Chapter 184: 169

Stab.

Pierce.

Gouge.

Break.

Sever.

Rupture.

Crush.

Pulverize.

Like a shura(demigod/antigod of war and carnage in Buddhism).

Like a rakshasa(fierce man-eating beings or ogres in Buddhism).

Like a monster.

Like a demon.

Like a beast with no mercy, I kill my enemies and devour their lives. What exactly is the difference between the current me and the monsters in the dungeon, I wonder?

Behind me lies untold amounts of blood, bone, and flesh.

Is it my own blood or the blood of my enemies that's dripping from my hands?

I have no way of knowing.

I stopped everything that moved.

I killed everything that came at me.

「Shit」

Zamonglass's sword had gotten stuck inside a corpse and wouldn't come out. When I tried to pull it out forcibly, its hilt broke apart, leaving the blade where it was.

Dammit, there's no way for me to retrieve it. I'll have to leave it behind for now.

「Agathion………」

The magic sword that had tumbled to the ground didn't respond.

It didn't even twitch when I held out my hand towards it. I couldn't spare the strength to carry it either.

I checked the condition of my katana, which was covered in blood and grease.

There was a crack in its blade and I could see Lola's claw writhing and sucking blood through it. I slid it back into its scabbard and let it soak in the mixture. The very last cartridge popped out of the scabbard.

I'm amazed by how unusually sharp the katana had been. But who knows what effects it will have if it continues to suck the Horns' blood like this.

「Shit」

Two of the weapons I just got fixed are already ruined. I'll have to ask Zoruzoglu-san to repair them again.

What a waste. It seems that my way of fighting isn’t very good for my equipment.

『Hmm, the way you fight reminds me of Rmir』

「Oh, is that so?」

Garving was being noisy near my collar.

『Rmir was a very mild-mannered beastkin, but whenever one of our party members got hurt, Rmir would do a complete about-face and fight like a demon. Every time that happened, Rmir's weapons would break. Duin was always having to worry about our finances』

You're being noisy.

It's annoying.

I shook the flesh off the mace and hefted it onto my shoulder. As could be expected of a weapon made for a Horns, it was sturdy and could still be used.

From one of the corpses, I took an intact horn and put it into my mouth. Pain shot through my entire body. The pain of nerves being grated and a burning sensation filled my body.

The containers of my regeneration point had glowed with a suspicious light the entire time.

The horns in the inner pocket of my vest had splintered into tiny pieces before I knew it.

「Garving, how many have I killed?」

『Is there any point in asking that question?』

「Well………………I guess not」

No matter how many monsters I kill, it's pointless.

Yes, no matter how many of these guys I kill, it's pointless.

『I'm done on my side as well. I'll join up with you. By the way, I was attacked by a pair of swordsmen, but are they your party members?』

「What do they look like?」

『A mature man with an eye patch who wields a katana. A young girl with long hair who wields a longsword』

「They're definitely my party members. You didn't hurt them, did you?」

Depending on the reply, I may do the same thing as Rmir.

『I may be a magician, but I'm still an experienced adventurer. I can handle a sword』

「That so?」

As expected of a great magician-sama.

『I've told them where to find you. They will probably meet up with you at some point』

「………Thank you very much」

I thanked him openly.

But while I was relieved, I also had a bad feeling.

Is it Rana, Lys, or Ea who's being held captive, wonder? Or is it all of them?

Imagining such a situation, I got angry. I started to seethe.

My body is nowhere near normal right now. If I let my anger overcome me, I'll make a deadly mistake.

Calm down.

Calm down.

I took a deep breath and held it. After exhaling slowly, I took another deep breath.

I repeated this process until I felt myself calm down.

I started to notice the smell of blood and gore again, and felt a little more composed.

「Can you locate my captured party members?」

『I suspect they're probably in the basement』

「The prison, huh?」

That's a place I've been in and out of a few times.

Dragging my heavy feet, I started moving again.

There's no sign of any enemies. It seems that I've well and truly killed all of the enemies in the vicinity.

The problem is that the strongest enemies are usually found on the top floors of castles. I hadn't seen that Horns with the two long horns either. In the worst-case scenario, there may even be Horns who are stronger than her.

And then there's the guardian of this floor.

There's still a lot of fighting to be done, a lot of uncertainty, and no way to tell what lies ahead. It's truly an adventure.

