Chapter 30 – Floor 5. The Reason Memories Are Memories

The white mass convulsed.

As the wave wall created by its movement approached, Albert extended the sword in his hand and slashed downward.

The knight escaped through the thin gap split by his sword strike, but others, unfortunately, had no choice but to take the full force of the wave.

The criminals were swept away by the water pulling them back to its source.

“AAAAARGH! S-save me!”

“Grab me… bleegh!”

Those with intact limbs could endure by merely falling into the water, but those without legs were helplessly swept away and disappeared beneath the alligator’s feet.

It happened in an instant, with no time to react.

The hunters still had dumbfounded expressions, not yet comprehending the situation.

“Snap out of it—! We’re next!”

At the knight’s sharp rebuke, the group finally regained their senses, and with trembling hands, they held their weapons, biting their lips firmly as they looked for something to grab onto to avoid being swept away by the next wave.

But the already maddened giant monster was not about to wait for them.

The monster, armored like a moving fortress, shot forward at tremendous speed.

The target was the owner. The malicious one who not only abandoned it but now sought to take its life.

“Uh… oh. Why is this bastard coming for me..!”

The man who became that target threw himself sideways urgently, wearing an expression that suggested something had gone terribly wrong.

CRASH! Rattle—

Along with the sound of chains scraping the floor came a dull impact, but considering the alligator’s jaws that had swept past where he had just been, it was rather fortunate.

But it was still too early to feel relieved.

The reptile’s completely deranged eyes were tracking him as he rolled on the floor.

“Get up!”

As that massive body began to move again, a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and pulled.

The knight raised him up and threw his sword toward the alligator’s eye. He didn’t expect much, and as expected, it didn’t produce significant results.

Just a single blink. A momentary gap.

But that brief moment helped him get back up and regain his stance.

Then the axe was hurled. The axe blade, coming down with maximum power with the help of gravity and centrifugal force, embedded itself in the ruler of the underground sewers.

THUD—

“What the… it doesn’t even penetrate?!”

It was an attack meant to buy time for the knight to retrieve his sword, but its effect was minimal.

With a sensation like striking well-tanned bull hide, the axe bounced off, and he burst out in shock.

Although his Strength stat was low, he had thought he could at least accumulate some damage, but the man realized his calculation was wrong.

And the price for that—

CHOMP—

A rotating view and the excruciating pain of muscles being torn from his shoulder.

“AAAAAARGH!!!”

***

Albert stood frozen with his brows deeply furrowed, his hand placed on the holster containing a single scroll, witnessing the situation unfolding before him.

This was because there was nothing he could do.

Even if he wanted to save aaaa, whose arm was caught in the King of the Sewers’ mouth, what could he, a mere knight, do against such a monster?

‘He was a promising young man… but is this the end?’

He was a summoner with powerful summons, and despite the brief teaching, he had followed the knight’s sword lessons quite well for someone who had never held a sword before.

His basic physique and physical conditions were excellent, and his wit and command during battle were occasionally surprising.

He wanted to save this young man who even had the ambition to become a hero, but he was not superhuman.

He couldn’t even fathom how much power that massive body, almost like a moving fortress, could exert.

‘If I take this chance…’

His gaze involuntarily shifted toward the portal in the drain.

No, unexpectedly, it wasn’t directly attached to the drain, so it seemed like you could pass by without touching the portal if you went around the side.

RUMBLE!!!

A brief scream was heard, but it soon became faintly lost, drowned out by the vibration and water spray that echoed through the cavern.

SPIN—

The King of the Sewers rolled its body with all its might to tear apart the prey caught in its mouth.

The force was so strong that the vibration made it difficult to even stand, as if the sewer might collapse.

“There’s no choice… everyone follow me..!”

“S-Sir Knight! Look at that!”

Regrettably, those who could survive should survive.

While the alligator’s attention was focused, Albert had decided to give up on saving him and escape from this sewer, but one of those who fortunately hadn’t been swept away stopped him.

The one who interrupted Albert was Dave the blacksmith, with his bushy beard and round eyes.

What Dave pointed at was the man caught in the alligator’s mouth.

Albert couldn’t hide his astonishment.

“GRAAAAARGH!!!”

The chain mail armor caught in those jagged teeth had long been torn to pieces by the force, and his shoulder was spurting blood, on the verge of being ripped off.

Dislocations or fractures were inevitable as well.

But with his remaining arm, he painfully pulled out a scroll from his holster.

FLAP— THUD!

As he tore the scroll, a transparent golden sphere enveloped him.

It was a Protection Scroll, imbued with powerful protective magic that temporarily shields the user.

Thanks to that, he was able to escape from that vicious bite, but the situation was still desperate. Large cracks were beginning to form around where the teeth had touched, as if about to shatter at any moment.

Just before the sphere completely broke.

Another scroll was torn.

“You fucking bastard..! I’ll roast you from the inside!”

The enormous magic inherent in the scroll brewed a storm. That massive flow gathered toward the King of the Sewers’ mouth, centered on him—

Flicker— RUMBLE!!!

Glittering flames. Gradually growing blue flames. Then white flames that dyed the field of vision white.

The highest-tier fire magic, 『Flame Storm』.

Tremendous heat filled the cavern, instantly evaporating the water, creating a massive amount of steam that exploded and pushed away the air.

The smell of cooking meat and the stench of foul steam mixed chaotically and spread.

By the time the senses were numbed by the explosion and heat blast, making one wonder if they had died—

“Cough… huff… huff… huff..!”

“Ugh, bleeech!!!”

When the moment that felt like an eternity ended, the sounds of rough breathing and retching were heard.

“What in the…”

In the midst of all this, Albert finally regained his senses, looked around, and couldn’t close his mouth. The scene was so shocking that he didn’t even notice his armor heating up.

The sewer with its water completely dried up, revealing the floor; the ceiling with molten rock dripping; the blackened, charred massive body.

And emerging from inside its mouth, staggering with a crazed expression, holding his half-torn, dangling arm, was the man.

“You..!”

“It’s not over yet.”

“What do you mean… there’s no way it could still be alive after being burnt black like that…”

Albert closed his mouth.

It was moving. Despite being in a state where ordinary creatures would not only be dead but unable to move, the madness in those eyes showed no signs of diminishing.

Even the Bell of Doom, which he had called a mythical monster, wasn’t this frightening.

The experienced knight, Albert, didn’t even notice the saliva going down his throat.

“Wanderer.”

As if responding to that murmur, a woman appeared from somewhere.

A woman like a purple rose whose beauty could be felt despite having her eyes covered, mysteriously walking forward, holding a red greatsword forged in blood.

『Crescent Slash』

The massive greatsword slid through the air, drawing a beautiful semicircle. That thick alligator hide was torn lengthwise, as if scratching parchment with a knife.

『Full Moon Slash』

Without killing the rotational force, another circular rotation once again tore through the alligator’s hide and into its flesh. Red blood spurted from the cross-shaped scar that remained.

Despite containing violent power, it was as precise as crafting and as beautiful as dancing—

When the summoned woman’s sword dance ended, he began to move.

Holding the silver longsword that was broken in half, looking almost like a dagger, in reverse grip, he stabbed it into the cross-shaped wound.

RUMBLE!!

The King of the Sewers writhed as if that attack, which compared to its body was no different from being pricked with a needle, was more painful than the woman’s great slash.

A flailing tail— the woman blocked it by raising her greatsword.

A stomping foot— the man rolled forward to avoid it.

A rolling body— the woman stopped it by striking it with her greatsword.

The man’s movements were slower and more staggering than usual, as if he might collapse at any moment, but they were sharper than ever before.

Albert swallowed.

Dave, who had barely survived, asked him with curiosity.

“Um… Sir Knight, don’t you need to help our benefactor? To my untrained eyes, it looks extremely dangerous.”

“…Possessed by a god.”

Occasionally, when wandering the battlefield, one would encounter such a person.

Someone who enters a transcendent state beyond skill, wielding a sword without knowing pain.

Despite his weakening movements, he moved with desperate intent to kill the enemy, making even the battle-hardened knight tense with his tenacity and fearsome determination.

***

CRASH—

That massive body collapsed and finally ceased to move.

The Wanderer had already been reverse-summoned after completely depleting her Fuel meter, and even the slime had been reverse-summoned after being used for Sanctify and as a shield.

And during that time, I survived, and it died.

“Urgh… hrgh…”

My arm feels like it’s about to be torn off. No, it might have already been torn off and fallen.

I don’t even know how I’m still conscious. Perhaps I’m already dead and imagining this awesome super play as a deathbed delusion.

Drip drip drip—

A cool sensation on the crown of my head.

“Are you all right?”

“…Fuck. Does this look all right to you?”

This crazy old man must have finally developed eye problems.

I desperately wanted to ask if he’d say “are you all right” if his own arm was torn off, but I didn’t have the strength.

‘Without a healing spring… what am I going to do?’

Looking down at my shoulder with the bit of consciousness that returned from the cool water being poured on my head, I saw it was torn and mangled.

Will this heal with time too?

I had such a hopeful imagination but then shook my head and poured the entire healing potion on my shoulder. I wasn’t sure if this was the right way to use it, but it would work somehow.

I soon turned my head, ignoring my shoulder as the pain began to fade.

There, the empty eyes of the King of the Sewers, now devoid of madness, were looking at me.

Fortunately, the alligator statue was intact. No, rather than intact, it would be more appropriate to say it maintained its shape.

It had half turned to charcoal, but since the text window appeared, it should be fine.

I climbed onto the King of the Sewers’ back and placed the alligator statue on it. The white skin had been burnt black, making it difficult to find the equally charred alligator statue.

“I’m not your owner, you damn alligator.”

Crack.

The alligator statue, carved in the image of the ruler of the underground sewers’ childhood, split in half, and simultaneously, the corpse emitted light.

That light turned into particles and seeped into me.

[You have leveled up.]

One new skill engraved on the hologram. The reason I went to the trouble of defeating the King of the Sewers when I could have skipped it.

Not stopping there, I grabbed the sword handle gradually rising from the corpse.

[You have inherited the memory.]

A simple handle without a blade or crossguard. A plain handle that didn’t emit any magical power.

『Memory』

【This is a happy memory. But because it ended, it is called a memory.】

“Ah~ That was scary!”

I collapsed flat on the spot.

Damn, that was intense. Really.