At [lv: 28] my existence proceeds monotonously.
Animals, aberrations, undefinable creatures, humans, elves, and many other species. They come to my attention; some entertain themselves and talk or play, others do not.
It's a question of individuals, of circumstances. They come from different planets and times, with different laws and cultures. However, they have death and the universe in common.
Their last stop is this house in the desert, where I welcome them.
But it's boring.
From time to time, I have to fight to achieve success. My tail seems to rejoice in the mice that don't want to rest.
I don't know, I really don't know.
I wait on the veranda. I would like to play a little but the sky is strange.
The membrane looks like a black, teeming mass. I can't see the bodies.
It has been gradually becoming opaque for some time. But it is an opaque that changes as if it moved of its own volition.
So here I am, sitting cross-legged on the cushion.
I'm waiting.
It must be a rare event.
Which is an exciting prospect.
Ci-cin.
♦
The first cockroach falls by itself.
It ended up just ahead of the fence and I can see it.
It seems dead but its legs and jaws immediately begin to orbit. The shiny brown creature tries to roll over, incapacitated by having fallen onto the shell.
Then a second cockroach arrives.
A third.
A fourth.
…
It's raining.
A shower of cockroaches.
I hear them rattling against the roof of the veranda. The thunder and lightning of the desert roar and illuminate more than usual. All this creates an evocative scenario.
“A rain of cockroaches,” I murmur.
Some try to climb onto the porch, but most swarm on their own. There are too many and real piles are shaped, a blanket of cockroaches as far as the eye can see.
This is an extinction event.
If so, many cockroaches died at the same time, it can only be due to extinction.
It will take time for all of them to flow out, digging their tunnels towards the Ocean.
The thought makes me catch my foot with one hand. The idea of having to walk in there doesn't excite me very much… there should be a broom in the closet.
Since I have to wait so long, all I have to do is go back and do something.
So, I get up and go into the house. I take a saucepan from the sink and pour water into it, then put it on the stove.
[Will-o'-the-wisp] doesn't heat but fortunately, there is a gas stove.
I turn on the heat and leave some berries to infuse.
A berry decoction is not a bad idea, just to pass the time.
♦
Ci-cin.
The sound of the bells wakes me up.
The cup is empty on the table, on which my face is also resting.
I fell asleep from boredom.
It continues to rain outside. This is quite annoying. How much longer will it take? How many cockroaches can there be on one planet?
But in those thoughts, I notice one thing: dark spots flutter on the horizon. There are three of them and they are still dripping the liquid from the membrane.
I prick up my ears: I have to go to work in the rain!
HA!
Hm, good thing I have an umbrella, he-he!
I walk on tiptoe and slowly advance through the desert. I try to sweep the cockroaches with my socked leg, I don't want to step on half of them.
Luckily the cockroaches seem smarter than expected and get away on their own. They don't want to get crushed. At least we agree on this.
Now close, it is clear to me that the new arrivals are monstrous crows.
Nothing particularly interesting. There's no need to even [Scan] them, as I've already met beings like them.
Too bad.
Nothing new.
I use [Judgment] three times and the three crows buzz around me cawing. My tails don't like them and chase them away, try to bite them.
Strange, very strange.
[Judgment: Nightmare]
[Judgment: Nightmare]
[Judgment: Nightmare]
Now this is new.
Animals almost always get [Dream]. If they got [Nightmare] that means…
I dodge just in time. A large blob rains from the sky.
“Scan.”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The crows are already pulverizing but I can still read it: not crows, but they are [Familiars].
And the big one that is rising in front of me now is the evoker of it.
Four black wings and a humanoid body (that makes Lajal look small). Of the four arms, three are amputated and the stumps have not healed. Its remaining arm holds a serrated-bladed halberd.
Peacock tail and crow head complete the picture of this monster, indifferent to the cockroaches that rain down on it.
Framing it well makes me regain control.
As scary as it is, it's nothing out of the ordinary.
Rain or not, I must accompany it to its resting place.
“Hello, welcome.” As usual, I bow my head and ears as a sign of…
I dodge bareback.
Without thinking for a moment, that being lowers its blade aiming at my neck.
“Hey! So, you leave me no choice. If you attack me, you will lose the chance to dream…”
Ci-cin!
A sweep always aims to take my head off.
Luckily, I dodge, but a tail remains severed. I don't have time to realize it before the rest of the auction hits me.
I end up among the sand and cockroaches.
It hurts terribly and it takes me a moment to get back up.
If it weren't for [Cosmic regeneration] I would be in deep trouble.
But this is no time to worry: I use [Judgment].
…
…
The ‘bird’ continues to walk towards me and raises its weapon.
Why? Why!? What is going on!?
[Judgment: Failed]
In a panic, I use [Scan].
[lv: 61] [xp: 91240]
[name: Kirlh’iau]
[type: Half-demon]
[class: Demigod]
[job: Champion]
[hp: 7866]
[c: 7][s: 8]―[d: 6][i: 6]
[ap: 8766]
[s: 8][c: 7]―[i: 6][d: 6]
[malus: Deceased (Umbrella of murder)]
Oh.
