Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 6 (31 page)

Hyacinthus had the Strength advantage. But strangely, and obviously, the boy was faster.

—Who is this?

Techniques, footwork, nothing mattered if his blade couldn’t connect. What’s more, the boy got behind him.

His Agility had increased so much that memories of their previous battles became cloudy.

—Just who
is
this?

The word “growth” didn’t do him justice.

Barely managing to block the boy’s attack, Hyacinthus looked at him in disbelief and screamed at the top of his lungs:

“—JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!”

Abilities, strategy, techniques—everything was on his own level.

The boy who had been easily overpowered by simple, straightforward strikes in an instant only ten days ago was nowhere to be seen.

The man put all of his strength into one overarching swing at the head of this strange adventurer and yelled:

“I’m Level Three!”

Hyacinthus swung again and again, attacking wildly, when suddenly Bell’s body became a blur.

Catching the oncoming flamberge between both knives on a down stroke, the crimson blades flashed as they broke the rouge sword in half.

“What’s wrong with you, Hyacinthus?!” shrieked Apollo as he watched his prized follower lose the sword that symbolized his
Familia
. The deity’s face couldn’t hide the amount of stress he was under.

Angry jeers could be heard from the city below as every god inside Babel watched Hyacinthus draw a shortsword from his belt and continue the fight. Hestia bit her lip as she watched the two engage in a highly mobile, hit-and-run style of combat on her own mirror. Hermes cocked an eyebrow and made his way to her side.

“Well, well, it seems Bell had some extra excelia stocked up when he became Level Two.”

Hermes flashed his usual charming smile as he looked at the side of Hestia’s face.

There had been no announcement that Bell had reached Level 3. So the only way that it was possible for him to keep up would be for his Level 1 abilities to have combined with his current Level 2 stats. It made Hermes tingle inside just thinking about how high his basic abilities must’ve been to produce such a result, and he just had to know.

“What was his Status before ranking up? Come on, I promise I won’t tell anyone else. The secret’s safe with me, so please?”

Hestia’s eyes didn’t leave the mirror. She didn’t even move as she responded in a quiet voice:

“You won’t believe me anyway, so no.”

“Of course I’ll believe you, so please, tell me.”

Hermes kept pressing, so Hestia told him Bell’s basic ability levels after his battle with the Minotaur.

“Everything but Agility was SS.”

“Ha-ha! You must be joking.”

“See?”

Hestia continued watching the mirror, her serious face in stark contrast to Hermes’s laugh.

Hermes came to realize that Hestia wasn’t smiling and the reality of what she had said began to sink in.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Hermes took a step forward, the tingly feeling flooded his body as yet another smile grew on his lips.

“…So, what was his Agility?”

“Quiet, Hermes.”

Bringing an abrupt end to the deity’s questioning, Hestia returned her focus completely to the mirror.

She was determined to watch this fight to the very end.

“Hu…!”

“
^______
?!”

Crimson arcs sliced through the air as Hyacinthus absorbed each hit with his shortsword.

His main weapon, the Solar Flamberge, lay in pieces on top of the rubble. One direct hit from the weapons in Bell’s hands was powerful enough to break it in one strike. Covered in sweat, the man was suddenly being driven backward.

Ushiwakamaru-Shiki.

Welf, now a High Smith, had put his heart and soul into forging this new weapon from the remaining half of Bell’s Minotaur Horn. With far more destructive power than the original Ushiwakamaru, the menacing spirit of the Minotaur seemed to reside within the blade itself. In fact, Bell had to concentrate with all his might to prevent the Minotaur’s bloodlust from overtaking him as he advanced on Hyacinthus.

However, just because he’d disarmed his enemy and had him against the ropes didn’t mean Bell was confident of victory.

Using Argonaut had taken a heavy toll on his body despite drinking one of Nahza’s dual potions. Bell knew that he would lose this battle should his opponent draw it out. His arms and legs were getting heavier by the second.

Bell needed to end this in less than a minute. Every ounce of his strength, every drop of energy was going into each strike.

Body and mind working as one, the boy’s movements picked up even more speed.

“Guhh…?!”

