What is this? What are these holes? I smelt a sharp, stinging, fearsome scent. Something isn't right.
"What are these, Mino?"
"Master, it seems like these are dungeon holes," she replied.
"Dungeon holes?" Gen asked.
"Yes, those hundreds of holes lead to some place, but only one out of a hundred is a survival hole," she explained. "Master, would you—"
"Let's go in." Gen didn't even hesitate and went inside.
What the... I smelt it—none of the holes led to survival. It seemed like all hope was lost, as we had no way out.
But I couldn't tell them. Why? I was sure they wouldn't believe me. My eyes filled with terror as I caught a scent of bloodlust and strength far beyond any of us.
(Mino, haven't you sensed it?) I asked her.
(Yes, Master, but I'm sure you can beat them easily,) she replied.
Well, that's a relief, I thought.
***
In the command room of the dungeon:
"Oh, you're here? Aung Myint Moh?"
A man entered the room, wearing a football jersey, a long sword by his side.
"Don't call me by my full name, Tasuya-chan."
"Don't call me by -chan, it's disgusting," she replied.
Myint Moh was one in a hundred—a man from Burma, a Southeast Asian nation. He was known for his delicate fighting style, but who cared?
"So, did you find anyone interesting?"
"Well, it seems like I did."
"Who caught your eye? That's extremely rare for you, Tasuya." He teased her, but it didn't even make her flinch.
"This kid with a mask," she said, pointing at the monitor, which showed Raiden's group entering the dungeon hole.
"Oh, this kid? I don't know, but he looks awfully similar to the Royal Bodyguard, Raiden Gleanford."
"I think so..." Well, he is anyway, she thought but didn't want to tell Myint Moh about it.
*
Before Raiden entered the dungeon:
"Hey, Rai—" Before Tasuya could say anything, I covered her mouth.
"Hushhh!" I whispered. "I'm keeping my identity hidden here."
"I-I see, Raiden," she replied in an almost quiet whisper.
*
Back to her discussion:
"That might be a coincidence. Who knows?" she said.
"Yeah, maybe." Myint Moh smirked. "I also find this group interesting. Let's bet."
"Huh?" Tasuya was quite surprised by this.
"If they don't face any dangers, you win. If they do, I win. Deal?"
"What will I get from this deal?"
"I'll give you 300 gold coins if you win."
Woah... money... she thought. "And what will I have to give you?"
"Well, since you're broke... How about you wear a bunny suit and show yourself in front of your favorite student?"
"Huh?! What is that? It's embarrassing!" Her cheeks turned crimson as her fist tightened.
"C'mon, don't be like that, Tasuya-chan."
"Why would I show that to Raiden? Raiden, out of all people, why would I?!" She buried her face in her hands, mumbling Raiden's name repeatedly.
"I didn't even say anything about Raiden…" he said. "Well, whatever. A deal's a deal."
***
We were walking in a line as I smelt all the terrifying things around us. What are these? What the heck?
Then, we saw light. It was warm yet terrifying, radiating the faint aura of a catastrophe.
When we arrived at the end of the line, our group was met with another garden. There was an elf-like lady, gracefully playing a flute.
She took a side glance at us. This woman... is a monster, I thought.
Mino, who had been quiet, spoke up to me using her thought communication. (That's the dungeon queen.)
(Huh?)
And then, we were cooked.
Suddenly, Marcus started speaking.
"What'cha doing, young lady?" he asked as he approached her.
(What is this dude—)
It seemed like his perverted thoughts were rushing in.
"It's dangerous, ya know. Let your man gracefully take yo—" Before Marcus could continue, his head was sliced off.
It was the dungeon queen's doing. What the... that's her tail? No, it's her hair. It looks like a blade sharp enough to cut steel like butter.
Analyse…
Analysing… Failed.
The blade rushed toward me, but at that moment, something from my inventory came off.
It was a black cube I'd been carrying. It blocked her attack. Even the dungeon queen seemed surprised by it.
I didn't expect it to come off on its own... Huh? What—what is Excalibur doing in my sword scabbard?
I picked up the black cube. Its middle glowed as though it wanted to be pressed. I pushed the button and—
Boom!
A scythe appeared. It was a graceful black scythe with red lines running across the blade.
"Woah…"
"Woah, that's cool, Mata!" Gen shouted.
"Come on, Captain, Marcus just died," Lucas said.
"Dungeon queen, we will take you on!" I shouted. As soon as I did, her hair-blade charged at me again. This time, I blocked it with the scythe I had just acquired.
"It looks cool, right?" I said.
The dungeon queen only glared, never uttering a word.
Then, her hair-blade multiplied, leaving everyone in shock.
"Master, let me unseal—" Before Mino could continue, it struck again, this time targeting Emilia.
"Emilia, wait!—"
With the sound of slashes, her hair was cut off—not by me, but by Emilia.
The dungeon queen's eyes widened in despair, unwilling to believe what had just happened.
Emilia… looked totally cool.
"If you dare try again, I will kill you," Emilia threatened.
"Then I won't need to unseal my powers now, huh?" Mino mumbled.
Suddenly, the dungeon queen's glare shifted to Emilia, and the pressure in the room rose.
"『You mere humans are nothing to me…』"
She looked completely pissed. Well, who could blame her?
To be continued...