'Why did those magic dolls call Underground Demon Beast Yarakulon 'Lord Holy Beast'?'
As soon as Riezel realized that the Lord Holy Beast the magic dolls spoke of was actually Underground Demon Beast Yarakulon, this question immediately came to his mind.
He didn't understand what kind of relationship Yarakulon and the magic dolls had that would make this Underground Demon Beast assist them, but before he could figure it out, Raven spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.
"You got a way out of here?"
"I do." Riezel glanced at Raven, replying calmly. "If you wanna leave, I can send you on your way right now."
Riezel then reached out his hand toward Raven, but Raven quickly dodged.
"No, I need to stay." Raven shook his head. "Since Demon Beast Insects showed up in my territory, I have to find a way to get rid of them. If they escape from here, my land and my people are going to suffer."
Needless to say, this was something Raven absolutely couldn't ignore.
As parasitic creatures of Underground Demon Beast Yarakulon, Demon Beast Insects had the same destructive nature as locusts, capable of wiping out everything in their path. In the past, countless cities and countries had fallen to them, and even now, reports of Demon Beast Insects causing destruction kept surfacing across the continent, making them universally hated.
For lords and rulers, if there was one disaster they feared the most, the insect plague brought by Demon Beast Insects would definitely be among the top three. Every time Demon Beast Insects appeared in large numbers and swarmed, it didn't matter whether it was a small country or a big country—they all had to put in a huge effort to eradicate them.
Even then, the places that had suffered from an insect plague caused by Demon Beast Insects often ended up as barren wastelands, causing massive losses to the country and countless casualties among its people.
Given the circumstances, as the lord of Mavros Territory and a marquis of Jinas, Raven had no choice but to confront the Demon Beast Insects.
Upon hearing Raven's heroic words, Riezel felt tempted to mock him for it.
Clearly, this marquis had let his own nephew do whatever he wanted to the people in his territory, and now he was acting all concerned for his land and people?
Who was he trying to impress?
However, seeing Raven's serious expression, Riezel felt that he probably wasn't just putting on a show and actually cared about his territory and his people.
'Does he seriously not know about his nephew's good deeds?' Riezel frowned, feeling doubtful.
Nonetheless, he wasn't interested in arguing with Raven about this, so he got straight to the point.
"Even if you stay here, you won't be able to get rid of all the Demon Beast Insects."
Saying this, Riezel then told Raven about the situation here.
"Are we really inside Yarakulon's body?" Raven asked, his expression serious.
"Demon Beast Insects are parasites living inside Yarakulon, right?" Riezel said casually. "If that's the case, the number of these insects inside its body is no doubt far greater than the ones outside. Do you really think you can wipe out that many Demon Beast Insects all by yourself?"
At this, Raven fell silent because he was well aware that he couldn't.
Not to mention him, even Riezel couldn't.
It was only natural.
Just from his journey to Raven's location alone, he had already encountered countless Demon Beast Insects, so who knew how many were lurking inside Yarakulon's whole body?
It was precisely also because of that that he chose to use 'Perfect Unknowable' to avoid them instead of wiping them out with a range-based instant death magic like 'Cry of the Banshee'.
Why?
Simply because there were just too many Demon Beast Insects since no matter how many he took down, more would keep coming. Rather than wasting time clearing them out, it was better to just turn invisible and fly straight through.
"Right now, we have no idea where this Underground Demon Beast took us. We might not even be in Bessare anymore—heck, we might not even be in Mavros Territory." Riezel continued. "If you head out now, you might still be able to find a way back to Bessare. Maybe Demon Beast Insects are already swarming the city right now."
"What about you? You're not leaving?" Raven asked while frowning.
"I wanna take a look around first since there's something here that interests me." Riezel crossed his arms. "Maybe I'll find some traces of those guys."
Hearing this, Raven's frown deepened.
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
Suddenly, that annoying, familiar buzzing sound of insect flapping wings echoed once again, making both Riezel and Raven's gazes turn cold.
