Chapter 14

AS Chapter 14~A Formidable Enemy Appears~

※AN: It will change from Akira to the hero (Satou Tsukasa) in the middle .

We were able to safely withdraw from the fight, but of course, the monsters chased after us .

「Oh Lord, please protect us…『Sanctuary』 . 」

When Commander Saran put his hands in front of himself, a shining barrier appeared, blocking off the dungeon’s passageway, and when the monsters touch the barrier, they disintegrated .

It seems that just the existence of an advanced barrier magic that was part of the light magic system, also known as holy magic, can disintegrate low-leveled monsters .

Or rather, wasn’t the hero unneeded?

I feel like the chivalric order…no, just this person can defeat the demon king .

Perhaps he noticed what I wanted to say when he saw the look in my eyes, because Commander Saran gave a bitter smile .

「Including what you want to ask, I will properly explain later . 」

As I thought, Commander Saran was psychic .

After walking for a while, there was a loud scream coming from in front of us .

If I remember correctly, this voice belonged to the class mascot Sano-san .

She was like a cute animal, I’m bad with that kind of person .

…if I think about it, there may not be anyone who I’m not bad with within the class .

「I’m going to go take a look at the situation . 」

Vice-Commander Zeal said this and ran on the wall .

Commander Saran was Commander Saran, but this person also did whatever he wanted .

No normal person would be able to run on the wall while wearing armor .

That was the result of Vice-Commander Zeal making full use of his speed, agility, and balance .

Normally, that kind of agile movement would fall under the assassin’s skill set though… .

Similarly, I too, if I wanted to run on the wall, I could .

It’s just that, if you asked whether I could do it while wearing armor, then I’m not sure .

That’s why, Vice-Commander Zeal who could do that so effortlessly was amazing .

「Kya—————–!!!!」

A high-pitched scream once again reverberated within the dungeon .

Maybe it’s because we were running faster, but the scream was closer than the one before .

This time, it wasn’t Sano-san’s voice .

It was the voice of another girl’s .

We put in more power and sprinted with all our strength, and we finally arrived at the source of the scream .

「…what is that . 」

「…that is… . 」

The Commander, the knights, and I were all at a loss for words .

『Guooooooooooooooooooooo!!!』

「…kuu!」

「Barrier master, continue putting up barriers just like this! People who can heal, cast the most powerful healing spell you can on him!」

It was an enormous monster that shouldn’t have been here in the upper floors of the dungeon .

A bull’s head with a human body…it was a Minotaur .

「Impossible! That’s a monster that should be at the fiftieth floor, at the very least, and below!!!」

「…che . 」

Glancing back at the knights who were grumbling, I clicked my tongue, and started running towards the Minotaur’s feet .

Commander Saran had already started running towards Vice-Commander Zeal’s position .

I caught a glimpse of it .

In front of my classmate who was running away trying to escape, was the hero who was bitterly readying his sword .

Sano-san had only just put up a barrier, and Vice-Commander Zeal had attracted the Minotaur’s attention, but it wouldn’t be strange if he turned towards my classmate at any time .

He was an idiot and a hindrance, but if he was killed, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night .

Was I a tsundere?

…nevermind .

「…hurry!」

Running on the wall like Vice-Commander Zeal and arriving at the front, I firstly dealt him a blow, driving a silver dagger into the Minotaur’s throat .

「Tsk! Haa??」

Because the Minotaur was extremely thick-skinned, my dagger shattered .

How strange .

That toughness was obviously defying the laws of nature .

I threw the handle away, and landed near the hero .

「…Akira, huh?」

「Ou…what’s the situation?」

While holding up the sword that had broken in half, with the pale healing light wrapping around the hero, he started talking little by little .

────

After our group member, the martial artist Watabe Katsumi, activated the trap, we left the monsters to the knights and Akira, and withdrew from the front lines .

There’s no way that the knights would have trouble dealing with those elementary level monsters, but it’s Akira that I’m worried about .

When I glanced over at him, I understood that he was, somehow or another, much more outstanding and stronger than us, but I had no idea just how much stronger he was .

Also, since he’s an assassin, he should be disadvantaged when going up against multiple opponents .

If, something happened to Akira, it would be because of me who was the group leader and Watabe Kasumi .

Of course, it was the same for my other classmates .

While it was true that we were still on the upper floors, we shouldn’t relax our attention .

I properly understood that because of the trap just now .

Even when we were running away, the dungeon’s monsters would, naturally, attack us .

It was one or two of them, but for us who were in a hurry, just them being there was trouble .

Quickly, quickly, while we were hurrying, a certain classmate muttered something .

「Come to think of it, didn’t we receive smoke bombs that repelled monsters?」

I heard that, and I suddenly remembered it .

Now that I think about it, before we left for the dungeon, the princess had personally given those smoke bombs to me .

If I recall, at that time, because the knights and Akira were not there, I had completely forgotten about it .

‘I’ll give you these just in case . Please be careful,’ the princess gave me twenty-seven smoke bombs .

She said this and smiled sweetly .

It was a pretty smile .

I was almost bewitched as well .

「Alright, well, I don’t know what the how effective these are, so let’s use them one group at a time . 」

Sano-san’s group started off and threw the smoke bombs onto the ground .

A few seconds later, the effects were apparent, as none of the monsters came closer .

They would occasionally come over here, but after looking over here, they would be extremely panicked and ran away .

I don’t know what the effects on people and the ground were, but a few minutes later, Akira’s group threw the smoke bombs this time .

A short while later, when it came time for the last group to throw them, we finally discovered the stairs that led to the upper floors .

Perhaps the effectiveness of the smoke bombs had faded right then, but dozens of small monsters attacked us .

「Now!」

In order to drive them away, my group also threw the last of the smoke bombs .

…I felt like, the color of just my smoke bombs were different from the others’, but it’s probably just my imagination .

Just as planned, the small monsters were driven away .

However,

「Kyaaaaa!!」

The first one to notice it was Sano-san .

She pointed at the wall in front of us and screamed .

Looking over there, I was speechless .

An enormous monster had come out from within the wall .

It was obvious that this monster was not supposed to be on this floor .

However, I knew about it, this monster from Greek mythology .

「…Minotaur… . 」

When I muttered this, it raised the club that he was holding in his hand over his head .

And, before he swung it down, Sano-san was .

I moved without thinking .

I pushed Sano-san away, and using the edge of my sword, I parried the enormous club that rained down toward the ground .

This was, a technique that I learned from the knight commander during training .

I heard that there were also opponents that had techniques that canceled skills, so I wanted to see just how far I could go with just kenjutsu .

At that time, the Commander had said this .

‘When you fight with someone whose true strength is above yours, you can not think about how to stop it . Think about how to parry it . ’

Compared to someone who used brute strength, even if our strengths were on equal footing, the outcome was clear .

Nevertheless, we could only go on the defensive, we’re not able to counterattack it .

That’s why, I parried it .

In actuality, the sword that was swung down with brute strength took a hit and shattered, pieces flying everywhere .

I had a go at the obviously mighty Minotaur despite being unrefined, but the result was terrible .

「…kuuu!」

「Tsukasa-kun!!!」

My hands were numb .

Both of my arms were broken .

The sword was barely holding on, but on top of it having been broken in two, I’ll die if it attacked again .

When I thought that, the Minotaur pulled the club that had sunk into the ground out and once again, raised it so that it could end my life once and for all this time .

Behind me, someone, not Sano-san, screamed .

If you have the time to scream, it would be good if you could heal me even if it’s just once .

And so, just as it swung down on me, something hit the club .

「…I barely made it in time . 」

Breathing heavily as he said this was the knights’ Vice-Commander Zeal as he stood next to me .

「Commander Saran will be here shortly . Until then, I will attract its attention, so move back . 」

「Yes . Thank you very much . 」

「…you did well . 」

I, whose arms were both broken, was a hindrance .

To me who hung my head, Vice-Commander Zeal said this and patted my head .

Although I almost cried, I held onto my sword as I moved toward where my classmates were .

「Tsukasa-kun, your arms… . 」

「Oh Holy Shield, protect us and save us . In exchange for my magic power, a barrier that protects us…『Shield』 . 」

「…this is . 」

「Perhaps it wouldn’t hold up to even one attack, but it’s better than nothing?」

A thin barrier was erected before me .

Of course, it was the barrier master Sano-san .

It’s probably the strongest barrier that she can make right now, but compared to Commander Saran’s barrier just a while ago, it was like the difference between an adult and a baby .

I replaced the expression on my face that was distorted by the pain with a smile, and thanked Sano-san .

When I looked at Vice-Commander Zeal, he freely switched between magic and his sword and fought the Minotaur with much difficulty, but none of his attacks connected .

「Barrier master, continue putting up barriers just like this! People who can heal, cast the most powerful healing spell you can on him!」

Glancing over here, Vice-Commander Zeal, instructed this when he saw the pale-faced me .

I was gently enveloped in a soft light, and the pain finally subsided .

If it was a little later, I might have lost consciousness .

「Commander!」

At last, Commander Saran seems to be heading towards Vice-Commander Zeal to support him .

It’s great that he made it in time .

After that, immediately right after, a presence that I’m no longer even surprised about suddenly appeared next to me .

「…Akira, huh?」

Honestly, I was relieved that Akira came up next to me .

Though I definitely won’t say that to the person himself .