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Chapter 63
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“Gather around here!”
Dwena smashed the approaching statues one after another.
“What’s going on…!”
“Damn it!”
The cadets gathered around her barely held their ground.
An unprecedented disaster had suddenly struck.
If those who fell to the third floor weren’t high-ranking cadets, they might have already been annihilated.
“Graaaah!”
Boom!
A hammer swung wildly, scattering coarse stone dust that choked their breaths.
“Damn it…!”
Rather than trying to understand what was happening, they had to act to survive.
That was the survival rule learned in the Red Forest.
Crunch!
“Ugh!”
A gargoyle’s fangs bit into her shoulder.
“Dwena!”
“I’m fine…! Go help the others!”
She reached out and crushed the gargoyle’s head.
However, its fangs remained embedded in her shoulder, spilling blood.
If left unattended, they could dig deeper, rendering her shoulder useless.
‘There’s no time!’
If she stopped attacking even briefly, other gargoyles would push forward.
Any opening would be exploited, putting the injured or weaker cadets behind her at risk.
“I won’t let that happen!”
Anything could change.
Even a stone found in the mud could become a radiant gem.
Wasn’t that what Polaris was here to prove?
– Can I become like them someday?
– Of course! People can become anything.
– Wow…!
– Because people are filled with infinite possibilities!
What was required to become a hero wasn’t some grand narrative.
Even if no one acknowledged them.
Even if they died here.
Even if their fleeting life was but a brief moment—
– Someone who can sincerely care for others.
That—
Was what it meant to be a hero!
“Graaaah!”
She gripped her hammer with her other arm, the one that still moved.
And she shouted with all her might.
“Come at me, you vile creatures!”
She knew.
Compared to the others who shone brightly, she was unbearably insignificant.
The Divine Oracle Holy Maiden.
The chosen princess.
Descendants of great noble families.
Heirs of magical houses.
And… the one who was leagues above her from the start.
Compared to them, she was just a mere bandit.
But precisely because of that—
‘I can change.’
There was hope.
There was room for improvement.
There was no reason to stop here.
“Take this!”
She leapt into the middle of the enemy horde and smashed her hammer down in all directions.
“Run away!”
“But…!”
“If we stay here, we’ll all die!”
Her judgment was cold and precise.
Since this incident happened near the end of the tournament, most cadets were either exhausted or injured.
Fighting the monsters on the third floor was practically impossible.
“I still have stamina and energy! Now go!”
“I’m… I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
As Dwena shouted fiercely, the others left the area with the injured.
“Kyahhh!”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
She threw her hammer at the pursuing gargoyle.
Crunch!
“Where do you think you’re going, leaving me behind?”
“Graaaah!”
“Come on, bring it!”
She suppressed her desire to run with sheer determination.
Facing them as a woman, as a hero.
Crunch! Thud!
Boom!
Crash!
She crushed their chests with her fists.
Kicked and shattered their lower bodies.
Every time searing pain shot through her shoulder, she bit her lip so hard it bled.
“Ugh… damn it!”
How long had she endured?
Covered in blood, something strange began happening to Dwena’s body.
“Damn it… the potion’s effects…!”
Her grotesquely swollen face began to shrink, her body losing mass and muscle.
Her physique shrank rapidly.
“Ugh!”
Dwena frantically searched her pockets for more potions, her expression filled with desperation.
But there was nothing to grasp.
‘I should still have some left!’
Did she drop them during the fight?
Regardless of the reason, the situation was grim.
Without the “potion,” she couldn’t swing her hammer or crush the monsters with her bare hands.
Zap!
“Ahhh!”
The pain in her shoulder was growing more severe.
‘Damn… is this the end…?’
Her strength was draining.
The number of gargoyles surrounding her had decreased considerably, but…
She no longer had the stamina to fight them.
“…Grandma.”
As death loomed near, the face of someone dear came to mind.
“Graaaaah!”
Perhaps sensing her surrender, a few gargoyles, which had been cautiously waiting, suddenly lunged with claws and fangs bared.
“……Damn it.”
At the moment she tightly shut her eyes…
“You were amazing, sis.”
A familiar, irritating voice brushed her ears.
“You….”
“Stay still. Your wounds will get worse.”
Black hair billowed in the air.
Energy radiated from his sword.
