I'm Not an Earthworm, I'm an Earth Dragon

“…Witch of Swords. There is no reason for you to stop us. We are not here to harm you… but to harm them and reclaim what was originally ours. So please step aside.”

“Oh my. What are you talking about? There are plenty of reasons for me to stop you. First of all, you are rude. When visiting someone’s house, you knock and ask if you can enter. Isn’t that obvious? Was there no one to teach you? Or did you just not bother to learn?”

“You…! How dare you, a mere human…”

“Elise. Do not overstep. Have you forgotten that you too have human blood flowing through you? My apologies, Witch of Swords. We were rude. We would like to ask for your permission now. Before that, we would like to capture them, if you would allow us.”

“Don’t you think it’s absurd to ask for permission after you’ve already set foot in someone else’s house? And there is an order to things. Apologizing to me should obviously come first. Moreover, I haven’t even begun to question the sin of bringing not one, but a whole herd of beasts into a place where people live.”

A fierce war of nerves was going on, enough to make anyone who heard it shudder. However, the one who had the overwhelming advantage in that fight was, as expected, the Witch of Swords.

Despite the presence of so many magic beasts and… other pure-blooded demon race members that I had never seen before, the demons were trying to avoid a fight with her as much as possible, taking a low stance.

“Oh. What, are these the extras who came out to congratulate me on clearing the labyrinth? It doesn’t seem like it, seeing as they’re fighting amongst themselves. Besides, that red-haired woman over there… is. Hmm.”

“Oh my. Being treated as an extra and called a red-haired woman. Even for you, you shouldn’t say such things in your current state.”

“…Right. I apologize, Witch of Swords. I forgot for a moment because of various things that have happened.”

Aside from the pressure that made even Akash crawl, they knew each other? I was shocked to find that there was a place where Akash wasn’t involved.

“Um… Witch of Swords…? I apologize for interrupting, but we would like to avoid getting involved in this dispute and leave peacefully, if you would allow us?”

Since numerous swords were ominously flying around, ready to cut down anything that moved, I politely asked the Witch of Swords if we could leave.

“Of course, polite child. Go ahead. Since you seem to have found what you want, handle it with care so it doesn’t get taken away.”

“Where do you think you’re going? You thieves!”

As soon as I took a step, a huge black barrier blocked my way. At the same time, the swords rushed towards the demons, and the magic beasts barely managed to block the swords by throwing their bodies.

“Moreover, to call the first guest a thief. I can’t just let this go. I don’t like fighting, but I can’t run away from those who attack first.”

Hmm. It looks like quietly passing through is out of the question.

“Everyone. Let’s get out of here by any means necessary! Akash, is teleportation possible?”

“That demon bastard locked down the entire area. The only way is to break through by force. But don’t worry too much. That Witch of Swords… is on our side. That woman has even caught a dragon before.”

Then am I someone who survived after being beaten by such a person? I should be proud of myself.

“So it has come to this…! Elise. Stop them. I will deal with that witch!”

“B-but I can’t handle them…!”

“Will you face the witch then?”

The demons seemed to have finished dividing their roles, and the male demon rushed towards the witch, then a black sphere enveloped them and they disappeared.

Most of the swords disappeared somewhere along with the witch, but some still remained, floating around.

“Hey, mongrel. It’s been a while. Is that your precious one? Huh?”

Perhaps feeling that there was no need to wear the mask that was broken last time, the demon was expressing her twisted hatred with her mouth.

Akash shot a carelessly made arrow at her like last time, as if telling a silly joke, but the demon called Elise responded this time by shooting down the arrow.

“Shut up. Attack, beasts! Eat them all, leaving no bone fragments, except for the purple-haired one!”

Akash smacked his lips as if it were a pity, and muttered that it didn’t work. Somehow, it seems like we’ve provoked her even more.

“Altera, Yuna! Get ready! Akash, deal with the situation as you see fit! Let’s break through while protecting the doll!”

Yuna drew a vicious bow that could be used as a weapon, and Altera drew several greatswords, each taking a fighting stance.

The black wall had disappeared, but it didn’t really matter since beasts were already rushing in from all sides.

There weren’t any monsters that were particularly dangerous, but there were just too many of them.

I also drew an ominous-looking sword. Except for a few, the monsters weren’t particularly dangerous, so it would be best to protect this doll and Akash.

“You brought so many. Hey, buy me some time. I’ll take care of that demon woman.”

Akash floated a book in the air and muttered something, seeming to prepare a large spell.

The rushing monsters showed no signs of slowing down, despite Yuna’s arrows, Altera’s thrown greatswords, and the upheaved earth.

