Dungeon Conquest (6)
Thinking back to the serpent-like monstrosity that had spewed black fire in the Forbidden Zone, magic clearly did not require the presence of reason to be used.
A priest-type magical beast, perhaps. Even after a single fireball had been flung aside by my power, the creature showed no agitation whatsoever. It simply began drawing another magic circle, as if following a predetermined sequence.
My judgment that this beast possessed a measure of reason did not rest solely on the fact that it cast magic again.
It was because it had recognized the power I displayed and immediately responded in a manner meant to counter it.
Black lines scrawled wildly through the air, and the moment the magic circle completed its circular form—
In the brief span before magic erupted once more from its center, I slipped into that opening, closed the distance to the beast’s face, and struck.
Perhaps it was to deny me that gap.
The magical beast no longer contented itself with drawing circles in empty air.
The floor of the plaza, and the wall standing behind the creature—
Countless magic circles that had been invisibly inscribed there flared to life all at once, revealing themselves.
Magic circles opening like the eyes of a beast waking from sleep. From each of those pupils, orange fireballs burst forth.
It looked as though, having seen that magic would not work, it had wasted no time moving to the next measure.
“It prepared them in advance…”
Pria murmured low behind me. A mage who prepared ahead of time, she had said, demonstrated exceptional command of space.
Just as she claimed, the circles the beast had carved manifested magic far faster than those drawn in the air. The difference was almost nonexistent.
Dozens of fireballs began flying, intent on blocking my advance.
But having already experienced magic of the same caliber once, an increase in number posed little threat to me.
I precisely swatted each fireball aside and strode steadily toward the magical beast.
The more I advanced, the more deliberately—and clearly—the creature retreated. When it had withdrawn to a certain point, it raised both hands and pressed them together before its chest.
In that instant the air around the beast fell still as death, and then a colossal magic circle of an entirely different order began to take shape in the empty space above its head.
“It’s a grand magic! Prepare!”
The words were not directed at me.
Pria and the mages behind her settled into stance, ready to counter the spell.
Was it truly because it had prepared in advance? Or was this magical beast simply that skilled?
What Pria had called grand magic swiftly completed its perfect form in the air.
What erupted from the center of that circle was a torrent of lava.
An overwhelming volume of molten rock, incomparable to the liquid the beasts on the first floor had spat from their mouths.
Accompanied by heat that seemed intent on incinerating everything here, the lava poured down with enough force to swallow the entire plaza.
That savage torrent surged forward in an instant, reaching the very front where I stood.
Pria had clearly not expected the magic to complete at such speed. I felt no supporting spells or defensive auras coming from the rear.
It was not their fault. I had forced the way open without restraint. Had the assault party consisted only of adventurers, it would have taken far longer—but they would have been far more cautious as well.
The speed gained by my taking the lead. And at the same time, the opening that speed had created.
Separate from that, I was a little—no, quite—surprised.
So magic of this scale existed too.
Until now the only magic that had truly startled me was the black fire exhaled by the twisted serpent-like monstrosity at the heart of the Forbidden Zone—heat that had melted even my skin.
The lava pouring down now was certainly less intense in heat. Yet it was magic that swept across an equally vast space.
This was not something I could block with my “body” alone. Even if I layered Will over it.
For a moment my consciousness sank shallowly.
Standing on the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness, I settled into stance.
The martial art I had perfected upon crossing the Fourth Wall. The first time I would use it outside the Forbidden Zone.
I spread my legs wide and dropped my center of gravity deep.
As I drew in a refined breath, the ground itself seemed to flinch, as though swallowing the same air.
Thud.
With that single motion alone, fine cracks seeped into the dungeon floor—the same floor that had remained unscathed no matter how I had raced across it, no matter how magic had exploded and fireballs had fallen.
My condensed power began at the tips of my toes.
It traveled up my legs, through my hips, coiled around my spine, and with the rotation of my waist loaded itself fully into my fist.
I poured every ounce of that power into a single punch and drove it straight forward.
