บท 41: A Generic NPC’s Valiant Struggle
Somewhere deep within the 89th floor, there was an octagonal room with exits on four
sides. There was also a concealed room that existed on one side, in between two of the
exits. It wasn't terribly large, but it made for a great hiding spot. The entrance was
camouflaged, so it was hard to spot from the outside.
Kouki and the others were currently cooped up inside, taking a short break.
Everyone's expressions were dark. Their minds were all preoccupied with the battle
they'd just escaped from. Many of them still hadn't had their wounds healed, and were
grimacing in pain.
Normally this would be where Kouki roused his companions with one of his
characteristically charismatic speeches. However, using Limit Break for that long had
taken a serious toll on him. He silently sat against the wall, his lips utterly sealed.
Worse, the ever-cheerful class mascot Suzu was still unconscious. Her face was pale
from blood loss, and she rested fitfully, her breathing ragged. Seeing her so weak was
part of what had the class down.
Suzu's legs were still petrified from the knees down, and Kaori was still working on
healing her.
Fortunately, she'd already closed the wound on her thigh. All that was left to do was
unpetrify the rest of her legs. Unfortunately, she'd already lost way too much blood.
From the looks of it, the cat's tentacles must have hit a major artery. It was only thanks
to Kaori's prodigious skill that Suzu was alive at all.
However, even Kaori couldn't replace all of Suzu's lost blood. At least not immediately,
anyway. There was no magic that created blood, so the most she could do was feed
Suzu blood replenishing potions. For all intents and purposes, Suzu was out of
commission for the near future. The party needed somewhere safe to rest.
Because Kaori was so focused on keeping Suzu alive, she hadn't had time to really heal
the others. Naturally, that meant Saitou and Kondou were still petrified too.
Once Suzu's condition was stable, Kaori would have to heal them next. And so, the
party knew that they wouldn't get to be healed for a while, and aside from a small
minority, most of them were okay with that. Or maybe they just didn't have the energy
to complain.
Shizuku furrowed her brows and massaged her temples. She knew that she had to do
something about everyone's low morale, but she didn't know how.
She was a fundamentally quiet person, unlike Suzu. Words didn't come easy to her.
But Kouki was too exhausted to even stand, and Suzu was unconscious. She was the
only one left in a position to act, and she'd always been afflicted with the never-ending
need to help people. In many ways, Shizuku was more like a wise old lady than a high
school girl.
On top of that, she possessed a will of iron. She was just as exhausted as the rest of
them, but she didn't rest. Tired of thinking about it, Shizuku decided to at least break
the oppressive silence with a joke about how badly they'd been beaten. However,
before she could, Tsuji and Nomura walked through the room's entrance.
"Phew. I think we managed to camouflage it better than before. I've never done such
precise spellcasting, so it was pretty difficult. I don't think I can cast anymore."
"Altering the entrance to look just like the rest of the wall is outside your area of
expertise, after all. We had to draw that whole magic circle from scratch too. You did
good."
"You too. Thanks for fixing up my arm. It must have been rough." Nomura hadn't just
camouflaged this room's entrance. He was the one who'd made this room in the first
place.
Geomancers' affinity with earth magic generally extended to directly controlling the
earth, not shaping and molding it like Synergists did. Because of that, precise work
such as this was difficult for them. They could open giant cracks in the earth, send
boulders flying, make spears out of the ground, and if they were strong enough, even
petrify foes and create golems, but separating out specific minerals from alloys, fusing
them together, and creating new objects with things that fell under the "earth"
category was the sole domain of Synergists.
So while it was easy for a Geomancer to make a huge hole in the wall, doing something
precise like then covering that hole up with earth that looked just like the wall around
it was almost impossible. Nomura had needed to draw an entire magic circle from
scratch to make it happen.
The reason Tsuji had gone with him was so she could finish unpetrifying his arm.
"Good work, Nomura-kun. You've bought us some time."
"I just hope it works. All we can do now is pray she doesn't find us before we finish
healing. As for Kousuke… all we can do for him is pray too."
