“First, we need to head to the deepest part.”
To draw the guy out from the control room, we have to pretend to move according to the rules.
“Looks like the standard for gate exploration. Good.”
Rin nods her head.
“The vanguard will be Rin, Kurosawa, and Olivia; the lieutenant will be Nishizawa, and the rear guard will be Ishihara and me.”
Using the swordsman Rin and the protagonist, Kim Deok-Sung, plus Olivia as meat shields.
The mid-range dealer Nishizawa, wielding a kusarigama in the lieutenant position.
Ishihara, the long-range shooter, and me, the commander, chillin’ in the back.
A stable and classic formation distribution.
“Formation is done; let’s move out.”
As my command drops, the group starts walking.
Drip, drip.
Water droplets fall from the cave walls.
“This feels gross. It’s damp.”
Nishizawa Eri complains.
“I think so too.”
The protagonist jumps in cluelessly.
“I wasn’t talking to you. Shut it, Kurosawa.”
As expected, Nishizawa Eri’s face contorts, delivering a cold stare right into Kurosawa’s back.
Tsk, tsk.
I knew it would go this way.
Seriously, who’s the fool here?
It’s like watching a comedy skit.
“Okay… my bad.”
Guess he’s not making jokes since we’re on an expedition—
What a relief.
If he had pulled that, I might not have survived it.
But why am I the black-haired one and he’s Kurosawa?
That’s annoying.
“If you’re sorry, don’t talk to me. It makes me feel bad.”
Look at that sour face.
With Eri’s words, the cave slips back into silence.
Slosh, slosh.
The sounds of dripping water and footsteps echo through the quiet tunnel.
After walking for a while…
“Strangely, there’s no otherworldly reaction…”
Olivia speaks in a low voice.
“For once, I agree with you. It’s weird.”
Rin nods seriously.
“Did you just notice that? Your senses are really dull. It’s a disgrace to the name of Japan’s top noble family.”
“Bonaparte, do you have a habit of bothering me every single day? Can’t you let it slide just once?”
Another round of bickering begins.
This is seriously driving me crazy.
As if this world wasn’t a light novel, they can’t go two seconds without bantering. It’s a habit.
It was fine to watch in an anime, but now that it’s real life, it’s just ridiculous.
What a crazy world, so committed to clichés.
I rub my forehead.
“Do you two want to fight even now? Just keep it quiet. Seriously.”
“…Alright.”
“Hmph.”
At that moment when the two were keeping their mouths shut.
Ggggggggggggggg.
The entire corridor shakes like an earthquake.
[Hostile reaction detected in another world]
[Hostile reactions are increasing exponentially.]
[Strong hostile reaction detected.]
Real-time alerts ring in my ears.
It’s starting.
“Get ready for battle.”
Just as my command is given.
Boom.
With a loud roar, a massive green toad appears from beyond the cave.
“Epsilon Rank Otherworld Monster, King Toad······.”
Olivia, acting as the explainer, recites the name.
It features toxic attacks and a long tongue swipe, with its weakness being the belly button.
But since it always rubs its fat belly against the ground, it’s not easy to attack that belly button unless you flip it over.
Behind the King Toad is a swarm of Alligator Men.
“Kurosawa, Rin, Olivia, and Ishihara will confront the King Toad, while Nishizawa takes on the Alligator Men.”
I give commands as soon as I assess the situation.
At the same time, I prepare myself mentally.
“Black-haired. Why do I have to deal with the regular otherworld monsters? Do you think my skills are a joke?”
Because I expected Nishizawa Eri to act like that.
Ever since she obediently followed orders at the lake, I’ve sensed something was off.
Yeah, I predicted it.
Still, it’s infuriating.
What if I die of anger before we can return?
After all, I’m the one who thought having just a pretty face means forgiveness.
I want to smack the back of her head.
“Disregard? Don’t start with childish nonsense and make me angry. Your abilities are specialized for cleaning up mobs, that’s why. If you have a problem, why don’t you take command? You know that failing to comply with on-site orders is grounds for punishment, right?”
