Chapter 89 - Chapter 89: This is Hell's First Block
We had come to the dungeon to search for and rescue Iroha's younger sister.
We had safely rescued the younger sister and the Mole team members, and all that remained was to return to the surface...
"Adventure doesn't end until you get home."
I had said that flag, and it was successfully triggered.
We had reached the 4th floor, and to shorten the time for returning home, we had boarded the train inside the dungeon.
Suddenly, with a shock and a sound that pierced the ears, we were shaken along with the passenger car.
It seemed the train had derailed.
We went outside to check the surroundings...
The place where we had been thrown was a bizarre space like the end of the world.
Looking around, there was not a single thing resembling a scenery, only an endless pitch-black darkness stretching out.
Several stone pillars stood tall, connecting the ground and the ceiling, but nothing else caught the eye.
Cold air stagnated throughout the entire space, and when it touched the skin, the chill seemed to seep into the very core of the bones.
Where this was, why we were here... there was no answer anywhere.
Only an unfathomable anxiety spread in the chest.
According to the female mage who had been boiling water in the locomotive, the engineer had been thrown out during the derailment.
We asked the Princess and Iroha to help search from the passenger car.
Since we didn't know what would happen, we handed over weapons as well.
I should prepare too.
I charged magic power into the sword that shoots lightning, and also into a large magic stone.
Although magic cannot be used in this space, it seems magic power can still be charged.
Somehow, the activation of magic is being hindered for some reason.
Except for Sana...
"Found him~!?"
"He's not here?!"
"Same here."
We searched about 50m around and 100m behind, but we couldn't find the engineer.
In the first place, no tracks could be seen either behind or in front.
It wasn't even that.
The rear was blocked by a wall.
Feeling a bit desperate, we returned to the location of the passenger car.
"I'm sorry, but we couldn't find the engineer. Since we don't know where this is, we can't go too far."
"I see..."
"W-well, I understand..."
The conductor and the female mage hung their heads.
"Also, we couldn't find any tracks far behind either. It wasn't even that... it was blocked by a wall."
"Are you serious?!"
Iroha shouted.
"Didn't we get teleported somewhere along with the locomotive?"
"If so, did the driver get thrown out when he was teleported?"
If Iroha was right, he might have been thrown out at the original location while escaping the teleportation.
It was all just speculation.
"Speaking of teleportation... is it the Labyrinth Cult again?"
The Princess made a disgusted face.
"When we escaped the floor dug by the Mole, we inflicted serious injuries on them, so I thought they wouldn't attack for a while..."
"So what is this then?"
Iroha pointed at the darkness.
"Didn't we get caught in some kind of teleportation trap?"
I told the Princess and Iroha what I was thinking.
"That's possible..."
The Princess nodded at my words.
"So, it means we might have been sent to a terribly deep layer?"
"That's a possibility, but... it seems different from the 9th floor and 8th floor where the Princess and I were sent."
"Hmm, I think Darling is right."
When I looked into the Princess's eyes, she nodded.
"Ah, and... it seems her magic doesn't work either."
I pointed at the female mage.
"I see..."
"Damn, this has become a troublesome situation!"
Iroha spat out with an dissatisfied expression, but the Princess's face was more serious than ever.
It must be a big deal that we can't rely on magic.
"Sana's magic is the only hope."
"Why can only Sana use magic?"
As Iroha said, it was a bit strange, but the only difference between ordinary mages and her was just one thing.
"Isn't it related to the pattern on her back that we talked about in the safe zone?"
"Ah, could it be that they have the same power as the Emblem Squad?"
"That's right... those Emblem Squad guys can use magic even in places without dungeons, right?"
"I heard that."
"Maybe they operate on a different principle than dungeon magic."
"If so, it makes sense that only Sana can use magic."
The female mage joined the three people's conversation.
"You... could it be... Princess Sakurako?"
It seemed the mage had noticed the Princess.
"Yes."
"To have a top-ranker in such a nonsensical place is very reassuring."
"So the Princess is famous, huh."
"Well, if you say Cherry Princess..."
Iroha said that, but she looked a bit resentful.
"This is a person from Guild Goriki."
"Could it be that big body is Oga-san from Goriki?!"
"Well, yes."
"With top-rankers gathered, we should be able to get out of this place quickly, right?"
"I don't know!"
The Princess cut off the optimistic woman's words.
Indeed, we had absolutely no information on what kind of place this was.
Troubles from returning from the 9th floor might be flashing through the Princess's mind.
"We have food, but... since there are so many people, it might not last very long."
"Hmm."
We had rescued four people, plus the conductor and the female mage, totaling six more people.
