Chapter 434: The Calamity of Proliferation (1)

The hush of the forest was broken by frantic footsteps. Their irregular rhythm betrayed the man’s desperation.

“

Huff

...

Huff

...”

The soldier, almost out of breath, was in a terrible state. His armor was riddled with holes as though it had melted, and the spear he clutched in place of his staff looked ready to snap at any moment.

“What the hell was that...?” he muttered in a daze, glancing back in fear.

Karrrrk... Kragh...

An eerie sound—a mix of a frog’s croak and a child’s cry—echoed from all around him.

“Eek—?!”

Thud!

The soldier stumbled and fell. As fear took over, he crawled desperately, trying to get away from whatever was stalking him.

Karrrk...!!

But it was too late. Glowing eyes emerged from between the trees, ready to pounce on him.

“Noooo...!”

Sheer terror drove him to his feet, and he made one final attempt to run—though staying silent and attempting to hide might have been the wiser choice.

“There you are,” a deep voice rang out.

Karrrk! Karrrk! Karrrk! Karrrk!!!

The grotesque croaking erupted from all sides. It was deafening, like the relentless buzzing of cicadas on a hot summer day.

“AAAAHHHHH...!!!”

Just as the poor soldier closed his eyes and braced for the end...

BOOOM...!!

The Sand Serpent surged forth with a roar, baring its massive fangs at the monstrous creatures.

Crash...!

The serpent twisted its body, crushing dozens of the frog-like creatures beneath its coils.

“...!!”

Seeing the beasts battle one another was a bewildering sight, but the soldier, once stationed at the Twin Armor, remembered a battle where monsters had fought alongside them.

“No way...”

The soldier slowly turned his head.

“Your... Your Majesty!”

Recognizing his lone savior, the soldier dropped to his knees, all fear drained from his soul.

“What’s your unit?”

“I’m with the Fonein Defense Fortress!”

“Who’s the commander there?”

“Lord Marze, Your Majesty!”

Murmur... Murmur...

Troops emerged from behind Karyl.

“Lord Marze... wasn’t he once called the Shield of Istan? There’s no way... Has his fortress fallen already?”

“That’s impossible... No matter how close they are to the Fonein, it’s only been half a day since the Calamity struck.”

Rumble...

As if responding to their apprehension, the red moon hanging in the sky began to shift. The crimson eye had been watching them ever since the calamity had struck.

“I see.”

Despite the murmuring soldiers, Karyl maintained a calm expression, seemingly unfazed by the news of the fortress’s fall.

“Anthem.”

“Yes.”

“Do you trust this soldier’s report?”

“No.”

At Anthem’s response, everyone turned in surprise to look at the soldier.

“It’s true that the Fonein River is close to the defense fortress. Given that proximity, it was expected that the fortress would be the first to encounter the Second Calamity.”

“And yet?”

“I cannot believe the fortress has fallen.”

“L-Look at those monsters...! The fortress has fallen, and they’re advancing! We followed orders to fortify our defenses, but... those monstrosities were just overwhelming...!” the soldier cried out, his voice filled with desperation.

“So you fled to save yourself?”

“...Sorry?”

“I sense no other signs of life nearby. But I also don’t sense the aura of the dead.

Kay Rothschild removed her hand from the ground, where dozens of threads connected her to the earth.

“Tch... You pathetic excuse for a monster,” sneered Zarka Hochi, looking down at the fallen soldier. “Do you know who you’re dealing with? If the fortress had fallen, we’d be surrounded by the lingering specters of the dead. This place would’ve become the domain of the Queen of the Dead.”

He smirked, pointing toward where the fortress should have been.

“I do not sense death, which means the soldiers at the fortress haven’t died. Or rather...”

“They weren’t even attacked in the first place. This is just a trick.”

“Childsplay, really,” added Nain Darhon, gesturing behind Zarka as if introducing him to the others.

“Begone,” Allen Javius growled at the soldier.

“Stick to the waters, where you belong,” Zarka Hochi taunted gleefully. “Show yourselves, you filthy reptiles.”

“Frogs are amphibians,” Kay Rothschild corrected Zarka Hochi.

“Whatever. What’s the point in nitpicking about something like that after seeing that grotesque thing?”

Karrrrk... Karrrk...

The eerie croaks kept coming from among the trees. At last, the hideous creatures finally revealed themselves.

“So you have noticed.”

With that, the soldier’s face split vertically and peeled away like a discarded shell. From within emerged a massive creature with a frog-like head, its upper body slick and slimy while its lower half still bore human legs.

Slowly, the creature straightened its spine, towering before them.

“...”

Kay Rothschild grimaced, and Zarka Hochi instinctively covered her eyes, shielding her from the sight. Everyone was shocked at the fact that such a massive creature had managed to disguise itself as a human.

“Are you Hekqet?”

"Indeed, I am,” the creature replied clearly.

“Oh, it speaks?”

Allen’s eyes widened with fascination. This Tarak looked even more grotesque than Blood, and yet it was capable of coherent speech.

“I wonder if each successive Calamity possesses a higher level of intelligence,” Allen mused, observing Hekqet with scrutiny. “Still, you’re one ugly bastard...”

