c21-c40 · 026-ch26
Chapter 26: On the Defensive - Negomin's POV
To be honest, I'd completely forgotten about streaming by this point. So when somehow Shibasaki-san and Stained Hawk ended up fighting while I was spaced out, instead of thinking about all the things I should have been worried about as a streamer, the very first thing I felt was confusion.
"Huh, what, what's going on here?"
:Oh, the video finally moved
:Negomin, we want to hear your voice~
:The Dungeon Sisters are annoying just from their movements alone
"Looks like Negomin's rebooted."
"Negomin, I don't really get it but Stained Hawk seems to want to take Shibasaki-san somewhere, and when Shibasaki-san refused, it turned into a fight."
"Wow, so easy to understand... Kyuu-chan's way more capable than her sister."
"Obviously."
:The little sister's so cute
:Show more of this girl
:If you do that, the sister will tag along
:That's gonna suck...
Apparently my microphone had broken from the impact of falling into the deep layer, so the stream had continued without audio. The headgear I wear is a multi-function type that shows real-time comments from the stream in addition to the camera and light, but humans are strange creatures—once something slips from your consciousness, you don't notice it even when it's displayed right in front of your eyes. This being my first time exploring the deep layer, I must've been that overwhelmed.
A prickling tension ran between Stained Hawk and Shibasaki-san. I wanted to stop them right away, but if I tried to intervene, I'd definitely get caught in the crossfire...
Besides, I couldn't imagine Shibasaki-san fighting recklessly with others. He must have some kind of plan.
:Isn't this turning into a fighting atmosphere?
:I've never seen Stained Hawk fight, so I'm looking forward to it
:Is it even okay for explorers to fight each other?
:Dunno
:Of course not
:The Bureau doesn't regulate or encourage it—it's all at your own risk. Though I guess there are aspects that make enforcement difficult
:Huh
:There's a rule against private combat between explorers, you know. Don't say random stuff
:Which is it
But even for Shibasaki-san, 4 against 1 seems tough. And his opponents are that A-rank party, Stained Hawk. They mainly operate in the deep layers of Shibuya Dungeon where the front line of conquest is gathered, and they've produced solid results. They're probably way stronger than your average A-rank.
In an atmosphere where it felt like a fight to the death could begin at any moment, the first to move was Shibasaki-san. He ran toward a wide open area, as if putting distance between us.
"Hey old man, where do you think you're going? Don't tell me you're running away?"
"Nah, I just figured it'd be easier to fight with more space. See, wouldn't want to cause trouble for those people waiting over there."
:Whoa, he went over there
:Negomin, zoom in!
:What's he saying
:There's no way the old man can win against 4 people
"Acting so carefree will get you killed!"
Andante chased after Shibasaki-san. Closing the distance rapidly, he unleashed a momentum-filled fist straight at Shibasaki-san's face.
"Whoops."
"Nice one, old man! You can move!"
:That was close!
:He dodged that?
:Andante-kun's pretty fast too
"Come on, Anarchy-kun, let's go too~"
"Sigh... Guess we have no choice. Silurica, get to your sniping position. Main, stop the enemy's movement."
"Roger~"
"Roger, that. ...Cast, Spider Net."
At Anarchy's command, Silurica and Main began moving. From a rear position far behind, Main raised a grimoire and cast a spell, causing a mysterious pattern to appear at Shibasaki-san's feet.
Then, Shibasaki-san couldn't move from that spot.
"Oh, my feet got stuck to the ground. Interesting magic."
"Don't get distracted! Assault Flame!"
:That's the magic from before!
:Whoa, the old man's on fire
:Why isn't Shibasaki-san dodging?
:Is he immobilized from that other guy's magic?
The attacking flames engulfed the area around Shibasaki-san. Heat and sand dust rose up in the area, but Andante didn't stop his pursuit, casting another spell.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong! Bomb Rain! You better not die from something like this."
:A barrage of explosion magic?!
:So these guys were actually strong
:I can't believe it's so one-sided...
:Guess even the old man can't handle Stained Hawk
He unleashed small-scale bombing like rain without pause, cornering Shibasaki-san. Shibasaki-san in the vortex was hidden by the swirling sand and smoke, so I couldn't see what was happening. But I knew it wouldn't end well.
Shibasaki-san had shown some incredible techniques with his deck brush up until now, but those were purely against physical attacks. Maybe he's helpless against fire and explosion attacks...?
"—Fire, Silurica."
"Wild Strike."
A god-speed arrow released with a roar pierced through the sand smoke in a straight line. When Andante stopped his bombardment, an eerie silence descended.
It was the finishing blow. Burning, scorching, destroying, piercing. No one could mistake this for anything but the end of the battle.
I was speechless.
:Hey, that's way too merciless
:This is it
:Did Shibasaki-san die??
:I'm sure they held back there. He is affiliated with Feather Company, after all
:Is it really okay to stream this?
"...You went too far, Andante."
"Huh? Rose is here, so it's fine as long as he's not actually dead, right?"
"But~ I made sure to miss the vitals~"
"...Huh."
I was speechless.
It was because I saw an impossible sight.
In the rising sand smoke, I saw a single human figure.
"Main-chan, what's wrong~?"
"N-no way, that's..."
:...?
:Huh?
:Is someone still there?
"Let me give you rookies some advice."
As the field of vision cleared, his figure was revealed.
There stood Shibasaki-san, gripping the released god-speed arrow in his right hand, brushing sand from his shoulder. Not a single wound on his body, he stood there as if nothing had happened.
"If you want to finish someone off, you should shoot to kill. A blow where you're trying not to land a fatal strike—even an idiot can read that."
:EEEEEEEEEEH!!!???
:Huh?
:H-he caught it barehanded!? In the middle of that smoke!?
:No way lol
:I knew he could do it
:That's way too inhuman lol