...Something's noisy around me.
"Can't you see someone's sleeping... Ah."
"Looks like I nodded off for a second."
I opened my eyes again, my mind still foggy.
Then someone called out to me in a hurried voice.
"You're awake, Magus big bro!"
"Huh? Who...? Stone Thrower? Why am I your big bro?"
It was Stone Thrower.
Somehow, I must have been moved from Aspi onto this guy's back.
But what's with the "big bro" thing?
"It's my own call. More importantly, are you okay? I stopped the bleeding with a potion, but you lost a ton of blood."
"Oh, so that's why I feel so out of it. More importantly, what's the situation?"
"We're all doing our best to hold out!"
Stone Thrower's explanation went roughly like this.
Hiryute of Loki Familia was somehow keeping that monstrous thing occupied and holding it back.
And right now, they were protecting the young elf girl so she could fire her bombardment.
"Damn it, don't even get me started! We've already taken down that many of those damn cannibalized monsters, but they just keep coming! It's driving me crazy!"
"No, what surprises me more is that the guy who was talking casually to me a minute ago suddenly started using honorifics."
"Haha! You really are a strange one, Magus big bro!"
You're not exactly normal yourself, you know.
But even under my cool, flat stare, Stone Thrower... no, Kikus, kept talking without caring what I thought.
He really was a self-centered guy.
I'd already guessed as much from the way he'd thrown his life away so readily for the sake of one love.
"This man, Kikus, was saved by Lady Aspi's kindness, so if I don't know how to act with gratitude, she'll cry! I'll protect her with my life!"
"The part where you're putting that lady on the line is the part that makes me want to cry."
Apparently Aspi had heard the conversation from nearby, because her expression was quite a sight.
That was definitely the face of someone who was in serious trouble.
I wonder if this lonely love of his has any chance at all.
Fwoosh!
"I see, that's a considerable amount of magical energy. So that's the next promising talent from Loki Familia."
Anyway.
The young elf girl who had come with the wolf.
Even at a glance, her chant was excellent, and desperate.
But it was slow.
So, it was late.
At this rate, the side protecting her would fail to hold out, and some point would be breached.
If that happened, it was game over.
That couldn't happen.
There had to be another way...
"Huh?"
"What is it? Don't tell me that earlier hit did something to your body...!"
"No, that's not it."
Through the magical path connected to the Moon Spirit Slime, I felt a magical pattern I'd sensed somewhere before.
Looks like I hadn't turned off my detection function earlier.
No, more importantly... this magical pattern was definitely...
"Ahh, finally."
"Huh? What is?"
"What else?"
Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.
Damn it, if possible, she should've come before I ended up looking like this.
I'd barely finished lamenting that when—
Boom!
The "wind" that had split off earlier returned.
"Revis!"
"Ah, Ais!"
The Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein, had finally returned.
"Kgh...!"
"Hmph. So you were all talk after all, Revis. Pathetic."
Meanwhile, another woman had joined the battlefield alongside Ais.
But judging by Oliverus's reaction, she was unfortunately an enemy to us.
And the fact that she'd managed to stall Ais this long meant she wasn't an ordinary fighter, either.
Still, I didn't pay her much mind.
For one thing, the way she came out of the passage was a complete mess; she looked like a loser through and through.
Well, that settled it.
"So that kind of woman is 'Aria,' huh. I don't really want to admit it, but... fine. If that's what 'she' wants, then Viskum!"
"No! Stop!"
Oliverus sneered at her as if mocking her, then arrogantly shifted his target away from us.
His new target was Ais.
Soon after his command, the giant cannibalized monster twisted its body and charged at Ais as if hurling its massive frame at her.
If this kept up, something terrible would definitely happen.
"I don't mind if I take back a corpse! Die, Sword Princess!"
As if to prove it, Oliverus was already laughing like he'd caught his prey.
Then Ais spoke softly to him.
"I'm going, [Tempest]."
Shrrk!
One single strike.
Kuuuuungh!
One single gust of wind.
"Ooooh~"
"Wha... wha, what did you say?!"
A cry of admiration slipped from my mouth, and with that, the battle was over.
The giant specimen, Viskum, ended its life with its body cleanly split in two by her sword strike.
At that impossible, absurd sight, everyone around us was left speechless.
Everyone except me.
"Amazing. To unleash that much power instantly with a magic spell that's practically no different from a passive effect, and with such a short chant too. So the real monster was someone else after all."
"I-it's amazing. But Magus big bro is the same from our point of view, too."
"Me? Well, I'm only doing it with all sorts of tools and preparations ahead of time, so of course."
The reason I wasn't all that surprised, unlike the others, was simple.
Sure, her strike just now was astonishing, but I'd already seen something similar, or even greater, before.
Even if it was an incomplete subcategory, it wasn't called a Holy Grail War for nothing.
If you wanted to surprise someone like me, who'd already experienced that kind of thing, you'd need at least some insane stunt like stacking a pyramid on top of a castle, then stacking another castle on top of that, and then setting up an even bigger statue beside it to kick off a monster showdown.
That's the kind of thing you'd need to do to make it worth watching, right?
"Still, 'Aria,' huh."
Suddenly, I remembered a certain book I'd once seen in this world.
Wasn't the title something like... The Sacred Tale of the Dungeon?
Looks like this story is going to get pretty interesting.
"I wonder if I can get a drop of blood. No, at least a single strand of hair?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"No, nothing. It's no big deal, so don't worry about it."
"Eh? For something that's no big deal, Magus big bro's face right now looks kind of..."
"It. Is. No. Big. Deal."
"Eek! Y-yes! N-no big deal! Y-yes, that's right!"
I brushed off Kikus's question with the brightest smile I could manage.
Fortunately, he seemed to understand my mood, because he nodded desperately with a face gone pale blue.
Hmm, he was more easy to talk to than I expected.
Looks like I won't need to waste energy and "persuade" him separately.
"[Fusillade Pallarica]!"
Ping! KWA-GAGAGAGANG!
"Th-that's impossible...!"
In the meantime, Lefiya finally finished her chant, and her magic swept through the remaining cannibalized monsters around us, wiping them out.
With that, the enemy force was completely annihilated.
Oliverus, who had watched the whole scene, slumped to the ground with a dazed expression.
That face of his, so different from before, was a pleasure to look at.
"N-no way. Defeated? Forced to submit? I... me...!"
"Looks like you've run out of cannibalized monsters."
"Ghk!"
"It's over now."
As Oliverus despaired, his companion, the monstrous woman Revis, approached his side.
Oliverus looked at her and smiled brightly.
That idiot. Did he still think this wasn't over?
He probably thought she'd buy time while he recovered, then they'd counterattack together.
How foolish.
As expected, that guy was never fit to be a first-rate villain.
"What a ridiculous sight."
Thwack!
"Huh?"
For one thing, the expression on that woman Revis's face was clearly not the warm, affectionate look of a comrade, but a merciless, cold one—like a beast eyeing its prey.
What use is someone who can't even see something that obvious?
No wonder he got abandoned by the god he served. Tsk tsk.
"Re, vis... w, what... is... this...?"
"I need more power. That's all. No matter how much I 'eat' those Vioras, they're not helping much."
"S-stop...! I, I was chosen by 'her' like you...!"
"Chosen? You idiot. Did you really think that was a goddess?"
You and I are nothing more than its "tentacles."
Having said that much, Revis expressionlessly reached into Oliverus's chest and pulled something out.
What she drew out at a glance was clearly a magic stone, just like those of the other new-type monsters.
"Don't misunderstand. I was the one who protected it. And... I'll keep protecting it from now on, too."
Then she shoved the magic stone she'd taken from Oliverus into her mouth and crushed it with her teeth.
Crunch, crunch
Gulp!
She had consumed it the same way the other enhanced types did, by eating the magic stone.
And then her atmosphere changed in an instant.
Even the air around her felt completely different.
It would've been even scarier if her hair had turned blond or blue right then and there.
Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any sign of that.
Bang!
"Ghk, you...!"
"You still have time to talk? You're lacking."
Revis, who had been pushed back by Ais until just a moment ago, now forced Ais back instead.
At that overwhelming strength, no one could react.
"That damn bastard!"
"Ais!"
Too late, Hiryute and Lefiya moved to follow Ais.
At the same time—
"What?!"
"Who is it?!"
Out of nowhere, a third party no one had expected suddenly crashed into the battle.
A mysterious figure wrapped head to toe in black clothes, with a mask covering their face.
"It's not complete yet, but it's grown enough! Take it to 'Enyo'!"
"Understood."
"Damn it! Everyone, stop them!"
The sudden intruder grabbed the very "jewel" that had been carefully stored near the pantry and fled.
Only belatedly did the Hermes Familia try to catch them, but the distance had already grown too great to close.
"Oh? Well, look at that."
As for me, I just watched the intruder's back with a mildly interested gaze.
Really now, what exactly was that person planning?
They didn't really seem like that sort of person, that "lady."
For a moment I wondered whether I should say something, but in the end I decided to keep my mouth shut.
It's not like I was trying to screw over the Guild that sent me here to suffer or anything.
Probably.
I am absolutely innocent.
"Viskum! Keep birthing them! Squeeze out every last bit of power until you're dried up!"
-Bwooooooo!
Then the situation changed again.
At Revis's shout, the remaining giant new-type monster clung to the pantry as if it were trying to crush it shut.
Then the floor began to rumble and shake.
And from the ceiling, immature cannibalized monsters started falling in increasing numbers.
"H-hey."
"Isn't that... too many?"
Tap, tap-tat-tat-tat...!
Now they began to pour down like rain.
Before long, the cannibalized monsters once again filled the entire area, and everyone's faces turned grim.
-Kuooooooo!
"I-it's coming!"
"No way, no way, no way! Absolutely no way!"
"Don't separate from the others! You'll get crushed!"
A simultaneous rush from a horde of monsters numbering close to several hundred.
It was an awe-inspiring sight, but from the side getting hit by it, there was no nightmare more horrifying than this.
Weapons, stamina, support—everything was at rock bottom.
There was no sign of any solution anywhere.
"Gulp, gulp, krrr, bitter. Couldn't you at least make it taste a little better? Like strawberry or soda flavor?"
Only one person.
In the midst of everyone huddled together, I alone remained calm.
"As expected of Magus big bro! You're the only one looking relaxed! Do you have some kind of brilliant plan?!"
"No, not really. I've already used up everything I brought. At this point, it's truly impossible."
"Whaaaat?!"
"Just kidding."
"Huh?"
"So don't worry. I already set things up, and I've got a response too. If we just hold out a little longer, the Loki side will take care of everything on their own. So just keep holding out until then. I'll be resting, though."
""You help too!""
"Oh, nice retort, everyone. Such fine members under such a fine captain."
I chuckled and helped them out with [Gandr] as best I could while waiting for the right moment.
I'd already checked the reaction through the Moon Spirit Slime, so it should be about time for this to end.
Just as I was thinking that—
Boom!
"Ghk!"
At a moment no one expected, things over there finally came to a head.
There was only one person who fell to the ground.
Revis had lost.
"W-what in the world...?"
Revis collapsed on the floor.
For some reason, she couldn't seem to get back up.
Ais, who had been fighting her, also looked confused, not understanding what was going on.
Could this be some kind of trap?
...No way.
"I did that. So hurry up and finish this already, Sword Princess. Everyone's too exhausted to keep fighting any longer."
"You?"
"Ghk, you bastard...! What did you do to me?!"
After I revealed the truth, the two of them looked at me with opposite expressions.
One was puzzled, the other murderous.
To those two, I kindly pointed out the answer.
"Obvious, isn't it? Look at the symptoms. What else would it be?"
"Don't tell me... poison? Impossible... something like that could never work on this body...!"
"Well, that's because it isn't poison."
