Chapter 64
Tsuruo Hasegawa clenched his fists.
The desire to strike back for the fallen explorers piled into those thick knuckles.
(The metal monster from legend. Very few documented cases. Its speed and power are extraordinary. And more than anything, that defense. Even skill-enhanced magic swords and the baker's rolling pin were nullified. So half-hearted attacks are meaningless.)
Steeling himself, Tsuruo Hasegawa selected his strongest killing move from among his ten offensive skills.
The metal monster burst forward from a complete standstill, closing in on Tsuruo Hasegawa in an instant. Its movement was like a cockroach.
Riding that momentum, it swung its sharp claws.
(Fast!)
"Guh!!"
Tsuruo Hasegawa somehow leaned back, dodging the strike even as it grazed and tore his bangs.
Because the creature had lunged in deep to land a heavy blow, its side was left completely exposed.
This is it. Tightening his abs, Tsuruo Hasegawa twisted his hips and threw a punch, despite the extreme backbend posture.
The skill he used: "Blackened Authority of Justice Lv5"——Tsuruo Hasegawa's signature move.
It's usually considered a skill meant to boost defense, but this member of the National Diet often used it to increase offensive power.
His arm turned black and hardened, surging with power and cloaked in a red aura.
From a position where he couldn't normally even exert force, he layered on another skill and unleashed a mighty punch.
"——'Violent Manifesto Lv5'"
Tsuruo Hasegawa's second signature move.
This was a true killer punch.
The MP cost was massive, but even from an awkward stance, it could produce an ATK of no less than 200,000.
With an arm hardened by "Blackened Authority of Justice Lv5," the scale increased further, guaranteeing an ATK of 500,000.
A thunderous roar rang out. The black fist struck into the metal.
A shockwave tore through the corridor.
The displaced air pressure spread cracks across the corridor, and the dungeon screamed.
He poured in all the force capable of blowing away houses and gouging the earth with just the pressure of his fist.
However——
The metal monster didn't budge an inch.
The upward blow didn't lift it, nor did its shell crack. It didn't even react.
The insect-like metal monster clicked its jaws. As if mocking him.
"You damn freak."
The metal monster swung its arm.
This one couldn't be dodged.
Tsuruo crossed his arms in front of his chest to block the attack.
Since "Blackened Authority of Justice Lv5" hardened the body, it also functioned as a guarding skill.
The steel claws sliced into the blackened cross guard.
GADSHIN! With a crash, metal and black arms clashed and sparked.
As a result, Tsuruo Hasegawa's forearm was torn open, and blood sprayed out in a sharp burst.
(Tch, its hardness and power surpass even my "Blackened Authority of Justice Lv5"...!)
"Clang clang."
The metal monster clicked its jaws again.
"Acting all composed, huh. But there's no way it blocked the full 500,000 ATK. Damage must've gotten through."
He had no choice but to believe it.
Tsuruo Hasegawa hardened both arms again with "Blackened Authority of Justice Lv5," raised his guard high, and took a defensive stance.
He knew full well he couldn't keep up with its speed.
The metal monster lunged again and swept its steel claws horizontally.
He intercepted the frontal claw strike with a heavy jab adjusted to ATK 100,000.
Then, in a single breath, he followed with four weaker left jabs (still maintaining ATK 20,000) to keep it in check and transitioned into a right hook with full hip rotation.
Against a metal monster lacking the concept of martial arts, Tsuruo Hasegawa's boxing skills, honed through amateur bouts, gave him an advantage.
He mixed up his combos, preventing it from doing what it wanted and creating openings.
"Your body's wide open."
A black strike drove deep into the metal monster's side.
This time, he had a more stable stance and form.
Even with a skill, when throwing a punch, stance, angle, power, timing, and MP all intricately intertwine to form an attack.
A counter-style, well-formed "Violent Manifesto Lv5" became a supreme right hook reaching ATK 1,000,000.
A deafening explosion echoed through the 18th floor, like a massive cargo ship crashing into port.
Yet even such a blow wasn't enough to bring the metal monster down.
In fact, there didn't even seem to be a scratch on its shell.
Even Tsuruo Hasegawa couldn't believe it. His eyes widened, body frozen by despair greater than any dungeon boss he'd ever faced.
The metal monster swung its steel claws a third time.
This attack seemed somehow different.
(Don't tell me, it has skills too——)
Its claws, shimmering with silver reflections, slashed forward at unavoidable speed.
Tsuruo Hasegawa's chest was torn open, blood gushed out, and splattered against the ceiling.
He glanced at his status.
Tsuruo Hasegawa's HP had dropped below 200.
"No way... even with 'Blackened Authority of Justice Lv5' guarding, over 10,000 DMG...?"
Panic gripped Tsuruo Hasegawa.
