Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 11

by Fujino Omori

  “Bell?!”

  Hestia and Eina screamed in unison as the monstrous bull with two crimson horns propelled the boy through the air.

  “What…what happened?!”

  Bits of stone rained down on a corner of the dust-filled plaza.

  As the scene of destruction came into focus, the shouts of dazed adventurers broke the stillness.

  Screams and roars of anger filled the plaza.

  In the space of a few seconds, dozens of adventurers had been seriously wounded, and the Little Rookie had been blown away. The violent assault had happened so quickly no one had caught a good look at the enemy, but nevertheless it threw the crowd into an uproar.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  “You’re not hurt?”

  Ouka and Chigusa were supporting Eina’s back, but all she said in response to their questions was, “Bell…Bell?!” She had been shoved out of harm’s way, but she seemed deaf to their voices as she called Bell’s name again and again in a frenzy. Her Guild uniform covered in dust, she looked out at the panorama of walls with gaping holes in them.

  In another corner of the plaza, Welf and Mikoto looked at each other.

  “So that was…”

  “…The black…minotaur.”

  They whispered in horror at the jet-black monster that had disappeared in pursuit of Bell.

  Lilly and Haruhime were pale and unmoving, as if they were remembering the terrifying scene. Hestia, too, was struck dumb.

  “Asterios…?!” Gros murmured.

  Even the Xenos were frozen in place by the unexpected turn of events.

  Hidden by the cloud of dust, Gros stared in the same direction as Eina, at the holes where his kinsman and Bell had disappeared.

  Finn surveyed the scene from the top of an adjacent building.

  “Scouts, pursue the target! But do not act until I arrive! Narfi’s group, after you encircle them, provide support from the rear only, and call Aiz over here!”

  “Yes, sir!”

  As he fired orders in rapid succession, his troops leaped into action.

  Come what may, he would kill the monster here and now. The prum commander had set his mind on it.

  It was an unpredictable element. Finn’s intuition told him as much. Even his formidable brain could not predict its actions; it was, so to speak, a genuine Irregular. It was sure to become a threat in the future, and it must be taken down.

  Finn was about to take off running when he heard a sound.

  Stomp!

  A figure appeared before him.

  “You…”

  He stopped and looked up at it.

  “Ooo…owww…!”

  As Bell pulled himself up from among the rubble, he moaned at a pain that set his entire body on fire.

  Right in front of him was a series of stone walls with holes busted through them. It seemed he had traveled quite far from the plaza. If he hadn’t been wearing dual adamantite armor, he might well have broken his back. He forced his shaky body to stand up in the midst of the moonlit ruins.

  Just then he heard a loud crash.

  “!”

  He looked up in surprise at the sound of rubble being crushed underfoot. Through the half-demolished walls, he glimpsed the black monster that had sent him hurtling into them. Bell gasped at the brawny figure so tall he had to look up to see his head. He wore his full plate armor lightly.

  There was no mistaking it. This was the final Xenos he’d heard about. The black minotaur.

  Was he an enemy or a friend? Could he talk to him?

  Thoughts flew through Bell’s head even as he dripped sweat and reflexively took up a defensive position.

  “…?”

  Then he noticed the silence.

  For something that had unleashed such a terrific roar, the monster was strangely quiet. He had stopped his crashing steps at a slight distance from Bell and was now standing still. As if the wild rampage of a moment earlier had never even occurred, he stared fixedly at Bell.

  Bell, too, stood rooted to the ground, forgetting to speak.

  “…”

  “…”

  The moonlight illuminated the boy and the beast.

  Standing amid the rubble and ruins with his back to the cloudless night sky, the minotaur looked down on the boy. He was easily more than two meders tall. Bell remained completely still, gazing up at the monster.

  Time flowed by tranquilly. The moment of peace was entirely unexpected on the battlefield.

  As Bell stared into those eyes that seemed to draw him in, the monster slowly opened his mouth.

  “Your name. I want you to tell me your name.”

  Bell was taken aback by both the human language and the voice that spoke it, which did not in the least match the appearance of the speaker.

  It was a low voice. The quiet tone brought to mind a warrior.

  The boy stood in a daze, unable to answer. The monster continued to speak.

  “A dream.”

  “Huh?”

  “I’ve been having the same dream for a long time.”

  The minotaur spoke as if he were delivering a soliloquy.

  “A dream of fighting a single human.”

  “!”

  “This human is the strongest and most worthy of opponents. Even as we fight to the death, our blood and flesh flying, we recognize each other as destined rivals.”

  Bell stared wide-eyed at the minotaur.

  As soon as he heard the word dream, he had recalled his conversation with Lido about the past lives of monsters.

  And as the minotaur talked about his own past life, his form reminded Bell of something else.

  It was a scene he could never forget.

  His first adventure. He had staked his life on that fierce battle. He and the monster had thrown everything they had at each other.

  “There is a being who drives me on, in pursuit of a rematch.”

  It couldn’t be.

  Even as Bell realized the truth, the black minotaur continued.

  “I have come here to meet with the being of my dreams.”

