Chapter 117. Recruiting Village Residents #5
Elise’s chat caught my eye.
The monster that appeared before us, shaped like a crow.
Elise referred to that thing as the Demon King of Flames.
【Yumi】─The Demon King of Flames?
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s called a Sand Raven. It’s probably unfamiliar to Gauntlet. When I was young, it was a notorious Demon King in Elemencia. Eventually, it was hunted down by a hero, though.
【Pururu】─A Demon King? That means it’s S-rank, right?
【Bubble Bubble】─Yes. It’s a very dangerous creature.
【Pururu】─S-rank is still just S-rank. lol
【Mysticism】─Nerfed to B-rank. 🤭
【Rizenova】─Hold your mockery. This isn’t something we dare to scoff at.
【Yumi】─But is that also a beast-type creature? It’s bipedal and even has one thick arm.
【Yumi】─Can someone answer? ㅠ
I also knew about the Demon King of Flames.
I hadn’t remembered it until Elise mentioned it, but when I heard that title, memories buried deep in my mind resurfaced.
The Demon King of Flames.
An S-rank monster, species name Sand Raven.
Of course, I had never actually seen it in person.
It was a creature detailed with a picture in the Monster Encyclopedia.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t recall it immediately, having only seen it in illustrations.
Anyway.
Unlike other monsters, there wasn’t a need to pay particularly close attention to the Sand Raven.
Its details were thoroughly documented in the encyclopedia.
According to records, the Sand Raven wasn’t the kind of monster that left behind curses upon death, like the Curse Devil Gentleman.
Of course.
That didn’t mean I intended to step forward myself.
My role was the Assisted One.
I wasn’t in a position to go to the frontlines.
Unless I was consumed with uncontrollable rage, itching for a fight, or forced into a situation where I had no choice but to step in, I planned to just watch all battles from the backlines.
“Azeras. Do you want to take on that thing? You haven’t fought in a while, so maybe you should stretch a bit.”
“Understood.”
“Don’t kill it though. We need to tame it as a village resident.”
“Of course. I’ll subdue it appropriately.”
“Oh, and as far as I know, it’s a monster without any variables, but there could be something unique to this individual. So, don’t let your guard down too much.”
“Don’t worry. I always take battles seriously. I never let my guard down.”
【Bubble Bubble】─What’s this? Gauntlet knew about the Demon King of Flames? I guess you saw it in the encyclopedia.
【Pururu】─Wait, but why is Azeras suddenly not speaking brokenly? She’s speaking so clearly now.
【Yumi】─Right? She was speaking awkwardly just yesterday.
【Mysticism】─🧐
【Rizenova】─Could it be that she had an intelligence enhancement surgery from Omega?
Even I didn’t know why Azeras was suddenly speaking so fluently.
It just seemed like her intelligence had abruptly increased since this morning.
Maybe it was due to a buff from Melody Fox.
Or perhaps it was the result of knitting, which had sharpened her focus.
The exact reason was unclear.
Anyway.
To face the Sand Raven, Azeras stepped forward, lightly flexing the mechanical arm she had recently acquired.
The Sand Raven stared blankly at Azeras.
［Caw? Caw?］
It shook its head wildly from side to side.
It didn’t seem to be assessing the strength of its opponent; it just appeared to be a meaningless action.
【Pururu】─That thing seems kind of dumb.
【Mysticism】─😀 Bird-brained!
Azeras and the Sand Raven stood face-to-face.
The one who made the first move was the Sand Raven.
［Caw!］
Flap!
The Sand Raven let out a cry and spread its massive wings.
It flapped its wings forcefully as if trying to lift its heavy body into the sky, causing the surrounding sand to whip up violently.
［Caw, Caw!］
Slowly, the Sand Raven began to lift off the ground.
Its wingbeats grew more powerful, trying to overcome its hefty body.
Just as it seemed to be taking flight…
［Caw···!］
Before long, its movements became unstable, and its wingbeats faltered badly.
［Cawww!!!］
The giant body, having lost balance, succumbed to gravity and plummeted to the ground in an instant.
Boom-!
With a dull thud, the Sand Raven collapsed to the ground.
The impact sent the surrounding sand flying, and the creature lay there, seemingly too embarrassed to move.
【Yumi】─?
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Pururu】─What the heck. lol
【Rizenova】─It seems it can’t fly. Its wings must be just for show.
【Bubble Bubble】─That’s strange. The Demon King of Flames was supposed to be able to fly.
Azeras looked down at the Sand Raven with a cold gaze.
The raven trembled violently, then pushed itself off the ground and stood up roughly.
