It’s Not Easy Persuading a Colossal Beast

I had already exercised far more patience than I intended with these landwalkers, so imagine how utterly furious I became when my doors had been reduced to a giant hole framing the pitch-black sea outside.

I shot out my tentacles and tightly coiled the leviathan before it could make a bigger mess. And without another thought, I expanded my maw, yanked the new intruder closer to me, and promptly swallowed it whole.

Silence returned to my halls as if nothing had happened.

The three food dropped their jaws so far they could’ve been as big as mine.

Tiny crustaceans that happened to swim by curiously inched closer to the new gaping hole, only to immediately scamper away at the sight of me.

I spread open my claws and got up from my nest. I ever so slowly circled the intruders, cratering the ground with every step.

“So you’ve proven your point with this Eldran,” I said. “But how can I be certain that it’s not some controlled weapon of yours to fool me into listening to your outlandish demands?”

“Man, if we could weaponize it, we wouldn’t have to go all this way to look for you,” said the weakest-looking food, scratching her head.

“W-We wouldn’t dare to trick you at all!” the angel stammered. “We swore we took that monster down before waking you up. We didn’t realize it came back!”

“Your Majesty, we implore you to take only a brief glimpse of the outside world,” said the scaly one. “The Eldran has taken away our land, our homes, and our normal lives. The aftermath of their carnage is our only proof that we are truly sincere with you.”

“...Is that so?” I paused in my tracks and glanced out the hole.

It was quite bold of these appetizers to tell me what to do, especially if it meant I had to swim outside, but they were rather logical.

Fully digesting that leviathan would take some time, but so far, I’d managed to break down some new information from the mold on its skin.

Sure enough, I could sense the mold had some sort of collective consciousness, exchanging signals to nearby colonies to read the environment around them.

“...Huh.”

Interesting. This mold wasn’t so different from my old style.

I, too, once controlled a colony of my own back in my prime. The only difference was my veins were far more appealing than these hideous, dark purple patches.

This thing was also rather aggressive in its approach to invading ecosystems. So aggressive, in fact, it seemed to be its best and only tactic…

How very curious indeed.

Perhaps I should take a look for myself after all.

“Hah… haha…”

The three intruders traded confused glances. The scaly food almost spoke up, but I quickly snatched him up with a limb, along with the other two.

“Woaaah! Ahahahaha! This is incredible!” the deranged food shouted, her pink eyes somehow gleaming in the dark. “Guys, check out those scales!”

At the same time, the angel grasped his head and screamed, “I knew this was a terrible idea! We’re so dead! It’s over—!”

I lunged forward and blasted through what was left of my entrance, pretty much destroying the remaining parts of my den.

I was starting to get bored of that cramped space anyway.

In any case, I continued to ignore the screams of these little nuisances and began to swim straight up at lightning speed, passing through the ocean zones until my spines and scales caught the afternoon sunlight for the first time in eons.

I continued to expand straight up, even going past the ocean surface, and still stretched higher, and higher, and higher…

…And much, much, higher, until my horns had sliced through the clouds.

What greeted me was a sad, pathetic view of a tainted landscape.

True to that scaly one’s words, several continents were indeed coated in this dark purple mold and swarmed by some rather interesting-looking mutations. It was certainly full of life, yet it was not at the same time.

All I could see was only one, unanimous lifeform driven with an instinct to propagate, much like myself in the past.

Of course, I wasn’t this greedy.

The more I surveyed the land, the clearer it was to me that the situation was indeed rather pitiful.

I also began to wonder just how powerful this lifeform was to be able to conquer the world so quickly… Or perhaps, if it had some hidden, vile tactics these naive landwalkers hadn’t discovered yet…

For example, those small things sticking onto their bodies…

“Oh… oh my god,” the scaly one whimpered, his face turning pale as he looked down. “She’s… she’s this gigantic?”

“Bwahahah! No wonder the Eldran didn’t get her yet!” the girl laughed. “She’s waaaay too big!”

“Oh… hey,” the angel weakly sputtered, pointing a shaky finger at the nearby clouds. “I can see my coworkers from over here… Ah?!”

