Chapter 93: The Frenetic Floors II & III

＜The Frenetic Floors II＞

「…Understood」

Came Lys' quieter-than-usual reply.

At the moment, my sister still was 30 meters away.

「Rana, can you do it?」

「Of course, but end it with the next two shots, alright? My magic power has reached the recovery limit, so this will really be the last time」

Came Rana's reassuring reply.

「It’s fine, I'm counting on you」

「Got it. Lys-san, please match my timing」

「………I know」

Rana had started chanting without waiting for Lys' reply.

She was reciting the chant for an advanced fire magic that I had heard many times before.

When her comforting voice stopped, unimaginable destruction ensued.

It’s a miracle created by the predecessors on the path of magic to emulate a dragon's breath.

It’s a miracle that manifests through prayer and supplication to the gods.

A miracle that has left the hands of the gods is nothing but demonic. It's because it’s something taboo, that it's called magic.[1]

Ea rejoined the party.

As soon as everyone had squeezed together as close as possible, Rana shouted.

「Doragubein!」

「Oh dust, gather! And hold it at bay! Steadfastly!」

Lys conjured up a barrier of light that enveloped the party.

The flames created by Rana dyed the lush green passageway red. The crimson destruction burned the bees to death, turning the greenery to ash.

「Guhh」

Lys groaned.

Looking closer, I saw that her forehead and thin neck were covered with sweat. This was the first time I had seen Lys' usually blank face show this much distress.

This is definitely not good.

「Rana! Stop your magic! Lys can't hold it anymore!」

「Alright! I understand!」

Rana started the chant for a different kind of magic.

All of the magic she casts possess the same level of destructive power. So we had come up with an emergency countermeasure.

「Ri・Bau, the color of death. Bring forth ruin and decimation!」

The mass of white mist that was brought forth gouged a hole in the barrier of light and sucked in the flames.

Air started rushing in through the hole, causing a red vortex to swirl around us.

After the intense storm of destruction, it dissipated and became a light breeze.

This is a highly advanced technique called double chanting in which the magician casts a magic of a different attribute to counteract the magic that’s currently underway.

Originally, this is a technique that’s performed by two or more advanced magicians. Not long ago, Rana drank the blood of a descendant of a god, resulting in a temporary boost to her skill in magic.

Apparently, she had somehow grasped the trick to it at that time.

It seems that the seizing of knowledge and skill through the drinking of blood is a taboo among taboos. The hush money and various compensations paid to the victim lightened my purse considerably.

「Shuna, Otou-san, stay alert and keep your eyes out for enemies」

The two of them wordlessly raised their hands in reply.

When Lys wobbled, then fell, I caught her in my arms. The weight of her armor added to the dead weight of an unconscious person.

「Lys, are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?」

As I called out to her, I reached for her regeneration point.

Even though I couldn't see any injuries, the red color showing her health had dropped to half. In addition, the blue color indicating the amount of magic power she had left was all but gone.

「What?!」

Something like this has never happened before.

Lys, or rather, Bel, the original owner of this body, has many times more magic power than the average magician, thanks to her special lineage as a divine medium.

On top of that, just like how it is for any descendant of a god, the closer one's blood is to a god's, the easier it becomes to pray to and entreat other gods. The magic power, offerings, mediums, and sacrifices required will also be less.

And magic power is the fruit of thoughts and the soul.

The combination of accumulated knowledge and the karma of one's race and lineage manifests itself in the amount of magic power one possesses.

A divine medium is someone who has the blood and karma to allow gods to dwell inside them.

I don't know much in detail about Bel's origins, but I'm pretty certain that I’ll be able to trace her lineage to some god. A forgotten god, or one cast out by the other gods, or some other unspeakable and horrifying being.

Even if the name of the god she has a connection with is forgotten, her karma is evident in her blood.

Well, I'm just re-telling what Rana told me, so there are many parts of what I've said that I myself don't quite understand though.

But to put it simply, it's impossible for Lys to run out of magic power when she is using Bel's body, which consumes very little magic power on top of possessing an enormous amount of magic power.

Not unless all of her blood has been drained or altered.

「Rana, do you know what's wrong with her?」

At times like this, I should ask the expert.

「Umm, dear, this is a sensitive issue for a woman, so I'd rather not say……」

「What?! Is it that serious?!」

What on earth could be so bad that you can't even talk about it?

「Lys, do you want some honey?」

Ea was already snacking on a honeycomb.

That's unhygienic, you know?

「Come on, for the sake of something like this, you dragged so many………it's sweet」

Shuna complained, but also came over and took a bite of a honeycomb.

