!! Chapter 57 : no storyThe pitch-black tunnel seemed endless.
Like the decaying intestines of some gargantuan beast, it twisted and coiled under the faint shimmer of magic. Every breath was heavy with the stench of damp earth and mold. The darkness was alive with the sounds of skittering and the rhythmic drip of water. This weight of the unknown pressed down on Solon's chest, as draining as the physical exertion itself.
Then, the first wave of monsters arrived.
Shadowy figures began to writhe in the gloom—Shadow Mushrooms. They looked like rotting tree stumps ripped from the soil, still struggling and twitching, dragging trails of slime as they clumsily yet stubbornly blocked the path ahead.
"Watch out for the spores!" Alise cried, raising Red Order.
She lunged forward half a step. "Flame power, full release!"
A fan-shaped wave of fire erupted from the tip of her sword. The searing air roared forward, causing the caps of the front-line mushrooms to instantly blacken and curl. But more mushrooms surged up from behind, their bloated caps quivering.
The monsters released massive clouds of ashen-green toxic spores. The poisonous mist rapidly saturated the narrow passage, swirling toward Solon's lungs. His vision blurred instantly, and a prickly itch began to irritate his throat. Fortunately, he had already cast Protection from Poison; otherwise, they would have been in dire straits.
"Gust of Wind!"
Solon immediately cast the spell, attempting to blow the toxic mist back. However, the tunnel was too winding. The wind lost its momentum at every corner, barely managing to slow the closing mist.
"Don't stop! Break through!" Alise shouted. Flames erupted from her once more, wrapping her in a thick, protective cloak of fire.
She led the charge into the scorched path that hadn't yet been fully swallowed by the mist, her blade cleaving through the charred remains of a mushroom monster that lunged from the side.
Am I really going to be ground down to death by these things in this hellhole? Deep down, Alise felt a searing sense of resentment. She thought of the days they had spent side-by-side, the moments she had stolen glances at his profile. All the words she had practiced countless times in her heart but never dared to speak—were they really going to rot here along with her corpse?
She snapped her head to the side, looking at Solon. He was guarding their rear, a faint glimmer already glowing at his fingertips as he prepared his next spell. The flickering firelight illuminated the focused, sharp lines of his face.
Just as they burst through the reach of the toxic mist, a second wave of monsters surged without a moment's respite.
A shrill, ear-piercing buzzing exploded from the shadows of the next corner. It was a swarm of Death Wasps, each as large as a bowl, their streamlined bodies shimmering with a cold, metallic luster. The stingers at their tails were long and razor-sharp, capable of piercing through plate armor. They lunged straight at them like bolts fired from a heavy crossbow.
"Shield!"
Solon's reaction was lightning-fast. He cast the spell almost the instant he heard the buzzing. The invisible force field of the Shield spell expanded, and several stingers slammed violently against the barrier.
"Don't try to tank them directly!" Solon barked a warning. Simultaneously, an Eldritch Blast shot from his other hand, blowing a wasp that tried to flank them out of the air in a spray of ichor.
Alise suppressed the chaotic thoughts in her mind, highly compressing the flames onto her blade until she became a dancing top of fire. A scarlet wheel of light exploded with her at the center. Several wasps that flew too close were caught in the blade-wheel, instantly charred as their foul-smelling fluids burst forth.
But there wasn't just one wave of wasps; more poured from the shadows. As they zipped past at high speeds, their tails would whip out suddenly. A subtle yet sharp "needle-wind" slipped through a gap in her flames.
"Ugh!"
Alise felt a cold sensation in her upper arm, followed by a searing, stinging pain. Numbness spread rapidly. A gash—not long, but deep enough—opened up, and blood immediately stained her sleeve.
Irritation and the fear that she might "run out of time" instantly overwhelmed the pain. She grit her teeth, the flames on her sword jumping violently in response to her emotional turbulence.
The third wave of monsters followed immediately.
While they were still struggling with the wasps, the rock wall on one side of the tunnel—which had looked like ordinary, moss-covered stone—suddenly emitted a sickening, squelching sound of movement. The moss peeled away to reveal a pulsating, pitch-black mass shaped like a giant pinecone: a "Blood Nest."
It seemed stimulated to its limit by the combat and the scent of blood, swelling to its breaking point. Then...
