Dungeon's Final Boss: Banished by My Boss, the Goddess, to Earth—So I'll Continue My Past Life - 73

Chapter 73: Dungeon’s Resistance

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There had always been the suspicion that we were inside a dungeon, and that the creator of this dungeon might not be as lazy as Piroane…

Was there perhaps some authority that allowed one to monitor the inside of the dungeon—something that instinct-driven, ultra laissez-faire individuals like Piroane had never used? If that were the case, then wouldn’t  that mean everything King Peschel’s had said to me were completely exposed to the said creator? 

That suspicion took form the morning after King Peschel left the villa.

I woke up earlier than usual. Drawn by some kind of instinct, I looked outside and saw the gray sky hanging heavier than normal. If even the sunlight piercing through the clouds bled a hint of purple, then this was no ordinary situation.

I woke Mio and the others, urging them to get ready. They too realized something was wrong the moment they looked at the sky.

Heaves rushed into the workshop and began frantically reassembling the Seraphim, which had been disassembled for repairs. The butler packed our belongings so we could escape at any time. He also took out several rather dangerous firearms, checked their condition, and tucked them away in his chest pocket and sleeves, repeating the process until he was fully equipped.

Even from my perspective—someone who’s seen more than a few Self-Defense Force members—his movements seemed professional.

If only he was an awakened, he’d be a truly reliable awakener… Or so I thought, but apparently, the firearms and ammunition were magically enhanced by Heaves. In that case, the firearms should be effective even against dungeon monsters. However, since he wasn’t an awakened, my support would have virtually no effect on him. 

If one’s brain couldn’t keep up with the enhanced abilities, it could lead to one being strangled by one’s own amplified strength… Or that was what I was taught in the training videos for awakened individuals, not from personal experience.

“What’s happening?” 

Mio asked.

“Well…” 

I trailed.

It pained me not to explain everything to Mio, who looked so anxious, but the truth was, I didn’t know exactly what was about to happen either.

“If possible, we should flee from here as soon as we can.”

“We’ve lost contact with the outside of the island.”

Claire said.

“I’d like to go see what’s happening on the island myself, but…”

“I’ll go.” 

I offered.

“But…” 

Claire hesitated at my immediate response. I understood her concern. With her Seraphim still under repair, Claire was effectively a civilian. Heaves had no combat ability, and even Mio wasn’t exactly a combat-oriented awakener. The butler, though seemingly a combat pro, wasn’t an awakened either.

“It’s fine. Mio.”

I said.

“Fueh?”

I took her arm and activated the DC Ring on her wrist.

“Eh?”

Mio’s eyes widened at the ring’s response—something that should’ve been just a decorative trinket outside a dungeon. Ignoring her confusion, I took a magic stone from my item box and began charging it.

“Use this to summon the golem.”

“Jirou-san, this… Why…?”

“That’s why.”

“Eh? Eh?”

She hadn’t quite caught on, but she’d realize it soon enough.

“Well then, I’m off.”

“Okay… Umm, please be safe.”

“…There’s nothing to worry about.”

Being sent off wasn’t a bad feeling. When no one was watching, I could loosen my control over my abilities.  Rather than moving in a straight line on the ground, it was quicker to just jump into the sky and land at my destination. I repeated this motion over and over again.

I thought I might sense some kind of will behind the violet light piercing the cloudy sky—but there was nothing of the sort. By the time I arrived at my destination, I was standing in front of the street of food stalls where Mio and I had once gone on a food walk and sure enough, things had already started getting rowdy here.

Awakened fighters and sahagin-type monsters were battling all over the place.

Where’s Rock?

“Hurry to the port!”

“Run away!!”

I heard voices shouting.

If this was an overload, the only way to stop it was to either annihilate all the monsters that had emerged onto the surface, or immediately conquer the dungeon they came from. Alternatively, one could wait for the storm to pass and escape from this island. It seemed they had chosen to wait.

As I advanced toward the port while picking off the attacking monsters with arrow magic, all I found there was a sea of raging waves. Not a single ship remained at anchor. All had apparently been swept away somewhere by the waves.

The awakened, now stranded with no escape route, were forced to fight off the approaching monsters to avoid being pushed into the sea. It was a deeply unfavorable situation for the awakeners.

