Chapter 35: Like A Cirsium IV

It was a space that was 10 meters square. It was old and dilapidated all over. We had entered through a large hole in one of its walls. This space had been hidden. Or perhaps it had been sealed off.

Here, a tragedy had occurred.

The young beastkin woman was lying in a pool of blood with Rana’s staff beside her. She wasn’t conscious, but she was breathing faintly.

One of the warriors had a huge gash across his chest and had fallen to his knees. I could see the white of bone inside the wound. He was breathing, but his face was as white as a sheet and he would be beyond help unless he received healing immediately.

The other warrior was crossing swords with the enemy.

It was the man who had caught my arrow easily. This warrior was strong. However, the enemy who cut him into two at the waist all too easily was probably stronger.

A huge fountain of blood spurted out like a joke. By the time his body rolled onto the ground, the man was already dead.

The enemy was a knight.

He didn't have a shield and was holding a chipped, fractured and bent broadsword in his left hand. The broadsword had practically no cutting edge left. But just now, it had cut an adventurer’s sword, armor and body in half.

When talking about his sword techniques, the techniques that he used were much too savage and horrific, and were simply mere brute force. However, that power was on a different dimension and greatly surpassed the realm of humanity. Defending clumsily against that power would result in anything and everything being crushed. He was practically a beast with a sword.

His silver armor was soiled black, and fresh blood was smeared on top of it.

His head was covered by a tattered hooded cloak. His right arm, as well as his face couldn’t be seen, but——

「Impossible」

Looking at how disturbed Irvin was, I realized who the enemy was.

There was only one person it could be.

What's going on? What happened? Had he been in the dungeon the entire time? How did he manage that? And why is he killing other adventurers right now?

Even though it's an emergency, no, precisely because it's an emergency, my brain kept on churning out chaotic thoughts.

But that’s for later.

「Ryutetto, hold that guy back. We’ll rescue the injured」

「Leave it to me. I’ll hold him back with the intention of killing him. No matter who the opponent is, he just killed a person. Now that things have turned out this way, there’s nothing but to kill him or let someone else die」

In front of the knight, Ryutetto exuded an indomitable spirit, and then charged.

A cacophony of metallic clashes rang out in quick succession.

「Shuna, support Ryutetto」

「Tch, there’s no other way, I suppose」

Shuna also darted off and joined the sword fight.

「Ea, get the female beastkin」

「Got it!」

I ran to the warrior while Ea ran to the beastkin.

From the corner of my eye, I watched the battle between superhuman and superhuman. It felt like I would get caught up in the wind from their swings and get torn to shreds if I even got close to them.

I went to the man’s side, but I couldn’t lift him due to the weight of his armor, so I put my arms under his armpits and dragged him from behind.

Irvin wasn’t moving. He had lost himself.

I prayed fervently that he wouldn’t stand between us and the knight.

Following behind Ea, I dragged the man to where my party was. Bel covered her mouth at the severity of the man's wound.

The beastkin that Ea had brought over had a deep gash on her back. Blood was still flowing out, and I couldn't tell how deep the wound was.

Both of them had run out of regeneration point and magic power.

「Zenobia, Please use healing magic on them. It’s alright even if you use up all of your magic power」

「Understood」

Would Zenobia’s healing magic be enough for these wounds?

「Irvin! Help with the healing!」

「Ye, yeah」

He responded to my shout. I left the healing of the injured to the two of them.

「Onee-chan, here」

「Thanks」

Rana took her staff from Ea. Without wiping off the blood, she fixed her eyes on the enemy. With one word from me, she would wreck havoc.

「Irvin, listen to me while you’re healing. Is there any doubt that that’s Sir Sanperie?」

「His stature is the same. I couldn’t get a good look at his face, but his sword is unmistakably the treasured sword, Gadeddo. In that case, that is......」

「You’re sure?」

「I’m afraid so」

Even if they understood it in their heads, people can’t bring themselves to do what they had to. We’re dogs leashed by a chain called emotion.

「I’ll give you just one chance. If he doesn’t return to his senses, resolve yourself」

That’s why, by letting him hear my words, ascertaining his intentions, and giving him a push on the back, he’ll finally be able to confront his difficulties. Even now, especially now, when every second counts, these words are necessary.

