Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta Boku wa Raisede wa Jimi ni Ikiru ~

Episode 83: The One Lurking in the Underground Water Vein

“Alright, I’m counting on you guys.”

After clearing out the Antraptors that were nesting in the walls of the disposal hole, we slowly descended to the lowest level using flight magic.

However, we didn’t immediately bring everyone down.
First, Liliera, Ramise, Guney, who could actually use flight magic, and I would scout the lowest level to investigate if there were any large numbers of monsters there.

Because it would be troublesome if there were a large number of monsters or chimeras living underground.
We’ve had enough of dealing with Antraptors.

Once we reach the lowest level, we’ll use detection magic to see how many monsters are there.
If it’s safe, the next step is to hang ropes at various points on the cliff so that even if something happens to us flight magic users, we can return to the surface.

However, the ropes are not long enough to reach the lowest level, so we need to find places along the way that can serve as footholds and allow us to move gradually.
The locations where the ropes are hung were carefully chosen, taking into consideration the quality of the rocks and soil, as the ropes will be used by subsequent investigation teams even after this mission is completed.

After completing these tasks, we finally finished preparing to take the adventurers to the lowest level.

By the way, Mofumofu is staying behind this time.
It would be terrible if he accidentally got swept away by the underground water veins.

“Look, it’s monster meat!”

“Kyuuun!”

“Hey, do you eat monster guts too?”

“Kyuuuuun!!”

Mofumofu seems delighted as he receives leftover monster meat and guts from the adventurers.

“Well, it saves us the trouble of digging a hole to bury the guts.”

“Yeah, and it’s cute too.”

“But what kind of monster is it?”

“Who knows? Well, it’s cute, so it’s fine, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Kyuuun!”

The adventurers are completely charmed by the small and harmless Mofumofu.

“They’re all fooled… all it wants is an easy meal.”

“Yeah, we’re being fooled.
And that thing isn’t such a cute creature…”

However, Liliera and Rodi are watching Mofumofu greedily devour the meat with serious expressions.
Maybe they didn’t have enough breakfast?

After completing the preliminary investigation, we use flight magic to bring the adventurers down to the lowest level.

“Oh! C-could you lower us down more slowly?”

“I-it’s shaking! It’s shaking!”

The vertical hole of the disposal chute unexpectedly has strong winds blowing from below, causing the adventurers to scream as they are buffeted by the wind.

“Enough! Stop struggling!”

“You fools! If you keep struggling like that, my arm won’t hold!”

Oh, I forgot to teach Liliera wind pressure defense magic.
It’s tough to be in a place with strong winds without learning wind pressure defense.

“We’re lucky to be transported here.”

“Y-yeah.”

By the way, Guney and I can use wind pressure defense magic, so we weren’t affected by the wind.

“But… I’m scared that this undead arm might come off…”

Oh, please pray that it doesn’t come off.

“We’re falling!”

“Stop struggling!”

By the way, why isn’t Ramise using wind pressure defense magic? Maybe she wants to conserve her magical power?

“Alright, everyone’s down.”

Despite some minor troubles, we safely arrived at the lowest level.

“Ugh… I won’t transport humans ever again.”

However, due to transporting multiple people, Ramise is groaning while rubbing her arm.
By the way, Liliera is carrying the female adventurers, and I am carrying the relatively heavy ones.
Also, this time the main purpose is the investigation, so those wearing metal armor were not chosen for the investigation team.

“Hey, look at this.
It’s monster bones.”

One of the adventurers finds scattered monster bones nearby.
Upon closer inspection, the bones of monsters were scattered all over the ground near the walls.

“These are probably the bones of monsters that fell from above or were defeated by chimeras.”

There are also bones with unnatural shapes, so it seems that the bones of chimeras that were hunted by monsters are mixed in as well.

“If these are the bones of monsters that inhabit this cave, the new and well-preserved ones might be valuable.”

I see, if monster materials can be sold for money, it wouldn’t be strange for bones to be valuable too.
Moreover, this place is a location that can only be accessed by S-rank adventurers from an ancient ruin, so the bones that can be obtained here are likely to be from high-ranking monsters.

“We’ll leave the bone collection for later.
For now, let’s prioritize the investigation.”

“Alright.”

Everyone responds with disappointment to Risou’s instruction.

“But it’s quite a dangerous situation.
If we had been dropped directly above this water vein, we would have been swept away without being able to do anything.”

Risou murmurs while looking at the underground water vein flowing nearby.

