"C-Cerberus!!!!"
Someone shouted.
There's even those who raised screams and fell on their butts.
—The watchdog of Hades, Cerberus.
As its name states, it is a monster that's normally in the world of the dead,
in Hades.
No, it is more of a monster that shows up in mythology.
Despite having a giant body that far surpasses that of the Troll, it has agility
that easily allows it to jump over us.
It is devouring the Goblin King as prey.
For this monster, us humans must be like insects.
"Run away, everyone!!" (Leona)
Leona gave those orders to the club members, and they all scattered in
every direction as response.
"Sumire, we are running away!!" (Eugene)
"O-Okay…" (Sumire)
I pulled the hand of Sumire who seemed like she didn't understand the
situation well here, and we ran inside the forest.
No, even I myself don't understand well what's going on.
Why is Cerberus on a lower floor like this one…?
"Eugene-kun, is that dog with 3 heads strong?!" (Sumire)
"That's a beast of Gods! We absolutely can't kill it!" (Eugene)
"Eh?! W-What do you mean by that?!" (Sumire)
Just when I was about to answer the question of Sumire.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh…!"
I heard a scream that made my hair stand.
—*Crack* *Crunch…*
I could hear the sound of bones cracking and something being eaten.
"Eh?" (Sumire)
I heard gulping.
Sumire had a pale white face at my side.
"Ah?!" (Sumire)
The legs of Sumire tangled up and she fell.
"Sumire!" (Eugene)
I held Sumire in my arms and ran.
"E-Eugene-kun…that just now…" (Sumire)
"Don't think about it right now." (Eugene)
I ran with all of my strength in order to create distance from the Cerberus.
This horrible scenario continued.
—The God Trial of the 100th Floor has begun.
An inorganic voice rang in the 20th Floor.
"100th Floor…?" (Sumire)
I could hear the confused voice of Sumire, but I didn't have the leeway to
answer her question.
I am also as confused.
Why is the Angel Announcement of the 100th Floor echoing here…?
I looked around while running and searched for a place to hide.
Something…somewhere where we can hide ourselves…
There!
There's a giant tree with a hollowed area big enough for a person to hide.
There's the chance that monsters are hiding in it, but it is better than being
outside.
I jumped in while carrying Sumire.
The hollowed area had just barely enough space for us two.
Nice!
I had Sumire sit on the ground and immediately set a barrier on the
entrance.
—Barrier Magic: [Hide Location].
With this, we can't be seen from the outside of the opening.
Not only that, the opening itself shouldn't be visible either.
…But can it deceive the nose of that Divine Beast, Cerberus?
"E-Eugene-kun…" (Sumire)
"Wait. Be quiet." (Eugene)
Sumire spoke uneasy, but I stopped her with my hand and perked up my
ears.
*…Rumble…Rumble…*
I heard the sound of footsteps.
The ground shook lightly.
*Hah…Hah…Hah…Hah…*
I hear the rough breathing of a beast.
"Hiih!" (Sumire)
Sumire let out a short scream and hurriedly covered her mouth.
One of the heads of Cerberus slowly approached the opening where we
were at.
The giant eye the size of a human's head was searching for prey.
I felt like I made eye-contact with that black pupil, but we didn't get
noticed.
It seems like the barrier is working.
*Hah…Hah…Hah…Hah…*
The breathing of the beast was echoing in the cavity.
Sumire is covering her mouth as if trying to stop her breathing.
(...…Move somewhere else already!) (Eugene)
I pleaded in my heart.
It glared around the area of the barrier for a while, but it eventually left.
W-We did it…
I sat in place.
"Hey…what was…that?" (Sumire)
I pulled the tearful Sumire closer to me by the shoulder.
Sumire is trembling.
No, I am also trembling.
I slowly explained to Sumire in order to calm down my heart.
"Sumire, you know that monsters are ranked according to their danger level
in the Magic Academy, right?" (Eugene)
"Y-Yeah…I learned that from Rin-sensei…" (Sumire)
Sumire nodded.
When us explorers encounter monsters, we have to decide whether we fight
or run away.
Danger levels are set in order to judge that.
Within that, the highest is Calamity Designation.
This is set on monsters that have destroyed a settlement or might destroy
one.
A strong dragon would fall in that category.
Ancient Dragons, who are said to have lived more than a thousand years,
would be Calamity Designation without exception.
Of course, I haven't fought a monster like that before.
Pops apparently has, but he understandably said 'I wouldn't go out of my
way to fight a Calamity Designation monster'.
"Is Cerberus just now…a Calamity Designation monster?" (Sumire)
"…No." (Eugene)
I grind my teeth as I answered.
Yeah, the highest danger level of a monster is Calamity Designation.
But Cerberus is not included in that category.
That's because it is a Divine Beast.
"A Divine Beast is far above those Calamity Designation monsters…
obviously. It is a mythological beast that has lived hundreds of thousands of
years after all…" (Eugene)
"..." (Sumire)
Sumire made a face as if she can't wrap her head around this.
I myself think this might be some sort of bad dream.
"Divine Beasts are…familiars from the Gods in the Divine Realm. It
normally wouldn't be in the Mortal Realm. It is a special being that only
appears in the places called Last Dungeons…" (Eugene)
That's right. You normally wouldn't meet one.
It only appears in set circumstances.
"A beast set by the Holy Gods to appear in the God Trial every 100 Floors.
That's why there's no way you would meet one in floors lower than the
100th Floor…that's how it should have been." (Eugene)
"…This is the 20th Floor though?" (Sumire)
Sumire mutters in a tearful tone.
"Yeah…it is strange. I have never heard of something like this." (Eugene)
Something impossible is happening here.
Is this what Leona meant by the difficulty of the dungeon being weird?
Even if so, this is crazy.
What do you want explorers that just arrived to the 20th Floor to do by
throwing them a Divine Beast?!
Nothing will be resolved if we just get angry.
Sumire is trembling profusely here.
I hugged Sumire from behind in order to calm her down.
Her trembling settled down bit by bit.
After a while, Sumire muttered.
"Eugene-kun, what do you mean by not being able to kill that monster…?"
(Sumire)
"A Divine Beast is different from a monster. They have 'infinite life'.
That's why you don't defeat the beast of Gods. You have to use your
intelligence and courage to overcome this and advance to the next floor…
That's the Trial of Gods. What's set every 100th Floors is called a
Discipline Beast." (Eugene)
"…How do you overcome it?" (Sumire)
"I don't know…" (Eugene)
I could only answer with that.
My best record in the dungeon just got updated to the 19th Floor just now.
I didn't even imagine I would be fighting a 100th Floor beast.
Sumire fell silent at my words.
But she then speaks as if she couldn't endure the silence.
"…T-The 3 headed beast of just now…is it strong?" (Sumire)
"Yeah, Cerberus is a famous Divine Beast." (Eugene)
I spoke about the knowledge I have in my memories.
"It is not set what Discipline Beast will be appearing. Floors like the 100th
Floor or the 200th Floor normally have nothing in it contrary to other
floors. A Discipline Beast is 'summoned' only when challengers appear.
Cerberus has been summoned a number of times before, but…from what I
know, there hasn't been an explorer who has been able to get through
Cerberus…in more than a hundred years…" (Eugene)
I noticed after saying it.
It is all bad news.
"…N-No way." (Sumire)
There's quite a lot of difference in strength between the Discipline Beasts.
We have been taught in the exploration classes in the academy that, if you
are unlucky and Cerberus shows up, it would be better to give up
obediently.
"Are Leona-san and the others alright…?" (Sumire)
"I don't know… It would be nice if they managed to escape." (Eugene)
"What should we do from now on?" (Sumire)
"Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to wait for the
dungeon staff to come…" (Eugene)
This abnormal situation should be broadcasted in the Satellite System.
I am sure they are moving to rescue us.
"Is the dungeon staff strong enough to defeat the beast just now?" (Sumire)
"Not at all… I think they will be making a request to high ranked
adventurers that have cleared the 100th Floor." (Eugene)
"I-I see! Then, there's no need to worry!" (Sumire)
A bit of a smile returns to Sumire's face.
But there's a worry.
Explorers that have cleared the 100th Floor are called A Rank explorers,
and their numbers are incredibly low.
They are diving dungeons most of the time.
Will they be able to get anyone?
I directed my gaze at the explorer bag.
I had no plans on camping to begin with, so I didn't bring much rations.
It would most likely only last half a day.
Would it be able to last until rescue comes?
Sumire and I lean on each other inside the cramped cavity of the tree as we
wait for rescue.
…Time is passing slowly.
How much time has passed?
It might have been a few hours, or it may not have even been an hour yet.
At that moment…
— "The Trial of Gods has ended. The challengers have been wiped out."
The inorganic Angel Announcement rang in the 20th Floor.