I can't use my Relic!?
I frantically checked. No, I could use it... but?
"Ah, but Restriction Relics still seem to work."
Bid said this while sniping spider-women with his composite bow's "Kimkwi."
Taking them down one by one with clean headshots. Impressive.
"I can still use the 'Spider-Cutter' Relic on my end."
"No good for me. Well, mine was never much of a Relic to begin with, so it doesn't matter."
"I don't have a Relic, so I wouldn't know."
So some Relics could be used and others couldn't.
I was probably fine because I'd defended with and reflected it using the "Azure Sacred Gauntlet."
Thinking about it, that heavy wave-like something from earlier must have been what disabled Relic use.
Huh? Disabled?
"They weren't erased, huh."
"Right. They were just made unusable."
"...A Relic that disables other Relics."
"Woundmaker" erases Relics, so that's different.
If that's the case, the spider? I knew it was that woman's voice from earlier.
"Unreal Kingdom" — that had to be the Relic.
Kingdom... so it's territorial! In other words, a Relic with a field effect.
Huh. So that actually existed.
"We can talk later. Right now, let's deal with these guys."
The spider women were closing in little by little, cautious and alert.
A few of them were already lying on the ground, but there were still far too many for that to matter.
"Galado, sir. I can use a Relic, so let me scatter them."
"Right, I'm counting on you!"
First, I used Banish with a glance, sweeping away every spider woman who had stepped into range.
"......Eightfold Tortoiseshell!"
Nabel cut through the spider women with her "Spider-Cleaver."
As expected from a weapon specialized for fighting spiders. Though it did make me wonder — were spider women actually considered spiders?
Still, these spider women... they were the enemy, yet they still hadn't done anything.
I couldn't tell what kind of attack they would pull.
"Whoa, whoa — they're shooting threads at us!"
Threads from their hands. How utterly cliché.
But spider silk was no laughing matter.
"Whoa, they're attacking!"
They extended their spider legs — the ones that looked like hair — and lunged forward to stab.
Hoss dodged and slashed. Threads and spider legs — quite the nuisance.
(Evil Eye — reflect, come on, reflect!)
What? The spider women's four red eyes were glowing.
"Waaah!"
I guard with the Blue Saint's Gauntlets, but it's not fast enough. Crap.
"Nah!"
Daga launched out of the knife belt.
Something ricocheted off and hit the ground.
Before I could even pick it up, I immediately used Banish to erase the spider woman's four eyes and took her down.
"Thanks, Daga."
"Nah!"
I thanked her while scooping her up. That was close.
"Watch out — they can use Evil Eye!"
Galado swung his greatsword and shouted a warning.
"Evil Eye! How the hell can they just use Relics normally?!"
Bidd bellowed, firing off a string of headshots.
Strong even without Relics.
"With this many of 'em, it's more than just a pain in the ass."
"Yeah — we're running."
Galado made the call fast.
Good enough for me — I stepped forward.
"I'll carve us a path!"
"Do it!"
I nodded at her answer without hesitation.
The situation was as bad as it could get. If that was the case, no reason to hold back.
"Quasi-Deification Relic — Generous!"
I felt my hair and eyes glow a luminous purple.
I raised both palms toward the spider women.
"Phantasmagoria!"
Countless Banish projectiles carved through the swarm of spider women.
Touch them and they disappear. Strong.
"Field Quake!"
I shook just the ground beneath the spider women violently, rendering them immobile.
A huge opening appeared, and I slammed Phantasmagoria right into it.
The power was incredible.
Huh, Dimetion Crack doesn't change after all.
Never mind that, though — I'd surely thinned their numbers enough by now.
We could break out of here.
"Huh? What's everyone doing? Come on, let's get out of here!"
For some reason, in the middle of this whole mess, everyone was just standing around.
Weren't we supposed to be rushing to escape?
"Wof. Haven't you noticed?"
"Noticed what? Why are you being so casual about this? If we don't hurry, they'll surround us ag—"
"All done, y'know."
"Huh?"
"Wof. That was incredible."
"Knocked the whole lot out myself, I did."
All of them — oh, it's true.
The swarm of spider women had been annihilated.
Still dazed, I released [Generous].
"The bad air's gone now, y'know."
"Sure is."
It was true. The oppressive heaviness was gone.
"The Relic is usable now!"
"Oh, for real?"
"How come?"
"My guess is, defeating this spider-woman swarm broke their territorial hold."
"Ah, I see, y'know."
I see.
Garado spoke to me.
"Nice work, Wof."
"Oh, no — I'm just glad everyone's okay."
"You really saved us, Wof."
"That's the stuff."
"Thank you, Wof!"
"Oh, no — I'm just glad everyone's okay. Really."
Everyone's praise left me scratching the back of my head, a little embarrassed.
I wasn't sure what to call it, but I had this nagging sense that I'd overdone things.
Granted, things had been genuinely dangerous, but I'd still used [Generous] without a moment's hesitation.
The fact that nobody was willing to bring up what happened after that — honestly, it was starting to make me feel guilty.
Not mentioning Relics — that was basic delver etiquette.
Though Nabel had probably seen me use it during that famous monster hunt, so she already knew.
As for Bid and Hoss — I had no idea whether they'd noticed.
Galad definitely didn't know.
But it seemed that delver etiquette applied to hunters as well.
