Arifureta Chapter 137 (1/2)
The last of the seven great labyrinths, The Cave of Ice and Snoas like a house of mirrors
The passage inside this large labyrinth was a considerable area, large enough for ten people to stand side by side The walls made from ice possessed the transparency of crystal Thanks to the reflections you could easily become confused as to the number of people present The end result… a mysterious internal structure
Although another thing could be said to contribute to thisNaturally, since it’s a cave, it doesn’t fall fro the wind However, it wasn’t blown in from the entrance, but blown out from within the recesses of the cave
In addition, it couldn’t be called normal snow
“I-a… I did it again”
“Ryuutaro… you were told not to go out of the range of the ical barrier!”
A piece of snoas sticking to Ryuutaro’s cheek, causing it to swell and become red So, this snow possessed a te immediate frostbite if it touched you
With the wind blowing against theh Suzu had dispersed the snoith her barrier, the distractions caused by the ice wall reflections resulted in people requiring treatments several times
“A cave made of ice, with snow that causes frostbite, in a labyrinth named the Cave of Ice and Snow… I shudder to think ould happen without this artifact”
“You wouldn’t have drinking water, that’s for sure”
shi+zukuout the small stone artifact that protected thereed, splashi+ng some water outside of the barrier It froze as soon as it touched the air,a bikibiki sound as it impacted into the wall The flask would have already been frozen if they were entering normally
“Certainly, though you could ic seems to be obstructed in this space, and would take considerable ic consumption to activate”
“… But, that doesn’t apply to us”
When Tio answered Kaori’s co at her chest while giving a shrug
As Tio remarked, this Ice and Snow cave reic It would be a considerable hardshi+p to use fire as asnow
This didn’t apply to Hajime’s party thanks to the treasure warehouse where they stored all their supplies without being affected by temperature as well as the cold protection artifact that kept the surrounding area at a comfortable temperature
“It’s extre would become problematic”
While agreeing with Yue’s coaze to the front
Yue followed his gaze ahead, seeing athe wall of ice with closed eyes like he was sleeping He see tired with his back to the wall and then become frozen there With no visible injury, perhaps it was exhaustion from the cold?
“Hajie?”
“Nn? …Ah… now that you mention it, isn’t he buried perfectly in the wall”
“Yeah, but did the wall of ice for there, or was he taken into the wall?”
shi+a’s neck was tilted as she eyed the corpse buried in the ice ith a suspicious look shi+a ood point Did the wall expand to cover him, or did it pull him into it?
“… There is no reaction to ic from the ice or the corpse, just to be sure, should we destroy it?”
They could have left it the way it was, because there was no reason not to Hajime pulled out Donner, aier
Bang! Bang!
A vivid brilliant red flash shot froh the forehead and heart of the man It was even ic
Towards desecrating the dead, Kouki opened hislearned it was unproductive to try to complain
After a few seconds of watching the corpse and the ice wall, there was no reaction Hajied the party to move ahead … Hajime and the party disappeared into the recesses of the cave after a moment
Crack… Crack…
“Goo, Gao, gigi”
A sound like a groaning voice came out as the ice formed cracks
Not noticing as happening behind them, Hajime and the party continued to traverse the labyrinth in silence
Though the Ice and Snow cave had iven intersection thanks to the co, the walls were littered with a lot more corpses trapped into the ice wall, but after a 1/3 the distance of the labyrinth, they had yet to see a single monster attack
“Nn?… again?”
Another corpse was discovered buried in the ice wall in the passage ahead With pointed ears and dark skin… it was a person from the demon country
“… 50 people so far, most demons”
“Perhaps there were a large number of people that attempted to capture it with Freed?” Haji to herself
They couldn’t tell fro they had been there, but at least ten of the ones they had found wore service unifor the attack on the capital
“Fuh they were able to beat this labyrinth, it appears they didn’t do it with ease When thinking about the other routes, how ed it?”
