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TLN: Just a note that next chapter release will be Weakest Mage instead of ZAP.

Enjoy!

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—Divine Beast: 9 headed dragon, Hydra.

According to ancient mythology, it is a monster that inherited the blood of the Evil God King, Typhon.

I want to think it is not the mythological creature even if the name is the same, but the Cerberus I met the other day was the very same monster in myths.

It is said to have been defeated by the invasion of the Holy God-sama in the Divine Realm War and was sealed in the bottom of the Abyss, Tartaros…apparently.

That’s why, even if it is called a Hydra, it is probably one of the same race or something like that…

(The summoning system of the Zenith Tower reaches all the way to Tartaros. The one that will be appearing is going to be the Hydra-chan from the myths. Do your best, Eugene☆.” (Eri)

(…Seriously?) (Eugene)

Eri said with a nonchalant voice.

My hopes were tragically crushed.

“…I will subjugate the Hydra.” (Clair)

Clair-sama declared this after regaining her calm.

But her voice is stiffer than before.

“We should help out too.”

“No choice but to put all of our strength together.”

“There will obviously be a reward from the Alliance, right?”

The ones who spoke were the S Rank explorers.

“We can’t just let Clair-san take on the whole burden.”

“We have to fight this with all 12 Knights.”

“That said, there’s already half of the 12 Knights out there maintaining the tactical barrier though.”

And the remaining 12 Knights.

They are the strongest fighting force of the Dungeon City and their last one.

In other words, defeat is not allowed.

The 1st Knight-sama looked at them and nodded lightly.

“King Uther, there’s no change to the plans. We will subjugate the Hydra and destroy the monster summoning circle. Permission to be dispatched.” (Clair)

“………”

Principal Uther fell silent as if he was thinking of something.

“King Uther?” (Clair)

“There’s a number of things I would like to add before the operation begins.” (Uther)

“What may that be?”

One of the 12 Knights asks King Uther.

“The Divine Beast appeared in the 1st Floor of the Zenith Tower. In other words, the Resurrection Drop can be used, but the poison of the Hydra is an incurable deadly poison that can kill even Gods. It might be possible that the Resurrection Drop won’t work, and even if you manage to resurrect, there will definitely be aftereffects left. Avoid the poison of the Hydra as much as possible.” (Uther)

““““……””””

The faces of the S Rank explorers and the 12 Knights stiffen at that statement of the Principal.

The Resurrection Drop is a magic tool with the same effect as resurrection magic that can be used within 24 hours of your death only in floors below 100.

But there’s a chance its effectiveness is low against the Hydra.

“Moreover, the number of monsters in the 1st Floor continues increasing. With that in consideration:

1) Defeat Hydra.

2) Magic circle destruction.

3) Activate Peacemaker.

Is not the priority. It is:

1) Destroy the magic circle.

2) Activate the Peacemaker.

3) Defeat the Hydra and the remaining horde of monsters.

It is not possible to incapacitate the Hydra with the Peacemaker, but we can expect to weaken it.” (Uther)

“Will it go well? If it is as the legends say, the Hydra has high intelligence, and I don’t think it will just allow the destruction of the magic circle.”

“Right. That’s why there’s the need for bait -for the sake of drawing the Divine Beast away from the magic circle.” (Uther)

“Bait…?”

“That’s right. The Hydra lost in the Divine Realm War, so it hates the Gods of the Divine Realm. A fitting bait would be a high cleric that has received strong blessings of the Goddesses or a mage with strong mana to the point of satisfying the hunger of the Divine Beast that was sealed for long years at the bottom of the Abyss.” (Uther)

“Are there any candidates?”

“I think the 2nd Knight Lloyd-dono who is deeply pious and has a lot of mana would be perfect, but…” (Uther)

“He is already out maintaining the tactical barrier.”

“Then, I shall go.” (Clair)

“You are the core of our offensive, Clair-sama.”

“Alright! I as the trump card should—” (Uther)

““““Please stay put, King Uther!!””””

“…………Umu.” (Uther)

King Uther got dejected.

But I was bothered by the expression of a ‘certain someone’.

The person that fits perfectly the conditions.

“…Uhm, I will be the bait.”

“You?”

“We can’t use a student as bait no matter how desperate we are!”

“But I am the one who fulfills the conditions the most as a Holy Maiden Candidate. I have received the blessing of the Goddesses and have the most mana amount.” (Sara)

Sara really did nominate herself as I thought.

“You must not, President Sara!”

“What are you saying, President Sara?!”

I spoke to Sumire and Airi by my side while I heard the members of the student council trying to stop Sara.

“Sorry, Sumire, Airi, I will be heading off for a bit.” (Eugene)

“Eh, Eugene-kun?!” (Sumire)

“Wait, Eugy?!!” (Airi)

I head to the podium where Principal Uther and the others are with the flustered voices of Sumire and Airi ringing at my back.

I used the Sky Step of the Twin Heavenly Resonance Style and jumped above the explorers.

I stood on top of the podium a few seconds later.

“Sara.” (Eugene)

“Eugene! What are you doing? You are injured, so evacuate with the others and—” (Sara)

“I will be bait with you. Let’s go together.” (Eugene)

“!”

Sara’s eyes opened wide.

I felt like her expression loosened for a bit there, but she soon returned to a serious face.

“You obviously can’t!” (Sara)

“Eugene-kun, I watched your match before as well. It seems like you have recovered from your injury, but being bait against a Divine Beast is reckless no matter how you think about it.” (Isolde)

Sara obviously was against me volunteering to become bait, and the 7th Knight Isolde-san was also against it.

But it is easy to get this approved.

I just have to cajole the person with the most authority here.

“Principal Uther, I am the best option as bait, right?” (Eugene)

“Muh?” (Uther)

I asked with certainty.

He made a dubious face for an instant, but he then seemed to remember something.

I heard the sounds of someone running from behind while I was waiting for his response.

Must be Sumire and Airi.

“What are you saying, Eugy?! You have no piety at all! You would skip theology classes and worship time to train the sword the whole time!” (Airi)

“You don’t really have a lot of mana, Eugene-kun! You run out really fast without my mana!” (Sumire)

“……”

I wonder why, but the words of Sumire and Airi were stabbing at me.

Sara and Isolde-san were also looking at me with judging eyes.

I act as if they didn’t notice their looks and continue talking to Principal Uther.

“My barrier magic can block the poison of the Hydra completely, right, Principal?” (Eugene)

““““““Huh?!!!!””””””

Everyone here raised their voices in surprise.

“Wait, wait, wait! What’s your basis?!”

“You haven’t fought the Hydra before, right?! You should not just throw random statements—”

“My entrance exam for the academy was an exam exclusive for people with only white mana. One of them was ‘Will you be able to stay fine even if bathed in the poison of the Hydra?’. I have cleared that.” (Eugene)

“““““““““……”””””””””

This time, everyone looked at Principal Uther.

He made a somewhat awkward face.

“Uther-sama…did you really put such an insane task in the entrance exam? How did you even procure Hydra poison?” (Clair)

The 1st Knights’ tone is somewhat low.

“It is not that, Clair-kun. The moment I saw Eugene I thought ‘He is the one!’ you see. I didn’t have enough people to look after the 7th Seal Prison, so I was thinking about giving him an exam while at it… By the way, I bought the loot Rosalie-kun brought back when she got through Floor 300. It was 100 years old, but the good part of Divine Beast parts is that they don’t deteriorate with age—” (Uther)

“Can’t you not differentiate what can and can’t be done?! …Eugene-kun, can you really block the incurable poison of the Hydra?” (Clair)

I dig out the memory of my exam with the question of Clair-sama.

“Uhm…the barrier exam was: block the deadly poison of the Hydra, the curse of the Calamity Witch, and the miasma of the Immortal King. I cleared them all.” (Eugene)

“………”

I answered with my chest held high and the 1st Knight-sama and the others looked at me as if looking at a weird creature.

Even though I told them honestly.

“Got it… Is there anyone here who can come out fine even if hit by the poison of the Hydra…? There’s no way there would be, huh. Can’t be helped. I am reluctant to do this, but I shall ask Eugene-kun and Sara-kun to be the baits. We will destroy the monster summoning circle in the meantime.” (Clair)

The 1st Knight-sama summarizes the plan.

But there was someone who spoke up.

“I-I will go too! I don’t lose to anyone when it comes to amount of mana!” (Sumire)

Even Sumire volunteered to become bait.

“No, that’s dangerou—” (Eugene)

“I don’t want to be told that by you, Eugene-kun! In the first place, the 1st Floor won’t only have the Divine Beast, but also 50,000 monsters! What are you going to do against them?! You had a hard time against the Monster House of Floor 105 when it was only 100, right?!” (Sumire)

She really got me where it hurts.

It is true that I am a swordsman that specializes in one-on-ones.

Sara’s Holy Sword can defeat several monsters at once, but it is only 10 or so at most.

We will need the power of a mage in order to defeat more than hundreds of monsters.

Moreover, Sumire’s magic is on the level of offensive tactical magic.

“It has already increased to 60,000.” (Uther)

Principal Uther muttered.

So basically, he is telling me to bring Sumire with us.

(Protecting both Sara and Sumire is…no, that’s not it.) (Eugene)

It is not like I protect them the whole time.

There’s actually most cases where they would save me.

“Alright, let’s go! Sara, Sumire!” (Eugene)

“Hey…Sumire-chan, don’t blame me later if you get too scared and cry.” (Sara)

“So you say, but you are also trembling, Sara-chan.” (Sumire)

“I-I am not trembling! See, your legs are the ones shaking, Sumire-chan.” (Sara)

“Don’t touch me in weird places, Sara-chan!” (Sumire)

The tension has been murdered.

“Hey, wait a moment. How will they get to the front of the Hydra even if they will be the bait?”

One of the 12 Knights asks.

“It is fine to just use Teleport, right?”

“If we do that, we would be abandoning them and going back!”

“That’s way too irresponsible.”

“Right. Even if they are bait, we should leave a method for them to retreat.”

“Then, we should have a Teleport user act together with them…”

“Then, I will act as their carrier!”

The one who raised her hand was President Rebecca.

It is true that she is an excellent Teleport user that can Teleport several people at once.

I do feel like she is not a wrong candidate, but…

“President Rebecca, that’s not possible.” (Eugene)

I said.

“W-Why?! Are you dissatisfied with me, Eugene-kun?!” (Rebecca)

President Rebecca looked shocked, but I shook my head to the sides.

“I will be charging into the horde of monsters with my team, which will require Sumire to burn down the monsters, but…” (Eugene)

“Sumire-chan is bad at controlling her magic, so we will most likely also be burned along.” (Eugene)

“““““““““……Eh?”””””””””

Not only President Rebecca opened her eyes wide but also the 12 Knights and the explorers.

“The fire magic power of Sumire is the highest rank of humanity, Saint Rank. I will block it with barrier magic.” (Eugene)

“I can just barely block it with the divine protection of the Goddess, the power of the Holy Sword, and my own barrier magic.” (Sara)

“I-I am sorry…for being so bad at magic…” (Sumire)

The bare minimum requirement to enter our exploration party is to ‘be able to block Sumire’s fire magic’.

“…That won’t be possible for me.” (Rebecca)

President Rebecca drooped her shoulders.

“Then, who will be the carrier?”

“Can use Teleport and block Saint Rank magic…?”

I glanced at the Principal and he was itching to nominate himself.

