BXBX NOVEL Chapter 108 – Flow
「Kuon-san! Please don’t get too close!」
「I’m telling you, I know! Zetsu, ei!!」
While firing a Magic Bullet at an approaching monster and taking it down in one hit, Bernadette shouted at Kuon who was moving fast.
While replying to her, Kuon fired off a 『Zetsuei』.
The secret technique that puts amassed Maryoku to use for a Magic Clad Sword at the same time the short sword is drawn and slices up the enemy in a single stroke, 『Zetsuei (Severing Shadow)』.
Using this move that I taught her on the battlefield (or that I forced on to her, according to Fiona), Kuon bisected the lava covered scorpion.
Advancing through the volcano cave that appeared since the eleventh floor, although we more or less had a hard time with the changing terrain and the pyro enemies, we pleasantly advanced on through.
「Whoa there, so it’s starting to rise up.」
Whenever we got close to magma that was slowly but steadily getting higher, we would climb up onto a nearby large rock and wait for the magma to recede.
「What I hate, is how we become unable to advance.」
「Yeah, for me, in regards to the monsters, it’s only to the point of being a bit hard to handle, but this is something that I can’t do absolutely anything about.」
Kuon nodded to the words that Angelica mixed in with a sigh.
That’s right. Monsters were something that we could do something about, but becoming unable to advance through this scorching hell was something that they couldn’t do anything about.
And we’re not going with the idea of me desperately running on top of the magma as a substitute for a ferry.
Although I won’t die, I’d go insane from the pain.
「Although I can defend against heat to a certain extent with Cooling, even I can’t do anything about touching magma.」
Bernadette wryly smiled while casting Cooling Magic on us.
……After that conversation with her, I somehow just couldn’t have a conversation with Bernadette.
No, I knew the reason. Having an idea of where Bernadette’s words came from, I simply kept silent on my own.
(Dying as only natural, huh……Certainly, it was due to getting too used to dying.)
Around the first time I came to this world, even though I knew that I was immortal, I didn’t just jump into fatal situations.
There was pain after all, and above all, at the moment of death, I feared the sensation of everything scattering away.
I wonder when it was, when “dying” started to enter my tactics.
As I was thinking about such things, a small vibration suddenly occurred on my ear.
『……Just how long do you intend on worrying, Yuu.』
Fiona’s voice came resounding from the Communication Stone on my ear.
『Fiona!? This, it’s the thing that I received from Alicia, you know!?』
『As long as one has a Communication Stone, jacking in is easy. ……More importantly, just how long are you going to irresolutely worry, because it’s rather annoying, you know?』
I reflexively made a wry smile at Fiona’s sharp words.
『You’re the same as usual, aren’t you, Fiona. Though I would be happy if you could have said that a bit more kinder, you know?』
『You would just get spoiled if I were to treat you kindly. I don’t want to.』
Getting bluntly told that, a wry smile came out. She was exactly right about that.
『……So? Just how much did you inform that Sister?』
『Inform?』
『Since she’s aware of your immortality, it would feel like you’ve talked to her about being the Hero, don’t you think?』
『Ahh, so that’s what you meant. Let’s see……I talked about speaking fondly of a loved one.』
『Ha?』
I was asked again by a kind of low voice. Since it’s just plain scary, I really would like you to stop that.
『Ah–, I pretty much talked about the start and end of my romance with Olivia, and a light talk about being the Hero.』
『About, her Majesty?』
When I answered, Fiona asked again with a rare surprised look.
『What, is that really that surprising?』
『…………Not really.』
Seeming somehow sulky, Fiona cut off the Communication Stone’s Maryoku.
Although I wanted to question her, since I don’t have any Maryoku and was unable to activate the Communication Stone, I turned only my eyes towards her. And when I did, Fiona had descended from the rock.
「Hey, what’re you──」
「Yashiro-san? Is something the matter?」
「Eh……Ah~, sorry. I was spacing out a bit.」
Looking closely, at some point, the magma had receded and everyone but me had descended from the rock.
◇
About several hours after that, when we continued to advance then avoid the magma then advance then avoid the magma, we arrived at an awfully spacious floor.
This one floor had its surface covered with magma, and a hole that looked like it continued on to the next floor could be seen in the distance.
If we were to go directly there, it looked like we could get out of this floor immediately.
「Floor 19……It’s a Salamander nest.」
All present stopped moving as if we had been frozen by the words Fiona fired off.
「Did you say Salamander!? You……Why didn’t you say that earlier!?」
「I handed you the book, didn’t I. It was written in there.」
「Guh……Still, Salamanders, huh……」
Salamander. The monster that comes up first that has fire as its symbol is probably the Salamander.
Inhabiting volcanoes, and being monsters that make magma their bed, they are a low rank Dragon species.
It’s not like there is a large number of them, but they are able to perfectly assimilate with magma, and the Flame Breath that they breathe from their mouth possesses enough heat to melt a steel forged shield in an instant.
And then, above all, what makes Salamanders such formidable opponents is,
「!? ……Aniki! We’re surrounded!!」
in that outstandingly ferocious nature that they have.
That nature of absolutely expelling enemies that trespass into their own territory is something that they have in common with the dragons told of in legends.
If there was only one thing that was different between them, it would be that they fought in a group of dozens of them.
A number of Salamanders that easily surpassed ten crawled out and appeared from the magma.
「Yashiro-san, please leave this place to me.」
As I had placed the Magic Sword that was sheathed in its scabbard into my hand, Bernadette stopped me.
「Bernadette?」
「I don’t recommend engaging Salamanders in close combat. Besides……If we’re talking about a distance that you have to maintain, then that’s my distance!」
Saying that, Bernadette drew her Magic Guns from her slit.
In an instant, a Salamander that tried to breathe out flames was hit with a Maryoku bullet faster than it could make a sound.
「Recently, I haven’t been able to participate actively much after all!」
「Participate actively, wait, oi……」
Was I the only one that held anxiety for Bernadette who was high with tension?
In a place away from that anxiety of mine, Bernadette made clicking footsteps and advanced forward.
「Now, now, please watch. ……With that shot just now, I saw a chance of winning.」
Facing the muzzles of her pair of guns up and down, and showing a stance of a cross, Bernadette smiled.