Episode 4.5: Interlude – The Guardian
A certain party had reached the depths of the dungeon.
It was a dead end. There was no path continuing forward.
This was the 34th floor. If they had taken a different route, there would still have been paths leading downward, but this party had no intention of progressing any further. They planned to use this dead-end point as their turning point to head back.
The party consisted of five members—an average size for a student-adventurer group from Larva Academy. Three appeared to be frontliners: two wielding easy-to-handle longswords, and one carrying a shorter sword similar to a gladius. Another one stood in the mid-line, holding a thin spear with a wooden shaft—very light-looking, likely meant only for thrusting. And the last member, unlike the others who wore heavy armor, wore a blue tunic-like garment and only had a short knife hanging from the waist. Most likely, that last one was a Gift-user. Gift-users typically served as a rear guard, excelling in covering fire or holding the line. Though divine arts varied widely, long-range attacks were their specialty.
“Well then, let’s take a short rest here before heading back.”
The one who said that was a man with a red longsword and armor that gleamed even more brilliantly than the others’. He was likely their leader.
“I’m in favor—yeah, I’m good with that,” said the man with the spear, agreeing as he leaned against the dead-end wall and sat down.
His companions, smiling wryly at him, were just about to sit as well—when the ground suddenly shook.
A strong tremor.
It was a tectonic shift inside the dungeon.
All five steadied themselves, adjusting their stances and readying their weapons while keeping alert to their surroundings.
In the worst case, the floor could collapse and split the party apart.
No one wanted that.
But this time, nothing of the sort happened. Neither floor nor wall collapsed, and no monsters fell from the ceiling. The group assumed a different area must have caved in.
A few minutes later, the shaking subsided.
“Man…”
The spear-wielder, who had been half-crouched during the quake, let out a sigh of relief once it ended.
“All right, break time,” the leader called out, and each member began taking a seat where they pleased.
Then, as the spear-wielder sat down and leaned against the same wall as before—it happened.
The wall crumbled apart like it had been made of sand. Without the support he expected, the man smacked his back hard against the shifting pile of sand.
“Ow—what the hell…?”
Covered in sand, he showed his irritation, but when he realized his companions’ eyes were all fixed on him, he felt a bit embarrassed and started to scratch his cheek—only to notice they weren’t actually looking at him, but behind him.
He slowly turned around.
Behind him, a new darkness stretched out.
He couldn’t see the end.
It felt as though it might swallow him whole.
“This is…”
“—A new path,” someone murmured.
The dungeon was full of mysteries.
There were still undiscovered passages, unexplored rooms. Often, treasures lie in such places—rare metals like Hihiirokane, Orichalcum, gold, gemstones, of course, and sometimes even monsters carrying large crystal stones.
Some said such places held boundless dreams. Others said they concealed hell.
Just then, a gust of wind blew from deep within the darkness, brushing past the five.
The heat of battle still lingering on their bodies cooled slightly.
Then, near their feet, a faint light spread from within the depths.
It was a crystal.
Fresh air entering the once-sealed space caused the crystals to glow.
Red, green, blue. The three colors blended into a spectrum of shifting hues.
Dungeons were not entirely dark places. In large open areas with high ceilings, enormous flowers usually provided light, but tight spaces like this were different.
Here, crystals shone.
However, these crystals had no value. Few adventurers bothered to take them because once removed from the dungeon, their glow vanished instantly, turning a cloudy white. They were practically worthless as gemstones.
“What do we do?”
The gift-user spoke.
Sweat beaded on his face. His refined features looked like they’d normally attract women, but right now he was clearly tense. For an adventurer, opening up a new area was both a great honor and a thrill, yet considering their current equipment, unease lingered. Those two conflicting emotions were fighting inside him.
“We’ve got no choice but to go, right—?”
The spear-wielder licked his lips.
It was as if all his fatigue had vanished—he looked downright excited. His grip tightened around the spear, its shaft made of wood.
“Hold up. Let’s rest first,” said the woman with the slim longsword, stopping the spear-wielder who looked ready to charge ahead.
Her slender frame made her seem inexperienced as an adventurer, but she probably had some means of fighting. Even so, she looked too thin and lacking in stamina. In fact, as the party’s sole woman, her face was a bit pale.
“I think not going is also an option,” said the gladius-user. He sat cross-legged as he sipped his water little by little.
His expression was slightly gloomy, as if he didn’t particularly want to continue.
“What are you talking about? There might be treasures we’ve never seen waiting ahead!”
The spear-wielder tried to fire him up.
“That’s exactly why it’s dangerous.”
“What?”
“Places we’ve never seen are unknown territory for us. We’re not prepared for that right now. If anything unexpected happens, one of us could die.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“I obviously don’t want to die, and I don’t want any of you to die either.”