And.
［Caw, Caw!!!］
It grimaced fiercely.
It let out a furious roar at Azeras, who stood in front of it.
It seemed like a rather foolish monster.
【Mysticism】─🤔🤔🤔
【Pururu】─Is it insane? It’s throwing a tantrum at Azeras after failing to fly.
【Yumi】─It’s venting its frustration in the wrong place.
“Silence. Stop barking.”
With graceful movements, Azeras reached out her hand.
Her two fingers lightly touched the Sand Raven’s abdomen.
“Celestial Martial Arts basic form, Divine Finger Strike.”
With that light touch…
Boom-!
The Sand Raven was sent flying backward as if hit by a cannonball, soaring through the air and crashing far away.
The dust kicked up by the impact slowly settled.
［Cawww······.］
The Sand Raven groaned in pain, struggling to rise.
“It didn’t faint. I must have held back too much.”
［···Caw, Caw!!!］
Despite sensing the overwhelming difference in strength, the Sand Raven showed no signs of fear.
Whether it was out of bravery or sheer stupidity was unclear.
［Cawwww!］
It spread its wings again.
This time, the surrounding sand began to move.
The sand lifted into the air, and its color started to change.
As if swallowed by a dark omen, the grains of sand gradually turned black.
【Bubble Bubble】─Gauntlet! That’s the ultimate ability of the Demon King of Flames!
“I know.”
Black sand that absorbs life.
I had read in the encyclopedia that if you got caught in that sand, your life would be drained instantly, leaving you a mummy.
Of course, that ability wouldn’t affect us.
Also, the Sand Raven wouldn’t get a chance to use that ability anyway.
“Just faint already.”
［···Caw?］
By then, Azeras had already gotten behind it.
【Yumi】─Huh? When did she get all the way there?
【Bubble Bubble】─I just realized it now too. She’s really fast.
【Pururu】─Azeras really likes sneaking behind, doesn’t she?
【Mysticism】─Master of surprise attacks! 😋
【Rizenova】─?
Once again.
Azeras’s fingers touched the Sand Raven’s body.
Boom-!
This time, the Sand Raven was sent flying high into the sky.
As it rose into the air, it let out a scream,
［Cawww!!! I’m flying! I’m finally flying!!!］
【Pururu】─Wait. It can talk?
Boom!
It crashed to the ground, fainting on the spot.
For some reason, the unconscious Sand Raven looked immensely happy.
“What a strange creature…”
［Sigh.］
As I murmured to myself,
While approaching the Sand Raven with the Black Magma Slime, I suddenly hesitated.
The black sand the creature had created.
It was still floating in the air, not disappearing.
“The Sand Raven is unconscious, so why is this still here?”
The black sand wouldn’t affect me much.
The Sand Raven was currently B-rank, and I had an A-rank level physique.
Even so, I felt uneasy about touching the black sand.
“I will take care of it.”
Seeing my frown, Azeras hurried over and said,
“Step back a little. It’s dangerous.”
［Sigh···.］
With that, Azeras extended both her arms.
A small amount of dark matter seeped from her arms, swiftly absorbing the darkness that had engulfed the sand.
Dark Matter.
A force capable of absorbing any type of darkness that existed in the world.
It could endlessly amplify the stored dark energy and indiscriminately destroy everything—ally and enemy alike.
The destructive power was so overwhelming that I had advised her to refrain from using it.
Such a force was too dangerous to handle carelessly.
Not that it mattered in this situation.
“Thanks. But Azeras, remember I told you to be careful when using that power?”
“I know. That’s why I used only a little.”
“Right. If we’re not careful, it could endanger us and even you, the user. Until you can fully control it, try not to use it in actual combat.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
［Sigh···.］
After thanking Azeras for her effort, I approached the unconscious Sand Raven with Kinogine Arachne and the Puppet Master.
Then, we thoroughly restrained it with binding threads and cast Mind Control.
Even though it was unconscious, Mind Control worked.
Moreover, taming was also possible.
─［Explorer. Shall I begin work on the encyclopedia?］
“No. I’ll do it today. You, Centaurides, take a break and don’t draw anything today.”
─［Ah. Understood···.］
─“Meow! Centaurides! Come over here and scratch my back, meow! My arms are too short to reach my back, meow!”
Taming the Sand Raven ended quickly.
I loaded the still-unconscious creature onto the Giant Caterpillar, and while continuing the search, I worked on the encyclopedia intermittently.
■Sand Raven
─Actual danger level: S-rank.
─Current (nerfed) danger level: B-rank.
─Abilities: Black Sand.