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!

At dusk. Above a forest bathed in vermilion, an Onibird soared. Its typically fearsome face, reminiscent of a Hannya mask, now displayed a shade of impatience.

He recalled the devilish words of the ivy as he flew alone in the forest, far removed from his flock and devoid of the sight of his peers.

… About an hour ago.

“Various toxins have already invaded all of your bodies!”

Amidst a group of Onibirds who had suddenly collapsed, spitting blood due to an unexpected organ pain, an ivy identifying itself as “Rosarosa” declared such.

A beastkin monster claiming to be an interpreter was explaining the rules. Still, the joyful movement of the ivy lingered in the Onibirds’ minds, and they found it insufferably eerie.

Many of the collapsed Onibirds recognized that ivy. …For the past decade, they had been aware that, occasionally, strange monsters were preying on corpses.

Onibirds despised these creatures that gathered around corpses and killed them on sight. They never retaliated, so the Onibirds occasionally attacked them to vent their frustrations.

However, true to its poisonous hue, this purple ivy possessed a potent venom that infected on touch, and one needed to be extremely careful when attacking it. Perhaps for this reason, it left a stronger impression than other scavengers.

What differed from their memories was the smug appearance of the ivy, looking down on the grounded Onibirds.

“My unique skill is called ‘Toxic Conversation.’ It allows me to communicate with toxins, urging them to work hard or rest!”

Rosarosa shaped herself into the form of a young girl using the ivy and proudly tilted her chin up.

Upon hearing the nature of this skill, probably only a few of the dozens of Onibirds—those who were particularly smart—could grasp its utility.

At face value, this skill didn’t appear suited for combat, as it didn’t forcibly infect opponents with potent toxins nor provide immunity to poisons.

However, when used with malicious intent, the ability to activate preloaded toxins at will could yield dire results. And indeed, they were currently experiencing this very situation.

…Rosarosa herself understood that this skill was handy for taking hostages, assassinations, threats, and in death game-like scenarios. Such tactics were her forte.

“Didn’t everyone find it odd? After I touched the corpse, you all just casually ate its meat. Didn’t you wonder why I didn’t leave any poison? Did you dream that the frail little Rosarosa couldn’t retaliate?”

…During this monologue by Rosarosa, the annoyance in her imitation of Saryu Crowfoot was astoundingly high.

Saryu was famed for her incredible mimicry due to her species name, “Korokotta,” which had a legend on Earth about being a creature that mimics others.

…But this time, that mimicry skill was working against the Onibirds.

Affected by her taunting, the faces of the terrifying Onibirds turned a deep shade of red in rage.

“Don’t mess with us! Warriors of the forest! Don’t underestimate the Onibirds!”

And then, unable to bear the anger and fear, several brave young Onibirds, in a makeshift collaboration, lunged at Rosarosa.

“Alrighty, ‘Delila-chan!'”

However, Rosarosa effortlessly dodged their attack with a single chant.

Of course, she could. The current situation in the forest was such that Rosarosa kept the poisoned Onibirds alive.

The moment Rosarosa uttered the name of the poison, the attacking Onibirds fell to the ground, wailing like tormented souls. They twitched multiple times, rubbing their heads against the floor.

“Give it ten years, and I’ll devise various poisons. I never thought I’d have so many chances to use them! Well, preparation is key, right?”

Before they realized it, the brave Onibirds who attacked her lay dead, spilling blood like fodder characters in a typical death game.

“Now, ‘Rhododendron-chan!'”

Then, Rosarosa called out another poison name. She had named the poisons she crafted after flowers from Earth, as told by Yuuto, seemingly unaware of her poor taste.

Hearing Rosarosa’s call, the Onibirds’ bodies, who witnessed their comrades’ demise, instinctively tensed up, bracing for pain.

However, contrary to their expectations, no pain came to the Onibirds.

“Alright! The poison lurking in everyone’s bodies has started to warm up! Find the antidote and drink it within 4 hours! The antidote is also handmade by Rosarosa! I worked super hard on it! Also, there’s only enough antidote for five, so good luck!”

“Is there an antidote? Why? Enough for 5? Do they want us to fight amongst ourselves?” The Onibirds pondered these questions, but Rosarosa began counting, “Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven.” When they realized this was the countdown to the start of the hunt, they took off in a race against time.

XXX

Time flowed, and about two hours passed.

“Yes! I found it! It’s here!” One particular Onibird discovered a packaged box buried underneath the fallen corpse of a Halk Spider. Even though Onibirds are known scavengers of the dead, they are also skilled hunters. Their keen eyes wouldn’t miss something as conspicuous as a purple-packaged box buried in a corpse.

“Me? Was I the first to find it?” This Onibird had seen numerous fallen Halk Spiders on its way here. Seeing Halk Spiders, with whom it had spent time as allies, showing faces of agony, belly up to the sky sent chills down its spine. In particular, it found the corpse of a Halk Spider that had helped it multiple times in battles against the Warhounds. In reality, this Onibird had been used by the Halk Spiders. Unaware of this fact, weighed down by guilt and the realization that it couldn’t even offer a proper farewell, the Onibird couldn’t fly as usual. Therefore, when it discovered the untouched box, the fact that it was still unclaimed by its comrades brought a dim sense of relief. However, just a short distance from the box, the Onibird smelled a scent that wasn’t the bodily fluid of the Halk Spider but more like the blood of a beast. “What’s this smell? It’s like… our own…”

At that moment, a small creature emerged from the shadows of the trees. The inconspicuous beast had been there as a translator just a while ago. “Good job. If you defeat me, you clear the game.” Despite being short-quadruped, The creature named Saryu had a bloodstained dagger firmly grasped in its paw.