LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 5 - Attack.
Celestia.
She was the first non-human monster to become a member of Black Raven among the characters I raised.
Her race was the Empress of Succubi.
‘Originally, she was only 2-star.’
In the game’s early stages, she was no different from a low-level monster.
At the bottom of the succubus hierarchy.
But now, Celestia’s rank was 7-star.
She had risen to the third highest rank in the game, reaching mythical status.
‘I invested a lot.’
The reason Celestia, who was only 2-star, could rise to 7-star was due to real money spending.
She became powerful through enhancements and items bought with real money.
Someone might ask:
Why bother raising a 2-star character with real money?
The reason?
It was obvious and simple.
‘Because Celestia was the prettiest.’
Among the succubi, who were all said to be above average in looks, she was the character with the most beautiful illustration.
That’s why I raised her.
This was an irresistible instinct as a man.
‘But why….’
Why are Celestia’s hounds here?
If this Black Raven is the one I remember, Celestia’s hounds shouldn’t be able to leave the dungeon.
I personally sealed Celestia, so it didn’t make sense for her monsters to be here.
‘Though “sealing” was just deactivating her.’
A measure to deactivate a character so it can’t be used.
I didn’t deactivate Celestia because I had ill feelings towards her.
The other reason was those beings.
Dark hounds.
That was the official name of the creatures causing havoc right now.
They had overpowered characteristics in the game and were summons that could only be obtained through real money spending.
“Aaargh! S-save me!”
“Graaah!”
The dark monsters poured into the mine with rough roars.
With their red glowing eyes and bared teeth, they tore into everyone indiscriminately, slaves and overseers alike.
Sharp claws ripped flesh and pointed teeth crushed bones.
Blood sprayed everywhere amidst desperate screams, and horrific chunks of flesh scattered all around.
Terrified people tried to flee desperately but couldn’t outrun the hounds’ speed.
“D-don’t come near! You beasts, don’t you know who I am!”
The dark mage who came to the mine for the first time today screamed in terror.
He desperately chanted spells with trembling hands, but they had no effect on the hounds.
Of course.
‘Those things had magic nullification as a trait.’
They weren’t premium items for nothing.
Magic nullification alone was overpowered, but that wasn’t even their true value.
“You beasts! Aaaagh!”
Despite his fierce resistance, the dark mage was eventually surrounded and overwhelmed by them.
The sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking echoed through the mine, along with screams.
Soon, the screams stopped.
The creatures that had hunted the dark mage growled in satisfaction.
Then they made a strange sound as they swelled up and split in half.
One individual became two.
‘Multiplication!’
This multiplication was another reason why these creatures were called overpowered.
Not only did the summons have no effective cooldown, but they could multiply infinitely as long as there was darkness.
Add to that their immunity to magic, and they were practically invincible.
Despite having such overwhelming power, there was another reason why I had sealed them.
‘Because they took up my character slots.’
In ‘Isekai Conqueror,’ countless characters could be collected.
But there was a limit to the number of characters I could own.
Even if I increased the number of slots with real money, there was still a limit.
But these ‘Dark Hounds’ uniquely took up character slots despite being summons.
Moreover, how could I handle such a large quantity when they multiply infinitely and hardly ever die?
So I sealed them.
Since they were bound items, sealing their owner was necessary for it to be effective.
Ultimately, I reaped the benefits by deactivating Celestia and sealing her in the dungeon.
‘But the fact that they’ve appeared before my eyes means one thing.’
Celestia’s seal has been broken.
“……”
I don’t know why the seal was broken.
Of course, since this is a reality now, no matter how much the hounds multiply, they probably won’t take up character slots.
But that’s not the problem.
‘I absolutely must not encounter Celestia.’
I sealed Celestia for my own benefit.
It didn’t matter then because it was just a game.
But now it’s different.
Celestia is no longer just a game character but a being living in reality.
She must think, feel, and have emotions.
In such a situation, would she leave the Leader who sealed her alone?
Especially when I’m not even a full leader now?
‘This is crazy.’
Even now, the hounds showed no signs of stopping their massacre.
Red eyes glint in the darkness, the air thick with the smell of blood, ear-piercing screams, and roars…
“This is really insane!”
I understood well that Celestia’s seal had been broken.
But why on earth were the hounds in the underground mine?
It was baffling no matter how I thought about it.
‘Don’t tell me this is their way of investigating?’
I did give orders to Black Raven to investigate the underground mine.
‘No way…’
I was so taken aback by how naturally Celestia’s hounds, members of Black Raven, were turning the mine into chaos.
I was almost confused whether I had ordered ‘destruction’ instead of ‘investigation.’
‘Still, it’s not all bad.’
Whatever the case, the current situation wasn’t bad for me either.
Although I had to bet my life, a chance to escape had opened up amidst the chaos.
‘Let’s quietly retreat.’
I slowly backed away while observing the situation.
The scene unfolding before me was truly reminiscent of hell.
The floor was stained with blood, remnants of bodies scattered everywhere.
Fortunately, the screams of others drew the monsters’ attention.
As I was taking advantage of this, I slowly backed away.
Squish-
I stepped on something soft on the floor.
‘Shit.’
It was someone’s severed arm.
I guess with all the chaos, even body parts had flown this far.
And I just stepped on it.
Grrrr-
Of course, attention was drawn to me as well.
One of the hounds turned its gaze towards me and curled up its lips.
Its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, held a red liquid.
“This is an unexpected turn of events, isn’t it?”
I tried to calm myself down.
Maybe it likes me?
Grrrr-
Look at that expression, smiling at me.
It must have taken a liking to me.
Yeah, that’s definitely it.
I immediately picked up the severed arm from the floor.
“Want to… eat this?”
“Kyaak-!”
I guess it doesn’t like already dead things?
It even brought out its sharp claws to shred it.
Guess I found out what they don’t like.
If I had withdrawn my hand even a little later, it would have been my hand, not the arm, that was destroyed.
At the same time, Black Raven came to mind.
‘Who on earth unsealed it!’
Originally, in the game, only I could deactivate it.
‘Could it be the vice leader?’
Unfortunately, there was no such position as vice leader when I played the game.
However, I did assign positions and ranks to increase the organization’s realism.
If it’s the highest position except for me, the Leader, then.
‘That would only be the Supreme Council, right?’
Who was on the Supreme Council again?
It was such a long time ago that I couldn’t remember well.
I wanted to think quietly, but time wasn’t on my side.
The hound, having lost interest, had already approached me.
Now, I had to make a choice here.
I brought up the status window.
[Leader, please give your desired order.]
I could command Black Raven through the status window.
Should I reveal now that I’m the Leader and ask to be rescued immediately?
If I did, I might be able to avoid this moment, at least for now.
‘I can’t be sure about the situation afterward, but…’
Isn’t it most important to survive right now?
Yeah, no matter how I think about it, that’s right.
There was no guarantee that I would return to Earth even if I died here.
I was about to give an order to the status window, but the hound had already reached me.
Grrrr-
Drool dripped from its mouth.
“……”
It’s even more horrifying up close.
The smell of blood stung my nose.
My body froze in fear, and cold sweat ran down my back.
The pressure was so intense that I couldn’t even make a sound.
The hound opened its mouth wide towards me.
It aimed at my face and.
Slurp-
“?”
Instead of teeth, a rough tongue licked my face, making it wet.
* * *
“Everything is normal.”
Ariel, the vice leader of Black Raven, reported while reading a document.
Celestia’s hounds, freed from their seal, were destroying the empire’s magic stone mines.
The destruction of the magic stone mines, their main source of income, would be fatal for both the Empire and the Duchy.
Ariel was satisfied that she had excellently carried out the Leader’s first order.
But Walter still wore a worried expression.
“Of course, it’s good to make them pay the price.”
The Arcadia Empire had tried to dig into Black Raven’s background.
Mere empire, how dare they.
They were paying the price in real time through the destruction of their mines.
“But unsealing Celestia still doesn’t sit right with me.”
That’s right.
Isn’t the current situation like releasing a tiger to catch a rabbit?
That was Walter’s concern.
In fact, if we only considered combat power, Celestia was nothing short of the best.
Yet the Leader had sealed her.
Although he didn’t know why she was sealed, there must have been a reason.
And recently, Ariel had unsealed Celestia.
“You don’t need to worry about that, Walter. Her hounds are excellently completing their mission.”
In reality, Celestia was destroying the empire’s magic stone mines as ordered by the Leader.
“I see. Well, her loyalty to the Leader was indeed remarkable.”
Ariel smiled softly at Walter’s response.
Celestia was a succubus who had risen to her current position thanks to the Leader’s grace.
Even though the Leader sealed her, she still called him ‘Master’ and showed unwavering loyalty.
The two shared a moment of silence.
Walter decided to end his unnecessary worry here.
No matter what anyone said, Ariel was the vice leader of Black Raven.
Even Walter had to maintain the hierarchical relationship.
That’s how an organization functions.
If that crumbles, the entire command structure would collapse.
If members don’t listen to the Leader and the Supreme Council rebels, would that be an organization?
Moreover, Walter also knew well about Ariel’s loyalty towards the Leader.
Walter, as if remembering something, slowly got up.
“Walter, are you going out?”
“I’m just going to get some fresh air. And while I’m at it, I’ll check if the hounds are doing well.”
His eyes softened as he answered.
“Please be careful.”
“Ha ha, who would dare harm this old man?”
Walter smiled.
No matter how old he was, he was still a sword saint.
Moreover, the sword bestowed by the Leader was no ordinary sword.
Who would dare harm such a being?
“Then at least let me arrange an escort-”
“It’s fine. I’ll be going now.”
Walter waved his hand as he left.
“……”
Walter, who was practically semi-retired since the Leader had disappeared.
Ariel had no choice but to give up as he refused whenever she tried to offer him a position on the Supreme Council or as an elder.
Still, there was no regret.
Just as Ariel herself was loyal to the Leader, Walter also trusted and followed the Leader.
And now the Leader had returned.
That must be why Walter insisted on going out.
“Have a safe trip.”
Ariel’s voice echoed in the empty space.