The Comrade
Ten minutes after entering the dungeon, we finally ran into a magic trap.
“Luan. Get back!”
Deborah quickly pushed me behind her, her expression serious as she placed a hand on the floor. She closed her eyes, scanning the surroundings, and discovered the trap magic circle hidden behind an illusion barrier on the wall. She dismantled it with ease and smiled confidently.
“That was simple! Is that why you brought me along?”
“Yeah. It’s the kind of trap I could never detect on my own. Good thing I brought you. Best decision of my life.”
“Huh? Best decision? You’re exaggerating… ehehe…”
“I’m counting on you from now on. Don’t let me down.”
“Got it! Leave it to me. Let’s go!”
Deborah took the lead, beaming at the praise. She had no idea this was all part of my plan.
‘I’ll have to keep praising her like this.’
The magic traps would only get more advanced. Eventually, even Deborah would struggle with them. My job was to pile on the pressure so she wouldn’t dare say she couldn’t handle it.
We pressed onward. After dismantling a few more traps, the dungeon’s familiars finally appeared.
—Kihihihit!
The familiars were corrupted fairies—imps. They looked cute and innocent on the outside, but their insides were rotten. They lived to torment others. The imp glided through the air, then shook its wings and scattered glowing particles in every direction. Inhaling them would paralyze the body.
“Luan. Be careful!”
“Don’t worry! Just focus on casting your magic!”
I took a deep breath and charged, swinging my fist at the imp. But it easily dodged with a nimble maneuver and snickered mockingly. Just like in the game, I felt an overwhelming urge to tear it apart.
In that moment, Deborah’s spell finished.
“Luan. Move!”
Boom! A fireball roared past my head and struck the imp. Its massive power should have instantly erased the creature’s tiny body. Yet when the flames cleared, the imp remained completely unharmed, not even a speck of soot on it.
Deborah bit her lip hard.
“As expected, its magic resistance is too high.”
“Any ideas?”
“We’ll have to use mental magic instead of elemental spells.”
“So illusion magic works?”
“Yes. But it takes time to cast, and its killing power isn’t high. You’ll have to take risks.”
Illusion magic grew incredibly powerful in the hands of high-ranking mages, but it consumed massive amounts of mana and had a high barrier to entry. It also couldn’t deal direct destructive damage, so it wasn’t very efficient. That was why Deborah had used a fireball instead of illusion magic earlier.
‘Well, this is exactly what I came here for.’
Only one imp had appeared so far, but if several showed up at once, Deborah would have to spam illusion magic without rest. The more she was pushed, the faster her proficiency would rise.
I stepped between Deborah and the imp.
“Alright. I’ll buy you time to cast.”
“…Please. I’ll finish as fast as I can.”
Deborah began casting. Growing impatient, the imp charged.
—Kihihihihit!
It scattered paralysis powder everywhere and thrust its spear. The weapon was less than fifty centimeters long, toy-like to match its small body, yet its edge was as sharp as any famed blade. I deflected the imp’s spear with a fist wrapped in aura.
Clang! A powerful shock ran up my arm. Even though the creature was barely a fifth my size, it possessed considerable strength.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Several more exchanges followed. Without Rape Declaration or Hwasin-hwa, the imp was strong enough that I couldn’t easily defeat it. The paralysis powder constantly spewing from its wings severely restricted my movements. After fighting while holding my breath, I knocked it away to catch a moment’s rest. As I took a deep breath—
“Luan. It’s ready!”
Deborah’s magic was finally complete. I gave her a quick nod, and she extended both hands toward the imp. A brilliant purple light burst from her palms, instantly enveloping the creature and seeping inside. Its wingbeats stopped. It staggered, then lost its balance and landed on the ground. The paralysis powder stopped flowing as well.
“Now!”
“Nice work!”
I immediately launched a barrage of attacks at the imp. Defeating it with two of its main abilities sealed was no trouble. Moments later, the imp dissolved into a handful of mana, its heart crushed.
“Haa… It’s finally over.”
Deborah let out a sigh of relief. Dismantling the traps in succession and fighting the imp had clearly drained her mentally. I pointed at the floor.
“Let’s rest for a bit before moving on. We’ve got plenty of time anyway.”
“Ah, okay! This dungeon’s pretty tricky.”
“That’s why I brought you. Illusion magic is essential here.”
“Hehe! Really? Then you’d better treat me well from now on, got it?”
“Of course. I’m grateful.”
So keep working hard. I swallowed the rest of my thought and leaned against the wall to recover my stamina. Ten minutes later, we resumed the raid.
The magic traps grew more advanced, and multiple imps began appearing. We struggled through their vicious fighting style. Throughout the process, Deborah’s magic proficiency rose noticeably. Even so, it remained exhausting. She occasionally looked like she wanted to give up…
“Ugh… Why isn’t it working?”
“Hang in there, Deborah! I’m counting on you! You can do it!”
“J-just be quiet. I need to concentrate.”
When I openly piled on the expectations and pressure, she reluctantly kept dismantling the traps through gritted teeth. After pushing forward like that for about four hours, we finally reached the deepest part.
