Chapter 70

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Even after dealing with the Hydra, Zeke’s party took down a few more monsters.

A beast that spewed flames from its body, the Inferno Fiend.

A Griffin; a monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion.

They were powerful monsters, but Zeke’s party handled them without issue.

Now, no more monsters could be seen in the basement.

“Did we get them all?”

Zeke muttered to himself.

At that moment.

“There’s another staircase leading down!”

One of the party members shouted.

“What?”

Where the party member pointed, there was indeed another staircase entrance.

“…It wasn’t there before.”

“Yes, but it suddenly appeared.”

“Hmm.”

Zeke pondered.

This quest was to exterminate all the monsters in the basement of Cryfel Castle.

They had taken care of all the monsters in the basement, but if there was another staircase leading down…

“We’ll have to go down.”

They had no choice.

There might be more monsters below.

The second basement level of Cryfel Castle.

Unlike the upper floor, this was a massive dome-shaped space.

“There’s such a huge space underground…”

Everyone marveled as they walked toward the center of the space.

“What is this space even for…?”

“There don’t seem to be any monsters here…”

Just then.

Clang—!

A loud sound came from above, and something quickly descended.

“Everyone, be careful!”

The mages hurriedly tried to cast defensive spells.

“!”

But the mana didn’t respond.

“Huh, the mana…?!”

An unknown force had sealed off their mana.

“Mana isn’t responding!”

“Dodge!”

People scattered in panic as something crashed onto the floor.

Thud!!

“…”

After a moment of silence, everyone slowly looked up.

“What is this…”

What had fallen from above was a heavy iron grate.

“…Is everyone okay?”

Zeke looked around.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

But the iron grate had split the group into three.

Zeke swung his sword, trying to break the iron grate.

Clang!

But the grate didn’t budge.

Zeke called out to the mages on the other side of the grate.

“Use magic to break the grate!”

“We’d like to, but mana is sealed here…!”

“Damn it.”

Zeke’s gaze turned to the cleric.

Maybe holy magic could break the grate?

But the cleric just shook his head.

“Holy power isn’t responding either…”

“Tch, what the hell.”

Just then.

Black smoke rose from the floor of each section, and something began to emerge.

“Gasp.”

“M-monsters?!”

What rose from the floor was a massive monster with the head of a bull.

Over three meters tall, with a muscular body.

A Minotaur.

“Uoooh!!”

The Minotaur roared and swung its axe.

“Hehe, don’t worry, kid.”

Marco spoke with a confident expression.

“You’re safe since you’re trapped in the same space as me.”

Clang!

The Minotaur’s axe slammed down where Marco had been standing.

But Marco had already dodged to the side.

“Haha, too slow.”

Swish!

Marco’s sword slashed through the Minotaur’s leg.

“Grah!”

The Minotaur let out a pained scream and dropped to its knees.

Now, all that was left was the finishing blow.

But Marco took his time.

“Big guys like this have weak legs. Plus, they’re slow.”

Marco explained to Lucy.

He wanted her to see him as cool.

Cecilia, who was watching, shouted.

“Marco, stop dragging it out and finish it!”

Cecilia was also trapped in the same space.

With mana sealed, she had no choice but to rely on Marco.

“No time to show off!”

“Ah, yes… Understood.”

Swish!

Marco’s sword sliced through the Minotaur’s neck.

That was it.

As the Minotaur collapsed, Marco laughed and approached Lucy.

“Kid, weren’t you scared?”

Marco crouched down to check on Lucy.

Of course, Lucy just had her usual calm expression.

“Not scared.”

“T-that’s good… Glad to hear it.”

Marco looked a little disappointed.

If she had cried, he could have comforted her.

“But thanks. For saving me.”

“Huh…?”

Lucy patted Marco’s head gently.

Marco was momentarily stunned but soon broke into a wide grin.

“Hehe, yeah, if there’s any danger in the future, I’ll protect you. Hehe. Did you see that? I’m pretty strong, right?”

“Yeah. You’re strong.”

Lucy smiled faintly and nodded.

Then, she turned her gaze to the other side of the iron grate.

The Minotaur in Zeke’s section had also been taken care of.

Now, all that was left was,

“Gah! What do we do?!”

“Save me!”

“Don’t come this way! I’m a mage!”

The space where Brian and Thomas were trapped.

There was no one there to deal with the Minotaur.

Aside from Brian and Thomas, there were only mages and a cleric.

“They’re in big trouble…”

Marco muttered.

With mana and holy power sealed, the mages and cleric were useless.

At least Brian had a sword and Thomas had a bow, but both were clearly rookies.

Unless you were a strong fighter like Zeke or Marco, taking on a Minotaur as a rookie was nearly impossible.

No wonder rookies called the Minotaur the “Nightmare of the Forest”.

