Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
─────
Chapter 324: The Battle Already Begun
Ryuu widened her emerald eyes, staring dumbfounded as the sworn enemy she hated to the bone died in such a comical, absurd, and... stupid way.
"Though the process was rather ugly, it did, at least, entertain the gods." In the distance, Hermes lightly tipped the brim of his hat, the corners of his mouth curving into an amused arc as if he were enjoying a splendid play.
An incredibly strange look also appeared on Aiden's face.
At first, he assumed the guy popping out of nowhere was about to pull off something earth-shattering. He never expected... he was just stupid enough to try and enslave the Juggernaut.
What a joke.
As a pure self-defense mechanism born of the Dungeon solely to eliminate foreign anomalies, the probability of this thing being tamed by an adventurer was exactly zero from the very beginning.
Even with the help of a magic tool, magic tools weren't omnipotent. If they were really that convenient, the Hermes Familia, possessing the versatile Asfi, would have long since conquered all of Orario.
In the end, he was just a clown, a total fool.
There was never a shortage of that kind of person among adventurers.
Watching the pitch-black monster, half-crippled yet still dragging itself step by step toward him, Aiden raised an eyebrow. He remembered clearly that when this Calamity faced Ottar, it unhesitatingly chose to run away.
And now, after being beaten into such a miserable state by him, it... hadn't run?
Was his strength still not enough to make it feel the same level of threat as Ottar, or was it...
The crimson flames upon the blade of the Godslayer: Surtr flared up once more.
But the next second.
Clatter! A sudden cascade of tumbling rocks abruptly broke the silence.
Aiden looked toward the sound, discovering its source was actually the Lambton—the monster Ryuu had defeated at the very beginning, which had been lying motionless among the crystal rubble ever since.
It actually wasn't dead yet.
Freed from its master's control, the dying deep-floor monster's most primal survival instinct erupted. It forcefully reared its scar-riddled head high, then, using the very last ounce of its strength, slammed its razor-sharp skull brutally into the ground.
Boom—!
Its rotating, elongated body acted like a gigantic drill, instantly shattering the hard bedrock and excavating the earth below. With an almost crazed frenzy, it violently bored a bottomless hole straight down into the floor beneath them.
Seeing this, a crimson light abruptly flashed within the Juggernaut's hollow eye sockets.
Using its sole remaining, fully intact Destruction Claw, it grabbed the dead slave collar around its neck and crushed it to pieces as effortlessly as snapping a twig.
Following that, moving at an extreme speed completely at odds with its broken body, it lunged forward and leaped without hesitation down the gaping hole the Lambton had carved toward the next floor.
"Trying to run?!"
Aiden's reaction was honed to the absolute peak. The Godslayer: Surtr in his hands instantly carved out a crimson crescent, slashing furiously down at the falling pitch-black silhouette.
However, he was ultimately a step too late.
The red slash missed, biting viciously into the crystal rock wall in the distance, leaving a deep, horrifying gash whose edges continued to melt.
"To think it actually got away. You can't just let a beast like that run free to lick its wounds, Young Flamescion," Hermes remarked. Seeing the battle temporarily pause, he had stealthily crept up to the edge of the deep pit. Peering inside, he directed his teasing words toward Aiden.
"I was heading to the 28th Floor anyway. Perfect, this saves me from taking the long way around."
Aiden's gaze swept over Ryuu, who was being supported by Asfi in the distance. Turning his head, he looked at Hermes with calm eyes.
"Lord Hermes, I know you certainly won't listen to my warnings, but the battle from here on out... will be completely different from just now."
Saying that, he didn't even wait for a response before gripping the Godslayer: Surtr and jumping straight down the pit, where rubble was still cascading into the depths.
"Hehe... it's exactly because of that, that I absolutely cannot afford to miss it."
Hermes pressed a hand against his traveling hat, a smile full of anticipation and excitement spreading across his face. He looked back at Asfi.
"It's all up to you, dear Asfi."
"...Good grief."
A look of resigned familiarity settled over Asfi's face. Adjusting her glasses, she looked at Ryuu beside her and asked softly, "Are you okay, Ryuu?"
"I'm fine."
Ryuu's answer was firm and resolute. Holding the wall, she slowly stood up straight.
In that brief window of time, she had already pulled a precious Elixir from the pouch at her waist and downed it in one gulp. Right now, although her broken right leg still ached faintly, the bones had reconnected and most of its function had been restored. While she couldn't immediately dive into high-intensity combat, basic walking was no longer an issue.
"Please, Andromeda. Take me with you. I have to see... that monster's end with my own eyes."
"...Alright."
Asfi gave her a deep look before finally nodding. She grabbed Hermes with one arm, supported Ryuu with the other, and leaped down the abyssal pit.
During their descent, the pair of seemingly ordinary boots on Asfi's feet suddenly deployed two small, wing-like mechanisms on their sides, emitting a faint cyan glow.
Talaria activated.
She and Ryuu, as high-level adventurers, could survive the impact of a fall from this height. But Hermes, being a mortal of flesh and blood devoid of any strength, would be sent straight back to Heaven by the massive impact the instant he hit the ground if he just fell.
Meanwhile, on the 28th Floor.
Violent explosions echoed across the entire floor like unending thunderclaps.
"They're fighting, they're fighting!"
Inside a hidden cave, Alise formed binoculars with her hands, pressing them to her forehead as she excitedly watched the battlefield in the distance, enshrouded in the glow of magic and sword aura.
"Riveria, fighting broke out over there. It must be the reinforcements from the Freya Familia." Alise turned around, her face beaming with a joyous smile.
─────
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations