Metal Slime 245
Chapter 245: Partner TL: Cnine ED/PF: Part 1 「Are you okay!?」 Anik rushed over to Akito, who was kneeling on the ground. Rui, Kayla, and the
Chapter 245: Partner
TL: Cnine
ED/PF:
Part 1
「Are you okay!?」
Anik rushed over to Akito, who was kneeling on the ground. Rui, Kayla, and the members of Makamayuri (Peacock King) followed behind him.
Akito lowered Yuuma from his back, stabbed Gáe Bolg into the ground, and slowly stood up. His clothes were scorched in various places, and he had suffered burn wounds.
When Akito looked like he was about to collapse from the pain, Anik grabbed him and said, 「Get a grip.」
「I'm okay. Take a look at Yuuma first...」
Rui held the fallen Yuuma in his arms and checked his breathing.
「...He's breathing, but...」
After checking Yuuma’s condition, Rui furrowed his brows. Yuuma's body was covered in severe burns, and his right arm was missing from the elbow down. It was practically a miracle that he was still alive. That was what Rui truly felt about his childhood friend's condition.
「This is horrible. We have to treat him immediately. Rati!」
「Y-Yes!」
The baby-faced girl standing behind them, Rati, took off the backpack she had been carrying and pulled out tools for treatment from inside.
Since there was no Messiah among the remaining Seekers, they had no choice but to give Yuuma the much-needed first aid.
「Tch! If only Yuuma were conscious, he could take care of his own wounds...」
Akito gritted his teeth. With such severe injuries and unconsciousness, Yuuma showed no signs of waking up anytime soon.
Kayla stood dumbfounded behind Rati, who was administering first aid to Yuuma.
「Did he really... defeat the 'Guardian of the Labyrinth'?」
Kayla couldn't believe what had just happened before her eyes. She could only stare at Yuuma as he was being bandaged.
Below the cliff, at the bottom of the dungeon, raging flames consumed everything.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the "Tree" died.
Once Yuuma received the necessary treatment, Anik gave further instructions.
「Rudra, carry him! This is an important duty that I can only entrust to you!」
「G-Got it. Leave it to me!」
Rudra carried Yuuma on his back and immediately headed toward the entrance of the floor. Seeing this, Rui also lent his shoulder to Akito, helping him stand up.
「Thank you, Anik-san. Please carry Yuuma.」
Anik laughed heartily upon hearing Rui's remark.
「He's the hero who conquered the dungeon, so we can't have him dying. We, Makamayuri (Peacock King), will take full responsibility and bring him back. Don't fall behind, you lot!」
「Yes!」
Kayla and the Indian Seekers were still dumbfounded, unable to believe that the dungeon had truly been conquered. However, they followed Anik and the members of Makamayuri toward the entrance of the floor.
「Let's go, Akito.」
「Ah.」
Akito managed to walk with Rui’s support. He glanced back for a moment—there, the once-glowing thunder spear, Gáe Bolg, was now embedded in the ground, its brilliance lost.
「We have to bring the spear—」
When Rui tried to retrieve the spear, Akito shook his head and spoke.
「Forget it. That thing is already useless after I used 【Release】. It's nothing more than a heavy lump of steel now.」
「But...」
Rui was bewildered, but there was no hesitation in Akito's eyes.
「It'll only get in the way if I bring it along. I'm leaving it here. That's my decision.」
Hearing Akito's remark, Rui replied, 「...Got it,」 and started walking toward the exit. Just before leaving the floor, Akito glanced back once more.
The ground started to collapse. It was undeniable proof that the "Guardian of the Labyrinth" had been defeated.
The rocky edge of the cliff crumbled down, and the ground where the spear had been embedded also collapsed. The strongest spear vanished into the sea of flames.
Akito cast a brief glance at the scene before shifting his gaze back forward, looking straight ahead.
As he walked toward the exit, he quietly muttered one last time in his heart.
――Thank you, partner.
◇◇◇
The group had escaped the lowest level and was making their way through a quiet forest area.
Part 2
Rui and Akito quickened their pace, catching up with the group at the front. Though there were no monsters around, the ground trembled slightly, and eerie sounds echoed through the dense forest.
Everyone started to realize that the dungeon had begun to collapse.
「Is this dungeon going to collapse and disappear within 24 hours? If that's the case, there's no way we'll make it out in time.」
When Akito asked anxiously, Anik, who was walking ahead, turned around.
「Worry not. It'll take a long time for the dungeon to collapse completely due to its sheer size.」
「Is that so? I thought all dungeons collapsed within the same timeframe.」
Akito placed a hand on the burn on his cheek, grimacing in pain as he muttered, 「Ouch.」
「That’s inaccurate information. Well, since dungeon conquests themselves are rare, it’s no surprise that you don't know about it.」
「The time it takes for a dungeon to completely collapse varies?」
Rui asked Anik while supporting Akito.
「That’s right. When a dungeon is conquered, it collapses from the lowest floor upward in order. Naturally, shallow-floor dungeons collapse quickly, while larger ones take quite some time. In other words, the time it takes for a dungeon to collapse depends on its size.」
「I see...」
Rui nodded in understanding. Now that it was explained, it made sense to him.
「But if that’s the case, why did the idea that dungeons collapse within 24 hours spread? In Japan, that seems to be the widely accepted theory.」
「It's simple,」 said Anik while caressing his beard.
「Before the world was overrun by monsters... The deepest dungeon ever conquered was the 150-floor 【Green Dungeon】. It was conquered by 'Flame Emperor Albert,' and since it collapsed completely in 24 hours, that's most likely the origin of that theory.」
「I see... However, how do you know all of this, Anik-san?」
Anik smiled lightly as he looked at Rui.
「It's not just me. This is actually common knowledge among Indian Seekers.」
「Common knowledge?」
「India has many dungeons. Since we've had to conquer quite a few of them to keep the monsters in check, it naturally became common knowledge.」
It wasn’t just Anik—the members of Makamayuri also nodded in agreement. Rui once again realized just how much he still had to learn.
The Seekers didn’t stop and kept marching through the rocking dungeon.