While Cyrus was dealing with Esperanza, Daria, who had been trying to create the dungeon again, gritted her teeth.
The damn thing was blocking her path without any reason. Daria spat out curses while kicking at Esperanza's knee. Esperanza, who had been pushed back, collided with her again without letting out a single groan.
The longer the entangled close combat continued, the more impatient Daria beca. Their objective had a ti limit. Daria anxiously glanced at where the naval battle was continuing.
When Esperanza kicked Daria's wrist with her knee, Daria staggered with a suppressed scream. The Golden Claw slipped between her sweat-soaked palms.
I have to catch it.
Esperanza instinctively reached out her hand. However, it was Daria who barely managed to catch the Golden Claw before it fell. Esperanza's hand only grasped empty air. The mont she realized this fact, she quickly withdrew her hand, but couldn't avoid the eyes of Daria, who was gasping while her whole body heaved.
"You covet this, don't you?"
It was a painful mistake. Information asymtry had been Esperanza's great weapon. Daria twisted her lips upward.
"Right, I was wondering why so stranger was suddenly interfering. Now I understand."
Esperanza pressed her lips tightly together. Not answering was as good as an answer. She couldn't hide her agitation. Information superiority had been Esperanza's strength, yet she had revealed her purpose to the enemy. To make such a stupid mistake.
"Don't even dream of it, you damn bitch."
Daria, who had muttered savagely, spotted Cyrus getting up and twisted the corners of her mouth upward. As if they could understand without words. Her violently extended leg kicked the hesitating Esperanza while simultaneously heading back toward the airspace above the warship.
Esperanza, who had been falling from the fierce force, spread her wings just before her hair touched the sea. The tips of her tal wings scraped the air and stopped her fall. Daria, looking down at Esperanza from high above, held up the Golden Claw and drew a long line through the air. Like a giant beast's claw, it cut through spaceti and erected a wall on one side of the sea.
Daria's hand moved slowly, asuringly across the sky toward the opposite side of the sea. Following that gesture, a transparent wall wrapped around the sky.
Esperanza let out a short breath. It was the first ti she had seen a dungeon being created. By human power, such a thing... She could feel space being scooped out like with a large spoon. A feeling both familiar and spine-tingling.
She had to stop it.
As Esperanza tried to leap upward again, Cyrus clung to her persistently. Even when she tried to dodge, the difference in physique was so great that she was inevitably at a disadvantage in close combat. Cyrus's predictable attacks never hit even once, but ti was passing relentlessly.
She beca increasingly impatient. She could feel her lips drying. Those two could just open the dungeon and return as they were. Once the dungeon opened, only Esperanza would be at a disadvantage.
There's no choice.
The next mont, Esperanza opened the hand that had been trying to block Cyrus's sword. As the opening was revealed, Cyrus's blade grazed Esperanza's side.
'Did it really go in?'
Cyrus unconsciously widened his eyes and looked up at Esperanza. Subconsciously, he had thought there was no way the attack would work.
However, Esperanza's gaze was no longer directed at him. Her opened hand snapped backward and grasped a thin sword, throwing it as is. The blade, wrapped in bright blue magic power and flying like a dart, pierced Daria's wrist, tearing through Cyrus's field of vision.
Impossible.
Daria scread. Despite the deadly battle with cannons being exchanged between warships in the nearby sea, that scream echoed all around as if it would tear the sky apart.
But what happened next was the real disaster.
The transparent mbrane wrapping the sky began stretching endlessly. She had missed the timing to cut off the magic power supply. The Golden Claw seed to regard Daria's body itself as a giant magic stone, relentlessly sucking in magic power. Daria's face turned deathly pale. It was like having blood sucked by a vampire. She couldn't control it. Cyrus shouted:
"What are you doing? Stop it!"
"I can't, it won't stop!"
Esperanza also froze stiffly at the unexpected disaster, not knowing what to do. The dungeon, the dungeon that had only encompassed the battlefield and the surrounding sea, filled the entire sky. And farther, much farther... to the mainland. The sight of monsters crawling up from the shallow sea and twisting their bodies dominated her vision as if nailed there.
Cider is on the mainland.
Annie and Cordelia too, Alastair and Millen too, Alastair's relatives and Annie's family too. Her vision went dark. What just happened? Surely all those people didn't enter the dungeon's range? They didn't, surely the dungeon wouldn't be that wide. It shouldn't, it absolutely shouldn't be. Her heart pounded like crazy. Please, please.
"It's done!"
Daria, who had swung the hand holding the Golden Claw until it nearly broke and barely managed to cut off the magic power, shouted. She had been on the verge of running out of magic power. The heat touching her palm made her skin tingle. She was dizzy to the point of collapse. Daria, who barely managed to straighten her weakened body, looked around.
Magic power was insufficient, and the enemy was close. If they fought, she would definitely lose. Esperanza was aiming her gun at Daria from the air. How long would it take for the magic power bursting from that gun barrel to pierce through Daria's neck? Surely it would be instantaneous. And Daria was in a state where just standing was difficult, with a wrist injury on top of that.
The gazes of the adversaries intertwined.
