Chapter 15 - Return (2)

“Percy? Percy!”

The leader urgently called someone's name.

Of course, no answer came. I'd ordered Erwin to shoot the crossbowman dead first, no matter what.

“What the hell did you do?”

Only then did the leader question me. But he must have had his own suspicions, because he watched his back instead of me.

That was a very big mistake.

I hate bastards who ask questions when they've already decided on the answer.

A whole damn lot.

Smash!

The instant the leader glanced toward the bushes, I dashed forward without hesitation and swung my shield.

WHOOSH!

Unfortunately, I didn't feel it connect.

He actually dodged that. A goblin would've turned into a little light in this world and vanished for sure.

“Elias! Now!”

At the leader's call, the samurai dashed toward me and executed a horizontal slash with crisp precision.

CLANG!

Sparks flew from my shield with a metallic screech.

Holy shit, what was that impact? I nearly dropped my shield.

Despite my surprise, though, I charged straight at the three of them, hoping to divide their attention and give Erwin a clearer opening.

But...

WHOOSH!

Another Smash missed.

Was it because these bastards were second-floor explorers, at least?

Fighting them, I found the shield's short reach particularly frustrating for the first time. But the more that bothered me, the harder I pressed in, swinging my shield aggressively.

Then I heard the sound I'd been waiting for.

FWEEEE!

Erwin had finally begun providing covering fire.

But her arrow struck neither forehead nor throat, arm nor leg. The lanky bastard with the sword and shield blocked it with his shield.

“I'll block the arrows! Ignore them and deal with the barbarian!”

So that was why he was the only one who hadn't come at me.

Had they assigned him exclusively to arrow duty?

Humans really were far trickier than goblins.

BANG!

As I caught the samurai's blow on my shield, the leader sneaked in a swing at my left arm.

SLASH!

Fortunately, I reacted in time, so the cut wasn't deep. It hardly mattered anyway, since the arm was already wrecked. With the paralytic poison circulating, it didn't hurt much either.

“You monstrous...”

The leader muttered at the sight of me not even flinching when he cut my arm.

Fuck off. Don't blame me for your own incompetence.

Cursing inwardly, I shoved my shield forward and knocked the samurai away with brute force.

Another covering shot came just then.

FWEEEE!

It came from an entirely different direction, as though she'd already changed her sniping position, but the lanky guy was no pushover either.

THWACK!

He blocked the arrow with his shield again.

What was he, an outfielder? He was throwing himself in the way of shots aimed at someone else.

Just as I began to grow anxious at the lack of any sign of an easy breakthrough...

FWOOSH!

His shield, bristling with arrows like a hedgehog, rapidly burst into flames.

“Fuck!”

Unable to stand the heat, the lanky guy threw away his own shield.

Sorry, our archer's a spirit archer.

Should've used a solid iron shield like mine, you broke-ass bastard!

FWEEEE!

With the troublesome shield gone, Erwin loosed another arrow without hesitation.

“Aaaaargh!”

It struck the lanky guy's shoulder.

He promptly dropped his sword too, changing classes to Useless Bastard.

“Elias! I'll handle the fairy bitch!”

Finally grasping the situation, the leader left me to the samurai and ran into the bushes.

It was already too late to stop him.

Damn it...

I'd have to trust Erwin.

“Give up, barbarian.”

The samurai stepped back and spoke with an air of authority.

This was exactly why humans were such a pain in the ass.

Who was he trying to fool? It was obvious he wanted to stall until the leader returned.

TAP-TAP!

I dashed forward and used Smash, making the samurai's face twist.

“What, scared without your friends?”

“He's not alone!”

I'd asked the samurai, but the lanky guy answered as he stood up. He held the one-handed sword he'd dropped earlier in his left hand.

But...

WHOOSH!

Was he right-handed? His sword work was pathetic.

He'd handled that shield brilliantly, so why was he so feeble now?

THUD!

I neatly evaded his attack with a single step back, then stomped down on his knee.

The veins in his neck bulged as he screamed.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Huh. Didn't expect it to bend that way.

The lanky guy collapsed, clutching around the bone jutting from his knee with both hands.

I considered taking the opportunity to finish him off, but unfortunately, the samurai put a stop to that.

CLANG!

No matter how many times I blocked it, I couldn't get used to that weight.

Why was this guy hanging around these weak-ass losers?

Was there some story behind it?

I didn't know, but it was going to be the biggest mistake of his life.

WHOOSH!

When I used Smash, the samurai dodged by opening up the distance, just as he'd grown accustomed to doing.

I immediately dropped my shield, dashed forward again, and reached out.

I called it... Pretend to Smash, Then Reach Out.

I couldn't even be bothered to come up with names anymore. It wasn't funny either.

“Ghk!”

Confusion spread across the samurai's face as I seized him by the neck.

“Didn't see that coming, did you?”

With my overwhelming strength, I yanked him toward me. Then, since my left arm wouldn't move, I sank my teeth into his throat instead—

RRRIP!

And tore it out.

“Ah, ah, aaah...”

The samurai couldn't even scream.

With vacant eyes, he staggered backward, both hands pressed against the blood fountaining from his throat...

Then fell to the ground with a thud.

“Mister!”

Had she handled her opponent on her own too?

The fight had barely ended when Erwin hurried out of the bushes, breathless.

“Mis... ter?”

I spat the chunk of meat filling my mouth onto the ground and wiped my mouth with my arm.

Fuck, that tasted foul.

* * *

The grueling battle was over.

Or was I the only one who felt that way?

Fortunately, Erwin seemed to have finished things before it came to close combat. She looked just as unscathed as when we'd split up.

Me, on the other hand? I was a total wreck.

“Mister! Hurry and drink this.”

As the tension drained away and I sank to my knees, Erwin thrust a potion at me.

