Chapter 168: 13th Floor (4)

Chapter 168: 13th Floor (4)

Tap.
Tap.

“Ugh,
grrk–”

A
scream rang out, abruptly cut off, along with the smell of burning
flesh.

Two
people were shriveled up, scorched by Lammel’s fireball.

One
other person had been lucky enough to avoid the fireball, but was
captured, ensnared by Nuer and Fusilini’s binding magic.

It
would have been better if they’d all burned to ashes, but the lucky
survivor thrashed violently, her body bound in chains, and shouted.

“You
crazy bastards! You’re doing something you’ll regret! Do you
understand?!”

Trash
always seems to say the same things.

Balkan
smirked as he looked at the foul-mouthed woman, her body leaking
yellowish fluids from between her legs.

“Why
would punishing kidnappers and rapists be something to regret?”

“You
son of a bitch! I definitely heard your voice. You think the boss,
one of the big shots in the 15th-floor back alley, will let you
off?!”

Slaaap!

“Argh!”

“Ah,
damn. She won’t shut up.”

Jubeel
spat out a curse and kicked the naked woman’s chest.

“And
she’s bragging about sucking blood off people on the 15th floor, too.
Stupid bitch.”

“Ahh,
s-stop! Don’t kick me!”

“Oh.
Damn. Check out the feel of her chest. Well, if you look like crap,
at least your tits better be decent.”

“Jubeel.”

Jubeel,
who was lightly kicking the woman’s underbust with her iron greaves,
turned to look at Balkan.

“Yeah?
You wanna try too?”

“It
looks fun, but maybe later. We’re about to breach, so get over here.”

“Yessir.”

The
rest of the party had already finished their preparations to breach.

The
remaining enemies were a vanguard, a dual-dagger rogue named Perkins,
and a mid-rank mage.

They
had already cut down four of the vanguard in the earlier commotion,
so the enemies were surely aware of the situation.

There
was a chance they might sense the disadvantage and try to flee.

‘Judging
by how that one just screamed and fought back, though, I doubt it.’

It
needed to be finished quickly.

Shrrip!

Rubia
tore down the tent that covered the entrance with one hand and led
the way inside.

Following
her were Balkan, the rear-guard members, and Jubeel, who protected
them, in that order, as they stepped into the camp.

Under
the lantern’s glow, which pushed away the desert’s darkness and
turned the surroundings crimson, a shriveled, unmoving man lay limp.

It
was the priest Hope and the leader Gellen from Fusilini’s party.

“Ah,
ahh…”

Fusilini
dragged her trembling legs toward them.

She
hugged Hope and Gellen, their bodies marked with clear signs of
assault, and sobbed.

Watching
her was uncomfortable, but now wasn’t the time for awkward grieving.

“To
think you dare attack us, your guts are larger than your brains.”

A
voice—old and female—spoke as an unfamiliar flow of magic filled
the air.

Turning
his head, Balkan saw an old woman cloaked in robes, aiming her staff
at the party.

“Troublemakers
who interrupt our rest must be shown a little thrill.”

Crackle!

The
old woman’s staff flashed, sending streaks of yellow lightning
surging toward the party.

“Come
at the girl!!!”

Boom!
Crackle!

Rubia
slammed her massive shield into the sandy ground, blocking the
lightning head-on.

Sparks!

The
scattered streaks of lightning that sought to hit the rear-guard
party changed trajectory at Rubia’s shout.

With
the smell of burning flesh, Rubia’s twin buns of hair started rising
stiffly toward the sky.

“Uurrgghh…
Th-the girl… she… she can endure it…!!”

Boom!

The
electric magic scattered as if it had exploded, leaving Rubia
trembling all over.

“Huff,
huff…! That was thrilling!”

“…To
withstand my lightning magic…”

The
old woman, who had spoken with impressed disbelief, suddenly widened
her eyes.

Whoosh!

A
strong gust of wind blew as the blade of an axe came hurtling toward
her in an instant.

As
her eyes followed the thick arm swinging the heavy axe—

Clang!

A
pair of daggers deflected the axe blade, sending sparks flying.

Balkan’s
eyes narrowed as he looked at the wielder of the dual daggers.

A
rogue with an artifact that masked her presence. The one who had
betrayed Fusilini’s party.

Perkins.

Whoosh!

Balkan
spun his body and swung his axe horizontally.

Perkins
didn’t deflect this time. Instead, she jumped back while holding
the old mage, increasing the distance between them.

At
a range of about 10 meters, they stood at a stalemate once again.

Balkan
frowned as he watched Perkins.

‘Since
when has she been next to that hag?’

He
hadn’t noticed.

Unlike
the illusion magic used by that lunatic grad student Rahem, Perkins’
stealth felt different.

If
illusion magic altered what appeared to the eye, Perkins seemed to
paint over her very existence, erasing it completely.

It
was tricky and unfamiliar.

‘But
doable.’

As
Balkan adjusted his grip on the axe and looked for an opening to
attack, Perkins was whispering to the old mage about what she’d just
realized.

“We
need to escape, old woman.”

“…But
we can still handle this, can’t we?”

“No.
Look at my hands.”

Perkins’
hands, gripping the daggers, were trembling.

“That
guy’s pure strength is greater than mine. My blades are already
worn just from deflecting that one strike. If I repeat it a few more
times, my daggers will break first.”

“…For
you to say that much?”

The
old woman furrowed her brows and looked at Balkan again.

