Akatsuki Translations

Dungeon of Sin Proudia – Deep Layers

Proudia is spoken of as one of the most dangerous spaces in the world, and as the “most incomprehensible place.” This is because the nature of Proudia’s power—the power of vanity and ostentation—makes even the ground beneath one’s feet uncertain.

One can’t even be sure if they’re making progress. There are tales of people suddenly finding themselves back at the entrance of the dungeon.

Now, in such a place, the party of the【Seven Heavens】 was being welcomed by a greeting that was the polar opposite of complexity—a simple, overwhelming “violence” of pure form:

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!』

“Run!!!” Gronzon shouted his command, and Diz began to sprint. But no matter how far they ran, dragons kept appearing. This space was vast. So vast that one couldn’t see its end, with countless pillars jutting out. Endless staircases, numerous passages and corridors, and spiral stairs descending deep, deep underground. Various structures could be seen, but all of them likely led nowhere.

And from every direction, dragons emerged!

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!』

“【Magic Severance】” the 【Hero, Diz】, called out.

“【Heavenly Sword】”, the【Heavenly Sword, Yuri】, followed suit.

They swung their swords at the fire dragon that appeared before them. A black slash and a golden flash of light struck the dragon’s neck, and its head fell instantly. The two didn’t look back as they dashed past, but—

『AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG』

The fallen dragon’s head, overturned and still falling, spewed flames.

“Gh!” Diz grunted.

“Don’t let your guard down!!!!”, the 【Heavenly Fist, Gronzon】 who was coming from behind, shouted as he smashed his golden fist into the dragon’s head, sending it flying. The fire dragon’s head soared upwards into the seemingly endless space above until it disappeared from sight.

With its head knocked away, the remaining body slowly collapsed, and—

『――――――――――――――――』

—as if aiming for its prey, it brought down its massive claws. A single enormous eyeball had grown from the severed surface of its neck, peering at the Seven Heavens.

“Kahaha! What an ugly chimera!!” the 【Heavenly Demon, Greylei】, laughed. “At least die properly!!”

He thoroughly destroyed the dragon’s body. A magic circle drawn in mid-air gouged, scraped, and damaged the dragon’s body until it was completely erased.

The four of them started running again. There was no time to stop. If they did, they’d be surrounded by an endless number of dragons.

“How miserable, oi!” Greylei shouted. “Dragons are already ugly creatures, but the ones here are like clay figures crafted by a child!! They’re sticking together for fun!! Kahaha!!!”

“But their strength and destructive power are real!” Gronzon called back, deflecting the unceasing breath of destruction from behind with his fists. Of course, normally, it would be impossible to deflect the destructive breath of numerous dragons with just fists. He was repelling them with only the gales created each time he swung his golden gauntlets.

“What is this unnecessarily vast place anyway? What on earth is it for—” Yuri began to ask.

“It’s probably a ‘breeding ground’, right?” Greylei interrupted.

“…What did you say?” Yuri asked again reflexively, perhaps because the word was too incomprehensible. Diz felt the same.

“I said, it’s a breeding ground for dragons!” Greylei explained. “You saw it just now, right? Those disgustingly mixed dragon bodies. They’re increasing their numbers by mating all sorts of dragons! Creating these failed chimeras!!!”

“…【Lust】, huh!” Diz exclaimed.

Normally, dragons don’t reproduce easily. As a certain necromancer tried, without a large amount of magical power and various preparations, even a dragon infant wouldn’t be born. It also takes time for them to grow.

But 【Lust】 has the characteristic of producing a large number of dragons, ignoring such limitations. 【Lust】 is a monster with such terrible reproductive power that it can repaint the ecology of the Dungeon of Sin in the color of “dragons” alone.

In other words, this infinitely vast space is a recreation of the【Dungeon of Sin, Lust】.

“…So the dragons are breeding here? That’s the worst,” Yuri said, showing deep disgust.

Greylei grinned. “It’s the worst love room ever!! Kahaha!!”

“Please close that vulgar mouth of yours,” Yuri retorted.

“Don’t get angry, Heavenly Sword. I’m not the vulgar one. It’s 【Vanity】 who came up with this stuff.”

Diz wanted to say this wasn’t the time for arguing, but she agreed with Greylei’s assessment of “the worst.”

“Dragons born in masses in an unlimited space… huh. Then, is there no end to fighting them?” Diz wondered aloud.

“That’s right!” Gronzon answered. “We need to find and destroy the core causing the ‘active period’! That will end tonight’s ritual!”

“However, it seems that won’t be so easy,” Greylei interjected.

Greylei took out a small, round magical device. From it, floating near his ear, came a small voice, intermittent and sounding like noise. Hearing this audio, Greylei smiled.

“From what I can intercept of outside communications, it seems that in this 【Sun Devouring】, ‘Hybrid Dragons’ are rampaging here and there,” Greylei explained. “They’re dragon chimeras possessing various characteristics of the Sin Dragons.”