“Even so, you’re just gonna pass up this chance? We don’t know what’s ahead! Jewels, precious metals, rare metals—if we find good materials, our weapons get stronger. Stronger weapons mean we can reach lower floors. If we stay stuck at a place like this, we’ll be average in the academy at best. And if we wanna join a major organization someday, we need achievements—”
Most students, once they graduated from the academy, joined either the civilian adventurers’ guild or the kingdom’s military as knights.
Both required passing exams and were difficult to enter, but those who earned achievements in the academy could join and rise through the ranks without exams.
The spear-wielder was aiming for that.
The simplest ways to earn achievements at the academy were defeating powerful monsters, finding rare items, or delving to deeper floors.
He aimed for the deeper floors.
He wanted to use this newly discovered place as a stepping stone.
“…Your opinion isn’t changing, right?” asked the gladius-user, as if confirming.
“Yeah. Not changing.”
The spear-wielder nodded immediately.
“Then, leader—you decide.”
The gladius-user turned to the party leader.
At times like this, decision-making authority typically fell to the leader. It kept the party from splitting. If they used a majority vote, the minority would feel dissatisfied, or it would take too long, so even a slightly forceful decision from the leader was more practical.
“…Both of your arguments are valid. But I believe we should rest first. After that, we’ll proceed. We don’t know what dangers lie ahead, but it’d be a waste to let this chance slip by. And if anything seems even slightly abnormal, we turn back immediately. No objections, right?”
The other four nodded at the leader’s judgment.
After resting for a little over ten minutes, they formed their formation again and headed forward.
The crystals at their feet illuminated their path.
Fortunately, no monsters appeared—not a single one. Despite their vigilance, nothing came. No monsters emerged from ahead, and there was no sign of anything coming from behind. The sound of their footsteps echoed loudly through the floor. No one spoke, probably to avoid wasting strength.
The gladius-user walked at the front, eyes strained. The crystals were numerous, but each crystal’s light was weak, making it difficult to see far ahead. Their pace stayed slow.
The woman with the longsword was at the very back. Second from the front was the spear-wielder, the gift-user walked in the middle, and the leader was fourth.
Everyone watched their steps carefully, yet nothing changed. The passage twisted and turned. Several times, they came upon forks in the path.
And now—they arrived at another one.
“Leader?”
The gladius-user at the front turned back toward the leader behind him.
The path split into two.
Right or left.
Crystals continued down both sides.
“Left. We’re going left.”
At that moment, a breeze blew.
It came from the left.
A wind blowing from deeper inside meant the passage continued.
That’s why the leader chose left.
No one objected.
They carved a mark into the wall with a sword.
Then the five of them continued onward.
They faced that same kind of choice several more times.
How long had they been walking?
No one knew for sure.
Probably several dozen minutes.
They encountered countless junctions. Each time, they followed the path the wind beckoned them toward. Whether that guidance came from an angel or a devil, no one knew.
Still, they pressed deeper.
Eventually—they arrived at an open chamber.
“This place—”
The moment the gladius-user stepped in and instinctively shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness, he noticed something odd.
The smell of the air was different.
It smelled moldy, as if no one had entered for many years.
The floor was coated in dusty soil.
When the gladius-user stepped into the room, his shoe left a clear print in the dust.
“It’s a big room…”
The longsword-wielding woman entered second, leaving several more footprints. Soon the floor was filled with tracks—small ones, large ones.
This was a crystal chamber.
The walls were made entirely of hexagonal crystals, shining in seven colors. They grew in layered clusters like pillars. The room was bright—completely different from the dark corridors before. Yet no enemies were present. No signs of life. No presence at all.
“Hey. Look at that.”
The spear-wielder pointed toward the ceiling.
No luminous flowers grew there.
Instead, there were countless sharp, icicle-like cones.
There were so many—dozens, hundreds—almost enough to blanket the entire ceiling. Each one glimmered in seven colors. Some short, some long. But they weren’t ice, nor stalactites.
They were crystals.
And not ordinary ones.
Crystals normally only gave off faint light along the edges of passages. But these cones, too, were completely made of crystal, glowing with rainbow hues.
Even though crystals weren’t valuable outside the dungeon—since their light died and turned milky once removed—it was rare to see such a massive cluster since the main light source in dungeons was usually the glowing flowers.
“Wow, it’s beautiful… I’ve never seen anything like this…”
The woman with the longsword murmured in awe.
The room was beautiful.
Like a moment of healing in the earthy, oppressive dungeon.
A scenery none of them had ever witnessed.
“…It looks like the path continues ahead,” the gift-user said, pointing forward.
