Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Remaining Heroes...
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The remaining heroes...
Luna and Lily ran desperately. Chris? She didn't give a damn about that idiot.
From the start, they'd only fawned over him because he was a promising three-star hero and a disciple of that "Radiance." They'd buttered him up for their own futures, but they had no intention of throwing away their lives for a guy like that.
"How the hell do you beat a monster like that?!"
It was a monster that could nullify the power of holy relics, no less. If they'd known something like that existed, they never would have set foot in this dungeon to begin with.
Chris was a problem too. She'd known he was an idiot with his head full of flowery nonsense about his master's honor and making a name for himself, but she never imagined he'd charge in with an enemy like that right in front of him, even after one of their comrades had already fallen. Was he banking on the "Scales," maybe?
"That only works when there's a sacred zone...!"
Chris's holy relics: "Durandal" and the "Scales of Equity." The combo was insanely powerful. The Scales granted power equal to the opponent's, and activating a sacred zone in that state weakened the enemy while strengthening the user.
No matter who the opponent was, it guaranteed dominance. But without a sacred zone, the Scales alone were pretty underwhelming.
"Ah... uh...."
"Sera... be quiet."
Luna snapped at Sera, who was still out of it and moaning. At least Chris had charged in and bought them some time—they just had to escape in the meantime. The emergence of an irregular that nullified holy relics was huge. If they reported it to headquarters, they might avoid punishment for abandoning Radiance's disciple and fleeing.
Hell, they might even get rewarded for bringing back such vital intel...
"Lily... the exit. Which way is the exit?"
"Just a sec..."
In their frantic rush to escape, Luna scanned the surroundings but couldn't spot the direction of the entrance they'd come through. She asked Lily to guide them. Lily looked around too, but the dense trees made it impossible, so she climbed one nearby first.
A massive tree stood out in the center of the forest, and faint traces of their path through the woods were visible. As she backtracked the trail to find the way out, something caught Lily's eye.
-....wriggle.
"...The tree?"
The enormous tree in the heart of the forest. For a split second, it had twitched and stretched like it was waking up. And then...
-Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
"....!!"
The holy relic "Ere," which detected hidden dangers around them. The relic in the form of a bell began ringing wildly—not in one direction, but ferociously from all sides.
"Luna! Up....!"
The moment she tried to shout a warning, something burst out from behind Lily and wrapped around her.
-...!!!
"Mmph...!"
Tree roots. Brown roots erupted from all directions, instantly ensnaring Lily. Luna, watching from below the tree, went pale as a ghost. Lily desperately reached out toward Luna as if begging for help, but Luna backed away slowly before turning tail and bolting.
"S-Sorry!"
"...!@#!?!"
Abandoning Chris was bad enough—this was the second time. They said the second betrayal was always easier than the first. Maybe because she'd already witnessed one shocking scene, Luna didn't even consider fighting; she just ditched Lily and ran.
It was a sight unimaginable from the usual Luna, who always spoke politely and sweetly to her comrades.
"Ugh......!"
Sera, cradled in Luna's arms, slowly came to and looked up at her in shock. The sight of her comrade abandoning another with a mere "sorry." And the expression on Luna's face that Sera saw...
"........."
Was utterly ice-cold.
"...Oh, right."
Luna's gaze then turned to Sera in her arms, who had lost one arm and was soaked in blood that stained her priestess robes. Sensing what was coming, Sera clung to Luna desperately, squeezing out her voice.
"Lu-Luna. Don't abandon me..."
"Sorry, Sera."
-Thwack!
Coldly swatting away Sera's arm as she clung to her, Luna dumped her in the middle of the forest without a backward glance and ran. Sera wailed alone behind her, but Luna didn't so much as flinch.
"I'm gonna die like this!"
Left behind, Sera gritted her teeth, shakily propping herself up with her remaining arm and stumbling toward the entrance they had come through, piecing together her memories. She wasn't even sure if this was the right way. The searing agony from her severed—no, blasted-off arm clouded her mind.
-Rustle!
"......Hic!"
As she crawled along at a snail's pace, a sound of bushes shaking came from behind. Sera picked up her pace as best she could and pushed forward blindly. Before long, an open clearing with fewer trees appeared ahead.
"Put this in, and this too... Huh?"
Was she hallucinating? Through her tear- and pain-blurred vision, a small girl with red hair appeared. Thinking it was a mirage at first, Sera spotted the girl's pointed ears and realized this kid was a demon too.
With her one good arm, she raised her staff threateningly at the young demon.
"H-Human?"
"You there, kid... Gah... Where's... the exit?!"
"Uh... uh..."
The little demon... Rio froze at the sudden sight of a human emerging from the bushes. She'd forgotten about it while meeting Eugene and working to repay his kindness, but the human woman wielding a mage's staff triggered her trauma all over again.
The stench of blood wafting from Sera's severed arm. The mage glaring at Rio with wild eyes.
"Damn it... Cat got your tongue? Damn it. Show me the way out!"
"Ow!"
Frustrated that frozen Rio wouldn't answer properly, Sera yanked her arm. Rio shuddered violently and shook off Sera's grip.
