Category: Datsusara Souryo no Danjon Sousou Haishin

I’ve lost count of how many times I have been teleported since my first dungeon exploration. But I clearly remembered the first time it had ever happened. It was when the Time-Space Rabbit had sent me straight to the fiftieth floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon. Of course, I’d been unconscious back then, so I had no memory of the teleportation itself.

Now, though…

I’d gotten used to it.

Even while being transported through space, my mind stayed perfectly clear, giving me a few precious moments to think about what I needed to do next.

“The instant I arrive… Hell Gate. The instant I arrive… Hell Gate…”

Like a mantra, I kept repeating the Nether King’s advice to myself. By my own reckoning, I’d reach my destination in about five seconds.

Ever since this whole ordeal began, I barely had a chance to catch my breath. Aside from that brief meal in the Gourmet Room, I’d been thrown from one crisis into the next without a moment’s rest.

I could feel the exhaustion starting to pile up—both physically and mentally.

So this time… I am going to follow the old man’s advice without hesitation. I’d end this fight as quickly as possible. Then I’d defeat the Hero, reunite with everyone and finally throw Satsuki the welcome-back celebration she deserved while we all took a well-earned break.

“…I can see it!”

The high-speed flight through that endless void—a place that felt like outer space, or perhaps the gap between dimensions—was almost over. The point where all the light converged just ahead of me was the exit.

My stomach is in perfect condition. I am ready to let it loose at any moment.

At last… I am about to arrive on the forty-eighth floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon where the Hero awaited.

“The instant I arrive… HELL GATE!!”

I shouted the words one final time.

The teleportation completed, and I arrived at my destination—

“Super Thunderstrike—Giga Thunder!”

“GYAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

Before I could even tell whether I had fully materialized or was still in transit, my consciousness was thrown into chaos.

A searing bolt of agony pierced straight through my skull. My entire body convulsed, went numb, and shook uncontrollably. For one terrifying instant, it felt as though every drop of moisture inside me had been vaporized.

The voice I’d barely managed to hear activating that skill…

There was no mistaking it. It was him. The Hero had been thinking the exact same thing. End the battle with his strongest attack the very instant it began. He had anticipated where I would appear and prepared his ambush in advance.

Compared to that… my plan—to teleport in and then activate Hell Gate—had been far too naïve.

“Super Thunderstrike—Giga Thunder!”

“GUWAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

The Hero didn’t give me a single moment to recover. His second ultimate attack slammed straight into me. For an instant, my consciousness nearly blacked out.

This is bad!

My stats might be absurdly high, but even they weren’t enough to let me tank a move like this over and over.

I wanted to dodge…

I wanted to counterattack…

But the instant that lightning hit, my entire body was paralyzed. No matter how ridiculously high my Agility was, I couldn’t evade while every muscle refused to obey me.

Still… a technique this powerful… even for the Hero, the MP cost had to be enormous.

Surely…

Surely he’d have to stop after this—

“Super Thunderstrike—Giga Thunder!”

“GAAAHHHH!!”

Nope! I’m so screwed!!

One more hit…

One more of those and I’m dead!

I’m doomed!!

Please!

I’m begging you!

Let that crackling lightning attack end here!!

“Super Giga…”

“NOOOOOOO!!!”

He just kept firing them off one after another…

With that same cold, expressionless face, like a machine carrying out its programming.

Does this guy not even have an MP limit?!

I’m gonna die!

I’M SERIOUSLY GONNA—

…

Huh?

Why am I suddenly looking at a flower meadow?

There’s even a river flowing nearby.

…Oh?

Isn’t that Lune over there?

Whoa!

And Otin-san is there too!

Huh?

No way…

Even Gorue-chan is running around happily playing.

Heh…everyone looks so happy…  Hmmm…. So peaceful.

…

Can I…

Can I join you guys too…?

“Thunder—”

Hah! No, no, no, no!

Don’t you dare!

That was close… I’d already been halfway to the afterlife just now.

It’s not over yet!

> …Retribution! > Use Retribution! > It’s a magic attack! You should be able to reflect it!

Through my fading consciousness, I caught a glimpse of the viewers’ comments.

If I couldn’t dodge the attack anyway…

Then my only hope was my reflection skill—

Retribution.

It didn’t matter if I ended up coughing up blood—or throwing up my guts. I just had to force every last ounce of strength from the pit of my stomach…

And scream!

“…Giga Thun—”

“RETRIBUTION!!”

“KAAAAAANG!!”

It all happened within 0.0000… something seconds. The fact that I was still conscious at all meant only one thing.

My Retribution had overpowered his Super Thunderstrike—Giga Thunder.

A rainbow-colored barrier sprang up around me. With a shrill metallic crack, the shimmering wall reflected the Hero’s fourth thunderbolt flawlessly.

When I looked up, the man who had been relentlessly bombarding me with ultimate attacks was gone.

Nothing remained where he had stood…

Except for the shadow he had left upon the ground.

“Heh… heh…”

“…Looks like I didn’t even have to… use Hell Gate…”

Even so… I’d taken a devastating beating.

My voice came out hoarse, and my knees gave way beneath me.

> It might not be over yet! > Use a potion! Now! > There’s no guarantee that was the real Hero! > Don’t let your guard down!

The viewers were absolutely right.

The AI Hero had already told me there were multiple copies of the Hero. The one I’d just defeated could have been another fake while the real one waited for the perfect moment to strike me down in my weakened state.

I had to heal. Immediately.

And I couldn’t stop watching my surroundings for even a second.

“Item… B—”

“Choosing to heal first is the correct decision.”

A familiar voice cut in.

“But…”

“Gah!!”

The instant I reached for a potion from my Item Box, the Hero suddenly appeared right in front of me. His kick buried itself deep into my stomach, launching me through the air.

“Ghk…”

I slammed into the jagged stone wall of the Nether-Class Dungeon.

But somehow… I am still conscious.

Thank goodness it wasn’t lightning—

No!

This wasn’t the time to be relieved!

He’d attack again!

Get up!

Take your stance!

Prepare your counterattack!

The plan hadn’t changed.

Now…

Now was the moment to unleash my ultimate trump card—Hell Gate.

Come forth…

Spirits of rotten flesh raging within my bowels…

Be unleashed—

Be unleashed…

…Huh?

“…I can’t fart.”

Wait.

Did getting struck by all that lightning somehow make it go away?!

I spent all that time preparing… and now I didn’t even feel the slightest urge!

T-this is bad…

I can’t use Hell Gate…

『 Fool. Your fart is not the activation condition for Hell Gate. Simply will it into existence.』

The Nether King’s raspy voice echoed inside my head, calmly teaching me how to actually use the skill.

…So…

I’d been using it wrong this whole time.

…That’s actually kind of embarrassing.

Wait! Now is not the time to be embarrassed!

While I was having that realization, the Hero had gathered an absolutely terrifying amount of energy.

Lightning crackled wildly around him.

If that attack landed, I’d be finished!

It felt like far more power than Retribution could possibly reflect.

Screw it…

“This one pierces through defenses! It’s now over! Extreme Thunderstrike—Tera Thunder!!”

“Come forth… HELL GATE!!”

Two ultimate techniques erupted at the exact same instant. The forty-eighth floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon shook beneath their overwhelming power.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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The moment I escaped the AI Hero’s arena, I immediately activated Return and made my way back to the first floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon.

Without wasting a single second, I activated Return again, summoning Mina-chan, Shion-san, Ryunosuke-kun and Satsuki-chan from the upper floors of Guild Headquarters to my side.

“Daishi-san!”

“W-whoa! H-hey, Mina-chan—!”

The instant she emerged from the space-time vortex and spotted me, Mina-chan broke into a sprint. A heartbeat later, she threw herself into my arms.

“I’m so glad you’re safe…! I really am…”

“Did you defeat the Hero?”

With Ryunosuke-kun perched on her shoulder, Shion-san walked over at a measured pace and asked for an explanation.

Right… I should probably explain what happened—

Mina-chan’s hug is a little too enthusiastic.

C-Can’t…

…Breathe…

“S-sorry! I was just so happy to see you that I got carried away…”

Realizing she’d been squeezing me far too hard, she quickly released me.

Unfortunately, she did it by practically shoving me away. That stung a little in its own way.

“Uh… anyway, I haven’t defeated the Hero yet.”

I said after catching my breath.

“What? What do you mean?”

“…The one I fought was a fake.”

“An AI Hero.”

I gave everyone a brief rundown of everything that had happened.

