The moment Rei stepped onto B3F, his reflexes took over, and he swung the Death Scythe in a sudden arc.
"!?"
Beside him, Ara acted just as quickly, her blade flashing as she parried an incoming projectile.
"Tch. I see. So that’s how it is," Rei muttered irritably, his eyes tracking the substance now tangled around the shaft of the Death Scythe.
It was white webbing. The strand stretched upward toward the dungeon’s ceiling. Following the line, he found a spider roughly two meters long clinging to the stone above, observing them with over twenty emotionless eyes.
"The trap at the stairs was this thing's handiwork, too. And then there's..."
Facing off against Ara and the rest of the party—Elena, Kyuste, and Vel—was a group of creatures a size larger than humans. Their limbs were clad in green scales, and thick, powerful tails trailed behind them. They were Lizardmen, reptilian demi-humans with cold, hostile eyes.
The monsters brandished bows, swords, and spears, radiating clear enmity toward the intruders.
"Rei, deal with that spider! If you can finish it quickly and come back to support us, I’d appreciate it!" Elena shouted. She lashed out with her whip-sword, the blade extending and snapping like a whip against the front line of Lizardmen.
The segmented blade elongated, striking with serpentine fluidity. The leading monsters took heavy damage, and the unexpected reach of the weapon threw their ranks into chaos. Seizing the opening, Ara charged in with her longsword. Kyuste, taking Rei's place in the vanguard, lunged forward with his magic spear. Supporting them from the rear were Vel with his bow and Elena with her versatile sword. Whenever a Lizardman archer tried to take aim, the whip-sword fell upon them like a striking cobra, cutting them down before they could fire.
Rei watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye while pulling on the Death Scythe. He tried to yank the spider down from the ceiling, but the creature realized the danger of a fall and dug its claws deep into the stone, resisting desperately.
"Tch, this is a waste of time. Seto!"
"Guruuu!"
As if it had been waiting for the signal, Seto beat its wings and kicked off the floor. Using its momentum to sprint up the wall as if gravity were a mere suggestion, the griffon closed the distance and lashed out with its eagle claws.
"Kikiki!"
The spider let out a screech like metal scraping on metal and leaped from the ceiling to evade Seto’s strike. But that was exactly what Rei wanted.
"I knew you'd do that!"
To dodge Seto, the spider had to release its hold on the ceiling. With its claws no longer anchored in the stone, it had no way to resist the force Rei was exerting on the thread tangled around his scythe.
"Kiii!"
Spiders weren't supposed to have voices, but as a monster, it let out a shrill scream of terror and pain as it was yanked downward.
The impact with the floor clearly dazed it. Rei moved in to finish it with the Death Scythe, but the spider’s mandibles suddenly unhinged, and it spat a glob of liquid.
"Tch!"
Driven by pure instinct, Rei leaped backward to put distance between them. It was the right call—the liquid hissed as it hit the floor, melting the stone and sending up acrid smoke. Even as it fought Rei, the giant spider used its compound eyes to track Seto, who was preparing for another dive.
"Seto, get back!"
"Guruuu!"
Responding instantly to Rei’s warning, Seto kicked off the side wall with its lion hind legs, killing its downward momentum and banking sharply in mid-air. A split second later, a mass of webbing erupted from the giant spider’s abdomen. It missed Seto and stuck to the ceiling instead. Had the griffon continued its dive, it would have been hopelessly ensnared.
"Venom and webs. You’ve got some annoying long-range attacks... Fine. I’m giving up on the magic stone and materials."
Rei muttered under his breath, focusing his magic power. Understanding his master’s intent, Seto feinted a series of aggressive strikes, keeping the giant spider’s attention fixed on the aerial threat.
"O fire, follow my will and incinerate my enemies."
Imbuing the words with magic power, Rei twisted the laws of reality, manifesting a fireball roughly fifty centimeters in diameter at the tip of the Death Scythe's shaft.
"Fireball!"
He swung the scythe, launching the sphere of flame. By the time the giant spider sensed the approaching heat, it was too late to dodge. It could only stand and be consumed, its internal fluids boiling as the fire took hold.
Once he saw the fireball find its mark, Rei immediately turned his attention to the Lizardmen.
The Lizardman was a Rank D monster, roughly equivalent to the Orcs they had fought before, but with one critical difference: intelligence. Unlike Orcs, who followed the orders of a superior blindly, each Lizardman could judge a situation and act optimally. Normally, this cunning would earn them a higher rank, but because their reproductive rate was much lower than the prolific Orcs, they were kept in the same category. Their proof of subjugation was the tip of the tail, which the Guild bought for five silver coins.
Despite their intelligence, the Lizardmen were struggling. They were locked in a fierce, equal struggle against the coordinated efforts of Kyuste, Vel, and Ara under Elena’s command.
(Actually, I should probably be impressed by the Lizardmen. The Goblins we fought on the floor above were wiped out in seconds.)
Rei noted that while the Lizardman vanguard was busy with the melee, their rear guard was relatively free to act.
"Elena-sama, I’m going to hit their rear guard with magic! Make sure no one gets caught in the blast!"
"Magic? Understood! Everyone, listen up! Stay clear of Rei's magic!"
Rei focused his mind, channeling magic power into his voice as he began the incantation.
"O fire, become arrows that consume all and rain down like a storm."
As he spoke, flaming arrows the length of a man’s arm began to manifest around him. One, ten, twenty... until fifty arrows floated in the air.
"Shower of Flame Arrows!"
The magic activated, and fifty arrows of fire launched in a high arc, raining down upon the rear ranks of the Lizardmen.
