Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Catch That Bastard (7)
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I checked their faces first thing.
'Doesn't match the sketch.'
They were both women, sure, but no rabbit head in sight, and no plain-faced girl either.
Their gear looked like total shit too. Just a beat-up straight sword and a staff on the verge of falling apart.
Probably newbie explorers who just dropped into layer 2.
We'd skipped right past the teleport trap when we fell into layer 2.
The newbie explorers and our party members stared at each other with blank faces.
'You don't usually spot the exact moment someone drops into a layer, and it's rare to have someone right in front of you at the drop point.'
Whatever. We couldn't just stand around forever.
"Joey Hogg. Let's check the map. Gotta confirm our position."
"Oh, right. My head's all over the place."
Joey Hogg fumbled out the map and checked our location.
His expression twisted into something weird.
"...What the hell? Why's it acting up like this? Broken or something?"
Instead of an answer about our position, panicked words spilled out.
Aldente, the slime, sensed something off and approached Joey Hogg.
"What's going on that you're... What the hell is this?"
And soon Aldente's face twisted up too.
Then he alternated puzzled glances between the map and the newbie explorers in front of us.
From their reactions, I realized something was wrong with the map.
"What's up? Some kind of problem?"
"...The marker's right in front of us?"
The marker showing the outlaws' position was smack dab in front of us on the map.
But in reality—not on the map—two scrawny-geared newbie explorers with completely different faces from the outlaws were just standing there.
A bizarre silence settled in.
In the bone-chilling quiet, I quietly opened my status window.
'Fuck.'
I didn't know who Rayhem was, but traveling with Gurumimi sealed it: they were the outlaws.
I yanked the twin axes from my belt and yelled.
"Outlaws!!! These fuckers are them!!"
The disguised newbie explorers grinned sleazily.
"Aw, shit. Busted already. That helmet asshole's got eyes like a hawk."
"We shook the pursuit squad, though. Just gotta ditch these guys."
Right away, their disguises flaked off like dead skin.
The crappy gear melted into the air, revealing sleek straight swords and a rabbit head.
The plain-faced woman in back held a hopgoblin staff. Sneaky bastards. Even faked their weapons.
Rabbit-headed beastkin Gurumimi and plain-faced Rayhem.
Exact matches for the sketch.
"Damn! Illusion magic?!"
"Bingo. Slime."
Thud.
At Aldente's shout, Rayhem grinned wide and tapped the teleport trap with her hopgoblin staff.
Beeeeep—
A massive noise blared, and a 100-meter radius instantly flooded with ominous purple light.
10 seconds until the teleport trap activated.
"Group uuuup!"
Party members huddled together with body contact, just like we'd planned.
Aldente and rear-guard Juwel protected the clerics and mages.
Hitollis and Lamel led Gellen's party's clerics and mages into defensive positions.
Crunch—
Gurumimi scooped Rayhem under her arm, puffed her thighs to bursting, and prepped to bolt from the trap zone.
"Where do you think you're going."
Like I'd let them. I'd already moved to block their escape.
Joey Hogg and Gellen flanked them from behind.
"Don't be dickheads and fuck off nice. Before I really lose it—"
I didn't even let her finish before swinging my axe at Gurumimi's right thigh.
Joey Hogg swung his one-handed hammer at her head.
But Gurumimi blocked my axe with her steel-soled boot, ducked Joey's hammer with a slight bend, and counterattacked.
"Grahk!"
Joey barely raised his shield, but Gurumimi's straight sword sliced his ear.
Fast. Blocking two attacks in a blink and countering.
My vitality crushed hers, but she edged me in strength and agility.
...Wisdom and technique lagged too, but no biggie.
With this gap, she couldn't stand against a group beatdown.
Drag it out, pin her in the trap zone, and we win.
Gurumimi sensed it and yelled at Rayhem.
"Talian!"
"Got it."
Talian?
'Status said Rayhem, though?'
Question for later.
The mage called Talian—Rayhem—had pink light swirling from her hopgoblin staff.
'Touch that and we're fucked.'
Flashback to the hopgoblin village nightmare.
Hit by that light, even I'd turn into a jizz-rag bio-dildo.
Grit teeth and dodge.
"Been waiting for this."
Then Gellen, who'd snuck up on Rayhem, swung his sword.
Yes! You sneaky fuck! Finally pulling your weight!
Clang!
Gellen smacked the hopgoblin staff perfectly. Rayhem dropped it.
Whish—
The staff hit the ground, already firing pink light.
Ziiiiing—
And that's when I felt a familiar sensation.
The world slowed to a crawl.
Extreme focus—that crisis saver—kicked in again.
Pink jizz-rag bio-dildo beam flying straight at me.
Gellen smirking at my peril.
Joey Hogg's shocked face.
Clerics and mages in back, no stock chants ready for the sudden shit.
Aldente stretching slime arms to touch bodies.
Outlaws already bolting.
Labyrinth blaring trap noise nonstop.
All registered at once.
Overload made my brain burn as I started calculating.
Alright then...
'Which fucker first, and how do I smash 'em.'
Luckily, I had all the cards.
As the pink light hit me, writhing to tattoo corruption, pure light barrier erupted.
Tiiiing—
Serip's gifted miracle deflected the hopgoblin staff's vile power.
Perfectly toward where Gellen stood.
I saw Gellen's eyes widen at the incoming pink doom.
His face screamed 'This ain't it, fuck!' in slow motion.
'Tough luck, buddy.'
But you smirked earlier, asshole. Aimed this at you on purpose?
No sympathy. Waste of worry. Live as a eternal dildo.
At the same time, I eyed the slime hand wrapping my waist.
Aldente, huh. Gellen's party member, surprisingly utility-packed tank.
Decent distance, but stretched to connect. Good for party-teleport even on layer 8.
'Now for those fuckers.'
Outlaws already far ahead.
Pink problem solved, time resumed normal flow.
About 4 seconds till trap pops.
They're nearly out of the zone.
No one but me chasing Gurumimi now.
Her agility beats mine; foot chase impossible.
"Then don't run."
I calmly gripped axes two-handed.
Aimed Zirnier's custom artifact axe diagonally at the outlaws' heads.
—Gotta use this carefully? Eats mana like crazy.
Zirnier explained usage when I got it.
Focused mind calmly, felt the chill axe, extended senses.
Gathered the mana itching my body since entering the labyrinth into the axe.
No one taught me; it flowed naturally from will.
Am I talented?
Like filling a cup, poured mana into axe. All in a flash.
Gripped the quivering axe, chanted activation for embedded magic.
"Enlarge."
To max size.
BOOOOM!!
"Grk—!"
Fuck. Reason not to waste it in labyrinth.
60cm rough axe ballooned near 12 meters. Like Ruyi Jingu Bang.
Zirnier artifact: simple, tough, insane effect.
My grip nearly burst, but held the handle—pillar now.
Axe blade smashed ceiling, vibrations raining it on outlaws.
"Wh-what the fuck is this—?!"
Gurumimi skidded to halt, zone edge in sight. No stop, she'd be crushed.
Thruuum—!
Dust storm hit, massive thick blade became a wall in air.
Blocked outlaws' escape with blade.
Now trapped in zone too.
"What? Drop to layer 8 together. Fair, right?"
I grinned weakly at their panicked faces.
Gurumimi and Rayhem glared furiously from afar.
"What're you staring at, you fucks."
You fell for your own trap.
I raised my right hand in a middle finger mountain.
"You crazy bast—"
Rabbit head veins bulging, spittle flying—
Beeeeep—
World drowned purple.
Try running your asses off. I'll catch and crush you.
And so we dropped to layer 8.