Episode 18 – Heart IV
The moment Bramia locked eyes with the insect, he didn’t even wait for Nada’s support. As if warming up, he charged straight at it.
The silver longsword in Bramia’s hands measured roughly eighty centimeters, yet due to his Ability—Cautiverio Zero—it had no weight. He handled the blade as if it were a feather.
Because of that, Bramia leapt toward the horse-like body. Rather than aim for its legs, he took advantage of his lightness and extended his blade to stab into the back of the creature’s equine half.
Unlike the heavy, sweeping motions required to swing Nada’s Green Dragon Crescent Blade, Bramia’s blade moved like wind—fast and weightless.
The insect avoided Bramia’s strike with the swift agility of its horse legs.
The moment Bramia’s boots touched the floor, he sprang again, closing the distance.
This time, the insect didn’t dodge. As though intent on countering, it planted itself directly before Bramia, receiving the silver blade with the shield that was its left arm. Perhaps Bramia’s sword speed had been too fast; its defensive stance lagged for a heartbeat, and its legs shifted slightly backward. Even so, the insect held firm with its four legs and attempted to immediately counter by using its full weight to crush Bramia along with his own blade.
But Bramia seemed to anticipate that and lightly kicked back, leaping away.
The insect wouldn’t let him escape. It instantly lowered its stance and extended its lance-like right arm. Bramia stepped back once more and slipped past it. The creature then kicked off the floor with its horse legs, extending the reach of that lance thrust.
Bramia brushed the lance’s path slightly aside with his silver sword, then dodged in the opposite direction. Immediately after, he created distance and moved to a position closer to Nada.
Nada and Bramia stood side by side, facing the insect. Both men glared, neither yielding an inch. At that moment, Amarelo arrived to join them.
“Hey, hey, what do you think you’re doing here now?”
Bramia was the one who spoke.
Even so, he was breathing slightly heavier from the brief exchange moments earlier.
“Bramia-dono seemed to be struggling, so I came to assist. Saving people may not be my true calling—monster slaying suits me far better.”
Amarelo had already drawn his blade. His gaze didn’t drift toward Nada or Bramia. It was fixed solely on the insect.
“But how do we take it down? That thing is tougher than expected,” Nada said as he kept his eyes on the unmoving insect, speaking to the two who stood ahead of him.
Nada’s impression of the insect was that it was one of the most troublesome monsters he had ever encountered. Even including his days in Aghiya, where he had once fought stray dragon-like creatures, this insect’s toughness was about equal.
Neither his kukri nor Solideum could inflict lethal damage. Only the Green Dragon Crescent Blade could stand against it—but due to its height, like that of a horse, it made it difficult to aim for any it's vital points, and only the leg area could be targeted reliably.
“My blade may be fine craftsmanship, but against that thing, I can barely scratch it unless I strike the gaps in its joints…”
Amarelo recalled his earlier clashes.
It became clear: the enemy was neither horse nor human—it was a true insect. Its exoskeleton was hard, and its weaknesses were few.
Would stabbing the lungs kill it? The heart? The liver? Even if so, where were those organs located inside a creature that fused horse and human anatomy? Amarelo had no idea.
And above all, insects possessed far greater vitality than humans.
He remembered from his childhood, back in his hometown, insects that continued to move even after losing their heads. Was the creature before them the same? If so, cutting off its head wouldn’t guarantee victory.
“The weak point of a monster is its Calvaon, yeah? The problem is… where the hell is it?”
Bramia muttered.
Indeed, if one extracted a monster’s Calvaon, it would die. But that was easier said than done. Most monsters kept their Calvaon near the heart—yet this creature had both a horse torso and a human torso. Which half contained its heart?
At some point, a new suspicion formed—did this insect even possess a heart in the first place?
“Well… if we tear it to pieces, I bet it’ll die,” Nada said. He had already lost all interest in analyzing its anatomy.
Dungeon monsters often defied the logic of the surface world. Thinking too seriously was pointless.
“Then I agree. For now, let’s just rip this damn insect apart,” Amarelo tightened his grip on his blade, eyes locked on the creature.
He needed to stop it from reaching Dan, who was treating Serena, while also searching for an opening to strike.
And deep within him burned humiliation—his proud sword strike had earlier been blocked by nothing more than a single horn. He refused to let that stand.
“Cheh… now I see your brains really are the size of small animals. But fine—I’ll go along with it,” Bramia said.
Even though he’d only tasted a few exchanges with the insect, he understood enough: the usual logic used to fight monsters didn’t apply here.
