I think Jikaku-san actually put up a pretty good fight. But no matter how strong he was, there was no way an ordinary explorer could defeat a Dungeon Master.
“Hey, old man. Am I cute? Am I young?”
“BB…”
BAM!
“Hey, old man. Am I beautiful? Am I still youthful?”
“You are an absolutely adorable, wonderful, perfect little girl! I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
“Right? You finally get it.”
The Dungeon Master had entered full-on forced enlightenment mode. Jikaku-san had no choice but to tearfully acknowledge the perfection of her “Little-Girl-ness”. Incidentally, the other female members had all been knocked unconscious by the sheer pressure of the damn Goddess.
So the scene I was watching now was a one-on-one battle between Jikaku-san and the Dungeon Master. That said, the outcome had already been decided. At this point, Jikaku-san was simply being unilaterally bullied by loli goddess.
“I’ll apologize as much as you want, so… could you possibly let me off the hook, Little Miss?”
“Nope. You guys have an incredible amount of talent, so I’m going to have all of you die here at least once.”
I understood what the damn Goddess was really getting at. I didn’t know exactly where this place was, but we were clearly inside a dungeon. Most likely, because Jikaku-san and the others had exceptionally strong souls, her plan was to send them to the Selection Zone, have them reincarnate as powerful monsters, and then use them as her subordinates.
The current Dungeon Master had already explained to me that this was how dungeons worked.
…Wait.
Hold on.
Since Jikaku-san was destined to become the Nether King Grandpa, it was probably a given that he would die here.
But what about the other members?
Nine times out of ten, I’d say the women traveling with him were the ancestors of Satsuki-chan and the others. The versions of them who lived in my era never became monsters.
So even if they did lose their lives, it shouldn’t have happened inside a dungeon…
Wait. I’m not misunderstanding this, am I?
“Guh! Then…!”
Realizing that even a heartfelt dogeza apology wasn’t going to get him out of this situation, Jikaku-san immediately moved on to his next course of action.
He put some distance between himself and the damn Goddess, then instantly moved to where his unconscious companions were lying. From a small pouch hanging at his waist, he pulled out an item that looked like a white mineral crystal.
“We’re getting out!”
“Don’t bother.”
The item Jikaku-san used glowed for only an instant. It was probably some kind of return item, but it was obvious that its effect had failed to activate.
“W-Why isn’t it working?!”
“You can’t escape from a Dungeon Master.”
“A Dungeon Master?”
“That’s right. I am the Dungeon Master Goddess—the ultimate idol deity who rules over every single cavern in this mortal world!”
The damn Goddess puffed out her chest with an utterly self-satisfied “Ahem!” as she introduced herself. Despite the fact that they were in the middle of a life-or-death situation, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of tension in her. To her, taking someone’s life might simply have been an everyday occurrence.
“Please. I don’t care what happens to me. Just let them go.”
I see. So this was the part where Jikaku-san sacrificed himself to save his companions.
Nether King Grandpa really was a pretty decent guy after all.
“Nope. No way. Not happening. Their souls look like they could probably make it through at least the fifth layer of the Selection Zone. We’re still seriously short on manpower over here, so I want as many capable, obedient subordinates as I can get.”
Huh?
Wasn’t this supposed to be the part where she said, “I understand. In recognition of your willingness to sacrifice yourself, I’ll spare them?”
At this rate, they’re all going to die! Something is seriously wrong with this whole sequence!
N-No way…
Could it be that the moment the Shion-lookalike spotted me, the past had already been altered?
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but if you’re saying you won’t save them, then—!”
“It’s useless.”
“What!?”
“Gran Bind, the Bountiful Chains that Bind an Explorer’s Soul.”
The damn Goddess activated some bizarre technique. I couldn’t tell whether it was a skill or magic. Black pentagram-shaped magic circles appeared all over the ground. Countless black arms emerged from the centers of those circles, grabbing Jikaku and the others and holding them fast in their grasp.
“What… is this…?”
Jikaku-san was still conscious, but he managed to mutter the words through his pain.
“This technique lets me squeeze your souls themselves. It also forcibly suppresses your enemies’ magical power, so it’s really convenient.”
“My strength… is leaving me…”
“They’d probably die even if I just left them in its grip like this. But that’d be a waste of time, so I’ll just kill you all one by one, nice and quick.”
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Isn’t this situation just a little too hopeless? I can’t see any future where only the women survive this.
“Let’s start with… this saintly-looking bitch. Something about her face really pisses me off.”
The beautiful girl who resembled Mina was still clutched in the black hands when she was lifted into the air and dangled upside down right in front of the damn Goddess!
The color was draining from Jikaku-san’s face by the second! It was obvious he no longer had the strength to resist. At this rate, the Mina-lookalike was going to die!
And if that happened…
Even if I made it back to reality, Mina-chan would probably be gone!
The past might change, creating a future where she had never even been born!
I couldn’t let that happen!
“Well, see ya~. Once you come back from the Selection Zone, I’ll make you my slave and give you a very thorough tormenting…”
“Hey.”
“I’ll save you old man Jikaku for last, so just wait a little longer… Hmm?”
“Hey! Bitch! Up here!”
“Huh? I could’ve sworn I heard something coming from the ceiling… Wait, what?! W-Who the hell are you?!”
Apparently, the damn Goddess could see me.
Well, that made things simple!
“My name is Daishi Ajiri! I’m a former corporate slave turned corpse-bearer!!”
I’d blurted it out without thinking about what would happen next. And the moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Because I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do now.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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