"—Well then, I’m off."
Leveling Junkie Bro dashed down the passage at a terrifying speed. He was heading for the boss room where Metakin lay in wait.
The remaining members watched him go, exchanging uncertain glances as they wondered what would happen—
"Whoa!?"
"Eek!?"
"—!"
Before they could even speak, a tremendous roar thundered from the boss room, drawing sharp cries of alarm from the group.
Almost simultaneously, a blast of air came rushing down the straight corridor like a shockwave. They lowered their stances, bracing themselves to endure the pressure.
The vibrations from the explosion shook the ground beneath their feet, even though they were a hundred meters away from the boss room.
Then the roar of battle truly began. The sounds of violent, rhythmic impacts echoed through the air, followed by a series of explosions that presumably came from Leveling Junkie Bro.
Intense light burst from the boss room at the end of the passage, making it difficult to see inside. They couldn't tell exactly what kind of combat was unfolding, but even so—
(Hey, hey...!! This guy is seriously incredible...!!)
Teruya Ikegami stood there, inwardly awestruck.
He could tell just from the roaring sounds and the vibrations rattling the area. This was a battle on an entirely different level from their own.
(Wasn't Takeo-kun supposed to be stuck on Floor 8 of Shinjuku Dungeon? He's not an explorer at a level where he should be staying in a place like that...!!)
It was reminiscent of the true top explorers who had surpassed Floor 20, people like Denshiro, Headshot Yakuza, Hero Yoshida, and Saint Bellwood.
At the very least, it seemed certain now that he would eventually reach that domain. It was a battle of that caliber.
(Takeo-kun said what he did, but he was right. We’d just be in the way if we fought alongside him... Among us, Mayuri is probably the only one who could even handle being in there...)
It was such a fierce confrontation that they couldn't assist even if they wanted to.
However, just over ten seconds had passed since the start of the fight. Before twenty seconds could even elapse—
"The sound... stopped...?"
Just as a particularly violent explosion roared out, all combat sounds ceased immediately.
The silence was so sudden that everyone grew even more wary.
Could he really have defeated that giant Metasla—the one Leveling Junkie Bro called Metakin—so quickly? The idea that Leveling Junkie Bro had been defeated felt more realistic to them.
However—
"Ah!"
Hinata cried out as if she had noticed something.
"Hinata-san, what is it?"
When Teruya asked, Hinata replied.
"Um... it looks like Takeo-kun won."
"What? Really!? How do you know!?"
Arnold Oishi pressed for confirmation. Her answer was concise and convincing.
"My level just went up."
"—Nhoooooooooooooooooooh!!! Oh, oh man, it’sh... it’sh too gooooooooooooooooood!!!!!!"
Immediately after Hinata’s remark, Takeo’s intense scream echoed from down the corridor.
Apparently, it wasn't a lie. If her level had gone up, it meant she had gained experience points. And gaining experience points meant that the monster was dead.
Since there were no signs of the battle resuming, they understood that the fight was truly over.
Arnold let out a breath of relief. "I see. It seems the battle ended safely. That's a relief."
(Hm?)
At that moment, Teruya noticed a strange shift in the atmosphere surrounding Arnold and his group.
It was in their positioning, the subtle glances exchanged between party members, and the very air they projected.
The moment he felt that sense of wrongness, Arnold and his group all moved at once.
"—!? Mayuri!!"
"—!!"
Teruya shouted in warning. Mayuri and the other companions noticed immediately as well.
Arnold and his group whirled back toward Teruya’s party, drawing and swinging their weapons. Almost simultaneously, Mayuri pulled a short wand from her sword belt and activated a spell.
Blades of pale blue aura flew from the trajectories of the swords Arnold and his party had swung. They were Flying Blades made of Sword Aura.
The blades launched in a sneak attack—but they shattered against the air in front of Mayuri and the others with a sound like they had struck solid steel.
"—Kyaa!?"
A woman screamed.
Then, Arnold muttered irritably, "Tch, Kamiyashiki’s Barrier Magic, huh..."
It was Mayuri Kamiyashiki’s Barrier Magic.
It was an extremely rare magic skill that could only be obtained when a skill was unlocked through individual talent, as no skill orbs for it had ever been found.
The barrier Mayuri had erected didn't budge even after taking the Flying Blades from Arnold’s group, which were by no means weak.
"What do you think you’re doing, Arnold?"
Teruya and the others drew their own weapons and faced off against Arnold’s party. Teruya asked in a low tone, discarding the respect he usually showed his senior in the industry.
It wasn't just that they had launched a sneak attack.
In that single instant, one of Arnold’s party members had placed a knife against Hinata's slender throat from behind.
In other words, the previous scream had been Hinata’s.
Because Arnold and his group had been positioned between Teruya’s group and Hinata, Mayuri hadn't been able to protect her with the barrier. They had likely adjusted their positioning from the start with this intention.
With a faint smirk on his face, Arnold answered Teruya’s question.
"What am I doing...? Isn't it obvious? None of you move."
