Chapter 3
Serpent God
Appears
Translator : PolterGlast
"Ouch-ouch."
It's already morning.
My neck and back are
sore from sleeping leaning against a tree.
For now, I'm going to
go to the next town, [Mithwin], because I might run into them again if I stay
in this town, [Sentegand]. And, who knows, people might look down on me because
I was kicked out of the party. I doubt they would listen to a word I had to
say.
"Shall I go
then?"
I got up and started
walking.
The shortest way to
get to the next town is to pass through the [Cave of Death] on the way. It
would take a week to get there if I detoured, but I could get there in a day if
I went through this cave, which can only be challenged by an S-rank party. It
is said that once one enters the cave, there is no way for one to return.
I'm going to go
through this place alone.
"It's been a long
time since I've been here, but it hasn't changed, huh?"
Yes, I had visited
this cave with those guys before. At that time, we had just advanced to A rank
and were in high spirits when we challenged this cave, but we completely
conquered it with my abilities.
Therefore, this place
is like a garden to me.
Kishishishishishishishishishi!
A centipede-like
creature appeared right away.
I look at the status
of the enemy through my ring.
The ring is a tool
provided to adventurers that allows them to check on the status of their
enemies.
──────────
Name: Great King
Centipede
Stamina: S
Physical Attack: B
Physical Defense: A
Magic Attack: S
Magic Resistance: B
Magic Power: S
Agility: A
──────────
It is a powerful enemy
that can destroy a party just by itself. When we encountered it before, Arnold
killed it instantly. Like this.
[≪Reversal≫]
I held my hand over
the centipede and chanted.
Then the status
changes.
──────────
Name: Great King
Centipede
Stamina: S → F
Physical Attack: B → D
Physical Defense: A → E
Magic Attack: S → F
Magic Resistance: B → D
Magic Power: S → F
Agility: A → E
──────────
Zubaaaa-! ! ! ! ! !
I cut its torso in
half with a wooden stick I had picked up earlier in the morning.
It moved even after
the body was detached, so I stabbed it until it was completely dead.
"Kobolds are
still a lot tougher."
Even an S-ranked
centipede is like a worm in front of me.
Without a single gasp,
I proceed further inside.
The walls are filled
with magic ore, so it's bright even in the cave.
I collect a few shards
because I am penniless.
I can sell them for a
lot of money.
Kushu~u~u~u~u~u~u~u~u~u~u!
This time I suddenly
hear something approaching with great momentum.
But it never reached
me. The speed of the attack is slowed down and the strength of the attack is
weakened by the ≪Inversion≫. The attack itself cannot be repelled, but it is
possible to kill the momentum of the attack.
I saw something like a
thread coming at me from all directions.
The strings of this
monster, which are said to reach the speed of sound, are just like jumping rope
for me now.
"Yotto!"
I jumped and easily
avoided them.
Five spider monsters
surrounded me. I remember Hauser wiping them out with his magic.
[≪Reversal≫]
──────────
Name: Venom Spider
(x5)
Stamina: A → E
Physical Attack: A → E
Physical Defense: A → E
Magic Attack: A → E
Magic Resistance: A → E
Magic Power: A → E
Agility: S → F
──────────
"You guys are all
too slow."
They sprayed poisonous
threads at me in rapid succession, but of course, they couldn't even graze me.
I beat them to death one by one. I don't know how many of them are out there,
but it doesn't matter to me.
"I'm about
halfway through. This is going well."
『……D……Ta…………Te……』
I heard something
coming from the depths of the cave.
It was different from
the creepy monster voice.
I searched for the
origin of the voice, relying on the faint echoes I could hear.
Was some evil spirit
on the rise?
『……Anyone……Please…………Help me……』
No, it was not an evil
spirit. It is a voice calling for help.
Judging from the tone
of the voice, it is probably a woman. And quite young at that.
How could she have
wandered into such a place?
"Is someone
there?"
I shouted loudly once.
It echoed loudly in the cave.
『……Here……Hurry…………Come……』
Without a doubt.
Someone has wandered into this cave.
She is still alive. It
is still not too late.
If so, I will save
her. Save the lives that can be saved.
That is my motto.
"Please wait!
I'll be right there!"
As I searched for the
faint voice, the voice gradually came closer and closer.
The voice seemed to be
coming from inside the wall.
Gigigigi.
I pushed on the wall,
and it easily collapsed, leading to another path.
"I didn't know
there was a hidden door. I didn't notice it the last time I came here."
"Somebody!
Somebody, please help me! ...... Ah, no!! Don't~~~!!!"
I could hear the
screams clearly now.
Something must be
attacking her. If I don't hurry--
Shi~i~i~i~i~i~！！！
Despite the emergency,
the monster attacked without regard. A huge snake stood in front of me. It was
the one that was about to attack Luxia when we came here before. At that time,
she was still a lovely girl.
No, there was no time
to think about such things.
[≪Reversal≫]
Slash~！！！！！
I cut it down to about
10 slices.
I'm in a hurry, so
please cut me some slack.
"Are you all
right!?"
I found myself in an
open space.
Then, I spotted a girl
hanging from the ground with her hands and feet tied up.
A creature is
approaching her.
"Oya, who are
you? How did you get here? I am about to enjoy this girl, you see. I won't
forgive you if you disturb me. Or better yet, I'll kill you right now!"
Judging from its
voice, it is probably a man, but it is a creature I have never seen before. The
upper half of his body is human, but the lower half is a snake. On top of that,
his long hair-like strands were moving. It was not hair strands, but snakes. He
looks a lot like a Medusa.
"What the hell
are you? You look creepy."
"C-, creepy, you
say!? Even I didn't become this way because I wanted to! I wanted to be more
beautiful and pretty. Despite that, you, you! I will never forgive you!"
"I see you have a
lot of things going on. I'm sorry if I hurt you. But that girl has nothing to
do with it. Please release her peacefully- ...... Wait. What the hell are you
doing out of the blue?"
The hair snakes
stretched out and attacked me, but I could easily dodge them. He seemed to be
able to understand me, so I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen to
me.
Then, should I just
kill it? I'm sure there will probably be a quest to kill this thing, and if
it's a demon, I'm not going to give it any mercy.
"You see, I love
messing up a girl's beautiful face!"
The creature, having
completely lost its cool, crawled toward me, screaming.
"You sure have a
weird hobby."
"I am Belluja,
the Serpent God, one of the Demon Lord Army's high-ranking officers! I will
kill you and mess you up!"
──────────
Name: Belluja
Stamina: S
Physical Attack: SS
Physical Defense: A
Magic Attack: S
Magic Resistance: A
Magic Power: S
Agility: S
──────────
SS rank and also a high-ranking
officer, huh .......
Oh well, I'll manage.
I confronted the Demon
Lord's Army high-ranking officer, who seemed to be called the Serpent God, with
a wooden stick in my hand.