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Tl: Sam

…

「What do you mean!?」
「Cthulhu isn’t the boss, seriously?」
「Eh, is a monster disaster going to happen after all!?」
「Scary!」
「You’re kidding me!」
「It’ll be alright… right?」
「Shachiken!」

The comment section was filled with anxious voices due to the unexpected situation.
Dr. Nero had said that the presence of the evil god disrupted the magic energy circulation, causing a monster disaster. Indeed, that information alone doesn’t necessarily mean the evil god is the dungeon boss.
But I never thought that an EX-rank guy wouldn’t be the boss.
Damn it, where is the boss…!?

“…Hmm? Isn’t it shaking?”

As I was deep in thought, Dojima-san said that.
I stopped thinking for a moment and focused on my surroundings. And indeed, the ground was shaking, albeit slightly.
The shaking gradually grew stronger, becoming so intense that it was difficult to stand.

“What now…? An earthquake?”

I thought, what terrible timing, but looking at the comment section, I realized I was mistaken.

「What’s happening?」
「It’s not shaking here」
「Just Tokyo?」
「No, it’s not shaking in the city either」
「Eh?」
「Then maybe the dungeon itself is shaking!?」

Apparently, the surface wasn’t shaking.
That means this dungeon is shaking. The tremors were still getting stronger, cracks were appearing in the walls, and the ceiling was beginning to collapse.
At this rate, we might get buried alive.

“What’s happening? We haven’t destroyed the dungeon core.”
“…It’s probably due to the disrupted circulation of magic energy.”

It was Dr. Nero who spoke.
He seemed to understand the current situation. We listened to the doctor’s explanation.

“The evil god, Cthulhu, is a powerful creature. The dungeon’s capacity was probably insufficient to accommodate it. That caused an anomaly, disrupting the circulation of magic energy. And the battle between Tanaka-dono and the evil god further disrupted the magic energy circulating in this dungeon… and finally, it broke.”
“It broke… then what about the monster disaster? If the dungeon breaks, will that stop it too?”

Rin asked with pleading eyes.
However, the doctor shook his head, denying her question.

“No, that probably won’t happen. Even if the dungeon itself collapses, if the core is intact, the dungeon won’t be considered destroyed. If things continue like this, a monster disaster will still occur even if the dungeon collapses.”

What the doctor spoke of was the worst-case scenario.
If the dungeon collapsed, it would be difficult to find the dungeon core. If it escaped into the sea with the boss, it would be impossible to find.

“No way…!”

Rin covered her mouth with her hand, letting out those words after hearing the doctor’s explanation.
She approached the doctor and grabbed his collar, pressing him.

“Isn’t there any plan!? How can we prevent a monster disaster!!”
“W-well, if there’s a way, it’s to find the dungeon boss. The fact that it’s not present at the lowest level, where it usually resides, probably means the boss is hiding while holding the core…”

I see, that explains why the core wasn’t found.
Normally, the dungeon core is prominently placed in the center of the lowest level. If not, it’s almost always held by the dungeon boss.
The fact that the core isn’t in front of us now means we should assume the dungeon boss has it.
And that boss is hiding from us, the intruders.

「Eh, he’s hiding?」
「There are cowardly bosses too, huh?」
「But isn’t that bad? This place is pretty big」
「The water at their feet is quite deep. If it’s hiding in there, They won’t find it」
「Hurry, the dungeon’s collapsing! Shouldn’t we prioritize escaping!?」
「No, if we escape, a monster disaster will happen!? We need him to destroy the core!」
「Don’t say selfish things」
「Just do something, anything!」

The comment section was in an uproar of chaos.
It was understandable. They might also be attacked by monsters. If I weren’t Awakened, I’d be freaking out too.
But by some twist of fate, I had gained the power to deal with this situation.
There’s no time to be scared. I’ll deal with this situation.

“Dojima-san, please evacuate to the surface with the doctor and the evil god. I’ll take care of the core.”
“Are you sure about that? I can stay behind, you know.”
“Dojima-san is an essential person. It’s better for the chances of survival to be as high as possible. Who would be the Minister if you were gone?”
“Hmm… That’s my weakness, isn’t it?”