There were still plenty of unanswered questions, strange details, and things that simply didn’t add up. Shion, in particular, bombarded me with questions like a raging storm. Unfortunately, I didn’t have all the answers myself, so I could only dodge the ones I couldn’t explain while filling everyone in on the current situation.

As for Satsuki…

It seemed she still hadn’t recovered her strength. Ever since emerging from the space-time vortex, she remained lying motionless on the ground.

I wanted nothing more than to celebrate our reunion, but I couldn’t bring myself to wake her by force. I’ll talk to her once she regained enough strength to wake up on her own.

Most importantly… everyone is safe. That alone was enough.

> Man… I’m so relieved. > The whole gang’s back together! > I’m actually tearing up. > I kinda felt bad for the AI Hero. > Fate can be so cruel. > He really did seem to have a mind of his own. > That was a life in its own right. > Hey, quit making me all emotional! > How did they rescue Satsuki, anyway? > Yeah, I want to know too. > Wasn’t that place supposed to be packed with traps? > We need the full story! > Come on, old man! Ask her already!

“I know, I’ve been wondering the exact same thing.”

Just as I was about to ask Mina-chan and the others what had happened during the operation to rescue Satsuki—

“…Have you all finished talking?”

“Nether King old man!!”

The Nether King suddenly appeared beside us, materializing out of nowhere like an afterimage.

“Our work is not yet finished, young lad.”

“…I know.”

The old man’s expression was grim. It felt as though he was silently telling me that finishing our original mission took priority over hearing the story of Satsuki’s rescue.

“Next, I shall send you to the forty-eighth floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon, where he awaits. I know you’ve only just returned, but make your preparations at once. You must be ready for battle.”

By “he”, the old man obviously meant the Hero. And by “send”, he was probably talking about spatial teleportation.

Unlike Otin, the old man apparently had full administrative control over every floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon. Though, if that was the case… I still couldn’t help thinking, “Then why don’t you just defeat the Hero yourself?”

But apparently, there was some kind of principle—or perhaps a restriction—that prevented him from doing so.

“…Understood.”

I’d come this far. There was no point overthinking everything anymore.

First things first…

I pulled up my status screen.

Name: Daishi Ajiri Class: Burial Priest Level: 15 HP: 997 / 2249 MP:  0 / 1899 Strength: 1564 Endurance: 1701 Agility: 6999 Intelligence: 1919 Burial Power: 9998 Surplus Burial Points: 0 Skills: 【Burial Healing (Lv3)】 【Burial Fist (MAX)】   【Retribution (MAX)】 【Requiem (MAX)】 【Return (MAX)】 【Cremation (MAX)】 【Clairvoyance (MAX)】 Unique Skill: 【Hell Gate】 【Infinite Itembox】 Title: 【Enlightened One】

“…Huh? My level’s gone up by ten?”

Come to think of it… maybe the fake status screen the Hero had forced on me had altered that too. The Return (Disabled) condition was gone as well.

As for my MP being at zero…

That didn’t surprise me anymore. I used Return twice in rapid succession, so it made perfect sense.

“Item Box!”

I’d better restore my HP and MP to full before the fight. The Dungeon Master had stocked the box with plenty of recovery items, so I had to give him credit for that.

Oh, right! The others had to be exhausted too.

“Here, Mina-chan! Shion-san!”

“T-thank you, Daishi-san!”

“My thanks. This will help.”

Shion said with a nod.

As casually as someone grabbing a drink from the refrigerator, I pulled several HP and MP recovery potions from my Item Box and handed them to the two of them. There was no way they’d made it this far without taking damage or spending mana.

I’ll give one to Satsuki once she woke up.

“Alright! Is everyone ready? Then, Gramps… we’re counting on you!”

After making sure everyone had finished their potions, I called out, steeling myself for what was to come.

All right.

Time for the final battle.

“…No.”

The Nether King calmly shook his head.

“The only one I shall send is you, young lad.”

“…Huh?”

…To be honest, I had a feeling that is how it’ll turn out.

I figured it couldn’t hurt to try riding the momentum and see if I could get away with bringing everyone along.

Apparently…No such luck.

“Now, don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I can’t send all of you.”

…Then why does that sound like you’re making excuses?

Was that his way of saying, “I’m actually amazing, you know?”

The old man continued, his tone turning grave.

“Ajiri Daishi. The enemy you’ll face is far more cunning and despicable than we ever imagined. I admit that much. If you hold anything back… you will almost certainly fail to defeat him.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means you must go all out from the very first moment.”

Go all out…?

That means…

“Hell Gate”

I see…

Right. If I unleashed that, it would be a disaster if everyone else was standing nearby.

“So, you’re saying I should use it immediately?”

“You must not give him even a moment to prepare. The instant I send you there… activate it at once!”

Honestly, there were still countless things I wanted to ask the Hero. But it sounded like there wouldn’t be any time for that. Even cornered, he is still the Hero after all.

“Daishi-san…”

Mina-chan looked at me anxiously.

“It’s okay! Don’t worry. I’ll wrap this up in no time. You guys wait here.”

“Don’t take too long, old man.” Ryunosuke-kun called out to me.

“You got it!”

“Have you finished your farewells? Very well… off you go.”

A vortex of distorted space opened before me, revealing the path to the Hero on the forty-eighth floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon.

“…Oh.”

As I slowly stepped toward the swirling portal, something suddenly came back to me. There was one mission I had absolutely promised myself I’d complete once I made it back safely.

“…I still have to give Satsuki her panties back.”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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> Gramps is here! > Alright! Time to bring down the hammer! > They’ve been letting him do whatever he wants for far too long. > Took you long enough to show up. > The Hero is finished. > Show us the original Hell Gate! > But… the Hero actually liked that smell, didn’t he? > Can the old man really win this? > Even Otin got taken out…

The viewer count was skyrocketing. 7.5 million viewers. It felt like I only just passed five million, yet before I knew it, the audience had exploded to an almost unbelievable size. At this rate, breaking ten million concurrent viewers wouldn’t even be surprising.

T-that’s amazing…

“Hah! I know how you operate, you damn Nether King!. You’re a slave to your own rules! You won’t fight anyone unless they make it all the way down to the hundredth floor where you sit on your throne!”

The Hero looked like he was bluffing through a cold sweat, but now that I thought about it, Ades had said something along those lines when I fought him.

Still, after watching someone turn the dungeon he’d spent so long managing completely upside down, I couldn’t imagine the old man would simply stand by and do nothing.

So… how’s the old man going to handle this?

“Hmph. You know me well enough, you insolent brat. What you said is indeed true.”

…Huh?

Wait, was old man Nether King really just here to threaten him?

I’d be really happy if he’d just get rid of that villainous Hero already.

“Then quit wasting my time and get lost, you senile old bastard! I’ll deal with you later. Go take a dump and sleep it off!”

In a way, we had to admire the Hero’s nerve. To keep spewing lies and bluffs one after another like this… that took real talent. Judging by how drenched in sweat he was, he clearly understood that he’d stand absolutely no chance in a straight fight. He was desperately trying to scare the Nether King into leaving.

…Except I’d really rather he didn’t leave.

At the very least, could you lend me a hand here, gramps?

“I came only because I had business with that young lad. I have no business with you.”

The Nether King said calmly.

No, no, no, no!

You absolutely have business with him!

“Ajiri Daishi. Can you hear me?”

“Y-Yes… I can.”

“It is true that I cannot strike this wretch down with my own hands. Therefore, you shall defeat him.”

“Uhm… I mean… I’d love to do that…”

I muttered under my breath as I glanced toward the AI Hero, trying to silently convey,

(The real one’s over there. This guy’s the fake.)

The AI Hero, meanwhile, seemed to have completely given up on fighting. He simply stood there with his arms folded and his eyes closed, saying nothing.

Seriously… who cares about your precious rules?

Why don’t you just walk over there and crush the real Hero instead, gramps?

“First, return to the Nether cass Dungeon. My authority cannot reach you there.”

Authority?

Did he mean he’d actually help me once I got back?

“…Don’t go giving away more than you already have, you damn old man. I’m cutting the transmission.”

The Hero snapped.

“Once… you… return… my…”

“Ah!”

The connection went dead.

Well, I’d been planning to return to the Nether-Class Dungeon anyway, so that part wasn’t really the problem… the issue is that Return could only send me back to the first floor.

The Hero had already advanced much deeper into the dungeon. How was I supposed to catch up and defeat him then?

It wasn’t as if he’d politely stand around waiting for me to arrive.

Sigh… what am I supposed to do?