"Don't worry about Kousuke. No one's as unnoticeable as him."
"Hey Jugo, I know you're trying to cheer us up, but that's just depressing to hear…"
The despondent atmosphere cleared up a little when the students heard that they
were safely hidden. Shizuku thanked Nomura for lightening the mood.
Nomura smiled bitterly and prayed for his best friend's safety. Endou was the only one
not inside the safety of their hidden room. He'd headed out alone to inform Captain
Meld of what they'd encountered on the 90th floor. Even for an overpowered
summoned hero like him, running through ten floors this deep down was paramount
to suicide. The only reason Kouki and the others had had a somewhat easy time of it
was because they'd worked together as a team of 15.
However, he had one rather cheap trick up his sleeve that would allow him to traverse
the whole distance safely.
His ability to go unnoticed. Despite the fact that he was neither overly gloomy, nor a
terribly quiet person, his friends often lost sight of him. And when they looked around
in a panic, they'd be surprised to see him still standing there right next to them. His
naturally weak presence, coupled with his Assassin skills would easily allow him to
run all the way to the 70th floor where Captain Meld was without being noticed by a
single monster. He'd already been a master of hiding back on earth, but he'd polished
his skills to new heights since being summoned here. Even those with the Sense
Presence skill couldn't easily find him.
It was for that reason everyone had entrusted Endou with delivering this information.
When he'd left, Endou had been in tears. Nothing was more frustrating than leaving
your comrades behind and running away alone. Though those tears may have been
due to the way his friends had tried to convince him he was the best suited for this
mission. Saying things like "no one is as unnoticeable as you," or "I can't even tell when
you're around sometimes, so there's no way the monsters will," or "you know, you're
so forgettable I actually forgot your name for a few seconds," probably didn't do much
for his confidence.
In all honesty, Kouki and the others had wanted to retreat to a higher floor, but they
hadn't had any strength left to fight. With everyone covered in wounds, three of their
party out of commission, and Kouki severely weakened, they wouldn't have survived
a battle with the monsters on this floor.
Of course, they didn't think Captain Meld would be able to come down to rescue them.
Including him, only six knights even had the strength to survive the 70th floor. Even if
they gathered all of the best knights and all the highest-ranked adventurers, Kouki
knew they would at best be able to make it to the latter half of the 70s. Any more than
that was impossible for the humans of this world. And even if Endou managed to
convince everyone to follow him on such a dangerous trek, that would still require the
rest of the students to climb at least 10 floors back to the 70s too.
The reason they'd sent Endou off was not to ask for reinforcements, but to inform Meld
and the others of the demon they'd encountered, and the monster army she led.
Ishtar and the others already knew that demons were able to control monsters. And
that they didn't use simple brainwashing, but a method that allowed the monsters to
maintain some semblance of their will. However, they had grossly miscalculated the
strength of those monsters. The humans were worried about the numbers demons
could bring to bear against people, not the strength of those individual monsters.
Yet the monsters the students had faced were strong enough to not only wipe out
everything on the 90th floor with ease, they had even been able to beat back a party
of cheat-endowed heroes. If the demons had always possessed such power, humanity
would have been annihilated long ago.
In other words, Ishtar's information hadn't been mistaken at the time, but the demons
had since leveled up their monster taming abilities.
Not only had they gained the advantage of numbers, but they also eclipsed humans in
individual strength. Kouki and the others knew that information had to be passed
along to the Holy Church as soon as possible.
"Shirasaki-san, I'll leave unpetrifying Kondou-kun and Saitou-kun to you. It would take
me too long to do it. I'll start healing the other members instead."
"Yeah, that's fine. Don't overdo it, Tsuji-san."
"I'll be fine. If anything, I should be saying that to you… Sorry. If I was stronger, you
wouldn't have to carry such a huge burden…" Tsuji had been downing mana potions
one after the other while Nomura was talking. She'd recovered enough to start healing
the others now.
Tsuji always pretended that she wasn't bothered by the fact that her skills were far
inferior to Kaori's, but in truth her lack of skill constantly ate at her. She hated her own
weakness and the burden it caused Kaori.
