Chapter 70 - Chapter 70: Battle Start!
The top guilds are continuing their assault into the deep layers of the dungeon.
While encountering countless monsters, we arrived at the entrance to Floor 7, our destination.
This is a troublesome choke point where a massive wall blocks the dungeon, and the entrance is located 100 meters high from the ground.
The plan this time is to build scaffolding here and create a breakthrough for further dungeon conquest.
Just as we had combined our efforts and built about half of the scaffolding, something strange happened.
The entrance to Floor 7 should be a safe zone, yet monsters popped out.
That wasn't all.
They were monsters that even veteran adventurers had never seen before, and parts of their bodies contained accomplices we had sent to hell in the deep layers—the scum of the Dancing Darkness guild.
Everyone's consensus was that they were Ghouls.
"Hah! They ran into the dungeon and turned into Ghouls? What a pain!"
Iroha spat out.
"They should have had the Labyrinth Cult with them, who can move freely inside the dungeon. Why did this happen...?"
"I don't know! Probably got betrayed, didn't they?"
That possibility was certainly there.
"Just use them and then toss them aside?"
"Ahaha, isn't that a fitting end for the Dancing Darkness bunch?"
"Even for villains, it's a bit pitiful."
"Darling! No need to pity those guys!"
It was the Princess's words, but Iroha agreed.
"Exactly what Cherry Princess said!"
While we were talking, the mage's attack began from behind us.
"Light Bullets! Strike my enemies! [Magic Missile]! Flames of Fury! [Fireball]!"
Magical arrows and fireballs were fired one after another, but they just dented against the monster's body surface and scattered as fragments.
The holes regenerated immediately.
It was quite a powerful regeneration ability.
Well then, it's my turn next.
Dodging the enemy's attacks, I approached the monster.
"Summon Debris!"
Huge, rough chunks of debris rained down from above onto the monster.
"Gwooooo!"
It seemed crushed by the mass attack, but it didn't seem to take that much damage.
The enemy's power pushed the debris aside, but for now, it was stopped.
"Please, step back!"
Kaorulko's voice echoed through the dungeon.
The heavy darkness that had settled in the dungeon—like breaking that silence, faint light began to gather from the gaps in the floor and walls.
At first, it was small particles of light, but they gradually drew closer to each other and converged.
That light emitted a brilliance resembling silver and gradually took shape.
The adventurers who were standing in front retreated all at once.
"Pierce my enemies! [Gamma Ray]!"
The light became a single beam, guided by a mysterious power, and was fired with a roar toward the huge monster standing in the center of the dungeon.
The beam of light easily pierced the monster's thick skin with a sound like cutting flesh, crushing its internal organs and bones.
The enemy's roar echoed through the space, filled with pain and terror.
The giant body that had been attacking us was split in two, and black mist-like blood splashed danced in the air.
Although the magic tore apart the monster's body, its momentum did not stop.
The light continued forward and crashed violently into the dungeon wall behind it.
The stone wall collapsed from the impact of the light, and countless fragments flew in all directions.
On the other side of the wall, a black, separate space appeared, and a dimmer presence drifted from there, but for now, we could only stare at that scene.
"Amazing!" "Aaaah!"
Iroha's loud voice and the girls' screams echoed.
I was worried because the fragments came flying like bullets, but it seemed the mages were using defensive magic to block them, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
The afterglow of the magical power still floated in the air, gently swaying as if enveloping the entire dungeon—but.
"Gyoooo!"
The monster was not dead, but continued to scream.
Since the Minotaur was also moving with its head crushed, it wasn't surprising.
However, knowing that the battle would continue with such a troublesome enemy that wouldn't die even from Kaorulko's ultimate magic, I felt a bit dark.
"Hm?!"
I could see something black inside the torn body of the monster.
Could it be a Magic Stone?
If there is a Magic Stone, it means they truly became monsters.
"Ugh..."
Behind me, Kaorulko, who had used up all her mana, was about to collapse.
I rushed over at Mach speed and supported her, carrying her in a princess carry.
I was about to take her to the side of the dungeon wall, but Yuuki shouted.
"Look at that!"
The monster's body, torn apart by the mage's powerful magic, began to return to its original state.
The huge wounds were knitting together before our eyes.
"Gwooo!"
At the same time that life returned to the monster's face, which had shown an expression of agony, the attack resumed.
I couldn't let it go toward the mages.
I also fired Single-pipe Missiles to slowly draw hate toward me.
