Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 13.2: Arrow Shot From Pitch-Black Darkness VI - (2)

It was incredibly fast.

I thought that my body would fall apart because of the water resistance. Even though we took a breather once in the middle, we arrived at the city in no time at all.

『It took both of you 330 seconds to reach the city. That’s amazing, that’s faster than modern submarines』

Makina announced. It appeared that there were no problems even if the devices got wet.

「Though I was carrying someone, I’ve certainly gotten old, haven’t I?」

「Urgh, koff, koff」

I had drunk a little bit of water. I crawled out of the river and laid down on the road.

「N, no, I would have died if you had gone any faster than that」

「Is that so? I’ll be waiting at the camp, alright? Tell me the circumstances afterwards」

「Understood」

Geto-san disappeared into the river.

When I stood up, my vision flickered and I felt dizzy. I kept my cool, and stood up while making sure that I did not lose my balance. While I was like this,

「Hey foreigner. You’ve got an unusual acquaintance, don’t you?」

Barfuru-sama was looking at me with a curious expression. He’s a very expressive person, even with a dog’s face.

「Are you going to treat me drinks again? There are still a lot of my heroic exploits that you haven't heard, you know? Well, I suppose it’ll depend on the amount of drinking money you provide」

「No, that’s not why I’m here today」

「Nya! What's wrong-nya! You’re drenched to the skin-nya!」

Tyutyu was surprised after seeing my impression of a drowned rat.

「For some reason, this guy came out of the river with a fishman」

「Wait a minute-nya!」

Ignoring Barfuru, who was pointing at me, Tyutyu pulled me to the back. She brought me a coarse blanket and wiped me down with it. She’s a good girl. But I didn’t have the time to let her spoil me at the moment.

「Tyutyu. I have a request」

As my hair was being wiped briskly, I randomly grabbed some gold coins from my purse and placed them on the table.

「NYAAA!」

Tyutyu trembled at their radiance. I had put no fewer than five gold coins on the table, but it would be uncool if I took them back.

「Wha, what should I sell-nya? My body-nya? What kind of “play” will you demand from me-nya. I’m scared-nya」

「No, lend me this」

I rummaged through the sack that had been placed on the ground as usual. I took out an old bow.

「Hang on, foreigner. I’ll praise your taste, butー」

It was a hardy bow that was almost as tall as I was.

Its limbs were slightly curved. It was wrapped in leather to make it thicker. There was a strong presence surrounding it. An ominous will with a dark, gleaming hatred of the undead. Its string, which had been coiled around the bow, looked like it had been twisted together from hair. I unwound it and strung the bow.

「Lycan bows are drawn using curse power. For a regular human――――――」

I tested its draw by pulling the string back powerfully. It was a gallant bow that lived up to its Lycan name. The tension that it could hold was tremendous. And that was not all. It was a cursed item. One that cursed the world. Perhaps because of that, it deviated slightly from the laws of this world. If it was this bow, rather than just the eye, it was probably capable of shooting through the large spider’s heart.

「It’s a good bow. I’m borrowing it, Barfuru-dono. Drink in moderation, alright?」

「Who are you, sir?」

I greeted my old friend, then set out in the direction of the dungeon.

I was filled with nostalgia as I walked through the city streets.

It fell far short of my prime, but running and feeling the wind was a sensation that was hard to come by. The warmth of flesh was the flame of life. Even with a pitifully poor heart, its value remained the same.

I reached the dungeon.

For me, it was the fated labyrinth in which Lola had been cornered, but ultimately let escape in the past. At first glance, the dungeon had changed a great deal, but it was essentially unchanged. As if something that had been dropped by the progenitor god could be changed by the likes of humans.

I headed straight for the portals.

There, I crossed paths with a party that had just returned.

「Hey there, handsome」

I tripped the elf that looked like the leader by sweeping his leg. Faster than anything, I nocked a harpoon to the bow and pointed its tip at his face. The people in his party froze.

So slow. Is this the level of the current adventurers?

「You’re short one person, aren’t you? Explain」

「W, who are you! Someone help me!」

「Souya? What are you……? What’s that bow……? ……Guild President! Please come quickly!」

Evetta-san, who had happened to pass by, turned pale, and called for the Guild President.