“…Are the ones from here getting outside?” Diz asked, her voice tense.

“The finished products are,” Greylei confirmed. “If we leave these dragons alone, they’ll all spill out.”

“The breeding shouldn’t progress that quickly, should it?” Yuri questioned.

“Not unless the dragons are premature ejaculators,” Greylei quipped.

Yuri glared at Greylei again, but he ignored her.

However, Yuri was indeed correct; it seemed unlikely that breeding could progress so rapidly. Even if dragons were abnormal beings outside common sense, it was unbearable to think they could mix, amplify, and ultimately combine their abilities multiplicatively like slime monsters.

Or rather, if such a thing were possible, humanity would have been wiped out long ago.

“There’s a problem,” a voice announced.

At that moment, a black robe slithered out from the shadows. It was the【Heavenly Garb, Giestar】, who had said he’d return in three minutes. He rejoined the group, tossing aside the head of a four-eyed dragon.

“You’re safe. Now, what’s the problem?” Gronzon asked.

“Time moves slower here,” Giestar replied haltingly.

Everyone immediately understood the implications of these words.

It was one of the phenomena that could occur in the deep layers of the Dungeon of Sin. You might think you’ve been in the deep layer for a day, only to find a week has passed outside when you emerge. So they weren’t surprised. It also explained why the punctual Giestar hadn’t returned after three minutes.

However, the compatibility of this place with that phenomenon was, in a word, terrible.

“…So if we leave this place alone, the outside world will be flooded with ‘finished hybrid dragons’ in a single night?” Diz asked, her voice grim.

“Or we quickly take down Proudia,” Gronzon suggested.

“You mean find the target in this endless deep layer?” Yuri questioned.

“I’m searching now, but it’s not realistic, kahaha,” Greylei laughed.

It was clear that even if the Seven Heavens gave it their all, it would still take time.

So what should they do?

“I’ve reached a conclusion,” Yuri announced.

She held her sword at the ready. Before her, a mass of dragons was lined up, advancing towards them. Behind, above, and below, there were unlimited swarms of dragons. Each was rotting, emitting the powers of their magical eyes, trying to repaint the world, multiplying, and attempting to devour everything. Even faced with behavior that could only be described as monstrous, she didn’t flinch.

Clenching her fist over the back of her right hand, she began to chant. Her mana shone, enveloping her, and the radiance began to spread.

“I, one of the Seven Heavens, 【Heavenly Sword】. I shall rend all my king’s trials with my peerless blade.”

Seven giant, golden, glowing swords appeared around her and her companions. These swords, radiating immense magical power, spread in all directions, glaring at the approaching dragons from every angle before being launched.

『GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!????』

The divine swords, capable of slicing even through the dragons’ adamantine-like scales, cut through all approaching dragons. The Sin hybrid dragons, mixed with various dragon types, were shattered in an instant before they could even manifest their abilities.

“We’ll kill every dragon we see and find Proudia. That’s all there is to it,” Yuri declared.

“That’s a strategy of pure brute force!! But it sounds fun!!” Greylei exclaimed, following suit.

He spread his right hand. Instantly, a magical formula inscribed in magical power appeared before his eyes. Then, pointing to his forehead with his left hand, he made the mana inscribed there glow.

“I, one of the Seven Heavens, the【Heavenly Demon】. I shall explore the world with infinite magical power.”

It continued to spread as if expanding, and finally transformed into a single magic circle.

“【Knock-Off White King Formation ・ Continuous Gate Opening ・ Auto-Repair】”

From the formation, an enormous destructive light was released, devouring the dragons. The formation releasing the destructive light was instantly destroyed, immediately disrupting the balance of the spell, but as soon as it was destroyed, the formation was repaired.

Like frantically plugging cracks in a cup that had started to overflow with water and then pouring in even more water to maintain it, Greylei mowed down the dragons with this reckless method.

“These two have the worst compatibility, yet they end up heading in the same direction…” Gronzon commented.

“It would be troublesome if their conclusions diverged completely,” Giestar replied.

“…”

However, the remaining three had no objections to the conclusion reached by the two.

Gronzon readied his golden fists, Giestar prepared his short sword, and they each leaped towards the directions where dragons were present.

“I, one of the Seven Heavens, 【Heavenly Fist】. I shall act as the hand of God.”

“【Heavenly Garb】. Execution.”

And Diz, wielding the 【Celestial Blade】, simultaneously crossed it with the crimson-gold sword diagonally, and exhaled strongly.

“I, one of the Seven Heavens, the【Hero】. Well, this is going to be a long battle. Be prepared, Akane.”

《Leave it to me!》

Diz ran, jumped, and plunged into the midst of the dragons.

It would be a tough fight. But they had no choice.

“We shall conquer the sea of Ominous Stars and become the foundation of world peace.”

They understood how difficult a trial it was for anyone other than themselves to kill these dragons.

