Evil Avalon
The moment we arrived on the 25th floor of the dungeon, I immediately crouched low and silently surveyed our surroundings. The gate room on this floor was located inside a small cave. There was no lighting, so it was fairly dim, but since the exit where bright light poured in was right ahead, there was no need to use any lamps.
I positioned Chi-chan behind me, lowered my stance even further, and activated 《Magic Sense》. Using the nearby mana, I checked the enemies’ strength and approximate numbers. And sure enough… they were there.
“(Around level 25… five—no, six people ahead. If they try to stop us, it’ll turn into a fight. If things get dangerous—)”
“(Understood. In case of emergency, I’ll use a Return Stone immediately. Please don’t worry—《Mana Regeneration》.)”
Chi-chan took out a staff as tall as herself from her magic bag and cast a buff that increased natural MP recovery several times over. Just that alone would multiply our sustained combat ability, so it was greatly appreciated.
Next, I drew the magic circle for 《Shadow Step》, which boosts speed and evasion, in midair. I gathered mana at the tip of my index finger and finished drawing it in one smooth motion. The circle glowed faintly in the dark before dispersing as the effect activated.
With sparkling eyes, Chi-chan pleaded sweetly, “Could you teach me that later, please?” But since I couldn’t promise that, I could only dodge the question.
I pulled my mask snugly over my mouth and walked toward the cave entrance. Peeking outside, I saw an adventurer party sitting around a campfire, eating something.
There was no identifying mark to tell which organization they belonged to, but judging from their position, it would be impossible to pass through unnoticed. There was no detour either, so I had no choice but to walk forward naturally. As expected, they stopped me.
“Hey, wait. You came from the gate, right? Don’t tell me—you’re from the Tenma family?”
“So what if I am?”
The man tossed aside the bread he was eating, drew his sword, and blocked my path. His armor was fitted with mirror-like polished plates—pure mithril plating—and the sword in his hand bore engraved patterns, clearly a high-grade weapon. Equipment worthy of a top-tier clan.
Normally, I’d want nothing to do with fighting adventurers of this caliber. But the moment the words “Tenma family” came up, any thought of peaceful negotiation vanished.
The burly adventurer on my left reached out, sneering, “Answer me, fatso,” but the instant his hand touched my shoulder, I twisted and drove a punch into his side. The impact came with a sickening crack of bone as he bent in a “<” shape and went flying. At the same time, I kicked the side of the head of the dagger-wielder trying to circle behind me, knocking him unconscious.
The remaining four immediately scattered to form a pincer formation—but before they could, I grabbed the robe of the slowest one, a mage, yanked him forward, and slammed him into the ground twice. Three left.
“Careful—he’s stronger than us!”
“We should run! Call the main force—!”
The swordsman tried to flee first, so I instantly caught up and grabbed him from behind. He forcibly spun around, attempting to activate a weapon skill, but his mana flow and motion made his move completely obvious.
I calmly dodged, then hammered several punches into him while he was stuck in post-skill lag. Meanwhile, Chi-chan knocked out the female ranger who tried to attack me from behind.
The final one turned his back and ran, but at that speed, there was no escaping me with my speed buff.
“Damn it! 《Adamant Body》!”
As Chi-chan and I closed in from both sides, he cursed and activated his skill, his whole body glowing red. It was a martial arts skill that hardened the skin and boosted defense. Unfortunately, all it did was increase the pain.
He barely dodged my punch, but at almost the same time, Chi-chan’s fist smashed straight into him from behind, spinning him halfway around. It landed solidly on his jaw, but thanks to his hardened body, he remained barely conscious. As he staggered and lifted his face, I finished him off with a powerful uppercut.
His brain rattled again, his eyes rolled white, and he collapsed flat on his back.
Brushing dust from my clothes, I looked down at the adventurers lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
If this were me just a week ago, I would have struggled without going all-out. But after repeatedly defeating the Holy Empire’s White Robes and leveling up, I now even had room to observe my opponents’ movements. Even though I was fat, my agility remained sharp, and there was no real hindrance.
As I clenched my fist, confirming the strength in it, I noticed Chi-chan rummaging through their belongings.
“Were these people the ones who attacked your companions, Narumi-senpai…?”
“No. My teammates wouldn’t lose to guys like this. The ones who attacked them were much stronger. That’s why following me is dangerous—”
“On the contrary, I’m rather looking forward to seeing what happens to those who oppose you, Narumi-senpai.”
