Chapter 140 : Cocoonization - 4
Chapter 140: Cocoonization - 4
At that moment, Edgar spoke.
“Alright, alright. Let’s stop. A marital fight is like cutting water with a knife…….”
“Arcaaane!”
She simply surrendered her body to rage and lunged at Edgar.
Edgar’s body, honed over long years, moved reflexively.
He twisted his body in a flash to evade and counterattacked Louis.
-Thunk. Crash.
Louis rolled across the floor.
Though he had countered with considerable force, Louis, being a Monster, did not die.
But mentally, she was on the verge of death.
‘I won’t forgive you. I can’t forgive you.’
She muttered with a face smeared in blood and tears.
“Ah. I’m sorry. I reacted without thinking.”
“…….”
“Are you alright? Come here. Let me see your face.”
The Edgar approaching her no longer looked like her husband.
No, he didn’t even look human.
He didn’t even seem like a Monster.
‘What on earth is that?’
What kind of creature was he?
Nothing about him made sense.
Just a few days ago, I had thought Arcane was someone I could trust with everything.
But now.
‘I’ll kill him.’
But how?
Arcane was strong.
If I split into multiple entities and transformed into the Mason gang to fight, perhaps I could somehow manage.
But would Arcane wait for that time?
If it was that lunatic, the moment he sensed that I intended to oppose him, wouldn’t he try to take my life?
‘Huh?’
It was then, as she thought that.
Something caught her eye.
The First-place reward that Kaid was wearing as he slept right beside her.
The Invisibility Cloak.
If you pulled it over your head, it would completely erase you from the world.
Like lightning, she snatched the Invisibility Cloak from Kaid.
Edgar’s eyes widened.
“Louis. What are you thinking…….”
“I’ll kill you. Again and again. Until you never revive a second time!”
“Stop!”
Edgar hurriedly lunged at Louis, but his hand only sliced through empty air.
Louis had completely pulled the cloak over herself and vanished.
He bit his lip and muttered.
“Damn it…….”
He couldn’t finish the words, “you bastard.”
Thud.
Because he died to Louis before he could.
Right after I heard the name of the MVP from Kaid, I woke from sleep.
After calming the Companions who rushed toward me in a flurry, I hurriedly called the Diary Book.
‘Diary Book. You heard the name, right?’
[I didn’t hear it.]
‘What? Ah, right. You said if I fall asleep, you fall asleep too.’
[I never phrased it exactly like that……. But we can say it’s similar.]
‘Odline Ragna. That’s the name of the Third MVP of Hell. Encyclopedia, please.’
[Understood.]
Soon, the Diary Book floated up.
<■ Odline Ragna
-Race: Former Celestial. Current Monster.
……
……
-Characteristics
: During his time as a Celestial, he was known as quite the eccentric.
Claiming to be a wanderer searching for love, he traveled all across the continent.
He courted countless women he fancied, yet never once achieved love.
During that time, he participated in a Quest and fell in love at first sight with Magireta.
Throughout the Quest, he courted her relentlessly, eventually earning her displeasure. However, with outstanding performance, he swept up First-place rewards and became an MVP.
He was the final victor of that term and used a Wish Ticket to wish that Magireta would fall for him.
However, since that wish could not be granted, it was rejected.
Afterward, he revived as a Monster as an MVP and has been managing one quarter of Hell.
-Other Notable Details
: Odline, having transformed into an MVP Monster, demonstrates various forms of omnipotence.
The omnipotence to open a Black hole that can connect to any location, whether in Hell or in the world.
The omnipotence to revive the Monsters he commands again and again.
And even the omnipotence to feed maggots to Monsters and cause Cocoonization.
That final omnipotence in particular possesses tremendous ripple effects.
The maggots that enter a Monster’s body lay countless eggs.
Until those eggs hatch, they alter the host’s body and cause Cocoonization.
When the cocoon finally hatches, on average hundreds of billions to trillions of flies spread into the world.
These flies are inherently toxic, and wherever they pass becomes desolate, killing all living beings.