Galad walked over to the spider woman's remains, looked down at them, and spoke.
"— She's got a woman's body, that's for sure."
"That's sexual harassment, isn't it?"
"How is that sexual harassment? I mean, sure, she's completely naked, but it's not exactly erotic."
"Fair point."
"Yeah."
"What's with those looks? I didn't mean it like that. Sigh... even for a dungeon monster that isn't alive, this one seems artificial. Yeah. Like a doll."
That word dredged up a term from my past life — mannequin.
"It spits out threads, attacks with spider legs, and fires off Evil Sight? So it's a doll."
"That's in terrible taste."
"Quite the nuisance. Good thing the Spider Slayer was effective..."
Garado grumbled while studying the spider woman.
"First time I've seen anything like this in the Great Forest."
"Never seen one neither."
"Not bragging, but I've been to the other side of the Great Forest. Even there, nothing like this showed up."
"You went to the other side?"
"Yeah... there was nothing there, let alone a Junkyard."
The Junkyard was, well, you know.
Bid and Hoss both looked uncomfortable. Right.
"So it really is an anomaly in the dungeon?"
I muttered that with some lingering doubt.
Garado seemed to share the uncertainty.
"What I went up against was a giant spider. But I recognize the black mottled pattern on these ones' arms. And the red eyes too... only the giant one had six of them."
"This one has four."
"There's a theory that multi-eyed variants with fewer eyes are the close kin."
"Heard of that before."
"I saw the giant spider but never saw any kin, so I can't really say."
"Um, if that helps... I saw spiders during the first wave. They had black mottled patterns on their legs and four red eyes. I remember clearly. They were small and actually looked like spiders — not humanoid at all."
Come to think of it, back there everyone was making a fuss about some white spider or other.
So who the heck is this spider woman, then?
"……The Relics became unusable, right? The only thing I can think of that's connected is the Wounded."
"But the Wounded destroy Relics — they don't just make them unusable."
"Still, if we're looking for a connection, that's the only candidate, and that's a fact. Something is definitely happening in the Haizen Great Forest. Hey — this isn't some worst-case scenario that's somehow spiraled beyond even that, is it...?"
We answered with faint, wry smiles.
Come to think of it, I wonder who those male and female voices were that we heard twice back then.
I feel like I've heard them somewhere before. At least they helped us out.
My kingdom.
My kingdom.
Unreal —
a kingdom.
Once, there was a kingdom.
She was that kingdom's queen.
There were many subjects.
A great number of subjects served her.
Many subjects revered her.
Many subjects worshipped her.
Many subjects received the queen's grace.
And so she proudly continued to fulfill her duty as queen.
Many were her subjects, yet not a single one resembled the queen.
Everything about them was different, and they could not communicate with her.
They were not her dependents either — her subjects were not her kin.
But the queen loved her subjects, who were shaped so differently from herself.
She cherished them, knowing they would scatter and die in their short lives.
That was why she was their queen.
Her subjects understood this too.
As long as the queen was queen, the kingdom was eternal.
It was supposed to be eternal.
But because her subjects were short-lived, they forgot the queen's love.
And because the queen was long-lived, she never knew they had forgotten.
Eventually, the subjects split into three factions.
The queen noticed the change in her people, but chose to watch over them in silence.
Eventually, the queen fell into slumber at the hands of her beloved subjects.
Deep, deep slumber.
Yet the queen never forgot, never lost her love for her subjects.
That is why the kingdom still stands.
As long as the queen is queen.
My kingdom.
My kingdom.
Unreal
The kingdom of unreality is here.
I am the queen.
Daughter of the sword goddess.
I am the queen.
Daughter of the sword goddess.
I am the queen. And daughter of the sword goddess.
This is my kingdom.
It is the kingdom of me — the queen, daughter of the sword goddess.
I will not forgive.
I, the queen who is daughter of the sword goddess, will not forgive.
I will never forgive those who threaten my kingdom.
The Haizen Great Forest.
Unreal
The kingdom of unreality.
"Wh-what is that?"
"Just run!"
"Ugh, if only I could use my Relic!"
"Pakira, watch out!"
"Lupinus!?"
"...
...space...
...of... Arkyone Blade!"
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
"Riv, sorry."
"I owe you one."
"Nn... hurry... retreating..."
"Wait! There's someone over there!"
"Huh? They're still alive!"
"Riv."
"Nn... can't be helped... buying time..."
"Riv. Don't do anything reckless."
"Riv. Leave the stalling to us."
"Here they come!"
"...Maia Blade."
BOOOOOM!!
"Nn... your opponent is... Riv... okay?"
KABOOM!!
"Nice, nice... got away... hmm... Riv's solo... live, huh... oh wait, Tayugete Blade...!"
ROOOOAAAR!!!
"Then... might as well... give it a shot... Pleiades Blade... requesting full protection release... permission granted... might as well set the code name... Riv Valentine... mission auto mode... engage... Relic Protocol... limited operation, 10 seconds... release... protocol name is... <True Apotheosis Relic [――――――]>... that'll do..."
KAT. FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
"Then... here I go for real... Your Majesty............"
That day, the Heisen Great Forest trembled.
And then.
The Second Wave began.
—————
That's My Dungeon My Life.
It's been one year since I started posting.
This is all thanks to everyone's support.
Thank you very much.
I hope you'll stick with me going forward.