Episode 120: Raijuu
“An Ogre… a humanoid monster with few sightings?”
Ishikawa asked, and Misaki Bluewell nodded silently.
“It must have been him who defeated the Seeker of the [Aqua Blade]! If that’s the case, it won’t be easy, Tennoji. We need to proceed with caution.”
What Misaki said was reasonable, but there were things he couldn’t accept. Tennoji turned his gaze back to the monster.
“Even if the ‘Ogre’ is an [Abyssal Monster], I can’t believe it could defeat them alone. Besides, Ogres have only been sighted in the ‘White Dungeon’, not the ‘Red Dungeon’!”
Misaki fell silent. As Tennoji said, Ogres had only been sighted in the ‘White Dungeon’.
Their appearance wasn’t red either; their entire body was pure white. They were also known by the alias “White Oni.”
“In that case, is it a new species… no, a variant?”
To Ishikawa’s words, Tennoji shook his head, saying, “I don’t know.”
“But as long as Shirota is alive, we can’t just leave him! I’ll attack the Ogre, so I need you to provide support!”
The members of “Roar of the Raijuu” all nodded, and Misaki released her grip. Just as Tennoji was about to move, the Ogre, over a hundred meters away, looked at them.
A chill ran down Tennoji’s spine.
The Oni, with two horns growing from its forehead, captured the members of the Seeker Clan in its cloudy white eyes. As if mocking them, it revealed its white fangs.
As the Ogre put strength into its hand, an unpleasant sound echoed, and Shirota’s limbs drooped limply.
Tennoji and the others were speechless.
It was clear to everyone that Shirota had been killed. Flames ignited from the Ogre’s hand, and in an instant, the corpse was engulfed in flames.
The fire blazed, becoming a pillar rising into the sky, burning Shirota’s body to ashes.
“Bastard!”
Tennoji gritted his teeth. The Ogre further swung its hand, which still held flames.
Flames scattered around, and the members of Aqua Blade who had been lying on the ground were burned one after another.
The firepower was tremendous. The surroundings turned into a sea of fire.
“Tennoji! We have no choice but to retreat here…”
Just as Ishikawa said with difficulty, the Seekers present noticed an anomaly. Green creatures were swarming out of the surrounding rocky areas.
Goblins—
“We’re surrounded!”
Rui, who was at the very back, shouted. Tennoji also looked around and clicked his tongue.
Because Mana overflows in the Dungeon, the Mana of Monsters cannot be sensed unless it is very strong.
Tennoji regretted not noticing the approach of the Goblins.
“Look! Hell Garm!”
Reacting to Misaki’s voice, Tennoji turned around and saw six Hell Garm noticing them and running towards them all at once.
The surrounding Goblins also raised shouts, brandishing clubs and stones in their hands.
They had been cornered before they knew it.
Faced with an unprecedented situation, the members of the Seeker Clan couldn’t hide their agitation.
“Everyone, take a battle stance!”
At Ishikawa’s command, Rui and Misaki snapped to attention. They hurriedly drew their longswords, pointed the tips at the enemy, and took a stance.
But Tennoji, the leader of the Seeker Clan, was trembling on the spot.
Ishikawa’s blood drained from his face.
“Tennoji! Calm down—”
—Don’t get cocky!
Lightning overflowed from Tennoji’s body. It crackled and sparked, and plasma rose towards the sky.
The next moment—Ishikawa lost sight of Tennoji.
He gathered the power of “Lightning” on the soles of his feet, and moved with an ultra-high-speed footwork using the recoil of the burst. It was so fast that no one could follow it with their eyes.
The heads of three Goblins, who were giggling, vanished.
Tennoji’s fist, clad in Lightning, had exploded. Tennoji’s body, standing in front of the Monsters, discharged Lightning, and his hair stood on end.
Equipped on his hands and feet was a close-combat specialized Magic Enchanted Armament, the [War God Gauntlets].
Tennoji charged at the Goblins, who were trembling and raising their clubs, and scattered them all at once.
The Seekers present were wide-eyed at his Oni-like fighting.
“W-we’ll defeat the Monsters and break through the encirclement too!”
“Y-yes!”
At Ishikawa’s encouragement, Rui came to his senses. It wasn’t just the Goblins who were overwhelmed by Tennoji’s spirit.
Rui swung his Katana at the attacking Goblins.
The blade, from which flames burst forth, drew a flowing trajectory, beheading three Goblins.
Fire ignited from the wounds, engulfing the Monsters in flames.
Not to be outdone, Ishikawa also swung his great axe, slashing away the torso of a Goblin that was a size larger.
The longsword that Misaki Bluewell swung down melted the Monster’s body with a squelch.
Her [Magic Enchanted Armament] was a custom-made item, modified so that the tip became ultra-high temperature the moment it cut the opponent. That was why she was called the “Scorching Magic Sword User.”
Misaki slashed another Goblin with her returning longsword, killing it.
The other Seekers were also overwhelming the Goblins, but Tennoji was still the most amazing.
He slaughtered many times more Goblins than the other members, and struck down the face of a Hell Garm that attacked him with a Lightning-clad backhand blow.
The Hell Garm couldn’t stand it and jumped back.
Its mouth was burned and festering, and electricity was crackling. More than anything, the Hell Garm itself seemed bewildered that the wound wasn’t regenerating.
“I’m going to beat all of these guys to a pulp!”
Tennoji’s hair was standing on end, and he had an Oni-like expression on his face, but—
“Enough, Tennoji! You’re the leader of the Seeker Clan! Think about your members, not just yourself!”
Scolded by Ishikawa, Tennoji turned around. There, his comrades were wearing anxious expressions.
“…Sorry. I got too heated.”
The plasma that had been discharging from Tennoji’s body subsided, and his hair that had been standing on end returned to normal.
Ishikawa was relieved for a moment, but before he knew it, many Hell Garm had gathered in front of them, and Goblins were approaching from all directions.
Tennoji raised his face and gave instructions to the members of the Seeker Clan.
“We’re retreating! Don’t let anyone get killed!”
“Ooh!”
Everyone turned their backs to the Monsters and started running. Tennoji also retreated while keeping the Monsters in check, but there was one large man standing firm, glaring at the Monsters.
“I’m counting on you, Taizen!”
“Oh, leave it to me!”
Taizen, the second strongest after Tennoji, stood before the Monsters.
He pointed the cannon-shaped Magic Enchanted Armament [Electromagnetic Throw Gauntlet] attached to his right arm at the approaching Hell Garm.
The destructive weapon wrapped around his arm connected each drive unit, and the rotating cylinder generated intense Lightning.
“Eat this! — Electromagnetic Railgun—!!”
The tip of the cannon spat fire like a raging inferno.
What was fired was a bullet made of the highly conductive metal “Silver.” The bullet, charged with electricity and ultra-accelerated, landed on the ground in front of the Hell Garm.
It caused a huge explosion, and the earth was blown away.
Two Hell Garm were caught in the explosion, and four narrowly avoided it. The ground was gouged out, and dust rose into the sky.
Dust scattered around, robbing the Monsters of their vision. The Goblins looked around in confusion.
The blown-away Hell Garm also got up, and together with the four that had avoided the direct hit, ran through the vortex of dust.
But there were no humans there.
Tennoji and everyone else had managed to escape from the scene.