I carefully drained the whole bottle, gulp after gulp, feeling as though I were drinking a condemned man's poison.

Erwin explained that aside from the poison, drinking it was better because my injuries weren't concentrated in one spot.

Anyway, was it because I'd emptied an entire bottle?

It felt completely different from usual.

“Grrrrgh.”

Something boiled up inside my guts. Pain ran through my veins as though tiny chestnut burrs were bouncing and rolling through them, and my skin itched so fiercely it felt hot enough to drive me mad.

That continued for over ten minutes.

“... Hang in there, Mister.”

Erwin carefully wiped the sweat pouring off my body with the handkerchief from before.

Was it because of the poison? Or was I just filthy?

I didn't know, but the once-white handkerchief turned completely black.

... I'd have to buy her a new one later.

“Enough. I'm all... right now.”

Feeling a little more alive, I struggled to my feet.

Looking down, I saw scabs covering the cuts and punctures of every size across my body. Another bottle of potion would probably make those disappear too, but I decided against it.

“This will leave a scar...”

So what if it scarred? I was a barbarian.

“Water.”

“Y-yes! Here.”

At that single word, Erwin quickly rummaged through the bag and handed me a canteen.

I felt like some kind of lord.

I gulped down the entire canteen, and my strength gradually began returning.

Had water always tasted this good?

At some point, the veins bulging all over my body had subsided too.

“Get the watch out for me.”

With Erwin's help, I checked the time.

And froze.

[23 : 20]

Damn it, this place wouldn't even give me time to rest.

There were exactly forty minutes until day seven ended. If we didn't get down to the first floor by then, we'd have to spend another three days in this godforsaken place.

“Erwin, strip off the clothes.”

“W-what?”

No, not yours. Theirs.

Too exhausted to explain, I pointed at the bodies. Erwin released her grip on the front of her clothes, which she'd been holding closed.

“No, leave the clothes. We're short on time, so we'll just take the equipment, crystal pouches, and backpacks.”

“Y-yes!”

Perhaps realizing how little time we had, Erwin moved briskly too.

“Oh, I'll go get the red-haired man's things and the crossbowman's too!”

Right. Watch out for traps.

While Erwin was gone, I stripped the equipment off the samurai and the lanky guy.

Discard the chest guards, the samurai's sword, and the wooden shield that had turned to charcoal...

Once I'd sorted the equipment, I made a quick estimate of its value and looted only what looked expensive.

Erwin returned just as I was cramming it all haphazardly into the backpacks.

“Ugh...”

The two backpacks she carried looked pretty heavy.

Sorry, but I had three, so I couldn't help her.

I checked the time again.

[23 : 35]

Only twenty-five minutes left now.

“Let's run.”

“Will you be all right? You look exhausted...”

“Don't worry about me.”

Erwin looked deeply concerned, but after seeing my expression, she nodded and began clearing the way.

And so our forced marathon began.

“I'll keep up somehow. Go as fast as you can and clear a path.”

“Yes.”

I sent Erwin ahead and kept running, pacing myself.

My body felt strangely heavy. Was it mental fatigue?

Or was it just these backpacks?

... Still, I couldn't leave them behind. After all that goddamn suffering, I deserved a reward. Wasn't that what a just world ought to be like?

“Huff, huff, huff...”

How long had I been running?

At last, I could see the portal in the distance.

Erwin had arrived first and was waiting in front of it. With encouragement and sympathy mingling on her face, she looked like the heroine of some coming-of-age comic.

Fuck, now it felt like I was going to be the only one left behind.

Suddenly anxious, I scraped together every last ounce of strength and picked up speed.

Then...

“I'm going in first!”

“Huh? M-me too!”

Since this was reality, not a comic, I boldly skipped the emotional embrace and stepped into the portal.

A flash!

The burst of radiance was the same as always.

But somehow, it felt as though the light was embracing me.

* * *

Returning to the first floor felt much the same as entering the second.

Like being ejected from something's belly.

“Eek!”

Unfortunately, even the outcome was the same.

No, was it worse?

THUD!

While I was hurled out as though someone had grabbed me by the hair and flung me away, Erwin landed perfectly again.

... How the hell was that even possible?

When we'd been thrown into the second floor, at least we'd sailed through the air in an arc. This time, in baseball terms, we'd practically been fastballs.

Damn it, my joints ached.

“This is kind of fun!”

Yeah, I bet.

I'd probably find it funny too if I had someone like me beside me.

“Whew...”

I loosened up my stiff body, stood, and brushed off the dust.

Then I checked the time.

[23 : 58]

We'd really made it by the skin of our teeth.

I didn't want to call it good luck. Otherwise, I'd have far too many reasons to curse the heavens.

If things went well, it was thanks to me. If they didn't, it was my own fault.

Living with that mindset was better for my mental health.

“You worked hard, Mister.”

“Yeah. So did you.”

We looked at each other for a moment and said our goodbyes.

Wait, I felt like I was forgetting something...

“Splitting the loot!”

“Oh, right! The Essence!”

Erwin and I shouted at the same time, as though we'd both remembered.

“The Essence?”

“Yes! Earlier, you said you wanted me to promise you something!”

Oh, right. There was that too.

Only then did I recall what I'd forgotten.

But there was no time for a lengthy conversation. I quickly checked the watch again.

[23 : 59]

The second hand showed about fifteen seconds remaining.

I hurriedly snapped the watch shut, raised my head, and looked at Erwin.

So, uh, uh... what was the name again?

Black something, I thought...

“Black Whale! Let's meet at the Black Whale Tavern!”

“Yes!”

Erwin nodded at my urgent shout.

Now I could finally relax—

「The Labyrinth has closed.」

「The character will be transported to Raphdonia.」

Oh fuck, I hadn't told her when.