novelraw Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Chapter 121
There was once a dungeon that many explorers had challenged and failed to conquer.
In the lawless land known as Gunma, explorers continued to pour into the labyrinth that had appeared there, just like always.
Class 2.
It wasn't particularly large as dungeons go.
However, it was a "White Night."
The Dungeon Foundation had never before encountered a dungeon with the properties of a "White Night," which led to many casualties.
82 dead.
106 retreated.
It was the conquest where the Foundation encountered the "White Night" and suffered their most painful counterattack.
The White Night Dungeon contains many Wandering Bosses.
As a result, deep monsters equivalent to those found on the thirtieth floor could appear as early as the third floor.
Due to the heavy casualties and the Foundation's failure to implement concrete countermeasures, the number of explorers venturing into the Class 2 White Night Dungeon in Gunma sharply declined.
Most explorers didn't know much about areas outside their own zone, and they had to check the Foundation's website for information.
At the time, there was no such thing as an S-rank; the highest rank was the A-rank held proudly by each Foundation branch. The now-common strategy known as "Power Play" wasn't an option. Power Play refers to the rather brute-force method of dispatching high-ranking explorers when anomalous dungeons appear.
Just a few days after explorers stopped challenging the Class 2 White Night Dungeon in Gunma, while people trembled in fear of monsters overflowing at any moment, the Hideo appeared.
It was on a moonlit night.
A plump-bellied man with a hefty build arrived.
He was a man in his mid-thirties wearing a long black coat and fingerless gloves.
One explorer asked him,
"Hey, are you seriously planning to take on the White Night?"
"Hmph, and what if I am? Are you saying you're going to stop me? Fine then, try and stop me by force. Judgment of the Cold Night——"
"No, I don't really intend to get in your way or anything......"
"Hmph, I see. That's fine then. I, too, would rather not carry any more sorrow."
"The White Night is bad news. I'm telling you, turn back while you can."
"Do you even know who I am?"
"Nope, not a clue."
"My name is 'Dark Knight Enforcer of the Cold Night'...... but they fear to speak it aloud and simply call me 'Mister.'"
"O-oh, I see..."
The suspicious man made his oversized greatsword gleam under the dark moonlight and muttered some irritating words—"Well then, guess I'll go save the world"—before vanishing into the dungeon.
The explorers watched his massive—well, thick—back as he walked away.
All of them said in unison, "He's dead for sure," expecting the pitiful end of a wannabe hero.
Eight days later.
The White Night Dungeon was conquered.
The plump man returned, covered in blood and on the brink of death.
From that moment, he became a legend.
His overwhelming prowess with just a greatsword belied his appearance.
Online, he came to be known as the "♰Black-Cloth Swordsman♰."
Many wanted to meet him, but no one could find him.
That's because this mysterious explorer vanished after that.
Thus, the "♰Black-Cloth Swordsman♰" became a legend.
The man had originally intended to die.
He didn't fit into society and spent his youth lying in bed at home.
Kicked out of his house, he believed he would simply die on the streets.
The Dungeon Foundation offered one final chance.
That chance led him to the dungeon.
Who would believe it?
That a middle-aged social misfit who had accomplished nothing would possess humanity's greatest talent?
Not even he believed it.
That's why he chose the dungeon as the place to die.
At the very least, he could be counted as a war casualty.
He could offer one final bloom to a life full of shame.
He could dedicate his worthless, burdensome self to a greater cause.
For a man who lacked courage and always ran away, it was the one fight he truly faced.
Through the White Night Dungeon, the man understood.
Even someone like him could do something.
He could make a difference. He could accomplish something.
It's a dangerous job. He nearly died, after all.
But he would take the challenge. He'd slay the labyrinth faster than anyone else.
If a good-for-nothing like him could use his life to save others, then he'd be fulfilled.
Even if his family forgot him, even if no one knew his identity, even if his grave was left to rot, he would use the rest of his life to repay the trouble he'd caused.
The man discarded his name, trained himself, and changed.
"Only I can choose my own path."
He made his choice.
A repayment—not to anyone in particular, but to all of humanity.
————
The Afterglow at the Boundary, Holy, rubbed her silver shields together.
The moment the smooth, hemispherical, anomalous shield touched its twin, it emitted a dazzling light.
As she slid and rubbed them together, a silver flash and sparks burst out with a high-pitched shriek that tore through the ears—Zzzzzzzzt!
The hemispherical shield painted a silver arc in the darkness.
Like the Earth silhouetted against the sun in a universe ruled by ceaseless black, the silver god's brilliance grew ever more divine.
"Kachikachi (Afterglow at the Boundary)"
Power flooded out from the silver arc like a deluge.
It became a meteor racing across the ground, launching a simultaneous assault on the explorers.
"'Big Slash Lv8'"
Mister swung his two-handed axe with one hand, cleanly slicing, deflecting, parrying, and redirecting the silver light.
But there was just too much of it—it was an attack that covered a wide area.
When it hit the ground, it could even explode, making it impossible to protect every explorer behind him.
Mister let out a mighty roar, enduring it through sheer willpower.
At last, the Afterglow at the Boundary ceased.
Looking behind him, all he saw were craters.
Yet, miraculously, no one had been hit.
Though many were seriously injured, they were still hanging on.
(But like this, I can't protect them.)
Mister scowled grimly.
Holy, showing no particular sign of agitation, began rubbing the silver shields together again, saying, "(If you don't die in one strike, then I'll just keep firing until you do.)"
"I guess I've got no choice."
Mister flung aside his axe.
The silver light was unleashed.
The meteor on the ground scattered inevitable destruction.
And then it happened.
The silver light twisted.
Countless blasts of ruin were drawn to a single point.
