Chapter 41
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: A Parting Gift
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Inside a dungeon room filled with the scars of battle.
The Mazoku Ifrit had his eyes closed, wholly focused on controlling the mutants.
‘Damn it.’
The mutants, fashioned from clumps of spiders, were reduced to ash by the elf mage's clean, consecutive spells. Two-thirds of the mutants Ifrit had painstakingly crafted over the past two weeks, wandering this dungeon, had vanished in an instant.
‘…It's over.’
Ifrit severed his connection to the mutants being scorched by the lightning and opened his eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Even the elf mage, who had performed the bizarre act of navigating through spiderwebs to disarm the mines, was far stronger than he had anticipated. On the surface, she possessed the mana of an ordinary mid-level mage, but the perfection of her spells and the synergy between them were beyond the scope of any common person.
Fleeing deeper into the dungeon was no longer an option.
His wounds were deep, his stamina depleted. If he had time, he could have rested and recovered, but his opponents had an excellent guide.
They would storm his room in less than ten minutes.
The expression "a rat in a trap" was perfectly fitting.
Yet, the Mazoku did not despair. Nor did he sit idly by and accept death.
It wasn't that he possessed pride or a sense of duty like the soldiers of the continent.
It was simply that struggling wretchedly until the very end, leaving even one more scar on them, was more beneficial to the Mazoku race, however slightly, than waiting for death.
An extremely rational and totalitarian way of thinking.
That was the phrase that symbolized the Mazoku race.
“Hmm…”
The Mazoku stroked his chin with an unnerving calm for a creature facing death and let out a sound.
‘Did they throw themselves into this dungeon simply to covet its treasures? No… They must know my brethren are outside, eagerly waiting to seize the Akilliptus Forest Zone. Could they really afford to be so carefree?’
Ifrit calmly began to retrace their steps, pondering their original purpose for entering this place.
‘The elf mage deliberately entered the room with the mines, even at great risk. Then, she disarmed them with such finesse. That's not something one would do if their goal was simply to escape or clear the dungeon.’
Slowly, the monster recalled the moment he first encountered them.
‘…Was their purpose for coming here to disarm the mines?’
His calm thought process soon led him to the answer.
‘I don't know the exact reason, but I'm certain that's their objective. Otherwise, there's no reason for such bizarre behavior.’
“…Should I hide it far away? No, that would be pointless. The guide seemed skilled enough; he'd find it in no time.”
He commanded the flesh chunks he had scattered throughout the dungeon for information gathering to deliver the last remaining mine to his room.
“In that case, it would be better to give it to them as a gift instead.”
Soon after, a grotesque creature—a small lump of dough with two giant spider legs—entered his location, carrying a purple-glowing mana mine on its head.
The Mazoku Ifrit quietly took the mine in both hands.
The slightest wrong move of his fingers would trigger the detonator, engulfing the surroundings in a sea of fire.
“…Gather.”
Behind Ifrit, who held the mine aloft, all the mutants he had created began to assemble.
From the small chunks of flesh made for reconnaissance to the near-failed mutants, and even the well-crafted, bizarre spider clumps suitable for direct combat—they all stood there.
The chunks of flesh carefully enveloped Ifrit.
The jet-black mass of flesh coiled around itself like a wave, spraying toxic fluids as it opened the door and began to roll somewhere.
“I should be able to leave a scar, at least.”
…Even as he faced his end, the Mazoku Ifrit muttered with a machine-like, cold expression.
***
“Please wait a moment. If I don't let the air cool down, it might create a thunderclap…”
Through the translucent wall, a room thick with white ash and fog was visible. Seeing that the horrific flesh chunks and their venom-filled secretions had all been turned to white ash, Rex let out a hollow laugh.
“…Are you really a 4th-Circle mage? Good grief, being surrounded by geniuses is making me look shabby.”
At Rex's words, Rireu fidgeted, unsure how to react, before burying her face in her robe.
