Please to Kitsune-sama!

Chapter 129 : Kitsune-sama Goes to Shinjuku (2)

Inside the tent, everyone present was an awakener. Some belonged to the Association, others to major clans, but they all shared the same reason for being here: the Shinjuku dungeon crisis.

The moment Inari stepped in, every gaze turned toward her at once. Startled, she let out a small “Oooh” and shuffled back a step.

“…So that’s Kogami Inari?”

“She looks smaller than I imagined. The fact we’ve had to drag out even a girl like this…”

“There’s no choice. The Black Witch is in America, the Holy Knight’s whereabouts are unknown. And the rest…”

“Damn it, it’s always the same with those rankers! All they care about is chasing their own power!”

A man slammed his fist against the table. In truth, rankers—those at the top, the so-called ace-class—inevitably poured their resources into further growth. They sought out battles that could make them stronger, not petty fights against small fry. Which meant they avoided being dragged into “trivial matters” and often became impossible to contact.

It couldn’t be helped. Those dubbed “the stars of an era” could never stomach being called “relics of the past.” More strength, more efficiency—that was how they safeguarded their standing as rankers.

Even with this Shinjuku dungeon, when push came to shove, they would come. Until then, they would remain on the sidelines.

As for the major clans gathered here—they had hoped to handle this themselves. But the situation no longer allowed for that. One man, wearing an Association ID badge, stepped forward to speak on their behalf.

“My apologies. Everyone here is stretched to their limits… I am Tanaka, from the Japanese Headquarters of the Awakener Association.”

“Mm. I am Kogami Inari. To get right to it, what thou requirest of me is the dungeon’s conquest… yes?”

“Yes, precisely. But I must apologize—at present, we can provide you with virtually no information. You’ll have to challenge a dungeon that’s lethal in every sense, blind.”

“’Tis no matter.”

She had already done something similar with the Akihabara dungeon. Nothing to hesitate over. Her calm confidence drew murmurs of awe—but it was no bluff. Inari truly believed that, in most cases, she could manage. And besides, she knew well enough that action would serve better than talk here.

“Very well, then. Let us head out at once.”

“You can reach it through the back of this tent. I’ll guide you.”

“Nay, no need. I’ll be back anon.”

With that, Inari strode briskly toward the back of the tent and looked up at the dungeon gate beyond.

“…If destroying this would return the survivors, then I would simply do so.”

[Please refrain from destroying the dungeon.]

“Aye, aye, no need to pop out every time,” she muttered, brushing aside the system message with visible annoyance.

“Now then,” she breathed, bracing herself. With a leap, she plunged into the dungeon gate—

And instantly realized she was falling.

“What!? So this is why none return alive!”

Yes. The place she had been transferred to was not a cavern or a forest, but the open sky at an unfathomable altitude, with no foothold in sight.

Anyone unable to fly would find only death here. The ground lay so far below it was invisible; diving suits meant nothing, and even a parachute would only delay the inevitable. To be dropped here was to be doomed.

…For anyone except Inari.

“Yotto.”

Her body halted mid-fall, beginning to float lightly in place. She had invoked divine power to fly. It was her first time, but she had somehow been certain she could.

Special technique detected!

Integrating into world system

Skill 【Flight】 acquired!

“Ho. That doth make flying somewhat easier.”

Just like with her throw technique, once codified into a skill, its usage arranged itself neatly in her mind, simplifying the process. Like a television remote streamlining control—less effort, more automation.

Which meant Inari could now spare her focus for other things.

“Now then… ye who lurk within the clouds. Know that I shall not fall. If thou art foes, come forth. If not, then show thyselves. Else…”

She raised her hand toward the sky.

“Come forth, Kogetsu.”

The bow-shaped form of Kogetsu materialized in her grip. Inari drew back the string, conjuring an arrow of light.

“I shall strike thee down. Think not to survive the bite of my arrow unscathed…”

At that moment, countless winged reptilian monsters—wyverns—burst from the clouds, maws wide as they descended upon her.

Those in the lead were instantly obliterated by the massive beam of light loosed from her bow.