“Sword Style Combination.”
『Rake Storm』
A storm of razor-sharp claw-like winds surged toward the statues surrounding her.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
“Kyahhh!”
“Gyaaaahhh!”
With just one swing of his sword.
The many gargoyles were instantly reduced to white powder.
“Ah…….”
She felt anger.
A fury that welled up from the depths of her being, unbearable to suppress.
‘Why….’
Why did seeing that scoundrel of a man, who always brought her trouble,
Make her feel relieved and at peace now?
Why was she thinking it was fortunate that he had come?
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes….”
“You don’t look okay.”
“…….”
“Just kidding.”
Why was this man,
Looking at her with genuine sincerity,
And saying—
“You did well, sis.”
Why did the look in his eyes as he gazed at her,
Feel like ‘recognition’?
‘It’s infuriating.’
Truly.
Unbearably irritating.
***
“Ran? Who is this child?”
“…I don’t know.”
I looked at the child, fast asleep on my back, with a conflicted expression.
“How could there be such a young child here…?”
“Well, dungeons are strange places. Sometimes, a child might just appear.”
“…I don’t think that’s a reasonable explanation.”
“Ahem.”
To explain the situation—
It happened when I saved Dwena from a desperate situation.
-This… irritating bastard….
She muttered this as I saved her from near death, but that wasn’t the problem.
The problem arose after she fainted.
Whoosh!
-Hey, what’s going on?
Whoosh!
-Holy crap, what is this?
Dwena’s body started to shrink.
Her gorilla-like face deflated, and her burly frame became slimmer.
-What the hell!
Eventually, she transformed into this small, adorably petite child.
‘Is there some gargoyle that secretes venom capable of altering the body like this?’
I decided to keep the fact that this child was Dwena a secret, just in case.
But I was just as confused.
Dwena’s clothes were torn and too large, so I wrapped her in my coat for now.
“Please take this child to the camp.”
Camp.
The safe zone on the third floor where cadets had gathered.
“Understood.”
“I’ll head elsewhere.”
The rescue efforts were going well.
At least, I hadn’t found any cadet corpses yet.
“Are you… going out again?”
Elma, holding the child, looked at me with concern.
“There are still people left to save.”
“We’ve already formed rescue teams with the remaining capable cadets.”
She stepped closer to me.
“You haven’t rested for over five hours.”
Indeed, it had been five hours since the incident began, and there was still no sign of external rescue.
‘That’s expected.’
The ‘others’ had likely sealed off all entrances and exits to the third floor.
No one would be able to come or go until this was resolved.
“Please… just rest for a moment. If exhaustion hits during combat, it’ll be disastrous.”
“I’m fine.”
Brushing off her concern, I deliberately smiled playfully.
“We’re in a situation where every person counts. I have to move while I still can.”
As I spoke those words,
A cough rose from deep in my throat.
“Ugh!”
“Lan!”
“Ah… it’s just the dust here.”
I used dust as an excuse, but the real reason was the side effects of using ‘Dragon Speech’ back in the Constellation Workshop.
Although I was mostly recovered, bloody coughs like this still occurred occasionally.
“Blood… blood…!”
Seeing the blood on my hand, Elma turned pale and trembled.
“Wh-what is this?! Why are you coughing up blood?!”
“Ah… it’s nothing serious.”
“Don’t lie to me!”
It wasn’t a lie, though.
“Tell me the truth! What exactly is wrong with you—”
Rumble!
Before her interrogation could escalate,
The entire third floor shook violently.
Roaaaar!
A grotesque roar echoed from afar.
“I’ll be going now. Please take care of the child!”
I quickly stepped into motion, heading toward the source of the roar.
‘It’s finally starting.’
The main boss of the ‘Distortion’ event.
The symbolic monster signaling the start of the true story.
‘This might get tough.’
I felt a bit apprehensive, but moments like this called for unyielding resolve.
“Shhh!”
Black Lotus wagged its tail as if cheering me on.
It probably knew exactly what I was about to do.
And who awaited me beyond the abyss.
“Thanks.”
“Shhh~!”
Thanks to it, I felt a bit braver.
At least, with Black Lotus in good condition, the worst-case scenario I feared hadn’t come to pass.
“…Come to think of it.”
I wondered if the clone I attached to Angela had awakened.
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