「Ohh, this is some good stuff. This can be sold for two gold pieces a bottle」

Otou-san also followed Shuna's lead, ripping off a piece and then munching on it with gusto.

You're an elder, aren't you? You should be scolding them.

「Medimu, grab one of the grub」

「Alright」

At my sister's behest, Otou-san stuck his hand into the nest and grabbed one of the larvae. I shuddered at its size. It was about the size of a 500ml PET bottle. It squirmed about sluggishly.

「Here, Lys. It's very nutritious, so eat up」

「………………」

My sister took the bee larva from Otou-san and held it out to Lys. There was no malice behind it, just innocence.

「I, I don't want it」

Lys' already pale complexion got even paler.

Yeah, I'd rather not eat insects too.

「Don't hold back. Fresh is the best, as Onii-chan always says」

That's true.

「I don't need it. Really, it's too much. ………I can't. St, stop it」

Ea was pushing and forcing the bee larva onto Lys.

There's really no malice behind it, right? It's looking a little bit like torture though.

「Ea, stop it. It'll taste even better if Souya cooks it for us later」

「You're right. It can't be helped then」

Heeding Rana's words, my sister put the bee larva back into the nest.

We’re going to eat that?

It's a bug, you know? Strictly speaking, the honey probably has these guys' saliva or something mixed in with it, but will cooking it be enough to overcome my aversion to eating bugs, I wonder? .........………I'm not sure.

More importantly,

「Ea」

「Yes?」

A question occurred to me.

「You found the nest, right?」

「Right」

With the bees and nest here, there's one thing that's definitely missing.

「Was there a queen?」

「Yup. It was huge. I had a pretty hard time stealing this without being seen by it」

「I see~」

I have a bad feeling about this.

『Team member Souya, proximity warning. Enemy size, large. Speed, low』

「The payoff for the foreshadowing sure came really fast!」

I couldn't help but exclaim as I turned back to face the passageway from which Ea had come.

Its size was as Ea had reported.

It was so big that it made the wide passageway seem cramped.

It had a total length of about 6 meters.

Rather than a queen bee, it looked more like a queen ant.

The limbs that were for attacking and walking had grown longer than the others, and resembled those of humans. In exchange, its other limbs had devolved and become shrunken.

It was walking on two legs in a forward-leaning posture.

Because of its huge size, it wasn't very fast, but neither was it slow. From the way the ground shook as it approached, it must be quite heavy.

It looked like that thing in a great movie I saw a long time ago called Alien II.

「Everyone! Listen to me!」

If we fight this massive thing head on, we will take casualties.

Now that Rana's magic power has run out, we lack a deciding move.

I'll count it as a stroke of good fortune just for being able to get a look at it. This will serve us well for the next time.

Consequently, this is what I decided upon.

「We're running away! Ea, ditch the nest!」

「Eeeeeh?!」

Of course, Ea is against it. But if we return the larvae right away, we might be able to slow it down somewhat.

「Wait. Don't run away」

To my surprise, Lys confronted me and voiced her opposition.

「I don't want to…fight bugs again. Ever」

She pleaded with a pale expression on her face.

「Lys, could it be that you hate bugs?」

「I hate them. I hope they all die out」

Is this why her magic power ran out? There's no way that's the reason though.

「Sorry, but I can't allow any casualties. We don't have Rana's magic anymore, and taking that enemy on with physical attacks alone will be challenging. You will need to follow my orders」

「I understand. Lend me the sacred sword」

「Huh? What do you mean, you understand?」

She snatched Agathion from me roughly.

The enemy was almost on top of us. We had less than 30 seconds before it would reach us.

「Souya, hurry up and decide if we're fighting or running. Unite everyone」

Otou-san had made Shuna fall back, and was holding up his shield. In case of emergencies, he was supposed to act as our "rearguard"[2]. He had explained that it was natural for old people to die first. I had objected, but he hadn't listened.

「Men, don't look this way!」

Driven by the uncharacteristic intensity in Lys' voice, we males turned to face the enemy.

「Lys! If you have a plan, can you at least explain it first?!」

I asked with my back to Lys, but I was ignored.

『15 seconds until contact』

Came the A.I.'s calm report.

「It, it's done. Use it!」

「What am I supposed to be using?!」

Lys handed Agathion to me. On the red metallic surface of the sword, a pattern had been drawn with blood that was even redder. It was a geometric pattern that looked like it was made up of lop-sided alphabetic characters.

