MADWD 77

Chapter 77

“Under the domain?”

“Yes. Underground. Deep below.”

Ulken explained the reports from his soldiers.

“Between the Demon King’s castle outpost and the farmlands—basically the outskirts—there have been a series of earthquakes. The tremors are mild, though.”

“Oh, right…”

Ariella recalled her morning.

“When I was in Cecile’s workshop earlier, I felt two tremors in just a short time.”

Ulken nodded.
“That new building of hers, right? Its location matches exactly what I just described.”

“Yes, it’s outside the main residential area but still inside the Ents’ guarded borders.”

Cecile, who practically lived in her workshop, had said these tremors had been happening a lot lately.

Ariella, however, was puzzled.

She had never felt one before today.

“That is strange. This land has always been barren and lifeless, but there’s never been any record of earthquakes.”

Ulken spread out a map.
“Look. If you mark all the places where the tremors happened in order, it looks like this.”

The dots formed a long, winding line.

Ariella studied the pattern carefully.
“It’s… moving.”

If these were natural earthquakes, they wouldn’t create such an orderly trail.

Usually, tremors would happen at random locations, with no clear pattern.

But the marks Ulken made formed a black line that looked like it had been drawn in one continuous stroke.

It moved back and forth, always keeping a certain distance from the Demon King’s Castle.

Sometimes, it even circled back to places it had already passed.

“We believe it’s a massive underground monster. The tremors follow the path it digs as it tunnels through the ground.”

Ariella frowned deeply.

That explained why Hatchling hadn’t spotted it.

A monster moving underground couldn’t be seen from the sky.

It also explained how it got past the Ents’ defensive barrier.

“I overlooked that… If it’s burrowing deeper than the Ent roots, then of course they wouldn’t sense it.”

Ulken said he had gone to investigate right after one of the tremors.

With his sharp werewolf hearing, far better than any other demon, he had caught strange, deep vibrations underground.

“I heard the breathing of a huge creature. I tried digging into the ground, but then there was another tremor. After that, the sound vanished. It must have sensed me and moved away.”

Ludwig spoke up.
“Do you have any idea what kind of monster it is?”

“If I’d caught its scent, I’d know. But with only sound… I can’t say for sure. One thing is certain—it’s enormous. That’s why it’s causing tremors.”

Ludwig turned to Richmond.
“Richmond. Any guesses?”

Richmond, who had devoted his entire life to studying life and death, knew countless creatures.

“A giant beast that digs underground… Shall I start with the worst-case scenario?”

“Go ahead.”

“A Sand Dragon.”

The mention of dragons drew a quick shake of the head from Ariella.

“That’s definitely the worst-case scenario. And after the incident with Caliserd, there’s no reason for a dragon to be digging under our domain. That would be a declaration of war.”

Hatchling was already an unusual exception. Normally, dragons—whether they lived in the sky or underground—didn’t dwell in a Demon King’s territory.

If one entered without warning or invitation, it was no different from declaring battle.

That’s why Richmond had called it the worst case.

But the idea seemed unlikely. Even Richmond admitted it.

“A Sand Dragon prefers desert terrain. Long ago, perhaps, but not now. Our land is fertile and full of life—hardly appealing to a dragon. Besides, they don’t rely on external magic. They have their own ‘magic furnace’ in their hearts.”

However, monsters were different.

“Most underground monsters are drawn to lands rich in life and magic,” Richmond explained.

“They’re attracted to food sources and the magic itself.”

He listed a few examples.

“Earth Worm, Giant Rock Lizard, Cave Behemoth, Dead Eater, Earth Serpent, Tunnel Swarm, Land Shifter, Crystal Golem, Shade Titan, Stone Lurker…”

The list went on and on.

Ludwig looked increasingly troubled, while Ariella made a mental note of all the names she didn’t recognize.

I’ll look all of these up in the library later, she promised herself.

Before, she would have studied them out of pure curiosity and love for knowledge.

Now, these monsters were a real threat.

“Are there really that many underground monsters?” she asked.

“Don’t forget, this is the Demon Realm,” Richmond replied. “Compared to the human world, this place is on another level. And I only listed the large ones. I didn’t include the small creatures that dig in swarms.”

Ulken interrupted.
“I think we can rule that out. What I sensed wasn’t a swarm. It was a single monster.”

Ludwig made his decision.
“We need to find it and drive it out, quickly.”

Thankfully, there hadn’t been any casualties yet.

But who knew when the creature would surface and attack someone?

“Deploy soldiers to track it. Send out an announcement to the people of the domain. If they feel a tremor, they must report it to the castle immediately.”

Ariella spoke up.
“Has anything like this ever happened before?”

Richmond, who had lived here longer than anyone, answered.

“No. In the past, there was no reason for underground monsters to come here. This land was too barren to attract them.”

“But now, it’s full of life and magic,” Ariella said.

“That’s what’s drawing them in,” Richmond agreed.

“Hmm… I guess this is the price of growth.”

The Demon King’s domain was thriving. Crops were flourishing. The population was growing.

But with prosperity came unwelcome guests.

When fruit ripens, flies always come.

Pests could be killed easily enough.

But this time, the “pest” is far too large.

The next day.

Someone walked toward Cecile’s workshop.

The visitor was alone.

A gray robe covered their body from head to toe, hiding their figure completely.

Even that wasn’t enough. Bandages were wrapped tightly around their exposed skin.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

They knocked softly on the workshop door.

But Cecile, absorbed in her work, didn’t respond.

Inside, the sound of hammering and magic tools echoed loudly.

The visitor knocked again, this time harder.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At last, the noises inside stopped.

“Yes, coming!”

Cecile’s footsteps approached.

Though her mouth was dry and no saliva formed anymore, the visitor instinctively swallowed.

The door flew open.

“Lady Ariella? You mentioned yesterday you’d come, but I didn’t think you’d arrive so soon—”

Her cheerful voice froze.

Cecile’s smile vanished instantly.

The person standing there was not Ariella.

The figure stood in the sunlight, the smell of heavy perfume wafting from their body. They had sprayed so much, it was clear they were trying to cover another smell.

Most of their face was hidden by bandages.

The small part that was visible was their eyes.

Their skin was much darker than that of an ordinary demon, and their features were distorted.

Their pupils were pale and cloudy, like someone suffering from cataracts.

But the eyes alone were enough.

Even though much had changed, she recognized those eyes.

Cecile’s hands clenched into fists. Her voice was sharp and cold.

“Why are you here? Leave.”

“Ce…cile!”

The bandaged man spoke with desperation.

“Please… give me… a moment… to talk…”

“I have nothing to say to you. Delivering your message to Mr. Gnome was already more than enough.”