Akatsuki Translations

“…We won.” -Ur

At the same time as he was assured of their victory, Ur felt all the strength drain from his body. It wasn’t just a release of tension, but a sudden depletion of magical power. It was a close call. Even though running out of physical magic doesn’t render him completely incapable, as it would with magic, his physical abilities drastically declined. Coupled with peak fatigue, Ur collapsed onto the chariot’s top, as if falling apart.

“Ur-sa-..ma” -Shizuku

“…Don’t strain yourself, it’s okay.” -Ur

Shizuku supported his back with a thud. Well, more accurately, she tried to support him but failed and also fell to the ground. It was to be expected. She too had been using advanced magic that required extreme concentration. Her magical and mental strength must have been completely exhausted.

“Uhhh…” -Lynne

『I feel like I’m drying up, even though I’m bone. 』-Rock

Lynne, crawling out of the chariot, and Rock, who was slowly deactivating “Castle Wall Mode,” felt the same. Everyone was battered and bruised, each at their physical and mental limits.

“So, what do we do now?” -Shizuku

“…Should we collect the omen bird’s magic stone?” -Ur

“It seems that won’t be necessary.” -Shizuku

Shizuku looked beyond the dense forest of the dungeon. From the direction where the birds seemed to have fallen, something was flying towards them. At first, it appeared to be an enemy attack, but it was a magic stone. It flew towards the 【Magic Stone Storage Bag】possessed by Ur and his party and was soon sucked into the bag inside the chariot.

“…Impressive. Oi, Rock.” -Ur

The bag, a gift from Diz, was designed to link the holder with the defeated monster and collect its magic stones. It seemed to be more efficient than Ur had thought. He took out the bag, threw several magic stones at the chariot’s exterior, and to Rock. The thrown magic stones were soon absorbed by Rock.

“Can you move?” -Ur

『Barely… ugh, the magic stones that fell into the toxic swamp are gross. 』-Rock

“Hurry and get us out of the swamp. It’s bad if we sink here.” -Ur

There was no energy left to rejoice in their victory. In fact, it was too early to celebrate. Currently, they were deeply penetrated into the upper layers of the dungeon. The Poison Mushroom Swamp, where the Poison Omen Bird had been nesting, was near the entrance to the middle layer of the Dungeon of Sin. The path from here to the outside of the dungeon was anything but easy.

It would be a bad joke to be defeated by monsters on their way back after such a big battle.

Their consumables were exhausted. Shizuku and Lynne were no longer of use. Only Ur, who could still move somewhat, and Rock had to somehow hold out and escape.

“Alright, as soon as everyone checks their status, we’ll make our escape. Got it?” -Ur

Ur said this and checked around him.

Lynne, realizing she could do little more, returned to the chariot first. Rock was carefully turning the wheels to escape the swamp. If it seemed difficult, Ur might have to take the risk of descending into the toxic swamp to help.

And Shizuku seemed to be considerably strained from extreme concentration. Her head was wobbling unsteadily.

And then, something like white vines was wrapped around her torso.

“………Ha?” -Ur

The moment Ur witnessed it, his reaction was almost reflexive. It was a conditioned reflex instilled in him through repeated, life-threatening rigorous training at the Greed training facility.

The reflex of “the front line protects the rear” made his hand reach for Shizuku’s shoulder.

And then, in the next instant, Shizuku’s body, entwined by the “white vines,” was dragged along with Ur into the deep darkness of the dungeon’s interior.

『…HAH?! 』-Rock

“Eh? What?!” -Lynne

Rock, witnessing this, raised his voice in astonishment, and Lynne was startled by his exclamation. However, they couldn’t stop the movement of the two being dragged away.

　　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

What’s going on? What’s happening? What’s happening?!

Ur was in complete panic due to the sudden and bizarre turn of events. His body and mind were already heavily taxed. The extreme concentration, followed by its release and relaxation, combined with this abnormal situation, threw Ur into utter confusion.

Still, he never let go of Shizuku. But as a result, he was entangled by the “white vines” that had snatched Shizuku, and was being pulled deeper into the dungeon.

Deeper, yes, deeper. they were plunging into the depths of the dungeon.

The landscape was changing noticeably. The upper layers, except for the appearance of monsters, were still within the realm of a “normal forest.” However, the current scenery of the dungeon was different. There was complete darkness, as not even a sliver of sunlight reached here, and grotesquely overgrown trees stood in disarray.

Bizarre creatures crawling over these trees glinted their eyes here and there. Along with this were shadows flitting across accompanied by thunderous sounds too loud for mere flapping wings, cries, and footsteps.