Now that she knew that woman's purpose, at least it wasn't a complete failure. As long as she didn't die now, as long as she could escape this place, there would be room to sohow handle this situation. Though she had no idea how to do it, sohow it would work out.
Daria tried to think that way and nodded slightly. Her lifelong companion brother instinctively understood the aning of that brief nod. Cyrus, who had approached behind Esperanza, thrust his sword toward her exposed back. Esperanza reflexively turned her body to avoid the sword while firing her gun.
She'll dodge. Esperanza gritted her teeth as she pulled the trigger, anticipating failure. However, instead of dodging, Cyrus faced the magic bullet head-on and kicked through the air.
It was instantaneous. A line of bright blue magic power penetrated Cyrus's shoulder, and Cyrus, giving up his shoulder, passed by Esperanza and moved to the high sky where Daria was.
As Cyrus, clutching his blood-dripping shoulder, stood beside Daria, the two instantly tore through the remaining space and escaped.
It was truly getting back what they had given. Esperanza, left alone in the vast sky, breathed deeply.
Everything had happened in less than 10 minutes. She felt like her soul was leaving her, but there was no ti to rest. Esperanza lowered her gun barrel. Her unfocused gaze read the notification window.
[Dungeon Occurrence!]
Type: Sea
Grade: A
Danger Level: C
Hunter, we wish you luck!
From below her feet, giant sea monsters churned the water, created waves, and let out violent roars. Though it was deafening, Esperanza didn't even spare them a glance.
Clatter, tal wings spread. A pair of wings crossed the sea until the harbor was visible. Through the telescope lens were the ships lined up at the dock, dock workers and sailors, officers, nearby shop clerks... and even the monsters on the sea heading toward the beach to destroy all of it.
She raised her gun high and fired magic power in a long stream.
The magic power transford into a bright blue line instantly crossed the sea and traversed the harbor before hitting an invisible wall and bouncing back. Esperanza let out rough breath. Relief poured out.
The dungeon's range was wider than anything she had ever experienced, but fortunately it didn't penetrate deeply into the mainland.
'The dock, the plaza, the naval base.'
Cider should have t Cordelia and Annie at the hotel by now. If they had followed Esperanza's instructions well, they would probably be outside Sterling, and even if they were just at the hotel, they wouldn't be included in the dungeon's range at least.
Only then did it seem like her body's functions, which had been stopped, were creakily finding their place again.
Esperanza re-gripped her gun and looked at the distant harbor. Then she turned her head toward the ships that had stopped their mutual combat and begun fighting against the giant sea monsters.
'The people on land have places to evacuate.'
Though she hesitated, Esperanza eventually turned around. Most monsters appearing in underwater dungeons were sea creatures, so damage to the mainland wouldn't be severe. There was also a naval base, so they would sohow find ways to evacuate and respond.
'I've called for reinforcents too.'
If only they co on ti.
If there were people in this whole world that only Esperanza could save, it was right to go there. Hoping this choice was correct, Esperanza threw herself into the battlefield where sea monsters were entangled.
A sea dungeon. Though Esperanza had experienced countless dungeons, it was one of the types she least preferred.
[Firearm use is restricted in underwater dungeons. All firearms' attack power is reduced by 40%, critical damage by 60%, and accuracy by 20%.]
The long rifle was sucked into her inventory. Esperanza's right hand pulled out a giant scythe from the air.
Still, there was no other choice. Nothing but to clash head-on.
??????°??☆????°??????
"Lord Avondale is late."
Cordelia, who had been sitting in the lobby, suddenly stood up. Annie only glanced up briefly before focusing on her lace again. Cordelia acting like this wasn't a matter of just a day or two. She would sit down again after this.
But this ti was different. Cordelia remained standing and said resolutely:
"Let's go to the station."
"Now? But his lordship..."
"At this rate we'll be late for the train. Let's leave a note at the hotel. Tell Lord Avondale to co straight to the station on ti."
Annie hesitated for a mont, then reminded herself that she had no decision-making authority.
"If Miss has decided so."
"What about Miss Tate's family?"
"They should already be at the station. They decided to stay at relatives' house in a nearby city."
"That's good."
Cordelia nodded and gestured to Alastair. Alastair, who also nodded once, went out with the luggage, and the coachman loaded the baggage onto the steam carriage.
"I'd like to wait if possible too, but we have no choice but to prioritize our safety. Just because we have one gun doesn't an we can fight those monsters. It's different from Lord Avondale."
Cordelia said while closing the carriage window, unable to watch the hotel receding.
"Miss, no one blad you."
"I know. It's just that I, I'm a bit like that."
Cordelia smiled faintly and laughed while taking a deep breath in and out.
"...I'd rather it be that he's late because he's dawdling."
Surely nothing had happened. If only Cider Claiborne had safely arrived at the hotel, even if they missed one train, it wouldn't have been a big problem. But she was anxious.
"Why does it feel like sothing's going to happen? And why is this carriage so slow? Am I impatient by nature?"
"No. The carriage is indeed slow. Excuse
for a mont."
Alastair opened the window that Cordelia had closed and stuck his large body out the window.
"Is there sothing happening outside?"
"Yes, Count! It's nothing serious, but the road is blocked due to traffic control."
At this very ti?
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