Anyone at Kurosaki’s level should easily suppress opponents like these. Which means whoever attacked them must be even stronger. When I tried to warn her of the danger, Chi-chan merely smiled, looking excited.
Why did she trust me so blindly? If my worst-case assumption about our enemies was right, even I might struggle at full power. Either her expectations were too optimistic, or she was gravely mistaken.
Still, that was assuming I fought alone, head-on. Against enemies who ambushed my companions, I had no intention of playing fair. Every possible method—including retaliation—was on the table. Whoever they were, I would crush them.
But rescuing the Tenma group came first. I couldn’t afford to lose sight of that.
Taking a deep breath, I cooled my thoughts and activated 《Magic Sense》 again.
Our destination was the base Tenma had planned to build. Exiting the cave and crossing a gentle hill, we should have been able to see it…
But there was nothing. Only wreckage.
The high-performance excavator I had been told was cutting-edge had been smashed into scrap metal. The neatly stacked piles of lumber and stone were scattered everywhere. Even the leveled ground was riddled with craters.
Nearby, around a hundred adventurers were camped out, lounging around multiple campfires. They had to be the attackers.
As I simulated smashing them to pieces in my head while lying in the grass, Chi-chan did the same beside me, calmly observing through binoculars.
“(There are many men who look like butlers… tied up with rope in the center… I don’t see any dead.)”
“(Do you see a girl in full shining armor or a maid?)”
“(…Hmm… no, I don’t see them.)”
From about 500 meters away, I couldn’t make out details with the naked eye, so I rapidly fired questions about their equipment, casualties, and composition. Chi-chan silently handed me the binoculars.
I took a look.
Judging from the number of armored fighters, they were mainly a close-combat group. That was good—less risk of accidental damage from magic flying everywhere.
Gathered in the center were the Tenma family’s escort unit—the Black Butlers. Even the former adventurers among them, around level 25, had been captured without being killed and tied up, suggesting a considerable gap in strength. Or perhaps Tenma herself had been captured, preventing them from fighting back.
The construction workers were also taken prisoner. They didn’t seem bound, likely because they were non-combatants. Among them, however, was a girl in an Adventurer Academy uniform, casually napping with her hands behind her head.
(Kuga-san was level 26, right?)
Unless she’d leveled up recently, that should be about right. She dominated at the academy, but against elite adventurers, resistance would be pointless. Perhaps she figured conserving her stamina by sleeping was smarter.
Meanwhile, neither Tenma nor Kurosaki were visible. There was a strange tent further back—most likely where they were being held. But reaching it meant charging straight through the enemy formation.
Trouble was inevitable. But that was fine.
“First, I’ll ask them what their objective is. Chi-chan, you stay—”
“I’m coming too. I believe I can be of service.”
When I tried to tell her to wait while I negotiated alone, Chi-chan immediately shot back that she would definitely be useful, so I should take her along.
The people who attacked Tenma and the others were a group of elites that even Kurosaki-san and the Black Butlers couldn’t defeat. Given their numbers, they were most likely a large-scale raid clan. And wherever there’s a large raid clan, there’s always at least one “monster.” The Kinrankai, Colors, and the Ten Rakshashas were all proof of that. As the daughter of the Mamiya family, Chi-chan couldn’t possibly be unaware of this.
(Well… Chi-chan is a DunEx heroine, after all.)
In DunEx, Chi-chan had spent her fortune and traveled all across Japan to save those in need. Now, my precious companions were in danger. Borrowing a bit of her strength seemed only fair.
I tightened my mask and went through one final check.
“We might have to go all-out with concealment skills. Never take off your mask. If danger approaches, no matter what state I’m in, use a Return Stone immediately. Can you promise that?”
“Understood.”
The girl placed a hand over her chest and bowed politely toward me. She was surprisingly obedient. When we met in Tokyo, her cold attitude had been difficult to deal with—so much so that I almost doubted she was the same person.
When I looked at her skeptically, she spun around once, apparently amused by the fact that we were both wearing robes, and laughed softly in good spirits.
“Matching masks and robes with Narumi-senpai. Hiding our identities, just like a secret society. It would be wonderful if we had a nice name.”
“…A name, huh. We once talked about forming a circle called ‘EEE’ with my friends… but anyway, let’s stay sharp.”
“Yes.”