No, you must not come out to the frontlines, so please stay put.

“Hmm, then, shall I be the carrier of Eugy and his team?”

“Eh?”

An unexpected voice rang.

“Airi?” (Eugene)

“You must not! What are you saying?!” (Camilla)

Her aide Camilla obviously stopped her.

I also agree with her.

“You can’t use Teleport, Airi.” (Eugene)

“Yeah, but I have brought this little one with me… [Mythical Beast Summoning], come, my cute steed.” (Airi)

Airi draws a simple magic circle in midair.

When she did, it shone golden, and a giant horse appeared from the light.

It is not a plain horse, but a horse with golden wings.

(Pegasus… Moreover, this is…) (Eugene)

A pegasus in itself is by no means a rare mythological beast, but the mana it is clad with is clearly different.

Mana that surpasses even a dragon.

If there’s a pegasus like this…

“This mythological beast has inherited the blood…of the Divine Beast Pegasus that the God King Jupiter-sama used as his steed. The Immortal Flying Horse Pegasus that has been passed on to the Emperors of Grandflare for generations. To think you brought it here.” (Uther)

Principal Uther let out his voice in admiration. It must mean it is quite the steed.

It is true that this mythological beast would serve just right as a carrier.

“This little one should be able to carry us four to the Divine Beast. It can even avoid the monsters in the air. The normal monsters wouldn’t even come near out of fear of the mana of this cutie to begin with.” (Airi)

“A-Airi-sama, you must not! You are a guest of the Dungeon City! A princess of the Empire should not get involved with the problems of the Dungeon City!!” (Camilla)

Camilla is desperately trying to convince her.

But Airi’s expression isn’t changing.

“Cami, you know, right? We have a debt to repay to King Uther for the Great Demonic Beast subjugation of before. My esteemed father wouldn’t wish to keep that debt unpaid forever.” (Airi)

“B-but there’s no need for you to go to a dangerous place yourself…” (Camilla)

“It is not dangerous. I will be bringing Eugy and his team to where they need to be, and just wait as I handle things. I will be watching from a bit far so I don’t get hit by the magic of Sumire. Is that okay with you, Eugy?” (Airi)

My childhood friend said as if nothing.

Even though she is the successor of the throne…

Also, I know that she definitely won’t bend once she has said something.

She would most likely follow along even if I were to refuse.

Then…

“Airi, don’t push yourself, okay? Run away at once if it gets dangerous.” (Eugene)

“I know. I don’t want to be told that by the person that’s going to be rushing into a horde of tens of thousands of monsters while being the bait of a Divine Beast.” (Airi)

She came at me with a really reasonable retort.

I looked at Sumire and Sara, and they were whispering ‘It is the usual Eugene-kun…’ and ‘A joint operation with a princess of the Empire… What will the Holy Maiden-sama say…?’.

But they didn’t object.

“Principal Uther, 1st Knight-sama, we are ready anytime.” (Eugene)

I said this and…

“Eugene, I won’t forgive you if you die.” (Clair)

“Eugene-kun, let’s have a talk once this matter is wrapped up.” (Uther)

I got the agreement of Principal Uther and the 1st Knight-sama.

Now all that’s left is to go to the location.

“Now then, everyone, we will begin the operation.” (Clair)

“““““““““YES!!”””””””””

“““““““““UOOOOH!”””””””””

The 12 Knights answer uniformly in contrast to the deep voices of the explorers.

—This is how the emergency quest [Protect the Dungeon City from the Stampede in the Zenith Tower and the Divine Beast] began.

■Comment Response:

>Not the Crimson Witch?

-She is also called the Red Witch.

■Author’s Comment:

<TLN: From left to right – Sara Iglesia Lodis, Leona Bianchi, and Rita Archangel.>

I am late, but these are the rough illustrations of the characters in volume 2.

Please get it in your bookstores if you are interested!

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