"Hmph! You think a hostage works on me, you idiot? Especially if the hostage is that milk woman, I have even less reason to do what you say. —Drop dead, Arnold."
Mayuri spoke in a mocking tone and pointed the tip of her wand at Arnold. Then, just as she was about to activate magic—
"Yasaka!!"
"—!!"
Right before she could, Arnold called out his companion’s name, and the man called Yasaka slightly pulled the knife against Hinata’s neck.
In an instant, blood flowed from Hinata’s white neck as she grimaced in pain.
"Tch!!"
Mayuri clicked her tongue sharply and stopped her magic activation. She glared at Arnold with pure resentment.
In contrast, Arnold laughed at Mayuri mockingly.
"It seems the hostage is effective after all."
"You bastard...!!"
(This is bad...)
Teruya let his gaze sweep the surroundings while remaining on guard.
This sudden outrage by Arnold and his group was normally unthinkable. Even inside a dungeon, doing such a thing while being livestreamed was the same as publishing evidence of a crime to the world.
There was no way Arnold and the others didn't understand that. The fact that they had resorted to this violence anyway meant—
(As I thought, the transmission is cut. And...)
The drone cameras floating near them were silent. If the stream were still ongoing, the viewers would have definitely shown some kind of reaction.
The same went for the drone floating near Hinata. Arnold’s own drones seemed to have been stored away at some point; they weren't even in the air.
And—one of Arnold’s companions was holding something in his left hand.
(A Magic-comms Jammer...)
It was a spherical machine, similar to a drone. A man-made magic item.
The magic-comms in the vicinity were being jammed by it.
Therefore, they couldn't expect any help. They had to get through this situation on their own.
Meanwhile, as for Arnold’s objective—
"Don't any of you make a move. Stay right here."
"Move it! You're coming with us!"
"—!"
Arnold and his group kept a wary eye on Mayuri and the others as they headed toward the boss room, dragging Hinata along as a hostage.
(Is the objective Takeo-kun? But those guys shouldn't be able to do anything to him... No, is that what the hostage is for?)
Teruya speculated, but the goal remained unclear. Even so—
"Mayuri, we’re following them!"
"Of course we are!!"
They couldn't just leave them be.
Teruya and the others followed behind, taking care not to get too close and provoke Arnold's group further.
●◯●
Meanwhile, Arnold hurried into the boss room.
"Almost there...!! It’ll be mine soon! Mine...!!"
Anticipation quickened his steps. But precisely because of that, he told himself he had to stay focused.
Even though they had a hostage, their opponent was a monster. He couldn't relax until he had what he was after.
Although he doubted it would happen, Arnold considered the possibility of being attacked the moment he stepped into the room. He entered the boss room cautiously, lead with his shield.
And then—
"—!?"
"Hey, wait...!?"
"Are you serious...!?"
Seeing the sight inside the room, the companions who entered after Arnold groaned in disbelief.
The scene in the boss room was horrific.
First of all, the interior was bright. There were light sources other than the glow of the crystals growing from the ceiling and walls. Fragments of blue flames were scattered across the ground. Mysterious fires smoldered on the floor.
Illuminated by that light, every corner of the vast room was visible.
The rock walls were riddled with countless small craters. Walls that were part of the dungeon structure might look like stone, but they weren't. They were far harder than metal; for Arnold and the others, it was all they could do to make a single scratch, let alone a crater.
Yet they were shattered and riddled with holes as if they were mere clay.
However, what caught the eye most was the center of the room. Gouged into the ground was a crater of a size incomparable to those on the walls. It was several meters in diameter. It looked as if a small meteorite had crashed there.
And—there was no sign of Metakin.
It had likely been standing where that crater now sat. And then, it had been obliterated by the attack that created the crater...
It was an attack of a power that would be impossible for their current selves to achieve in a hundred years. An involuntary chill ran down their spines.
A dangerous opponent who could unleash such an attack. They hurriedly scanned the boss room to find Takeo Samejima—and they found him.
"...Huh?"
For some reason, Takeo Samejima was leaning against the wall, performing a head bridge.
Faced with a sight that made so little sense, Arnold and his group froze for several seconds.
Why? What was the bridge for? What was the context?
They tried to think, but no answer came. Soon, they snapped back to their senses. The logic didn't matter; they realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The man doing the bridge had his face toward the wall and hadn't noticed them.
If they killed Takeo Samejima now, their own safety would be guaranteed.
"————"
"————"
Exchanging intentions with just their eyes, Arnold and his group simultaneously launched Flying Blades made of Sword Aura—aimed directly at Takeo.
"Takeo-kun!!"
Hinata screamed, despite the knife at her throat.
However, it was already too late. Arnold and his group were certain their attack would hit.
The four Flying Blades converged on Takeo and impacted, kicking up a spectacular cloud of dust.
"Did we get him...?"
As Arnold and the others squinted to see the result of the attack...
"—Launching a sneak attack while someone is feeling good..."
Takeo Samejima walked out from the dust without a single scratch on him.
"That's bad manners!!!"