“Wow, it’s gotten so big.”
“Yeah. Looks dangerous.”
Mages seemed to follow some unspoken rule when building dungeons—the deepest area was always a vast open cavern. I gave a vague reply to Deborah’s admiration and slowly looked around.
‘Where’s the boss?’
I wondered where something that big could be hiding. As I searched, a chill ran down my spine and I looked up. There, hanging upside down from the ceiling, was a monster.
Two wolf-like heads, enormous bat-like wings, a lion’s torso, razor-sharp hooked claws, and a serpent’s tail. It was a grotesque chimera, as if several creatures had been forcibly stitched together.
Deborah followed my gaze and gasped.
“K-K-Kimera?”
As if answering her, the chimera dropped. Boom! A shockwave kicked up a thick cloud of dust. I pulled Deborah behind me and retreated out of its range.
—Kieeeeeeek!
The chimera roared at the same time. The dense mana in its cry made my body tingle. Goosebumps rose on my arms. Deborah clutched my collar tightly.
“L-Luan. Can we win?”
“…I don’t know. We’ll have to fight and see.”
“Ugh… Then why did we come here?! Do you have a plan?”
“Nope.”
That was a lie. I did have a plan. But if I told her, Deborah would definitely protest that it was ridiculous. After all, my plan was for Deborah to awaken and defeat it herself. Of course, there was always the option of using Hwasin-hwa if she failed, but I could never mention that. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her—it was that awakening required pushing her to the brink of death.
I took a combat stance.
“Deborah. Stay alert. It’s coming.”
“Y-yes!”
—Kieeeeeek!
The moment my signal dropped, the chimera leaped powerfully and flew straight at us. I dodged instead of meeting it head-on.
Clang! Its sharp claws carved a long furrow into the ground along its flight path. Deborah barely managed to throw herself out of the way and looked ready to cry as she pointed at the passage we’d come from.
“L-let’s go back in there! Maybe it can’t follow us!”
“Good idea. Hurry.”
We retreated into the passage. It wasn’t as wide as the cavern, so the chimera’s movements would be restricted. Normally it wouldn’t enter a disadvantageous area, but fortunately the chimera happily chased us inside.
“Kyaaaaah! It followed us in here too!”
Deborah’s scream tickled my ears.
‘Man, that sounds nice.’
I coated my eardrums with mana just in case and stepped forward.
“Deborah. Same as always.”
“A-ah, yes! Just hold on a little longer!”
Our strategy was simple: while I held the line, Deborah would cast her magic and turn the tide. In the open cavern, the chimera’s overwhelming mobility had made casting impossible, but here it was different. As long as I defended properly, Deborah wouldn’t be in danger.
Of course, I had no intention of making it easy.
‘I need to get hit a bit while blocking.’
After running a quick simulation in my head, I began exchanging blows with the chimera, deliberately creating precarious situations.
—Kieeeeee!
Boom! Crash!
Every time its foot slammed down, a dull shock rippled through my body. Then—
“Haaah!”
Deborah’s illusion magic struck the chimera. The frenzied creature froze for a moment. But there was a fatal problem: the chimera had two heads. One was completely paralyzed by the illusion, but the other only grew confused before quickly regaining its senses and moving again. It seemed the two heads normally controlled the body together, so its movements were slightly sluggish. Still, it remained threatening.
“Kuh! Khh! Deborah, what happened?”
“Ah! I-it’s because it has two heads!”
“Then cast it again! I’ll hold it off!”
“T-that requires concentration to maintain… Casting another one will be hard. I’m sorry.”
Deborah looked dejected. She probably thought she wasn’t being helpful. I’d brought her here precisely because I knew that. She was so naive.
I clicked my tongue while pretending to be in danger.
“Then we have no choice. We’ll have to use that.”
“You have a way?”
Deborah’s eyes sparkled with hope at my meaningful words. I glanced at her and made my proposal.
“Deborah. I need to rape again.”
“H-huh!? R-r-rape?”
“Yeah! Remember what happened with the werewolves? I get stronger when I rape. Let’s have sex one more time!”
“A-ah, no way!”
Deborah immediately refused. Of course she did—nobody liked being raped. She’d once claimed to enjoy it, but that lie had already been exposed last time.
“Deborah. Think rationally. We have no chance of winning. Even if you hate it, we have to do it!”
“T-that’s not it! I like you now, Luan!”
“…What?”
Where did this sudden confession come from? I asked blankly, forgetting my plan for a moment. She explained logically.
“You said you get stronger from raping, right? It’s not just about mixing bodies. That’s correct?”
“…Yeah. Smart of you to figure that out.”
“That’s why it won’t work. I’m confident I wouldn’t hate it even if you raped me now! Then it would be meaningless!”
“……”
I didn’t know what to say. I never expected Deborah to like me this much. At this rate, I was the only one who looked ridiculous for keeping up the act. Just as I was about to drop the performance—
Shhhk! The serpent tail that formed the chimera’s tail stretched out and lunged from Deborah’s blind spot. Without hesitation, I wrapped my arms around her.
Crunch! The serpent’s fangs pierced my shoulder.