How did that thing get so big? The black, smoke-like aura emanating from it is even stronger now; its size truly befits the title of 'Destroyer'.
It was located in an open area in the center of the forest. At the far end of that area, atop an altar about three stories high, it was looking down at us.
When the guild leader, who was leading the group, shouted, the surrounding adventurers formed a battle formation in the open area.
At the same time, the three people Lisbeth and Ars called heroes rushed to the front, each brandishing their weapons.
The four of us, including Claire, retreated to the back as instructed by the adventurer responsible for protecting us.
Before us stood over a hundred adventurers and the five-meter-tall Erebus.
This scene was like witnessing a large-scale raid in a game.
Immediately afterward, the mages unleashed a barrage of spells—fire, frost, water, lightning, and more… "…Huh?" The Hero Devourer, standing on the altar, saw his magic vanish as if hitting an invisible wall before it even touched the altar. "…Ah? What happened…" Lisbeth, a mage herself, looked stunned and panicked.
What's going on?
Even I think the magic disappeared in a strange way.
The scene was like being swallowed up by space right in front of the altar.
"Gaa ... After the attack was blocked, the heroes and melee adventurers charged towards the altar... but they were unable to advance, as if hitting a wall. To be precise, they were moving but unable to move an inch.
The black spheres attacked again.
With a deafening roar as the ground shattered, the heroes and adventurers dodged and blocked, but several were unable to withstand the attacks and tumbled to the ground.
Although the high-ranking adventurers immediately got up,... even though they were watching seriously, this scene persisted for quite a while, inexplicably discouraging.
Although people were continuously hit by the black spheres, they seemed to be barely holding on.
What's going on?
Someone was even walking back and forth behind them, sticking some kind of square box-like object to their face... Was that a camera?
They can take pictures here?
No, compared to that, wasn't that person a bit too relaxed?
Just watching the leisurely adventurers, we chatted idly among ourselves, but for some reason, it felt like the situation was getting worse with time.
Thirty minutes have passed already, haven't they?
The adventurers' expressions gradually changed.
Those investigating near the altar, trying to avoid the spheres, also looked grave, seemingly facing difficulties. Behind them, a few others huddled together, exchanging opinions. "...Should we escape?"
"No. And...more importantly, if we retreat first, those people..."
*Hey, Claire, why are you saying that? If you don't escape, I'll just take Lisbeth with me, okay?* Ars replied indifferently.
In the midst of this absurd stare at Claire, blue flames rose from the heroes' bodies, while the other warriors emitted red, yellow, and other colored lights from within.
Looks like they're planning a final, desperate fight?
But even with their battle aura activated, they were still blocked by the wall-like barrier, unable to approach Erebus.
The adventurers behind were attacking ineffectively, continuously being struck by the black spheres; the situation was clearly dire.
After casting protective spells two or three times, the priests were drenched in sweat and completely exhausted; the mages in the back row, though reducing their attack frequency to focus on blocking the spheres, were also showing signs of fatigue.
As we continued to observe, the battle aura rising from the heroes and adventurers dissipated one after another.
The adventurers seemed to be preparing to retreat, gradually regrouping and adjusting their formation.
We had to get out of there quickly.
Just as I bent down to pick up the three of them… that guy suddenly moved!
"Gaa ... "Everyone, get on my back... Uh!?" As I bent down to let the three of them ride, I looked back and saw Claire staggering past me, rushing towards the fallen heroes.
This crazy woman really dares to do that!?
"This, this is...! Merciful goddess... please protect this person..." Claire chanted incantations and released light towards the heroes emitting black smoke. But Erebus had his eyes on this side again.
"Damn this crazy woman...!" I cursed as I charged towards Claire. That bitch. Once I drag her out, I'll give her a good punch on the tits. Or I'll kick her big ass with my hind legs.
"What are you doing, Claire! Did you forget we agreed to run for our lives in danger!?"
"But we can't abandon these people...!"
"They're more experienced and stronger than us! Run!" Forgetting all honorifics, I grabbed Claire's nun's habit by the mouth and lifted her up.
Damn it, we're done for.
"That bastard Erebus is charging at us?"
"Damn it...! Ars! Lisbeth!" I flung Kleia, whom I'd been biting, towards the two behind me, and saw Lisbeth catch the staggering Kleia.
Just as I turned my gaze back, Erebus raised his foot in front of me...
"Ouch!" I kicked that foot hard with my hind leg, but this time it was far more powerful than I could describe.
