The Bird's Trap (9)

Fuck, that was close!

I nearly had a heart attack when I saw some moron swinging a sword at my pink girl, Kanisia, who was down on her knees. If I hadn't hurled that spear in a panic, she'd be dead right now.

If she'd already gone into the dungeon, maybe it would've been a different story—but she hadn't. More precisely, she hadn't been able to. Which meant I had zero reason to give her up.

All I had to do was deal with these balls-to-the-wall idiots who'd been stupid enough to attack my companion—my real companion—grab Kanisia, and get the hell off the battlefield.

I don't even have to go into the dungeon!

I was so goddamn happy I wanted to break into a samba. Come a little closer now~ Look me right in the eyes~ Fall for the samba's charm~ You'll never get away~

"Let's go, Aquaril!"

"Yes, Master!"

Aquaril and I charged straight at the enemy.

"Who the hell are those guys?! What are you standing around for? Stop them!"

"Yes, sir!"

The man who'd barely survived thanks to his fairy barked the order, and the enemies came running at us.

Four mages... two healers.

Only five of them were charging us.

Status window.

Every last one of them was 2-star, and their stats were garbage. Even exhausted from running here without a single break, I could still take them.

No—I could crush them.

Why?

Because I'd finally spent those potential points I'd been hoarding. I didn't dump all of them—just pumped 10 points into Stamina. Not one or two: a full ten at once, and I was overflowing with power. A moment ago I'd been gasping like a dying fish; now I didn't feel tired at all.

There's a reason people say stamina is everything. If your stamina's low, it doesn't matter how good the rest of your stats are—you can't bring your full strength to bear.

I'd spent some of Aquaril's potential too, raising her stamina by 5 points. The moment she arrived, she marveled at how her body was suddenly bursting with strength.

Mages first.

"Aquaril! You take the mages!"

"Yes!"

Seeing the mages in the rear preparing their spells, I gave Aquaril the order. Even at 2-star, magic—especially several mages firing at once—was dangerous.

"Who sent you people?!"

Aquaril shot past me from behind and bounded forward. Naturally, the enemies moved to cut her off. They swung their weapons at her. That constituted an attack.

Temptation.

"Gyaaaaaah?! W-what the hell?!"

"My body's moving on its own!"

The instant they struck at Aquaril, I activated Temptation, and their attacks veered toward me as if yanked by a magnet.

"Hryah!"

I swept my shield and knocked every blow aside in a single motion. In that opening, Aquaril sprang forward like a rabbit and charged the mages.

"Aaaagh!"

"M-Master! Kyaaaah!"

Caught completely exposed in the middle of preparing their spells, the mages never stood a chance of dodging Aquaril's blade. One of them frantically canceled his skill and tried to flee, but he couldn't escape death either.

"This can't be..."

The moment the six people in the rear were wiped out, the man who'd been giving orders dropped to his knees, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Fuck!"

Unlike Aquaril, who'd just put on a one-woman slaughter show, I was having a miserable time. I outclassed them in level, rank, and stats on every front, but their coordinated attacks from all sides were no joke, and without a single proper offensive skill I had no way to put them down. Still, I used my superior stats to fend off their blows with practiced ease.

"I'll help you, Master!"

"You're the only one I can count on!"

"Damn it! Master, ru— kyaah!"

Only after Aquaril, having annihilated the rear, came to my aid were we able to drop every enemy except the leader.

"Hah... I'm basically a turtle at this point."

Fighting without offensive skills was incredibly inconvenient. Without them, the only tactic I could use was to tank enemy attacks like a turtle and wait for Aquaril to bail me out. In a one-on-one I could've dropped them easily, but in a many-versus-one like this, all I could do was endure.

"Anyway, time to head ba—"

"Master, look out!"

"I'll kill at least you! Uaaaaaah!!!!"

"Huh?"

That's when one of them charged me—the one who'd been barking orders. Having lost his comrades and his fairy in an instant, his face was twisted into a mask of rage, hatred, and despair, like something out of a ghost story. A human face could look that profound, huh.

Slash—!

"Graaaaagh!"

But his sword never reached me. Aquaril, who'd sensed the danger before I had, severed his arm with lightning speed. The arm still clutching the sword went spinning through the air.

"DIE!!!!!"

"Master!"

Apparently I was so hated for ruining everything that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even with his arm cut off, he shoved past Aquaril and lunged at me. What the fuck did I even do to this guy?!

He reached into his coat and pulled out a dagger with purple liquid glistening on the tip. The thought flashed through my mind that even a graze from that thing would be bad news.

Thud—!

"Ghk, ghhk... son of a...!"

