CHAPTER 132: SIBLINGS MEET A STRONG ENEMY

The shaking, which became louder and louder, made me lose my footing and caused the earth to shake. I stood with my back to Haru, fearing that she would not be able to hear me due to the earth-shaking making me want to cover my ears.

　There was no way this tremor was just an earthquake. I’ve never even heard of earthquakes in a dungeon. The only way to feel a tremor in a dungeon would be if there was a tremendous amount of monsters running around, or if a powerful attack hit the ground.

　All that surrounded us now was a pile of rubble. Before we knew it, Burlando had disappeared. There are no monsters in sight, and nothing is reacting to [Perception]. The only two people on this large floor were me and Haru.

　I felt the magic in front of me shimmering eerily. I swung my sword at the wavering magic power, thinking it was an invisible enemy, but it passed by without incident. The shaking magic extended to the ground, and if you looked closely, you could see a large amount of magic slowly boiling up from the gaps in the rubble.

　Was it a coincidence, or was it the bond between brother and sister? I grabbed Haru’s hand and she grabbed my arm. Before I could say a word, we jumped in the same direction, pulling each other along.

　It was a hair’s breadth away, and if we had been even a second slower, we might not have made it. A few tenths of a second after we jumped, the ground we were standing on just a few moments ago exploded. I twisted my body in midair to protect Haru from the flying debris of the explosion. I managed to deflect a large object with my sword and used the momentum to get further away from the source of the explosion.

“Brother, are you okay.” (Haru)

　Haru runs up to me in a panic.

“No problem, Haru are you okay?” (Kei)

“You’ve protected me. I think I would have been better suited to stop the debris.” (Haru)

　I didn’t realize that until Haru looked at me with fierce eyes. Haru’s weapon is Tonfa and mine’s a sword. If you just want to deflect a hard object like rubble, a Tonfa, which is a blunt weapon would definitely be easier to use.

“Sorry, I’ll be careful.” (Kei)

　I don’t regret protecting Haru, but I do regret my actions because as two people exploring a dungeon, we need to be clearer about our roles than the other four people in the party.

　I thought I had gotten used to the division of roles after the rush of unique monsters over the past month, but there were still many things I was not good at.

　The shaking seemed to have stopped with the explosion, and all that remained was a cloud of dust and dense magic that made it hard to see what was ahead.

　The magic that I just felt from below was stronger than the magic that was spewing out of the smoke.

“Scythe, Intangible Armor, [Speed] [Power] [Guard]!” (Kei)

“Appear, Morningstar, [Inspection].” (Haru)

　I cast the Enchantments on myself and Haru, summon our Treasure Tools, and prepare myself for battle as best I can. The Treasure Ring shines just as brightly as it did when I met with Burlando. If this light continues to shine like this, I won’t have to worry about the time limit.

　Almost certainly, it’s Burland or Sostenuto who controls the time limit of the treasure ring. Considering the fact that she sent us to this place, it’s hard to imagine her suddenly lifting the time limit on the treasure here.

“Brother, [Inspection] is deflected. I don’t know their strength.” (Haru)

“Okay, don’t attack yet, let’s observe the situation and priority on evading. Do not block if possible.” (Kei)

　If the opponent on the other side of the cloud of dust is a humanoid, it is possible to estimate the attack power by looking at the enemy’s speed. The problem is when they use some skill or magic. It is possible to generate more attack power than the speed at which they swing their sword, by using things like [Power] and [Strong Slash]. What’s more, the enemy we are going to fight is unknown.

　It’s not like there isn’t magic to strengthen the attack other than increasing the power.

“Oh my, are you going to interfere with me too? You guys are only that strong and with that status. Monster-like presence, are you a monster? Invader, kill. Should you be killed?” (Voice)

　A voice came out of the dust and smoke. It was a slightly low, calm voice. It must have been a beautiful voice before. The voice was so so convoluted that they must be crazy.

“I am? I am? A~, a~. If I don’t kill, magic, regenerate, pork katsu.” (Voice)

　In the depths of the fading dust cloud was a shadow. She may have been once dressed as a maid like Burlando and Sostenuto. However, the figure was clad in a black cloth that was so tattered that it was doubtful that it could be called clothing.

　If you look closely, you can see that the black is not the original color of the cloth, but has been stained by unwashed blood and dirt.

　The cloud of dust cleared away. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, and her hands, raised high in the sky, looked so gaunt that their bones stood out.

　Suddenly, there was a blast of magic. Sand and debris flew through the air as if we were in a tornado. It was only a moment, but it was a moment.

　An unconscious blink of an eye.

　In the space of less than a second.

　Our vision was filled with countless magic pouring down at high speed.