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Chapter 447: The Fall of the Usher Family (7)

A massive face emerged from beneath the surface.

Its wide-open mouth revealed sharp teeth, with the corners of its mouth stretching into a grotesque grin, as if something was delighting it immensely.

Though it lacked eyes and a nose, it was clear what it felt.

An intense hunger, an insatiable appetite, and the joy and ecstasy of knowing it could soon satiate all those cravings.

The Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers beneath the water opened their mouths wide, waiting for the demons.

[W-what?]

[What is this!?]

[Aaargh! What power is this!?]

[……Save me!]

The demons who transformed into birds and soared into the sky, found themselves being dragged towards the water’s surface by tenacious vines that had already ensnared their ankles.

Crunch-

One Bloodsoaked Jade Flower closed its mouth.

A demon was caught inside, instantly turning into a bloody pulp.

[Ah……]

The demon trembled as he looked down at his lower body, now crushed like meat about to be made into haggis.

Crushed flesh, shattered bones, and dark blood mixed together, streaming down.

The more their prey despaired and panicked, the more the Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers shook with delight, extending their vines once again.

Schlorp-

The demons who had ascended to the sky were dragged down once more.

[When did these vines wrap around my ankles!?]

[It must have happened when we fell into the water!]

[We can’t break free! Damn it, they’re so tough!]

[Aaaargh! I’m being dragged again! Aaah……!]

Countless Bloodsoaked Jade flowers formed a colony, devouring the demons one by one.

Splash- Splash- Splash- Splash-

The river quickly turned black with the blood of the demons.

Watching this hellish scene, Isotrope could only gape wide.

Hanging on for dear life in midair, his ankles, wings, and torso were all entwined with Bloodsoaked Jade Flower vines.

[This can’t be! Where did these things come from……!?]

Isotrope looked at Vikir with trembling eyes.

But Vikir didn’t bother to answer.

Before Madeline and the demon legion of the Usher family pursued Bianca, he had planted the seeds of the Bloodsoaked Jade Flower in the dried-up lakebed of Lake Doc during the waterworks.

‘No matter how severe the drought, the bottom of Lake Doc doesn’t crack like that.’

Lake Doc had never dried up in thousands of years.

Seeing such a lakebed dried and cracked should have raised suspicion.

It happened because the seeds of the Bloodsoaked Jade Flower absorbed even the minimal moisture from the lakebed as they sprouted.

And now, having finally encountered water, the Bloodsoaked Jade flowers were blooming magnificently.

Devouring the demon colony to satisfy their hunger.

“You weren’t vigilant enough.”

At Vikir’s words, Isotrope’s eyes bulged in fury.

[You bastard! Don’t act so nonchalant! Do you think humans can escape these monsters!?]

The Bloodsoaked Jade flowers clearly favored humans.

Judging by the size of their mouths and the array of teeth inside, they were unmistakably carnivorous.

However.

– Ptooey!

Something astonishing happened.

A soldier from the Donquixote clan, who had accidentally slipped into the water, was caught by a Bloodsoaked Jade Flower.

The lotus, trying to draw the soldier into its mouth with its vines, suddenly paused, stuck out its tongue, and licked the soldier once.

Then, as if it had touched something inedible, it threw the soldier back onto the water’s surface.

[……? ……? ……?]

As Isotrope watched a soldier desperately crawl ashore, he blinked in bewilderment.

It seemed he couldn’t even speak, trying to withstand the pull of the vines.

“Well done.”

Seeing the Bloodsoaked Jade Flower spit out a human, Vikir nodded.

Then, behind Vikir, someone stood with a confident expression and puffed out chest.

Minipin. Minipin Baskerville.

An expert on monster ecology, he spoke with pride.

“Ah, it was a lot of work, you know. Modifying their taste preferences. We changed it so that humans would taste disgusting to them, while demons would taste delicious and savory. This did reduce the size of the individual plants, but over generations, this has been largely compensated for. And, well…”

MiniPin explained his extensive efforts in detail, but Vikir filtered out the core points.

MiniPin had conducted many experiments in the underground safety facilities of Tochka, cultivating the Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers Vikir brought. Banshee Morg, a professor of demonology, also sent his dedicated research team to support these experiments fully.

As a result, MiniPin was able to select and breed Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers that had less of a craving for human blood. Over generations, their aggression towards humans diminished. Additionally, when feeding them human blood, a foul-tasting substance was added, while demon blood was supplemented with other foods the Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers preferred. This led to the Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers being tamed both naturally and artificially.

These Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers, now tamed both innately and through conditioning, had fundamentally changed.

Thwack!

Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers would now shy away from humans as if losing their appetite.

But their frenzy for demon blood was almost maddening.

[Ugh… Ughhh!]

Isotrope, entangled in four vines, frantically flapped his wings.

Using his immense demon strength, he broke free from the vines.

Shlorp!

Even with two thick vines tightening around his neck, Isotrope did not relent.

[I… I am the last loyal retainer serving Lady Madeline! I will subjugate and rule over inferior humans! I will not die here! I cannot die! The world is mine! My time has come! I have waited so long for this day, for this era!]

However.

“An opportunity?”

A cold voice interrupted from in front of Isotrope.

Bianca, the last heir of the Usher family, stood there.

She raised her bow and arrow, facing Isotrope.

“Opportunities don’t come just by waiting.”

[…?]

Isotrope’s shaky eyes turned towards Bianca below.

Bianca aimed her arrow at Isotrope.

“You seize them. Like this.”

Simultaneously, Bianca squeezed out all her remaining aura.

Thwack!

An arrow shot through the air, piercing through the gap, and struck precisely between Isotrope’s eyebrows.

Thud!

His skull cracked, and its contents spilled out.

[Ugh! Ughhh!]

Even so, Isotrope endured. He held on.

Despite his head breaking and his brains spilling out, he survived with the supernatural vitality unique to demons.

…However.

Bianca’s fury towards the traitor of her family was not something that could be quenched so easily.

Thud!

A second shot followed the first.

Thud!

Then a third.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Countless arrows targeted the same spot.

In the end.

[Ahhh! No!]

Even Isotrope, who withstood six vines, fell.

Below him, many Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers gathered, drooling and smiling.

—

Crunch- Crunch- Crackle!

Though Isotrope’s body was singular, the mouths eager to chew, bite, and savor it were numerous.

Isotrope’s demise marked the beginning.

The demons started to be systematically cleansed.

Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers danced, entwining the pieces of demon bodies with their vines.

The water darkened and became even more foul-smelling.

Vikir watched the Bloodsoaked Jade Flower colony and asked, “How should we collect those? Do I need to handle it myself?”

“There’s no need for collection. The modified Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers have a short lifespan and will wither within a month without demon blood.”

“What about the possibility of spreading seeds and disrupting the surrounding ecosystem?”

“None. They’re all seedless. To put it in human terms, they’re like men without their two peanuts.”

“….”

For some reason, Vikir thought it was not a pleasant analogy.

[Tl/N: Bro has PTSD from Dolores trying to cut his own peanuts numerous times]

In any case, the demons hiding within the Usher family started to be purged completely.

Those knights of the Usher family who were merely brainwashed and couldn’t escape the current were caught by the roots and vines of the Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers downstream and managed to survive.

However.

[Something doesn’t feel right.]

Decarabia, sitting on Vikir’s chest, began to roll its eyes.

“What is it?”

[Most of the demons seem to be eradicated… but the core source of the demonic energy hasn’t been purified at all.]

Almost simultaneously, Camus, who had been standing nearby with a bored expression, glanced at Sere, who was tapping her shoulder.

“What’s with you, brat? Do you want to die?”

At Camus’s words, Sere immediately looked crestfallen, but despite the scolding, she mustered the courage to point her finger.

Vikir and Camus’s gazes followed.

There, the current was raging violently.

Some of the larger Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers seemed to have found an especially enticing scent and hurriedly extended their vines and jaws towards the center of the whirlpool.

Just then.

BOOM!

The Bloodsoaked Jade Flowers that had gathered in one place were torn to shreds.

Falling petals.

Even the larger specimens were shredded like tissue paper, as something shot up into the sky like a beam of light.

[Hohohoho— Seems like it took a while to manifest in my true form due to the decayed body.]

Madeline Usher… no…

The main culprit behind the downfall of the Usher family.

The usurper who persistently sought to take over Bianca’s body.

And one of the key figures who led the era of destruction in the past.

[‘Third Corpse’ Andrealphus]

Danger Level: S+

Size: ?

Location Found: Deep within the Gate of Destruction, ‘Womb of the Serpent’

– Also known as ‘The Third Corpse.’

One of the ten calamities known as humanity’s arch-nemesis, the inexplicable, the unkillable.

“Hail will fall.”

– 『Ten Commandments』 10: Up –

The third corpse. ‘Ice Duke’ Andrealphus.

The third of the Ten demon lords had finally revealed his true form.