Kaori shook her head, but Tsuji just smiled bitterly and went to go heal her comrades.
Seeing the pain vanish from their faces helped ease her own.
One again Nomura was dying to say something, but he didn't want to interrupt Tsuji's
concentration while she was healing.
"We're not even sure how much longer we can hold out. If there's something you
wanna say man, just say it."
"Shove off."
Nagayama watched Nomura with an amused expression, but Nomura sulkily turned
away from him.
A few hours later. The students took naps in shifts, gradually recovering some of their
strength.
Meanwhile, Endou made his way up the floors, avoiding contact with all monsters.
Slowly but surely, he was approaching the 70th floor where Captain Meld was.
The monsters on 80th floor and below were all powerful enough that he could only
take them on one at a time. If multiple came at him at once, he'd be overwhelmed. He
moved as fast as he could without attracting attention, knowing every minute he spent
on the lower floors was a risk. Fortunately, he was so well hidden that he could watch
monsters go by right in front of him and not be worried.
Once the current group of monsters was out of sight, he dropped from the ceiling,
silent as a spider. His artifacts all aided in his stealth, and he was wearing all black. He
looked every bit the Assassin he was.
Had he wished to, Endou could easily have launched a surprise attack on the monsters
that had passed him by, doing quite a bit of damage. Am I really that hard to notice? A
tear glimmered in the corner of his eyes. It dripped to the ground, as silent as the rest
of him.
"Anyway, I need to hurry…" Endou understood the importance of the task he'd been
entrusted with. He also knew that they hadn't sent him away just to inform the
kingdom. His comrades had wanted him to survive, that was why they'd made him go.
He was the only one who could escape. Nagayama and Nomura hadn't said anything,
but he could tell from their faces when they'd sent him off that they didn't want him
to come back.
Despite their wishes, he had every intention of returning to his friends once he'd
completed his mission. He couldn't bring himself to escape by himself when he knew
his friends were struggling.
Though it disappointed him how invisible he was, he also knew that right now it was
his greatest weapon. He sped up the escape route he knew by heart now, and safely
made it back to the 70th floor.
Reining in his impatience, he cautiously made his way to the teleportation circle
Captain Meld had made his base. Finally, he was close enough that he could sense six
humans. No one else could make it this far down, so he was sure it was Captain Meld.
He deactivated his Stealth, and got close enough that they should be able to sense him.
He rounded the last corner and walked into the room Captain Meld and the others
were waiting in. Still, even though he was in plain sight, nobody seemed to take any
notice of him.
He looked up at the captain with dead eyes and raised his voice to catch his attention.
Not only was he annoyed that people still hadn't noticed him, he was in a hurry to get
back to his comrades.
"Captain! It's me! Hello! We're in big trouble!"
"Whoa!? What the!? Are we under attack!?" Captain Meld hurriedly drew his sword
and leaped back. He looked around him warily. The other knights followed suit a
heartbeat later.
"No, it's me! Seriously, give me a break!"
"Huh? Oh, it's just Kousuke. Don't scare me like that. Wait, where's everyone else? And
how come you look all beat up?"
"Like I said, we're in trouble! Big trouble!" Captain Meld had gotten used to Endou
popping up out of nowhere, so he instantly relaxed when he realized it wasn't an
enemy.
A moment later, the fact that he'd returned earlier than scheduled, alone, and covered
in wounds set alarm bells ringing in his head. He realized something catastrophic
must have occurred and his expression grew serious.
He was a little hurt that even the country's most elite knights couldn't sense him
unless he said something, but he also knew now wasn't the time to worry about that.
He quickly explained what had happened.
At first Captain Meld had just been confused, but as Endou's story progressed, his
expression grew steadily more grim.
Tears started streaming down Endou's face as he finished his tale and explained why
he'd escaped alone. Captain Meld gently patted his head and reassured him.
"Don't cry, Kousuke. You did what you needed to do. Could anyone else make it up 20
floors this fast? Someone had to warn us, and you were the best person for the job.
