During my military service in a previous life, I once saw wild boars greedily emptying food waste bins—those notorious army slop buckets—in the deep mountains of Gangwon Province. These wild boars, which lived nearby in the mountains, were shockingly large and reeked horribly.
I was struck by the sight of their bulky bodies, heads buried in the plastic tubs, gnawing on the slop with their yellowed teeth. The image stirred a deep, instinctual disgust within me.
Eventually, I got used to them and they became something of a cute mascot for the unit. The area even turned into a kind of tourist spot for new recruits, who were taken there to see the boars.
Up close, their eyes had a certain endearing quality, so much so that the soldiers affectionately dubbed them the "Baby Pig Search Squad."
However, this was not the case for Farmer Kim, a friend of the quartermaster. In his eyes, the boars were nothing but trouble, and they ended up as nothing more than a bloody mess before the righteous bullets of justice.
'Oh, Baby Pig Search Squad, why couldn't you be content with the slop buckets and instead went for the sweet potato field…!'
Anyway… What I’m trying to say is that seeing large creatures greedily devouring something is far more repulsive than one might imagine.
It's the kind of sight that can momentarily freeze your body with fear.
It's no wonder that horror movies often feature swarms of small creatures feasting on corpses. Even if you know they’re just wild dogs or boars with cute eyes, you still instinctively recoil.
Now, imagine that these creatures aren’t just wild animals, but Chaos Insects, each the size of a large dog, and that thousands of them are gathered together, spewing slime like dungeon monsters.
It’s a level of revulsion that defies description.
Honestly, I wish these disgusting bugs would stay inside the dungeon where they belong.
Shhaaa—!! Kyaaa—!! Kuwooo—!!
But they didn’t.
Damn it, the dungeon gate, much like a fallen tanning gyaru, once again failed to keep its chastity. It flung open its doors wide, practically begging for Chaos Insects to pour out with an ahegao double peace sign.
This wretched gate alone had raised the birthrate of Academy City into triple digits.
I gritted my teeth and charged forward.
'You… you easy girl…!'
The dungeon gate that flashed in my mind was now sporting a '正' character on its thigh, completely ignoring me as it flirted shamelessly with the [Priest of Erosion], Graff Voldur.
-"Oh, Priest of Erosion, your touch is amazing♡ These weak Academy City students can’t compare—♡"
It plays coy, limiting the number of people who can enter to three and hiding treasure in secluded rooms like some virtuous maiden.
But when it comes to that old black lizard’s powers, it opens up like a blushing bride on her wedding night.
‘So it’s easy for Graff Voldur’s powers, huh?’
You treacherous gate.
But I’m not one to wallow in defeat from behind. One day, I will demolish every dungeon gate in Academy City.
‘I’ll make sure that NTR ends in utter ruin.’
With that thought, I looked ahead.
“…!”
The once peaceful farmlands, filled only with the sounds of prayers, were now echoing with hideous cries. The source of those cries revealed themselves, emerging in droves.
It was like seeing a tree infested with spotted lanternflies, a chaotic and overwhelming sense of revulsion rose within me.
Shhaaa—!! Kyaaa—!! Kuwooo—!!
The noise caused a flock of birds to take flight from the nearby forest. The sound of their wings flapping, like a sudden downpour, filled the air as they scattered into the sky.
A full course of Chaos Insects in all three stages—larvae, juvenile, and adult—was running rampant across the farmlands, hundreds of them.
As soon as they emerged, they all roared in unison.
Shhaaa—!! Kyaaa—!! Kuwooo—!!
The Chaos Insects advanced, chasing after the students, devouring crops along the way.
Chomp chomp!
Slime dripped from their jaws, mixed with half-eaten crops, as they moved forward.
For the record, these creatures, born in the abyss, don’t actually need to eat.
The senseless act of devouring was a trait of the Chaos Insects brought forth by the [Priest of Erosion].
‘One of the reasons why the [Priest of Erosion], Graff Voldur, was considered such a powerful lieutenant was his ability to demoralize with this kind of psychological warfare.’
In the latter half of the story, his power was a calamity, shrinking supply lines and living spaces.
