“Mina-chan!”
“Ah, Daishi-san! Looks like you made it out safely! Thank goodness!”
“Things got seriously out of hand in here… What happened to the host guy who was with you…?”
“Ah, uhm…”
Right after seeing Lune-chan off, I regrouped with Mina-chan and glanced toward the seat where Monster Sakuya had been.
U-Uwaah…
“He looked like he was about to wake up, so I took care of him first. Ehehe♪”
Apparently, Mina-chan had finally realized something was wrong with the room after all. The moment Monster Sakuya began regaining consciousness, she’d driven a massive cross-shaped skill straight through his rear end and executed him on the spot. Even after making him sit through all her endless complaints, she apparently showed absolutely no mercy once it was time to kill.
Cute face aside, this girl possessed exactly zero hesitation. Terrifying!
“It seems everyone is safe.”
“Hyeek!”
Hearing Shion-san’s voice, I turned around—
Only to find her standing there drenched in the monsters’ blood, her clothes dyed completely crimson. The sight was so overwhelming I let out something dangerously close to a scream.
“Looks like you had yourself quite the lively time, muscle-brain woman.”
“Indeed. It may have been little more than a farce, but I found it fairly entertaining, fake saintess.”
So they had been aware of each other after all. Mina-chan and Shion-san exchanged sarcastic barbs without missing a beat.
Still… Shion-san was incredible. She’d probably torn apart a huge number of monsters while drunk, yet she wasn’t even breathing heavily. With a perfectly calm expression, she casually muttered something like, “I would’ve liked another drink.”
Both Mina-chan and Shion-san were absurdly powerful in their own ways.
At this rate, maybe progressing through the dungeon ahead would become much easier!
| > The monsters themselves probably weren’t that strong. > Nah, it is because old man’s party is just ridiculously overpowered. > If they were actual monsters, they’d easily be SS-rank. > Wasn’t Mina-chan’s cross attack way too brutal? > They’re literally crucified lol. > Shion-neesan’s victims are even worse… > Uwaah… > They’re completely mangled lol. > HIEEEEE!!! > None of them even resemble their original forms anymore. > Camera, please stop showing that side. > Mister’s skill is honestly the most humane one. > But that Burial Healing skill looked beautiful and all… didn’t Lune-chan end up going straight to hell anyway? > Lune girl is peacefully speedrunning her way to hell. > That’s honestly still pretty messed up lol. |
…Ah. That’s right.
I’d completely forgotten. Burial Healing sent people to hell. While saying goodbye to Rune-chan, I’d gone through all kinds of emotional reflections in my head. But in the end, it seemed none of it had really mattered.
Sorry, Lune-chan!
“…You’ve certainly made quite a mess of things.”
“!”
So it wasn’t over yet.
The moment we sensed James Mei’s voice and presence, all three of us spun around and immediately raised our guard.
He is probably the boss of this establishment—No, not just the establishment. He is the boss of this entire floor. And yet, unlike the others, James himself hadn’t transformed into a monster. He still maintained the appearance of a flashy nightlife manager.
“So if we defeat you, we’re free to leave this place? Is that the idea?”
Mina-chan narrowed her eyes and shifted into a combat stance.
“It was a surprisingly enjoyable establishment, but I suppose it’s time for closing hours.”
Shion-san cracked her knuckles loudly as she glared down James.
“W-we still have to move forward! And if you intend to stand in our way, then…”
Maybe because I got swept up by the cool atmosphere the other two were creating, I also tried saying something dramatic. Though honestly, if we didn’t have to fight, then fighting would be totally unnecessary. If he wanted to back down peacefully, that was perfectly fine with me…
“No. I’m afraid I’m incapable of taking on all three of you by myself. You need not worry about payment, so if possible, I would appreciate it if you simply proceeded to the next floor as you are.”
…Huh?
That was unexpectedly anticlimactic. Unlike the old Dragon King, this manager didn’t seem particularly eager for a fight. He appeared to have honestly accepted the difference in strength and was prepared to back down.
