“Ido!? Why dIdo someone like him show up…?”
“This guy… if I remember correctly, he’s the strongest warrior among the beastfolk.”
“He was as troublesome as a hero, wasn’t he? But… doesn’t he seem a little weaker now compared to back then?”
“What shall we do? Shall we take care of him ourselves?”
If even the Four Heavenly Kings recognize him, then Ido must be an important character.
No, calm down. It hasn’t been that long since Lady Fiona defeated him.
Checking his status, it seems he hasn’t regained the strength he had back then.
Ido
Magic: 50
Strength: 80
Skill: 65
Endurance: 80
Agility: 75
…No, he’s still strong.
With this, he’ll easily clear this dungeon.
But… maybe that’s fine? It might actually be better to let him clear it quickly so he never comes back here.
In fact, the monsters are being defeated without much resistance, and even the traps are being overcome with brute force.
He’s not breaking through walls, though? Back when we were running from him, he smashed through walls easily, but now he’s really struggling.
Ah, he gave up. It seems he sent the beastfolk cat accompanying him to scout ahead.
…Wait, what? The cat is passing through walls?
Can someone actually do that? Or is this… the power of a goddess?
“That beastfolk cat might be a problem.”
Wall-phasing? If they can do that, the dungeon loses all meaning.
ConsIdoering that they could even phase through the gargoyle’s attacks, we might need to assume they can pass through all matter.
What about living things? If it works on them too, there’d be no way to attack them.
And worse, they could phase through and attack vital organs directly.
“Should we capture them? If we act now, we won’t have to face the beast hero simultaneously since he’s still buried.”
“All that’s ahead is the gargoyle zone and the recently set-up giant boulder trap…”
It’s a perfectly physical-specialized area.
Magic, poison, and fire work well against beastfolk, so I deliberately designed the maze beyond to suit them, making it challenging but not impossible.
It was meant to be tough enough to make them think they could succeed next time.
If it weren’t for that ability…
“This could get bad. Let’s hurry.”
“What about Lady Fiona…?”
“The Demon King is resting on the throne.”
“I’ll inform her using one of my avatars.”
Quick decisions and information relay in times like these are a big help.
Leaving the reporting to Pilkaya, we hurried to deal with the cat beastfolk.
If Ido stays buried, we don’t need to rush, but knowing him, there’s no way that’s enough to defeat him…
◇
“Rey, wasn’t your role just opening and closing the entrance to the Subterranean Demon World and Beastfolk Dungeon?”
“That’s true, but in case of emergencies, I plan to create walls while also making an escape route.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard, okay? Fighting is our job. You don’t need to take on that burden too.”
“Yeah, but Lady Fiona gave me a phoenix feather. At least I won’t face the worst-case scenario.”
“The phoenix feather will activate not only manually but also automatically if your life is in danger. Rey-sama’s life is safe once, but please avoIdo unnecessary risks.”
“Sorry to worry you.”
Honestly, I’d rather stay in a safe place too. But this is no ordinary opponent.
If those two team up and launch a surprise attack, even the Four Heavenly Kings could face defeat.
If everyone falls, Lady Fiona will be heartbroken again. And we’ll have to start from scratch to make more resurrection elixirs.
More than anything, I don’t want to see everyone get hurt.
That’s why I have to deal with the cat beastfolk here and now.
“This is the place. Pilkaya, can you sense what’s going on insIdoe?”
“The hero seems to still be buried. The cat has escaped to the room beyond the collapsed passage but appears to be resting—probably tired. We made it in time.”
“If I’d known, I would have set the whole room to collapse…”
As a test, I created a path using excess magic, but over time, it sealed itself up.
This time, it was purely coincidental and wasn’t aimed at Ido or the beastfolk.
Still, if I had known it would work so well, I wish I had set it up to cover a wider area to deal with the two of them.
There’s no point regretting it now. I hurried into the room.
Primilla , the sturdiest among us, led the way. As soon as we entered the room, we spotted the beastfolk cat.