To check my current power and physical condition, I gripped the pure mithril one-handed sword I took from my magic bag and gave it a light swing. Just that alone stirred up a gust of wind. At level 30, physical strength was no joke.
In this world, leveling up visibly increases strength and speed, which is both exciting and frightening. But I knew how to control it. There was no need to fear.
While I steeled myself and prepared to step forward, Chi-chan, in contrast, looked relaxed, giggling lightly. Like Kuga-san, who could even nap while being captured, her mental fortitude was truly enviable.
We walked firmly across the hill, where a gentle breeze was blowing.
When we approached within a certain distance, the seated adventurers quietly stood. Some looked at us with curiosity, others glared while standing imposingly, and some smirked as they sized us up. Though their reactions varied, all of them carried themselves with heavy confidence.
Not many clans could gather adventurers of this caliber. As expected, this had to be a large-scale raid clan. And the reason they attacked Tenma was likely for control of the 25th-floor gate room. If that was all, they could have it.
(First, I want to talk to their boss—but they won’t allow that, will they?)
As I ignored the piercing stares and walked into the group, a man with spiky blue hair stepped in front of me. He held a long spear glowing red, twirled it twice, tucked it under his arm, and assumed a stance with a sharp, provocative grin.
“Stop there. If you don’t answer, I’ll kill you. If you run, I’ll kill you. Now then—how did you get here?”
“…Obviously, we used the gate.”
What a bloodthirsty guy. Dodging the question would only waste time, so I answered honestly. As expected, the spearman nodded and smiled.
“So you’re with the Tenma family. Then we’re currently negotiating with your master… so behave and lie down over there.”
“Negotiating? After destroying their buildings and tying up the Black Butlers?”
I knew they had been rushing overnight to build a large base, but now all that remained were craters, splinters, and rubble. Nearby, the bound Black Butlers were gathered in one spot. There were no corpses, but their faces were covered in bruises, their black suits caked in dust. They had clearly been beaten badly. Calling this “negotiation” was absurd.
I also glanced at Kuga-san. Since she hadn’t resisted, she appeared unharmed. When our eyes met, she lazily conveyed, Hurry up and resolve this mess, so I pretended not to notice and looked away. She could complain to them instead.
In any case, I had no intention of lying down obediently.
“Then let me ask. Who the hell are you people, and why are you doing this—”
“Careful with your words. If I feel like it, I can take your head anytime.”
The spearman mimed slicing my throat, stirring up laughter around him. At the same time, someone pointed an appraisal tool at Chi-chan and me, but thanks to 《Fake》 and our masks, they couldn’t break through, tilting their head in confusion.
From this exchange, it was clear they had no intention of answering my questions. The others, bored, hurled mocking jeers. In short, these guys were impossible to reason with.
“Bring out the person in charge.”
“Alright, let’s do this. If you beat me, I’ll take you to the boss.”
Seeing I wouldn’t take the bait, the blue-haired man stabbed his spear into the ground and slammed his fists together. If I won in a one-on-one, he’d summon their clan leader.
Breaking through this many people by force felt troublesome, so I honestly welcomed the duel. On top of that, he even gave me a handicap by not using his spear. I could have cried tears of joy.
As he released excess mana, testing whether I would flinch, I instead read his mana output and center of gravity, estimating his level and combat ability.
You’re weaker than me.
Even so, my companions’ safety was on the line, so I wouldn’t hold back. Just as I considered how best to handle him, I noticed a quiet chuckle behind me—it was Chi-chan, masked.
“To think you believe such meager mana could defeat my senpai… how laughable. Let us show this fool the absolute difference in power.”
“…Huh? Well… alright. I’ll go beat him senseless, so stay back.”
“Understood.”
Her unexpectedly high evaluation made me flinch, but I quickly regained my composure. As I showed my resolve, she bowed lightly and stepped back. Seeing this, the blue-haired man raised his arm, loudly declaring the duel.
Crude jeers flew from all directions, and bets were even placed on the outcome. To them, our appearance and the duel were nothing more than entertainment. They lacked worthwhile information and had underestimated me—and I fully intended to make them pay.
On the other hand, Chi-chan’s sparkling gaze, brimming with expectation, pierced into my back, making me feel pressured. Stop that. I’m not used to being overestimated.
Caught between extreme underestimation and excessive praise, I forced myself to steel my nerves and face forward.
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