You did good, kid."
"Captain… I-I'm going to go back. They said they'd make it back on their own
somehow… and that they wouldn't lose next time, but… Amanogawa used his Limit
Break, so he's exhausted. We barely managed to run away. Everyone's tired from all
the fighting… Even if they get healed up, next time the demon comes… next time those
damn monsters show up, there's no telling what'll happen. We don't even know if that
was all of them… so please head back to the surface on your own." Endou wiped away
his tears and spoke to Captain Meld in a voice full of resolve.
The captain bit his lip in frustration and handed Endou his bag full of high-rank
healing supplies. One by one, the other knights gave him all of their items and tools.
"I'm sorry, Kousuke. I'd like nothing more than to head there with you, but… I know
I'd just slow you down."
"Oh, don't worry about it. We were running out of healing items, so these alone are a
great help."
Endou smiled and held up the pack Captain Meld had given him. He'd been trying to
reassure the captain, but instead his expression only grew darker. It wasn't just
frustration at his inability to help, but also bitterness at what he knew he had to say.
"Kousuke. I'm going to ask you for something despicable. I don't care if you hate me
for it. In fact, maybe you should, but please promise me all the same."
"Huh? What are you…"
"If things look bad, make sure you at least bring Kouki back with you."
"Huh?" Endou stared at Captain Meld, a puzzled look on his face.
"Kousuke. If you've encountered monsters strong enough to beat you guys back, we're
in deep trouble… Without Kouki, humanity's as good as lost. Of course, I believe the
lot of you can all make it out of this alive, and I'd like nothing more than to see that
happen, but as Heiligh's knight commander, I need to think about what's best for our
kingdom too. If the worst should happen, I want you to promise you'll focus on keeping
Kouki alive above all else."
"...…" Endou's expression transformed into one of shock. Captain Meld wanted him
to abandon his friends for the sake of someone more important to humanity. Leaders
sometimes had to make cruel choices. The kinds of things Captain Meld had to worry
about were things that hadn't even occurred to Endou. And that was precisely why
Endou's expression darkened.
"Are the rest of us just Amanogawa's sidekicks to you?"
"That's not what I meant. I wasn't lying when I said I want you all to make it out of this
alive. No, nothing I say will be able to convince you… Kousuke, if nothing else, can you
at least promise to pass on these words to Shizuku and Ryutarou?"
"...…" Captain Meld's words had shaken Endou. All of the students had spent a great
deal of time with the grizzly commander. He was the one who'd taught them the ways
of this world. They all looked up to him as a reliable older brother, especially those in
the vanguard. Among all the people they'd met in Tortus, he was the one they trusted
the most, which was precisely why Endou felt so betrayed by him in that moment.
Yet, in a tiny corner of his mind, he realized there was logic in what Captain Meld had
said. Though he wanted nothing more than to yell at the captain, he knew it would be
wrong. He nodded sullenly and turned on his heels. But just as he did so…
"Kousuke!"
"Wha—!?"
Captain Meld threw Endou to the side and swung his sword forward. Metal screeched
against metal. The moment he realized his attack didn't connect, he spun in a circle
and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the enemy in front of him.
There was a loud thud, and the shimmering outline was pushed back. Deep claw marks
gouged the ground in front of Captain Meld. It had used its claws to keep itself from
being blown away. Endou's face paled as he realized what the captain was fighting.
"N-No way. They already caught up to us…" Monsters started appearing in waves,
surrounding Endou and the knights.
Endou was so shaken that he didn't even get up. He hadn't thought it possible for them
to catch up so quickly, or to track him so easily. On his way here, he'd used every stealth
skill he'd had to hide not only his presence, but every trace of his mana too. Moreover,
he'd ran straight here. He'd expected the demon would have spent time searching for
Kouki as well while sweeping her way up the floors.
Then, the woman he feared more than anything showed up.