If the cocoon is destroyed before they mature into adult flies, the catastrophe can be prevented.
If the cocoon is shattered before they fully metamorphose into flies, all the maggots dry out and die.
However, the cocoon is extremely hard, so unless it receives physical impact above a certain threshold, it is difficult to break.>
…….
I closed the Encyclopedia.
My head rang.
“This is…….”
“What’s wrong, Mason? What did you hear from Kaid?”
“No. He didn’t know the details either. I just heard the MVP’s name.”
“So you heard everything.”
The Companions nodded with relieved expressions.
They all knew I could extract information through names by some method.
To communicate this smoothly without needing explanation—what an excellent Party.
“They say when the cocoon opens, flies will come out.”
“Flies?”
“Yes. Flies that desolate all land and fields and kill living beings.”
“How many……?”
“Apparently hundreds of billions to trillions.”
At the incomprehensible number, everyone’s mouths fell open.
Aina muttered.
“It’s just as I vaguely expected. The maggots were moving through the blood vessels earlier.”
Karin responded to her words.
“So when they said it would destroy the world, it wasn’t a bluff.”
“Seems so.”
“It would be impossible to exterminate flies close to infinite one by one.”
“You try doing something with your spirits.”
“When I had them attack the cocoon earlier, they said it was too disgusting and asked me not to make such requests anymore. They’re delicate, you know.”
The exact opposite of their Master.
I spoke.
“Still, there’s hope. If we break the cocoon before it fully hatches, that’s enough. If it’s shattered before they metamorphose into flies, they all dry out and die.”
“That’s what we’ve been trying this whole time. No matter what we do, it doesn’t break…….”
“It seems we have to apply physical impact above a certain level.”
Berseum let out a hollow laugh and interjected.
“Do you think there’s physical force greater than Kanesella?”
That was true.
Aside from inhuman beings like Magireta, hadn’t Kanesella shown the greatest destructive power?
If even that failed, then what were we supposed to do…….
At that moment.
Suddenly, I heard the voice of the Diary Book.
[Ah. So it could be broken with ordinary physical force.]
‘Huh?’
[If that was the case, I should have recommended it much earlier. I thought there had to be some creative method.]
‘What are you talking about.’
[Why don’t you use the shop for once in a while?]
Flip.
The Diary Book turned its pages on its own.
<Always by your side. This is the traveling service Diary Shop.> <You may purchase the items below for very affordable points.>
<Since you are currently lv.6, only six items are available for sale.>
Awakening Pill (Armelia exclusive): Purchase complete!
Awakening Pill (Aina exclusive): Purchase complete!
Awakening Pill (Berseum exclusive): Purchase complete!
Awakening Pill (Sienne exclusive): 500 points.
Awakening Pill (Benjamin exclusive): 500 points.
Awakening Pill (Karin exclusive): 500 points.
‘What is this.’
[Purchase Sienne’s Awakening Pill.]
‘What are you…….’
[Come now. You’ve never suffered a loss by listening to me, have you?]
That was true.
I nodded and purchased the Awakening Pill.
[Purchasing Sienne’s Awakening Pill.]
[Points Consumed: 500]
[Remaining Points: 1,755]
Soon, a vial was placed in my hand.
At that moment, Aina let out a shriek that tore through the air.
“Aaaah! Look at that!”
We turned our gazes in the direction she pointed.
“……!”
It was enormous.
The cocoon, which had been barely five meters before I fell asleep, had grown tremendously.
Large enough to completely block our vision.
Armelia lifted her head toward the sky and spoke.
“At this size…….”
“It’s about as large as Helena’s True body we saw back then.”
“It grew that much in an instant. Just a few seconds ago, it wasn’t like that?”
We all felt it instinctively.
The cocoon was on the verge of hatching.
There was no more time to hesitate.
I immediately held out the vial to Sienne.
“Drink it!”
“Yes!”
“So what this is, is…… huh?”
Before I could explain anything, Sienne took the vial without question.
And without a moment’s hesitation, she gulped down the contents.
Benjamin muttered.
“I thought I would be next.”
“Brother, is that really what matters right now?”
“A little…….”
“Sir Sienne. Do you feel any change?”
After emptying the bottle cleanly, Sienne wore a blank expression.
“Hmm. I’m not sure.”
“…….”
“Ah! Perhaps my eyesight has returned?”
She hurriedly untied her bandages.
But the eyes taken by Magireta had not returned.
Her expression fell into sudden gloom as she spoke.
“That can’t be.”
“Why would you assume your eyes would recover in the first place?”
“In my prime, my eyesight was my main weapon. Since Sir Berseum gained Infinite Mana, I thought perhaps it would strengthen the talent I originally possessed.”
“That makes no sense. I couldn’t see souls to begin with. And the Princess didn’t originally have any talent for healing either.”
Sienne nodded at Aina’s words.
She smoothed out her gloomy expression and said,
“Then it must be swordsmanship.”
“No, there’s no rule that your original talent gets enhanced.”
“Then perhaps heightened senses? I’m quite confident in that area.”
“Please listen. That pill is…….”
As I said that, I asked the Diary Book.
‘What’s the name of that pill? The Princess had The Light of Healing, Aina had Necromancy, and Brother had Infinite Mana, didn’t they?’
[Peerless Strongman.]
‘…….’
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t speak.
The Diary Book kindly repeated it.
[Peerless Strongman.]
‘I heard you.’
[You didn’t react, so I thought you hadn’t.]
‘Judging by the name, don’t tell me…….’
[Yes. Exactly what you’re thinking.]
With a sigh, I turned to Sienne and explained.
After hearing my explanation, her expression turned blank.
“It makes you stronger.”
Upon hearing the pill’s description, Sienne’s shoulders somehow drooped.
Soon, she walked toward the cocoon with irritated steps.
When I followed cautiously, I heard her muttering.
“This is ridiculous. It doesn’t suit my image at all.”
Honestly, it suited her perfectly.
But soon, as if she had steeled her resolve, she took her stance before the cocoon.
Sienne asked,
“So I just have to hit this?”
“Yes. With all your strength.”
“Will it really work? Honestly, I feel like an ant in front of an elephant.”
That, I didn’t know either.
No matter how much it was Peerless Strongman…… even if it was an Awakening Pill that increased strength, wasn’t that cocoon something even Kanesella had failed to break?
Berseum spoke with a skeptical expression.
“I think it would be better to prepare to evacuate in advance.”
“Brother.”
“No matter what, the destructive force created by human bones and muscles cannot surpass Kanesella. If that were the case, everyone would train their bodies instead of studying magic.”
“No one studies magic anyway.”
“……In any case, this seems meaningless.”
At that moment, Sienne took her stance.
She clenched both fists.
She firmly planted her feet on the ground.
And the next moment.
“Haaah!”
With a powerful shout, she threw her fist at the cocoon.
-Kuuuuung.
With a tremendous vibration, a fierce gust of wind swept out.
It was the aftershock of her fist cutting through the air.
The cocoon squirmed.
Outwardly, there was no visible change.
Berseum shook his head.
I bit my lip in anxiety.
The Companions’ expressions darkened as well.
But one person did not give up—Sienne.
“Yap!”
Thud.
Another strike followed.
“Yaat! Haaat!”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Her attacks gradually became faster.
After a few seconds, Sienne’s blows reached a level where they were no longer even visible to the eye.
An attack even faster than the sword she always wielded.
And then.
-Kak.
Suddenly, cracks began to form in the cocoon where she stood!
Berseum shouted in shock.
“No, this can’t be!”
“…….”
“Ahem. My apologies. I got a little carried away.”
It seemed the pride of a magician had been cracked.
But right now, something was more important than Brother’s pride.
-Kak. Kraak.
The cracks in the cocoon began spreading outward, centered around Sienne.
Sienne continued striking the same point with brutal force.
At that moment, from inside the cocoon, the MVP…… Odline’s voice was heard.