Chapter 56: The Crimson Growth
The mimic's massive body fell from the edge of the pit.
“Get back, move!”
Boom―!!!
The mimic crashed violently into the center of the blood pool. Its body lay limp, unable to move, rely twitching faintly.
Half of its body was frozen solid—a clear sign that it had been struck by the Frost Hamr.
Kraaaaaaah!!!
The thunderous roar drew everyone’s attention upward.
Dorneth leaped down from the pit, clutching his hamr tightly. As he descended, he swung the blue-glowing hamr down like a bolt of lightning, striking the mimic’s head.
BOOOOM―!!!!
The deafening crash made my eyes squeeze shut.
The cave shook violently, and a cold gust of wind blasted through, making huddle against the chill. The temperature had dropped so sharply that I could see my own breath.
Looking toward the crash site, I saw that the pool of blood had frozen over, forming a thin layer of ice. In the center of the ice lay the mimic, tilted to one side.
The mimic’s head, shaped like a treasure chest, had been crushed inward, leaving a noticeable dent.
It looked as though its head had been split open.
Standing atop the crushed head, Dorneth slowly raised his hamr again.
As though his fury hadn’t subsided, the hamr glead with a chilling glow.
Bang! BOOM! Bang!
The hamr ca crashing down repeatedly onto the mimic without pause.
A relentless storm of attacks.
Not even a scream ca from the mimic.
It hung limp, its tongue lolling out. The accumulated damage we had inflicted on it finally caught up, and its life ca to an end at Dorneth’s hands.
Dorneth had delivered the final blow we had lacked. Even after the mimic had clearly stopped breathing, Dorneth continued hamring away. In fact, his attacks only grew fiercer.
He was like a berserker possessed by rage.
“How dare you! How dare you harm my fiancée! Kraaaah!”
“My lord!”
“Please, stop! It’s over!”
The dwarves hurried to restrain Dorneth.
His reputation as a hot-headed ruler was proving to be true—his fiery temper was undeniable at a glance.
Once the situation settled, I approached Sharbadin. Fenry had also co closer and stood waiting nearby.
“That dwarf hasn’t changed a bit—still a firecracker.”
“Thanks to him, we survived this crisis, didn’t we?”
“Go talk to those dwarves. That mimic belongs to us.”
Was Fenry trying to claim ownership of the mimic because it was such a rare specin?
At least she wasn’t shaless enough to demand it for herself alone.
‘This woman has it all wrong.’
She seed eager to harvest whatever materials the mimic might provide, but I wasn’t sure that would be possible.
After all, even I didn’t know exactly what would happen next.
The only thing I knew for certain was this:
The host that had carried the ancient power for so long was now dead, and soon that power would awaken, triggering Retonicalus’s trial of succession.
‘Still, just in case…’
I cautiously approached the mimic’s corpse near the frozen pool and began examining it.
I was hoping that, just as I had easily acquired the ancient glyph earlier, perhaps the heart of the mimic might also be within reach.
“Sha… Shar-din!!!!!”
“Dorneth!”
A tearful reunion unfolded before my eyes.
Calling each other by their pet nas, the dwarf and elf embraced tightly, crossing the boundaries of their races to share in each other’s warmth.
Sharbadin, who had been prepared to die, cried like a child in Dorneth’s arms. Her journey to survive had been nothing short of harrowing and brutal.
Scratching my chin, I quietly observed the scene.
The image of the tall, graceful elf embracing the dwarf, who was shorter than her waist, was rather comical. The burly dwarves around them sniffled, wiping their noses.
It was an oddly mismatched sight, yet I found it refreshingly heartwarming.
“I’d only ever imagined this sort of thing, but now I’m seeing it in real life.”
It felt… good. Like a gentle warmth spreading in my chest.
This kind of reunion between Sharbadin and Dorneth wasn’t sothing you’d ever see in When Villains Grow Stronger.
