Chapter: 440
Humans have a biological aversion to certain things.
Even if preferences are set aside, it’s something any normal person is likely to feel a repulsion towards.
As Joy walked down the stairs into the laboratory, she thought this place was the embodiment of that aversion.
Every scent that brushed against her nose was revolting.
The smell of rotting flesh.
The stench of blood left behind by countless who must have died here.
The indescribable odor of drugs wafting from all around.
If someone with a weak stomach entered, they’d probably toss their cookies right then and there, but Joy tightened her grip on her staff.
The others weren’t any less tense.
Like Joy, Arthur, who wasn’t accustomed to this sort of scenery, tightened his grip on his sword.
Phebe, who often faced the grim realities of death, kept her lips tightly pursed.
Even Frete, used to battling the forces of the Evil God, wore a serious expression.
Lucy, rather than boldly striding forward as usual, was cautiously advancing, which was telling of the current situation.
It was Frey, moving with a casual air as if nothing were amiss, who stood out—not Joy.
“Pathetic losers. If you step aside, you’ll probably encounter something disgusting. Don’t scream when you’re surprised,” she warned as they faced something that filled their vision.
Once, Joy had to desperately flee from this creature just to survive, and she was relieved just to be alive after that experience.
The monster, hearing their sounds, roared and charged at them.
“Dolt!”
As Lucy called its name, Joy instantly unleashed her magic. No questions were needed.
The Joy standing here now was entirely different from the Joy who merely waited to follow Lucy’s orders to survive.
“Everyone, close your eyes!”
In front of the oncoming monster, a flash erupted. The blinding light was overwhelming.
The monster, adorned with countless eyes, crumbled to the ground, unable to withstand the brilliance.
Seeing this, Lucy gestured to Frey instead of moving herself. Frey, itching to swing his sword, swiftly decapitated the creature with his colored aura.
Watching what once seemed like a nigh-unstoppable enemy fall without a fight made Joy grip her staff tight with both hands.
This was different from the past.
She was no longer weak.
With the strength they possessed now, they had no reason to fear this dungeon!
“How strange.”
Joy turned her head upon hearing a voice and spotted Lucy, who was tilting her own head in confusion.
In a moment where relief was warranted, Lucy’s questioning expressed foreboding thoughts.
“What seems strange?” Frete asked, and Lucy frowned slightly before replying.
“It’s too pathetic.”
“Pathetic… how?”
“Why don’t you at least try to think a bit? Did you see how the rancid smoke was gathering without giving any thought to it?”
After the energy from the Evil God that had filled the forest disappeared, where did it all go?
This was a no-brainer. The power prepared to suppress those entering the dungeon had to reside in one location, obviously.
“It’s too quiet for everything that just made a ruckus. It’s disgusting, just like before.”
Frete frowned, mirroring Lucy’s expression.
A prudent person might think it’s good if nothing happens, shrugging it off with a laugh.
But unexpectedly falling into some trouble would only heighten the dungeon’s unpleasantness.
The fact remained: delving into a dungeon could lead to death with a moment’s negligence.
Especially if it was a dungeon infused with the Evil God’s power.
“Keep doubting. You never know when something might trick you,” Lucy stated as she stepped to the front again.
*
What is this? What’s going on here?
The easier the path ahead seemed, the more complicated my mind became.
I remember exactly what the powers of the Void can do.
Among the various powers of the evil gods, the power of the Void is the most passive.
If explorers don’t make any errors, it finds it difficult to do anything.
That’s why the dungeon filled with the power of the Void typically mixes lies and truths to confuse conquerors.
Just like in the forest.
Yet, this place did not feel like that.
This was a dungeon perfectly resembling the domain of an alchemist.
The monsters appearing within, the layout, the traps—they were all exactly as I knew them.
Was the alchemist simply conserving energy because they knew they’d be defeated eventually?
No. The Void’s evil god does not operate that way.
Once defeated, that god would become more relentless in its pursuit.
There’s definitely something here.
Something.
“…Lady Alrn.”
The perverted apostle, following closely behind me as I surveyed the area, spoke up when we had descended one level further.
“That wall. Doesn’t it seem off?”
I turned my head to follow his finger, but I found nothing amiss.
