CH 13

Black Keroberos bites Tenji's stomach and side. He is tense with fear, and the monster makes a chewing sound right in front of his eyes.

Tenji could do nothing.

He could feel pain, and there was definitely a sensation of both heat and cold.

But more than that, his senses were numbed by fear from the overwhelmingly strong monster in front of him.

His own flesh was swallowed with a gulp right in front of his eyes and nose.

"GROOOOOOOO!"

Black Keroberos swung his leg up to kick Tenji as if he was an insect.

Tenji could not do anything but take the blow, which caused intense pain in his abdomen.

At this moment, Tenji finally remembered the sensation of pain.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh! Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The moment he regained that pain, he realized that his stomach had been bitten off.

[I realized that I had received such a decisive blow to my stomach that I almost fainted.]

[The next moment, I crashed back hard against the rugged walls of the dungeon.]

[I heard a sound that should not have come from inside me, a thumping sound, and something hot surged up from my esophagus.]

[I involuntarily spat it out through my mouth.

I was so shocked, I thought, "Gosh! ...... blood."]

[It was a lot of blood, which should not have come out.

I was surprised that it spilled out of my mouth, but I was also surprised at my own mind, which strangely was not afraid of dying.]

"--Oh, I'm going to die today."

That's about how I felt.

In hindsight, Tenji may have stopped being afraid of dying when he learned that his father and mother had been killed in the dungeon.

[In a dungeon, one's "death" is bound to follow. So I had come to think that it was okay to die at any time.]

[It was just--.]

[-- oh, if only I had more power.]

[If only I had more power, I could have made my sister's spring come true.

If I had more power, I might not have given my sister Miharu such a hard time.

If I had more power, no one would have died in the raid.

If I had more power, I might not have died in this situation.

If I had more power...]

[Like the king my mother used to read to me when I was little, I could have saved many people with the power of just one person.]

"Don't be silly! Stop screwing around! Stop screwing around!"

Tenji was angry.

He was angry at those who had betrayed him, at himself for being unable to do anything, at himself for trying to cover up his weakness by laughing at it, at himself for being afraid of the dog in front of him, at everything absurd in this world.

As if to take out his anger, he continued to hit the black keroberos in front of him in the head.

He punched, punched, punched,...... and still, when he saw his enemy, who did not even blink, he realized that no matter how he struggled now, he could not win.

But in Tenji's shattered world, only the monster's red eyes shone divinely with a light like the sun.

[If only I had a calling--]

[I could have beaten him.]

[If only I had the strength of a king in a picture book, unbeatable by anyone. ......]

[Hey,......, if I eat those eyes, will I be strong?]

The only two red lights shining in the blurring vision that shone as if to assure Tenji.

Seeing them, Tenji wondered why they looked so delicious.

A candy bar glowing in the darkness.

Maybe he had gone crazy with the thought of death, but that's how it looked to Tenji.

Even if he tried to extend his arm, he could not reach it.

"If that was the case... I'll eat you directly."

Tenji moved with a surprisingly natural movement, and set his teeth into the eyes of the black keroberos, which was chewing Tenji's meat leisurely in front of him.

He bit into it as if he was going to rip it out.

The black keroberos roared, "GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The roar of the black keroberos echoed.

"Damn ......, that's not good."

Crumpling, Tenji bit down on the red-eye, forcing it deep into his throat.

The eyes, which tasted like salmon eggs to the touch and rotten sweetfish, settled into Tenji's stomach.

"GROOOOOOOO!!!"

The black keroberos, realizing that he was supposed to be eating, but was instead eaten in reverse, let out a roar of rage that shook the dungeon.

Then, in a rage, he kicked Tenji in the side of the head.

Tenji, already without any strength in his body, rolled repeatedly like a ball on the ground and crashed into a rugged rock wall.

He hit the rocky wall. "...... Gohoho!"

With that final impact, Tenji's consciousness was dragged into the darkness.

................................

We have confirmed the completion of the calling quest "The Way to the Ten Kings."

Searching for the straightforward person--It is confirmed. The person who cleared the search is "Tenji Amagi", one person in total.

The following is a list of items that have been assigned to Tenji. --The granting of the calling could not be executed due to excessive damage.

The special calling Gift No. 1 will be automatically consumed to repair the damage. 

--Unable to perform due to the presence of an enraged monster within a 50m radius.

The second particular class calling gift will be automatically consumed to eliminate the monsters in the surrounding area.

I have applied to temporarily summon the special class hell beast "Shuten Doji" and it has been approved.

[Immediately carry out the elimination of the monsters. Only 12 seconds remain until Tenji Amagi's death ......11 seconds ......10 seconds ......]

...........................................

Tenji's consciousness remained faint.

Even so, he could only hear someone talking about something, and he only knew that there was something red in front of him.

"......Kuhi......Where am I?"

It was Shuten Doji who let out a dumb voice that sounded like he was drunk.

He had summoned this hell beast by exercising one of the special calling gifts that was initially supposed to be given to Tenji and temporarily using the power of the future.

The eyes of Shuten Doji were pure white.

'Glooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!'

By exercising one of the special calling gifts that was initially supposed to be given to Tenji and temporarily using the power of the future, this hell beast was summoned.

The eyes of the drinking beast were pure white.

"Glooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

The black keroberos, watching the scene, let out a menacing roar and the black fur on its body twitched and bristled.

But the black keroberos did not care, as it gulped down the contents of the gourd in its hand.

"The drinking beast must be eliminated immediately."

"Kuhihi......?"

The drinking monster must be eliminated immediately. Seven seconds left.

"I see. Yes, yes, just kill the obtrusive dog-dog?"

《Doji Shuten must immediately carry out the elimination of the monster. Six seconds left.

"I know, I know, shut up. Just kill it, okay?"

Shuten-Doji exhaled with a tiresome puff of air.

At that moment, Black Keroberos jumped on Shuten-Doji.

"Kuhihi......, you're an eyesore!"

"Glooooo......ooo!"

The black kerberos' body was slashed in half from the vertical with a single hand sword, without any particular movement of effort on his part.

The "Black Keroberos" was slashed in half lengthwise with a single hand sword, without any particular movement of force. 

"I've already done my job. I was just having a drink with Otakemaru at the hellhole, and you interrupted me at the right moment."

We have confirmed that the monster has been eliminated. We will send Shuten-Doji back to hell.

As someone says this, a white, pale, shiny gate appears at Shuten-Doji's feet. The gate was already half-open, and between the gates was a space like an oil slick glowing reddish-black, like lava.

Shuten-Doji slowly sinks down as if drowned in the oil slick.

Apparently, this gate is connected to hell.

On his way back, Shuten-Doji muttered a few words to Tenji, who was on the verge of death.

"The future Lord. Hurry and be strong, I will be waiting for you."

With these words, Shuten-Doji disappeared from the dungeon. At the same time, the white gate closed and vanished into thin air.

Inside the empty dungeon, only the sound of Tenji's faint breathing could be heard.

...............................................

The special calling gift, part 1, will be automatically consumed to repair the damage.

Done. It has been determined that Tenji's body is in perfect condition.

I will now grant the calling "Summon the Hell Beast" to Tenji.

Done.

Once again, the dungeon fell silent.