Disciple Santiago (3)
TIP: The dwarves—descendants of the Dwarves and residents of the [Small but Deadly World]—were once an iron-blooded race that had never lost a war.TIP: The blessings of flame and steel engraved upon the dwarves' souls allowed them to hold overwhelming superiority in every war.TIP: Of course, when hordes of monsters that did not rely on weapons began pouring out of the rifts, they could not cope—but at the very least, during the age when civilization still existed, the dwarves stood as the strongest beings in this world.
The vehicles of the enemies who had charged in so confidently were all overturned. Watching the enemy vanguard be neutralized in an instant, Lee Shin couldn't help but marvel.
'They're incredibly strong.'
Technology capable of producing things resembling Earth's automobiles, even modern firearms like assault rifles. On top of that, the ability to dominate flame and steel, ensuring battlefield superiority at all times.
It felt like he had uncovered the secret behind the name Earth No. 444, the Small but Deadly World.The dwarves—smaller than a two-liter water bottle—weren't merely small beings.They were small, but deadly beings.
"Damn it, what the hell is this?!""The guns are completely useless now!""How the hell did those workshop bastards screw this up?!"
From within the smoke-belching vehicles, figures in black uniforms crawled out, grumbling. Just like the biker gang that had attacked Eve before, they too were tiny dwarves.
"For now, retreat—""Who said you could?"
The fishing line danced from Santiago's hand, tightly binding the bodies of those who had stumbled out of the vehicles. Completely restrained in an instant, they screamed as they rolled across the ground.
"Do you really think I'd let traitors who sold out their own kind go free?""…S-Santiago?""That can't be… I heard Santiago was lured away by the succubus Lilith and left this world…"
The enemies recognized who Santiago was. Though many years had passed, he had once been one of the most skilled monster hunters in the [Small but Deadly World]—there was no way they wouldn't know him.
"Dreams are sweet, but eventually, you have to wake up. Humans aren't born to live in dreams—they're born to live in reality."
As Santiago cast them a look of contempt, the enemies shouted back.
"You stupid old man! Sure, escaping the succubus's dream is impressive, but after coming back to reality, you choose to side with those runaways? You should've just kept dreaming until you died of old age!""We'll see who the stupid one really is."
Santiago picked up a gun that had fallen outside the vehicle, aimed it at the sky, and pulled the trigger. Only a hollow clicking sound answered. Amid that empty noise, Santiago spoke.
"Why do you think this doesn't work?"
"Those workshop slaves! They must've sabotaged them like this just to screw us over—so we'd be helpless at a critical moment!!"
"You youngsters really don't know dwarves these days. Kid, dwarves are a race that will spend sleepless nights carefully crafting even a tool meant to repay their parents' kindness. When a dwarf is making something, they forget all the anger and grudges of the world and devote themselves entirely to that moment."
Santiago turned his head and looked up at Eve, who was standing proudly atop the barricade. Then he broke into a grin.
"The dwarves' priest has regained her power. The blessing of flame and steel that protected our age of glory for over a thousand years is guarding us once more."
"A priest… a declaration of peace? No, that can't be."
"The smallest god must have abandoned us… h-how can a priest wield divine authority in a forsaken world…"
"Isn't that simple?"
Click. Santiago put a cigarette between his lips.
"A new god has come. For us."
As pale smoke drifted upward, the eyes of the tightly bound enemies wavered for a moment.
A god had returned? That was impossible. No divine being from the world of stars would ever take in a forsaken world on the brink of destruction.
Hearing Santiago's confident words, most of them thought the old man had finally gone senile—or was just bluffing. Otherwise, they would have had to face the price for everything they'd done until now.
"…Doesn't matter."
As silence fell, someone muttered,
"Whether a new god has come or not, whether a priest for small folk has regained her power or not… your city is going to disappear today anyway."
BOOM—!
With a tremendous roar, the ground across the area began to quake. At the same time, Santiago frowned and spun around.
"They're coming!!"
A dense shadow soon fell over the battlefield. As the residents of the Red City of Jepet swallowed hard and trembled, Lee Shin finally understood why the status window had said this crisis couldn't be resolved through the [World Interference] action tab.
"The governor's army! The invaders from another world are coming!!"
The beings that had invaded the [Small but Deadly World].
Figures similar in size to Lee Shin—or even slightly larger—were walking in from beyond the horizon. In a world of dwarves whose average height didn't even reach 15 centimeters, these 180-centimeter invaders were nothing short of terrifying giants.
"Dwar—ves—!!"
Just as Lee Shin's voice would thunder across this place, the enemies' voices boomed just as loudly over the battlefield. As some of the residents inside the barricades covered their ears and whimpered in fear, the threats continued.
"If—you—don't—want—to—be—crushed—come—out—!!"