“However, considering how ht have atteht be soht be only a anizes and attacks again”
Kaori responded while showing a look of concern, possibly worrying for Liliana or the other classmates left in the capital
“It’s alright Kaori, they won’t be doing it soon The invaders were crushed, their weapon was destroyed, and the ical barrier was restored Not to mention they don’t know that Hajime’s laser weapon was destroyed They won’t find it that easy to attack even if they prepare a new army”
“shi+zuku… un, that’s right” Kaori gave a s about shi+zuku’s prediction
However, when they returned to Earth with Hajime, Liliana and the country would be deserted It was only natural that it’d hurt to think about the ones left behind
From there, Kouki entered into the conversation
“Be relieved Kaori, even if I have to defeat mad Gods, humans, or devils, I will ree of Gods ht be possible to return by myself sooner or later, so I will not desert anyone”
“Kouki…”
Indeed, it was a hero-like speech, however Kouki’s glance was not given towards Kaori, but Haji to insult him Therefore, Kaori was not relieved by his words, rather, it only made her feel more uneasy
Before, there ht have been co well However, now they see envy… doubt… i were h he desperately tried to suppress the with instability
Did Hajinored it and shrugged his shoulders Kouki frowned over their ideals running on parallel tracks
shi+zuku’s gaze wandered towards those that were giving an uneasy mood, namely Kouki, however, Hajime spoke instead
“Oh well… it’s not like we’re strangers… if the princess requested it, I could probably provide her with intercontinental ballistic nore inertia and gravity…?”
“Naguive those to that woman? The power of balance for this world would collapse”
“Is that so? Oh well, I could put on some user restrictions so they only work and can be operated by the royal fa could be repulsed, even if more like Nointo came”
shi+zuku’s gaze wavered as Hajierous speech while Kouki watched Hajime with dark eyes Meanwhile, Kaori wore a somewhat happy expression
Though Haji a “lonely way of life”, there was no reason for him to be involved in this world’s problems, unless it was for Yue and the others With the exception of perhaps Myuu and Remia, no one in this world could equal the balance of their importance in his heart
Because Liliana is so to lend his power if she requested it Afterwards though, he had no intentions past spending the remainder of his life with Yue and the others at his home
When considering the possibility that he’d lose the ones iuilt and saw no important reason to risk his own life
With his efforts, he had decided to give Yue and the rest’s s outside of that
Because they understood this, Yue, and the others snuggled up to Hajime shi+a and Kaori’s path took them away from their family and important childhood friends
Moreover, this extreerous present for Liliana could be said to be the very limit of consideration he could offer her
“Yaegashi+ (shi+zuku), you and the rest also must decide what you’ll do once you return from the demon country Will you remain in this world? Will you return with us? Because I won’t wait for you to decide”
“… Yes Understood”
“Yes It’ll depend on my conversation with Eri…” Suzu said
“I’ll stick with Kouki” Ryuutaro added
Everyone responded to Hajime’s words, each of the three in their oay
With a sensitive e until they caht
Upon halting, Hajime confirmed the direction the coan to twitch
“Haji”
“A monster, they finally appeared? Where?”
“All four sides…”
“Even from behind?”
Though everyone readied themselves for an attack, they stiffened when they heard thatfrom the path they had taken, because it would mean that they were able to conceal theic Eye
In the center of the cross roads, Hajime and the party were back to back After an interval a voice like a groan could be heard in the darkness of the passage (TN: Not to be a nag here, but if you just moved 10-15 meters down any direction, you’d bottleneck the baddies and turn a 4 way battle into a tay)
Vaaa…
A fairly terrifying voice not quite like a beast’s groan gave off unpleasant feelings As the darkness in the passage also see their saliva with a gulp was heard through the silence
And then it appeared
It was the figure of a person wearing a service unifor and a thick layer of frost over their entire body
“These guys… they’re the corpsesin the ice walls?” Hajime muttered as e one after another
“… Also the guyearlier”
“Are they alive… no, that’s not it They’re like zombies?”
While watching the frozen people that showed up down the passage way, Yue and the other faced the deroaned and held out their arms loosely lowered As Kaori said, they looked like frozen zombies
Frost zoan to pour out of each of the four roads of the intersection, surrounding Hajime, Kouki, and the others
“In any case, even if they were forhtered”
Hajinal, and the frost zombie’s dull movements suddenly became fierce
VaAAAAA!!!
An extrees in the cave Did they say you will be eaten here? It’s like they were straight froross thanks to the layer of frost preventing thely