The two “Jokers” on the enemy’s side have a few differences compared to the one on my side.
Their masks have glowing red eyes, while the one on my side glows blue—perhaps a result of its “capture,” but that’s the most noticeable distinction.
For now, I decide to give the Joker on my side a temporary name: “Blue.” Despite being just one entity, Blue is fending off the scythes of the two enemy Jokers and even pushing them back.
“You said something earlier… that I had defeated you. Do you still have the strength to activate your clones?”
The entity residing within Futaba-san remains silent. Meanwhile, Blue deflects the scythes of the two Jokers and gathers magic power in its right hand—prompting the two Jokers to respond, one forming a fireball and the other an ice magic projectile.
“I must eliminate those who enter my body and cause chaos within.”
Through tree root-like tendrils wrapped around Futaba-san, red light flows into the two Jokers.
The source of this power is the pulsating cocoon behind her. As if life itself is draining out, the pulsation weakens, and the light inside the cocoon dims.
“Kukakakaka!!”
The two Jokers laugh maniacally as they charge up their magic projectiles with swollen magic power—while behind them, Futaba-san stumbles, sliding down as she leans against the cocoon.
There’s a connection between the cocoon and the entity inside Futaba-san—or perhaps the will of the cocoon is itself residing within her.
The entity within her chose to fight me, even at the cost of using all the power it had left—even if its clone, Blue, sided with me.
“You’re too soft. Even if monsters have parents and children, they still attack people.”
“There’s no such thing as a monster that doesn’t need to be killed. The dungeon must be cleansed.”
Their words were right, but they still left a thorn in the adventure.
The entity within Futaba-san is my enemy, but I can’t ignore the fact that its actions seem like a rush towards death.
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. Spatial coordinates of the target are fixed.》
The two Jokers fire their magic projectiles—their speed drastically reduced as they struggle against the ‘Fixation’ skill, making it easy for me to dodge.
While the Jokers resist the fixation, their magic is being drained. Both Jokers raise their scythes, one aiming at me, the other at Blue.
But the one coming at me is blown away by a magic orb from Blue. Immediately, I restore the ‘Rock Fragments’ I had launched into the air—one of the Jokers gets crushed, but it slices through the boulders with its scythe and escapes.
The brute strength to slice through rocks like butter, and the speed to move dozens of meters in a blink of an eye—however…
(I can see it… I’m stronger than before. Even if I’m just a ‘Baggage Carrier’…!)
The Joker’s right arm thrusts toward me at teleportation-like speed. But having experienced this attack once before, I can now avoid it—thanks to the effects of ‘Fixation,’ I manage to escape unharmed, and then I strike back.
“—’Restoration!'”
The “Ribbon of Enervation.” Having dodged its life-absorbing attack just now, I know the Joker’s barrier is down—so it’s surprisingly easy to land a status ailment debuff.
The ribbon wraps around the Joker’s arm, causing it to convulse and collapse on the spot.
“—Master, behind you…!”
Following Cipher’s warning, I turn around to unleash the last of my “Void Blast x3” chips—however.
“…Kuka…kakakaka…”
In a one-on-one battle, Blue outperformed its counterpart.
The blade of the enemy’s scythe has broken. Blue’s life-draining attack suspends the enemy Joker mid-air—then, with a final spasm, it stops moving.
One of the Jokers still has some power left. If I release the ribbon, it will immediately become hostile again.
“…Master, Futaba-sama is…”
The entity within Futaba-san watches me as I approach.
“…I will transfer all intruders outside. You too, Tsukasa Fujiwara…”
“…If you do that, this dungeon… won’t you die?”
“If I disappear, this body will be freed.”
The words are stated as mere fact. No emotions regarding her own destruction—or so it seems. More than questioning her about that…
“…Maybe defeating you is part of what it means to conquer a dungeon.”
“Master…”
“But… I want to hear what you have to say. It’s unheard of for a dungeon to show interest in us humans, right? Even though it’s just a theory, everything you’ve said points to you being the dungeon itself.”
“…However… I am already…”
“Let’s make a deal. Seeing how the cocoon was supplying power to the Jokers… You need life energy to survive too, don’t you? There might be something among the healing methods I possess that could extend your life.”
For the first time, her hollow eyes that seemed to reflect nothing, now truly looked at me.
“…I was supposed to obey you, but I rebelled. Even so…”
“…Even so. I want to keep you alive.”
Futaba-san’s hand moves, reaching out as if seeking something.
What she sought was—a product of this dungeon. Something I had in one of my chips.