「You againnnn~. What did you do this timeー Hey, who’s that?」

The Guild President, who had appeared with a sleepy look, also turned pale.

「This Hemu went nuts and suddenly pointed his bow at me! Hurry up and do something!」

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The elf shouted grievously.

「He should have formed a party with Rauaryuna Raua Heures today. Tell me right now, what did you do?」

「I don’t know! I didn’t form a party with a person like that!」

「Wait a minute, I’ll look into it right now」

Before I knew it, the Guild President was holding a staff. It was as tall as him was, and had a dreadful form that made it obvious that it had been made from human bones.

「Wind, compile, turn, fly, and gather, today’s dungeon exploration application forms」

When he knocked the staff against the floor, pieces of parchment fluttered and gathered around the Guild President.

「You’re Melter from the Heures Forest, right? Hmm, there's certainly no record like that」

「Right?! Hurry up and do something! This Hemu is insane!」

「No, there’s no application form from you guys in the first place. What’s going on? What did you do?」

「I witnessed them coming out of the portal. Should I call for their person-in-charge?」

「Wha, no. Errr」

Cornered by the Guild President and Evetta-san, the elf shut his mouth.

「Should I say it then? You guysー」

「Poe will speak」

A beastkin from the elf’s party spoke up. He had a young-looking face from the canine family, and ears that stood upright. He was well-built and lightly equipped, but held a large shield.

「Melter sold the elf princess and received money from the prince. Person-in-charge is in on it. Form was stolen by the prince’s beastkin」

「Poe! Don’t you realize what will happen to us afterwards?!」

「Shut up. Don’t care. Can’t trust a person who sells out someone from his own race. Poe might be next. Will never from a party with you again. Goodbye」

The beastkin left.

「Sorry, this is it for us too. Former leader, don't call out to us anymore, alright?」

The other elves also left. I thought about shooting them in the back, but I’ll let it be for now. I let go of the string because my hand was tired. The harpoon pierced the floor with a heavy, dull sound.

「Hiii, hiii」

Probably because something like that had grazed his face, the elf lost control of his bladder.

「Please confine this guy, Guild President. I’m going to rescue Rana」

「Do you know her location?」

「I only know that she’s on the 10th floor」

「What the lowest floor that you’ve reached?」

「The 5th floor」

The Guild President struck the elf with the butt of his staff. I thought for a moment that he was using some sort of magic, but he had simply knocked the elf out using physical means.

「Evetta, call Otou-san here. Urgently」

「Okay. Souya, please don’t do anything rash until I get back. You absolutely can’t, you hear?」

Evetta-san dashed off with the speed of a quadruped beast.

「Come, you fool. I’ll be on your side just this once. Follow me」

I pulled out the harpoon and followed behind the Guild President. We stopped in front of a portal.

「This is really a special one-time thing. I’m lending a hand because I sympathize with the princess. I’m not doing this for you personally. Don't get me wrong, okay?」

「Make it quick」

「You can go down to the 10th floor in one go if I open a rescue portal. Do you want to listen to the few pieces of advice that I have for you?」

「Please keep it simple」

Being able to go to the 10th floor in one go was a happy miscalculation. Still, time was precious.

「If you determine that the princess can’t be saved, escape and forget everything. The king is a kind person, but he’s still the parent of that idiot prince. Also, I won't leave any records of the Guild helping you. So do whatever you want. Adventurers are free creatures」

「If that idiot prince has his pants down, I’ll probably kill him. Is that okay with you?」

「Setting aside the prince, his guards are strong. Don’t die in vain, alright?」

He hit the portal with his staff. The portal’s color turned red.

「One last thing」

The Guild President asked.

「I’m Solcia, the small wing. A diminutive miracle born as a result of St. Dimast's madness. Oh, wavering, strong and venerable soul. I wish to leave your name in my memory」

「I'm Lumidia, the hidden name. I’m just a fool who shot the large spider to death, and let the dragon eater escape. There's no need to remember me. I appreciate your help. Farewell, boy」

The hero inside me had answered without permission. Let this be the last time something like that happens. It’s my body, my will, my life. Be it killing or saving, they’re my sins to bear. So lend me only your skill with the bow. I don’t need anything after that. I don’t want anything. I won’t bear any grudges.

