Chapter 509 - Chapter 453 What Awaits Beyond the Stairs
"Hmph. I agree with going to check it out for now."
"Yes, indeed. I'd like to see what level of damage 'unrepairable' actually means."
Seth and Azure-san agreed. As for Bell-buchou,
"Hitomi-san. Do you know nothing at all about the 11th basement floor?"
[Yes. Due to complete severance, the situation on the 11th basement floor and below is entirely unknown.]
"I see. Then, let's just go take a quick look for now." Mion nodded in agreement, and Lupi and the others had finished their snacks and looked quite motivated. We were close to going home, so it was a good time. We finished tidying up the snacks and confirmed we hadn't forgotten anything. Oh, I collected the light I had left on. "Ah, should we close this door?"
"It won't open without Shou-kun's ring, will it?"
"That's right." Bell-buchou thought for a moment, then looked at Seth. "For the time being, either way is fine. We will have to consider something when this island is made public, however."
"That's right. I'd like that to be well-managed, but for now, I think it's fine."
"Alright, then I'll close it just in case." After closing it securely, we boarded the elevator. The buttons for floors below basement 10 were also lit, but…
"Do you think the buttons won't work if we press them?"
"Wait. Let's ask first. Hitomi-san, do you know what happens if we press the buttons for the 11th basement floor and below?"
[No. For the 11th basement floor and below, the situation has not been confirmed. The buttons are lit, but we recommend against using them.]
That's a bit scary. It would be fine if we couldn't transfer, or if the door didn't open even if we did, but…
"There is also the possibility of a monster house, you know."
That's right. We might be thrown into an extremely large floor or something. "Would it be safer to go down to the 10th basement floor first, then proceed downwards? There are stairs, right?"
"Yes. They should be on the left and right of the elevator hall." So, first, to the 10th basement floor. We got off the transfer elevator… and then, "Wait, which way was down again?"
"Woof."
"Thanks." Following Lupi, we saw the stairs leading downwards. The ceiling was faintly glowing, so this area might still be within the managed zone. "Alright, let's go."
"Yes." "Indeed." "Okay."
We descended with Lupi in the lead, but this spiral staircase was long and made me uneasy. Moreover, the ceiling gradually grew darker, and the path ahead was already pitch black. "Lights, please. Sweee, you too."
"~~~♪"
I cast [Spirit Magic] to illuminate the path ahead, and asked Sweee to light up the rear. We slowly continued downwards, then Lupi suddenly stopped and looked back. "Seth. Leda and Roy too."
"Indeed."
""Bow!""
Fighting on a staircase is troublesome, I thought, as I gripped my Ken-nata and Round Shield. Seth walked up next to me, accompanied by Leda and Roy, so I asked, "There seem to be 4 or 5 of them, are you okay?"
"Hmph. That many poses no problem, but if their numbers increase further, retreat would be advisable."
"Okay. Let's go with that." A cautious opinion, so I immediately adopted it. The members behind us also nodded, so Seth and I first descended to Lupi's position. "Let's engage first."
"Woof."
Lupi remained in the lead. Seth and I followed, accompanied by Leda and Roy. Since Seth was wearing metal armor, it was impossible for her to move without making noise, so we didn't use [Presence Concealment], but we descended cautiously.
"Gichigichigichigichi…"
A strange grinding sound was heard, and the tension heightened. I directed the light further ahead, and… "Whoa!" Suddenly, an ant the size of a large dog attacked us. It leaped at us with surprisingly fast movements. "Hmph!" Clang! Seth's greatshield blocked and deflected the ant's jaw, and she struck with her longsword, but it bounced off the black exoskeleton. Though she didn't say it aloud, Seth's expression showed it was a troublesome opponent. I need to find a weakness, somehow, I thought, and used [Appraisal]…
[Black Digapuant]
A mutated variant of Digapuant. Has grown enormous and become aggressive due to some influence.
"Whoa, a mutated species right off the bat…" The gichigichi sound I heard was the sound of its large jaws grinding together. I could hear it coming from further down the stairs too, and the number of presences detected by [Presence Detection] increased. "This is bad. Retreat!"
"Understood!" She understands without needing an explanation, as expected of my sister. "Gishaa!" "Watch out!" "Bow!"
The ant next to the lead suddenly spat liquid, which almost hit Lupi. Roy and I blocked it. It was an acid attack, as smoke rose from where it landed, and damage was about to tick… but then Mion's healing magic covered us. "Thanks. Bell-buchou. It seems the enemies are calling for reinforcements, can you block the path?"
"Understood. [Ice Block]!" A very large block of ice appeared in front of Seth, then fell down the stairs, rolling. That's [Applied Water Magic], isn't it? She continuously produced two, then three, pushing back the enemy frontline.
"Ohh~, you're good~"
"Azure-san, we're retreating!"
"Okay~. I'll take the rear, so you can go ahead~" Ah, yes. I suppose that's reassuring, but it felt a bit like 'is that really okay?' Nevertheless, the number of incoming ants seemed to be increasing, so…
"Shal! Pan! Please protect Mion and Bell-buchou!"
"Nya!" "Ryu!"
Leaving it to the two, I had them retreat first. And then,
"[Ice Wall]!"
The best I could do was an ice wall. If I could just delay their approach for a bit, it should be fine. "Alright! We're retreating too!"
"Indeed!" "Woof!" ""Bow!""
Just as we rushed past Azure-san, who was urging us to go ahead, I heard his voice, "Well, I guess I'll push them back~" The next moment, Azure-san unleashed a breath of ice and snow from his mouth, and the path ahead turned pure white…
"Ehhhh…"
"Hm? Come on, hurry up." He probably defeated quite a few of them, but is this okay? I felt like an incredibly strong NPC had power-leveled us to an absurd degree.