  He had stated his reason for existence. His deepest feeling, the yearning so powerful it had pushed him to be reborn.

  It was not envy toward the human race or longing for the surface that had brought him here but simply the search for his old opponent.

  “My name is Asterios.”

  It meant lightning.

  It expressed his desire for the crimson flash of light that he saw at the end of his dreams.

  Even as Bell floundered in disbelief and confusion, at the bottom of his heart, he understood everything.

  “Tell me your name,” Asterios implored him again.

  “…Bell. Bell Cranell.”

  The monster engraved the whispered words into the core of his being. Then he brought the double-edged ax in his single hand to his breastplate.

  “Bell, please.”

  The boy’s oldest and most worthy of opponents, returned to life, was begging him.

  “Fight me again.”

  The monster’s will echoed across the moonlit ruins.

  Bell knew that he should tell the minotaur to wait, that he was not ready, that he had to return to Gros and the others. But his heart would not let him say those words.

  He looked at his feet. He looked up at the massive figure.

  The monster’s blood was dripping onto the ground. Countless wounds were etched into his skin, and he was missing one arm. Although he was on the verge of death, he had come this far to fight again.

  Bell felt he had to grant his request. No—he felt it would be wrong to run away.

  He felt exactly like he had the last time.

  He had not fled from that fight, and he should not flee from this one.

  “…”

  Bell apologized silently to everyone and everything. Then he drew his weapon.

  He raised the Divine Knife, holding it backhand, and looked at the black monster.

  As Asterios watch
ed the boy prepare to step into battle, his mouth stretched into a broad smile.

  And with that joyful and ill-omened smile, he tipped his head toward the night sky and the moon watching over them.

  “UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

  His roar shook the heavens.

  The shot signaling the start of the battle had been fired.

  “That sounded really close!”

  A Loki Familia scout gasped at the thundering roar.

  A number of male and female adventurers were searching for the enemy, their nerves taut. Because the buildings were layered on top of one another so densely, however, they could not see him from the rooftops. They leaped down onto the ground and headed in the direction of the roar.

  Their companions who were closer to the holes in the walls had probably already glimpsed the enemy, but the warning bells still hadn’t rung. An elven girl among the party was thinking how strange and threatening that was when—

  The wall behind her burst open with a loud crash.

  “?!”

  Fragments of stone flew everywhere.

  A cloud of dust mushroomed from the wall, and an instant later a white-haired boy and a savage black bull burst through it.

  “UOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

  “Yahh!!”

  Before the eyes of the stunned Loki Familia members, Bell and Asterios fought in close combat.

  Asterios swung the double-edged Labrys, and Bell retreated. Even the wind coming off the weapon might injure him; indeed, several human bystanders were already bloodied from the backdraft, which spoke to the obvious gap between their Status and that of the monster.

  Bell abandoned his pride and aimed relentlessly for the monster’s right side, where the Sword Princess had cut off his arm, rather than the left side where he held the Labrys. Asterios smiled at the rabbit’s swift footwork and sharp knife thrusts, easily intercepting every one of them.

  “He’s fighting the black minotaur…!”

  “Bell Cranell?!”

  The ax screamed through the air. Fragments of rock flew from the cobblestone as boots kicked fiercely against it. The fight between boy and monster was a battle of speed against strength. The adventurers watching from the periphery squeezed their hands into tight fists, frustrated to be mere spectators to the show.

  Finn had told them not to get involved under any circumstances. But just standing there with pale faces was a disgrace to Loki Familia. How could they sit back and let the very same boy they’d showered with criticism do all the fighting?

  Roused to action, they followed their captain’s orders and surrounded Bell and Asterios. They grasped their bows, arrows, spears, and longswords and were just about to attack simultaneously from both close and distant range when the monster let out a howl.

  “UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

  “Eek!!”

  That single terrifying roar pinned them in place.

  The howl was incredibly powerful. The monster’s menacing voice aroused a primal terror in the adventurers that stopped them in their tracks. The Level 2 rearguard sank to their knees, while the Level 3 front line stiffened as if they were about to fall over dead.

  You’re in my way, the monster seemed to be saying. Asterios had no mercy for those who were unqualified to fight. Gripping the handle of his ax, he swung his clenched fist into the adventurers holding spears and swords, throwing them against the walls of the surrounding houses so hard that blood dripped from their mouths.

  The elven archers in the rearguard blanched as Level 3 adventurers went flying through the air. But the black colossus closed in on them next. Tears welled in their eyes as they stood frozen.

  “Hey!”

  As if to remind the minotaur where his true opponent lay, Bell slashed his knife toward the minotaur from the side.

  Asterios smiled and turned away from Loki Familia, returning Bell’s blow with one from the Labrys. The elves gaped at the Little Rookie, who unlike them was not immobilized by terror.

  I know that howl.

  To Bell, it was uncomfortably familiar.

  He had already gotten past this particular wall on his first adventure. He would not be cowed by it for a second time.

  He raised his black and crimson knives and rushed the frenzied monster.

  “Hey, where’d the gargoyle and those other monsters go?!”

