Episode(13): Bloodbath
SOVEREIGN OF DEATH~(13)
I advanced at a steady pace through the dungeon. Each floor was filled with monsters and each was stronger than the last.
When on a floor Nagisa could only think this floor was unbelievably difficult, but then he faced the next floor and the last felt like an appetizer.
Still, probably because I fought that variant wolf monster, since all the other monsters were weaker in comparison although it was difficult it wasn't too hard.
Especially now that he had a sword, these monsters were just fodder handing over EXP.
He moved through the darkness concealing his presence while ambushing wolf monsters one after the other.
Before now, this tactic worked fine but probably because they were higher in level than the last floor I was easily discovered.
Their perception must have increased with their level.
Not only their perception, the time it took to dispatch a single wolf monster became noticeably longer with their improved strength.
But I wasn't too worried.
With my level enhancement, my own strength had soared leaps and bound and with a weapon there was nothing to fear even if the opponent was stronger.
With his own stats originally surpassing human limits, being at level 20 for him was actually like being several levels higher than anybody else.
So while my level says 20 something, my stats say another thing completely.
Thanks to this there was no trouble whatsoever!
If I'm right I should be on floor 28 right?
There were marks left on previous floors, it must have been from previous challengers in the dungeon as it correlated to the floors he had been on.
24th was the floor I started.
Going by that, he had traversed four floors already and should have only two more before reaching the boss.
At the same time, it could be wrong after all it was just my speculation in the end.
But, thanks to this I managed to understand the theme of the floors from 21st to 30.
It should be wolves, in that case the boss monster should also be a wolf or werewolf type.
Being the boss it should be even more powerful than that variant right?
Nagisa grinned, things seemed to be getting exciting.
Putting the sword over my shoulder with a grin, the wolves staring at me howled and glared menacingly.
They had been in this dungeon and hadn't tasted human flesh in so long. Unable to hold back, the wolves all pounced at once.
A wolf dove in at close distance targeting his legs, however Nagisa shifted his position was slicing through the air splattering purple blood like rain.
Then, with a pivot against the ground kicking up dust, Nagisa twisted and swung down the sword slicing another wolf lunging at him in half.
They are definitely more durable than the last batch, but nothing special.
The moment that thought came, a blur appeared at the end of my vision.
Twisting slightly, Nagisa barely managed to avoid getting grazed by the wolf and swung his sword. But the wolf seemed to have good reaction and the moment its front legs touched the ground it vanished in a blur evading.
Oh, that one seems different.
It had as much speed as the variant. Though recalling it gives me a bad taste in my mouth.
Nagisa sensed with his perception and the blur appeared again this time charging from the front.
Its quick-
Nagisa shifted to the side. At the same time he used the blunt side of the katana knocking the back of the wolfs neck.
[Too bad you're not quick enough]
Saying this, while the wolf was still disoriented he stabbed through its neck with the tip of the sword.
Had it been when I was level one, facing this guy among the many others would definitely have been dangerous.
But now, these were simply walking bags of EXP.
He glanced around.
There was a lot, at least in the hundreds.
A bit difficult, but doable.
He wasn't being arrogant, with his current strength this was indeed completely within the range of his capabilities.
Within the group of wolves, there were several larger and obviously more intelligent wolves.
Let's take out the big bosses first.
Seeing his movements, the wolves instinctively guessed what was happening and ordered a mad charge.
They weren't stupid and understood that the creature before them was dangerous to face individually.
Normally this would have been the correct decision since no creature no matter how strong cannot face a group alone.
But, Nagisa never planned to actually take on the boss first.
The back line is weak, there is a chance!
Seeing the defense open up, Nagisa leapt high over the mobs rushing at the front, over even the variants and charged to the back.
The variants were stunned and confused. But only Nagisa knew what he was doing.
Fighting from my original position would make it difficult to get close to the variants if I'm crowded by those mobs.
No matter how confident he was, there were at least over 500 wolf monsters. And though he called them mobs, each one had a level of at least 35-50.
But, fighting from the center near the variants was a great position since all the mobs had gone so far ahead.
Now I can take care of the ones at the back and reach the variants with ease!
The moment he landed, a sword dance of blood and flesh exploded.
Everywhere he passed only purple blood and wolf corpses remained nourishing the soil.
The variants tried to control the situation, but the wolves that had been charging ahead were too clustered and completely prevented them from retreating.
Finally, after cutting down more weeds the path opened up.
You first!
Nagisa spotted the black and crimson colored wolf and sprinted.
Two wolf guards charged to protect their leader, however Nagisa slid under the first slicing open its belly as it leapt and with a tap of his arm he sprung into the air lopping off the other's head before landing and continuing his sprint forward.
The wolf saw it's kin dying and angrily howled.
Damn!
Visible waves flew towards Nagisa as he covered his ears. It was a mental attack!
But he didn't stop.
With a sword I am invincible!
Around him, even as the space twisted due to the howl Nagisa was calm still like a ship steadily sailing against the storm.
Tap!
With his every step, the ground seemed to turn into water as it rippled at his feet and the mental waves were split apart.
A stream of water seemed to flow behind the sword and there was nothing that could stop its momentum.
The hell spawn seemed to recognize the danger, but in this situation all it could do was rush forward.
At the same time, Nagisa felt a comfort in using this technique like never before.
A surge of warmth resonated in his body, something unfamiliar yet very much present since his birth.
His speed increased and with a bend of his knees he shot straight up into the sky.
Grasping the feeling of warmth, water seemed to materialize out of nowhere converging on his sword and his sword felt much lighter and sharper.
