I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 717

The Jormungandr I threw with all my might soared into the sky with a shriek.

Of course, with my normal strength, that would have been impossible. This snake, sensing what I was trying to do, coiled itself up and then launched itself into the air.

At the same time,

Flash-!

Jormungandr used [Shed Skin of an Old God].

The effect of [Shed Skin of an Old God] is to restore the power of its prime for 3 turns.

In other words, for about 10 minutes…

Kugwagwagwagwang!

Jormungandr returned to being the ‘World Serpent,’ showing its true form as a super-giant monster!

Having finished transforming into its prime form, Jormungandr crashed down onto the Black Lake. The fish ‘Kun,’ which was about to transform into the giant bird ‘Peng,’ was directly hit.

Kwajik! Kwaaaang-!

The fish, unable to complete its transformation into a bird, was crushed by the snake and sank back into the lake.

‘Kunpeng…!’

With terrifying waves and bubbles, Jormungandr and Kun fought fiercely beneath the surface of the lake. I swallowed hard, watching this scene.

‘Can we finish this in 10 minutes?’

Of course, even if we don’t finish it in 10 minutes, we have tactics prepared to take it down later.

Dark events and the Goddess’s blessing are all set up for this battle. It would be great if we could win without wasting any energy!

After about 10 minutes of everyone waiting with bated breath.

Swaaaaaaa!

The first to burst out of the water was the giant fish, Kun.

We all flinched. Had Jormungandr been defeated?

Shreeeeeeeek-!

But no.

With its powerful jaws, Jormungandr appeared, having caught the giant fish.

It had caught the fish it had defeated like prey and lifted it up.

Thud…!

The huge body of the defeated Kun was thrown out of the lake.

About half of its body had transformed into a Peng, and it seemed it had tried to force the transformation to escape from Jormungandr’s grasp.

Shreeeeeeeek-!

Jormungandr let out a satisfied hiss. With its long, massive body, it had wrapped around Kunpeng and crushed it to death.

We all cheered. I jumped up and shouted.

“Good job, Jormungandr!”

Shriek… shriek….

Jormungandr, having let out a satisfied hiss, turned its yellowish eyes towards the north.

《Then, now, back to the north…》

“No, where are you going? Come here.”

Unable to resist its instincts, Jormungandr tried to head north again, but the next moment, the duration of [Shed Skin of an Old God] ended, and it returned to its small, original form.

Shriek, shriek….

Looking somewhat sad, Jormungandr coiled itself in a circle.

Violet and the Gamble Club members petted and comforted the Jormungandr.

‘We really did take it down easily.’

Looking down at the defeated Kunpeng in its half-fish, half-bird state, I nodded in satisfaction.

Moreover, this also completed the flying monster battle that we have to do once every five stages. We really did take it down easily.

‘I deliberately broke the invincibility period to get a penalty, set up the dark event and Goddess’s blessing, and even brought in a snake, which is its natural enemy.’

Thanks to the King’s Scepter, we were able to easily clear the fourth stage already.

When the prepared tactics work together beautifully, there is no greater joy for a strategist.

I was briefly lost in my own brilliance. My strategy is amazing… though it feels like it’s because of the King’s Scepter cheat…

“…But Your Highness.”

At that moment, Junior approached hesitantly. I turned around, making an ‘huh?’ sound.

“That equipment that Jormungandr was wearing.”

“You mean [Shed Skin of an Old God]?”

“Yes. Of course, it’s most effective when Jormungandr uses it, but…”

Junior glanced at me.

“Wouldn’t it be a great help if someone on our side who has lost their power used it?”

“For example, who?”

“Lady Hecate, perhaps…?”

Junior twisted her hair with her finger, stammering. I chuckled, having guessed who she was thinking of.

“Hecate’s power is intertwined with an ancient curse. That curse is currently bound to me. I’m not sure if it can be fully restored.”

“Ah…”

“And more than anything.”

I turned my gaze. Junior also looked in that direction.

The Gamble Club members were putting on an impromptu magic show, and Jormungandr, who had quickly forgotten what had just happened and was no longer a divine creature but just a slightly larger snake, was happily hissing.

“Even if they can regain their prime for 10 minutes once per battle… what happens after that?”

“…”

“In the end, when the duration ends, they have to return to their current selves.”

To return to the form of their lost prime.

For some, this effect might be like a drug.

If used incorrectly, especially if someone who longs for their prime touches this equipment, it could be very dangerous.

“The past is the past. We have to move on.”

It’s a cruel thing to say, but those who have lost must learn to live with their loss.

Whether it’s a past relationship, a lifetime of assets, or anything else…

What’s gone is gone.

Because that’s the only way.

“…”

Junior, who had been silent with a sad expression, sighed deeply.

“I’m worried about Lady Hecate.”

“Me too. I’m worried.”

I smiled at Junior.

“Let’s hope that after this process of anguish and pain, happiness will come to her.”

Not just Hecate, but everyone on this front line who has lost something big or small.

May they accept their losses and rise again. May they have the courage to overcome this harsh challenge.

I can only cheer them on.

***

A few days after Stage 44 ended.

A small funeral was held in the west of the city.

It was a joint funeral for those who had died after Stage 40.

During Stage 41, some of the soldiers who were injured in the Night Bringer battle eventually died while fighting their injuries.

In Stages 42 and 43, some ordinary soldiers were swept away and killed by the final struggles of the remaining monsters during the process of dealing with them.

And in Stage 44, although there were no deaths during the battle.

At the Crossroads Temple, one of us who was dear to us all quietly passed away after living out their natural lifespan.

“Hwaaaaaaah.”

Damian was sobbing, his face covered in tears and snot, on a hill next to the graveyard.