「What is this?」

「The last time this was done, it was unleashed for five seconds」

「Like I said, what is this?!」

『10 seconds until contact』

We've now got no choice but to fight. We'll have to fight to create an opening for escaping. I had wasted precious time worrying about strange things.

Dammit, I had made an error in judgment.

「Otou-san, begin――」

As I held Agathion up, I noticed the change.

The sword was quivering. The materials that made up its blade were being affected by "something" from within, causing it to shake. A section of the blade came loose, and black electrical discharge emanated from it.

Agathion suddenly became very heavy.

It had become too heavy for me to hold up, so I let the tip of the blade fall to the ground. There was a terrifying crash. The floor of the dungeon had caved in like a crater.

「Use it to slash at the enemy! Quickly! There's no time!」

＜The Frenetic Floors III＞

The sword was dragging along the ground, but I immediately sprinted forward with it.

The magic sword knew what to do. I only needed to add my will to it.

The electrical discharge wrapped around me and sped my body up.

Everything slowed, and only I and the magic sword moved at full speed amid the time that had grown more viscous than honey.

With the sword slicing through the floor like butter, I reached the queen bee.

My body moving at an accelerated speed, I unleashed a slash that surpassed the enemy's reaction speed.

I had used my momentum to swing the sword upwards from below.

It wasn't something that could be called a slash. It was at the level where I mistakenly thought for a second that it had gone right through.

Nevertheless, the magic sword that I had swung upwards cut the queen bee in two.

In addition, the slash didn't stop there, but tore through the ceiling and the wall at the far end.

It wasn't the kind of destruction that a single swing of a sword should be able to wreak.

「What…is this?」

After a brief moment, the queen bee's dead body toppled over.

Agathion returned to its normal form, and the electrical discharge subsided. Its weight also went back to normal.

『Huh?』

The two male vanguards raised their voices.

My party members were all looking at me strangely.

「Lys, like I said, what is this………oh」

Lys had gone limp, and was being supported on each side by Rana and Ea.

「Dear, this isn’t good」

「Onii-chan, I think she's reached her limit」

At the sisters' report, Shuna brushed past me, picked Lys up and put her on his back.

「I’ll carry her」

「But Shuna――」

Shuna is in his growth period. I want him to experience as many battles as possible.

「It's only carrying her on the back, so I'll――」

「I'll do it. If you do it, Bel will be mad when she returns」

What is he talking about?

「Souya, I think this one is the guardian」

Otou-san said as he examined the queen bee's corpse.

「Oh, here's its scent gland」

He tore a pouch-like organ from the corpse and ripped it open with both hands.

「Urgh」

A yellowish smoke billowed out, filling the area. A cloying sweet smell permeated my nostrils. The sweetness spread to my mouth as well. Everyone else in the party was also choking on the smell while fanning away the smoke with their hands.

「Hey, Medimu! What are you doing?!」

「Oh, sorry. I didn't know it would spread this much」

Otou-san apologized after my sister got angry at him.

「But hey, this should neutralize the enemies on this floor」

「Huh, what do you mean?」

Otou-san replied as he stripped raw materials from the queen bee.

「It's just my hunch, but I think that the enemies on this floor have a strong symbiotic relationship. I've checked the stomachs of the enemies we've killed so far, and found only plants and no meat. So if we cover ourselves in the pheromones of the queen that's at the pinnacle of this hierarchy, there should be no enemies that would dare attack us」

「I see」

The possibility of him being right is high. All we have to do now is descend to the next floor, and it might be an easy trip.

Otou-san stripped off the queen bee's long limbs.

「Hmm. These look usable」

That’s true.

I figure that its two arms can be sold for 10 gold coins. Its two legs, which are thicker, can fetch 20 gold coins.

They can be used either as decorations or as materials for weapons and armor. Even if nothing can be made from them, materials obtained from strong monsters are often traded at high prices.

「Fufu~, don't forget that we also have the bees' nest! Onii-chan, cook something with it as soon as we get back!」

My sister was very excited.

I got a little upset and scolded her.

「Ea, you put the whole party in danger because of your thoughtless decision. Apologize to everyone」

「Eeh~」

She reacted as a child would.

Aside from her boobs, my sister has the body of an adult, but she is still immature mentally. That's why it's important to scold her properly. The dungeon is dangerous. The slightest lapse in judgment can lead to the annihilation of the party.

「Don't give me that. Otou-san, please say something as well」

「That bees' nest is worth a lot of money. It'll help fund the party. It may have been a thoughtless decision, but there were no casualties. Forgive her this once」

Dammit, why are elders always like this?

