Chapter 70: Lola Of The Maniacal Floor III & IV (1/2)

<Lola Of The Maniacal Floor III>

My feet only have to last until I reach her. It doesn’t matter even if my heart bursts. Following the path indicated by the A.I., I ran forward holding a forlorn light.

The heat from my body and the screams of my muscles feel distant.

If I can save her, I’ll give everything.

My god.

Misuranika-sama.

I offer you my life.

Please, hear my wish.

Let me save Rana.

I’ll make any sacrifice.

I wished, prayed, and drew my hunting knife.

There was an『Eye』in front of me. One of its legs was crushed. It had been unable to converge on the sound if the explosion like the rest because of it.

I dived under the nails it swung upwards and thrust the hunting knife into the『Eye』’s throat. Due to my momentum, the feel of its flesh was thin, and I felt the sensation of the knife piercing through bone. I pulled it out violently and its head separated from its torso.

It’s the first time I had defeated a monster directly.

I didn’t feel moved by it.

I don’t have the time to feel such things.

Without letting my momentum die, I ran on.

No matter how many corners I turned, or how far I had run, I ran following Yukikaze’s instructions, killing anything in my way. Those were the only thoughts in my head as I raced forward.

I ran.

I defeated enemies.

By no means was it anything beyond the level of an ordinary person, but the days I had lived in the alternate world had trained me up.

I don’t have the time to feel happy.

The time for rejoicing is after I’ve saved Rana.

『Enemy group, 35 in number. Steer clear』

「Tch」

I clicked my tongue and hid in a corner of the passageway as I looked at the enemy markers.

The『seedlings』ran right past me like a horde of running zombies.

My heartbeat drummed loudly in my ears.

Sweat broke out all over my body because my body had come to a stop.

I could hear the sounds of the party fighting in the distance.

『Relative distance to enemies, 50 meters. It’s alright now』

Rana's location had stopped moving.

She was less than 200 meters from where I was. In a final spurt, I ran,

Or rather, I was going to run, but……

「Yukikaze, what is this?」

……I was brought to a halt before I got very far.

The passageway was blocked off ahead of me. It was a dead end.

『This is the path the tracer attached to madam took. Yukikaze believes the enemy had passed through here』

I put my hands on the wall.

I struck the wall hard with the handle of my hunting knife. It was unusually hard. There wasn’t even a scratch on it. Impatience coursing through me, I knocked on the wall, looking for secret passageways or hidden mechanisms.

Nothing.

I couldn’t find anything.

「Shit!」

In a fit of anger, I punched the wall.

The skin on my knuckles tore and blood seeped out.

A way, is there a way? Or a method? There must be something.

「………Yukikaze, activate the pulse and analyze the structure of the dungeon」

『The pulse attracts certain monsters. It’s extremely dangerous』

「Hurry up!」

『Yukikaze……understands. ………Functionality has been disabled as this is a restricted area. The pulse scan cannot be used』

「What did, you say?」

Is it a malfunction? Yukikaze had said something incomprehensible.

「Just an optical analysis of the surface is enough. There must be a secret passageway! Hurry up! Anything is fine, do something!」

『Understood』

I lost my balance and I placed my hand on the wall to steady myself. My head was spinning and I was feeling irritated. My impatience was making me feel nauseous. My body was clammy with cold sweat.

My hand slipped, and I had a feeling that something was off.

I wiped the wall using my poncho.

A pattern that had been obscured by dust and grime emerged.

I had uncovered a magic array.

No, that wasn’t what it was.

「Cos…………Cosmo, graphia?」

That was written in big letters below a circle with patterns drawn inside it. Those words had been exposed to the elements for an untold amount of time, were chipped and crumbling, but they were written in ”English”.

『There is data that matches the diagram. It’s a structural drawing of the universe from the 15th century mathematician, Petrus Apianus's book「Cosmographia」』[1]

Yukikaze gave an explanation. I wiped the wall some more and removed more dust.

There was something that looked like a small information plate. The letters had crumbled so much that I couldn’t read them by eye.

「Yukikaze, can you read them?」

The mini・pod’s analysis laser traced the letters on the plate.

『There are many places where the words have completely disappeared』

「Read it」

What is this.

Why is something like this in the alternate world? It’s no use. I don’t have the time now to rack my brain over such things. I have to find a clue for how to proceed on from here.

『Note: Displayed here is XXXX of our great ancestor XXXX. XXXX was definitely not mistaken in his beliefs. XXXX universe is, in other words, XXXX scope of what we can perceive XXXX. XXXXXXX endless darkness. XXXX in order to find the light, our XX sails XXXX』

That's all, said Yukikaze.

