Kabru looked at the elves before him—and took note of the other adventurers nearby.
No one here had realized it yet... but everyone in the dungeon had already been pushed onto a runaway wagon by a group of [Hunters] from another world.
And now, this wagon was barreling across a lone bridge flanked by cliffs on both sides. There was no jumping off. The only option was to wrest control of the reins before the whole thing plunged to its doom.
Right now... the events unfolding in the dungeon were even more terrifying than the truths about the demon the elves were hiding.
There was no more time to waste on useless arguments. Right now—they had to unite every possible force they could into a single rope.
Thinking this, Kabru couldn't help but swallow dryly—even though his throat still felt painfully parched.
Threatening the elves… Kabru had never imagined doing something like that. But now that he had, he realized—there was no turning back.
The words from his earlier conversation with Laios floated clearly back to him.
Laios, too, had seemingly run out of options—and could only charge forward down a single path.
Kabru hadn't expected that, in the blink of an eye, he would end up doing the same thing. It made him wonder—if today, the Hunters and Laios were to fail, and if the world managed to carry on regardless, what kind of role would history assign him?
Would he be remembered as a treacherous long-body who betrayed the elves who had raised him?
What about the Hunters—how would they be described? As monsters?
Laios… would probably be called a dungeon master.
These thoughts buzzed through Kabru's mind, but his hands didn't falter. He continued pressing the elves without hesitation.
Until finally… the elves were forced to agree to his terms.
"Now, what we need to do is…"
Kabru took a deep breath. "Find a safe place first."
"If I'm right… the dungeon is going to undergo another upheaval. Maybe even several more!"
———✦———
"Marusil! Attack with the Water Spirit! Use Undine!!! Make it as strong as possible! Aim for the tail!!!!"
Right now, Laios, clad in his adamantine armor, was desperately clinging to the Hellblade Glavenus's enormous, greatsword-like tail—performing a Zero Sum Discharge.
(Zero Sum Discharge: Full name Zero-Distance Elemental Discharge Thrust. A powerful Switch Axe technique that deals high damage to specific monster parts at close range using phial energy.)
Energy poured continuously from his transformed Switch Axe, targeting the base of the Hellblade Glavenus's tail and trying to break it. Even as the Glavenus thrashed violently, swinging Laios around like a ragdoll, he shouted instructions to his team.
"ROOOOOAAAARRR—!"
The enraged Hellblade Glavenus lashed its tail violently, the blade glowing red-hot like it was on fire, repeatedly striking Laios and racking up damage.
"Laios! Hang in there! Don't give up!!"
Kairo Retsu, seeing Laios's peril, bellowed and sheathed his sword, then plunged both hands into his pack and rummaged through with a loud ka-ka.
"I'll help you!!!!"
With a shout, Kairo Retsu hurled two powders into the air. In an instant, a dull brown glow and a soft green shimmer enveloped Laios's body.
One was Adamant Seed Dust, the other Life Powder. Not only did they boost Laios's defense, they also pulled him back from the brink of death.
At the same time, Marusil had nearly finished her incantation—several water orbs were now floating beside her.
"Senshi!!!" Chilchuck suddenly noticed the Hellblade Glavenus's throat beginning to swell and quickly shouted: "It's aiming at Marusil's direction!"
"Oh!!" Senshi, wielding his adamantine Pot, immediately sprinted in front of Marusil and raised the pot just as the warning was shouted.
As the Glavenus's throat bulged, it expelled a blast of molten explosive fluid—crashing directly onto Senshi's adamantine Pot. A secondary explosion followed, nearly blasting Senshi backward.
But that brief moment of cover gave Marusil enough time to complete her spell. Undine coalesced into a massive water sphere—firing a water cannon directly at the superheated, glowing-red tail of the Hellblade Glavenus.
Already battered from repeated attacks, the overheated tail was struck head-on by the high-pressure blast. The force of the blow, combined with the rapid change in temperature, vaporized the surface—causing the tail to crack violently with a deafening snap.
"ROAAAAARRR—!!"
The Hellblade Glavenus let out a shriek of agony. With its tail severed, it staggered forward and collapsed, exposing a massive opening.
Kairo Retsu, seeing the chance, morphed his Charge Blade into Axe Mode and dashed forward.
The Hellblade Glavenus tried instinctively to swat him with its tail—but it no longer had the reach. The explosive dust on its tail had been thoroughly washed away by the water spirit's attack.
"DIE!!!"
Taking full advantage of the opportunity, Kairo Retsu—his Charge Blade empowered—rushed the monster. He drove the rotating axe head directly into the Glavenus's neck before it could recover.
The screech of grinding steel against flesh rang out as the spinning blade dug into the weakened carapace. The neck, already heavily damaged, could no longer hold. With one final grind, the blade tore open a gaping wound, spraying gore as it ripped through.
"We did it!" Marusil cried in elation.
"GET BACK!!!"
But Chilchuck, always the keen observer, shouted a very different warning—his instincts flaring.
In the very next moment, the Hellblade Glavenus snapped its head toward Kairo Retsu, unleashing the molten explosive it had been holding in its throat—
A direct hit.
Kairo Retsu was sent flying by the explosive lava blast.
Only then… did the Hellblade Glavenus finally collapse for good.
"Guildmaster?!"
Laios rushed to check on Kairo Retsu—and found him already chugging a Potion to heal.
Though his entire body was scorched with no unharmed skin left, Kairo Retsu had somehow survived the Glavenus's final desperate counterattack without carting...
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium