Roars gushed through the passages, accompanied by an unending thunder of
footsteps.
Plagued by the parasitic vines, the monsters howled in rage and charged forward
toward their prey.
The adventurers stood paralyzed before this terrifying scene.
"A monster's pass parade…?!"
"Stop joking around! It's not funny."
As Lilly and Welf watched this artificially created—no, monster-created—event
unfold, their panic mounted.
A pass parade induced by a monster. It was unheard of. This time the enhanced species
wasn't using itself as a decoy—it was using its superhuman strength and seed bullets
to route other monsters from their lairs and drive them into the main route. They
appeared from one passageway after the next like clockwork, cutting off the
adventurers' retreat.
"OOO…"
Aisha gritted her teeth and glared straight ahead. The enhanced species had
disappeared from her field of view when it crossed the main route into another tunnel.
The hideous, intelligent giant was hopping about deep in the labyrinth precisely as if
to prepare a new assassination attempt.
"Run, you guys! Escape!"
The second-tier adventurer's decision was instantaneous. She turned toward the
party behind her and, with an urgent expression on her face, ordered them to flee.
"That enhanced species is planning to use the other monsters to destroy this area!
There's no way we can fight them with magic swords!"
Welf and the others were astonished by Aisha's ability to accurately read the monster's
intentions. No matter how fierce the firepower of the Crozzo Magic Swords, they
worked in only one direction at a time. Attempting to take down the monsters pressing
in from every side would simply take too much time. The moment they succumbed to
the enemies' superior numbers and were overtaken by the horde of monsters, it was
over. As friend and foe mingled pell-mell, the battle would descend into chaos, and
most likely all that would remain in the end would be the mercilessly trampled
corpses of the adventurers.
But more than anything, the life span of the magic swords would do them in.
If the parade of monsters set upon them again after their blades had crumbled—
"Shit!" Welf spat out, even as he obeyed Aisha's command. Returning his magic sword
to its sheath, he took off running at full speed alongside Ouka. With them leading, the
party dove into a passageway that branched off from the main route.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The howling monsters pursued them. Haruhime didn't even have time to use the trick
she had been holding back, her Level Boost. In the middle rank, the dwarves ran
desperately, dripping sweat as they struggled to stay ahead of the nightmare barreling
down on them. The elves on their backs, too, were hot with a fear unconnected to the
parasitic vines wrapped around them.
"Huff, puff… Curses, I'm falling over my own feet!"
"Damn slow-footed dwarf… Run faster!"
"What?! Some nerve ye have when I'm carrying ye on my back!!"
As Dormul cursed the vines that were robbing his strength, Luvis whispered insults
into his ear. Fueled by a spurt of rage, the dwarf increased his speed once again. Lilly
watched from behind, her backpack swaying as she ran.
"I can't tell if they're friends or enemies…"
Luvis's words certainly weren't the equivalent of a carrot dangled in front of a horse's
nose. The same dynamic was playing out between the other dwarf-and-elf pairs.
As the injured adventurers desperately whipped themselves on in an attempt to keep
the party's speed up, Welf and Ouka launched into intercepting enemies.
"Get out of the way, Big Guy!"
"Oof!"
"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Welf brandished his magic sword as he ran toward the scattering of blue crabs
blocking their way forward. His magic dagger—which he was carrying in addition to
the crimson sword—released a streak of lightning. The monster's flesh fried.
Ouka used his huge battle-ax to bat any enemies that got past Welf into the stream
next to them. Their priority was to clear the path in front of them, not to pointlessly
crush their opponents.
Aisha had fallen back to the rear guard to take on the horrendous pass parade. That
inevitably left Welf and Ouka to defend the vanguard.
"…Crap!"
Welf's magic dagger crumbled noisily in his hand. Kicking aside the fragments of blade
with a combination of distress and regret, he drew his greatsword from his back. In
order to preserve his remaining magic sword for later, he would have to engage in
hand-to-hand combat without the benefit of any tricks.
"Here I go, smith!"
"I'm right here by your side!!"
With the ax-wielding Ouka next to him, the young High Smith charged forward toward
his enemies.
"Bell, this way!"
Mari's voice leads me forward.
We're inside the labyrinth on the twenty-fifth floor. I'm pumping my arms as I run
while Mari swims forward, beating her tail against the water. The dryland path
parallels the water, so we're able to move ahead side by side. Again and again, I follow
her pointing finger and turn into small passages that branch off one another.
"Bell's friends are far over there! Many of my kind are there, too!"
Again and again, she urges me to hurry toward the adventurers, whose location she
has determined by using her song. She seems to think the enhanced species is there,
too. Sweat dripping down my cheeks, I kick off the crystal path to increase my speed.
"—GUAAAAAA!"
"An aqua serpent! Again?!"
The immense monster breaks the water's surface with a tremendous splash,
undulating its long light-green body so it is stretched across the stream. It's aiming
not for me but for Mari, who's right below me.
"Mari!"
I thrust out my right hand.
"…!"
Her body has disappeared into the water.
"GUA!!"
The aqua serpent roars in surprise as its fangs meet air, and I pause in astonishment,
too, still poised to shoot a Firebolt. In that instant, I catch just a glimpse of her. With a
swift, graceful movement, almost as if she's dancing, the mermaid slips past the long
serpent's body stretched across the stream.
—She's unbelievably fast!!
Even among water-dwelling monsters, mermaids are often called "the birds of the
water." They are able to move with complete freedom within the water, and their speed
and ability to turn in circles are unparalleled. Once they are in the water, they are
impossible to kill. It's one reason adventurers search so insanely for these rare
monsters.
I thought she was a little absentminded, but she's managed to avoid becoming prey
for another monster.
Since she's a Xenos, she's probably even faster than ordinary mermaids.
"Bell! Over here, over here!"
"Ah, okay!"
Her face pops up behind the monsters as if she's teleported herself there.
To my surprise, she swims faster than I can run. We leave the angrily roaring aqua
serpent behind and continue forward. As the mermaid points the way, I can't help but
feel like the sort of spirit that might appear in a fairy tale is guiding me.
Of course, that doesn't mean we can avoid combat altogether…!
I'm flying solo here, so I persistently fight each monster I encounter along the water's
edge. There's a crystal turtle with multiple crystals projecting from its body, and a
hideous devil mosquito that latches on to adventurers and sucks their blood, and even
a light quartz that shoots out rays of light. I try to defeat them as quickly as possible,
but I don't have time to take on every single one. Making my way through the
sprawling twenty-fifth floor to reunite with my party on its own requires quite a lot of
time. It's also extremely inefficient for Mari to continuously sing her charm songs. As
the flustered mermaid navigates through the labyrinth, we're forced to change our
route numerous times.
After we change directions for the umpteenth time, something unexpected happens.
"Uhh…"
"The stream!"
The waterway that has been flowing alongside the dryland path suddenly breaks off.
While the dryland path continues forward, the stream dead-ends into a kind of cove.
Perhaps we ended up here because we've made so many turns, but there's no way
Mari can follow the path on land. I won't be able to rely on her navigation.
"Bell, I'm sorry… From here on, I…"
Her shoulders sag dejectedly. Standing beside her, I try to think of another option. The
solution that blares across my adventurer's brain a second later is totally simple and
totally primitive. I feel a strong resistance to using it and frown, but this is no time to
worry about appearances. I decide to go with it.
"Mari, I'm sorry!"
"Huh?—Eee!"
I splash into the cove and lift the mermaid into my arms. Then, like a prince carrying
his princess, I climb back onto the land and dash forward.
"S-see, we can go together like this! I'm sorry!"
As I utter this half-excuse, half-apology, I accelerate even faster.
If there's no place for her to swim, I might as well carry her. It's completely obvious.
But it also feels totally foolish… to run along carrying this girl with a fishtail for her
lower body.
Her tail waves softly back and forth. She's as meek as a lamb, but her shoulders are
tense, and I catch her staring into my face, which is right next to hers. Her cheeks flush
faintly when our eyes meet, and she rests her head against my chest.
This may well be the first time in history a human has run overland carrying a
mermaid.
I wonder if this counts as outstanding excelia… For a moment, I let my mind wander
away from the present situation and laugh drily.
In contrast, Mari's eyes are sparkling.
"Wow!"
For the first time, the dryland scenery expands before her unsteady eyes. Crystal caves
she has never seen before pass one after the next as the landscape changes dizzyingly.
It must be like a dryland adventure for her. Her eyes are full of excitement and more
joy than I've seen in them yet.
"Bell! This is amazing! I love it!"
"Okay, but heyyyyyyyyyyyy!! Please don't hug me like that!"
She's so excited to experience this unknown world that she's gripping my neck. I can
feel her firm breasts pressing onto me underneath her shell bikini top. I take a huge
rabbit-like leap and jump over the swarm of blue crabs blocking our way forward.
If another adventurer saw me like this, my reputation would be done for…!
Bell Cranell tried to take a mermaid home with him. If word of that got around, I'd be
branded as someone who has a monster fetish for real.
Dripping sweat and prodded on by all sorts of fears, I rush with renewed energy
toward my destination.
"…Damn, I'm getting used to carrying women like this…"
"…?"
Mari tilts her head quizzically as I mutter this sudden thought.
First it was the goddess, then recently Haruhime. I even carried Lilly in all the
confusion… I think back on these incidents and let slip a pathetic chuckle. I feel like
I've ended up so far from where I started…
I have a funny feeling that if Lilly and the others saw me like this, they would be
extremely critical of me right now. But I take my mind off that and charge forward as
Mari shouts gleefully.
"OO!"
The blue crab's giant claw came swinging down.
Welf barely managed to parry the attack with his greatsword. Stumbling, he returned
the blow with the massive blade. He jumped back as sparks flew from the crab's hard
shell. Finally, on the third blow, the blade found a seam in the shell and slashed
through the fleshy body underneath.
"Damn…!"
He wiped the sweat that had pooled beneath his neck.
This was not easy. Aisha had said that even a Level-2 adventurer could fight the
monsters on this floor. She was right. If Welf put his all into it, he could unquestionably
prevail.
But the fights were bitter. Killing a single monster took a lot of time and effort. In the
Dungeon, where monster attacks came one on top of the next, that could be fatal. He
would be cornered by the Dungeon's prime weapon—its resources—and crushed.
The experience was teaching him, painfully, the meaning of the floor standards that
the Guild set.
He could not keep up with the demands of the vanguard. The number of monsters in
front of the party began to increase. Welf grimaced as the group continued its attempt
at escape.
"Yaaaaah!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"…!"
But support was what a party was all about.
A single blow from a fiercely swung blade bisected the blue crab charging Welf.
"What's wrong, smith? All tired out?"
"…Man. You look pleased with yourself as usual!"
Ouka was gripping in one hand the battle-ax that had slaughtered the crab. Welf
smiled spitefully at him.
"I guess I can forgive you in light of how well you used that weapon," the smith said.
"Yeah… This one is really saving my ass."
Welf chugged down one of the potions he was carrying and leaped forward toward the
monsters. Ouka was at his side.
"Arrr!"
Using a martial-arts move incongruent with his hulking body—a technique he'd
learned in the Far East—Ouka ripped off one flank of the blue crab directly in front of
him. He followed up with a swipe of his silver ax, easily smashing the enemy's hard
shell and pulverizing its soft flesh.
The Kougou battle-ax.
Welf had forged it for Ouka using varmath, a high-quality Dungeon ore that Hephaistos
had given him as part present, part assignment. It was found only in the lower levels.
Welf had used the leftovers for Ouka's shield. The heavyweight gear was exceptionally
powerful, sharp, and protective.
Even though he'd gotten the materials for free, Welf made it a rule to sell whatever he
could as a smith, and therefore he charged 700,000 valis for the set. That included a
steep discount.
Ouka channeled his indebtedness to Welf back into fighting strength and roared with
rage.
"UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
Blue veins popping in his powerful arms, he wielded Kougou with both hands.
His abilities were undeveloped compared to those of a second-tier adventurer, but his
gear—guaranteed by Welf as equivalent to second-tier level—made up for what he
lacked, allowing him to crush the monsters. Swinging the ax sideways, he sliced the
crab in half horizontally so forcefully that its magic stone shattered along with the rest
of it, and everything turned to ash.
The wall of monsters blocking the party's path had thinned, and a way forward was
now open.
"Amazing vanguard work! Thanks, you guys…!"
"Lady Lilly, now is our chance!"
As Daphne gave the valiant Ouka a sweat-drenched smile, Mikoto urged the party
forward.
Daphne, who was concentrating on unexpected attacks from the sides, swung her
baton-like dagger. While she defended Lilly and Dormul and the others in the center,
Mikoto supported the vanguard.
Mikoto was single-handedly filling the gap left by Chigusa. Using her skill, she would
instantly identify approaching enemies, then throw her knives at them before they
reached the party.
The throwing knives, called sakuya, were stained crimson at the tips, as befit the
meaning of their name—"red nights." Welf had made the ninja weapons according to
Mikoto's specifications. They were forged from blood onyx, an ore found in the middle
levels. Although they entailed some sacrifice in throwing distance, the weapons
handled far better than a bow and arrow. Mikoto gripped four of the throwing knives
between her fingers and aimed for the eyes of approaching monsters. When the
enemies faltered, Ouka and Welf rushed in to kill them using their ax and sword.
Sometimes Mikoto even ran forward herself and bravely filled the gaps between the
two boys.
My head is about to explode…!
Aside from Aisha, who was drawing forward the pack of monsters at the rear and then
slaughtering them, Mikoto currently bore the heaviest burden of anyone in the party.
She was not only providing support from the center and filling in at the vanguard, but
she was also scouting out enemies. Her role of course demanded physical stamina, but
her continuous use of Yatano Black Crow was also sucking away her mental energy
minute by minute. Although it could be revived with items or magic, the psychological
burden was heavy. Her all-around talent with various weapons and positions was
precisely what made it so weighty.
Since Sir Bell isn't here right now, I have to keep pushing myself…!
As sweat poured down her body, she mentally whipped herself to fight harder with
both her throwing knives and katana. Just then, Ouka and Welf started making a
commotion.
What's that?!
A figure about as large as Ouka was charging toward them straight on.
Mikoto's net of perception hadn't registered it—in other words, it must be a type of
monster she hadn't encountered yet.
"A crystallus urchin! All of you, clear out of here!" Aisha shouted from the rear. She
knew more about this floor than the others.
The monster's ball-shaped body was covered in long, sharp needles. The blue marine
species was charging toward the party by rolling at high speed. Watching it crush the
crystal ground as it advanced furiously, sending up fragments, it was easy to imagine
that anyone who got in its way would be similarly split into a thousand pieces.
As Mikoto watched, her violet eyes zeroed in on a hideous jaw in the center of the
rounded surface. She could see a large glob of mucus hanging from the circular mouth
full of countless teeth.
"Hey, Big Guy! What are you doing? Get out of the way!" Welf shouted, turning pale.
"Chigusa and the other wounded can't run! If this thing makes it to the back, someone
will be caught in those needles!" Ouka replied, raising his shield.
He was right. The dwarves, weakened by the parasitic vines, could not run fast enough
to escape. The same was true for the elves they carried. But given Ouka's status, he
and his varmath shield would be turned into a mincemeat pancake if he tried to take
on the huge needle-covered shell head-on.
Mikoto watched Ouka drip sweat as he prepared to intercept the urchin, and her eyes
narrowed.
Ah—there's something familiar about this scene!
Over three months ago, she had been protecting the injured Chigusa in the middle
levels when a hard armored charged them from behind. The fight had ended with
injuries on both the monster's side and theirs, and ultimately they had been in such a
wretched condition that they even decided to lead a pass parade into Bell's party. If
only she had been stronger then! She still regretted what had happened.
She smiled at her current difficult situation. Then she moved forward as if something
was pulling her.
"Mikoto!"
She moved past the startled Ouka and leaped to the very front of the party. Returning
the Iron Tiger Kotetsu to her hip, she pulled a new weapon from her back, sheath and
all.
It was a new blade made by Welf, called Shunsan, meaning "Spring Hail."
The cutting edge at the sword's tip was like a flame. It was far superior to the two
blades at her hip, Kotetsu and Chizan.
As Mikoto leaped out into the path of the crystallus urchin, it hurtled forward, cutting
up the monsters in its way. A cloud of blood and flesh filled the air. Mikoto sped
forward, her awareness sharpening as she went.
The voices of Ouka and the others behind her grew faint. Even the sound of the
monster rolling toward her disappeared.
She was prepared for this. Takemikazuchi had taught her new skills. She had a
fantastic new weapon from Welf. If she couldn't get through this—if she couldn't
overcome the same setup she'd encountered before—then her whole life up till now
would be a fiction.
—I can be like Bell, too!
The next instant, her body was on fire.
She slipped the sheath on at her hip and placed her right hand on the hilt. Taking a
fighting position, she prepared to draw the sword.
Of all the moves she had learned during her ten-day training with Takemikazuchi, the
one she was about to use was as powerful as the Full-Moon Throw. It was the most
advanced quick-draw she knew, and her teacher, the god of combat, had ordered her
to name it.
"—!!"
The monster groaned as it rapidly narrowed the gap between them, crushing crystals
as it went. The instant it was about to make contact, Mikoto loosened her sword from
its scabbard.
At just the right moment, with just the right breathing, she slid the blade out.
Takemikazuchi hadn't looked very pleased by the name she selected, but she was
satisfied she had chosen well. Actually, she had based the name on the one the god had
given her. In other words—
Zekka. Eternal Flower.