Now it's clear.
This is a big problem. A problem that must be solved with…
…a tactical dodge.
As I dodge its guillotine hit, I carefully observe its chest and find the hole. My blue-flaming eyes make no mistake.
There's nothing to say.
It's the umbrella that made it angry.
The [lv: 61] is too high. For just one [lv] I can't judge it!
I must not despair.
The [lv] are used for statistics but do not mean certainty. Lajal is stronger than me at the game, despite the difference in [lv]. In turn, I am stronger than Ilnerio as I am an [Eldritch Entity] while he was a normal [Elf].
This Kirlh'iau may be a [Demigod] but I am a [Bakenekro]. By attacking me it has lost the right to hospitality, all I have to do is please Ilnerio.
Well.
I don't ask for anything better.
[Poison] exist for these circumstances.
I land among the cockroaches and unsheath my blade.
The intense blue of the sapphire floats among the darkness of the shiny insects.
Kirlh'iau lets out a roar and opens its beak wide, displaying its toothed tongue.
Get angry.
Get angry well.
Flapping its four wings, the enemy takes off into the air, hurtling towards me.
It may not know it. But I have an ace up my sleeve.
Ci-cin.
[Will-o'-the-wisp]
[Will-o'-the-wisp]
The being shields itself with its wings, dispersing my magic without problems. An acid miasma rain over its body.
But it loses timing and my tail goes on the attack.
One bite is enough for me, just one bite…
It slices it cleanly. I jump backward to avoid a second cut.
[Cosmic regeneration] gives my tail back in a few moments.
The four red eyes of the crow scrutinize me.
“Umbrella, Hero.”
It really is the enemy who killed Ilnerio!
Its voice plays on multiple harmonics; grave at the base and strident in the accents. It speaks slowly, in the ongoing rain.
“Poison, death, decrease level.”
She knows it! How does it know that [Bakenekro] poison is specially made to handle situations like this!?
“You are well informed, Kirlh’iau.”
“I, champion, God, Wisdom. Me here, reason. Dungeon core, reach.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but you are here to get eternal sleep. If you surrender, I can listen to what you have to say.”
The being emits a new cry.
I don't have time to take a guard pose before it disappears in a blanket of acid feathers.
[Dungeon path] allows me to distance myself instantly.
A spear materializes on the spot, missing my hair.
It's a very bad situation.
I'm starting to get scared. How many [skills] does it have?
It can dispel my spells effortlessly and now even sports a form of teleportation.
Bad. Very bad.
I don't know who its God of Wisdom is, but it's evident that it knows who the [Bakenekro] are and how to counter them.
How did Ilnerio manage to win? To deal the fatal blow?
I have to work hard.
[Will-o'-the-wisp]
[Will-o'-the-wisp]
The outcome of the magic does not change, with a flap of its wings it disperses my flames in an acid splash.
But it's enough time to appear behind it and…
Ci-cin.
My tails fly off again.
Not bad, even my canines are poisonous.
[Necromancy]
I hope it works. This is the first time I've used this spell and I've used all my [ap].
Kirlh'iau is dazed.
Sands emerge from the insects and a herd of a hundred small animals takes shape, sleeping on this plane.
They already seem to know how to help me and attack the [Half-demon].
They are all very low [lv] and therefore are swept away effortlessly. But it does not matter.
Kirlh'iau is distracted by the horde and I come right at its neck.
“Ahh! Cha!”
Pain pervades my body.
It forcefully pushes me away from its neck and I remain suspended.
Did I win? Its level should drop.
It should go down…
I feel my blood gushing, emitting a fetid aroma from immediate oxidation.
Kirlh'iau turned around in time. It anticipated me and looked at me with its four pupils.
My grip on the blade gives way.
I can't feel my extremities anymore.
I'm suspended in mid-air and I see my blood dripping onto its beak.
[Scan]
…
[God-obliterator]
That's the name of the halberd that is piercing me.
[God-obliterator] if it hits an [Eldritch Entity], a [Fiend], an [Angel], or a [Devil], at a vital point the affected creature cannot regenerate and gains the status [Deceased].
Oh…
“Dungeon core.” The being reiterates.
I do not answer.
With one gesture it throws me to the ground, I don't even hear the blade slip.
It leaves my field of vision, now I only see the sky.
Rain stopped.
Everything stopped.
I am dying.
In the end, it happened to me too.
I will never be able to reach the Ocean, with my father, my ancestors.
I feel the tears.
What will happen to me?
Will I end up in that membrane too? Will there be someone kind to welcome me?
It's not right. I don't want to accept it. I don't want to die.
I do not want to.
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[emergency skills]
[Cosmic regeneration] → [Immortality]
The system has updated [N]'s data. [job: Empress]'s [Bakenekro] cannot die before reaching one thousand years of service.
The following emergency measure has therefore been introduced.
[N] is immune to the [Deceased] status.
Ci-cin.