[Vol. 8] Chapter 36: Don’t Be Afraid When You Face Trouble
“CLANG!!!”
As if answering the divine command, the bug-man warrior slammed his giant axe hard against the ground. A loud metal sound, like weapons clashing, rang out. Only then did the terrified tribal chiefs snap out of their shock, quickly nodding and agreeing in panic.
“……”
Even Tairnak, who had acted the most emotional earlier, now seemed to fully realize how huge the gap was between them and the god. He lowered his head, kneeled on the ground, and didn’t make any more bold moves. His voice was low and rough, as if he were grinding his teeth.
“We obey… the divine will.”
After meeting the god and receiving clear orders, the tribal leaders quickly left, almost as if they were running away from that terrifying house of flesh and blood. When even the last person, Tairnak, disappeared through the door, the bug-man warrior, who had been silent the entire time, only following the god’s actions, finally turned around and looked at the strange stone being still leaning on the throne.
With a heavy, deep voice, he asked,
“Lord [Wild], besides that elephant-man, this Tairnak also spoke badly about you and went against your orders before. He even disrespected you just now. Why didn’t you kill them both?”
The strange long antenna-like growths on top of the stone being’s head swayed gently. Its voice was calm and without emotion.
[Mortals are weak and small, but some things still need them to do. Unlike the other insect, Tairnak is not only the leader of the Behemoth people, he is also the key to the whole army. Without him in charge, the tribes will quickly fall apart, which will affect how fast we can gather sacrifices and delay my arrival in this world.]
[Besides, he carries Behemoth blood. Even if it’s faint, he still counts as one of their descendants. As long as he doesn’t do anything truly stupid, there’s no harm in being a little more forgiving.]
“I’m just worried that he might secretly hold a grudge and turn against your Divineness.”
[Wild] gave a faint, cold laugh.
[Even if he does… so what?]
Understanding his lord’s meaning, the bug-man warrior knelt on one knee and lowered his head deeply.
“Carlos is willing to fight at your command and destroy all enemies.”
[Hmm…]
The black stone being gently tapped the armrest of the throne made of flesh. As if Carlos’s words reminded him of something, a small change finally appeared on his otherwise strange, stone-like face.
[Now that I think of it, not long ago I felt a strange power in the east, something that didn’t come from mortals. It appeared in the fortress the insects just took over today. Who’s in charge over there now?]
“Flora. She’s been the one handling all the sacrifices on the front lines.”
Hearing this clear report from his follower, the Son of the Ancestor God returned to his usual calm and cold tone. He nodded slightly.
[When she comes back, have her see me right away. I haven’t fully regained my strength yet. Until then, we must control every possible problem. Once the ancient wild power is fully awakened… there will be nothing left to fear.]
“Yes, my lord.”
……………………………………
Flora was terrified.
As a member of the Illusion Butterfly Tribe, a close relative of the Spirit Butterfly race, she had been born with powerful gifts, especially in mental and illusion powers. But ever since she received guidance and blessings from [Wild], becoming one of his chosen followers who had surpassed normal living beings, her abilities had grown much stronger in a very short time.
Right now, Flora was secretly watching two uninvited guests who had somehow appeared inside the mother parasite, using her mental connection and the shared senses of the Soul Eater Mother Bug. She saw the two girls running around like headless flies, stuck in the barrier that was meant to block anything that wasn’t food. They kept going in circles and couldn’t find the real way forward.
Normally, having this kind of control, playing with her enemies, should have made Flora feel very pleased. Since becoming a chosen one of [Wild] and gaining much stronger powers, she had done this kind of thing many times.
But this time, she felt like a sharp knife was hanging over her neck, extremely nervous and uneasy.
The Soul Eater Mother Bug was a high-level undead creature, and its body constantly released an invisible power that could infect living beings, slowly turning them into undead. This made it easier for stronger beings to devour them.
The barrier existed to block enemies who hadn’t been fully infected yet, giving time for this transformation, which the outside world called a [Corpse Transformation], to fully take place.
The infection inside the bug’s body was ten times stronger than when it spread between infected people. Even legendary or beyond-legendary fighters would still be affected if they stayed in this environment too long.
Of course, if someone kept walking in circles for too long and started feeling physically unwell, they would notice something was wrong and try to fight their way out. That’s why Flora’s job was to create illusions with her powers, to help the mother bug trick and delay the invaders.
This kind of task had been done many times before by other illusion butterfly messengers chosen by [Wild]. Although these two invaders had appeared very suddenly, as if they had popped out of thin air, and gave Flora a big scare while she was busy managing transport inside the mother bug, she reacted quickly once she noticed them and planned to use her illusions.
However, she was shocked to discover that even with full preparation, her powerful mental energy couldn’t break through the two girls’ mental defenses at all. Not even a little. Worse, when her power bounced back at her, the impact made her dizzy and unsteady, like her head was spinning.
Since receiving [Wild]’s blessing and becoming a mythical-level being, this was the first time something like this had ever happened.
The girls were incredibly powerful, far beyond what she could have imagined. If they found her, Flora knew she probably wouldn’t be able to beat them. Once she realized this, fear completely took over.
She even had a feeling that the two mysterious girls had already noticed her and knew she was trying to use illusions on them. But for some reason, they just chose not to react right away. Instead of being trapped in the barrier, it now looked more like she was the one stuck, hiding deeper inside the bug, unsure how to escape.
“……”
She kept secretly watching the two girls inside the barrier. When she saw that even after all this time, they showed no signs of being affected by the bug’s magic, her fear grew even worse. Cold sweat slowly soaked the back of her clothes.
From the day she became a divine messenger of [Wild], Flora had known that once she stepped into this world of gods and higher powers, she would one day meet enemies she never could’ve faced in her old life.
She just didn’t expect that day to come so quickly and so suddenly.
Running away was pointless, the great one would never allow such a cowardly escape. Maybe she could run for a short time, but she would still be destroyed by the god’s anger in the end. So no matter how afraid she was, she had to find a way to deal with these girls, no matter the cost.
At least, that’s what Flora originally thought.