And at that point stood Mister, raising his greatsword to the heavens.
The blade thrust upward was pitch black.
With every burst of silver light from Holy it absorbed, the pitch-black sword began to shine, growing ever brighter.
Mister muttered,
"I didn't really want to use this, but..."
"(What is that human doing...?)"
"'Dark Knight Enforcer of the Cold Night'"
With a sharp exhale, Mister dashed forward and slashed at Holy.
Holy blocked it with the Silver Shield.
Gachin! A violent flash scattered out.
In an instant, silver light burst forth from between the greatsword and the Silver Shield.
"(Afterglow at the Boundary—its true nature is reflective attack armor. The harder you strike, the crueler the death that awaits the attacker.)"
The silver light shot into Mister.
Five beams of light pierced through his thick armor of muscle.
"(How pitifully simple.)"
Holy gave a fearless grin and clicked their jaws with a mechanical clack.
"That tickled."
"Tch!"
Mister clenched his abs to close the wound.
He shoved the greatsword with brute force, knocking the Silver Shield away.
The following slash struck Holy's exposed chest.
Sparks of silver scattered intensely.
But Holy took no damage.
"(What kind of human is this?)"
"Kachikachi (Are you alright, Holy?)"
"Kachikachi (No problem, Nedda. But I do feel danger. That human may be far stronger than we imagined——)"
As Holy spoke, Nedda—who had been standing right beside them—was suddenly blasted backward like a pinball. It was Mister's 'Big Punch Lv8'.
A moment later, a violent whirlwind kicked up, and Mister, moving like a mobile fortress, closed in.
"(This human is strong. But so what? The metal armor is unshakable. There's no way any attack could possibly break through DEF 10 million.)"
Holy's assumption was correct.
Humanity has no way to break through DEF 10 million.
But that only applies to explorers who stay within the bounds of common sense.
(Even my 'Judgment of the Cold Night' couldn't damage it. I've never seen a monster like this. So this is Metal, huh. No wonder the Foundation is researching it.)
Mister glanced at his side with concern.
It was the spot where he'd been pierced by the silver light earlier.
Even Mister couldn't remain unscathed after having a hole punched through his body.
He knew better than anyone that if the fight continued, he would eventually fall.
(A swift end. That's my only option. In that case... I'll have to use it.)
Mister poured 30,000 MP into his greatsword.
"Let's go, my ancient soul."
The greatsword—'Dark Knight Enforcer of the Cold Night'—responded to its master and amplified its pale blue glow.
Maintaining his momentum, Mister thrust 'Dark Knight Enforcer of the Cold Night' forward in one powerful motion.
Of course, Holy blocked it.
The Silver Shield collided with 'Dark Knight Enforcer of the Cold Night'.
The greatsword of moonlit nights, which Mister vowed never to use again, held a hidden ultimate technique.
Its name was——
"'The Release of My Ancient Soul'"
A supermassive ultimate technique with 30 million ATK.
He rammed the greatsword forward with brute strength, shattered the Silver Shield, and drove the blade toward Holy.
Holy's armor cracked. Silver blood gushed from their entire body as they were hurled far into the distance.
The shockwave struck even the explorers.
Some were sent rolling dozens of meters from the blast.
"......So this is the power of a great explorer, an S-rank."
Jiu shielded the unconscious Benvenuto from being torn apart and narrowed their eyes against the wind as they marveled.
"Ugh, ugh! I'm gonna get blown away!"
"Damn it, Mister, just how far are you planning to go...!"
"So that's Mister! I see now—we absolutely must invite him to the Pollen Front!"
Happy, Bradley, and Pollen Fighter each had different reactions—fear at the sheer scale, frustration at the distance, and admiration.
Everything came to a stop.
Dust rose high into the air, impairing vision.
Mister dropped to one knee.
Crimson blood gushed from his entire body, refusing to stop.
He had unleashed his greatest power.
And in return, he suffered the greatest counterattack.
Though he pierced the Silver Shield, in that instant, the silver light turned Mister into a pincushion.
With trembling hands, Mister fumbled through his pouch.
He found a narcotic-type recovery potion and tried to pull it out.
But the syringe was shattered.
It must have broken during the fierce battle.
"Just my luck, huh."
He coughed up a clot of blood.
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed from beyond the dust cloud.
What appeared was a silver machine soldier.
It was six-armed Nedda.
"What a brutal fight... But if it's just you left, then I still—"
He tried to stand but buckled and fell back to his knees.
Mister had taken more damage than even he had realized.
"Kachikachi (That was close.)"
"Tch."
From behind six-armed Nedda, another slender machine soldier appeared.
There was a massive hole in their chest, and their whole body was smeared with blood, but they stood firmly on two legs.
Afterglow at the Boundary—Holy was still alive.
Holy stared intently at the Silver Shield, now bearing a massive hole.
"Kachikachi (To think such a human existed... It seems they've undergone quite the evolution while we were asleep, Nedda.)"
"Kachikachi (So it seems. But this one's done for now.)"
Nedda clanged his spear and sword together and, declaring 'Warrior, die with honor', brought his blade down toward Mister's neck.
Mister summoned all his strength into his grip on the greatsword for one final counterattack.
That's when it happened.
A white shadow moved at the edge of his vision.
A powerful bird leg slammed into Nedda's chest.
"Kachikachi...! (W-what!?)"
Overwhelmed by immense power, Nedda was forced back, leaving trails in the ground until he came to a stop beside Holy.
"You're Akagi's..."
Mister's eyes widened.
A plump white back.
A pointed tail feather held high.
Simple, round, adorable eyes nestled in soft white plumage.
"Chii-chii-chii."
The Calamity Beast begins its hunt.