The eruption of the Nouvelle Vague volcano. And the trigger that caused it, Poseidon.
Vikir's small ball ended up causing a massive butterfly effect.
A great flood that sweeps away the world.
Over the next 150 days, this torrential downpour would swallow up all but a few high plateaus.
The wildfires that had been raging across the empire, the monster hordes that had taken advantage of the vicious conditions, and the drought that had been lingering were all swept away.
Naturally, everyone in Tochka was able to receive salvation.
Not only did the waters never reach the high plateau, but the hard rock and fine sand of the ground made for excellent drainage.
The fortress were also strong enough to withstand the weather, and the lack of drinking water, the only drawback, was naturally solved by harvesting rainwater.
Under normal circumstances, the Great Flood would have been recorded as an unprecedented supernatural disaster.
But the flood that followed was a miracle because it was first preceded by the catastrophes of wildfires, drought, plague, monster hordes, and rainy season of fear that had spread across the empire as a result of the Gate of Destruction.
Destruction was offset by destruction.
* * *
Deep drainage ditches were dug throughout the barracks within the fortress.
Large barrels were placed in front of the barracks, and the refugees caught the rainwater in them and drank to their hearts' content.
They hadn't had a drop of water for days.
"The situation outside the fortress is such that the enemy will not be able to get in. It is time to concentrate on internal security."
Major General Orca released the personnel of the Nouvelle Vague to take care of the security inside the fortress and reorganize the discipline.
Meanwhile, Marquis de Sade was already wincing at how long it had been since the battle had ended.
"Pushishishi-we can finally complete the revolution we failed to do 40 years ago! Where is the crown prince? The emperor is dead, so we should kill that bastard!"
"Ugh grandpa! When my body gets better, let's go together!"
Sady barely managed to stop Sade, who wanted to grab a small boat and go to the imperial capital right away.
Other than that, the reorganization after the battle was taking place slowly.
Everyone, including Osiris and CindyWendy, worked together to enlarge and rebuild Tochka Fortress.
Everyone was preparing and gearing up for the end of the Great Flood in 150 days.
The hope of being able to move forward. With that, everyone's faces were bright.
... But there was one person who remained expressionless.
Vikir.
He always stood at the top of the ramparts, facing the pouring rain.
…cheolsseog!
Outside the fortress, now turned into the sea.
Hollow orchids bloom above the raging waves.
Vikir compared the Tochka that was before the regression to the Tochka that is now.
"...."
As it was, the wheel of fate should have rolled in an even harsher direction.
The present world has become hell due to the invasion of demons.
Sady took advantage of the chaos to lead an army to attack Nouvelle Vague.
Marquis de Sade, who was able to escape Nouvelle Vague with the help of his granddaughter, Sady.
Major General Orca, who detonated the Poseidon he found while working to prevent Marquis de Sade's escape.
The rainy season of terror was ended by the great flood that followed.
However, countless people had already been burned to death, and the unexpected deluge had dealt a devastating blow not only to the demons but also to humanity.
...But what about now?
The Great Flood began relatively on schedule, although it was off by a week or so, causing quite a bit of difficulty in securing drinking water.
The rainy season of fear has ended, and the Gate of Destruction has cooled.
[At this point, it is nothing short of a complete victory. Isn't that right, human?]
Dekarabia said in a self-congratulatory tone.
But Vikir shook his head silently.
"We haven't won yet. We've won the big local battle, but there's still one more to go."
[Are you talking about the First Corpse?]
"Yes."
Vikir nodded, looking out over what had become a vast expanse of sea.
Dekarabia's eyes widened in wonder.
[I see. So that's why you were the first to restore Don Quixote of the Spear Sea Gun Family (滄海槍家) as soon as you escaped from Nouvelle Vague, so that you could get your hands on the Invincible Cavalry and the Invincible Armada that divided Don Quixote's power].
"Yes, indeed. In a world like this, he who has the fleet will be the Overlord(霸者)."
At Vikir's words, Dekarabia paused for a moment.
Then, after some thought, he spoke again.
[Speaking of Overlord, human].
"What?"
[This is Flauros, you faced before].
Decarabia continued speaking with a slightly uneasy expression.
[Flauros was one of the Overlord, known for his lies and persistence even in Hell].
"What are you trying to say?"
[Is he really immortal? I doubt that. If he faked his own death...]
Flauros is such a good liar that even his death is suspect.
But.
"I don't care about that anymore."
[What? Why?]
"Whether he was alive or dead at that moment, he won't survive."
Vikir smiled dryly as he looked out at the raging storm, the waves, and the distant enemy and tributaries of the Black Mountains beyond.
"This world, too. It's just as dangerous as Hell, when you get right down to it."
* * *
The jungle is pouring with torrential rain.
A man runs through a dense forest of sword trees, their leaves as sharp as blades.
[heoeog! heog! keoheog-]
The man running, his body covered in blood, was clearly Thomas de Leviathan, second son of the extremely poisonous House Leviathan.
But the red aura of death emanating from his body and his sharpened teeth indicate that he is not the same man.
He was Flauros, who, shortly before his death, had used a trick to transfer his soul and take over Thomas's dying body.
