Chapter 107: When in Doubt, Blow It Up
"See anything? Like, the presence controlling this ruin or something?"
If there's no such presence... that would mean the ruin itself decided to attack me, which is just absurd, but it's starting to feel like the only explanation.
『Nothing out of the ordinary caught my eye... It really does seem like this ruin itself developed some kind of will and chose to attack you.』
"Alright then, let's just smash the whole thing."
If the ruins are acting like a monster, then there's no reason not to destroy it. And even if the attack was actually caused by some hidden enemy using the ruins, the dungeon's structure usually regenerates. As long as it's part of the dungeon, it'll probably rebuild itself... probably. No need to worry too much.
: Aren't these ruins super valuable or something?
: Can't prioritize treasure over staying alive, dude.
: Yeah, if the ruins themselves are hostile, it's fair game to wreck them.
: So, wait... does that make the enemies here, like, inorganic monsters?
: I don't even know anymore.
: This whole ancient-city-themed dungeon is beyond comprehension.
: I still can't get over how the Nagoya Dungeon was flooded up to floor 59, but then, from 60 onwards, it's just... dry? How does that even work?
: Don't worry, no one understands it. We've all stopped trying.
: What's comforting about that exactly...?
"Kijin, I'm relying on you for this one. No one's stronger than you among the Twelve Heavenly Generals."
『H-hey! You can count on me!』
Despite her eccentric personality, Kijin is one of the familiars I trust the most. Actually, she's probably the closest to my ideal among all the ones I've summoned. Though I'll admit... I sometimes wish her personality was less, well, weird. Still, she's powerful and reliable when it counts, and even with her quirks, I don't dislike her at all.
Meanwhile, Sagojo has already finished smashing the last gatling gun. I'm not sure what's coming next, but staying in the air makes me a sitting duck. Better to land on solid ground.
『You're surrounded.』
"Wait, what? Already?"
『Yes. I'm not sure how they got into position without being detected, though.』
Tenko says she senses their presence through the movement of moisture in the air. That makes no sense to me—what does "moisture movement" even mean? Maybe she can detect subtle disturbances in the air like ripples on water? I don't really get the science behind it, but since her danger sense has never been wrong, I'll trust her.
"...Golems?"
: They look kinda small for golems, though.
: They look more like magical soldiers—mechanical, maybe?
: Another weird piece of ancient tech in this dungeon...
: This dungeon feels like it's just throwing in random stuff at this point.
The creatures surrounding us emerge from the ruins—humanoid figures, roughly my height, made entirely of stone. Each one holds a weapon—swords, spears, bows—and they stand in formation, ready for battle. Maybe these guys were the ones controlling the weapon systems earlier? But how did they manage to hide until now? There are at least fifty of them.
The soldiers are eerily still, each watching me from the shadows, keeping their distance.
"Tenko."
『Waterfall.』
They're keeping their distance for now, but I'm not interested in playing their game. Tenko summons a massive surge of water from the sea above, crashing it down on the soldiers like a waterfall. The sheer force obliterates the stone warriors and washes away sections of the ancient city. The best part? Thanks to Tenko's magic, I remain unaffected by the water, as usual.
: Wow, water is OP, huh.
: I mean, yeah, water pressure alone is enough to kill people.
: How many tons of water was that, anyway?
: I swear, people always throw around numbers like "trillions of tons" when it comes to water.
: If it were really trillions of tons, this dungeon would be a pile of rubble.
The flood sweeps away most of the enemies, but I notice one soldier gliding through the air, heading straight for me. Is that... a jetpack? No, wait—it's using magic to fly.
This whole situation feels like I'm stuck in some kind of fantasy-mecha anime. If only their weapons weren't so primitive...
『Hah!』
The flying soldier comes hurtling toward me, showing no signs of stopping. Maybe it's planning to blow itself up? Before it can reach me, Kijin opens fire with a volley of magic bullets, shredding the flying enemy mid-air.
"Seriously... What even is this dungeon?"
: Beats me.
: First it gives us ancient railguns, now we're fighting stone-age magical warriors. Make it make sense.
: I've officially reached the conclusion that I understand nothing.
: Welcome to the enlightenment club—ignorance is bliss.
: One thing's for sure—this dungeon is ridiculously hard.
The area is now soaked, thanks to Tenko's magic, and for the moment, there are no signs of more enemies. But with how unpredictable things have been, it feels like trouble could strike at any moment. I can't shake the sense that the entire city itself is alive... and hostile.
"...Would blowing up the city fix this?"
: Did... Did he just say that?
: Please tell me I misheard that.
: Nagoya Dungeon about to go boom.
: "Wait, is there insurance for this?"
: No. No, there's not.
Honestly, if blowing everything up solves the problem, then that's the easiest option. I could summon a god to help, but unleashing a massive explosion sounds like a much simpler solution. If the association complains, I'll just tell them it was an emergency. They won't argue with that. Flawless logic. Perfect.
With that settled, my next target is that weird castle-looking building in the center of the ruins. I haven't checked inside yet, but if something is controlling the dungeon, it's probably in there. Time to proceed with caution.
: Is he seriously gonna blow up the entire place?
: 100%. No doubt about it.
: I respect the commitment to chaos.
: "If in doubt, blow it all up"—a timeless strategy.
: Let's goooo! Explosion gang, rise up!
Magic works like anything else: compress it too much, and it'll explode. A big enough magical blast could take out this whole city. Kamishiro managed to wipe out an entire floor in the Sapporo Dungeon, so the same principle applies here.
: Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with this plan.
: Yeah, if the dungeon's giving you trouble, just nuke it.
: Why fight fair when you can fight with explosions?
"Alright then. Time to finish this."
As I fix my eyes on the castle in the distance, my hands tingle with compressed magic. This city has thrown everything it could at me... but I'm done playing by its rules. If this ancient ruin wants to act like an enemy, then I'll give it the end it deserves.