ZAP – Chapter 94: Eugene fights the Divine Beast (2nd Part – 2)

Previous Chapter l Next Chapter

— “Uuuh… Have you finally finished your preparations?”

The sad voice of the angel Rita-san rang in the 1st Floor of the Zenith Tower.

It has been around 1 hour since the time we used Group Teleport.

(I feel bad for Rita-san.) (Eugene)

I apologized in my mind.

We are currently in the plaza of the 1st Floor.

“So that’s the mythological evil dragon, Hydra, huh.”

The big knight by my side muttered.

—The Shield of the King and 2nd Knight, Lloyd Gawain-sama.

He apparently was in command of the tactical barrier to stop the Stampede, but he has come here to fight the Divine Beast now.

The 100,000 monsters have left deep inside the dungeon with the activation of the Peacemaker by Principal Uther.

The only one remaining is the Hydra.

“Eugene-kun, we are the last line of defense as the baits of the Hydra. Let’s do our best together.” (Lloyd)

The job of the 2nd Knight-sama is to draw the attention of the Hydra and have it stay in place as much as possible.

“Yes. Anyways, that’s a grand sight, isn’t it?” (Eugene)

I looked back and said this.

“Yeah, this is all the fighting force of the Dungeon City -excluding King Uther.” (Lloyd)

“The Divine Beast will get stronger if Principal Uther were to participate after all.” (Eugene)

The ones behind us that are surrounding the Hydra are:

– The guardians of the Dungeon City, the 12 Knights.

-A and S Rank explorers.

-The students of the Legendary Hero Department and the club presidents.

-The high ranked combat staff of the Dungeon Alliance.

-The daredevil high ranked adventurers that came to the Last Dungeon.

-The Golden Knights of the Empire, Holy Knights of the Holy Union, and the brave ones that volunteered to subjugate the Divine Beast.

(I am impressed they managed to gather so many in just 1 hour…) (Eugene)

I can only be impressed.

The Hydra was silently laying down without a care even when surrounded by hundreds of strong people.

It seems like it lost patience since the battle didn’t begin and fell asleep.

What’s more creepy is that Anemoi Babel hasn’t spoken a single word even though she was that talkative before.

She was looking around with a grin on her face while on top of the Hydra with arms crossed.

The united army of the Dungeon City has finished their positioning.

“The Dungeon City alliance will be challenging the Trial of Gods!” (Clair)

The 1st Knight Clair declared loudly.

— “The Deus Discipline shall begin now~~.”

The voice of Rita-san echoed.

This is how the battle began.

◇◇

“Begin the attack!!” (Clair)

Magic was activated all at the same time with the command of the 1st Knight Clair-sama.

The one that stands out the most is the grand fire spell of Sumire.

The fire giant rushed towards the Hydra.

There’s also a lot of them using magic weapons to do long range attacks.

The Holy Sword of Sara became several swords of light, stabbing at the Hydra.

Giant boulders were coming down like a meteor.

Raining fire.

Hundreds of ice spears.

Thousands of wind blades.

More than tens of thousands of light spears.

*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Chain explosions happened.

A wave of attacks that had no room for escape.

Attacks that would make me think the Hydra will be erased without leaving any trace of it since it didn’t run away and just took it on directly.

Is the Dungeon Master that’s together with it okay?

The ground is shaking without end due to the shockwave of the attacks.

The ground bursted, clouds of dust danced, taking away the vision of the front.

“Stop the attack!” (Clair)

The magic attacks stopped with the command of Clair-sama.

“Did we do it?!”

“There should be nothing left after eating that much of our attacks.”

“It was unexpectedly easy.”

A slightly optimistic mood was felt around.

The cloud of dust calmed down and the Hydra came into view.

Even though it was hit with so many attacks…

That said, I can’t really say…it is fine.

The skin of the Hydra had deep purple blood flowing out and there were brutal wounds in its whole body.

A weak figure that’s hard to believe is that of a Divine Beast.

“Uh…”

There were some people who covered their mouths at that grim sight.

“Hey, can this be considered a victory, Eugene-kun…?” (Lloyd)

The 2nd Knight-sama whispered.

I was about to agree, but I noticed something off after using mana detection.

“…Lloyd-sama, this is strange. The mana of the Hydra continues increasing.” (Eugene)

“What? …That’s indeed weird. The Hydra is on the verge of dying no matter how you see—” (Lloyd)

At that moment…

*Clang*

The sound of slipping metal and something falling on the ground echoed.

