Chapter 217: The Juggernaut Descends, the Elf Breaks Down!
"Run… Hurry and run…"
Ryuu murmured those words to Ethan.
Five years ago, the Juggernaut had descended and taken everything from her. Every companion, every person she cared about, had died in that disaster.
And now, the Juggernaut was coming again.
She was afraid. Terrified. Desperate.
Even if Ethan was the only one who escaped, she wanted him to get out before the Juggernaut arrived.
Creak… Creak…
A strange sound echoed from the depths of the cavern.
Everyone instinctively felt fear rise in their hearts, while Ryuu's face turned deathly pale.
The creature itself had not even appeared yet, but her will was already close to collapsing.
Because the thing about to emerge was the true culprit behind the tragedy five years ago.
It was also Ryuu's nightmare.
"Special Quest triggered—"
[Special Quest: The Dungeon's Malice II!]
[Completion Requirement: Leave the Dungeon alive.]
[Quest Reward: 3,000 Diamonds, Limited-Time Gacha Pool unlocked.]
"A Special Quest again?"
Ethan was somewhat surprised.
The last time he had triggered a Special Quest had been several months ago.
Back then, he encountered an abnormal incident where a monster outbreak combined with a Monster Party, causing enormous numbers of monsters to flood out.
That incident had unlocked the limited-time Jujutsu Kaisen gacha pool.
Unexpectedly, there was now a second round.
The Dungeon's "malice" had appeared again, and the completion requirement remained unchanged.
Leave the Dungeon alive.
Completing it would unlock another limited-time gacha pool.
The difference was that last time, the reward had only been 500 Diamonds.
This time, it was a full 3,000.
Rewards were tied to difficulty.
Ethan guessed that this round of the Dungeon's Malice was almost certainly referring to the approaching Juggernaut.
Originally, he had only wanted to see how strong the Juggernaut was.
He had not expected to trigger a Special Quest as well.
Pshk!
In a daze, someone felt a faint breeze brush past.
Immediately afterward, something warm and sticky splashed across his body.
"H-How…"
Among the group, one adventurer had lost his head.
Only the severed stump of his neck remained, spraying blood continuously.
Several people standing nearby were showered in a disgusting mixture of red and white.
But at that moment, they had no attention to spare for disgust.
An invisible terror completely crushed them.
Under overwhelming fear, they even forgot how to breathe.
Bang!
The "black shadow" paid no attention to these insignificant humans.
Its bloodstained claws came down and crushed another two people beneath its feet.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
Under extreme terror, even hardened adventurers completely lost control.
Pshk!
But it was already too late.
The Juggernaut had arrived.
All that remained was slaughter.
"Monster!"
Smack!
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Thud!
"Damn it!"
Bang!
…
It was a one-sided massacre.
In only a few moments, everyone who had come here with Bors, aside from Bors himself, collapsed into pools of blood.
A warrior was decapitated.
An elven archer was snapped in half at the waist.
A mage was smashed apart.
A thief who had completely lost his nerve was struck by the tail and crushed into pulp.
If Bors had not moved closer to Ethan earlier to show off how close their relationship was, he would likely have shared the same fate.
The terrifying monster destroyed everything with its claws.
Its fangs chewed through flesh and armor alike.
A sweep of its tail sent adventurers flying while coughing blood.
It was a complete killing machine.
A party of dozens had been wiped out in the blink of an eye.
Bors stood completely frozen throughout the entire process.
A monster on this level was simply beyond anything he could deal with.
He had absolutely no chance of victory.
Ethan, meanwhile, stared intently at the creature.
In his arms was Ryuu, whose mind had already begun to collapse.
"It's over… Everything is over…"
At this moment, there was no hope left in Ryuu's heart.
Or rather, she could no longer see any hope.
Ethan, however, continued observing the monster before him.
Juggernaut.
That was its name.
It was an [Irregular] produced when the Dungeon suffered severe artificial destruction.
Normally, after the Dungeon was damaged, it would begin repairing itself and temporarily stop producing monsters.
But if a floor suffered catastrophic destruction, the Dungeon would instead produce a Juggernaut.
Its highest priority was eliminating the adventurers responsible for damaging the Dungeon.
In a sense, it functioned like an antivirus program.
The Juggernaut's strength changed depending on the floor where it was born, while all of its abilities were specialized for slaughter.
Even one born on the 27th floor possessed power surpassing ordinary deep-floor monsters.
Although its endurance was relatively low, its claws could easily destroy the hardened equipment of adventurers and tear apart their bodies.
Its special armor could even reflect magic.
Beyond that, the Juggernaut possessed extraordinary high-speed mobility unlike ordinary large monsters.
Its speed rivaled that of first-class adventurers.
It also possessed an exceptional "sensory network," allowing it to rapidly detect any surviving adventurers on the same floor.
It was almost like a "special individual" deliberately created by the Dungeon for one purpose—
To eliminate threats.
This also confirmed a theory held by many people.
The Dungeon was alive.
It would bare its fangs when adventurers were vulnerable, and when it itself faced danger, it would take measures to defend itself.
"Roar!"
The Juggernaut stared at Ethan without moving its eyes away for even a moment.
This was the instinct of a beast.
Ethan was the strongest human present, which naturally made him the greatest threat.
However, unlike ordinary monsters, the Juggernaut had chosen to clear away the weaker prey first.
"By my Command Spell, come to my side—"
Buzz!
On the back of Ethan's hand, the Command Spell branded like blood began glowing crimson.
One-third of the mark gradually disappeared.
In exchange, an immense surge of magical energy erupted.
Swish!
Sarah, who had been far away in the Dungeon's deep floors, instantly appeared beside Ethan through the power of the Command Spell.
"Hm? Master?"
After not seeing him for so long, Sarah was pleasantly surprised by the sudden summons.
Bors's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Where had this snake woman come from?
And she was calling Ethan "Master"?
Looking at her appearance, could she be some kind of atavistic Lamia?
"Sarah, protect her."
"Hm? Another new mistress?"
The last time Ethan summoned Sarah, it had been to protect Artemis's thought-body.
Now he had summoned her again, only to make her protect another woman.
Sarah felt rather helpless.
She was an Avenger who had inherited Gorgon's Spirit Origin.
How had she somehow ended up working like a bodyguard?
…
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