I had often imagined what the story might have been like if Sharbadin had survived—maybe then, the Tobaron massacre could’ve been prevented.
A new story was unfolding now.
One shaped by my hands and my choices.
I wanted to savor this bittersweet feeling a little longer, but—
Crack, crack, crack—!
“…What?”
A sound from the direction of the pool drew my gaze. My eyes widened slowly as I took in what was happening.
The blood pool, which had been frozen by the Frost Hamr, was rapidly lting. At the sa ti, the mimic’s corpse was dissolving, turning into a liquid.
Shit. Sothing was starting.
***
“Thank you, you sly cat.”
“If you’re grateful, add more to the reward. I went through hell for this job.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Wow, a stingy dwarf being generous for once?”
Fenry gave Dorneth an incredulous look. The two of them usually bickered like cats and dogs, but Dorneth seed to be in an unusually good mood—likely because of Sharbadin’s survival.
“But who’s that human over there?”
Dorneth pointed at the man wandering around the mimic’s corpse, digging into it with a dagger. As the only human in the mixed-species party, he naturally stood out.
“Oh, him? He’s the one who contributed the most to this mission.”
“What?”
“Dorneth! He’s my savior!”
Sharbadin enthusiastically explained the situation to Dorneth in a concise manner. With each word, Dorneth’s wary gaze toward the human softened into one of appreciation.
When the human noticed Dorneth’s gaze and waved at him with exaggerated motions, Dorneth chuckled and waved back.
A benefactor who saved Sharbadin.
Such a debt warranted proper repaynt…
“Shit! Damn it! Oh no, this is bad!”
“…Is he always that foul-mouthed?”
“No. Sothing must’ve gone wrong. You’d better listen to him—he’s sharp. If you want to make it out of here alive and see your lovely wife’s backside again.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about—”
“Hey, over here! Quickly! Co now!”
My urgent shout broke through the cheerful atmosphere, drawing everyone’s attention. Fenry was the first to arrive at my side, her gaze fixed on what I was pointing to.
Crack, crack—
The ice was lting rapidly, and a small red growth was beginning to protrude from the surface of the blood pool.
A single crimson lump.
At first, it was only the size of a finger, but it began to grow rapidly.
Fenry’s eyes narrowed as she turned to look at .
Her gaze seed to ask, What the hell is this?
“Sothing’s coming out. The pool’s volu is shrinking.”
“…And the corpse? Where’s the mimic’s body?”
“It lted into the pool.”
“Damn it. All that effort for nothing.”
Ignoring Fenry’s irritated grumbling, I turned back to the pool.
The blood pool’s volu was visibly decreasing.
In contrast, the crimson growth continued to expand, absorbing the blood as it grew.
‘None of my attacks work on this thing.’
I had tried everything to destroy it before it could grow further—enchanted blades, Sacred Power, glyphs, and even stabbing it directly with a dagger. Nothing worked.
It wasn’t that the growth was simply tough—it was as if the attacks couldn’t even land properly, as though the blows were deflected.
‘Maybe Fenry or Dorneth can destroy it.’
If they could eliminate the growth and I could claim the heart, that would be the best outco.
“We need to destroy it before it grows any larger. This is our only chance.”
“What about just running?”
“If Dominic gets his hands on this, who knows what he’ll do with it.”
“Hmm.”
Fenry summoned her shadow crows in response to my words. The crows flew toward the growth and began attacking it.
anwhile, Dorneth and several dwarves approached . It looked like Dorneth intended to personally thank , but this was no ti for pleasantries.
Fenry’s attacks seed to have little effect on the growth.
“We must destroy it imdiately!”
Clicking her tongue, Fenry stepped back. Dorneth didn’t hesitate—he hefted the Frost Hamr once more.
The hamr radiated a chilling, deadly energy.
BOOOOM—!!!!
With a trendous crash, the surrounding area of the pool was shattered and refrozen. It was the sa hamr that had nearly annihilated the mimic with a single blow.
