Whish—!!!
""""!!!""""
"Is the curse broken?!"
"You did it! Bell!"
The moment Bell's strike connected, sending Dix hurtling into the wall, the dazed eyes of the Xenos returned to clarity. Believing Dix had been neutralized, Fels and Ardee turned their gaze toward Bell.
"Bell-chi! You did it...!"
"...No, this feeling is definitely..."
Boom—!!!
As Bell's uneasy words trailed off, Dix rose from the rubble, spitting blood. Seeing this, Fels and Akumo immediately deduced his gambit.
"Don't tell me..."
"Just before impact, he manually released the curse and endured the hit with his original stats!"
Dix stood up with a nonchalant smirk. Lyd and Gros, now fully conscious after the curse's release, stepped forward to block his path.
Clench—!!
"I won't let you have your way any longer!!"
"I'll kill you, poacher!!!"
Grin—!
"It already hurts enough, stop barking, you damn monsters."
""!!""
Enraged, Lyd and Gros prepared to pounce, but Dix laughed savagely and pulled a jewel from his pocket.
"Are you sure you want to fight?"
Slide—!
"It might just shatter, you know?"
"Viene's...!!"
Fling—!
"If it's that important, then trade your lives for it!!"
Dix hurled Viene's jewel toward the abyss of the Dungeon. Without a second thought, Bell and Lyd threw themselves after it.
Grab—!!
"I—I got it!!"
"Well done! Bell-chi!"
Grin—!
"Kikiki! You're dancing right in the palm of my hand!!"
""!!""
'Don't tell me...!'
Their relief at catching the jewel was short-lived. Dix immediately reached toward Viene, preparing to activate his curse once more.
"[Wander, Endless Phantasm (Nightmare)]"
Sss—!!
An ominous aura surged up Dix's arm, a crimson light flickering at his fingertips.
"[Phobetor Daidal—"
Slice—!!!!
"!!"
'What... just...!?'
In a motion as fluid as water yet as forceful as a tidal wave, Akumo lunged forward. Dix's left arm was severed in an instant. Dix was stunned, but surprisingly, Akumo also clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"...Damn it."
'He twisted his body in that state...?'
Akumo had aimed for the right arm to stop the curse, but Dix, with superhuman focus, had twisted his torso to sacrifice his left arm instead.
Crunch—!
'Every single one of you...!!'
Sss—!!
"[Phobetor Daedalus]!!!!!!!!!!!!"
'DON'T GET IN MY WAY!!!!!'
Viene, driven mad by Dix's curse, bolted toward the surface. Bell, despite his injuries, gave chase to stop her, followed immediately by Fels and Ardee, who were worried about his condition. The cavern grew quiet.
"...Dix."
"Kikikiki...!! So it was you after all...!"
With the others heading for the surface, Akumo looked down at Dix, who was staggering before him, one arm missing.
"Is this your choice?"
"What else is there!?"
Clench—!!!
Dix screamed, his voice thick with rage, as if resisting his bloodline to the very end. He glared with his remaining eye, which still throbbed with pain.
"Ever since I read those wretched journals!!!!"
"I've spent my entire life trying to silence the voice that pierces through my skull!"
"This is the answer I found! Do you think I'd ever give it up?!"
Akumo listened in silence, then raised his sword and began to approach.
Dix laughed. Even though he expected a merciless end, he seemed almost ready to accept the blade with a strange sense of calm.
"If you're going to kill me, do it fast."
Schwing—
"[Divide.]"
"!!"
Whoosh—!!!!!!!
As Akumo spoke the command, the robe concealing his head fell away, revealing his true appearance. Dix could only stare in shock.
"You're...!"
"I shall not condemn you, nor shall I harbor wrath."
"...What?"
"I understand your will—how you resisted your fate and this world."
—'I'm angry!! At my own helplessness! At the surface that hates us! At this entire wretched situation!!'
Recalling Gros's desperate cry before him, Akumo felt no hatred or anger toward the man in front of him.
He merely spoke with a heavy, level tone while looking at the brand of the curse etched into Dix's eye.
"..."
'Why are you looking at me with those eyes...'
In Dix's vision, Akumo simply saw him as a person. It was the same gaze he had used for the Xenos—those who screamed against their destinies, wanting to escape their fate.
"You have lost."
"....!!"
"As a warrior, and as one who resists. You have lost it all."
'You crossed the line for it to be called mere resistance.'