“Hurry up and get out of here, you damn priest. I’m sick of looking at your face.”

Without even opening his eyes, the AI Hero lazily flicked his right hand in a dismissive shooing motion.

He’d completely lost the will to fight.

“…What happens to you now?”

“Units that fail their mission don’t have the right to live. Once I report back, Headquarters will probably scrap me.”

He answered as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

“Headquarters…?”

“The Guild Headquarters.”

The AI Hero had just dropped a bombshell as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.

I suspected something like that all along, but I never expected him to admit it so readily. Maybe he’d stopped caring because he’d already accepted that he was as good as dead.

…I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him.

> What exactly is Guild Headquarters trying to accomplish? > They’re definitely watching this fight, aren’t they? > Any insiders here? Spill the beans! > Just how many AI Heroes are there? > Who’s to say the one in the Nether class dungeon is even the real one? > This is seriously creepy. > What the hell are they plotting? > Leave our Daishi alone! > Alright, I’m heading to Guild Headquarters. > Keep us updated!

“Hah. The idiots swarming your stream are as entertaining as ever.”

So he’s still watching my livestream…

Even though he knew he was doomed, he seemed surprisingly calm.

“So what’s the relationship between you and Guild Headquarters?”

I decided to ask the question head-on. There wasn’t much point playing mind games anymore.

“Hm? I figured you’d already put it together. Guess you’re even dumber than you look.”

“Quit dodging the question. Just tell me.”

“We’re allies. Partners in the pursuit of world peace.”

“…”

That wasn’t exactly the kind of joke you should be making with death staring you in the face.

World peace?

What the hell was he talking about?

“…What?”

He looked at me with a hint of pity.

“Tell me something, old man. Do you honestly believe this world, where dungeons have spread everywhere, is the way history was supposed to unfold?”

“W-what do you mean?”

When he put it like that… I realized I didn’t really have an answer. If I remembered correctly, the dungeons had originally been created as nothing more than one of that loli goddess’s games.

But monsters weren’t pouring out and overrunning civilization or anything like that. If anything, the new resources and energy harvested from dungeons had made the world wealthier and more prosperous than ever before.

So… what was the problem?

“The dungeons the goddess created are slowly eroding the world’s causality. Guild Headquarters’ true mission is to restore that broken chain of cause and effect—to return the world to the way it was meant to be. Explorers are nothing more than tools to achieve that.”

It sounded profound… yet it still didn’t answer my question. I asked about his relationship with Guild Headquarters.

What did he mean by “partners”?

Causality… the Guild’s true mission…

No. Actually, that wasn’t something I could just brush aside.

“…Could you explain it from the beginning? In terms an idiot like me can understand?”

Rumble…rumble…

“Huh?”

Another earthquake?

“…Looks like time’s up.”

The AI Hero let out a dry laugh.

“It seems Headquarters has decided to dispose of me… along with this entire space.”

“W-what?! That’s bad!”

“Hurry up and use your skill to get out of here. If it’s this bad over here, you’d better save your friends too. Otherwise they’ll all go boom together.”

“…”

“Why are you making that face? Just go already.”

“Hero…”

“I’m not a Hero.”

For the first time, his expression softened.

“I’m just… a fake.”

“…I’m sorry.”

I didn’t even know why I apologized. I couldn’t explain it. I just felt that I had to.

“【Return】”

Carrying that unbearable weight in my heart, I stepped into the vortex of space-time and returned to the Nether class dungeon.

As my consciousness faded, I thought I caught one last glimpse of the Hero’s eyes shining with tears….

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“Ow…! Damn it!”

Holding his bleeding nose, the Hero dropped to one knee and glared at me with murderous eyes.

I had put a tremendous amount of force into that punch. Yet, despite the impact, he didn’t seem nearly as badly hurt as I’d expected.

That caught me a little off guard.

The livestream chat immediately exploded.

> That sounded brutal, but the Hero barely took any damage. > He probably threw up a defense buff. > In that split second? > He’s a gloomy bastard, but he’s still the Hero after all. > No way he’s some weakling. > Finish him off, old man! > Think about Satsuki-chan!! > Uh… wasn’t that a really bad move? > The Hero’s definitely pissed now. > To be fair, he did offer a truce first. > This is the beginning of Satsuki’s end… > My condolences. > RIP > SATSUKI-CHAAAN!!

I’d been hoping—if only by some miracle—that the punch had at least knocked him unconscious. But there was no such luck. Just like the viewers had said, the Hero must’ve activated a defensive skill the instant my fist connected, softening the impact.

Which meant… all I’d really accomplished was recklessly pissing him off and making an already terrible situation even worse.

“…Uh. Sorry.”

“You’ve gotten way too full of yourself, you damn Priest.”

Well… I hadn’t exactly put any sincerity into that apology. Apparently, he noticed. The Hero’s face had twisted into that of a demon.

“I offered you the perfect solution. One where everyone walks away happy.”

His voice was cold enough to freeze the air.

“But if that’s your answer… then let’s put an end to this little farce.”

There was no universe where joining the Hero would make me happy.

Still… losing my temper and launching him across the arena had definitely been the wrong move.

Since I want to buy time, I should keep him talking. Drag out the conversation and bluff my way through negotiations for as long as possible.

“…Ahem. Uh, damn Hero.”

I coughed awkwardly.

“Hero-san. About that proposal of yours… I’ve decided I’d like to give it some serious consideration. So, uhm… could you explain it in a little more detail?”

“…”

The Hero’s expression didn’t change.

“It seems you don’t value your companion’s life after all.”

Why are you getting even angrier?! I’m trying to negotiate here!!

The livestream chat wasted no time piling on.

> Come on, old man… > You weren’t even trying to sound sincere. > Yeah, that’s just disrespectful. > ‘Damn Hero’ or ‘Hero-sama’—pick one. > At least say, ‘Please tell me,’ properly! LOL. > Just give up on Satsuki already. > Forget this. Hit him with Hell Gate and move on. > This is exactly your problem, Ajiri Daishi.

…Wait. Were the viewers seriously lecturing me now?

Apparently, there’d been something wrong with the way I’d asked.

But—

This wasn’t the time to be worrying about my manners!

I had to do something.

Anything!

“Fufu.”

I let out a small laugh.

“Too bad for you, you damn Hero.”

No brilliant plan came to mind.

None at all.

But one thing was certain. I had to keep him talking. Even if it was only for a few more seconds, I needed to stall.

So first… I’d act like I still had everything under control.

“…Too bad.”

I smirked.

“The only thing that’s pathetic here is your brain, you damn Hero.”

“The pathetic one is you, you damn Priest.”

W-What did you just say?!

No. Calm down, Daishi.

Stay calm.

First, I needed to figure out what is happening with Satsuki-chan.

And I already knew my next move.

“…Tell me, you damn Hero. Since when did you start believing Satsuki-chan is still hanging from the ceiling of Guild Headquarters?”

“…Huh?”

The Hero frowned.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

To be honest… I had no idea why that line had come out of my mouth.

Even so… Somehow, I could see a scenario where it might actually work.

“Don’t underestimate my companions!”

“Mina-chan, Shion-san…oh and Ryunosuke-kun!”

“…Does any of that have anything to do with this?”

“I can communicate with them anytime, anywhere.”

I folded my arms confidently.

“I just received word from them. They’ve already rescued Satsuki-chan. So don’t worry about her anymore. Just focus on fighting me.”

Of course…

It was a complete lie.

“…Hey, old man.”

“What?”

“You know… only idiots try to bluff.”

“I’m not bluffing.”

“By now you’ve probably figured it out, but my unique abilities are Space-Time Transfer and Surveillance. Being able to see things anytime, anywhere… that’s my specialty.”

…So that was his unique skill.

First time I’d heard of it.

“Then go ahead and look.”

I shrugged.

“At the very least, while you were getting sent flying by my punch, you weren’t watching what was happening over there, were you?”

Naturally… that was pure provocation.

“You seem to be under a misunderstanding, so let me enlighten you.”

The Hero sneered.

“You think if you distract me and create an opening, you’ll be able to pull some—”

Before he could finish his sentence—

Vwooom. A mechanical startup sound echoed through the arena. Then, without warning, part of the arena wall transformed into a massive screen.

The image displayed on it was—

“Well? Pretty exciting, isn’t it? Like something straight out of a movie.”

He grinned.

“As you can see, your lie has been exposed—”

…Huh?

Wait.

Seriously?

“You…”

The Hero’s smug expression froze.