Fortunately, it seemed to have no intelligence left and was moving based on emotion and instinct alone.
If it were a Lesser Demon using magic, that would have been worse, but due to its regeneration ability, we seemed to be running out of steam.
"What do we do with this guy?! Even Empress's amazing magic didn't work!?"
Iroha was right, but there must be some way.
As I was pondering, the enemy's movement stopped.
"What happened?! It stopped!"
The Princess's words echoed through the dungeon, but the cause of the stop soon revealed itself from the darkness.
In the deep black world where nothing could be seen even if you strained your eyes, a creepy naked woman with white skin suddenly appeared.
As if formed from rising black mist, her outline gradually emerged, and her existence slowly solidified.
Her skin looked as if no blood flowed through it, unnaturally white, appearing to emit a hazy light in the darkness.
Her face was expressionless, but a cold madness lurked deep within her pupils.
Her hair was long, hanging down from her shoulders with a wet texture like black threads, as if integrated with the darkness itself.
"The Labyrinth Cult!"
"Indeed—that woman was in the video Darling showed us!"
Iroha had seen my video during the guild meeting.
Others must have seen what I uploaded to my video site as well.
She moved slowly without making a sound, not even a footstep.
A quiet, cold atmosphere filled the surroundings, and a tension that made you forget to breathe tightened.
"Did you do this to them?!"
I asked the woman about the people who had turned into monsters.
"...Oh?"
She seemed to remember me, but she smiled thinly as if she didn't care at all.
She probably didn't care at all about the adventurers sent to the deep layers of the dungeon.
"Hey!"
"...They became one with the dungeon and were reborn with the power of God. Isn't it wonderful?"
"Damn! What power of God..."
Hearing the woman's words, I was certain that Ren, who had gone missing, was no longer alive.
"You damn bastard!"
Iroha raised her greatsword.
"Wait!!"
She was about to charge in, so I panicked and kicked her from the side.
"What are you doing, Darling!"
She stumbled and cursed at me—but at that moment, a pillar of light stood where she had been, and everything around it was engulfed.
It was teleportation.
"If you get too close to them carelessly, you'll be sent to the deep layers of the dungeon!"
"Oh... what a shame."
The naked woman smiled.
"K, damn it!"
Iroha was grinding her teeth, but if she were sent alone, she couldn't possibly return alive.
There was a way to go get her from here, but since we didn't know where in the deep layers she was sent, there was no way to search.
While she was exploring, she would starve to death.
While everyone was grinding their teeth, the woman's figure disappeared into the darkness.
"Gwooooo!"
When the woman disappeared, the monster started moving again.
Punches came aimed at me and Iroha, so I jumped back.
Kaorulko's ultimate magic was a one-shot kill. I never thought that wouldn't work.
"Damn it! ...Hm?! Could it be!"
"What's wrong, Darling?"
The Princess was looking at me, but I had a sudden realization.
"Wait a minute! If it's a Ghoul, I can use my Item Box!"
"Hah?! Item Box?!"
Iroha naturally didn't know, but it can store things that aren't living beings.
"Ghouls are undead, right? Since they're dead, they go into the Item Box."
"Really?!"
"Yes! Shall we try?"
"Ggooooo!"
The enemy charged at us.
We dodged all at once, but I alone slipped through the debris scattered by the attack and attached myself to the enemy's leg.
"Oraaa! Heaven and Earth Flip!"
Putting all my strength into it, I threw the huge body.
The giant body flew through the air and crashed headfirst into the ground.
"Gwoo!"
I pointed my palm at the writhing enemy.
"Store!"
...Nothing happened.
"Ggooo!"
The enemy got up, so I took distance for a moment.
The enraged enemy came toward us, so combat resumed.
"Aaaah!"
The female mages screamed in a group and ran along the wall.
"Gaa!"
The charging enemy crashed into the scaffolding we had worked so hard to build, and the structure collapsed from the top like blocks falling.
With a loud noise of metal hitting metal, the monster was buried under the single pipes.
It was quite heavy, I suppose, but it withstood the direct hit from the debris I threw.
It probably won't die from this.
"Damn! We worked so hard to make it!"
It was completely destroyed, so repair was impossible.
We'd have to leave it in the dungeon, bring new scaffolding from outside, and assemble it again.
Some enormous task flickered in my head, and I felt a slight dizziness.
This damn bastard.
How much harassment do these guys have to do before they're satisfied?
The bent single pipes tangled together, stopping the monster's movement.
