Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 5 (26 page)

The moment the two of them realized they’d been hit with fruit, the ground shook as a tree collapsed behind them.

The two of them slowly turned around to find…

“
Guuraa…
”

Three bugbears, each drooling with hunger.

““—UWAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!””

“
ROOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
!!”

The three monsters howled in unison and set their sights on the fruit-covered adventurers. They were after the honey cloud, but it was suddenly mobile as the adventurers took off in the opposite direction. The bugbears gave chase, leaving Hestia by herself, blinking in confusion.
Boing, boing
, the Al-Miraj came back to the clearing and stopped in front of her.

“Oooooh! I taste horrible, so don’t eat me!”

“—Stroke of midnight’s bell.”

The voice came from inside the monster’s body. Hestia watched in shock as the Magic was lifted.

“Even monsters would get sick if they tried to eat Lady Hestia.”

“Supporter!”

A cloud of gray ash surrounded the rabbit’s white fur. As soon as the cloud cleared, there was no monster, only Lilly in its place.

She had fooled the adventurers using her Magic, Cinder Ella, which could transform her body into anything she could clearly picture in her mind, even monsters. The technique that had served her so well during her days as a thief allowed her to sic monsters onto her adversaries.

“You’re alone?! No, that’s not important. How did you find me?!”

“Lilly was with Welf until she figured it out right before finding Mr. Bell. Lilly found this place because…of the perfume that Lady Hestia put on this morning.”

Because someone had taken Hestia against her will, chances were
she was being held as a hostage. Lilly had connected the dots, broken away from the main group, used her Magic to transform into a monster, and rescued the captured goddess.

She found the bottle of perfume that Hestia had purchased in Rivira among the scattered vials of potions. The smell led her straight to Hestia.

“Lilly’s Magic can copy physical forms as well as basic characteristics of the target. Lilly can’t get any stronger than her Status, but copying an inborn sense of smell is possible.”

“Th-that’s convenient! Shape-shifting magic!”

Certain types of animal people were known to have particularly sharp senses with the assistance of their Status.

Lilly’s sense of smell had been enhanced by spending time disguised as a chienthrope and a werewolf. That’s what tipped her off.

“Mr. Bell is fighting at the base of that large crystal. Let’s get going.”

“
Yes!
”

Lilly cut Hestia’s bonds with a knife and the two of them ran headlong toward the crystal.

“
Blasphemous Burn!
”

Anti-magic Magic—Welf activated Will-o’-the-Wisp, causing the three adventurers who were conjuring Magic to be overtaken by Ignis Fatuus. Three explosions erupted around the battle.

The afflicted adventurers collapsed to the charred patches of ground at their feet, smoke wafting from their mouths.

“One of those bastards has some frickin’ weird Magic!”

“Smash him first!”

Mord’s two buddies, human adventurers, converged on Welf.

“You wouldn’t gang up on a smith, would you…?!”

Two Level 2 adventurers advanced on the Level 1 Welf. While he had time to set his feet, the two of them were far too fast for him to counter. He barely managed to use the flat side of his broadsword as a shield.

The two blades clashed, sending the strongest shock wave Welf ever experienced through his body. His defensive stance broken, the
young man had no time to regain his footing because the second adventurer had already launched his own assault.

“Eat this!”

“—?!”

The man’s iron boot carved an arc through the air and came down hard into his right shoulder, cutting into Welf’s salamander wool jacket. He managed to avoid a deadly strike by shifting his body to the left, but the strap used to hold his broadsword snapped in half.

The broadsword’s sheath and the weapon wrapped in white cloth fell away from his body.

The sheath simply fell to his feet, but the weapon fell down the steep hill at his back and into the thick forest below.

Time stood still as Welf watched it tumble farther and farther away, helpless to retrieve it. He took an iron boot to the ribs and fell down a second later.

“Geh—?!”

“It’s over!”

Welf felt the impact throughout his back and saw a sword coming straight for his chest—then suddenly a strong gust of wind—

“Haggh?!”

The blade of Lyu’s wooden sword.

Welf watched in amazement as the man who was about to kill him took a hard hit from behind and collapsed like a bag of dirt.

“I thought the forest was too loud…So this is what’s going on.”

“You…!”

The one who saved Welf was none other than the hooded adventurer.

She kept her wooden sword pointed toward the ground and stared down the remaining adventurer.

“W-who the hell are you?! A friend of this punk?”

The man menacingly brandished his sword, but the girl calmly put her hands on either side of the hood and pulled it back.

“Apparently you didn’t learn your lesson. We shouldn’t have held back the first time.”

“—Gaaaaaiiiigh!!”

The man let out a scream as if he’d seen visions of his own death
the moment that the hooded adventurer’s face—Lyu’s face—was exposed.

He had been with Mord at The Benevolent Mistress when the waitresses overpowered them. He screamed because the most frightening and violent among them, the elf, had now appeared right in front of his nose once again.

A look of despair overtook him as he turned to run, but Lyu showed no mercy and struck him down before he could take a step.

“I apologize for my tardiness. My blade shall assist you.”

“Uh, yeah, thanks.”

Lyu pulled her hood back over her face and swished the cape. She advanced on the group attacking Ouka and Mikoto. Their enemies dropped like flies, on the ground seconds later and moaning in pain.

Welf looked through the forest, the ground littered with fallen upper-class adventurers, for a moment before looking in the direction that the white-wrapped weapon had fallen.

“…”

He moved up to the edge as if it were a wall and looked over.

He glared down the hill like it was his father’s sworn enemy for a few seconds.

Turning his back to it, he rushed off to rejoin Ouka and the others.

