Chapter 113
He tore off the crumpled metal door.
Without changing expression, he casually displayed his demonic strength, causing the man inside the room to glance at his weapon.
"Doesn't look like someone I can take on with a chair..."
"What are you doing in a place like this?"
Finger Man stepped into the room and immediately questioned the man.
Aside from the corridor lights, the only light source in the room was the PC screen on the desk.
It was dim and filled with a suspicious atmosphere, but Finger Man didn't seem to care.
"What do you mean what am I doing...? You guys are the ones who kidnapped me!"
"What are you talking about?"
Finger Man tilted his head.
"...... Oh, you are..."
Poking her face out from behind Finger Man, Jiu reacted to the man in the room.
Apparently, he also recognized Jiu, and said in a suddenly gentle voice, "Oh? You're that little lady, I think..."
"...... It's been a while, Lord Benvenuto. I'm Lee Jiu."
"Ah, the girl who used to give me candy back when I was in JPN. Yes, that's right, Jiu. I remember now."
The man—Benvenuto—clapped his hands together.
Finger Man and Happy exchanged glances, puzzled.
Upon hearing the story, it seemed that Jiu and Benvenuto once worked at the same facility under the JPN Dungeon Foundation.
Benvenuto was later recalled to his home country and became a global authority in dungeon studies at the Euro Dungeon Foundation research institute, 'Norn'.
"But why is Jiu here...? And those shady folks behind you?"
Benvenuto cast a suspicious gaze their way.
A mysterious bean pastry, a giant slug with antennae as thick as an arm, a naked man, a scowling Russian girl, and a Japanese man going, "Hey there, it's Finger Man from Finger Man Channel!" as he acted bizarrely.
"Quite the colorful cast you've got. ......A circus troupe?"
Benvenuto whispered under his breath.
"Especially that Japanese guy—he looks the most dangerous," he said, glancing at the young man.
"...... This isn't a fun situation, Lord Benvenuto. That's Finger Man. He's a well-known urban legend explorer in JPN. He's a kind soul who doesn't hesitate to sacrifice himself if it means uplifting those around him."
"I see. Doesn't seem like a bad guy."
Stroking his beard, Benvenuto said, "Well, I get that part... but," and then asked the most pressing question. "Why are JPN explorers here?"
Jiu began explaining, step by step.
At first, Benvenuto nodded along thoughtfully, but his expression grew grim as the story turned to Archon Dungeon.
"Archon Dungeon... Donuts' warning divine realm was here, of all places..."
After hearing Jiu's story, Benvenuto explained how he had been betrayed by a mysterious girl and his assistant Bruno, and suddenly found himself here.
"It's a crazy story... but you'll have to believe me."
"So then, Mr. Benvenuto, you were kidnapped from Rome, Italy?"
"......Well, that's what it comes down to."
"It's almost like you were transported here."
Finger Man murmured quietly.
Not that he had any deep thoughts behind it.
Benvenuto was impressed by Finger Man's words, saying, "That's pretty sharp."
"Point-to-point transport has rapidly advanced lately. I'd guess the ones who kidnapped me have access to spatial teleportation tech."
Benvenuto typed away on the PC and said, "Here," showing a screen filled with complex text.
"This is the reason I was abducted. Apparently, they wanted me to decode the dark labyrinth language."
"Is that so, Naked Man?"
"? Naked Man?"
"Yes. Probably either the person who kidnapped Mr. Benvenuto or one of their allies."
"What? You met them?"
"Well, more like..."
Finger Man looked over at the silver follower.
Benvenuto followed his gaze and, nodding in realization, said, "Ah, yeah, that's definitely Naked Man."
The silver follower raised both hands and said, "Whoa, whoa, don't get the wrong idea."
"We summoned this dungeon without relying on your Dungeon Foundation's abilities. We know nothing about those kidnappers. And as for the so-called dark labyrinth language of the evil gods, we have no need to understand such things."
"That's a strange logic. You just said you summoned this place yourselves, didn't you? You're contradicting yourself."
"You're fundamentally mistaken."
The silver follower crossed his arms and took on a difficult expression.
After a moment of thought, he opened his mouth as if steeling his resolve.
"We were used."
"Used?"
"As I made my way through the thick mist in Central, I became convinced. This dungeon is no longer under our control."
Everyone turned their eyes solemnly to the naked man, who spoke with gravity.
"Benvenuto, what did that document you were asked to decode say?"
Benvenuto picked up a memo.
It was a carefully revised and scrutinized translation.
"It's a prophecy about darkness. I don't know what kind of literature it's from, but it's something like a prediction of the future. The content is about the ritual needed to resurrect 'Darkness', one of the rulers of the old world—Archons."
"'Rulers of the old world'... Archons..."
Finger Man was caught by the term he'd been hearing a lot recently.
"The rulers of the old world are basically gods. Scholars believe they built prehistoric civilizations. Though they've all vanished long ago, traces of them still show up in anomalies used by explorers and the Foundation. It's a forgotten piece of the past."