Although I’m not exactly sure why the power of a lieutenant who had been heroically vanquished by me was resurrected, I have a pretty good idea.
‘Kang Jinsu, you clueless fool. How could you bring back the abilities of a character who had already exited the story in such grand fashion?’
Because of your meddling… Academy City is once again a mess.
When a dark figure causes havoc, it’s not cute at all. Havoc should be wreaked with a bright and bubbly moe skin.
‘…Just like this pink-haired airhead Clara, of course.’
Thankfully, we arrived at the moment Jinsu-kun’s meddling began. As expected, the pink airhead caused far more enjoyable chaos.
Shhaaa—!! Kyaaa—!! Kuwooo—!!
I muttered as I watched the scene unfold.
"Looks like we made it just in time—☆"
At my words, Kara and Lota also drew their weapons. Kara pulled out a large flag spear she had been carrying on her back, while Lota brandished a golden wand and a simple grimoire.
"This scene looks familiar." "We couldn’t do anything at the beginning of the semester, but now it’s different!"
The area around us was chaotic with the sounds of fleeing Agricultural Department students and the approaching Chaos Insects. Everyone was moving in one direction, clashing and screaming.
“Kyaaa—!!” “What… what is this?!” “We have to run!!”
We ran in the opposite direction—toward the Chaos Insects.
As we passed by, we exchanged glances with the fleeing students. Their eyes widened as they recognized us.
“You… you’re…!” “How did you…?!”
The situation was too urgent for them to even report to the disciplinary committee. The reason the <Central Prism Academy> group was the only one who could arrive was simple.
‘I didn’t expect to see an image of Chaos Insects suddenly attacking the farmlands right in front of my eyes…’
The moment I saw the image of the Chaos Insects attacking the farmlands, I gathered my juniors and rushed over.
There wasn’t enough time to spread the word to everyone else, so I quickly sent notes to [The Deep Green Bow] Anna and the Theological Department Head Nella and then we headed out.
[There’s going to be a major event in the farmlands, so gather all the forces you can.]
‘Anna should be able to understand that much, right?’
When we arrived, there were indeed people in need of our help.
We smiled and gave them an answer.
“Just passing by, the pink airhead—☆” “Just passing by, the cat! Nyaa—!” “Just passing by, the revolutionary—!”
“…”
They didn’t answer, hesitating before running off into the distance.
We had tried to lighten the mood with a joke, as they often refer to us as the [Three Heroes] and consider us intimidating.
“…”
“Maybe that was a mistake.” “…I thought comrade-senpai would like it.”
Damn. I shouldn’t have tried to joke in front of these sensitive students.
I channeled my frustration into the Chaos Insects.
“I won’t forgive you for scratching a girl’s heart, Chaos Insects—☆”
So I hit them with a [Pink Lemon Sherbet], and while they turned into cute little pieces of meat, they immediately regenerated.
What is this? I’ve never seen anything like this before.
I mumbled in disbelief.
“…Ahaha—☆ This is a mess.” “It seems wiping them out all at once is impossible. We need to buy time until [The Deep Green Bow] and the disciplinary students arrive…!”
But before declaring defeat, there was something I wanted to test on the Chaos Insects.
‘Let’s see just how many times they can resurrect.’
With that thought in mind, I convinced Kara, who was proposing containment.
“No! If I had more weapons and a budget, I could do it—☆” “Oh? Really? Nyaa—! Here!”
Lota had developed to the point where she could now activate simple magic with just a “Nyaa!” She had been growing rapidly since the floodgates opened.
With a cute “Nyaa!” and both fists raised, a cat-shaped greatsword appeared in the air.
“Ah, it’s been a while since I felt this cool, heavy sensation—☆” “…? But didn’t you take it to practice with just the other day…” “Shh, be quiet, my little kitten—☆”
I let the minor remark slide.
Click—!
And then, as the Chaos Insects charged toward us, I unleashed a second technique that was relatively less wasteful.
“[Blue Sweet Macaron]—!!”
As I swung the greatsword, the air trembled and a wave of Ether surged forward, covering dozens of meters.
Kwooooom—!
Countless hearts contained within the wave shattered the enemies into powder. The Ether of [Wave] transformed into physical force, relentlessly battering them.
