arc1 · 024-ch24

Episode 24: The Drone Saves the Day

(I can't get close to the King. My reflexes aren't enough to dodge those attacks. But what about the Wizards? As long as I don't misread the timing of their incantations, I should be able to pull it off.)

Having reached that conclusion, I moved the drone behind the Wizards.

Whiz!

I timed it perfectly—one Wizard had just released a spell, and the other was starting a new incantation. I sent the drone hurtling straight at the one mid-chant.

"Guh!?"

The Wizard, noticing the drone closing in from behind, frantically rolled to the side.

(Yes! I interrupted the incantation!)

The Wizard dodged the drone's body slam, which had zero actual attack power. But as a result, its incantation was cut short. In other words, right now neither of the two Wizards was casting.

I quickly pulled the drone upward and immediately zoomed in on Shinonome-san's face with the telephoto camera. What appeared on screen was a handsome man grinning ear to ear as he chanted his spell—seizing the perfect moment.

"Earth Lance!"

I couldn't hear his voice, but I could tell what spell he'd cast from his lip movements. I'll make sure to add a cool subtitle for that later.

The Wizard who had overreacted while dodging the drone's charge was just getting back on its feet when a sharp stone spike erupted from the ground beneath it, impaling the Ogre Wizard straight through.

That leaves just one Wizard. Shinonome-san shouldn't lose now. I filmed Shinonome-san as he downed a magic potion in one gulp after casting his spell at the perfect moment, then turned the camera toward the Ogre King.

A considerable amount of time had passed since the battle started, but the Ogre King's ferocious assault showed no signs of letting up. Its bottomless stamina was forcing Nishikyo-san and Kitora-san into a tough fight. Attacks they'd been handling skillfully at first were gradually becoming harder to deal with.

They were still avoiding fatal blows, but they were taking more and more hits—glancing attacks, stone fragments kicked up by the King's strikes. Each time, Kannami-san would heal them with recovery magic, but she was slowly falling behind. Especially when both of them took damage at the same time—it became a nerve-wracking balancing act where one would distract the King while being healed, while the other treated their wounds with potions. Thanks to this, the few potions each of them had been carrying were about to run out.

If they could just hold on a little longer, Shinonome-san should finish off the Wizards. I kept alternating shots between Nishikyo-san and Kitora-san's grim faces as they faced the King, and Kannami-san's expression as she desperately cast healing magic—all while praying for their victory.

"Guh! It's gettin' rough! Ryuga! Can you still go!?"

"Obviously. That's what I'd like to say, but it's getting tough."

An Ogre King that even two A-rank adventurers working together couldn't fully suppress. What incredible strength.

"Gaia, we can't hold out any longer! Hurry!"

Nishikyo-san's shout echoed through the boss room.

"That settles it—Stone Shot!"

Immediately after, Shinonome-san's Stone Shot activated, pummeling the Ogre Wizard into oblivion.

"I'm coming... Watch out!"

Just as Shinonome-san had finished off the Wizards and was about to join Nishikyo-san and Kitora-san, the Ogre King—perhaps realizing its disadvantage—made a desperate move. It ignored Nishikyo-san's attack and lunged at Kitora-san.

"Don't you dare!"

Naturally, Nishikyo-san didn't miss that opening and thrust his spear forward, but the Ogre King took the hit squarely on its shoulder.

"Grr..."

The King wore an expression of anguish, but its movements didn't stop. With the spear still lodged in its shoulder, it swung its halberd in a wide horizontal arc. Because the King had taken a step forward, Kitora-san couldn't dodge the attack in time and was slashed across his side.

"Ryuga! I'll heal you now!"

Seeing this, Kannami-san immediately began chanting healing magic. That's when it happened—my drone just happened to capture the Ogre King grinning wickedly.

(Could it be!? Is the target Kannami-san!?)

After taking Nishikyo-san's second thrust to its abdomen, the Ogre King raised its halberd high overhead and slammed it into the ground.

DROOOOM!

Rocks exploded outward, flying toward the members of Kokushi Musou.

Nishikyo-san, who had been closest, narrowly escaped by instantly releasing his spear and diving behind the King. Kitora-san, whose wounds had been closed just in time by healing magic, knocked away the flying stone fragments with his fists. Shinonome-san, who had been farther away, managed to activate Stone Wall in time and came out unscathed.

Gon!

However, Kannami-san, who had been focused on healing Kitora-san, took a fist-sized stone fragment directly to the head. Blood poured from her head as she slowly collapsed.

"Shizucaaaaa!"

Shinonome-san stumbled as he rushed to where Kannami-san lay. Kitora-san drove a full-force right hook into the side of the now-stationary Ogre King, while Nishikyo-san pulled his spear from the King's gut and plunged it into its neck.

After confirming the Ogre King's death, both of them hurried over to Kannami-san.

"Soraku! Ryuga! Either of you! Do you have any potions left!?"

Shinonome-san was pressing his hands against Kannami-san's head wound, urging the two latecomers for potions.

"Sorry, I used 'em all up..."

"Same here..."

Unbelievable—they had completely run out of potions. Shinonome-san rummaged through his own belongings but couldn't find any potions either.

"Damn it, if we can just stop the bleeding, we can manage. A low-grade potion is fine—don't you have anything!?"

At Shinonome-san's words, Nishikyo-san and Kitora-san overturned their bags in the same way, but no potions came out. They checked Kannami-san's belongings too, but there were no potions there either.

"This is bad—the blood won't stop."

Bright red blood dripped through Shinonome-san's fingers. At this rate, Kannami-san would die. Was there anything I could do?

(Wait!? I'm pretty sure I loaded a potion onto the drone!)

When I had previously dived into a dungeon with Himehana and the rest of Hyakka Ryouran, I'd tied a low-grade potion to the drone, and it should still be there. I immediately moved the drone and landed it in front of Shinonome-san, flashing its lights.

"What is it? What are you trying to say? Ah!? Soraku! There's a potion tied to the underside of the drone! Get it!"

Thank goodness. Shinonome-san noticed. Nishikyo-san retrieved the potion from the drone's underside and poured it over Kannami-san's head.

"Alright! The bleeding stopped! You saved her! SS-san, I owe you one!"

With the bleeding successfully stopped, they moved Kannami-san to the small room where the transfer stone was placed and waited for her to regain consciousness. In the meantime, Nishikyo-san and Kitora-san used the transfer stone to return to the dungeon entrance and searched for any nearby explorers who might have a mid-grade potion.

It seemed they had trouble finding one, but a mid-level party that had just returned from the dungeon happened to have one, and they bought it at a high price. After having Kannami-san drink that potion, she finally regained consciousness.

"Where... Ah, I was saved."

"Shizuka! Thank goodness, truly thank goodness..."

Shinonome-san embraced the now-awake Kannami-san. I knew it might be indiscreet, but I let the camera capture this beautiful scene too. Whether they use it or not is up to them, but I wanted to preserve it as one of their memories.

In the end, since no one died and they successfully conquered the thirtieth floor, I think this dungeon attack was a success.

As I watched the members of Kokushi Musou celebrating their companions' safety, I found myself thinking that it wasn't just the drone—I wanted to someday dive into the dungeon myself and join them.