Chapter 82: Stampede

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It was the same morning as usual, that’s what I had thought.

After I finished making breakfast for Cecily’s party and the rest of the guests, I then send them off, and start relaxing while drinking coffee. I had left it to the Gokus to clean up the store while I take it slowly and enjoy listening to the sound of the rain.

In a world where entertainment is scarce, even such trivial thing is something to look forward to. And strangely enough, as I listened to the melody played by the rain, various pieces of music that I had heard long time ago on Earth, seemed to pop up clearly in my mind.

I lean back on the sofa and close my eyes, thinking that it’s such a blessing that nothing urgent or crucial is happening at the moment.

Not wanting to interrupt the music in my head, I decided to continue listening to the sound of the rain.

♢Cecily’s POV

Cecily, Rouge, and Miina were on their way towards the deeper part of the dungeon. Their objective is the fifth floor of the dungeon, which supposed to be their main target for exploration.

They knew the route from the entrance to the destination perfectly and most of the traps on the main route have already been disarmed, so they should be able to reach their destination in an hour. The three of them were walking along the maze of branching paths without any hesitation.

“Hmmm… I feel like something is wrong today. I have this bad feeling.” Miina murmured.

Cecily and Rouge also somewhat feel the same thing. The atmosphere inside the dungeon felt different than usual.

“The monsters inside the dungeon seems to be acting different than usual. I have a bad feeling about this.”

There were many other adventurers in the corridor with them, and yet they also felt the atmosphere was different, in varying degrees. Many of them felt a foreboding atmosphere.

Eventually, the three arrived at the door leading to the third level.

…

The main doors dividing between the floors are usually very large, no less than 7 meters high and no less than 5 meters wide. [1]  However, there are usually other smaller doors, either on the side or on the middle of it, which is usually used by the adventurers to enter and exit, since it’s a hassle to always open and close the main door.

At this time in the morning, the side doors are usually crowded with adventurers trying to go further into the dungeon, and since the side door on this floor is small, there was three meters long of adventurers lining, waiting to enter.

The three of them silently joined the line, as is their daily routine.

“M-move! Get out of the way, quick!”

There seemed to be a commotion at the front of the line.

Apparently, some adventurers were trying to turn back, and there was an argument going on. Usually, at this time in the morning, it was a one-way street, with the unspoken agreement that those coming in from the outside would have priority.

“Hey, you’re the one who needs to get out of the way! We have the right of way here!”

“T-that’s not it. There’s a horde of Thousand Ogres coming from behind us!” The woman’s voice sounds desperate as she tried to return to the exit.

“I don’t know which idiot screw it up, but now a horde of Thousand Ogres are on our heels, and they keep multiplying!!”

“Hey… for real…?”

“Turn back now! Don’t you get it, it’s a stampede! The dungeon is being overrun with monsters!!”

Before long, while it was silent at the beginning, the sound of rumbling was getting louder and closer, before finally it was approaching the large door they were in front of, and the ground was now trembling…

…and an army of monsters came crashing down through the large door, breaking it while killing all the unfortunate adventurers that were left behind. [2]

“This is bad…”

“Turn back, all of you! Hey, send message to the people behind! We’re getting the hell out of here!”

Panic and fear struck into the hearts of the adventurers around.

The army of monsters had already filled the large space where the floor boss had once been. Screams, yells, wails, curses; a cacophony of terrible sounds echoed through the dungeon, made by adventurers and monsters alike.

[¶§ΛΖΛΦΓΔΧ¶ΣΓΔζ] 

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out, blasting away the monsters while collapsing a corner of the passageway.

Cecily, who had been calmly observing the situation, used her explosion magic to blow up the path where the monsters were coming from.

“Miina! Quickly inform Master Elza about the emergency situation we have here!”

“Understood! But, Cecily-san, how about you?”

“I’m going to hold them out here for as long as possible. And also…”

“Yes?”

“Take Shirou and get the hell out of this island! Rouge, you’re going with Miina!”

At the moment, the only ship available on the island was Madame Damas’ merchant vessel. The remaining ships moored at the pier were only Shirou’s small boats. In the worst case that the monsters overflowed and start overrunning the island, it would be impossible for the rest of the adventurers to escape the island by boat.

♢ Shirou’s POV

 I don’t know who it is, but someone shook me awake.

“Okami-san! Okami-san, wake up, please!”

I was still groggy by being woke up so suddenly, but it seems Miina was desperately tried to wake me up.

Oh. Have they finished their exploration for the day? Don’t tell me, did I sleep all the way until evening?

“Eh? What time is it now? Uuhmm…”

My head is foggy, and my thoughts are not clear. Yeah, rainy days usually don’t bode well for me.

“Please quickly wake up and brace yourself. There’s a stampede.”

“A stampede?”

“Monsters are pouring out of the dungeon! On top of the horde of Thousand Ogres, there’s also other kind of monsters swarming with them!”

“A swarm of monsters…”

“We have to run! Master Elza is already on her way, but if she fails to contain them then monsters will run out and overwhelm the island!”

Finally, the gravity of the situation begins to dawn on me.

“I-I understand. Let’s– let’s evacuate toward Western Island for now. Tell the others to prepare and we’ll leave together. Where’s Cecily and Rouge?”

Maybe they are already on board of the small ship and already made preparation to leave?

However, contrary to my expectation, Miina shook her head sadly.

“Rouge-san is with Master Elza, she chose to stay and participate in the blockade operation. And Cecily-san, she’s… she’s still inside the dungeon, buying time for us.”

“Wait, inside the dungeon, you say…”

“Rouge said that Cecily was supposed to try a fighting retreat, collapsing narrow passages while moving towards the exit. She’s supposed to escape from the dungeon already, but we haven’t heard from her, so she might be acting as bait to keep them from escaping outside.”

If Cecily is still inside… then right now she could be already…

A scene that I don’t even want to imagine comes to my mind and I can’t stop shaking.

“Cecily is… She is…”

“I think Cecily-san was doing her best to protect everyone, or at least, she wants you to be safe, Okami-san.”

I felt as if I had been hit really hard with that statement.

“Anyway, Okami-san, we first need to get you safely out of the island. After that, I will return here to help the other with the blockade operation effort.”

“M-m-mi-miina…”

I was shaking terribly. Not only my body, but also my voice, and I could not speak properly.

“What is it?”

“Mi-miina. Y-you know much about the l-layout of the dungeon, right?”

“Well, yes, but what good would it be right now? It’s better if you hurry and prepare to leave, Okami-san.”

“P-please guide me inside the dungeon.”

Miina looked at me with an incredulous expression.

“I-I-I want to help C-cecily…”

I know it’s shameful as a man, but I was so scared I burst into tears. It couldn’t be helped, I guess, since I’m nothing but a timid, half-assed person. [3]

“Okami-san, do you even hear yourself? It’s a stamp—”

“P-please wait a moment. Poppo, gather all the Wonders and Harrys that are currently on this island.”

I gave the order to Poppo and immediately ran into the bedroom, retrieving the Staff of La Messeine from under the bed. I don’t know how well the Eminence Rock will help me, but it’s something that I have to try.

In the end, I have 32 Wonders, 24 Harrys, and the magical armor Eminence Rock as my fighting power.

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Nooo Cecilyy! Please be safe! Don’t die until you’ve at least did it once with Shirou!

1 It used to be the door leading to the floor boss room, I think.

2 I just hope Balrog isn’t among them.

3  ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The timid presume it is lack of fear that allows the brave to act when the timid do not. But to take action when one is not afraid is easy. To refrain when afraid is also easy. To take action regardless of fear is brave.’ – Ambrose Hollingworth Redmoon