kscans

Chapter 234 - Episode 163: The Oldest Dragon Species

A light-brown corridor, illuminated by the flames of sconces and an LED light.

Stepping cautiously on the floor of fitted stone blocks, we advanced.

The dry air flowing through the labyrinth seemed to sap the moisture from our bodies. From the arched ceiling, small pebbles occasionally trickled down.

This must have once been a well-maintained building, but now there was no trace of its former glory.

In the corridor where our heavy footsteps echoed, I spotted a yellow painted mark.

"Aira-san, we are currently at 'B-26'."

'Excellent. ...Hmm, then proceed straight ahead along the path. You should come to a crossroads, so please turn right there.'

"Understood."

Just as Aira-san said, we continued down the path.

After walking for about ten minutes, the moment we spotted the crossroads, Erina-san stopped.

"Wait."

"Tch..."

I immediately lowered my center of gravity and held my sword at the ready.

"Two sets of footsteps from the right, approaching us. They've probably already noticed us."

"Roger."

With a small nod, I circulated mana through my body.

"What's the plan? Should I 'use it'?"

"...No."

I gave a small shake of my head to Erina-san, who had one hand in her [Item Box].

"I want to save that for the boss. Besides, I want to see if we can win in a straight fight."

"Got it. ...They're about to come into view."

Almost simultaneously with her words...

---Clack, clack.

I could hear the sound of something hard and sharp striking the floor.

Presently, a towering monster slithered into view from around the corner.

It had the head and torso of a great serpent. Above its yellow eyes, located about two meters off the ground, grew a pair of tightly twisted horns.

It possessed the forelegs of a lion, each as thick as a grown man's thigh, and the hind legs of a bird of prey, which were just as visibly powerful.

And, most eye-catching of all, was the scorpion's tail, as thick as its torso. In contrast to its shimmering, deep-green scales, the tail was covered in an earth-colored exoskeleton.

In terms of size alone, it was more conventional than some monsters I'd seen. Its form was bizarre, but it didn't have the same visual sense of pressure.

But my 'eye' saw it differently.

The mana it contained was filled with nothing but pure killing intent.

A black, swirling aura of death, as if it hated the very species of humanity. If Cerberus was the watchdog of the underworld, this was a slaughterer that had crawled out from it.

And yet, it possessed a strange sanctity. Its posture was so noble that it wouldn't have felt out of place to call it a divine beast.

'Mushussu.'

One of the eleven monsters born of the goddess Tiamat, said to be the oldest dragon in human history.

It was said to have carried numerous gods on its back, and at times, even sprouted wings to fly through the sky.

A monster closely resembling it was now focusing all its murderous intent on us.

"SHIIIAAAA!!"

Opening a massive mouth that could swallow a person whole, the Mushussu in the lead exhaled a crimson mist from the depths of its throat.

A direct hit would cause even an Awakened Person's entire body to swell up as if burned, leading to an agonizing death. As for non-Awakened, I'd heard their lives were in danger even from kilometers away until the creature that exhaled the poison mist was eliminated.

Such was its potent poison, but if it doesn't reach you, it's meaningless.

"Hah!"

From my ready stance, a single flash. With the wind sheathing my blade, I blew away the red mist that had spread to fill the corridor.

The real attack was next.

---CLANG!

A powerful impact struck my raised left arm, just as I'd foreseen. It was the scorpion's tail, lashing out at a speed that even my [Spirit Eye] could barely follow.

The Mushussu crouched, its rear raised like a pouncing feline. From that stance, it unleashed a continuous barrage of strikes with its poisonous stinger.

I parried the first blow with my sword, deflected the second with my gauntlet, and dodged the third by leaping to the right. I kicked off the wall into the air, then kicked off the wall again near the ceiling.

Leaping over the first creature, I lunged at the second one, still beyond the corner.

"SHIIH!"

I pushed back the welcoming red mist with wind and closed the distance. I swung my sword with the momentum, but the exoskeleton of its tail stopped it just inches from its neck.

It was tough. As sparks and shockwaves scattered, the Mushussu forcefully flicked its tail upwards.