The wall was just where it was supposed to be.
I tilted my head in confusion, and the perverted apostle continued.
“That wall is less disgusting than the others.”
Less disgusting. If anybody else had said that, I would have thought they were crazy, but it was the perverted apostle talking.
This was someone whose aesthetic sense I could not rival. He couldn’t be mistaken about that.
So that means—
“Hehehe♡”
I lowered my shield a little and giggled. My voice, filled with divinity, echoed in the repulsive laboratory.
“Did you really think something disgusting would be hidden there?♡ What a real airhead♡ It’s no different from those dumbasses hiding their heads in the ground!♡”
As the taunts continued, I sensed something stirring beyond the wall.
The perverted apostle was right.
That wall was a trap.
If I had moved thoughtlessly towards it, I would’ve certainly fallen for it.
I casually cast my gaze back to see my comrades readying for battle.
Arthur and Joy were preparing their magic, Frey was channeling mana into his sword, and Phebe bestowed blessings upon us.
Their response was quick. It was proof that all those training sessions hadn’t been in vain.
“Are you going to keep standing there?♡ If you want to prove that you’re an airhead, just keep it up~♡ It actually suits you!♡”
“You talk too much, you brat.”
Just then, the false wall crumbled, revealing the true master of this dungeon—the alchemist.
This was someone who should have been waiting at the final location.
The one standing there had slimy tentacles writhing beneath their long coat, glaring at me with deep crimson eyes.
“Do you wish for me to charge at you?”
“Don’t you want to leap at me?♡ You want to attack me with those disgusting, stink-bomb tentacles!♡ I know that!♡ That’s all trash like you can think of!♡”
With a slight dip of my shield and a chuckle, I baited him, but the alchemist’s feet remained rooted in place.
“You ramble on as if you’re something special. Yet, when given a chance to come closer, you freeze up. Truly pathetic♡ You must be rotting alongside your flesh!♡”
The taunts were, in fact, having an effect. The trembling of the alchemist’s body informed me of his anger.
Just a bit more. Just a bit more and I could drive him to lose his sanity. Then he’d charge into our battlefield, and that would make defeating him much more manageable.
Unlike during the academy entrance exam, I—no, we—had sufficient strength to face him now.
“…Indeed. Your voice is dangerous.”
At that moment, the alchemist, who had seemed ready to pounce, suddenly took a step back and forced a pleasant tone of voice.
I knew why he regained his composure.
The energy from the Evil God surrounding him must have forcibly calmed his rage.
Seeing him, I couldn’t help but smirk.
Oh? So you plan to handle my provocations?
Ha. Let’s see if you can pull that off.
“Then, it seems I must send something else ahead.”
As the alchemist’s body disintegrated and seeped into the ground, the dungeon began to tremble.
The change was instantaneous.
The surrounding walls crumbled, and the size of the passage expanded. What was once an ordinary corridor transformed into a room, and one room evolved into a massive hall.
In the center of where everything crumbled stood two figures.
One was a bear the size of a house.
That beast towered well beyond what an ordinary creature should be, armed with fur that looked tougher than iron, growling ferociously.
The other was something that resembled a human, crafted from intertwined tree roots.
Once a gentle and relaxed guardian of the forest, it was now intent on demolishing everything in its path.
The forest’s inhabitants had fallen victim to the Evil God’s minions.
They had been turned into anchors for the dungeon, grotesquely modified by the alchemist.
As I stood there, wide-eyed, I heard the thud of the root-like being slamming the ground, and I instinctively raised my shield.
That motion clearly indicated a preparatory stance before a charge.
It was getting ready to rush.
I felt a sense of dissonance.
Looking at the tree-ish figure, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was different from what I knew.
So I expanded my senses outward.
Trust not my eyes but my instincts.
Finally, I perceived a vibration from beneath the floor.
Somewhere behind us.
The direction was—
Joy.
There was no time to speak.
I charged towards her location without a second thought, pushing her shoulder.
Not long after, I felt a jolt to my stomach.
My body soared through the air as I locked eyes with Joy’s dazed expression.
And amidst that moment, one thought lodged in my mind.
Ah, shit.
I’m done for.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