The flashing blade whined piercingly as it bisected the hard body of the crystallus
urchin.
"Whoooooaaaaaa!!"
"N-no way!"
"She cut it right in half!!"
Welf, Ouka, and even Lilly forgot where they were and cheered as they watched Mikoto
turn the monster into an enormous pile of ash. She swiftly returned Shunsan to its
scabbard and raised her right hand in a fist.
"Hurry, everyone! Onward!"
Her heart still pounding with excitement, she turned to shout back at the rest of the
group. The whole party—second-tier adventurers Luvis and Dormul included—was
struck with admiration. They rushed down the open passage, their morale high.
"M-Miss Mikoto, you're amazing!"
"Thank you, Lady Haruhime!"
Haruhime was waiting for Mikoto when she returned to the middle rank. As the two
ran desperately forward with the rest of the party, Haruhime handed Mikoto one of
Nahza's new High Dual Potions. As soon as she chugged it down, her physical and
mental strength were completely restored.
For a moment, Mikoto blushed under the excited gaze of Haruhime, who was serving
as her supporter, but she quickly switched gears. Once again, she began using Yatano
Black Crow to search for enemies.
"Three on the right, six in the water, and another one hiding behind that crystal!"
"Mr. Welf, please turn left and attack with your magic sword in four seconds!"
As Mikoto told the party where the monsters were, the information was channeled
through Lilly. She made all decisions at her own discretion, having been entrusted by
Daphne with commanding the group. Drawing on experience gleaned as a supporter,
she assessed her companions' movements, coordination, and degree of energy and
instantly filled any hole that opened. Unsatisfied to simply sit back and command, she
also provided support with her hand bow gun and magic sword. In effect, she was
controlling the party as if it were an extension of her own body.
The combination of Mikoto's extraordinary ability to identify enemies and Lilly's
decision-making skills saved the party from disaster numerous times. Now that the
group had lost its core—Bell—these two were unmistakably steering it forward.
Then there was Cassandra.
"Miss Cassandra! Recovery, please!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The girl was dispensing her healing magic according to decisions made by Lilly, who
had the best overall grasp of battle conditions.
"Heavenly light, once rejected. Merciful arms that save my shallow self. Rescue my
miserable companions in place of my words that cannot reach them."
Cassandra passed Chigusa to Haruhime and began chanting as she waved her crystal
rod.
"Oh sunlight, may you beat back ruin—"
The speed and confidence with which she sang the words were evidence of her
abundant experience and skill in healing her companions. She adjusted the amount of
magic power she dispensed depending on the severity of her patient's wounds.
Having come to the end of the chant, she activated the magic.
"Soul light."
A magical light resembling sunlight poured down in a circle about ten meders across,
with Cassandra at its center. This particular method, which allowed her to treat
multiple people at once, was called area healing. All the adventurers aside from Aisha
were within the sphere, basking in a healing light whose power was far greater than
that of any ordinary potion.
As their wounds closed, their movements regained a remarkable alacrity. Cassandra's
ability as a healer was obvious from the strength of her patients. They were fully
recovered.
"I'm ready to go!"
"Thank you, Cassandra!"
"That was a bit too close for comfort, wouldn't you say, Li'l E?"
"We can't be using Cassandra's skills every other second at a time like this!!"
"Why are you arguing when I've just healed you…?" she moaned.
As Ouka and Mikoto applauded Cassandra, Welf and Lilly were back to their usual
quibbling. The healer looked on the verge of tears.
The adventurers re-formed their battle line and, in a single surge, scattered the
monsters blocking their way forward and once again began moving down the passage.
"You guys aren't half-bad… I thought when we lost Bell Cranell, everything would fall
apart, but I guess I didn't know what I was talking about," Aisha said, gazing with
narrowed eyes at the strenuous efforts of the party.
They were still in a tough spot, but she let her admiration for the third-tier
adventurers show as they cooperated to push through one lower-level attack after the
next. At the same time, she revised her view of them.
She could use these people.
"Turn right at the next passage!" Lilly shouted. Following her order, Welf and the
others found themselves leaping into a long, wide passage.
It was a straight, dry path with no stream running alongside it. Although they could
see small tunnels dotting the sides, large hordes of monsters would only be able to
approach from ahead or behind them. The white crystals on the ceiling cast an
unusually strong light. As the group approached the center of the passage, Lilly issued
another command.
"We will intercept monsters here!"
"Here?! Seems like the kind of place likely to have a lot of them!" Ouka countered.
"In this passage, they'll only be coming from one direction! We should be able to keep
them within the range of fire for our magic swords! Mr. Welf, burn them to cinders!!"
Lilly screamed back, adding a command to Welf at the end.
"Ha-ha!"
Welf was overwhelmed by the ferocity of the party's brain, whose eyes were
practically popping out from the speed her mind was spinning at, but he couldn't help
chuckling. He had to admit—her plan was easy to understand. Annihilate the enemy
on a single axis.
In the depths of his heart, he didn't want to admit it, but his insanely powerful Crozzo
Magic Swords were unrivaled in this situation.
As he crossed paths with Aisha, who was running up from the rear, he faced the pack
of approaching monsters and swung the crimson magic sword he had drawn from his
back downward.
"Kougou!"
As the sword descended from above his head, it breathed out a huge ball of fire.
The surge of heat it created surpassed even that of the magic sword he had used
against the Goliath, wiping out the pack of monsters about to reach the group. The
roaring of the fire drowned their screams as a storm of sparks danced through the
crystal passage.
"The heat is incredible…!" Daphne said, throwing one arm in front of her face as the
swelling flames exhaled their searing breath toward her. Blazing corpses of monsters
and melting magic stones buried within piles of ash lay scattered before her eyes.
But in the distance, she could see a new parade approaching.
"We may be using the terrain to our advantage, but what are we gonna do when the
magic swords crumble?" Aisha asked, sweating profusely as she drank a potion.
"Whenever we run, the situation just gets worse! Even if we escape from this labyrinth,
we'll somehow have to bring down the overall number of monsters or else we'll be
trapped on this floor!"
Lilly desperately scanned the map as she answered Aisha, searching for a solution. As
Welf's magic sword seared away the second wave of the parade, the Amazon—who
had more experience as an adventurer than anyone else in the party—tossed back the
rest of her potion.
"We'll just have to see how it goes."
"—"
But the situation was about to get worse.
It was Mikoto, of course, who first sensed the danger.
"Mikoto?"
"—This is bad."
She stood beside Haruhime, who was handing an item to Aisha, and scanned their
surroundings with her violet eyes.
As if to affirm her murmured words, a crackling noise shot through the passageway.
"—"
Fissures raced across the crystal walls. Thousands of them, covering a huge expanse.
For Lilly, time stood still. Ouka and Daphne were struck dumb, while Cassandra froze,
and Welf, in the midst of swinging his magic sword, looked up. Even the enfeebled
Dormul, Luvis, and Chigusa turned pale.
These adventurers who had made their way to the lower levels knew instantly what
the fissures foretold.
A monster party. Local monsters were about to emerge en masse.
This dirty trick of the Dungeon plunged the adventurers into an abyss of despair.
The fissures extended from the center of the wide passageway for about fifty meders,
placing the adventurers completely within their boundaries. The Dungeon had
revealed its malice and was clearly trying to murder the party.
"This is insane!" Welf shouted as he took on the approaching parade of monsters. Even
as he did, the ominous creaking and cracking of the fissures did not stop. It was as if
the walls were proclaiming the number of minutes the adventurers had left to live.
"It's too huge… Can ye believe it reaches down there?"
"Shit, we've made it this far… and now…!"
Dormul and Luvis grimaced at the soul-crushing scene before them. Hopelessness
crept over the faces of the other elves and dwarves, too, as they took in the incredible
scale of the event.
"Well… I don't have any other choice."
Aisha alone clicked her tongue in irritation. Sweeping her bangs aside as if she was, in
truth, reluctant to do what she planned, she turned to Lilly.
"Okay, shrimp, I'm gonna do this. Get ready."
"…!"
Not bothering to wait for a response from the surprised prum, Aisha walked toward
Luvis and the other wounded.
"Hey, you—promise me something," she said to them.
"Huh?!"
Aisha thrust her podao at the elves and dwarves who lifted their faces toward her.
Then she pressed its tip into the base of Luvis's throat. He blanched with shock. So did
Dormul, who was propping him up with one shoulder. Aisha swept her sharp gaze over
the stunned dwarves and elves behind them.
"You will never speak of what is about to happen… Do you promise me that?"
"Wh-wh-what are you talking about?! Going crazy at a time like this?!"
"A-aye! What the crikey are ye—?"
"Do. You. Promise?"
Dormul's voice broke off as Aisha jabbed the tip of her sword into Luvis's neck, tearing
the skin. As a drop of blood trickled downward, the weakened pair of adventurers
turned even paler.