“…Don’t tell me you actually…”

He wasn’t the only one left speechless. I was staring at the screen just as hard.

On it… Satsuki-chan was already lying safely on the floor. Beside her, Mina-chan and Shion-san were bickering over something. The ceiling, walls, and glass windows were heavily damaged, suggesting there’d been a small explosion.

But…

I had absolutely no idea how they’d managed to rescue her.

What mattered was only one thing. The hostage situation was already over.

“Fuhahahaha!”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

“Your evil deeds end here, you damn Hero!”

The outcome was completely beyond anything I’d imagined. But with the situation turning around so dramatically, excitement got the better of me, and those triumphant words slipped right out.

Still…

That was fine.

Now that I knew Satsuki-chan is safe, I no longer had any reason to hold back.

“I’m going all out.”

Hero, get ready.

I’m going to pay you back for every last ounce of frustration you’ve piled up until now!!

“I don’t care if you apologize now.”

My voice turned icy.

“But I’m never forgiving you.”

『Haha… Well played. That was quite the performance.』

The image on the arena wall shifted away from Satsuki and the others.

A new figure appeared.

The Hero’s… face?

But the Hero is standing right in front of me…

“…So my role ends here.”

『Yeah. In the current situation, you can’t beat him.』

“You mean… even though I’m literally another you? Same abilities and all?”

『That’s right.』

The Hero on the screen nodded matter-of-factly.

『Which is why I went to the trouble of setting up this whole stage. We’ll have to go back to the drawing board.』

The two Heroes—

Identical faces.

Identical voices.

Even the same oppressive presence.

They spoke to each other through the screen as if this made perfect sense.

I, on the other hand…

Couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were talking about.

The livestream chat immediately erupted.

> There are TWO Heroes?? > Huh?! What the hell’s going on? > So the one in front of the old man is a fake? > How underhanded can this guy get? > So much for fighting fair. > Get it together already, you damn Hero! > You’re taking this introvert thing way too far. > Quit hiding and come fight in person! > What an absolute pain in the ass…

I was thinking exactly what the viewers were.

Seriously, give it a rest already.

Just how underhanded could this guy be?

At this point I was almost starting to feel sorry for the Hero standing in front of me.

“…You bastard.”

『Haha. That’s a nice look you’ve got there, you damn Priest.』

“I’m never letting you get away with this!”

The Hero on the screen laughed dismissively.

『Won’t let me go? As if I give a damn whether you forgive me or not. Go ahead.』

The seal on Regression is probably another one of his tricks. He’d simply tampered with the displayed data. In reality, I could most likely still use the skill. The important thing now is to get out of here and regroup.

Judging from the scenery behind him, the real Hero is still somewhere inside the Nether-Class Dungeon.

Now that I’d confirmed Satsuki-chan is safe, I’ll return to the checkpoint I set on the dungeon’s first floor with Return. Then gather everyone together and rebuild our strategy from there.

It’ll be fine.

If all of us combined our strength and our wits we could outplay even his dirty schemes.

『Go ahead and use Return if you want.』

The Hero waved dismissively from the screen.

『That arena… and the AI Hero standing in front of you… They’ve already served their purpose. You idiots will have to start all over again from the first floor.』

He grinned.

『But sure…Take your time catching up.』

There are tons of things I want to ask, but for now, escaping is the priority.

I can’t have this place blown up like the Sky Castle again.

…Your complacency won’t last long, you damn hero.

I’ll definitely catch up to you and hit that cheerful face of yours with a direct hit of hellish destructive wind!

…Huh?

I think I saw the figure of a withered old man behind the hero…

『See ya, old man. I’ll go ahead and beat up the damn old man of the Netherworld…』

“Y-you… stop messing around.”

Through the wall projection, I definitely saw the familiar figure of the old man behind the hero, emitting a deep, guttural voice.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Come to think of it… I had only just become a dungeon explorer. I was still nothing more than a complete rookie. Maybe these stats the Hero had rewritten weren’t actually that unusual. Perhaps, for someone with ordinary growth potential, they were perfectly average.

“Haha. Already giving up? Man, that’s disappointing.”

The Hero casually flipped his sword from one hand to the other, twirling it as though he were playing with a toy. His expression was one of unmistakable disappointment.

Anyone watching could probably tell at a glance.

My shoulders had slumped, and I was sure my face had gone dark with resignation. The will to fight had completely left me.

“With stats this low…”

“I don’t mind a man who knows when to quit. But when you fold this fast? That’s just irritating.”

“…”

“Tch. What a letdown. I thought you’d struggle a little—at least make this entertaining.”

The Hero let out an exaggerated sigh, looking every bit like someone who had already lost all interest in me.

Unfortunate as it was… I had always been the type to know when I was beaten. I wasn’t the sort to waste my time with hopeless resistance.

Besides, if I die here… there is a slim chance—only a slim one—but maybe he’d let Satsuki-chan live.

He said she was still useful to him. If anything, sacrificing myself was probably the most sensible choice in this situation. It hadn’t been a long life but it had been a good one.

Thank you, everyone.

…The rest is in your hands.

The livestream chat exploded with comments.

> Hey, old man! Don’t give up! > Why’re you acting like you’ve already burned yourself out? > Fight! Struggle a little! > But aren’t his stats completely hopeless? > A level 5 Priest… > Yeah, there’s no way out…. > Can’t he at least use healing magic? > What’s the point now? > Screw it! Go all in with Hell Gate! > Take your stance! Get into position, Daishi! > Clench those butt cheeks!

At last, the flood of comments from the livestream’s audience—now over five million viewers—caught my eye.

Messages of encouragement. Messages telling me not to give up.

But…

“…It’s fine.”

I let out a quiet sigh.

“Just do it.”

The words slipped from my lips with an indescribable calm, as though I’d reached some state of perfect emptiness.

Oddly enough though… even with death staring me in the face, my heart is completely at peace.

“Hmph! Look at you, acting like you’ve attained enlightenment. That just pisses me off even more.”

The Hero clicked his tongue.

Is that so?

“…Very well.”

He smirked.

“In honor of your resolve, I’ve decided to erase you with everything I’ve got. I’ll reduce you to dust.”

The moment he finished speaking, he casually tossed his sword onto the ground.

“After all… when you think of a Hero, this is what comes to mind, right?”

“…!?”

He must have activated a skill.

An aura gathered in the palm of his right hand.

Crackle… crackle…

The air split with sharp, snapping sounds as the condensed energy transformed into blinding lightning.

Lightning…

Yeah. For old-school gamers like me, lightning magic was practically synonymous with Heroes.

“Relax, Priest.”

The Hero grinned.

“I’ll send you to the afterlife so fast you won’t even realize you’ve died.”

The crackling only grew louder. The energy gathering in his hand swelled to a terrifying level, compressing into a seething sphere of electricity.

Seriously…?

Did he really need something that overpowered just to kill a Level 5 Priest?

…Well. Whatever.

If it was a technique that powerful, at least it would probably be painless. Better that than being tortured to death by some half-baked skill.

And while he was charging it I have the time to prepare myself.

Ah… if there was one thing I’d regret…

“I wish I could’ve eaten that meal in the Gourmet Room… just one more time…”

(“Hey!”)

“…Huh?”

(“Don’t tell me you’re giving up already!?”)

That voice.

It’s a very familiar one.

That unmistakable loli’s voice suddenly echoed inside my head.

(“Honestly! I stayed quiet because talking too much would give me away, but you’re being so pathetic I just had to say something!”)

(…Loli b-baa…-sama?)

(“…Do you want me to kill you myself? No, this isn’t the time for jokes.”)

(…I…)

(“Listen carefully! Don’t let something as trivial as a machine’s evaluation dictate how you feel! A status screen is nothing more than numbers and words!”)

(…Huh?)

(“Believe in yourself. The you who has attained enlightenment… is… the… stron…gest…”)

“Ah!”

Just as the loli goddess had predicted, the connection was cut.

“Tch. That old hag just had to interrupt at the best part.”

As expected, the Hero had noticed her interference immediately and shut it down.

“You…”

“Don’t underestimate the pinnacle of human ingenuity, you damn goddess.”

He sneered.

“A displayed status… .is absolute!”

At that moment, the lightning in his hand reached its peak. The amount of energy concentrated in his right palm had become visibly monstrous.

Damn it…!

Believe in myself?

Don’t obsess over my status?

She couldn’t just appear out of nowhere and expect those words to change everything.

The overwhelming strength I’d felt before…

It was gone.

Gone…

…Hm?

“This is the end, you damn Priest!”

