I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 218: And the opening (1)

"...."

Why is Edel here...?

I blinked in surprise at the unexpected appearance of someone.

"It's been a while!"

"...Has it really been a while?"

I answered half-dazed, and Edel waved her hand with a bright smile, like she was meeting an old friend.

Of course, it's not like Edel and I had a strained relationship, but that doesn't mean we're at the level where she'd greet me so enthusiastically either.

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I had criticized her for being incompetent, but I never wished for her to go crazy, so I worriedly asked her.

"...Did you eat something wrong?"

But despite my reaction, the smile on Edel's face didn't fade.

"Since you're here, I guess my message reached you after all."

"Was that message from you, Edel?"

"Of course, I sent it. Who else would send it?"

"An angel...?"

What is that supposed to mean?

"Are you sure you didn't mean 'corpse'? Because it didn't really seem like you were alive."

"...Well..."

Edel trailed off at the end of her sentence, as if she didn't really want to talk about it.

"That's just how it happened."

"...I don't really understand what you mean, but anyway, what happened here?"

"I was just about to explain. But..."

Edel scanned the surroundings.

I also looked around.

I couldn't tell if Edel had dealt with the Dimensional Beast herself, but the debris and blood that had fallen to the ground had disappeared.

However, the aftereffects it left behind hadn't fully vanished, and the ground was still chaotic.

And among the crowd that had gathered, many were looking up at us.

'Can't blame them.'

From the Earthlings' perspective, bizarre things were happening in succession—giant arms suddenly protruding from the sky, pieces of them being sliced and falling, a woman in radiant light emerging from the darkness, and even people standing as if the sky were the ground, talking...

It wouldn't be strange for them to be absent-mindedly watching, considering the absurdity of it all.

I feel like I'm dividing sides just by mentioning Earthlings, but what can I do, it's the truth.

"-Shall we move to a different place?"

This doesn't seem like a good place to have a conversation.

Edel said, still glowing, and I nodded.

And so we arrived at the Demonis building.

Once Edel entered the office, she sighed deeply as soon as she sat down in the chair.

"Hoo..."

"So..."

"Hold on, hold on. I know you're curious, but let's catch our breath first."

"...?"

...Do gods even breathe?

I briefly thought about that, but I didn't comment on it.

After taking a few deep breaths, Edel opened her mouth again after a brief pause—not too short, but not too long either.

"I just came back from outside the dimension."

"I had a feeling that might be the case."

When I first saw Edel unexpectedly appear, I was stunned and temporarily froze, but after thinking about it, I couldn't come up with any other reason for her to be out there.

The most plausible reason seemed to be "to stop an invasion," but if that were the case, she wouldn't have had to go beyond the wall.

"Was this the message you tried to give me during our last call?"

"It's a bit different, but it's related."

If it's related, did she perhaps want to leave a will or something?

I didn't think that was likely, but part of me couldn't shake the thought that maybe there was a possibility.

"Did you just want to get some fresh air after being cooped up here?"

At my words, Edel let out a chuckle.

It wasn’t really a joke, though.

"I went to scout the Dimensional Beasts. You know the saying, 'Know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated'? After getting beaten last time, I thought I couldn't just stay here. Honestly, I was always in that position, but I couldn't do anything because I couldn't convince the Manager."

"...? Scout?"

I wasn't questioning the need for reconnaissance. Knowing the enemy's movements is crucial.

Especially when it's a war where lives are at stake.

Knowing the enemy's strength, their strategies, and the weapons they possess can minimize the damage on my side and maximize the damage on theirs.

But what I was wondering was why Edel was the one doing it.

Edel's position would be comparable to that of a vice-captain in a knight's order, but it's the first time I've heard of a vice-captain infiltrating enemy lines to gather intelligence.

"...Hmm."

...Now that I think about it, I guess it makes sense.

A vice-captain and a regular knight are ultimately the same in terms of life.

It’s natural for the vice-captain to be stronger than a regular knight, and it’s also natural for reconnaissance behind enemy lines to be dangerous...

So, if I think of it as a kind and considerate vice-captain taking on the mission to protect a regular knight’s life, then, yes, I can understand.

"Why did you stop talking so seriously all of a sudden?"