Magic was fired at it one after another—but this had no effect at all.
"Darling!"
I joined the Princess and the others.
"If it couldn't be stored in the Item Box, that means it's not a Ghoul."
"For real?! Then what the hell is that?!"
Yuuki reacted to Iroha's words and pointed at the monster.
"...Perhaps, that is a type of Chimera."
"A Chimera... Probably that woman did it just now."
"Can she do something like that?!"
Iroha had a face that said she couldn't believe it, but I didn't want to believe it either.
"She talked about the power of God, but does such a thing really exist?"
No—as I always say, this dungeon itself is something beyond human understanding.
It would be no exaggeration to say it is the power of God.
"Darling—so you're saying that woman accessed the power of God?"
"I don't know."
I did not affirm the Princess's words.
I didn't want to.
Power of God?
Or rather, isn't it an Evil God or something?
Leaving the Labyrinth Cult aside, I had to deal with the enemy in front of my eyes.
Even if I ran away from here, they would chase me.
After all, they spawned in a safe zone, so they shouldn't care where they go.
Chimera means combining various creatures, right?
They are indeed combined, but...
"Not a Ghoul, and with regeneration ability—then I guess we need to destroy the Magic Stone inside."
The black thing I glimpsed when the enemy's body was torn open.
"As I thought, that's the only way."
The Princess drew her sword.
"But, as seen in the attack just now, it seemed there were multiple Magic Stones?"
"If five bodies are combined, there might be five Magic Stones."
"Um... I see."
I might have thought of a good way to hinder the enemy's regeneration ability.
"Darling?"
"Princess, can you tear that body apart again?"
"Understood!"
She drew her sword and was about to charge, but a voice came from behind.
"Wait!"
The owner of the voice was Gorilla, who had remained silent until now.
"Let me do it! Mikan, buff me!"
"What are you saying?! Even with buffs, it's impossible at your level!"
"Still, let me do it!"
Honestly, if he recklessly charges and gets hurt, we'll have to consume extra healing potions and recovery items.
I wanted to avoid that, but...
"Princess!"
The leader was her.
The Princess, who had been watching Gorilla, nodded strongly.
"Alright! Leave it to me!"
"For real?!"
"Thank you! Mikan! Buffs!"
"Don't blame me if anything happens! Physical Up! Haste!"
The magic chanted by the mages turned into blue particles of light and soaked into Gorilla's body.
Stacking buffs—can you even do that?
"Woooo!"
Gorilla, holding his greatsword, charged at the enemy.
"Ggooo!"
Dodging the punch thrown by the monster, the steel blade tore the enemy's leg.
Even as the giant body knelt, he dodged the counterattack with flailing arms by backstepping.
Meanwhile, the initial wound was repairing itself.
When the monster stood up, it stacked both hands and swung them high above its head.
It was an ultra-heavyweight attack using overwhelming mass.
Even if they were high-level adventurers, they wouldn't stand a chance if they took that hit.
"Kotaro!"
Mikan's shouting voice echoed through the dungeon.
Once you get that close, support attacks are impossible.
If you fire magic, there's a chance it will hit him.
Gorilla twisted his body to dodge the monster's full-power sledgehammer and jumped onto the enemy's arm, which was like a log.
When he rotated his body like a drill again, the enemy's arm was cut in a spiral shape.
"Gyaoooo!"
Running up the screaming monster's arm, he jumped high.
The huge sword held in both hands pointed high at the ceiling, as if tearing the sky.
The heavy metal of the sword shone dully, and the surrounding air tightened.
His muscles tensed, and the sword was swung down all at once as if pulled by gravity.
The blade of the sword pierced the monster's hard skin and dug deeply into its shoulder.
Black blood splashed up, and the monster fell back greatly while letting out a cry of agony.
The impact of the sword was transmitted to the ground, enough to shake the surrounding floor.
"But, is it shallow?!"
His sword stopped at the monster's shoulder and didn't tear the body apart.
"Uoooooo!"
Gorilla kicked the monster's body, pulled out the huge sword, and jumped in place.
After rotating his body once, he drove the blade into the same spot again.
"Gyaaii!"
The monster's scream echoed sharply through the dungeon.
The giant body was split in half, exposing black bodily fluids and organs.
"Oooo~!"
Cheers rose from the adventurers who had been watching the battle with bated breath.
Even with the buffs, being able to move like that meant he truly had the strength worthy of a top ranker—so that must be it.