It wasn't a strange situation, since all demons are merely demonic hosts, spare bodies that can be switched at any time.
After stealing Thomas's body at the last moment, Flauros fled the battlefield in desperation, carrying the body that was already in a state of destruction, and eventually succeeded in reaching this place.
[My body is crumbling... I can't hold out much longer... Damn it... I've forced open the Gate of Destruction... Even my soul is tattered... I must hurry to the Imperial Capital... I must ask First Corpse for help...]
Still, he had succeeded in killing Piggy, so there must be something to bargain with.
Flauros thought.
Just then.
Sssssss...
Flauros felt a chill run down his spine.
The temperature around him was dropping rapidly, starting with the valley he had just entered.
Cold Bone. The name given to the natives who lived in the jungle of the Red and Black Mountains.
Flauros could not have known that the climate here was frosty even in the middle of summer.
As his already low body temperature drops even lower, his body becomes sluggish and his joints stiffen.
More blood trickled from the puncture wounds in his neck, stomach, and other gaping wounds across his body.
Just then.
[...Hiig!]
Flauros was forced to drop to the ground as soon as he exited the valley.
Sssssss-.
A giant shadow crawled through the raindrops and leaves.
With an eerie sound, a single spider emerged, its body enormous.
The spider scoured the forest as if searching for something.
It wasn't the only spider in the forest beyond.
[...Is it looking for me?]
Flauros had a hunch.
If they found him now, he would die. No chance of escape.
Flauros crawled along the ground, desperately holding his breath.
He crawled, crawled, crawled, crawled, like a worm, to avoid the spiders' eyes.
...After what seemed like an eternity, he managed to escape the spiders' siege and reach the river.
The river is quite high up, but the stream is swollen from the heavy rains.
With a plop-
Flauros dives into the water to cross the river.
…Quack!
Suddenly, Flauros feels a violent pain in his lower body, and he has to jump back.
[Ugh!? Fish!?]
Fish with teeth like saw blades were clinging to him, biting into his flesh.
'Nateri'. Even on the surface of the water, the cannibalistic fish of the rivers of the Red and Black Mountains could be seen swarming around, smelling the scent of blood.
[...Goddammit!]
Flauros had just turned to leave the river.
Hissing-
A pitch blackness fills his vision.
A gigantic mouth was reaching up to swallow Flauros's head.
Mushuhushu. A giant snake that lives in the jungle. It approached from behind without making a sound, and in the blink of an eye, it swallowed Flauros whole.
[Kuuuuaaghhh! You lowly creature!]
Flauros used his last strength to burst the snake's belly skin.
Fortunately, it was an immature creature, so killing it wasn't too difficult.
It's just a shame that he'd spent most of his life force tearing through the tough snake skin to escape.
[...I must find somewhere to rest, or I'll have to stay the night, what a disgrace.]
Flauros desperately opened his eyes, which kept closing.
He ripped his eyelids away, leaving only his eyeballs, and his vision cleared.
Soon, he spotted a deep trench dug under the roots of a tree.
It seemed like a good place to stay out of the rain and keep warm.
Flauros staggered toward the trench.
But could it be that his concentration was disrupted due to his low stamina? Flauros didn't notice the large fingernail marks on the side of the tree.
...And the results were devastating.
[Keu-wo-aaaahhhhhh!]
A thunderous roar erupted from behind him.
Flauros didn't even have time to turn around.
The blind old oxbear female swung her forepaw with the destructive force of a dozen tons.
It crushed Flauros's skull with a sure crack.
[Keuaag! Kkeueoeoeoeoeo...]
Oxbear looked on in disgust as Flauros spewed poisonous blood from his body.
Oxbear washed the blood off her paws in the rain and went back into her den.
Not worth killing.
Flauros crawled across the ground.
[...! ...! ...!]
No words come out properly from the crushed mouth.
What is he trying to say?
The screams of his aching body? The hatred for those who have brought him to this point? The rage that comes from recognizing the horrors of his situation? The revenge he has vowed over and over again during his journey here? The fear of... annihilation? The regret that he should never have come here in the first place?
Complex thoughts are mixed in the muddy brain.
and.
There were those who greeted him.
weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng-weng...
Mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes in staggering numbers, following the scent of blood.
There were blood-sucking mosquitoes attached to the body of Flauros, or rather, Thomas.
There were also some mosquitoes that sucked flesh.
There were also mosquitoes that only sucked skin.
There were even some mosquitoes that sucked on bones by sinking their saliva deeper.
...And then there were the mosquitoes that didn't suck anything at all.
It just floats in the air with hazy, murky eyes.
A mosquito that sucks nothing, yet somehow lords over the others, exuding an overwhelming sense of foreboding.
And Flauros, lying on the ground, groaning, stares bloodshot eyes at the mosquito.
[...! ...!]
Then, silently, the mosquito landed on top of Flauros' head.
It then stung him, aimlessly, but with a clear target.
jjoooog-
The red-hot smoke enters the stomach through the mosquito's saliva.
Mosquitoes are the most feared and wary of natives living in jungle.
The soul-sucking mosquito adorned Flauros' soul.
[...!]
It was a shabby and degrading end to be reduced to a mere meal of insects.