Chapter 20: Knight Attendant (Tsukaeshi) ⑧ – EVENT
It had really been a long time since I’d seen a chimera.
In fact, it was my first time seeing a non-subspecies chimera.
A snake’s tail. A lion’s body. A male had an eagle’s head, and a female had a sheep’s head, if I remembered correctly.
Its size was about that of a large truck. I’d heard the largest could even be the size of an elephant.
A large truck… that alone was enough of a threat.
If it charged me, I’d probably end up isekai reincarnated—but sadly, I’d just be dead.
“Still, do chimeras normally appear in groups like this?”
There were more than ten. That felt like a bit much.
“Truth be told, I have rarely heard of such a thing.”
“That is exactly why we are investigating.”
“Mm… another dungeon anomaly… I’ve had enough already…”
Yeah, I agreed.
On the 13th floor of the labyrinth, an open space had formed, and in it a whole group of chimeras appeared.
Among them was a subspecies.
Shiro-san asked:
“Let me ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Is it always the same pattern? While fighting a group of chimeras, the subspecies always runs away… and that keeps repeating?”
“Indeed.”
“That is correct.”
“Mm… then it’s… looping?”
Shiro-san nodded.
“This is an Event.”
“What is that?”
“Never heard of it before.”
“Liv as well… first time.”
Of course, it was my first time too. Event?
“You know how the dungeon’s artificial structures sometimes recreate buildings or ruins that once existed on the surface? In the same way, there are rare cases where accidents, incidents, or phenomena are reproduced. That’s what an Event is.”
“Such a thing exists…”
“So, that group of chimeras and the subspecies’ behavior is actually a reproduction of some past Event?”
“Mm… and the roles are played by dungeon monsters?”
“Exactly. The roles are filled by the dungeon’s monsters. That stray one from before may have been part of some Event too.”
Ah, I see now.
So, the dungeon sometimes reenacts accidents, incidents, or phenomena from the surface—and the monsters act out the roles. That made sense.
“So the subspecies using the group as decoys to escape is simply because that’s how it originally happened?”
“Precisely.”
A decoy group covering the escape. Or rather, allowing the escape.
That was a situation I could imagine happening often.
“No wonder it felt strange. Look—though they can clearly see us, they do nothing.”
Yes, that had been bugging me too.
Even though we could see each other, and sense each other’s presence, the chimeras didn’t attack.
Meaning… we weren’t inside the “Event’s” range.
Hmm? If that’s the case…
“Mm… so… what do we do?”
“Events only follow predetermined actions. That makes them very predictable.”
“So in theory, you can get ahead of them.”
“The problem is how exactly to get ahead.”
“…Um, there’s something that bothers me.”
I pointed slightly toward an unnatural cave behind the chimera subspecies.
“That cave, is it?”
“Could it be that the subspecies always flees into there?”
“Mm… exactly…”
“When you chase, it always leads to a complex branching path.”
“And so it always gets away.”
“You lose sight of a body that huge?”
Even if the path branched a lot, it was hard to imagine losing track of something that big.
“When you put it like that…”
“If the passage was extra wide, maybe. But—”
“It’s a normal width.”
“Mm… same as the one we came through…”
Then in fact, wouldn’t something that big be unable to pass through?
A chimera was the size of a large truck.
“I see. Most likely, as things are now, it’s impossible to actually defeat the subspecies.”
“What!?”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because if the Event itself is that the subspecies escapes, then the moment it enters that cave, it likely disappears.”
“So you mean chasing is impossible?”
Pakira-san gave a disbelieving look, her two white tails swishing skeptically.
“Now that you say it… the passage beyond is the same width, so it’s not just that you can’t catch it…”
“…it can’t even fit… right.”
Yes, that was it. Considering the passage width, the chimera couldn’t even pass through.
The women of Torquetam seemed shocked to only now realize this.
“Well, at least we figured it out.”
“That’s true, but still…”
“The problem is, nothing has been solved.”
“Mm… no matter what Liv and the others do… it always escapes.”
“Pakira-san, what about that constraint relic of yours?”
“Useless without open sky.”
“And if we attack it, the subspecies instantly flees.”
“This… is troublesome.”
To be honest, it felt like we lacked a decisive method.
From the way things sounded, Mineha-san was essential.
Her OOPArts, the Demonic Star Piercing Spear, could attack from a distance. In fact, that was its true strength.
It might be enough to kill—but this wasn’t about killing.
“Say, I’m curious. Is there any real reason to cling to this fight? On the 14th floor there are other routes, you know.”
This maze connected to many areas. We even passed a teleportation circle.
The three of Torquetam exchanged a glance and nodded firmly.
“Foolish perhaps, but we have a reason.”
“Revenge.”
“Oh?”
“Mm… last time… we lost badly… next time, we will not lose…”
“Fair enough. I need the materials anyway. I’ll lend a hand.”
With that, Shiro-san pulled something from her white pouch.
A staff. A pure white metal staff.
Its design was simple, yet somehow refined.
She spun it lightly, raised it, and chanted:
“Holy and pure, be created. Creation Relic—White Templem.”
