kscans

Chapter 238 - The Monstrous Warrior

After school, we rode in a Self-Defense Force vehicle from the station to the dungeon.

We passed through the 'No Entry' fence and into the store. After our usual preparations, we went through reception and into the gate room.

I summoned my Arcane Gear and equipped `Blanc` and the others with their weapons and armor.

Everyone. You're exploring after a full day of school today. Your condition might not be as good as usual, but do not let your guard down in the dungeon.

"Understood."

"Got it!"

"Of course."

Very well. I pray for your safe return.

"Thank you. We're entering the dungeon now."

I took one deep breath. Confirming my teammates' hands were on my shoulders, I stepped into the labyrinth.

After a brief sensation of the ground disappearing beneath me, the hard, gritty texture of the path returned through my boots.

We were on a well-trodden dirt path, flanked on both sides by dense, overgrown trees. Above us, false stars twinkled, and a full moon, as red as blood, looked down.

A chill, cold wind caressed my skin. The rustling of branches and leaves created the illusion that someone was watching me.

"We've entered the dungeon. We'll begin exploration after installing the Magi Batteries."

Mhm.

Erina-san handed me the Magi Batteries, and I attached one to Blanc's back.

I confirmed that the mana was circulating properly and gave a small nod.

Alright, follow the path up the 'mountain.' As long as you don't wander into the forest, you shouldn't get lost before you reach the summit.

"Understood."

With only the moon and stars for light, we relied on a lantern and the lights attached to the golems to navigate the winding path.

The path gradually sloped upward, and just as Aira-san had said, there were no forks or crossroads.

Suddenly, I caught sight of a piece of cloth strung between the trees. On it, in yellow paint, were an alphabet letter and numbers.

"Aira-san, we're at 'K-12' now."

Good timing. The exit is a little further ahead. Mark it there, then head for the summit.

"Right."

With a short reply, I continued up the mountain.

After about five minutes of walking through the rustling trees and cold wind, Erina-san finally gave a warning.

"Ten o'clock, two sets of footsteps approaching... and one more following them. The first two will probably engage us just before they all meet up."

"Understood."

I drew my sword and faced the direction she indicated. Soon, I could also hear the sound of footsteps.

Thud, thud, thud. The violent but rhythmically powerful sound of something stomping on the ground. I sensed a heavy tank-like rush, one that wouldn't hesitate to crash through and shatter the thick, sturdy trees that stood in its way.

Contact was only a few seconds away.

OOOOOOOOOOOH—!

A war cry echoed through the false night.

The ground erupted as if from an explosion, and the massive figure that caused it leaped toward us.

It stood between 220 and 230 centimeters tall. It was dressed like a low-ranking warrior from the Heian period, wearing a doumaru cuirass, large ōsode shoulder guards, and armored gauntlets and greaves.

In its hands was a massive nata blade, its cutting edge easily over a meter long, thick enough to cleave not just branches but tree trunks in a single blow.

But what was most striking was the wearer itself.

Its skin was a deep vermilion, not from blood flow, but a crimson hue all its own. Its eyes glowed yellow, and from its mouth peeked fangs like those of a carnivore.

And its forehead. Atop its hairless head, a pair of horns grew upward.

An oni. A monster every Japanese person knew, but this creature was a cut above the ordinary.

Oni Musha.

Not a term for a valiant human warrior, but a simple, direct name for this monster.

Two Oni Musha, with the momentum of their leap, gripped their nata blades with both hands and slashed down at me and Blanc.

"Hrk...!"

Two roars. One erupted right in front of me, and I held it back with a shower of sparks. My ankles sank into the ground as I released a blast of wind to absorb the impact.

The other roar receded into the distance with Blanc. Pushed back by the high-speed mass, they were separated from us.

"You two, go with Blanc!"

"OK!"

I called out to my allies, and it became a one-on-one fight.

