83-Episode 83: Those who hide in the groundwater vein

All right, come on, boys.

After wiping out the antraptors that were nestled in the walls of the discarded hole, we will slowly descend down the hole with our flight magic to the lowest level.

But that doesn't mean we're going to drop everyone suddenly.

The first priority is for me, Liliella, Rameez, and Gan-ei, who can actually use flight magic, to scout out and investigate whether there are a lot of demons in the lowest level.

Because if there are a large number of demons and chimeras living in the basement, we'll be in trouble.

We've had enough of the anthropomorphic stuff we had to deal with.

When we get to the lowest level, we'll use a probe spell to find out how many demons are in the lowest level.

If it is determined that it is safe, the next step is to hang return ropes at various places on the cliffs so that we, the users of flying magic, can return to the surface even if something happens to us.

However, it's not long enough to reach the lowest level, so we're going to look for footholds along the way so that we can move in stages.

I heard that this rope will be used by the following survey team even after this project is finished, so the place to hang the rope was decided carefully after examining the quality of the rocks and soil.

After all this work, we were finally ready to take the adventurers to the lowest level of the mountain.

By the way, Fluffy has been staying at home this time.

It would be a shame if he were to be accidentally swept away by underground water.

Here's some monster meat!

Cuong!

Hey, you want some demon meat?

Kyuuuuuun!

Such a Fluffy Fluffy seems to be happy to receive the scraps of demon meat and motes left over from the demolition from the adventurers.

''No, it's nice to not have to dig a hole to bury the mottoes in.

I know. It's cute to look at.

But what kind of demon is that?

You know what?　Well, it's cute, so that's good, right?

Yeah.

Cuong!

The adventurers seem to have a meltdown with the small, harmless mofo.

'They're all fooled that thing just wants to have fun and eat meat.

'Yeah, you're being fooled. And that thing isn't such a pretty creature....

But only Liliella and Roddy were reluctantly watching the moochers devouring the meat with a reluctant look on their faces.

I know we're talking about meat, but did they both need more breakfast?

You're not going to be able to do that.

Then, after we finished the preliminary investigation, we used our flying magic to lower the adventurers who were going to investigate to the lowest level.

"Oh?　Lower them down more slowly, please!

YUKE!　It shakes...!

The vertical hole in the disposal mouth is surprisingly strong, and the adventurers scream as the wind blows them from below.

'Already!　Don't freak out!

'Fool!　My arms won't hold up if you act so violently!

Ah, I forgot to teach Liliera-san the wind pressure defense magic.

It's hard to learn wind pressure protection in a place where the wind is strong.

''We're lucky to have them carry us over here.

Oh, yeah.

By the way, me and Gan Wei-san could use wind pressure defense magic, so we weren't going to be shaken by the wind.

''But........I'm afraid this undead arm is going to squirm.......''

Oh, pray that it doesn't squirm.

'It's going to fall off!'

''So don't riot!

By the way, why doesn't Rameez-san use wind pressure defense magic?

You want to save your magic?

You're not going to be able to do that.

Okay, we're all off.

We had all sorts of trouble, I wouldn't say trouble, but we made it to the lowest level safely.

"Well I'm not going to carry a human being again.

But because of the number of people I carried, Ramise was rubbing her arms and groaning.

Incidentally, Liliella was carrying the female adventurers, while I was carrying the relatively heavy people.

Also, since the main purpose of this time is to investigate, the person in metal armor wasn't chosen to be the investigator.

''Hey look. It's the bones of a demon.

One of the adventurers finds the bones of a demon scattered nearby.

Upon closer inspection, the bones of the demons were everywhere on the ground by the wall.

'They must be the bones of demons that had fallen off the path above, or demons that had been defeated by chimeras.

Some of the bones have an unnatural shape for a living creature, so it looks like there are chimera bones in the mix that were hunted by demons.

If the bones are from a demon that lives in this cave, the ones that are new and in good condition might be worth some money.

I see, if demon materials are worth money, then it's not surprising that bones are also worth money.

Moreover, this is a place that came down from the ruins that only A-ranked and above adventurers, S-ranked adventurers are allowed to enter now, so there's a high probability that the demon bones you can get are from high-ranked demons.

''Picking up the bones can wait. Let's prioritize the investigation for now.''

Hey.

The adventurers replied regretfully as Lisou-san chided them.

