Episode 107 Rolling in the Pumpkin (2)
'They said it was similar to an Ogre.'
That was the conclusion the monster experts in the party had reached after analyzing the beast based on various information before Harley emerged from the dugout.
But they weren't sure because there were many differences.
He realized why after seeing the monster in person.
"Kraaaagh—!"
The Ogre was an apex predator even in the Northern Mountains, where monsters were abundant.
Tough hide that wouldn't let ordinary swords and spears penetrate, bones that were tougher and more elastic than metal, and a decent regenerative ability that could quickly heal most injuries as long as it had enough nourishment.
On top of that, it was a monster among monsters, with an overwhelming density of muscles that served as both weapons and armor, and sharp senses that aided in hunting.
'Even Harley, who was quite strong back then, almost died fighting an Ogre.'
The only drawback was that it had to spend most of its waking hours hunting and eating to maintain its massive body…
But that was irrelevant in the Northern Mountains, where monsters were plentiful.
Crackle—!
And now, Harley was playing tag with a two-headed Ogre that was charging at him, smashing trees.
He glanced back, and his eyes met with the monster's four red eyes.
"Kuhhoo—!"
"Kkakakakat!"
Yes, it had four eyes, not two.
It was over six meters tall, almost seven, and much larger than an ordinary Ogre.
Above all, it had two heads on its shoulders.
'Twin Head Ogre...'
Four red eyes, stained with madness, stared at him without blinking, and saliva dripped from its two mouths filled with shark-like teeth.
'I knew higher-ranking monsters were more susceptible to madness.'
Just like Harley was doing now, the madness that dwelled in a monster's body was absorbed by the predator and accumulated.
And if this Ogre had been eating monsters in the inner mountains…
'And it has two heads affected by madness, even though it only has one body?'
The brain, the organ of thought, was like a channel through which the madness dwelling in the body was expressed.
Having two heads meant it could be twice as efficient as other monsters.
Of course, that would also mean it consumed twice as much energy, but for a creature that spent all day eating, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
"Kieeeeek!"
Harley dodged the monster charging at him, twisting his body and continuing to run.
It had been about 30 minutes since he entered the inner mountains to lure the monster, and the number of monsters swarming from all directions was steadily increasing.
Crack— Crunch!
And the small monsters that tried to grab him while he was running were caught by the Twin Head Ogre chasing him and shoved into its mouths.
It diligently used both hands to stuff food into its two mouths, chewing and swallowing, like a marathon runner grabbing water bottles along the course.
"Kkiiiik!"
"Kuhuck!"
If it weren't for the monsters' screams echoing endlessly, it would have looked like a scene of devout labor.
'It really eats nonstop. Well, I think this is far enough.'
Harley, who had been running through the mountains, maintaining a reasonable distance, finally slowed down and stopped.
Of course, he wasn't planning to just shake it off.
'That thing has more madness than I've accumulated so far, it would be a waste to just leave it.'
As he stopped, not only the Twin Head Ogre but also monsters from all directions started to swarm towards him.
Their instincts, rewritten to be hostile towards uninfected intelligent beings, drove them to blindly express their murderous intent.
And Harley...
"Hoooo—"
His thoughts accelerated as time slowed down, and he slowly awakened his madness and raised his power.
White steam erupted from his mouth as all the cells in his body were activated, and a heat haze rose from his entire body.
His two eyes started to glow red and green as "Frenzied Beast" and other skills were activated simultaneously.
'This is a great opportunity. I don't know when I'll get another chance like this.'
He had been diligently consuming magic stones under the guise of a secret shamanistic technique, but there was a limit to that method.
But look at that.
Countless monsters charging towards him.
And the massive amount of 'madness' dwelling within them.
Ah! How tempting!
How much stronger could he become if he devoured them all?
Crack! Crack!
His muscles twisted and bulged with a loud noise.
His body grew to over three meters tall, and his massive arms sprouted long, claw-like nails.
His legs also transformed into those of a beast, with sharp claws.
Strictly speaking, his previous battle mode wasn't Harley's full power.
"Khahat! This feels amazing! Kkahahahat!"
His eyes, nose, and ears had long since lost their human form, and his long, ripped mouth was now filled with shark-like teeth.
He had become a monstrous being that couldn't be called human, unleashing "Mutation" and "Physical Transformation" to their fullest, but…
"Kkakakakat!"
His combat power was incomparable to before.
Whirr— Whirr—
Two axes hanging from Harley's back detached and started to float in the air, emitting a whooshing sound.
And the axes, imbued with the green flames burning from his left eye, turned their blades towards the monsters baring their teeth at him.
"What a feast!"
As he entered battle mode, his entire body consumed by madness,
"Kieek?"
"Kuruuk—?"
The monsters' reactions changed.
They had been charging at him with crazed eyes, but now they hesitated, looking around.
'What's going on? Did they lose their hostility? …No, are they recognizing me as one of them?'
Even the Twin Head Ogre, which had been relentlessly chasing him, seemed confused.
Of course, it was a creature that would devour even its own kind, but it was too inefficient to chase after one prey like this just for a meal.
Harley organized his thoughts, feeling the madness surging in his head and the red glow in his eyes.
'They must think I'm completely consumed by madness.'
It was an unexpected situation, but it was a new discovery.
If he used this method, he could freely roam among the monsters, avoiding their food chain.
Of course, now…
"First strike is the best!"
Kwaaang—!
He kicked off the ground and charged towards the Twin Head Ogre, which had approached him.
"Kuwooong—!"
"Kkakakat!"
The monster, which had been staring at Harley, immediately responded.
After all, it was their nature to fight to the death once they clashed.