I raised the three higher up and met them face-to-face. Well, more like focusing a single eye on them.

“For the longest time, I’ve refused to meddle in your affairs, and my attitude remains true,” I said. “So tell me, what do you offer me in exchange for my aid?”

Considering the fact that these three not only managed to safely dive into the deepest, most dangerous zones of the ocean but had also successfully strayed me away from outright eating them with an angel’s holy magic, surely they also had a plan on persuading me, yes?

That thought admittedly piqued my curiosity.

And yet, the three of them exchanged flabbergasted looks, almost as if saying, “We didn’t think we’d make it this far.”

I squinted. “Then how about I make a quick meal out of this land and get it over with?”

That snapped them out of their daze quickly.

“Yeah, sure,” the girl bluntly said. “Go for it.”

The other two food snapped their heads at her and gaped distraughtly.

“What the hell?! No, don’t listen to her!” the angel shrieked. “We just want to get rid of the Eldran! Without losing our homes!”

“You’re quite bold being picky about my methods. You’ve already overstepped your line by awakening me,” I said, opening my jaw. “So give me one good reason why I should have it your way.”

The scaly one lowered his head, lost in his thoughts, before creasing his brows. “I… w-we…”

I tightened my grip, forcing a grunt out of him.

“Urgh!” He gritted his teeth. “To be frank with you, Your Majesty, we… don’t have much left to offer, but if you wish, you may devour me as your price.”

“Huh?!” The other two exclaimed, staring at him.

“No, this is not happening,” the angel mumbled, fidgeting around. “Ugh, why are these tentacles so tight…?”

“Woah there, Aestus. What are you saying?” the girl asked. “Are you seriously going to play hero at the last minute of your life?”

“They’ll be fine without me,” he muttered. “It wasn’t like I’ve contributed much to the team anyway, so at the very least, I want to make this mission a success, even if it costs me my life…”

The girl scrunched up her face in disgust. “Ew. To hell with that obligation nonsense.” She grinned and faced back at me. “Hey! Your Highness! You should eat me instead!”

“Ehhhh?!” The lizardman gaped at her again. “Denaya, don’t be crazy!”

“You should’ve known I’m always crazy! Isn’t that why you recruited me in the first place?!”

My, what a… strange bunch, these landwalkers.

I decided to ignore the odd one of the three and inched the lizardman closer. “Do you have any last words then?”

He dryly chuckled. “My only regret… is that I won’t be able to share one last drink with an old friend as I’d hoped.”

He stared directly inside my maw with a weary expression before closing his eyes.

“Hey! What about me?!” the girl shouted out. “Wait! Take me instead!” She squirmed around, trying to worm her way out of my grip. I tightened my grip in response.

But right before I could swallow the lizardman whole, lightning abruptly struck close to my ear, forcing me to loosen my hold.

I hissed and looked around.

There weren’t any signs of an incoming storm, so where…?

My gaze stopped on the angel, who’d managed to slide his staff down to his feet. Yellow sparks danced around the sharp tip before it sizzled away.

The angel looked at me dead in the eyes, color drained from his face now that I’d caught him in the act.

Of course it came from him.

I turned toward the angel and raised him higher. “Must you angels always find a way to aggravate me?”

“I-I didn’t want to!” he cried. “It’s—it’s my job to look after these two! If they die, I’ll get fired! I-I didn’t mean it, I swear!”

“I’ve had enough of you angels and your same old excuses!”

I opened my jaw and chomped down on the angel whole.

“Caelo!” the lizardman screamed in horror. “Y-Your Majesty, why—”

I promptly swallowed the lizardman next.

The girl blinked, barely registering the situation before simply saying, “Oh. Well, shi—”

I, too, swallowed her before she could spout more nonsense.

“...Phew.”

What a hassle these landwalkers were.

Now that they were out of the way…

I lowered my head and confronted the incoming wave of this so-called Eldran that had been observing us ever since my emergence from the depths.

“Now then…” I grew massive spines out of my limbs and aimed down, directly toward the blackened shores. “Let’s see if my observations are correct.”