Prologue
Translated by SoundDestiny
Edited by SoundDestiny
The earth rumbles across the green plains.
The source of the sound was a myriad of black deformities. It was the footsteps of monsters advancing across the plain in lines.
Strutting along with undisturbed steps are 『ants』 the same size as humans. Hundreds of these 『ants』 did not crawl on the ground, but instead advanced on the grass and trees with their two feet.
There are many carcasses lying along the path that the 『ants』 have taken. There are the carcasses of dead animals whose skin and flesh have been scraped off, leaving nothing but bones – the scraps of the 『ants』 food.
A swarm of ants the size of a human being was moving across the plains, devouring every single creature that lived there. Animals, demons and……humans who were unlucky enough to come across them. Every creature encountered by the 『ants』 was swarmed by the swarming monsters and devoured, leaving only their bones.
『ants』 – their true identity was a demon called the 『Gratony Ant』.
They are worker ants that have mutated and grown huge due to the mana emanating from the earth. Without a queen to lead the swarm, they simply roam in groups, letting their instinct of 『appetite』 take over, and are hunters of gluttony, devouring any creature they come across.
A single ant is not very strong and can be easily defeated by trained adventurers and soldiers. However, the trouble with these demons is that they hunt in groups of several dozen. The way in which they attack their prey with group tactics, which is unbelievable for a demon without wisdom, is like a well-organised army. A herd of several hundred of them would be comparable to a quasi-disaster class demon.
The 『ants』 are now walking on the plains, but if they continue on their way, they will eventually reach a human settlement. If that happens, there is no telling how many casualties there will be. Many people will become food for the 『ants』 and suffer the same fate as the wreckage lying on the plains.
The 『ants』 continue their march, pregnant with a future of despair. To feed on their instincts. They keep marching on to bring a future of despair to their poor victims.
But…..they are unaware of this. That they, too, the demons of the slaughtering disaster, cannot escape the irrationality brought about by the mischievous pranks of fate.
The hour of doom. The calamity of despair comes to everyone equally.
“It’s a spectacular sight. It’s like a horde of demons emerging from the bowels of hell.”
A short distance from the advancing 『ants』. Looking down on the procession of demons from a small hill is a silver-haired man dressed in black. A jet-black sword hangs from his waist, and he holds his right hand above his red pupil, looking at the plain in the distance with an amused expression.
The man’s name is Raidorl Zain. He was born as a prince in the Kingdom of Zain, a small country in the western part of the continent, but was ostracised by his elder brother for being chosen as the owner of the Holy Sword and was banished to the frontier. He is a hero who led his kingdom to victory by defeating the invading imperial army in a war with a neighbouring empire.
Raidorl looked down from the hill at the 『ants』strutting about with their unmindful steps and tilted his head curiously.
“If it were a frontier city, swarms of demons would be an everyday occurrence…… but I never thought I would see them after returning to my old stomping ground, the royal capital. Like the basilisk the other day,…… perhaps the end of the world is near?”
“Onii-san, that’s not funny enough for a joke! If you keep this up, the nearby villages will be in trouble!”
The girl who gave Raidorl a hard time was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl who was standing close by. The girl has a beautiful face with a hint of innocence, and her cheerful tone suggests that she has a bright and open personality.
“That said…..Celia. This area rarely has demons. It’s not enough if it’s goblins or kobolds, but it’s unbearable if disaster-grade demons keep popping up?”
Raidorl scratched his head and smiled wryly at the girl next to him.
The place where they are located is a plain a short distance from the royal capital. This place, which is not far from the city roads, should have been a peaceful place with few demons or dangerous wild animals, but now it has become an invasion route for dangerous demons. This is clearly an abnormal situation.
“We’ll figure out the cause later! Rather than that….we need to defeat that demon as soon as possible, or many people will be attacked!”
A girl called Celia, with her hands on her hips, says in an angry tone.
The girl’s name is Celia Von Arslanian. She is the imperial princess of the Arslanian Empire, a neighbouring empire at war, having been defeated and taken prisoner by Raidorl in a previous battle.
Celia should have stayed in the mansion and had her holy sword, the weapon of the tiger’s child, taken away from her, but……today, for some reason, she had come to the plains together with Raidorl. Her holy sword, slightly more slender than Raidorl’s, is firmly seated on her waist and is emitting pale sparks in response to the girl’s anger.
“YareYare, the request from the Adventurers’ Guild was supposed to be 『Investigation of an unidentified demon ravaging the plains』…… I don’t have time to go back and report it.”
“If we don’t defeat the demons soon, the nearby villages will be wiped out. We have to do it!”
“You’re very motivated…..Well, as royalty, we can’t just abandon innocent people. I have no choice.”
Raidorl shrugs his shoulders and agrees with Celia.
If the 『ants』 are left unchecked, swarms of hundreds of them are bound to engulf neighbouring villages. Many villagers will be killed, eaten and turned into mute bones. Perhaps not even a bone will be left.
They can only be saved by Raidorl and Celia. The only two people who could save them were the ones who had noticed the presence of the ants and had the means to defeat them.
“Then, let’s do a ….bet. Let’s have some fun and see who can kill the most bugs. No big moves are allowed.”
Raidorl pulled out the sword from his waist. The legendary weapon from the Kingdom of Zain – the holy sword Dáinsleif, which controls 『Curse』.
A vortex of miasma erupts from the jet-black sword, which is pulled out of its sheath and covers the sword body in a swirling vortex.
“Alright, I’m going to win! I’m going to kill more enemies than Onii-san!”
Celia also draws her sword. The sword is also a holy sword that governs 『Thunder』, Claíomh Solas, which emits a bluish-white flash of light in response to its owner’s will.
“「「「「「Shuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!」」」」」
A strange, gasping cry comes from a swarm of 『ants』. Apparently, they had noticed their presence on the hill.
The swarming demons, instead of fleeing when they saw the two, came towards them as if they had found new prey.
“Ha! You know nothing of your own size, Insect! Can’t you even tell the difference in rank with your insect head?!”
“If they’re coming at us from that way, it’s a good thing we didn’t bother chasing them! Alright, I’ll do my best!”
Swinging her Claíomh Solas, Celia runs down the hill in a willowy, frenzied manner. Raidorl follows slightly behind her.
“If I win, You’ll let me see Grandpa Gracos who is being held captive! Don’t say 『Still none!』 afterwards!”
If I win……Aaah, yes. Do you want to go to the bathroom and take a bath with me?”
“Fuee?!! Are you stup–!!?”
“’Hahahaha! You’re too slow, moron!”
Seizing the opportunity left by the blatantly upset Celia, Raidorl takes the initiative and slashes at the 『ants』. When Celia realises that she has been set up, her face turns red and she swings her holy sword.
“「「「「「Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!?」」」」」”
“Not fair! Onii-san is an idiot! Eechi! Wan-chan!”
“Wan-chan is not a swear word”
While arguing with each other, Raidorl and Celia cut through the 『ants』 one after another.
One hour later. Every single one of the hundreds of 『ants』 is destroyed.
They were unlucky. Because they came across two of the Holy Sword Chosen Heroes – the natural enemies of all the 『demons』 in this world, the Excalibur Holders, at the same time.
Raidorl and Celia.
How did they, who should have belonged to two hostile kingdoms, the Kingdom of Zain and the Empire of Arslanian, come to fight together and confront the demons?
It goes back in time about two weeks.
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