Reincarnated as a Dungeon Master, I Became Unstoppable by Doting on My Monsters—My Gorgeous Monsters Have Started to Conquer the World on Their Own! - Chapter 17: First Combat Outside the Dungeon Part 1 (Third POV)

“Now that my reflection is over, let me show you my strategy. For instance, how about this? De・Li・Lah・Chan~”

Responding to Margarita’s call, Delilah Dianeira began her incantation as planned.

“‘Delilah, who has neither heart, wealth, nor face,’ ‘with a face torn as if by scissors.’ Now I can finally kill you all. Oh, I’m so angry. ‘Hot. I’m burning up. My lord. My body burns with hatred.’ ‘But I have to become a goddess.’ ‘Such emotions are prohibited.'”

Upon finishing her chant, from Delilah’s being, a thick hardcover book, all the pages rose and burnt to ash mid-air.

The eerie and intense sight captivated the surrounding Halk spiders briefly.

But when they realized that despite its flashy appearance, nothing happened, a massive number of Halk spiders from the trees lunged at Delilah.

“Delilah-chan! Be careful!”

Heeding Margarita’s warning, Delilah glanced at her, replying,

“Don’t worry, Margarita. I’m already mostly a goddess.”

She said that with none of the inferiority she had shown earlier.

“‘Hate, pain, and distress.’ ‘I no longer need such things.’ ‘Let’s brand you with a scarlet letter.'”

By the time Delilah had finished chanting, the surrounding Halkspiders had already been burnt to ashes without a trace.

And moments later, screams, “It’s hot!” echoed throughout the forest. The pain-filled cries shook the trees, causing several birds to take flight.

Yet, observing the situation, Delilah emotionlessly murmured,

“Oh, just a bunch of small fry, aren’t they?”

“Hey! The burnt ones, letters are appearing on their bodies. I can’t read what it says, but they’re burning.”

The buzzing voices of the Halkspiders resonated. The massive attack covering the entire forest became an unimaginable source of fear for them, who had seen their overwhelming numbers as an advantage.

Only then did the swarm boss recognize Delilah and Margarita as threats.

“You have a high-ranking item, don’t you?”

The boss of the Halkspiders shouted. Such weird, expansive magic… magic that reaches as far as the family of its targets typically requires a contract with a god. Furthermore, monsters cannot form contracts with gods, so the assumption that one holds an item filled with divine power was reasonable.

Upon hearing the boss’s remark, Delilah looked at Margarita with mechanical eyes.

“… You’re mistaken.”

Delilah could understand the insectoid language, but she couldn’t speak it. Margarita could sense the pleading look in her eyes, asking her to interpret.

“What!? Then what is this wide-ranging attack magic?”

At the boss’s words, Delilah looked back at Margarita.

“Oh, come on! Why does a commander like me have to explain? Despite being a monster, she has a contract with a god!”

Margarita said so, but she acted as Delilah had instructed. Margarita had a critical flaw in leading others: she easily got swayed when her companions relied on her.

“How is that possible? Is a monster being favored by a god? Impossible!”

…The misunderstanding of the Halkspiders at this moment was that they confused contracting with being favored by a god. In Etina, magic is about temporarily borrowing power from gods, and contracts involve receiving long-term protection. Most gods acquire with especially devout humans they take a liking to. However, some gods will indiscriminately form contracts, provided specific conditions are met. Delilah had a contract with one such deity.

Regardless of the boss of the Halkspiders, whether she had a direct contract or a powerful item, she was a threat capable of a wide-range attack.

“Hey, do that thing.”

As the boss of the Halkspiders said this, several of the creatures in the trees, surprised, let out a faint “Ugigi…” Delilah heard it. But even that was of no value as information to her. Without moving a muscle in her face, she began her casual chant, “I swear only to the great heavens… I am not misled…” preparing her next high-powered magic. Remembering the large-scale magic from earlier, the Halkspiders in the trees above Delilah lamented their misfortune and fell from the trees.

Earlier, the boss had given the order for self-destruction. If they defied this order, they would later be executed along with their families – this was a rule deeply engraved within their swarm’s code. The unfortunate Halkspiders above Delilah, trying at least to serve their hive, expanded the muscles throughout their bodies with all their might and burst their abdomens.

Unlike the monsters of the “Ragnel Labyrinth,” when they die, it’s truly the end for them. Therefore, this was a literal life-or-death attack and, at the same time, their only measure to evade the incomprehensible magic of “burning their families.”