The Chaos Insects disappeared without even having time to scream.
But amidst that, I felt them regenerating again.
“…!”
I didn’t miss the sensation and immediately unleashed another technique to erase even the slightest trace of them.
“[Blue Sweet Macaron], [Blue Sweet Macaron]—!!”
I used the technique so many times I could open a macaron shop with that name. The surrounding farmlands were completely overturned, reduced to bare earth.
Despite sending endless waves of destruction, the creatures resurrected again. They were reassembling at an unnaturally fast speed and charging forward once more.
Shhaaa—!! Kyaaa—!! Kuwooo—!!
The pink airhead’s strategy had failed spectacularly.
It was a truly pathetic display of the pink airhead’s skills.
“…”
“…”
“…”
We steeled ourselves as we watched them regenerate. We had been through too much to start panicking and screaming now.
“Let’s go with the containment strategy for now—☆” “Understood!”
Kara scattered dozens of Ether-conducting cubes from the pouch attached to her belt. They expanded in mid-air, transforming into cube-shaped robots the size of a person’s torso that began to move.
“[Revolutionary Comrades]!! Come out, all of you—!”
Creak—! Creak—!
Kara planted the flag into the ground and activated her second Ether skill.
“[Revolutionary Flag]—!!”
Bang!
As the flag struck the ground, a massive wave of energy spread out, enveloping the [Revolutionary Comrades] around us.
The energized comrades formed a phalanx, waving their thin arms as they created a moving wall, whipping the juvenile and larval Chaos Insects as they surrounded them.
Snap—!
Despite the playful appearance, a single swing of their arms dented the Chaos Insects’ exoskeletons, followed by painful screams.
Shhaaa—!! Kyaaa—!!
Like an ancient punishment, the endless lashes of the [Revolutionary Comrades] pummeled the Chaos Insects into submission. Dozens of them formed a moving wall, attacking in unison, leaving the insects disoriented.
As they bought us time, Kara lunged at the heads of the juvenile and larval Chaos Insects that slipped through the lines.
“Haaah—!!”
With a shout, the towering girl, over 180cm tall, leaped into the air and swung her polearm.
The broad blade drew a crimson crescent in the air, decapitating the Chaos Insects struggling against the [Revolutionary Comrades’] whips.
“Nyaa!”
Next, Lota cast an enchantment.
With a flick of her wand, a soft golden glow sprinkled down from the red Ether she wove into the air.
“[Memory of Lunch, Full Belly Nap, Drowsiness in the Heart]—!”
Four massive cats, each the size of a small car, appeared in mid-air.
Meowww—!
They moved slowly, forming a straight line as they lay down, staring at each other’s tails.
Shhaaa—!!
The caterpillar-like larval Chaos Insects, which were relatively small, hesitated as they approached the sudden cat barrier.
“Kiyooop—☆”
I weaved through the Chaos Insects with my greatsword and spear, decapitating any that dared to show their heads.
Thwack—! Thwack—! Thwack—!
The more durable adult Chaos Insects resurrected even after having their heads cut off, raising their heads again.
Kuuwooo—!
“It’s you! I can sense the evil in your mind—☆”
Hmph. You wanted to do something perverted to me, didn’t you? Just like in those dirty manga!
Gripping the spear in my hand tightly, I spun it in the air, using the centrifugal force to slice the creature’s head like a cake.
Splaaash—!
A geyser of blood erupted from the massive creature.
We continued to hold the Chaos Insects at bay.
And then…
We noticed more Chaos Insects falling from the sky. They were being dumped from above like missiles.
“…!” “…Senpai, above us…!” “What is that…!”
When we looked up, We saw a massive dragonfly high in the sky, vomiting Chaos Insects as it flew. It stayed just out of our reach, safely in the air.
The dragonfly, adorned with hundreds of horns, Was the brother of the [Twin Priests], "Goen." From above, it shouted at us in a disdainful voice.
[You land-dwelling inferior species dare to act so arrogantly.]
You… you cowardly bastard…! Attacking us from where we can’t reach you…!
“Come down here! Let’s settle this honorably with propaganda and lies—☆”
'Goen,' I’ll make sure you end up as a real “Goen” (deceased) this time.