50 Cockatrice garden (2/2)

'Oh no!　Cockatrice, run!

Sister Kayna shouts.

I see a huge body that looks like a cockatrice from the distance.

The cockatrice is on a rampage, spitting out a gray mist. What the cockatrice is spitting out must be petrifying poison. If you touch that fog, it will turn to stone.

I've seen cockatrices from afar in the past, but this is the first time I've seen them this excited.

Maybe it's the fact that so many goblins have suddenly entered the room that's making him upset.

The cockatrice is coming straight at us. Naturally, we run away too.

''Kyah!''

Maddy!

But Maddy falls down.

'd*mn it!

Novice returns and confronts Cockatrice.

In the meantime, he wakes Maddy up.

The cockatrice is twice my size.

'Ha!

Novis wields his sword. He tries to keep it from going to Maddy.

Sister Kayna swings her spear and tries to get rid of the cockatrice.

Nora rounds the cockatrice's head with her bow.

'Everyone stand back!

I scream out loud.

Then the cockatrice opens its mouth wide.

And a gray mist is spat out of the cockatrice's mouth.

It is a petrifying poison. If you are exposed to that fog, your body will become hard as a stone.

Firewall!

Novice magically creates a wall of fire to counteract the petrification poison.

The petrification poison is extinguished by the wall of fire.

”Heh, how about this!

Novis laughs.

'No! Novis, run!

I scream, but not in time.

The cockatrice comes rushing in, ignoring the wall of fire.

The cockatrice is resistant to fire. It shouldn't be a good match for Novice, who is good at fire magic.

And the feathers are hard and difficult to attack. That's why it's difficult to hurt them with a sword.

The cockatrice's weakness is water. This monster beast is extremely reluctant to get wet. That's why they are safe on rainy days.

d*mn!

A body hit by the cockatrice sends Novis bouncing away.

'Are you okay, Novis?'

I run over to Novice.

The cockatrice comes over to me.

'How dare you, Novis!

Sister Kayna steps forward with her spear at the ready.

'Darkness!

Madia blocks Cockatrice's vision with her dark magic. This will keep her safe for a while. Also, once the petrifying poison is vomited, it should take some time before it is vomited again. We must escape during this time.

''Ha!

Nora will cover us with her bow to keep us from turning around.

Meanwhile, Mr. Leiria and I are going to call on Mr. Novis.

”I'm sorry, I made a mistake.

Novis says weakly. His right leg is white and hard.

It looks like he was touched by the petrifying poison when he was hit by the body.

'Mr. Leiria, detoxify him!

But Leiria-san shook her head.

''It's impossible with my healing magic ....... We'll have to carry it and run away.''

I get it!

I try to wake Mr. Leiria and Novice up.

'What are you doing!　Leave me and get out of here as fast as you can!

Idiot!　There's no way I'm leaving you behind!

Cockatrice has lost her bearings with Maddy's magic. But Maddie's magic can't last forever. We must hurry and run.

Que-----!

When the cockatrice rages, the darkness over the cockatrice clears.

Then the cockatrice sees us and comes towards us.

We can't do it in time.

That's when I thought that.

Ha!

Someone goes over our heads and swings a sword at the cockatrice.

The cockatrice, which has lost its head, falls straight down and cannot move.

'Are you alright, Sizfe?'

Master Raige!

It was Rage-sama who jumped in. Rage-sama looks at me and smiles briskly.

''Wow, I didn't know cockatrice was a blow. ...... This is the brave man of light.''

Madia mutters.

I, too, think it's great to see the body of the cockatrice that lost its head.

Then, the wise men come from the direction that Rage-sama came from.

''Are you okay?''　You look like you're hurt.

The saintly lady comes to see Novis fall down.

Then she touches Novice's petrified feet. The place you touch glows a little.

'Huh?　I'm cured.

Novice's feet are back on the ground.

'I never thought I'd see this coming. ...... This is a long way off.'

Sage-sama mutters.

'I'm sorry!

I bow to Rage-sama and the others.

'Hey, what's up with you all of a sudden?'

Reno-sama asks.

'No, I said the only surface part is the cockatrice: ...... its .......'

'Oh, the thing ....... It's not your fault. It was something out of the ordinary that happened. And I should have expected it when goblins got in here in droves.

The wise man will forgive me.

''Oh yeah, you don't have to worry about that, Sizfe. Well, there doesn't seem to be any other traps, so we'll take care of the rest.

With that, Rage-sama and the others moved on.

We had no choice but to see them off.

''What the hell is that ...... too awesome, huh?

Novis muttered.

Rage-sama's movements were amazing. No matter how many magical weapons he had, he couldn't move like that.

And the cockatrice is a pretty strong demonic beast. He defeated it with a single blow. You don't have to be Novice to think it's amazing.

It's a reminder that there's an upside to this world.

You're strong ....... And the woman you're with is an amazingly beautiful woman.