The weight difference was obvious. The nata and my sword screeched as metal ground against metal, both of us pushing against the other.

But.

"Ooooh!"

Gah!?

With a push from Flügel, I forcibly shoved my opponent's weapon aside and flicked it upward with a twist.

I unleashed a diagonal slash at the off-balance Oni Musha.

But the oni, despite its unstable posture, turned its shoulder toward me and used its large shoulder guard as a shield. The ground at our feet caved in, and the earth behind it was peeled back in a fan shape by the shockwave.

As the trees tilted, the Oni Musha held its ground, its feet planted firmly on the earth.

Another tough one...!

The shoulder guard, though its small plates were cracking, had stopped my blade. In that state, the Oni Musha swung its nata, now held in one right hand, in an upward diagonal slash.

I blocked the approaching blade, which whistled through the air, with my left gauntlet, pulled my sword free, and immediately struck its chest with the pommel.

The armor blocked it, but the impact got through. As it staggered slightly, I followed up without pause, driving my left iron fist into its jaw in an uppercut, and then thrust my sword into the thick neck that was now exposed.

Giii...!?

I cut through bone, the tip of my sword exiting out the back. Even in that state, the Oni Musha raised its nata, but with a swing of my blade, augmented by wind and flame, it was finally forced to its knees.

With a reverse swing, I completely severed its head just as my Spirit Eye gave a prediction.

"One after another!"

GAAAAH!

A second one charged through the trees. It swung its nata with both hands, and I met its blade with my own first.

A high-pitched yet gut-wrenching sound echoed through the mountain. The nata shattered mid-blade, its tip flying off into the distance.

OOOH!

Undeterred, the Oni Musha swung its right claws at me, but I evaded with a quick step. I moved behind it and raised my sword.

The blade that was meant to slice open its back was once again blocked by a shoulder guard. The Oni Musha lowered its stance, firmly absorbing my slash, and then shifted its center of gravity to push back.

At that moment, my left foot swept its ankle. With the feeling of a thick bone snapping, the Oni Musha's massive body fell backward.

I gave it no time to stand. I swung my sword with my right hand alone, striking its neck.

The blade tore through flesh, severed the carotid artery, and bit halfway through the bone. For a human, it would have been a fatal wound.

But for a monster like this...

Aaaaaaaah!

With bloody foam bubbling from its neck, the oni roared and grabbed my blade and wrist with both hands.

Furthermore, with an agility that defied its massive frame, it lifted its hips and wrapped its legs around my neck like a snake. A move similar to a triangle choke in judo. It ignored the sword digging deeper into its own neck, using its long reach to its advantage.

I instinctively shoved my left hand between my neck and its leg, but the Oni Musha continued to squeeze.

This thing even knows grappling techniques...!

"Kuh, uuuuh...!"

Giiii...!

A creaking sound echoed from both our bodies.

I could break free, but I couldn't predict the counter. In that case...!

I planted my feet firmly on the ground and leaned back. A common strength and weakness of both Awakened Persons and humanoid monsters. Their power output was high, but their body weight was light.

In a direct clash it might be different, but in a grapple, a weight of only 200 kilograms or so was nothing.

Guuuh...!

Still caught in the triangle-like hold, I lifted the Oni Musha's massive body with just my upper body strength.

With a wet squelch, the blade sank deeper into its neck. The hold didn't break, but that didn't matter. The point was to make sure my opponent couldn't escape.

"Explode!"

I channeled wind and flame into the blade and released it. The wound was forced open, and the monster was burned from the inside out.

I blew away the scattered flesh and blood with a gust of wind and forcibly broke free of the legs that still clung to me even in death.

I immediately turned my gaze to my allies, where it seemed their fight was also reaching its conclusion.

Blanc was holding its battle axe with a long grip, right hand reversed, left hand forward. With it, it used the butt of the staff to force its opponent to raise its shoulder guard, then hooked the edge of the axe on the guard to forcibly pull it down.

