Chapter 67

EP.67 Underground Giant (1)

<The Magic Knight of Merhen> "Act 4, Chapter 3: Underground Giant."

When Ian and Kaya defeated the final boss in "Act 4, Chapter 2: Food Chain."

The giant demon materializes by replacing the things underground with its body, as if it were buried alive.

The giant's outer skin is at a level around 190.

Recalling the gameplay, the demon seemed designed so that you had to enter its body to defeat it.

Deep inside the giant's body, you could fight the true form of the Elphert of Nothingness, whose level was 145.

Compared to the first semester, it wasn't that difficult. The patterns were also quite monotonous.

Maybe it felt like a Black Kaya build-up. Black Kaya was really damn hard.

Well, since I'm stronger, that shouldn't be a problem.

Regardless, if Ian dies, it's all over. This world would be set for a bad ending.

Rumble───!!

"Again?!"

The ground shook again. I almost fell but quickly regained my balance and continued running through the eerie darkness of the passage.

'Already the second earthquake...!'

The second earthquake signaled the start of "Act 4, Chapter 3: Underground Giant." By now, the giant's mouth must have burst through the ground and swallowed Kaya!

Incidentally, the official setting describes the underground giant as having a small head and an abnormally large body, a deformed form. Of course, even with a small head, the giant is still a giant. The head's diameter must be about 5 meters.

──── "千里眼 (Neutral Attribute, ★7)"

I used [千里眼] to check on Ian and Kaya. As expected, a massive sinkhole had appeared on the ground.

Ian was luckily outside the sinkhole's range.

Kaya seemed to have already fallen into the hole.

Kaya must now be resonating with the blood mana of the Elphert of Nothingness, starting to strain her body. Her blood would boil, her circulation would speed up, and her body temperature would rise sharply, eventually causing her to lose consciousness. This is the process of becoming a blood mage.

And Elphert's underling would likely kidnap Kaya and bring her to the master.

Ian tried to report to the school through his bracelet but was flustered when it didn't work.

The magic power emitted by the giant's outer skin interferes with external magic power. The giant's outer skin performance is impeccable. The entire Elt Island would now be cut off from communication.

Finally, Ian seemed to make up his mind and wore a determined expression, sweating coldly.

'No! Wait!'

My earnest wish couldn't reach Ian.

He bravely plunged into the sinkhole. Truly a protagonist's move!

'I'm going to go crazy!!'

I ran with all my might.

The giant's body would be filled with Elphert's underlings. There was no way Ian could survive!

"Hey! Why aren't you answering?! What the hell is going on?!!"

Shut up!

After about 10 minutes, Rizetta and I reached the massive sinkhole.

Inside the hole, a red mouth was visible. This was the giant's mouth, which would soon close.

'Ugh!'

10 minutes. 10 minutes of delay. I had to catch up with Ian quickly! Even putting on the camouflage suit I bought from the unmanned store was a waste of time. It was a garment that, combined with the camouflage cloak, could completely hide one's identity.

Rizetta was panting heavily beside me, having pushed herself to keep up with my speed.

"Damn... kid... You're... really... fast..."

I ignored Rizetta's comments and immediately jumped into the giant's mouth.

Swoosh─.

I started sliding down, as if on a slide, on what I assumed was the tongue.

The following passage, probably the throat, was slimy and very unpleasant. If I had to name it, it was like an amylase water slide.

Fortunately, I had the camouflage cloak, which prevented my buttocks from touching the giant's dirty amylase.

After a while, as I let my body be carried by gravity deeper inside, the slope gradually became gentler. This was because the giant was lying underground with only its head extended like a turtle's.

Eventually, I passed through the esophagus.

"Oof."

A light landing. My feet touched the flat, red ground. Even with shoes on, the sensation was unpleasant.

The red walls were twitching. The interior of the giant.

Red mana particles floated in the air like fireflies.

The colors were beautiful. The shapes of the mana, like gemstones, were scattered across the walls.

In <The Magic Knight of Merhen>, the interior of the underground giant was a mix of beauty and grotesqueness.

The realism made the eerie beauty even more vivid.

Incidentally, the underground giant has no camouflage. So, what is the true identity of this giant?

To put it metaphorically, the underground giant is like a giant robot, and the Elphert of Nothingness is like the pilot. However, the giant itself is also part of Elphert's body. He is the main body of this giant.

For me, every direction met the activation conditions of [Exterminator]. But if I caused chaos inside, Elphert of Nothingness would be shielded. It's a defensive mechanism.

Each time a shield is added, the defense increases sharply.

In other words, using a wide-area attack like [Frost Flower] or randomly casting spells in all directions would only hasten a bad ending.

'Somehow, I made it in...!'

Despite the delay, I successfully entered the giant's body!

I had to catch up with Ian quickly!

Just as I was about to move, a loud voice echoed from behind, in the esophagus.

"Ugh!! It's dirty─!!"

A rumbling sound began.

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

Rizetta's body slipped and slammed into mine, like a bowling ball hitting a pin.

I felt pain and a floating sensation as I briefly grappled with Rizetta.

