Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 17: Prologue - Part 1

【41st day】

Inside the dim dungeon, there was a wide space beyond the complicated passages.

There were lines of huge pillars, and a throne was worshipped deep inside.

It was a throne with a warped lump of iron beside it.

It was the remains of a lost civilization.

There, the song of swords clashing could be heard. The jostling of equipment, the breathing of the living, and the clatter of the horrifying bones of the dead.

An army of bones had surrounded the party of adventurers.

They were humanoid skeletons. Their flesh had probably melted and fallen off long ago. Green light glowed inside their hollow eye sockets.

They had neither brains nor muscles, so the means by which they moved was unknown, but they were attacking the living with battered weapons that were the remnants from when they were alive.

No one knew the origin of the skeletons. All adventurers like us knew, was that we couldn’t move on unless we defeated them.

A young knight cut a bone soldier in two with a swing of his sword while protecting his party members with his shield.

A lightly equipped girl swung the spear that she was carrying, crushing and knocking down bones.

A sexy magician sung praises and prayed to the gods that she was contracted with. The broken skeletons were being reconstructed. Blue light glowed inside their eye sockets, and they attacked the other skeletons in a frenzy.

The one drawing the most attention was a boy wielding a longsword.

He moved in a circle around the party as he swung his longsword wildly, cutting everything it touched into pieces. He was single-handedly breaking the encirclement.

Forty-two bone soldiers remained.

The boy's breath was getting ragged.

And it wouldn’t end just by defeating these soldiers. There was a headliner.

「Ea, back up Shuna」

「Understood. There」

At my order, my sister-in-law released an arrow. The arrow shattered the forehead of a bone soldier that was about to throw a spear at the boy, Shuna, and blew it away. Her skill was amazing.

「I’m about ready, dear」

「Understood, please go ahead」

My wife-from-a-sham-marriage stuck her staff into the ground and spread her arms. The light of reason disappeared from her eyes, and she went into a trance. I felt an invisible torrent gathering inside her.

「Irvin, we’ll wipe them out with a big one. At my signal, take defensive measures」

『Okay』

I heard the knight, Irvin’s reply, over the communications device.

Sweet, mysterious praises to god rang out.

「Oh Ezusu, my god. Bestow a fragment of primordiality to this humble kin. That which dances, sings and wanders, that which is redder and hotter than my blood, become a conflagration of fire; oh flames that engulf many, become like the breath of a dragon, the equal of a heavenly sacred fire. Completely devour this world of fate. Concentrate our power here. Oh effigy of ruin and calamity that is redder than red, attack what is before my arms! In this moment, annihilate all of them with this primordial law!」

In front of her, a small flame sprang into existence. But it quickly became a raging inferno, a huge fireball. In its depths, a frightening shadow that sent chills down my spine squirmed.

This is bad!

「Irvin, defensive measures! It’s got considerable destructive power! Watch out!」

『Everyone, gather!』

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The party gathered on Irvin's signal.

Ea provided support in a flash to Shuna, who had lagged a little bit behind the others.

『Beautiful Lyridias. Bestow upon me your benevolence, dedication, and the grace of protection. Zamonglass?Romea?Tiringu』

The knight raised his shield.

A dome of light enveloped them.

Next, the magician beside him raised her staff.

『Oh fire. Marry the elements and become light. Illuminate tranquility, protect our food, and protect against flames』

Several geometric patterns appeared on the dome of light. They turned mechanically like cogwheels, strengthening its protection.

Kukuku, I heard a low laugh coming from beside me.

She looked nothing like her usual self. Her face had an air of insanity.

She shouted,

「Hohens?Romea?Doragubein!」

The fireball flew directly above Irvin and the rest, and exploded. A wave of fire completely engulfed the bone soldiers like napalm. They burned like straw, and one after another, the dead writhed and turned to ashes.

I felt as if I could hear their shrieks over the raging conflagration.