When the spiders’ abdomens burst, whether their bodies were inherently designed for such suicide attacks, the digestive fluids and spider threads stored within them rained down on Delilah in a coordinated assault.

“… Don’t get in the way of the strategy.”

But in the end, the desperate charge never reached Delilah, and everything burned away into nothingness.

The boss of the Halkspiders, who had been observing this overwhelming difference in strength from the beginning, had already decided to abandon the forest and flee by this time. He believed there might still be a chance for revenge someday, even if he could get branded by those words from afar.

Similarly, Margarita, understanding Delilah’s abilities, was only thinking about exterminating them all without leaving one behind. For that, it was essential not to let the spider boss escape.

And then, a brief moment of deadlock occurred.

A fragment of the exploded spider seemed to have flown relatively high, and it landed on Delilah’s head with a “pitcher” sound as she was focused solely on the surrounding enemies.

In that instant.

The book-shaped body left empty from the previous chant suddenly swelled with new pages that emerged within a blink.

And then, Delilah, contrary to her usual calm demeanor, raised her voice shrilly.

“It’s disgusting! Gross! Gross! So nasty! You filthy trash!!! Ahh! I polish myself every day for my master’s! So gross, so gross! Ahhh! Why does this always happen to me!?”

She then seemed to revert to her usual Delilah Dianaira persona in her sudden frenzy, shaking her book body several times to try and shake off the spider’s remains.

The surrounding Halkspiders were bewildered, thinking this reaction was overly dramatic, even for an exploded spider. It was an unexpected reaction, even for the usually insectoid severe monsters accustomed to battle.

Delilah clearly showed an opening at this time, but everyone was too stunned by the events to act. And their confusion only deepened with her next move.

“Ugh! This is the worst. ‘Forbidden emotions! This kind of feeling!’ ‘Forbidden emotions! This kind of feeling!’ ‘Forbidden emotions! This kind of feeling!'”

The panicked Delilah chanted these lines repeatedly. Watching this, Margarita sighed in exasperation. And every time Delilah chanted, the pages that had just increased went flying and burned.

Then, the confused Halkspiders finally realized that their enemy was panicking and was full of openings.

The boss of the Halkspiders, who had been calmly observing the situation from a distance, thought that the previous mention of her having a contract with a god might be true. She didn’t seem to have any items, and the hints added up.

No matter how you looked at it, that book, since earlier, has been sending out pages every time it casts magic. Even though it’s a book monster, sending and burning its pages might be similar to our kamikaze attack just now.

That was his deduction.

The Halkspider boss, who had been contemplating escape earlier, now saw an unexpected opportunity and prepared for a surprise attack.

There was no doubt. She was contracting with a god by sacrificing her entire body. He had heard of beings who offered parts of their bodies to gods in exchange for power.

…At times like this, the information-gathering ability of the Halk Spider’s boss seemed to be its downfall. Indeed, there were gods like that, but the world was much broader than this forest. In the range of information available to the Halk Spider, there was no existence of a ‘god of trials’.

However, having confidence in its speculation, the boss of the Halk Spider weighed the odds of successfully fleeing from the forest and the hunters against the chance of defeating the thin little book before it. And it chose to attack Delilah.

That book, which had only been splashed with bits of its kind, was now hastily burning… backup pages? Yes, backup. The backup pages were burning. The Halk Spider thought that now when all the pages used as resources for divine assistance had been exhausted, was the only chance to defeat it!

“Fool! To fall into chaos on the battlefield and waste resources is a fitting end for the likes of you, originally a lowly G-ranked monster!”

The boss, who had hunted monsters of “Ragnel’s Labyrinth” numerous times, launched a surprise attack.

(Yes, I remember. This scene! Reading their movements… the stage where they get confused by my sudden appearance! I’ve seen it time and again!)

Indeed, when “Ragnel’s Labyrinth” was filled with just G-ranked monsters, the Halk Spider used to toy with and trample upon them for fun. The boss of the Halk Spider remembered their frightened faces and regained its confidence as the forest king.

However, the Delilah that the Halk Spider saw was now calm and composed, contrary to its earlier agitation.

(Huh? This isn’t the scene I remember?)

When the Halk Spider realized this, it was too late to dodge.

“It’s a pity. I’m stronger when I have nothing.”

At that moment, the Halk Spider’s body ignited instantaneously. It wasn’t just flames but like molten iron seeping from all its muscles. It felt a heat filled with resentment.

While consumed by the flames, the Halk Spider’s boss looked at Delilah, whose expression had changed entirely and thought… Dual personality?