Chapter Text
The cavern was measurably vast, a cathedral of jagged stone and shimmering, translucent shards that felt colder than the air around them. Near the center of the cavern, Frieren lay curled on the hard ground, fast asleep, while Fern and Stark stood watch.
"To think that we would be making camp in a place like this," Stark muttered.
Fern looked up at the cave ceiling, before looking down again. “This place is so incredibly big, and there are many animal bones lying around.”
“Frieren-sama said that this place is probably the lair of a large monster,” she continued, then glanced towards the person she mentioned. “So, how can she sleep so soundly?”
"She is a carefree one, after all," Stark replied, his gaze also shifting toward Frieren.
She looked back into the deeper shadows where the crystals glowed with a faint, predatory light. Around them, the walls were thick with magic-nullifying crystals, creating a dead zone that felt like a physical weight on her chest.
"Frieren-sama seemed to be enjoying herself even in a place like this.” Fern’s voice dropped to a whisper, her usual composure fraying at the edges. “Meanwhile, I’m scared beyond belief. I can’t even detect mana.”
Stark watched Fern worriedly. He noticed a slight tremor in her, especially her lips, which was unusual for someone as calm as her.
“I never felt this way in my whole life, it’s as if I were thrown into a pitch-dark place.”
“Fern…”
Before Stark could continue his word to reassure her, the silence of the cave was suddenly shattered by a heavy thud that shook the very foundation of the earth.
BOOM.
From the very same river where Stark had been fishing, a massive and terrifying monster emerged. Its many eyes caught the dim reflection of the crystals as it lunged forward.
"A monster?” Stark muttered, as if unable to believe his eyes. Fern quickly stood behind Stark, who was already braced with his massive axe.
"Frieren, wake up! We’ve gotta—"
Before the boy could even finish his sentence, the monster swung one of its limbs to attack Frieren. For something like that, there’s no time for Stark to think, so he threw himself toward the sleeping elf as he grab her away from the danger.
Frieren’s eyes opened, clear and devoid of sleep's fog. She didn't panic; she simply observed the creature with a cold precision.
"...That’s a Venomous Apex Dragon," she said softly, didn't try to reach for her staff yet. "It is a bad matchup for you, Stark. You'll die from poison again."
“Hey, I didn't die back then!” He shouted. “But, then what are we supposed to do? How could you sleep so soundly? Do you not just care—"
"Because I've entrusted my life in your hands, Stark," Frieren replied, her voice steady even as the dragon loomed closer. “And that's how it's been ever since you become the vanguard of our party. That’s the only way a party can function.”
Stark felt the weight of that trust like a mountain on his shoulders. He looked from the towering beast to his axe, and then down at his own hands, which were betrayed by a persistent, frantic tremor.
"You know," he said. "I'm just a man who flees when things go bad. Even now I can't help but feel the urge to run."
“I see,” Frieren didn't scold him. Instead, she reached into one of magic nullifying crystal besides her. “Then let us flee together.”
Stark looked at her, his fear meeting her calm.
"Stark, Fern, close your eyes."
A burst of artificial radiance exploded, blinding the dragon.
Moving with sudden speed, Stark sheathed his axe and grabbed the two mages which currently useless. He hauled Fern onto his left shoulder, and gripping Frieren firmly with his right arm. A high-stakes pursuit unfolded between the party and the poisonous monster.
Even though this was incredibly draining for Stark, his pace did not slacken in the slightest. He was able to maintain both his running speed and the strength in his arms.
The problem now was that none of the three knew where they were going. The ground was unstable, the route was full of forks, and a monster was still pursuing them with murderous intent.
"Stark, don't give up, alright?" Frieren encouraged him just as the monster exhaled a poisonous breath that Stark hadn't noticed.
Stark didn't answer, only managed a quick glance. He knew that if he didn't find an exit soon, or perhaps a way to evade the beast, everyone here would die.