Impact after bone-crushing impact echoed through the clearing.

Bell bobbed and weaved, the outside of his arms pulsing with pain as he stood his ground.

The ring of adventurers who surrounded the stage was already gone. The sound of weapons clashing and roars of battle could be heard in the forest not too far away.
Takemikazuchi Familia
, with the assistance of Welf and Lyu, was putting up quite a fight. Bell and Mord’s duel continued on the suddenly quiet stage, its audience nowhere to be seen.

One scream, and then another. The outlaws were dropping fast.

“…?”

There was an invisible attack, a solid fist on the end of the meaty
arm that tore through the air. The blow landed squarely on the outside of Bell’s skinny arms.

There was also a sense of confusion—Bell could feel it coming from the opponent he couldn’t see. Mord took a step back, changed his angle, and unleashed a flurry of powerful kicks.

Block. Block. Block.

Although his defense wasn’t perfect, Bell had a good idea where the attacks would come from, as well as their timing. The boy showed no signs of losing his footing.

His ruby-red eyes had a lock on where Mord’s invisible body was at every moment.

The invisible presence shook once again.
Thump, thump.
The sound of iron hitting stone reverberated through the air as the invisible man jumped backward to gain some distance.
This can’t be right
, he thought to himself as he set his feet and held his breath. He completely hid his presence from Bell, like an assassin on the job.

Once he was certain that those ruby-red eyes hadn’t followed him, Mord snuck around Bell’s right shoulder and charged.

“—!!”

Bell’s body reacted in an instant. He swung his left leg back and to his right with the utmost confidence.

It was a long, sweeping kick with his well-armored heel leading. His left foot cut through what looked like open air.

Whok!
His greave hit the chin of his assailant.

The confusion turned to shock. The invisible presence backed away to avoid yet another counterattack, shaking—Mord’s eyes burned with pure rage as he roared with anger.

“H-how can you see?!”

Bell
couldn’t
see him.

Mord’s aura of fury and confusion engulfed the air around the stage. Bell could not see him, and yet he was looking right at him. In truth, it wasn’t the man’s aura that Bell was sensing, but the intensity of his eyes.

—Just like the
intense gaze of another
, the feeling of being judged.

In the past two months, Bell had noticed the gaze of a certain pair
of silver eyes always following him. The feeling of being watched had heightened his senses tremendously. He didn’t know who it came from, but it would strike without warning, making him jump in surprise. His sensitivity had dramatically increased after feeling it brush across his shoulders so many times.

The intense stare of a deity had had a great impact on the boy who was already much more cowardly than other humans. He was nothing more than a rabbit looking for cover.

Mord’s “gaze” of malice was like a beacon—as were the two sets of eyes looking down at him from the trees. Bell could feel them all.

He knew where the enemy’s eyes were looking, he knew where they were looking from, he could “see” where his enemy was.

The fact that Mord was invisible was irrelevant. It was the intensity in his eyes that gave him away.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it all to hell!”

The sound of a sword being drawn.

Mord had been enjoying himself, punching and kicking Bell to his heart’s content up until now. Playtime was over, time to kill. The weapon, just like his body, was invisible due to the power of the Hades Head.

Bell’s eyes flew open. Sensing his opponent’s charge, Bell dove headfirst to the side. He heard the air whistle just as he got out of the way of the sword.

Bell rolled a few times on the surface of the stage.
Snatch!
He flung out his right hand in mid-roll and grabbed a handful of loose dirt and small blue crystals before regaining his feet.

“I’m gonna slice you like a—”

Screamed Mord as he raised his sword and charged in for another attack.

Bell once again picked up his attack angle from the man’s gaze and clenched his right fist, grinding the crystals and dirt into a fine powder.

A heartbeat later, he threw the powder straight into Mord’s path.

“Wha?!”

The blue powder hit Mord square in the face. Thousands of pieces of crystal spread out over his body.

The man’s ghostly blue outline appeared in the center of the stage. Even the sword came into view. Bell now knew exactly where he was.

Bell squared his shoulders toward his mostly invisible opponent, the twinkling blue crystals guiding him.

“Heh!”

“Ha, hooooooo!”

Bell drew Ushiwakamaru, flipped it to a backhanded position, and charged headlong toward his opponent. Mord raised his longsword and brought it down on the white rabbit.

Bell saw the twinkling blue outline of the weapon coming down diagonally from the left and deflected it using the crimson blade in his left hand.

The blades collided in an explosion of sparks; the screech of metal on metal pierced the air. A sudden crack sounded from the invisible but sparkling blue longsword. Suddenly, a piece of it appeared out of nowhere as the blade snapped in half. The force of the blow pushed Mord back a few steps. He froze in shock, holding what was left of the sword in his right hand.

However, Bell didn’t stop.

Planting his left foot directly in front of his enemy, Bell used the clockwise momentum from the previous swing to jump and spin into the air.

His right foot whipped through the air with the strength and speed of a tornado, the technique he’d acquired from Aiz.

“Graaaagh!!”

His right heel made contact with the side of Mord’s head.

“GAHH?!”

He hit the same place that Mord had attacked first, the right temple, with his own armored boot.

The man’s body was thrown back by centrifugal force, the motion accompanied by yet another cracking sound. Except this time, it was coming from the magic item he was wearing, the Hades Head.

Cracks covered the helmet like a spiderweb before it shattered into pieces. Mord’s body reappeared at the same moment.

He landed on his back, his fists shaking in anger as he once again made eye contact with Bell.

“Wh–at the…fuck!! Rot in hell, you bastard!!”

Mord clutched the side of his head as he climbed back to his feet, bloodshot eyes never once leaving their target.