I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 484

A long, long time ago, in a small fishing village on the southern part of the continent, lived a family of four—an ordinary fisherman and his family.

The husband and his pregnant wife went fishing together, while their two daughters took care of the household chores.

Though their lives were difficult due to the scarcity of fish, the four family members lived happily, caring for each other.

Then one day, the couple wished to catch more fish.

Their two daughters were growing up, and the child in the wife’s womb was soon to be born, so they wanted to earn more money to prepare for the future.

After much deliberation, the couple went fishing in a sea area designated as a forbidden zone by the village.

It was a place where the villagers had traditionally never cast their nets, considering it sacred, and thus, it was abundant with fish.

This was the beginning of their misfortune.

A sea dragon lived in that area, and unfortunately, the dragon’s child got caught in the couple’s net and was torn to pieces and killed.

The enraged sea dragon appeared before the couple, swallowed the husband whole, and cursed the wife.

– I curse the child in your womb. Like my child who was torn to pieces in your net, it will live a miserable life and meet a tragic end.

The wife barely made it back to land, suffered for ten days and nights, gave birth to the child, and then died.

The child born was of a hideous appearance. Instead of hair, snakes were attached to its head, its body was covered in animal fur, and its limbs were made of metal.

Its eyes turned everything they met into stone.

And.

The two older sisters did not abandon their younger sibling, who was born in such a terrible form. They decided to raise the child dearly, in place of their dead parents.

The two sisters’ names were Stheno and Euryale.

And the name of the youngest, born as a monster, was Medusa.

***

Day 2 of the Gorgon Sisters’ invasion.

The weather was cloudy. It looked like it would rain soon, or perhaps snow or hail.

Kugugugung…!

The Gorgon Sisters’ nest that had been built in Crossroads collapsed.

With a cloud of dust, the stone structures simultaneously lost their strength and scattered like ashes.

And from within the dust, the shadows of two monsters slowly walked out.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

Stheno and Medusa.

The two monsters emerging from the nest were even larger than they had been yesterday.

Medusa, who had devoured Euryale and absorbed her wings and petrified skin, and Stheno, who had absorbed the remaining magical power, had become even more massive than before.

The severed arm had also been completely reattached, as if nothing had happened.

“……”

Clank-

Two knights stood in front of the two monsters as they marched out.

It was Lucas and Evangeline.

Lucas, who had hastily pieced together the remaining high-grade armor in Crossroads, wore a black cloak over the mismatched armor.

Conversely, Evangeline was leisurely standing there, wearing a white cloak like a scarf and custom-fitted armor that perfectly suited her body.

“……When our lord returns.”

Lucas grumbled, glancing at Evangeline.

“I’m going to ask for a set of the best armor too.”

“Oh dear, I’m afraid there won’t be any armor as good as mine.”

“There will be.”

“Nope~ There isn’t.”

The two knights had a brief staring contest through their helmets.

“Then I’ll have to ask Kellybay to make one.”

“Our dwarf elder’s skills are quite good, but they can’t compare to mine, which has the essence of an ancient magic kingdom. Absolutely not.”

“We’ll see.”

“Let’s see, not scary at all.”

The two knights, who had been chatting back and forth, simultaneously deployed their mirror shields and ice shields.

Kiiiiing!

The petrifying gaze of Stheno and Medusa swept across the area.

Kugung! Kugugung…!

The two knights slowly straightened their bodies amidst the buildings that had been petrified and then collapsed.

“……Their eye attacks seem heavier than yesterday, don’t you think?”

“It’s not just a feeling. They definitely seem stronger.”

“Looks like we’re in for another rough day, sigh……”

“The better we do, the less others will have to sacrifice. Let’s do our best.”

Evangeline held out a fist to Lucas.

“Don’t die.”

Lucas also held out a fist and bumped it against Evangeline’s.

“You too.”

Clunk!

The fists covered in the knights’ gauntlets touched and then separated.

《Kiyaaaaaaaak-!》

Medusa and Stheno simultaneously let out deafening roars.

The fierce sound waves blew away all the tattered buildings around them, leaving only their frames.

The two knights scattered left and right, as if bouncing off, their cloaks fluttering.

***

The strategy for the second day was slightly different from the first day.

Lucas was to lure Stheno, and Evangeline was to lure Medusa.

Since the objective was no longer to kill the enemy, but to wait for Ash’s return.

There was no need to fight recklessly.

They just had to keep blocking the petrifying gaze with their mirror shields, maintain a reasonable distance, and run away within the city.

Basically, Lucas and Evangeline would take on the two monsters, but if they got tired or were in danger, the remaining hero parties deployed throughout the city would be deployed to help. That was the plan.

And, one of those hero parties that had been deployed.

The three survivors of the Blacklist were sitting huddled together on the roof of a building, having a meeting.

“Let’s run away.”

The golemancer woman, her eyes gleaming, said in a low voice, looking around.

“Seriously, I can’t do this anymore. We’re not even in a state to fight anymore.”

“……”

“Let’s run away this time. No, it’s not ‘let’s run away.’ I’m going to run away even if I have to leave you behind!”

“What… are you saying? Leave us behind… and run away alone…?”

The child who used black magic, his whole body bound in chains in a prisoner’s uniform… had become an old man.

As the youthful appearance he had maintained with black magic faded, his true appearance had emerged.

The black magician trembled, his hands covered in age spots, and pointed at the golemancer.

“I’ve been feeding you and raising you…! You ungrateful thing…! How many times have I paid off your gambling debts…!”

“I’m grateful for you paying off my gambling debts. But that’s not a reason for me to throw my life away here.”

The golemancer glared at the other two.

