Labyrinth Conquest Party vs. Bloody Wolf Giant Beast
(Is this similar to the massive skeleton that appeared on the surface last month? Now that I think about it, the magical circle that briefly appeared earlier also seemed similar to the one when the skeleton appeared.)
"It's huge. The fur looks so fluffy, it must feel great to pet."
Haruto-san muttered as he looked up at the giant red-black wolf.
His voice seemed strangely free of tension.
In the next moment, however, Haruto-san's demeanor shifted to something more ferocious.
"—But that color... is unacceptable. Change your fur color and come back!"
He spat out the words with a murderous intent directed at the wolf.
In contrast, Fuuka was cloaked in a cold, sharp killing intent.
It was reassuring to see that both of them were fully prepared for the fight.
We didn't know the true identity of this magical beast, but there was no doubt that the cult was involved.
In that case, there was only one option: elimination.
"This will be a perfect opponent to wrap up our dungeon exploration. Let's go, both of you."
"Yeah." "Understood!"
The wolf, seemingly displeased by our attitude, howled loudly. As it did, magical energy gathered around it, and countless magic bullets were shot towards us.
The magic bullets reflected one of the following elements: earth, water, fire, wind, ice, or lightning.
(Tch, we're too far from Schwarzhase. ...Then!)
I thought about using my magical shield to block the bullets, but since Schwarzhase had been turned into chains, it was currently binding the cult members at a distance, meaning I couldn't call it to my side.
"Fuuka! Is it possible to strike the wolf amidst this barrage?"
"Possible. But I'll need a moment to prepare. After that, I can disrupt the barrage."
Fuuka must have already foreseen what would happen next.
"Got it. I'll leave it to you, Fuuka!"
After confirming Fuuka's response with a "Yeah," I focused on dodging the magic bullets. However, the density of the barrage only increased, and eventually, the magic bullets hit both Haruto-san and me.
The explosion from the impact engulfed us.
The hit caused the wolf to let its guard down just a little.
—A lapse in its defense that Fuuka had been waiting for.
The moment its attack weakened even slightly, Fuuka used her Shukuchi technique to close the distance to the wolf in an instant, her sword slicing into the wolf's right eye.
A scream, resembling that of the wolf, echoed around us.
I emerged from the smoke created by the explosion of the magic bullets, moving around to the wolf's blind spot on its right side while closing the distance to Schwarzhaze.
The reason I remained unscathed despite being hit by the magic bullets was due to my use of ki.
During our journey through the dungeon, I had learned more about ki from Haruto-san. One of the techniques involved expelling ki outside the body.
By releasing my ki and using it as a cushion between myself and the magic bullets, I was able to block their impact.
While I can only protect parts of my body by releasing ki outside, Haruto-san, being highly skilled in its manipulation, is able to cover his entire body with ki, effectively creating an invisible armor that shields him from all directions.
I, too, intend to master ki manipulation to the level of Haruto-san someday.
"—[Land Style]"
Once I got close enough to summon Schwarzhase, I transformed the pitch-black chains into a magical bow and held it in my right hand.
I then summoned condensed magical energy and shaped it into an arrow, ready to fire.
In my line of sight, Haruto-san had moved above the wolf and yelled:
"What a damn annoying scream. Shut up for a second, you mutt!"
As I prepared, Haruto-san landed a heel drop onto the wolf’s forehead, filling the gap I needed.
The wolf struggled to keep its face from smashing into the ground, but a large indentation formed in the earth, showing the sheer power of Haruto-san's attack.
With the wolf staggered from the brutal blow to its head, I launched a follow-up shot with my pitch-black arrow.
"—Pierce through, Senten!"
The specially crafted piercing black arrow flew straight at the wolf, first hitting its right rear leg, then its abdomen, and finally the base of its left front leg.
The line of fire passed through the wolf’s heart as well.
This single strike should have been enough to turn it into black mist.
However, even after the heart was pierced, the wolf did not stop moving and howled again.
At that moment, explosions and lightning erupted throughout the entire dome-shaped area.
"Tch! A reckless, indiscriminate attack, even if it harms itself!"
Destruction spread across the entire dome, tearing up the surroundings.
While Fuuka, who could predict attacks thanks to her Future Sight, and I, who can read magical energy, could foresee the incoming danger, Haruto-san would be unable to completely predict the attack.
He could probably defend somewhat with his ki, but the power of these explosions and lightning was on par with a top-tier magic spell.
"—[Fifth Style]!"
I immediately moved toward Haruto-san and, using Schwarzhase transformed into a magical shield, protected both him and me from the indiscriminate attack.
"Sorry, thanks for that!"
I heard Haruto-san’s voice of gratitude from behind.
"No problem! By the way, Haruto-san, do you know how to defeat that thing?"
It was clear from their past behavior that both Fuuka and Haruto-san held knowledge I didn’t possess.
Well, I understood that information and knowledge were just as powerful—if not more so—than brute force. So, I didn’t mind if they kept things hidden from me, as it was only natural in our rivalry.
Even though I expected to be sidestepped, I asked Haruto-san the question anyway.
"…That’s probably an improved magical beast."
(Improved magical beast? Now that I think about it, Oswell mentioned in the Regurif territory that he had "recreated the Black Dragon." It wouldn’t be surprising if the cult had the technology to artificially create magical beasts.)
"But as long as it’s based on a living creature, its weaknesses will be the same. The heart or the head. If the heart’s no good, we might be able to kill it by crushing its head."
"I see, that makes sense. But if even Haruto-san's attack just now couldn't crush it, then we’ll need something stronger. The preparation time… Fuuka should be able to buy us that."
While Haruto-san and I were talking, Fuuka had been attempting to close in on the wolf’s neck to land a decisive blow.
However, the wolf had grown highly wary of Fuuka, and it fired a denser barrage of magic bullets at her as she approached.
I can say with certainty that there’s no way I could dodge all of those bullets, but Fuuka easily evaded them all.
Not only that, she counterattacked, weaving her sword strikes through the gaps in the barrage with the skill of a true master.
Honestly, I don’t feel like I could ever beat Fuuka in combat, but as an ally, she’s incredibly reliable.
More and more cuts appeared on the wolf’s body.
The wounds weren’t deep, but the wolf's attention was fully diverted to Fuuka, allowing Haruto-san and me to move freely.
"—[First Style]"
While Fuuka and the wolf were exchanging blows, I transformed my magical shield into a magical sword and focused my magical energy into the blade.
Beside me, Haruto-san compressed ki into his right hand, causing the air around it to shimmer like a heat haze.
"Haruto-san, are you ready?"
I asked, holding the magical sword, its energy now distorted to the point that the surrounding space itself began to warp.
"Yeah, I’m good to go. I’ll crush that mutt’s skull!"
Haruto-san answered with a ferocious grin, clearly eager for the fight.
With that much raw power on display, the wolf’s attention would surely be partially drawn toward us.
However, facing someone as overwhelmingly strong as Fuuka, even a slight diversion of focus would be a grave mistake.
That said, it wouldn’t be wise to leave us completely unchallenged either.
In short, this wolf was already doomed.
The moment Fuuka saw the wolf’s attention waver, she didn't miss it. Her blade turned a reddish copper color once again, and she moved.
Her movements were so fast that even I, who had ki activated, couldn’t track them.
All I saw was the red copper streak of her enchanted blade.
In an instant, that streak passed through the wolf’s left rear leg and abdomen.
Immediately afterward, the wolf’s left rear leg was severed, and a deep gash appeared across its abdomen.
Combined with the self-inflicted damage from my Senten and the indiscriminate attacks earlier, the wolf was already too exhausted to move much.
However, even though it was worn out, as long as it was still alive, there remained the possibility of a counterattack.
I couldn’t afford to let my guard down until it was finished off.
"—Tensei!!"
I launched a pitch-black slash aimed at the wolf’s face.
The magic I had concentrated now spread out, and the shockwave from the blast struck the wolf.
While the purpose of my attack was to deal damage to the wolf, the main goal was to create an opening for Haruto-san’s attack, ensuring it would land.
As the pitch-black magical energy dispersed, Haruto-san closed in on the wolf.
"Die already, you mutt!"
Haruto-san’s fist, shimmering like a heat haze, descended upon the wolf’s head.
The wolf’s skull caved in, and blood spurted from its mouth, ears, and eyes as it finally collapsed to the ground.
I had prepared a follow-up attack just in case, but the wolf’s body began to transform into black mist.
◇
"Heh, that was more of a challenge than I expected."
Once the wolf’s body had completely vanished, Haruto-san, returning to his usual demeanor, spoke up.
"Thanks for your hard work, Fuuka, Haruto-san. I think that wolf was as strong as a floor boss in the deepest part of the labyrinth. So, even though it was a tough fight, we still managed to win. I'd say we did pretty well."
This time, Fuuka’s presence had played a huge role in our victory. From disrupting the initial magic barrage to drawing aggro, if she hadn’t been with us, both Haruto-san and I might have been forced into a much more difficult battle, possibly taking significant damage in the process.
Throughout the fight, Fuuka was always making sure we could move freely. If she had faced the wolf alone, I think she could have taken it down much more easily than we did.
There really are always people who are stronger. I’ll have to work harder if I ever want to catch up to Fuuka.
While these thoughts were on the back of my mind, I made my way toward the cult members’ bodies.
But by the time I arrived, all of them were already dead.
Their bodies were shriveled and mummified, devoid of any moisture. The red lines that had extended from them earlier were likely composed of their own blood.
These people had probably been sacrificed by the cult to send the giant wolf after us.
Once again, the Cyclamen Cult proves to be a pitiful group of scum with no redeeming qualities.
"I’m not gonna feel sorry for them, but their end was pretty pathetic. At least they could’ve spilled some information before they died," Haruto-san muttered as he stood next to me, his eyes empty as he looked at the cult members' corpses.
"Even if they were alive, I’m not sure they would have shared anything willingly," I replied as I began to weave a spell and incinerated the bodies of the four cultists.
"Orun, here’s the labyrinth core."
As I was finishing up, Fuuka handed me the labyrinth core.
"Thanks, Fuuka. — With this, the labyrinth exploration is finally over. Thank you both. It went smoothly, all thanks to you two," I said, taking the core and expressing my gratitude for the successful completion of the journey.
"Don’t mention it. This… was beneficial for us as well," Fuuka replied.
"Yeah. I got a good sense of who you are, Orun. It was a journey worth taking," Haruto-san added.
Once again, the two of them spoke in a way that left me wondering. There had been plenty of cryptic remarks during the journey. I figured I’d be brushed off if I asked about them, so I decided not to press the issue.
"Well then, let’s head to Dal Ane to report to Princess Lucila and wrap this up."
Thus, the dungeon explorations conducted by the three-person party of Fuuka, Haruto-san, and me came to an end.
And once again, I resumed my activities as a member of the Silver Moon Rabbit explorers, while Fuuka and Haruto-san returned to their roles as members of the Copper Sunset explorers, continuing their work in the southern city of Tutril, where the great labyrinth lay.
At that time, that’s what I thought.
Little did I know at the time, as an explorer diving into dungeons, that I would only have one more time left... I never even dreamed of it.
——.