At the far end of the round chamber, a new black passage awaited.
And guarding that passage stood two stone statues.
One was already broken—its upper body gone, only the lower half remaining, positioned as if facing the other statue.
The other statue was almost completely intact.
It had a majestic appearance.
Not particularly tall—if it straightened its hunched back, it would stand around two meters. Its form resembled a human, standing on two legs. But more than that, it was closer to an orc—or perhaps a minotaur. Its limbs were rugged and longer than its torso, clearly not built for quadrupedal movement. Yet compared to orcs or minotaurs, its arms were thinner—maybe intentionally lightweight.
Because the statue had wings.
Bat-like wings, large enough that if spread fully, they’d exceed the width of two grown men, extended from its shoulder blades. Its four limbs existed apart from those wings. It had four fingers—three plus a thumb-like one.
And in its hands, held close to its body, was a single long spear.
It was a glaive, a type of spear.
Its blade was shaped like a short sword, similar to a gladius. A large, sharp, sword-like edge. It wasn’t a weapon meant solely for thrusting—its design allowed for slashing, stabbing, and other versatile uses.
However, because the blade was so large and extended the overall length, it was rarely used by adventurers.
“…What’s with that face?”
The spear-wielding man showed open disgust.
Two large horns jutted from the statue’s head like those of a bull.
Its face was goat-like, but black in color.
Its eyes were closed, yet the corners of its mouth curled upward slightly, and the fangs visible there were not those of a herbivore.
Its tail was thick and long, narrowing gradually toward the tip—but only the very end was swollen and heavy like a whip.
“Leader?”
The gladius-user, standing still in the chamber, looked toward the leader.
“…Let’s move on.”
Once the leader gave the order, the five returned to their formation and approached the stone statues.
That was when the gift-user noticed something strange.
One statue’s eyelids opened.
The red gemstone inside—glowing—shifted with a rolling, animalistic motion.
“Wait!”
His shout made the other four instantly freeze.
“What happened?”
The spear-wielder, who had been second in line, called out.
“Look carefully! That statue!”
All of them focused on it.
The statue began to tremble.
Bits of stone flaked off its surface, crumbling like a seal breaking after many centuries.
Beneath the stone shell was black skin.
It tightened its grip on the glaive held in both arms.
The wings that had been folded all this time spread wide.
It slowly lifted its head, rotating its neck as if gazing up at the ceiling.
Then, opening its mouth wide, it let out a roar.
It was a howl worthy of a demon.
“Everyone, take your positions!”
The leader shouted.
At that moment, tension snapped through all five of them.
They shifted into the formation they had prepared beforehand—spreading out in a semicircle around the gift-user.
In the center stood the gladius-user.
The longsword-wielder took position to his left, the other melee fighter to his right.
Behind them—directly in front of the gift-user—stood the spear-wielder.
The stone statue—the gargoyle—beat its wings once and rose into the air.
“—O god of ice.”
The gift-user aimed his staff at the airborne gargoyle and began his invocation.
With each word he spoke, power gathered into the short ceremonial staff held in his right hand.
“Grant strength to me, your pitiful lamb. Bestow upon me a spear, forged from the great natural world—sharp, cold, and above all, beautiful, like yourself. O god of ice, my beloved deity, thank you for granting me the spear of frost.”
The power of Hel, the ice god, descended upon the staff held by the gift-user.
Its blue-white glow intensified.
And then—a massive spear of ice, like a solid block, launched forth.
It struck the gargoyle—and shattered into mist.
The gargoyle in the air was engulfed by icy fragments and fog.
“Did… did it work…?”
The Gift-user spoke those words aloud—but he was naïve.
The gargoyle remained in the air exactly as it had been when it first awakened. There wasn’t the faintest trace of injury on it, nor was its body bent or distorted. It was completely unscathed. Then it opened its huge mouth and let out a deafening scream. Those crimson eyes regarded the five adventurers as if judging them to be enemies.
With its spear in hand, it plunged straight down toward the five.
And then it crashed down together with its glaive.
The glaive struck the gladius-user.
The gladius-user tried to block the glaive with his own weapon, but his gladius shattered like glass, and he was slammed into the ground headfirst.
But the adventurers were not the sort to be paralyzed by shock.
The leader moved immediately.
“《Era Voire》”
It was the leader’s sole One-Off Ability.
Its effect was to stretch only the time around himself. In other words, he could reach a future that would normally take several seconds in only about one second. Put simply, while everything else could only move for one second, the leader could act for several seconds’ worth in that same span.
However, the blade of his longsword sank only shallowly into the gargoyle’s skin.