It was clear to see none of them were prepared for this. There was no way they could withstand this harsh battle without proper preparation. This unexpected scenario offered them no chance to recover from their confusion, leading them one step closer toward annihilation. 

I suppose I should go help them… but somehow, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I didn’t even know why.

“Hey! Hasegawa!”

As I was contemplating my own emotional state, Rock appeared.

“Please, help me!”

“What’s wrong?”

“We have to save them! I need backup!”

Soaked to the bone, Rock looked like he’d just returned from the dungeon. Judging by his appearance, he must have had a rough time being flooded by seawater the moment he came out of the dungeon. 

Still… He looked pale—too pale.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m worried about the islanders. All of them are missing. This isn’t the only battlefield, is it?”

“No, what’s bothering me is…. Why do you sound so timid?”

Rock Barnhorn Researching his feats turned up tales of him almost single-handedly resolving large-scale overloads in America, or that he was an outrageous egotist. Stories of that nature circulated on the internet with great abundance and yet… The Rock Barnhorn I met on this island had been calm and gentlemanly.

When he first arrived in Japan, he still showed signs of arrogance, and his earlier incident with Mio was very much on point with the “bad side” he was known for.

“You could probably handle this situation on your own, couldn’t you?”

“That’s…”

Rock looked down, making himself appear small despite his large frame, then suddenly moved his right hand and placed it on my chest.

“…I knew it, this won’t do after all!”

“I’m not sure what’s going on here, but this is very discourteous of you.”

So I punched him.

“Guhf!”

“I didn’t expect you to be the type who doesn’t discriminate between men and women.”

“That’s not it!”

As I debated whether I should dominate him where he lay sprawled on the ground, he yelled in denial.

“I can’t. I’ve lost the one thing that gave me confidence, and I don’t know how to get it back.”

“What?”

“My self-confidence… It was supported by a woman. Only because of her acceptance could I fight with confidence. I had a home to return to because of her! But now…”

Rock sobbed.

“She passed away?”

“No! But she’s gone.”

“You didn’t go after her?”

“No one will tell me where she is! They all say they don’t know!”

I didn’t fully understand, but in short, Rock’s problematic behavior—his repeated sexual harassment—was apparently something he did to regain his confidence. It had worked until now, but even that self-deception had started to fail.

Now that I thought of it, he had mentioned looking for someone.

“Ugh…”

“I understand your situation, but even so, I don’t have any way to help them escape from this island either.”

Even if I helped them, there was nowhere safe to flee to. I didn’t feel any sympathy for combatants losing in battle.

Ah, that’s right.

There were no civilians here to save. That was the reason why I didn’t even feel a sense of duty to help them.  I still thought of myself as human, but at the same time, I was also a dungeon monster. That instinct hadn’t completely left me.

After all, I had spent more time as a dungeon monster than as a human and all of those people here were all awakened. Even if they were caught in a trap or on the verge of death, that alone wasn’t enough reason to save them unless I knew them personally.

But…

“It seems… It’s still too early to give up,” I said.

“What?”

Looking toward the sea, several ships were leaping through the raging waves. They didn’t look like ordinary civilian vessels. They charged straight toward the stone embankment fearlessly.

“United Nations forces?”

Flags buffeted by the wild sea bore the United Nation emblem. While we were looking at the approaching ships, the situation progressed. A dozen or so figures jumped from the ships and began cutting down the monsters. There were no S-Class individuals, but their coordination was impressive.

What drew my eye most was one especially large woman.

She moved with astonishing speed despite her astonishingly large and impressive physique. She had two enormous maces in both hands, sweeping away monsters with shockwave-heavy strikes that took full advantage of her incredible mass.

“We are the United Nations rescue team!”

After dispersing the surrounding enemies, the woman proudly announced her identity.

“This area has been classified as an anomaly zone! Evacuation is now in effect. Get on the ship!”

She must have looked pretty cool, but I kept hearing Kimeru’s voice from my automatic translator. 

Why, though? Why Kimeru?

“Goddess!”

Rock, who had been collapsed on the ground, sprang to his feet upon hearing her voice and shouted.

“There you are! My goddess!”

He dashed toward her at breakneck speed.

“Rock?” 

The woman said, calling out the name of the large man approaching her.

“Francia!”

A cry of joy erupted from Rock’s throat. Then, the two of them… No, she… She hit Rock’s head with her mace.

“What are you doing!? This man!”

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