to Wanda’s question.

“I don’t know.
We have been conducting research underground until today.
I don’t know what happened to that cursed magical beast.
Rather, I want to ask you.
Do you know anything about White Calamity?”

“No, I have never heard of such a creature, and at least according to the guild records I have read, there has been no worldwide damage caused by monsters or magical beasts in the past few hundred years.”

“Then where did that creature disappear to?”

Rodi mutters a question, but no one can answer it.

“Well, in any case, in the current world, there have been no damages caused by White Calamity.
You can rest assured…”

Gunai says with a soft smile, and his body starts to emit a faint light.

“Now I can rest in peace…”

“W-What is this…!?”

Everyone is surprised by the sudden turn of events.

“His soul is ascending because he no longer has any regrets.”

Foka, a priest, explains the phenomenon happening to Gunai.

“Ascending? So, does that mean this undead will disappear?”

“Yes, it means his soul is about to journey to the realm of gods.
The soul that had enough regrets to become an undead will be saved without purification.
This is, this is a miracle! Now, let’s bid him farewell together!”

Upon hearing Foka’s words, everyone who was amazed by the scene gazes at Gunai with a solemn expression.
They may have various thoughts, but it seems like they are embracing a feeling of peace for the wandering soul being saved.

But wait a minute.
Everyone seems to have forgotten something important.

“Wait, please!”

I grab Gunai’s soul, which was about to leave his body, and forcefully push it back into his body.

“Gyah!?”

“Wha-What!?”

Everyone is surprised by the sight of Gunai’s soul returning to his body.

“What are you doing, Rex-san!? His wandering soul was about to ascend!”

Foka protests, but the incident hasn’t been resolved yet, so it can’t be helped.

“Well, you haven’t explained the cause of the massive monster outbreak yet.”

“Ah… right.
It was probably the creatures that were being bred in the facility for Chimera materials.
They were not only used as materials for Chimera, but also as food for them.
Most likely, those creatures escaped.”

Oh, we talked about that before and after the battle with the demons.

“Were only creatures kept in the facility? What happened to the Chimeras you were researching?”

“Chimeras?”

Gunai puts his hand on his chin and ponders in response to Wanda’s question.

“I missed my chance to join my comrades again.
We were so close to holding hands.”

That was close.

“Well, the failed experiments and completed Chimeras were disposed of in the waste pit.
Most of them died from the impact of the fall and the turbid flow of the underground water veins.”

Ah, we talked about disposing them like that even before.

“…Is there a possibility of survival?”

“Well, Chimeras with wings or aquatic characteristics might survive.
And Chimeras that managed to safely come ashore might have survived in the lower levels.”

“They definitely survived!!”

The camp erupts with everyone’s exclamation.
Yeah, there’s no doubt that some survived.

“By the way, we used to call the waste pit where we disposed of them the ‘Dobon Toilet.'”

“A waste pit?”

“Yes, we dumped them into the underground water veins from the disposal pit.
Most of them were washed away by the impact of the fall and the turbid flow of the water, so they are probably not alive.”

Huh? What a careless way of disposing them.

“…Is there a chance of survival?”

“Well, Chimeras with wings or aquatic characteristics might survive.
And Chimeras that managed to safely come ashore might have survived in the lower levels.”

“They definitely survived!!”

The camp is filled with everyone’s reactions.
Yeah, there’s no doubt that some survived.

“By the way, we used to call the waste pit where we disposed of them the ‘Dobon Toilet.'”

,I didn’t ask for that.
I mean, we found an unbelievable oversight at the very end!

“So, can we ascend now?”

“”””””No!!”””””””

Of course not!

A night passed since Guney’s shocking statement.

We S-rank adventurers were ordered to rest to recover from the fatigue of the battle inside the ruins, and during that time, A-rank adventurers re-investigated the ruins where the threat of the demon and the giant chimera had disappeared.
They also carried out the extermination of the newly settled monsters.

“As for the monster breeding facility mentioned in the testimony, as expected, there was a hole opened in the wall by large claw marks.
The hole went around the ruins and continued on this side, so it seems that the monsters that came out during this incident are all the monsters that were defeated in the previous battle and the monsters that are still remaining in the cave.”

“I see, good work.”

Wanda let out a big sigh upon receiving the report from the adventurers who investigated the ruins.

“For now, it seems that there won’t be any more increase in monsters.
The remaining tasks are to investigate the entire cave and the deepest part of the cave that seems to continue to the underground water vein.”

“But in that case, the chimeras occasionally found on the surface might be descendants of the chimeras discarded from similar research facilities.”

