Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 036: Like A Cirsium V

Translator: Solo

Sanperie cut off his own leg. I had a bad feeling. Blood gushed out from the wound. A new leg grew out. It was a bare leg that was covered with bloody animal hair. It wasn’t human.

An incomprehensible thing happened.

Sanperie hid that leg with his cloak. It was almost like he was hiding something shameful.

「Let's go!」

Ryutetto and Irvin slashed at him. Although Sanperie was hobbling on one leg, he dealt with the two of them easily with his sword.

Think. The situation will become gradually worse if things stay like this. Their stamina won’t last. If they were to get hit by a decent counterattack, they’ll be dead in one hit.

A memory became an image and flashed through my mind.

What had come readily to my mind was a vividly horrifying image. Immediately before I had been blown away by the roar, I had seen Sanperie’s face. The left half was an oval-faced youth, and the right half, as if it had forced its way out from inside, was a hideous beast face. I couldn’t tell what type of beast it was. As if a patchwork of beast parts had been kneaded together, it was nothing but a hideous beast.

It was even more horrifying because of the halfway human parts that had remained.

The right arm that he kept hidden probably looked like that too.

「No way」

I had come up with an idea. It was such a low-level idea that it couldn’t be called a plan. If it went badly, I would be stirring up a hornet’s nest, but I had no choice but to try it.

I poured the arrows out of my quiver, and then laid down beside them.

Supporting the bow with both legs, I used one hand and my upper body to draw back the bow string. I held it with my teeth temporarily and nocked three arrows to the string.

Can I aim like this? Will I hit the target? No, don't hesitate.

「Both of you! Scatter!」

At the same time as my signal, the two of them dodged to both sides.

Out of the three arrows, one of them went where I had targeted. The arrows that missed had become good feints. His hood was torn, exposing that ugly face.

「Ahhh aaah aaah aaah!」

Sanperie desperately grabbed at the tattered cloth and pulled it back over his face to hide it.

He knew neither how to speak nor his friend, but the knight still knew shame. His pitiable attempts to hide his own ugly, bizarrely transformed appearance was very human. Then, was the remnants of his humanity also what was making him swing his sword and kill others in a human-like manner?

「Hah!」

Ryutetto didn’t overlook this opening.

Swinging her sword from high above her head, she sliced through the crown of Sanperie’s head and severed his left hand.

He roared once more, and Ryutetto’s body was blown away.

With a hand still attached to it, the treasured sword, Gadeddo, stabbed into the ground beside me.

By a strange coincidence, Ryutetto's slash had sliced through Sanperie’s beast face. Unmistakably, as if the thing possessing him had left, Sanperie looked at him.

「Ar—win?」

The human part wept.

I couldn’t see it, but I thought that Irvin must be weeping in the same manner as well.

However,

There was no hesitation in his sword.

At least, without letting him suffer.

Like how his grandfather used to, with the pride of those who took lives mercifully, Irvin swung his sword, and Sanperie’s head was cut off.

One beat of silence followed.

It’s over

Was what I thought.

The headless body twitched.

At the same time,

「Urgh, arghh」

My left shoulder joint popped. Flesh burst open and the damaged tissue was reborn anew. My regeneration point caught my eye. It was filled with a liquid redder than fresh blood and was bubbling as if boiling.

I held the bow powerfully in my left hand.

I stood up and nocked the treasured sword, Gadeddo to the bow. With all my might, I drew back the bow string and released.

Strangely, no, with the Lycan bow, I suppose it’s inevitable, but tremendous power was unleashed. The sword pierced through its former owner and pinned him to the wall.

The sword had stabbed into his stomach.

I had missed.

I had been unable to fully control my body. It was hot, as if all of the blood in my body was boiling.

I heard the birth cry of an ugly beast. In a spray of blood, a new head was born. It was the "true beast" that Sanperie had been suppressing.

「The heart, crush its heart!」

At my shout, Ryutetto tried to struggle to her feet using her sword as a cane, but her strength failed her and she collapsed.