Gorilla succeeded in bisecting the monster's body, but was blown away by a huge hand and sent flying into the darkness.
"Kotaro!"
Mikan's voice echoed, and she ran into the darkness to save the two of them.
I want to help them, but I have something to do too.
"It's my turn next!"
I took out the Rotting Dagger from the Item Box and charged at the torn monster.
I jumped and threw it toward the enemy's wound.
The monster's wound was already closing, but the rotting effect attached to the dagger hindered it.
The wound became mushy and was melting out.
Unless this status effect is removed, the torn body won't heal.
"Oooo~!"
Cheers rose from the adventurers again.
"For now, regeneration has stopped! Now we just need to break the Magic Stone—Oraaa, there it is!"
I found something black from the collapsing monster's body and took out a missile from the Item Box.
I'll give them a Super-hard Tungsten warhead.
The trail to the enemy's Magic Stone appeared as a white line in my eyes.
I aimed and threw the missile at it.
The weapon flew in a straight line and hit the black thing buried in the flesh—a flash of light ran through the darkness, revealing the shape of the dungeon.
I could also see Gorilla, who had been sent to the corner, and Mikan, who had rushed there.
"Alright! My turn next! Woooo!"
Iroha raised her sword and charged at the monster.
From the melted enemy's body, countless tentacle-like things extended, but she slashed them all in one stroke—entering the enemy's range, she cut upward from below.
"Gyaoooo!"
From the monster's screaming wound, something black was exposed.
"Oraaaa!"
She jumped up and swung her sword down at the visible Magic Stone.
When the tip bit into the pitch black, it flashed again and the stone shattered.
"Gwooooo!"
"Three more! This guy is troublesome."
I stared at the monster's body.
The collapsed monster's body could no longer maintain a humanoid shape, extending tentacles in all directions from its organs.
"It's my turn next!"
The Princess, drawing her sword, went toward the enemy, and countless tentacles attacked her.
Princess and tentacles—could this turn into something like "Kukkuro!"?
I think it's fine, but I can only watch her fight with a bit of anxiety.
"Hey hey Cherry Princess, are you okay?! Don't tell me this is turning into an eroge manga scene?! If that happens, only the men will be happy, ahaha!"
I actually spoke the thoughts I was having.
As expected of Iroha.
It was thrilling, I was longing for it! But of course, it didn't turn out that way.
Her sword handling was a hundred flowers in full bloom—she cut up the countless tentacles attacking her and effortlessly destroyed the monster's Magic Stone.
"Who do you think I am!"
She turned her back to the suffering monster, maintaining her stance.
Of course, she wasn't neglecting her vigilance.
"As expected, Princess."
"It's my turn next—Compressed Light Bullet! Strike my enemies! [Magic Missile]!"
Blue light had already gathered in front of Yuuki, and with a flash, a thin beam of light like a needle pierced the enemy's body.
It seemed to have accurately pierced the enemy's Magic Stone from a long distance.
The Magic Stone emitted light and scattered fragments in all directions.
One remained.
"Darling!"
"In the end, it's me after all! Hey, girls! Give me buffs too."
"Yes!"
Receiving the Physical Up magic from the female mages, I took out a rock from the Item Box.
"Amazing! My body feels so light."
Since leveling up, my body has been moving at an incredible speed, but it seems receiving buffs raises it by one stage.
I gripped the rock and raised my leg high.
"Oraaa! Go!"
I concentrated all my power into my arm.
The pebble I threw hit the enemy with a deafening roar—
A huge hole opened in the monster's body, and part of the body it was composed of scattered.
Probably, the bullet I fired exceeded the speed of sound, generating a shockwave.
I saw a flash when it hit, so maybe the Magic Stone was also shattered by the shockwave.
As evidence, the monster's body can no longer regenerate and has stopped moving.
It's trying to move the tentacles with its last strength, but gradually that strength becomes weak—and finally, it stops moving.
All that remained on the spot was a lump of half-rotted flesh.
"Did you do it?"
Iroha, holding her sword, muttered.
"I don't know—but if it's truly dead, it should go into my Item Box, so let's try."
Being on guard, I approached the monster and tried to store it.
"Store."
The lump of flesh disappeared from before my eyes.
"Oooo!"
"We did it!"
"Oooo~!"
Cheers from the adventurers echoed through the dungeon hall.
Anyway, it's cleanup time now.
Phew.
One thing has become clear.
Those guys—the Labyrinth Cult, I absolutely cannot forgive them.
That is all.