“An old black magician who’s too weak to even form hand seals, and a swordsman who can’t even see and has a broken leg! I’m not going to die here with you.”

Then, the blind swordsman, who had been crouching in the corner, suddenly stood up.

“Hey, no. I got healed by the priest yesterday! I can walk now!”

And as the blind swordsman tried to demonstrate his walking, he tripped over a stone in front of him and fell.

“Gwak!”

“Look at that, look at that idiot. Why didn’t you ask them to fix your eyes while they were healing your leg?”

The golemancer, grumbling, turned her empty magic material pouch inside out and shook it. Only dust fell out.

“It’s the same for me. I don’t have any materials to summon golems anymore.”

“……”

“These dumb and dumber and dumber… there’s nothing more we can do against those powerful monsters.”

“……”

“Let’s stop this nonsense and just run away together. Okay? If I can just get my hands on the last material, I can summon a golem and carry you guys away….”

It was then.

Kugwagwagwagwang!

The building they were sitting on shook violently with a loud roar.

“What?! What’s going on?!”

The golemancer, terrified, looked down at the building.

《Kiyaaaaaak!》

“Kuh… Ugh!”

It was Lucas and Stheno.

Stheno was charging with a crazy, fierce momentum, and Lucas was trying to block the charge with his sword strikes.

But Stheno didn’t care whether the light sword pierced her hand or not, and pushed forward.

Lucas was helplessly pushed back—and after being pushed back almost a block, he crashed into the outer wall of this building with his back.

Flash-!

Even in that state, Lucas swung his light sword horizontally with great force,

Thud!

He succeeded in cutting off all the fingers on one of Stheno’s hands.

But Stheno, with her hand missing its fingers and only the palm remaining, grabbed Lucas’s neck.

The pressure of her palm alone crushed the neck part of Lucas’s armor, making it difficult for him to breathe.

“Kuh… Ugh!”

Kugung! Kugugugung…!

In that state, Stheno pushed Lucas against the wall. Breaking through the outer wall of the building with his back, Lucas was sucked into the building with his neck grabbed.

The three members of the Blacklist, who were watching from above, were sweating profusely.

“What do we do? Shouldn’t we join the fight?”

“If… if that knight friend dies, then this city is really done for…!”

As the blind swordsman and the black magician muttered, the golemancer snapped.

“Get a grip, you idiots! What do you think we can do by joining that fight? We’ll just get trampled like bugs, like those guys who died yesterday!”

“……”

“Okay, that’s it, that’s it. You guys can join the fight or die here, whatever, I’m really going…”

The next moment.

The golemancer had to stop talking.

Wah…!

From the other side of the city, a faint sound could be heard.

Waa, waa…!

It was unmistakably the sound of a baby crying.

The three, surprised, looked in that direction. The baby’s cries were coming from the direction of the temple.

“Huh?”

“Wait, this… could it be?”

Even in this situation, a smile involuntarily crossed the faces of the three as they heard the baby’s strong cries.

“That baby, right?! It’s finally born?!”

“Damn it, it looks like all that trouble yesterday was worth it…!”

“Bless you, little one. When you grow up, never gamble….”

As the three thugs were blessing the birth of the child from afar.

Kwagwagwagwang-!

Suddenly, Stheno burst out from inside, smashing through the outer wall of the building.

While fighting a bloody battle with Lucas inside the building, she had heard the baby’s cries and immediately abandoned Lucas and rushed out.

《Krrk, krrk…….》

Stheno, looking around, suddenly raised her head.

Waa…!

Towards the temple, where the baby’s cries were coming from.

Thwak-!

Kicking off the ground, Stheno began to run towards the temple at a terrifying speed.

“Uh oh……”

“W-wait a minute, where is that thing going?!”

“That crazy monster! Hey! What are you doing! Hey-!”

Ignoring the shouts of the three thugs, Stheno charged towards the temple, shaking the ground.

The three members of the Blacklist looked at each other with pale faces. The golemancer spoke in a trembling voice.

“……It’s no use looking at me like that. I’m really going to run away.”

The blind swordsman and the black magician couldn’t say anything.

Staring at the temple, the golemancer shuddered.

“Ugh, why are you trying to make me the bad guy, you damn world…!”

***

Temple.

With a gaunt face, Lily looked down at the baby in her arms.

The baby, wrapped in a cloth, was sleeping soundly in Lily’s arms, as if it had never cried so loudly.

“You naughty thing. You must have had a hard time being born, huh?”

Zenith, also covered in blood and sweat, wiped her sweat-soaked face with a stained towel.

“That was really hard work. I’ve never seen such a difficult birth in my life, and I’ve never seen a mother and baby who overcame such a difficult birth. Whew.”

“……”

“So, have you decided on a name for the baby?”

Lily, who had been looking at the baby’s face for a while without saying anything, slowly replied in a hoarse voice.

“Seed. I’m going to name him Seed.”

“Seed……”

Zenith smiled.

“That’s a good name.”

The next moment.

Kugwagwagwagwang!

The wall of the temple burst open.

Zenith, who was swept away with the shattered wall, coughed up blood and was buried under a pile of rubble. Lily, dumbfounded, hugged the baby tightly and looked ahead.

《Krrk, krrk…….》

In the thick dust, a monster stood.

A huge Gorgon with snakes flying from its head, its whole body covered in metal and rock. It was Stheno.

And the moment Stheno’s hazy gray gaze was about to reach Lily and the baby-

Chwaaaak!

Torkel, who had jumped in between, held up his mirror shield.

“Run away!”

Torkel, who had already been thrown back once trying to block Stheno’s charge, was covered in blood.

In that state, Torkel turned around and shouted at Lily.

“I’ll hold her off, so hurry-!”