The Man Whose Beloved Girlfriend Was Stolen Destroys Everything ~After Being Forced to Witness the NTR Scene, What Awaited Him Was a Dungeon.

Encounter II.

Shizuku’s POV.

“…Ah…”

The repeated clash of blades pulled me out of the flashback from a few hours earlier. My heavy eyelids slowly opened. Every part of my body ached; even moving my hands felt impossible.

With stiff, awkward motions I turned my head—and saw Airi-chan and Sena-chan locked in a desperate struggle against a certain monster.

“Wh-Why…?”

After cycling through several rounds of rest and combat since then, a black-furred wolf-type monster suddenly appeared—one whose coat wasn’t the usual green.

It was a B-rank monster that should never appear in the mid-layers: a Night Wolf.

We, a C-rank party, had no time to react to the irregularity before we were utterly overrun.

The first to be crushed was me—the weakest in the group. Airi-chan and Sena-chan, who could actually fight… no, from the outside it looked more like they were being toyed with.

Airi-chan’s signature speed-driven knife slashes, Sena-chan’s maximally boosted status and fist strikes enhanced by body-strengthening magic—neither could so much as scratch the Night Wolf. Fear of death, tension, and panic never left their faces.

“…!”

I felt utterly pathetic.

While they were fighting for their lives, I’d been knocked out of commission with the very first blow. They could have just abandoned me and fled. Yet here they were, staking their lives to protect someone like me.

I felt so, so wretched.

“…!! Airi…-chan…!!”

The Night Wolf’s razor-sharp claw tore across Airi-chan’s right eye. In that instant, drops of blood and tears pattered onto the ground.

“Airi! Get back!!”

The Night Wolf immediately moved to follow up, but Sena-chan stepped in to block it. With her martial arts knowledge she managed to parry somehow, but it clearly took everything she had.

“Ughya… This is rough, huh…”

Airi-chan staggered over beside me and muttered that. From the pouch at her waist she pulled out a potion and bandages, poured the potion over her right eye, and quickly wrapped it.

“But it’s fine!! I’m absolutely getting you home, Shizukucchi!!”

She flashed a toothy grin, then threw herself back into the chaotic melee with the Night Wolf.

She should have needed proper treatment immediately or risked permanent blindness—yet Airi-chan kept fighting.

—All to get me home.

“………”

What the hell was I doing?

I’d dragged my party members into the dungeon day after day because I wanted to get stronger, and now I’d put their lives in danger. And all I could do was watch them fight—without lifting a finger myself.

“Gu… ugh…”

The reality that I alone was being left behind in this moment filled me with crushing, burning regret. Tears streaming down my face, I forced my creaking body to rise. Even that tiny effort made sweat pour like a waterfall; my vision flickered.

“Haah… haah… haah…”

I planted my knees on the ground, used my sword like a crutch, and somehow managed to stand. But with my body in this ruined state, that was my absolute limit. All it did was raise my line of sight so I could better witness their deathmatch. My breathing came in ragged gasps; my legs wouldn’t stop trembling.

Still—even so—I took one step forward.

My stride was less than half its usual length, but slowly, slowly, I began to walk.

Eventually the shame receded and fury took its place, driving my wooden-stiff legs faster.

I could no longer lift the sword; it dragged across the ground with a harsh scraping sound that echoed through the area.

“…!?”

“Sh-Shizukucchi…!? What’s wrong…!?”

The Night Wolf and the two girls noticed the noise and turned toward me. Meeting their stunned gazes, I shouted with everything I had.

“I’m going—to fight too…!!”

***

“Ha… ha… ha… We… won…”

Before me lay the Night Wolf with my sword buried deep in its heart. It let out one weak, fading howl before dissolving into mist. The only sound left was the metallic clatter of my sword falling to the ground.

The instant they saw it, the taut strings of tension in all three of us snapped. We collapsed.

Hands, legs, every muscle in our bodies—we had pushed them beyond their limits in that battle.

And yet—we had won.

“Shizukucchi, that was insane〜!! Seriously crazyyy!!!”

Airi-chan rolled over to my side and pulled me into a tight hug. My breathing was still ragged and painful, but joy flooded my chest far more powerfully.

“You really did amazing, Shizuku.”

Sena-chan staggered to her feet and gently stroked my head. The simple gesture filled me with inexplicable happiness; I narrowed my eyes and savored it.

“I never thought Shizukucchi would awaken at the very last second like that〜”

“Ehehe…”

After being thoroughly petted, while we waited for our stamina to recover even a little, Airi-chan murmured that. Honestly, even I was surprised at how my body had moved in that moment. The price, though, would probably be weeks of being unable to move properly.

“All right! Shizukucchi, feeling a bit better now?”

“Yeah.”

“Wooo! Then let’s get outta here before more monsters show up! In our current state even a Green Wolf would be dicey!”

I forced my somewhat-recovering body upright and fell in behind Airi-chan. We started back the way we came—

—Awooooon.

An unpleasant howl vibrated through everyone’s eardrums.

It grew in number and intensity until—

“…Ahaha… This time we might actually be done for…”

“…Shit.”

—More than thirty Night Wolves pushed through the tall grass into view.

We’d barely managed to defeat just one. Now thirty times that number had arrived.

We were certain—this time we would die.