There’s giant black chains and a giant lock fallen on the ground near the Hydra.

(That’s…) (Eugene)

The chains that were wrapped around the Hydra the whole time since it was summoned.

They have been undone.

“Fuuh, finally undid them.”

The Dungeon Master spoke after a good while.

Could it be that she was silent the whole time because she was concentrating too much in undoing the chains?

(Eh?! The Dungeon Master-chan took off the chains of heaven?!) (Eri)

The surprised voice of Eri rang in my mind.

(Eri, what are the chains of heaven?) (Eugene)

(The Sacred Treasure that was used to seal the Divine Beasts that were defeated in the Divine Realm War. The chains of heaven of the Hydra-chan were specially tight…) (Eri)

*Rumble Rumble Rumble Rumble Rumble Rumble…*

Massive amounts of mana and miasma were being released from the body of the Hydra that looks fatally injured.

No one could speak.

The sound of something giant grinding on the ground.

And the sound of something creeping out.

“““““SHAAAAAH!!””””

The Hydra that was docile until now let out a massive roar and stood up.

All of its injuries healed and its body was one size bigger.

And on the ground near the Hydra, there was the shed skin of a snake covered in blood.

“It shed its skin…?” (Lloyd)

“So that’s why it was so docile.” (Eugene)

“Then, that attack just now…” (Lloyd)

“Didn’t work…” (Eugene)

Our allies grew noisy.

The Hydra was rocking its big crooked necks.

It is not as violent as the Hydra 1 hour before.

And yet, the pressure it is giving off is far beyond that.

I have a bad feeling about this.

(Hey, Eri, what should we do now?) (Eugene)

(It would be better for you to run away… The restriction spell of the Zenith Tower might be out…) (Eri)

(Eh? What do you mean by that?) (Eugene)

Just when I was about to finish my question…

“This is bad! Everyone, evacuate!!” (Uther)

Principal Uther appeared with Teleport and shouted loudly.

“Nope, it is already too late.” (Anemoi)

Anemoi Babel declared.

“Now, 9 headed dragon that has been unsealed and has regained its true power! Grant a trial to the people here—” (Anemoi)

In the middle of the loud speech of the Dungeon Master…

— “Small Dungeon Master, allow me to thank you first for undoing the seal.”

An austere voice rang within the dungeon.

The Hydra spoke.

That’s all it did, and yet, my whole body trembled.

I look back and the academy students and high ranked combatants were collapsing one after the other.

(This is different from before.) (Eugene)

It has clearly become something else entirely.

“T-That’s right! I undid the seal! That’s why, listen to what I—” (Anemoi)

— “So this is…the construction of the Sun Goddess that rules the heavens, huh. It creates new gods and takes them into their ranks. What a disgusting plan. It is something that the arrogant Sun Goddess that wants to manage everything would think of.” (Hydra)

The voice of the Divine Beast is calm.

But there’s faint killing intent within that calmness.

Even more people collapsed after feeling this.

“Listen here, Hydra. You should be obeying my—” (Anemoi)

Just when the Dungeon Master-san was getting a bit annoyed…

“Poison dragon of origins, Hydra-dono, allow me to express my happiness for the undoing of your seal first.” (Uther)

Principal Uther showed up right in front of the Hydra with Teleport.

“Oh my, you plan on fighting too? In that case, I will make the restriction spell of the Zenith Tower be comparable to that of Floor 500—” (Anemoi)

“Anemoi-dono, the restriction spell of the Hydra-dono has been undone along with the chains of heaven.” (Uther)

“…Eh?” (Anemoi)

““““““Eh?””””””

The words of Principal Uther surprised the Dungeon Master, and the 12 Knights and explorers that surrounded the Hydra.

No, the Dungeon Master shouldn’t be surprised by this.

— “Now then, small Dungeon Master, I just have to impose a trial on these people, right? Just like how I did in the past with the legendary hero Hercules.” (Hydra)

The Half-God Legendary Hero, Hercules.

It is said that he inherited the blood of the God King Jupiter, overcame the 12 trials given by the Gods, and managed to join the Divine Realm.

He fought the Hydra too if I remember correctly.

(It would be troubling to treat it the same as that!) (Eugene)

This is most likely what everyone here thought.

“U-Uhm, that’s right, but I would like you to hold back to match the opponents…” (Anemoi)

The Dungeon Master answered in a flustered fashion.

Hmm, wouldn’t it be better to tell the Hydra in a clearer manner?

— “Understood.” (Hydra)

The Hydra gave a short answer.

The scales of the 9 headed dragon shone rainbow for an instant.

I got goosebumps all over my body the moment I saw that.

The 9 mouths of the Hydra declared austerely.

— “We create, [Egocreo].”

— “Encroach, [Mundi Veneni Invadendi].”

The scenery around the 9 headed dragon warped.

It was as if the background was splattered with black red dyes. A sight that would make you feel bad just from looking at it.

“Guh…”

The 2nd Knight-sama beside me fell on one knee.

(Divine Magic – Another World… This is bad. Hydra-chan is seriously doing this.) (Eri)

My unease increases with the serious voice of Eri.

(Hey, Eri, what’s this Another World magic…?) (Eugene)

(Magic that’s only allowed to Gods. You can act as a God by creating a world in your surroundings. Eugene, you definitely must not approach Hydra-chan with your bare body. You will get swallowed.) (Eri)

Eri’s explanation is filled with things I haven’t heard before.

— “Dungeon Master-chan, a new domain is being created within the Zenith Tower-ssu! At this rate, the Last Dungeon and the new domain will clash and the Zenith Tower will collapse-ssu yo!!” (Rita)

“T-This is bad! Hey, Hydra, don’t do that. Stop!” (Anemoi)

The Dungeon Master hurriedly orders the Divine Beast, but it is not listening to her at all.

“[Group Teleport] – everyone, gather.” (Uther)

The voice of Principal Uther rang from afar.

The scenery in front of me warped all of a sudden.

The next instant, I was gathered together with the other 12 Knights and explorers a bit further away from the Hydra.

It is not like everyone is fine. Close to half have lost consciousness.

And then, there’s Anemoi Babel standing a bit further away from the group, looking awkward.

“Dungeon Master-dono.” (Uther)

Principal Uther speaks to her calmly.

The creepy space around the Hydra continued spreading in that time.

It is as if it is encroaching the world.

“What…?” (Anemoi)

The Dungeon Master responds as if sulky.

“What do you plan on doing with the Divine Beast over there?” (Uther)

“I will suspend the Trial of Gods…” (Anemoi)

— “Dungeon Master-chan, I am sorry, but I can’t suspend a Trial of Gods. The Divine Beast has more divinity than me now that its seal has been undone.” (Rita)

“T-Then, if I order it to stop as the Dungeon Master…” (Anemoi)

“It looked like the Divine Beast wasn’t listening to you in the first place though.” (Clair)

Clair-sama pointed out calmly.

“It can’t be helped! I myself will face the Divine Beast! No complaints then, right?!” (Anemoi)

“The Dungeon Master of the Zenith Tower has the divinity rank of a Quasi-God. That’s the same for a Divine Beast with its seal undone. It has been around 100 years since you became a Dungeon Master, right, Anemoi-dono?” (Uther)

“That’s right! Problem?!” (Anemoi)

“The Hydra is a monster that has been present since 15 million years ago.” (Uther)

“…”

“Moreover, you are the summoner this time around. You called it for the Trial of Gods. If you as the summoner go against it, you will end up being at a disadvantage due to the nature of the contract magic. You will most likely not be able to win.” (Uther)

The Dungeon Master-san is being defeated by Principal Uther with facts and logic.

“Ugugu…” (Anemoi)

The Dungeon Master groaned.

An uncomfortable silence ruled the place.

The one who spoke was, as expected, that person.

“It seems like there’s no time to be pondering here, so we will be making small adjustments to the plan we already made and go with the same goal.” (Uther)

Principal Uther.

“What…are you planning on doing?” (Anemoi)

Anemoi Babel, the root of all evil, asked.

“We will be challenging the Trial of Gods as planned. It seems like the Divine Beast will be holding back at least. Looks like it hasn’t been able to adapt to the age difference because it has been so long since it has been in the mortal realm. It is one of the Divine Beasts that was in the oldest era that experienced the Divine Realm War after all.” (Uther)

“King Uther, we shall go with you!”

“I shall accompany you!”

The 12 Knights step forward.