Sure enough, before them, another massive swarm of Demon Beast Insects was gathering.
"Anti-Life Cocoon."
Riezel immediately cast defensive magic, forming a barrier to block the Demon Beast Insects.
"Okay, cut the crap. If you're leaving, do it now. If I change my mind later, you might never get out of here again."
Saying this, Riezel reached out and placed a hand on Raven's shoulder.
"Wait! What's that?!" Raven suddenly shouted, pointing beyond the barrier.
Hearing this, Riezel turned his head, and the moment he saw it, his pupils shrank.
*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!*
Heavy, echoing footsteps suddenly resounded.
Naturally, the one making them wasn't the Demon Beast Insects.
It was a giant.
Yes, a genuine giant.
It stood at a towering five meters, its shape resembling that of a human, with arms, legs, and a torso. However, its limbs were unnaturally long, and in its hands, it gripped a stone spear, looking just like a wild savage.
Even though its head also bore a strong resemblance to a human's, it had no eyes, only a long, jagged slit where its eyes should have been, making it impossible to sense its gaze.
It suddenly emerged from the other end of the cave, its heavy footsteps echoing as it dragged its massive stone spear, step by step, toward Riezel and Raven's direction.
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
At the same time, the Demon Beast Insects grew restless the moment the giant appeared, causing them to not only no longer target Riezel and Raven but also, as if they had been startled or had seen something terrifying, to suddenly start fleeing in a panic.
Facing these Demon Beast Insects, the giant suddenly made an extremely aggressive move.
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
Letting out a deafening roar, the giant swung its stone spear, unleashing a powerful gust of wind as it swept toward the surrounding Demon Beast Insects.
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
In an instant, the Demon Beast Insects struck by the stone spear burst apart like crushed walnuts—their blood and bodily fluids splattered everywhere, drenching the ground.
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
Howling and roaring, the giant wildly swung its stone spear with brute force as it whistled through the air, sending powerful gusts sweeping outward.
On the other hand, the Demon Beast Insects, which had scattered in panic, were nothing more than helpless insects before the giant. Its stone spear was like a pestle smashing insects—every swing crushed a whole swarm, leaving nothing behind but a mess of mangled remains.
After rampaging for a while, the giant suddenly released its grip on the stone spear and used its bare hands to grab handfuls of Demon Beast Insects.
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
With loud buzzing sounds, the trapped Demon Beast Insects desperately flapped their wings and struggled, but unfortunately, they couldn't break free.
Right in front of Riezel and Raven, the giant shoved them into its mouth like they were candy, and as it chewed them, thick fluids oozed from between its teeth and splattered everywhere.
Seeing this, Riezel and Raven almost threw up.
"What is that thing?" Raven asked tensely, gripping his greatsword tightly.
"You're asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask?" Riezel shot back impatiently.
Neither the memories of the original Riezel nor his own knowledge of this world had any information about this giant. He had also never heard of such a creature appearing inside Underground Demon Beast Yarakulon.
"No, wait... that thing isn't even alive..."
As Riezel used the Transparent World and examined the giant's insides, he saw no flesh, no organs, nothing a living creature should have—it was completely hollow.
Meanwhile, the hollow space seemed to be made of metal, covered in strange engravings, while in the center of the hollow space floated a crystal, glowing faintly.
As for the Demon Beast Insects it had devoured, they vanished the moment they entered this hollow space as if they had been vaporized. Only their energy remained, which was then absorbed into the crystal.
Needless to say, this giant was clearly artificial and not a living being.
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
At the same time, the roaring giant continued to tear into the Demon Beast Insects, devouring and trampling them—its movements grew wilder, and its roar echoed louder, shaking the entire cavern.
Before long, the Demon Beast Insects that had swarmed this area were either dead or had fled—not a single one remained.
Yet, the giant didn't stop as it crouched down and started scooping up the corpses of the Demon Beast Insects, shoving them into its mouth by the handful, chewing noisily.
