Finishing Blow (3)
The door to the boss room closes automatically after a certain amount of time. It rarely opens on its own. There are occasional stories of monsters kicking it open, but surely not this time.
Fortunately, the person who entered was Rian, the upperclassman from Team X who'd fallen behind.
"Eek?!"
Iri staggered, her nerves already frayed to the breaking point.
In any case, we needed reinforcements. If this central pillar collapsed, at least one of the three clinging to its head would be done for.
In that instant, Kyle and Iri both turned to stare at Rian.
Kyle spoke first.
"Senior."
"...?"
"Please finish it off for us."
Rian stood there, his face blank with confusion. His lips twitched as if he couldn't comprehend the situation.
And who could blame him?
Kyle and Edel holding on for dear life, Elin Beonard sprawled unconscious in the far corner—they all played their parts differently, but together they'd pinned down the dungeon's lord, the Salamander, rendering it helpless and immobile.
Even to a second-year who'd entered before them, it was an bizarre, unfamiliar sight.
Besides, Rian had deliberately shown up late to the boss room. His plan was to barge in once the other team members and the boss were worn out, then swoop in for the killing blow.
The cameras covering this area only showed the inside and immediate outside of the boss room door—right up to the entrance. Which made right in front of the boss room door a perfect blind spot.
...He'd originally planned to pretend he'd gotten lost, kill some time, then slip in when the moment felt right.
"Less than a minute left!"
"We can't hold on much longer!"
"...!"
What was this? His juniors had set the table for him.
With the boss completely immobilized, all he had to do was raise his sword and deliver the finishing strike. Every ounce of credit would go straight to Rian.
Whether it was good luck or bad, Rian's reaction was swift.
"Just hit the mouth, right?"
"Yes! We need to inflict internal damage, sir!"
The guy who'd been throwing punches just moments ago was now speaking so casually—it was pretty surreal. But with the situation like this, there was no choice.
A comrade bursting in at the moment of crisis? Always the right move. Perfect for the theatrics, and it checked all the boxes.
This merit would cancel out any penalties, and his family's pressure would stay at bay.
Internal damage, huh...
Truth be told, a second-year could pierce that Salamander's hide like it was nothing. But that was just the potential—why turn down a perfectly laid-out feast?
Internal damage had many forms, but poison and burns worked best. No matter the Salamander's fire resistance, it couldn't withstand an explosion from the inside.
And conveniently, the sword he'd brought along carried fire properties.
Talk about a stroke of luck.
The enchanted magic was Explosive Sword Thrust. It pierced the target while triggering a small mana explosion—enough to obliterate most monsters in one hit. Especially in a completely defenseless state like this; even a boss wouldn't survive.
Rian assumed his stance. He charged like a bull, thrusting the sword tip forward.
The target: its mouth. One strike to pierce straight through to the lizard's guts.
But in the next moment, Rian felt an intense sense of wrongness.
"W-wait, it's already growing back!"
"What? Already?!"
"Be careful, senior!"
The Salamander twisted its body. What followed was something Rian couldn't have predicted.
From the half-severed lizard tail, flames erupted—and it spewed a stream of fire.
The wide-ranging blaze mercifully missed the others. The three were right on top of it, Kazuha and Edel were farther out, and Elin was unconscious anyway.
But Rian von Hildegaard, approaching from mid-range, got caught dead in the flames.
No way... me? In this situation?
The center collapsed, and the charging Rian tumbled. The pain hit late.
My Watch had read the damage and sent a jolt of electricity through him.
Rian clutched his numb legs, staring at the Watch's grim warning right in front of him.
Fatal injury detected.
Measured Damage: 3rd-degree burns or fractures.
His legs wouldn't budge. The pain was secondary; Rian just couldn't accept it.
The perfect setup had crumbled on its own.
Get up, or pretend to faint?
He considered faking unconsciousness in his fallen pose out of sheer frustration. But getting eliminated that way would be an even bigger disgrace.
And rumors of a second-year flunking out in a first-year dungeon? That would tank House Hildegaard's reputation.
"......"
After a brief hesitation, Rian pushed himself up with his upper body.
To save face in this mess, he'd have to turn even this blunder into part of the act.
The easiest way: pass the baton naturally, shoving all attention onto the next guy.
Rian gripped his sword. The enchantment lingered.
He was just handing off a loaded gun. Even if someone else pulled the trigger, he'd get credit for setting the stage.
"Take it."
Rian reversed his grip on the sword. Kyle's pupils dilated for a split second.
Thwack—the sword flew through the air, landing just in front of Kyle at the last moment.
Catching the baton, Kyle seized the hilt.
...Enchanted?
Iri backed off at Kyle's glance. So did Kai Alma from atop its head.
They leaped back out of range with all their might.
The Salamander clawed furiously at the ground with its forelegs.
Now, only Edel Di Bison restrained it—and even her hold was ending; it was time to pull back.
The Salamander opened its maw. Flames roiled inside as expected.
Kyle gritted his teeth against the impending firestorm from its throat.
It all came down to this one clash. And the faster one would win.
Crack!