「………………」

「I have no idea why Sir Sanperie became like that. There may be a chance that there is a way to bring him, who knows Irvin, back to his senses. But we’ll cling to that hope only once. Any more than that, and someone will die. Is that okay? Just once」

The man I know……

「Got it. Just once, right? Don’t worry, I'm no longer a knight of St. Lyridias. I’m the shield of this party. I’ll never forget that」

……won’t betray my expectations because of something like this.

「Souya, I managed to stop the bleeding somehow. But they’ll need advanced healing magic right away」

Zenobia was bandaging the injured. Her healing magic was more outstanding than I had expected.

「Rana, are you all set to go?」

「Yes, I won't let him suffer. I'll burn him to death instantly」

「Zenobia, Bel, take the injured and fall back. Bel, take this」

I handed Izora to Bel.

「Izora, search for approaching enemies at all times, and tell Bel should you detect any. In case of emergency, you know what to do, right?」

『Understood』

「Izora-chan, we’re counting on you, alright?」

『Yes, please leave it to Izora』

I could hear the anxiety in Bel’s voice as she spoke to Izora.

「Ea, please guard the injured」

「Leave it to me. Onii-chan, be careful, alright?」

「Of course」

I turned my back on Rana and faced the enemy.

Ryutetto, who had gained the upper hand with her first move, was now purely on the defensive. The strongest person, along with Shuna’s longsword, was being dealt with using one hand.

「Let's go」

Irvin nodded silently. Rana answered me with her eyes.

A strikingly loud metallic sound rang out.

Ryutetto's shield had been destroyed by the knight. She had been knocked completely off balance. Right then, a merciless broadsword swung down at her.

「Sanperie!」

Irvin turned the blow aside using his shield. The broadsword left a deep cut on his shield, which had stopped even Midoranga’s fangs. If he had received the blow head-on, he would have been done in along with the shield.

「Do you recognize me?! It's me! Irvin!」

His movements still unswayed by emotion, Sanperie aimed for Irvin’s head with the return slash of his broadsword.

「ORAAAAA!」

Shuna repelled it with the full weight of his body.

He had just barely pushed it back. Once, twice, three times, he repelled blows that would have surely killed him. But his limit came before long. A blow that he had failed to deal with using a slash was redirected by Irvin’s shield. Following that, Ryutetto clashed swords with Sanperie, providing a starting point for Shuna’s attack.

Irvin's call out to him had been useless.

That gave me peace of mind for the time being. If there had been a shred of anything human left inside him, he would probably have pulled his punches.

However, the situation didn't allow for any second-guessing. Irvin defended, and the two of them used that opening to attack.

「………………」

I hid in the shadows.

Amidst the clash of swords, it was like one person disappeared.

I synced my breathing with the three of them, letting it get lost in theirs as they overlapped.

Without a sound, I nocked an arrow and drew the string back calmly.

There were no more Misuranika arrows. This arrow was a top secret item. It was a fishman harpoon. I had asked Geto-san to make just one especially for me. Normal fishman harpoons were sharp and tough, but they quickly became brittle when exposed to air. So much so that they could be broken with bare hands after three days.

But this one was different.

From the bones of a big fish that had spent many years lying on the seabed, an extremely rare material called the "Deep Emperor Bone" could be extracted. No matter the kind of environment it was in, it resisted all forms of weathering and remained sharp, hard and resplendent. According to a story passed down among fishmen, it seemed that it would keep its shape until the end of the world. The fact that it wasn’t meant to be a horror story spoke of its astounding flexibility and sturdiness.

Among all of the land races in this world, I was probably the only one who possessed this. It was also proof of the fishmen’s trust in me.

It was obvious, but it greatly surpassed a normal arrow in terms of pure power. Because it was too precious, I had thought that I would never use it, but I had no choice but to rely on it here.

「Oh Lumidia, the one concealed within me.

Give this arrow the grace of the hidden name.

Endow the power of the hero in this bow.

Reproduce the feats of Velsvain, who is famous for her valor, right here and now」

My arm, my shoulder, my entire body tensed as if they had become part of the bow.

I fixed my eyes on the knight. Irvin’s former friend. That background was immediately erased.

Before me was an enemy. It took three of them to finally be an even match for the enemy, but even that was temporary. He was a terrifying enemy. In this situation where we had to fight him spontaneously, it could be said that he was more terrifying than Midoranga.

But that was all there was to it.

I’ll,

Simply,

Shoot him dead.

Sanperie reacted to my killing intent.

Taking advantage of that opening, three swords swung downwards. For the first time, the enemy had to go on the defensive and went down on one knee.

I released the arrow.