“Damn it!”

Zeke shook the iron grate violently.

He was frantic, seeing his party members—the cleric and mage—about to die right before his eyes.

“Why did they have to get trapped with those rookies…!”

“Ahh!”

The cleric, who had been running around in panic, tripped and fell.

She looked up with tears in her eyes as the Minotaur’s axe came crashing down.

Whoosh—!

The Minotaur’s axe swung toward her head.

Just then.

“Hyaa!”

Thomas leaped into action.

Despite his chubby build, he moved with surprising speed.

Thud!

Thomas’s foot slammed into the Minotaur’s back.

“?”

Everyone watching was stunned.

A Minotaur’s skin was tough enough to resist even swords.

And this was a creature made entirely of muscle. A mere kick?

It wasn’t a joke.

…Everyone thought that, but the result was unexpected.

“Guh!”

The Minotaur, struck by Thomas’s kick, flew forward and crashed into the iron grate.

“Huh?”

“What just happened?”

Everyone blinked in confusion.

Meanwhile, Brian helped the fallen cleric to her feet.

“We’ll handle that thing. Stay in the corner.”

“Ah, ah, okay…”

The cleric looked bewildered but moved to the corner.

Brian raised his sword and glared at the Minotaur.

“Come at me, monster.”

The Minotaur, thrown by Thomas’s kick, roared as it got back up.

“Grooar!!”

The roar was so intense it made everyone’s knees weak.

Truly the “Nightmare of the Forest”, but Brian didn’t flinch.

Because,

“…You can fight with confidence. Lucy cursed that thing.”

Finn had whispered that to him through the iron grate.

“Right now, that thing is weaker than a child.”

“Got it.”

Brian gripped his sword tightly, his expression resolute.

Seeing how the Minotaur had been sent flying by Thomas’s kick, Lucy’s curse was clearly working.

That meant they had a chance.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Minotaur charged, raising its axe.

Brian also raised his sword and rushed forward.

“Haaah!”

Everyone held their breath as they watched the scene.

Then.

Swish—!

Brian and the Minotaur crossed paths.

The Minotaur tilted slightly.

Finally, it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Its body split in two.

“…”

Silence fell.

Everyone stared at Brian in shock.

“W-was he really a rookie…?”

“He cut the Minotaur in half…”

“That’s… incredible…”

Even seeing it with their own eyes, it was hard to believe.

Strong fighters like Zeke or Marco would first target the legs before going for the neck, but Brian had just sliced the Minotaur in half with a single strike.

And Thomas had sent it flying with just a kick.

Which meant…

“…They’re incredible fighters.”

“We underestimated them.”

“You really can’t judge people by their appearance…”

Brian and Thomas were far stronger than they appeared.

The mage and cleric who had been trapped with them approached.

“Th-thank you…”

“We’re grateful you saved us…”

They bowed respectfully.

Thomas scratched his head, embarrassed, while Brian puffed out his chest, saying, “Heh, it was nothing.”

Watching them, Lucy smiled faintly.

Even though mana was sealed here, it couldn’t stop Lucy’s skills.

She had casted a powerful debuff on the Minotaur targeting Brian and Thomas, reducing it to something weaker than a slime.

Hence, the current situation.

Clang!

The iron grate began to rise.

As if defeating the Minotaur had been some kind of test.

Even a new passage appeared, leading further down.

A spiral staircase.

Below was nothing but darkness.

“…What is this place?”

Zeke muttered as he looked at the staircase.

They had already descended one level, and now another staircase appeared.

Considering what had just happened, this place didn’t seem ordinary.

“It’s like a dungeon…”

A dungeon.

A mysterious place with trials or traps on each level, and stronger enemies the deeper you go.

Rumors said you could find magical weapons or gems, but it was so dangerous that only experts dared to enter.

“What should we do?”

Zeke asked.

He was asking Brian.

“Should we keep going down?”

Until now, Zeke had been giving orders, but now that he knew Brian’s strength, it was only natural to seek his opinion.

To Zeke, Brian was stronger than himself.

After all, he had sliced a Minotaur in half with one strike.

“Hmm.”

Brian crossed his arms.

With a confident expression.

“Of course, we keep going. There might be more monsters below.”

“But if this is a dungeon, it could be dangerous…”

“If you’re worried about danger, you shouldn’t be an adventurer.”

“…!”

Zeke was speechless.

If a rookie had said that, he would’ve laughed, but these were the words of the “Bull Slayer”.

He couldn’t help but be deeply impressed.

“…Understood. Then we’ll keep going.”

With a determined expression, Zeke stepped toward the staircase.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
It’s not as fast, but it’s faster than yesterday…!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Their goals, fulfilled in an instant, thanks to Lucy!

Too bad they will be frauds if it keeps up…