“…”

“Giga Thunderstrike!!!”

The condensed mass of energy erupted into a cascading wall of lightning, gouging the earth as it hurtled toward me at the speed of light.

Well… since it was moving at the speed of light, I couldn’t actually see it. But the very fact that I had time to think that meant one thing.

I hadn’t been hit.

“W-Whaaat?!”

“…I’ve been wondering something.”

I looked at the stunned Hero.

“Why did you need a technique that powerful just to kill a Level 5 Priest?”

By the time the lightning struck, I had already moved completely out of its path.

At the moment… I was standing right beside him.

“Damn it!”

“…There’s a reason you deliberately chose that attack.”

“RAAAAGH!”

In one fluid motion, the Hero snatched up the sword he had discarded and brought it crashing down.

But—

“…!”

“The reason is simple. You needed that attack to kill me.”

His blade never even came close to landing. The slash wasn’t worth dodging.

My shoulder remained perfectly unharmed.

Instead…

His sword shattered cleanly in half. An ordinary sword strike could never break through my defense.

“Damn… damn you…!!”

So that was it.

He put on quite the performance, but in the end, all he’d done was falsify my status to throw me into confusion, then choose the one attack powerful enough to pierce my real defense. He tried every trick he could think of to crush my fighting spirit.

Too bad.

Those cheap bluffs don’t work on Daishi, the Enlightened Supreme Priest!

(“…He totally did.”)

“…Is that all, you damn Hero?”

“W-wait, Priest! Let’s settle this peacefully! Surely we can negotiate—”

“Too late!”

“Bghah!!”

The absurd proposal irritated me so much that I instinctively drove the back of my fist straight into his face. The Hero shot across the arena like a cannonball, smashing into the wall at the far end.

“…Ah.”

Oh crap!

I lost my temper and punched him without thinking…

That might have been a really bad move.

“…Satsuki-chan…”

As the adrenaline faded, cold sweat poured down my forehead.

The problem of Satsuki-chan being held hostage hadn’t been solved yet!

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Mina Kisaragi’s POV

To be honest… it isn’t like there is no way to save Satsuki.

There is.

The problem is that pulling it off would require teamwork… and a great deal of patience.

“Where the hell did that Hero bastard and the old man go…?”

The one muttering that while staring at the empty space where the hero and Daishi-san had vanished was the musclehead woman, Shion Kusanagi.

Daishi-san and that hero guy probably used some kind of spatial teleportation ability to move to a place where they could settle things one-on-one. But as for where they’d gone…  I have no idea.

“Zzz…”

Curled up in my arms, Ryunosuke—the tiny Ancient Dragon—slept peacefully. The fact that he could snooze through a situation like this almost had to be a trait inherited from that Supreme God.

“Daishi-san will definitely find a way to deal with the Hero. We need to focus on saving Satsuki.”

I looked up at Satsuki, suspended from the ceiling and wrapped from head to toe in layers of explosive talismans, as I tried to rally Shion.

We couldn’t just stand here and watch. Daishi-san is counting on us. He believed that we could save Satsuki.

“Give it everything we’ve got, huh? We should assume those explosive tags aren’t the only trap on her. If we get even a little too close, we might end up blowing ourselves up along with the girl hanging there.”

“…”

Shion was right.

There was no way the Hero was relying on the explosive talismans alone to keep Satsuki hostage.

I had already spotted several sensor-like devices installed at different points between the floor and the ceiling. They were probably part of the detonation system. Some of them might have been decoys. But there was no way he’d designed it so carelessly that we could simply walk up to her.

“Shion, do you think you can do something about the traps closest to us?”

“Disarming them? No chance.”

“Then… is there anything else we can do?”

I didn’t have high hopes, but I had to ask.

More than that…

If Shion couldn’t get us past this obstacle, then there was no saving Satsuki. At this point, it was less a question than a plea.

“Smash them.”

I let out a sigh.

“…You’re such a musclehead.”

If brute force alone could solve this, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

“…I’m not talking about smashing the sensors themselves. Look over there.”

“Huh?”

I followed the direction she was pointing at.

Beneath the crimson spiral staircase sat a black metal box.

That was…

“I believe it’s a power distribution panel… or maybe the main power control unit. If we destroy it and cut the electricity supplying this room, even temporarily, we might buy ourselves some time.”

I found myself quietly impressed. Shion actually paid more attention to her surroundings than I’d given her credit for.

There was no guarantee she was right. But it was certainly a better plan than blindly charging ahead.

“It could be protected by some kind of special shield…”

“That doesn’t concern me. There isn’t a shield in existence my muscles can’t break through.”

Shion replied without hesitation

It was confidence completely unsupported by evidence. And yet… the certainty blazing in Shion’s eyes made me feel that betting on her wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

I’ll trust her then. No matter how much we sat here thinking, we were never going to come up with a method that guaranteed Satsuki’s rescue.

If my instincts were telling me this could work… then we had to take the chance.

Besides… my instincts were right surprisingly often.

“All right. I trust you.”

“Even if we disable the sensors, that won’t solve the real problem.”

She was absolutely right. Unless we dealt with those explosive talismans, we couldn’t say we’d actually saved Satsuki. But if Shion could just get us past the traps on the way there…

Then I believed we still had a chance.

“That’s true… But once we get that far, I’d like you to leave the rest to Ryunosuke and me.”

There was no way I could jump all the way to the ceiling, and I didn’t have any levitation skills.

I’d have to rely on Ryunosuke to carry me.

It would be dangerous. But we’d face it together. We were in this as one.

“You’re planning to ride Ryunosuke up to the ceiling? Fine. But then what? Those talismans will explode the moment anyone tries to remove them.”

“Right.”

“What do you mean ‘right’…?”

“It’s fine.”

I nodded.

“Let them explode.”

“Huh?!”

Shion was staring at me as though I’d lost my mind. She obviously hadn’t grasped what I am really planning.

I need to explain a little more.

“A blast on the level of those talismans…. Ryunosuke and I can withstand it with defensive skills.”

“No, that completely defeats the purpose—”

“You’re right. Satsuki’s in direct contact with the talismans, and in that state I probably won’t be able to cast any defensive buffs on her.”

I paused.

“But…”

“But what?”

My class is Saint—

…No, wait. A High Priest I mean.

And not just any High Priest, either. I was a special one, blessed with powers that ranked among the greatest in this world. And the skill I excelled at above all others…

Was this.

“There aren’t any talismans attached to her head. Which means… I can still heal Satsuki.”

“…What do you mean?”

“My healing magic works as long as the head is intact. Even if the rest of the body is blown into tiny pieces, I can restore it instantly!”

That’s right. That’s the core of the rescue plan I come up with.

In other words—

“Destruction… and Creation.”

“…You say that with an awfully confident look on your face. But that’s a horrifying plan.”

“Is it?”

“There’s no guarantee the explosion won’t blow her head off too. You’re still going through with this?”

Of course I already considered that risk. I plan to protect her head, at least.

“I’ll adapt to the situation. Don’t worry! I’ll make it work somehow!”

I had made up my mind.

Satsuki… you’ve survived situations far worse than this more times than I can count. And even if—just by some terrible stroke of luck—this plan fails and you die… you won’t come back to haunt us for trying to save you, right?

…Right?

Because we’re…

Best friends forever!!

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“If we start a shootout in here, there’s a good chance a stray bullet will hit Satsuki hanging from the ceiling and boom, she might get blown up. Maybe we should take this somewhere else, Monk.”

Yeah, says the guy who put her in that situation in the first place.

And why was he acting like he’d just come up with some brilliant solution?

Seriously, this so-called Hero was infuriating down to his very core.

But wait….

As much as I hated to admit it, his suggestion wasn’t bad.

“…All right. But where are we going to fight?”

Judging from the viewers’ comments, I had already figured out that we were somewhere on the upper floors of the Guild Headquarters. I still had no idea why, after narrowly escaping the collapse of the Sky Castle, we’d been teleported here. But one thing was certain. If the bastard Hero and I fought at full strength in this place, there was a real possibility that the Guild staff still working on the lower floors would get caught in the crossfire.

I wasn’t eager to drag innocent people into our fight. And trying to battle while constantly worrying about Satsuki exploding if she took a stray hit would be nearly impossible.

So, changing the battlefield suited me just fine.

“I’ve got the perfect place.”

Wearing a sticky, self-satisfied grin, the bastard Hero pulled a smartphone-like device from his pocket and started tapping away at it. His thumb flew across the screen in a blur, deftly flicking through menus one-handed as he stared at the display.