The string thrummed loudly after cutting through the air. The physical energy of the arrow was equal to a cannonball. Sanperie had noticed my arrow, but he was unable to swing the sword that had been restrained by three adventurers.

The fishman harpoon pierced his thigh and pinned Sanperie to the stone floor. The bone was crushed. This should be the best way to keep him from moving.

But the enemy didn’t even make a sound, let alone scream. However, there wasn’t time for me to be perplexed.

「Everyone, pull back! Rana!」

The three of them spread out. Rana raised her staff,

Inside the knight’s hood, which had rolled up, I saw something truly frightening.

In an instant,

My vision went white, and I lost all sense of gravity.

I was out for a few seconds.

With clouded vision, I was looking at the ceiling of the dungeon. I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t feel my arms and legs. My ears were ringing terribly.

「………………ya………So………………ya」

There was a distant voice calling me. My consciousness felt heavy and I was extremely drowsy. If I simply relaxed, I would probably be drawn into a muddled sleep. Just like this, I would be able to take it easy——

「Souya!」

I snapped back to my senses when Irvin called out to me.

「Urgh」

I had a severe headache, intense nausea and my whole body hurt. With Irvin’s aid, I got to my feet somehow.

I looked around to check the situation.

Shuna and Ryutetto were both going strong. There was no sign that they had sustained heavy injuries.

We had been blown away by Sanperie’s roar. His beast-like voice had generated a shock wave. Was this the true identity of the howl that we heard earlier?

Fortunately, I was the only one who had been badly hurt. Sanperie himself was still pinned to the ground by the arrow.

We had to quickly rally, and then use magic to——

「Dear! The magic power and regeneration point are——?!」

Despair filled Rana's voice and expression. Irvin checked his regeneration point. Along with his magic power, his regeneration point had become zero. It was probably the same for everyone else.

Even though I had seen it, I hadn’t made the connection.

The two injured adventurers also had zero magic power. I should have noticed how unnatural that was. The time to blame myself for my stupidity was later. Right now, this guy came first.

「Hey, you know, right?」

Ryutetto looked at me with a resolved expression. Sanperie was trying to break the arrow by stabbing it with his sword. Unfortunately for him, that arrow wasn’t something that would break so easily.

「This guy dies here」

「Yeah」

I did know what we had to do.

As adventurers, we couldn't leave this guy alone. He had defeated a skilled intermediate adventurer easily. The greenhorn adventurers that would normally be on this floor were no match for him. Moreover, he had the ability to deplete regeneration point and magic power. If things went poorly, even an advanced adventurer would be defeated. He was the natural enemy of adventurers, and unquestionably worthy of being an evil title.

On top of that, this guy had hid. No, he had been hidden. It was easy to guess the identity of who had hid him. It was probably the same hero-sama who had requested Ryutetto to guide us here. The biggest problem we had, was that we didn’t know how this guy tracked his targets.

If he chased us using the smell of our blood, then it would result in the worst kind of disaster.

We had to end his life here. If that was impossible, then we had to at least prevent him from leaving.

「Shuna」

「What? Even if my regeneration point is empty, I can still——」

「Irvin, Ryutetto and I will remain here. Take the other party members and the injured, and leave the dungeon――」

「Stop kidding around!」

Shuna grabbed my collar.

「Listen carefully. There’s no time. Go back up immediately. Report the situation to my person-in-charge or the Guild President, and ask them to send help」

「I’ll remain here too」

「You can’t, Shuna. That’s no good. Now that magic cannot be used, your sword techniques are the lifeline of the party. Are you going to abandon everyone?」

「No way! Isn’t it fine if all of us run away?!」

Shuna looked like he was about to cry.

「That’s even worse. He’ll inflict grievous harm on the other adventurers if someone doesn’t keep him here」

All that was left, was for him to make his decision.

I’ve left it to you. I have faith in you.

「Rana, Ea, don’t worry. I’ll definitely come back alive. For that reason, go get help quickly」

「I’ll also remain. I can’t use magic, but I do have a little skill with the sword——」

Ea smacked Rana in the back of the head.

「Ouch!」

「Onee-chan, listen to what Onii-chan says. Don’t worry, Onii-chan. I’ll come back immediately with someone strong」

「I’m counting on you, Ea」

My dependable sister dragged Rana away from me. Rana didn’t resist, but she reached her hand out to me as if she was reluctant to part with me.

