Chapter 26 – The Judgement is Death (First Half)
— Dungeon City of Sakura – 336th Dungeon [Eternal Darkness].
The journey to the tenth floor was nothing special compared to our adventure so far.
No, there were various changes in the types of enemies and terrain along the way.
However, the enemies were all guys I could one-shot without even basic skills, and the fields didn’t affect our stamina.
There were changes.
But because those changes were trivial to Haruka and me, it ended up feeling unimpressive.
I don’t want to arrogantly boast that it was a piece of cake or anything like that, but to be honest, I had quite a bit of leeway.
Partly to refresh our morale, I had Haruka give me some light sword training.
“Kyouichirou’s sword has no ego, in a good way. You use it completely as a ‘means’, so there are no bad habits.”
I’m learning from a good teacher, as the top swordsman of humanity openly praises me with kind words.
A “good” teacher, huh?
Certainly, Our Lady Al is an excellent teacher.
The teaching is on point and the range of topics is wide.
The fact that I have become so strong in just one year is undoubtedly because she has been by my side.
However, if you ask if she has a friendly personality, the answer is definitely no.
Aside from the obvious power and sexual harassment, there are also unreasonable financial demands, and her basic training menu pushes me to the limit of what I can’t break.
…Yes, she’s undoubtedly a bad teacher according to the values from this aspect.
I can vividly imagine her being anti’d by the keyboard warriors of the Internet.
But when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
In the world of [Dungeon Magi: War of Spirits], where strength and productivity are paramount, her education policy may be a bit excessive, but it’s not particularly objectionable.
In the first place, the value placed on life is completely different between “this side” and “that side,” so it’s nonsense to measure by that side’s standards – but that doesn’t mean I approve of that evil god nonchalantly kicking my son, but the fact that I’ve become stronger thanks to her is also undeniable… Hmm, going around in circles.
“I think she’s an excellent teacher, but not nice at all.”
In the end, that innocuous line was the answer I came up with.
Excellent, but not kind.
It may not be a perfect answer, but I think it captures the essence of her.
But it’s also unexpectedly… No, this is going nowhere, so I’ll move on.
After enjoying the adventure more or less to the full, Haruka and I found the transfer gate to the tenth floor a little after 4 pm.
Even though we arrived later than yesterday, the total time was significantly updated, probably thanks to sprinting through floors 6 and 7 as a substitute for our daily run with Haruka.
“And that’s how we got to the tenth floor.”
An unnecessarily exuberant Haruka-san and I exchanged a mysterious high five.
This hype right before unprecedented trials. You couldn’t ask for better morale.
“All right, please proceed as planned.”
“Got it. Don’t screw up, Kyou-san.”
The middle-school duo advances with light steps, ready to charge in. The air around us is practically the same as usual – there’s a nonchalance, as if we’re about to go on a school trip.
“Stop, you two! Where are you going?”
A piercing roar echoes.
When I turn around, a dark-skinned man with a distorted expression is charging this way.
“Beyond is unexplored territory. I’ll say no more. Turn back.”
“….Are you from the Adventurers’ Guild?”
“No. But I carry the name of Frozen Blade’s foot soldiers. Do you know what that means?”
As I stuff an onigiri into Haruka-san’s mouth while she honestly confesses, “I don’t care!”, I nod with a serious face.
“Frozen Blade” refers to a corner of the Five Great Clans. Why would the top brass give a warning to small fry like us?”
“You don’t need big reasons to stop youngsters who are about to die. Listen, if you set foot beyond this point, you will undoubtedly die.”
The dark-skinned man intimidates us with a gruff tone. He’s probably trying to stop us out of sincere kindness.
“So far, many other young and hot-blooded guys like you have challenged the ‘trial’, and every single one of them has died. Do you understand? Every single one. If you go through the purple door, you’ll surely meet the same fate. Don’t confuse courage with recklessness. If you want to show your courage, do it somewhere else.
It’s appreciated, and I also feel like repaying this senior’s kindness. However…
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“I humbly accept your advice. Hearing about the tenth floor makes me feel even more tense. Thank you, Senior. You tried desperately to stop us. So no matter what happens to us beyond this point, it is not your responsibility. We will be responsible for ourselves. —Goodbye, until we meet again somewhere”
After bowing my head, I promptly dashed through the swirling purple door in one bound. And the Stellar Swordsman ran beside me, the senior adventurer crying out sadly.
My chest tightened with feelings of human respect and a hint of apology, but the strongest emotion swirling inside was terribly cold.
I see, so the flag was triggered on Frozen Blade, huh?
While predicting how things will develop from here, I crossed the boundary between dimensions.
And what awaited me on the other side was…
—- – Dungeon City Sakura – 336th Dungeon [Eternal Darkness] Tenth Floor
[How good of you cursed ones to come.]
A large cubic room with countless coffins lining the walls and an unnaturally bleached floor.
In the middle of this extremely unpleasant hospital room, a man stood like a withered tree.
The man was easily over two meters tall, his neck was 20, 30 centimeters long… it might even reach 50 centimeters.
If this body had normal human “flesh” on it, it would surely have become a monster justifying the description “giant”.
However, on the freak in front of me, there was practically nothing that could be called flesh.
That’s right, skin. It was bones with skin attached, wrapped in white bandages.
A strange mummified stick figure with the absolute minimum of contours and the whole body wrapped in bandages – that was the most apt description of the master of this room.
Tall, thin, and with a rational adult male voice, a bandaged mummy.
He was none other than the master of the tenth floor, and the true culprit behind the stagnation of the Dungeon of Perpetual Darkness.
His name is simply “Shinma,” aka… Shinigami Ferryman
[I am Asto Wizard. The Reaper Ferryman judges you cursed ones.
Now, cursed ones. If you wish to advance, you must face my judgment.]
“Judgement, huh?”
I know, because I have seen and heard it many times in the game and after I came to this world, but just for confirmation and out of courtesy, I ask for the meaning.
“For what exactly will we be judged? And of course we get a chance to defend ourselves, right?”
[The fact that you exist is the sin. So I will cleanse your sins through death. If your beings are truly innocent, the way will naturally open up for you].
After listening to the Mummy Man’s pretentious eloquence, Haruka-san tilts her head with a difficult expression.
“Hey, Kyouichirou. I don’t understand what he’s saying at all.”
Yeah, you’re right. His speech is so stiff that it’s just chuuni at this point.
“Um, to break it down suuuper simply, Asto Wizard-san is saying
You’re in my way just by existing, so I’m going to kill you now. But if you can withstand my superpowers, I’ll let you through, ‘kay?’ while spewing arrogant nonsense.”
“I see, I see. This Clothpole is saying extremely self-centered stuff!”
“Right? It’s completely unreasonable.”
DanMagi bosses usually come at you with the attitude of “Hello! Now die!”, so this is normal, but in the case of Mummy Man, his personality seems worse because he seems rational at first.
What about “existence is a sin”? You totally got the genre wrong, dude.
…Oh well. When in Rome.
“Got it. Then judge me first.”
[All right, come out.]
The mummy man’s withered branch-like hand points at me.
A sudden feeling of floating–no, I’m actually floating–and the next moment, my body is violently thrown toward where he is.
“Woah!?”
The middle boss is doing Super Sentai aerial maneuvers. From the side, I’m probably making an incredibly stupid spectacle. I can definitely hear Haruka-san laughing from behind me. I’ll keep that in mind, Stellar!
[Stop]
Just as I get in front of Shinma, the order to stop comes.
As instructed, my body performs an emergency stop. I let out a groan like a frog and float in the air like a spread-eagle.
There are limits to the humiliation game.
[Capture him].
Much to my displeasure, the mummy’s humiliation did not end.
Suddenly, countless black ropes shoot out from the coffins on the left and right walls. They are binding my limbs and restraining me!
“Muscle uma bondage game, who’s that for?”
[This is not about wins and losses. I have only tied you up so that you cannot escape.]
Don’t spit out risky lines with that sly voice! Damn it, the development is totally doujinshi-like now. In that case, you might as well…!
“Kh, kill me!”
[That was my intention from the beginning.]
“Pfftt!” Haruka-san laughs out loud from behind me. Nice, nice, I really hit his abs. I always wanted to say this, kill me.
[Well then, I will start the trial.]
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