He’s probably the only one who can lead the Ministry of Monster Control.
He seems to be trying to train successors, but there’s no one in the Ministry of Monster Control yet who can be entrusted with the Minister’s position. In that case, it’s better for him to take on the role with the highest chance of returning to the surface.

“Understood. I will take responsibility for escorting these two to the surface. In return, Tanaka, you absolutely must return. There’s no one to replace you either, you know.”
“…Understood. I will definitely return.”

When I was a corporate slave, Suda often told me, “There are plenty of people to replace you,” so hearing that there’s no one to replace me warms my heart.
Alright, our roles are decided, so let’s quickly find and defeat the dungeon boss. I went to the water’s edge and squatted down.

「Hmm? What’s he doing?」
「How will he find it, I wonder?」
「By the way, is there really a boss?」
「You should run!」
「Tanaka! Make sure you come back alive!」

I concentrated, looking at the rippling water.
I slowly raised my right hand, then powerfully slammed it onto the water’s surface.
SPAAANG!! A bursting sound echoed, and ripples spread across the water.
Tachibana Style Jujutsu, ‘Hashinkei’ (Wave Tremor Strike). It’s a technique that delivers a shock to the target with a palm strike unleashed from a state of extreme relaxation.
This technique spreads deeper and stronger the softer the target is. On the water’s surface, its effect is immense. With this amount of water, the shock would resonate throughout the entire area.

「!?」
「What was that just now!?」
「A crazy sound, lol」
「There was an explosion sound, what was it!?」
「That’s not a sound a human can make」
「This is Tachibana style too!?」
「Don’t teach crazy techniques to crazy people」
「Ah, something moved!」
「Seriously?」

As the shock propagated through the water, the water surface in the distance splashed.
Looking in that direction, a ‘fish’ with transparent scales was leaping. It was about 1 meter in size. A beautiful fish.
I pointed my Labyrinth Analyzer at it, and it reacted perfectly.
No doubt, that’s the one holding the dungeon core.

“That’s a Crystal Fish… So that was the boss here. No wonder we couldn’t find it.”

The Crystal Fish is an S-rank fish monster.
Although it’s S-rank, its combat ability isn’t that high; if fought head-on, it only has the strength of a B-rank. However, its body is as transparent as water, making it extremely difficult to find, and it swims away at incredible speed, making it difficult to subjugate.
Yes, in game terms, it’s like a metal slime. Its materials are traded at very high prices, so some people target it, but it’s rarely subjugated.
I was thinking of defeating it before I completely lost sight of it… when,

“I’ll defeat that one. Sensei, please head to the surface.”

Saying that, Rin jumped into the water.
And she dove at incredible speed, beginning to chase the Crystal Fish.

“R-Rin!?”
“That girl…!!”

Rin’s sudden action surprised Dojima-san and me.
Rin was prepared to do anything to stop the monster disaster. That’s why I offered to subjugate the Crystal Fish myself to prevent Rin from being reckless, but I never expected her to take such a drastic measure.

“I’ll chase Rin. Dojima-san, please escape with the doctor and the evil god as planned.”
“…Can I leave it to you?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. I’m counting on you, Ayakawa and the world.”
“Yes, I’ll save both.”

I said that to Dojima-san and jumped into the water.
Let’s quickly finish this work and go home with everyone.

……..

Tl Note: I like the way this novel shows people’s trauma response. First with Yui, Now with Rin. There’s a certain way to how people act very emotionally driven and completely illogical, based on their past negative experiances. Yui probably felt that she had to defeat the monster who took her father away from her, and despite being completely outclassed, it was her own way of showing bravery, of fighting back to the monster in her nightmare. She could take revenge. In this situation, It’s a little bit different; Rin doesn’t appear scared, more so anxious and emotionally agitated, and the way her agitation continously builds up during the dungeon, especially as a “Dungeon Break” is mentioned. The only thing is, apart from Tanaka and his self esteem issues from before volume 6, no one has really shown an avoidant attitude. The two girls, were not particularly afraid of the source of their trauma, rether, they showed plain aversion or hatred, or just a hero complex(Rin).

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