But he didn't reach me this time either. A spear flying from behind punched through his back and pinned him to the ground. Impaled through the heart, he slumped.

"Thanks for saving me."

"I should be the one thanking you. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

The one who'd thrown the spear was none other than Kanisia. Covered in wounds, she limped toward me.

If I give her a healing potion now, she'll insist on going into the dungeon, won't she?

I had healing potions in my inventory that I'd bought in Chinnimoni. They weren't as effective as a healing skill, but they'd close wounds fast. If I gave her one, there was a high chance she'd go into the dungeon to save the Blood Axe King. No—not a high chance. She'd go in for certain. And that would send her odds of dying through the roof, so I didn't give ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her the potion.

"Alan... I'm sorry, but I have a favor to ask. Come with me..."

"Let's go back."

"...What?"

"Going into that dungeon as we are is suicide."

I cut her off before she could finish asking. She knew it was suicide too. If she didn't, she wouldn't be biting her lip with that complicated look on her face.

Palos's Bird was a problem, but so were the dungeon's monsters. This was a C-rank dungeon. No matter how strong Kanisia was, even a single monster from this place would be more than she could handle in her current state.

"The ones we just fought were the weak ones. There'll be more of them in the dungeon, and stronger ones too. And it's not just the enemies. There are monsters. I'm really sorry, but... even if we go in now, we can't save the Blood Axe King."

I added that quickly, in case she got any crazy ideas. Her silence made me uneasy.

"Yeah. You're right. We won't be able to save the Blood Axe King... no, Grauss."

"Kanisia."

Kanisia, who'd been staring at the ground, lifted her head. A smile played at the corners of her mouth. My unease doubled.

"Thanks for hanging out with someone like me all this time. These past few days have been really fun, thanks to you."

"Hey, you..."

"Can you do one last thing for me? Take care of Abraham. If I go into the dungeon, he'll crawl after me if he has to. It's already pathetic enough that he got stuck with a stupid Master. He shouldn't have to die with me, right?"

I shut my mouth. In the end, Kanisia had chosen to save the Blood Axe King. Fuck.

"Why are you so desperate to save him?"

"Because he's my friend."

"...Friend?"

"Yeah. Friend. No matter how much he's changed, I can't just stand by and watch him die alone. That bastard Grauss gets lonely more easily than you'd think."

"...Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"Am I afraid of dying?"

Kanisia shook her head with a faint smile.

"Of course I am."

"And you're still going in there? When you're definitely going to die?"

"Yeah. Dying is terrifying, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but... Grauss dying is even more terrifying."

I couldn't understand her at all. She was trembling with fear of death, and yet she was going to try to save the Blood Axe King, whose death was all but certain. I, who was so terrified of dying that I'd gladly sacrifice hundreds or thousands of people in my place, could never understand her.

...The Blood Axe King.

And at the same time, I envied him. I was insanely jealous of the Blood Axe King, who'd captured Kanisia's heart for nothing more than being her friend. How wonderful would it be if that heart of hers were pointed at me instead?

I looked up at the sky. Clouds drifted slowly on a cool breeze. So many people had died here, and yet the sky was so peaceful.

Having organized my thoughts while gazing upward, I looked back at Kanisia.

I wanted her. I wanted to possess her. Her body, her heart, her soul—I wanted all of it. If she became mine, she'd stake her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠life for me the way she was doing right now, wouldn't she?

I hate gambling, though.

"Kanisia."

"Yeah."

"If I bring the Blood Axe King back."

"Huh?"

"...What?"

"Fuck, I've lost my mind."

Having said that to Kanisia, I turned around. Aquaril followed behind me.

"W-wait! Alan! Alan!"

Kanisia called after me, but I didn't look back. That wouldn't have been cool.

Aquaril and I entered the dungeon.

The moment we stepped inside, a flood of notification windows filled my vision.

"That's vicious."

I clicked my tongue as I read them. Aquaril and I had only just become 3-star, and the monsters appearing here were 4-star.

Wood Corpse Army...

I stopped and went over the notifications carefully, then opened my status window.

After confirming the dungeon's name, I switched my main attribute from Water to Fire. "Wood" was the representative word for the Nature attribute. If a dungeon had "wood," "grass," or "forest" in its name, you could assume most of the monsters inside were Nature-attribute.

The Darkness attribute is a problem, but there's nothing I can do about that. And I don't plan on fighting anyway.

I had no intention of fighting anyone in this dungeon. Whatever Aquaril and I tried, there was nothing we could actually accomplish by force.

What I wanted was just one thing: the Blood Axe King's corpse.