''But it's an amazing trend. Even those chimeras we fought, if they had been dropped right above this vein of water, they would have been swept away without being able to do anything about it.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one," Lisou-san muttered as he looked at the underground water vein running right beside him.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to call it a road because it's wide enough for two people to pass through. And right beside us, an underground water vein was flowing with a rumbling sound.

It's true that if we were to be dropped here, it's unlikely we'd survive.　Don't look in too hard, you'll fall!

Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm sorry.

Mr. Roddy notes the people who have been looking into the underground water vein.

'Let's head upstream first,'

We followed Mr. Risou's instructions and headed upstream.

As we proceeded, the road became wider and the underground water vein became narrower.

So it seems that the place we just passed was a dangerous place with a wide underground water vein. However, that doesn't change the fact that it would still be dangerous to fall in.

Mr. Lissou pointed the enchanted sword at the underground vein of water, but even with the light, he couldn't see the depth of the dark underground vein of water, and he couldn't measure its depth.

''What a sentimental thing to say, the demon is here, Master of the Two Great Fang.

Just as Roddy warned, the figure of a bizarrely shaped demon, a chimera, appears from the back of the road.

'It's still alive. We're going to intercept it!''

Wait, there's a demonic response from the underground water vein side too!

As if in response to Lamaze's words, a lizard-shaped demon with large fins crawled out of the underground water vein.

It seems that this one is an actual living demon that lives in the underground water vein.

Be careful not to fall into the underground water vein!　The Lord has a way out!

At Lisou-san's instruction, everyone looks at their enemy and holds up their weapons.

''Let's go then.''

Roddy, I got your back!　Protectmail!

I'll cover you. Divine Weapon!

In this investigation, it's not just us, the S-ranked adventurers, but also their party members who are accompanying them.

The members of Roddy's party, the Cyclone, followed Roddy's movements all at once without a meeting.

That flow is a typical S-ranked party.

''We'll take on the enemy over here!

""Oh, the ministry!"

Lisou-san will also go out with her party members to intercept the lizard-shaped demon.

''We'll provide cover for both parties.

Foca-san will cover and recover the adventurer, and her party members will be in support of the thin wall of the battle line.

''I'm not yet exhausted, so I'm going to rest.

Rameez-san declares that she hasn't been able to get rid of her fatigue from the aerial transport just now, and she seems to be refusing to participate in the battle.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to cover you, too. Area Protection.

Gan-ei-san casts wide-area defense magic on all of his allies to cover us.

This person's specialty is auxiliary magic, isn't it?

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

But the battlefield is so small that it's unlikely you'll be able to join us any more.

Liliera-san says while looking around.

It is true that the adventurers guarding the Lord are unable to participate in the attack due to the underground water vein right beside them.

Although the area is wider than before, it is still too small for several adventurers to fight while avoiding the enemy's attacks.

But, Liliera-san, we can fight without worrying about that.

''Liliera-san, we can use our flying magic to get up in the air and cover them with our attack magic from a position where they can't hit our allies.

'Ah!　I see.

After being told by me, Liliera-san reminded me that she can use attack and flight magic.

Well, I just practiced attack magic and didn't have much opportunity to use it in actual battle.

''Then let's go.''

Yeah!

We leap into the air and cover you with magic to prevent you from hitting your allies.

d*mn it!　It's pretty hard to use attack magic while flying.

Liliera, who is not used to activating two magic at the same time, is having a hard time attacking her allies to avoid hitting them.

It's a good way to practice a real battle style.

If she's about to hit one of her allies, I'll be there to support her.

However, all of us here are S-rank and A-rank adventurers.

Although the battlefield was small, there was no way they could be stopped by ordinary demons or chimeras.

''Alright, let's proceed then. The priority is to investigate, so collect the materials from the defeated monsters on your way home.

Following Lisou-san's instructions, we resume our investigation.

◆

After that, there were sporadic attacks of demons and chimeras, but I was able to defeat most of them without any problems.

Rather.........

''Whoa!''

The adventurer, who lost his balance after avoiding the demon's attack, almost fell into the underground water vein.

''Look out!''

I grab the arm in the nick of time and pull him back to the ground.

Thanks for the help.

You're welcome.

In this way, we mainly rescued adventurers who were about to fall off the narrower and narrower road.

From the middle of the road, Ramise joined in to help me in the air, so it became easier.

''No, but being able to fly is really useful. I can't tell you how many times I've been rescued.

"Seiran, you're getting careless.

Mr. Lissou chided Mr. Roddy, who had been rescued from almost falling a few times.

'That's the kind of husband you were rescued from almost falling off a couple of times.

