Episode 394: A Familiar Monster
Floor 157 of the White Dungeon—
Yuma and the others were struggling, but somehow managing to advance through the floors.
“I thought I’d be able to breeze through this Dungeon… I didn’t think it would be this tough.”
Seeing Yuma’s grimace, Akiyama gave a wry smile.
“It can’t be helped. This ‘White Dungeon’ is the second deepest after the ‘Red Dungeon’ in Ibaraki. Just reaching the lowest floor would be a great achievement, I think.”
“Is that so?”
Yuma and the others passed through a rugged rocky area, aiming for the top of a hill. Under the blue sky, an open plain could be seen from the hill.
There was a small pond there, and a figure.
Yuma and the others hid themselves so as not to be conspicuous, and gazed at the figure near the pond. A pure white body. The figure was slender like a woman, and had something on its head.
There was no doubt that it was a monster, but Yuma didn’t recognize it.
He turned his gaze to Akiyama next to him.
Akiyama shook his head slightly, as if he didn’t know either. Kitazawa and Oura seemed to be the same, with puzzled faces.
“That monster… it might be a Unique Monster.”
At Akiyama’s words, Yuma groaned, “Oh.”
“Is there a possibility? Then is it a Lord or a Duke?”
“Yes, I think so. However, I don’t know which one it is. If it’s a Duke, we can fight it, but if it’s a Lord, we have no choice but to run. It would be incredibly strong.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Yuma pondered for a while, but it was a monster he had never seen before. There was no way to know if it was a Lord or a Duke.
“Well, I guess we’ll find out if we fight it.”
Yuma stood up slowly and headed down the hill towards the pond.
“M-Mitaka-san!!”
Thinking that raising his voice would be bad, Akiyama stopped Yuma with a voice suppressed to the maximum.
Looking back briefly, not only Akiyama, but also Kitazawa and Oura had pale faces. Yuma didn’t mind and walked quickly.
When he reached the side of the pond, the white monster turned its face towards him.
Yuma frowned slightly. The monster had no face.
A smooth face with smooth limbs. At first glance, it looked like a mannequin.
However, the head was extremely distinctive.
Many white snakes grew from its head, like hair. It looked like a Medusa from mythology.
Yuma carefully moved forward, holding his Pickel. The white Medusa kicked the ground and closed the distance in an instant. It was incredibly fast.
The Medusa extended a Sword of Light from its hand and swung it horizontally.
“Whoa!”
Yuma pulled back his body and barely dodged, jumping back. Seeing the Medusa rushing in further, Yuma gritted his teeth.
“Damn it!!”
Yuma raised his Pickel high and gathered Fire Magical Power. Flames flickered on the head.
Yuma slammed the Pickel into the ground. A raging explosion occurred, stopping the approaching Medusa.
This time, Yuma started running.
–Get close and slam the Pickel in!
The moment he stepped in thinking that, many snakes stretched out from the Medusa’s head. Yuma stopped in surprise.
“What the hell is this!”
Yuma struck down the attacking snakes with his Pickel. The snakes were torn apart and fell to the ground one after another.
The white Medusa became wary of Yuma and stopped moving. The two took distance from each other and glared at each other. Yuma turned his gaze to the Medusa’s head.
Some of the white snakes were torn, but they regenerated in an instant and returned to their original snakes.
–After all, its Regeneration is high. I have to inflict damage that it can’t regenerate.
Yuma ran out and unleashed a White Flash at the Medusa. But it was repelled by the Barrier of Light.
–It’s no good… then I’ll just have to hit it directly!
This time, he approached and swung the Pickel imbued with the power of fire. The moment it hit the opponent’s flank–he was once again blocked by the Barrier of Light.
“Damn! It’s hard.”
The Medusa swung the Sword of Light as if in return. Yuma jumped back to avoid it, but the tip of the sword grazed the little finger of his left hand.
“Ugh!?”
The abnormality occurred immediately. The wound swelled up, and the swelling spread to his entire left hand. Yuma thought it was bad and put his Pickel on his left hand.
An explosion occurred, and Yuma’s left hand blew away.
Yuma and the Medusa took distance again and glared at each other. Yuma shifted his gaze to his left hand.
Everything above his wrist was completely gone. Intense pain ran through him, distorting Yuma’s face. But if he hadn’t done this, his whole body would have swelled up and blown away.
Akiyama, who was watching the battle on the hill, shouted loudly.
“Mitaka-san, let’s retreat! That guy is a Lord. You’ll be killed if we stay here!”
Akiyama’s face was pale. Kitazawa and Oura next to him had similar faces.
–Do they think I’m going to lose? It’s disappointing, but it can’t be helped in the current situation…
Yuma stuck his Pickel into the ground and covered his left hand with his right hand. When light overflowed from his right hand, his left hand regenerated in an instant.
Akiyama and the others were puzzled by what had happened.
Yuma grabbed his Pickel again and put it on his shoulder.
“It can’t be helped. I didn’t want to show them too much… but I don’t think I can win like this.”
Yuma let out a big sigh, then put strength into his body with a huff.
His skin was dyed black, and a sinister armor covered his entire body. Akiyama and the others turned pale. It was a figure that could be mistaken for a monster.
More than anything, Akiyama had seen that monster before. Terror filled his voice.
“That’s… Black Armor! The Black Lord!!”