Chapter 110
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Back then, I was barely hanging on, just trying to survive.
But now, how different am I?
「Dasher!」
I slam the Magic Sword Gram down, but it’s still too hard.
There’s no time to dwell on that. The Crystal Doll, a mineral monster towering over my height, is surprisingly fast.
Its speed is almost on par with mine in normal conditions.
Moreover, the monster’s entire body is so sharp that merely touching it could split you in two.
It also possesses overwhelming attacking power thanks to its massive weight, making it an incredibly troublesome opponent.
While reaffirming that my past self as a dungeon novice would have been on the brink of death with each attack, I—
Deflect the swinging arm and evade the wind-cutting kick.
After all, my opponent is a tireless monster.
The sound of the Magic Sword Gram clashing with crystal echoes repeatedly.
My former self would have been sliced up countless times by now, but I’ve been through numerous life-or-death situations since then.
「Autobahn!」
My sword, moving at the speed of light, slices off the Crystal Doll’s left arm just as it’s swung—I can still keep going—and I drive the sword halfway into its torso.
I sense the Crystal Doll’s panic as it tries to pull away and regain its stance. But there’s no way I’m letting it escape.
「One more time!」
I activate Autobahn again, spinning in the opposite direction, and slam my sword into the opposite side of the wound I just inflicted.
The damage dealt from both sides, like an axe striking a great tree from left and right—the Crystal Doll’s massive body splits in two and crumbles—crumbles—!?
「Hey, wait a minute.」
There’s a wet sound, like that of a viscous liquid.
The Crystal Doll, which should have crumbled, merges back together like droplets of mercury, regenerating its form without a single scratch.
What the hell!?
All that effort and it’s completely unharmed!?
While lamenting, I don’t stop thinking about how to deal with this boss monster.
That’s the key to overcoming this difficult situation.
「Show me that trick again!」
I dodge the monster’s double-armed slash by ducking, activate Autobahn—and cut off both its legs in that instant—
With a squelch, it liquefies again—then reabsorbs the severed legs, repairs itself, and revives in its original form.
「I see.」
I’ve fought and struggled many times against opponents who can revive infinitely. From that experience, I now have countless ways to approach this.
It’s fast, no doubt about that. Its killing ability is undeniably high too. But that’s all there is to it. Just mindless slashing and kicking.
「Hah!」
I activate Autobahn for the third time, putting all my strength into a diagonal slash with everything I’ve got.
As the body slides apart and shows signs of liquefying for the third time, I switch the sword to my left hand and place my right palm against the monster’s body.
—Stinger!!
What I unleash is the ultimate fist technique taught to me by Sena.
This is my version of the Stinger, concentrating my well-honed mana into my fist, driving it into the opponent’s body, and causing it to vibrate and amplify.
The Crystal Doll’s massive body vibrates, letting out a death scream like the sound of tearing metal.
Well, being liquid, it conducts energy even better than those pitiful monsters that Sena and I experimented on before—my prediction proves spot-on, and the vibrating giant body collapses without showing any signs of regeneration.
「This is the final blow!」
I swing the accelerated Magic Sword Gram wildly as a finishing move. With it, I slice the collapsing Crystal Doll into quarters, eighths, sixteenths—ultimately reducing it all to tiny pieces. After confirming that the vibrations in the divided crystal have stopped, I finally sheathe my sword.
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As I’m frantically stuffing the mana-infused crystal shards (the remains of the boss monster) into my magic bag, determined not to miss a single piece,
「I’d like to say ‘good work,’ son-in-law, but what in the world are you doing, crawling around like that…?」 Sensei asks, putting her hand to her forehead.
It’s strange. Usually, it’s Sensei who messes up and I’m the one making snarky comments, but now it’s completely reversed…
Still on my hands and knees, I say,
「Sensei, good work to you too.」
I collect myself and return her words of appreciation.
「Mm. Everything went well on our end too.」
Following Sensei’s words, I assess the situation. Angie and Eris, though fully recovered, are still unconscious. Beside them, Mika is sitting down, probably from mental exhaustion, and next to her, Ash is lying on her back with her limbs sprawled out.
The phrase 「a scene of carnage」 would be fitting for this situation.
「Uh…」
「Son-in-law, it can’t be helped. They all did their best in their own way.」
「Well, I suppose so.」
They certainly did try their best, no doubt about that.
There’s a lot I want to say, but…
「What’s the matter, son-in-law? Come now, don’t make such a face.」
I’m weak to Sensei’s kindness.
Both her mischievous expression when she’s up to no good, and her compassionate look when she’s caring for others—they’re all part of who Sensei is.
I take a deep breath and reset my mind.
「I’m okay now. Let’s decide what to do next.」
「That’s right—」 Sensei starts to respond, when—
「Excuse me.」
Saint Mika, who had been sitting down, stands up and approaches us.
I’m at a loss for words.
「What is it?」
Sensei responds in my place.
「Holy Knight Yamada Ichiro, I dislike you.」
As I’m thinking, 「Did you really come all this way just to say that?」 Sensei catches my eye and silently scolds me to listen to the end.
「However, you—at that moment, you were truly a ‘Holy Knight.’」
「…………」
「Thank you for saving me—for saving us.」
「It’s nothing.」
It might sound brusque, but I just couldn’t find the right words to say.
「More importantly, look over there.」
I point to the edge of the floor.
What’s there is—
「Stairs to the third floor.」
This damn dungeon, which suddenly threw a ridiculously powerful boss at us on our first encounter, is, as expected—or perhaps inevitably—not over yet.
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