We descended to a land near the rocky wall beside the underground water vein.
It’s not exactly a path, but there is enough space for two people to pass through, so it can be considered a path.
And right beside us, the underground water vein roars as it flows.

“Be careful not to lean too much, you might fall!”

“Y-yes, s-sorry.”

Rodi warns the people who were peering into the underground water vein.

“Let’s head upstream first.”

Following Risou’s instructions, we head upstream.
As we progress, the path gradually widens, but in return, the width of the underground water vein narrows.

“I see, it seems that the place we were just at was the most dangerous spot with the widest width of the underground water vein.
However, even so, it’s still dangerous if we fall.”

Risou points his sword, which has a light magic cast on it, towards the underground water vein, but the bottom of the dark underground water vein cannot be seen even with the light, and its depth cannot be measured.

“While you’re being sentimental, there’s a monster coming! Boss of the Twin Fangs!”

As Rodi warns, a strange-looking monster, a chimera, appears from the depths of the path.

“So, it survived after all.
Let’s intercept it!”

“Wait, there’s also a monster reaction from the underground water vein!”

In response to Ramise’s words, a lizard-like monster with large fins extends from the underground water vein.
It seems that this one is a present-day monster that lives in the underground water vein.

“Be careful not to fall into the underground water vein! The leader will secure the retreat!”

In response to Risou’s instructions, everyone focuses on their own enemies and readies their weapons.

“Alright, here we go.”

“Rodi, I’ll support you! Protect Mail!”

“I’ll support as well.
Divine Weapon!”

In addition to us, who are S-rank adventurers, the members of Rodi’s party, Cyclone, also accompany us on this investigation.
Without any discussion, they follow Rodi’s lead and move together.
It’s the flow of a true S-rank party.

“We’ll take care of these enemies!”

“Yes!”

Risou and his party also join the battle against the lizard-like monsters.

“We’ll provide support for both parties.”

Foka will provide support and healing for the adventurers, while the other party members will support where the battle lines are thin.

“I haven’t fully recovered yet, so I’ll take a break.”

Ramise declares that she hasn’t fully recovered from the aerial transportation earlier and won’t participate in the battle.
It seems like she wants to conserve her magical power.

“Well then, I’ll provide support.
Area Protection.”

Guney casts wide-area defense magic on all allies to support them.
It seems that his specialty is support magic.

“Now, let’s go.”

“But the battlefield is too narrow for us to participate any further.”

Liliera says while looking around.
It’s true that the adventurers protecting the leader can’t participate in the attack due to the nearby underground water vein.
Compared to earlier, the area has widened, but it’s still too narrow for multiple adventurers to fight while avoiding each other.
But you know, Liliera, we can fight without worrying about that.

“Liliera, use flight magic to go up in the air and provide support with attack magic from a position where you won’t hit your allies.”

“Ah! Right.”

Liliera remembers that she can use attack magic and flight magic.
Well, she only practiced attack magic and didn’t have many opportunities to use it in actual combat.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

We jump into the air and provide support with magic without hitting our allies.

“Ugh, it’s quite difficult to use attack magic while flying.”

Liliera, who is not used to simultaneously casting two different types of magic, struggles to attack without hitting her allies.
Well, it’s good practice in a real battle.
If she’s about to hit her allies, I’ll support her.

However, everyone gathered here are S-rank and A-rank adventurers.
Although the battlefield is narrow, there’s no way we can be stopped by ordinary monsters or chimeras.

“Alright, let’s move forward.
Remember, the collection of monster materials can wait until we return.”

Following Risou’s instructions, we resume the investigation.,

There were sporadic attacks from monsters and chimeras afterwards, but most of the opponents were easily defeated.
Rather…

“Whoa!?”

An adventurer who lost their balance after avoiding a monster’s attack almost fell into the underground water vein.

“Dangerous!”

I grabbed their arm just in time and brought them back to the surface.

“Th-Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

And so, the main focus gradually shifted to rescuing adventurers who were about to fall from the narrowing path.
It became easier once Ramise-san joined in providing aerial support.

“But seriously, being able to fly is really convenient.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been saved.”

“Seiran, you’re being too careless.”

Risou-san reprimanded Rodi-san, who had been saved from falling a few times.

“Well, you’ve been saved from falling twice as well.”

“…Well, I am grateful.”

By the way, Rodi-san, who almost fell multiple times, I knew as someone who only seemed to be in danger when trying to help their comrades.
And Risou-san seemed to know that too.

But neither of them mentioned it.
Their modesty is so cool, just like S-rank adventurers!