His eyes scanned the cave walls until he spotted a narrow crevice; a sort of path between the rocks that he calculated was just wide enough to pass through without needing to set down the two women he was carrying.
Not far from there was a larger path, but this time he didn't take the wide main road. A normal route wouldn't make the problem behind them disappear.
"I’m taking that path!" Stark shouted between ragged breaths. "Hang on tight!"
He spurred his legs forward, leaping over piles of bones toward the crevice.
As soon as his body passed through the mouth of the gap, he realized one thing.
The ground beneath his feet wasn't a flat path.
It was a steep drop.
"Eh—"
The word wasn't even fully out before his footing vanished. Loose gravel and sand gave way under Stark’s boots, and his massive frame immediately slid down like a boulder released from a slope.
"Mr. Stark!" Fern screamed.
He tried to brace himself by slamming his boots into the ground, but that only caused the fragile surface to crumble further. The ground was like a layer of dust over slick rock. Once balance was lost, there was no way to stop.
Stark’s body pitched forward.
Reflexively, he twisted his torso, ensuring his arms kept Frieren and Fern locked tight so they wouldn't be thrown. But that movement shifted his center of gravity.
And he fell.
His back hit the rocky slope and his body began to tumble.
Not once, but twice.
Gravel and other sediment were swept along in the current with them. The harsh friction of stone against Stark’s body produced a loud cracking sound within the narrow passage.
Fern clenched her teeth against the impact, while Frieren remained calm, though her silver hair flew wildly every time they spun.
"This isn't a path!" Stark growled.
"That's too late to say," Frieren said flatly.
The descent turned out to be much longer than it had appeared from above. The passage was narrow, but enough to send them sliding faster and faster, like a natural slide formed by erosion.
Above them, the monster’s roar echoed again.
The creature had reached the mouth of the crevice, but its body was too large.
Stark caught a glimpse upward as they tumbled past a bend in the rock. The silhouette of the monster’s giant head stopped at the entrance, its eyes glowing in the darkness.
It couldn't get in.
"Thank God..." Stark breathed a sigh of relief for a moment.
Then the monster opened its jaws.
"Ah."
The poisonous breath spewed forth again.
The greenish mist seeped into the narrow gap like water being poured into a pipe. The gas spread rapidly, chasing them down the same passage.
"The gas is coming down too!" Stark yelled.
A mistake.
The skin on his hands was harshly scraped and stone chips flew. The friction only slowed them down slightly before the next slope dropped them even further.
Every breaking stone only turned into additional gravel sliding along with them.
Frieren, who had been quiet until now, finally opened her eyes a bit wider.
"Now is not the time to stop," she said.
Stark almost let out a dry laugh. "I noticed that too!"
He twisted his body again, trying to shift his position so they wouldn't just slide aimlessly. With one hand he pressed against the left wall, and with his knee, he struck the right side of the passage.
The friction finally managed to give them some control, even as the poisonous mist behind them drew closer.
Fern glanced back and her face immediately tensed. Frieren, meanwhile, didn't look back. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the path ahead.
"The direction is changing."
Stark didn't have time to ask before the passage suddenly took a sharp turn. The slope grew even steeper, accelerating them once more.
"Are you serious?!" Stark screamed.
Then something appeared in the distance.
A light.
A bright blue light.
At first, it was just a tiny dot at the end of the tunnel. But as they slid further down, the light became clearer, reflecting a bluish hue off the stone walls.
At this point, however, they didn't even have the option to stop.
The blue light grew larger, revealing itself to be a circle.
There were no answers, and no questions asked at that moment.
Because in the next second, the slope turned into a final drop that hurled them straight toward the light.
The three of them held their breath.
And in the very next breath, their three bodies slammed into the surface of that blue light.
It felt like falling through cold water.
...
Meanwhile, in a dark dungeon on the other side of the world, a woman's laughter rang out. At first, it was just the sound of joyful laughter, but it shifted into the laugh of a total maniac.