He couldn't tell what was causing this phenomenon, but he had a slight inkling.
Mana.
Giving himself to inertia, Nagisa felt the best path to swing the sword and mercilessly guided it.
A splash of water exploded, droplets fell from the sky and a wolf head flew high with it.
The feeling was magical, as if discovering new ways to walk without getting tired!
However, Nagisa didn't have the time to pay attention.
The wolves under the hell spawn, losing their leader became even wilder.
Crazy!
But it was easier to chop them now that they had no coordination.
In the crowd, Nagisa spotted another hell spawn giving orders to its own pack and his figure moved like water, flowing smoothly however the impact he left was bloody.
The hell spawn didn't even have time to react when all its minions were cut down like cabbages and a sword tip lodged itself in it's eye.
Blood spurted, and Nagisa hammered the sword deeper with a fist reveling in its shrieks.
Then, with a surge of mana flowing into the sword, water exploded under its chin like a jet stream and Nagisa twisted drawing the sword as the wolf was split apart by this stream.
Pivoting, Nagisa swung the sword and the stream of water continued slicing through the crowd of wolves nearby completely opening up a large space.
In that moment the air turned silent and the wolves instinctively took a step back in fright.
Who could say they were at fault when a monster like this showed up?
But not all of them were afraid. Another hell spawn shot out, darting like lightning at Nagisa.
Its speed is about the same as the others, but it seems stronger judging by its distribution of weight when running.
Too bad, Nagisa who had now understood mana combined with his own techniques wasn't its match at all.
Running at an even pace, as if he had discovered his own flow of breathing although Nagisa seemed to run slower he was actually just as fast as the wolf and even faster!
Before it could even reacted, Nagisa spun on his knees like a typhoon severing the wolves legs before stabbing through the wolf cutting off its life.
Fanfare rang in my mind. The irritation at having to face this many wolves at once turned into glee.
That's right, taking care of the trash will help me in the end so let's just call it community service.
…
The sword sliced through the air decapitating another wolf for the nth time.
『Your level increases』
With a familiar chime, even in the chaotic situation the notifications kept coming.
It wasn't annoying, rather with the chime of the world's will I knew immediately when my strength increased and could instantly make adjustments so that my balance would not be thrown off suddenly.
Hm?
Suddenly he noticed a small red wolf squatting at the back.
How suspicious!
While other wolves charged without regard for life this wolf sat there as if waiting. It was then that he noticed a change.
The wolfs fur seemed to become bright red like the color of flames and it opened its mouth towards him.
???
I was confused at first, but he ball of flame that followed my confusion made me stunned.
Why was a wolf spitting fire like a dragon?
Boom!*
The ball of fire landed on the ground exploding like a frag grenade.
Luckily I moved beforehand or that might have taken a hand!
So even monsters can be mages? Fine, then you'll be the next one to go!
With a stomp, Nagisa left his positon, his steps light yet fast moving through the crowd like a blur.
Wolves charged to block the path, but before they even knew it they were either decapitated or split in halves dead as dead.
[Die!]
Finally arriving before the wolf, I slashed down with all my might-
!!
This is!?
The surrounding mana twisted and compressed around the wolf. This phenomena was one Nagisa had never seen, however his grasp over mana was so excellent he could already tell what type of attack was going to be used before it was even shown.
Self-Detonation?
Quickly, I changed the falling sword to a pointed stab. At the same time he exploded mana at the tip of the sword expelling the space around him outward.
Boom!
The explosion was big enough to blow up several factories, in a war this explosion could wipe out an entire camp!
However the explosive force was blasted away at the efforts of Nagisa, only the shockwaves shook the surroundings.
[Bastard]
It was only a single moment, however Nagisa had the thought to redirect the flow of the mana twisting around the wolf targeting the space behind it.
This was hard, not only was he trying to control magic casted by another being, he wasn't even in direct contact with them.
Fortunately however, it wasn't any complex magic and just a forceful self-destructive move.
Hmph!
I wiped the cold sweat at my temples feeling like cursing.
Well, at least the most dangerous ones should be out of the game now-
However the next moment he paused.
At the end of the passage, a claw like that of a humanoid hand grabbed the wall and a tall figure stepped out.
Alright, fine. I already accept my luck so just bring it!
The werewolf saw the scene of carnage, and Nagisa who was already in a stance and launched itself.
It was incredibly fast.
It was already striking down with a claw before an instant was over.
Boom!
The ground shook as it struck towards Nagisa but missed when he dodged.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Nagisa danced, his footwork carrying him away from danger each moment he moved.
The wolf sped up its attack, anger fueling its power. Seeing the increased power, Nagisa waved the sword knocking away the heavy claw.
Boom!
The force diverted towards the ground caused it to split apart.
I retreated creating some distance to breathe.
These variants really were something. If I had to guess, a variant was at least three or four levels above other same type monsters?
Truly monsters!
Nagisa switched the sword to his left hand and disappeared, his figure appearing before the wolf and landing a kick sending it crashing to the wall.
But, it was a variant. Strong flesh and vitality was what it prided itself on.
Immediately, it got its bearings and darted around the space at high speed moving from wall to ceiling to floor like a ping pong ball.
At this speed no normal human could react.
Finally, at a moment it felt Nagisa had let his guard down it shot straight at him.
Even if Nagisa sensed his location, at this speed there was no worry about a counter from this human.
Yet, it watched as Nagisa who didn't even hold a stance at first bent his knees. Manga pouring into his sword and with a swing the wolf from its outstretched claws to toes were split in two.
The remaining wolves were horrified by this and tried to scatter.
But why should I let you go?
It was going to be a bloodbath!