When I used [Danger Discernment], the inside of the stone pillar was pitch black.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
I'd half expected it, but seeing it so brazenly obvious was almost funny.
"Rururuuuu..."
"............"
I fixed my gaze on the interior and stepped forward to shield the girls, raising [Banish] at the ready.
Something slowly emerged.
It had the face of a white monkey with a single red eye.
Its body was powerful, like a white lion, and its tail split into three.
The three split tails were long, lashing like whips.
Each tail was different. One tail wreathed in flame.
One tail crackling with lightning. And one tail coiling with wind.
Those were Relics.
It wasn't only humans who could use Relics.
Monsters could use them too.
Especially monsters of the silver-tier, gold-tier, gem-tier, and treasure-tier always carried multiple Relics.
The way it looked — in my past life, I was pretty sure it was called...
a nue.
...or something like that.
It resembled one.
"Lulululuu-uuu..."
Let's assume it was a nue, then.
The nue swayed its three tails warily, keeping its eyes on me.
"Shaaaaa!"
"—!"
Without any warning, it swung its blazing, fiery tail straight at me.
I hastily blocked with my dominant hand.
"Gyaaaaa!"
The nue shrieked in agony.
Because I'd used Banish to erase the tip of its burning tail.
The nue glared at me with killing intent, then leaped backward.
It coiled its lightning tail and unleashed a bolt of electricity.
I maximized Banish and erased it.
"!"
The nue's eyes went wide.
I immediately swung Banish.
Something vanished.
"!?"
"Utterly pointless. That won't work on me."
There's nothing that can't be erased by the Relic [Banish].
"Shaaaaaah!"
The nue was furious. It launched blades of wind from its tail.
But I dodged and erased them.
The nue kept its distance, wary.
This monster is troublesome. Just then, someone groaned behind me.
"Mm... mmm..."
This is bad. One of them might wake up.
I don't have time to drag this fight out.
Instant kill — those two characters flashed through my mind.
That would be the best option. *Sigh*. Well, it can't be helped.
Ugh, I really don't want to do this.
Using this — I hate it, from the bottom of my heart.
But there's no other way to instantly kill the nue.
This is the only way.
I used my fourth Relic, [■■■■■].
"Rurururuuuuuuuuuuuu!?!"
The nue shuddered. But it was already over.
Please, let no one wake up.
No one should see this.
No one must know.
No one must hear.
No one must speak of it.
Everyone, every last one — it exists, and yet it doesn't.
The nue's Danger Discernment, as seen through those purple eyes, had been white.
Of course it had. I raised my hand, brought 'that' into existence, and unleashed it.
I killed the nue in an instant.
In the blink of an eye.
"...How frustrating..."
Killing the nue in an instant —
the
me
of
right
now
simply
couldn't.
Not without Relic [■■■■■].
It's only because I have it that I can wield that kind of power. Feeling sorry for myself like that — it's pathetic, and it gets me down.
"...Right. What about them?"
Pull yourself together. There's no time to feel sorry for yourself.
They moaned, but they didn't seem like they were going to wake up.
I was genuinely relieved they didn't.
The next problem was how to get out of here.
"This is probably deep inside the dungeon, huh."
Getting them out without waking them up from a place like that.
Impossible. No matter how I thought about it, impossible.
No, wait. Wait. Right. It hit me.
"...They might have one."
I bowed my head low and apologized, then rummaged through their belongings.
It felt truly awful.
Even though I needed it, I couldn't help feeling terrible.
And going through a girl's things on top of that... There.
"Found it."
It was a small stone.
Transparent, not cut cleanly — warped, as if carved away.
Cloth was wrapped around it, and the center glowed a pale green.
"Legacy..."
My hand trembled from the sheer tension, and I swallowed hard.
Now I was going to break it.
Forced Transfer Stone. Also known as the Forced Return Stone.
It's a Legacy that teleports you to the first floor of a dungeon when you break it.
Legacies can be used by anyone. And they're expensive.
I had no idea how much this one would cost.
"Hahh! Sorry!"
I slammed it against the floor with all my might.
I'm sorry.
The stone cracked and burst into light, and our figures vanished.
When the light faded, I saw a stone ceiling I vaguely recognized.
I knew this place. The first floor. I glanced at the girls.
They weren't awake. I felt relieved.
It pained me to leave them behind, but I headed for the exit alone.
It was fully dark by now.
Curfew had already passed.
I figured I'd get an earful on the way, but the gatekeeper wasn't there.
That was strange.
The gatekeepers worked in shifts — someone was supposed to be on duty for all twenty-six hours.
Could something have happened?
"Hey. Over here. There's someone here."
"A survivor?!"
A voice from behind. Gauro's voice.
Thank goodness.
It's okay now.
I quietly slipped out of the dungeon.