She acts all prickly and says she's not happy when I praise her, but when Rex does it, she's pleased.
…Did I really do something wrong?
Even after the situation was resolved, Rireu maintained the 'Isolation' spell for a long time. She was waiting for the air, heated by the lightning, to cool down enough to prevent the sound of thunder from spreading.
After waiting, she finally released the 'Isolation' spell, and a wave of humid air drifted through the doorway, caressing our cheeks. The sticky, stuffy sensation made us all grimace as we stepped into the room.
Ash.
Ash.
Ash.
The room was filled with nothing but white ash. The lightning bolt Rireu had summoned had scorched the walls, bored a hole in the floor, and even completely melted the mural on the ceiling.
“You've burned away every last trace. You could have gone a little easier.”
Trian swept his palm across the ash-covered floor and grumbled.
The floor of the massive room, at least a hundred square meters, was completely covered in white ash. Clearing away this ash to find any hidden tracks would take a considerable amount of time, even for someone like Trian.
“It's going to take a while to find any clues. You should rest for a bit.”
I didn't know why, but Trian was looking directly at me as he spoke.
…I had done literally nothing in this battle. Rireu had done most of the work, yet I was the one receiving the most consideration, which felt incredibly awkward.
Of course, awkwardness aside, I intended to make the most of the break.
“Haaah…”
The moment Trian finished speaking, I leaned my back against the wall and slumped to the floor.
I hadn't done a thing, yet I had no idea why this body of mine tired so easily.
Seeing me sit down, Rireu cautiously approached. She was already wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and having buried her face in her robe since earlier, her face was almost completely hidden.
With my palm, I carefully swept the dust from the spot next to me. Without a word, Rireu moved to the spot I'd cleared, leaned her back against the wall, and slowly sat down.
She didn't show it, but it seemed Rireu was also quite fatigued from running at high speed to keep up with Rex and Trian.
“…Rex, do you see anything over there?”
“There are some signs of corrosion… but I can't tell if it's blood splattered from the mutant that just died or blood left by the Mazoku as it passed by.”
“Just remember the location for now. After I'm done investigating this area, I'll go over and take a look…”
*Du-ung…*
An ominous vibration resonated through my back, which was leaning against the wall. I instinctively pulled away from the wall and turned my head towards it.
“…”
Had he felt the ominous vibration too?
Trian, who had been sifting through the ash in the next room, stopped talking mid-sentence and turned his head toward our room.
Before I could even wonder what that sound was, another vibration struck my back.
*Du-ung…!*
The dust motes at Trian's fingertips danced for a moment.
Rex instinctively reached for the axe on his back.
Whatever the source of this vibration, a sense of dread washed over me, a feeling that it was not friendly.
“…Mages, get up.”
*Dung!*
The vibration grew closer before I could even get to my feet.
Rex immediately grabbed his axe and started running toward the room where Rireu and I were resting.
“Come this way! First, we need to form a line…!”
With her characteristic agility, Rireu quickly got up and reached a hand out to me. The moment I took her hand and used my other to push myself off the floor, a massive vibration shook the ground.
*Dung!*
*Dung!*
*Kung!*
*Kung!*
The vibrations grew endlessly, then changed to a thin, squelching sound. It was the sound of something sticky and foul repeatedly sticking to and peeling off the floor, and it was incredibly loud.
*Clank!*
Before my mind could even process what was happening, the doors to the room where Rireu and I were resting flew open.
Three tightly shut doors opened their mouths simultaneously and began to spew out a bizarre vomit.
A tsunami of flesh and bone poured from three directions, surging toward the spot where Rireu and I had been sitting.
An army moving with clear purpose—this was a characteristic of mutants being controlled by a Mazoku.
A surprise attack, launched just as the tension from the battle had begun to fade.
The Mazoku controlling these mutants was undoubtedly a veteran with extensive combat experience.