I was dragged and slammed into a tree, the impact splitting the trunk instantly.
"Cough...!" It wasn't just that my size had increased; I felt my strength had also increased considerably.
What happened that made me so much stronger in such a short time?
I shakily propped myself up, and this time I saw Ars supporting Kleia, while Erebus was looking down at them.
The adventurers were on their way, but Erebus was closer to the two.
"Gahhhhh!" Lisbeth wasn't about to give up, you bastard. I strained my legs, my body slamming into the creature like a cannonball.
"Clatter!" The creature's raised forepaws seemed to be jolted by my powerful impact, staggering back a few steps.
"Shimo!" Lisbeth called out urgently, her face a mixture of worry and fear.
"Get on my back...!" Seeing the adventurers rushing towards Elebus, I intended to carry the three of them... but the exhausted adventurers were sent flying by Elebus's swinging forepaws.
This is it...!
"No, get out of the way!" Just as I was about to crouch down, I saw something charging towards Lisbeth. I immediately tried to use a sweeping kick, but this creature was faster. Its forepaws, originally aimed at the three of them, struck my side directly.
"Cough...!" Was this the legendary, bone-chilling impact? My body inexplicably became light, and I was carried away by the wind. This was the first time I had experienced the feeling of floating since becoming a horse.
"Cough, uh...!" After tumbling head over heels to the ground, my whole body ached and felt numb; my legs seemed to have lost all feeling.
Am I near the altar?
I saw the adventurers rushing towards Elebus, and Lisbeth running towards me.
"Shimo! Shimo! Are you alright... uh!?" Lisbeth, who was running towards me, suddenly turned deathly pale.
What happened?
I was about to get up and walk towards her... "...This is..." My two thick forelegs were twisted at an eerie angle.
This... I'm really done for.
"Shimo! Legs! Ah, no, why can't I get over here!?" Lisbeth kept running, but she was stuck like a treadmill, unable to move, unable to get closer.
Just like the adventurers who couldn't cross the altar earlier.
Ars and Claire also ran over, but they couldn't cross either.
"This is... space...! At this rate, even skills will...!"
"Shimo! Your legs...!" Ars looked at me in horror, while Claire, with her invisible eyes, sensed something, groping for the impassable wall.
"Ars, Lisbeth. Take Claire and run!"
"Shimo, what about you?!"
"My legs are like this, I can't move! Let's get out of here while the other adventurers hold that guy off!" This despicable guy saw the adventurers showing signs of fatigue and immediately came down.
Even the strongest adventurers, once their stamina is exhausted, don't know how long they can hold him off.
"But... but Shimo, you...!"
"I'm fine, you guys go!" The three hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved towards the entrance.
At this moment, that bastard Ereboss formed black spheres of shotgun pellets around him again.
The pellets scattered in all directions, the dust they kicked up obscuring my vision. Then a black sphere cleaved through the dust and flew towards me.
"Damn it…" Although it wasn't a direct hit, the black sphere fell in front of me, the impact slamming me into the altar. My senses were fading.
'…Am I going to die?'…Damn it. The curse involuntarily escaped my lips. I finally managed to get rid of Ada, and before I could even completely turn Lisbeth into my female, I was going to die like this.
That bitch Claire.
If I survive, I'll definitely turn that slut into my female and fuck her to death.
Forget about controlling my desires, that kind of slut needs to be properly disciplined.
What does this saintly nonsense even want?
…I finally arrived in this other world…and only about four months have passed?
One month of that was spent lost in the Cursed Mountains…Ha…So frustrating…I finally recognized my own desires… "…Uh?" For some reason, light seemed to be seeping from the direction of the altar behind me… '…What's going on?' Suddenly, my field of vision shifted, and before me appeared… a planetary landscape and universe I'd only ever seen in photographs.
'…? What? Am I dead?' What's going on?
I can only see my field of vision, not my body.
And the continents of that planet… upon closer inspection, they don't look like Earth.
Could this be… a planet from another world?
Looking at the planet with these questions in mind, I was enveloped by a strange sensation, and my vision rapidly shifted.
At the same time, information about the scene flashing through my vision flowed into my mind.
…What…is this…this…universe?
The rapidly flowing information revealed who the altar's master was.
The creator of Esendia, and also the goddess worshipped by the Cult of Goddesses.
An altar built with that goddess's power.
The information flowing into my mind was the goddess's memories stored within the altar.
