A flood of monsters burst forth. Fishmen also known as Sahagins, water horses or kelpies in other terms, and blue bats called sirens.
Mia-san swung her chain axe with a clang and shouted,
“Damn it! Is this some kind of monster-call trap?”
That would normally be a trap set in the dungeon to summon monsters. It was close to that, but not exactly. What lay scattered on the ground were bags containing the titan’s ashes.
The injured adventurers groaned in pain. They had been lured by the slave traders into rushing ahead to the hidden area of the dungeon. They’ve been given the ashes that attract monsters along with the “key” to the area. It was a trap designed to exploit the adventurers’ own greed.
“Warrior Corps, block them!”
I shouted, glancing back.
“The other parties—keep watch outside the room!”
For the rescue in the hidden area, we were a massive group of fifty. Only three could pass through the entrance at a time, and the rear rows probably hadn’t yet grasped the situation. I didn’t even want to imagine the chaos if they panicked in the presence of monsters.
It would have to be handled by the lead members of the Warrior Corps alone.
A group of sahagin immediately leapt at us.
“Gigigi!”
A grating scream cut through the sound of rushing water.
Mia-san hurled her chain axe, striking down one of the monsters, while Felix-san froze the waterway with his ice magic. Wrinkles creased his narrow eyes.
“There are so many of them…!”
There really were. I dodged a kick from a kelpie and drove my dagger into its throat.
“I want to get through quickly… but—!”
Sahagins leapt at us from both sides of the waterway. I sidestepped a spear, slipped inside its guard, and slashed its flank. As I turned, a siren was gliding toward me.
Air condensed in its gaping mouth, ready to strike.
“Rion!”
Nils-san stepped forward, slicing the air projectile with his sword.
I ran along the wall, circling around the low-flying sirens and cutting through the base of its wings.
The coin in my pouch vibrated.
『This formation is bad.』
Just as Thor had said.
The monsters’ arrival coincided perfectly with our entry into the room. On top of that, there were injured adventurers near the entrance whom we had to protect.
“We can’t afford to stop here.”
At the far end of the hidden area, people held as slaves were waiting. The adventurers carrying the titan’s ashes, which summoned the monsters, had already gone ahead.
We had no choice but to hurry.
“—Gods!”
I clenched the coins in my pocket.
The coin case Lu had made stirred my resolve.
“Wake up!”
The gods were stirring.
First, the Valkyrie Sigris waved her spoon. Particles of light rained down upon the injured adventurers, healing them instantly.
“W-what is this?”
“It… doesn’t hurt anymore?”
The adventurers must have been astonished. Magic poured down from the sky, and their wounds vanished in an instant. And on top of that, they couldn’t even see the gods’ presence.
“Fall back!”
I shouted, but Felix-san’s voice overlaid mine.
“Stay outside. We may need to ask about the party that rushed ahead and how many there are.”
The adventurers nodded and fell back toward the entrance.
Even as they retreated, the gods continued their work.
Solana unleashed golden light, smashing clusters of monsters into the walls. Thor’s hammer struck the ground, and the lightning that scattered from it reduced the Sahagins to ash. Fleeing kelpies were meticulously shot down by Uru’s arrows. Not a single one escaped the precision of the God of Hunting.
“This is…”
Nils-san muttered as he cut down monsters.
“I can faintly see human shapes… is that your power?”
I hadn’t introduced the gods to Nils-san yet. So I thought he couldn’t see them—but… had the gods already revealed themselves to him?
“Can you see them?”
“Yeah. Faintly, but it’s enough to coordinate.”
Nils-san gave a brief smile and sliced a sahagin that leapt at him in two.
The flow of battle was shifting. Thanks to the gods’ fierce intervention, I could finally take a breath and turn my attention to keeping watch over the area. If even one person could observe the battlefield freely, the party’s overall strength would increase.
“…There are a lot of them.”
“Wah!”
Loki floated lazily, hands clasped behind his head, completely at ease.
…This god is seriously laid-back.
“…Loki?”
“I just have something to say. Thor’s power has already become yours, and it seems Uru’s power is starting to settle in as well, isn’t it?”
Every now and then, a brownish light glimmered over my chest—probably the light of the God of Hunting. The blessing hadn’t matured yet. I could feel Uru’s power from time to time, but Blessing of the God of Hunting hadn’t actually increased in strength.
It was… stuck at a standstill, for now.
“…Yeah, that’s true.”
“However, I can’t say I’m thrilled about being outpaced a little. I’m a god of magic, after all, while you… you don’t really have any magic-like power, do you?”
Loki pursed his lips.
“But you seem to be getting along with the spirits just fine. It’s like you introduced a friend to another friend, and those two hit it off while leaving you behind.”
…W-what does that even mean?
Loki grinned, as if he had just thought up the ultimate prank.
“Anyway, I’ve got a good idea for this situation.”
Even while talking, he continued scanning for threats. Any enemies that emerged from the water were quickly wiped out by the gods’ power. The last siren was shot down midair. A magic stone bounced off with a ting.
“Is that the end?”
I raised my voice at Mia-san, who was wiping the sweat from her brow.
“Not yet!”
In the next instant, splashes erupted from the water channels on both sides. Once again, Sahagins leapt into the air.
It must be the second wave.
Loki called out.
“Rion! Use the water spirit Undine to form walls of water! Make several of them!”
“Eh…?”
Sahagins are water-based monsters, right? Would this even work?
“Just do it!”
Following his command, I awakened the spirit in my gauntlet.
Undine, in the form of a mermaid, stretched walls of water between us and the monsters, like drawing a cloth across a space. In no time, multiple shimmering curtains of water had formed.
