Chapter 187. Resurrection
［Beep!］
The Medical Angel released a pink liquid.
The liquid, wriggling as if alive, gently enveloped all the corpses scattered around the resurrection site.
Soon, the corpses merged into the liquid, and the dispersed liquid coalesced into a giant sphere.
The pink sphere slowly melted and disappeared.
From within, a single monster emerged with a serene expression, its eyes closed.
The monster was Lionheart.
【Mysticism】─It’s Lionheart! 😮
【Hwang Mir】─Oh, it’s a perfect resurrection! Medical Angel is truly divine!
【Bubble Bubble】─Lionheart took the dishonor of being the first to resurrect.
【Rizenova】─And the dishonor of being the first monster under Lord Gauntlet to die.
【Luna-chan】─Huh? So no monsters have died until now?
【Pururu】─ㅇㅇ None.
【Yumi】─As expected.
【Mysticism】─🤔 What do you mean “as expected”?
【Yumi】─To be honest, I somewhat expected Lionheart to be the first to die. Ever since I saw him constantly getting caught by the Dollmaker last time, I’ve been really uneasy.
【Yumi】─Frankly, it’s amazing he even survived until now.
【Pururu】─ㄹㅇㅋㅋ
【Pururu】─In my opinion, Lionheart is the weakest in the Ancient Labyrinth.
I also expected Lionheart to be the first to face death.
It always seemed like it was only a matter of time.
Every time Lionheart went on an expedition from the desert village, he would return nearly dead.
Each time, Medical Angel would come over to the desert village to heal him.
He had barely scraped through every time, but luck doesn’t last forever.
［H-How is this possible? I was sure I had died…］
Lionheart regained consciousness.
He fumbled over his body, looking around with a dumbfounded expression.
“I told you last time, didn’t I? If you’re equipped with Omega’s device, you’ll return here upon death.”
［Ah… Then Medical Angel resurrected me?］
“That’s right.”
At Lionheart’s question, I nodded.
Realizing the situation, Lionheart immediately dropped to his knees and bowed his head deeply to the ground, expressing his gratitude to Medical Angel and me.
［Thank you! Truly, thank you so much! I don’t know how I can ever repay this grace…!］
［Beep-boop.］
【Luna-chan】─Oof. His head must hurt.
【Mir-Stin】─He’s going to break the ground.
【Pururu】─Is he really just a gratitude-only monster? Honestly, he seems the most useless.
【Yumi】─I think Lionheart will never be able to repay the favor. Just not dying is enough to help Mr. Geon.
【Mysticism】─😐
I sighed and helped Lionheart to his feet.
“There’s no need for thanks, so stop. Instead, tell me where, by whom, and how you died. Explain the details.”
［Ah, I understand. I will explain everything. But first, thank you once again.］
Lionheart stood and bowed his head respectfully, once again expressing his gratitude.
Then, he began explaining his experience in detail from the beginning.
［First of all, I went out on a dispatch expedition today.］
“A dispatch expedition?”
［Yes, I went to assist the exploration of the Hehehexxilshiiik group.］
Hehehexxilshiiik.
That was the real name of the Dog Spider species.
“You went to help the Dog Spiders? Why?”
［There wasn’t any special reason. I just wanted to strengthen our camaraderie by exploring together.］
“······.”
I found it slightly baffling but didn’t bother addressing the fact that he joined the Dog Spiders’ expedition without informing me.
The tamed monsters and I were more like friends.
The monsters didn’t have to report every action to me, nor did I have the right to interfere in their actions.
Besides, I knew that today was Lionheart’s day off.
In other words, it was his rest day.
Helping another exploration team on his day off was commendable.
Of course.
Going there only to die and return meant I felt no inclination to praise him.
［Ahem… I apologize for acting on my own without informing you.］
“No need to apologize. So, what happened while exploring with the Dog Spiders?”
［······We encountered a Hehehexxilshaaaaak.］
“A Hehehexxilshaaaaak? Are you talking about the evolved form of Dog Spiders?”
［Exactly. The Hehehexxilshiiik we were with had evolved into Hehehexxilshaaaaak.］
“Don’t tell me you died to one of them?”
Lionheart tightly shut his eyes.
Then, bowing his head, he answered.
［Yes, I was killed by the Hehehexxilshaaaaak. It was an enemy we couldn’t possibly handle. I made the Hehehexxilshiiik retreat and stayed behind alone to face the Hehehexxilshaaaaak… and met my end.］
【Pururu】─Ugh, these names are so confusing.
