Being sucked in so suddenly threw me off for a moment, but I’d experienced teleportation plenty of times by now, so I didn’t lose consciousness from the transition. My mind remained perfectly clear, and I was fully prepared to meet whatever world awaited us on the other side of the space-time vortex with my guard up.
“Where are we…?”
The journey through the warped space-time ended much sooner than I expected.
When my vision finally cleared, what appeared before me was a strange, otherworldly space unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
| > Whoa… this is incredible… > It’s not just dark… it is pitch black. > Kinda has a space-like vibe. > Old man, can you breathe? |
Indeed, just as the viewers had pointed out in the comments, the image was unmistakably that of outer space. I unconsciously assumed I am standing upright, but when I looked down at my feet, there was no ground beneath me.
Huh? Are we in zero gravity?
But I didn’t really feel like I was floating. In fact, it didn’t feel all that different from normal. I can still breathe, too.
“So it looks like space, but I guess we didn’t actually come to space.”
Thankfully, it seemed we hadn’t been scattered around when we were teleported here. Beside me, Satsuki-chan muttered those words while warily scanning our surroundings.
“Would it be correct to assume this is the Time-Space Rabbit’s personal domain?”
We were supposed to have come to the first basement floor of the West Tokyo Fourth Beginner Dungeon. But, as Mina-chan suggested, it made the most sense to assume this was some sort of territory belonging to the Time-Space Rabbit.
“So this is the first layer of the Selection Zone, then. Everyone, stay on your guard.”
“Shaaaaaa!”
I agreed with Shion’s assessment.
This had to be the first layer of the Selection Zone—the territory of the department manager… No, I mean, the Time-Space Rabbit.
“I thought you’d all be a little more shaken up. You’re surprisingly calm. Kind of disappointing, honestly.”
The voice of the Time-Space Rabbit suddenly echoed inside my head from somewhere within this space, which looked like a VR experience at a planetarium. It sounded exactly like when the loli Goddess spoke directly into my mind.
“Time-Space Rabbit! Where are you?!”
“Who knows? If I told you that, it would defeat the whole purpose of inviting you here.”
“Damn it! You’re planning to attack us from our blind spot!”
Being in this vast, space-like domain, with no idea where an attack might come from—360 degrees in every direction—was far from ideal. And if we didn’t know where our opponent was, I couldn’t use 【Clairvoyance】 to investigate its abilities, either.
For now, I’ll use 【Retribution】 to shore up our defenses and get us ready to counterattack…
“Detection skill! Dimensional Detection!”
“Hm?”
Before I could use 【Retribution】, Satsuki-chan activated some skill I’d never heard of before and began scanning the area around us.
Her eyes were shining brilliantly.
FLASH!
“Nice one, Satsuki! That might actually work!”
“Oh? You’ve mastered quite a rare skill. I’m impressed.”
Apparently, Mina-chan and Shion both knew what the 【Dimensional Detection】 skill Satsuki-chan had just used was capable of.
“Ah! There it is! Over there!”
Satsuki-chan pointed with her right hand at a spot forty-five degrees to the front-left.
I couldn’t see anything…
Wait. No. There was something there. It was extremely faint, but that particular spot looked slightly distorted, almost like a heat haze.
I decided to trust Satsuki-chan’s detection and go on the offensive myself.
“Cremation!”
I raised my right arm and, without even a moment’s hesitation, fired 【Cremation】 at the spot where the Time-Space Rabbit was supposedly hiding!
And then…
“OWWWWWW!! What the hell?! Why would you suddenly fire off a skill like that?! I almost got roasted to a crisp!”
Tch! I missed.
The Time-Space Rabbit’s voice was still echoing through my head like static.
【Cremation】 was a fire-type skill, but it wasn’t the kind of technique that created a massive explosion of flames, so I still had no idea how far its effective range actually extended. At the very least, I was certain I’d fired it directly at the spot where the rabbit had been.
Had it crossed through space at the last possible instant?
It looked like it had gotten singed a little, but it had managed to evade the attack.
“Satsuki-chan! Where did it go?!”
“Umm… Huh? It’s gone?”
Satsuki-chan continued searching, but apparently she could no longer pick up the Time-Space Rabbit with her skill.
“Perhaps it was so frightened by Daishi-san that it fled to an even higher-dimensional layer. In that case…”
This time, Mina-chan began increasing her magical power.
A white aura swirled around her, and I could feel an immense surge of magical energy building up.
“Satsuki! Buff yourself and concentrate the search area of 【Dimensional Detection】 on the 180 degrees in front of us!”
“O-Okay!”
“Shion…”
“Yeah. No need to say anything more. I understand.”
“I’m counting on you!”
For some reason, Mina-chan was giving tactical orders to all the girls except me while continuing to raise her magical power.
The energy gathered at the tip of the jangling staff she carried, accompanied by an earsplitting, discordant shriek that sounded almost like metal being torn apart!
“Dimensional Holy Severance.”
Mina-chan uttered yet another unfamiliar skill name and raised her staff above her head.
The torrent of energy she had gathered surged with even greater intensity.
And then…
“…Huh? The aura disappeared.”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, Mina-chan’s magical power vanished from her staff as though nothing had happened.
Then, out of nowhere, a scream that sounded like the Time-Space Rabbit’s dying cry shook my mind!
Huh? What the hell just happened…?
“There! I found it!”
“Bind it! Chains of Judgment!”
Following Mina-chan’s command, Satsuki-chan activated 【Dimensional Detection】 and located the Time-Space Rabbit.
Without missing a beat, Shion-san unleashed some kind of skill called 【Chains of Judgment】, wrapping the Time-Space Rabbit up so tightly that it was completely bound.
“I give up. I surrender.”
“…Huh?”
The Time-Space Rabbit reappeared before us, only to have its freedom completely taken away by my companions without ever becoming much of a threat at all.
Hell yeah! Total victory…
“…”
I didn’t do a damn thing.
I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING AT ALLLLLL!!
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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