arc2 · 126-ch126

Chapter 126: The Second Livestream ⑥

"I want your honest opinions. Do you think we can take that thing down?"

Shinonome-san asked his party members with a serious expression. The members receiving that question were also thinking hard. The tension seemed to be reaching the people at the Dungeon Agency watching in real time as well, albeit with a slight delay.

"I don't think we should push it."

Kitora-san, who spoke first, seemed to think they shouldn't fight.

"But c'mon, are we really gonna back off after coming this far?"

Nishikyo-san didn't seem like he could give up easily.

"The risk is too high."

"But if it's the same level as the Ogre King, there's plenty of possibility, isn't there?"

The back-and-forth between Kitora-san and Nishikyo-san about whether to fight or retreat continued. On Shinonome-san's face as he listened, hints of indecision were flickering.

"Shizuka, what do you think?"

Maybe thinking they wouldn't reach a conclusion like this, Shinonome-san asked Kannami-san for her opinion.

"I trust Gaia's judgment."

Kannami-san answered quietly. Hearing that he was trusted, Shinonome-san looked happy, but that wasn't going to settle things.

"Well, what to do..."

It seemed the discussion wasn't reaching a conclusion easily. So, for now, I decided to have Hayate attack a few times from a safe distance and film it with Asahi.

Apparently, the bigwigs watching at the Dungeon Agency would also analyze the Lich's fighting style and give advice on how to deal with it.

I moved as close to the Lich as Asahi could safely film, then sent only Hayate forward. I'd need to concentrate harder this time so it didn't get taken out in one hit.

"‡¶†ゞ∮∋∝"

I heard the Lich's chanting again. Actually, now that I noticed, it didn't sound like a roar—it seemed to be properly chanting. That meant it had high enough intelligence to use language, didn't it?

Just as the barely audible chant ended, I moved Hayate sharply to the right.

CHK!

The ground directly below where Hayate had been floating was gouged out with a violent sound. That was close. If I hadn't moved, it would've been destroyed right away.

Bash!

...Ah, Hayate got destroyed. Damn, so the spell wasn't just one shot. But what kind of magic was that? It was down before I even realized it. Could I check with Asahi's footage? I operated my computer and looked at Asahi's feed—a thin black something had pierced through Hayate from above.

(Dark magic, huh.)

I couldn't tell because it was so dim. It had created multiple black needles using dark magic. If I remembered right, the researcher said it had three attributes. Dark was confirmed—time to check the remaining attributes.

I got the Lich's dark magic pattern. Next time, I'd dodge it.

I resummoned Hayate and sent it toward the Lich again. This time, it was a full-speed charge.

"‡¶†ゞ∮∋∝"

Good, the chant was the same as before. First, I moved Hayate in a tight zigzag pattern so it couldn't lock on.

Gagagagaga!

Several thin holes opened up in the ground. Looked like I managed to dodge them.

"§*∫†∂∮∬∧"

Hmm, the chant was different this time. But this one was easy to read. Fireballs were floating behind the Lich. Each one was softball-sized, but there were about ten of them. As expected of an A+-rank monster.

When the Lich finished chanting, the fireballs rushed at Hayate as if they had a will of their own. I bought time, dodging the incoming fireballs by a hair's breadth. It reminded me of a shooting game I used to play. Compared to that bullet hell, I could still manage!

I couldn't get close to the Lich, but after I kept dodging the fireballs, it seemed to lose patience and started chanting a different spell.

"∝∋¶∀‡∫"

As it chanted, both of the Lich's hands crackled with electricity. So the third attribute was lightning. Even I could tell lightning was going to be rough.

When the Lich raised both hands, yellow light stretched out and struck Hayate directly. There was no way I could dodge lightning while still avoiding fireballs. But that confirmed the attributes the Lich used. Dark, Fire, and Lightning. I relayed that info to Shinonome-san, and the strategy meeting started again.

Not just the four members of Kokushi Musou—the Dungeon Agency's researchers, the professor, and the Association President were also participating in the strategy meeting, with me acting as interpreter. First came the analysis of the Lich's combat ability. It wielded three attributes, and its chant speed, magic power, and spell accuracy were all top-notch. It hadn't moved from its spot, so its movement speed and close-combat ability were unknown.

Racially, it seemed like it would be weak to light magic or holy magic, but that wasn't confirmed intel either. Considering it was in the same category as Dead Wizards, wouldn't it have resistance to physical attacks?

Nishikyo-san was on the "we came all this way, let's challenge it" side. He argued that even in the worst case, if they couldn't win, the stairs were close so they could just run. Kitora-san, on the other hand, was cautious. His reason was that the risk was too high.

The researchers at the Dungeon Agency were definitely interested in the Lich and seemed like they wanted to see the floors beyond, but since it was the Kokushi Musou members who were staking their lives on it, they avoided actively expressing their opinions and left the decision to Shinonome-san.

"Well then, SS-san, could we hear your opinion last?"

With the discussion still not reaching a conclusion, Shinonome-san asked me that. If anything, I was also participating from a safe position, so I couldn't say much, but there was one thing bothering me, so I asked about that.

"Hypothetically, if you were to fight this Lich, could everyone escape safely if Terror's Symbol showed up mid-battle?"

Everyone fell silent at my question. Not even the sound of conversation came from the Dungeon Agency side.

After several minutes of silence passed, the conclusion Shinonome-san reached was...

"This expedition ends here. Let's retreat."

At those words, I felt a sense of relief—from both the Kokushi Musou members and the people at the Dungeon Agency.