Rodi, who was guarding the camp, murmured following Wanda’s statement.

“That might be possible.
According to the undead’s story, most of the chimeras that fell underground were attacked and disposed of by the current monsters living near the underground water vein after being weakened by the impact of the fall, but there will definitely be survivors.”

“Hey, could it be that Antraptor that attacked us before…”

“That was apparently the result of monsters brought in from outside for chimera disposal breeding.”

“Isn’t that old man causing too much trouble!?”

Ah, I see.
It’s a common thing.
Even in my time, there were problems that arose when trying to solve environmental issues using monsters.
That’s why the knight order would have to make an emergency move until it’s settled.

“But you know, if there are still survivors among the chimeras…”

“There’s no doubt that the surviving chimeras will become active.”

The two sighed heavily, their shoulders drooping.

“Investigating an unexplored cave with chimeras limited to A-rank adventurers, I don’t know how much time and money it will take.
We can’t be involved for too long.”

“Hmm, I still want to investigate the situation in the lowest level…”

“No, no, that would be the place we reach last.
It’s like the bottom floor of a dungeon.”

Ah, speaking of which, a cave could be considered a kind of dungeon.
Oh, speaking of investigating the lowest level…

“Um, in that case, couldn’t we use flight magic to descend from the disposal hole?”

“…What?”

Wanda looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Well, if the disposal hole leads to the lowest level, we can descend slowly using flight magic and conduct the investigation of the lowest level as quickly as possible.”

“That’s it!!”

Wanda exclaimed with excitement at my suggestion.

“I see, you can use flight magic! Please, I’m counting on you!”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Wanda was overjoyed at my suggestion.
Yeah, I’m glad I made the suggestion.

“Well, well, you’re quite the young one! And by the way, flight magic is really convenient!”

“Alright, now we can create the necessary materials to report to the higher-ups!”

“By the way, young one, can your flight magic carry all of us?”

Rodi asked me that.

“Well, there is a limit to the number of people I can carry at once, but I can transport everyone without any problems if we make round trips.”

“Then please carry us as well.
If there are survivors of the chimeras we encountered in the ruins underground, it will be our turn as S-rank adventurers.”

I see, as expected of Rodi.
Even if the purpose is just investigation, we don’t know how many chimeras are in the unknown lowest level, so it’s probably necessary to secure the minimum fighting force.

“Then we’ll accompany you too.
You can never have too much firepower.”

“In that case, we’ll need a healer as well.”

Just then, Risou and Foka arrived.

“Alright, let’s organize the personnel for the investigation of the lowest level.
Wait a moment.”

Saying that, Wanda gathered his subordinates and immediately began organizing the personnel to head to the lowest level.

“Alright, let’s open it.”

Guney opened the disposal hole for discarding the chimeras in front of us.
The disposal hole was large, so it seemed possible to drop even large chimeras into it.

With a heavy sound, the disposal hole opened, revealing a huge black hole that seemed to lead to the abyss.

However, there was something unexpected on the wall of the deep vertical hole that continued beyond the disposal hole.

“”””””What!?”””””””

On the wall of the disposal hole, there were a large number of monsters clinging to it.
And we recognized those monsters.
“”””””Antraptors!””””””

Yes, Antraptors.
The horde of monsters that attacked us when we were building the second camp inside the cave.
The same creatures were wriggling densely beyond the disposal hole.

“It seems that they have been keeping the chimeras for a while and climbed up here in search of food.”

“You’re saying that so casually!!”

Someone retorted to Guney’s calm explanation.

“”””””Grrrr”””””””

At the same time, the Antraptors started to move.

“Oh no! Everyone, get read…!?”

“Lightning Burst!!”

Before Risou could finish his sentence, my magic exploded.
The lightning burst magic, which spread widely, intercepted the Antraptors that were trying to come out from inside.
With no escape or hiding place for the Antraptors that were climbing up the wall, they were engulfed by the magic and disappeared without a trace.

“Antraptors have been repelled!”

Yeah, if there’s no worry about involving allies in a melee, this is how it goes.

“…Um, ah, thank you.”

Risou, who was about to raise his weapon, lowered his sword and commended me with a subtle expression.

“We went through so much trouble…”

“Well, you know.
They’re S-rank after all.”

“That’s right.
They’re S-rank.”

Voices of understanding saying “They’re S-rank after all” came from the surrounding adventurers.
Alright, maybe I’m starting to become more worthy of being S-rank!

“Wait a minute.
Please don’t compare us to them…”