“Rex!”
“I know!”
‘…Ah, wait. This is too close.’
Reacting to the sudden ambush, I instinctively began to convert the mana in my body into lightning. White currents of electricity started to coil around my slender body.
“Not in here!”
Rireu shouted quickly, pulling my arm and running toward the room filled with white ash. My concentration broke for a moment, and the currents around my body scattered in all directions.
“The thunder is too loud with that spell! Even if we seal the room with 'Isolation', the firepower is so immense it would break through in an instant. It's just too much in so many ways…!”
Rireu, realizing I was about to use Blooming in response to the surprise attack, had quickly shouted to stop me.
Blooming was certainly a powerful skill, but it also unleashed a massive amount of electricity, causing thunder to roar ceaselessly. Using it carelessly would undoubtedly attract the attention of not only the monsters nearby, but also those sleeping on the other side of the dungeon.
Furthermore, using Blooming in such an enclosed space meant there was a high chance of Rireu and the others getting caught in the lightning, and a strong possibility of our eardrums being damaged by the barrage of thunder.
On top of that, after the short five-minute duration, I would lose consciousness. That was something I had to avoid at all costs in a dungeon teeming with threats.
*Fwoosh…!*
Piercing through the massive volume of flesh that filled the room, a large arrow shot forward in a straight line.
The steel arrowhead punched through everything in its path before embedding itself in the opposite wall, where it began to rust and slowly melt in a pool of venomous blood.
“Get into this room! He must have been in a hurry; the quality of these mutants is terrible! If we just get into formation, we can handle them without any big spells!”
*Fwoosh!*
From behind me, I heard the sound of a giant axe mercilessly cleaving through bone and flesh. Blood gushing from the torn flesh melted other chunks, and the blood that flowed from those melted chunks began to dissolve yet more.
Just then, a spider mutant with a clearly stitched-up belly blocked our path.
The scene was utter chaos. Rex was trying his best to block all the flesh chunks rushing toward us, but he was only one man.
Spotting a large chunk of flesh that had slipped through while the great axe was swinging at another, I focused on the foreign object in my chest.
“Manifest.”
Fine particles burst from my chest, instantly forming a reddish-yellow crystal. As soon as the crystal took shape, it began to hum with a mechanical sound and emit a dark red light.
The beam of light shot out, accurately targeting and piercing the spider's head.
The giant mutant's head turned to ash, and its body began to topple backward.
Seeing that, I turned my head. I needed to scan our surroundings in case another mutant Rex had missed was charging us.
If we could just make it to the next room, we could lure the enemies into the narrow entrance and deal with the numerous flesh chunks effectively.
The most urgent task now was to get into formation.
We had to escape safely to the next room so that Rex could also get out of this living hell with peace of mind…
“This… you were looking for it, weren't you?”
Before the thought could even finish, an eerie voice echoed.
It was a voice I had never heard before.
Unfitting for the chaotic situation, its calm and quiet tone evoked an instinctual discomfort in anyone who heard it.
I reflexively turned my head toward the source of the voice.
There stood a Mazoku, his body covered in toxic substances and melting away. In his hands was the last mana mine we had been so desperately searching for.
The torso of the toppling mutant was completely torn open at the seams.
I hadn't seen him emerge from the mutant's body with my own eyes, so I couldn't be certain, but he had likely been hiding inside it.
*Fwoosh!*
Before my and Rireu's minds could fully grasp the situation, a steel arrowhead pierced the Mazoku's head.
“Damn it…!”
Trian's lamentation drifted faintly to my ears.
I quickly turned the crystal to aim at the Mazoku, but it was already too late.
Despite his body melting and an arrow sticking out of his head, the Mazoku offered a ghastly smile.
“Take it.”
Amidst the pandemonium reeking of blood and flesh, the sound of the Mazoku pressing the mine's detonator with both hands rang out clearly.
*Click—*