"Therefore, you die."
Slide—
Akumo leveled his sword at Dix's throat. A hollow laugh escaped Dix's lips.
"Haha! Ahahaha!!!!!"
'This bastard is really...'
"Don't try to dress it up!"
Clench—!!
"I just hated monsters. So I killed them. That's all."
It was a hollow laugh. His eye still glowed red, but the quality of the laughter was distinctly different from the madness he had shown Bell.
"That's all there is to it."
'I made all my excuses a long time ago.'
"Kill me."
"Sleep."
"...Heh!"
Slice—!
The blade severed his neck. His smiling face remained as it was cut down in a single, surgical stroke.
Thud, roll—
"..."
Step, step—
Akumo approached the head that had rolled away.
He picked it up, examined it for a moment, and then gently closed the eyelids.
"Dix."
Slide—
"You are simply Dix."
Dix's left eye no longer glowed red.
"Lyd."
"Akumo-san... is that you...?"
"Yeah, it's me."
Leaving Dix's remains behind, Akumo approached Lyd. Just as Lyd was about to speak in confusion, Ray's group arrived from the entrance of the cavern.
Flutter—!
"Lyd! Gros!"
"Ray! You're safe!"
"Vane, what on earth happened here..."
Freeze—!
""!!""
Ray, having joined up with Vane in the rear, rushed toward Lyd and Gros, but stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing the figure standing beside them.
"Akumo-san...!"
'Why is Akumo-san here...!'
Step—!
"...Is it really Akumo?"
'He's hidden by the robe, but this presence is definitely Akumo...!'
Vane and Ray approached the silent Akumo, scrutinizing him.
Fling—!
"You all fought well."
""""...!!""""
Akumo cast aside his robe. His appearance left them utterly speechless.
His blue skin made it clear he was not human. In place of ears, orange fins caught their attention.
Sway—
Furthermore, a tail swayed behind him. If the Gods had seen him, they would have called him an Axolotl from the heavens.
"What's the matter?"
".....No, well.... were you a Xenos!?"
"Once upon a time."
"Pardon...?"
"For now, that's not the priority, is it?"
"!!"
'Bell-chi!'
Akumo snapped the confused Lyd back to reality. Lyd immediately recalled the rampaging Viene and Bell and Fels, who had chased her to the surface. He began checking the status of those who could still move.
"Ray, how did you deal with the adventurers..."
"He came to reinforce us."
"Was it that guy...!"
"Yes. He saved us and then headed somewhere else. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the adventurers."
Lyd assessed their forces, relieved that Asterius's appearance had turned the tide. Meanwhile, Gros glanced briefly at Dix's corpse before addressing Lyd and Ray.
"The enemy leader is dead, but the remnants who know of our existence have escaped."
"I see...."
"They are dangerous! we must finish them off!"
"But thanks to Akumo-san, they won't last long anyway."
Lyd agreed with Ray, but thinking of the danger Bell and Viene were in, he finally made his decision.
"Ray is right, Gros."
"But...!"
"Right now, it's better to help Bell-chi."
"!!"
"Bell-chi and Fels were the ones who saved us! It's our turn to help them!"
Clench—!
"It might cause a scene... but I still want to save Bell-chi and Viene!"
When Lyd sent them a look full of resolve, Gros couldn't find any more words to argue.
"Sigh.... Fine, I'm going too!"
'Leaving it all to that brat just feels... wrong.'
"Everyone who can fight, follow Lyd, Ray, and me!!!!!"
"""""OHHHHH!!!!!"""""
As if in response to Gros's command, the cries of the Xenos echoed through the cavern. They began to sprint down the passage, following Gros and Lyd.
Grin—!
"Now that's a sight worth seeing....!"
Step—!
"Akumo, let's go!"
"I was going even if you didn't ask, Vane."
Flutter—!
"Akumo-san, Vane! Let's follow Lyd and Gros!"
Akumo, smiling as if pleased by the scene, was joined by Vane and Ray. Together, they headed for the surface.
Dash—!!!
"Gros! You admit it now, right? That there are good people among humans."
".....Hmph! Just don't go thinking every human is good!"
"Ahaha! Your stubbornness is as healthy as ever, even in this situation."
"Both of you are so dishonest~"
"We're just going to fight, no need to overthink it!"
"Well said, Vane!"
As they charged toward the surface—
Grin—!
"Let's go!"
They looked more human than anyone else.
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