The shock of countless compressed energies detonating all at once.
One Destruction
Sssht.
The air trembled.
A faint vibration rang through the space, and the surrounding temperature dropped in an instant.
Vacuum.
The trajectory my fist had pierced—the entire space ahead—was swept clean.
An invisible shockwave shoved the torrent of lava back the way it had come.
Boom!
The reversed torrent was hurled against walls and floor; steam erupted from every direction.
The lava even surged back to the spot where the magical beast had stood and swallowed it whole.
Yet the beast’s form was no longer there. Had it melted in the lava, traces of that heat would have remained from the moment it cast the spell.
No.
It had been shattered to pieces by my shockwave.
Not only the magical beast, but the wall it had been guarding—and the door inscribed upon it.
It was the same door that had once borne the unknown patterns carved into the priest-type beasts as well.
Given that my senses could not penetrate beyond it, some measure had clearly been placed upon the door. As Ren had said, it was probably a door that required certain qualifications or a trial to open.
Yet somehow I had smashed that door to pieces as well.
Cracks raced across the entire wall; the debris that formed the dungeon shattered and collapsed inward.
It was fortunate the dungeon itself had not come down. Fortunate that I had limited my power from the start, intending only to push the magic aside.
Beyond the collapsed wall, pitch-black darkness was revealed.
When I extended my senses I felt a long staircase descending far below, another plaza beyond it, and the presence of countless beings filling that place.
Not the boss chamber—another floor of magical beasts.
As befitting a dungeon classified as Calamity-class, its scale was immense.
I descended with the assault party once they had reformed their ranks.
Avoiding the rubble, we made our way down the stairs and arrived at the plaza below.
What awaited us there was not the Flame Species.
This time they wore armor, carried weapons, and stood in formation.
The silhouettes filling the plaza held refined postures, like a single army.
And upon their armor, the same unknown patterns were carved.
…Holy knights, perhaps?
Anyone looking would have no choice but to call them that.
At this point, failing to notice would have been stranger.
Ren, sensing the same thing, spoke from beside me.
“I told you ordinary dungeons usually have a single distinctive trait. I thought it was fire… but it may actually have been religion.”
Something the preliminary investigation had never uncovered.
My gaze naturally turned toward Bedeia—the heresy inquisitor of the Luen Order.
How she viewed a dungeon that seemed to proclaim itself a religious order. Or whether she already knew something.
Until now she had followed silently at Ren’s side, never speaking a word except when I layered Cheong-ui over her.
In truth that was what Ren had wanted as well.
Somehow I was now clearing the entire dungeon from the front, but even before knowing that, Ren had firmly declared he had no intention of borrowing Bedeia’s strength.
She was merely a figure brought along to borrow the name of the Luen Order—a silent demonstration so the clan’s combat power would not be underestimated.
It was awkward both to trouble her and to share credit with her.
Yet if the dungeon’s religious nature had a reason, it could very well involve the Order, so I had no choice but to gauge Bedeia’s reaction first.
Her face, however, remained utterly unchanged. Whether she did not know, or already knew and therefore showed no change, was impossible to tell.
Her expression was that perfectly blank.
If anything, the look she had worn the first time she watched me deal with a magical beast had felt more alive.
Following my gaze, the other members of Deep Night also looked toward Bedeia, yet she did not so much as twitch.
“Looks like the heresy inquisitor doesn’t like you very much.”
Pria spoke from the side as if joking. It was her usual way—stepping in to cut through any awkward silence that settled.
…Earlier she hadn’t even been able to meet my eyes properly. Had enough time passed for her to recover?
“It’s a little strange that she still doesn’t like you after seeing that.”
Hearing her make such odd wordplay, she really did seem to have regained quite a bit of composure.
I leaned in and whispered near her ear.
“But I already know.”
“Know what?”
“When you actually see it, you can’t say a word.”
“…”
In reality she was a lady who flushed red and grew quiet at the sight of a man’s bare body—yet she seemed to believe she hid that true face rather well.