“The boss room is getting close, what do you think, Ryuenji-sama?”

“… I’m reluctant to leave, but let’s proceed with the clear. I have seen enough of what I wanted to see. Thank you for today. I had a very meaningful time thanks to everyone.”

With that, Ryuenji-san bowed her head to everyone.

In the short time we’ve been clearing together, I realized that she speaks strongly and can even seem arrogant, but she is fundamentally very polite and a good person.

Well, I did think it was a bit strange that she let an unfamiliar man wipe her arm, but she was probably raised over-protected.

She might be a bit out of sync with the general public, but I quite liked her.

If I thought of her as a cool, aloof lady, she seemed cute.

What do you call this? Tsundere? Kuudere? I haven’t seen the ‘dere’ part yet though.

We shared a little laugh, Masuda-san shyly smiling and bobbing her head in embarrassment.

That’s when we were laughing in a relaxed atmosphere.

(Huh? What was that just now…?)

That was the moment I felt a sense of discomfort.

It was more of a chill than discomfort.

As if a knife was touching the nape of my neck.

As if my heart was being squeezed.

The fear of death that I’ve felt many times.

Being weaker than anyone else, I’ve felt it more than anyone else.

It’s a sense that you have because you weren’t born strong, like the instinct of a small animal.

That must be why.

The chill as if a sword’s tip was pointed at me… Suddenly my heart started to stir and—.

“Oh no, not at all. I’m honored to be with Ryuenji-sama and…!?”

—I screamed to grab my weapon.

“Cough!?”

“Masuda-san!!”

From the chest of Masuda-san, who was laughing in front of us, a black blade protruded.

Struck from behind, her heart was pierced, and the light vanished from Masuda-san’s eyes.

Masuda-san, who had already turned into a lump of flesh, fell heavily in front of us, dumbstruck.

And what appeared from behind her was…

“Enemy!!!”

Frantically trying to clear my confused head, I shouted.

Indeed, the clearers affiliated with Avalon were well-trained and immediately readied their weapons, forming a circle to protect Ryuenji-san.

Masuda-san… with that wound, she’s probably dead on the spot.

“…Wh, what!? What the hell is happening!?”

Mizuguchi-san shouted, and we looked at the enemy.

But at that moment.

The hand raised towards us, and the words muttered.

“…Darkness.”

Suddenly the world lost its light and plunged into darkness.

My vision blacked out, and the already dim cave became completely dark.

“Wha!? Wh, what is this!?”

It seemed our vision had been stolen.

In the pitch black, only the frantic voices of Mizuguchi-san and the other clearers could be heard.

Zashu.

It was a split second.

There was the sound of something being cut.

In the darkness, there were the sounds of a death cry and flesh being severed.

“There’s an enemy!! They’re running around us at an incredible speed!!”

The one who shouted was Ryuenji-san, it seemed she could see.

However, including me, everyone’s vision had blacked out, and all we could see was darkness.

“Uwaaaah!!!”

I couldn’t understand.

What on earth was happening, why had our vision disappeared?

In a dark room, almost like an assassin.

Then, I remembered.

For enemies I can’t see, maybe with this power…

So, I activated the Eye of God and focused my consciousness.

“If it’s these eyes, they should see through this.

My eyes shine with a golden glow, illuminating the darkness.

Within the darkness, two mirages flicker. One is the girl, shrinking beside me.

And the other… A black magic power is rapidly approaching me.

Then there…

“Guuh!”

“Hmm… You stopped it well. Is it intuition?”

There’s an enemy.

The moment I recognized it, its form was visible to me. I barely deflect the blade aimed at my throat. The darkness breaks, and the enemy reveals itself to me.

“What are you, who are you?!”

As soon as the man is stopped, he takes a step back from us and starts talking. He’s dressed all in black, even when he removes his black robe. A foreigner, perhaps, with blond curly hair, and blue eyes looking at me.

“Hmm… darkness should be effective. Is it really intuition?”

He stabs his black sword into the ground with one hand, tilts his head while resting his hand on his chin. I point my sword at the man in black and ask him again.

“Answer my question first. Who are you?”

“Hmm, you’re right. I was rude.”