A whip latched onto the Salamander's head, forcing its angle down.
This time, no hesitation. Kyle thrust his sword into the oncoming blaze.
Kwajik—!
A moment of silence... then a heavy shockwave swept the area.
***
When the explosion faded, Kyle opened his eyes.
"Ah...?"
The shockwave had knocked him out briefly. Kyle sprang up, scanning the battlefield.
The boss monster Salamander was gone. The other team members huddled together, supporting each other.
Only then did Kyle look up. A message floated before him.
Congratulations. Boss monster defeated.
Clear conditions met. Gate closing.
"...It's over? For real?"
It felt surreal. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or what.
Elin approached the dazed Kyle.
"...You're up?"
"Yeah, but... is this really the end? For real?"
"Clear message popped up, didn't it? Means it's done."
Just look at the boss's vanishing corpse.
The dungeon conquest was over.
"What about the others?"
"Others? Everyone here's fine."
"Not the ones here—the ones not here."
Elin checked her Watch.
"Sylvia-senpai got eliminated, and the rest... who knows. Anyone not in this boss room's probably already been reverse-summoned, right?"
Kyle checked the roster. Surviving party members were grayed out, reverse-summoned already.
As Elin said, anyone not in the boss room had been sent back to Georged Hall.
That included the ones trapped in pitfalls—and Sion Illeionhart.
In the end, defeating the boss was the right answer.
He probably couldn't have done it alone. If Team X hadn't arrived in time, there'd have been more eliminations after Sylvia.
Where the Salamander vanished, a massive treasure chest appeared.
His Watch buzzed simultaneously.
Dungeon boss 'Feral Salamander' successfully defeated.
Contribution Score: +200 points acquired.
Reverse summon in progress shortly.
Kyle headed straight to Rian first.
Rian leaned against the wall, apart from the group.
As Kyle approached, Rian scowled.
"Hero, huh? Must be nice."
For some reason, Rian's face looked utterly deflated.
"......"
"What're you doing? Go grab your rewards."
Kyle hauled Rian up by force and dragged him to the treasure chest.
"We basically cleared this thanks to you, senior."
"Let go."
"So you should take first pick on the rewards."
"Cut the crap and let go—"
But then the chest popped open.
Rian winced at the flood of light from within.
"No way, this is..."
They say the best medicine is financial therapy. With the chest overflowing with artifacts of every kind, even boiling rage had to cool.
He was turning away, leaving the stunned Rian behind, when—
"...?"
Kyle narrowed his eyes at a faint silhouette in the distance.
"What, Kyle? Where you going? Not grabbing yours?"
"Nah, I'm good. You guys go first."
"You're so weird. Fine, your loss."
Ignoring Elin's mutter, Kyle moved toward it.
The ghostly figure seemed to beckon, drifting farther away. Kyle's steps quickened in pursuit.
"...What is it?"
He arrived in another section of the boss room. The figure lingered at a distance, pacing silently before vanishing without a sound.
Kyle approached where it had been and picked up something snagging his foot.
A worn, frayed bag strap. Following it led to something charred black.
Kyle realized it was a hunter's remains.
He paused for a brief moment of silence, then crouched down.
A rusted metal tag gleamed. An old Hunter Association ID, no longer in use.
The instant he picked it up, someone's memories flooded in like an overlay.
......A gate that erupted long ago.
It burst in the middle of the city, corrupting the urban district.
Like early gates, the cityscape twisted into a demonic wasteland unfit for humans, steeped in Demonic Energy.
The epicenter: this very shopping building.
It had just hit its one-year anniversary, buzzing with events.
Hundreds got caught in the gate. A nearby hunter team was urgently dispatched while resting.
The situation was dire, conditions poor.
The Salamander's hide repelled even blades.
Yet the risk of dungeon break loomed closer.
The dispatched hunters faced a tough call.
In the end, they sent the others out—and one hunter stayed behind.
The method chosen: a now-banned forbidden ritual—self-detonation.
The blast rocked the entire underground mall. The gate vanished with the boss.
All underground.
Late-arriving hunters found the ruins.
Full excavation took years.
The trigger: an artifact relic found on one hunter's remains.
Brought to record a casual after-party, it captured the horror instead.
Recording from gate outbreak to clear, it helped loosen the rigid Hunter Association rules.
Still, the sacrificed hunter's name stayed hidden for ages—internal association conflicts.
Exposing their shame? They dragged their feet.
Finally revealed much later: the dispatched hunter's name was...
...Everd.
A man who'd hunted for 17 years, set to retire that very day—his anniversary.
He died a hunter, preventing the dungeon break.
The recorded dungeon was named Underground Town Everd after him.
Reclaimed by Arsen, it became training material for future hunters.
And likely would remain so.
"Hey! Hurry up or there's really nothing left!"
"Who gets the last one?"
"Don't touch it! Look, it's portioned for the headcount. Kyle!"
At the shouts from behind, Kyle stood.
He placed the ID tag back beside the remains, unaware he'd picked it up.
A silent prayer to the neatly arranged bones and tag, then he turned toward his waiting teammates.