Chapter 224 - Escaping to the dungeon and The man that appeared

Author: The manga version’s 1st volume of The Darkness was Comfortable for me will be on sale on November 7th!

Please enjoy a different ‘darkness’ world in its own way from the novels!

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“I somehow…managed to escape, huh…”

The dungeon is said to be a kind of separate world in itself.

It is not an adjoined ‘cave’, the inside is clearly a different place from the outside. I can feel the presence of the Spirit Energy, but the moment I entered the dungeon, the presence of the Great Spirits was completely cut off.

I would be able to tell by feel if a Great Spirit were to enter the dungeon, but I probably don’t need to consider that possibility.

A dungeon appears from equal powers of Great Spirits.

The dungeon would fall if that balance crumbles.

According to Rifreya, the Great Spirits wouldn’t go that far…apparently. Judging from the Great Spirits I have met, this is arguable though.

“Well…if a Great Spirit were to enter, it would be the end.” (Hikaru)

There’s a limit to running away to lower floors.

I would be able to manage if it is until the 4th Floor, but if I were to get to the 5th Floor, I would be caught between a rock and a hard place.

In that case, I would have no choice but to use Random Transfer to run away.

Though I wonder if the dungeon would fall the very moment a Great Spirit enters it.

“…There’s no point thinking about it.” (Hikaru)

Honestly speaking, I am really tired.

Mentally as well as physically.

Ferdinand pretty much self-destructed there, but I in the end don’t know if what he said about being Celica’s boyfriend is true or not.

It would be better to forget about Earth just as Jeanne said.

Nanami being selected to be transferred must have been a lie too.

He brought out the name of Celica. He probably knows full well just how much I value Nanami.

Our isekai lifestyle is being broadcasted to the whole world.

Jeanne and I should have known plenty well just how fearsome this could be…but even when we tried to be wary, it still ended up like this.

“…I am tired… I really am.” (Hikaru)

I can deal with the lack of sleep with a Stamina Potion, but the fatigue still remains. My body moves, but the wear of my heart isn’t healed.

The 1st Floor, the Dusk Hades Street, is a floor that looks as if it were the ruins of a city.

The ceiling is dyed in the color of dusk and gives the feeling of always being night.

It seems like the natives also feel mysterious nostalgia from this floor.

There would be times when natives would come here from time to time to pray, saying that souls of the dead who couldn’t climb to heaven are wandering here.

Is it because I heard the names of Nanami and Celica? I am also feeling nostalgic within this dusk.

It makes me wonder things like ‘Is everyone living happily?’ and ‘Are they watching me right now?’.

I was transferred to this world without being able to give my farewells.

Maybe that’s why I can’t ‘forget’ about Earth just as Jeanne said.

Or it might simply be because I am a weak human.

There’s dilapidated stone houses lined up and there’s a lot without roofs in this Dusk Hades Street.

I walked powerlessly and entered a suitable one.

The Skeletons are wandering around the corridors, but they for some reason don’t enter the buildings.

I sit down for now and decide to wait for Rifreya and Jeanne.

It might be fine to sleep for a bit.

I haven’t slept for 24 hours now.

—After I regroup with those 2, let’s leave this city while sneaking away from the eyes of the Great Spirits.

There’s the capital of Stranoa where Alex and his group apparently headed for work and has a big harbor. We could get on a ship there and head to the Ringpill Continent on the south. We could go even further south, get on a ship again, and head to the Roshesill Continent. We could head to Gran Alismaris.

It would be a long journey.

But I will be able to slowly forget about Earth on that harsh journey -that’s the kind of feeling I get.

◇◆◆◆◇

I woke up from the footsteps of someone.

There’s no doors on the ruins of the 1st Floor, so you can immediately tell who is outside.

The moment I noticed it wasn’t Rifreya or Jeanne…

*Pashu Pashu*

Those low sounds rang.

“—Eh?” (Hikaru)

*Pashu*

The sound rang again, a light like that of small fireworks bursted, and I felt the impact of being pushed.

“Gahah!” (Hikaru)

My body is burning.

When I looked down, a part of the recently made mithril scale mail had a hole opened up around the chest.

Even if I was dozing off, this is inside the dungeon.

There’s also the possibility of thieves (especially in the 1st Floor), so I didn’t fall asleep completely here.

I didn’t go as far as breaking a Barrier Stone beforehand, but that might have been a mistake.

The man in front of me…that probably was the one who attacked me, was watching me with both hands holding a gun and pointing it straight at me.

His eyes and mouth were loosened into a grin.

The masked man.

The guy that was together with Ferdinand.

“Oh, I aimed for the head though.”

“You…” (Hikaru)

“I didn’t expect you to survive against a Great Spirit, but too bad. To think you would fall asleep defenselessly at a place like this. Do you have loose screws?”

When he was together with Ferdinand, he was always hiding behind him and barely spoke, but he was strangely talkative here.

But this guy’s…way of speaking and voice as if he were mocking you as inferior, I have heard it somewhere before…

Something important was leaving out from me each and every second from the hole opened up on my chest, and lethargy was taking over my whole body.

I was close to pinpointing the identity of this guy, but the state of my body was not giving me the leeway to think calmly.

My chest has been shot by a gun.

(High Heal Scroll—no, I should use a Barrier Stone first.) (Hikaru)

I somehow manage to take out a Barrier Stone within my fading consciousness and break it.

“You still had more of that? You are one persistent bastard, seriously.”

The masked man clicked his tongue.

I was watching the man while leaning on the wall and staring at the gun pointed at me.

The distance between me and him is around 5 meters.

Why is he still targeting me despite Ferdinand having died?

He won’t say he is the boyfriend of Karen or something like that here, right?

I was thinking about this in my dimming consciousness and my body suddenly shone.

The pain and languidness cleared up as if they were all a lie.

It was as if I used the High Heal Scroll, but I still haven’t used it.

“Tch, the Scapegoat Ring, huh. I thought I got you.”

The masked man gave me the answer.

The ring in the middle finger of my right hand crumbled.

It seems like I have escaped immediate danger.

I will be safe with the barrier, but this guy has a gun.

Jeanne and Rifreya might get shot.

I need to incapacitate him before that.

The masked man entered the rundown house defenselessly.

The gun barrel was still pointed at me, but he was grinning and full of openings.

“You didn’t know about this, right?”

The masked man said this and moved even closer.

There’s already 3 meters between me and him.

I grabbed the handle of the sword at my waist and lowered my waist to move at any moment.

The masked man lowered his left hand from the gun and rummaged through his pocket.

What he brought out was a Barrier Stone.

He broke that stone in one go and readied his gun again.

A new barrier appeared with him as the center.

The new barrier was covering mine.

I didn’t even imagine the result this could create.

“Seriously?” (Hikaru)

To think they would fuse and create one bigger barrier…

“Die!”

The masked man shouted with bubbles coming out from his mouth and pulled the trigger of the gun.

I was awfully calm even after seeing this.

(A gun, huh. I have shot those before with Celica.) (Hikaru)

From what I can see, the gun here is bigger than a 9mm, a large sized firearm with a 45 aperture.

The recoil is too high for a novice to shoot. Even though I got hit once just now, there were 3 gun shots, which means he missed 2 of them.

I have shot them before, but a gun -especially a pistol- is pretty tricky to use.

You need your own body to become an unshakeable foundation in order to shoot your bullet straight.

If you take Physical Strength Up at a high level, you may be able to use it without issues, but he has already missed 2 shots. He most likely has it at level 1 even if he does have it.

Also…

The *pashu pashu* sound was from going through a suppressor. It is impossible to avoid a flying bullet with a speed that surpasses 200 meters a second by sight alone.

But if I were to escape from the trajectory, it would obviously not hit.

Just before he pulled the trigger, I kicked the ground with my right leg.

The trigger was pulled, the percussion hammer struck the firing pin, and the firing pin stimulated the detonator of the bullet.

That brief amount of time was enough. I also have my Physical Strength Up 2 and the level up from defeating monsters, so I escape from the kill zone.

A gun is weak against horizontal moves, but that weakness is accentuated at this distance.

If you miss once, there’s no means to recover with the pistol.

“Hah? Where is he?”

When the masked man noticed that he had lost sight of me, I was already behind him.

“[Fear].” (Hikaru)

I activate a Chaotic Ability as if whispering to his ear.

A gun is a way too powerful weapon.

No matter how much you train your body, you won’t escape death if a bullet hits a vital point.

That’s why he faced me with absolute confidence, and him not killing me in the first attack was because he is a novice.

Of course, the Scapegoat Ring was also a big factor though.

Whichever the case, this must have been without a doubt a miscalculation from the masked man.

I don’t know much about the items that can be bought with Points, but there shouldn’t be any that can nullify Chaotic Abilities.

The masked man got hit by the effect of Fear and fell on his knees as if all strength left him.

“[Shadow Bind].” (Hikaru)

“[Summon: Dark Knight].” (Hikaru)

I cast Bind on him just in case and have the Dark Knight retrieve the gun.

A large size automatic pistol with a suppressor. It is heavy.

The magazine is longer than your regular pistol. It must have been customized to have a lot of bullets.

“Still had 9 shots left, huh… You are carrying quite the nasty thing here.” (Hikaru)

I feel like Jeanne would be happy if I were to tell her I got a gun.

This would be the strongest weapon against a native that doesn’t know about guns after all…

I had the Dark Knight hold him from behind. I should be able to incapacitate him with this.

If he had Physical Strength Up at level 5, he might have been able to get out from the restraints, but judging from how he used the gun, there’s no chance of that.

The man tried to resist a bit, but it seems like he noticed soon after that it was pointless.

“Fuuh… And so, who are you? Why did you try to kill me?” (Hikaru)

“G-Give it back… That’s my gun…”

“There’s no way I would give it back.” (Hikaru)

“Damn it……against a guy like you…why…?! Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

The masked man seemed to be cursing me under his breath.

Maybe he was a viewer that had an unjustified grudge against me from watching me…?

“Answer. Why did you try to kill me?” (Hikaru)

The masked man raised his head at my question and grinned with a creepy smile.

“…I was the one going out with that girl…with Souma Nanami. His boyfriend. The girl that you killed.”

“……Hm? What did you just say?” (Hikaru)

“I was going out with Souma Nanami.”

“…So it wasn’t me hearing wrong.” (Hikaru)

I could believe Ferdinand being the boyfriend of Celica.

It is not like I know everything about my little sisters, and they probably have one or two secrets from their brother…no, it wouldn’t be strange if they had 100 or 200 secrets. Especially Celica who had a lot of interpersonal relationships.

But being the boyfriend of Nanami is pushing it a bit.

“Then, could it be that you are from the same city as me and Nanami…? Or maybe in the same school? …Wait, that voice…” (Hikaru)

“That’s right. We are in the same school. Even you would be able to tell if you take off my mask.”

“Mask? Weren’t you hiding a wound or something?” (Hikaru)

The man didn’t answer.

I ordered the Dark Knight to take off his mask.

“…You are…the one at that time.” (Hikaru)

I had an inkling when I heard his voice and his way of speaking.

But the chances of it are truly astronomically low, and should have been chances I should have been able to ignore without issues.

However, there’s no way I would be able to forget that face.

The face of this student that was of the same year as us and didn’t know the name of, the one who murdered Nanami and her parents.