Facing a monster like this, you couldn’t afford to be arrogant enough to think you could beat it alone, nor did the foolish option of an adventurer running away from a monster even exist. And so the conclusion naturally lined up with what Nada and Amarelo had already reached.
No one said anything. Yet somehow, the three of them—Nada, Amarelo, and Bramia—briefly exchanged glances.
Then Nada, holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, was the first to move.
Nada didn’t do anything special.
He didn’t charge, nor did he circle around to flank the creature.
He just walked straight toward it from the front. His steps were slow and light, like he was taking a casual stroll through the neighborhood.
The insect, sensing something off about Nada’s approach, didn’t rush him or thrust its lance. Instead, it stayed where it was and shifted its right hind leg as if preparing to spring.
Nada continued forward at that same unhurried pace.
But the instant he stepped into the range of the creature’s lance, his speed shot up. He raised the crescent blade in one motion and swung directly at the monster head-on.
The insect had expected this and easily blocked the strike with the shield that formed its left arm.
But that was exactly what Nada wanted.
As though they had been waiting for this perfect moment, Bramia and Amarelo moved in at the same time.
Amarelo had started moving first, but the first one to launch a direct assault was Bramia.
“UOOOORAAAHHH!”
Naturally, Bramia’s target was the creature’s left side—the side blocked from its vision by its own shield. With a shout, he put strength into his core and gripped his silver sword with both hands.
The insect heard the shout and tried to counter the incoming attack, but its shield arm was already locked in combat against Nada’s crescent blade. In truth, with the creature’s weight pressing down from above, it probably had the advantage, but that difference was negligible here—the shield wouldn’t make it in time to block Bramia's attack.
Realizing this, the monster tried to shove Nada aside and pull its upper body back to evade, but Nada clung on with desperate strength. Still, a human couldn’t hope to match the raw horsepower of a creature supported by four legs. Nada was shoved aside almost immediately.
Just as Bramia’s blade grazed the humanoid torso’s flank, a new blade descended upon the creature.
“Shh—!!”
This one belonged to Amarelo—an attack from above. Of course, he too aimed for the left side, where the shield was.
It was the same aerial tactic he’d failed at earlier. This time, he intended to seize victory with it.
The insect tried to block the iai-style lightning strike with its shield—
“No, you don’t—!”
But Nada braced himself once more. Summoning every last ounce of strength, he forced the crescent blade upward, restraining the shield’s movement for a moment. He couldn’t keep it up for long—within seconds, the monster pushed him down, its bulk slamming into his abdomen and sending him rolling across the floor.
Amarelo saw this and allowed a slight grin. Thanks to Nada, he had the moment he needed.
His target was only one spot.
Not the head encased in its impenetrable armor. Not anywhere on the torso.
He aimed for the joint of the left arm—the one that transformed into the shield. Because it had to move, its armor was thinner than the rest.
With needle-threading precision, Amarelo guided his blade toward the vulnerable point.
The insect couldn’t dodge the attack.
“Tch—!”
But even then, Amarelo’s sword didn’t sever its arm. The blade had stabbed into the joint, but only by about the depth of a fingernail before it stopped. He hadn’t managed to cleave it.
Still hanging in midair, Amarelo braced himself and pushed, but the insect’s metallic, gleaming arm didn’t budge an inch.
“You goddamn piece of filth—!!”
Seeing the monster halt its movement, Bramia followed up with another attack. His body was nearly weightless thanks to his Ability, so he ran straight up the hard armor of the horse-like legs as though they were steps, springing onto the back. From there, he kicked off the equine section and sprinted up the humanoid torso.
Bramia was aiming for the insect’s head.
But the creature didn’t bother to evade. Bramia’s sword struck the crown of its head—and only scratched the surface of the armor before being deflected. If this had been a being with a brain like a human’s, the impact alone might’ve caused a concussion and stopped it. But insects have no brain.
The insect didn’t even look at Bramia.
As if the strike had been meaningless, it simply swung its large left arm, trying to tear Amarelo off. The motion forced Bramia to break away, and he leapt back. Amarelo clung on while being yanked violently, still trying to cut through the arm, but the creature’s lance shot toward him.
He tried to retreat immediately, but the sword stuck in the joint wouldn’t come free. Making a split-second decision, Amarelo let go of his blade entirely and jumped away. The moment his feet hit the floor, he drew his last remaining weapon, a wakizashi, and held it in his right hand.
The insect, with the blade still stuck in its left arm, charged with its lance.
Its target was Amarelo, who was the closest.
Amarelo, still unable to fully regain his stance and with one knee on the ground, saw the lance thrust toward him.