　　　　　　　　　◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Jain, the silver-rank adventurer known as the 【White Serpent】, had defeated numerous monsters throughout his adventuring career. He had chosen to “retreat” more than once or twice during those battles with monsters.

However, in most cases, it wasn’t simply because he had been defeated, but rather because he had judged that “fighting wouldn’t be worth it.” In situations where he thought, “I could defeat it, but I’d either sustain serious injuries, become incapacitated, or die,” he would retreat immediately.

So, it wasn’t that he thought he could never defeat an enemy just because he had retreated. He had never thought, “I don’t know how to defeat this.” It was simply a matter of prioritizing safety.

“Sounds like a loser’s excuse,” Rabin would sometimes quip (and get punched for it), but Jain was confident in his own insight. That’s why he could give retreat orders without hesitation.

However, this time, Jain was being forced into an unknown battle.

『……………Z』

It was a fight against an opponent where he knew neither how to defeat it nor how they might be defeated.

“Fire,” Jain commanded.

As he gave the order, artillery fire flew towards the central hall where the dragon had fallen. It was a huge, sharp lance. Numerous curses engraved on its tip cursed and sealed the target, while the steel cord tied to its end bound the opponent in place.

It was one of the anti-dragon weapons, the【Dragon Slayer】, lent by Proudia when they decided to participate in the Sun Devouring. They had fired more than ten shots of this weapon that would make ordinary monsters die in agony with a single hit.

“…How is it, useless rabbit?” Jain asked.

《Hmm… is it… working..I guess?》 Rabin responded uncertainly.

“Don’t give me that half-assed answer.”

《But I don’t know, boss. The magic eye is scary, so I can’t really stick my body out to look.》

“Didn’t we destroy that magic eye just now?”

《Well… its belly is facing down.》

Jain clicked his tongue. He wanted to confirm it himself, but he also wanted to avoid the risk of exposure to the magic eye. He hid in the shadow of the uninhabited buildings that lined up like a barrier around the plaza where the dragon had fallen.

The place where the dragon had fallen and where Jain and his group had gathered was the center of Uuga.

This place had been destroyed during the previous monster attack and had been improved during repairs. They had considered the possibility of battles occurring inside Uuga and made it a place to lure monsters. And now, that function was working more than adequately.

『Z………..』

The Hybrid Dragon, which hadn’t tried to float again after falling and remained on the ground, was being torn to shreds by the giant lances. Not just the lances, but other weapons were also abundant here. It could be said that the Hybrid Dragon had fallen in the most convenient place possible.

But the dragon wasn’t dead yet. This was evident from the fact that the “Wind Girl” was still controlling the mist filling Uuga from above. The dragon was still exhaling the mist that lured everything into the sleep of death.

They had to kill it. But how?

――If you face a dragon and can’t do anything, run. It’s okay to abandon Uuga.

Before the battle, the 【Hero】 had explained this to Jain and the others.

— But, that’s…

— Yes. It won’t be that simple. We can’t just run away. When dragons appear, it’s almost always like this. That’s why I’m teaching you how to resist.

And so she had spoken about the characteristics of the Seven Dragons of Sin and their kin, one by one. Each of them would be difficult for Jain and his group to resist in a head-on battle, and he felt sicker with each description. Among them, he had heard about the characteristics of Sloth.

“It has the highest risk of unexpected encounters, but the lowest proactivity…”

The Dragon of Sloth, true to the name of the Sin it harbored, wouldn’t actively try to kill humans. It would fill its surroundings with its mist and decay, killing slowly as if strangling with silk floss. Therefore, if they could just neutralize that method, there might be a possibility of managing.

— However, a dragon is still a dragon. Don’t forget that.

“…Alright,” Jain decided on a course of action. He sent out a communication spell from his adventurer’s ring.

Currently, there were 5 members of the 【White Serpent】, 5 from the 【Envy Knights】, and finally Kalkara and the “Wind Priestess” – two people.

The total number was small, but it was a careful adjustment to avoid attracting monsters. If they drew the monsters gathering at the tower here, they wouldn’t be able to focus on defeating the dragon. The members were currently spread out around the “Hybrid Dragon” to avoid clustering. And the “Wind Priestess” was maintaining this area by ventilating it.

“Everyone, continue magical attacks from a distance. Those without means, move to activate the installed magical devices. Absolutely do not approach,” Jain ordered.

《Roger that》

《Understood》

《Got it》

“Kalkara, I’m counting on you to protect the Wind Priestess. If she dies, we’ll all be—”

It was then, as Jain was about to give his warning to Kalkara.

“Guh!?”

A sharp pain shot through his leg. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Jain looked down in shock. There, of course, was his leg and the ground, and then—

『——Z………』

A horrifying, pitch-black tentacle had extended from the ground, piercing through Jain’s leg.

“Everyone!!!! Get inside the buildings!!!! Go to the upper floors!!!!”

Jain shouted, hacking off the tentacle with his axe.