Revis was shocked and flustered.
I kept explaining while drinking the potion Kikus had just handed me.
"I'd been thinking about it for a while. Just how far does an adventurer's [Resistance] ability actually go? What exactly is the standard for it?"
The [Resistance] ability, which most adventurers gain from Level 2 onward, is an essential ability for blocking the various poisons and abnormal effects of monsters starting from the middle floors.
But even adventurers with [Resistance] still feel the effects of potions and various medicines just fine.
What exactly does that mean?
"Strong medicine can sometimes become strong poison. On the flip side, the right poison can become a fine medicine depending on the situation. In the end, medicine and poison are separated by a single sheet of paper. And yet adventurers can't be affected by poison, but medicine still works on them. They drink alcohol and still get drunk. They have to suffer through hangovers until their livers naturally break down the alcohol. Isn't that strange? That's where my doubts—and my certainty—started."
The [Resistance] ability of adventurers isn't as perfect as people think.
There had to be some way to approach it from the side.
"So what exactly are the principle and the law behind it? I thought about it. It's probably a matter of degree—whether the body, or more precisely the cells in the body, are attacked by outside intrusion to some extent or not. So what I developed was this. It isn't poison, but it has effects similar to poison... in other words, you could call it a medicine with a rather severe 'side effect.'"
"Idiot...!"
"The name of that medicine is 'Sojaeji Jang No. 5.' Its effect is... roughly a combination of an anesthetic and a paralytic, just as you're feeling right now. What I originally wanted wasn't exactly that, but something more... to be precise, I wanted to temporarily disrupt and paralyze the signals transmitted from the brain to the various motor nerves. I figured that if it didn't damage the body itself, then the [Resistance] ability wouldn't activate, so I made it."
But when I actually made it, what came out was just an anesthetic with paralysis symptoms, nothing like what I'd imagined or hoped for.
After several experiments, the drug showed some effect on monsters on the surface as well as monsters in the Dungeon, but it didn't produce nearly the response I'd hoped for against high-level adventurers with [Resistance].
The cause was probably the difference between the source of their power, Falna, and magic stones.
My rough guess was that Falna protected adventurers more strongly and decisively than I'd expected, while magic stones were simply absorbed as nourishment because the drug's identity wasn't poison that would harm them.
Of course, even that was heavily affected by differences in constitution, so against stronger monsters the time lag was enormous.
In the end, this carefully made medicine of mine was a failure in many ways.
"So it didn't seem to do much to that guy earlier. But you're different, huh. Probably because you've lived in that body longer than he has? That body doesn't have even a shred of divine blessing left, so it's closer to a monster than an adventurer. That's why, the moment you ate the magic stone that had the drug soaked into it, the effect kicked in not long after."
"Kgh...!"
"Sigh, what a shame. Something I worked so hard to make turned out to be a failure after all. Sigh, maybe I really don't have any talent as a pharmacist. I still haven't even improved the side effects of the potions I made. Maybe next time I should just make a similar magic tool in an enchantment format..."
"H-hold on! Side effects?! What the hell did you feed us?!"
Oops, I'd made a slip right when things were going so well.
I felt a little guilty, but it was also true that thanks to me, nobody had died and they'd managed to hold out, so I decided to just keep my face thick-skinned.
What? What's the problem?
If you don't like it, puke it back up and just die already.
"Sigh. This mouth of yours really is the source of all evil, isn't it? Still, there's no need to worry too much, little palum. By tomorrow, even if you don't want to know, you'll know everything. Well, it's not like you'll die or be left with lasting damage, so don't be too scared."
"Who in the world wouldn't be scared after you say it like that?!"
"So what do you want me to do about it? If it weren't for that, you'd all have been dead long ago. If you hate something, fine, but at least admit what needs admitting. Right?"
"Y-you crazy psycho Magus...!"
The younger of the palum siblings looked at me with a disgusted expression.
But I only shrugged with an even prouder look on my face.
So what?
If it's good, then it's good.
As I always say... I'm definitely not the bad guy, okay?