In response, the will inside my heart resounded, melted, then disappeared.

I dived into the portal.

I was engulfed by a torrent of light for an instant before dropping down into darkness.

The dungeon’s structure wasn’t all that different from the 5th floor. It was made up of stone walls, and was enveloped in darkness.

「Izora, can you hear me? Please respond」

After some static, Izora’s voice rang out from the glasses.

『Team member Souya. How on earth did you manage to get here?』

「I’ll explain later. Your reason for following Rana is also for later. Tell me her current location」

『This is her estimated location』

The map on the glasses’ LCD was updated, and a red dot was displayed.

『I’m very sorry. Izora was thrown away in surprise when Izora started talking in an attempt to help her escape』

「Understood. Let’s meet up」

『Understood. Izora will make our routes converge further ahead so that we can meet up』

The red dot representing Izora was displayed on the map. The locator was also displayed, and the shortest route to the estimated point was indicated. I proceeded to follow it.

I hurried, but I only went as fast as I could while still suppressing my presence. Although I was able to use the Lycan bow, it didn’t change how frail I was. I couldn’t spare the effort to fight monsters right now.

After turning a few corners, I saw some human skeletons and pieces of flesh with ungodly forms that were roaming around. I let them pass me by. The dungeon was wider and longer than I had expected. My impatience was building, and my forehead was drenched in cold sweat. My stamina and nerves were being worn down at the same time. I thought about checking my regeneration point, but it was about the tip of my little finger anyways. Just looking at it was probably pointless.

At last, I would meet up with Izora before long. Right then,

「Ah」

「Mya」

I came across a cat beastkin with tanned skin and short black hair.

「We’re busy with something further ahead-mya. I’ll prefer if you went somewhere else-mya. Hang on, you’re from the barー」

『Cling, clang, jangle?』

As the beastkin was speaking, the sound of many gold coins dropping onto the ground could be heard from behind her.

「Mya!」

The beastkin turned back, but all she saw was Izora, which had been disguised as a lantern. Izora had created the perfect opening. I pulled out a harpoon, and smashed the beastkin’s head in with a full swing.

「Kyuu~」

I didn’t hold back as she was a higher ranked adventurer.

「Nice」

『Glad to be of service』

I high-fived that small arm. Izora and I disarmed the beastkin, tied a gag in her mouth, then tied her hands tightly behind her back. We proceeded to restrain her feet, then tied those restraints to the ones binding her hands. She was now looking pretty charming in the reverse shrimp tie. With this, she was probably incapacitated. Alright, onto the next one.

「Izora, maintain a reasonable distance from me, just in case」

『Understood. As for the monsters in our vicinity, the knight has defeated them all by herself. There’s probably no need to be careful about that point』

「Understood」

If anything, I had to face the person who did them in all by herself, and two others on top of that. I didn’t waver over whether I would be able to do it. At any rate, it was do-or-die for me.

『Team member Souya, a strategy has been formulated, but would you like to hear it?』

「Of course. Partner」

After nocking the harpoon to the string, I drew the bow. Breathing slowly, I slid my feet. I was eager, but not impatient. I had only one chance to pull off this sneak attack.

I could see light. Two lanterns were lined up together.

There was a female knight that showed no openings at the end of the cul-de-sac. She was facing the darkness, as if she was keeping guard. I could not read her gaze because of her helmet. I should be hidden in the darkness, but my heart was beating violently as it felt like our eyes had met. A noblewoman-like magician was leaning against the wall, looking bored. She was holding her own staff, and another that belonged to someone I knew.

Rana was there.

She was being held down by the prince.

My emotions, which felt as if they had exploded, reversed direction and dropped below freezing. If Rana's clothes were more disturbed, or if the prince had pulled himself out of his pants, I would have probably shot him in the head without thinking.