「Irvin!」

Irvin threw aside his shield. Holding his sword with both hands, he flung himself at the beast. His slashes were bloodcurdling and without a shred of mercy. He struck the armor that was in his way again and again, fragmenting it, and then twisted the tip of his sword in through a slight gap.

Bathed in the resulting spray of blood, a gory Irvin put on a grim expression. The beast flailed its limbs in resistance. Sharp claws tore up Irvin's armor, skin, and flesh.

Paying it no mind,

With all of his might and his full weight behind it, he plunged his sword into its heart.

「GYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

The scream pierced my ears.

Throwing aside the bow, I ran. To Irvin.

I closed my hand around the hilt of his sword and, with the abnormal power welling up inside me, I pushed.

A large amount of blood spurted out.

I was bathed from head to toe in the warm, viscous liquid. The feel of it trickling down my neck to my back gave me goosebumps. I paid it no mind. I couldn’t care less.

Push. Kill.

From my hand, I felt the sensation of something thick and rubbery rampaging.

Irvin caught the claws closing in on me with his bare hand.

While choking on the smell of blood, I took a deep breath, held it, and then gave the sword one last push.

The beast howled noticeably louder.

Its voice tailed off and grew smaller.

That was its death cry.

But we didn’t let our guard down. The two of us didn’t let go of the sword. Twice, three times, we twisted the sword, cutting up its crushed heart.

「Well done, you guys」

I was patted on the shoulder by a tottering Ryutetto.

My fingers had stiffened and wouldn’t budge.

Irvin and I both looked terrible. We would have to take a bath as soon as we returned.

「How………how’s that? Are you still going to say that our leader isn’t cut out to be one?」

「My bad」

Irvin smiled wryly at Ryutetto’s apology, and then crouched down and vomited. My stiff fingers let go of the sword and I patted Irvin's back.

I checked my own regeneration point. As if what I saw earlier had been a hallucination, there was only a small amount of red and a scant amount of magic power.

What on earth was that? The power of the Lycans? In that case, what had possessed Sanperie? It’s no use. There’s too little information. It would be dangerous to jump to any sort of conclusion.

「………………ry. I’m, sorry. I’m sorry」

Irvin pounded the stone floor.

I couldn't find the words to say to him.

「What? Did you know this guy?」

「Sorry. For now, please give him some time alone」

Lost in thought, Ryutetto ignored me.

「That armor, it’s St. Lyridias'. Beast? Lyridias? No way, right?」

Ryutetto’s face was pale.

『――――ember―――ya. Team member Souya. Explain the situation. A problem has occurred with the data link. Explain the situation』

「Izora, we won somehow. Damage-wise, Irvin got wounded a little on his face」

Oh, should I have not said that? I hope she doesn’t lose her head——

『Error, you aren’t the registered user. There should be an adventurer called “Souya” nearby. Please return the device to him immediately. We have urgent business with him』

「Izora? What are you talking about? It’s me, it’s Souya」

What on earth is going on?

『Voiceprint check, 98% match. Retina image check, 50% match. On account of being outside the supervision of the Makina System, a check will be performed under the sole discretion of the Izora Program. Question, what is the position of the person who interviewed you before you were sent to the alternate world?』

「President」

At my one-sided conversation, Ryutetto made a wondering expression.

『Question, what is the name of the first dish that you made when you arrived in the alternate world?』

「Miso soup」

『The name and title of the person whom you offered that dish to』

「Geto Bado of Mojubafuru, Apostle of Grizunas」

『Please state the name and race of the woman that you’re pretend married to』

「Rauaryuna?Raua?Heures, the second daughter of the Heures family. Elf」

『This is the last question. Please state the names of both of your sisters』

「One is Ea?Raua?Heures, the third daughter of the Heures family. The other is......the other is............huh?」

I have a sister.

It’s the sister that I had left behind in my original world.