“Nishizawa, in this emergency, what are you doing not following orders? Don’t you have common sense?”
Olivia comments while igniting the flames on her Flamberge.
Typical of her, hating irresponsible heroes.
Well done, Super Hornet.
You’ve earned your meal today.
“······Tch.”
After hearing Olivia’s urging, Nishizawa Eri glares at me and clicks her tongue.
As much as I want to treat this like one of those countless web novels I’ve read where characters disappear inside a gate, it’s difficult to handle because there are plenty of witnesses.
Damn it, I need Nishizawa Eri to face the final boss.
Calling Kasumi and Olivia my slaves is half a joke, but with Nishizawa, I’m 100% serious about needing her as a slave.
Whoosh!
Nishizawa Eri leaps into the crowd of otherworld monsters, flinging the chain scythe she has in hand.
[Crrr!]
[Kiiyyy!!]
Each swing of the orange magical chain scythe pierces through five or six Alligator Men, skewering them to death.
See? I told you.
She’s perfect for mob cleanup duty.
I fold my arms, watching the four cadets struggling with King Toad this time.
“Haap!”
With a fierce shout, the protagonist Yuji swings his Japanese sword, Kusunagi no Tsurugi.
To conceal his colorless magical aura, it seems his sword is enveloped in black magic.
As Yuji swings the Kusunagi no Tsurugi, King Toad lets out a mighty roar every time it gets struck by the Kurozawa Sword.
[Graaaaaaaaaaaah!!]
Just as a long tongue stretches out from its thick lips.
Bam!
A loud bang explodes.
It’s Ishihara’s specialized weapon, the Magnum revolver, with an ability attached.
The explosive bullet hits King Toad’s tongue directly.
It’s intense.
[Graaaahhh!!]
King Toad screeches in agony.
Green poison streams from his back.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Olivia’s sharp voice rings out.
Flame engulfs the scene.
Brilliant platinum flames erupt in front of her, incinerating King Toad’s green poison completely.
Sizzle!
Black smoke billows up.
Not only has the green poison been burned away, but flames have also caught onto his back.
King Toad flips over, screeching as he tries to extinguish the fire clinging to him.
Kaboom!
The moment his weak point, the belly button, is exposed…
“Freeze.”
Shinozaki Rin unleashes her gift.
The wet ground instantly crystallizes white, binding his back to the floor.
[Uhh? What?]
King Toad stumbles in confusion.
In a last-ditch effort, he sticks out his tongue, but once again, Ishihara fires off an explosive round to keep him in check.
“It’s over. You monster.”
The protagonist strikes a cool pose, gripping his katana.
Yeah.
It’s definitely convenient having so many people fight for me.
Look at that.
They’re managing just fine on their own.
No need for me to grapple with a monster.
Just before King Toad kicks the bucket, Alligator Man is also being taken care of by Nishizawa Eri.
How nice it would be if it could just unfold like this.
But reality isn’t that easy.
The real boss of this gate isn’t that toad.
‘It should be showing up soon.’
Just as I was pretending to be defenseless, intentionally exposing my back while waiting for an intruder…
“Creep, creep!”
A chilling ripping sound echoes from behind.
The real boss has finally arrived.
*
Vulture was feeling good.
Everything was going exactly as he had anticipated.
Those dumb rookie cadets were struggling against King Toad and Alligator Man, whom he had summoned with the interdimensional signal, as they rampaged around.
Meanwhile, the black-haired rookie who seemed to be the field commander was carelessly exposing his back without even joining the fight.
‘Creep, creep. This is like saying “please catch me.” Creep. I’m about to savor the taste of cadet blood after a long time.’
After brutally shredding that defenseless cadet, he would slowly hunt each one of them down as they were drenched in fear.
Lost in ecstasy at the thought of the rookies’ screams, Vulture immediately set his plan into motion.