“There!”
Loki extended a hand from his black robe and snapped his fingers. The monsters immediately began attacking in the wrong directions—kelpie horns, Sahagin claws, and siren air blasts.
Every strike missed entirely. At worst, the monsters even attacked one another.
“Illusion.”
Loki said with a laugh.
“I used the water you raised to show the monsters a false image. Water can reflect appearances—or distort them.”
When the god snapped his fingers again, the water curtains shattered. The illusions created by the water vanished. The monsters froze, realizing they had been striking at empty air, confused and disoriented.
Their cries echoed as they reacted reflexively.
“Now!”
The monsters had left a deadly opening.
I kicked off the ground, and my companions followed in stride—swords and axes, spells, and blades danced. One by one, the disoriented monsters turned to ash.
Finally, the wave of monsters ceased.
A heavy silence fell. From the frozen waterways and waterfalls, the cracks formed by magic spread with sharp, snapping sounds.
“Just now… what was that?”
My throat trembled.
I couldn’t help but stare at my right-hand gauntlet where Undine resided. The water spirit swirled inside the pale blue crystal, but the illusionary power surely wasn’t hers alone.
Felix-san planted his staff and groaned.
“I see. You supplemented magic with the reflection of water. For a brief moment, the monsters must have seen countless copies of us, like mirrors facing each other.”
“Exactly. It wasn’t an offensive spell, and the spirit handled the water manipulation. The magic only made the reflections appear real. With the spirit’s help, you, Rion, might even be able to create basic illusions yourself.”
Loki winked at me with one eye.
“Rion. Illusion is the power of deception, of trickery.”
As the battle ended, the gods gradually faded, their forms thinning. Before disappearing completely, Loki closed his eyes and spoke to me.
“Depending on your resolve, you can use it any way you choose. As a hero with limitless potential, Rion, face it, and decide how you will wield it.”
The god slowly vanished.
I couldn’t help but glance at Nils-san, reminded of the time we had sparred together.
—If you’re truly protecting something important, don’t be choosy about your methods.
Wake up skill held infinite potential. And precisely because of that, I might have to face what I can do with that power.
The inner chamber had fallen silent.
The gods had already returned to the coin, leaving behind only countless magic stones scattered across the floor.
The adventurers who had entered the room stared wide-eyed.
“…All this… you lot did it?”
The veterans could probably tell how overwhelming the numbers had been just by looking at the scattered magic stones. Some might have even glimpsed the scene from outside.
I drew in my chin and straightened my chest.
“Yes!”
The adventurers exchanged looks—some exasperated, some impressed, all complex.
“…You don’t look like it, I guess… or what can I say.”
“Still, that was an incredible number of monsters.”
“So the ashes that awaken monsters… were real, huh?”
“The Raven Warriors, huh.”
The adventurers stared at me intently.
Just as questions were about to start, Mia-san clapped her hands.
“Now that the fighting’s over, let’s move!”
““““Okay!””””
Everyone replied in unison.
The exit from the inner chamber was already open. When we spoke to the injured adventurers, a bad feeling was confirmed. There were other parties incited by the slave traders, who had rushed ahead into the hidden area with the keys they had received. They were likely carrying the ashes as well.
There’s no time to waste.
“Yeah…!”
We passed through the first room and followed a cave-like corridor.
Eventually, we reached a fork in the path.
“From here, we’ll split into two groups.”
Felix-san leaned on his staff and swept his gaze over us.
“The hidden area is likely circular. That means it runs along the outer edge of the dungeon. Splitting into left and right groups to explore and then reconvening will be more efficient.”
The adventurers nodded in agreement. We will split up, four parties on each side to explore the hidden area. If they found any captives, one party would stay behind to guard them while the others retreated to rescue them.
“…Once this floor is cleared, you’ll be aiming for the deepest part, right?”
The adventurer bearing a stone hammer reminded me. He had come to our aid this morning when the Water Transport Bureau director was giving his speech.
I remembered him well—he had mentioned my father.
He had a body as large as a golem’s, yet his eyes were gentle, and it seemed he genuinely cared about my safety.
“Mm. We can’t ignore the lowest level.”
No one knew what awaited in the hidden areas of the lower floors. The most dangerous was the bottommost floor—the boss layer.
Freya might be there, and if the slave traders were hiding anything, it would likely be there as well. For the sake of rescuing captives and scouting the depths, someone had to go.
“You’ve already decided on the divisions, right?”
Felix-san was about to speak, but a large hand gently stopped him.
“No, it’s fine. I saw your skills earlier. Your hearts as adventurers are united.”
The hammer-wielding adventurer thumped his broad chest with a solid thud.
“Stay safe, alright!”
The hammer-wielding adventurer went right at the fork; we headed left.
Screams of men and women reached us almost immediately. The Blessing of the God of Hunting alerted me to the presence of many more.
A battle was already underway.
“…They must be the adventurers who rushed ahead, carrying the ashes.”
Nils-san shared the same thought.
“Let’s hurry.”
The corridor curved gently, the screams and clash of combat burning a sense of urgency into my chest.
Through the open doorway of the next chamber, I could see people fighting—and the monsters. Women and children had been captured.
Memories flashed—of Lu and me a little while ago, and of Gideon trying to kidnap us in the royal capital.
“We will save them—no matter what!”
I didn’t want anyone to die.
I kicked off the ground, clad in Golden Flame.
A woman with her hands bound behind her back, crawled as she tried to escape. A Sahagin raised its spear. I intercepted the attack, parrying it with my short sword.
“I’ve come to rescue you!”
As I declared, sparks flew from the weapons that collided.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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