There was even one that was running with a dangling leg that was almost cut off.

Altera threw all but two greatswords and charged into the enemy lines alone, and Yuna held her arrows like spears, stabbing and slashing the approaching monsters with her bow.

I also cut them down with my sword as much as I could. Trusting the defensive capabilities of my coat, I tried to take their attacks as much as possible, when I suddenly realized that my sword wasn’t glowing.

Is that important right now? I swung my sword and cut off the head of one, then pierced the head of another that was aiming for the doll and Akash. Still, Yuna and Altera were dealing with most of the beasts, so it was easier on this side.

But Yuna seemed to be struggling. She was panting with wounds all over her body, and it looked like she could get seriously hurt at any moment.

Last time, they ran away when I hit them a bit. Now, they didn’t show any signs of doing so, perhaps because they were under orders from above.

Should I join her? But then there would be no one to protect Akash and the doll. Besides, I’m already struggling to deal with the ones rushing at me now, how could I possibly help Yuna who is dealing with far more?

She probably won’t die from that. But she could get seriously injured. Even now, she was bleeding from being scratched and bitten all over.

Realistically, Altera helping would be the most ideal, but it seemed impossible since about half of the beast horde was already swarming Altera.

Altera, whose form I could vaguely see, was swinging a blood-red greatsword with her arms and legs wrapped in scales.

Is there anything I can do?

As I was thinking, shoving my sword into the maw of a rushing beast, the doll, which had been silent until now, pointed its finger at Yuna.

And then, it shot something.

– – – –

None of them are strong individually. Each attack couldn’t even penetrate my magic barrier, let alone tear through my body weakened from using magic.

But there were just too many of them. Killing one would just make three more rush in and bite me, which was quite annoying.

To make matters worse, while I was fine, the damage was steadily accumulating on Yuna. I tried to help her from time to time by making the nearby earth rise, but it seemed far from enough.

I even lost a greatsword after impaling it in a large one’s body, and after that, I just wrapped my limbs in scales and tore and smashed everything in sight, but there seemed to be no end to them, no matter how many I killed.

Moreover, from some point on, I was stepping on the corpses of beasts instead of the earth, making it difficult to support her with magic.

Then, suddenly, I felt a huge flow of magic coming from Akash’s direction. For a moment, I thought it was aimed at me.

I stomped the ground hard to create a shockwave to shake off the beasts, and soon a dazzling flash of light burst from Akash’s book.

And that flash struck the demon’s barrier. It seemed to be holding, but it was cracking and breaking in real time, so it didn’t look like it could last long.

The demon seemed to be concentrating on blocking it, but then, realizing that it wouldn’t be enough, screamed like last time and ran away.

Then I felt a change in the beasts surrounding me. Until just now, the beasts were rushing in as if death were a joke, but now, as I killed them, their attacks gradually weakened as if they were trying to slink away.

“Hmm. I was aiming to kill with that one. Did he manage to fix the barrier in the meantime?”

With a little more room to breathe, I looked towards Yuna and saw that her wounds had disappeared. She was definitely covered in wounds just a moment ago.

Still, I was worried if she would be okay because there were still so many of them, when the swords floating in the air started to move on their own, sweeping away the beasts near Yuna.

What?

“I was a little late because I got caught up in something annoying. But it looks like you managed to solve it somehow. Well done. I’ll praise you.”

Was it not moving on its own, but the witch controlling it?

When the witch returned, the beasts, no matter how dazed they were, seemed to be afraid, or maybe they were just avoiding the flying swords, but they all ran away.

“What did you do to that demon…?”

“I just played along for a bit, and he ran away with his tail between his legs. Seeing as that demon who was harassing you is also gone, he must have run away too. What a shame. I had a chance to turn a demon into a wax figure.”

“Th-thank you for your help! But, why did you help us…?”

Knowing that the situation was over, Myungho thanked the witch and asked why she had helped them.

“Because they were rude. And, I can’t let a work created by my friend be destroyed. That’s all.”

I still couldn’t believe that my mother had such a crazy woman as a friend. How could that benevolent person…

“…What was that just now? My wounds suddenly healed. It can’t be Akash’s magic… Could it be that the doll did it?”

“I’m not sure, but it seems like it. As Akash said, it seems to be able to heal as well. Yuna, are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m not. I feel as refreshed as if I just woke up from a good sleep.”

“If a person tells you something, believe them.”

Anyway, it’s a relief that it ended without any major problems. When the wave of beasts came, I was worried if we could all make it out safely.

-♩♬♪

“…Huh? What did you say? You need everyone’s blood…?”

Just when I thought it was going to end on a good note, the doll sang and casually asked us to offer our blood.