All of these exerted a pressure “greater than that of the Poison Omen Bird.”

No, it’s a mistake to go deeper!

No superhuman intuition was needed. Even a child would understand that this was not a place for humans. Ur felt he was being taken to a place far beyond his abilities.

I have to return as soon as possible, escape!

With that thought, Ur tried to pull off the vines entwined around Shizuku with his fingers, but they didn’t budge. He initially thought it was due to his fatigue, but the strange pressure from the vines suggested otherwise.

It was a distinctly nasty aura emitted by the vines, different from the monsters he had encountered before. But he couldn’t let fear take over and be dragged deeper into this place.

“Shizuku! Hey!!” -Ur

“…” -Shizuku

There was no response from Shizuku. Had she lost consciousness? Had the continuous use of advanced magic and this recent event caused her to pass out? If so, he had to manage on his own.

Taking a knife for self-defense, he tried to cut into the vine, trying to scrape off even a bit—

『F         o       oli         sh mo        rta                     l. 』

The voice heard near his ear sent a shiver of fear through Ur’s entire body.

Suddenly, the movement of the vine changed. As if shaking off something filthy, Ur and Shizuku were thrown away. They fell to the ground.

“Gaah?!” -Ur

Rolling on the ground with tremendous force, Ur screamed in pain. He heard a grating sound from his bones. There was a possibility that some were broken. It was a miracle he didn’t let go of Shizuku from the impact of the fall.

“Where… where is?” -Ur

Enduring the pain, Ur surveyed his surroundings. The darkness was even denser than before, like it had been painted over with black ink. Oddly, his eyes clearly projected the landscape. The ground was densely packed with massive trees that seemed to pierce the earth.

He looked down. Even that was the back of a large tree. His body was resting on its “side.”

“…ah?!” -Ur

At first, Ur thought he had fallen onto a toppled tree, but that wasn’t the case. The tree he had been standing on was undoubtedly rooted in the ground. “The ground was right beside Ur.” The ground was not below him. Below was an endless darkness.

It was a sight his brain refused to comprehend. But Ur, who had heard about the nature of the 【Dungeon of Sin, Lust】 at the Adventurer’s Guild, understood the reason for this bizarre landscape.

The land was twisted.

The origin of this 【Dungeon of Sin, Lust】, where the dungeon that had been infinitely expanding was sealed by the White Witch, resulting in the distortion of space. The world here, where even the ground was turned upside down, was the point of origin of the dungeon.

This was not the 【Middle Layer】 of the Dungeon of Sin.

It was the 【Deep Layer】.

“…G,..geh.” -Ur

Cold sweat wouldn’t stop. Ur felt like vomiting. Had he eaten, he would have surely thrown up. It was the worst situation.

The upper layers are the playground of 【Copper】, the middle layers are the workplace of 【Silver】, and the deep layers are the graveyard of 【Gold】.

The gold-ranked adventurers that Ur aspired to be, and many legendary figures of the past, had challenged and died in the deep layers of the Dungeons of Sin. This place was literally a realm beyond human capability, a perfect hell where no one had yet succeeded.

It was a problem beyond fleeing. It was completely out of Ur’s ability to handle. He had no idea what to do to improve the situation. Perhaps, it was already――

『Wh     at a     re y     ou daz      ing ab     ou   t f or? 』

And then, an even deeper despair stood before him.

『Un        invit       ed gu    es      ts. 』

It was small.

Smaller than Ur’s relatively short stature. It looked like a child, tiny, not wearing any clothes, with limbs like a human. But the rest of its body was flat. It had long hair. Its face could be considered pretty compared to the general standard, making it seem like a girl.

But Ur thought it was horrendous.

He questioned his own perception. Horrendous? Why? It should look like a girl at first glance. Why did he feel so disgusted? He didn’t even want to keep it in his sight. Staring at it felt like it could drive him mad, a mass of discomfort being there.

Was it because of the twisted horns extending from its head?

Was it due to the deep blackish-red eyes, even darker than the surrounding darkness?

Or was it the massive wings extending from its back, seemingly engulfing even the darkness of the dungeon?

『Wh   y     do    I     fi  n  d     su     ch    fil   th     be       fo  re    me? 』

The beautiful face carrying such an appearance suddenly split into two.

Long, long, pitch-black fangs extended from the mouth that had opened wide.

There, a dragon stood.

“……Why the hell is this happening?” -Ur

Ur cursed in a voice close to tears.