The sudden barrage caught the monsters off guard. Some tried to dodge, while others raised their shields. Those who tried to evade might have cleared one or two arrows, but no amount of agility could save them from a dozen flaming projectiles saturating the area. As soon as an arrow pierced them, the fire exploded, spreading across their bodies in an instant. They were transformed into living torches, illuminating the dim dungeon walls more brightly than any lantern.
The ones who raised their shields fared even worse. Against ordinary arrows, it would have been the correct tactic. But these were made of pure fire.
"Shaaaaa!"
The flame arrows pierced the shields, and the fire immediately traveled along the wood and leather. The flames consumed the shields and the arms holding them in seconds. Dazed by the shock and agony of losing their limbs, the Lizardmen were helpless as the following arrows turned them into pillars of fire.
With a single attack magic, their rear guard had been decimated. The surviving Lizardmen fell into a state of panic.
"Shaaaaaaaaa!"
A Lizardman a head taller than the rest—evidently their leader—let out a deafening roar to rally its troops. In a normal situation, that command would have snapped them out of their terror. ...Assuming there were no other threats.
"The enemy is in chaos! Break them before they can regroup!"
Elena, the woman celebrated as the Princess General, was not about to let such a fatal opening pass.
With their rear guard gone and their numbers already thinned to less than ten by the ongoing battle, the Lizardmen stood no chance. One after another, they were cut down.
Within minutes of Rei’s spell, only the leader remained.
"Sha-sha-sha-sha!"
The creature was a formidable specimen, standing over two meters tall. It was muscled and clad in leather armor fashioned from the hide of some powerful monster. In its right hand, it gripped a giant greatsword over 1.5 meters long, and in its left, it held a metal shield—the only one in the entire group.
The monster leveled its greatsword at Elena with one hand, a clear gesture of challenge.
"...Very well. If you wish for single combat, and if you have chosen me as your opponent, I accept."
Elena stepped forward, her whip-sword held ready.
"Elena-sama! There is no need for a duel with a mere monster! If you must, let me take your place!" Kyuste shouted, stepping forward with his magic spear. However, Elena held up a hand to stop him.
"Kyuste, look at him. He is the leader of these Lizardmen... and based on that stature, he is no ordinary specimen. Rei, can you identify it?"
"It appears to be a high-ranking species, a Lizardman General," Rei answered immediately. "If I'm right, it’s a Rank C monster."
"Hmm, I thought as much. He carries himself differently than the others."
"Elena-sama, then it’s even more dangerous! Please, leave this to me!"
Elena turned a sharp, commanding gaze on Kyuste.
"You are being tedious, Kyuste. Even if he is a monster, he is a warrior with pride. I will not turn my back on a duel where that pride is at stake."
"Elena-sama!"
"...Kyuste. I said you were being tedious. Will you make me say it a third time?"
"Guh... No. I understand." Under the weight of her stare, Kyuste reluctantly lowered his spear and stepped back.
"Elena-sama, I pray for your victory," Ara said. Unlike Kyuste, her voice was full of absolute confidence in her master’s skill.
"Indeed. I am the one they call the Princess General. I won't fall that easily."
"Well, as the scout, I'm technically supposed to stop you," Vel added with a shrug.
"Oh? And will you try, Vel?"
"If I thought it would actually work, sure. But our Queen isn't the type to change her mind once she's decided. All I can do is watch."
Elena gave a small, wry smile at Vel's remark.
"I’ve told you to stop with that 'Queen' nonsense. It's fine among friends, but say that in the wrong place and you’ll be charged with lese-majesty."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Vel waved her off with a casual grin. Finally, Rei spoke.
"The strength of the Princess General... I’ll be watching closely."
"Hmph. With someone of your caliber as a witness, I can't afford to look pathetic," Elena said, her lips curling into a grin. It wasn't the refined smile of a duke's daughter, but the predatory, ferocious smirk of a seasoned commander.
"Guruuu."
Seto let out a low rumble in its throat, watching her with interest.
With the eyes of four companions and a griffon on her back, Elena faced the Lizardman General. After a few seconds of silence, they moved as one.
"Shaaaaa!"
"Haaah!"
Both lunged forward, closing the distance in an instant. Elena struck first, utilizing the superior reach of the whip-sword.
She swung the weapon wide. The blade segmented and lashed out like a whip, tracing an erratic arc as the tip sought the Lizardman General’s head.
"Shaa!"
The General reflexively raised its giant greatsword to block the strike. But the duel didn't end there.
"Don't think that's all!"
Even as the blow was parried, Elena snapped her wrist. The tip of the whip-sword coiled back and struck again from a different angle, aiming for the creature's face.
The erratic movement caught the General off guard. The blade bit deep into its left shoulder, slicing through scales and muscle.
"Shaaaaa!"
Ignoring the spray of blood, the Lizardman General hurled its metal shield directly at Elena. Simultaneously, it lunged forward, trying to get inside the whip-sword’s reach and into the range of its own greatsword.
Had Elena’s weapon been a simple whip, the General would have gained the upper hand. But the whip-sword was exactly what its name implied.
Clang!
The greatsword swung down with crushing force, only to be parried by the whip-sword, which had already snapped back into its solid longsword state.
"Sha!?"
The Lizardman General hissed in shock at the sudden change in her weapon. Against a master combatant like Elena, that moment of surprise was a death sentence.
"Hah!"
Elena held her sword at a sharp angle, letting the General’s massive blade slide harmlessly off hers. In the same fluid motion, she stepped past the monster’s guard, drawing her blade across its midsection as she moved... and sliced.
"!?"
The Lizardman General stood frozen for a heartbeat, unable to process what had happened before its torso slid apart. Its life ended as it collapsed into two pieces.