Aisha was not joking around. As the cries of newborn monsters rang out and the
labyrinth walls strained as if they were about to fly apart, her eyes glinted fiercely.
Death was confronting the party. Terror trampled Luvis's mind.
Faced with Aisha's bone-chilling gaze, the dwarf and the elf forced themselves to
respond.
"I-I promise."
"I-I swear on the name of Her Majesty the queen of the elves."
"I'll hold you to that," Aisha said. As Dormul and Luvis nodded repeatedly, she
withdrew her weapon. A second later, she smiled and called out.
"Okay, Haruhime—do it!"
A pair of fox ears stood up in surprise and a head of luxurious golden hair trembled.
Then the renart girl gave Aisha a nervous but resolute nod and prepared to release
her magic.
"Get in a circle formation around Miss Haruhime and defend her with your lives!" Lilly
shouted, looking up. Her order was simple and clear, and the others obeyed quickly.
Ouka with his shield and battle-ax, Mikoto with her sword, Daphne with her dagger,
Cassandra with her short bow, and Aisha with her podao formed a circle around the
renart. Welf leaped back, kicking the ground to join them. In the center, the girl quietly
pulled her black robe low over her eyes and brought her hands together like a shrine
maiden performing a ritual.
"—Here I go."
The next instant, the Dungeon walls around them roared like an avalanche as they
spawned a huge swarm of monsters.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The monster party had begun.
As a sword bounced off slashing claws, a shrill metallic screech echoed through the
passage.
Haruhime could sense that Mikoto, her black ponytail tousled, had fended off a
monster's charge with her first blow. The renart closed her eyes and used the thread
of her concentration to pull herself together. Then she unleashed the inner power that
the grimoire had opened her eyes to.
"Kokonoe."
Surprisingly, the new sorcery she had learned began not with a chant but with the
announcement of the spell's name.
"Beloved snow. Beloved crimson. Beloved white light."
As Haruhime sang the chant, her body began to change. The magic she released turned
to innumerable sparks of light that gathered around her buttocks. A sound like a bell
being rolled rang out, and at the same time five tails made of light the same color as
her fur sprouted from her behind.
"Please let me be beside you—this love I have found at the end of two thousand nights."
Haruhime now had six tails, including the original one, all of them glittering with
golden light. Her black robe absorbed the aftereffects of the magic and floated airily
around her. Like the girl herself, the dwarves protected within the circle of
adventurers were spellbound. Even the noble elves forgot their surroundings and
stared bedazzled at this girl who resembled nothing more than a shrine maiden
chanting ritual prayers.
"Shit, we're screwed," Aisha murmured as the magic took effect. She had strictly
forbidden Haruhime from using the spell except when she commanded it. The reason
she had done this was that once its power became known, she knew an ugly struggle
for the girl would occur yet again.
The other reason was that it was their ultimate trump card, the only one that had the
power to single-handedly break through a deadlocked battle.
This is so hard.
Beads of sweat formed on Haruhime's forehead. She could feel her mental strength
draining away. It was as if fragments of her life were being sucked into those tails of
light. It occurred to her somewhat randomly that this must be what the sacrificial
shrine maidens in the Far East felt like.
"My name is Magic Fox, former destroyer. My name is Ancient Song, former dreamer. For
you who beat your wings like a bird, I shall allow the nine spirits to dwell within me."
Her throat was on fire. Her body was burning. The golden light became ferocious fangs
tearing into her tender flesh as it almost set off an Ignis Fatuus.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
She could hear Mikoto fighting a monster. The roars of her companions protecting her
powerless self set her heart on fire.
All Haruhime could do was sing.
And so she would sing, until her voice dried up, until her life drained away, breathing
a prayer for her beloved companions. She would fulfill their spirited hopes. And she
would help the boy whom she yearned for.
As her friends held back the ever-more-ferocious attacks of the monsters, Haruhime
began to chant more quickly.
Mikoto gathered what little strength she had left and slashed her blade again and
again and again at the onslaught of violent assaults. Welf unleashed fire from his magic
sword at close range. Ouka bellowed war cries as blood ran from his wounds. Aisha's
podao mowed down any monster that approached her.
"Echo song of gold, sacred poem of Tamamo. White face, golden fur, king of nine tails."
The battlefield song shook Haruhime's self-possession, yet still she was able to
continue the chant without breaking off. Squeezing her eyes shut, she sang the next
line of the song of golden light.
"Oh tails of the auspicious beast, consume all, grant all wishes—"
And then:
"—Grow."
She was performing Concatenated Casting, linking two different chants to cast their
spells one after the next.
"That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls,
bring forth glory and illusion. Grow."
As soon as she uttered the familiar words, the tails of golden light began to move as if
they were looking upward toward the heavens. Each one undulated seemingly with a
will of its own, sending masses of golden dust like the powder on fairy wings billowing
outward. The crystals pulsated with diffuse light, then the dust swallowed them up. It
was a truly mystical scene.
"Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into
the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you."
As Haruhime sang these words, a thin mist of magic power materialized. Quickly, it
changed into a cloud of light that summoned a spiral pattern and a hammer of light
above her head.
Even the monsters turned their eyes to the gorgeous sparkling light and stood still for
a moment.
"Grow."
Haruhime's long eyelashes fluttered. She opened her eyes, raised her delicate
eyebrows, and announced the completion of the spell.
"Uchide no Kozuchi!"
The hammer of light split open with a high sound, shattering into brilliant fragments
that were absorbed by the tails. Now they shone with the same light that had emanated
from the hammer.
"Dance!"
As Haruhime thrust one arm toward the ceiling, the tails tore from their base and
danced into the air. These fat tails of light gathered in midair and then transformed
into a glittering ball of light that danced down onto the party, still in the midst of battle.
Masses of light were absorbed into the bodies of Mikoto, Ouka, Welf, Daphne, and
Aisha. The next instant—
"""""…!!"""""
It was a chain reaction of level boosts. Five of them.
All five adventurers instantaneously leveled up.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Their war cries sent the monsters stumbling backward, and their raging weapons
easily broke through the enemy siege. They began a counterattack.
"Wh-wh-what is going on?!"
"Th-they're moving differently!"
Luvis and Dormul sputtered idiotically at the sight of multiple level boosts taking
effect in front of their eyes.
Haruhime's new magic was called Kokonoe. The unique enchantment endowed its
user with fox tails made of light, then concentrated the effects of a separate magical
spell chanted directly afterward into the tails. Once this happened, Haruhime was able
to activate the magic in as many iterations as there were tails, all with a single effort
of will.
Like magic swords, the multiple tails acted as mediators of magic. And like the killing
stones that sealed off sorcery, this spell allowed her to give level boosts to multiple
people at the same time.
The elves and dwarves were in a state of confusion.
"H-hey, what's happening here?"
"They're all so strong I barely recognize them!"
"Simply put, everyone leveled up," Lilly said.
""Huh?!""
On hearing Lilly's overly straightforward explanation, the elves and dwarves rolled
their eyes back in their heads, and bubbles foamed from their mouths. They were in
shock over this skill that defied common sense and was illegal to boot.
The magical combination of Kokonoe and Uchide no Kozuchi created a group level
boost. It was Hestia Familia's new trump card.
According to Haruhime's status, the maximum number of tails the spell could generate
was nine. Currently, however, she was able to create only five.
She had expended a huge amount of energy, and now that she was done, her legs
folded beneath her. She was at her limit, one step from total Mind Down. Still, the
adventurers had reaped more than enough reward from her magic.
"Zhaaaa!"
"GAAAAAAAAA!!"
That magic was now a thick swirl of light particles encircling Mikoto's body as she
used her new power to the fullest. All five adventurers were filled with a feeling of
omnipotence and excitement over the strength that poured from them. They thwarted
the attacking monsters with newfound speed, force, and might, sending their enemies
flying with their weapons.
They've rallied.
Aisha looked coolly at the battle under way around her. The morale of her fellow party
members had skyrocketed in tandem with their abilities. They were putting up a hell
of a fight against the numerous monsters that still surrounded them in a dense ring,
slashing and mowing down their enemies. Through their combined efforts, they were
holding back that most despair-inducing of all phenomena, the monster party.
They had withstood the Dungeon's ultimate weapon, its barrier of resources.
For a minute there I was worried… but if we can reduce their numbers a little more, we
should be able to get out of here.
The absolute number of monsters on any given floor had an upper limit. On the lower
levels, new monsters could be spawned at shorter intervals, but given that so many
had just appeared in one area, there would probably be a lull once they got past this
spot. The number of monsters they encountered would definitely drop off.
Time still remained on the party's level boost. Very soon, the scales would tip in favor
of the adventurers.
Of course, that assumes that they can keep up this energy level.
Conversely, if they stumbled here, they would be in trouble.
That was why Aisha was so wary of the insanely abnormal enhanced species.
So what else have you got, huh? Overwhelming us with sheer numbers won't work, as
you can see, and neither will wearing us down by setting the small fry on us. Try any
more of your little tricks and we'll crush them.