Without resisting its power, I was launched into the air, using Flügel to slide along just below the ceiling. The muscles beneath its exoskeleton stretched, and the stinger punched through the stone.

By the time I landed, the tail had already been withdrawn. Its extension and retraction speed was faster than my own running speed.

"SHAAA!"

The Mushussu spread its forelegs wide, lowered its head, and unleashed a volley of strikes with its tail.

I dodged them with side steps, then bent my knees on the fourth strike.

The stinger passed over my head. From directly below, I swung my sword at the muscle fibers extending out from the exoskeleton.

The blade, wreathed in wind and fire, collided with the log-like muscle, and the tail bent into a 'V' shape. I tried to sever it, but it was just too hard.

It wasn't just the exoskeleton. The flesh within also had the strength of bundled special alloys.

"Ooh!"

Twisting my entire body, I forced the sword through. With a hard sound, more like hitting metal than flesh, the tail was flung upwards, its tip striking the wall and ceiling.

But my opponent wasn't unscathed. A part of its exoskeleton was charred black, and the faint smell of burning meat drifted through the air.

Still, a mere burn wouldn't stop this monster.

"JIIYAAA!"

With a roar filled with rage, it leaped. With an agility that belied its massive, bear-sized body even without the tail, it raised its lion-like forepaw.

I immediately blocked the claw from the left with my sword, and it used the rebound to unleash another strike from the right.

From there, it delivered a six-hit combo. Unable to even parry, I was forced back, blocking each blow with my blade.

Just as I lost my balance from the impacts, it swung its left foreleg and immediately followed up with a backward kick. The eagle's talons, unused until now, glinted sharply.

I couldn't dodge in time. The moment its talons, aiming for my chest, were blocked by my left gauntlet, they clamped down, and I was swung around.

"Guh!"

I was slammed into the wall with enough force to nearly dislocate my shoulder.

I created a crater in the wall with my back, and dust filled my vision. Immediately after, the poisonous stinger pierced through it, closing in.

In response, I swung my sword up to meet it. However, I struck with the 'pommel.'

GOOONG. A heavy sound echoed through the corridor.

"JII!?"

I gripped the tip of the blade with both hands and swung the pommel like a club.

The murder-strike, a technique of Western swordsmanship. This was the first time I'd used it in a real fight since the Treant.

"SHAAA!"

"Raaah!"

The tip of the tail, already cracked from the previous blow. As it thrust towards my face, I brought my sword down in a diagonal slash.

I released wind and fire from one side of the crossguard, accelerating the swing. The pommel struck the base of the stinger, shattering the exoskeleton.

Crimson poison and ink-like blood splattered, and the scorpion's tail bounced on the floor.

I immediately closed the distance. Without losing momentum, I spun horizontally and swung with all my might at the side of the serpent's head.

But it dodged by tilting its head back. It raised its lion forepaw for a counterattack, but it didn't matter.

"Hnngh!"

When it came to acceleration, I had the upper hand. The pommel of my missed horizontal swing continued its arc, rotating a full circle to slam into the base of its left foreleg.

"---!?"

Leaving even its scream behind, the Mushussu was sent flying. It bounced along the floor for about ten meters, shattering the stone, before managing to right itself by digging in with its eagle hind legs and lion right foreleg.

It immediately lashed out with its now-tipless tail, but it only cut through empty air.

Because I was already in front of it, sword raised high.

"URUUUAAAAAHHHH!"

The pommel caught its scale-covered crown and was brought straight down.

A deafening roar. Dust like that from a bombing raid billowed up, and massive cracks spread across the floor at my feet. When I blew it away with wind, I could see the Mushussu's head embedded in the floor.

The splattered, ink-like blood and flesh instantly turned white.

"Alright, next."

I pulled the pommel free and turned around. Looking towards the other one, I saw its tail frozen solid and shattered by Blanc's battle-axe, just as a wire wrapped around the mouth that was about to release poison mist.

Using the momentum from pulling back the extended wire, Erina-san closed in and struck the Mushussu's head from above with her other claw. At the moment of impact, the tip was launched forward.

It pierced the scales, and the claw destroyed its brain.

The pile-bunker-like attack made the monster's body twitch once before it went limp, turning to salt.

Erina-san lightly flicked her claws to shake off the salt, then struck a bicep curl bodybuilding pose with a smug look on her face.

Right. No enemies nearby. I discreetly averted my gaze from the self-proclaimed ninja.

'...Well. I only heard your voice during your fight, Kyo-chan-kun, but...'

Aira-san's slightly awkward voice came through the earring.

'You were letting out some rather barbaric roars. Are you okay? Can you still speak human?'

"I'm going to crack your skull open for real, you hopeless college girl."

'I'm sorry.'

"You're forgiven."

The 'murder-strike' is a time-honored technique of Western swordsmanship. If anything, it should be called the wisdom of humanity.

As we were talking, Mia-san peeked her head around the corner with a wry smile. Ukon and Sakon followed her.

While Ukon searched the pile of salt for a drop item, I rested the flat of my blade on my shoulder.

"I'm glad to see you're safe, Kyouta-kun."

"Yes. You two seem to be alright as well."

"Nice power, Kyo-chan!"

Erina-san, who had put away her claws at some point, was now doing a side chest? Or some other bodybuilding pose.

When you do that with your body, it's just sexy, so I wish you'd stop. I averted my eyes again and let out a small sigh.

Glancing at the golems, they also seemed to be unscathed. Overall, our combat power was sufficient. It wasn't easy, but I recognized anew that this was a dungeon where we could handle consecutive battles.

"But they're tough enemies, just like the Self-Defense Force's intel said. Especially the tail's exoskeleton, I don't think I could cut it with a normal attack."

'Rumor has it that it can even deflect a tank shell. It's safe to assume that destroying it in combat is impossible.'

"Yeah. It's durable enough that I could only just break it with a murder-strike."

'A what?'

"Except for boss monsters, I'll be focusing on blunt attacks. My attacks will be a bit wide, creating openings, so I'd appreciate it if you could cover me."

"Yes, leave it to me."

"Bring it on!"

Erina-san was now doing... what was it called? A side triceps pose, I think. She linked her arms behind her back, showing it off from the side.

Is she doing this because I'm using brute force? Why is she pushing the gag with brute force too?

Also, with her figure, that's poison for the eyes. I had to restrain my gaze from being drawn to her chest and thighs, reminding myself we were in a dungeon as I pressed my brow through my helmet.

"...Please stop with the hard-to-comment-on gags."

"Okaay."

'Hey, what did you just say? You broke it? Did you stop being human?'

"You shouldn't joke around so much either. We're in the middle of an exploration."

'Was that... was that my fault just now...?'

I sighed and turned my gaze to Ukon.

In its stone palm rested a fist-sized stone tablet. On its surface was an engraving of a Mushussu.

It's apparently a magical tool that acts as a substitute if you're targeted by curses or poison.

I've heard from the Dungeon Agency that the white dragon's dungeon is constantly expanding. We need to be prepared for any situation.

Besides, the experience points are quite good. I felt my level go up by one again.

I watched as Erina-san took the drop item from Ukon, put it in a different pouch from the one with the wooden bull statue, and equipped it with Mia-san. Then I turned on my heel and called out to Aira-san.

"We're resuming the exploration. We turn right at the crossroads and then go straight, correct?"

'Y-yes. From there, you'll pass two crossroads and come to a T-junction. Please turn left there.'

"Roger. We're heading out now."

'Right. You three, be careful.'

"Yes."

"You got it!"

"Yes!"

I gave a wry smile at the two energetic replies from behind me, then immediately hardened my expression.

'Tighten your helmet strings after a victory,' was it? We've grown stronger since the battle with Cerberus, and we've felt our levels increase in the fight against the Mushussu.

But we can't get carried away. I steeled my resolve and continued walking through the dungeon.

Trailing our shadows that flickered in time with the sconce flames, we advanced deeper into the labyrinth.