My first round against the subterranean dragon was quite the bitter experience. I couldn’t find anything that qualified as a winning opportunity. But I didn’t return empty-handed. First, I managed to identify the creature as the subterranean dragon of the legend. I also confirmed that he had the same natural dispositions as in the legend, so even if he didn’t exhibit any abilities that were depicted in it, it was still enough to assume that he did have them.
The tentacle I had torn apart from his body was still wriggling around in my specially processed jar. Though to be precise, this was a tentacle that had grown out of another tentacle. Although these two elements didn’t guarantee a flawless victory, I could still analyze them to find a chance to win. [Um, why are you pouring your mana into these Fahr Stones, Lugh-sama? Even though you already have plenty of them ready and fully loaded.] (Tarte) Tarte asked curiously. [I’m using different elemental affinities for these ones. The ones I’ve prepared in advance are loaded with colourless mana with a mixture of fire, earth, and wind mana for optimal effectiveness when I use them for bombing, but this time, I’m adding different elements to these.] (Lugh) Fahr Stones could contain a large amount of mana. For that reason, any change in the mana I put in them could drastically alter their properties. [Ah! I get it. You’re going to use them to create a storm, right?] (Dia) [Yeah. If I put 300 people’s worth of wind and water mana, I can create a storm. …I’ve never tried to make one before because of its lack of direct firepower, but the legend says that a storm hindered that thing’s movements, so it’s worth a try.] (Lugh) I kept pouring mana into the Fahr Stones as I spoke. [Ooh, that sounds interesting. But pouring so much mana into Fahr Stones in such a short period of time would be a bit taxing, even for you.] (Dia) If I did it the usual way, yes. When all was said and done, all my【Rapid Recovery】did was increase the amount of mana I recovered by more than a hundred times. If I kept pouring in all my mana, I would run out of it before I could even fill up the Fahr Stones. [That’s why I’m holding a colorless Fahr Stone in my right hand so I can draw out the mana from it, convert its affinity inside my body, and pour it into an empty Fahr Stone. This way, I can load them with mana without wearing myself out. …And I’m gonna need at least five of them to create a storm.] (Lugh) [I didn’t think of that… But, yeah, that could work. Need my help?] (Dia) [No, it’s okay. The reason I can do it is because the mana inside them is mine to begin with. Even with your proficiency in mana control, it would be tough to convert the affinity of someone else’s mana.] (Lugh) [Good point… But it’s frustrating that I can’t be of any help to you.] (Dia) [No, I do have something I need to ask of you, Dia. I’m gonna give you the specifics starting now, so listen carefully. You too, Tarte.] (Lugh) The two of them sat down near me. I couldn’t handle this operation on my own. I needed the two of them for this. I put the information in my head in order and began to speak. [When I squared off against the subterranean dragon, I noticed something strange about him. You all saw his huge body and the worm-like tentacles growing out of his mouth, right?] (Lugh) [Yeah, he was so big we could see them from here.] (Dia) [I blew one of them up from the base with a wasp knife. But he regenerated it in a flash.] (Lugh) [There’s nothing strange about that. Demons regenerate indefinitely unless you destroy their Crimson Heart, after all.] (Dia) [Indeed. That’s why we’ve had such a hard time defeating them until now.] (Tarte) [Yes, the fact that he regenerates is nothing strange. But what’s strange is the way his regeneration works. The tentacle that got torn off kept jumping around, then new flesh rose up and grew from the cross-section back to its original length. And that same tentacle I tore off seemed to remain full of life.] (Lugh) Dia seemed to have an inkling of what I meant when she heard that, while Tarte looked puzzled and tilted her head. [Ah! I see… This doesn’t sound like a demon.] (Dia) [I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I understand.] (Tarte) [I’ll clarify a bit. The demons’ regeneration works like rewinding time. Every part of them returns to the way it should be. But the recovery process that dragon displayed, with his flesh rising and growing back, was just too clean. And there’s no way the tentacle I tore off should’ve kept existing.] (Lugh) The demons’ irrational, abstract restorative power was their greatest weapon. But that wasn’t what the subterranean dragon had. All the demons we had defeated so far, the orc, the beetle, and the lion completely reversed their injuries upon regenerating. Whenever their arms and legs got cut off, they would somehow disappear. But it was different for the dragon. All he manifested was his biological regenerative ability. [Wait, are you saying that… that creature is not a demon?] (Dia) [No, he was creating the Fruit of Life. Only a demon can process souls in such a profane way. So this is definitely the work of a demon. But it doesn’t seem like that’s all we’re dealing with.] (Lugh) […Ah! I get it. The outside and the inside are separate beings, is that it?] (Dia) [Yeah, I can’t explain it otherwise. My guess is that the demon is actually inside the belly of that monster. It also matches what the legend says. The part about how the Hero won by going wild inside that monster is half right and half wrong. The Hero most likely found the demon inside that thing… And here’s proof of it. After cooling down, I finally realized that it would’ve normally been impossible to bring back a piece of demon flesh in a jar like this.] (Lugh) I pointed at the tentacle in my jar that was still flailing about. If that thing had really been a demon, this tentacle would’ve vanished and returned where it belonged. It might’ve been the same for the tentacle I blew up, if only for a short time, and I may have overlooked it, but this one in my hands was conclusive evidence. Of course, it would be crazy to assume that there was a different being hiding inside another. But if my hypothesis was correct, then we had a chance to win. [Then there’s only one thing for us to do.] (Dia) [Yeah. If that beast isn’t a demon, then if we keep killing him, his healing factor won’t be able to keep up, and he’ll eventually die. Though unlike the Hero, I can’t stroll around inside his body while his mucus dissolves mine. Therefore, we’ll kill that beast and drag out the demon inside him. That way, we may be able to kill them. So here’s what I need you girls to do: while I drag the subterranean dragon out of his burrow, you focus on killing him using a saturation attack with super firepower. …And so, Tarte, Dia, you will use those.] (Lugh) I handed most of the Fahr Stones I had loaded with earth, fire, and wind mana for bombing purposes to Tarte and Dia. A lavish treat that left me with only two of them in my arsenal. [My job will be to lure him out of his burrow. If he dives underground, no amount of super firepower will be enough to kill him. So when he comes out of the pit, use all of these to hit him with maximum firepower.] (Lugh)