Well, I'm grateful.

Incidentally, Roddy almost fell many times, but I knew from above that the only time he almost fell was when he was trying to help his friends.

And that goes for Mr. Risou as well.

But neither of us would talk about it.

And that innocence is cool, just like an S-rank!

Absolutely, you should be thanking us, guys!

'But there are surprisingly few demons here. I thought there were so many more chimeras surviving after all those anthropopters.

'I don't know,' muttered Liliera, wondering.

'Come to think of it, yes. If there were that many anthropopters, I think there should be more chimeras to feed on, too.''

Sure, they weren't very strong, but it was too much trouble to have a melee with that many.

'Hey guys, did you notice that?'

And that's when Lisou-san comes to talk to us.

"Notice ... what?

Liliella nodded her head at Lisou-san's words.

'It's that the demons are getting fewer and fewer in number.

What?

Not only that, but the chimera count is down.

Lisou-san agrees with Roddy-san, and Ramise and Foca-san nod with serious faces.

Indeed, if you ask me, the number of demons seems to have decreased compared to when we first came down to the underground water vein.

''This one has the Lord in it.''

Lord, I've heard that word several times in my previous life.

That in a forest or cave full of demons, there is a powerful individual that can be called a boss on rare occasions.

If it's my experience in this lifetime, would the Ancient Plant of the Forest of Demonic Beasts be the main one?

That thing wasn't a very strong unit.

All of us must remain vigilant.

What are you going to do about it?

Ramise confirms to Lisou what to do when he encounters the Lord.

'If it's a chimera, we'll take it down. If it's a demon, we'll leave it alone unless it attacks us.

'What?　Aren't you going to take them down?

I was surprised by Lissou's unexpected answer.

I've always thought that an adventurer's job is to defeat demons, and if a demon is as powerful as the Lord, then of course he or she should be defeated.

In fact, in the previous life, kings and nobles often ordered their knights to defeat the Lord and develop the land.

"Defeating the Lord means there will be no one left to rule. And if the Lord is gone, the other demons that were being held down by the Lord will start to rampage, and in the worst case, there is a danger that the demons will leave the territory.

I see, that doesn't make any sense, does it?

Our job this time is to find out the cause of the mass outbreak and solve it.

We'd be in trouble if we were the new cause.

But you're an S-ranked adventurer, as expected.

I've been thinking that when I see a monster, I just have to defeat it.

I fight with proper consideration for the surrounding environment. It's not just about the profits in front of you, but also the safety of the people in the land behind you.

I understand, Mr. Risou.

'All right, let's all move forward with caution. Let the magic of the lights go ahead of us.

Under Lisou-san's direction, the wizards proceeded to advance the magic lights ahead of us, and we followed them.

''There's a demon's reaction to the exploration magic!

The wizard who was in charge of the exploration magic raised a tense voice.

''What's the distance?''

It's about 300 meters.

All right, I don't want to irritate you. Let's narrow down the number of people. The Heavenly Demon and the Holy Lady will stay in the back. Be ready to cover us at any time. Seiran and the team of big game eaters, follow me.

""Oh, the ministry!"

We split up into teams and slowly make our way along the wall.

'There you are...'

A slight tension mixed in Lisou-san's voice.

And the magical light that precedes it gradually illuminates the figure of the demon that is ahead of it.

It's a huge body that can attach its head to the ceiling of the cave.

These are scales that look like metal reflecting in the light.

Huge wings sprouted to lay waste to the sky.

The figure looks like.....

What?

I couldn't help but shout out at the sight of that figure, which I wouldn't normally meet in a place like this.

''Bah, Bahamut.........''

I've seen two demons in the past, the names of which I've seen before, Liliera-san muttered as if to divulge the names of the two demons.

That's right, the name of this demon is Bahamut, the same kind of demon we met and fought in the sky island in the past.

Bahamut?　Isn't that an S-ranked demon?

Glululu...

''Hee!''

When Bahamut sees us and lets out a roar, the A-rank adventurer who accompanied us screams.

''Hey, he's angry because his territory was raided...?

''Why is such a demon here...?''

Everyone is upset about the unexpected encounter with Bahamut.

Yes, it's understandable that they are upset.

Because by nature Bahamut is not a creature that lives in such a small place.

He is a free and arrogant being who sleeps on a large area of land, and the sky is his ceiling.

Anyone would be surprised to see such a Bahamut in a place like this.

Well, I get it. That swarm of anthropomorphic creatures we encountered in the cave they escaped to the upper levels to get away from this Bahamut...