But—
“…….”
The crimson growth froze for a mont, only to pulsate and begin growing again.
Now it was the size of an arm.
Even when other dwarves joined in to assist, they could only delay its growth briefly. Their physical attacks had no significant effect. It was as though the growth was impervious to force.
‘Damn it, is preventing this thing from growing completely impossible?’
As the crimson growth swelled to my height, both Fenry and Dorneth’s expressions grew more serious.
It seed they had realized the gravity of the situation.
“…What exactly is this thing?”
“It’s the power that evolved the mimic. It seems to be manifesting in another form.”
“So, what’s your plan?”
“We need to leave. Now.”
“Human, is this dangerous?”
Dorneth’s question made nod vigorously.
“We could all die.”
“What are you waiting for? Didn’t you hear him? Move!”
Fenry backed up my words with authority.
She knew I had studied Dominic’s research journals thoroughly, and she respected that knowledge.
I liked that about her—it made monts like this easier.
Acting quickly, I tightened the straps on my bag.
The bag felt significantly heavier than before—I had to be careful.
‘Better to take what I can while I can.’
I scrambled around, shoving all the violet mana stones I could find into my bag. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with them yet, but they were precious resources worth keeping.
Once I secured the bag, I leapt out of the pit.
The pit wasn’t very deep, so getting out was easy.
As soon as I erged, I sprinted toward the entrance.
The others followed without a word.
“…Huh?”
When I reached the exit, I was t with an unexpected sight.
The area, which had previously been filled with wagons used to transport captured creatures, was now swarming with dwarves.
It was Dorneth’s forces—more nurous than Fenry had anticipated.
Fenry whistled softly as she observed the bustling dwarves.
“They really brought an army. How many are there?”
“Two thousand.”
“Two thousand? You brought your entire elite force?”
“It was an important matter.”
The corpses of chira littered the area.
Even the facility’s guards had been overwheld by the dwarves’ relentless assault.
The battlefield was so thoroughly cleaned up that it was hard to find a single standing chira.
The dwarves were now combing through the caves, rescuing captives and bringing them outside.
They were searching every corner to ensure no one was left behind. It was a smart move—it saved ti in the rescue effort.
“Natone, finish up and retreat imdiately.”
“Yes, my lord.”
At Dorneth’s command, Natone began gathering the dwarves into a single group.
We were the first to leave the laboratory, sprinting through the tunnels as I focused on the most pressing issue.
‘The problem is Dominic.’
Dominic’s current location was critical.
I couldn’t help but wonder—
He should’ve arrived by now. Why hadn’t he?
Fortunately, soone here had the answer.
I approached Dorneth, running alongside him.
His gaze toward was friendly.
It was monts like this that made grateful to be in Sharbadin’s good graces. I didn’t have to hesitate with my questions.
“Do you know the way out of here?”
“Finding tunnels is a dwarf’s specialty. We’ve already mapped the entire area.”
The dwarves moved without hesitation, navigating the tunnels as though they knew them by heart.
Escaping would be no problem under their guidance.
I shifted to the more pressing topic.
“Did you encounter Dominic’s forces on your way here?”
“We almost did.”
“When?”
“Two days ago. Our paths overlapped with that madman’s army, so we had to make a decision—either take a long detour or wait and follow them.”
As Fenry had predicted, Dorneth had tried to avoid Dominic’s forces.
It made sense—they’d want to steer clear of Arena Huaton’s presence.
“Did you take the detour?”
“No. If we had, we wouldn’t have made it here in ti. Neither detouring nor waiting was an option.”
“…Then?”
“We just passed right by them. A massive army suddenly appeared and attacked Dominic’s forces. We used the chaos to cut straight through the chira lines.”
“What? Whose army was it?”
“The Etor Alliance, led by the Blyer family.”
“……!”
The Blyer family.
Kal Blazer had made his move. I froze for a mont at the thought.
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