Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 5 (28 page)

“H–HYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!”

Everyone in Mord’s group had been waiting for another party to defeat the floor boss on the seventeenth floor to gain safe passage. Engaging this new beast in combat wasn’t an option. The group scattered in all directions, desperately trying to escape.

“What the hell is that…?!”

“Black Goliath…?!”

Bell’s party had emerged from the forest and stood in shock of what greeted their eyes.

The Goliath made its move toward Mord’s group as Welf and Lilly spoke to no one in particular. Even from this distance, Bell could tell that this Goliath was much more agile and powerful than the one he’d encountered on the seventeenth floor.

“That monster was probably sent to kill me…No, sent to kill the gods who came too deep.”

The Dungeon had sensed the presence of the deities and had sent this monster specifically to assassinate them.

The others didn’t completely understand what was going on. But every single one of them gulped as soon as Hestia told them that this floor boss was more than likely after her.

Although the beast was extremely powerful, it chased after anything that moved. Perhaps it was born too quickly to inherit the intelligence of other floor bosses.

“…W-we have to help them?!”

Bell was just as shaken as Welf and the others. But the sight of the other adventurers in danger helped him control his fear as he braced his legs to spring forward.

“Stand down.”

“?!”

Lyu grabbed Bell’s hand from behind.

The boy could see her sharp sky-blue gaze coming from underneath her hood.

“Do you really intend to assist them? With this party?”

Her expression was so blank, her very words seemed cold as she asked what should have been an obvious question.

Their party had only five upper-class adventurers to take down what was most likely at least a Level 4 Monster Rex. The difference in their strength was astronomical.

But most of all, was that group of outlaws worth saving at the potential cost of his friends’ lives? Lyu’s body language accented everything.

The boy’s eyes opened a little bit wider as a look of uncertainty passed over his face.

But it lasted only for that instant.

“Let’s help them.”

Lyu’s eyes narrowed at the boy’s quick decision.

“You are unfit to lead a party.”

Being who she was, Lyu’s criticism cut deep.

Then he met her sharp gaze for one moment—and she smiled.

“But you are not wrong.”

With Bell’s expression fresh in her mind and a grin on her lips, Lyu raced away from the forest and toward the Goliath with her cape fluttering in her wake. She was the first to move to help the other party.

Bell’s heart twinged for a moment before he took off after her at full speed.

Then Lilly, Welf, Mikoto, Ouka, Chigusa, and lastly Hestia.

No one voiced any disagreement, only exchanged glances and nods.

Sorry—and thank you. Their hearts and minds were unified.

Bell yelled:

“Let’s go!”

Seven figures left the forest and entered the plains.

Screams of fear and confusion accompanied by echoes of powerful footsteps lay before them in the center of the eighteenth floor.

Bell’s party threw themselves toward the giant, screaming a battle cry with all of their might.

CHAPTER 6

The ceiling had lost its white light, casting a dark blue curtain over the entirety of the eighteenth floor.

The adventurers gathering in the central square of Rivira could see everything from the top of the island in the middle of the lake.

“Just what is that…?”

A darkly hulking figure was running around the middle of the floor, chasing something. While they couldn’t see what, they could hear bloodcurdling screams from their position next to the cliff beside the central square all too clearly.

An Irregular of this magnitude had never been encountered on this floor. The adventurers of Rivira were known for their ability to protect themselves, but none of them knew how to react to this. They all just stood there, watching.

“—Boris! Boris, are you here?!”

“A-Andromeda?! Where the heck you come from, thin air?! Right out of the sky…?”

“That doesn’t matter right now! Boris, tell the adventurers to gather their weapons, we are going to slay that thing!”

Asfi’s voice was fraught with desperation as she pleaded with the strongest man in Rivira, the owner of Rivira’s Exchange. The beast of a man wore an eye patch over his left eye. He was not, however, thrilled about this proposal and took a step toward the girl.

“S-slay?! Don’t be an idiot, Andromeda. And who said our weapons stock needs to be wasted to take that thing down?! It’d be better to get our asses out of here!”