With that, the man bows to us as if he was offering a polite greeting.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Phu Yen. I came to kill the young lady there… you are just an afterthought. Goodbye… Darkness.”

Suddenly, the man who introduced himself as Phu Yen whispers while bowing to me.

Light disappears from my world, and I’m plunged into a pitch-black world.

But with these eyes of mine…

“!? … It wasn’t just a fluke?”

I can see the magic-imbued entity.

I stop the descending sword again.

But to be honest, it was a close call. I can see it, but there’s a significant difference in magic power.

However, the man, who was cautious because he didn’t understand the reason, backed away from us for a moment, and light returned to the world.

“Who are you? This place should only have C-Ranks or B-Ranks?”

“…Tell me your objective, and I’ll tell you.”

“Hmm, I thought I told you; my goal is to kill that young lady over there. To kill the daughter of the detestable Dungeon Association’s Japanese chairman. On top of that, in terms of magic powers only, she’s S-Rank. That’s the mission given to me by him. This is for the sake of our great founder.”

“What are you…”

Then Ryuenji, who was in my arms, spoke.

“They are probably the God-Destruction cult. They consider the Dungeon Association an enemy and are a mad cult that believes entities with superior magic power should rule the world.”

“God-Destruction cult? …Isn’t that an extremely evil criminal organization?”

I vocalize the name I had only heard on the news.

Whenever there’s a major terror attack overseas, this cult is usually involved.

It’s considered the world’s largest criminal organization, advocating that the powerful should dominate the weak, and they bear a grudge against the Dungeon Association.

“Now… what did you just say?”

Then the man who introduced himself as Phu Yen changed his demeanor, which had been light until now.

“Did you call us a criminal organization? Don’t joke around!!”

Suddenly a surge of magic power, his anger seemed to shake the very dungeon.

“We are trying to liberate the world!! From the control of God! From the world stolen by that detestable God!! Why can’t you understand this great cause!!”

Suddenly, Phu Yen, in a fit of rage, charges at me and swings his sword with pure force.

I push Ryuenji away to escape and raise my sword with both hands to block Phu Yen’s attack.

But.

“Gwaaa!!”

I was sent flying.

Carried by momentum, I crash into the wall behind me. I slid down the wall and sat on the ground.

The impact forced all the air out of my lungs, and I almost lost consciousness.

Still, I lifted my face and looked at the status of the man named Phu Yen through the Eye of God.

I’ve been going through D-Rank dungeons for the past few weeks, nearly 50 times in total.

I can confidently say I’ve completely conquered all the D-Rank Cubes in Kanto with the help of Tanaka, gaining 100 to 200 magic power each time.

As a result, my magic power has increased to nearly 6000.

That’s the power treated as upper B-Rank.

But this opponent in front of me…　

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Name: Phu Yen

State: Fanatic

Job: Magic Swordsman (Darkness) 【Advanced】

Skill(s): Darkness

Magic Power: 10,500

Attack Power: Reflection rate▶ 50% = 5,250

Defense Power: Reflection rate▶ 35% = 3,675

Agility: Reflection rate▶ 50% = 5,250

Intelligence: Reflection rate▶ 40% = 4,200

Equipment:

・The Black Wolf’s Fang Sword= Attack Power + 1,000

・The Black Wolf’s Pelt = Agility + 1,000

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

I checked the man’s status with eyes about to lose consciousness.

“A-Rank… State is fanatic…”

His state was written as fanatic.

But what’s more important now is that his status is far above mine, which should have been trained up.

This man is one of the few high-ranking awakened.

He’s an enemy with A-Rank magic power, equivalent to Tanaka-san.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Name: Kai Amachi

State: Good

Job: Novice Night (Light) 【Beginner】

Skill(s): The Eye of God, Access Permission Lv1, Mirage

Magic Power: 6,185

Attack Power: Reflection rate▶ 50% = 3,092

Defense Power: Reflection rate▶ 25% = 1,546

Agility: Reflection rate▶ 25% = 1,546

Intelligence: Reflection rate▶ 50% = 3,092

Equipment:

・High Wolf’s fang sword = Attack Power +120

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