Then—

“Whoa!”

“Daishi-san!”

“Old man!”

“Stay still. It’ll switch us to the destination in a second.”

Mina-chan’s panicked cry, Shion-san’s shout, the Hero’s detached mutter, and the shrill whirr of a space-time vortex twisting open all reached my ears at the same instant.

“!?”

Before I could even process what was happening, the world around me changed.

“This is…”

“My personal arena.”

A voice came from behind me.

I spun around. There stood the bastard Hero.

“An arena…”

“That’s right, you damn priest. Here, you can wreck the place as much as you want. No one’s going to care.”

I couldn’t afford to let my guard down. I immediately settled into a fighting stance, every muscle tense and ready. I didn’t have the luxury of taking in my surroundings, but even at a glance I could tell this place was some kind of sleek, futuristic dueling arena.

“Well then…”

The Hero said as he drew the sword hanging at his waist. The blade slipped free with a clean metallic ring before he casually raised it into position.

…He looks weak.

That was my honest first impression. His stance was riddled with openings. There wasn’t the slightest hint of pressure or killing intent coming from him. At that rate, I could probably close the distance with my superhuman speed and cut him down before he even had time to react.

Was it a trap…?

Or was he really just that weak, putting on airs he couldn’t back up?

The guy was a sneaky little bastard who specialized in traps and dirty tricks. No matter how defenseless he looked, charging in headfirst was obviously the wrong move.

In that case… how should I make my opening?

“Kuku…”

“…What’s so funny?”

“Hahaha… Nothing. I was just thinking it’s hilarious how hard a weakling is glaring at me.”

A cheap taunt. I wasn’t about to lose my temper and charge him over something like that.

“What have you rigged?”

“Hah… Well, I guess there’s no harm in telling you.”

I knew there was no way he’d agree to a straight-up fight. So he really had prepared something.

—But what?

“Your status.”

“Huh?”

“Check your status screen. I’ll wait.”

The bastard Hero lowered the tip of his sword until it rested toward the ground, making a show of having no intention of attacking.

Yeah, right. He was obviously waiting for me to let my guard down. I wasn’t falling for something that obvious.

…Then again, from a tactical standpoint, checking my current stats and skills one more time wasn’t a bad idea. It’d be useful to know exactly where I stood before the fight.

It’ll be fine. I’d fought more than my share of powerful enemies by now. Surely I could glance at my status screen without exposing an opening. It shouldn’t be any different from checking the livestream comments.

After a moment’s thought, I decided to play along and open the screen.

“Don’t you dare attack while I’m looking.”

Just to be safe, I made sure to warn him first.

Name: Daishi Ajiri Class: Priest Level: 5 HP: 33/33 MP: 35/35 Strength: 6 Endurance:  5 Agility:   4 Intelligence:  10 Magic:   15 Skills:  Detox (Lv1)  Heal (Lv2)

“…Eh?”

No.

No, no, no, no…

What?

Wait a second.

What the hell is this…?

“Heheheh… What’s wrong, you damn priest? So? What do your stats look like?”

The bastard Hero asked with an easy grin.

Still smiling confidently, he idly tapped the tip of his sword against the floor.

Clink. Clink.

“T-they’re wrong! Damn it… I’ll check again…”

The result was exactly the same!

> Wait, what happened to his stats? > What did he do to you, old man!? > Someone explain! > The old man’s gone pale. > He definitely got weaker. > A debuff? > Is there some weakening device built into this arena? > No… judging by how freaked out he is, it’s gotta be worse than that.

A debuff?

I wished it were something that mild.

This was…

“Well, that’s about what you’d expect from a level-five Priest, isn’t it?”

So he already knew.

Damn it…!

This had been his plan all along.

“I told you, didn’t I? We’re doing this fair and square.”

The Hero said, raising his sword once more and leveling the point straight at me. Apparently, inside this arena, all of my absurd stats and overpowered skills had been completely sealed away, overwritten with the values a normal Priest was supposed to have.

“No Dungeon Master’s cheats. Let’s have a real fight, you damn priest.”

He added with a grin.

“Ha… haha…”

I…

I might actually die here.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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As the Hero slowly descended the crimson spiral staircase, I immediately activated Clairvoyance. If we were about to fight, I wasn’t about to let my guard down.

But then—

DON’T LOOK WITHOUT PERMISSION, YOU DUMBASS.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

That was all I saw.

Instead of his status screen, all Clairvoyance returned was a blunt message telling me not to look. I couldn’t glean a single detail about his abilities.

“So old man’s appraisal skill is called Clairvoyance, huh?”

The Hero’s first words after stepping off the staircase caught me completely off guard.

He knew…

He knew I’d just activated Clairvoyance. He even knew exactly how the skill worked.

Satsuki-chan told him?

Or… had he been watching every second of my livestream from the shadows all along?

“Preparation is everything, old man. I’ve already crammed every last detail about your abilities and skills into my head.”

He tapped his temple with a finger, eyes opened wide in an exaggerated, taunting grin.

However he’d done it, one thing was clear. He hadn’t come here blindly. He had thoroughly investigated everything about me beforehand and had entered this confrontation armed with a frightening amount of information.

His attitude, though… it was less “Hero” and more career criminal.

Annoyingly enough, he looked every bit the part of a handsome young man—smooth blue hair, sharp features, and the kind of refreshing appearance that could’ve made him the protagonist of any fantasy story. But the aura surrounding him was pure malice.

There wasn’t a single thing about him that deserved the title of Hero.

> So that’s the Hero… > First time I’ve ever seen him in person. > His name is Soma, right? > Oh, that’s his name? > Add a couple of marks to it and it sounds like “Great Demon King.” LOL > Honestly, what he’s done is even crueler than a Demon King. > Looks like Clairvoyance didn’t work on him. > He’s definitely taken serious countermeasures. > Could it have something to do with this being the Guild Headquarters? > At this point it’s not a trick anymore—it’s a full-blown setup. > A meticulously prepared trap. > So he came here to settle things personally. > Maybe the Hero’s more cornered than he lets on. > Think he’s actually scared of the old man?

“I’m not scared, damn it! Shut up, you antisocial basement-dwellers! I’ll wipe every last one of you out!”

“…Eh?”

…Wait. Don’t tell me…

Was he reading the same chat feed?

Now that I thought about it, his eyes had been flicking toward the upper left every so often. He wasn’t zoning out. He’d been checking the floating livestream comments.

…What an unbelievably obnoxious opponent.

> Huh?! What’d you say, you damn Hero?! > Quit picking fights with us, idiot. > Like you’re not a loser yourself. > All you ever do is hide behind dirty tricks. > You’re just jealous because the old man’s stronger than you. > What the hell have you been plotting behind the Guild Headquarters’ back? > More importantly, give Satsuki back, you bastard! > Otin was a good guy… > You’ve got no chance against the old man. > Acting tough just because 4.5 million people are watching? > This guy’s just an attention-seeking monster. > Hurry up and get flattened by the old man already, scrub. > Where’s Satsuki-taaan?! > Go ahead and tremble in fear.

…Wow.

That bastard Hero had somehow managed to draw every ounce of the viewers’ hatred onto himself.

Wasn’t this basically a full-blown online dogpile?

“You weak little losers are the pathetic ones! Shut up and watch, you pieces of trash!”

…Actually… wasn’t he taking those insults a little personally?

His face was bright red with rage. If the comments were making him that angry, why keep reading them?

More importantly. His status could wait. First, I had to find Satsuki-chan.

She wasn’t anywhere nearby…

So where is she?

“Hey! Give me back my friend, now!”

Mina-chan shouted, stepping up beside Shion-san.

She opened with the most direct demand imaginable.

But… come on. There was no way he’d answer something that straightforward.

“I don’t know anything about your*friend. But if you’re talking about Satsuki…”

Without taking his eyes off us, the Hero casually pointed upward.

“…She’s up there.”

H-he actually answered?

Even while keeping us squarely in his sights, he raised a finger toward the ceiling.

Yeah, right. Like I was going to fall for that.

The second I looked up, he’d use the opening to attack. Nice try. Not happening.

“Ah… Satsuki…”

“I see. So that’s what it is…”

Since I never took my eyes off the Hero, Mina-chan and Shion-san looked up in my place. Their reactions couldn’t have been more different. Mina-chan’s voice was filled with despair. Shion-san’s carried the tone of someone who’d just solved a puzzle.

Which told me absolutely nothing!

Could somebody please be a little more specific?

Satsuki-chan is… above us?

