c1-c20 · 002-ch2

Chapter 2: This is Part of the Job Too

The headless Blood Ogre Zombie thrashes wildly as if its restraints have been broken, approaching us with movements that barely seem biological. Its speed has increased several times over from before.

As I guide the Blood Ogre Zombie away from the girl as much as possible, it grabs onto the dungeon's rock wall and digs out a rock about the size of its fist. Then, it hurls the large boulder it carved out at me at high speed.

"Hmm."

I carefully deflect it heading toward me so it doesn't go toward the girl. Now, what should I do?

One of the negative effects caused by leaving monster corpses unattended is the zombification of monsters.

Dungeon magic fills the empty monster bodies left behind by the explorers' stripping, apparently giving them a second life.

Normally, monsters die just like regular creatures when they lose important organs or most of the blood circulating through their bodies.

But these creatures, having lost their internal organs and flesh, are moved by the magic filling their bodies. Therefore, as long as they maintain their body shape, they won't stop their activity.

In other words—

"What a pain!"

I swing the tip of my deck brush toward the Blood Ogre Zombie's fist as it tries to carve out another rock. Since it might still move even if I cut it off, I vibrate the magic flowing through the deck brush and rupture the Blood Ogre Zombie's fist right then and there.

I thought this would calm its attacks a bit, but the Blood Ogre Zombie, despite having just lost its right hand, still tries to punch me. I lightly leap to dodge it, and this time completely destroy its left fist.

If I keep destroying its parts bit by bit like this, I can defeat it. But it seems like it'll take some time.

With the usual all-bones-exposed zombies, I'd just pulverize their entire bodies and be done with it, but this guy seems to be maintaining almost its pre-death condition, probably because it wasn't properly stripped after being killed. That's why it has higher durability than normal zombies or living Blood Ogres, making it even more troublesome.

Whoever did such a sloppy job...

If the battle drags on, other monsters will gather too. If it were just me, I could manage somehow...

I look at the single girl waiting in the back. From what I can see here, she doesn't have any noticeable injuries, but her body is still frozen in fear. It'd be most helpful if she could escape now, but that seems unlikely. I need to do something quickly.

In that case... yeah, blasting it should be fine.

"Maika-chan, I want to blast that zombie, but can you calculate the durability of the surrounding walls and ceiling?"

『Well, if it's explosion-type magic, they should withstand up to two blasts at 30% power.』

"Got it. 30%, huh... Well, that should be just right. Thanks, Maika-chan."

『You're welcome~』

I can't go all out, which is a bit unsatisfying, but it can't be helped. Dealing with spawned zombies and the associated rescue of lives are also part of the job.

I call out to the girl from a distance.

"You—what's your rank?"

"B-B rank!"

"Confident in your durability?"

"Um, somewhat..."

Confident in her durability, she says. Then she should be fine.

"Okay. Then protect yourself as much as you can with magic—"

"Eh, ah?"

After just telling her that, I stand before the Blood Ogre Zombie. The Blood Ogre Zombie, which had been chasing me, stops its feet, raises both arms high overhead, and swings down at me like a hammer. I deflect it upward, forcibly creating an opening.

And then, I fire magic at its now-exposed lower body.

"Blast Shot."

With just that one word, the released sphere of light causes a small explosion at the Blood Ogre Zombie's feet. The dungeon rumbles a bit from the spreading shockwave, but there should be no problem.

The sand and smoke kicked up by the blast scattered, and gradually the Blood Ogre Zombie's form became visible. Just as planned, its lower body had disappeared.

However, even so, the Blood Ogre Zombie continues approaching me by dragging itself with its arms.

Is that the perseverance of a living creature, or perhaps the obsession of the dead? Either way, all that's left is to literally turn the slowed Blood Ogre Zombie to dust.

"Alright, sorry about this, but I'm going to move you away a bit."

"Hyah!"

I pick up the girl behind me and move even farther away. This is to get as far as possible from the blast center for the next, more powerful attack.

"Sorry~ You must feel weird being carried by an uncle like me, right?"

"Ah, no..."

"Alright, this spot should be fine."

After confirming I've put sufficient distance from the target, I slowly set the girl down there. Then, taking a deep breath, I grip my deck brush like a staff.

"...Delta Blast."

The three lights released from the tip of the deck brush spiral toward the Blood Ogre Zombie. After a few beats, they make impact, and a white flash envelops the dungeon.

DOOOOON!!

An expansion of heat and destruction envelops the Blood Ogre Zombie's massive body. At the same time, smoke like sand dust rises, and the sound vibrates deep within my eardrums. After the sound passes, the blast wave arrives late, drying the sweat stuck to my skin.

While enduring the dusty air, I wait, and gradually the smoke settles and my vision clears.

There, there wasn't a single trace of the Blood Ogre left—only the scorched dungeon floor remained.

"Alright, cleanup complete."