As the humanoid beast and the giant monster fiercely collided,
"Hmm, interesting."
A cold voice echoed from where Harley had been standing.
"Keeek?"
"Kuruuk—?"
At the same time, the monsters that had been swarming towards Harley hesitated and turned their gazes towards the voice.
In the middle of the wild forest, a man stood in an outfit that didn't belong there.
A neatly ironed black tailcoat, as if he had just come from a noble's party.
Slicked-back hair, pale skin, and red eyes.
Sharp fangs that were revealed with a cynical smile.
It was the new Lord of the Brokoslack Clan and the hidden ruler of the Talia Kingdom.
Heinz the Second.
"Kuwooooh—!"
The monsters surrounding him roared and charged at Heinz.
Even one of the Twin Head Ogre's heads turned towards him, momentarily forgetting about Harley.
That showed how much his appearance had attracted their attention.
"Even if they're consumed by madness, they're still living beings."
But Heinz just calmly muttered as he watched the monsters surrounding him and charging at him.
His right hand slowly rose.
"As long as blood flows through their bodies, it's a meaningless struggle."
With a graceful spin, his right hand drew a circle around him.
And.
Whoosh— Splat!
The monsters caught in his path were instantly dismembered and scattered on the ground.
Their necks, waists, and legs were cut in different places because of their varying heights…
But it didn't matter anymore.
This place was already a sea of blood.
"Blood Mystery."
Red, blue, green…
The control over the colorful blood that had escaped from their bodies shifted to Heinz.
And it was forged by his iron will, becoming a weapon filled with murderous intent.
"Kkiiiik!"
"Kuhheeek!"
It ravaged the still-living monsters, gradually growing in size.
Blood called for more blood, and that blood grew in scale, causing more casualties.
"Hmm…"
It was an overwhelming sight, but Heinz just frowned slightly.
'It's difficult to control because of their monstrous life force. And the thoughts contained in their blood aren't that strong, but the madness that has replaced them is a bit troublesome.'
The madness dwelling in their bodies started to dissipate as soon as they died, but there was still a considerable amount left in the freshly killed monsters' blood.
If he hadn't obtained overwhelming blood control through "Hybrid Evolution", he wouldn't have been able to carry out such a massacre.
He was practically a disaster to lower-level beings.
Of course, that also meant he couldn't exert much power against those above a certain level…
"Kuwoooh…"
Crack—
"···Ugh!"
The Troll, which had charged through the storm of blood, had its neck severed and fell to the ground.
And Heinz's fingertips shot out ultra-high-pressure blood streams that simultaneously destroyed its brain and heart.
"This level is nothing special. Let's see what these guys taste like… Ugh, bleh—!"
He brought the blood of the slain monster to his mouth but immediately spat it out.
The blood of a monster consumed by madness was truly the worst.
Vampires gained power by consuming the life force and mana contained in the blood of their victims.
But a monster's blood was already filled with the energy of transmuted mana called 'life force', making it inefficient to absorb, and on top of that, it was contaminated by madness, making it inedible.
"Tsk, I thought it might be worth a try. Oh well."
Heinz continued to slaughter the monsters swarming towards him, using his blood control to extract their magic stones from their hearts and gather them in one place.
Whirr— Thud!
And he caught the pickaxe 'Elinne' that flew towards him, enveloped in green light, and put it in his subspace magic tool.
This was also one of the reasons why he came here.
'And Heinz had nothing to do right now.'
He had already gathered enough information, and his force-building was going smoothly.
And Harley wasn't suitable for mass slaughter, so he had Heinz waiting nearby in case he was surrounded by monsters…
'I didn't know he wouldn't be attacked by monsters if he fully unleashed his madness. Well, I also needed to retrieve the pickaxe, and we've gathered a lot of magic stones, so it's fine.'
Heinz nodded to himself and turned his gaze towards Harley.
"Kkahahahat! That guy's tough! He's fun to tear apart!"
"Kuwooooong—!"
The Twin Head Ogre… no, now the 'Single Head Ogre', was being torn apart by Harley, who was less than half its size.
The beast-like Harley was overwhelming it with his bare hands.
'Well, Harley was always stronger with his bare hands.'
He had been using weapons lately to blend into civilized society, but his true weapon was his monstrous body.
Thud!
And finally.
His sharp claws pierced the Ogre's chest, and Harley ripped out its heart along with its magic stone.
Crack! Crunch!
And he devoured it whole, instantly absorbing a surge of madness that exceeded what he had accumulated so far.
His heart raced, his blood flow accelerated, his muscles bulged, and his body emitted heat…
'It's nothing new.'
He was already used to the symptoms.
Harley, ignoring the whispers of madness echoing in his head, returned to his human form and hung the axes floating in the air back on his back.
"Ahahat! I feel refreshed after working up a sweat! Now, let's have a snack!"
He sat down in front of the pile of magic stones he had gathered and started to shove handfuls of them into his mouth.
Crack! Crack!
He intended to replenish his energy in advance, as his body had become stronger and his energy storage efficiency had increased after consuming the Twin Head Ogre.
But at that moment.
[KuoOoooooh—!]
A roar filled with overwhelming energy erupted from the inner mountains.
The air vibrated, and the surrounding mana shook from the powerful wave contained in the sound.
He instinctively felt goosebumps all over his body and tensed up.
'What's this?'
Harley and Heinz the Second simultaneously turned their gazes towards the source of the sound.
The energy felt different, but they had experienced a similar feeling recently.
More precisely, Hans had felt it from his subordinate Entracio.
And that meant the owner of this roar was…
'A Dragon?'
The dragon slumbering in the north had awakened.