novelraw Chapter 190 : Chapter 190
Chapter 190 : Chapter 190
Chapter : 190
Falling into a trap and encountering snake-humans was unexpected, but on the other hand, they were existences we would have had to face eventually.
Although the fact that my body is slowly reaching its limit is incredibly sad.
“Cough.”
Suddenly, unable to suppress something surging from within, I spat it out as is.
It was bright red and black blood.
I tried to hide it hurriedly, but I couldn't even muster the speed to hide it.
“Theo.”
The senior's face looking at me becomes serious.
“I’m fine.”
“Do you think I’ve seen you lie for just a day or two?”
At that sharp gaze, I eventually couldn't say anything and just wiped the blood on my mouth haphazardly.
“Can’t you recover?”
“It’s a bit… too much for me.”
It was to the point where I wondered if it was okay for it to be this hard.
My stomach was churning, there wasn't a place on my body that didn't hurt, and the edges of my vision were slowly starting to blur.
The fact that I can somehow hold on in this physical condition is probably all thanks to self-healing.
In fact, even that has reached its limit, and right now, keeping me from dying was probably the best it could do.
“Theo. Even now—”
“If it would end with sacrificing just you, Senior, maybe I would have hesitated just a little bit. But, not now.”
Unintentionally, because I boldly put my name on the list of humans Iris wants to possess.
Even if I don't want to, we've reached a situation where we have to grit our teeth and escape.
“Therefore, I decline any suggestion for just you to run away.”
“I know too. I just thought about it for a very brief moment.”
I hate even that thought. That's why I told you to stay put unconditionally and wait quietly.
“Since I did all sorts of crazy things to save you, Senior, please don't have strange thoughts.”
I declare firmly towards him.
“I am a human not worth that much.”
“That is for me to decide.”
I won't accept objections.
At the firm declaration, the senior's expression became subtle.
Anyway, since listening any further was tiresome, I leaned my body towards the senior.
“If you have time to blame yourself, support me instead. It's getting to the point where I really can't see well right in front of me.”
“Got it.”
The senior supported me for now, even with a strangely dissatisfied face.
Now my vision was so blurry that I could hardly see right in front of my nose.
In the pitch-black vision, I moved forward with difficulty, solely relying on the senior's support.
I seriously wanted to give up everything, but I was barely holding on.
There must be a golden opportunity to escape this difficulty without fail.
But I couldn't see any opportunity or method to do so, so everything looked bleak.
* * *
The task Lerwon gave was actually not that difficult.
Head to the deepest part of the dungeon.
Destroy the dungeon's core there.
Usually, when it comes to a dungeon's core, one might think it must be destroyed when clearing a dungeon, but practically, it couldn't be done.
If the dungeon's core is destroyed, the dungeon is destroyed, and everything inside pours out.
Not only monsters but starting from traps scattered inside the dungeon, all sorts of things pour out through the dungeon's narrow entrance, and the space where the dungeon was located becomes empty.
Even if dungeons usually appear in places with few people, it was a dangerous act.
In the early days when dungeons and Gates appeared, a mercenary accidentally discovered a dungeon's core and broke it.
The result was a catastrophe.
Of all places, the vicinity of the dungeon was an area where residents with nowhere to go had built shanties and gathered to live, and among them, only those who happened to be away were lucky enough to survive.
Since then, not destroying the dungeon's core became an implicit rule among those who travel between dungeons and Gates.
“…I wonder if it isn't actually more dangerous.”
It might be different if Professor Evan were outside, but even if they destroyed the core and escaped from the dungeon spitting everything out, not much would change.
It might just amount to serving Lerwon to Iris on a platter; Laurel couldn't help but be inwardly worried.
“At least it would be better than a dungeon where we don't know where the traps Iris installed are. Besides, he just stepped away for a moment with good timing; considering Professor Evan's personality, he will definitely return.”
She trusts in his sense of responsibility.
Even if it wasn't his son who was kidnapped by Iris, she doesn't think the person who would have done his best to rescue them would still leave the dungeon entrance empty.
“…I hope so.”
Laurel, who hadn't completely shaken off her anxiety, stopped walking for a moment.
Vines installed to prevent further advancement. Vines suddenly appearing in a passage that didn't even have moss all this time were strange.
There's no way she would do something stupid like recklessly sticking her neck into something suspicious to anyone.
Thwack!
Laurel kicked the dungeon wall and immediately threw a small stone that fell off into the vines.
Sensing the movement, the vines quickly wrapped around the stone and crushed it as is.
The quite hard stone turned into powder in an instant.
Witnessing that scene, Cecilia and Laurel's faces turned pale.
“What the hell is this?”
“Have you seen vines like that?”
“Do you think I would have?”
When Cecilia asked back, Laurel laughed hollowly.
She agrees. She has never even heard of vines like that.
“Did Iris modify them?”
“Highly likely.”
“Uh… I'm in favor of smashing the dungeon's core.”
Just thinking that there might be traps like that in the dungeon gave her goosebumps all over her body.
It's not a particularly special gimmick, but the power alone is deadly.
“Can you win with strength?”
“I'm not sure. What about you, Senior?”
“Barely. However, it's too dangerous.”
