LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 63
“Over here, everyone gather!”
Dwenna smashed the advancing gargoyles one by one.
“What’s going on…!”
“Ugh!”
The cadets who had formed up around her were holding their ground with great effort.
A disaster unprecedented suddenly descended upon them.
If those dropped on the third floor hadn’t been the top-tier cadets, they might have been wiped out long ago.
“Graaah!”
Crash!
The hammer swung wildly.
Rough stone dust filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
“Damn it…!”
Rather than understanding what was happening, they needed to act to survive.
That was the law of survival learned in the woods.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
A gargoyle’s fang bit into her shoulder.
“Dwenna!”
“I’m fine…! Go help the others!”
She reached out and smashed the gargoyle’s head.
However, the fang remained embedded in her shoulder, dripping blood.
If left unattended, it could dig deeper and render her shoulder useless.
‘There’s no time!’
If she stopped attacking even for a moment, other gargoyles would push in.
If a gap was given, they would swarm in and attack the cadets who were injured or comparatively weaker.
“I won’t let that happen!”
Things could still change.
Even a stone found in the mud could become a dazzling jewel.
Isn’t that why Polaris came to prove it?
– Can I become like those people?
– Of course! Anyone can become anything.
– Wow…!
– People are filled with limitless possibilities!
What was needed to become a hero wasn’t a cumbersome backstory.
No matter if no one recognized it.
Even if they died here.
Even if they only lived a short life in that fleeting moment.
– A person who can genuinely care for someone.
That was.
A hero!
“Graaah!”
Instead of using her unresponsive arm, she grabbed the hammer with her other hand.
In that state, she shouted loudly.
“Come! You ugly things!”
She knew.
That compared to the shining individuals, she was utterly miserable.
The Saint of Prophecies.
The Chosen Princess.
The scion of a great noble house.
The heir of a magic family.
And… that guy, who from the very beginning was on a different level.
In comparison, she was just a mere bandit.
But, because of that.
‘Things can change.’
There was hope.
There remained room for improvement.
There was no reason to stop here.
“Raar!”
She leaped into the heart of the enemy territory and brought the hammer down in all directions.
“You guys run away!”
“B-but!”
“If we keep going like this, we’ll all die!”
It was a cold judgment.
Since it was an accident in the later part of the tournament, most cadets were exhausted or injured.
Facing the monsters on the third floor was practically impossible.
“I have enough stamina and magic! So hurry!”
“I… I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”
As Dwenna shouted fiercely, the remaining kids took the injured ones and left the place.
“Gyaaah!”
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
She threw her hammer at the gargoyle that tried to chase them.
Squish!
“Where do you think you’re going leaving me behind?!”
“Graaah!”
“Come on! Bring it on!!”
She suppressed her desire to run away with fierce determination.
Like a woman, like a hero, she stood her ground.
Crack! Crunch!
Bang!
Crash!
She smashed the chests of the creatures with her fists and kicked their lower bodies apart.
Every time the pain in her shoulder flared up, she bit her lips hard enough to draw blood.
“Gah… Ugh!”
How long could she endure?
Something strange began to happen to Dwenna’s blood-soaked body.
“Damn it… the effects of the potion…!”
Her swollen, hideous face began to shrink and her physique started to lessen.
Her muscles faded away, and her size kept diminishing.
“Ugh!”
Dwenna’s expression turned to shock as she rummaged through her pockets to find the remaining potion.
Nothing could be felt inside.
‘There should still be some left!’
Could it be that she dropped it during the fight?
Regardless of the reason, the situation was desperate.
Without the ‘potion,’ she couldn’t swing her hammer or smash them with her bare hands.
Jolt!
“AAAH!”
The pain in her shoulder was growing worse.
“Damn it… is this the end…?”
She couldn’t muster any strength.
The number of gargoyles surrounding her had decreased significantly, but…
She no longer had the stamina to face them.
“…Grandma.”
As death approached, a familiar face came to mind.
“Kyaaaah!”
Did they notice she had given up resisting?
Some of the gargoyles, who had been moving passively, lunged at her with claws and teeth.
“…Damn it.”
At the moment she tightly closed her eyelids.
“You were amazing, sis.”
That familiar yet annoying voice grazed her ear.
“You… are…”
“Just stay still. You’re going to open your wounds.”