On Damian’s outstretched hands, covered with a white cloth, was a ball of fur… a hamster, lying peacefully.

That’s right.

Podong had passed away…

At the age of 2.5 years. It was a magnificent hamster life.

We couldn’t hold a funeral for Podong with the people who died fighting for the front lines, but after the funeral, those who knew Podong came to mourn.

I also respectfully held the funeral for the dead soldiers first, and after finishing all the schedules, I came to Damian.

“Our Podong… just yesterday, he was eating sunflower seeds so well, and then he just went to sleep with his belly full like this.”

“Podong must have been happy because you took such good care of him.”

“I feel like I was an inadequate owner, sniff…”

Damian sniffled and looked towards the temple.

“I have a flower bed that I take care of at the temple. I’m going to bury him there.”

“Okay. Bury him well.”

But I was worried that if he buried him so close, he would keep thinking about the hamster every time he went there and be sad.

But that worry was meaningless. At Damian’s feet was a small hamster cage… and inside, another young hamster was busily running around.

“Who is this?”

I asked, puzzled, and Damian scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“A few months ago, I took Podong to the Crossroads Hamster Meeting… or ‘Crosshammo’ for short.”

What is that secret organization that I don’t know about! How many secret organizations are there in this city!

“At that time, Podong, ahem, impregnated a female hamster.”

“…”

He already had a second generation? That fiery little guy…

“The babies were born, and they asked me to take care of one of them… so I’m raising it.”

“Huh.”

It seems Damian’s hamster master life will continue for a few more years.

I looked at the baby hamster scurrying around in the cage and asked.

“What’s its name?”

“Podong 2.”

I flinched.

“What?”

“Podong 2. Podong 2.”

“Podong? The name is the same?”

“No, it’s completely different. It’s Podong 2.”

“…Podong ‘i’?”

“Podong ‘2’!”

Damian made a fist with one hand, then extended his index and middle fingers and shook them wildly, shouting ‘Podong 2!’

No, phonetically, it’s exactly the same! What’s the difference! They look almost indistinguishable!

“Actually, I was going to name it Podong Junior, but I thought that would be a bit too obvious…”

“Ah. That would definitely be a bit too obvious, yeah.”

Anyway, Podong received quite a few condolences, though not as many as the dead soldiers.

Especially the elves, who are also rodents (not really), and the muscle pig uncles who used to do sand baths with him, mourned for him. I wonder how many members of Crosshammo are hiding among them…

After finishing the cleanup, I headed to the temple with Damian. There were some other heroes who were hospitalized in the temple that I needed to see.

‘Especially the Emperor, or the Emperor, or the Emperor…’

He’s so bored while hospitalized that he calls me out all the time. So I visit the temple once a day.

As I was chatting with Damian and entering the temple entrance.

“Your Highness!”

Priestess Rosetta rushed out. I looked at her, puzzled.

“What’s wrong?”

“King Poseidon, the Merfolk King, has regained consciousness!”

I was startled.

King Poseidon had been unconscious since the battle with the Black Dragon. The Merfolk King had finally regained consciousness.

“He is urgently looking for Your Highness!”

“I’ll go right now.”

After giving Damian a nod, I followed Rosetta into the temple.

“This way.”

“Thank you.”

I carefully stepped into the ward that Rosetta pointed to…

The Merfolk King was soaking in a bathtub filled with a mixture of holy water and potions.

He looked decades older than before. His once strong, muscular body was emaciated, and his once healthy, tanned skin had lost its vitality and was dull.

“King Poseidon. How are you feeling?”

I asked as I approached, and the Merfolk King slowly looked at me with tired eyes.

“It seems you have protected the world, Prince Ash.”

“It was the result of everyone working together. King Poseidon, you also did a great job.”

“Yes, the world is safe…”

King Poseidon added bitterly.

“‘For now,’ that is.”

I stared at the Merfolk King, sensing something ominous in his words.

The Merfolk King took a breath and slowly exhaled.

“I saw it.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was escaping from the Lake Kingdom on my own, when I barely escaped and crawled out through the entrance of the Black Lake…”

King Poseidon’s eyes trembled as he recalled that time.

“Hundreds, thousands of chains made of darkness poured out of the Lake Kingdom, stretching out beyond the Black Lake.”

“Chains…?”

“Those chains then grabbed someone, bound and restrained their entire body, and dragged them into the Black Lake as if swallowing them.”

King Poseidon looked at me.

“Who do you think that person was?”

Instinctively, I knew.

“…Nameless.”

“Yes, and she was definitely…”

King Poseidon said with difficulty.

“Becoming a ‘monster.'”

“…”

“Her whole body was wrapped in chains, swallowed by that darkness, and dragged into the Black Lake… it seemed difficult for her to maintain her human form any longer.”

I closed my mouth, and King Poseidon continued.

“We made eye contact, and she told me.”

“…What did she say?”

“To tell Ash.”

I clenched my eyes shut at the following words.

“To definitely… kill her. That it was the only path left.”

“…”

“The despair I felt from her at that time… was greater than the despair I felt from the Night Bringer. I knew it immediately.”

King Poseidon’s shoulders trembled.

“That woman is the one who will destroy this world… the true master of darkness.”

It was then.

Suddenly, I felt a strong vibration from my waist. I quickly took out the source of the vibration.

It was the Lake Kingdom King’s Scepter.

The jewel on the head of the scepter, which had been emitting a dazzling turquoise light, gradually faded. I focused my consciousness on the scepter, but I could no longer use its power.

‘The authority that was residing in the King’s Scepter… has been revoked.’

This phenomenon meant only one thing.

I gritted my teeth and tightly gripped the Lake Kingdom King’s Scepter, which no longer had any power left.

My adversary has returned.

The Demon King has returned.