For now, we decided to return to the passenger car.
Right in front of us was an iron wheel lying on its side, showing its belly.
The coupling was torn apart, suggesting the impact of the derailment.
Even so, high-level adventurers didn't get injured.
It was probably just some bruises.
"It's troublesome to enter and exit while overturned. Can't we turn the passenger car over ourselves?"
If it stays overturned, we'd have to enter and exit through the window that becomes the ceiling.
Well, there's a ladder in the Item Box, so it would be easy if we used that...
"Darling is right! Let's do it!"
"That's right."
Since we couldn't move it with people inside, we had everyone get out first.
The ladder I took out from my Item Box was put to good use.
"Is that... maybe the Item Box?!"
The female mage raised her voice.
"Yes. Didn't it appear in the official gazette?"
"Ah, it's that person, isn't it!"
My name wasn't known, but it seemed I was somewhat famous.
For now, I seemed to be passing as the person with the Item Box.
Illuminated by the light of Sana's magic, the three of us, me, the Princess, and Iroha, crawled under the carriage.
"Daisuke-san, are you okay?!"
Sana was worried, but it should be fine... probably.
"It's fine, it's fine!"
"1, 2~3!"
The sound of the iron plate creaking tore through the air.
The passenger car, which had stopped moving and was lying down, began to rise slowly as if waking up.
With the sound of metal rubbing against metal and glass breaking, the large carriage struggled to regain its unstable balance.
Releasing a sharp sound as if something was twisting, the passenger car finally stood upright.
"We did it!"
Koeda shouted loudly.
"Phew, it wasn't that heavy."
"Ahaha, maybe Darling could have done it alone."
Iroha was laughing, but if I tried to do it alone saying "Leave it to me!" and failed, it would be embarrassing.
Anyway, we could now enter and exit the passenger car normally.
The carriage had stood up, but the wheels were broken and the axles were bent.
It was probably unusable now.
Originally, it was a reused second-hand vehicle, so I thought a replacement would come soon...
Probably, a talk about rebuilding the railway will come to me, who has the Item Box.
They'll probably ask me to store the vehicles and rails and help...
I looked around at everyone outside.
"Glad no one got hurt."
"We bumped into things here and there..."
One of the men was complaining, but...
"You won't die from that, so bear with it. Since we don't know what will happen from now on, we have to save magic and potions."
"Darling is right."
"We have a temporary campsite, but... Princess, what do we do next?"
"I'll check what the surroundings look like."
I told everyone that I went 100m behind and it was blocked by a wall.
"Was there no track?"
Sana raised her hand slightly.
"Yes, it seems we were suddenly thrown here."
"I see..."
Me, the Princess, and Kaorulko had experienced this kind of thing before, and the Iroha team were veterans.
Sana and the Mole team had fear clearly showing on their faces.
I had to give them support so they wouldn't panic.
"Well... I'll go check. Monsters might spawn too."
"Since it's Darling, any monster is fine. We'll leave it to you."
"OK!"
I took out a bicycle from my Item Box.
Even alone, I had the camera light.
I signaled everyone, and I started pedaling the bicycle into the darkness.
First, the direction to the left of the vehicle.
As I was thinking about what monsters... my thoughts were betrayed in the opposite sense.
After advancing about 100m here, I was immediately blocked by a wall.
Turning right and proceeding along the wall, I hit another wall.
Turning right again and proceeding... I hit a wall.
"This is surrounded on all four sides..."
I went around in circles because it would be troublesome if there were broken spots, doors, or gates.
It seemed correct that it was a closed space surrounded by walls.
Turning around, I returned to the place where the magic light was lit.
"I'm back."
"Darling, how was it?!"
"No good. Surrounded by walls on all four sides, it's a closed space."
"Damn!"
The Princess spat out a dirty word.
I wanted to admonish her, but it wasn't the time for that.
"W-w-w-what do we do, big sister!"
Kagari was quite agitated.
"There's nothing we can do! It's useless to struggle in such a place!"
"B-but even if you say that!"
"Shut up! Darling, food for now!"
"I see... it might be good to fill our stomachs in case anything happens."
I felt like I was just eating all the time...
As I was thinking about my stomach, the female mage's stomach rumbled loudly.
She was holding her stomach shyly.
Rumbling her stomach in this situation showed she was a veteran adventurer with guts.
"Did you not eat?"
"I never thought something like this would happen, so I planned to have dinner when I got home!"
"Um... actually, I..."
The conductor raised her hand.
Well, that's natural.
It was that time of day.
At the station on the 4th floor, the train hadn't arrived on time, so there might be a commotion.
I gave bento boxes taken out of the Item Box to Iroha and the women.