Now that her status was up to Level 5, Aisha's fighting prowess was truly incredible.
From a monster's perspective, the way she took down multiple large-category
enemies with a single blow of her podao must have been a nightmare. She quickly
cleared a wide circle around the point that she was defending. She was sure she could
easily slaughter the enhanced species if it were to appear right now.
As she looked around fearlessly with narrowed eyes, she finally spotted it.
There it is!
It was far in the distance, past the low-level monsters that were still throwing their
weight around. The garish dark-green moss huge was paying no attention to the battle
cries of the monsters or the bellows of the adventurers. It was simply roaming about
the wide passage, crouching, standing, crouching, and then repeating the whole
routine over again.
…? What the hell is it doing…?
Aisha stared dubiously at the enhanced species's enigmatic actions, all the while
sending monsters flying with her podao and long legs.
Just then, it swept its eyes toward the party, as if to answer Aisha's unspoken question,
from its position beyond the thinning wall of monsters.
It was gripping something in both hands… countless sparkling purplish-blue magic
stones.
"—"
This Amazon who boasted the bravery of a battle-hardened soldier felt as if time had
stopped. Her beautiful, long black hair trembled.
She had just realized something.
Their enemy was not trying to overwhelm them with numbers, nor to tire them out.
That ass—
It was after the masses of magic stones produced when Aisha and the others killed the
monsters.
The enhanced species met Aisha's gaze and, for the first time, revealed an emotion.
It grinned.
There was no doubt about it. With mouth stretched wide and saliva hanging from its
lips, it was definitely smiling.
A moment later, it stuffed the magic stones into its open mouth.
"…!!"
The instant it crunched the crystals between its teeth, the giant's body literally
expanded. The pieces of moss covering it stood on end like pointed dragon scales. The
armor-like wooden frame creaked as it grew larger, and thin, rootlike pieces of wood
crawled down to the tips of the monster's fingers and toes. It opened its mouth into a
yawning cavern, completing this transformation into a veritable evil spirit.
If its presence had been overwhelming before, it was far more so now. This monstrous
figure slowly lifted its face and looked at Aisha.
Flashing its eyes—which were now a muddy red—it kicked the ground.
"…?!"
Then it charged forward, crushing the other monsters under its feet and kicking their
bodies aside.
Aisha raised her podao as the menace bore down on her.
As the monster's enormous fist cut downward through the air, it collided with her
sword.
"Oof!"
"OOOOOOO! OOOO! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The thundering bovine bellow made her want to cover her ears. She stumbled
backward.
Even with the level boost, she knew this intense power would be a heavy challenge for
her. Intoxicated by its own sense of omnipotence, the enhanced species let out a roar
of joy that resembled the groan of a broken music box. As it pumped its fist into the
air, rootlike spikes burst out from the wooden frame.
Aisha understood now what had happened. The enhanced species had greedily
devoured the magic stones of every single monster they had slaughtered on the way
here.
It had taken in the cores of dozens, or even hundreds, of monsters.
Just how far…?
Just how far would it go to undermine their predictions?
At this point, all she could do was acknowledge the trickery and monster's cunning
she had underestimated before.
Drops of sweat flew from Aisha's face.
For an instant she was overtaken by hesitation and anxiety, and that instant left her
vulnerable to attack.
She had been thinking that in terms of status, the odds were still in her favor. That she
could still make a comeback.
At precisely that moment, the moss huge stretched its neck out like a dragon.
"…?!"
It grabbed Aisha's brown shoulder and sank its fangs into the base of her neck.
Her flesh tore, her bones shattered, and blood spurted into the air.
Lilly and Welf sensed something strange was happening and turned toward her at the
same moment. What they saw left them speechless.
"—!"
Aisha glared angrily at the monster as blood spilled from her mouth.
With all her strength, she slammed her fist into her enemy's chin, pushing it away with
her flesh still in its mouth. She added to its backward momentum by landing a
spinning kick on it, sending it staggering away.
"M-Miss… Aisha?!"
Haruhime, who was sitting on the ground with a delirious look in her eyes, let out a
piercing scream.
The enhanced species retracted its neck and fixed a piece of moss to its crushed jaw.
Meanwhile Aisha panted as she pressed her left hand against the gaping hole in her
shoulder. She laughed with irritation as blood gushed from the wound.
"I flunked…"
She pulled her hand back from the wound. A parasitic vine had sprouted there and
was slithering across her brown skin. It was already twined around her left shoulder
and arm, her midriff and hips, and her full breasts.
The sight of it sent a jolt of shock through the other adventurers. The monster had
planted a seed in her when its teeth made contact with her body.
"HA-HA-HA…"
"That ugly ass—!!"
Drool hanging from its fangs, the moss huge laughed mockingly at the sight of its
offspring parasitizing the Amazon's body. Then it mercilessly bore down for another
attack.
Aisha fought back, a sickly sweat covering her body.
"—Get off!" Welf shouted.
He had left his post to run to her side. Raising his magic sword, he set his sights on
both the enhanced species and the other monsters surrounding Aisha.
"Kouga!"
"—!!"
For the fourth time that day, a massive explosion of flames swirled through the
passage. Aisha leaped back, watching as monsters danced in torment within the
crimson flames. But as they roared a chorus of death cries… she made out the figure
of a giant standing calmly among them, arms crossed over its chest.
"Huh?!" Welf said, watching in astonishment.
"It's resisting Mr. Welf's magic sword!" Lilly yelled.
The enhanced species slowly raised its head as burning moss peeled off its body. As
the moss fell to the ground, a shiny blue material came into view underneath.
"Could that be… Undine cloth?!" Lilly asked.
"Don't tell me it took it off a dead adventurer!" Welf muttered.
Mikoto, Ouka, Daphne, and Cassandra could not believe their eyes, either. The cloth
was stretched to the point of tearing in order to wrap around the huge body, but there
was no doubt about it—it was spirit protective cloth. As Welf had guessed, the monster
had fixated on the need to address its single weak point—fire—and had stolen the
cloth from the corpses of adventurers.
"Of all the lousy coincidences…!"
Welf drew his eyebrows together as he looked at the monster's garment. A family that
carried the blood of a spirit in its ancestral line made Crozzo Magic Swords. They were,
in other words, spirit magic swords. A spirit was involved with the protective cloth, as
well. The energy of the two spirits coming together seemed to have set off an extreme
reaction.
Furthermore, Kouga belonged to the flame class of magic swords. It carried the power
of salamander, the fire spirit. Undine cloth, on the other hand, was imbued with the
power of water. Their compatibility was extremely poor, and they had canceled each
other out.
Nevertheless, the enhanced species' body had been burned somewhat. Welf was just
thinking of giving the sword another try when a fissure cracked down its blade.
"Shit…!"
The next instant, the crimson sword crumbled with a high-pitched shattering sound.
The magic blade had reached the end of its life span, the result of its heavy use against
the parade of monsters. Not only Welf but Lilly, too, stared in shock as the fragments
of sword pattered onto the ground.
"—AAA!!"
As if to inundate them with still more bad news, the final parade of monsters arrived
in the passage.
The flush drained from Mikoto's face, which was spattered with blood—both her own
and her enemies'.
"OOOOO!"
"Huh?"
The enhanced species was ignoring Welf and the others and instead tenaciously going
after Aisha. It had recognized her strength and determined that if she fell, the other
adventurers would, too. As if spurred on by the appearance of this lone evil warrior,
the other monsters rallied their strength and raged madly. Together with the newly
arrived ranks, they set their sights on Mikoto and the rest of the party.
"This is not good!!"
"I can't hold out…!"
Gripping their shields, Daphne and Ouka shrieked as the monsters narrowed the circle
around them with a powerful surge.
The counterattacks from Mikoto's katana and Welf's greatsword were a drop in the
bucket. Cassandra threw aside her weapon and tried to hold the line by using her
healing magic, but as soon as she managed to close one wound, another was opened
on top of it.
The mass of light particles that had given them their level boosts swayed as if they,
too, were groaning.
"Oh no…!"
The color drained from Lilly's face as she watched the circle of adventurers who were
protecting her being steadily pressed inward.
Even when she wielded the lightning magic sword in her trembling hands, the
monsters did not disappear. Soon they would fill the entire passageway. Aisha had
disappeared beyond the fence of monsters, so they could no longer count on her help.
To the contrary—with the parasitic vines covering her body, Aisha was on the verge
of being trampled by the enhanced species.
Lilly had misread it.
She had gone and misread everything.
The irregularity of the enhanced species. The threats of the lower levels. The
unfathomable depths of the Dungeon.
She had made a poor decision as a leader.
She lacked experience, and at the very last moment, she had made a mistake.
Lilly had not been able to transform herself into Braver.
"Lend me yer ax…!"
"Uh… M-Mr. Dormul?"
"Even without my arm, I can at least serve as a shield!"