A thunderous, grotesquely loud burst of laughter swept across the area.
Most of the residents of the Red City of Jepet were slaves who had fled from the workshops.
Some of the residents, with past terrors resurfacing vividly, collapsed to the ground and began crying like children, begging to be spared. Panic spread in an instant. Eve, too, seemed to recall old memories—her entire body trembling violently. But squeezing her eyes shut, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Blasphemyyyyy—!!"
A roar erupted from her small body.
The gazes of the trembling residents turned toward Eve, and everyone saw the radiant halo shining from the highest point.
"No one will trample the dwarves ever again!! We are no longer abandoned lambs wandering the world!! Do not fear!! They are sinners, and we are the true lives of this land, watched over by our god!! From now on—we are not alone!!"
Eve's halo shone so brightly it nearly blinded all who looked upon her. Veins bulging as she forced her eyes wide open, Eve shouted,
"Sinners!! Bow your heads and worship! Prostrate yourselves before the god of the smallest ones!! If you wish to live—kneel and bow down, I sayyyy!!"
At that bold, thunderous cry, the residents of the Red City of Jepet began to regain their senses one by one. The invaders, however, were still clutching their bellies, laughing as if watching an amusing performance.
But that cackling laughter didn't last long.
Having come back to their senses, the residents of Jepet recalled their roles and the plan. And then, through the gaps in the barricade, enormous ballistae slowly protruded.
The invaders—who remembered only helpless dwarves being crushed—seemed to have forgotten that this world was called the [Small but Deadly World]. The price of that forgetfulness was horrific.
Thoom—!
With a heavy sound, a long steel stake flew forth, and one invader's head snapped violently.
As the stake smashed through the skull and burst out the back of the head, the light faded from the invader's eyes, which had been staring blankly with its mouth agape. Moments later—
Thud.
One of them died, and no one laughed anymore.
"You—dare—!!"
Growling, the invaders pulled massive clubs from their waists. Each was so enormous that even throwing one this way would have been akin to a bombardment.
But the battle was already effectively over.
Eve drawing attention from atop the barricade.
Firing the steel stakes when their gazes converged.
Scattering the enemies and dulling their judgment.
This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment reaction—it was all a plan prepared in advance.
Things had nearly gone awry due to the momentary panic among Jepet's residents, but that was resolved thanks to Eve's magnificent performance as the saint of Lee Shinism.
Now, there was only one person left to take the baton.
[Bait has been hooked.]
[Bait has been hooked.]
[Bait has been hooked.]
While all attention was focused on the barricade, Santiago had sprinted with all his might and reached right in front of the towering invaders. Whirrr— the fishing line wrapped tightly around their entire bodies. Clenching his teeth, Santiago yanked the line hard.
Low-grade Disciple Santiago activates [Catching a Trophy Fish].
"The larger the target, the greater the skill's power!"
WHOOM—!
As their bodies were lifted into the air, the invaders saw an old man charging toward them, roaring in fury. And in that moment, they recalled the warning spoken by the traitorous dwarves.
Watch out for the old man…?
"Yes. Santiago is dangerous."
But realizing that now was already too late.
"Those hauled up above the water cannot resist the fisherman!"
"Those hauled up above the water cannot resist the fisherman!"
The toppled invaders—like fish pulled from the water and butchered in sailors' hands—began to have their flesh and bones cleanly separated in the grasp of a 17.2-centimeter-tall elderly dwarf.
It took exactly 51.2 seconds for all seven invaders to be neatly dismantled.
"H–h–retreat!"
At the sight of their comrades' horrifically mangled corpses, the rear ranks of the invaders fled without even thinking of fighting. Their faces were deathly pale, eyes squeezed shut, muttering the same words over and over in voices thick with terror.
"A god… a god has returned to the dwarves.
The god for the smallest ones has returned…!"
Watching the entire battle from beginning to end, Lee Shin smiled with deep satisfaction. The victory itself had been decisive, but more than anything else, he was genuinely glad that not a single one of his precious little friends had been injured or killed.
[The party has won.]
[MVP: Santiago]
"Through this battle, the governor of the [Small but Deadly World] will learn that the god has returned to the dwarves. The governor dispatched by the interdimensional invaders is a cunning and cruel human. The next legion to arrive will be even stronger and more organized.
The governor will not allow the god-restored dwarves time to build resistance. He will attempt to drive out their new god by bringing them horrifying destruction. Without thorough preparation, the dwarves will be dragged back to the workshops and live as slaves for the invaders until the moment they die."
But this was not the end after a single victory. According to the status window's warning, enemies even more grueling and powerful than these would come next.
So what should be done?
TIP: Tomorrow is the holy day for collecting divine power.
TIP: Try using Creation by consuming 100 divine power!
Fortunately, there was a way forward.