That's true. The moment she slips even a little, she'll be twisted and flattened.
Just imagining it is terrible. Laurel, having gotten goosebumps, shivered.
“Can we burn them?”
“It's worth a try.”
Generally, plants are weak to fire.
Cecilia immediately created a weak flame from her fingertips and threw it towards the vines.
The flame, flying in a straight line, rode the vines and seemed to burn a little, but soon withered and eventually went out.
…Okay, first attempt failed.
Perhaps the flame provoked the vines; the vines crept slowly and then flew towards Laurel and Cecilia.
“Let's just deal with them.”
“Yes!”
It's also difficult to think of complicated methods to conquer it.
If the body is weak, the head suffers, and if the head is weak, the body suffers. Laurel and Cecilia could break through this situation with pure force as much as they wanted.
It was just a little worrisome that they couldn't preserve their strength fully.
Twisting the trajectory of the vines flying in a straight line as if to pierce Cecilia, Cecilia used the vines as a stepping stone, leaped, and swung her sword lightly.
Unlike the simple ‘swing’, the sword strikes divided into dozens hacked the vines to pieces.
Watching that scene, Laurel grabbed the vines flying towards her.
“They're not as strong as I thought?”
She worried because they turned a stone into powder, but they aren't that strong compared to what she thought?
Laurel's pink eyes flashed with interest.
Laurel, holding the vines rushing in two or three at a time in a cross pattern one in each hand and biting one with her mouth, tied them into a single ribbon.
The vines tied in a ribbon applied force a few times to untie themselves and eventually snapped by their own strength.
“Senior, how is it?”
“The speed is also reactable.”
Cecilia, showing off a figure like fluttering petals using walls, vines, and sometimes even Laurel's fist as stepping stones, spoke leisurely.
To the extent that one might wonder if they were the same entity, the vines didn't produce the same power and speed as before.
Compared to how they looked, it's so simple that getting scared by jumping to conclusions feels unfair.
“Can you handle them in 10 minutes?”
This time, Cecilia, who lightly stepped on Laurel's head, flew up again, hacked the vines, and asked.
“Do you need 10 minutes, Senior?”
Laurel provoked her instead.
Indeed, if it takes 10 minutes to deal with just these things, the name of Lapis Academy would cry.
“5 minutes is enough.”
“I'll try to do it within 3 minutes.”
Laurel declared with a confident smile.
* * *
As if they had made a confident boast, Laurel and Cecilia succeeded in dealing with the vines blocking their way in just 3 minutes.
At this rate, it's too easy. It reached the point where they questioned themselves if it was okay for it to be this easy in a dungeon where Iris was. Is it a trap?
Laurel brushed off some debris of the vines on her fist.
“Is the rapier okay?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Cecilia answered indifferently.
Clearly, when she first threw the stone, it wasn't to this extent. Even when dealing with them, and thinking about it calmly now, it was strange.
Perhaps the vines are not the real trap, but merely a device to hide something else.
The moment the question settled clearly in her mind, Laurel spat out blood.
Red tears of blood flowed from her eyes, and she could intuitively sense that something definitely unusual was happening.
“Cecil un—”
Shedding tears of blood and vomiting blood was the same for Cecilia.
It's poison. The real trap was to poison and kill us.
When on earth did we inhale the poison. Laurel squeezed her eyes shut due to the tears that kept flowing and fumbled in her bosom, barely taking out a small bottle caught at her fingertips.
A potion shining in gold. Golden Elixir. She didn't know she would use this already.
She wanted to save it if possible, but it was clear she would be poisoned and die if she hesitated now.
“Let's not save it.”
Since she knows the recipe anyway, mass production would be possible to some extent.
How fortunate it is that this isn't some halfway recovery potion but, as the expression goes, a universal panacea that can detoxify everything.
Laurel approached Cecilia with trembling hands and poured the Elixir into her mouth first.
As the potion went down her throat, fortunately, Cecilia's complexion improved in an instant.
She didn't cough anymore, and the tears of blood that were flowing stopped.
Only after being relieved by that sight did Laurel drink her share of the Elixir.
Not long after, Laurel, who barely regained consciousness, lay on the floor and muttered.
“…If I had realized even a little later, I would have almost departed this life as is.”
“Tell me about it.”
She doesn't know how glad she is that such a mishap didn't happen.
“Was there poison in the vines?”
“Or maybe there's poison in this space itself, and the vines were a means to keep us here until the poison spread.”
Aside from that, nothing special comes to mind.
If one goes around dungeons or Gates, one inevitably develops some resistance to poison.
Poison strong enough to kill even Cecilia or Laurel, who strengthened her body with Magical Girl transformation, just by inhalation.
“Just how atrocious is she.”
If it were an ordinary person, they would have died before even realizing the poison had spread.
Laurel, having wiped off the blood dirtying her face, breathed lightly.
Now the poison seemed to be completely detoxified.
Since time is pressing, they have to move again now.
“For now, let's go inside.”
“Got it.”
Laurel listened to the sound of the Elixir bottles clattering in her bosom.
Five potions left.
They have to reach the front of the core before consuming all of this completely.
Laurel hastened her steps amidst a subtle nervousness.