"A-and Mr. Luvis, too… It's impossible! You can't!"
Dormul had stood up beside the dazed Lilly, and Luvis had followed his lead. They
wanted to borrow equipment and stand alongside Welf and the others in the
protective circle. Both ignored Lilly's protest. They had no chance of winning, but still
they wanted to fight stubbornly like adventurers until the end.
"Uh, um…!!"
It was no good. Everyone had lost their cool.
Everyone was fighting like they were going to die here.
Lilly could not blow away the heavy scent of death that lingered all around her.
The mask of the leader fell from her face, and a film of tears formed in the eyes that
had been putting on such a resolute act from the start of the expedition.
"Use us as decoys and escape if ye can!" Dormul shouted with grim determination.
"Someone has to tell everyone on the surface about this monster…! As many of us as
possible must survive…!" Luvis added.
Haruhime, who was still sitting on the ground, gulped. Lilly's wide eyes wavered.
"Leave us here… Hestia Familia!"
In response to Dormul's words, Lilly's true nature—the nature of the filthy girl who
had groveled in the dirt and slurped muddy water—slowly raised its head.
From the perspective of the leader, there was no more logical argument. She hoisted
it like a shield, a dark smile on her lips, eager to spring at this option. After all, what
choice did she have? She had come this far, and she did not want to die. She did not
want to give up even one extra moment of life. Yes indeed, they should leave the
wounded behind!
Her heart beat erratically. She could not breathe. Thoughts and emotions swirled
dizzyingly within her.
Now! Now! Now!
Don't hesitate! Say it! Make your decision!
The realist in Lilly was screaming at her, insisting she was in the right.
The girl of the filth was shouting that this was how she had stayed alive so far. Why
hesitate now?
Her small lips trembled. Her tangled tongue tried to speak.
But then, the other Lilly, the one who was pressing on her heart, tearfully pleaded with
the pure-white expanse that her mind had become.
Save them.
"…!!"
Lilly's left hand flashed.
A lightning bolt from her magic sword shot between the elf and the dwarf,
slaughtering the monster that had just flown at them.
Dormul and Luvis stared at her, dumbfounded. Finally, she spoke.
"If he were here, he wouldn't leave you behind!"
Another image from the Dungeon rose before her mind's eye.
A beautiful, warm Firebolt that had saved her when she was surrounded by a
terrifying swarm of giant ants, and the extended hand of a boy.
"He didn't leave me behind!" she howled, tears flying from the corners of her eyes.
Lilly hadn't become Braver. At the very last moment, she had kicked away the best
option. Human emotion and sympathy had swayed her.
In a corner of her mind, the image of Finn sighed disappointedly.
But no. Lilly didn't want to become Braver. What she really wanted to become—what
she wanted to pursue—was the person who had saved her.
The kind hand that had not abandoned her when she was smeared with mud.
"I can do it, too…! Lilly can change, too!!"
Bell had had many experiences, and he had set his eyes on a distant goal, and he had
changed.
If that was true, then it would be a lie to say Lilly couldn't change. It would be a lie to
say she couldn't take off running, too.
If she didn't, then she had no right to stand by his side.
"That's why I won't! I won't leave you behind! Do not give up!"
Her hands and feet were shaking. Emotions were flooding her whole being. Although
her small body was easily blown back by the cruel howls of the monsters, still she
transformed her tearful voice into resolution. As Luvis and Dormul watched her, the
shadow of death faded from their faces.
A single tear slid from the moist chestnut-brown eyes.
"I did it because I'm his supporter!!"
Welf's ears caught her words and his sweat-drenched face formed a smile.
Just then, the exhausted Haruhime perked up her ears.
"—!!"
She widened her green eyes, bit her lip, and with her last drop of strength, reached
out one arm.
"Lady Lilly…!"
Lilly turned in surprise as Haruhime grasped her Undine cloth sleeve.
"He's coming…!"
"Huh?"
"He will arrive…!"
The animal girl had picked up a voice in the midst of the chaotic battle. She smiled, her
face full of envy and encouragement.
"That person is coming…!"
The next moment…
"Lillyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!"
Bell's voice reached Lilly's ears as he shouted her name.
"—"
He was approaching from far, far away. At the very limit of her field of vision, way down
at the other end of the wide passage, she could see him waving his arms.
It was exactly like the day he had saved her from the horrible swarm of ants.
The other Lilly, the one who had groveled in the dirt covered in filth, slapped her hand
on the ground. She gritted her teeth, peeled her body from the dirt, and stood up.
Her chest grew hot, her tear glands burst open, and soon countless drops were
dripping from her cheeks.
"…! Miss Haruhime, please get out of the way!!"
At that moment, Lilly guessed the intentions of the boy who was calling her name.
She moved in response to what she knew this boy, who believed in himself and made
light fly from his right hand, wanted her to do. Using her quick wits, she thrust the
magic sword into the ground by her feet, causing an explosion. The powerful lightning
bolt carved a crater in the crystal floor.
"Quick, everyone, get into the hole! Hurry!!"
The adventurers encircling her responded to her urgent cry unquestioningly. Dormul
and Luvis followed. They immediately abandoned their combat, grabbed Haruhime
and the wounded, and flew into the hole.
Without skipping a beat, the horde of monsters closed in.
"Miss Aisha, run!" Lilly shouted as she shrugged off the Goliath Robe and spread it over
the top of the hole.
"…!"
Aisha, still locked in battle with the enhanced species, stared in surprise.
The monster could not understand Lilly's words. For it, they were simply the screams
of a human. And this was what decided their respective fates.
The Amazon forcefully beat back the giant's attack and dove into a tunnel just big
enough to hold her.
No sooner had she done so than Bell appeared on the battleground, bell ringing,
launched himself off the ground with a powerful stomp, and thrust out his right arm.
He had been charging for four minutes, a full charge.
He aimed for everything he could see and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"FIREBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLT!!"
A giant bolt of flame.
"—"
As soon as the Amazon disappeared from its field of vision, the enhanced species saw
the burning red jaws.
The other monsters had pounced on the hole and sunk their claws into the black robe,
only to be incinerated in the next moment by the Firebolt.
The deadly stream of fire that washed down the passageway swallowed the entire
horde.
"O—OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
As the burning monsters howled, the enhanced species—which had also been
swallowed up in the surge of flames—was thrown far down the passage with a force
like a river overflowing its banks. It had avoided immolation thanks to the spirit
protective cloth, but together with the rush of crimson fire, it was hurled against the
wall at the end of the passage.
The crystal wall exploded into fragments, and the horizontal column of flame raged
on through the Dungeon.
The enhanced species was burned all over its body. It fell through the broken wall into
the large room on the other side, and it collapsed onto its back.
"…Mr… Bell!"
Lilly pushed back the Goliath Robe covering the hole, stuck her face into the passage,
and called his name like she had once before.
She could see him there, farther down the passage that was cleared now of monsters
and steaming with the heat from countless melted magic stones.
A lone boy, walking through the shimmering haze left by the flames.
To her, that figure walking quietly through the swirls of sparks looked incredibly
heroic.
Lilly trembled as she watched him. Even Welf and the others who poked their faces up
gasped.
Lilly wanted to fly from the hole and throw herself at him. She wanted to hug him,
sobbing, and inundate him with a chaotic mess of apology and gratitude.
But the flame of the warrior was still burning in his eyes.
He was looking straight ahead, his whole body aflame with outrage and determination
to slaughter his powerful enemy.
In that case, there was one thing Lilly could do. She rolled out of the hole, withdrew a
glass vial from the pouch at her hip, and handed it to him roughly.
"Mr. Bell!"
"—Thank you."
That was all he said after taking the High Dual Potion, one of Nahza's new concoctions,
from her hand. But it was enough.
Aisha emerged from her tunnel, walked past the hole where Mikoto and the others lay
piled on top of one another, and smiled at Bell's back.
"…Bell Cranell! Finish that thing off before we all drop dead!" she said.
"Sorry about this, Bell, but we're counting on you!" Welf added, a rueful smile on his
face as he crawled out of the crater.
Bell did not turn toward them, replying only by raising one hand.
He drank down the last drops of the High Dual Potion, wiped the corner of his mouth
with his arm, and walked toward the hole in the Dungeon wall.
He was insane with anger.
What was this?
What had just happened?
It should have been the perfect hunt. After he finished off the brown female, he was
going to kill the other humans, and then eat their magic stones. But—
Why is that human alive?!
I thought you fell over the waterfall!
Why didn't you die?
Why? Why? Why?
This was the first time anything like this had happened.
There was no way he could allow something like this.
It was unacceptable for a human to exist who did not follow his expectations as a
hunter.
They were just prey, just food. Nothing more.
Fury and loathing rose like smoke from his body.
The blue cloth rubbing against his skin strained and screeched at its overuse.
He gnashed his fangs and stood up.
"UOOOO…!"
If you're coming, then come. I've eaten enough magic stones.
He was different from what he had been a short while before. His power had swelled
to incredible heights. It would be easy to twist and crush that human's skinny arm.
Fire could no longer affect him. Perhaps he should drag the human underwater again.
The Dungeon was his mother. Within his mother's womb, he could gain endless
strength. But the humans had no tricks for gaining strength. This time, he would stop
his prey's breath at the source.
His eyes gleaming with the desire to kill, he glared at the boy who appeared from
beyond the hole.
Bell stood on the rim of the hole he had blasted open with the Firebolt, looking down
on the scene before him.
It was a peaceful, watery room. Water covered more than half the large space, and in
the center there was a mass of crystal fifty meders in diameter. It looked like an island
floating in a large lake. He did not see any monsters. None, that is, except the enhanced
species that stood in the center of the island, taking him in with a gaze full of
murderous intent.
Bell leaped down from the rim and jumped across the lake, using the crystals that
protruded from the water's surface as stepping-stones, until he reached the island
where the monster waited. Nothing stood between them now. On the flat, sparkling
blue ground, beneath the light from the white crystals studding the ceiling, Bell and
the enhanced species faced each other.
"GRRRRRR…!!"
Bell's eyes met those of his opponent as it let out a deep growl. It was quite a bit larger
now. Standing before the grotesque giant, the emotion that the adventurer felt in his
heart was almost certainly rage. This monster had hurt his friends and killed many of
his fellow adventurers. It had cruelly tormented the elves. Bell was not the kind of fool
who could stand by silently as this creature sadistically and calculatingly rampaged
through the Dungeon to satisfy its own greed.
But he also knew that from the monster's perspective, his rage was absurd. Wounds
and even life itself were the price of adventure. Everything was done at the
adventurer's own risk. It was a mistake to see this fight as revenge for Luvis's arm. Bell
and his party were intruders trampling destructively through the Dungeon. They were
the invaders.
Bell understood this, and he gazed at the enemy before him through adventurer's eyes.
He would obey the laws of the Dungeon—and kill the monster he now faced.
"…"
"HAA…"
Bell silently drew both of his knives.
The red-eyed monster exhaled a murderous breath.
An instant later, their bodies quivered and they kicked the ground.
Bell and the enhanced species charged at each other, shattering the silence of the room
and transforming the little island into a fighting ring.
"Oof!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The monster had the upper hand in their first collision. Its power had grown beyond
what Bell expected, and its arm sent the thrust of his blade flying backward. To avoid
the monster's pursuit, he rolled over the ground and kicked its flank.
The moss huge flew at him again, its teeth bared precisely as if it were smiling. Bell
fought back.
"Here they go…!"
Hearing the battle cries, Lilly and the others raced to the hole in the wall.
Welf panted, Ouka held Chigusa in his arms, Mikoto supported Haruhime with her
shoulder, and Aisha stood with the parasitic vines twined around her body. Even Luvis,
Dormul, and the other dwarves and elves pushed through their pain and gathered by
the hole to watch as the fight began.
"Hey, you guys! Are you just going to stand there and not help?" Daphne panted as she
ran to catch up with the others watching the fierce battle. Her opinion, delivered with
extreme frankness, was that in the current situation, they would together be able to
give the monster a good beating.
"Bad idea. If you get hit by those seeds and implanted with vines, you'll just be a
burden on Bell Cranell," Aisha countered. Daphne flinched for a moment at the sight
of the Amazon hugging the vine-covered half of her body, but then renewed her
argument.
"B-but… we can use arrows, and maybe we could get another level boost! Rabbit Foot
shouldn't have to take on that monster all alone—!"
Cassandra interrupted her, pointing toward the room.
"D-Daphne… look…"
Daphne glanced suspiciously back at the fight.
"OOOOOOAAA!!"
"…!"
Bell had managed to get his knife past the monster's arm and was now slashing its
body relentlessly. Taking advantage of his small size in relation to his opponent, he
hopped from its left side to its right, then bent forward almost to the ground and
slipped around to its back side. He was unleashing a series of close-range attacks—
not so much hit-and-run as rush, dodge, and repeat.
The flashing purple-blue and white blades pounded against the monster, chipping
away at its wooden armor frame and mossy flesh.
"D-did that monster get stronger by eating magic stones?!" Daphne blurted out.
"I think so. But more than that…"
Aisha narrowed her eyes.
"…Isn't Bell Cranell moving faster than the last time we saw him?" Ouka said from
beside her, lowering his voice in terror. In his arms, Chigusa opened her eyes a tiny bit
in surprise.
Only Mikoto, standing next to the group, broke into a cold sweat.
No way…
There was something familiar about the feeling that came over her as she registered
the difference between Bell now and Bell when he was last with the party.
It wasn't that he was moving faster. It was that his movements had much more vitality
to them now.
Kind of like when Haruhime gives us the level boosts…
Mikoto cleared her throat, conscious of the weight of the renart on her shoulder.
When Mikoto received level boosts, she often felt like her body was out of control. Her
mind was not able to keep up with the suddenly increased power emanating from her
physical body.
What if Bell had been in the same situation before he separated from the group?
What if his mind and body had been out of sync?
That happened when the drastic physical changes that occurred when one leveled up
outpaced the sensations produced by the mind.
A shiver ran down Mikoto's spine.
So all this time, Sir Bell has been—
Probably, first-tier adventurers were able to bring their mind and body into sync after
one major battle. But Bell was still immature—and more importantly, his rate of
growth was insanely fast. Even more so than an ordinary person, his mind couldn't
keep up with his body.
But what if his experience in the lower levels had finally taken care of the problem?
Mikoto's violet eyes widened as she watched the boy toss his opponent about between
his knives. She thought back to something Takemikazuchi had said when he was
training her before the expedition.
Were you fighting with your body and your mind out of sync?
Mikoto was right.
My body is working better than before.
Bell realized it in the midst of fighting the monster. His body was following the exact
track his mind laid down. The lags in his attacks, defense, and retreat—so small before
that he wouldn't even notice them without a conscious effort—were gone now.
The sensations inside his body were clearer than ever before.
That uneasy feeling is gone.
Strangely enough, the grand battle with the iguaçu—those creatures who put their
very lives at risk to dive-bomb him—had brought his mind and body into alignment.
Now that his body was fully under his control, it seemed obvious. He could see just
how much the vessel of his physical being had been throwing him around, even when
he first arrived in the lower levels and even during his first fight with the enhanced
species.
Now his body was working how he wanted it to, as if all the gears had finally clicked
into place. He was able to meet his opponent's movements.
"OO, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
He could see the uneasiness rising in the enhanced species' eyes as it took in this new
Bell, who fought in a completely different way than he had in their last encounter.
The superhuman strength that crushed the crystal ground underfoot didn't even make
a scratch on the boy. The tree roots, which extended from the monster's legs into the
ground and then up again for a sneak attack, were severed before they could do their
work. The attacks that had tormented so many adventurers in the past had no effect.
The monster roared, as if to chase away its uneasiness. Then bumps rose all over its
body. Facing Bell at close range, it fired a hail of seed bullets at him.
They're not as fast as the iguaçu!!
Bell did not lose his composure. Compared to the terrifying crimson streaks he had
encountered earlier, the seed bullets looked practically stationary.
He tracked their trajectories, and moving his arms so fast they appeared to blur, he
slashed down every last one with his knives.
"…!!"
The astonished monster had no time to regain its footing before Bell launched into a
powerful slashing attack.
"GUO?!"
In response, the moss huge unleashed a counterattack fueled by its fighting spirit and
superhuman strength. Blows nourished by the lives of countless of his own brethren
rocked the scratched dir-adamantite armor covering Bell's body. This time they
inflicted real harm.
The monster was the stronger of the two, and it had greater defensive abilities.
In all likelihood, Bell could not match its overall potential.
But Bell was faster.
Now that his mind and body were fully linked, his true ability gave him an advantage
on the battlefield.
Even more importantly—
He's slow!
The enemy standing before him was incredibly sluggish.
Bell had a standard to hold this monster to.
A monster that was truly beyond the realm of the ordinary.
A monster that was far faster, far stronger, and far crazier than the one before him.
Bell had fought that monster. And he had vowed to fight that worthy opponent again.
I want to beat him.
He wanted to beat the warrior who had appeared before him even after being reborn.
I want to beat him.
He wanted to beat the warrior who had battered him with his ferocious strength and
his double-edged ax, Labrys.
This time, I want to win!
He wanted to beat the brave minotaur who had carved defeat into his body on that
moonlit night.
His status burned high.
The fierce struggle with the moss huge had ignited the passion deep within Bell, and
now, as he thought about the black minotaur, it exploded to the surface.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
"…!!"
The extreme-speed slashing attack far outstripped his enemy's ability to respond. It
was a Rabbit Rush.
Like he had with the iguaçu, Bell carved a whirlwind of black and sparkling white arcs
in the air. Both his mind and body sped up. A typhoon of moss flew from the enhanced
species' body.
Finally, a horizontal slash inflicted from directly next to him sent the massive body
flying backward. Now a good distance separated Bell and the moss huge.
"AAAAAAAAAAA…!!"
"…!"
But even as pieces of the monster's body continued to peel away, new moss grew to
fill the wounds. Soon it appeared the Rabbit Rush had never even happened. Bell
gaped.
Its recovery speed was extremely fast. Even when it was shredded to pieces, the living
moss immediately began to regrow. A simple superiority in the number of wounds
inflicted would not be enough to take down this monster that had consumed so many
magic stones. With the Undine cloth wrapped around its body, Firebolts clearly
wouldn't do much, either.
Plus, even though Bell had drunk the High Dual Potion, his whole body was still feeling
the aftermath of the recent full charge. If the battle lasted very long, the balance would
probably tip in the monster's favor.
So neither knife attacks nor magic would work, and a drawn-out battle would put Bell
at a serious disadvantage.
In that case—a single blow was the only option.
Bell would take out his enemy with the strongest single blow he could manage, one
that left no room for recovery.
He slipped Hakugen into its sheath and held the Hestia Knife in his right fist with a
backhand grip. He raised it to chest level, then thrust out his left hand.
"Firebolt!"
The column of electrical fire that required no chant to activate was instantly released.
But Bell was not aiming it at the enemy in front of him. Instead, he channeled it into
the jet-black blade of the knife in his right hand.
"…?!"
Neither the monster nor the adventurers watching from outside the room could
believe their eyes.
Bell's actions did not end with his infusion of magic into the blade. As soon as the
magic was released, he started charging.
"—"
Ring, ring.
The chime vibrated in the giant's ears. Its eyes fixed on something.
The Firebolt, which should have sent masses of sparks flying when it exploded into
the knife and whose mass of flame should have dispersed, was instead being pressed
onto the blade of the knife by the particles of white light that the boy was releasing.
No, not pressed—focused.
"The flames are gathering in the knife…"
"An enchantment…? No, I don't think so… What is that?!"
Even from their position at a distance, Ouka and Daphne could see what was
happening. The crimson lightning was converging and condensing. The knife wore a
blazing armor of flames, which in turn was wrapped in a thick gauze of light particles.
The hieroglyphs etched into the knife pulsated with white light as if they were
resonating with the flames.
It was a dual charge.
Bell's investigations had led him to home in on the focusing property of Argonaut, and
he'd used that to develop a new application of the skill. In other words, he'd figured
out how to charge his magic and his knife attacks at the same time.
By exploding a Firebolt into the blade and then encasing the whole thing in light
particles, he was able to infuse it with two mechanisms of attack, and at the same time
to strengthen it.
As the heat of the flames focused on the blade, the Hestia Knife began to expand. The
blade swelled to the width of a sword and the length of a dagger. It became hotter and
brighter in proportion to the length of the charge, until crimson light filled the entire
cavernous room. In the midst of this huge power output, a few flames escaped from
Bell's focus and danced off the knife in the form of sparks.
The blow he was preparing pushed his power to its limits and seemed certain to
thunder with the sound of fire and decimate everything around it once it was released.
Bell had devised a completely absurd force-based combat technique. This deadly blow
was expressly designed to defeat his greatest rival whenever they next met.
Yes. It was just like the eternal divine flame—
"—Goddess, I receive this from you."
Bell raised the flame-and-light-clad knife in his right hand and looked at the monster
standing before him.
Ring, ring.
As if to announce that the monster's time was up, Bell's chime rang out.
He was shaking.
What was that?
What was that?!
What could that be?!
He didn't know. He had never seen anything like it.
Many times in the past, he had heard songs followed by bombardment. He had been
burned by fire and frozen stiff by ice, struck by lightning and stripped of parts of his
body.
But he had never seen anything like this.
Never this merciless light.
Never this flash of light and flame that seemed destined to destroy all and return all
to ash.
He was utterly petrified. So petrified that his will to kill and his hatred evaporated.
Water!
He had to get into the water!
If he was in the water, the human wouldn't be able to pursue him!
He turned away from the boy.
He left his anger and his pride and his humiliation behind him and was about to dive
into the stream that his mother the Dungeon had provided for him.
"Hiyo!"
But before he could reach it, a blizzard of pure-white snow beat down from above and
froze the stream as far as he could see.
"?!"
Standing astonished on the edge of the frozen river that he could no longer dive into,
he looked up.
"Thought we'd let you escape, eh?"
A youth with red hair and a blue sword in his right hand was standing on top of a large
crystal column, looking down on him. His other hand was on his hip.
"Sorry, but that guy is gonna kill you right here, right now. Got it?"
The human's fearless smile made him crazy with anger. He roared, wanting to rampage
as his desire to kill dictated.
But the footsteps approaching from behind would not allow that.
He held his breath and looked over his shoulder.
The boy with white hair was walking slowly toward him.
His rage vanished, and in its place the terror came again. The boy paced quietly toward
him, repeatedly focusing that terrible light as he drew near.
It's getting closer!! Closer!! Closer!!
The destruction that would tear him apart.
The human who would kill him.
The white rabbit with the deep-red light in his eyes.
"—Game on," the boy announced, raising his blade of light and flame.
The boy's walk turned to a run, then a sprint.
He was rushing at him as fast as lightning.
"U—UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The deadly blade was bearing down on him.
The white hair left a trace as it flew forward, sparks spilling from the knife and dancing
in the air.
He howled with terror and swung his powerful, all-destroying arms.
But.
The boy flashed toward him with a speed that surpassed his strength.
"—"
The bell had chimed for sixty seconds.
The sacred letters carved into the blade threw off a brilliant light and released the
roaring sound of fire.
"Argo Vesta!"
Just before it happened, as crimson and pure-white light filled the world, something
occurred to him.
If I'm reborn…
I'll never, ever go near a white rabbit again.
That was his final thought before his consciousness exploded into a million pieces.
"Argo Vesta."
There was a thundering of flame and a flash of light, and then a tremendous shock.
That was all there was to the blow.
"—O, OO!!"
The exploding ball of flames swallowed up the death cries sputtering from the
monster, and the crimson flash edged in white light flickered.
The flaming knife blow had caused the powerful explosion.
As Lilly and the others watched from above, their field of vision was filled first with
white, then with red light. They threw their arms in front of their faces as the wave of
heat and shock rolled toward them. Born in the space of an instant, the knife attack
infused with electrical fire had generated a flare that incinerated all that it passed.
As color returned to the flickering landscape, the adventurers slowly raised their
faces.
Two massive legs stood in the silent room, the upper body that once belonged to them
now gone. A moment later, the legs, too, turned to ash and scattered into the air with
a puff.
Bell stood with his right arm outstretched at the end of its swing, quietly looking down
at his knife as he released the tension from his body. The divine blade had matured
along with him, and it was as smooth and un-chipped as before the attack. The flame
and light still lingering in it turned to smoke and drifted upward toward the ceiling.
"Mr. Be—"
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!"
Lilly's and Haruhime's emotional cries were drowned out by the deep bellows of joy
coming from the elves and dwarves. Daphne and Cassandra desperately slapped their
hands over their ears as Welf, Mikoto, and Aisha joined in the battle cry.
"Chigusa!"
"Ah… Ou… ka."
All at once, the parasitic vines entangling the adventurers' bodies disappeared.
The vines had met the same fate as their creator, transforming like the monster into a
haze of ash. As a smile of recovery spread over Chigusa's still-enfeebled face, Ouka
broke into a grin and threw his arms around her.
The elves and dwarves, too, cried tears of joy as the monster's wretched torment
disappeared from their bodies.
"Mr. Bell!"
"Bell!"
The boy winced happily as Lilly, Welf, and the others jumped down from the hole in
the wall and stumbled toward him. As he raised his hands to show that he had suffered
no harm, he heard a splash.
The sound was coming from behind Bell, on the opposite side from the frozen stream.
"Uh…"
Surprised, Bell turned in the direction of the splash and smiled faintly.
A beautiful mermaid had popped her head and shoulders out of the water.
It was Mari, who had parted ways with Bell just before he saved the party.
"Thank you, Bell… I love you!"
The Xenos had delivered the boy to his companions, and now she blushed and smiled
broadly. Then she touched her fingers to her petite lips like a precocious child and
blew Bell a farewell kiss. As she waved, her lips silently formed the words See you later.
Only Bell could see her; she was hidden from view of the rest of the party. The boy
smiled wryly and returned her wave with a tiny one of his own.
A moment later, the sound of Bell's companions throwing their arms around him rang
out, and a fishtail splashed the surface of the water.
As the voices of the adventurers chatting excitedly on land drifted toward her in a soft,
gentle murmur, the mermaid smiled faintly and returned to the world of water.