Chapter 255

[The first to appear was the Light-Emitting Giant. Although it was named the Light-Emitting Giant, strictly speaking, it wasn’t really a giant. If those monsters still exist in the era you’re watching this, you’d know. This monster is that dangerous.]

As he spoke, the man in the illusion conjured another vision.

It was something that lacked even the basic elements of a living being, something so blurred between itself and the world that it seemed more like a phenomenon than a creature.

At a glance, it looked like a cluster of light…

Or perhaps like soap bubbles coincidentally forming a shape resembling a living being.

I couldn’t tell what kind of creature it was.

It was the first monster to appear through the Dimensional Gate when the man first showed the illusion.

Just looking at it drove tens of thousands of soldiers mad, causing them to harm themselves.

[This Light-Emitting Giant is the first monster to appear through the Dimensional Gate. Though it’s hard to tell from the illusion, merely looking at it drives people insane. Not only that, but those exposed to its light all end up tearing their own carotid arteries and dying. Observation shows its size can exceed 1 km, but it can shrink to as little as 20 m depending on the time. Its form is amorphous, sometimes resembling a human silhouette, and other times a four-legged beast.]

As he spoke, the man in the illusion explained the ecology of these monsters with a serious expression.

Honestly, since such monsters no longer exist in this world, the information wasn’t particularly necessary. Still, it couldn’t hurt to listen, so we paid attention to the illusion’s words.

[Fortunately, through repeated observations, we’ve learned that if you don’t observe the Light-Emitting Giant’s light with the naked eye, you can avoid this madness. And despite its threatening light, the giant itself doesn’t physically harm humanity.]

Wait, does this mean the Ancient Empire didn’t resolve this situation?

Then who did?

As I pondered this, the man in the illusion continued his story.

[The next monster is what we call the Polluted Sky.]

As he spoke, he projected another image into the air.

Unlike the 3D illusions of monsters and people shown earlier, this was a 2D landscape, more like a photograph.

And it was just a picture of a blue sky.

“Isn’t this just a painting of the sky?”

“The painting is so detailed, as if it’s a real scene. It’s likely a recreation of an actual landscape using the Ancient Empire’s magic.”

“I see. But showing a sky with no features… Did they upload the wrong image?”

“No. Look closely.”

I pointed to a corner of the image for Mari, who was expressing doubts.

It wasn’t just a blue sky. One corner was distorted with yellow and green hues, like an aurora… or a daytime aurora distorted by computer graphics.

“What is this…?”

[This is what we call the Polluted Sky. I’m not even sure if it can be called a monster. It’s not even a living being… It’s more like a phenomenon.]

Indeed, the Light-Emitting Giant also had ambiguous traits, but this was on a whole different level.

[The Polluted Sky is a monster that corrodes everything it touches, turning them into entities with its own properties. Those corroded by it, whether living or non-living, become anomalies that defy the world’s laws. Just observing these corrupted objects twists the senses—seeing them makes you taste them, hearing them makes you smell them… It’s hard to explain, but that’s the best I can do. And of course, living beings corroded by the Polluted Sky can’t handle this deviation and meet bizarre, grotesque ends.]

Wow…

This monster is dizzying just to think about.

[We haven’t found a clear way to deal with the Polluted Sky. The only response is to flee immediately upon discovering it. The only silver lining is that, being more like a phenomenon, it seems to lack self-awareness or thought.]

As he spoke, the man began introducing the monsters that led to the fall of the Ancient Empire, one by one.

Indeed, the monsters he introduced were all beyond the scope of conventional understanding.

No wonder the Ancient Empire, no matter how powerful its military, fell helplessly.

The man in the illusion continued his introductions.

But…

In the atmosphere of impending doom, while he poured out all the information he knew to pass the baton to future humanity…

Honestly, whatever happened, since such monsters no longer exist in this world…

Listening to the descriptions of these monsters, each defying physical laws, was interesting, but as it wasn’t directly relevant to me, my focus began to wane.

It was already late, even though we had eaten early.

In such a situation, listening to hours of unrelated monster stories made the fatigue from the day’s combat creep in.

While Seiri and Daria, who were deeply involved with the Ancient Empire either professionally or as a hobby, listened intently to every word…

Others, including me, began to lose interest and started doing other things.

Personally, I wished we could skip the monster part and get to the Ancient Empire’s culinary culture.

Despite my thoughts, the man continued his serious explanations without pause.

Though I couldn’t check the outside, it felt like midnight when…

[Now, I’ll introduce the last monster. This is what we call the Black Sun.]

Ah, finally, the last one.

Now, onto the Ancient Empire’s culinary culture…!

I wasn’t the only one thinking this, as the tired faces of the group began to brighten at the thought of it ending.

The man in the illusion projected the image of the final monster.

[Its overall appearance is a void in the center, surrounded by an inexplicable black fog, with countless black tentacles, like octopus arms, extending from it.]

…Wait?

That form… Could it be…?

[In truth, we have very little information on this monster. It appeared on the first day the Dimensional Gate opened but has remained stationary near the gate ever since. Unlike the Polluted Sky, it seems capable of thought and movement, but its characteristics and principles of action remain entirely unclear.]

The man in the illusion continued his explanations.

But none of us, including me, had the energy to listen.

Because the image he showed of the final monster, though differing in some details from the statues and paintings, was unmistakably familiar.

“This… It’s the Holy Kingdom’s god!”

“Black Tentacles…!”

It was clearly the god worshipped by the Holy Kingdom.

[Even as I leave this recording, the Dimensional Gate remains open, and monsters continue to pour through. There may be more monsters not recorded here, but this concludes the types and characteristics of the monsters we’ve observed in the Imperial Palace’s basement.]

Ignoring our shock, the man in the illusion concluded his explanation of the final monster.

[In truth… After leaving this recording, if Ainshil’s Bronze Shield can no longer hold and breaks, I plan to go alone to close the Dimensional Gate. Though we haven’t found a way to eliminate or return the monsters to their world, preventing more from entering is the last thing I can do for future generations…

This recording ends here. If you wish to watch the next one, follow the instructions in the journal to operate the Artifact for video playback.]

With that, the illusions filling the room vanished, returning it to darkness. But we were too stunned to care.

Because the identity of the final monster he introduced was nothing short of a bombshell.