「Come on, this is the first time a woman has resisted like this. A king is bestowing his favor on a lowly woman like you! What’s there to hate about it?」

「L, let me go! Are these the actions of the king’s son?!」

「Adventurers are free people. The king’s son can at least choose the women he wants to bed. Besides, how much further can the woman who burnt her own people to death fall?」

The prince grabbed Rana’s thighs roughly with his hands. But Rana fluttered her feet to ward off the prince’s hands. Either Rana was stronger than he had expected, or her fierce resistance was enough to fight him off, but it didn’t seem like he was going to get the deed done.

「Tch, Lanseal, lend me a hand」

「I refuse, prince. We’re in the dungeon. Who knows what’s lurking in the darkness. Why are you trying to do this kind of thing in a place like this?」

「I wasn’t given much choice, was I? I can’t even go to the brothel because old man Medimu has been making such a fuss about it recently. Just yesterday, he hit me, the prince, just for messing around with a beastkin brat. He couldn’t be more disrespectful!」

「……………」

I turned the tip of harpoon towards the speechless knight.

Could I do it? Or should I shoot the prince first?

As the tip of the harpoon swayed due to my indecision, the bored-looking magician spoke.

「Now, now, my prince. Then, shall I use my marvellous skill to change this foolish princess into a wild prostitute and offer her up to you? Fufufu, she’ll lust after you like a dog in heat. But the insides of her head will become just a little~ bit hollow, like it has been eaten by worms, but that’s okay, right?」

The magician placed the butt of her staff on Rana's forehead.

「Princess, it’s tough, isn’t it? Falling to the world of the common people that you aren’t accustomed to, and being played around by what the elves call “boorish Hemus”. But that all ends today. I’ll let you forget about everything. Everything is all inside a dream. Submerge your soul into a lewd, alluring dream, and you’ll become a vulgar bitch that shakes her hips for all that is male from now on」

「Stop, it, please」

Rana's face twisted in anguish.

「Hahaha. A female dog, huh? That’s great. I had just been thinking that I wanted another one. Should I make the fellow dogs lick each other first?」

「Prince!?」

The knight turned towards the prince and raised a critical voice against him.

Right then,

An arrow was shot from pitch-black darkness.

The magician was pierced through her side and slammed against the wall. She lost consciousness while still being completely unaware of the situation. Two staves rolled onto the ground.

I held the bow vertically. A harpoon, which I was using as an arrow, was nocked on the right side of the bow. I pulled the string back until it reached maximum tension. With my current skill, it would hit exactly where I wanted it to.

「Prince! Get down!」

I released my fingers and, like a whip, the string thrummed as the arrow snapped through the air.

The knight’s reaction was fast.

The knight received the arrow, which had the force of a cannonball, head-on with her shield. The shield bent as the arrow split open and broke. The knight’s body was blown back a little. I nocked the next arrow.

Unsure if she should advance on me or protect the prince, the knight hesitated.

I did not hesitate. I pulled the string back and released another arrow. The discordant sounds of metal rang out.

Compared to the first arrow, the knight didn’t pull back much. She had held her shield at an angle to divert its power. She had already adapted. This person was really impressive.

「Why don’t you show yourself?! You coward!」

The knight yelled. It was an out of place request, but I decided to take advantage of it.

「Aren't the people who ganged up and assaulted a lone woman the real cowards?」

「You’re the one from the bar」

「Souya!」

When my figure was projected in their eyes, the knight and Rana showed their surprise.

「Impossible. There’s no way a feeble guy like that can pull off something like this」

The prince was ignored.

「If you say that I’m a coward, then I’ll crush you head-on. I still have four of these harpoons for hunting big fish that I’m using as arrows. If you can withstand them, then it’s the knight-sama’s win. I’ll just disappear into darkness like this. If you can’t withstand them, I’ll crush that prince's balls. He gets pleasure from being fancied by dogs, right? It’s better if I castrate him」

「YOUUU!!!」

「I’ll take that challenge」

The knight interrupted the prince and accepted my challenge.

「Alright, let's get started」

After saying that, I shot arrows in rapid succession. There wasn’t much power behind them. They were easily blocked by her shield. The knight was closing the distance between us. Calm down, pull, aim, and release.

