Chapter-08 · EP-123
Episode 123: Well, I Guess It All Worked Out
When we passed through the vine door, it was a large room clearly different from the spaces before. The ceiling was high, and tree roots intricately intertwined to form the walls. In the center of the room, a particularly large shadow was squirming.
"…A Venom Hairy Caterpillar."
The words slipped out.
A giant caterpillar, perhaps as long as two meters. The countless hairs covering its body glowed a venomous purple, undulating slowly. It was the opponent I had once challenged with nothing but a wooden sword and been forced to retreat from.
Just touching the tips of its hairs would send poison through your body, numbing the affected area and making it immobile. It could also inject poison with its bite attack. Back then, I had taken poison in my arm and desperately fled.
Professor Kushinada stopped in the rear.
"I'll watch your fight. If it gets dangerous, I'll step in to help."
She intended to act as an observer. Probably to gauge our abilities.
Then Iori stepped forward and placed her hand on her katana.
"Let me fight it first."
"Iori, are you sure you'll be okay alone?"
Yuno called out, worried.
"Yeah. Leave it to me."
Iori looked confident. But I knew the terror of the Venom Hairy Caterpillar. A warning slipped out.
"Iori, be careful – touching the hair tips will poison you! Your sword is longer, so aim for the main body at a distance where you just barely avoid the hair tips!"
"Got it."
"The poison is dangerous. The affected area will go numb and stop working. Don't panic if you get poisoned."
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Really be careful. Even just brushing against those hairs…"
"Shirou, I get it. Calm down."
Iori answered with a wry smile. But my anxiety didn't fade.
"No, it's really dangerous. I fought it before and…"
"Shirou-kun, let's trust Iori, okay?"
Maika gently called out to me.
Iori slowly approached the floor boss.
The Venom Hairy Caterpillar noticed the intruder and twisted its body toward Iori. Its movement was slow, but the pressure of its massive body approaching was immense.
Iori drew her katana.
And then –
A single flash.
In the moment the katana flashed, the venomous hairs covering the Venom Hairy Caterpillar's body were cut off, as if reaping wheat.
"…Huh?"
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Iori's katana accurately sliced only at the base of the hairs, without touching the tips at all.
A second stroke, a third.
Iori's movements were fluid, unleashing flowing slashes as if dancing.
Within a few dozen seconds, all the venomous hairs had been cut from the Venom Hairy Caterpillar's body, leaving the bare main body exposed.
"…This ends it."
Iori's final blow severed the floor boss's head.
The Venom Hairy Caterpillar vanished into particles of light without even a death cry. A large gem rolled in the center.
"…"
I was dumbfounded.
Despite all my warnings, Iori had defeated the floor boss with ease, as if defeating a practice partner, without ever touching the venomous hairs.
"See, Shirou? I told you. You worry too much."
Yuno laughed and patted my shoulder.
"That's right, Shirou-kun. Iori-chan was fine."
Maika also smiled.
"No, but…"
Had my worry been for nothing?
Then Iori walked over and said apologetically.
"Sorry, today was supposed to be for Yuno's archery practice, but I ended up defeating it alone. Let's fight it again."
"Huh?"
"It'll be good practice for Yuno and Maika."
Saying that, instead of descending the stairs to the fifth floor that had appeared, Iori returned to the entrance.
The vine door opened again, and a new Venom Hairy Caterpillar appeared in the center of the room.
This time, Yuno and Maika stepped forward.
"Yuno, ready?"
"Yeah!"
Yuno raised her bow, and Maika floated water spheres in both hands.
They began their attack from a distance.
Yuno's arrows pierced the Venom Hairy Caterpillar's main body one after another. They didn't go deep, blocked by the hairs, but they were dealing damage.
Each time Maika's Compressed Water Ball exploded, venomous hairs blew off the floor boss's body.
"One more!"
"Here goes!"
Their coordination was perfect.
The Venom Hairy Caterpillar tried to approach them, but with long-range attacks, it was helpless.
Eventually, with most of its body hairs blown away and its main body exposed, Maika's final Compressed Water Ball struck the floor boss directly.
BANG!
The Venom Hairy Caterpillar vanished into particles of light.
"We did it!"
Yuno and Maika high-fived.
Again, I was dumbfounded.
Both times, without anyone being poisoned, they had easily defeated the floor boss.
"Strong… When I first fought it with a wooden sword, I struggled so much…"
"I see. Still, in the end, I didn't even get to check if I could use Detoxification Magic."
Yuno muttered at my words.
Then Professor Kushinada walked up from behind and said in a gentle voice.
"The iron rule for defeating a Venom Hairy Caterpillar is to use long-range attacks like magic or arrows without engaging in close combat. The basic strategy is to fight without touching those venomous hairs."
She looked thoughtful and continued.
"If Ichinose-kun fought it with a wooden sword and struggled, that's only natural. In close combat, the risk of touching the hairs is too high. But…"
She looked at Iori.
"Honestly, Takigawa-san handling it so easily despite being in close combat is abnormal. That precision and speed are beyond the reach of ordinary explorers."
I muttered involuntarily.
"I didn't know that…"
So long-range attacks were the rule. My struggle had been natural, and Iori's ease was what was abnormal.
"Well, it all worked out in the end."
Iori shrugged.
"Shall we proceed to the fifth floor, then?"
Yuno said brightly.