"~Hey, the Item Box is really convenient..."
The woman was impressed and eating the bento box.
"If anyone wants to eat, I'll take it out. There are drinks too."
I took out bento boxes and drinks from the Item Box and lined them up on the ground.
We had to save food, but since we were surrounded on all four sides, there was nothing we could do.
"Um..."
Kagari, who was eating the bento, raised her hand.
"What's wrong?"
"Can we dig a hole in the wall with my pickaxe?"
"We don't know where it leads, but it feels like a gamble."
Indeed, it was better than sitting here and waiting for death while trapped.
"Yeah."
"I want to make that a last resort... but here, even Harpy's guidance is impossible, I guess..."
"Mou..."
Even the Princess seemed to be at a loss.
She made a difficult face and ate her bento box with steam rising.
"Sana, drink the magic potion too."
"Yes."
"W-wait a minute! What is a magic potion?!"
The female mage interjected.
"It's a drink that slowly recovers magic power. It's non-saleable."
"Eh~?"
She made a regretful face.
There was still plenty of dungeon hot water left in the tank inside the Item Box.
I could share a little, but...
No... if I give these things away for free, it might turn into "give me one too" and "give me one too".
Since the dungeon appeared, Japan has become less trusting of human nature.
--And yet, I ended up sharing elixirs with Sana and the others.
If a child is suffering, helping them as much as possible is what adults do.
As much as possible, of course.
While everyone was eating, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
The darkness suddenly began to change, accompanied by a sensation of rustling.
The surrounding air became heavy, and a sense of anxiety that felt like the heart was being squeezed spread out.
In that black darkness, red lights began to float up one by one.
At first, they looked like small dots, but gradually they grew stronger, flickering as if pulsating.
Eventually, the lights gathered into one, emitting a deep red glow like blood.
"What is it?! Cough!"
Iroha coughed and spit out what she was eating.
"Whoa!"
Pathetic screams rose from the men.
"Everyone, prepare for battle! Those who can't fight, hide behind the locomotive!"
The Princess's sharp orders echoed among everyone.
The iron mass of the locomotive was sturdier than the passenger car.
Mages other than Sana couldn't use magic.
We couldn't make those who were bad at close combat fight.
I took out everyone's weapons from my Item Box and handed them over.
I also took out my sword, but in this place where magic couldn't be used, could I use the sword's abilities?
For now, I injected my magic power into the sword... it seemed the injection worked.
"Damn! What is this?!"
I turned on the camera and started filming.
In the place where the red lights gathered, it was clear that the surrounding space was distorted.
Something was there.
The form was not yet clear, but a strange and ominous energy was overflowing from there.
A creepy low sound that couldn't be heard by the ears but resonated directly in the heart.
Eventually, the light split into a black cross, and a crimson creature appeared.
It was not human-shaped, but a beast with four legs, and four eyes glowed.
Searching for a similar creature in my memory, I thought it was close to a dog or a wolf... but it seemed to have two heads.
At the moment when a terror that froze the soul rushed upon us at the appearance of the unknown creature... flames erupted from the monster's crimson skin.
A heat that burned the skin like sizzling came through.
The blazing flames reached the ceiling, and the air at the feet was drawn towards the monster along with the dust.
A wolf with two heads wrapped in flames?
Naturally, it was a monster I had never seen before.
"What is that?!"
Iroha, who had drawn her weapon, shouted.
"Have you seen or heard of a similar monster?"
"No, I've never heard of a creature wrapped in flames."
If the veteran adventurers Iroha and the Princess didn't know, I was at a loss.
It was a rare monster, so the university professor would be happy.
Her face floated in my mind.
The professor said that dungeon monsters were biologically flawed, but was this possible?
A creature that is always burning... that shouldn't be possible?
No, if I say that, Wraiths and Liches would disappear as ghosts...
I also thought those were questionable as living creatures.
"Here, here!"
Koeda's voice came from behind.
I told her to hide behind the locomotive, but it seemed she showed her face.
"Hide!"
"Isn't that a Hellhound?!"
At Koeda's voice, a similar image floated in my head, but was it really burning?
"Hellhound? Ah~ I think I've heard of such a monster."
"I don't know what that is... for now, let's call it a Hellhound."
Everyone who was preparing for battle nodded at the Princess's words.
"That's fine... but how do we attack?!"
We couldn't even approach the burning monster.
"Magic..."
Sana started preparing magic, so I stopped her, but while she was hesitating, the monster's flames gained momentum.
"Bad! Princess!"
I quickly picked up Sana and jumped from that spot.
Countless whips of fire like whips extended from the monster.