I see, it's true that if it's an antraptor and Bahamut, Bahamut is the better of the two.

It's understandable that the Antraptor who can climb the wall would run away.

I wonder if part of the reason for the mass appearance of demons is also in this Bahamut?

But it's troubling, because if you have to fight Bahamut in such a small space, it's going to be a lot of trouble.

Bahamut is a type of dragon that can spit out powerful breaths from its mouth.

''d*mn, saint, and undead, can you put up a ranged defensive magic that can protect all of you?

Lisou-san, who seems to have thought about the same thing, hides her voice to avoid provoking Bahamut and asks Foca-san and Ganei-san to take measures.

''........Even if you put up a ward with all your might, it's impossible to protect Bahamut's breath from the front, and that too, all of them. Or rather, I don't know how I could withstand it even by myself.......

I may be able to protect myself on my own, but I can't protect all of you. I don't care if I can't defend myself, as long as I can make it.

Mr. Foca and Mr. Ganey told me that it was impossible to protect everyone completely.

I can understand why. Because even if we protect everyone from the Breath, I'm afraid of the collapse that will follow.

If Bahamut spits out the Breath, the lowest level is in danger of collapsing under the impact, or worse, this entire cave.

Hmm, the only way to do this is to cut off Bahamut's head before he spits out his breath.

In order to defeat Bahamut quickly, I slowly bend down low and put all my strength into the spring of my body.

Slowly, so that he doesn't notice and spit out his breath.

"Oh no, this is bad. Shouldn't we be running away...?

You'll get killed if you move carelessly in this state...

And the adventurers by the side begin to tussle over whether to run or fight.

Nice, you're going to catch Bahamut off guard by playing scared!

"Kukyuu.

Just then, a young cry was heard at Bahamut's feet.

'Oh, is that Bahamut's child!

If you look at it, at Bahamut's feet was a small Bahamut figure the size of a human.

It looks like the Bahamut chicks I saw on the Sky Island.

It's only natural that they are also Bahamut's children.

I see, Bahamut used this cave as a nest to raise his children!

Someone yells out in agreement that the reason Bahamut is here was to make babies.

Hmmm?　But Bahamut was raising his children under the sky like normal.

Even on the Sky Island, they usually built their nests in the forest island.

'Yo, okay, move back slowly so as not to irritate Bahamut. If the kids are there, they might not come after us if we move back.

But that expectation was quickly denied.

Bahamut took a big step forward, took one look at us and opened his eyes wide and let out a roar.

''Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

He seems to be furious with us for invading his territory while raising his children.

Or maybe he just thought he had a good prey for his kids to practice hunting?

But this strange scream, a scream I've never heard in my previous life or the last two lives, sounds like a scream.

It lives underground like this, and maybe it's a subspecies or mutant species with a special biology.

We need to be very careful about this.

It could possibly have a unique special ability.

It would be better to activate the combined type of special attack resistance strengthening magic as well.

''Everyone be vigilant.......Huh?

I tried to alert everyone, but the next second I was surprised by Bahamut's strange behavior and screamed.

The next thing I knew, Bahamut let out a yell and took the child at his feet in his mouth and backed away in a flash.

I know the cave is too small to change direction, but it's amazing that he can achieve such speed by backing up....

I see........Bahamut, just like Lizard-type demons, has its eyes on the sides of its face, so it has a wide field of view.

'Bahamut........escaped?

Wait, what's going on?

Liliera-san and the others are also scowling at what happened.

No wonder, because it's not normal for Bahamut, whose territory has been invaded, to escape without a fight.

'I wonder if he avoided the fight because he had a child?

And Foca points out that Bahamut's escape may have been an act of motherhood.

Hmm, if Bahamut's temperament was like that, he wouldn't run away, he'd fight to show his kids how to hunt.

But, well, it seems like the other party is a mutant species that lives underground, so maybe it's that kind of quiet temperament.

Well, the dangerous demon has retreated from the other side. This is a good thing. We will go back downstream and continue to defeat the remaining chimeras!

""Oh, oh, the ministry!"

After regaining our composure, we decided to follow Riso-san's orders and resume the chimera's assault.

◆

Oh, my God!

What is going on?　What's that human doing here?

We just left the Sky Island and found this great hole in the ground with plenty of food!

Do we have to move again?

It's a great way for my son to practice his hunting skills, even if he misses a little bit of his prey, because he has so many others to choose from!

Don't we have a safe haven somewhere?