But
he was just a man. A male.

One
who surely shared the same genes as the seed-spreaders her
subordinates had just passed around for fun.

Men
who, once pinned under women or monsters, would reveal their pathetic
true nature.

But
Perkins, after clashing with him only once, had realized he was
different.

“Yes.
We’re outnumbered anyway. Forget the two men and take the slime-being
instead. I already ordered the last one, so now’s our chance.”

“Understood.”

Perkins
and the old mage knew each other’s skills well, so their judgment was
quick.

Whirr–

The
old woman’s staff began glowing again.

“Where
do you think you’re going?!”

Furious
at the sight of Gellen and Hope, Fusilini fired a binding spell from
the tip of her wand.

Perkins,
carrying the old mage on her back, dodged the magic with agile
footwork.

Taking
advantage of that moment, Balkan charged forward, prompting Perkins
to throw a knife to stall him.

The
knife flew straight toward Balkan.

‘It’s
working!’

Perkins
celebrated inwardly.

She
trusted her skill at throwing and knew the worth of the weapons she
carried.

That’s
why she could predict Balkan’s fate.

‘He
was strong, but he overestimated himself.’

It
would have been a different outcome had he dodged it.

But
instead, he chose to block the knife with his axe.

The
knife Perkins had thrown was an artifact that passed through objects
it touched.

Even
if it struck the axe blade or even if he wore a helmet.

The
knife would pierce through everything and skewer his forehead.

‘What
a waste. Just looking at his body, he’s top-tier, but I’m forced
to kill him like this.’

It
was truly a shame. She’d just missed a chance to earn dozens of
gold coins.

While
thinking that during the brief moment, Perkins turned her head and
witnessed something bizarre.

“Eat.”

As
the man said that, the axe blade split open and gaped its mouth wide.

The
knife that should have pierced through his forehead, along with the
axe blade and helmet, was swallowed up by the axe and vanished.

Under
normal circumstances, it was the kind of situation that would make
her rub her eyes and question if she were hallucinating.

But
what happened next was even more unbelievable.

“Spit
it out.”

Whoosh!

At
the words uttered by Balkan as he swung his axe, the axe blade once
again opened its mouth.

And
from that gap, the knife that had surely disappeared re-emerged and
flew straight back toward Perkins.

Its
speed was faster than when Perkins had thrown it.

It
was as if it intended to give it right back to her, aiming for her
forehead.

“What
the– Ugh!”

Sensing
imminent danger to her life, Perkins barely managed to duck her head
and evade the knife.

She
used every ounce of instinct honed from her time in the labyrinth to
dodge it.

But
the price was steep.

Thwack!

“Ugh–”

With
a sickening sound, the old woman she was carrying on her back stopped
breathing.

That
was the consequence of ducking to evade the knife.

-Thud!

Perkins
made a quick decision and abandoned the old woman in the desert,
taking off alone to escape.

The
Balkan party stood watching Perkins as she fled into the distance,
then turned their attention back.

They
felt like they’d left a mess unfinished, but there was no immediate
need to chase her.

During
the fight with the Perkins-and-old-woman combo, Jubeel had quietly
captured another scumbag who was trying to flee.

-Squirm.
Squirm.

Inside
the woman’s backpack, they discovered four additional slime lumps.

Combining
them with the single slime lump they already had, the five slimes
began to merge into a single form.

“Turutu
bapbabara⋯!”

“Aldente!”

Fusilini
burst into tears as she tightly hugged Aldente, the young slime who
had just been revived, while Aldente gently patted her back.

“Barabubbu⋯!”

Then,
turning to face Balkan and the other party members, Aldente bowed
deeply, performing a polite belly-button bow.

She
seemed to have pieced together roughly what had happened while she
was dead.

Balkan
smiled with satisfaction as he tapped the soft, squishy head of the
slime.

They
hadn’t managed to save the male party member’s dignity, but that
was never really possible.

At
least they saved everyone before they were all killed or sold off.

The
mental satisfaction of rescuing someone and the thought of the
rewards they could demand brought a smile to his face.

He
was busy patting himself on the back, convinced that this was a
perfectly satisfactory outcome, when—

Rumble,
rumble, rumble–

The
ground beneath them.

More
precisely, the sand began to tremble slightly.

“What
the. Does the 13th floor have earthquakes too?”

“⋯N-no!
This is not an earthquake⋯!”

At
the casual question, Rubia, the only one with experience on the 13th
floor, hastily started looking around with vigilance.

“When
a Sand Worm detects prey nearby or starts chasing it, the
surroundings tremble like this! Everyone, check your surroundings–”

“You
son of a bitch!!!”

As
Rubia was offering her advice, a harsh curse echoed from the
distance.

The
direction sounded all too familiar.

And
sure enough, a silhouette began to appear, kicking up sandstorms as
it drew closer.

It
was the person who had just fled moments ago—Perkins.

She
was now running back toward the party.

-Rumble,
rumble, rumble.

With
each step she took, she brought with her a massive earthquake.

“⋯N-no
way?”

“That
crazy bitch! If you’re going to get eaten, get eaten alone!”

Balkan
and the party quickly pieced the situation together.

That
lunatic was trying to offload the Sand Worm’s aggro onto them.

The
Sand Worm was a colossal worm monster, its average length comparable
to a 5-story apartment building.

“Everyone,
run to the cave!!!”

To
avoid getting eaten, they would have to run like hell.