Chapter 83
Ann was the first to notice the anomaly.
It was just after she had finished her meeting in the Yuguru Great Forest and returned to the dungeon via the teleportation gate.
『―――What is this…?』
A sense of loss, like a gaping hole had been punched in her chest.
A sensation that something within her was missing.
She sharpens her senses to identify what it was.
And then, she realized.
――――The magical corridor with Earth was starting to disappear.
『What does this mean…!?』
An indescribable anxiety struck Ann.
She hurried towards the deep layers of the dungeon.
『Lord Earth! Where are you, Lord Earth!』
She sends a desperate thought transmission.
But, there is no reply.
To begin with, despite reaching the deep layers, she can’t sense Earth’s presence at all.
Ann doesn’t have a wide-range detection ability like Dos or Su, the leader of the snake.
Yet, within the dungeon, especially in the deep layers, she should be able to perceive Earth’s presence even if he was several floors away.
But, she could not sense Earth’s presence at all.
A thought transmission reaches the confused Ann.
For a moment, she thought it was Earth, but it wasn’t.
It was Elibel.
『Ann! Get to my lab immediately!』
The voice sounded terribly flustered.
But Ann was even more panicky.
『Elibel! Something’s wrong! I can’t feel Lord Earth’s magical power!』
『That’s why I need you to get to the lab! Hurry up and come here! Use the teleportation gate only! Don’t use the passage or stairs!』
Saying so, Elibel cuts off the communication.
A desperate sounding voice.
The last time she heard Elibel like this was when she received a call from her for the first time―――when that dragon slayer tried to destroy the dungeon.
That spoke volumes about the seriousness of the situation.
Ann obediently used the teleportation gate and moved to Elibel’s lab.
At Elibel’s lab deep underground――――
Elibel was watching the footage.
It showed Earth walking the corridor after leaving Elibel’s lab.。
The image of Earth walking without tension was being projected.
But, the moment it showed up next, the flame in Elibel’s eye sockets flickered greatly.
――――A passage.
A completely new passage, utterly different from the ones in the deep layers.
She had no recollection of ordering the golem to create such a passage.
Judging by Earth’s reaction in the footage, it didn’t seem like his doing, either.
After all, the entire structure of the dungeon is programmed into the pseudo dungeon core.
If any changes occur, she and Earth should receive the signal immediately.
Yet, there was no such signal.
Meaning, this wasn’t a phenomenon that occurred within the dungeon.
What does that mean?
Elibel, who possesses an overwhelming intellect worthy of being called a sage, quickly reaches a hypothesis.
「…..Impossible.」
As Elibel thought of the monster, the teleportation gate in the lab shone brightly.。
It seems that Ann had arrived.
『Elibel! What on earth is happening!? Why isn’t Lord Earth in the deep layers!?』
As soon as she started talking, Ann questioned Elibel.
「Ann, calm down. I still don’t know what’s going on…」
Scratching her head, Elibel looks at the image being projected onto the brilliantly colored sphere.
『What’s that…?』
「It’s footage of Earth from a while ago. He was in my lab until just a few minutes ago. This is the footage after that.」
Hearing this, Ann stared intently at the footage.
It showed Earth walking down a corridor.
And the moment when he entered an unfamiliar passage.
The passage and Earth “disappeared”.
『…..What’s this passage? Something newly installed?』
「No, that’s not it.」
Elibel shakes her head.
『Then, what on earth is happening? Why did Lord Earth disappear?』
「Ann, calm down. For now, he’s not disappeared. The magical corridor is faint, but it’s still connected. He’s just not inside this dungeon.」
『…..Not in the dungeon? Please, don’t joke. There’s no way Lord Earth would go outside on his own, even if the world turned upside down. Elibel, are you in your right mind?』
Ann said with certainty.
In a sense, it was a harsh statement.
Elibel thought for a moment, “Yeah, what about it?” But she decided to let it slide.
To question her sanity, wasn’t that a bit too harsh?
「I am sane. However, I was careless… I never imagined that something could intervene in a dungeon of this scale. We should have taken adequate measures. No, to begin with, I can’t believe that I didn’t even notice that presence…」
Elibel muttered to herself, seemingly organizing her thoughts.
『Elibel, if you know something, please tell me. About this passage, about why Lord Earth disappeared.』
Ann closed the distance between them and asked her.
In the first place, every single moment was precious.
They needed to get to Earth as soon as possible.
「I don’t have definite proof… but I do have a clue. There exists a monster that can create new paths or exits in a dungeon on its own.」
Ann was surprised by this statement.
It was the first time she had heard of such a monster.
『…What kind of monster is it?』
Elibel took a slight pause before she mentioned the name of the monster.
「―――――’Pathless’. A monster that can alter the very structure of the dungeon, you could say it’s the natural enemy of a dungeon…」
At an unknown place――――
『Nngh…』
I woke up. Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Where… where is this?
I looked around.
It was a dome-shaped space similar to the one I had seen in Elibel’s ruins.
It’s pretty spacious.
But, I don’t remember a place like this.
White stone walls, floor, ceiling.
Moreover, the light magic stones are placed on the wall at regular intervals.
There seems to be something like passages in front of and behind me.
Was there such a place in my dungeon?
Or rather, why am I in such a place?
I tried to remember my actions just before.
I’m sure I left Elibel’s laboratory, was heading to my bedroom, found a strange passage on the way, picked up a magic stone there…
What happened after that?
I strained my brain, but I couldn’t remember.
「――――Ah, Mr. Lizard. You’re awake now.」
『Eh?』
I was suddenly spoken to from behind.
I turned around.
There was a white girl there.
A petite girl, probably about seven or eight years old, even smaller than Tres.
Her hair is pure white, her clothes are white, and even her skin is white like snow.
And she’s probably not a human, too.
Her body was translucent.
Through her pure white one-piece dress, you could vaguely see the wall behind.
「Hehe, we meet again.」
The white girl smiled with a wide grin.
Her eyes were covered by long bangs, but her mouth was smiling happily.
I didn’t sense any hostility.
I think I had seen her before.
『You… by any chance, are you the one who was in the surface dungeon that time?』
「Yes.」
The girl nodded affirmatively.
Just the other day, when Wald and the others came to the dungeon.
We were preparing to greet them, but they didn’t go to the middle layers and just went back.
After they left, this girl was reflected in the footage.
I felt like she was trying to say something, but she disappeared the next moment.
At first, I thought it was a mistake, but seeing her in front of me, it doesn’t seem like it was my mistake.
『I see, we meet again then.』
「Yes. We meet again.」
For some reason, the girl’s voice was filled with joy.
Every time I spoke to her, she responded with a buoyant tone.
What was she so happy about?
Firstly, did this girl know this place?
She’s probably a monster, right?
I might as well ask her.
『Hey, do you know where this place is? I’m a bit confused. I don’t remember making a floor like this…』
Although I generally remember the structure of my own dungeon.
From the surface to the deepest layer, the layout, the number and placement of traps and golems, everything is ingrained in my head.
There shouldn’t have been a place like this in there.
“Hmm?” The girl tilted her head.
Then, after seeming to contemplate something, she opened her mouth.
「This isn’t the dungeon you were in, Mr Lizard.」
『Eh?』
「This is――――’Fáfnir’.」
With an unfettered smile, the girl said that.
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