I was somewhat expecting it, but the moment we left the forest, I became stifled for breath. The number of monsters present made me wonder if all the monsters in the world were gathered here. Even though we had not been very sneaky, it shouldn’t have caused them all to appear like this. It was almost as if…all the El Patiz in the world were deployed to hunt us.

I had already seen a sky full of monsters, but the number of monsters filling up the plain made it look as if all the floors in the dungeon had broken down and had their monsters released. Even Daisy flinched slightly, and she was someone who commanded an entire undead army.

If we tried to charge through them like we did previously, we would undoubtedly be swallowed up before we could advance even a hundred yards.

I involuntarily asked, “Ren…What are we going to do?”

He said in a voice full of despair, “Crown Prince, you should already know. We can only break through.”

Right, I wasn’t a devil who would abandon the children after coming this far. Plus, even if we retreated to the forest, it wasn’t a place the children could survive in without Ren. The El Patiz couldn’t go in the ocean, so we had to reach that place.

I nodded. “Alright, then let’s fly.”

There was no need to mind the monsters on the ground!

I breathed in and jumped on Lotte’s back with Ren, two beastmen children, and one human girl. The others were riding Daisy’s Flame Drake, Pookie. The monsters on the ground charged at us like an army of ants and roared, but we didn’t care.

“We’re going straight to the ocean!” I shouted.

“Got it.”

Lotte flapped her wings and shot up. The monsters on the ground resembled dogs chasing after chickens, while the flying monsters roared and flew toward us. The majority of them instantly turned into stone and fell, and the ones on the ground that got hit by the rocks screamed. This was truly killing two birds with one stone!

“Shin oppa is cool!” Elfa screamed.

I grinned. “Thanks, Elfa.”

No matter how much the flying monsters used each other as shields or came from different angles to avoid my sight, they would turn to stone the moment they got close to me unless their resistance was above SS+ rank. Numbers didn’t mean a thing anymore.

“Lotte, full speed ahead!” I commanded.

[I know, Hero!]

Lotte accelerated, and Pookie chased after us. The enemies in front of us all turned into stone, and enemies behind and to our sides were first pushed back with Mad Typhoon, then turned into stone. There were fifty miles from the start of the plain to the coast, and we had already traveled ten miles.

Lotte raised a warning, [Hero, there are attacks coming from below.]

I ordered, “Raise the altitude a bit more! Guys, remember, if you’re feeling tired, use the mana breathing method!”

“Okay!”

“Mm!”

After a while, the number of monsters that couldn’t be petrified increased. I chugged down a mana potioh and swung my spear at the giant flying monsters attacking us fiercely.

“Ren! Protect the children!”

Ren grumbled, [I can handle that!]

“Pookie, use your breath!”

[Guaaaaang!]

Daisy was following from behind and was also getting attacked by the monsters. As I attacked with my spear, I once again used the power of my Evil Eyes against the army of monsters.

I taunted, “Let’s see if you can still be so energetic when we get to the ocean!”

[Kiaaaaaaak!]

[Kyaaaaa! Eat this!]

Lotte flapped her wings fiercely and breathed out black flames, burning the enemies in front of us to ashes. If a path was open for even a moment, I would go through it! With the Riding skill, Lotte and I were like a single entity as we displayed flawless coordination. We became a single acute bullet that shot through the air. Because of our incredible speed, Ren, Sharana, and Ruyue all had to help prevent the children from falling.

Then, Elfa screamed, “Oppa, look!”

I looked at the direction she was pointing to as I stabbed my spear through the neck of a wyvern. In the air was a giant tuna. Though we were far away, its fat body and tuna face was too clear. For a moment, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was just too big!

“What the hell is that tuna? Why is a tuna fish flying in the air?” I exclaimed.

Ren blurted out, “Dear god, it’s the Guardian Aikan…The divine beast protector of the ocean kingdom Zenyt!”

“A tuna is…?” I asked again.

Ren wailed, “I thought they would be safe from the El Patiz, but to think even Aikan had been taken over…! Ugh, did they aim for that when it came out to protect the kingdom!?”

“It’s a tuna! You know, the fish!?”

Ren spoke with grief without paying attention to my questions. Regardless of whether it was a tuna or a salmon, it was giving off a terrifying mana aura. We were over one mile away, but the mana it was emitting made me tremble slightly.

[Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]

The giant tuna cried in the air and charged toward us like the devil. It was significantly bigger than the Power Basilisk, which had given me the Evil Eyes! It went without saying that the mana it possessed was something I could not hope to affect with my Evil Eyes. If it simply crashed into us, we would undoubtedly be crushed to death! The other flying monsters seemed to be terrified by the tuna too as they all scattered away.

At that moment, Pookie stepped in front of Lotte. Daisy took out a chain whip with a flushed face.

She commented, “That figure, I like it.”

I pointed out, “But it’s a tuna fish.”

She nodded. “Extremely powerful. Smooth body. I want it.”