Four white pillars appeared, forming a base for a wall of light that enclosed the chimera herd.
To our amazement, Shiro-san said calmly:
“Now they can’t escape. Take all the revenge you want.”
While we stood dumbfounded, she calmly set up a table from her back, pulled out a tea set from her pouch, and poured a white liquid into a white cup. Then she looked at me.
“Want some?”
“Ah, no, I’ll head toward the chimeras.”
“Be careful.”
Gracefully sipping her tea,
we charged toward the chimera horde.
The herd of chimeras attacked us fiercely as soon as we approached.
But the white chimera alone tried to flee, only to be blocked by the wall of light.
For a dungeon monster to not fight back and instead focus only on fleeing… it felt deeply unnatural.
So this was an Event.
Torquetum took down the chimeras one by one with flawless teamwork.
But that was the limit—they could only manage one at a time, while the rest had to be kept at bay.
That role, keeping the others from closing in, had probably belonged to Mineha-san.
In that case, I’d take her place.
With this many enemies around, it should be fine—I raised my hand and chanted:
“Vanish.”
Several of the chimeras were caught up and erased.
“Ahh…”
Pakira-san muttered behind me.
“I see. So that’s its true form.”
“Yes.”
“Certainly, that is dangerous beyond words.”
Lupinas-san shoved forward with her great shield, forcing a chimera back.
“Mm… Celestial Form… Subaru… Maia Blade…”
A red slash severed a chimera’s snake tail, then Pakira-san’s wind blade cut its foreleg.
It lost balance, toppled over, and Liv-san crushed its eagle’s head with a black blade.
Just when we had finally reduced the herd by half, something strange happened.
The remaining chimeras vanished.
“What?”
“What in the world!?”
“What does this mean!?”
“…Convenient, at least.”
Only Liv-san stayed calm.
Not all of them had disappeared.
One remained.
Two long snake tails. A white tiger’s body. A massive, menacing ram’s head.
Black eyes that reflected nothing—the chimera subspecies.
Its eyes gleamed—and it spat something.
Evil Eye. Damn—my body wouldn’t move.
Then it fired a ball of liquid. At the last moment, someone stepped in front.
Lupinas-san. She raised her great shield and blocked the liquid shot.
When it dripped onto the ground, it hissed and ate into the floor.
“A troublesome one. Dissolving fluid, eh?”
“Mm… if it hits… being naked… won’t cut it… kya—”
“Not even bones would remain.”
Lupinas-san turned to me.
“Wof-san, are you unharmed?”
“Ah, thank you. Lupinas-san, are you… are you all right?”
Even with a great shield, she couldn’t block the spray.
Sure enough, faint smoke rose from her hands and legs.
“This much is nothing.”
She smiled. But I could tell it was bravado.
Pin down with the Evil Eye, then melt the target with dissolving fluid… an unforgiving combo.
The liquid was the real menace.
Even a splash from something like that could be fatal.
“Argh, persistent thing!”
“…slithering around… so annoying…”
Pakira-san and Liv-san were busy dealing with the subspecies’ two tails.
The tails were venomous snakes, their white-furred maws baring fangs that gleamed with black-red and pale-green liquid.
Evil Eye, dissolving shots, and venomous snakes. Different from the last subspecies.
So there are variations…? In any case, we had to keep our distance.
Lupinas-san raised her shield and spoke.
“Strong—no, more like troublesome.”
“Indeed. In terms of pure strength, the last subspecies was greater.”
“Mm… agreed… just too annoying…”
The three of Torquetum clearly thought the same.
Perhaps because this one was from a shallower floor.
“What we must watch out for is the Evil Eye.”
“Speaking of which, what about those sunglasses that block it?”
When I asked, the three turned their faces away.
“To put it simply, useless.”
“In a cave, sunglasses are a bad idea.”
“…can’t see a thing…”
“I-I see…”
“But we do have a countermeasure—the Evil Eye can be stopped by Lupinas’ shield.”
“Indeed. I’ll act as the decoy. While I do, Pakira and Riv, deal with those snake tails.”
“Mm… will slice them off quickly…”
“Wouldn’t mind using fire soon.”
“Wof-san, you should fall back.”
“Forgive us.”
“…this is Liv and the others’… wall to overcome…”
Right. This was their revenge.
I looked at Pakira-san, Liv-san, and Lupinas-san—at Torqueatum.
“…Understood. Be careful.”
No need to worry. They could handle it.
Lupinas-san raised her shield and lured the subspecies straight on.
The chimera subspecies unleashed Evil Eye and spat dissolving shots.
She blocked them all with her shield.
Meanwhile, Pakira-san summoned swift winds to harry the twin snake tails,
and Liv-san’s razor blade severed them both at once.
With a shrill scream, the subspecies lost balance and toppled.
Now it was nothing more than a carp on the cutting board.
The ram’s head was pinned by Lupinas’ shield.
Its body was riddled by countless blades of wind.
Finally, Liv-san’s razor blade struck the finishing blow—beheading it.
The moment it fell, the three of Torquetum grinned and high-fived.
Their revenge was complete.