No matter how fast he became, no matter how long his personal time extended, the sharpness of his sword did not increase. In short, the gargoyle’s skin was simply too tough.
“...《Era Voire》...”
He immediately tried to activate the ability again in succession, but the gargoyle spun once on the spot.
Its thick tail swept across the party.
The Gift-user, who had been positioned farther back and could see what was happening, barely escaped death by retreating while chanting a prayer to his deity.
First, the leader took the tail’s tip straight to the abdomen. Fortunately, he was wearing armor, so it wasn’t fatal, but nothing could soften the impact. With his stomach smashed in, he was blasted all the way to the crystal wall. The collision made the crystal wall groan slightly and shed a few beautiful fragments.
“《Espirau Clerao》!”
The heavily armored spear-user triggered the switch to his own ability and leaped into the air.
Holding his spear forward, he made the weapon shine a deep azure and descended upon the gargoyle from above like a falling star.
“《Glorioso Linha》!”
The female longsword-user dodged the gargoyle’s tail and shouted as she raised her sword overhead.
In that instant, the longsword in her hands blazed with light—like a sun suspended in the blue sky. Pure radiance. Against beings of evil—monsters—it was a decisive, lethal strike.
The spear-user’s blow and the longsword-user’s blow struck the gargoyle simultaneously.
And following up on that, the Gift-user dropped a massive block of ice from above the gargoyle’s head.
A three-person consecutive assault.
Especially with the Gift-user’s strike and the other two blows detonating at the same time, the area was swallowed in mist.
The leader, head throbbing after slamming into the wall, thought those three attacks must have defeated the gargoyle. He tried to stand, determined to hurry over and treat the gladius-user who lay on the floor covered in blood—but his expression slowly changed into despair.
The gargoyle emerged from the mist completely uninjured.
Its entire body had been shielded by its great wings.
Then it spread those wings with a violent snap.
The gust that erupted from that movement blasted the spear-user and the female swordfighter off their feet, sending them crashing to the ground. The still-prone gladius-user, of course, was sent tumbling across the floor.
The gargoyle let out another demonic roar, as if proclaiming its own might.
“Haaaaaah!! 《Era Voire》!!”
To protect his companions, to defeat the monster, the leader invoked his ability again and again. Normally, he would never use such a reckless number of activations. Because this ability, which forcibly stretches time, puts a tremendous strain on the body.
It is said to be two or even three times as taxing as normal movement.
He tried to activate it for the third time.
The gargoyle’s eyes gleamed ominously.
It soared upward, ready to intercept the leader who was now moving beyond human limits.
“What—!?”
The leader had no wings.
No matter how powerful his ability was, he could not reach the sky. He tried to leap toward the gargoyle on his own two legs, but sadly, 《Era Voire》 did not enhance physical ability; it only stretched time around him. It did nothing to improve his jumping power.
His sword, swung with all his might, sliced through empty air—while the gargoyle dove from above.
With a single strike of its glaive, the gargoyle shattered the leader’s helmet.
The leader was crushed face-first into the ground.
The Gift-user, who had been watching the scene from a distance, screamed as he activated his Gift.
Ice spears—and not just one. Five. He launched all of them toward the gargoyle. The gargoyle immediately noticed the attack and, flying low with its wings, closed the distance to the Gift-user at high speed.
The first ice spear struck the gargoyle. It remained uninjured.
The second ice spear hit. Naturally, the gargoyle was still uninjured.
Whether it was the third, the fourth, or the fifth—the gargoyle remained completely unscathed.
“O God… my god of ice… have mercy… upon us poor lambs…”
And then, overwhelmed by despair, the Gift-user was severed in half at the torso by the gargoyle’s glaive as he prayed.
“What… what is even happening…?”
A party well-known within the academy was annihilated in less than a minute.
The female swordswoman bit her lip hard at the sight. Gripping her longsword, she made to face the gargoyle to the bitter end—but the spear-user stopped her.
“Run!”
He stepped in front of her.
“Why!?”
“Even if the two of us fight it, the best we can do is die! So you run! I’ll follow right after!”
He spoke decisively in those few short words. His eyes fixed on the gargoyle burned with the flames of hatred.
“But… but—!”
“Just go already! You’re in my way!”
The spear-user roared at her.
The gargoyle, having just cleaved the Gift-user in two, slowly approached the spear-user on two legs, gripping its blood-soaked glaive in one hand.
The female swordswoman saw the spear-user smile in that moment. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned her back on him and ran.
A few seconds later, as she fled down the dungeon’s narrow corridor, she heard the spear-user’s scream.
And immediately after, she heard the gargoyle’s distant howl.
Tears streaming down her face, she bit her lip hard and forced her legs to run faster.
—The Guardian had awakened.
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