“I am grateful for the offer, but what’s around the Divine Beast is the Divine Precincts Magic: Another World. Your sanity won’t last just from approaching it. The only ones who would be able to move inside of that are me and…” (Uther)

“I have been kidnapped to the Fairy World when I was young and returned. I have resistance to a domain.” (Clair)

“1st Knight Clair-kun, huh. Right, you would be fine for a short period of time. Also…that’s all, I guess.” (Uther)

Principal Uther looked around and declared this.

I felt like he looked at me for an instant, but didn’t say anything.

(By the way, you can also enter the Divine Precincts of the Hydra-chan -if you are clad in my mana.) (Eri)

(! Really?!) (Eugene)

(Technically. But your mind won’t be able to endure for a long time, so I would say 15 minutes at most.) (Eri)

(Got it.) (Eugene)

That much is enough.

“Principal Uther, I can go, too.” (Eugene)

“Eugene-kun!” (Sumire)

Sumire jumped in at what I said.

When I looked over there, Sara and Airi were fainted on top of the pegasus.

The only one conscious is Sumire since she is an Ifrit.

“You must not! There’s no way you can…win against that…” (Sumire)

“Sumire…” (Eugene)

I don’t know how to calm down Sumire who is on the verge of tears.

“I know your barrier magic is outstanding, but wouldn’t it be rough against Divine Precincts magic?” (Uther)

Even Principal Uther thinks it is not possible.

(Hydra-chan is a relative of the Evil God Typhon, so the element of its domain is Hell. You can adapt to the air of Hell if you wrap my mana around you. A Fallen Angel means to fall into Hell after all.) (Eri)

(…I kind of get it and kind of don’t.) (Eugene)

I told Principal Uther exactly what Eri told me.

Principal Uther heard this and began to mutter as if impressed.

“Fumu… I see. This is interesting. There’s way too few Fallen Angels, so the research hasn’t progressed much, but…to think they have adapted to even Hell. Hmm, I really do want a blood sample. Can you stealthily get some next time?” (Uther)

(I will kill you if you do.) (Eri)

“Not happening.” (Eugene)

I would be dead.

“I see…” (Uther)

He looks seriously sad here.

“King Uther, we don’t have time.” (Clair)

“Muh, that’s right.” (Uther)

King Uther returns to his senses with the voice of the 1st Knight-sama.

“Now then, Eugene, can you lend us your strength?” (Uther)

“Got it.” (Eugene)

“Eugene-kun…” (Sumire)

Sumire is holding my hand uneasily, but…she let go after thinking about it.

“I will be going then…” (Eugene)

“Wait!” (Sumire)

She hugged me.

Not only that, she also kissed me and a fearsome amount of mana was poured into me.

My body turned hot in an instant to the point of boiling.

Her lips separated from mine, and there was enough mana from Sumire around me to the point that I was seeing red.

“You must not die. You definitely have to come back.” (Sumire)

“I promise.” (Eugene)

(……)

I hugged Sumire and I could tell Eri was in a bad mood.

(Eri-san?) (Eugene)

(………Hmph!) (Eri)

Let’s put aside some time for her.

“Are you ready now?” (Clair)

“Y-Yes! Sorry for the wait.” (Eugene)

The 1st Knight-sama looked at me a bit baffled.

“Shall we go then.” (Uther)

Principal Uther was wearing explorer clothes at some point in time.

This is the first time I see him in this attire.

“Principal Uther, I will protect you even if it costs me my life.” (Clair)

“Haha, you are the sword, Clari-kun, so just watch the front and cut what’s in the path.” (Uther)

“As you will.” (Clair)

“Also, sorry, Eugene. I am always giving you unreasonable tasks.” (Uther)

“I was the one who proposed this.” (Eugene)

The Record Holder in 2nd place: Uther Mercurius Pendragon.

The guardian of the Dungeon City and strongest swordsman of the 12 Knights: 1st Knight Clair Lancelot.

And the student of the Lykeion Magic Academy’s Normal Department and caretaker of the Demon Lord in the Animal Club: Eugene Santafield.

The challenge of the Trial of Gods with this weird temporary team has begun.

■Comment Response:

>I feel bad for Rita-chan, but she is so cute!

-She is one of my favorite characters.

>Rita-san, you can tattle on the Goddesses, you know.

-The Goddesses are watching.

Previous Chapter l Next Chapter