Bel nodded silently and carried the injured beastkin. Zenobia was carrying the injured man. Even though his armor had been removed, he should still be quite heavy. She was an unexpectedly tough woman.

「Shuna」

Shuna still hadn’t budged. The other party members waited silently for him.

「Irvin」

Shuna called Irvin's name.

「Don't let Souya die」

「Of course」

Without saying anything else, Shuna ran off and joined up with the party.

As everyone turned to leave, I met Rana’s eyes. She was crying.

I’m a terrible man.

「Izora」

『Yes』

I contacted Izora using the glasses’ communication function.

「Do everything you can to avoid fighting with enemies. Always choose a safe route, it doesn’t matter even if it takes a longer time」

『Understood. Izora will guide them on the shortest route with the least amount of battles. Souya-san, please don't die』

「Understood」

I heard a thud of bone and the sound of thick cloth being forcibly torn.

Having judged that the arrow couldn’t be destroyed, Sanperie had started chopping at his own leg with his sword.

「There’s no need for you to stay, you know?」

「I thought that Irvin would feel lonely, you see?」

Returning his joke with a joke, I put on a brave face.

I couldn’t move my left shoulder. A dull pain was seeping into my entire body. It might be broken. I injected myself with a ballpoint-pen-type syringe to stop the pain. With that, the pain was suppressed, but I wouldn’t be able to draw the bow with this arm.

「Leader, what's the plan?」

Ryutetto laughed audaciously.

「Value your life」

「Isn’t that just a general rule?」

That’s true.

「Don't get greedy and try to kill it. Thoroughly aim for his feet. But attack, and attack some more, definitely don’t give him a chance to attack. So long as our regeneration points are empty, we’ll be killed in one hit」

「Well, 8 points, I suppose」

Receiving a high evaluation would count for nothing if we didn’t survive.

In this desperate situation, could I fight without sacrificing anything? In the worst case, with just my life alone, this guy...............

Again, because of Japanese grammar, or rather, word order, the last line ends up weird because it’s cut off. The full sentence probably looks like this: “In the worst case, (I’ll have to stop) this guy with<by sacrificing> just my life alone”. Because the word order is mostly backwards, the words in brackets are the ones cut off. The <through sacrificing> to replace “with” is what’s implied here of course. It’s nothing new though, he’s been like this, valuing his own life extremely lightly, since volume 1.

Totally random, not related to this chapter at all and pretty inconsequential, but this novel has an interesting quirk that my translation has hid: No one in this world pronounces Souya’s name correctly. Everyone, including Makina and Izora, calls him SOOYA instead. Try sounding it out loud, and you’ll find that the difference is minuscule. Which is why I went ahead and translated it into Souya at first, so that readers won’t get confused by the weird “name changes” since the people in his original world and Souya himself pronounces it correctly. In retrospect, I probably could have pulled it off, but it’s a bit too late now and isn’t particularly important plot-wise, so while it’ll remain something I regret, I thought that I should bring it up when I had the chance, since A. it’s interestingly realistic, B. I recently realized that it may be there to show that Babel, the god that translates all speech, doesn’t translate names, though that’s kinda obvious, how and why would you? and C. there is a small handful of spots where that mispronouncing is mentioned, though not here, and not really impacting the plot in any way. With that said, I do sincerely apologize.

By the way, did you realize that Souya has figured out how to unleash “skills” by learning from what Shuna did? And since it only requires a tiny amount of magic power, as Shuna had mentioned, even Souya can do it. Did you expect that entire plot-line to actually be a stepping stone to lead up to this? Remember me stressing that volume 1 was only an intro? Yeah, in RPG gaming terms, he’s only now learning the “combat system” of this world and is progressing beyond only having normal attacks and using items. Are the days of Souya chanting "Rauaryuna・Romea・Somethingoranother" not far off? Well, considering his MP, it’s probably far off lol.

Souya calls out to Irvin, he snaps out of it. Irvin calls out to Sanperie, nothing. Irvin calls out to Souya, he snaps out of it. It’s not just me right? I sense that the theme of this chapter is this: their friendships.

So, what on earth happened to Sanperie? They were battling him the entire chapter and now they’re in a serious pinch, with their regeneration point and magic power nullified. What can the three of them do in this situation? Can they hold out till help arrives? Anyone noticed Izora calling Souya “Souya-san” instead of her usual distant “Team member Souya”? Most importantly, what kind of name for a sword is Gadeddo?!?! Stay tune for the very exciting next chapter!!! It’ll have an illustration too!!!