It noticed us too, but the Four Heavenly Kings clearly had higher stats.
Since weapon attacks likely wouldn’t work, we’d have to rely on Pilkaya’s flames.
I should’ve decided on this plan before entering the room, but here I was, panicking and second-guessing myself.
The beastfolk cat moved. This is bad—they’re taking the first move. Lowering its posture… was it trying to dive into the ground and escape?
That could work. The areas not yet turned into rooms or paths are so solid that even Lady Fiona would struggle to dig through them.
…?
No, it wasn’t trying to dive underground. Did it collapse from sheer exhaustion?
No time for complacency. Now’s the chance to deal with this beastfolk.
“I surrender! Please spare me!”
…Wait, I’ve heard that line before somewhere.
The beastfolk cat’s lowered posture turned out to be just a prostration.
Um… does this mean they’re not as dangerous a reincarnated individual as I thought?
Even so, the Four Heavenly Kings remained on guard, and I decided to talk while keeping in mind the possibility this was an act.
◇
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!
The tiger man was buried alive, so I took the chance to escape to the room ahead.
As I was catching my breath and resting, someone suddenly entered the room.
When I glanced at the door, I saw a perpetually-super-armored sadistic loli, a cruel sprite who loved to gang up, and a no-save marathon battle-loving slime.
The wide-range homing attack dragon wasn’t with them, but… who’s that demon? If they’re with those three, are they some kind of boss I don’t know about?
While I was thinking about this, I caught sight of their movements.
It was one of the preparatory stances for the attacks that killed my controlled characters over and over again.
This is bad!! Oh right, I’m the invader, and they’re the boss characters! They’re clearly intent on killing me!!
“I surrender! Please spare me!”
I quickly prostrated myself and begged for my life.
Naturally, I didn’t expect demons to take mercy, but it was a first step.
Rigma and Primilla ’s attacks can be phased through using the goddess’s power.
The problem is Pilkaya’s flames. If they use that wide-range attack, I’ll be dead in an instant.
But crouching might let me avoid it… hopefully.
Unless the mechanics here are different from the game, it’s all I can do right now.
…If I fail, I’ll burn to death.
Actually, depending on the next attack, even Rigma and Primilla ’s moves could kill me.
While racking my brain for a way to survive, I realized they weren’t attacking me.
“…Aren’t all our attacks just going to pass through you?”
…They’ve figured out my blessing. But not entirely.
Is this demon some kind of mastermind character that wasn’t in the game?
Come to think of it, this one demon hasn’t tried to attack me yet.
If that’s the case, I should focus my plea on this demon.
“I have my limits, so I’d be grateful if you didn’t attack me…”
I can’t lie, and I’d genuinely be in trouble if they attacked, so I tried to appeal earnestly.
Still, I want to keep as much hidden as possible.
Ah, why is everything so complicated? Why do I have to tiptoe around every word while fearing for my life?
“…You’re a reincarnated individual, aren’t you?”
“Y-yes, I am. I’m Eriko Okui, a reincarnated beastfolk…”
The demon seemed to be deep in thought.
…Could this work? Could the title of “reincarnated individual” be seen as valuable even to demons?
Luckily, I don’t share the same biases as the other beastfolk.
Living among beastfolk or among demons doesn’t make much difference to me.
…Or does it? Demons are definitely more dangerous.
Their tempers are shorter, and I wouldn’t know what might put me in danger.
But then again, this situation isn’t much different. I’m already in danger for no clear reason.
“Do you know of any other reincarnated beastfolk?”
“N-no… I’ve never met another reincarnated individual.”
It’s only natural. Ordinary beastfolk aren’t particularly interested in reincarnated individuals.
Even the old man who left me in the city never mentioned them.
To the beastfolk, reincarnated individuals probably aren’t a big deal.
“…In that case…”
“DAMN IT ALL!!!!”
Just as the demon was about to say something, the tiger man’s enraged roar echoed through the room…
