They watched their surroundings carefully, straining to catch a glimpse of whatever was coming at them next.
Rrrrrrrruuuuummmmbbbbblllleeeee! Something heavy was rolling toward them.
“......” The three of them exchanged worried glances before looking back. Because of the curved nature of the path, they couldn’t see very far above them. The sound gradually continued growing louder, until... A huge boulder the size of the entire passage could be seen hurtling toward them. Naturally, it was spherical. Quite possibly the most cliched trap of all. And they were certain that wherever their mad dash led them, there’d be another annoying set of letters lying in waiting.
Yue and Shea quickly turned around and began running for their lives, but they stopped after going only a few paces. They had noticed Hajime wasn’t following them.
“...Hm? Hajime?”
“Hajime-san!? You’ll be crushed if you don’t hurry!”
Instead of answering, Hajime simply bent his knees and thrust his right hand forward, as if he were trying to take aim with his fingers. He then squeezed his left arm as hard as he could, making it let out a metallic screech. Smiling fearlessly, he stared down the boulder thundering toward him.
“It’s just not my style to let you keep one upping me over and over!” The noise from his prosthetic arm grew louder. And then... Boom! With an explosive bang, his left arm hit the boulder. The force of the impact pushed him back, but he transmuted spikes out of his boots and dug his heels in. Cracks spread out of the boulder from the point of impact, and its speed slowed considerably.
“Raaaaaaaah!” With a spirited shout, Hajime dug his fist deeper into the boulder. The fierce struggle between his fist and the boulder came to a conclusion, and his fist emerged the clear victor. With another loud crack, the boulder shattered into a million pieces.
For a few seconds after the boulder was gone he didn’t move, alert for any extra surprises. After he was sure nothing more was coming, however, he let out a relieved sigh and brought his fist back. There was no screeching coming from his arm anymore. He experimentally clenched and unclenched his left fist a few times, then turned back to Shea and Yue after making sure it was in working condition.
The stress from earlier was no longer present on his face. Instead, there was an exultant smile there. Though he had tried to not let it show, he had been getting worn down by the traps he couldn’t sense or prevent from activating.
Hajime had combined his Steel Arms skill, the same one he had used to defeat Jin back in Verbergen, with a high frequency vibration he’d achieved by pouring mana into his prosthetic arm. That was what had allowed him to destroy the boulder. Though, because of the strain it put on his arm, he had to perform maintenance after only one use. Originally, it had been one of his trump cards but... he’d been so annoyed he’d used it on a simple trap.
Shea and Yue were in a celebratory mood too as they ran up to Hajime.
“Hajime-san! You’re amazing! That was so cool! I feel alive again!”
“...Yeah, same.”
“Hahaha, I know, right? Now we can finally relax a little and—” Hajime’s elated reply was suddenly cut off by a new noise.
Rrrruuuuummmmbbblllleeeee! A very familiar noise. His smile stiffened. As did Shea’s, and it appeared as if Yue’s blank expression grew a shade darker as well. Like a broken doll, Hajime jerkily turned around. Behind him, he saw... A shiny black metal boulder.
“No way.” He let out an involuntary gasp.
“U-Umm, Hajime-san... Is it just me, or is there some weird liquid flying off that thing as it rolls down?”
“...It’s melting the walls.”
There were countless small holes dotting the surface of the boulder, from which an unknown liquid was being sprayed out. Anything the liquid came in contact with let out an ominous hiss as it melted.
Hajime took a look for himself, let out a tired sigh, and turned back to Yue and Shea, stiff smile still stuck to his face. Finally, it vanished and he yelled “Damn it, run!” before dashing off at an inhuman speed down the passageway. Yue and Shea exchanged glances before sprinting off after Hajime.
The boulder was slowly gaining speed as it sped down the passage.
“Nooooooooooooo! I don’t want to be squish-melted to death!”
“...Same. Let’s keep running.”
Shea’s wails echoed throughout the corridor.