"Tch… Just one of them, huh…? I figured if you were gonna run you'd head straight for
the room with the teleport circle, but it looks like the rest of you are hiding somewhere
else." She flicked back her bangs and stared at Endou from atop her four-eyed wolf
mount. Captain Meld and the knights readied for battle.
From the sound of it, she'd expected Kouki and the others to head straight here, so
she'd done the same. Since they weren't here, she'd have to search for them, which
irritated her.
However, that also meant all of Endou's friends were still safe. Captain Meld and
Endou inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. The demon noticed the subtle shift in their
expressions and snorted.
"Well, I still have my original mission to get back to… I guess I should finish you off
and flush out the rest of you quickly." The monsters charged the group.
The Chimeras wavered and blurred as they sped forward and the cats leaped around
the battlefield with the speed of a typhoon. Meanwhile, the Super Bulltaurs raised
their heavy maces high, and the four-eyed wolves quietly watched and waited for an
opening.
"Everyone, get in a circle formation! Protect the teleportation circle with your lives!
Kousuke! Don't just sit there, get up and run! You have to get back to the surface!"
"Huh!?" The knights reacted with inhuman swiftness. Truly, they lived up to their
name as the kingdom's best. They even managed to hold the monsters at bay… for now.
They knew from Endou's account that they didn't have the strength to actually beat
these monsters, and so focused completely on defense.
Endou didn't understand why Captain Meld wanted him to run to the surface. He had
thought his mission was to return to the others and tell Shizuku and Ryutarou what
he wanted from them. Plus, he didn't understand why they couldn't all try to escape
together.
"Stop spacing out! You have to tell everyone about the demon threat!"
"B-But what about you guys…"
"We'll… most likely die. Kousuke, once you've teleported, destroy the circle on your
side! You need to buy as much time as possible!"
"B-But…"
Captain Meld had the right idea. Even if Endou managed to escape, he needed to slow
the monsters down, or they'd catch up to him soon enough. Without a way to delay his
pursuers, Endou would almost certainly be killed soon after Captain Meld.
In their current situation, the best course of action was for him to run, while leaving
the others behind to buy what time they could. In that time, he needed to destroy the
magic circle on his end to keep the demon from following. Since it was carved directly
into the ground, it could easily be repaired later by anyone with the Transmute skill.
Once he'd safely escaped, and come back with an army of soldiers, they could repair it
again for Kouki and the others to use.
Anyone would have sufficed for the job, but Captain Meld had chosen Endou.
However, it was exactly that choice that confused Endou, and caused him to hesitate.
Minutes before, Captain Meld had urged him to sacrifice himself and everyone else to
keep Kouki alive if necessary. Yet now, Captain Meld was doing the exact same thing
for Endou. As the battle grew in ferocity, Captain Meld desperately shouted out his
final wish to Endou.
"I'm sorry I was so useless! I'm sorry I couldn't save your friends! I'm sorry all I could
do was tell you to sacrifice yourself! But Kousuke, pathetic though I may be, please
listen to this final wish of mine!" Surprised, Endou looked up at the man he'd come to
respect more than anyone.
"Don't die!" Finally, Endou understood.
Captain Meld honestly wanted all of the students to survive from the bottom of his
heart. If he had to sacrifice someone, he'd rather sacrifice himself to save all of them.
Endou realized just how much it must have hurt Captain Meld to ask him to prioritize
Kouki above everyone.
Endou bit his lip and ran for the magic circle as fast as he could. If he didn't at least
fulfill Captain Meld's dying wish, then what kind of man was he?
"You're not getting away!" The demon ordered her cats to chase after Endou while
firing a spell at him. The cats launched their tentacles at the same time spears of stone
shot out from her hands.
Endou managed to parry some of the tentacles with his daggers, while dodging the
rest. However, he was completely defenseless against the spears that followed. They
were aimed exactly at the spot he needed to be in to dodge all of the tentacles.
He gritted his teeth and covered his vitals. He didn't mind taking a hit or two as long
as he could still make it to the teleportation circle.
However, the impact he was expecting never came. One of the knights had broken
formation and covered Endou with his body.
"A-Alan-san!"