Flowing black hair.
Magic surged from his sword.
“Combination of sword techniques.”
『Fang Storm』
The sharp wind from his claws rushed at the statues that had been squeezing her.
Swishshshshsh!
“Kyaaaah!”
“Gryaaaah!”
In just one swing of the sword, all those gargoyles turned to white powder in an instant.
“Ah…”
She was angry.
Rage rose from within her, and she couldn’t hold it back.
‘Why…’
Seeing that thief-like guy who brings her trouble every time they meet.
Why did she feel relief and comfort now?
Was she glad he came?
“Are you okay?”
“…I… am…”
“You don’t look okay.”
“…”
“It’s a joke.”
Why could he look at her so sincerely?
Why did she feel it was a ‘reward’ when he looked at her?
‘It’s infuriating.’
Really.
It made her so annoyed she couldn’t bear it.
*
“Ran? Who is that kid?”
“…Well, I don’t know.”
I made a complicated expression as I looked at the child who was sleeping on my back.
“Why is there such a young child here…?”
“Well, dungeons are strange places. A child can suddenly appear, right?”
“…I didn’t think such an occurrence would happen, though.”
“Ahem.”
To explain the situation, we had to go back to the time when I saved the critically wounded Dwenna.
– This… annoying chick…
After saving her when she was on the verge of death, she suddenly started saying things like that.
The problem arose after she fainted.
Swhoosh!
– Huh, what?
Swhoosh!
– Damn, what’s this?
Suddenly, Dwenna’s body began to shrink.
Her gorilla-like face puffed down, and her burly body became thin.
– What the heck?!
What ultimately emerged after the transformation was.
This small, cute little girl.
‘Is there a gargoyle that secretes poison that changes bodies?’
To be safe, I’m hiding that this child is Dwenna, but I’m also very confused.
Dwenna’s clothes were oversized and torn, so I had to wrap her in my coat for now.
“Please move this child toward the camp.”
The camp.
It refers to the base where cadets gather in the safe zone on the third floor.
“Understood.”
“I’ll go check somewhere else.”
The rescue was progressing smoothly.
At least so far, they hadn’t found any corpses of cadets.
“Are you leaving again?”
Elma, holding the little girl, looked at me with concern.
“There are still people I haven’t rescued.”
“…We have formed a rescue team with those who can still move in the camp.”
She took another step closer to me.
“You haven’t been able to rest for more than five hours, have you?”
As Elma said, five hours had already passed since the accident occurred, but there had been no rescue from the outside.
‘Of course.’
It was likely that ‘those guys’ had sealed off all the exits on the third floor.
No one would be able to come or go until this incident was resolved.
“Let’s rest a bit… It would be a disaster if fatigue set in during battle.”
“I’m fine.”
I deliberately smiled, shaking off her worried gaze.
“When each person counts, we need to act while we can.”
The moment I said that.
A deep cough rose from my throat.
“Cough!”
“Ran!”
“Ugh… there’s too much dust here.”
I made an excuse about dust, but in truth, it was because of the side effects of using ‘the chanting’ back in the Starry Forge.
I was almost recovered, but I occasionally still coughed up blood like this.
“Blood… Blood?!”
Seeing the blood on my hand, Elma turned pale and trembled.
“W-what is this?! Why is there blood coming out when you cough?!”
“Ah… it’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie!”
It’s not a lie, though.
“Just be honest! Where are you hurt…?”
Guuurrrrgh!
Just as her full interrogation was about to begin.
The entire third floor trembled violently.
Roar-!
A strange roar echoed from afar.
“I’ll go check it out. Please take care of that child!”
I hastily stepped on the accelerator and headed toward the source of the roar.
‘It’s about to begin.’
The inevitable event, the main boss of the ‘Twisting.’
A monster symbolizing the start of the intense story.
‘This might get rough.’
I was a bit worried, but this was when you pressed forward with resolution.
“Swish!”
Black Lotus swayed its tail as if cheering me on.
It must have realized what I was about to do.
What awaited beyond that abyss as well.
“Thank you.”
“Swish swish~!”
Thanks to that, I felt a bit braver.
At the very least, the fact that Black Lotus was in good shape meant none of the things I feared had happened.
“…Now that I think about it.”
I wondered if Angela’s clone had awakened yet.