“You, a mere human soul, dare judge me?”

“Watch yourself. You monsters look down on humans, and yet you try to deceive us with such pathetic tricks.”

Allen extended his hands, and a black mist coalesced into a staff.

Thud!

“Those who dared wag their tongues before the

lowly

humans are no more,” he growled, slamming his staff into the ground.

“Wretched scum!”

Hekqet raised his massive trident, pointing it at Allen.

“You humans will be eradicated to the last, ground to dust, forever denied rest!” the Tarak hissed, his long tongue lashing out.

CRASH!

At that moment, a massive shadow fell from the sky like a meteor, smashing Hekqet into the ground.

“Urgh... Guh?!”

The monster had been reduced to pulp, his lower half having burst like a balloon. The remnants of his upper body were slowly lifted into the air.

“Ghrrrg...!”

Hekqet’s shoulders shuddered as thick, dark blood trickled from his enormous mouth. Deep, jagged teeth were embedded in his bleeding torso.

Crunch... Crunch...!

And those teeth mercilessly shredded what remained of Hekqet, the crunch of his bones making some of the onlookers shudder.

“He tastes as rotten as his words,” Toska remarked, licking his lower jaw as he finished devouring the Tarak.

“Karyl, send that serpent elsewhere. The battlefield is getting cramped.”

The Sand Serpent had its head pressed into the ground, seemingly expressing reverence before the mighty dragon.

“...”

The Bone Dragon’s appearance had been astonishing by itself, but witnessing him devour the Second Calamity in mere seconds had left everyone stunned.

“Hmm? You didn’t really intend to listen to that creature’s rambling, did you?” Toska asked indifferently.

“No need to listen to the dead,” Karyl said with a smirk.

Thud!

“Good.”

Toska gave a nod and spat out Hekqet’s trident.

Whooosh!

Then he spread his massive bony wings, sending up dust everywhere.

“If all of them are like this, we have nothing to worry about.”

Having defeated Hekqet in a single strike, he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the Calamities weren’t as fearsome as he had thought.

“Or perhaps it’s different because I’m here now.”

“It’s not that simple,” Karyl argued. While you’re incredibly strong, that alone won’t bring us victory.”

“Hmm?”

Toska tilted his head, looking somewhat miffed. Though reduced to a Bone Dragon, he had once been the lord of dragons, ruling over them as the strongest. Naturally, Toska had hoped his display of strength would impress, but Karyl only offered him a cold, practical assessment.

In response to Toska’s unspoken question, Karyl climbed atop his head and signaled with his hand. The soldiers, taking this as their cue, immediately set about, preparing to move.

Whoosh...!

With a thunderous sound, Toska took to the skies.

“This is only the beginning,” said Karyl, letting the cold wind brush against his face. “It’s not just one entity. Many more will emerge across the continent.”

“There are others?”

“The terrifying thing about the Calamity of Proliferation is that killing Hekqet doesn’t end it. The moment he emerged from the river, he spread his clones across the continent. The waters themselves are carrying the Calamity.”

“I see. So that’s why you spread your forces.”

Toska picked up more speed.

“Precisely. If this had been the only threat, I would’ve handled it myself without organizing such a massive campaign. There are commanders resembling him stationed across the continent.”

Karyl looked down below.

“The problem isn’t just their physical strength. As you’ve just seen, they engage in deception, trying to lure humans with illusions.”

“Those people you’ve brought with you... Their resolve is unshakeable because they have complete faith in you.”

Indeed, the Golden Dragon was impressed by the way Karyl’s presence inspired others. After all, Judex used to have the same effect on him.

“They each claim to be the true Hekqet, but only one is the main body. This ordeal won’t end unless we find and kill that one.”

“The real body, huh...”

“He keeps dividing himself. The longer the battle drags on, the worse it becomes for humanity. Even after a battle ends, their numbers won’t decrease. Most will find that, if anything, the enemy grows in number by the next day.”

“To think that fighting them only increases their numbers... What a fearsome foe.”

Karyl gave a bitter smile, recalling the nightmare of his past life.

“What if I devour all of them?” Toska suggested, opening his mouth wide as if savoring the thought.

But Karyl shook his head.

“Without killing the main body, his rate of division would outpace any attempts to destroy his replicas. No matter how strong we are, we only have one body each. We can’t cover the entire continent.”

“So in the end, you’ll have to rely on the others. And they’ll have to fight without you to lead them as their anchor.”

“They’ll hang in there... No, they’ll win. My soldiers are stronger than that.”

“Fine. Then what are we to do next?”

“While they hold off Hekqet’s forces, we’ll be hunting down the main body.”

“The main body... but how will we find it?”

“Don’t worry.” Karyl gave an ambiguous smile. “I already prepared a plan to locate it before this war even began.”

Despite being a creature of the dead, Toska felt a chill run through him.

“Remarkable. You think several moves ahead, even against monsters beyond the gods’ reach. I’ve never encountered a human like you.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“Oh? Should I steady myself for a few shocks?”

Karyl tapped Toska’s head lightly and pointed in a specific direction.

“Nah, but you should be ready to enjoy the show.”

As he realized where they were headed, Toska’s massive maw twisted into a menacing smile.