“And Hajime-san, I can’t believe you ran off without us! How cruel! You demon!” She protested loudly.
“Oh shut up, it wasn’t on purpose! Just keep running!”
“I can’t believe you’re taking that attitude with me when you left us behind! Do you not care at all about what happens to me!? Uwaaaah, I’m coming back to haunt you if I die!”
“Sounds like you’re doing fine, Shea.” Judging by the fact that she still had time to complain, Yue assumed she wasn’t in any real trouble.
A few seconds later, they saw the end of the passageway. Using his Farsight, Hajime was able to ascertain that the room it opened up into was quite spacious. Still, there was something strange about its layout. The floor was the furthest thing from them, distance-wise. It appeared the corridor ended somewhere close to the room’s ceiling.
“We’re going down, guys!”
“Okay.”
“Got it!”
They slid the last few feet of the corridor, fell to the room below, and—
“Guh!?”
“Hm!?”
“Hiii!?”
Three simultaneous screams of surprise rang out. Below them, the floor was submerged in a pool of dangerous-looking liquid.
“Fucking bitch!” Hajime shot out a barrage of knives from his left arm, along with an anchor to fasten himself to the wall, then grabbed Yue with his right. The giant metal boulder flew past them and fell into the pool below. Smoke billowed as the boulder slowly sunk into its depths.
“Wind Wall.” Yue’s spell blew away any stray splashes of acid that got close. Hajime vigilantly watched his surroundings for a few minutes longer, but when nothing more happened he relaxed.
“Uuu... Hic... I’m just... I’m just... Waaa...” Turning around, he saw Shea pinned to the wall by the knives that pierced through her clothes. She was sobbing as always.
“What’re you crying for this time?”
“Are you on your period?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You pinned me to the wall, but you’re carrying Yue-san? Hajime-saaaaaan, can’t you be at least a little nice to me?”
“I saved your life, didn’t I?”
“That’s not what I mean! Can’t you save me in a more, like, gallant way? You know what I mean, right!? I want to be carried tenderly like that too!”
“Shea.”
“Hic... What is it, Yue-san?”
“You have to face reality.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!?”
“Look here, Shea. I do think of you as a comrade, and it’s not like I don’t care about you, but... the girl I’m in love with is Yue, so you can’t blame me for thinking of her first.”
“Uwaaah.”
Though what Hajime said was absolutely correct, or perhaps because of it, tears started falling from Shea’s eyes. On the other hand, Yue blushed and snuggled even closer to Hajime.
“Just you wait, I’m going to make you fall for me so hard that you’ll be begging to save me!”
“You never give up, do you?”
“Yeah. She has guts. I need to watch out.”
Even when they were hanging for dear life above a pool of burning acid, they still had time to act out their love comedy skits. It really didn’t feel like their life was in danger.
Using his anchor like a pendulum, Hajime was able to swing himself across the pool of acid and land safely on the floor. The room they’d found themselves in was long and rectangular. Along the wall were numerous alcoves, and ensconced within each was a statue in a full suit of armor, complete with sword and shield. In the deepest part
of the room was a flight of stairs, beyond which stood an altar. Past the altar was a majestic door. Placed atop the altar was a diamond-shaped yellow crystal. Hajime frowned as he took in his surroundings.
“What a door. Does it lead to Miledi’s secret base? If so, that’s great news, but... am I the only one that’s got a bad feeling about those suits of armor?”
“Don’t worry, I know her by now.”
“Doesn’t that mean these things are going to jump out and attack us? Shouldn’t we be worrying a lot right now?”
As predicted, when the three of them reached the center of the room, something happened. A very familiar noise reverberated across the chamber.
Clunk! They all came to a halt. I knew it, the three of them thought simultaneously. The statues’ eyes began to glow ominously. And with the sound of metal scraping against metal, the knights stepped out of their alcoves. There were roughly fifty of them.
As one, they all lowered their stance and raised their shields. The army of inhuman knights shuffled forward and encircled Hajime’s party.
“Haha, I knew it. We should have destroyed them before walking up. Well, no point crying over spilled milk... Yue, Shea, you ready?”
“Yeah.”
“A-Aren’t there a bit too many? I mean, I’ll still do it, but...”
Hajime unholstered Donner and Schlag. Normally, Metzelei would be more suited to these numbers, but he was worried the Gatling gun might set off more traps. He could more than believe if he let loose a hailstorm of bullets that at least a few would trigger more switches. So, he decided to stick with his twin pistols for the time being.
A fierce fighting spirit dwelled in Yue’s eyes. She knew full well that she was most disadvantaged by the dungeon’s unique properties, but she would die before letting herself become a burden to Hajime. She was Hajime’s partner. There was no way she’d let something as trivial as this slow her down. Especially not when a potential romantic rival had appeared, regardless of how slim Shea’s chances actually were at seducing Hajime.
Shea, however, was beginning to get cold feet. Even if she was the least affected by the mana dispersion, she was also the one with the least amount of practical combat experience. The five days she’d spent fighting monsters at the bottom of the gorge hadn’t been nearly enough. And even if she included Yue’s training, she still had barely two weeks of experience under her belt. Combine that with the fact that she was one of the gentle Haulia, and it was hardly surprising that she was a little worried. The fact that she hefted Drucken and dug her heels in anyway was a testament to her outstanding courage.
“Shea.”
“Y-Yes!? Wh-What is it Hajime-san?” Her voice quavered a little. Is it just my imagination, or did Hajime sound a little... kinder just then?
“You’re strong. I can guarantee you that. These scrap golems have nothing on you. Don’t worry too much and just beat them to a pulp. And if things do get hairy, we’ll save you.”
“...Yeah. You’re my disciple, I won’t let you die.”
Shea began tearing up. But this time, they were tears of happiness. Because of how roughly they’d treated her, Shea had started worrying that they might have thought of her as a bother... but she finally realized that couldn’t possibly be true.
They trusted her, so even if she was still a novice at fighting, she’d do everything she could. She let the mana flow throughout her body, strengthening her limbs, and stepped forward.
“Fufu, you finally said something nice, Hajime-san. Now I’m really pumped! Yue-san, the day your disciple beats you isn’t far off anymore!”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Hajime and Yue said simultaneously, but Shea was too energized to care. She looked straight ahead at the closest enemy.
“Bring it! You scrap metal robot!”
“Seriously, where do you keep picking all this stuff up from... Ah crap, I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.”
“Scrap metal robot!”
“I’m not gonna say anything. Nope, not gonna say anything.” Hajime sighed tiredly, and not because of the fifty golems bearing down on him. Whether they noticed his feelings or not, the golems all charged as one. Despite their massive frames, they were quite agile. Their armor clanged as they ran, and they cut quite an imposing figure with their glowing eyes and raised swords. It was like a wall of metal was closing in on them from all sides.
Hajime was the first to strike. Even if his pistols were reduced to half their effectiveness, they were still a little more powerful than the average anti-materiel rifle back on earth.
Two streaks of light headed unerringly toward two golems’ heads. They both got stuck in an eye, and the golems arced their heads back in recoil. As they fell, two new knights ran in to take their place. Hajime began firing as fast as he could, throwing their ranks in disarray and keeping them from finishing their encirclement.
Some of the knights were able to weather the hail of bullets by using their shields, swords, and even fallen comrades as shields, and made it all the way to Hajime. But those that made it that far were met with the wrath of Shea Haulia’s war hammer. She had strengthened her body to the limit, and she mercilessly pummeled anything that got close.
“Deyaaaaaaah!” With a spirited shout, she swung Drucken down, pulverizing a knight into a thousand tiny pieces. It had tried to raise a shield in an attempt to ward off the attack, but Shea had simply crushed that along with the rest of the body.
In fact, the impact had been so powerful that there were cracks running through the ground. Seeing an opening, one of the knights that had been standing nearby lowered the shield it had used to withstand the shockwave and bore down on Shea with a sword in hand.
But Shea was aware of the plan. She twisted Drucken’s handle, then pulled the trigger once its transformation was complete.
With an explosive roar, Drucken leaped off the ground. A barrage of shotgun shells fired out of its barrel. Using the momentum of the recoil, Shea spun around and slammed her hammer into the flank of the knight that had been about to cut her in two.
“Raaaaaaah!” The armor crunched as the hammer dug into it. The force of the impact made the knight double over as it was sent flying. It looked like it’d just been rammed by a truck. The limp body slammed into another one, and they both tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. The entire torso had been caved in, so it didn’t look like it’d be moving any time soon.
Shea’s ears perked up as she heard the sound of wind whistling in the distance. She looked up and saw the knight she’d sent flying earlier had let go of its sword, which was now whirling through the air. She leaped into the air, grabbed it by the hilt, and flung it at another one of the approaching knights.
It flew down at inhuman speed, and glanced against the knight’s raised shield. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, she swung her hammer up at the enemy. It hit directly into the stomach, and sent the knight flying through the air.
In a final act of desperation, the knight tried to swing its sword down on her, but Shea utilized the force of her swing to dodge aside. Then, before the knight could hit the ground, she smashed Drucken down again.
A golem cannonball was created, and it knocked down a few comrades before crumbling against the wall in a shattered heap.
Shea’s lips curled up into a smile. She wasn’t enjoying the fight itself, but she was glad that she could hold her own alongside Hajime. It was only then that she truly felt she’d earned the right to travel alongside him and Yue... But that happiness lead to her lowering her guard.
In battle, even a moment’s distraction could prove fatal. And before she knew it, there was a shield in front of her face. One of the knights had thrown it at her. These golems weren’t bad at all. Since she was strengthening herself, it wouldn’t be able to kill Shea, but it certainly had enough force to give her a concussion. Still, it would be easy to imagine what would happen to her if she let herself get disoriented.
She just hadn’t expected a k
night of all people, even a golem knight, to throw their shield. That was the kind of underhanded tactic reserved for thieves. There wasn’t even enough time to yell out “Crap!” anymore.
The most she could do was brace herself for impact. But just before it hit her, a jet of water slammed into it, diverting the shield from its intended path. It flew past Shea’s side and smacked into a golem behind her instead.
“Never let your guard down. Now your punishment’s been tripled.”
“Fweh!? That was your doing, Yue-san? S-Sorry, and thanks! Hey wait, tripled!?”
“Yeah... Stay focused.”
“O-Okay! I’ll do my best!” Shea curtailed her earlier excitement after getting scolded by Yue. Reflecting on her mistake, she refocused her attention. As she engaged the knight coming at her from the front, a jet of water bisected the one sneaking up on her from behind. A warm feeling spread through her chest when Shea realized Yue had her back. She made sure to keep her attention on the fight at hand though, so as not to disgrace her master any further.
Any other knight that tried to get into Shea’s blind spots was also cut down by a jet of water sharper than any sword. Yue was using the intermediate level water spell, “Rupture.” It gathered the water in the atmosphere, compressed it, and shot it out as a high speed cleaver.
There were two large metal water canteens dangling from Yue’s waist. Another two were dangling from her shoulders. She’d taken them out of Hajime’s Treasure Trove. Every time she muttered the spell’s name, more water flowed out of the canteen and turned into a deadly blade.
Yue hoped using water already present instead of taking the extra step to compress it from the atmosphere would lower the amount of mana required for each cast. And since she was manipulating water already present rather than forming it with magic, the spell itself couldn’t be dissolved once it was fired. There was a mechanism attached to the canteens that accelerated the water as it exited too, so even the force of the water blade couldn’t be negated by the magic draining air.
Yue augmented Shea’s explosive close combat power by guarding all of her blind spots. Unable to penetrate that ultimate combination, the knights’ numbers continued to dwindle.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 2 Page 21