SPLAT!
It sounded like a leather bag full of filth being punctured. A viscous, red-and-yellow liquid, resembling molten asphalt, gushed out. Mixed with unhatched egg sacs and a nauseating stench, it sprayed toward them in a massive arc.
"Get back!"
Solon reinforced his Shield, deflecting most of the filth directed at him. But Alise, slowed by the injury to her arm and occupied with the wasps on her flank, was half a beat too late. Several splashes of the slime hit her calf and ankle.
"Ah!"
A terrifying numbness, like a cold snake, raced up from the contact points. Her calf muscles instantly lost all sensation, feeling as heavy as lead. She let out a muffled groan.
"Solon!" The cry escaped her lips, her voice carrying an instinctive reliance on him that she hadn't even realized she felt.
Solon was already at her side.
"Protection from Poison!"
The light of the spell flared the moment Alise called out. He swept his palm quickly over her injured calf, dispelling the corrosive toxins. At the same time, his other hand swung Pale Justice, the blade glowing with a terrifying light.
"Wrathful Smite!"
The strike, infused with dark energy, slammed into the ground. It swept across the floor contaminated by the foul slime, purifying the sizzling liquid instantly.
However, the crisis was far from over. From the opening where the Blood Nest had burst, a buzzing sound so dense it made one's teeth ache emerged. More newborn Death Wasps—slightly smaller but no less fast—were scrambling out of that disgusting nursery.
Having to heal and purify while dealing with a seemingly endless new threat, Solon could feel his mental and physical energy draining rapidly. He fired a series of precise Eldritch Blasts, each strike aimed to pierce through several emerging wasps at once, nipping the threat in the bud.
A wave of intense worry washed over Alise. But as the numbness in her leg faded, it was replaced by a more ruthless resolve.
I want to live. And then, I must tell him.
The battle became a blurred montage of violence. The monsters came like the tide, wave after wave. Gun Libellula sniped at them from high crevices in the distance, forcing Solon to constantly divide his attention to suppress them. Stags charging blindly were lured onto slick ground by Alise, who hacked through their joints. The poison daggers of Gnasher Goblins lunging from the shadows were pinned to the rock walls by her swift counter-thrusts.
Alise's flames rose again and again in the absolute darkness, illuminating the narrow path ahead, which was now piled high with monster carcasses and filth.
I don't want to have regrets... Absolutely not.
With every swing of her sword, with every brush with death, the impulse to pour her heart out swelled, nearly bursting from her chest.
In the brief moments between Solon's spells, he clearly saw the unusual, burning intensity in Alise's eyes.
Alise... she seems...
Solon mused for a split second as he used a Magic Missile to shatter yet another wasp trying to flank them. He wasn't dense; it was just that the pressure of the expedition and the immediate life-or-death crisis forced him to focus most of his mental energy on survival.
But right now, in this isolated dead-end, seemingly forgotten by the world, his companion's abnormal emotions and the subtle feelings temporarily suppressed by the tension of battle became exceptionally clear. They surged within Alise, undeniable.
Both were preoccupied with their own thoughts. Yet, in these seemingly infinite waves of attacks, they forged a silent, wordless understanding. A single look, a tiny gesture, or even a change in breathing rhythm was enough for the other to instantly understand, cover the gap, and strike together.
Finally, a brief moment of respite arrived.
After working together to incinerate an "Octopus" that had dropped from a ceiling crack—spraying ink to blind them while waving multiple slimy tentacles—they found that the path ahead was clear. To the side, there was a shallow alcove where the ground was relatively dry, with only a narrow opening.
Fighting as they retreated, Solon threw a final Pyrotechnics spell to create a thick cloud of smoke. The smoke obscured the entrance, allowing them to slip into the depths of the alcove.
Leaning against the cold, uneven walls, the two of them practically collapsed to the floor.
Exhaustion instantly submerged their bodies. The glow of magic and the warmth of the flames gradually faded, leaving the alcove in near-absolute darkness and silence. Only the sound of their heavy, uncontrollable breathing remained.
And then there were the thoughts that hadn't been quelled by the life-or-death struggle—thoughts that only grew louder in the sudden silence.
The silence was, at this moment, more unsettling than the roar of battle.
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Danmachi: My Magic Style is Different from Yours (Simulpub – Ongoing)
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