Well, if that was the case, then lucky us. I’d much rather conserve our stamina for what lay ahead.
“Eh? We’re not fighting? Boring.”
“What a spineless coward.”
Hey, hey now. Could you two please stop provoking him?
We finally found a situation where we might avoid combat entirely, so let’s just smoothly move on already!
“…Yes, yes. Understood. Nether King-sama, the owner, says he wishes to speak with all of you personally.”
“…Huh?”
At first I thought James was muttering to himself into thin air. But apparently not.
It seemed he’d been communicating directly with the old Nether King. Then, across the grotesque flesh-like walls of the transformed room, the familiar image of the white-bearded old man appeared—just like when I fought Ades before.
This was the second time I’d seen his face. As always, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary old man.
“It has been some time, little priest brat. Since our conversation at Ades’s place, was it not?”
“Are you senile, old man? That wasn’t even that long ago.”
“Foh-hoh-hoh. That insolent attitude of yours hasn’t changed, I see.”
Just like last time, for some reason I always ended up acting unusually bold around this old geezer.
I didn’t really understand it myself, but something about his face just irritated the hell out of me. Earlier I’d considered trying to settle things peacefully through conversation, but as long as this instinctive irritation existed, that was probably impossible.
Besides, anyone who turned a sweet girl like Rune-chan into a monster was someone I could never get along with—not in this life, nor in any reincarnation after it.
Now then… what kind of insults should I throw at him first—
“Ah…”
“…Kuh…”
Hm?
Mina-chan? Shion-san?
What was wrong with them?
The moment they saw the old man’s projection, both of them suddenly looked visibly distressed.
Their faces had gone pale, cold sweat covered their skin, and their breathing had become shallow.
Oi, are you two okay?
Ah—wait, maybe the lingering aftereffects of my fart smell were only kicking in now?
Sorry! I’ll figure something out after I’m done talking with this old man!
The useless loli goddess probably put deodorizer spray in my Item Box.
…Hopefully.
So just hang in there a little longer!
“So what do you want, old man?”
“I have nothing but business.”
The old geezer still spoke in that same playful tone.
It completely threw me off balance.
“You want your liver and rectum back?”
I decided to ask the obvious question directly.
“Indeed. The liver matters little either way, but life becomes mildly inconvenient without one’s rectum.”
So the liver didn’t matter.
And what did he mean “mildly inconvenient” without a rectum?
For a normal person, that would be a catastrophe beyond words.
“It would violate the rules if I personally came to retrieve them, you see. In time, one of my subordinates will surely accomplish the task instead.”
“No matter how many weaklings you send at us, they’ll never beat us.”
“Foh-hoh-hoh. Such confidence.”
That “foh-hoh-hoh” laugh seriously pissed me off. I wanted to smash him with Hell Gate and Burial Fist simultaneously right this second.
“Still, enough of that. I actually came to offer you all a single warning.”
“A warning? I figured you came to teach me the proper way to use Hell Gate.”
I asked half-jokingly.
“As if I would teach you that. The truth is, shortly before your arrival, two explorers began traversing the Nether Class Dungeon. They have already broken through to the tenth floor…”
Ah—!?
Could it be the Hero’s Party?!
They’d already started exploring the Nether Class Dungeon?! And they’d beaten us to it! Worse, they’d already reached the tenth floor? That was insane!
“They are unbelievably troublesome individuals. It seems they’ve been planting various little tricks throughout the magnificent dungeon I painstakingly created.”
“Little tricks?”
“Indeed. I know not precisely what they have placed, but I suspect they are traps intended for the ones following behind them—you lot.”
“Traps…”
“Mm. I wish to kill you using my own original dungeon systems. It would be most irritating if you were eliminated by such cheap gimmicks instead. Hence why I came to warn you.”
The Nether Class Dungeon had already been difficult enough to begin with. And now it seemed the Hero’s traps had been added on top of that.
“…Isn’t this basically impossible?”
Just when I’d finally started gaining confidence thanks to our strengthened party, I was suddenly informed the difficulty had increased even further. I couldn’t help muttering the complaint aloud.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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