“But it’s…a tuna fish!”

What’s wrong with these people!? Something was wrong! Daisy pulled on her whip as if she was burning with passion, then swung it when the tuna neared us.

“Spines! Bloom!”

The end of the whip split in an instant, forming thousands of gross tentacles, which swept over the tuna. From the distance, it looked like a jellyfish sticking onto its prey. In any case, its repulsive appearance made me want to turn away.

I commented, “It looks like you tried to make it sound cool, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re still tentacles!”

“Ugh, the skill…couldn’t be changed…”

Daisy’s voice was full of grief, even making me feel sympathy for her. Of course, looks had little to do with strength. Each spine possessed terrifying levels of mana, and when they reached the tuna, they began to crawl straight to its brain. Ren spoke as he shuddered, “It feels like I’m watching an El Patiz mutant…”

I remarked, “Well, I’m sure they’re only trying to destroy the brain. I won’t argue that it’s disgusting though.”

Why did this continent have to be filled with things like bugs and tentacles? Thankfully, I was the only one seeing such cruel sights. Even as stupid thoughts ran through my mind, the tuna didn’t stop charging toward us. It shone with a brilliant light and burned away the tentacles sticking to its body. Although its overwhelming power was worthy of its name as a guardian, there were more tentacles being created than being burned. How amazing!

Daisy said, “Brain, open it. Let’s be friends.”

[Guaaaaaaaaang!]

Daisy made the worst kind of proposal one could get as she added in another skill. Her ears seemed to perk up slightly, after which a black mist spread out from her free hand. When the tuna touched the mist, its resistance began to dwindle slowly. I suspected that it was a skill necessary to create an undead.

[Guaaaaaaaaa!]

“Whoa, resisting. Kang Shin, help,” Daisy grunted.

The tuna’s roar rang out sonorously in all directions. Then, a countless number of flying monsters once again began to attack, like soldiers following the command of a general. However, they weren’t attacking us, but rather the tentacles connecting Daisy and the tuna.

Are you guys okay with being ordered around by a tuna!?

Regardless, if we could make the tuna become a part of our group, it couldn’t be a better scenario. I materialized Peika.

“Peika, go wild! Burn up everything!”

She crowed happily, [That’s exactly what I like to hear!]

Daisy shot out a countless number of tentacles, and the tuna roared as it struggled against its prison, and many monsters swooped in to free the tuna. Peika jumped into the fray daringly and shot out a vast amount of lightning. The sky had almost turned gold.

She shouted gleefully, [Come! I’ll fry all of you to crisp!]

As powerful as Peika was, she expended a vast amount of mana. The fight leaned towards Daisy’s victory after Peika joined, but I was paying for it with my mana. I impatiently waited for the mana potion’s cooldown to end. Meanwhile, I uncorked a highest-grade mana potion and held it in my mouth as I circulated Peruta Circuit even more strongly to collect mana from the surroundings.

Perhaps because I was focused on the Peruta Circuit, I was the first to notice something happened.

“The tuna is doing something!”

“It opened its mouth. Before it does something, destroy bugs.”

Daisy calmly spoke and released flying undead monsters from her inventory with a wave of her hand. The undead monsters flew in a straight line and attacked the giant tuna’s head. Many tentacles were going inside the giant tuna, but the creature paid them no mind as it opened its mouth wider. Daisy looked slightly perplexed.

She finally said, “That, must dodge. Similar power to…mana wave. Tentacles…Spines are, being destroyed.”

I shook my head. “No, it’ll be hard to escape from its range, so let’s destroy its brain before then!”

“Guild master’s spirit, cool.”

I grinned at Daisy’s comment, then charged towards the tuna on Lotte. The children screamed, but I couldn’t hold onto them right now.

“Hold on, guys!”

“O-ok, oppa!”

“Ok!”

I raised my spear high and called Peika and Sharana. I infused Sharana in my body and Peika in the Chaotic Spear. Then, Lotte and I shot towards the monsters blocking our path with the force to destroy a world.

“Wind King’s Rage!” I shouted.

The power of lightning and wind that had begun to gather in my body drove me forward. Lotte adapted to the flow surprisingly well, flying faster than lightning and freer than wind. Every time a monster in front of us was sent flying, the hard-to-contain power intensified. A little bit of mana was also filling up inside me!

Using Mad Typhoon, I contained the wild and turbulent lightning and wind into the form of a whirlpool. I then changed directions and dug into another group of monsters. There was no need to dodge anything. No monsters existed that could be my spear’s opponent!

“Huaaaaaaaaap! Now it’s your turn!”

The attack had long since charged up to 150%. I held the spear up, which had a giant whirlpool around it, and pointed it at the tuna’s head. By now, visible mana particles had gathered at its mouth. If possible, I had to neutralize it now!

“Crooooooooown Princeeeeee! The children will diiiiiiie!” Ren screamed.

“Hold on tight!”

