Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 5 (36 page)

The adventurers still in the field heard Hestia’s order and immediately made way.

Welf, Mikoto, Lyu, and Asfi—

Everyone caught a glimpse of his face as Bell sped by.

Their eyes were filled with belief, hope, and the urge to support him—
Go!

Bell picked up even more speed. No one could look away.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!”

The red eyes of the burning Goliath caught a glimpse of Bell’s advance.

It bellowed with a mixture of anger and fear as it pulled one of its massive, burning arms behind its back.

The giant was ready to punch. That attack had already destroyed so much, injured so many adventurers, including Bell. He knew the risk, but he didn’t slow down.

—As Hestia had said before, Bell possessed a “heroic strike.”

Her words etched deeply into his soul, Bell pulled the large black sword in an arc over his right shoulder.

Less and less distance.

The Goliath’s body loomed over him, a presence that could crush him at any moment.

At the same time, power flowed into his grip, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Focusing every ounce of his being into the blade of the sword, Bell jumped into the air and took a swing.

“YAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

Explosion on impact.

“
”

Welf and everyone else was forced to shield their eyes from the intense white light.

Bell’s war cry had drowned out the Goliath’s roar until the explosion erased all other sounds.

No one could hear a sound for several seconds. However, once their ears did recover…utter silence. The battle had been decided.

A few adventurers worked up the courage to lower their hands and arms for a better look. They saw a giant with no torso and no right arm lying in the middle of the circle of ash.

The legs and left arm made no sound, a bizarre statue in the aftermath.

And just in front of it, standing how he landed after the follow-through of his attack, was Bell. The black sword was broken, white smoke emerging from what was left of the weapon.

No one said a word, only tried to remember every single detail of this spectacle.

“…He…cut it down.”

Time flowed once again as those words fell out of Welf’s awestruck mouth.

Bell lost his balance and his knee hit the ground. Using the broken sword as a cane, the boy watched as the Goliath’s legs and left arm disintegrated into ash in front of him.

The monster’s magic stone had been destroyed along with its upper body. Its remains slowly started to fall apart and disappear.

SHHHH.
A light breeze started carrying a portion of the large amount of ash into the “sky,” revealing a drop item—Goliath’s Hide.

“UUWWWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

Cheers rang out a moment later.

The adventurers surrounding the battlefield raised their fists triumphantly, embraced their allies, and shed tears of happiness as they yelled as loud as they could. Flashes of silver light filled the area. They were waving their broken swords, spears, axes, and shields as their song of victory echoed throughout the eighteenth floor.

The great plain shook with their waves of sound that were too distorted to form words.

Everything that had just transpired in the Dungeon felt like a lie in this moment of jubilation. The walls and ceiling were silent; there was no threat of any new monsters appearing. The residents of Rivira celebrated alongside Mord’s adventurers, their faces red with excitement and joy.

“Bell!”

“Mr. Bell!”

Hestia was the first to run to his side, wiping away tears as she went. It didn’t take long for Lilly, Welf, Lyu, and Mikoto to reach him as well. Even some of the other adventurers gathered around.

What remained of the crystal flower in the middle of the ceiling shined a blue spotlight down upon him.

Bell and his allies were surrounded by continuous congratulatory cheers as the entire eighteenth floor seemed to embrace them.

“Ahhh…ahhh, glorious!”

Hermes was alone after Hestia left the southern supply base.

His orange eyes sparkled as he watched Bell at the center of the children’s celebration.

The deity laughed as if he’d been intoxicated by the excitement that was swirling around him.

“These eyes have seen it! I, Hermes, have seen it all! Your grandson, your parting gift to this world!”

Hermes’s fervor grew more and more as he called out to someone, somewhere.

He thought back to the boy’s grandfather’s words.

“The boy has a backbone. The boy has patience.—However, he severely lacks character.”

Bell’s grandfather had told him that the boy didn’t have what it would take.

“Have you gone blind, saying things like that?!”

Would you still make that claim if you saw this?!
The deity laughed to himself as he gestured toward the boy in the distance.

Hermes threw his head back toward the sky, mouth wide open, laughing in a way that could be called crazy.

“Rejoice, Great Lord Zeus! Your grandson is the real deal! The last hero your
Familia
left behind!”

Hermes’s enthusiasm had yet to subside as he continued.

“Well, I’m no Oracle but…Ahhhh! I can’t keep this to myself!”

Hermes looked out over the great plain filled with adventurers, as if he were watching a play, and yelled out.

“It’s coming, it’s coming! A new era is coming! Could be ten years from now, five years, one year, or even tomorrow! But something will happen in Orario to usher in the new era!”

It was his divine intuition.

It had been a thorn in his side for some time.

“Seriously, has there ever been a better group of heroes alive at the same time since the prehistoric days?!”

“The Brave” Finn Deimne.

“Nine Hell” Reveria Riyos Ahrve.

Oujya “Warlord” Ottar.

Kenki “Sword Princess” Aiz Wallenstein.

It was hard to find a better collection of valiant individuals throughout all of history.

Each of them had a level of character and strength that would measure up well with the greatest heroes of all time, and they were all here at once.

“No, definitely not! With so many worthy children so close together, there’s no way something huge couldn’t happen!”

Add the Little Rookie into the equation, his untapped potential on top of all of the others’ proven strength and power, and Hermes’s intuition became firm conviction.

“And I’ll see it, I’ll see it all! These eyes will watch all of them as they carve their names into history, until the day they die!”

Their humanity, their praise, their joy.

Hermes’s vision of the future came together in his head as he watched the adventurers gathering around the white-haired boy.

The deity’s eyes opened even wider.

“The story they will create, bound by the love of their gods. The
Familia Myth
!”

It would become the ultimate show.

The most charming of charms.

The pastime to end all pastimes.

“Aaaahhh—”

It was so exciting.

“Coming down to this world was the best decision I’ve ever made!”

The children were still dancing, fist-pumping and yelling with glee. He opened both of his arms toward them and sang a song to praise the heroes.

EPILOGUE

Bell and the rest of the group went back to the surface a day after defeating the Goliath.

By some miracle, every member of their group survived the ordeal. Each of them went their separate ways, to inform those closest to them of their safe return. One went to his goddess to express his gratitude and buried the remains of a weapon; one went to bring their group members up to speed; and still another removed the hood and went back to working at a bar without anyone noticing.

At the same time, a gag order was issued to all of the adventurers who had witnessed the events on the eighteenth floor.

The appearance of the floor boss at a safe point was an Irregular beyond comprehension. The Guild declared it to be an “act of the gods”—henceforth classified as a “Calamity.” To avoid excessive confusion, Hestia and Hermes received a strict warning, as well as a penalty—their explanation of the circumstances was ignored—and forbidden to speak of it ever again.

However.

It was impossible to keep voices silent forever. That’s the way of the world.

“You are sure of this?”

“Completely. A Goliath appeared on the eighteenth floor. Adventurers in the town of Rivira engaged it in combat and prevailed…While I do not know how, it is highly likely that it was the Little Rookie who delivered the final blow.”

“Ku, fu-fu, ha-ha-ha-ha…Is that so? You have done well, Hyacinthus.”

Suppressed laughter echoed throughout the dark chamber.

The master of the room reached out and lovingly stroked the cheeks of the young man named Hyacinthus.

The master’s gaze left the kneeling man, looking off at nowhere in particular with a twinkle in his eyes as if someone were on his mind.

“Bell Cranell…He is indeed superb. As Apollo, I claim him as my own.”

The deity’s lips curled into a smile as what little light that entered the room illuminated his smooth blond hair, which matched the color of sunlight.