It felt almost like the air had changed just stepping through that arch. A chill wind crawled up us from our feet, sending shivers up our backs. The ceiling was high enough, but the sense of confinement was palpable. The rocky passage, which looked solid and sturdy at a glance, had dozens, hundreds, or perhaps even more dungeon floors piled on top of it. Not knowing when it could all come crumbling down on us was suffocating if you dwelled on it.
Troach stood at the front, followed by one subordinate, then Mizuho, then me, then the remaining five. Marching in the comparatively safe center of our group left me feeling uneasy, but it was the only way I could protect Mizuho and the rest if something happened.
I would have preferred to lead the march, eliminating dangers and then calling for the rest of the team to move up. Unfortunately, Mizuho and Troach were firmly against that idea. In their words, I still didn’t understand what dangers lurked in the labyrinth. My lack of knowledge could mean failing to spot hazards in time.
I couldn’t argue with them. My experience had shown that advice like this from the locals was not to be ignored. After all, they were the ones who knew about this world, not me.
When I made an unenthusiastic face about the prospect, Troach had said, “You’ll be fine. I’ll be your eyes, Taiga.”
That was why Troach took point.
She took the lead, with only the one subordinate keeping close to her. There was some distance between the pair and the remainder of the party. This was to watch out for ambushes and traps. The one with Troach, a girl who never smiled, was in charge of communicating with the rear group. She was also tasked with carrying the light, and we nervously watched as the glow from her low-hanging lantern wavered up ahead.
As we continued through the old corridor, the walls and ceiling eventually gave way to bare, uneven rock. The passage itself got abruptly wider as well. I glanced up and saw the lantern’s light flickering off some hanging stalactites. We had come into a natural cave.
The girl with Troach waved her lantern from side to side. It was a signal we’d decided on beforehand.
“Procession, halt,” I said. Mizuho and our subordinates stopped moving. The girl in charge of communication ran back to us. Upon arrival, she delivered a short report.
“Something ahead. Lots of animal dung around.”
“Okay. Everyone wait here, you included. Mizuho, with me.”
“R-right away!”
With our assistants standing by, I brought Mizuho and caught up to where Troach was. She pointed ahead; I looked and saw black dollops around the cavern floor. They only increased in number as the path continued—there was too much of it to count. The hardened feces were layered on top of one another, forming an additional level on the floor. Curiously, they didn’t smell very bad, perhaps since they’d dried out.
“Know what it could be, Mizuho?” I asked quietly.
Mizuho answered immediately. “Greatbats, most likely. You can find them anywhere. Exterminating them is the first priority for any Landmakers who want to expand their territory.”
“Bats, eh… In my world, bat dung is a carrier of harmful diseases. What about in Million Dungeon?”
“It’s the same! Word is, you can contract illnesses by touching a bat.”
Thought so. I focused my gaze above where the dung was most plentiful. There, several glowing eyes stared back from between the stalactites.
“I see them there. Think we can get by without bothering them?”
“They’ve already noticed us. Greatbats are highly territorial. If we move nearer, they’ll likely attack,” Troach stated, twirling her dagger.
“Are they something we can handle, Mizuho?”
“They are somewhat troublesome since they can fly, but I’ve never heard of a Landmaker losing to greatbats before.”
“Got it. Let’s head back for now,” I decided.
That earned me some surprised looks. There probably weren’t many Landmakers who would flee from these creatures. Still, perhaps knowing we were about to face an enemy, they kept quiet and followed me when I turned around.
When I got back to the five we’d left behind, I said, “Everyone, I want you to cover your noses and mouths. Can’t cover our eyes, I suppose, but don’t rub them even if they get itchy.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re going to get rid of some greatbats, but when they flap their wings, particles of dried dung will get into the air. You risk contracting a disease if you inhale it.”
The diseases in the dung of Earth bats were hazardous as well. Asthma and allergies were just the beginning. There was rabies, too, and in certain places, you could even catch Ebola hemorrhagic fever. I had no way of knowing if the same maladies existed in Million Dungeon, but if humans from my planet had made it to this world, it wasn’t out of the question to think diseases had, too.