Hyacinthus’s handsome face, one that his god adored, twitched violently as anger mixed with desperation.

One week of combat training under Aiz and Tiona had come to a head. Bell was on par with his opponent in terms of technique and footwork; everything was coming together. Every lesson that had been pounded into his body by fist, foot, and blade by the top-class adventurers was pushing Hyacinthus farther and farther back across the field of debris.

The boy’s focus and greatly improved Status were overwhelming the second-tier adventurer.

“U-OOHHHHHHHHHH?!”

“?!”

All of the accessories attached to his body flailed in the air as Hyacinthus spun and twisted to dodge the crimson blades. Yelling at the top of his lungs,
Apollo Familia
’s general slammed his shortsword into the debris under his feet.

The resulting impact sent a fresh cloud of blinding dust into the air. The strike was powerful enough to reach the soil, adding a plume of dirt to the explosion. Bell was quick to react, his reflexes sending him backward before the cloud could overtake him. At the same time, Hyacinthus kicked off the ground, launching himself away from the boy like an arrow shot from a bow.

Then—

“—
My name is love, child of light. Glorious son, I offer you my body!
”

Hyacinthus played his trump card.

A good deal of distance between them, he started casting Magic.

“
My name is sin, jealously of the wind. This body calls forth your gust!
”

Magic—the power to come back from the bleakest situation in the blink of an eye.

Unable to hold his own in hand-to-hand combat, Hyacinthus decided to try a different strategy to turn the tide of battle to his favor.

“
Come forth, ring of fire—!
”

Bell could sense a large amount of magical energy gathering on the other side of the swirling dust cloud.

Returning Ushiwakamaru into its sheath, Bell thrust his left arm forward in an attempt to stop the magic in its tracks.

“Firebolt!”

It took less than a second for Bell’s Swift-Strike Magic to cut through the cloud and tear into Hyacinthus.

“
^______
?!”

The thundering inferno enveloped him, dispersing the dust.

The man’s long body bent backward. His battle cloth was now nothing more than rags covering charred skin. However, Hyacinthus endured.

Not only that, the magic power gathering in his hands was unaffected.

The man gritted his teeth, stood up straight, and continued casting.

“—
on westerly winds!
”

Bell’s eyes opened wide. He watched the man in disbelief.

He took in a deep breath, preparing to hit his enemy with another round of the Swift-Strike Magic, when out of the blue…

“YAA–?!”

“?!”

A long-haired girl had emerged from the rubble and attacked Bell from the side.

Cassandra’s tackle made contact with his arm at the same instant the boy’s magic was released, protecting Hyacinthus from the blast.

“Well done, Cassandra!”

Apollo yelled into his mirror inside Babel Tower. Another shadow appeared in the field of rubble, this one making a beeline for Cassandra.

“Mr. Bell!”

“Kyaahhh?!”

Lilly, undisguised, had arrived to provide support.

The girl was the first one to arrive from the castle. Tackling Cassandra from behind, the two of them rolled down the pile of stones and onto the grass below.

“—Nuuuahhhhh!”

Bell immediately stuck out his left hand to fire again, but Hyacinthus had finished casting. The man pulled his shoulders back as his torso twisted at the waist.

Bending his knees to lower his center of gravity, Hyacinthus reached his right hand high into the air and dropped his left to just above the rubble beneath his feet—a discus throw.

The boy watched in horror as Hyacinthus’s eyes locked onto him, right hand pulsing with magic energy. A heartbeat later, the man triggered his Magic.

“Aro Zephyros!”

A ring the size of his body appeared between his hands, shining bright as the sun.

Hyacinthus flung the ring forward in one swift motion, his right hand aiming the disk at Bell. It spun with blinding speed as it rushed forward.

“Firebolt!”

Bell launched his own Swift-Strike Magic a second later.

A burning disk the size of a human torso; a snaking pillar of violet, flaming electricity.

The two Magics collided, but the disk had no trouble cutting through the electric flames.

“?!”

Sparks flew in every direction as the violet light was swallowed up by the burning rays of the “sun.”

Firebolt had been overpowered. That was the weakness of Bell’s Magic—it might be quick, but it lacked destructive force.