“Honestly, you should be grateful to us!”

Yeah, well, it’s valid for Ramise-san, who we saved… I guess?

“But there are surprisingly few monsters.
Considering how many Antraptors there were, I thought there would be more surviving chimeras.”

Liliera-san murmured in wonder.

“That’s true.
If there were that many Antraptors, there should be more chimeras that serve as their prey.”

It’s true that they weren’t particularly strong, but it was troublesome to deal with them in such large numbers.

“Hey, did you guys notice?”

Risou-san then approached us and asked.

“Notice… what?”

Liliera-san tilted her head in response to Risou-san’s question.

“The number of monsters has been decreasing.”

“Huh?”

“Not only that, the number of chimeras is also decreasing.”

Risou-san agreed with Rodi-san, and Ramise-san and Foka nodded with serious expressions.
Now that they mention it, compared to when we first descended into the underground water vein, it does feel like there are fewer monsters.

“There must be a boss here.”

I’ve heard the word “boss” a few times in my past life.
In forests and caves with many monsters, there are occasionally powerful individuals that can be called bosses.
If we consider our current experience, the Ancient Plant in the Monster Beast Forest would be the closest thing to a boss, right? Although it wasn’t that strong.

“Remain vigilant, everyone.”

“How should we handle it?”

Ramise-san confirmed with Risou-san how to deal with encountering the boss.

“If it’s a chimera, we’ll defeat it.
If it’s a monster, we’ll leave it alone unless it attacks us.”

“Huh? We’re not going to defeat it?”

I was surprised by Risou-san’s unexpected answer.
I thought it was natural for adventurers to defeat monsters, especially powerful ones like bosses.
In fact, in my past life, kings and nobles often ordered knight orders to defeat bosses and develop the land.

“Defeating the boss means eliminating the one who controls the others.
And if the boss is gone, the other monsters that were suppressed by the boss will go wild, and in the worst case, they might leave their territory and pose a danger outside.”

I see, then it’s meaningless.
Our job this time is to investigate the cause of the massive monster outbreak and find a solution.
It would be a big problem if we became a new cause.

But as expected of S-rank adventurers.
I used to think that when I saw a monster, I should just defeat it.
But they consider the surrounding environment and fight accordingly.
They’re not just thinking about the immediate gain, but also the safety of the people living in the land behind them.

“Understood, Risou-san.”

“Alright, let’s move forward while remaining vigilant.
The magic users will lead with light magic.”

Following Risou-san’s instructions, the magic users proceeded with their light magic, and we followed behind.

“The detection magic has detected a reaction from a monster!”

The magic user in charge of detection magic raised a tense voice.

“How far?”

“Approximately 300 meters.”

“Good, let’s minimize any provocation.
Let’s narrow down the number of people.
Heavenly Demon Magic and the Saint will stay in the rear and be ready to provide support at any time.
Seiran and Big Game Eater (Oomono Kurai), follow me.”

“Alright!”

We divided into teams and slowly proceeded along the wall.

“It’s there…”

Risou-san’s voice contained a slight tension.
And the light magic that had been leading the way gradually illuminated the figure of the monster ahead.

A massive body that reached the ceiling of the cave.
Scales that shimmered like metal reflecting the light.
Enormous wings grown to dominate the sky.
Its appearance was just like…

“Wait, huh?”

I unintentionally exclaimed at the sight that shouldn’t have been encountered in a place like this.

“Ba-Bahamut…”

Liliera-san murmured the name of the monster that was identical to the one we had encountered and fought on the Sky Island.
Yes, the name of this monster is Bahamut, the same species as the one we encountered and fought on the Sky Island.

“Bahamut!? Isn’t that an S-rank monster!?”

“Grrrrrrrrrrr…”

“Uh!?”

As Bahamut looked at us and let out a growl, the A-rank adventurer who had accompanied us screamed.

“It’s angry because we intruded on its territory…!?”

“W-Why would a monster like that be here…?”

Everyone was in shock at the unexpected encounter with Bahamut.
Yeah, I understand why they’re shocked.
After all, Bahamut is not a creature that lives in such a narrow space.
It freely roams vast lands and considers the sky its ceiling.
So it’s natural for anyone to be surprised if Bahamut is here.

“I see, I understand now.
The group of Antraptors we encountered in the cave… They came up to the upper levels to escape from this Bahamut…”

I see, indeed, if it’s Antraptors and Bahamut, Bahamut is the stronger one.
It’s understandable that Antraptors would flee.
Maybe the reason for the massive appearance of monsters is also related to this Bahamut?

