I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 486

The three sisters grew up caring for each other.

Although Stheno and Euryale never blamed Medusa, Medusa always felt sorry towards her two older sisters.

Because she was born cursed, her sisters had to live an unhappy life.

Secretly, she worried that her sisters might resent her… she was always anxious.

So, she would look up at the stars and make a wish.

She would clasp her hands together, and towards the stars, she would earnestly repeat a wish she couldn’t tell anyone.

One day, as she was making her wish every day,

— You have a fervent wish, little one?

The being appeared.

It was a night when her two older sisters, exhausted from fishing, had fallen asleep early.

Medusa had secretly slipped out of the house alone that day as well, and was sitting by the sea, looking up at the Milky Way, making a wish.

That’s when the being descended.

Coming down on the starlight was someone cloaked in a black robe. The androgynous voice sounded like that of a newborn baby, and also like that of an old man on the verge of death.

— I came because I heard your prayers. I think I can help you.

It was the first time she had ever spoken to anyone other than her sisters. Hesitantly, Medusa asked carefully,

— Who are you?

— I am a messenger of those stars. Because you are always looking at us, I came myself to hear your story.

A black shadow smiled from within the robe.

— Do you have a wish? Tell me. I can help you.

Medusa, staring blankly at him, blurted out as if possessed,

— I want to look like my sisters.

— Look like them?

— Yes. I hate being stared at because I’m different from my sisters. I hate that my sisters are suffering because of my cursed appearance… I want to look like my sisters.

Then, the robed being readily nodded.

— Alright, I will grant your wish.

— Really?

— That much is not difficult, now!

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The robed being clapped three times loudly, then pointed to the three sisters’ cabin not far away.

— Go back home and sleep well. By tomorrow morning, everything will be changed as you wish.

Medusa, awkwardly getting up, bowed to the being and then ran towards her house.

She couldn’t fully trust the shadow, but a glimmer of hope was sprouting in the young monster’s heart.

Maybe, just maybe.

By tomorrow, she too, instead of this hideous monster form… might be able to live as a beautiful human like her sisters.

Maybe this curse inherited from her parents would disappear… such was her hope….

….

However, the next morning, what Medusa found when she woke up was,

— Kyaaaaaaaak!

Her two older sisters were turning into monsters just like her.

Stheno and Euryale, their limbs were twisted grotesquely, and their hair had turned into snakes.

The small lips that used to sing lullabies were torn wide, revealing fangs, and the eyes that used to look at her with affection had turned hazy, filled with the energy of petrification.

As Medusa stared blankly at this scene, she heard laughter in her ears.

— Ahahahahaha! Ahahahahaha!

The robed being had opened the door to the cabin and entered.

— Congratulations, Medusa! Congratulations from the bottom of my heart!

The being, having taken off the robe, was made entirely of shadows.

He, made of pitch-black shadows, opened his mouth, which was like a white void, and burst into laughter.

— With this, your wish has been fulfilled!

— No… this isn’t my wish.

Medusa ran to the being, grabbed his collar, and pleaded.

— Turn my sisters back to normal! This… this isn’t what I wished for!

— What are you talking about, Medusa? This was your real wish.

The being didn’t stop laughing.

— The darkness in your heart, which you wished for every night while looking at the sky, is exactly this!

— No….

— The jealousy and anger towards your beautiful sisters, unlike you… You wished that all other beings besides you would become hideous monsters like you. Isn’t this your real wish?

— No! I never wished for this! I…!

Medusa glared at the being with trembling eyes.

— Who… who are you?

The being shrugged his shoulders and said,

— A wish-granting demon, the owner of the monkey’s paw [a cursed object that grants wishes with terrible consequences], a constellation that fell down… well, I have many nicknames.

He raised the corners of his white mouth and smiled wickedly.

— …Many call me the Demon King.

— De, Demon King…?

— Right now, who I am isn’t the most important thing, is it?

The Demon King gestured with his chin towards the two sisters.

The transformation process was already coming to an end.

Stheno and Euryale, who had already lost all human form, desperately moved their mouths as they looked at Medusa.

— Medusa, our baby, we have something to say….

Trying hard with their breathless throats to convey something to their younger sister.

— A word we must, must tell you….

— …Krrrk.

They let out a beastly sound as if their blood was boiling.

Soon, the reason in the two sisters’ eyes disappeared, and they became hazy.

What remained there… were just two more monsters, looking just like Medusa.

— Ahh….

In front of her two older sisters, who had become monsters, cursed with the same curse as her.

— Aaaaaaaaaah!

Medusa screamed.

There was nothing else she could do but scream.

***

《Krrk, krrreeeeuk!》

Perhaps the damage from losing her eyes was too great, Stheno was still staggering, unable to steady herself.

Keeing! Keeeeeeng…!

The petrification energy was pouring out from her severed eyes as if it was going berserk, petrifying the surroundings indiscriminately. But that momentum was gradually weakening.

Five men stood in front of such Stheno.

Lucas, Torkel, Zenith, the black magician, and the blind swordsman.

They naturally finished organizing themselves into a party, and they prepared for battle.

“Her petrifying eyes are sealed.”

Lucas glared at Stheno. Now, the petrifying eyes had completely lost their power and could no longer turn the surroundings into stone.

Lucas, lightly tossing aside the now unnecessary mirror shield, gripped his sword with both hands.

“We no longer need to worry about petrification. But, don’t let your guard down-”

It was before Lucas could finish his sentence.

Stheno slowly took her hands away from her eyes, then, with a blank face, looked around, and then,

《A, ga.》

She fixed her gaze precisely to the north.

It was the direction where Lily had escaped on the golem.

《Baby… Aaaaaaaa!》

Thud-!

Stheno kicked off the ground and began to charge.

Even though she had lost her eyes, her charging momentum was even stronger than before. The five heroes gritted their teeth, blocking her path.

“Huuup-!”

Torkel was the first to stand in front of Stheno, holding up his shield.

Crack-!

But Stheno forcefully pushed Torkel’s shield away with her shoulder, breaking through Torkel’s block.

Torkel tried his best to hold on, but the innate strength was just too different.

“Kuaak…!”

In the end, Torkel was thrown back along with his shield.

But thanks to that, the charging momentum was greatly reduced. Next, the black magician and the blind swordsman attacked Stheno from the left and right.

“Can’t you see, you eyeless bastard-!”

“You’re not talking to me, right? You’re talking to her?!”

The black magic and the slash struck Stheno accurately.

But Stheno wrapped her arms around her body and took the attack.

Whether her right arm was burning with black flames or her left arm was being cut off by the sword, she didn’t care and continued her charge.

“Uh….”

“Oh no.”

The two who were standing in her path desperately tried to roll to the left and right to avoid her,

《Kyaaaaaaaat!》

Stheno emitted a sonic wave, blowing them away.

The black magician and the blind swordsman tumbled to the ground, spitting blood.

Following them, Zenith, who was wearing a divine power armor all over his body, and Lucas, who had drawn his sword of light, blocked Stheno’s path.

Whoooosh!

Lucas had even activated his ultimate skill, [Divine Descent]. He was planning to finish off Stheno for good here.

But Stheno grabbed Zenith, who had charged first, and then thrust him in front of Lucas, who was attacking in succession.

“Kuk?!”

Lucas had to quickly pull his sword back, and a gap was exposed.

Stheno swung Zenith and threw him at Lucas. The two were swept away by Stheno’s strength and each other’s weight and had to fall down.

《Krrk, kyaaaaaat…….》

Just as Stheno thought she had eliminated all the obstacles and was about to kick off the ground again.

“Don’t be ridiculous, monster.”

Torkel again.

Torkel, who had been the first to be thrown back, stood in front of Stheno again.

“We’ll play with you until you get tired of it.”

Behind Torkel, the other four heroes staggered and stood up again.

They all had bloody noses, split lips, and bruises, but they stood in front of the monster to the end.

Then,

《Don’t, get, in, my, way.》

Stheno opened her torn, long mouth and uttered a sentence for the first time.

《I, have, something, to, tell, the, baby…….》

Armor of rock sprouted all over Stheno’s body, and immediately after, Stheno unleashed a terrible sonic wave while looking ahead.

《I have something to sayyyyyyy-!》

Towards such a monster, the five heroes grabbed their respective weapons and charged again. Lucas roared like a lion.

“You shall not passssss-!”

***

Crossroad. North.

The golem was waddling along the road, carrying two people.

Due to the nature of the golem, it was large and heavy, so strictly speaking, it was slower than a normal person running.

But there was no better means of transportation to move Lily, who couldn’t use her legs.

“I was originally just going to run away!”

The golemancer had a spaced-out expression.

She looked at the sleeping Seed’s face as if she was dying of cuteness. Seed was fast asleep in Lily’s arms.

“But damn it, what is it with this sense of duty… A monster is going after a newborn baby, how could I run away after seeing that. In the end, I joined them.”

Lily lowered her head deeply.

“Thank you so much.”

“Oh, come on, no need to thank me. It was just something I had to do as a person. So, if we get out of here safely, raise the child well….”

As she was speaking, the golemancer flinched and looked back.

“……What is it.”

Thump…! Thump…! Thump…!

The north gate of the castle, which they had closed, shook violently, and then,

Crash-!

It was crushed in vain.

And what came out was Stheno.

The monster was tattered all over, as if it had been through a fierce battle.

She had no feet, her side was torn off, and her chest was caved in. Her neck was half-cut and dangling.

And with that wounded body, she maintained a grotesque balance and ran forward again.

“This is crazy! Damn it, damn it, damn it…!”

The golemancer frantically tried to increase the speed of the golem, but realized there was no suitable way. So,

“Keep going straight!”

She shouted and jumped off the golem.

The golem continued to run along the road, and the golemancer gritted her teeth and stood in the path where Stheno was running. Lily, flustered, shouted.

“Don’t do that, run away! That monster is after me… after my child! If you run away, you’ll be fine-”

“Do you know what a sunk cost is?”

Stheno was quickly approaching. The golemancer, trembling, created a new golem from the surrounding materials.

“When you lose money in a gambling game, you know. You keep putting in more money because you feel bad about the money you lost. Even though you know you can’t get that money back. I went bankrupt doing this.”

“…….”

“What can I do? I’ve already put all my fortune into this game.”

Kugugugung!

The new golem made of earth stood up and blocked the road. The golemancer shouted.

“Since I’m already broke, I might as well spend the rest of my change!”

Crash-!

Stheno attacked, and the newly created golem was shattered to pieces.

The golemancer flew away like a doll with a broken string and crashed into the ditch next to the road.

Lily couldn’t even scream. Stheno, who had already jumped up, was right in front of Lily.

Bang! Thud!

Stheno lightly kicked the golem, and the golem carrying Lily and Seed lost its lower body and collapsed.

Lily hugged Seed and tumbled to the ground. Seed, startled by the sudden situation, burst into tears.

Wah…! Wah…!

《…….》

Stheno, standing blankly in front of them, stared down at Seed.

Her destroyed eyes shouldn’t be able to see anything. But it was as if she still had her sight, she was looking exactly at the direction where Seed was crying.

Was it an illusion?

Lily thought that Stheno’s empty gaze… somehow looked sad.

《…A, ga.》

A human voice leaked from the monster’s mouth.

《There, was, always, something, I, wanted, to, say.》

Lily unknowingly stopped her hand that was about to unleash fire magic.

Stheno spoke with unclear pronunciation, but desperately.

《Your, birth, is, not, a, curse.》

“…….”

《We, do, not, resent, you.》

Lily didn’t know who this monster was talking to.

《Because, you, came, to, us, we, were, happy… You, were, a, great, blessing, to, us.》

But, instinctively, she understood.

《Baby.》

This monster too… was a mother who had raised a child.

《Thank, you, for, being, born.》

A mother of a child who was persecuted and pointed at just for being born into this world.

《This, world, is, cruel, but, also, full, of, beautiful, things…….》

Stheno’s hand slowly reached forward. The monster’s hand, made of metal, had no remaining fingers.

Lily didn’t stop it.

《May, your, life, be, filled, with, as, much, joy, as, the, joy, you, gave, us…….》

Tap.

The tip of Stheno’s hand touched Seed’s forehead.

Seed was no longer crying. She opened her large, light green eyes and looked clearly at the face of the monster who had reached out to her.

The monster was smiling.

As if, a long time ago.

As if she was relieved to have said everything she wanted to say to her younger sister, whom she had raised like a daughter….

《I, bless, you.》

And,

Thud-!

“Get down-!”

Lucas, who had rushed from behind Stheno in a bloody mess, unleashed a blade of light.

Lily closed her eyes, hugging Seed.

Stheno didn’t dodge.

Thwack…!

The monster’s head, cleanly severed, flew into the sky.