Chapter 8

Chapter 8 \nVol 3: Chapter 8\n

Shit! I’m scared! This is dangerous! I’m terrified! What do I do?!—My body collapsed.

My brain became cold as if it was numb, and my whole body started shivering. Despite shivering, the pores of my skin released sweat, and it became increasingly more difficult to breathe.

(World Ruler, World Ruler, World Ruler, World Ruler, World Ruler, World Ruler! It’s time for your debut!)

When I forcibly concentrated on【World Ruler】, the fear that dominated my head diminished.

With just the words “Be consumed by fear”, everyone went down to their hands and knees. Leaving aside Dante-san, who was standing firm through sheer will alone, Zerry-san was in a sliding dogeza state. The same was true for the Golden Brigade party over there. But Mimino-san, Muge-san, and Non-san who took distance seemed to be okay.

(The distance?)

But what kind of mechanism can instill fear?

「D-DAMNIT!!!」

Dante-san roared as he blocked the automaton’s spear with his great shield. His face was distorted, and also sweating profusely. I suppose the spear attack from a giant automaton would be heavy, but that should be no problem—for the usual Dante-san.

(What is this abnormal mental attack?)

Using【World Ruler】, I found out that this phenomenon is caused by magic techーor maybe a magic spell. Dante-san and I were more or less good for now, but for Zerry-san, who had her forehead rubbing on the ground, her bracelet became darker red with every passing moment.

(What should I do?)

There is no other way but to defeat it. But my movements are reduced by half.

And right then–

「Shoot!」\n

Two【Fire Magic】exploded on the back of the automaton. Shot by a mage from the Golden Brigade.

The Golden Brigade, who were a bit further from the automaton, seemed to be in a much better state than us.

Magic, huh. It’s true that we are not in a situation where we can prioritize loot.

(For now, we just have to get out of this situation!)

I punched myself on the cheek.

Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid!

That day, the day the mine collapsed—I dread not taking my sister’s hand on that day more than anything else.

I don’t want to relive that horror again.

Like hell I’m gonna succumb to the fake fear caused by this thing!

『–Intruder–』

The automaton made a U-turn on the spot by rotating its wheels in the opposite direction and changed targets to the Golden Brigade–turning its back on us.

「Don’t look down on humans, you machine!」

I activated【Fire Magic】on each finger of my right hand and【Wind Magic】on the fingers of my left hand.

Doing this, eats quite a bit into my mana, but — no regrets.

「Flame Tornado!」

The 5 streaks of flame and the 5 gusts of wind shot from both hands combined together, forming a huge tornado of flames and engulfed the automaton.\nThe name of this magic was taught by Mimino-san to me, as it seems that there was a person who used magic with such a name in the past.

『–Intruder……–』

When the flames stopped, the wheels of the automaton had stopped and only the upper body was turned around towards me. The body was black with soot, but it was not hot enough to melt.

Dante-san forced his way in front of me and readied his shield. …Is this automaton still working?

Right then, the jewel embedded in the body of the automaton cracked and broke. Two of the three had already broken, and the last one seems to have just broken. Then, I felt that the feeling of “fear” that filled the surroundings disappear right away.

The automaton fell forward, with a loud noise. Perhaps having deteriorated due to heating, one of the arms broke and rolled away, slipping off the stage and disappearing into the abyss.

「Phew… that was dangerous.」I said.

「Y-Yeah… it was quite dangerous. I didn’t expect an attack like this… Are you okay, Reiji? How is Zerry?」

「Huh? Wha-What am I doing!?」Zerry-san exclaimed.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. Whereas Dante-san carefully approached the automaton. Zerry-san seemed to be fine since she was looking around restlessly—though it may be better to check her mental condition later, just in case. No, but she is already an abnormal person in the first place, though…?

「It’s okay. Doesn’t seem to be moving anymore.」

Dante-san kicked the automaton and confirmed it. It seems that the battle is finally over.

The problem arose after the rich merchant returned.

「The first magic was shot by the Golden Brigade I hired! So this automaton will be taken by us.」he said.

This guy is trying to pick a fight. The merchant way of fighting. Fine, I’ll humour you.

「…Reiji-san, leave this to me.」\n\n「Hey, just what do you think of me, Dante… But, more importantly, what the hell was that magic! Even our Emily… who is, uhh, a mage, collapsed in shock! How many magic shots did you combine?」Leon asked, looking at me.

「How many shots you ask? Well, 10 of course. Cause there are only 10 fingers, right?」

「Seriously… I really thought you had a scout-type skill since you didn’t look like a mage–no, today you are definitely dressed like a druid. But a druid using【Fire Magic】…?」Leon tilted his head, and moved on.

From behind me, Mimino-san was making a triumphant look, like「Muhuhuhu… Did you see how cool Reiji-kun looked?」This person is older, but she still acts cute, like a child.

After that, Muge-san carefully examined the automaton and was sorting out whether there were any magic tools that could be used. Meanwhile, the Golden Brigade went ahead.

「But, still, what was the magic used by that automaton?」Non-san asked, as we were taking a break.「Dad, your movements suddenly became dull, right?」

「Did you not have any problems?」Dante-san asked.

「No… I felt chills running down my spine. It was similar to the feeling I had when I sensed the presence of God in the cathedral of the Saint Knight Kingdom.」

God, huh… It’s a fear-inspiring emotion, so it may be similar to feeling God. Or rather, Non-san! Did you really meet God?!

「What do you think, Reiji-kun?」Non-san asked.

「I haven’t figured it out yet… but the effect seems to be lesser if you are farther away, so let’s keep a distance when we fight next time.」

「The documents didn’t mention a case where the enemy used something magical like that. But this is a dungeon, anything is possible. Let’s focus our minds.」Dante-san said.

Everyone nodded—but I was inwardly confused.

Anything is possible because it is a dungeon? I only know Sixth Mine when it comes to dungeons, but that place had its own “rules”.

(There must be some mechanism that invokes this emotion.)

I want to unravel that mechanism with 【World Ruler】!