An infectious illness running rampant in our currently medical-facility-less nation could wipe us all out. Decreasing our risk of infection was a priority.
Once the bottom half of everyone’s faces were covered with clothes, I continued:
“Troach and I will draw the greatbats away. All others should stay back and wait. Mizuho—”
“I can fight, too!”
“I know that. You’ll be the rear line. We need you to protect the rest.”
The blue-haired girl nodded, but the words Fine, but I’m not happy about it were written all over her face. Still, even if she was raring to go, I couldn’t put her on the front line.
“Ready, Troach?”
“Yeah. Enjoy watching how cool I am, okay?”
I didn’t need to look back to know Mizuho’s reaction.
Troach and I drew our daggers and moved in. The lantern behind us revealed the ceiling head, and a moment later, we heard shrill shrieking, followed by a large figure appearing from between the stalactites.
A greatbat—and was it ever great! I’d imagined an animal comparable to those on Earth, with a wingspan of no more than a meter. However, this creature’s was twice that. It was like a medium-sized dog had grown car doors. More of them followed, too, dancing through the air. After assuming gliding positions, with more shrill squeaks, they headed straight for us. Six in all. A considerable threat if you thought of it like a pack of flying wild dogs attacking you.
“Monsters, huh?”
“What did you think they were?”
“Any tricks for them?”
“Get them on the ground, and they’re ours.”
No sooner had Troach and I finished our exchange than the first of the greatbats made its move. A complex maze of wrinkles lined the muzzle coming at us. I bent backward at the last moment to avoid it, stabbing my dagger into its body as it passed.
The blade pierced its soft flank, and I felt the tearing sensation through my weapon. The impact very nearly ripped the dagger out of my hand. The greatbat let out its final scream and fell to the ground.
Without a moment’s delay, the next one came charging in. I reacted immediately, swinging my blade and slicing through the membrane of its wing. When it lost its balance and started to plummet at an angle, Troach finished it off from the side.
She’d already dealt with another. The group of six greatbats had been halved. Just when I thought the rest would be as easy, the enemies’ movements shifted. The remaining three beasts started calling to one another from a height we couldn’t reach, turning in a circle. Suddenly, they swooped past Troach and me. Their course would bring them straight to Mizuho and our subordinates.
“Get down!” I called out at once.
The training bore fruit. Our six subordinates dropped on the spot. Mizuho, however, remained standing by herself. The three bats, now with a single target, closed in…
A moment later, a bang echoed through the cave. I lowered myself out of reflex. It sounded like a gunshot to me, but that should’ve been impossible.
In Mizuho’s hand was a small, conical paper tube.
A party popper, essentially. I remembered hearing last night that they frequently used gunpowder to stave off wild creatures.
It had a massive effect on the greatbats. One of them, taking the brunt of the noise, was dazed; it haphazardly spun and fell. The other two, seeming surprised, changed course as well, then ran into the stalagmites protruding from the ground.
Troach and I hurried over. Before the writhing greatbats could retake flight, we stepped on their wings to stop them from moving and slit their throats. We turned back to witness Mizuho delivering the final blow to the one that had fallen right in front of her.
She looked up and gave a smug look. “I told you I could fight, didn’t I?”
“Seems you can.”
I revised my opinion of Mizuho. She was by no means physically powerful, but she had other strengths that set her above and beyond ordinary people.
The difference between regular folk and Landmakers was rapidly becoming apparent. Landmakers were those who could literally fight for their citizens. They stood stalwart in the face of violence. Having thought that far, I had to laugh, remembering that motto from the Regiment. Who Dares Wins. This was no different.
The subordinates rose from their prone positions and cheered. It was our Court’s first triumph. Nobody appeared hurt, which was a relief.
“That was so cool, Mizuho! I think I was cooler, though.”
“I wasn’t watching. Please do it again.”
“But there’s no bad guys left!”
“That’s a shame.”
As Troach and Mizuho bickered, I contemplated a few things.
The first was that the pair had proved surprisingly reliable. And looking down at the greatbat corpses piled on the cavern floor really drove home the second thing—I wished I had a shotgun.
It was entirely out of the question, but having a dagger as my only weapon was just so unreliable. I’d have to procure more weapons somehow.