We both tumbled on the squishy red ground and groaned, rolling around.

"Ugh..."

"Ah..."

I really thought my back would break. Ah, it hurts so much...

"Where are we?!"

Rizetta, suddenly looking up at the red ceiling, was startled. She then sat up abruptly.

"Damn... kid..."

She finally caught up with me...

I sighed in frustration and got up, starting to dash deeper into the space.

"Hey! Where are you going?!!"

Rizetta shouted threateningly and chased after me. I knew she would.

As I ran, a vast space greeted me.

Inside the giant's body, a large number of red mana particles were floating.

Red flesh, like gum, stretched from the ceiling to the ground. Several paths branched out.

Where are you, Ian?

I quickly activated [千里眼] and scanned the surroundings.

'Found him!'

Oh, Jesus!

Surprisingly, Ian was doing well! He was barely managing to defeat Elphert's underlings with light-attribute sword energy, which is a weakness of demons!

'That's it!'

You're growing, Ian!

I let out a deep sigh of relief...

'No, ugh...!'

But in the end.

Ian was caught off guard by Elphert's underling's magic, bleeding from his head and fainting.

It's over...!

"Hey!!"

Sure enough, Rizetta was chasing me. Fortunately, she didn't use magic to stop me.

[Brum, brum─────♪]

In front of Ian, a bizarre demon was humming and dancing.

A slender, long-legged pink elephant, about 3 meters tall.

Its head, made of light pink skin, intermittently scattered red mana powder.

A mouth that stretched to the ears, with a smile like a clown's.

[Brum?]

The elephant demon turned its head toward me and Rizetta.

The sound of a grinding noise filled the air as a blood-red magic circle appeared. The magic of the elephant demon, Fall, was targeting us.

Instantly, the magic power flowing from it brushed against my skin.

"...Hey, get out of the way. You can't handle this elephant."

Rizetta seemed to realize the danger of Fall.

Rizetta, holding the magic weapon Rockta, which had a magic stone embedded in a club-like form, in both hands.

As she tried to step forward, I extended my arm to block her.

"What, you...?"

I intended to quickly defeat Elphert, save Kaya, and escape.

Rizetta would only be a hindrance.

[Detected enemy demon.]

[Unique ability [Exterminator] activated!]

[Level and stats temporarily greatly increased!]

[Skill tree temporarily +10!]

My body felt as light as a feather. My magic power surged, enough to easily cast large-scale spells.

First, I had to save Ian and deal with the situation. I would worry about the aftermath of revealing my identity to Rizetta later.

I extended my right arm toward Fall and unfolded a light blue magic circle in the air. It was the magic circle for [Ice Spear].

I created an appropriately sized [Ice Spear]. However, it contained a highly concentrated mana, kept secret inside.

The high-density light blue mana swirled around the [Ice Spear] as its focal point.

My target was one point.

Just as Fall was about to activate its magic, swinging its long trunk.

I launched the [Ice Spear].

──────── [Ice Spear (Ice Attribute, ★4)]

Whoosh───!!

Whoosh────!!

[Brummmmm───!!!]

It happened in an instant.

The [Ice Spear] pierced through Fall like a bullet, leaving a trail of cold air in the form of flames.

The delayed pressure wave spread out.

The upper body of Fall, which the [Ice Spear] had passed through, was now empty.

Fall fell to the ground, powerless.

The sound of a thud echoed through the space.

[Shell... dance...?]

Fall then emitted a faint voice and turned into gray powder, disappearing.

[Exterminator] was deactivated. My body became heavy again, and the concentration of magic power sharply decreased.

Although I knew it, every time [Exterminator] is deactivated, I can't help but feel unaccustomed.

"You... just now, your magic power... what happened...?"

Rizetta's voice trembled.

I turned to look at her. She was staring at me in disbelief.

[ Rizetta Lionheart ]

Psychology: [Feeling confused by your magic power.]

It was the expected reaction. I'm getting tired of it.

Once inside the giant's body, there's no way to escape until the Elphert of Nothingness is defeated.

Fall's levels range from a minimum of 85 to a maximum of 100. These demons could appear from anywhere, making this place unsafe.

Even Rizetta, at level 98, would be at great risk if she kept fighting enemies of similar levels.

So, she would be safest by sticking close to me.

"Rizetta."

"What... what is it?!"

"Don't leave me. If you don't want to die."

Rizetta's brave demeanor was gone. She was now tense, showing only caution.

She didn't even answer. It's embarrassing.

"Ian."

I summoned the small golem familiar, Ian.

"Pick him up. We're moving."

Ian raised his right arm and answered with a [Gurum!] before starting to grow.

Rocks formed in the air and stuck to Ian's body.

Ian grew to about 2 meters tall and began to emit a masculine voice.

[Gurum, gurum─!]

Ian picked up the unconscious Ian in a princess carry.

I then started moving with Ian.

"Hey...! Wait! Explain!! What the hell are you?!"

Rizetta followed me.

For a while, her questioning continued, but I remained silent, unable to think of a proper response.