I wiped the sweat off my brow.

「Anything else?」

『There’s nothing else. How―――ever, the structure of the wall is―――――an inviolable domain, ……’s………la…………』

「Yukikaze?」

Her voice was filled with static.

I opened my eyes to the despair from the possibility of a malfunction after reaching this point.

『Souya-san, please take out Yukikaze’s core・unit. Put it in the center of the structural drawing――』[2]

The voice was cut off, and the upper lock of the mini・pod released on its own.

I had no time to be befuddled.

I followed Yukikaze’s instructions and pulled out the cylinder containing the pseudo-aqueous-brain.

Perhaps it was the life activity of the A.I., but there were electrical flashes of light in the liquid. It looked almost like stars shining in the night sky.

I brought the core closer to the structural drawing of the universe.

A hole opened up in the center portion of the structural drawing. It was just the right size for putting the core in.

There was no time for hesitation.

I inserted the core into the hole. Lights spread out and lit up the diagram. The core in the center shone with the same color as a familiar blue planet.

I heard a rumble.

A thick door slid to one side. The door that had kept on deceiving adventurers had opened.

Before me, the passageway continued further.

「Can you hear me, Yukikaze?」

『Yes, functionalities have been synced with the device. No problem』

Yukikaze’s voice came from my glasses.

「Let Otou-san know the location. I’m going ahead. You stay here and keep this open」

『It’s dangerous. Yukikaze believes that it would be wiser to wait for the party to join you before proceeding』

「You’re asking the impossible」

I stepped forward regardless.

It was different from the other passageways. The deterioration of the stone walls and floor was minimal. Perhaps there were more Shogaku stones in them, but it was bright enough for me to see even without a lantern.

I could see, but I didn't have a map.

Rana’s location was displayed, but the structure of the dungeon wasn’t.

She was 180 meters away as the crow flies.

However, the structure here was quite complicated. There were many dead ends. I was unable to head straight for my destination.

And, there were『seedlings』.

I saw an『Ear』in the middle of a crossroads.

I held my breath and approached it. Throwing a pebble that I had picked up, I made the『Ear』turn its back to me. I stabbed the hunting knife, which I held backhanded, into its left shoulder.

I put my weight on it, and the blade reached its heart. I twisted the blade to ruin the organ. The『Ear』reached both hands out for something. I pushed it down, and then cut off its head just in case. I had placed the blade against its neck and stepped down on the back of the knife with my foot.

I had killed it.

There were no enemies around.

As far as I could tell using my unskilled senses.

Keeping my footsteps silent, I pressed on as fast as I could.

I came across a room with a broken door. Inside it were objects similar to those from modern civilization.

I don’t have the time to look through them carefully. I can investigate them as much as I want later.

Right now, for every step, quickly, quietly, steadily, I’m straining and using every bit of my senses.

Killing them as quickly as possible. That’s the only move I have. If there is one by itself, I can manage somehow. If there are two or more of them, there’s nothing I can do.

I’ll die if I’m found.

It’s fine if it’s only me that dies.

To begin with, I don’t see any value in my own life. However, my death might result in Rana’s rescue not being in time.

I can't die no matter what it takes.

That’s why, I’ll kill you no matter what it takes.

I killed the eighth『seedling』I had encountered. Miraculously, my surprise attacks had all been successful. It fell far short of their true essence, but I had been able to copy Otou-san’s techniques.

Rana was 50 meters away.

I came out into a wide passageway. I would probably arrive at her location if I advanced down this passageway.

I slowed my ragged breathing.

Even though they’re small humanoid monsters and I had taken them down through surprise attacks, piercing their flesh, bones and hearts, and then cutting off their heads is exhausting work.

The pressure of not being allowed to fail. Straining all of my senses also chips away at my stamina. Many parts of my body are screaming from using unfamiliar techniques.

My side is twisting up in pain.

My heart feels like it’s about to burst.

But so what?

Not even one of my limbs have been wrenched off.

I only need to hang on until this day is done. I’ll bury everything using my willpower. I’ll stamp down the wounds and the pain.

I can go on.

I can still fight.

I can hear the sound of my heartbeat and the patter of feet.

A『Mouth』appeared around a corner.

Run.

I ordered my body to run forward.

I decapitated it before it could start chanting.

I can go on.

My techniques have been getting sharper since coming here. But this is a last hurrah before the end. It’s the flame of a dying candle just before it goes out.

It won't last long. I’ll go on without stopping. Every second counts.

Fast and quick, but quiet and silent. I’ll consume my life to get even one step closer to the pinnacle.

Like a murderous beast that devours its enemies without sound.

Just like Lola,