「As expected from you, Rana. But it's enough already」

As a matter of course, I called the name of my wife from a sham marriage.

Irvin and the rest were swallowed up by the blaze. The dome of light was enough to protect them from the fire, but it didn’t seem like it was able to shield them completely from the heat. They looked like they were in agony. The intense heat had even reached us. In the first place, even if it was spacious, a huge conflagration like this in a closed space would result in a lack of oxygen.

「Rana?」

There were no more moving bones, but the flames weren’t going out.

「Onee-chan! Stop! It's over already!」

Ea grabbed Rana's shoulders and shook her, but there was no response.

「Ea, do something. Irvin and the rest are getting roasted」

「Got it. Time for the last resort」

Ea stood directly behind Rana, and suddenly grabbed both of Rana's abundant breasts. Massaged. While moving all ten fingers deftly, she pushed them up, down, open and close. My head moved together with their movements.

Rana's crazed look gradually disappeared, and her usual plain and insecure expression returned.

「Umm, errr」

「Onee-chan, are you back?」

「Yes, I’m back, ah! Ah, Ea, not there, hey, mm~」

Can I join in?

「Ea, no, stop, ah, not there~」

「Hmm~, it’s been a while since I kneaded them, it’s quite addictive, you know?」

「Dear! Don’t just watch, please stop her!」

「Okay」

With fingers on both hands wriggling, I drew closer,

「Heyyyyyyyy! If you're going to flirt, do it outsideeeeeeeee!」

The girl, Beltoriche’s loud scream filled the air. It didn’t come through the communications device but was her actual voice. We were seen even though we were in a passageway a distance from the large chamber.

Rana, who had broken free from her sister, crouched down in a corner of the passageway. I could tell that her face was bright red even in the dark. And she was moaning softly in a voice that was different from usual.

「Good job」

Pretending nothing had happened, I checked Rana’s regeneration point. It was a container with two test tubes side by side. The blue contents of the container, which represented the outer magic that was needed to use magic, had been completely exhausted.

「Ea, prepare those arrows」

「Understood, Onii-chan」

Ea and I nocked our best arrows.

『Souya, it’s coming』

We pointed our arrows at the throne in response to Irvin's voice. The ashes of the bones rose up and began to gather on the throne.

「Izora, show me the regeneration points of the members. Just the inner magic will do」

I asked the artificial intelligence that was hanging from Irvin’s waist. Inner magic shows the capacity to regenerate injuries.

（Irvin 40/120　Shuna 10/75　Bel 30/90　Zenobia 40/50）

Was shown on the liquid crystal display of my glasses.

Shuna’s condition was more critical than I had expected. But his speed was absolutely essential for the opponent we were about to face.

What should we do? Retreating would be the right thing to do if we wanted to proceed prudently.

In the words of an illustrious admiral: Let’s go back, since we’ll be able to come here again if we go back. *(see below)

There’s a “but”.

『Hey, Souya. Don’t tell us to retreat again. We can do it this time』

「I guess so」

Shuna’s strong words.

The person in question was full of motivation and determination. I couldn’t retreat then. He was in the midst of his growth period, and the speed of his growth from now on would be remarkably different after overcoming one or two tough battles.

「Irvin, back up Shuna. Bel and Zenobia, retreat to where I am」

『Understood』

The party members answered at the same time.

With a bright light, a crown appeared.

The crown settled quietly on the head of a huge skeleton. It was 5 meters tall and no one would object if you called it a giant. Its weapon was a huge sword that suited its huge body. Even though the sword was rusty, its blade was chipped, and it was broken in half, one blow from that sword would be deadly to diminutive adventurers like us.

Green light emitted from its eye sockets, and the bone giant roared.

Saying that I quailed before it was putting it lightly. It felt like even my soul was shrinking and disappearing before it.

『UU』

Subjected to that roar up close, Shuna―

『UUUUOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAH!』

Shook off his fear with an undaunted roar. Both his fatigue and physical strength were at their peak. However, he took his stance, and with crisp movements, turned the tip of his sword towards it.

「Shuna, you only need to create an opening. Don't overdo it」

『Easy. I'll end up defeating it』

Shuna and Irvin dashed forward.

The giant’s sword, which had been lifted up sluggishly, was swung downwards with frightening speed and power. With a deafening roar, the sword smashed into the ground, and it felt like the dungeon had shook from the impact.

In the cloud of ashes that had been flung up by the sword, two shadows crossed each other.

First, Shuna delivered a blow as he ran past. With one knee cut in half, the giant lost its balance and braced an arm against the ground.

Then, Irvin drove an uppercut using his shield into the giant’s chin. The peal of metal sounded like a bell. Shaking the brain of a regular creature could lead to death. However, the opponent was one of the undead. As if nothing had happened, it tried to stab Irvin with its sword――――――but was blocked by Shuna.

Sparks flew as blade scraped against blade. Shuna's longsword had stopped the giant's sword. The unrealistic sight made me doubt my eyes. They separated for one beat, then two swords danced.

The roars of the giant and Shuna overlapped.

Their swords clashed.

The boy and the giant’s swords locked together.

「Onii-chan!」

As I watched on in fascination, I was snapped back to reality by my sister’s voice.

「Ea, its throat. You can do it, right?」

「Piece of cake」

Shuna's skill with the sword was clear. He had pushed past his limits and was reaching perfection. But this was the strength of someone who was facing certain death. His life was hanging by a thread. As proof, his regeneration point, which was still displayed, was steadily reducing.

Shuna’s longsword was red and emitting heat from the impact and friction. Even though it was already miraculous that he was able to contend with the giant, he pushed forward.

With an annoyed and furious roar, the giant swung his sword.

It was clearly an overswing.

The horizontal sweep of the sword closed in on Shuna. By a paper’s width, Shuna dove under the sword. His longsword scraped the ground before cutting half-way through the thick bone. Shaken up, Shuna's expression twisted.

『Shuna-sama’s regeneration point has reached zero』

A chill ran down my spine when I heard Izora’s report.

One tense beat.

However, holding his sword with both hands, Irvin howled, then jumped. Along with a shrill yell, he delivered a downwards swing.

The giant's sword was blown away and got stuck in one of the pillars. Along with the hand and wrist wielding it.

「Ea, now」

I released an arrow. At almost the same time, Ea also released an arrow. These arrows, which were a little deformed, drew a slight arc before both of them pierced into the giant’s neck simultaneously.

「Irvin! Cover Shuna with your shield! Don't forget your own body!」

Irvin pushed Shuna's head down and covered him with his shield.

「?」

With a question mark floating above its head, the giant touched the arrows that were stuck in its neck. They exploded and severed the giant’s head.

The crown rolled off the fallen head, hit the shield, then stopped. The two of them swung their swords downwards at the same time and destroyed the crown. With a distant wail, the bones and sword turned to dust and scattered.

「Ea, Izora, start searching for enemies」

『Understood』

「Understood」

I also stayed alert and checked by eye.

No signs of any enemies. There were no indications that the bones that had turned to ash would start moving again. The hall was wrapped in silence.

Bell and Zenobia ran up to me.

『No enemies left』

「Likewise」

I checked one last time. Except for the party members, nothing was moving. I also checked all four corners and the ceiling.

I took a deep breath in, then took a long breath out.

「The battle is over. Well done, everyone」

The party members cheered.

『YEAHHHHHH~!』

Shuna yelled especially loudly, then collapsed in a heap. Irvin carried him on his shoulders like luggage.

Bel and Ea were holding hands in joy. Zenobia also had a tired smile. Rana, who had been a little bit left behind, glanced at us.

Our joint party had cleared the 9th floor on our third attempt.