"Got you!" the woman named Darkness cried. "Got you!"
She said this to a group of dolls that, as soon as they touched the sword she swung, exploded with quite a bang.
"Look, Kazuma!" The woman turned, looking at someone behind her. "They're throwing themselves onto my sword!"
The man she was looking at, Satou Kazuma, stood with an expression of pure disbelief while holding a magic lantern in his left hand. Several adventurers standing behind him wore the same look.
"You look very happy," the man supported her, then glanced over his shoulder.
"But, with these people here, I can't erase Aqua's magic circle without being seen," he thought.
Kazuma wanted to start formulating a strategy in his head on how to do that, but he was interrupted by the scream of one of the adventurers.
"Hey, wait! Can we slow—" his voice was cut short as one of the dolls jumped and latched onto his body. "It's got me! Somebody! Get this thing off me!"
The atmosphere turned into chaos as Kazuma realized the dolls had surrounded the adventurers behind him.
"Don't come over here!"
The sentence was uttered just before the dolls began to blow themselves up. Kazuma panicked for a moment seeing the people who were supposed to be his comrades screaming in fear and fainting, but it didn't take long for him to see it from a more positive perspective.
"Nice, Darkness! Keep moving like that!" Kazuma cheered, looking toward Darkness.
"Leave it to me!" she replied with sheer delight after several dolls exploded against her body and sword.
"This is so much fun! As a Crusader, I feel like this is the first time I'm using my true strength!"
She said that with a smile and sparkling eyes, a stark contrast to her battered condition. Kazuma, on the other hand, didn't mind; slowly, the two of them walked deeper, leaving the group at the dungeon entrance.
"Don't stop until they're all gone, Darkness," Kazuma whispered.
"Don't you worry!" she replied, beaming.
They walked without stopping, and although the dolls kept coming for a while, they eventually stopped appearing altogether. Kazuma and Darkness were able to walk unhindered and focus more on their main goal.
Unfortunately, they couldn't just rush into the room.
Kazuma and Darkness pressed their bodies against the wall and peered inside. Right in front of the door of what was formerly Keele's bedroom, someone was sitting while crafting a doll.
"What's his deal?" Kazuma muttered in a serious tone. "It's pretty obvious he's the master of those dolls."
Darkness suddenly stepped out from hiding, startling Kazuma. "Hey!" he hissed, but the girl ignored him.
Darkness stood right in front of the mysterious figure. She drew her sword and pointed the tip at the person wearing a mask and a blue suit.
"Are you the culprit?" the girl accused.
The man looked up and let out a "hm" from his mouth. "I didn't expect you to make it this far," he remarked.
He set aside his doll, then spread both arms wide in a dramatic gesture.
"Welcome to my dungeon, adventurers!" he said, full of pride with a smile on his face. "I am the root of all evil, the source of all your troubles!"
"A commander of the Demon King's army, and a Duke of Hell who leads the demonic host, the Archdemon whose sight pierces all in this world—"
He bowed, placing a hand over his chest, smiling at the two people before him. "My name is Va— AAAHH!"
Unfortunately, before he could finish his last sentence, the figure was slammed into by something... which suddenly appeared along with a blue portal on the wall to the demon's right.
"Ah..." Kazuma stared with a deadpan expression. "I guess 'sight pierces all in this world' didn't include that."
Darkness looked at Kazuma. "Kazuma, Kazuma, is there another monster attacking him?"
Kazuma looked toward the portal that had just appeared. "I don't think so. Whatever it is, let the dust settle first. Stay on guard."
Once the dust cleared, Kazuma and Darkness were left gaping in disbelief: the ones who had interrupted the demon's introduction were a young man and two women, one of whom was an elf.
The red-haired man was pinned directly on top of the demon, while the two women were sitting on top of his body.
"What in the world am I seeing..." Kazuma said flatly.