My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Chapter 438

Hidden Ball

Due to the eyes around us, Nemu-kun began walking slowly towards me. Watching him like that, I internally breathed a sigh of relief.

(Phew, you finally decided to move, huh?)

If even after all that provocation he hadn't flinched and had instead ordered something like, "Don't bother with him! Let's all just take him down!", that would have been my tactical defeat.

In that case, I could no longer afford to hold back by not using my skills. I would have had to unleash a grand spray of slime and, just to be safe, issue orders to the three Shimobe lying in wait in the drainage ditch.

But it was clearer than fire what kind of catastrophic result that would have led to.

Anyway, was it my fault for cornering him? Or was it the fault of him and his crew for trying to shake me down? Having finally reached this point, he seemed to have made his decision.

(Even so, I prepared an escape route for him. Well, not that it was something very palatable...)

But even before we got to this point, there must have been various discrepancies. Saying stuff like, "We're not the bad guys! The bad guys are the ones hoarding all the food!" is a truly outrageous shifting of the blame.

Did they think that by stealing our food and distributing it to the people taking shelter, they could perform a miraculous comeback and recover their popularity and trust? That's what drove them to come this far.In their minds, they are the righteous Momotarou, and they want to paint us as the wicked ogres hoarding treasure. And the treasure obtained from defeating the ogre, they probably think it's okay to use as they please among themselves. But unfortunately, the one waiting for them wasn't an ogre that would go down easily.

And so, stepping forward and looking up at me, Nemu-kun took a card out from his breast pocket.

"Black Hornet! Get him!!"

The monster summoned from that card was a black bee. A slender silhouette with an oddly large rear, similar to a potter wasp.

(A monster card!?)

But he came here injured, with one arm out of commission. I had anticipated he might have some trump card other than his comrades, but to play it from the very first move...

However, the bee was only about 80 cm in size.

The target is large, and compared to the giant flies on the 10th floor of the Refrigerator Dungeon, it's clearly inferior in speed. So, a monster like this couldn't possibly hurt me.

But, even so, as I took a stance to intercept the approaching bee, Nemu-kun once again reached into his pocket, searching for something. And what was gripped in the hand he pulled out this time was, of all things, a handgun.

(Wha-!? The monster was a decoy, and I'm the real target!?)

The moment I saw the gun, the pain of having been shot before came back to me, making my hair stand on end.

However, during the time we were talking, I'd had plenty of time to build up magical energy. Using that energy, I instantly created rock salt in both hands. I slashed at the approaching black hornet with the rock salt hand-blade in my left hand, then positioned the rock salt in my right hand in front of me like a shield.

But... from the gun gripped by Nemu-kun, no report sounded, and no bullet was fired...

"Huh? Eh? Dammit...!?"

However, it seemed he was just as shocked, panicking badly.

Furthermore, he desperately tried to wedge the gun under his arm or between his legs, attempting to rack the slide of the blowback-style handgun with his one usable arm. I don't know why he had something as dangerous as a handgun, but it seems he hadn't anticipated things escalating to the point of actually using it.

"Like hell I'll let you!"

I hurled the rock salt I'd created in my left hand. Nemu tried to shield his face, but it hit his hand, knocking the gun away so it fell into the drainage ditch.

"Ah, the gun...!"

Nemu, having lost the gun, was severely shaken... But I felt even worse.

Relying on the violence of numbers for a shakedown. That alone is unforgivable, but at least the goal wasn't murder. But a monster, and then a handgun... Having a weapon clearly capable of killing or injuring people pointed at me, I couldn't remain calm.

Even if it was just a model gun or something for intimidation.

"How dare you! When I'm over here trying to keep the damage to a minimum!!"

Rage welled up violently in my chest, and I could feel my eyes unintentionally filling with killing intent.

"K-keep back! I still have... a... a magic sword, you know!!"

Then, the Nemu I was staring down this time drew a small, black-glinting sword from his waist.

With trembling hands, he took some kind of container from his pocket again and gulped it down vigorously. Small yellow grains spilled from the corner of his mouth onto the asphalt, making dry, crackling sounds.

(A magic sword! And... could that be drug overdose!? Overdose!?)

Even common cough and cold medicines contain, in very small quantities, components similar to stimulants.

Therefore, taking dozens of pills at once supposedly can temporarily calm or elevate one's mood. I'd heard on the news that such things were becoming a trend among some young people, but to have it happen right before my eyes...

And still, a monster card, a handgun, a magic sword... why does he have so many hidden balls? Could it be he's been extorting such treasures from his comrades?

At any rate, I could definitely sense magical energy from the black-glinting short sword, so the "magic sword" claim didn't seem to be a lie.

And regarding the drug overdose, I had absolutely no knowledge.

Just what kind of drug did he take, and what effect does it have on Dungeon ability users? The only thing I really don't want is for him to suddenly manifest powerful psychic abilities.

(Hmm, if I don't know what he's capable of, I can't recklessly make a move...)

That said, I couldn't just hit him with a full-power rock salt blast and kill him either.

While I was hesitating for about 0.03 seconds due to such inner conflict, in the midst of it, Serai-san opened the gate and rushed out.

It seems she sensed the defeated monster falling and the intense killing intent I was emitting, and could no longer restrain herself.

"Serai-san!"

Ignoring my voice trying to stop her, Serai-san, her shoulders squared angrily, closed in on Nemu.

"That's enough!!"

Shaken by her momentum, Nemu, as if on reflex, pointed the tip of the magic sword towards Serai-san.

"Machi!? D-don't come closer! Even if it's you, if you get any closer, I'll use this magic sword, Sword Breaker!!"

"What is that thing supposed to be!?"

The bone hammer she was gripping traced a white arc through the air with a single flash.

Then, the magic sword Sword Breaker let out a shriek-like, high-pitched sound, and its black blade snapped clean off at the base.