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Chapter 58 Part 2

「Now then…」

Sybilla stopped her playful mood and turned toward the door with a sharp look in her eyes.

When we turned to look in that direction as well, there it was……!

「A door…!」

Beyond that door is definitely the lowest floor.

In other words… the place where that guy is.

「I’m not saying that we should take things easy. But it’s impossible to run away from Russell’s inescapable attack in the dungeon. And this time, unlike when we faced the 『Oblivion Living Armor』 in Adria dungeon, we have Emmy in the front to block the attacks and protect us. I’m also going to use my magic to fill in the gaps.」

We’ve been fighting together for a long time, but unlike me, it seems Sybilla is already thinking of some countermeasures.

I see…… when it comes to using our heads, I still have a long way to go before I can stand on equal ground next to her.

「I want to ask this just in case. What’s our plan here?」

「Stone Wall magic, you see, actually I can make them grow from the ceiling, too. I’m going to make the space narrower, and then I’m going to create Stone Spears all over the Stone Walls so that they can’t escape upwards. Since it looks like our opponent this time has the ability to fly to dodge attacks, I’ll make the first move and make the dungeon to their disadvantage.」

Challenging a Dungeon Maker by doing a makeover to the Dungeon, huh…… this girl sure came up with mind-blowing ideas as usual.

I really, truly, don’t want to make someone with a brain like hers my enemy…

「Uwaa… I can’t believe you can come up with such an amazing plan, Sybilla-san.」

「If I can’t at least do this much, then I’ll be no different than just a normal 【Mage】, and I won’t be able to contribute much that way. Well, just leave this kind of thing to me!」

Hearing Sybilla’s very reassuring words, Emmy and I nodded our heads.

Now, it’s time for the decisive battle——.

——The sight beyond the door, was too different from what we expected.

Sybilla seems to have already figured something was wrong and stomps angrily toward the center of the room.

「T, That bastard…」

She picked up a paper in the middle of the room and after reading it…「He got us again!」, she shouted and burned the paper.

Emmy and I then rush to Sybilla.

「Sybilla, what was that paper just now?」

「You guys, do you remember what the Demon Lord said last time?」

「I think it was… “come down to the lowest floor”, wasn’t it?」

「No, it’s a little different. It was more along the lines of, “If you can prove that you’re strong enough, unlike some rags from an orphanage, then I might consider that you’re worthy to be my toys”.」

Now that I think about it again, that guy certainly did say something like that.

……Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this.

「That guy is just——arghhh! Isn’t this where you normally get excited as the long-awaited final battle unfolds where you fight with everything you’ve got!?」

「So, what did it say really?」

Sybilla then laid out the shocking news.

「There’s only one sentence written in there, 『I got tired of waiting, so I don’t care anymore』.」

Wha?…”I got tired of waiting, so I don’t care anymore”… he said?

You’re saying that he dared to say 『I got tired of waiting』 and disappeared because the battle took too long… when he was the one who modified the difficulty of the floor boss battle, which we managed to fight our way through with our lives on the line…!?

「Arghh, mouu! I can’t believe this Goddess, Sybilla-chan would be outwitted like this! I mean, can you believe it!? That guy’s not even on the lowest floor anymore!」

Hearing Sybilla’s rant…… a question naturally popped up in my mind.

「Hey, Sybilla.」

「What!?」

「If he was too tired waiting on the lowest floor…… then just where did that Demon Lord go?」

Sybilla opened her eyes wide and after turning her head to confirm that there was no passage to the lowest floor, she turned to us and shouted.

「Let’s go back!」

We nodded at her instruction and just like that, we ended up getting out of Seiris Third Dungeon the same day we went in.

I reviewed what happened today as we trod the paths in the dungeon that we had already passed through.

There were a lot of things I gained from our exploration this time.

But at the same time, the end felt very unsatisfying.

As I watched Sybilla’s back leading the way to exit the dungeon, I ran with a feeling of uncertainty in my heart that I couldn’t put into words.

After reporting to the gatekeeper that we were all safe, we headed back to the city and the sky had completely become dark when we arrived.

Even at this time of night, the jewelers are still selling things and nobles are buying from them… wait, didn’t I see that guy before? Is he buying another jewelry? Rich people sure are amazing.

……Did he born rich, or did he start from below, I wonder…… No, let’s not think about that now.

In this world that has turned blue due to the night sky, Sybilla decided that we first should go to the guild.

「We’re back, receptioni—- Wait, aren’t you…」

「Oh, you guys finally returned!」

Before Sybilla could call out to the receptionist, she spotted the leader of the 『Swift Thunder』 inside the guild.

「I’ve been waiting for you guys. I’m glad that you’re safe.」

「Ah, could you be worried that we might not get out alive?」

「Do you really need to ask? Everyone had already left, but they were all still worried. As their leader, I needed to remove any cause of worry from my party members, so I stayed behind to let them know you guys are safe.」

I’m now convinced that the man in front of me, who said this and laughed is a man with the quality of a skillful party leader.

「Is that so… thank you. We were also worried that you guys might get annihilated on your way back. But I’m glad that you guys returned safely.」

「We’re not so weak that we’re going to get wiped by the monsters in the upper layer, you know.」

「That’s not what I… no, nevermind. Yep, you’re right, even if you’re down in numbers, I guess you guys still wouldn’t be defeated so easily.」

Sybilla was about to bring up the subject of the Demon Lord… but she held back at the last second and decided not to tell him.

After discussing various matters at the receptionist, Sybilla went to the Guild Master’s office, and then, having quickly finished her business there, we all returned to the inn together.

When we got back in our room… we just stared at each other silently.

I feel like each of our inner selves was brought out strongly in this battle.

I, a 【Saint】, and a 【Twilight Sorcerer】, who came from an orphanage.

Emmy, who, despite also coming from an orphanage, became a holy 【Holy Knight】.

And… Sybilla, who fought alongside the previous Twilight Sorcerer and challenged the Demon Lord, but failed.

The three of us undoubtedly share the same feelings.

Sybilla loves children so much that not only she saved Eve, an orphan, but also tried to protect our orphanage back in Adria village. I can tell that much even without her telling me.

And then there’s me and Emmy, who also grew up in an orphanage, and the memories of that time are precious and irreplaceable for us.

——Cheap. Vulgar. Lowly.

That’s how he described our lives.

He never looked at Emmy from the inside, who thanks to her strong wish to protect, has been bestowed the Job of a Holy Knight.

He only sees things for what they are worth on the outside and categorizes them either as high quality or cheap.

Knowing this now, I can’t help but feel anger toward him.

However, he had outwitted Sybilla twice, which is a feat that’s completely unexpected from a Demon Lord. He also seemed strong enough to avoid my surprise attack that came from behind him.

There was a good chance that he would make even more unexpected moves from here.

We don’t know what he will do next, and he certainly won’t be an easy opponent.

There’s a chance we won’t get out of this unscathed.

But even so…

「We’ll defeat him.」

「You bet we will.」

「We will, definitely.」

Our hearts are one.

Those short words were enough to prove it.

The most wicked and worst Demon Lord is lurking in Seiris.

But, it doesn’t matter how strong he is, no matter how unreasonable power he got.

We will defeat him for sure.