He knew the metal monster was strong.
That's why he had gone all out from the start.
And yet, he now realized he had underestimated it.
No—he had been forced to realize it.
(This thing... is a 'deep monster' from even deeper than the 30th floor I reached... and I only realize it now...)
"But why is a freak like this on the 18th floor... no, that doesn't matter right now."
Tsuruo Hasegawa pulled a syringe from the inner pocket of his suit. A recovery potion.
Recovery potions, alongside magic swords, are popular dungeon equipment among explorers.
The syringe-shaped variety isn't common.
This type is called narcotic-class, containing potent substances for fast-acting effects.
Developed for dire situations where there's no time to recover leisurely—when you have no choice but to risk it all.
He injected it and stood back up.
Tsuruo Hasegawa understood.
The terrifying monster before him was not an opponent he could handle.
Even so, he couldn't afford to fall here.
————
———
——
——
The battle between the metal monster and the "Justice Representative" raged across the 18th floor, collapsing corridor after corridor in its fury.
His full-powered punches were all deflected and nullified by the metal armor.
Using everything he had—his skills, his honed body, his amassed status modifiers, and numerous high-quality anomalies—he tried to bring it down.
But it wasn't enough.
The metal monster was far too strong.
Even the 9th-ranked A-rank couldn't lay a finger on it.
Swaying on his feet, Tsuruo Hasegawa used a recovery injection for the ninth time.
His body had long since reached its limit.
Due to the damage and drug side effects, parts of his skin had begun to turn gray.
Even so, his spirit never broke.
He kept raising his arms, drenched in blood, standing deep in the collapsing 18th floor on his own two legs.
But now, the end had come.
His knees gave out. His vision darkened.
(No sign of any explorers nearby... no rescue is coming...)
Amidst despair, Tsuruo Hasegawa understood the meaning of why he kept standing.
In this situation where no one is coming to help, why am I still fighting?
To let the B-rank explorers escape?
To avenge the explorers who were taken down earlier?
No. That wasn't it.
(I... once held lofty ambitions, only to break halfway down the path...)
Blood spills from my mouth, and my shattered teeth crumble and scatter with a gritty sound.
Even tears flow from the fear of death and loneliness.
(I... wanted to be a hero... her hero... I wanted to show her a dream, to stand for unwavering, fair and noble justice... but that dream never came true... because your hero was weak... he couldn't become strong)
"So at the very least, I'll stay strong... these knees will not buckle, I'll cling on with all I have... this is my manifesto—my unyielding justice."
The metal monster raised its bloodied claws high.
(This is the end. I didn't yield. That's enough... but if I could make one selfish wish—just once, I wanted to see my wife's face again)
The steel claws came slashing down.
He tightly shut his eyes.
The moment before death felt abnormally long.
One second, two seconds, three seconds pass.
And yet, consciousness never fades. The end doesn't come.
It was simply too long—something felt off.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Something strange was happening.
The metal monster had stopped its arm just before striking.
The extended moment before death wasn't just an illusion.
The metal monster had truly halted the execution.
Its razor-sharp claw tips were frozen just inches from his nose.
Tsuruo Hasegawa gasped for breath.
(What... why did it stop...?)
"Whoa, there's some guy completely covered in blood lying here!"
"Chii chii chii!"
"Gii!"
He heard voices.
The metal monster's attention was drawn toward them.
Tsuruo Hasegawa's eyes widened.
He recognized that voice.
And that appearance looked familiar.
Black sunglasses, a dark brown coat.
A duralumin case in one hand.
"Young man..."
"Ah. (It's Violence-san...)"
He had no idea why he was here.
There hadn't been any human presence until now, and he never imagined someone would conveniently show up in a place like this.
Tsuruo Hasegawa felt a little happy.
In the depths of hopeless darkness, it felt like he had found a spider's thread hanging from the heavens.
But he mustn't grab that thread.
He mustn't.
(I can't drag a promising young man down with me)
Tsuruo Hasegawa summoned the last of his strength.
"You must run... this is a Wandering Boss... a legendary metal monster. It's not something a novice like you, who just made it to A-rank, can handle... you don't want to die, do you...?"
"Metal monster?"
Finger Man's expression sharpened with resolve.
Tsuruo Hasegawa held his breath.
What kind of eyes lay behind those black lenses?
His sharp expression made it all too clear.
He was going to fight.
Seeing the state of the dungeon collapse, he had to understand how powerful this metal monster was, and yet he still intended to face it.
"Good work out there. Leave the rest to me. Experience points, loot, all that stuff—yeah, I'll take care of everything."
"Chii chii chii!!"
"Gii!!"
With a calm expression, Finger Man said that and lifted his sunglasses slightly with the pad of his middle finger.