In the face of Hyacinthus’s Aro Zephyros, it didn’t stand a chance.

“Guh!”

Bell managed to dodge the oncoming disk by the slimmest of margins.

“Pointless!”

However, the disk suddenly turned skyward as if guided by Hyacinthus’s voice. Flipping around, it set a new course for Bell. The oncoming flames reflected off Bell’s ruby-red eyes.

Homing Magic. The magical energy would not disburse until the disk hit its target.

A westerly wind pushing his body to the east, Bell made a desperate jump to get out of the disk’s path.

“Rubele!”

A blinding flash and then a sudden explosion.

“—GAH!”

Bell’s body had been extended, arms reaching out, when Hyacinthus triggered the explosion of the disk.

The explosion threw the boy’s helpless body several meders, careening into another pile of debris.

“Mr. Bell?!” screamed Lilly as she clung to Cassandra’s body, watching the battle from the corner of her eye.

Hestia forgot to breathe as she stared, eyes transfixed on her mirror. Everyone cheering for the boy around the city suddenly fell silent.

Body shrouded in smoke, Bell bounced off the debris two, three times, droplets of his blood flinging through the air around him.
Clang!
The knife fell from Bell’s right hand on the next impact.

Finally coming to a stop, the boy managed to climb to his feet. However, the armor protecting his right shoulder was gone, his arm hanging limp and useless at his side.

“Now I have you!”

Drawing the shortsword from the sheath at his waist, Hyacinthus charged.

Bell watched his enemy pick up speed, but he couldn’t react.

The sun reflected off Hyacinthus’s blade as it homed in on its motionless target.

(
^____
)

Bell saw his opponent charging in slow motion. Meanwhile, far away in Orario…

Hestia’s eyes shook.

Apollo smiled with glee.

Eina’s face turned pale, Syr prayed, Bete snapped his tongue.

Tiona held her breath—but in the golden eyes of the girl sitting next to her…

Was the same memory that was flashing before the boy’s ruby-red eyes.

(
^____
)

Two shadows colliding above the city wall, the sky orange before sunset.

I told you. I listened to you.

—People become easier to read when they see a window.

The boy had paid attention to every word.

—Guard is lowest when the final blow is near.

Their hearts were connected by this one memory, accidentally, inevitably.

—Your greatest opportunity lies when you are most vulnerable.

She’d taught him. The boy took it to heart.

—Don’t forget.

So, not yet.

((—Now))

Hyacinthus’s arm pulled back, the blade of his shortsword even with his shoulder.

All of the emotions stewing inside him were focused into the point of his sword for one deadly thrust. He was going to end this by running Bell clean through.

The man’s face morphed into that of a wolf salivating over a kill. Bell started to lean backward.

The corners of Hyacinthus’s mouth curled upward, interpreting Bell’s movements as cowardly. He sliced the air with his sword once, taunting his foe before resetting for the final approach.

Bell bent his knees and rolled onto his back a moment later.

Forcing his center of gravity as far back as possible, he rolled backward over his shoulder.

Seeing his enemy less than three meders away, Bell vigorously rolled backward once again in time to dodge the incoming blade.

He used that momentum to swing his legs upward.

The shortsword was held in his opponent’s outstretched right hand. Bell felt the tip of his right boot brush against the hilt.

From there, he kicked with all his might.

“
^____
”

CLING!
The shortsword flashed in the sunlight as it spiraled upward and out of sight. Disarmed, Hyacinthus froze on the spot.

His enemy’s confidence and carelessness had opened the path to victory.

Bell rolled over his shoulder once again and felt his feet connect with soil—he sprang forward.

“—Haa!”

Point-blank range.

“—W-waaaaaaiit!”

Limp right arm at the mercy of centrifugal force, Bell made a fist with his left hand.

Hyacinthus saw the boy coming but was unable to evade his attack because his body was still stuck in the same thrusting position, right arm forward, left arm back.

The Vorpal rabbit was a fearsome, murderous white rabbit that lurked in the deeper floors of the Dungeon. And yet, here was one aboveground. That’s what Hyacinthus saw as fear overtook him.