“Escape is not an option! The southern cliff face has collapsed, making it impossible for anyone to leave this floor!”

The large man didn’t take well to backtalk. However, his good eye happened to catch a cloud of dirt rising from the south. His neck
slowly turned, jaw dropping lower and lower as he started to comprehend the situation.

“We buy ourselves some time, then make like inmates and burrow our way out…”

“A pitiful attempt at humor. How much time do you think it would take to remove enough stone to make the passage usable? Half a day? A full day? It would be interesting to see if any adventurers could buy enough of this time you mentioned for you to clear a path or if everyone would be wiped out first.”

“…I-it’s just a Goliath. There’s no need for everyone to rush out there…”

“Does that look like
just a Goliath
to you?”

Asfi looked out over the cliff toward the black shadow rampaging under the cover of night. They could feel the impact of its mighty fists every time the Goliath swatted the ground from this distance.

“This is just my intuition, but I believe that the Goliath and our exit being cut off are linked. No one will be able to escape as long as that thing draws breath. It would be pointless to hope for reinforcements.”

“…Damn it all to hell.”

The man’s muscular shoulders dropped the moment that Asfi finished her explanation.

The Goliath took another swing off in the distance, accompanied by even more screams of pain and another tremor.

“All right, maggots! You heard her, we’re ending that monster here and now! I will personally see to it that anyone who chickens out will never set foot in this town again!”

All of the adventurers in the square couldn’t move for a moment after Boris gave the order. Then, as if someone flipped a switch, every single one of them sprang into action. Equipping themselves with their best weapons, they exited the town and rushed toward the plain.

Asfi watched as the stragglers completed their preparations and set out as Rivira fell silent. Placing her hand on the railing above the cliff, she watched their advance.

“I suppose I should get moving…!”

Taking one last look at the giant, she planted her right foot on top of the railing and jumped off.

The great plain had turned into a hellish battlefield.

The Goliath had targeted Mord’s group of adventurers. The ones who were unable to get out of the way fast enough were thrown skyward with each swing of its monolith-like fists. Even if they managed to dodge the blow, the impact on the ground was powerful enough to throw their bodies into the air like tissue paper.

“UWWAAAHHHH!!” Everyone could hear the screams of their allies, but none of them were able to think about anything but themselves. Self-preservation instincts had taken over as all of them desperately tried to put some distance between themselves and the black giant.

Their desperation had turned to madness, unfortunate allies flying through the air while their own fear made them scatter like flies in a futile attempt to escape.

“…oooo.”

The Goliath followed each of its targets with a piercing gaze.

Physically, its body shape wasn’t all that much different from an orc. Short but thick legs supported an upper body that made up about 60 percent of its total height. It slouched forward, long hair flowing halfway down its back.

The Goliath’s eyes kept jumping from small shadow to small shadow as they ran in circles beneath it. So it stopped watching. Instead, it focused its two blood-colored orbs on the shadows farthest away and leaned toward the ground.

A second later, the giant set off an explosion from its mouth.

“
AAAAAOOOOO!!”

A roar and a sonic boom erupted from between its jaws.

The blast made impact at the feet of the adventurer farthest away from the Goliath. The man was caught so off guard that he couldn’t
even scream as he was launched into the air along with large grassy chunks of the Dungeon floor. Mord and the rest of the adventurers watched him hit the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Their eyes grew large as every hair on their bodies stood on end.

“H-howl…?!”

This was no ordinary howl used to inspire fear and intimidate. This was a magical attack that turned the Goliath’s throat into a cannon. Its sheer power and range made the hellhounds’ fire breath look childish by comparison.

Mord’s group was trapped in a nightmare. If they were too close, they would be physically crushed. But they would be shot down one by one if they tried to run away. Each one of the adventurers turned pale as a ghost.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

The Goliath leaned back and roared toward the ceiling. The sound carried to the far corners of the floor—and monsters responded.

“WHA?!”

From the forest, from the plain, from the wetlands.

Every single one of the monsters that was lurking on the eighteenth floor started to make their way toward the Goliath. The adventurers broke out in a cold sweat as they saw various types of monsters emerge and surround them.

Another wave of monsters arrived, cutting off any possible escape routes while growling and cackling at their prey.

“
Hyeeeeee—!
”

All of the adventurers had no choice but to draw their weapons, but now the Goliath was moving again. It released howl after howl, blasting adventurers and monsters alike into the air as it closed in on one particular target.

The giant’s shadow overtook him. The werewolf adventurer could feel both of the monster’s bloodred eyes lock onto his back.

He watched the shadow of a giant fist rise—monster or adventurer, whatever that wrecking ball–size appendage hit would die instantly. The Goliath roared once again as it brought the fist crashing down.

“—!”

However, another adventurer arrived on the scene as if riding a gust of wind.

Lyu’s cape fluttered as she made her move. Taking advantage of the Goliath’s blind spot, she jumped up its leg from the side with amazing speed—and buried her wooden sword directly into its left knee with a powerful strike. Waves of pain coursed through the beast’s leg as all the adventurers heard a loud snap. Without one of its legs for support, the Goliath’s fist missed the werewolf adventurer by a considerable margin.

Ouka and Mikoto arrived on the scene, trying to keep fear from appearing on their faces as they passed through the panicking adventurers toward the giant.

“HAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

“YAAHHHHHHHHH!!”

Ax and katana hit the same knee that Lyu had just attacked, but what happened next left the two of them speechless.

Sharp pain traveled through both of their wrists. Ouka’s battle-ax shattered on impact as Mikoto’s katana blade broke in two.

The beast’s iron hide was stronger than both of their weapons combined. They didn’t even leave a scratch.

“Retreat at once!”

Lyu’s sharp order reached their ears in time to snap them out of their shocked daze.

Ouka and Mikoto stared into the palms of their now-empty hands before looking straight up—and into the bloodred pupils of the Goliath’s eyes. They were very angry eyes. The giant twisted its waist as it swung its massive right arm behind its back.

“GEH, EHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!”

“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?!”

Its arm whipped through the air as it swept forward. The Goliath’s fist traveled halfway around its body before finally striking the ground. While Ouka and Mikoto managed to dodge it at the last moment, the impact threw them into the air as they were blown backward by the wind in the giant’s fist’s wake.

But the Goliath wasn’t going to leave it at that. It took another step forward and opened its jaws.

“Blasphemous Burn!”

The monster’s head was caught in a huge explosion just before it released a howl.

Another roar from the giant was muffled as its face emerged from a cloud of ash and sparks, its mouth still spewing smoke. Its eyes quickly found the cause of the explosion, Welf and his anti-magic Magic.

A howl required magic power; that’s what triggered it. The red-haired man stood in the plain not too far away, his eyes focused on the beast’s burned mouth…When suddenly—

Welf’s eyes widened as he saw what the beast had in store for him. The Goliath was already in position for another howl, and the young man could see the magic energy gathering deep inside its throat.

“Ha!!”

“GUH?!”

The howl aimed at Welf had missed. “Uwoo?!” he yelled as the ground behind him exploded. It was thanks to Lyu that he was still alive.

She had scampered up the giant’s seven-meder-tall body and hit it in the back of the head to change the trajectory of the howl. She used her momentum to spin and land a kick directly to the giant’s cheek before retreating to the ground.

“Strong…as well as fast. This is no ordinary Goliath.”

Lyu whispered to herself, her eyebrows sinking under her hood as the Goliath recovered in no time at all.

The Goliath that appeared on the seventeenth floor was about Level 4. The Goliath she was facing now was completely different from the ones that she and her former allies had slain countless times before. Its Defense was strong enough to make even her hands go numb after impact, its ability to use a howl, but most of all it had reflexes that did not match its massive size.

—This enemy had the potential to be Level 5.

That was Lyu’s conclusion. A feeling of dread and despair started to well up within her as she tried to come up with a plan of attack all by herself.

Retreat was pointless. The moment anyone showed their back to it or lost the will to fight, they became a target. Lyu’s years of experience and combat instincts told her as much.