  As the distant roars of the minotaur echoed across the plaza and the dust finally began to settle, adventurers shouted to one another. It seemed the winged monsters had taken advantage of the chaos to abruptly disappear.

  In an abandoned corner of the plaza, Welf and the other Hestia Familia members were preoccupied with something else.

  “What the hell were you doing out there?!” Welf shouted.

  He and Mikoto had thrown their veils over Gros and the other Xenos, rendering them invisible and therefore saving them, but Welf’s hair was practically standing on end with anger.

  “H-humans…”

  “Do you think I’m going to forget that you just about killed me?!” Lilly screamed.

  “Sir Welf, Lady Lilly, please calm down!” Mikoto said, forcing herself to do the same.

  “Everyone, this is not the time or place…” Haruhime added. All she could do was watch in confusion as the others quarreled.

  Hestia stood to the side, quickly assessing the situation.

  Why isn’t Loki Familia here in the plaza? Are they trying to get to the minotaur?

  Her mind raced as the wind carried to her ears sounds of what could only be Bell’s battle with the black beast.

  “Haruhime! You gave Wiene an oculus, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am! When we parted, I gave her mine.”

  “Excellent,” Hestia said, clenching her hand into a fist.

  That meant they’d be able to meet up with the Xenos who had the key. Now was their only chance to get Gros and the other three winged monsters to Knossos.

  Hestia screamed into her oculus.

  “Bell, keep fighting!”

  “What I mean is, just go crazy, okay? Loki Familia members—and everyone else in town—are all focusing their attention on you. I know it may be dangerous. I’m sorry!”

  The voice coming through the blue crystal on Bell’s gauntlet did not make him anxious. He was already fully focused on the battle at hand. If his mind wandered for an instant, he would be killed. He would fall prey to the Labrys. In the space of a second, Hestia’s information had faded to monochrome and was stuffed into a corner of his mind.

  He’s strong…!

  Again and again, the Labrys threatened his life, but still Bell made his way around to his opponent’s right side and aimed his knife above the spot where his missing right arm had been. But the minotaur saw through his plan. His skill and tactics were far sharper than what Bell remembered from their past encounter. A feeling similar to impatience gnawed at him.

  As Bell wavered over what to do, the minotaur hungered for strength and nothing else.

  Bell pushed away his hesitation, drew close to his opponent’s right side, and once again aimed his two knives at his opponent’s blind spot.

  “Kuh!”

  “?!”

  The monster had used his enormous ax as a shield, and now one leg came crashing down. The ground crumbled beneath his foot, destroying Bell’s stance. The next instant, Asterios brought down the Labrys. Bell dodged, responded with a kick, and leaped backward.

  White hairs were torn from Bell’s head, and droplets of his blood joined the spray of sweat.

  Every celch of his opponent’s body was a lethal weapon. Any one part could kill Bell. As the boy shivered in horror, the minotaur smiled as if to say Bell had no time for such distractions, then swung his red horns through the air.

  “Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

  Bell thrust up his gauntlet to block, but he could not deflect all of the blow’s force.

  As the earsplitting screech of metal rent the atmosphere and sparks flew, Bell spun through the air onto the
roof of a building. But Asterios pursued him, and no sooner had he landed than the monster kicked the boy’s body.

  “Aaaah!”

  Bell crossed his arms to guard his body with dual adamantite. The world shook violently as he absorbed the full force of the blow.

  He heard the sound of the bone in his forearm cracking, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He flew backward toward the plaza once again.

  “Huh? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!”

  The human bullet inscribed a gentle arc across the sky as it flew toward the plaza with incredible speed. As Bell’s form approached, the people in the plaza scattered frantically.

  He landed headfirst and rolled into a corner of the square, sending up clouds of dust.

  “B-Be—?!”

  Hestia stared wide-eyed at Bell’s far-too-swift return, but her scream was cut off midway by the shriek of cobblestones crumbling underfoot as Asterios descended from the sky.

  “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!”

  The loudest screams yet echoed from the plaza.

  The black monster’s reappearance fueled the terror and chaos of the crowd. As the throng of townsfolk stampeded toward Main Street, children could be heard sobbing within the melee.

  “Waaaaaaahh!”

  The adventurers, on the other hand, shouted as they ran. They were desperate enough to do anything. Perhaps the sight of the crying townsfolk moved even their hardened hearts, for they felt impelled to protect the women and children. They forgot their terror and closed in on Asterios from all directions.

  But then the monster bellowed again.

  “UOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

  Asterios’s power affected every adventurer uniformly. He brought destruction to all in equal measure, sweeping aside dozens at a time. In the space of a few seconds, countless weapons were crushed to dust, fountains of blood sprayed through the air, and even the strongest of the upper-class adventurers sank to the ground as the monster reduced his attackers’ numbers to a mere handful.

  Ouka and Chigusa, who had hung back to protect the townsfolk, stood pale and petrified as they watched the scene unfold. Hestia Familia, who were trying to help Gros and the other Xenos escape, as well as Eina and the other Guild employees, were similarly immobilized by fear.