Chapter 90

Descending the stairs,

I emerged into a room so vast, it could have been a baseball field.

It was the place I had been told about beforehand.

And there, in the center, it was.

A red face, a long nose, and yatsude leaves.

Dressed like a monk.

"Is it a tengu?"

"Indeed! I am one of the eight tengu of Japan, the Great Peak Mountain Tengu!"

"You can talk!?"

I had never encountered a talking monster before.

Great Peak Mountain, wasn't that a mountain in the southern part of Nara Prefecture?

Why did a tengu with such a name come all the way to Mount Ikoma?

"Why can you talk? The answer seems simple but is quite a difficult question. Words are not a privilege granted only to humans."

"If we can communicate, let's talk. Can you let us through? I have business with the core of the dungeon on the tenth floor, not with you."

"That is not possible. I was created to guard this place. I must not neglect this duty... I feel."

"You feel?"

"Whether one is human or not, the reason for one's existence is only to this extent."

The tengu laughed.

"Taizuru, I don't think you should talk too much."

"What do you mean?"

Could it be that there's a curse or something in the words?

"I agree. What we are about to do is not a discussion or a match, but a fight to the death."

Ayame said this with a pained expression.

If you get emotionally involved, it becomes harder to kill.

That's what Ayame is saying.

"Hmm, the female warrior decides quickly. Then, let's begin the battle!"

The tengu laughed and swung the yatsude leaves widely.

"If it's a battle, then so be it!"

At the same time, a strong gust of wind blew.

What power—

Our bodies were pushed back.

"If you leave now, that's fine. If not, by force—"

The wind pressure increased even more.

What strength.

Milk raised her gun.

"Release: Gunpowder Refinement, Release: Heat Stone Bullet"

The bullets were fired.

No matter how strong the wind is, this should—

What, haaa!?

"The bullets are stopping in mid-air!?"

The bullets were spinning rapidly but not moving forward at all.

Then, their rotation stopped completely, and they fell to the ground, rolling towards us.

"Then, I will counter with my wind magic! Release: Tornado"

The wind magic pushed back the wind.

The wind eased slightly.

This should—

I thought.

The wind doesn't reach!?

The bullets stopped at a certain point and didn't move any further.

"Hmm, quite a powerful force. But it's not enough to break my tengu storm. You need to use a similar wind to break it!"

"I see, so using your tengu storm can break the barrier."

"If possible— but this technique is a powerful one that only tengu can handle—"

"Tengu Storm!"

Ayame used Learning.

Swinging her grand mage's staff widely, a wind even stronger than the previous tornado was created, breaking the tengu's wind barrier.

Immediately after, Hime, with four clones, approached the tengu.

"Dagger Technique, Phantom Thrust"

Fifteen clones of Hime attacked the tengu simultaneously.

"Whoa! Tengu's Escape!"

The tengu used a teleportation technique and instantly moved to the rear.

"Using tengu techniques and creating multiple clones, are you truly human!? Are you not a demon in human form!?"

You, a tengu, shouldn't be saying that.

The battle continued.

I thought we could defeat the tengu when Hime caught it off guard, but the battle was tough.

The tengu was strong.

The yatsude leaves it held were both a sword and a shield.

Very sturdy, and when swung, they created wind blades.

Far more troublesome than ordinary weapons.

At first, I didn't realize the mechanism of the wind blades, and my substitute bracelet was broken, and I got a small cut on my face.

Even when I thought I had cornered the tengu, it used the tengu storm to create distance and the tengu escape to dodge.

The only saving grace was that each of its skills couldn't be used consecutively.

In other words, if we could corner it three times in a short period, we could defeat it.

Of course, the tengu understood this.

When it couldn't use two skills, it wouldn't advance.

It would keep its distance.

Sometimes it would run away.

But if we chased it desperately, an unexpected counterattack would come.

My substitute bracelet shattered, and a sharp pain shot through my chest.

The Dark Fire Rat's cloak reduced the damage, but it still hurt a lot.

At the same time, a potion flew towards me and healed my body.

It was Milk's healing magic.

"Your armor is tough."

The tengu still seemed relaxed.

I wanted to break its nose.

I took a new substitute bracelet from my inventory and equipped it.

"However, I see. I understand now. The fast but weak ninja, the rear guard who can both heal and attack but has poor physical abilities, and the swordswoman, the key to this party— Tengu's Escape"

The tengu disappeared!?

Even though we didn't corner it.

Where did it go!?

The presence appeared from far behind.

"Milk, behind you!"

The tengu appeared behind Milk and swung the yatsude leaves.

"I can't abandon my comrades."

At that moment, the substitute bracelet shattered instantly, and an unprecedented sharp pain shot through my back.

The Shoulder Substitute skill was activated.

"Taking your comrades' injuries onto yourself. It's like increasing your own weaknesses. Pitiful—"

The tengu raised the yatsude leaves again.

In an instant—

"Release: Gunpowder Explosion"

An explosion occurred between Milk and the tengu.

As the explosion's shockwave caused another sharp pain in my body, Milk flew towards me.

She must have calculated that being blown away by the explosion would cause less damage than being cut by the tengu.

By flying towards me, she could also receive immediate healing magic.

"Taizuru! Rain of Super Healing Potions"

A rain of healing potions fell, healing our wounds, but my body still felt heavy.

The tengu— this level of damage doesn't seem to affect it much.

Damn, the tengu used its escape not to avoid but to attack.

If Milk and Ayame are targeted, it will be tough.

"How about it? Are you ready to surrender?"

"Yeah, we can't win like this."

I said this and declared with a sly smile.

"I'm going to use it."