Even I couldn’t control Lotte’s speed! I focused solely on piercing the tuna with this whirlpool of lightning and wind. Now!

[Kuaaaaaaang!!]

I didn’t have a chance to figure out whatever it was trying to do as the spear bore through its head and caused a giant explosion.

[Critical Hit!]

I pulled out the spear from its head, which had a giant crater in it. I could feel it slowly closing its mouth. Of course. How could it shoot out a mana wave when its head exploded?

Ah. I really used up all the strength in my body. The skill description said I wouldn’t be able to use the skill for three hours, but that wasn’t it. I didn’t know if I had the strength to use other skills. I was completely exhausted.

At that moment, hundreds of tentacles approached me and dug into the place my spear had pierced through. They were truly disgusting.

Daisy messaged, [Good, reached the brain.]

I made a face. “Ugh, disgusting.”

Daisy sounded extremely elated as she had even messaged me to report on her success. Meanwhile, I could feel something inside its brain puffing up unnaturally. Soon, a giant bug popped out. There were strange bumps on its body, and its mouth looked like a drill. So this was an El Patiz. It wasn’t even dead.

I sighed. “I need to kill it.”

Ren remarked, “Crown Prince, you look tired.”

“This is not—”

“Crown Prince!”

Before I could finish my sentence, I became startled by Ren’s shout and turned around. However, I couldn’t turn my body. It felt like I was fixed in place.

“This is something special prepared just for you.”

An unpleasant voice of a man rang out. It came from one of the children on Lotte’s back, Uruto.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to capture another Hero. You see, we only have two of our kind that can contain a Hero…Losing Aikan is a bit regretful, but if we can obtain a Hero in exchange, it is more than worth it. Ah, don’t think about using your elementals. As long as I’m touching you, I can damage you as much as I want.”

“U-Uruto!?” Ren shouted in surprise.

I exclaimed, “Don’t come close, Elfa! He isn’t Uruto!”

Ren wailed, “Ugh, Crown Prince, I can’t get him off! I-If I use an attack skill, you’ll…!”

I said urgently, “Ren, I’m fine, so take the others and go to Daisy! I’ll deal with this on my own!”

I could see the reluctance in his eyes as he said, “Ugh…Understood!”

“Oppa, Shin op—!”

Elfa closed her mouth mid-shout. More exactly, Ren had grabbed her and the other human girl. Lotte must have noticed what was happening on her back as she thrashed about wildly.

She snarled, [A mere human brat dares to attack the Hero!]

However, Uruto was no longer in a human form. I didn’t know how he was binding me, but there was something adhesive stuck to my chest and limbs.

He remarked, “You can’t escape. Your mana should be frozen along with your body. You won’t be able to open your inventory much less open the door to the dungeon. I was created for this purpose. Unless you’re something like the Mana Eater, you won’t be able to escape. Now, open your mouth. Become our ally.”

It was a powerful binding just like the Demon Lord’s curse cast on me by Shina in the Luka continent. Although I should be able to use skills, it was difficult to do so without being able to move my body.

Plus, the El Patiz was perfectly guarded against the one person who might be able to free me, Daisy. Knowing that she was a necromancer, it had provided bait in the form of Aikan. It knew that Daisy would try to use necromancy on Aikan the moment it was defeated. Currently, Daisy was completely focused on making Aikan into her own, so much so that she didn’t even realize the danger I was in.

I said, “But I didn’t detect any mana from your brain…!”

It said smugly, “I told you, I was created for this purpose. I hid myself to hunt the last explorer when I had the chance.”

The voice no longer belonged to that of a human. The bug that had jumped out of Aikan’s brain was approaching me slowly.

“Then you won’t be discovered by anyone!?” I asked indignantly.

The creature chuckled before saying, “Huhuhu, I can imitate anyone with my mana. Unless you can read my thoughts or read my soul, you won’t be able to see through me.”

I smirked. “…Right, it was indeed difficult to read you at first.”

Of course, that wasn’t the case now. It was a bit embarrassing to say, but I had the Absolute Soul skill. With that, I could be called an expert when it came to souls.

“…?”

I calmly activated a skill. “Sky God’s Play.”

The next moment, I was floating in the air leisurely in the form of a fly.

“What…!?” it shrieked.

Uruto had turned into a slime-like creature and the unpleasant-looking bug that looked like a floating vein both shouted at the same time, [Guaaaaaaaaa!]

I yelled in my fly form, “Peika, scorch them!”

[Got it!]

“Ugh, in that case, we’ll take the other one…!”

Peika gleefully exclaimed, [Unless you’re faster than lightning, it’s over!]

Peika’s lightning shot down the moment the slime tried to stick onto Lotte. The slime that had imitated Uruto then vaporized in mid-air. While the other bug hesitated, I returned to my original form and grinned.

“Villains can’t die without giving out all the information, can they? You said there’s one more of you?”

[Guaaaaaang!]

Ten minutes after that, we set off toward the coast once again at full speed. This time, we had a new friend, Aikan.