At that moment, a spear of ice curved through the air and struck the oni's back. As its spine froze, the axe's butt smashed its chin from below.

With a cracking sound from its back, the Oni Musha recoiled. Erina-san leaped onto it, placed her foot on its shoulder, grabbed a horn with her left hand to hold it steady, and without pause, plunged her ninja-to into its eyeball.

She pierced its brain, then gracefully rotated her entire body like a gymnast to destroy its insides. She pulled out her sword and landed lightly.

The three Oni Musha lay fallen. As they all began to turn to salt, Erina-san raised her ninja-to high.

"Alright! Who cares about samurai! Ninjas are! Stronger!!"

"Ah, she says there are no more enemies."

"That's right, exactly! We are! Unrivaled!!"

"She says there are no anomalies in her detection range."

"Right."

I nodded at Mia-san's translation and relaxed my stance. To be honest, I had already let my guard down considerably the moment Erina-san started goofing off.

I let out a small sigh and rubbed my neck. I had a choker-style gorget, but it was designed for blade protection, not against chokeholds.

A triangle choke is supposed to break the elbow and constrict the carotid artery, but that oni... it was trying to snap my neck along with my arm.

"You two, be careful. These things use something like judo."

"Grappling, huh! A worthy opponent!"

"...Doesn't Erina-san seem even more hyper than usual today?"

"She's apparently always dreamed of a ninja versus samurai fight..."

"Ah..."

She was always a lively person, but inside a dungeon, she was usually a bit more composed. The reason she was so worked up must be because of that.

Erina-kun. It's not bad to have fun, but be serious. Don't forget that your life is on the line.

"Got it! A serious fight to the death, right!"

It's not just your life, but the lives of the other two are also depending on your scouting. Don't you forget that, you hear?

"Of course, senpai!"

While Erina-san nodded enthusiastically, my eyes widened in shock.

Wondering if I'd misheard, I turned to Mia-san, only to find her looking back at me with a similar expression of surprise.

"Aira-san is...!"

"Being incredibly reasonable...!"

Hold on a minute.

I couldn't hide my surprise at the normally disappointing university student acting like a genuine 'adult.'

What's that? I'm always the coolest of the cool beauties. A genius blessed with two or three gifts from the heavens. Super Aira-chan. I object to being treated like I'm normally a slacker!

"Ah, good, it's the real her."

"It doesn't seem to be an imposter...!"

To that extent?

As I let out a sigh of relief, Erina-san tapped me on the shoulder.

"Honestly, Kyouta-chan. And you too, senpai. We're in a dungeon, so be serious. Honestly..."

That's right. You should be more serious. Hey boys, stop fooling around.

"You're right, but that's incredibly annoying."

"Who are you calling a boy? I'm more of a woman than you are, big sister."

What did you say?! Just because you're better at housework, have bigger boobs, and pay more attention to fashion, that judgment is far too hasty!

"It's a fair assessment."

"That's right, she's a kunoichi!"

"And you're an idiot."

"!?"

The relaxed atmosphere was giving me a slight headache, but Erina-san's gaze was still vigilantly scanning our surroundings, so I had nothing to say.

That was her specialty, after all—joking around while still seriously scouting...

While we were talking, Ukon collected the drop items and brought them over.

It was a pure white, bone-like 'horn.' Not one of the two that had been on its head, but a horn nonetheless.

Professor Arisugawa apparently uses them for magic potions. I didn't know the details, but I trusted she wouldn't use them for anything strange. We also got a decent reward for them.

Most importantly, we could aim to level up with the experience here. As part of our preparations for the white dragon, it was more than sufficient.

"Alright, let's resume exploration."

Yeah. Be careful, now.

"Understood."

"Yes."

"Right! Let's go conquer the world!"

I rested the flat of my blade on my shoulder and started up the mountain again.

Under the gaze of the eerily red moon, we aimed for the summit.