「Rana, you say something too」

「Dear………there's so much honey. We can drink all we want directly from it!」

「Oh, is that so」

「Souya, I agree with them too」

「Alright alright」

Even Shuna is taking my sister's side.

By majority vote, no blame fell on my sister.

「Now now, Onii-chan, I'll be careful not to get caught next time」

「If you say so」

For some reason, I was being consoled by my sister.

In this manner, we resumed the clearing of the dungeon.

Rana is out of magic power, Ea is carrying the bees' nest, Lys is unconscious, and Shuna is carrying her on his back.

The only ones who can fight properly are me and Otou-san.

We still have plenty of leeway in terms of regeneration point, but Agathion has stopped moving. The power it showed earlier is probably the cause.

This halves my fighting strength.

In truth, Agathion is a secret member of the party. It's like having another capable and sturdy swordsman with us.

If we get into a heated battle right now, it will put a huge strain on Otou-san, and that's dangerous.

………Was what I was thinking, but Otou-san's hunch was dead on.

Thanks to the queen bee's pheromones, the monsters avoided us.

Be it the birds or the insects, they all fled.

After walking around for about thirty minutes, we found the stairs going downwards.

We headed to the 25th floor.

Again, the dungeon was filled with lush greenery. The only difference from the previous floor was that there were no flowers to be seen.

「Gah, it’s sweet」

Just as we reached the end of the stairs, we were greeted by a shout from a party coming out of the portal next to the stairs.

Our party was certainly giving off a sweet smell. Enough to make one think that we would attract ants.

We validated the portal, then returned.

When all is said and done, in just three days, we had made it through to the 25th floor on our first try pretty easily.

At this rate, my goal of the 56th floor isn't far off.

As expected, the strength of Otou-san, the man known as the father of adventurers, plays a big part. It's his first time venturing beyond the 20th floor, but he hasn't been an adventurer for a very long time for nothing.

His wide variety of insights and experience are invaluable.

Just by having a person like him in the party, our confidence level is completely different. Especially for me, the leader, his presence gives me peace of mind.

However, as for the method by which we defeated the guardian this time,

We shouldn't have used that.

I get the feeling that it's a power that we shouldn't be relying on.

There is too much about Agathion that's unknown. If we rely on it too much and put it through too much abuse, it may break easily. Even if it’s capable, it’s a tool. It's also a tool that we don't know how to maintain.

It would be great if my skill with the sword improves to the point where I don't need to rely on Agathion, but who knows how long that'll take.

The art of swordsmanship, or perhaps I should say, art of warfare that I seized from my friend's teacher.

It's the culmination of an incredible amount of skill, but I would have to spend the same number of years fighting as he did before my body is capable of wielding it properly.

Heart, technique, and physique. Without all three, it's not the real deal.

I'm ultimately just a fake who is doing a poor imitation of the Scarlet Knight.

I’m still a long ways off.

But that doesn't change the fact that we had reached the 25th floor.

I'm not so optimistic that I can just let go and be happy about it though.

Even if it's just by a little, I want to go from being inept to being capable. If I did, I wouldn't have to feel such anxiety.

I really wish I possessed a strength that is unwavering.

A heart that is as unmovable as steel in any situation, and steadfast technique.

The thing called pride.

Having faith that I'll find them if I keep adventuring,

And after taking a short <respite>,

Once again, I explore the dungeon――

[1] Yeah, this is next to impossible to understand in English because it’s wordplay. Demon/demonic and so on is written as “魔” in Japanese. Demon King for example, is “魔王”. And in that same way, demonic arts/act/ways can be written as “魔法”, which is also the kanji for “magic”. Hence, magic can mean “ways of the demon or demonic arts/acts” and so on, which is a contra-point to gods, since, well, gods vs demons. And as it’s a “demonic art”, it’s taboo.

[2] The rearguard here refers to the person or people who bring up the rear to cover the others’ retreat.

There’s no deep meaning to the <respite> being highlighted, except that the author did it. Like I mentioned before, it’s a word that comes up often, and this is prob done to highlight that it’s still the same word. Yes, you will keep on seeing this in future as well.

Lys is acting weird, and more importantly, how does she know how to unlock Agathion’s power and what does she mean by “the last time this was done”? Yeah, whoever Lys really is, this isn’t the first time she’s seen Agathion, is it?

Also, lots more detail about Bel, huh? And also more details about how Souya is unable to fully use Zamonglass’ skill. Yeah, these are going somewhere, though not so soon.

But they’ve almost reached the halfway point to the goal. So things seem to be going well. But what does he mean “I couldn’t”? Stay tuned!