But this is troublesome.
If we end up fighting Bahamut in such a narrow space, it will be difficult in many ways.
After all, Bahamut is a type of dragon and can unleash powerful breath attacks from its mouth.

“Kuh, Saint, and the Undead, can you cast a defensive magic that can protect everyone within a certain range?”

Risou-san, who seemed to have the same idea, whispered to Foka and Ganei, seeking a solution without provoking Bahamut.

“…Even if I cast a full-powered barrier, it would be impossible to protect everyone from Bahamut’s breath, especially from the front.
In fact, it would be difficult for me to endure it alone…”

“I might be able to endure it alone, but it’s impossible to protect all of you.
Well, if I can find peace in death, it doesn’t matter if I can’t defend.”

Foka and Ganei said that it would be impossible to protect everyone.
I understand their reasons.
Even if they protect everyone from the breath, there’s still the fear of a collapse afterward.
If Bahamut breathes, the impact could potentially cause the lowest level to collapse, or even worse, the entire cave.

Hmm, in that case, the only option is to swiftly sever Bahamut’s head before it can breathe.

I slowly crouch down, focusing my strength in my body as if preparing to strike, trying not to be noticed by Bahamut.
I have to move slowly so as not to provoke it.

“U-Uh, shouldn’t we run away? Is it better to escape…?”

“Idiot, if we move carelessly in this state, we’ll be killed…”

The nearby adventurers start arguing about whether to run away or fight.
Nice, they’re pretending to be scared to catch Bahamut off guard!

“Kyuoooo!”

At that moment, a young cry could be heard near Bahamut’s feet.

“A-Is that Bahamut’s child!?”

Looking closely, there was a small Bahamut about the size of a human at Bahamut’s feet.
It resembles the Bahamut chick we saw on the Sky Island.
Well, it’s natural since it’s the same species.

“I see, so Bahamut was using this cave as a nest to raise its child!”

Someone voiced their understanding that Bahamut’s presence here was for the purpose of procreation.
Hmm? But Bahamut used to raise its children under the open sky.
It even made a nest in the Forest Island on the Sky Island.

“Alright, let’s slowly retreat so as not to provoke Bahamut.
If there’s a child, maybe it won’t chase us if we move away.”

However, that hope was quickly dashed.
Bahamut took a step forward, looked at us, opened its eyes wide, and let out a loud roar.

“Kyaaaaah!”

It seems like it’s furious at us for intruding on its territory while it’s taking care of its child.
Or maybe it thought we were good prey for its child’s hunting practice?

But this strange roar, I’ve never heard it in my past lives.
It’s like a scream, a cry that I’ve never heard before.
Living underground like this, it’s possible that it’s a subspecies or a mutated species with a unique ecology.
We need to be extremely cautious.
It’s possible that it has unique special abilities.
It might be a good idea to activate a compound-type special attack resistance enhancement magic.,”Everyone, please be cautious… huh?”

I was about to urge everyone to be cautious, but I was surprised by the strange behavior Bahamut took in the next moment.
That’s because Bahamut, after letting out a roar, grabbed a child at its feet and quickly ran away backwards.

The cave was too narrow to turn around, but it’s amazing that Bahamut can move at such speed backwards… I see, just like lizard-type monsters, Bahamut’s eyes are on the sides of its face, so its field of vision is wide.
…But now is not the time to be understanding things like that.

“Bahamut… ran away?”

“Wait, what’s going on?”

Liliera and the others are also bewildered by what happened.
It’s understandable, because it’s not normal for Bahamut, whose territory was invaded, to run away without fighting.

“Did Bahamut avoid the fight because there were children?”

Foka suggests that Bahamut ran away due to maternal instincts.
Hmm, considering Bahamut’s temperament, I would think it would fight to show the children an example of hunting rather than running away.
But well, the opponent seems to be a mutated species living underground, so maybe it has a docile temperament like that.

“W-Well, a dangerous monster retreated from there.
Let’s consider it a good thing.
We’ll return downstream and continue to subdue the remaining chimeras!”

“Y-Yes!”

We regained our composure and decided to resume the extermination of the chimeras under Risou’s command.

Aah!! Why!? Why is that human here!?

We finally found this hidden gem with abundant prey after leaving the Sky Island! Now we have to move again!?

Even if we let some prey escape, there are plenty of others, so it was perfect for our son’s hunting practice! Is there no place for us to find peace anywhere!?