Kays Translations

Chapter 10: The Strongest Onmyoji Arrives at the Boss Room

　After walking for a while, we arrived at the room.

"What is that..."

　A huge serpent coiled in a large room with a bronze door.

　A snake with a body as thick as a large tree and with black scales.

　However, the upper body was human.

　It was as black as its scales, but its skin and arms were human. Only the head, however, is back to being a snake again. It was a deformity like a god worshipped by a pagan cult.

　The crossed arms hold a huge sword, but the eyes of the snake are closed.

　Is it sleeping ......?

"That's a Naga."

　Amiyu, who was peeking in through the doorway with me, said, 

"I’ve never seen it before. It's probably the boss of this dungeon."

"The boss?"

"The monster guarding the dungeon's core or the core of the dungeon."

"I see"

　If you defeat that one, it means you've conquered this dungeon.

"By any chance, if we defeat the boss, will a way out appear?"

"It's impossible if it's a dungeon that goes down into lower levels. However, this place was flat all the time, it seems to be based on the ruins........There seems to be a passageway at the back of the room."

"Okay, then..."

"But, I think it's better to stop."

　Amiyu interrupted me.

"Why?"

"Naga is a formidable foe. If you're in a party of six, everyone must be level 4 or higher, and if you're in a party of four, you'll need to be level 3 or higher. Moreover, I've never heard of a black naga. They say they are usually sand-colored, and the red ones breathe fire, so it probably has some kind of special ability. It's too dangerous not to know that."

"..."

"Let's turn back. There should be another entrance, so it's safer to look there."

"We can't do that, Amiyu. We don't have enough time to search. We should rather consider ourselves lucky to have reached this room while we still have strength left."

"..."

"Let's defeat it. Even if there is no exit at the end of the room, if we destroy the core, the threat of the monsters will be gone."

“Seika…are you sure we can beat that?”

"Only with Amiyu."

　Amiyu suddenly lowered her eyes and smiled a little.

“I understand. But if you don't think you can do it, run away. Okay?

"I'm also good at running away. Whenever you need to retreat, just let me know."

　yes.

　We can always run away.

　Amiyu draws her staff sword from its sheath.

"On the count of three, we'll go. The Naga will awake when we enter the room, so shoot your magic before it's in position."

"Got it."

　I'll do it anyway, without omitting the seal or the spell.

"Three, two--"

　I float a hitogata.

"One!"

　Amiyu kicks the door and sprints out.

　Naga's snake eyes opened slowly.

　It spreads its sword-wielding arms and turns to look at the intruder, Amiyu.

《Wood Phase――――Pile driver Jutsu》

　A log-like stake was released, hitting the sword off Naga's left hand.

　The second and third hits hit the chest and torso, making it stagger greatly.

　The power is different when you do it properly.

　However……,

"...shallow"

　Not much damage has been done.

　Naga pulled out the stakes in his chest and stomach with his left arm and turned his vertical pupils toward me this time.

"Don't look away!"

　Amiyu shot a flaming fireball at the snake's head, Naga staggered.

　Amiyu repels the huge sword swung with its right arm with ridiculous power, and furthermore it is at the mercy of magic.

　Huh? I'm free.

《Wood Phase――――Pile driver jutsu》

　The thick stakes struck Naga, who had been distracted by Amiyu.

　One after another, the stakes were thrust at his shoulders and throat. This time, it seemed to have done some damage.

　I see. So this is the role of the vanguard.

　Thanks to its constant attention to Amiyu, it is easy to use jutsu in battle.

　I wonder if it would have been easier to exterminate monsters if warriors and sorcerers cooperated with each other in my past life. ......

"Watch out! Something is coming!"

　I looked and saw Naga's rib cage bulging.

　It protrudes its upper body and spurts out liquid from its mouth.

　Amu rolls to avoid it, and I retreat to avoid it, but the floor covered with the liquid is bubbling and dissolving.

　You spit strong acid?

　Heh.......

　A sword is swung down at Amiyu, who has lost her balance. However the stake repelled it.

　Naga approaches me after I had drawn its attention, but Amiyu's wind magic keeps it in check.

"Amiyu, I need to step forward a little. Can you take care of the attack?"

"Okay, I get it!"

"And when I give you the signal, I want you to fall back."

　While supporting Amiyu in the vanguard with 《pile driver jutsu》I wait for an opportunity.

　Not yet, not yet...

　Before long, when Amiyu's magic caused Naga to lean back, its rib cage swelled.

　A prelude to vomiting strong acid.

　Here it is.

《Gold phase――――Nail Bombshell no Jutsu》

　A white metal spear stood in the mouth of the snake, which was spitting out strong acid.

　The strong acid leaking from the mouth dissolved the spear and its upper body, causing Naga to squirm with a silent scream.

"Okay, back off!"

　I give the signal to Amiyu and try to shoot demon fire.

　but it was blocked by the rampaging tail.

　It's no good, it’s completely on guard...

　Wait, I don't have to do it myself.

"Amiyu! Shoot the flaming fireball at his head!"

　I called out to Amu,  who was in an easy aiming position.

　Instead of a reply, a flaming fireball magic was released.

　It flew precisely to Naga's head and ----

　A loud explosion of flame rose up around the spear.

　With no more defences, the half-human, half-snake monster sprawled messily on the ground.

"It finally put its head down."