That memory, as if forcibly implanted, was etched into my mind—why this universe was destined for destruction.
If this is true, then I… '…I've been completely deceived.' This universe, at this rate, won't even last ten years before it perishes.
'Ha…and the reason I was sent to this other world is…' Although the information was fragmented and difficult to grasp precisely, in short, the limitless power of the heroes was a loophole in this universe.
The heroes are those who draw energy from the universe beyond the limits of their physical bodies, accelerating their own demise.
The power of the heroes, like a loophole, will not disappear as long as the will of the one who becomes a hero remains.
The goddess, unable to prevent the doomed future brought about by those heroes, vanished with resentment.
As she dissipated, the goddess's power scattered, and those born from that power and resentment, and those about to be born, are those who bring destruction, like Erebus.
Those who bring destruction inherited the goddess's resentment, and by absorbing the flaws of the heroes they killed, they were designed to consume cosmic energy faster than heroes with physical limitations. While the inevitable destruction cannot be stopped, there are two ways to delay it.
1. Inflict a mental shock on the heroes to destroy their will, thereby eliminating their power and dispelling their flaws.
2. Deal with the culprits who invite destruction before they absorb the heroes' power and become too strong.
Mental shock…heroes…In an instant, the faces of Ars and Lisbeth flashed through my mind.
If we're talking about mental shocks, isn't the betrayal of a lover the greatest shock?
The destruction of this universe is almost as if it's telling me, 'If you follow your desires and choose only heroes and their lovers to live, destruction will be delayed.'
Could it be that the God of Wanderers on Earth foresaw this and sent me here?
Even knowing my own inner desires that I wasn't aware of at the time?
For some reason, my heart feels somewhat dirty, yet a strange joy wells up within me.
Anyway, the destruction of this universe is already a foregone conclusion.
According to the information that entered my mind, the number of heroes on this planet alone exceeds ten thousand.
Even if I were to search the heavens and the earth, eliminating all the heroes' power and eradicating the loopholes would be no easy task.
Moreover, the cosmic energy is already in disarray, the goddess's power is scattered, and beings that summon destruction are being born—all of this is unstoppable.
But if I release my desires on the heroes, stopping the loopholes before they are absorbed by the summoned destroyers, I can at least postpone destruction for hundreds of years.
Although I don't know what the wandering god wants, perhaps that's why He sent me here?
It seems my life in this other world was already predetermined according to God's plan.
It seems I've received a pardon—as long as the target is a hero, I can indulge my desires without guilt.
As long as a few heroes suffer, most life in this universe can be temporarily saved.
Upon learning this fact, the rationality that once drew a line saying I must suppress my desires now asks me: Then it doesn't matter how many lovers I steal from the heroes, right?
Anyway, considering Lisbeth's situation, my current body is the perfect vessel for conquering females in this other world.
So, this is the reason I was given this body, to live as I please?
I feel a bit annoyed that they sent me here because they assumed I would naturally live this way… but it's not necessarily a bad thing for me.
No, on the contrary, I'm inexplicably excited by being able to unleash my desires.
The lines I once drew with the weight of my conscience have been redrawn in the distance without my realizing it.
'I… am I really this kind of indulgent person…? If I knew this in the past, I'd probably faint.' I have a completely new understanding of myself now.
Although some people will suffer because of this, since I have this absolution, the thought arises: 'There's no other way. Please sacrifice yourselves.'
'Okay… I understand. I'll do as you say, you homeless old god. I can live as I please, right?' That's right.
Anyway, he's a god who first scammed me with the pre-apocalyptic era.
Even if I do whatever I want, he can't say anything.
'If I live like this, the heroes will hate me intensely. Maybe they'll even come to attack me as a group?' 'When I claimed several females as my own, I considered what might happen.
However… I wasn't particularly worried.
'Mere divine beasts, as long as I become stronger, that's enough. Useless weaklings.' Only this thought flashed through my mind.
'Being called a Demon King or something like that then would be fine. No, since they're horses, should I be called a Horse King?' Feeling my emotions rising, a pointless thought surfaced.
Not bad.
Taking this opportunity to become a Demon King for a hero wouldn't be bad, would it?
So first… this Elebus before me.
I'll kill that kitten first.
Then I'll make Lisbeth my female, and also Claire, who gave me a hard time.
You'll join my female list too.
As my thoughts cleared, the evil within me leaped forth. Accepting that malice, like awakening self-awareness, I accepted a new self.