Striking the ground where I had been, a pillar of fire rose up.
Even if they were high-level, they would take damage if burned.
Moreover, since they wouldn't die easily, hellish pain might be waiting.
In this place where magic couldn't be used, if that happened, we wouldn't be saved.
It was a narrow escape, but the Princess and Iroha were, as expected, experienced warriors.
It seemed they were dodging the enemy's attacks in response to my movements.
"Guuun!"
The Princess was looking at me.
It seemed she didn't like that I was carrying Sana in my arms more than the monster's attack.
"This isn't the time for that."
"Damn! With this heat, I can't get close!"
As Iroha said.
"If the opponent is fire, pouring water on it..."
At the Princess's words, I had a flash of inspiration.
"That's it!"
There was something in my Item Box that could be used against the enemy's attack.
It's a waste... but I have no choice.
You can't choose your backside over your belly.
I left Sana with Iroha and tried to approach while avoiding the enemy's attacks.
"Darling!"
I could hear the Princess's voice, but she was probably worried... it was grateful.
For an old man like me, the cheers of young girls are the best support.
I stared at the enemy's flame whip, focusing on its approaching ferocity.
The fire let out a roar that seemed to tear the air, moved flexibly like a snake, and tried to catch me.
At the moment the first slash tried to sweep my feet, I released all my muscles and jumped up strongly.
A scorching trajectory passed just below, and I felt the heat that seemed to burn my feet.
At the moment of landing, the next whip curved aiming for my head.
I bent my body far back and barely dodged it.
While jumping as if dancing, I gradually closed the distance with the enemy.
Eventually, I stepped inside the enemy's attack range.
"Now it's my turn! Take this! Tank Summon!"
I took out a huge white tank from my Item Box and aimed it above the burning enemy.
The tank was almost full of hot water drawn from the dungeon's hot spring.
Hot spring water was a precious thing that was said to recover magic power... but you can't choose your backside over your belly.
The effect was slow, and even if you splashed it on a monster, magic power wouldn't recover.
For now, unless we defeat the enemy in front of us, there would be no next time.
The enemy was probably surprised by the huge white thing that suddenly appeared above its head.
It swung its flame whip and attacked it.
From the tank that was split in two by the enemy's attack, a large amount of hot water poured down at once.
"Gyaaiiin!"
With the metal-like enemy's scream, the surroundings were filled with a large amount of steam.
The space, which had been illuminated red by the flames, was now filled with blue light.
Does this mean the fire is out?
"Princess, fall back!"
"Darling!"
I took out a plastic box from my Item Box, stood on it... and raised my sword with both hands.
I don't know if I can use it here... but for now, I'll use it!
I didn't have time to check behind me.
Hoping that the Princesses were retreating, I shouted.
"Take this!! Namu Thunder!"
White mist covered the entire surroundings, floating with a density that almost deprived vision.
In that, a sharp blue lightning bolt suddenly ran through the mist as if tearing it apart.
The dazzling flash illuminated the mist pale blue in an instant, and the hot water spread on the ground also glowed blue.
I stood on the plastic box because of this.
Even if the plasma didn't hit the enemy directly, it should have electrocuted from the hot water covering the ground.
It seemed my sword's effect was valid... if so, that rotting short sword should be usable too.
"Gyaai!"
Again, the monster's death cry could be heard.
It must have taken considerable damage.
I took out a missile from my Item Box and threw it in the direction of the screaming voice.
I didn't use the throwing device, just threw it as is.
I didn't want to give the enemy time to counterattack.
"Gya!"
Did it hit? I could hear the monster's scream.
I threw in about three more in succession.
After all, it was filled with steam, and the surroundings were pure white.
Nothing could be seen.
"Uooh!"
I drew my sword and charged towards the enemy.
To deliver the final blow.
Pushing through the thick mist, a huge something that changed from gray to black appeared.
A beast with four legs, two heads lying on the ground with missiles stuck in its body.
The ground around was dyed red, and it seemed to be barely breathing.
"Stop it, you bastard!!"
I jumped by stepping on the ground and swung the raised white blade down towards the enemy's neck.
The tip tore the monster's black skin, revealing white flesh.
When the head fell, red liquid sprayed out, but there was another head.
I stepped in further, returned the sword I had swung, and cut up from below.
I was surprised that I could make such a move myself.
Didn't I look like a real warrior?
If the head fell, even the monster would be stopped, I guess.
"Phew..."
While catching my breath, I watched the monster's condition.
"Darling!" "Daisuke-san!"
In the mist of steam, I could hear the voices of the Princess and Sana.
I was relieved that the monster had stopped moving...
But the space that had been red until now began to be enveloped in green light.