Nora mutters. It's true that I was only looking at Rage-sama, but again, looking back, they're all amazingly beautiful.

Novis, for example, was admiring the saintly lady who fixed his leg.

'She's definitely an amazing beauty. ......

I mumble too. There's no room for me in that one.

''You're really amazing mu ...... beautiful,''

Novis mutters beside me. Didn't you just try to say breasts?

Then I notice that Novis is looking at my chest.

'Hey, who are you comparing me to!

Who am I comparing myself to at all? There's no way I'm a match for the saint.

What the hell do you think you're doing to Her Ladyship in the first place?

No, no, ...... I just wish there were more of them.

Novis laughs and says something rude. 'I could punch you in the face.

'Oh come on, Novis. Why don't you make it bigger?

Sister Kayna says, hugging me and Novice from behind.

'Wait, sister Kayna!

I'll protest to my sister Kayna.

I don't want this guy to make it big, even if it's Lady Rage, but I don't want him to make it big.

'Good, all right. I'll take care of it.

Then he raises his hands and makes a gesture as if he were rubbing something.

'What the hell were you thinking!　You are--!

I slap Novice.

My friends laugh at that.

Since it's after Rage-sama and the others have passed, there are no more demons around.

We followed after Rage-sama.

◆Chiyuki, the black-haired wise man

How did you do, Nao?

I asked Nao, who had taken a look at the surface of the ground.

”I didn't see any sign of anyone on the surface.

But Nao shakes her head.

There are many buildings on the surface of the ground. When the Minotaur ruled over this place, it must have been quite a 'no' city.

But now it is a ruin. Many of the buildings have been destroyed, and I've heard that there's no sign of any humanoid race other than goblins.

As I suspected, the people who were taken away seem to be underground. What should we do now?

Half of the freedom fighters have already dropped out.

If it was just the goblins, they wouldn't cause so much damage.

But the sudden arrival of a large number of goblins made the cockatrices excited and rampant.

The cockatrices were attacking the goblins on the surface of the ground in order to get rid of them. We came to the labyrinth when we were in such a state. This is why so much damage was caused.

They were only a limp as Nao had to do the search alone. I want them to be useful underground.

The petrified freedom fighters are being healed by Sahoko's magic.

And we are in a huge building in the center of the surface portion of the ground.

In front of us there is a staircase that leads to the basement. It looks like we can go underground from here.

I'm sorry to come back so soon, Nao-san. Do you know how many people have passed through here?

I say and Nao looks at the floor.

'I'm sure. It looks like a lot of people have passed through here a while ago. There is no doubt that the people of Pasipaea have been taken underground.

'So ...... then let's go inside. Sisyphe, are there dangerous demons like cockatrice in the basement too?

I ask Sisyphe.

''No, Sage. ...... There aren't many dangerous demons on the basement floor. There are only giant bats, giant rats, and a few weak undies.

Sisyphe replies timidly.

'Yes. Come to think of it, I heard it's a maze from underground, do you have a map?'

Yes, sir.

When I ask, Sisyphe takes the map he had prepared from his backpack and hands it to me.

There are four maps. It shows how to get from the basement floor to the fourth floor. By the way, it is not possible to find out anything below the 5th floor.

This map seems to have been issued by the Freedom Fighters Association.

I've heard that the person who explores and reports an unexplored place will be given a reward. This is how it seems that the map is updated from time to time.

'There seems to be some gaps in the map, what does that mean?

'There's a dangerous trap in there: ....... We don't know what exactly is going on inside.

I see.

I think. Can we break through that trap? That will get us downstairs faster.

'By the way, what traps have you found out about them?

'Yes, sir. Well, first of all, this big blank space is going to have a lot of bugs in it.

The bug?

'Yes, the one who went inside was eaten with half his body, and what a way he got out. He died soon afterwards, but at the intervals he gave them some idea of what was going on inside.

Then he tells me what the bug was. It seems that the Freedom Fighters Association publishes it, and all freedom fighters seem to know about it.

Sizfe says that the insects seem to have a rather unpleasant shape.

I look at Sahoko, Nao and Reno. They all have their arms crossed. I feel the same way.

Then I look at Rage.

'We'll take a detour, Rage. Mr. Sisyphe, I'll need your guidance.

Zarxys, the god of death.

'Looks like we're here, Lavrus.

You're right, Zarxys.

Lavrus laughs as he says this.

'There's only this Zarxis and Lavrus in the throne room on the thirteenth level.

We just need to get them to the fifth level and they'll be perfect. If we lock them in that cage, they won't be able to escape.

Those who proceed normally will not be able to proceed beyond the fifth level. And the fifth level is a prison. It is designed to lock up anyone who comes in.

There is no way to get below the sixth level without using a special method. If you don't notice it at the first level, you won't be able to reach the 13th level forever.

”Kuh-uh. Just wait and see, Raina. I'm going to get it for you.

Lavrus laughed as he drooled.