episode_0119

The imp, pierced through the chest by an arrow, falls with a fierce cry.

If it had simply been an arrow stuck in the body, he might have been able to survive.

However, Millia’s arrow pierced the imp’s chest at an angle and tore off the base of the wing.

Even if it is a dragon and not an imp, if one of its wings stops, it loses its balance and falls.

Before the guy’s head hit the ground, Friede hurled the ax at the other imp.

The ax, which shot up like a thunderbolt with centrifugal force, smashed half of the body of an imp and stuck in it.

Black blood pouring down like rain, soaking the wings of other imps.

A group of angry imps rushed forward with their claws raised. Like a kite hunting a rabbit.

“Damian!”

Friede shouted, pulling the chain wrapped around her arm.

The imp, who had become one with the ax blade, was pulled in like a fish caught on a fishing line.

Damien, who immediately understood Friede’s instructions, swung his great sword over his head.

It is not a blade, but a wide blade, as if swinging a fly swatter to swat away flying insects.

With the dull sound of the wind whistling, the imps that had approached my eyes disappeared at once.

The five imps hit by the iron plate screamed and fell to the wall.

Millia’s arrow pinned them to the wall.

The wall-mounted imps howl like crucified prisoners.

“Good job! Just keep it fixed like that. All you have to do is cut it up after you’re done!”

Friede, who had cut down the caught imp with a saw, twirled the chain once again.

The imp’s blood that had congealed on the ax blade was scattered everywhere.

After shaking off the blood, the ax flew towards new prey.

You fight well.

They don’t have to help.

It seems like the three of us are in close contact.

I fired my arrow at those who were wandering in the air without any intention of coming down.

These cunning males only know when to release paralyzing poison.

I was thinking of dealing with it in advance before spitting out the poison.

– Wedge!

The arrow fired hits the ceiling, making a bloody sound.

A speed where the trajectory is barely visible. There was no way for people like that to try to avoid it.

“Kiik…!”

The entire head of the imp hit by the arrow was torn off.

The body with the upper neck missing flutters for a moment and then falls.

The monster that fell to the ground convulsed like a hen that had encountered its natural enemy.

Black blood is dripping from the cut surface, and the limbs are scratching the floor.

As expected from a monster, it was still alive like this…

Even if your life is on the line, you won’t be able to move properly if your entire head is blown off.

I lifted my foot and slammed it down.

Like a tube of toothpaste that had been accidentally stepped on, all kinds of liquid gushed out from its throat, soaking the floor.

The imp, whose body was flattened, let his limbs hang limply.

I took out a new arrow.

Just one more catch would be enough, right?

The arrow fired split the air again.

It didn’t take long for the imps to be wiped out.

—-

“Good job, everyone.”

“That’s right. There are more than 20 enemies from the start, I want it.”

“You only killed two.”

Friede said something as if she disagreed.

Were you counting that again?

“Well, I came to this dungeon to help the kids gain some experience, but if I catch them all, it’s meaningless, right?”

I shrugged my shoulders and answered calmly.

Friede snorted and turned his head.

“It was simpler than I thought.”

“Because these guys are at the level of flying kobolds. It’s a shame to even call it a monster.”

Damien and Friede chatted and brushed off the blood on their weapons.

Because the blood of monsters contains deep magical energy, it would not be good to leave it as is.

Meanwhile, Millia approached the wall where the imps were embedded.

“Keeek…! Kiaaaagh!”

The number of imps increased to eight, each trying to pull out three or four arrows.

It seems that it was quite difficult to pick up the thin arrow shaft through the gap between the claws, but no one succeeded in escaping.

Milia pulled out her rapier and cut the imps into pieces.

It didn’t seem that difficult.

Even though it was a sword specialized for stabbing, it didn’t really have an edge.

After reorganizing, we headed back inside the dungeon.

—-

After that, there were occasional attacks by imps.

The first ones that attacked were probably the largest group, but most of them were around four or five.

After walking for about forty minutes, a monster other than an imp appeared.

A length that appears to be about 3m horizontally.

Overall, it resembled a snail.

The upper body and tail were sticking out from the front and back of the huge metallic shell.

Thick neck wrinkled like an earthworm.

Antenna-like tentacles sprout and wriggle here and there.

The end of the neck was bare, without a head, and sharp teeth protruded all around the inside.

A pair of insect-like forelimbs are covered with shiny shells.

The tail was a centipede thousands of times larger.

“Ugh…”

Millia groaned with a tired face.

It’s worth it.

A giant bug that was a mixture of an earthworm, a snail, and a centipede. Even when I saw it, it was a bit disgusting.

“Cipepede snail. That’s a real monster, so be careful. The carapace and shell are as hard as black iron, so aim for the neck. Be careful of the poisonous stinger on the tail.”

Friede told me about him.

That’s an intuitive name.

Although most hybrid monsters are like that.

Since there was only one enemy, Damian also stepped forward.

The centipede snail, enraged by the intruder, cried out and rushed at him.

Waving hundreds of hind legs like waves.

“Hiik…!”

Millia, startled by the blood-curdling charge, began shooting arrows.

Most of the arrows bounced off the carapace, but the arrows aimed at the neck stayed stuck.

The leather on its neck was quite thick, so it didn’t seem to cause much damage.

“Gooo!”

Friede and Damian each repelled the swinging front foot.

It may be true that the strength is at the level of black iron, but the carapace of the front paws did not appear to have any significant scratches.

The centipede snail’s neck was greatly bent, stretched out, and struck Damien.

Damian quickly rolled on the floor to avoid it.

The head of the guy who hit the ground made a loud noise that shook the ground.

Before Damian could even stand up, its tail was shot one after another.

“Pfft…!”

Damian raised his great sword like a shield.

There was no time to escape.

Friede seemed to have no time to spare as he was constantly swinging his front foot away.

“Damian!!”

Millia urgently tried to fire an arrow, but it failed to pierce the tail’s carapace and bounced off.

I can’t help it.

I pulled out Durandal and rushed at the guy.

The tail suddenly changes direction and rushes towards me.

You said the strength was at the level of black iron, right?

Hold the Durandal with both hands and lift it above your head.

Both arms are full of strength.

Its tail came right in front of me.

So much so that the shiny appearance of the poisonous needle at the end is visible.

It’s no big deal.

A slash swung while taking a step forward.

The blue ship lightly broke the black carapace and dug into it.

Sparks flew out, and a pleasant feeling of resistance rang through my fingertips.

The lower body of the centipede snail was split in half.

It wasn’t that difficult after that.

Since its tail was completely cut in half, it was as if it had lost its mobility.

Damien’s great sword once again dug into the wound on Friede’s neck.

Its head fell off, pouring out sticky fluid.

Keep going.

Centipede snails appeared a few more times in the middle, but everyone seemed to have gotten the hang of it and, unlike before, managed to fight them off.

—-

About four hours have already passed since I entered the dungeon.

Everyone seemed tired, perhaps because of the repetitive battles and the accumulating magic energy.

I was still fine, though. I didn’t fight much.

“Why don’t you fight too?”

“I want to fight too…but I can’t. I told you earlier, this is all for Damien and Millia?”

“If you can’t speak…”

Friede sighed.

I can’t refute it, saying it’s true, but if I leave it alone, it wouldn’t be like sitting around alone.

What can I do? If you feel unfair, you should become a master as soon as possible.

Friede probably won’t take that long though.

Since I don’t have much combat experience, if I get some opportunity, I might be able to realize my karma like a lie.

As we went a little further, the scenery changed.

At the end of the plain rocky road, a huge marble door blocked the passage.

It was a richly decorated door. Like the entrance to an old temple.

Cylinders with grooves resembling cogwheels supported both sides of the door, and strange reliefs were carved on the doors.

The pattern looked like a monster holding a spear and a man raising a sword facing each other.

“Let’s take a break here. I won’t be able to rest for too long, though.”

Friede, who unwrapped the lantern and placed it on the floor, sat down.

Hair was sticking to my sweaty forehead.

Friede took out a bottle of holy water from her belt and took a sip.

“You should drink some too. Your complexion is bad.”

“Yes.”

Damien and Millia followed Friede’s words.

The complexions of the three people who drank the holy water seemed to have become brighter.

I looked at them from a distance, smoking a cigarette.

There was no sign of the monster approaching.

It was not reliable information, as the thick stone door weakened the presence beyond.

“Hey, Friede. I’m talking about the relief engraved on that door… Do you happen to know what that is?”

“Well, it’s not the imperial style. The man depicted is not Carolus the Great. Probably something from a previous era…”

Friede trailed off, as if he wasn’t sure himself.

Before the Empire.

Are you talking about a time when humanity was prey to other races?

…It’s a bit strange for something like that.

An inexplicable feeling of foreignness invaded my mind.

Something felt awkward.

what? What’s strange?

It looks like an ordinary marble relief…

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s amazing. Isn’t that right, Millia?”

“Sure. Before the empire, it was over 800 years ago.”

Oh yeah. That’s it.

So well made!

Realization crosses my mind.

The answer was found in Damian and Millia’s chatter.

Yes, that was the problem.

Considering that the relief of the man holding the sword is in human form, the people who built this door must have been human.

However, people before the empire did not have the talent to make these items.

It is not something that could be made by humans at the time who were nothing more than slaves or livestock.

There would be no master who would teach his livestock craftsmanship.

So, this gate is not a building from the pre-imperial era, when ethnic wars were raging between different races.

If Friede is right, it probably wasn’t a gate that was built after the founding of the empire.

If so, there is only one answer I can think of.

Before the tribal war era.

Long before that… I don’t know when, but there must have been at least a time when humanity wasn’t slaves.

This door was nothing short of proof.

Maybe it’s just my guess.

“It is a plausible hypothesis. If it were true, its academic value would be very high.”

“You mean it makes money?”

Friede nodded as if agreeing with my question.

We all looked at each other in silence.

We implicitly agreed not to damage the inside as much as possible.

After resting for about twenty minutes, I got ready again and opened the door.

Stone dust falls down.

The marble door slowly opened with a rumbling vibration sound.

“This is…!”

Friede muttered blankly.

Damian and Millia also let out exclamations.

The inside looked truly amazing.

—-

It was a long hallway.

The floor was marble, and so were the walls and ceiling.

If that were all it was, I wouldn’t have been so surprised.

The surroundings were as bright as the dawn sky.

Translucent objects emitting blue light were nailed to the ceiling at regular intervals.

Horsepower, etc.

It was a product that had been commercialized in the empire less than 200 years ago.

Intricately shaped engravings filled the entire ceiling, following the embedded magic lights.

Concentrated magic flows through the imprint as if pulsating, like a blood vessel.

It was a strange sight.

Damian and Millia were speechless.

“What is that…?”

“You understand it’s me…?”

Friede also looked dumbfounded.