Chapter 100
Inside the black mist, a shadow writhed.
It was a massive armored crustacean clad in silver plating.
Its six thick arms extending from samurai-like armor had been torn apart, and dark, worm-like welts spread across its entire body.
"(Unbelievable... one of the Twenty-Four Metal War Machines, this six-armed Nedda, took down a Dark Apostle in a mutual kill...)"
Nedda looked down at the assassin in black cloth who had collapsed at his feet.
It was a reptilian creature with sharp claws. Its body was lithe, yet covered in hard scales. Its neck was bent at an unnatural angle. It was already dead. Nedda had taken it down, despite being gravely wounded.
Nedda was the last one standing, but that did not guarantee a triumphant victory.
The dark flames of the Dark Apostles had already pierced the metal and were destroying Nedda's body from the inside. Even now.
"(Cursed intruders. I let my attention get drawn to that human, and this is the result.)"
"Click click"
Nedda suddenly turned around, directing his compound eyes behind him.
There stood another Metal War Machine, clad in silver plating.
Nedda felt relieved. He thought he had been saved.
That Metal War Machine had two large silver shields hanging at its waist.
They looked like a skirt. Its body was slender.
"(You took quite a beating, Nedda.)"
"(Hurry and burn away this filthy darkness, Holy.)"
Clicking his jaw, he communicated in a language only they understood.
The slender Metal War Machine called Holy thrust its arm into the hole in Nedda's chest and released a surge of silver light from its arm. The light burst into Nedda's giant body and burned away the dark, worm-like welts from the inside.
The silver radiance was the remnant of their god, a power only the chosen Metal War Machines could wield.
That power not only burned the dark flames of the enemy god but also restored the silver apostles' will to fight.
"(You saved me, Holy.)"
"(Are you getting rusty?)"
"(Give me a break. I've been asleep for a thousand years. Don't go spreading it around too much.)"
"(Understood. I look forward to your future performance. But Nedda, could you take a look at this?)"
Holy clapped his hands together and then spread them wide. A white sphere was projected into the black mist.
It contained information about the long slumber each of the Twenty-Four War Machines had entered in ancient times.
Currently, six War Machines had already awakened.
Of them, two had ceased all life functions.
Nedda realized the gravity of the situation.
"(Vrab of the Prison Gate and the swift-footed Grizlae? They're both combat types... So that many Dark Apostles had infiltrated?)"
"(There's no doubt we allowed a dark incursion, but perhaps it's also the humans' fault. A large number of them set foot here soon after our temple surfaced.)"
"(So not only the filthy darkness, but also weaklings are running rampant...)"
Nedda slammed his fists together, scraping his silver claws with a harsh screech.
"(I, Nedda, shall reduce them all to charred remains.)"
Immediately after, Nedda's figure vanished.
The ancient hunter began his mission to annihilate the feeble intruders.
————
——Akagi Hideo's perspective
Hi there, Akagi Hideo here.
While the pale-skinned silver-haired beauty slept peacefully beside me, I got a foreign object directly inserted into my heart.
Just as I was twitching from the hit, Gii-san started summoning the Black Swamp monsters and dispatching them in all directions. I wonder what Gii-san is thinking.
"Gii (Translation: Scouting is fundamental.)"
"Oh? A silhouette... maybe an explorer."
A little while later, as I was petting Gii-san, a figure walked out from beyond the black mist.
It was a man wearing a thin cloth over his upper body.
His build was soft-muscled. His skin was extremely pale.
He had a claw on his right hand. Pretty cool.
Huh, and he's holding something in his left hand.
That's the head of one of our Black Swamp monsters, isn't it?! Okay, this is no time for jokes.
"Gii (Translation: I knew there was something out there, my lord.)"
Gii-san is surprisingly chill despite having one of his underlings killed.
"So even here, a rat has slipped in."
The pale-skinned man opened his mouth.
"Dogs of the Dungeon Foundation, I offer you a choice: become sacrifices to nourish the dungeon while still alive, or die here and rot as corpses."
Aren't both of those options death?
Hmm, he seems dangerous... not an explorer... right.
Anyway, Happy-san, wake up. A pervert has appeared! Your life is in danger!
"You've got guts reaching for a sleeping girl, Finger Man."
Happy-san wakes up fast. Seems like she sensed the hostility and woke up. No wonder she's ranked 8th among the A-ranks. Even in her sleep, she lets down no guard.
As soon as she sat up, Happy-san pulled a pistol from under her skirt and fired at the man without hesitation. Her decisiveness makes you forget this is Japan.
The man deflected the bullet with his claw. Ridiculous reflexes. When the bullet sparked off, his expression was faintly illuminated—he looked totally composed. He's charging at us. This isn't just "capable"; he's on another level of speed.
"...Finger Man! What are you spacing out for?!"
Happy-san is furious. But hey, don't worry.
Because I, Akagi Hideo, understand. This pervert is way, way more manageable than that guy called Shirokko.
So, I dodged his claw strike and knocked him out cold.
I could've blown him up too... but, you know? Gotta think of ethics. Even if I were to reduce him to charred remains, I'd do it with a proper magic circle, right? We learned in ethics class that we must never waste even a millimeter of experience points.
"Anyway, Gii-san, please enter his body and take control. It'll be a pain if he wakes up and goes berserk."
"Gii"
Gii-san split off smoothly, and a tiny Gii-san crawled into the unconscious man's ear. Safe travels.
"......"
Huh, Happy-san is staring at me now.
Oh, right, she was really mad earlier. I guess she was angry because she thought I didn't react to the enemy's move, but heh—after seeing me show my A-rank skills like that, she probably wants to apologize for the misunderstanding. Time to show my gentlemanly side.
"...(Just now... I couldn't follow Finger Man's movements. Does that mean... he's the one who knocked this guy out...?)"
"I'm just glad you're safe, Happy-san."
Heh heh heh, I won't even mention her rage. That's what a gentleman does. If I said, "You were super mad earlier, but I'm not bothered," I'd be third-rate.
"...Hmph. You can move better than I thought. I'm relieved. (W-Well, if I weren't injured, I could've handled being ambushed just fine... we're still even.)"
Oh no, she complimented me. I'm so happy.
"By the way, Finger Man, did I just see you stick a slug into that rude guy's ear...?"
"It's an efficient way to neutralize enemies. You insert a parasite into their bodies and make them obey."
"...Well, yeah. Parasites are pretty basic... I guess. If you're A-rank, that's the least you can do... yeah."
I see, so mastering parasites is just baseline, huh.
"Hm?"
Huh, Happy-san is raising her arm and opening and closing her hand with a puzzled look.
"No way... why... I'm sure my arm got cut off..."
"Chee chee chee"
"Finger Man... don't tell me, do you have some kind of advanced healing skills...?"
"That'd be our Shimaenaga-san."
"Chee chee chee!"
"..................Huh. Not bad, Finger Man. I'm impressed."
Happy-san said that as she stared at me in disbelief.
Hmm, was I really that underestimated? I mean, if she's this happy just because I regenerated her arm, she must've had pretty low expectations...
"This guy is nuts..."
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"............No, nothing."
I have to strive to earn even more praise from the silver-haired beautiful girl.
After all, I still need more experience points. (Conclusion)