Chapter 41
The canyon spread far and wide.
Watching the scene before him, it reminded Eclair of the conversation he had in his office.
A conversation with Wald.
『We just need to skip the dungeon, you say?』
『Correct.』
To begin with, Wald continues, while still holding the yellow-green candy between his two fingers.
『The best way to handle the threat inside the dungeon swiftly is to destroy the dungeon itself. Isn’t that right? 』
『You’re telling me to destroy the dungeon? That’s a ridiculous idea. If it were that easy, I would have done so already.』
It is impossible, thought Eclair.
Even if it does, it would only be possible for someone who posses power of the highest class of humankind, the “Soul King-class” or the monster’s “Evil God-class”.
And in the entirety of human history, there is only one person who has reached that level, aside from the legendary heroes and demon kings, and that is his ancestor, Elibel Löwenherz.
Even to this day, no one has succeeded her.
Let alone destroy a dungeon.
Eclair continues.
『True, there are exceptions like “dungeon eaters” and “path removers”. But to destroy a dungeon? Impossible. 』
He stood his ground.
Wald should’ve known this.
『Well, I’m probably the only one who can.』
He then puts his hand on the orange sacred sword beside him.。
『The sacred sword………Leviathan. But is it powerful enough to do so?』
『Well, you see. I inherited this sword from my teacher a few years ago, who was the owner at the time……This sacred sword is rather peculiar……I suppose only those who wield it would understand.』
『Peculiar?』
What do you mean, asked Eclair.
『 “Dungeon Destruction” 』
Eclair turned speechless.
『An absolute destructive ability that can only be activated against “dungeons.” A power that allows the owner to bring about the desired destruction to the object, the dungeon.』
『………Impossible. Has the sacred sword always been this powerful?』
『Who knows? Originally, this sword can only amplify its wielder power, add attributes to its attack, and extend it.』
Wald continues as he pulls the Leviathan from its sheath.
『There are claims that a single blow from this sacred sword can split a continent, but that’s an exaggeration. No matter how hard you try, you can’t even break a mountain, let alone a continent. Even my teacher wasn’t able to pull it off. The limit of the sacred sword’s ability is a King-class at most, and if it’s pushed beyond limits, probably Pope-class. Therefore, this ability clearly exceeds the limits of this sacred sword……No, it goes beyond the world itself.』
Eclair gulped.
―――――Then how did it end up with that ability?
He can guess what Eclair is thinking.
He expected the question and answered it.
『I bet you’re wondering why such power resides in this sacred sword. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Someone must’ve “modified” this sword as an “absolute weapon” against dungeons. Probably a long time ago. It’s been about 200 years since my teacher received this sword, so it’s likely that someone changed it before him. 』
Not that it matters, he smiles thinly.
『Its power was never known to the world. In fact, my teacher has used this power to destroy a dungeon in the past. A completely obscure dungeon. The place where he got the God-Killing Spear “Gungnir”. Neither of us could use the spear. It was gathering dust until Beldi came.』
Beldi nodded at those claims.
『Of course, there’s a downside. Once you use this power, it will remain dormant for a while.』
『……For how long?』
『A hundred years.』
『What………!?』
『It’s an amazing ability. What do you expect? There has to be a price. Once used, it’ll revert to its original state for the next hundred years. Even without it, it’s still a powerful sacred sword.』
『……What do you mean by “use”, exactly? What about the fight? Is there any risk in the first place, for the user?』
『Of course, it’s to avenge Paldi’s death. Well, I can’t say that there is no risk at all, since it needs a ridiculous amount of magical power. Just consider it as a wildcard that can only be used once in a lifetime. 』
Wald nodded.
『The strategy itself is very simple. I’ll split the dungeon in half with my sacred sword. If we destroy everything, we won’t be able to determine whether the monsters are still alive. It will come to nothing when they can survive under rubble. After all, killer ants are earth-element monster. So first, me and Beldi will go ahead and quickly map it out, and send it to you before killing the boss. As for the rest, I’ll leave it to you. Dungeon is pretty much useless if you can use “Fly” to attack through the openings.』
『………It’ll be a race against time.』
The Repel Magic Stone that Eclair obtained.
It has the effect of keeping a certain monster away for a certain amount of time.
The area of effect is narrow, but if we surround the dungeon with it, we’ll have an instant barrier against the two great King-class.
We will secure victory and leave the Eld Desert before Accurate Crow and the White Wyvern arrive.
That summarized the subjugation of the designated disaster species Imperial Ant.
「………It’s surreal.」
We are witnessing the end of the world, Eclair gasps for breath.
If it was someone else who had suggested this plan, he would’ve ignored it.