Finger Man crossed his arms and said, "Hmm, I see," with a calm expression.
"And then, you get weirdos like that naked guy over there popping up all the time, worshipping those ancient gods and trying to bring them back in the modern age."
"What happens if they do come back?"
"Who knows? Maybe the surface will evaporate four times over. I dunno."
"That's scary."
"It's worse than scary, Finger Man. Anyway, if those ancient rulers return, the current rulers will be displaced."
Benvenuto added, pointing to himself and Finger Man in turn, "Needless to say, the current rulers of this world are us humans."
"Huh, so that's how it is."
"Exactly. That's why the Dungeon Foundation has to prevent doomsday scenarios. Whether it's the rulers of the old world or the Calamity Series, there are all sorts of dangers."
"The Calamity Series is in the same league as that?"
Finger Man's eyes widened.
The bird and the bug seemed to shrink back a little.
————
——From the perspective of Akagi Hideo
"That's right. If anything, the Calamities are worse. If someone tries to resurrect the Archons, agents monitoring high-risk groups will catch wind of it. But the Calamities are literal disasters. One day they just appear out of nowhere and end everything. That's what we call the beasts that end the world."
"The beasts that end the world..."
That's exactly what Shurado said.
That the Calamities have the power to end the world.
"Chee......"
"Gii"
Both of them were terrified.
That's rare to see.
But it's okay. I won't let that happen.
Got it? From now on, ease off the experience points. Especially you, Shimaenaga-san.
"Chee (Translation: No can do, chee)"
Shimaenaga-san turned away with a huff and started grooming under her wing.
Tonight, I'm thinking of having grilled bird.
"To summarize what the document says, I was kidnapped from Rome by some group belonging to an Archon high-risk organization, and they're enthusiastic supporters of 'Darkness', one of the rulers of the old world. And they're probably nearby."
Benvenuto looked at Naked Man.
"Watching high-risk organizations tear each other apart from the sidelines is fun, but getting caught up in it myself? That's rough. My condolences, Naked Man."
"Guh......"
Naked Man clenched his fists.
Looks like he's bitter, that Naked Man. Like his ambitions were crushed.
"So then, this dungeon isn't all that dangerous anymore?"
Happy-san, who had been listening silently up to this point, asked with a hopeful look.
Benvenuto raised a finger and went "Tsk-tsk-tsk" in denial. His face was kind of annoyingly smug.
"From what Jiu-kun said, it sounds like 'Darkness' and 'Silver' are clashing, with 'Darkness' having the upper hand. The dungeon is covered in black thick mist, right? That means the entire dungeon is 'Darkness's territory. And that brings up another problem. Isn't that right, Naked Man-kun?"
"............To think they'd be this powerful... those bastards of Darkness. They were aiming for this. They've hijacked our silver followers—our 'Metal Shiba Inu Club (Main Branch)' plan, and they're trying to conduct some massive ritual using this dungeon."
Wait, you were part of the Metal Shiba Inu Club too?
"So yeah, looking at everything up to this point, the whole picture's starting to come together."
Benvenuto-san—been thinking this for a while, but damn, his mind works fast.
This guy was literally abducted into this room just a little while ago, right?
How's he grasping the situation better than us?
"What we need to do is escape from the Archon Dungeon. That much is certain. But the stairs connecting the 14th and 15th floors have collapsed. We're talking hundreds of steps. The plate between the 14th and 15th floors is, at minimum, several dozen meters thick. A physical breakthrough is impossible. In other words, we can't return to the surface."
Benvenuto-san shrugged as he finished.
Happy-san looked heartbroken.
"But there's still hope."
Yeah, you can't throw away hope.
"There's still a way out (just saying it for now)."
"Hmph, as expected of an urban legend explorer. Quick on the uptake. You're right—there is a way out. When I was kidnapped and brought here, the Dark Apostles used a path. That path, most likely, is some kind of spatial teleportation route."
"So if we use that, we can get out too!"
Happy-san perked right up.
Yup yup, way better than staying gloomy.
Ah, she's bouncing up and down... Didn't expect such a cute gesture. Ah, her shirt is fluttering and I can see her white belly. This is seriously hnnngggg.
————
While Trigger Happy bounced with hope, Jiu was frozen in fear next to her.
Hearing from Benvenuto that there was still a way out, the tangled threads in Jiu's mind finally connected the dots. There had been a clear purpose behind Finger Man's previously mysterious actions—he had a plan all along.
(......Finger Man-san was aiming for this Abyss from the very beginning. He even said there was a way out here. Which means, he had already speculated all this long ago. That's the only explanation.)
Jiu glanced at Finger Man's profile.
Completely unfazed. Watching the joyous Trigger Happy bounce around, he looked as serene as a Buddha behind his sunglasses.
(......His deductive power is astonishing. Strong, kind, and wise. Just where does that insight of his reach?)
This Finger Man is unfathomable.