-Thwack!
"Aaaagh!"
Unable to balance properly from her injury, Sera toppled over from Rio's light shove. Covered in dirt, she pushed herself up and glared at Rio with hatred.
"You filthy demon brat...!"
The coarse profanity she'd hidden while putting on airs in front of Chris spilled out. Already half-mad from pain and now disrespected by some kid, Sera impulsively aimed her staff at Rio.
Behind it all burned rage at being utterly crushed by the presumed dungeon master.
"Fine... Just die!"
"Kyaaah!"
On pure impulse, she unleashed her magic. It was her habit to hunt demons without mercy. Pushed to her limits, sound judgment was impossible. Add in fury at the dungeon itself. All of it fueled that split-second decision.
Compared to her usual grand spells, it was pathetic—a spell that conjured a tiny fireball. But thanks to her holy relic "Echo," it multiplied into five. The fireballs shot straight at Rio.
"Kyaa... Huh? Huh?"
"W-What?!"
Regretting killing what might have been her ticket out, Sera saw Rio emerge unscathed from the flames.
"What the hell... What is this dungeon?!"
The weird object at the entrance, that dungeon master she'd bumped into earlier, and now even this kid shrugging off her magic?
"Ugh... B-Bad human!"
Dazed from the attack, Rio squeezed her eyes shut, mustered her courage, and yelled, activating the power her master had bestowed upon her. Remembering the humans who burned her village, she resolved to resist them.
High-Pressure Cleaner
(Fire variant via Fire Seed talent)
Originally a water-spraying [High-Pressure Cleaner]. But the moment it entered the hands of Rio, who possessed the [Fire Seed] talent, its nature flipped completely.
-Roooarrrrr!!!!
"What?!"
Flames. Crimson fire poured from the [High-Pressure Cleaner] in Rio's hands. Panicking at the sight, Sera instinctively shoved her resummoned "Greed" ring forward—the one she always used against magic.
The ring that nullified magical effects. Despite getting burned badly once already, she couldn't break the habit. With her severed arm gone, she thrust it forward with her other hand.
-Roooarrr!!!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!"
The flames ignored the ring entirely and engulfed her fiercely.
"Hah... hah..."
Having abandoned all her comrades and barely escaped the forest, Luna faced the trap zone she'd passed earlier. She'd gotten through on the way in thanks to Lily, but alone, it wouldn't be easy.
Staring down the traps, Luna drew her last remaining holy relic.
-Fwoosh!
From the back of this unmistakably human woman sprouted pristine white wings. Not a typical piece of equipment, but a body part—a "wing" that humans simply didn't have. The holy relic "Riel."
The moment the wings unfurled, it granted flight and allowed her to wrap her whole body in those tougher-than-anything feathers for protection.
Luna soared over the trap zone. Some traps detected her in midair and triggered, but they were all blocked by the relic's invincible defense, harmlessly deflected.
Lightly bypassing the traps, Luna sighed in relief at her survival and hurried outward.
"Just past this...!"
Once out of the dungeon, she'd be fine. No one knew she'd ditched her comrades. It was just an unfortunate accident where the other heroes fell in the dungeon.
And just as the exit loomed ahead, another holy relic in her possession flashed.
The holy relic "Largo." Its power: sealing targets. And this bracelet currently held the blood-manipulating demon they'd encountered sealed within.
"W-Why now...?!"
Luna knew what the glow meant and recoiled in horror, but ignoring her plight, a burst of light poured forth, revealing her form.
"...Ha! A seal? What the... Seals are supposed to take ages of prep time, but an instant one like this? What the hell did that bitch Eukrasia give you humans...? Hm?"
"Ugh...!!!"
A monster of despairing strength that even all the heroes combined couldn't overcome. Erzsebet had torn through the seal and emerged in under two hours.
Right between Luna and the dungeon exit, no less.
As Luna slowly backed away, a whirlwind of thoughts raced through her mind. Then she remembered one last item in her possession and pulled it out.
"Eukrasia! One true god! Grant me your blessing!"
A protective barrier of holy power encased the object. Pulling out what looked like a floating round cushion, Luna clutched the holy relic(?) and prayed fervently to the divine.
"Grant me the blessing to overcome this crisis!"
A new holy relic. With the grace of yet another, maybe she could turn this around. Thinking that, Luna drew the holy relic... no, the [Robot Vacuum] from her bosom and prayed for the god to select it for her.
-Whirr?
As if the god had answered her call, the golem (robot vacuum) she placed on the ground turned its head, aiming what seemed like eyes (sensors) at her.
Then it slowly approached.
"G-God?!"
At the sight of the holy relic seemingly responding to her call and moving, Luna cried out praises to the divine, awaiting the connection.
-Whirr...
".........God?"
The robot vacuum sidled up to her and sucked up the dirt falling from her body.
-Whirr!
As if declaring the cleaning done, it coldly turned away and left.
"...Ah... Ahh...!"
Watching the [Robot Vacuum] depart, Luna bowed her head, tears streaming down her face.
".....The god..."
Has abandoned me.