Since he had known Wald for a long time, he trusted him and went ahead with the mission.
Eclair looks at the bracelet in his left hand.
When this bracelet shattered, he will receive the map data from Wald.
That will be our signal.
By then, I’ll have the soldiers and adventurers ready in place.
While dragging his exhausted body after the super large skill technique, Eclair still gave them instructions.
On the top floor of the dungeon――――
Ann did not know what was going on in front of her.
『What on earth happened……？』
In the middle of battle training with the antlings on the top floor, a mysterious female voice was suddenly sent over Jiryuu-sama’s line.
And right after that, the ground cracked, and the dungeon collapsed.
Perhaps because of the earthquake, the place where Ann and the others were standing had risen slightly from the ground to the surface, like a sheer cliff.
You can see the sun rays from inside the dungeon.
This is the second time Ann has seen an unusual thing happened.
The first was a raid by Heleb, head of the Accurate Crows.
But it makes sense that time when the surface of the dungeon was blown off by Heleb.
But what’s this??
This was completely beyond my comprehension.
How far does this crack go?
Is Jiryuu-sama safe?
The first thing Ann thought of in this situation was the safety of her master, Jiryuu.
Being one of his subordinate, Ann can easily find out if he is still alive.。
Because the earth dragon magical power is always flowing to her.
And the supply of magical power is still going strong.
―――――Jiryuu-sama is alive。
It’s a relief.
Next, Ann work through the network of antlings and golems to understand the current state of the dungeon.
Discard the signals sent by the antlings and golems.
Take only the information you need.
『It’s……』
It’s worse than she thought.
Cave-ins and collapses occurred everywhere, and the number of antlings and golems casualties is high.
『Kuh, I have to be quick! 』
It took only 30 seconds to get this far.。
Truly amazing speed.。
But those 30 seconds are priceless。
Ann should have moved immediately after the cracks occurred.。
She tries to give instructions to the antlings.。
It was the next moment.
Ann got a chill.
――――――Something’s coming!
She followed her instincts and turned her body away.。
It was a right call.
Hyun! A red flash pierced her side.
Over ten antlings beside her were obliterated by the penetrating light.
『!?』
Barely following the light with her eyes, she turned to look back.
What she saw was a human.
A female adventurer with long silver hair and an eye patch over her left eye.
In her hand is a red spear.
She had seen that spear before.
To be exact, from the knowledge given to her.
『Impossible….. God Killing Spear Gungnir?』
Her voice somehow reached the female adventurer.
「I see. So you’re well aware of this spear……You weren’t a normal monster after all.」
Magical power flows from that spear.
This is bad. No matter how you think about it, I’m in an unfavourable position right now.
According to the records that Jiryuu-sama gave me, all the sacred weapons have an outrageous performance.
That’s why they were sealed and scattered all over the world.。
Ann gnashed her teeth.。
I have to get to Jiryuu-sama quickly.
But I can’t just let this enemy go.！
He’s still alive. I’m sure of it.。
But I can sense another powerful soul nearby.
The person who caused this anomaly…. is right next to him.
I must get to him quickly.
That’s all she was thinking.。
『――――Get out of my way.！』
Ann immediately pulls out her sword.
The degraded version of Sacred Sword Leviathan, and Earth Dragon Sword.
The moment the female adventurer saw the sword, her face changed.
「that sword……!? I knew it was you……!! How dare you……I won’t allow you to use that sword!!」
A flood of killing intent.
Beldi convinced herself as soon as she saw the sword.
There’s no doubt about it, the Imperial Ant in front of me is the one who killed my little sister, Paldi.
With that feeling, Beldi charged towards Ann.
A fierce battle between the Queen of the Imperial Ant, a designated disaster species, and the S-Ranker with a sacred weapon has begun.
Meanwhile, at the southern edge of Eld Desert――――
「You sure you don’t want me to intervene?？」
「Yeah, this will be a good lesson for the child. For goodnes’s sake, he needs to face reality. I didn’t expect him to be this lazy.」
「Is that why you allowed the dungeon to be destroyed? What an unreasonable thing to do. 」
「I’ll take that as a compliment. Something like this wouldn’t have happened if he finished his dungeon. 」
「Well, all right, I’ll sit this one out. But where did they find out about this place? You don’t happened to do anything with it, do you？」
「Not to this extent. It was not him they were after; it is his subordinate. 」
「Hmm, that might be true. But does he have a chance of winning?？」
「I’m certain he will. Besides………」
「Besides what？」
「I believe he can do it」
「……It sounds ironic when you say it, doesn’t it?」
「Fufu, I guess. That reminds me……」
「What is it?」
「――――――he’s still nameless, isn’t he?」