Some of those Demon Beast Insects had died under Raven's Rebellion, while others had been wiped out by Riezel's instant death magic—now, all of them had turned into the giant's meal, devoured without hesitation.
Riezel and Raven stood silently the whole time, watching as the giant ate. As more and more corpses of the Demon Beast Insects disappeared, an uneasy feeling slowly crept into their hearts.
"Hey... when it finishes eating all that, do you think it'll just leave? Or do you think it'll start looking for other food around here?" Raven asked in a low voice, his tone anything but joking.
"No idea..." Riezel's eyes glowed faintly, his expression as calm as still water. "I just know it's not full yet."
How did he know that?
Thanks to the Transparent World, he could see that the crystal inside the giant's body grew brighter as it ate, and he knew that there was still plenty of room for it to shine even more.
In other words, it wasn't full yet since if it were, the crystal would be fully lit by now.
Given this, wasn't it obvious what it was going to do next?
"..."
Having devoured every corpse on the ground, the giant came to a halt before, a few seconds later, it slowly turned its head, the jagged slit that took the place of its eyes shifting toward Riezel and Raven's direction.
"..."
Riezel and Raven didn't say anything anymore—they just glanced at each other, completely motionless for a long time.
Until—
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
At Riezel and Raven, the giant let out a furious roar before grabbing the stone spear it had just released and charging straight at them with thundering footsteps.
"Tch!"
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, one clicked his tongue while the other cursed.
In the next second, Riezel and Raven leaped away without hesitation, splitting off in opposite directions.
*BOOM!*
In the next second, the giant's stone spear came crashing down, smashing through the barrier of Anti-Life Cocoon and shattering the ground beneath it.
It was not unexpected.
A defensive magic that repelled living creatures was completely useless against an enemy that wasn't alive to begin with.
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
Roaring again, the giant swung its stone spear at Raven with one hand while punching Riezel with the other, attacking both Sword Saints at once as if trying to take them down in one go.
*Clang!*
Raven, who had jumped into the air with nowhere to dodge, hurriedly raised his greatsword to block the incoming stone spear, causing a loud metallic clash to echo through the air before the force of the impact sent him flying.
"Body of Effulgent Beryl."
Riezel, on the other hand, cast a defensive magic, causing a vibrant green glow to shimmer around his body.
*BOOM!*
With a muffled explosion, the giant's massive fist sent Riezel flying like a cannonball, shooting straight toward the ceiling.
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
Seemed to realize that not only had Raven blocked its attack, but its punch had also done nothing to Riezel, the giant roared in fury.
Even though Riezel had been launched toward the ceiling, he suddenly stopped midair before crashing into it, completely unharmed.
Raven was the same because, although he had been sent flying and his greatsword was still trembling from the impact, he managed to stabilize himself before slamming into the wall.
Realizing this, the giant, more infuriated than before, clutched its stone spear before charging at them with heavy, thundering footsteps once again.
Riezel and Raven exchanged a glance before turning their eyes toward the charging giant, their expressions calm and composed.
"What's the plan?" Raven asked in a deep voice.
Riezel didn't answer with words but with action.
"Maximize Magic - Fireball."
In that instant, flames surged, gathering at Riezel's outstretched fingertip and forming a massive fireball even larger than a person before blasting forward.
*BOOOM!*
With a thunderous sound, the enormous fireball struck the giant, sending it crashing to the ground and causing the flames to erupt, lighting up the entire cavern.
Seeing this, Raven, with dark energy surging around him, didn't hesitate as he leaped high into the air, landing heavily above the giant.
In his hands, Rebellion's blade shimmered with a faint glow as he thrust it downward, piercing straight into the giant's chest.
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
As Rebellion pierced its chest, the giant let out a pained roar.
"Triplet Maximize Magic - Fireball."
Three massive fireballs immediately followed, crashing into the giant one after another and engulfing it in a sea of flames.