She dodged under the arrow with a low posture. The missed arrow landed beside the magician. The knight had read the course of the arrow instantly from my line of sight.

A light bulb went off in my head, and I shot the next arrow at the ground while keeping my eyes fixed on her.

The arrow ricocheted off the ground and hit her shield directly. At that angle, the power of the arrow could not be diverted. The air felt more viscous as time slowed, and I saw the arrow smash through the shield and graze the knight's helmet. Her skirt flipped up, and I saw a fluttering bit of silver.

The knight discarded her shield, but she did not hesitate and kept on moving.

The distance between us was already less than six meters. She had the speed of a beast, and she didn’t move like her whole body was covered in armor. She was a match for Evetta-san. Just a little more, and I would be cornered.

I took deliberate aim.

The angle was such that the prince would be hit if she dodged.

Victory or defeat would be settled in an instant.

I released the arrow. At the same time, the knight whipped out her sword.

It looked like a superhuman feat. She had unsheathed her sword and swung it in one motion, cutting the arrow into halves that rolled behind her.

She had slashed instead of thrusting, but other than that, it was very similar to the swordsmanship used by Shuna. While maintaining a low posture, the sword swung by the knight stopped with its blade a paper’s width from my neck.

「You’ve lost. That skill with the bow is truly admirable. I’ve not seen even five archers with the strength to destroy this shield that had been bestowed by the king. Truly, it’s admirable」

「Kill him! Lanseal! He pulled a bow on a prince, you know?!」

「You should withdraw. You’re not a human who should be on the side of the elves」

The prince was ignored once again.

This person was probably not a bad person. She seemed quite hardheaded though.

「Thank you. But it's not over yet」

I passed through the knight's body and shot an arrow at the prince. The arrow pierced through the prince's shoulder and pinned him to the wall.

「GYAAAAAAAA!」

It was a dirty scream.

「What?!」

I shot an arrow at the distracted knight. It didn’t penetrate, but the chest portion of her armor was greatly damaged, and got blown off. I had a peek of white skin.

「It’s alright now」

The hologram of me that had been projected by Izora disappeared. Only then did I step out of the darkness for the first time. In addition, my declaration about the number of arrows had also been a lie.

I followed up by shooting another arrow at her leg. It didn’t penetrate again, but the armor was crushed. The impact damage was getting through. Shoulders, knees, elbows, I was in no way dealing enough damage to make her bleed. Because she was much higher ranked than me, I did not let my guard slip at all. I shot with the intention of using up all my arrows. Even if the knight was showing absolutely no signs of resistance, I continued shooting without letting my guard down.

The fingers that I extended into the quiver cut through air.

Kicking up an arrow that had fallen to the ground with my foot, I pulled it back as far as it would go, then released. It hit the knight’s head. The helmet broke apart and her head slammed against the floor. Long silver hair spilled out, and her animal ears flopped out. Then, blood finally flowed. That’s good. I had thought for a moment that she couldn’t be killed.

「Ple, ase」

「That’s amazing. You’re still conscious?」

If it was me, I would have died 30 times.

「You can do whatever you like to this body, the princeー」

「Who cares?」

I kicked her in the head. I had nothing more to say to her. And I wasn’t going to lick my chops sleazily for an offer like that, and was definitely not going to let my guard down to the bitter end. Against a strong person like her, I won’t feel at ease even if only her head remained. Of course, I had absolutely no mercy for her. I’ll kill her as painlessly as possible.

I recovered the arrows, and stood in front of the knight once more. I nocked an arrow.

Reverse shrimp tie, also known as the Japanese hog-tie, is a specific…, well…, you know…, "50 shades of grey" method of tying someone up……

It was kinda heart-warming that Izora finally had a chance to strut her stuff, after she had been moping around for so long feeling like she was useless, and be acknowledged as a partner by Souya.

Whenever it comes to stuff like this, Souya flips a switch and becomes like a cold-blooded machine, doesn't he. I wonder what happened to make him this way. Stay tuned for the final part of the chapter to see how this arc ends!