by Fujino Omori
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…!”
“H
uh?”
“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.