【Pururu】─You should just call Hehehexxilshiiik Dog Spider already.
【Mysticism】─😠
【Yumi】─Why does he insist on calling them Hehehexxilshiiik when he knows the name Dog Spider?
【Bubble Bubble】─Maybe he’s just more familiar with that name.
【Hwang Mir】─With long, strange, and similar names like these, it’s hard to understand what Lionheart is even saying.
Hearing Lionheart’s explanation, I paused to organize the information in my head and spoke again.
“Something’s off…”
［What do you mean by that?］
Hehehexxilshaaaaak.
I had encountered that species long ago, back when Necro Puppet Master was still Psycho Clown, long before it became one of my tamed monsters.
Necro had described Hehehexxilshaaaaak as “a creature as gentle as the Dog Spiders,” assuring me that, despite its SS-grade threat level, it could be easily tamed.
Not only Necro.
Several of the Dog Spiders I had tamed had also met Hehehexxilshaaaaak and unanimously praised it as a saintly creature.
And yet.
To hear that Lionheart died fighting such a being.
Neither the Dog Spiders nor Lionheart would have been the ones to initiate the fight.
Even if the opponent did attack first, Hehehexxilshaaaaak was known to only subdue its foes without killing them.
Thus, the situation Lionheart described didn’t add up.
I shared this information with Lionheart.
He nodded slightly and said,
［That information is accurate. I, too, have encountered Hehehexxilshaaaaak before, and the one I met was very gentle. For context, the one I met didn’t get angry even when I kept hitting it on the head.］
【Pururu】─Why were you hitting its head?
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Yumi】─I think I’m starting to understand why Lionheart always ends up in dangerous situations…
【Hwang Mir】─I thought he was a polite monster, but it turns out he might actually be someone who picks fights with others.
【Rizenova】─Perhaps he’s just overly curious.
“Then what’s with this one? Is it some kind of mutant?”
Lionheart hesitated before responding.
［Not a mutant… more like its personality seems to have changed for some reason. There were Dog Spiders who knew this Hehehexxilshaaaaak, and they initially approached it happily, calling it a kind friend.］
During their escape from Hehehexxilshaaaaak’s indiscriminate attacks,
One of the Dog Spiders remarked, “That Hehehexxilshaaaaak does seem like my old friend, but for some reason, its personality has suddenly changed.”
Hearing this, I found the situation even more perplexing.
“What could cause such a drastic personality change…”
More questions arose.
For now, answers seemed unattainable without confronting Hehehexxilshaaaaak directly.
“Anyway, seeing that the Dog Spiders haven’t returned here, it seems they managed to escape safely.”
［It was thanks to me buying time. Watching me sacrifice myself, they were all crying waterfalls as they retreated. That scene is still vivid in my mind.］
For some reason, Lionheart smirked slyly.
It was an oddly mischievous smile.
【Bubble Bubble】─He’s got it, doesn’t he?
【Yumi】─What’s “it”?
【Bubble Bubble】─That thing where people feel satisfied by sacrificing themselves for others.
【Yumi】─Oh my.
【Yumi】─I think we’ve uncovered the real reason Lionheart constantly ends up in dangerous situations.
【Mysticism】─😱 He gets off on sacrificing himself?
【Hwang Mir】─Wow… does that kind of thing really exist?
【Pururu】─ㅇㅇ Elise has that kink. If Bubble Bubble knows this much, it must be true.
【Bubble Bubble】─I don’t have that kink. I only know about it because someone I know has it.
While Lionheart continued laughing foolishly, the Elephant Merchant, who had been quietly listening nearby, muttered to himself.
［Hmm… for something like a Hehehexxilshaaaaak to suddenly change personality…］
It seemed like he had some vague recollection but couldn’t quite grasp it. He wiggled his trunk while rubbing his forehead in thought.
I decided not to press him.
If he remembered something, he’d bring it up on his own.
As I turned my gaze away from the Elephant Merchant,
*Flash!*
A powerful light burst from the resurrection site once again.
And then.
The bodies of numerous Dog Spiders began cascading down in beams of light.
［Beep! Beep-beep-beep!］
［I shall assist as well.］
The endless rain of Dog Spider corpses prompted Medical Angel and Queen Mellifera to rush to the recovery area without hesitation.
“…It seems support is definitely needed for the second cave expedition.”
I decided to go myself.
To capture Hehehexxilshaaaaak.