[Um, are you sure you can drag a giant like that out of his pit?] (Dia) [That’s what these stones I’m filling up with mana will be used for.] (Lugh) I would be putting my life on the line, no doubt about it. But based on my intuition from having faced him once, I could say it was feasible. [Those Fahr Stones… Dia-sama and I, working together… Ah! I understand now.] (Tarte) [Me too. My role will be to fill our Fahr Stones up to their critical point and calculate their disposition for the most efficient bombing, and your role, Tarte, will be to throw them with your wind magic as I instruct you.] (Dia) [Exactly.] (Lugh) Fahr Stone explosions were powerful, but the most efficient way to use them was to surround and destroy the target with them. Explosions spread their energy radially. In other words, when they were used normally, most of their power would dissipate outward. However, if multiple explosions were triggered all around the target, their power would be concentrated in the center of them, and there would be no way out. It was humanly impossible to deduce the most effective arrangement for the Fahr Stones by calculating the timing of the explosion while quickly bringing them to their critical point. But with Dia’s intellect and talent, it was possible. However, she couldn’t position the Fahr Stones as calculated just by throwing them herself. And that was where Tarte would come in. She had thoroughly practiced her wind magic, and her accuracy with it was exceedingly high. She would be able to carry even numerous Fahr Stones and position them as Dia indicated. [This is gonna be pretty tough. Because, on the premise that he will jump out of his pit, I’ll need to figure out a three-dimensional arrangement.] (Dia) [This does sound like a lot of work.] (Tarte) Tarte and Dia looked at each other. I knew I was asking them for something difficult. And since I would be too busy sending that beast flying away, I wouldn’t be able to support them. [But I’ll do it anyway.] (Dia) [Me too… Um, Lugh-sama, please tell me. Did you give us that task because you believe we can do it?] (Tarte) [Yeah, that’s right. I’m convinced the two of you can pull it off.] (Lugh) [In that case, let’s do this!] (Tarte) Nice reply. It was typical of Tarte. But we couldn’t stop here. We needed to get ready to execute this plan and develop a back-up plan in case the first one failed. This strategy was based on nothing but assumptions. So obviously, I had to keep in mind what would happen if it failed. A few hours later, I had in my hands the Fahr Stones I had made and prepared just for this operation. With these on me, I jumped into the pit and used wind magic. …Before coming here, I used the tentacle I had torn off to verify why the subterranean dragon didn’t like the storm in the legend. The result I got was strikingly obvious. That creature was simply no good with water. His brownish hide was probably waterproof, but his inner tentacles lost mucus very easily when they came in contact with water. His mucus was important to him. It could dissolve anything it touched, evaporate to form a poisonous fog, and let any blade slide off it, making it useful for both offensive and defensive purposes. When his mucus flowed out, he had a habit of unconsciously spitting it out from the inside, so if it kept being washed away by water, he would dry up in the blink of an eye and become weak. That’s why he hated storms. Meaning that there was only one thing to do. The Fahr Stones in my hands didn’t contain a mixture of wind and water mana like I originally intended, but they contained 100% of water mana instead. I tossed two of these dangerous goods at their critical point down the pit. Now, what do you think happens when Fahr Stones filled with 300 people’s worth of water mana explode? The answer is very simple. And I got the result right before my eyes. The pit was filled with a devastating amount of water that I could only describe as a waterfall. Perhaps the stratum around here was very poorly drained, but the water level rose steadily in the pit, just like in a dam. …If my hypothesis is wrong and that giant beast is a demon, then he’ll be fine staying in the water. Even if he died, he would regenerate immediately. And he would have no problem staying in there until all the water eventually flowed out. However, if that beast isn’t the demon, but only one of his underlings, then he won’t be able to ignore it. After all, if he dies, he won’t have any way to come back to life. Well, I don’t know if he’ll die of emaciation or asphyxiation from all the mucus he’ll lose, but either way, he’ll die soon. And his third alternative, leaving this place, isn’t even an option. I heard from the snake demon Mina that the Fruit of Life would fall apart if the creator moved away from it for a certain amount of time while it was still in the process of being made. He wouldn’t want all his hard work to go to waste. Which meant that he would only do one thing. [I hate, I hate, I hate! I hate you! You’ve made me mad!] (Underground demon —> Subterranean dragon) The giant jumped out of the deep pit that had turned into a pool. The response he chose was to eliminate the threat. Unlike last time, he wasn’t here to play, but to kill. I could feel his genuine killing intent on my skin. It seemed that flooding his burrow had really upset him. Looks like my hypothesis was correct. In that case, I know what to do. Time to rip off that uselessly big armor and see what he really looks like.
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