"Gah… don't mind me, go!" Even with a spear lodged in his stomach, the knight didn't
stop swinging his sword at the oncoming monsters. Despite his injuries, he managed
to smile reassuringly at Endou. Endou bit his lip so hard he drew blood, then dashed
straight for the teleportation circle.
"Tch! Persistent little pests! Everyone, target the boy!" The demon commanded her
forces to attack Endou, but it was already too late.
"Hah, you lose! Don't underestimate Heiligh's knights!" Captain Meld smiled
triumphantly as he watched Endou vanish into the magic circle.
The demon ignored him and charged her monsters toward the circle. Since they could
manipulate mana directly, they didn't need to chant an incantation to use it. This was
her last chance to bring them over in time. However, Captain Meld wasn't about to let
that happen.
"I just told you not to underestimate us!" Though they were inferior to the students in
terms of raw power, they possessed a level of coordination, skill, and experience that
Kouki and the others lacked. Outnumbered they may have been, but they clung on with
a persistence that could only be called exceptional.
But no matter how hard they struggled, the strength and numbers of the monsters
they faced was too much. They weren't going to last long. The first to fall was Alan, the
knight who'd taken a spear to the stomach. In dodging a monster's attack, he lost his
balance and fell to one knee. A Chimera took advantage of the opening and leaped over
him toward the magic circle.
Just as the Chimera vanished through it, the circle's light began to fade.
"Ngh, we let one through… Kousuke… Don't die." Captain Meld's words were drowned
out by the monsters' roars. Furious with the knights, the demon set her monsters on
them.
"Heh… Since we're destined to die here anyway, let's go out with a bang, men. Show
her the pride of Heiligh's knights!"
"Yes, sir!" The knights all yelled in unison. Their resolve was so strong that for a
second, the monsters around them faltered.
Ten minutes later. The room with the teleportation circle lay silent.
"Uwaaaaaaaaah!" Endou screamed in rage and frustration as he arrived on the 30th
floor. Without a moment's delay, he stabbed his dagger into the magic circle at his feet.
"Wh-What's going on!? Hey, you, what are you doing!?"
"Stop that!"
"Someone, hold him down!"
The knights guarding the teleportation circle on the 30th were surprised when a
black-robed boy suddenly appeared from its center. Though they were taken aback,
they quickly recovered and tried to prevent Endou from destroying the circle.
These were the knights Captain Meld had left behind to guard the magic circle on this
side. The ones he'd left behind were all too weak to accompany him past the 30th floor.
Endou struck a second time, then a third. Just before he'd destroyed the circle
completely, the knights managed to pile on top of him. It was possibly the worst
mistake of their lives.
"L-Let me go! I need to destroy this! If I don't, they'll follow me! Let me go!"
"Wait, you're one of the heroes friends, aren't you!? Why are you…"
The knights shouted in surprise as they realized the person who'd teleported in was a
member of Kouki's party. For just a second, their grips loosened. Endou took
advantage of that to raise his dagger up again, but he was a second too late.
The magic circle began to glow. A second later, a blurry outline attacked Endou and
the knights.
"Shit! Everyone, get back!"
"What's happening!? Gwaaaaaaaaah!"
Endou leaped out of the way, barely dodging the Chimera's attack. Unfortunately, one
of the knights wasn't able to react in time, and the Chimera's claws tore right through
his armor, mortally wounding him.
He slumped to the ground, blood spurting everywhere. The other knights stared in
shock. Endou frantically called out to the rest of them.
"Enemy attack! Watch out for the places where the air looks warped! We have to
destroy the magic circle or more of them will keep coming!" His shrill screams brought
the rest of the knights back to their senses. But in that short time, another knight was
torn to shreds.
There were seven knights guarding the 30th floor teleportation circle. Of those, two
had already died.
Endou activated one of his Assassin skills, Shadow Dance, and leaped up toward the
ceiling. He was planning on jumping behind the Chimera and destroying the circle
with one final attack, but the Chimera realized his intentions and jumped up to stop
him.