　Then ---- Amiyu's staff sword was thrust deep into the still burning eye socket of the snake head.

　The human upper body and the lower body of a snake convulsed violently.

　But eventually ......the dungeon boss Naga stopped all its movement.

　The flow of power suddenly weakens and disappears.

　It seems to be dead.

　Phew, it was easier than I thought it would be.

“"Amiyu! You did it! ---- it’s over."

"Seika!"

　Amiyu comes running up to me and hugs me just like that.

"We did it! Hahaha, it's my first time subjugating a dungeon boss! Even though we just formed a party, weren't we in perfect sync?"

　Amiyu takes my hand and jumps up and down.

　The way she laughed so carefree ―――― really looked a lot like that girl. Just a few years before I was reincarnated, she used to laugh like this at my mansion.

　But on the other hand, I was confident in the process so far.

　Amiyu has nothing to do with ---- that girl.

　When I first met her, the thought crossed my mind faintly that she had followed me in reincarnation. However, such a thing is technically impossible. There is no way that she could find my soul among the countless other worlds and reincarnate after me.

　Besides, her flow of power is also different. She doesn't seem to have any memory of it. And most of all... I don't think she’d come after me, given her personality.

　It's just a broad resemblance to someone else. It’s not uncommon. Just as that girl and my sister were not even slightly related after all.

　Life in that world is over.

　The world is not so convenient that we can speak to those we have left behind afterward.

"Haha ......! Hmmm, gosh."

　Perhaps noticing my lukewarm eyes, Amiyu suddenly came to her senses and shyly let go of my hand and cleared her throat.

　I say with a wry smile.

"But you're reckless, too. You didn't have to go and finish off a guy who's on fire and rampaging like that."

"Well, there are monsters who regenerate when they’re sluggish. I killed him properly, so it's fine."

"Yeah, it's amazing Amiyu. That's not something you can do easily."

　It reminded me of the Japanese warriors who were able to slay demons in the body of a human being, as if they were demons themselves.

　As I was stroking her red hair while thinking about this, Amiyu stared at me.

"What, this hand?"

"Oh, I'm sorry."

　I hurriedly removed my hand from Amiyu's head.

　I do that to Ifa once in a while, but somehow it makes me feel like I'm dealing with an apprentice.

　It would be like treating them like children and they wouldn't like it, so i’ll stop

　Amiyu turns away.

"... I don't mind."

"What?"

"Nothing. More importantly...that silver spear, what is it? It exploded with fire magic."

"Well, it's a metal of that nature."

　Silver magnesium, a metal discovered by alchemists in the ancient Greek city of Magnesia, has the unusual property of burning itself.

　Furthermore, it easily dissolves in acid and produces a gas that also burns, so an explosion like that can be easily caused if the 《Nail Bombshell jutsu》 is used properly.

　It was just vomiting strong acid..

"Are you hurt?"

"...No.  It's so unnatural. I thought I had some minor burns."

"Then I guess the hitogata I gave you took its place. It would still keep at it, though."

“You can do that too? That art of magic is so useful."

"That won't cure any major injuries, though. Now, let's move on."

　As I walk away, I look up at the ceiling and say,

"If there is an exit ahead, it will be right by the temple."

"...? How do you know that?"

"Ah, no. Somehow..."

　I faked a panic at Amiyu's suspicious look.

　Yuki asks, whispering in my ear.

"Seika-sama, do you by any chance know where ...... you are right now?"

"Well. For a little while now."

"How did you ......"

"With the power of a magnet."

　The magnet's ability to attract iron ---- magnetic force is one of the few forces that can affect the thick earth’s crust without being damped by it.

　If you create a strong magnetic field with yang qi (positive energy), it can reach the surface of the earth even if there is some distance.

　It was detected by the shikigami, which had been transformed into the form of a honeybee.

　The honeybee has a mineral in its abdomen that reacts to magnetism and can sense changes in the magnetic field. Of course, there is no such thing in the shikigami, but it works according to the specimen, so the function is the same.

　By varying the position and elevation of the magnetic field and capturing it from the ground, I was able to determine a rough idea of our current location

　The same could have been done with foxes and pigeons, but when it came to capturing small changes near the surface, bees were the best.

　It was hard to see, but I couldn't help it.

"Then by any chance, could you have escaped at any time with substitute teleportation magic?"

"Yes"

“Hey, then why go to all this trouble ......”

"Didn't I tell you earlier? I wanted to enjoy this experience. It was my first time in a dungeon."

　I also wanted Amiyu to gain experience.

　――――In order to become the strongest.

※ Nail Bombshell no Jutsu

The art of releasing a spear of magnesium. Magnesium burns on its own and dissolves easily in acids, even hot water, producing hydrogen. Magnesium was actually discovered in modern times, but in the world of this work, alchemists in ancient Greece separated magnesium from a mineral called limestone.

※ Magnetic current cloud technique (no jutsu name yet)

A technique that uses yang qi (negative energy) to generate a strong magnetic field around a Hitogata. Originally, it was an arrow avoidance technique that used Lenz's law, but this time Seika used it as a beacon to locate its position from the ground.

※ Shikigami (Honeybee)

Honeybees can sense changes in the magnetic field with magnetic crystals on their abdomens. It is probably necessary to have a sense of direction in order to let others know the location of the nectar, and that is why the organ that senses the earth's magnetic field has developed. Bees can also see ultraviolet light.

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