But how? What exactly were they seeing?

> Wait… those are suicide talismans. > She’s completely wrapped up… > Is Satsuki unconscious? > This Hero is the worst of the worst. > So if anyone fights, she’ll explode? > About what we expected, honestly. > Can’t the old man’s speed do something here? > Better assume he’s already prepared for that too. > Hey, Hero. Fight fair for once.

The viewers’ comments painted a grim enough picture.

Whatever state Satsuki-chan was in… it was anything but normal.

The Hero scoffed.

“Fight fair? That was my intention from the start. Hey, you damn priest.”

“What is it, you damn Hero?”

“How about you and me settle this one-on-one?”

…This guy. Did he honestly believe this counted as a fair fight?

At that moment, I was angrier than I’d ever been in my entire life. Angrier than the time back in my office-worker days when my department manager’s colossal screw-up had somehow been pinned entirely on me, earning me a disciplinary pay cut.

That rage didn’t even come close.

“…You’ve got Satsuki-chan held hostage. Don’t you think calling this a fair fight is a bit much?”

“Hahaha… Yeah, you’ve got a point.”

“…”

He actually admitted it.

“But that’s just insurance in case something unexpected happens. I don’t intend to kill her. She’s still useful to me after all. Losing her here wouldn’t benefit me either.”

“Then—!”

“So relax. While you and I are fighting, I won’t activate it.”

His smile vanished.

“But if anyone tries to rescue her…”

His gaze shifted briefly toward Mina-chan and Shion-san behind me.

“…or if those two decide to interfere…”

He shrugged as though discussing the weather.

“Then it’s over. She blows up immediately.”

“…”

The room fell deathly silent.

I didn’t believe a single word he said. Not for a second. But as things stood, I couldn’t think of any reliable way to rescue Satsuki-chan.

For now, the only option left was to accept his proposal and fight him one-on-one. At the very least, I needed to buy us some time. While I kept the Hero occupied, maybe Mina-chan and Shion-san would come up with a way to save her.

It was a slim hope. Painfully slim. But it was the only hope we had.

“…Fine.”

“I’ll take you on one-on-one, you damn Hero.”

The Hero’s lips curled into a savage grin.

“Good.”

“Try not to bore me, you damn priest!”

A death match. Priest versus Hero.

Each prepared to stake his life on the outcome. The curtain finally rose on their decisive battle.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“…Wake up, old man. Wake up.”

A voice called out to me from somewhere far away.

That voice…was it Shion-san’s?

“It doesn’t look like he’s fully conscious yet…”

I could hear what sounded like Mina-chan’s voice as well, faint and distant.

Fully conscious…?

Consciousness… my memories…

Ah, that’s right.

I… no, we heard the Hero’s voice in the Sky Castle. Then the castle had fallen into chaos, and Otin-san…

Otin-san had…

“Ryunosuke. Wake the old man up.”

“Shaaaah!… (Chomp)”

“GYAAAAAAAH!!”

My mind, still drifting somewhere between reality and a dream, was violently yanked back by the intense sensation that suddenly shot through my right arm.

“Ah, Daishi-san! Thank goodness you’re awake!”

The moment I came to, accompanied by the unmistakable feeling that “something” had sunk its teeth into me, I jerked upright.

Right in front of me was Mina-chan’s beautiful face, leaning in close with obvious concern. For a split second, I felt my cheeks warm.

But as my head cleared, my attention shifted decisively elsewhere. More specifically, to my right arm.

It didn’t actually hurt. Not really. Still, I was absolutely certain that something was biting me. The source of that strange sensation was…

“(Chomp, chomp)”

It was Ryunosuke-kun’s way of showing affection.

“…Hey, little dragon. I’m awake now, so… mind letting go of my arm?”

“(Chomp chomp)”

Ryunosuke-kun’s relentless gentle nibbles continued unabated.

He wasn’t secretly drinking my blood or anything, was he?

“You refused to wake up, so I had Ryunosuke wake you up. This is hardly the time to be lazing around in bed.”

Personally, I thought the really strange people were the ones acting perfectly composed after everything that had just happened. Then again, I supposed they’d simply been through far more than I had.

In terms of raw stats, I might surpass them by a considerable margin. But when it came to actual dungeon-delving experience, I was hopelessly outclassed.

And losing a formidable opponent I’d only just begun to get close to… that wasn’t the kind of grief a person could simply shake off in a matter of moments.

> …Wha… pened? Oh! > We’re back! > I can see again! > You okay, old man? > Looks like everyone’s alive. > LOL, why is there a mini dragon latched onto the old man’s right arm? > Ryunosuke-kun really loves the old man. > More importantly… where are we? > This place suddenly feels… modern. > Those look like office buildings. > Wait, Nether-Class dungeons have office buildings now? > Are we seriously still in a Nether-Class dungeon? > Where the heck did we get sent? > No clue.

A few comments in the chat told me everything I needed to know. Apparently, the livestream had cut out for several minutes. Based on what I’d experienced before, there was only one likely explanation. The instant Otin-san activated [Ragnarok], he must have used spatial teleportation to send us here.

Whether he’d deliberately chosen this destination or we’d ended up here by chance, I had no way of knowing. Either way, we needed to take stock of the situation.

“I’ve already searched the entire room. So far, I haven’t found any monsters… and there don’t seem to be any traps, either.”

As she spoke, I found myself looking around as well.

The first thing that caught my eye was that the room was enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass walls that formed a complete circle, giving us an unobstructed view outside.

And beyond that glass is a city. Not just any city, either. A dense urban skyline packed with towering office buildings. Honestly, if someone told me this was Tokyo, I’d believe them without hesitation.

The room itself was almost completely empty. Except for one thing. Right in the center stood a structure so out of place that it felt almost surreal. A crimson spiral staircase. It stretched upward toward the ceiling, looking as though someone had simply dropped it into the room without the slightest concern for whether it belonged there. It clashed with everything around it, an unmistakably foreign object amid the otherwise modern setting.

“So… this isn’t a dungeon, is it?”

Carefully prying Ryunosuke-kun’s increasingly overenthusiastic display of affection off my arm, I turned to Mina-chan and Shion-san with the question that had been nagging at me.

The spiral staircase was undeniably strange…

But aside from that, this place looked exactly like the upper floors of a luxury office tower.

“…Hard to say. We can’t completely rule out the possibility that this is some kind of illusion created by a skill.”

“I don’t think that’s the case though. My instincts are telling me otherwise. This isn’t a dungeon at all. It’s a room in a real building somewhere.”

Mina-chan fixed Shion-san with a serious, unwavering stare as she spoke.

The problem is that there isn’t a shred of evidence behind her conclusion.

“…You’re basing that on your instincts?”

For real?

Then again… I vaguely remembered Satsuki-chan mentioning that Mina-chan’s intuition had an uncanny habit of being right. Even so, relying on a gut feeling at a time like this isn’t exactly reassuring.

Well, there was only one thing left to do. My audience had now swelled to three and a half million viewers. Surely someone out there could identify this place.

Viewers… we’re counting on you!

> That’s the giant Koshitan Bank billboard > And the neon sign for Shikanoko Securities. > There’s a Goristar Communications video ad over there. > Hey, that’s the Monpachi Theater, isn’t it? > With this view… and the way everything’s laid out, this is… > There’s only one place it could be. > No doubt about it. > If this is the real world, then it has to be there. > I’ve got a really bad feeling about this… > Is there anyone actually inside that building right now? > Seriously… why did they end up there? > Funny how fate works…

Hey, can you please not keep this a shared understanding only among the viewers?

Tell me where this is too!

Clang… clang… clang…

“…?!”

“I never imagined you’d jump in directly… I seem to have underestimated the power of the gods.”

The rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed down from above—the sharp click of shoes mixed with the metallic ring of the spiral staircase.

The moment I heard that voice my eyes shot upward. It was a voice I recognized. A voice I utterly despised.

A figure slowly descended the staircase. I didn’t recognize the man’s face. But I knew him. My sworn enemy. The one I’d been fated to confront.

There was no mistake.

The man casually making his way down the crimson spiral staircase was—

“Nice to meet you, you damned priest.”

“…Likewise. Nice to meet you too, you damned Hero.”

The situation is rapidly approaching a dramatic climax.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Having recruited Otin-san—along with Ryunosuke and the rest of the dragons—to our party, we continued deeper into the dungeon, making our way toward the chamber at the very end where the warp gate leading out of this domain awaited.

“I see now. So there was a reason that sinister aura was pouring out of your rear…”

As we walked, I told Otin-san everything that had happened up until now, leaving nothing out.

Sure enough, he admitted he sensed the dangerous presence radiating from my butt. In fact, that was exactly why he deliberately aimed all of his thrusting attacks straight at my backside. Just imagining what might have happened if we fought normally instead made me lose sleep. I could’ve ended up skewered and left hanging like one of those shrikes’ grisly impaled prey.

Thank goodness I was wearing those magical panties. They’d truly saved my life.

“So, Otin-san… how much do you actually know about the Old Man, the Nether King?”

I had almost forgotten after being abruptly thrown into a Divine-class domain, but the dungeon we were actually exploring was a Nether-class dungeon. Its deepest level lay a full one hundred floors underground.

We only made it as far as the third level. Our ultimate goal hadn’t changed. We were here to defeat the Nether King.

Back in the day, Otin-san had served under the loli Goddess and had technically been one of the Nether King’s colleagues. If anyone might know a weakness or have some useful information, it would be him. With that hope in mind, I decided to ask.

“I’m afraid it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I know almost nothing about him. Goddess-tan… ah, pardon me, I mean, the Goddess would occasionally vent her frustrations about him, but I hardly ever met him in person.”

“I figured as much…”

Apparently, there  had been almost no interaction between coworkers at all.

Come to think of it, back when I was a corporate wage slave, I barely had any contact with people from other departments either. Maybe the organizational structure of dungeons wasn’t all that different from an ordinary company after all.

“My apologies.”

“No, don’t worry about it! …That said, do you happen to remember what kind of complaints the Goddess had about the Nether King old man?”

I insisted it was no problem and then immediately followed up with another question. Sure, casual grumbling probably wouldn’t reveal anything earth-shattering. But if there was even the slightest chance it could lead us to a clue for defeating him, it was worth asking.

I’d been a salesman once, after all. More than once, an offhand complaint from a client had turned out to reveal what they were really thinking, giving me the opening I needed to close the deal. No piece of information was too trivial to collect. You never knew which tiny detail would become the key to victory.

“Hmm, let me think… To be honest, I don’t remember much…”

Otin-san started, folding his arms in thought.

“…Ah. There is one!”

“Oh? You remembered something?”

“It may be completely irrelevant, but one remark has always stuck with me. The Goddess used to complain, 『The Nether King ages, and that’s such a nuisance!』”

…He ages?

That was the memorable part?

Everyone gets older, don’t they?

“Those who were created directly by the Goddess—beings who are not truly human—do not age under normal circumstances. Their bodies never deteriorate with time, so they do not die of old age.”

Right. He read my mind again.

I kind of understood what he was getting at, but I still couldn’t see the whole picture. When I hit a wall like this, there was only one reliable strategy left. Consult the wisdom of the more than three million viewers currently watching.

All right, everyone… Help me out here!

> Live Chat > So the Nether King is an anomaly in the dungeon world? > Aging is what’s abnormal here? > The whole system is completely different from the human world. > Wasn’t the Goddess the one who creates monsters? > She creates their bodies and keeps souls circulating, right? > So does that mean reproduction doesn’t exist for monsters? > Come to think of it, monsters basically live forever unless they’re killed. > The Dungeon Masters are the ones who manage the overall population. > When you think about it, the Dummy Goddess is ridiculously powerful. > Even if she does look like a little girl. > Though inside she’s an Oba—…oh, looks like someone’s at my door. > Then why does the Nether King age? > Does that mean he originally existed outside the Goddess’ control? > Seriously, never aging would be the dream. > Feels like there’s something fundamentally unique about him.

Hey dear viewers, could you please explain that in simpler terms?

Honestly… I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.

And what the heck is an identity, anyway?”

“Your brain has gone into full panic mode, Priest. In any case, it’s hardly crucial information, so don’t dwell on it. Look—the warp zone is just ahead.”

Otin-san commented with a chuckle.

In the end, all I’d accomplished was filling my head with question marks. No one had managed to give me a theory I could actually understand. So I decided to stop thinking about it.

Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

“Mmm~ Ryunosuke-kun, you’re just too adorable!”

“Hey, fake saint. Ryunosuke clearly doesn’t like it. Quit forcing him to let you pet his head.”

“Mmph… Shaa… Grrr…”

Ryunosuke let out a low, disgruntled growl, baring his fangs in protest while Mina-chan continued enthusiastically rubbing its head as if she couldn’t hear a thing.

With the warp zone finally in sight, I looked back to check on Mina-chan and Shion-san, who were walking behind us. As it turned out, Ryunosuke—the Ancient Dragon—had decided to accompany our party as well.

Its true form was far too massive to fit through the temple’s corridors, so it had shrunk itself down to the size of my palm. In that form, it looked less like a fearsome dragon and more like an adorable stuffed toy.

At the moment, it was nestled comfortably against Mina-chan’s chest, blissfully enjoying the gentle strokes on his head while happily fluttering his tiny wings.

Even after getting that ripped off, the guy still hadn’t lost his taste for women. Honestly… it was infuriating.

Trade places with me, Ryunosuke!

“Well, here we are… Hm? That’s strange. The warp zone isnt activ—”

『Pathetic. Trully pathetic… And you’re supposed to be a god? What a joke.』

“…Who’s there?”

『Shut up, you worthless piece of trash. You’re completely useless!』

A revolting voice echoed out from the dormant warp zone.

I didn’t recognize it at all. However, I immediately realized who the owner of this voice was.

“The Hero…”

『So you’re the old priest bastard, huh?』

“…Satsuki-chan… She’s safe, isn’t she…?”

『Huh? How the hell do you know about her?』

“IS SHE SAFE OR NOT?!”

I was pretty sure that was the loudest I’d ever shouted in my life.

Staring at the inactive warp zone from which that foul voice rang out, I unleashed a roar born from a fury that pushed far beyond my limits.

『Oh, how scary! What are you so angry about, old man? I’m still taking good care of her.』

“Daishi-sa…nnn!!”

『Who said you could talk? Shut up, you damn woman.』

“Kyaaah!”

“Satsuki-chan!!”

Damn it!

I’ve finally made contact with that damn hero, but I can’t do anything right now!

Hurry! I have to save Satsuki-chan quickly!

“I opened the connection hoping to hear your last words, but this is disappointing. Turning the Sky Castle into a toy was quite a struggle… but never mind. You all die right there.”

Gogogogogogogo

As soon as the hero’s voice faded from the warp zone, the Sky Castle began to roar with a sound like an earthquake. At the same time, thunder began to rumble outside, and I thought I heard the screams of the dragons that had been flying around.

“…Priest.”

“Otin-san! The Sky Castle…”

“I know. That so-called hero probably set something up to completely obliterate this entire area.”

We could feel the surroundings beginning to play the prelude to collapse.

Otin-san was strangely calm, but suddenly we were facing what was probably the biggest crisis of our entire exploration life!

“Wait a minute! This is seriously bad!”

“This is bad… at this rate, we’ll all be wiped out along with this entire area!”

“Shaaaaaaa!!”

Even Mina-chan and the others were panicking. Even the shrunken Ryunosuke growled, sensing the desperate situation.

This is no joke, the situation has suddenly become incredibly dangerous!

What should we do?! !

“…Priest.”

“What? Why are you so calm, Otin-san? At this rate…”

“…It was a short acquaintance, but I’m truly glad I met you all in the end.”

“…Huh?”

“Ryunosuke. You’ll go with them. Your strength will surely be useful on the journey ahead.”

“Kuuuun…”

Huh? What do you mean…?

Otin-san, why are you really saying something like a last will and testament?

He’s even holding Kunknir…

What on earth…

“This Sky Castle has already fallen into the hands of this so-called hero. But…”

With a high-pitched squeal, a tremendous mass of aura begins to gather at the tip of Kunknir!

The spear begins to emit a rainbow-colored glow, and suddenly the whole thing twists into a spiral, transforming into a malevolent, ominous red shape.

“If my domain is going to be annihilated, then! Priest!”

“Y-yes!!”

“Defeat this so-called hero in my place! I leave the rest to you!”

“Otin-san!!”

The spear finished concentrating all its energy, and for a moment, silence enveloped the surroundings.

And then…

“[Ragnarok]”

Ragnarok. A word meaning the end of the world in Norse mythology. The name of the ultimate secret technique that Otin-san unleashed at the end, a technique to end everything.

I don’t understand the principle, but I think he used it to save us.

The space was dyed white, and in the distance of my fading consciousness…

“Otin-san…”

I think…. I was probably crying.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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