Assimilate All Talents

"You heard me! Goddamn bastard left one of its offspring down here with us!"

Seeing Torben getting agitated again, Sol said, "Whoa, calm down. I believe you. Tell me what happened."

Torben took another moment to collect himself before continuing his story. "I was lucky. Since my soul was trapped in this metal body, I was mostly immune to its effects. Even so, it took me a few days to notice. Everyone was inexplicably happy, too happy. We would have festivals every day and ate like kings. I happily went along with the festivities until the fourth day, when our king made a sudden announcement. He declared that we would no longer make weapons and would shut ourselves off from the world."

"What? Why would he do that?"

"That’s what I thought as well. It made no sense, especially when Orna was presumed either hibernating or dead, and the war could reach our doorstep any day. But everyone, and I mean everyone, agreed without hesitation. They happily stopped all production and partied instead. As you might know, to enter our city, one needs a Midamol Key. Those were all collected and destroyed so nobody could come in or out and disturb our so called peace. Honestly, I’m surprised you found one to get in here."

Sol thought back to Commander Zaman’s explanation on how where they obtained it and agreed that finding the key would have been impossible if not for the Saintess’s help. Without her, they could have spent years aimlessly wandering through the tunnels.

"With all the keys destroyed, we were trapped—or, as our delusional king said, ’safe from the outside world.’ They continued to party day and night, and the dwarves didn’t just stop the production of arms, they stopped doing anything that didn’t bring them joy. Nobody worked the fields or fed the animals, so food quickly ran out. Things began falling into disrepair, but no one cared. It was as if they didn’t even notice the problem. Only I could see the reality of our crumbling city as they all lived in blissful ignorance. I tried to warn them, but no one listened. They just told me to stop overthinking it and join in the fun. I tried everything I could think of to make them realize they were heading toward death. Once I even started a fire to get their attention, but they danced around it like a damn bonfire. I was helpless as I watched everyone I knew and loved become skinny and malnourished, until they eventually died of exhaustion or starvation."

"..." Sol didn’t know what to say. What could anyone say after hearing such a story? He wasn’t even sure what was worse, the fact that all the Azrem Dwarves had perished while stuck in a hallucination, or that Torben had been forced to watch it all happen, powerless to help them.

"It didn’t end there." Torben added. "As I walked through the remains of the city, I saw that only pseudo law technique users and law technique users were still alive. Even so, they were still partying, completely unaware of the countless bodies around them. But that day, I saw it, the cause of it all.

"I saw the monster approach the remaining oblivious people and begin tearing into them. Even as their bodies were ripped open, they wore the same damn smiles on their faces. It took their hearts and ate them before tossing their mangled corpses to the side. The entire city was nothing but a feeding ground for it. I can’t even describe its appearance, but I took a picture of it so I could find a way to kill it."

Torben took out a flat black crystal that glowed as an image appeared on it. But when Sol looked at the image, all he saw was an open field of flowers. There wasn’t any creature in the image.

"Is this meant to be a joke?"

"What? No, don’t you see how terrifying it is?!"

Sol found Torben’s reaction odd, so he used [True Sight (Variant)], thinking it might be an illusion, but it still showed the same field of flowers.

"I mean, if you’re afraid of flowers, I guess I can see it. Did you show the wrong image by accident?"

"Flowers? No, that’s impossible…" Torben turned the crystal display back toward himself. Seeing the image, he took a few steps back in dreadful realization. To confirm his suspicions, he asked in a tone full of anxiety and desperation, "Do you see that capsule over there? What’s in it?!"

"A dark blue liquid. Kinda like a slime."

"No, it’s–!"

At that moment, the console beeped. Torben stumbled over to it and quickly checked the results. Seeing the final message logs from the Chosen Slayer, he couldn’t help but mumble them in shock.

"Law detected: Delirious Bliss… SHIT! It’s still alive, and you’re already under its effects!"

Sol’s eyes widened in shock. "What? Are you sure? I don’t feel any different."

"That’s because it hasn’t fed in centuries! Once all the other dwarves died, it ran out of a food source. And because of the Azrem Alloy that surrounded our capital, it couldn’t leave after its job was done. It’s been stuck here, slowly starving and weakening over time. The last time I saw it was 200 years ago, and even then, it was able to fight the Chosen Slayer to a standstill."

"Wait, if that’s the case, then don’t I have a chance against it?"

If he had been able to defeat the Chosen Slayer, surely he stood some chance against this creature.

Torben, however, completely disagreed. "No, you fool! It’s strongest against the living. Its main ability causes hallucinations! Even the Chosen Slayer wasn’t fully immune to its effects, but at least it could see it! All you see is a damn flower field!"

Sol was silent, unable to refute the reasoning, but then another problem occurred to him.

"What happens if it feeds?"

Neither of them had to answer that question, they both knew in their hearts what would happen.

"Who else came with you?"

"Almost 100 men and women. I won’t bother saying how strong they are, it doesn’t matter."

If Torben was telling the truth, and he was inclined to believe him, then they were both royally screwed.