Stooped halfway down to the ground, Pops noiselessly sneaked up on the Ear and withdrew his knife. He thrust it straight into the creature’s heart, then went around behind and hacked its head off. It’d taken no more than a second for the man to nullify the threat, after which he signaled, Not yet.
Once again, we waited in silence.
“Four enemies approaching.”
All of us took shallow breaths so as to not move a muscle. We heard what sounded like an angry gnashing of teeth, then saw more Ears appear—four, exactly as Yukikaze had warned.
Éa drew back her bowstring, every creak sounding incredibly loud in the uneasy silence. She’d moved closer to the front line for space to pull back her bow and now had an arrow aimed at one of the Ears. It felt risky to me, but Pops gave her a Do it look. I joined in, moving my hand over Agaccion to slowly unsheathe the blade. My elven sister and I attacked as one, our arrow and blade pinning two Ears to the stone walls, while Pops and Shuna slew the remaining two.
“Good.” Our leader gave us the all clear, and we breathed a sigh of relief. This battle was testing every last nerve I had. The thought that a single mistake could cause an avalanche of these ghouls to rush at us had shaken me to my core. However, as long as we quickly, quietly slew them without getting noticed, it didn’t matter how many came at us. No problem whatsoever, if we didn’t mess up, that is.
Exploring the dungeon meant constantly treading the treacherous land of unknowns. I could pretty much guarantee we’d have to cross crucibles that would make this challenge look uninteresting at best. We had a cheat sheet, making this an easy fight; basically, if you can’t even pull this off, turn round and go home. All we had to do was play by the book in our last test as initiate adventurers.
After disposing of the cadavers, we set off once more, still out of formation.
“Lazalisa, please go back to your station.”
“I’m sorry, Master Souya. I cannot comply with your request,” she rebuffed, ignoring my order and instead staying in the center with one hand on Freyja’s shoulder. Éa also lingered out of position, walking at my side on the front line, where she’d move up to shoot.
“Do as you’re told, Lazalisa. I will not allow this impertinence while our party remains in action.”
“I deeply apologize, milady, but I cannot heed that command. The tip of my tail tingles; something is not right with this floor. I sense all manner of hostility aimed at us from both near and far.” The beastmaid’s lizard tail quivered, pushing up her skirt and bumping into Lis’s shield. The armored maiden looked very, very displeased.
I’d pegged Lazalisa for a reasonable type, not one who’d stir up a fuss while we crept around our enemy’s lair. Bad call on my part.
Breaking formation was never good. Packing the center with five people would make it difficult for any of them to move in case of an emergency. Three times, I warned Lazalisa to get back in line, but she refused to comply. I couldn’t force her to move, and I wasn’t about to get into an argument with her here, so we continued as we were.
Thirteen times, we battled the saplings, somehow managing to successfully fight and defeat them despite our bungled formation. Anxiety still gnawed away at me, but all that mattered was to reach the stairs safely in order to leave the dungeon. So I decided to drop it.
For about fifty meters we walked without encountering anything. The absolute lack of any enemies felt unsettling. Checking my map, I saw we’d made it about two-thirds of the way to the stairs.
………Huh? That’s weird.
We were taking the long way—was that the safer route? We’d done a whole circuit of the floor. Was I just imagining things? Or did Pops have a good reason, some involved strategy for doing this? What was going on? Wait, what if—?
The man in question braced himself for battle. Quiet, he signaled. We’d stopped at an L-shaped corner of the corridor.
“Three enemies approaching.”
Though very faint, I heard the same gnashing from before. Pops pressed his back up against the wall; the rest of us followed suit and waited. Keeping myself hidden around the corner, I took a peek at our enemies.
There were two Ears and one Mouth and Eye—four enemies. For some reason, they had lined up in some kind of formation themselves, one of the Ears in front followed by the Mouth and Eye to its left and right. The second Ear brought up the rear. Yukikaze had missed one. Were her sensors damaged? Or maybe the dungeon had interfered somehow? But I had no time to figure it out. With the saplings gaining on us quicker than I’d imagined, I turned all my attention to the issue at hand. I couldn’t even confirm what I saw.
“I’ll take the Ears. Éa, go for the Eye. Shuna, Mouth. Master Gaslark, I’d ask you to take care of the rest.”
“You got it, dude.”
I kept my attention fixed on the back row. Yukikaze’s sensors hadn’t picked up anything, but I wouldn’t be surprised if an extra monster popped up. That was just the kind of place this deranged floor was.
“Let’s move.”
We all burst out from behind the corner. An arrow nocked, I kept an eye out for the rear and watched the battle unfold with the other. Using his longsword, Pops chopped one Ear’s head off, while Shuna thrust his through the Mouth’s throat, and Éa sent her arrow straight through the other Eye. Then Gaslark moved in to finish, stabbing the Eye and the Mouth in the heart with his rapier. It dealt small yet fatal wounds.
“Huh?”
Something inexplicably strange happened. They all relaxed as if the battle were over. Shuna sheathed his longsword, Éa lowered her bow, and Gaslark fell back to his place in the rear line. Pops returned his longsword to its scabbard.
For a second, I stood there, dumbstruck. Then a violent explosion of something bordering on rage erupted within me. There was still one more Ear.
That’s it.
“Grant me the grace of the Hidden Name,” I prayed, preparing to shoot, and poured magic into my arm as I drew back my bow. Actually, scratch that—the arrow could not absorb my magic. The spirit of the hero inhabiting my gauntlet had already filled the bolt with an exhilaration bordering on joy.
“I found you.”
The phrase that came to mind and the raging emotions within me brought my blood to a boil. My lycan bow groaned under the strain.
I will not miss.
Never will I miss again.
With this strike, I will end it all. At long last, I shall sever this ill-fated bond, slay this kill that has evaded me through the ages.
After hundreds of years, I finally came face-to-face with my mortal enemy. Its featureless face had peeled off to reveal a shrunken, skull-like visage. Darkness blacker than a moonless night filled its eye sockets. It stripped off the skin of its arms to reveal two curved bladelike claws; its lower body disappeared as if in a haze, while a cape-like coat draped over its emaciated, skeletal torso.
“This nefarious abomination you have become cannot fool me! Rhora!” I cried. Souya’s companions and my blood daughters froze at the sound.
A pathetic excuse for a shriek escaped Rhora as she caught sight of me. Once again, she turned to run. Once again, she attempted to flee, the same way she had fled our motherland, and the same way she had baited me with the giant spider to escape. This filth no longer retained any sense of reason or sentience. Only its obsessive determination to survive had prolonged its life deep in this cursed dungeon. For years, it drained the raw blood of monsters, of humans, of me!
Die.
Die!
I shall vanquish you here and now! You shall only know unending pain until the sanity returns to your eyes! I shall force you to remember! To face what you have done! What evil your actions spurred!! Curse you, Rhora the Dragon Eater! Your treachery has ravaged my mother’s glory, you who brought infernal shame upon the family name!!
“Yaya, what’s wrong?!”
“Move, maiden!!” The young elf stood before me, barring my arrow. A foolish act. Too foolish to bear—her idiocy left me no choice but to shoot them both at once. Nothing could thwart my obsessive pursuit, not even my own descendant. No one could—