She had went through special education for the gifted since she was small, is ridiculously good at studying, is like a superwoman at sports, is several tens of thousands times more well-balanced as a human than someone like me, is always strict on a worthless person like me because of that, with this and that, we parted and lost contact, and when we reunited five years ago, even though she had chosen the harsh path of an athlete, she lost her foot in an accident. For the sake of the money needed to treat that, I came here.

Her name……

Her name is………

It’s a destroyer of the Japanese Navy, a lucky ship, transferred to the Republic of China after the war, and finally, in a typhoon.

You're kidding me, right? What on earth is going on?

Only her name isn’t coming to me.

It’s not at the level of something slipping my mind. Only that one piece of my memory had fallen out and disappeared.

『It’s Yukikaze-sama. Have you remembered?』

「Ye, yeah」

I had remembered all of a sudden.

Why did such an obvious thing disappear from my memory?

『Check completed. Based on the detailed check by the Izora Program, you’re provisionally recognized as team member Souya. Nevertheless, as an emergency measure, your user rights will be lowered by six levels. Team member Souya, explain the situation』

「Ye, yeah」

I couldn’t hide my agitation because of the shock.

What happened? What on earth was that?!

「Hey, you look terrible」

『Vitals unstable. Team member Souya, please calm down. ………Putting you through to Rana-sama』

『Dear! Are you okay?! Any injuries?! Are you alive?! I’m heading back there right away!』

That calmed me down in one shot.

If you let me hear Rana in such a state, I’ll have no choice but to calm down.

「I’m okay. I’m alive. I’ll be troubled if you come back. Oh, I suppose it’s fine now? No, but—」

『Aah, hey! Ea?!』

『Onii-chan, are you okay?!』

『Onii-san, are you alright?!』

『Ah, nothing in particular from me. Oh, is Irvin okay?!』

The communication got crowded as everyone chirped in.

『It's Izora again. Team member Souya, have you calmed down?』

「Yeah, more or less」

『Explain the situation』

「We've defeated the enemy. The location is secure for the time being. Irvin is slightly injured, on his face」

『Team member Souya, did you suffer any injuries?』

Her reaction was weaker than I had expected. I would be troubled if she really lost her head though.

「I don't think that there are any problems with me physically. But please perform a medical check once I return. My brain may have been damaged」

『Are you experiencing any problems with the vision in your right eye?』

「Right eye? No, my eyesight is fine」

『Understood. Izora will check in with Makina about the preparations for the medical check. While moving between floors, we came into contact with Medimu-sama. He has been informed of your location. Izora believes that he will join up with your side before long』

「Understood. Is everything alright on that side?」

『Yes, the depletion of the regeneration point and magic power appears to be a temporary effect. They returned to their original values when we reached the stairs going up. Once the injured have been delivered to the Guild, everyone will head back right away』

「Understood. Are the injured going to survive?」

『No problems on that end. The beastkin is already walking under her own power. Team member Souya, Izora has a suggestion. Please refrain from such behavior in future. It’s nonsensical for you, who denied the pride of other people, to do something like betting your life on a different pride』

「No, this is different from the dispute that happened outside」

『Izora can’t tell the difference! ………Izora out』

She had snapped and cut off the communication.

It was somewhat depressing.

「Hey, it’s gross when you mutter to yourself like that. Did you hit your head?」

「Shut up. I was talking to my party upstairs. Your party members are alright」

「You can pull off a feat like that? Well, for the time being, I’ll say thank you」

Ryutetto knelt before her dead party member and offered a prayer. I also took off my poncho and wrapped Sanperie’s head with it. He had a calm expression.

「Souya, let me offer a simplified prayer of requiem」

With heavy steps, Irvin took Sanperie’s wrapped head. He offered the prayer while hugging it in his arms.

「This is the blood pledge that connects us to the eight kings. Here, one man sends off the soul of the one who has lost his life in battle. Please, with the seat of eternity, save his blood. Grant him a tranquil sleep. We wish for the soul’s peace. Oh St. Lyridias, there are no more beasts. Blood is the very thing flowing inside humans」

I couldn’t help but feel that those words were ill-omened.

Irvin remove a lock of Sanperie’s hair, and then placed his head beside the body that had become crucified to the wall.

「Souya, do you have oil and fire?」

「I do」

Are you going to set him on fire? There is still something that I have to look into though.

「Irvin, do you know………………what this is?」

It may not be something that I should be asking him right now.

But I can’t help but be bothered by it. Was this caused by the dungeon? Or……

「I don’t know anything about what is true. But if I had to make a guess…… St. Lyridias, that god didn’t attain godhood because of the efforts she put into the founding of the nation. Perhaps, this curse——」

Irvin choked.

「Hey, what’s wro——」

I supported him with my shoulder. Both of us were covered with blood, but new blood was smeared on top of the old.

「Irvin!」

Supporting him as he collapsed, I laid him down on the ground. Fresh blood spilled out from within his torn armor. I undid the buckles and took off his armor. I took out my water bottle and washed away the blood from the area around the wound. His abdominal muscles had been gouged out and his injured internal organs were visible.

「Souya, do you remember what I ——」

He vomited and his mouth was stained with blood. I checked Irvin’s regeneration point, but it was still transparent and in a depleted state.

「Don't talk, it's deep, but it's not a wound that can’t be healed」

「Listen, to me. I said it before, right? That for this party, nothing is impossible」

「Yeah, that’s right. It’s just as you said」

「To tell the truth, I, my sister―――――」

Irvin's breathing became shallower.

「Ryutetto」

I nocked an arrow to the bow.

「Return your sword to its sheath. I’ll shoot you between the eyes!」

「Hey, that man is also a knight of Lyridias, right? Can't you understand what that means right now, in this situation?」

「You’re jumping to conclusions. Sheath your sword. Besides, Irvin is a former?knight of Lyridias」

「Contracts with the gods have no source or reality. Even if we die and become souls, we belong to the gods」

「I don’t have the time to mess around with you」

I aimed the arrow at Ryutetto, and she……

「Huh?」

……died from being pierced through by a thrown sword. The sword stuck in her throat stood upright like a grave marker.

「Irvin」

With a confused state of mind, I looked at him. His wound had closed. However, his regeneration point remained empty.

「What are you doing?」

I knew. What I should be doing next as well.

Hurry up and move.

It’s coming.

The scary thing is coming.

However, just as I had thought, people are dogs leashed by emotion. If I could be unfeeling enough to kill him, people won’t be people. I won’t be me.

His hands drew closer awfully slowly, and then tightened around my neck.

「Gagh」

My flesh was crushed. All at once, my vision blurred and everything was dyed red and black. As he wasn’t a pure beast, the power of the Lycans didn’t activate.

My resistance was that of an infant’s.

I'm sorry, I said.

To the names I muttered inside my heart.

Rana, Ea, Geto-san, Shuna, Bel, Zenobia, Evetta-san, Makina, Izora, Gravius-sama. And, Misuranika-sama, Yukikaze.

This is it for my adventure,

A dull sound resonated through my bones.

「Gu, gaha, goho」

My throat demanded air. What——

「Ah」

I thought it was a joke. A sword had sprouted from Irvin's body. Exactly where his heart would be. From behind without mercy.

「Sto—」

The sword was pulled out.

Unmoved by my pitiful plea, Otou-san swung his sword, and Irvin's head was―――――

My liberated body dropped limply to the ground.

I couldn’t process my feelings.

Therefore, I stopped feeling anything.

I closed my eyes.

I’ve had enough, I want to be relieved of this misery.

Abandoning all reality, I sank into darkness, and was enveloped by absolute tranquility.

Into that darkness, my consciousness melted.

Into darkness.

Everything.

Into darkness.

However, in the depths of that darkness, I heard a small growl.

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