“—Ghh!”
He rolled out of the way, barely dodging the incoming lance, but one of the creature’s hooves grazed his side as he did, tearing his kimono and leaving a bruise on his abdomen.
The insect’s next target after its lance charge was Bramia.
Bramia’s stance was perfect. He had more than enough distance to dodge; he could clearly see the insect’s movements, and unlike Nada or Amarelo, he hadn’t taken any damage yet. He could not only deal with the insect’s attack, but also aim for a counterstrike.
“Tch—”
But Bramia clicked his tongue.
It was certainly easy for him to survive the insect’s attack—if he were the only one.
—If only Dan and Serena weren’t behind him.
Lowering his stance slightly, Bramia raised his silver sword while keeping his eyes fixed on the insect charging at him.
How easy would it be if I could just run away from this?
As he thought that, a helpless smile slipped onto his face.
To Bramia, Dan, and Serena, and even Nada and Amarelo, weren’t his precious party members. They were simply comrades he had cooperated with to escape from inside the dragon. There was no reason for him to risk his life here.
Even if he abandoned the two of them now, Bramia somehow knew that neither Nada nor Amarelo would blame him.
“But—doing that would make me a disgrace of a man, wouldn’t it?”
He had seen Nada earlier—standing firm to protect Amarelo and Serena, who required treatment. He had seen that resolve.
If a giant on the level of Vinya risked his life to protect people who weren’t even his party members… how could Bramia run away now? His pride wouldn’t allow it.
And besides, one more reason he couldn’t run—when he had wandered the inside of the dragon with Dan earlier, Dan had saved his life.
“Come on then! You damn insect!!”
Lowering his stance further, Bramia waited for the insect to charge.
The insect came straight at him, without tricks, its lance firmly set at its side.
When the massive lance got close enough, Bramia shifted his body a half-step out of the line of fire and brought his silver sword down with all his strength, striking the lance from above. The lance’s trajectory shifted downward, and the sharp tip plunged into the dragon’s flesh.
Bramia immediately transitioned into a chain-attack stance.
Taking advantage of the insect’s opening, he rushed underneath from the front and thrust upward into its lower abdomen. Compared to its head or upper body, the armor there was thinner, and though shallow, the sword managed to pierce it. Acid spurted out onto his flame-like tattoos, sizzling into his flesh, but he didn’t even flinch as he drove his blade deeper.
Little by little, the sword sank in.
The insect, still with its lance stuck in the dragon’s flesh, bucked wildly like a rodeo to shake Bramia off. Thanks to that recoil, the lance eventually came free of the floor. The insect then bolted across the dome, dragging Bramia along.
Bramia held desperately onto the sword’s hilt with both hands, but as he was dragged face-first across the dome at full speed, he couldn’t endure the force and eventually lost his grip.
He was flung aside and tumbled across the floor, caught by the insect’s legs as he rolled.
“Dammit…!”
He cursed, but the damage from being dragged left him unable to stand.
The insect immediately tried to trample him. Bramia, lying on his back, tried to dodge the incoming hooves, but with each repeated stomp attempt, his body was steadily worn down.
Once Bramia could no longer move properly, the insect, as if waiting for that moment, readied its lance and took aim.
“—Shh!”
Flat on his back, Bramia could clearly see the glowing spear tip.
He couldn’t dodge anymore.
He shut his eyes, ready for death—when a “black sphere” flew toward the insect.
Sensing the danger, the insect abandoned its attack on Bramia and dodged.
No impact came.
Bramia slowly opened his eyes—and saw two familiar faces.
“—Are you okaaaay?”
The lazily drawn-out, carefree voice belonged to Clarisse, recognizable by the tear-shaped mole under her eye, and—
“—Finally caught up with you. And hey, weren’t we right on time?”
Corvo, with the deep scar that looked like his cheek had been split open, stood beside her.
Bramia stared at the two with wide eyes, then clicked his tongue loudly.
“You’re late, you idiots! If you were coming, you should’ve come way earlier!”
“Eeeeh? What’s with that? We came all this way to save you, you know—” Clarice puffed out her lips in dissatisfaction at being yelled at despite rescuing him.
Corvo gave her a wry smile, then turned his gaze to the insect, which had taken some distance from all the adventurers.
“Yeah, sorry about that, Bramia. We had our own troubles, too. Anyway… I don’t know the details, but we just have to kill that thing, right?”
As if responding to Corvo’s voice, the insect let out a violent tremor and screamed.
Its cry was like the birth-wail of chaos crawling out of hell, and every adventurer in the dome grimaced at the sound.
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