『Foreigner, there's something I want to ask you』

「What's this? Even though you steal people's thoughts without their permission………」

『No, I can only steal the knowledge that appears in your surface thoughts. What I want to ask you about is the god that you're contracted with. She’s concealing her name, is she not? Misuranika is not her true name. It's been hidden away. No………that's not all. There's something more to――――――』

His voice suddenly cut out.

「Hey……… Hey, Garving?」

It would be troublesome if I lost his support.

『Gaan――――Zsa Zsa――――Zii Zii――――Test test, can you hear me?』

「I can hear you. What happened?」

Signal interference?

『That was a taboo subject, I see. It nearly compromised my communication with you. Let's drop the subject altogether』

What the heck?

Thanks to the fruitless conversation, I was able to regain my composure.

I headed for the prison in the basement.

I'm not going to drop my guard.

I still have all my faculties intact and there are no residual injuries from the fighting.

But I'm concerned about the after-effects of using the Horns' horns. I can feel a terrible weariness pressing down on me. I feel so fatigued that I might fall asleep the instant I lie down.

Mustering up all my strength, I moved my legs.

The suspicious glow of the containers has subsided, but I can still sense it with my eyes closed.

For some strange reason, I long for it.

That suspicious red light.

「Hey, Garving. These horns」

『Are there any after-effects? Well, yes. You're forcing your body to heal itself using an abnormal influx of magic elements after all. A normal person would go insane, or at best, lose their memories and sense of self』

「Hey!」

Don't screw with me. You never told me any of that.

Aren't they terrifyingly dangerous things then?

『Don't worry. You seem to have a resistance to them. I'm very curious to know if that's due to your foreigner constitution, the blessing of the god you're contracted with, or some other principle I don't understand』

「I don't have the time to satisfy your curiosity――――――」

Overcome by a spell of dizziness, I leaned against a wall.

Searing pain lanced through the bottom of my eye. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see anything out of my left eye.

「Shit, at a time like this……」

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Did some damage relapse or something? To lose my sense of distance in close-quarter combat is………

『Relax, it's only temporary. Overuse of the regeneration point causes the loss of vision for a short time. This is possibly, hmm, most likely a form of irony caused by the Houma that I created to deny the gods being worshiped as a god』

「I don't understand a damned thing you’re saying」

I dragged my heavy body down the stairs to the basement.

In exchange for losing my sight in one eye, I seemed to have gained an odd ability to sense things. I could vaguely make out presences in my head.

Downstairs, there are five.

No, four? One of them feels strangely unsteady.

Due to the tight confines of the stairway, I left the mace behind and placed my hand on the hilt of my katana. I did my best to kill the sound of my footsteps. As quiet as a mouse, I ran down the steps.

I had smelled an unpleasant odor in the air.

Blood and guts, feces and urine, the stench of something rotting.

It was the smell of living things.

From the end of the long staircase, I could hear the sounds of "something" assaulting "someone".

Despite the carnage that had gone on upstairs, it seemed that the ruckus had failed to make it all the way down to the basement. Seeing the foot of the stairs, I jumped the ten or so steps remaining and landed soundlessly.

I relaxed my body so that I would be able to act quickly.

The first thing I spotted was Nanassy. Her arms and legs had been chained to a big log, and she was being humped from behind by a male Horns.

I scanned the surroundings very closely, but there was only one enemy.

I'm glad it's Nanassy. If it had been one of my party members, I wouldn't have been able to keep my cool.

The door to the prison had been left wide open.

But I cut through the bars of the prison and closed the distance using the shortest route possible.

Well, I suppose that means that I still felt a certain degree of anger.

「Hey」

I had taken him completely by surprise.

From behind, I thrust my katana into the Horns' heart, lungs, and lower abdomen all at once.

「GY――――」

Before he could let out a yell, I filleted him. At about the same time, the cut bars clanged onto the ground, making a racket.

「Onii-san!」

「Bel, are you okay?!」

Bel was chained up in the next cell. She was more important, so I cut the bars again to get in. I thought about cutting the chains binding her, but if I didn't get it right, I might mar Bel's skin.

「Here」

I caught something that was thrown at me. It was a set of keys.

Nanassy, who had thrown it, had already freed herself from the restraints on her hands and feet. She appeared to have torn the chain restraining her right hand right off through brute strength.

I wonder why she let that Horns have his way with her when she had the power to do that.

「Umm, would you mind not looking at me if you could?」

「That's impossible」

Bel was also completely naked.

「Good」

「No no no, what do you mean, "good"?! And where were you looking at that made you say that?!」

As the leader of the party, I was able to confirm that she hadn't been violated.

Onii-san can rest easier now.

As I was releasing Bel from her restraints, clothes were thrown at me with perfect timing again.

Nanassy had already gotten dressed and was fully equipped. In a corner of the prison, equipment taken from the adventurers lay in a pile.

Among them, I found a pair of gauntlets, a white fighting outfit, and a set of bikini armor, all of which I recognized.

「Bel, what about everyone else?」

「The beastkin was taken to the back……………… Onii-san, Rana-san was taken upstairs, but have you not seen her?」

「No, not yet」

Nanassy went to the back to check on her party member.

Unlike the prison in Lemuria, the prison here went so deep that it was impossible to see where it ended. Upon a second look, I noticed that there were all kinds of bones strewn about the prison.

「Bel, please explain the situation to me」

I'm worried about Rana. But I need to get as much information as I can.

「Rana and I found ourselves surrounded by enemies after we got teleported. We fought hard, but Lys suddenly withdrew, and we got caught because I was dragging her down. I'm really sorry」

「Have you seen Ea?」

「No, I haven’t」

「I see. Shuna and Otou-san are outside. They're safe―――――Hey, Nanassy!」

I called back the chibi-Horns.

She came back with fresh blood splattered all over her.

「Foreigner, is Arcane safe?」

「Whose blood is that?」

「Kakyua's. They toyed with her so much that she couldn't be saved anymore, so I ended her suffering」

So it's the blood of her beastkin party member, huh? Well, she's not wrong to do that, but………

………No. This is their party's problem. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but it's not my place to say anything.

「Eh, no way」

I reached out to comfort Bel, who had turned pale, but I couldn't possibly do that with my bloodied hands, so I stopped myself.

「Nanassy, Arcane is sleeping just outside the castle. He's safe」

Probably.

「I have a favor to ask of you」

「Alright. I'll escort that girl to a safe place」

She's surprisingly quick on the uptake.

「Always pay back what is owed. That's what Arcane always says. You saved me. Thank you very much for that」

She's being so forthright that it's making me uncomfortable.

It's creepy.

「Bel, I don't know how much she can be trusted, but I need you to escape this place with her」

「Okay. I'm sorry for being completely useless」

Bel's hands were shaking.

I'm the one who should be apologizing. For making you go through such a scary ordeal.

「Foreigner, what will you do?」

Nanassy asked a foolish question.

「I'll go rescue the others. And while I'm at it, I'm going to wipe out all the Horns」

「Umm, you're really Onii-san, right?」

Bel is absolutely right to question that.

I think I must look terrible right now.

「Do you see any horns?」

I pushed my bangs up and showed her my forehead.

It may have grown back. Even if I had wanted to check, I can't tell for myself.

「No」

「Good. That means I'm still human」

Bel accepted the longsword Nanassy handed her.

For the current her, it's a difficult weapon to handle. It's a keepsake of Irvin.

「Bel, can you do me a favor?」

「What is it? I'll do anything within my power!」

She’s a stout-hearted girl who won't let her feeling of powerlessness get the better of her.

And that's precisely why I can count on her to do this for me.

「If I come back by myself, have a horn just like the Horns', and am not in my right mind, kill me with that sword」

It's a terrible favor to ask.

As long as I watch myself like I have been, a horn won't grow out. I won't lose my grip on myself. Regardless of whatever may have happened to Rana, this wish will keep me sane.

Before anything else, I'm a leader. I carry the lives of others on my shoulders. I have the responsibility to ensure that the members of my party who are still alive get away safe. I can't go insane before I've accomplished that.

It's all thanks to Bel that I remembered that.

I'm human. As long as I strive to be human, I'm not a beast.

「Okay. Got it」

She replied without a second thought.

As expected of my party member.

Hmm, Nanassy is a chibi(shortie), huh? I hadn’t pegged her as a chibi though. But I guess she can’t be tall if she hangs in mid-air when Evetta grabs her by her head…that’s probably why Evetta grabbed her by the head in the first place, I suppose…

Still, what a chapter, huh? I’ll say it again, but this is not a typical Japanese WN/LN. It’s a dark fantasy in the truest sense. But if you’ve made it this far, I’m sure you already knew that. Well, we’re about two-thirds of the way through this volume, so stay tuned!

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