"Dammit, what the hell is this thing!?" The knights still hadn't fully grasped the
situation, but they knew they had to stop the Chimera. The five of them leaped at it all
at once.
All they could see of the Chimera, was a blurry outline in the air, so they had no way of
knowing what kind of weapons the monsters possessed, or what they should be wary
of. Because of that, they were totally unprepared when the Chimera's tail started biting
at their necks, or when its wings started buffeting them away.
However, their concentrated attack did succeed in throwing the Chimera off-balance
a little, allowing Endou to just barely dodge its fangs. They still grazed his shoulder,
but Endou lopped off its tail in return as he fell past it.
The Chimera flapped its wings to regain its balance and landed a few feet away. At the
same time, Endou landed on the ground and swung his dagger at the teleportation
circle.
The Chimera used the recoil of its landing to launch itself at Endou with frightening
speed, but it was too late. Endou's dagger had already reached its target. There was a
loud crack as the circle shattered. Its glow began to fade. The residual mana from the
previous teleports scattered.
"Now we're… Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the Chimera
clamped its jaws down on Endou's right arm. Then, it yanked its jaws back, trying to
tear Endou's arm off.
"We won't let you!"
"Get off of him!"
Luckily, the knights rushed at it, distracting the beast. The Chimera's grip loosened as
a short spear embedded itself in its flank.
Due to the blood that had sprayed out when he'd been bitten, most of the Chimera's
face was now visible. Endou used that opportunity to throw a dagger at its eye with
his left arm while he freed his right.
The knights closed in to deal the finishing blow, and two of them were killed as the
Chimera thrashed about in pain. Endou threw more daggers at it, but even with one
eye gone, it used its supernatural senses to dodge out of the way.
Another one of the knights screamed. Endou cast a quick glance in his direction. It
seemed even after being cut off, the Chimera's tail could still move. It had leaped up
and latched on to the knight's neck. The skin around where he'd been bitten turned
purple, and after a few more seconds of screaming, he died.
"Damn it all!" The last knight tried to crush the snake-tail for good, but that was a grave
mistake on his part. The Chimera instantly pounced on him the moment he turned his
back on it. Covered in wounds, Endou desperately squeezed out the last ounce of his
strength. He aimed his strongest skill at the Chimera's neck, hoping to kill it before it
reached the knight.
"Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" He'd abandoned his comrades. He'd abandoned Captain
Meld. He'd even let these knights be killed. He channeled all of that hatred and
frustration into this one last attack. His blade struck true. He sliced through the back
of the Chimera's neck, slaying it instantly.
The force of his leap took him past the Chimera, so he hit the ground with considerable
force, rolling a few meters forward.
Enduring the pain in his shoulder, right arm, and stomach, he propped himself up with
his left arm and looked back to make sure the beast was really dead.
Its Camouflage had been dispelled, and there was a huge gash in its neck. As far as he
could tell, it was done for. Still, rather than looking triumphant, Endou just cursed
bitterly.
The last knight was a short distance away from the Chimera's body. He was quite
obviously dead. His right hand was still holding his sword, while his face was a swollen
mass of purple. Next to him was the Chimera's tail, cut in half. It seemed the knight
had managed to cut down the tail right before the Chimera had reached him. However,
just before the tail had died, it had shot its poison at the knight's face.
In the end, all of the knights guarding the magic circle on the 30th floor had died.
Endou wept, cursing himself for not managing to save even a single one of them.
Once his tears were all spent, he took out the strongest healing medicine he could find
from Captain Meld's bag and drank it. If he didn't fix himself up quickly, he'd die of
blood loss.
After he finished treating himself, he gathered all of the knights' corpses and lined
them up next to the broken teleportation circle. Then, he gazed at them for a few
minutes before turning around and heading for the surface. His face was pale and his
eyes empty.
Once again, he'd been the only one to survive.
That knowledge coiled about him like cold chains, weighing down his footsteps. The
only thing keeping him going was the mission he'd been entrusted with by those
who'd died. He ran mechanically, not thinking about anything else.
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง