The Black Fog that Devours - CH 115

This is the Dragon Sovereign’s side.

(Third person POV for the whole chapter)

While Kurokiri and the others are fending off the Octopus King’s monsters with the individual valor, the Fox Princess’ group testing out the new technology, and the Snow Sage’s party strategizing, this is what is happening at the “Sakurajima Direct Crater” dungeon of the “Dragon Sovereign of the Caged Cherry Blossom Flame”.

“Are you certain about this?”

“Yes. Please do.”

The first level of “Sakurajima Direct Crater” has an entrance within the Sakurajima crater, rendering it inaccessible to ordinary humans, but the second level is designed to allow a portion of the structure to be opened for Dragon Sovereign to create her kin.

And as of now, the Dragon Sovereign of the Caged Cherry Blossom Flame as well as the Sakurahijin accompanied by a dozen or so human beings are on the second level of the structure.

Nevertheless, despite the impatience and fury in their atmosphere, there is no sense of antagonism.

You’re wondering the reason for this?

“I understand. The circumstances in the port city are getting worse by the minute.”

To begin with, “Dragon Sovereign of the Caged Cherry Blossom Flame” is a Demon King who lacks the characteristics of a Demon King, and her typical behavior is to slumber in the dungeon while creating monsters as she sees fit. The only other thing she does besides that is to transform humans into her kin when they come to the second level, which she created for the purpose of creating kin, and she does not release monsters outside to attack the settlements.

That’s right. The Dragon Sovereign is a Demon King who has never taken the initiative to harm any human being.

On top of that, her kin, the Sakurahijin, possess the ability to heal the injured with their unique skill ≪Cherry Blossom Rain≫ and the bulk of them customarily wander around the community to heal the wounded and are highly reputed.

Therefore, the Dragon Sovereign and her kin, the Sakurahijin, are favorably accepted by the people in the surrounding areas, unlike other Demon Kings and their kin.

“We are aware of that. That is why we ask for your power, Dragon Sovereign-sama.”

In the midst of this, the monsters of the “Crawling Octopus King of Chaos” have abruptly stormed the port city, causing the humans and the Sakurahijin in the port city to suffer an uphill battle. The Dragon Sovereign and her team have to urgently maintain their strength and send in reinforcements.

“Then I won’t stop you anymore. ≪Monster Creation≫.”

For this reason, the Dragon Sovereign has gathered the group of humans who have made up their minds to resign from the human race and be her kin. So that they can protect what they desire to protect.

With the activation of Dragon Sovereign’s skill, the hair color of the assembled humans turns into an alluring cherry blossom color, which is followed by cherry blossom-colored fire sparks that rain down on the area as if celebrating the birth of new kin.

“I am counting on you.”

“Yes!”

And the batch of new kin heads off to the battlefield of their own accord.

The conflict is still tense, despite the cooperation of humans, Sakurahijin, and Dragon Sovereign’s monsters, as well as the additional kin dispatched by the Dragon Sovereign.

What is the reason behind this?

Indeed, the ≪Cherry Blossom Rain≫ is a formidable skill that can both attack and heal at the same time, and if multiple Sakurahijin exercises it synchronously, most wounds can be healed instantaneously and the opponents can be inflicted with a certain extent of damage.

Regardless, the primary effect of ≪Cherry Blossom Rain≫ is recovery rather than offense. Many of Dragon Sovereign’s monsters also have recovery abilities, and since Dragon Sovereign is a Demon King who does not strike humans, the humans themselves have scarcely any experience in battle.

Hence, the situation that occurs is…

“Damn it! We’re outnumbered!”

“Concentrate all your firepower in one place!”

“As if we can pull that off!”

There is a critical shortage of firepower.

As a result, the Dragon Sovereign’s side is now awaiting reinforcements from other Demon Kings, who may or may not arrive, and is gradually retreating to withstand the enemies’ aggression.

Now, a question might be posed here. You may wonder, even if they lack offensive capabilities, given their resilience, is it possible to maintain the war front even if it is impossible to push back the enemy?

The current predicament, nevertheless, is not such a simple one.

Recovery, by definition, only applies to those who are still alive; not to those who perish with a single blow or damage to equipment, such as shields and spears.

“It’s coming! Retreat!!”

Yes. For instance, the giant octopus, whose physical strength is sufficient to crush a human being with a shield, is their natural antagonist.

“Damn it! Fall back! Fall backkkkkk!!”

“Reinforcements are not yet… gyaaaaa!!”

The humans on Dragon Sovereign’s side flee while swearing, and the Octopus King’s monsters pounce on their vulnerable backs, snatching their lives away.

“Damn it… If only we could do something about that giant octopus…”

These humans, who managed to escape to the outer part of the city and put up a fighting appearance, involuntarily murmur to themselves.

In their eyes, they can catch sight of the monsters of the Octopus King who are progressively advancing towards them from the city… that loathsome giant octopus.

Should that giant octopus reach this point, they would be hopelessly devastated. That is what the humans are thinking, with some weeping and quivering, and others in despair.

Yet, the time they have accumulated over the many sacrifices they have exerted up to this point will save them.

“ーーー!!”

All of a sudden, the exclamation of the giant octopus pierces the area.

They look up to check what is going on. There, they witness the giant octopus that has tormented them for so long being slain in one blow by a girl.

“You did your best. Please leave the rest to me.”

Although she seems to be far away, the girl’s voice sounds mysteriously familiar.

That girl is clad entirely in black, with a metal gauntlet covering her left arm and a double-edged blade in her right hand.

Ichiko is the name of the young woman. She carries the alias of “Blade Princess of the Unsettled Sword” and is running around this country hunting monsters of the Octopus King under the command of Kurokiri.

Her arrival at the scene drastically alters the course of events.

That strength of hers could only be described as overwhelming.

The giant octopus with which they had struggled so viciously was slashed to death in a heartbeat, while other monsters with threatening abilities succumbed after being hit in the vital parts with pinpoint accuracy. Even those who are able to retaliate are struck down by excruciating counterattacks without a single blow landed on her.

In response to this spectacle, other humans, who until now have been on the defensive, also go on the offensive.

As if their lack of firepower up to this stage were a falsehood, the humans are so vigorous that they are vanquishing the monsters of the Octopus King.

Even the enemies’ occasional attacks are immediately cured by ≪Cherry Blossom Rain≫ that pours down all over the vicinity. The speed of the healing is such that even a critically wounded man can regain his fighting strength within mere seconds.

After that, reinforcements equipped with the latest equipment from the Fox Princess also arrive at the battlefield, and before long, the monsters of the Octopus King are unilaterally reduced in number, thus ending the battle with a victory for Dragon Sovereign and her team.

T/N:

There’s finally an indication that the Dragon Sovereign is a female. Glad I am not wrong in the translation. Oh, I just realized her dungeon’s name has not been revealed until this chapter.

It kind of slipped my mind sometimes that this is set in the real world. This is what Sakurajima (the crater) looks like in real life.

As for the Fox Princess, well, the past chapters only mentioned it is an ancient city but I guess it is something like Edo era place like this:

As for the other Demon Kings, I think all readers can get what their places look like