“Creep, creep!”
His blunt great sword, Excuter, flew silently towards the defenseless back of the black-haired cadet, Kim Deok-Sung, imbued with blood-red mana.
Just as Vulture imagined Kim Deok-Sung would soon be a bloody mess…
Bang!
Excuter ricocheted off an unknown blade that surged from Kim Deok-Sung’s shadow.
“What, what the? Who? What? What is this?”
Vulture panicked.
His plan was unraveling.
Boss’s plan is perfect.
There shouldn’t be a single miscalculation.
It must be.
What the heck is happening?
“What the hell!!”
Vulture loses his composure and swings Excuter again.
Swish.
The blade that emerged from the shadow grips and holds Excuter in place.
“How cowardly to aim at my master’s back—it’s utterly lowly.”
Slowly rising up.
Kim Deok-Sung’s shadow stretches unnaturally long and eventually takes on a human form.
“I was hiding inside my master’s shadow as backup with my gift ‘Shadow Master’ just in case, but I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”
“I hid in the shadow of ‘Master’ to protect you, but I never expected this would happen.”
A stunning beauty with brown bobbed hair and a body clad in tight full-body gloves.
A B-rank hero.
Olivia’s personal maid, ‘Thief’ Bella, glares at Vulture while holding a casual sword.
“Who… who are you?!”
Vulture, clutching the excuser’s sword wrapped around him, screams.
“My name is Bella.”
Bella responds gracefully.
“I am the personal maid of the noble Princess Bonaparte, and currently, I’m temporarily guarding ‘Master.’ You trash.”
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you!!”
Vulture’s face contorts in rage.
Blood-red magical energy engulfs his entire body.
Smash!
The sunglasses Vulture was wearing shatter.
His whites turn crimson, and his muscles bulge massively.
Thud, thud.
“Yaaahhh! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”
Berserk mode.
Using the capabilities of excuser, Vulture yanks his great sword from the casual sword’s grasp with brute strength.
“If you wish.”
Swoosh.
The blade of the casual sword Bella holds disassembles into pieces, spreading through the air like a whip.
“I will gladly engage with my ‘Shadow Sword Technique,’ you hideous beast.”
“Yaaahhh! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”
Losing his mind, Vulture charges at Bella like a beast.
This was the moment when the real boss battle, as Kim Deok-Sung described, began.
Confirmation kill is certain.
Clink! Clink!
The sound of metal clashing rings out.
Bella is facing Vulture in his berserk state.
I shift my gaze.
Vulture, with his eyes turned red, swings his great sword as Bella dodges his strikes with cat-like agility, wielding her casual sword.
“As expected.”
Before entering the gate, I had instructed Han Seo-Jin and Bella to wait at the entrance with specific tasks on the hunter watch.
For Bella, I instructed her to use her gift ‘Shadow Master’ to hide in my shadow and protect me.
When the interdimensional war breaks out, I was sure he would definitely try to ambush me from behind when I was alone.
He was a villain known for targeting the most defenseless prey in the original story.
“Yaaahhh! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”
But can he stop repeating that he’ll kill me?
It’s not like he’s a heroine, and hearing that crazy villain rant is a bit painful.
His laugh, too, feels nauseating, especially when I think he’s a guy.
It multiplies my disgust by four.
Honestly, even watching it in an anime made me cringe, and now it’s become reality?
Ugh.
What a damn crazy world this is.
These days, I feel like I’m always angry like a hulk, and I’m trying to suppress that inner rage, but he just makes it impossible.
“You pathetic beast. I’ll deal with you using my ‘Shadow Dance!’”
Swoosh.
The extended blade of the casual sword absorbs brown energy, scattering elegantly and lethally towards Vulture.
It’s a bit much for Bella to shout out her ability names like it’s a boy’s manga fight.
What’s the point of revealing that?
What’s she gonna do if he’s not in berserk mode?
This is driving me insane.
It’s a total mess.
I let out a sigh.