"...Nothing."

"You’re not fooling anyone, are you?"

Edel, who had been suspiciously staring at me, relaxed her furrowed brow.

"I know it's a risky job. But only the Manager and I can withstand the Dimensional Whirlpool, so I had no choice. I couldn’t just let the Manager handle it."

"Well... if that’s the reason."

"You understood it surprisingly quickly."

"Well, it’s not like I’m holding a hearing or anything."

I was more curious about why someone important took matters into their own hands, but I had no intention of interrogating her.

So, it’s only natural I’d understand without much resistance.

I casually replied and then asked Edel again.

"Did you find anything out?"

"Of course."

"...Eh?"

It’s obvious, but just because you go on a scouting mission doesn’t mean you'll get valuable information from it.

The enemy knows the importance of information too, so they’re desperately trying to hide it.

Because of this, trying to gather meaningful information just from a distant glance is limited. To get anything worthwhile, you need to take risks and go in.

'If it were easy, everyone and their dog would be doing it.'

So when I heard that Edel had gone on a reconnaissance mission, I didn’t expect much.

But lo and behold, she said confidently that she had learned something, and I couldn't help but be surprised.

Whether she knew I was skeptical or not, Edel continued indifferently.

"I always thought it was strange. Even if they didn't know about their existence, how could they break through the wall I built and invade my world so easily? ...Am I really that weak?"

Her calm voice did not sound calm at all.

The emotion in her voice was anything but indifferent. It was calm but intense, full of passion.

I fell silent for a moment, feeling the weight of her words. Then, pretending not to notice, I changed the subject.

"Finding the headquarters must have been difficult."

It seemed that effort paid off because the emotion in her voice faded entirely as she answered my question.

"It wasn't easy. But, come on, who am I? I've fought these guys endlessly. If I couldn't do this, then the name 'Edel' would be in vain. I probably know more about them than their own mothers."

"...Hmm."

Is that a crude joke or not?

It’s a pretty ambiguous statement, so I gave her an equally ambiguous look.

While I was doing that, Edel's story continued.

"Do you know where I ended up following their traces? A dimension. It was completely destroyed, without even the walls to protect it."

"Can we really call that a dimension? It's like saying a place with no roof or walls is a house."

"Well, if there are memories tied to it, can’t it be called a home?"

"Is that so?"

"'Is that so?' What’s that supposed to mean? I was just saying it, so don’t take it seriously."

I tried to humor her, but the response was blunt.

So it was only natural that my voice came out blunt as well.

"...I kind of expected there to be a headquarters. But from what I've heard so far, I don't think you’ve uncovered anything too special."

"As I mentioned before, the dimensional wall doesn’t only block external invaders. It also keeps the internal energy from leaking out. And it serves other purposes too. But if there’s no wall..."

"So, it's like a house with no roof or walls."

I repeated my earlier comment.

You might recognize a building that's just a bare skeleton as a house, but how many people would actually call it a house?

"If you were the homeowner, what would you do? Would you just leave it alone?"

"Are you crazy?"

"That’s the thing. Moving to another house would be the best option, but if you can’t do that, you’d have to repair it. But if you just left it as it is, what does that mean?"

She asked me, but before I had the chance to answer, she continued.

"Either the homeowner can’t repair it, or there’s no homeowner."

"Hold on. For that guess to be true, shouldn’t we be sure that it's their headquarters? They could have made a nest in the devoured dimension."

"Don’t worry about that. If you saw it yourself, you would have immediately understood. 'Ah, this is their headquarters.'"

"...Hmm. I don’t really understand, but I’ll take your word for it."

"That’s the spirit."

"..."

I didn’t think I’d be able to get past this.

I glared at her with narrowed eyes like I was scolding a child, but eventually relaxed my gaze.

I had a lot of questions and more to think about, but I figured if I kept interrupting, it would never end.

"So..."

I listened to Edel's words and tried to organize my thoughts.

"So, something happened to the god who manages their dimension, [N O V E L I G H T] and because of that, they're invading other dimensions?"

"That's the best-case scenario."

Edel's answer was neither positive nor negative.

I was about to get frustrated at her vague answer, but before I could, Edel spoke again.

"Their god... I ate it."