It's Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

* * *

The one who stepped forward from Zarkra's camp was one of those I had been paying attention to in their camp earlier.

One of the beings with the most powerful strength.

"Nice to meet you. Are you my opponent?"

"Yes, Lady Libertas. My name is Whira Juul. I'm a warrior favored by Lady Zarkra."

A troll with long red hair, walking out past several ogres in the camp.

His green bulk was comparable to an ogre, his fangs protruded elegantly outside his mouth, and magic power overflowed from his entire body.

Judging by appearance alone, he resembled an apocalyptic biker who indulges in destruction and plunder, but what his mouth held was courtesy and a smile.

"To be able to clash strength with a Dungeon Lord. It will probably be the honor of a lifetime!"

"You seem to be one who enjoys fighting strong opponents. A good attitude."

"Thank you for the compliment!"

As he seemed to have a gentle character despite his appearance, he was likable even from an ordinary perspective.

Also, his body had a redness similar to Xue's, but its substance wasn't blood but...

"It seems you handle fire."

"I mainly handle fire. Once I enter battle, I might not be able to control myself due to excitement, so you should be sufficiently careful."

"Thank you for the consideration."

A troll handling the power of fire.

And judging from the point that he says he might not be able to control himself, probably a berserker type who handles power through fighting spirit or madness like Xue.

If he's told me this much, it would be proper for me to say something too.

'Nobility' also affirmed this.

"As you can see, I'm a necromancer."

"As I can see... actually, you look more like a young lady who should be in some noble family."

"Are you saying I look powerless?"

"Not at all! I mean you look noble!"

"I see. Thank you."

His gentle attitude seemed not to be false, as his greatly flustered response to a simple tease was impressive.

After being quite flustered like that and soon calming down, I threw a final question at the troll.

"I'll ask just in case."

"Hm?"

"You're not the one Zarkra cherishes the most, are you?"

There was a reason I asked such a question.

Because I saw Zarkra's gaze encouraging this warrior named Whira Juul before he stepped forward.

The appearance of the Dungeon Lord examining his body here and there with eyes that seemed particularly dripping with honey.

Come to think of it, the Dungeon Lord and this warrior are at least outwardly the same 'troll'.

"Haha! Our Lord cherishes all monsters equally! If it seems she cherishes me, it's probably just because I'm her first summon!"

"I see... That's how you think of it."

I smiled.

According to his words, Zarkra probably had a hobby similar to mine.

Such as cherishing her first summon more.

If not, it could be that they really have a special relationship but are hiding it in case it becomes a weakness.

So I felt sorry.

I thought we might have become friends if we had met somewhere else, in a different situation.

"Be careful, Whira Juul."

"What?"

"You'll need to steel your heart. If you don't want to see your Dungeon Lord commit suicide without even fighting."

"What do you...? Ah, are you provoking me?"

"From now on... begin!"

While Whira Juul showed a puzzled look after hearing my 'sincerity', the duel was started by the referee.

"You'll understand when you experience it."

Whook.

I bloomed 'darkness'.

* * *

The duel started from Libertas.

The small black sphere arising from her fingertips instantly opened and spread into a small flower in full bloom.

"「Black Mist Flower」."

Woong.

Along with the spell.

The surrounding area was plunged into darkness.

"This is...?"

Darkness is the most appropriate element to stimulate the fear of the unknown that living beings feel.

Whira Juul was startled, his instincts stimulated by the darkness that instantly filled all vision and erased sense of direction, but he wasn't a fool to be flustered by this and miss his chance.

"「Ouh Fyra'maer」!"

Whoosh-!

Light and heat boiled up over his body as he chanted an incantation in the traditional troll language.

The orange color covering his dark green body flared up greatly for a moment, pushing back the surrounding darkness and making his body appear black.

It looked as if darkness and darkness were fighting with fire as the boundary.

'It's not a burning substance... but it retreats.'

Whira Juul calmly observed the situation.

In his eyes, he saw the darkness retreating the moment the flames touched it.

Although it gathered again after the flames passed, it seemed to refuse contact with the flames anyway.

'If so!'

He decided what to do.

"「Hyro'tor Nax」!"

Whoosh!

The flames on his body burned even hotter, then sprayed dozens of fireballs in all directions.

Small, but unusually bright and large burning fireballs.

It was to secure vision even if not accurately hitting the target, by further accelerating the consumption of the main force, which is the medium of combustion.

Rustle.

In his eyes, a shape similar to a hem of clothing flickered.

"There!"

Bang!

The troll immediately kicked off the ground and launched his body.

However, what he grabbed was just the edge of darkness, not a part of Libertas.

"Damn it! Lady, you're protecting yourself too much! Show yourself!"

-I'm glad you noticed that. My children don't realize how much I care about my safety like this.

"That's unfortunate! How about coming out and talking first, I'll try to explain well!"

-How gentlemanly. It was an interesting provocation.

He tried to at least induce the opponent's voice like that, but Libertas's voice only softly resonated from all directions, not providing evidence of her direction.

And right after that.

Sssswish!

Dozens of arrows were shot from within the darkness.

They were arrows made of pure white bone, one of the basic attack methods of necromancy.

"「Maer!」"

The flames enveloping his body burned even more intensely, blocking or burning those arrows, but.

Shook!

One among them pierced through the flames and left a wound on his neck.

Touching the blood flowing from his neck, he realized one thing here.

What was needed in this battlefield wasn't intelligence.

Just endless anger.

"Don't blame me if my hands are hot!"

-If you're going to do something, show me.

"「Ra'gash Bord」!"

Whoosh-!

As soon as he chanted the incantation, the heat haze rising from the troll's body grew even larger, his eyes turned red, and his bulk increased.

A visible appearance of 'berserk'.

'It's a nostalgic sight.'

Libertas's lips curled into a smile as she momentarily fell into reminiscence, reminded of an RTS/RPG game she played when very young on Earth.

The appearance was really very similar, even down to holding an axe spear in both hands.

'Those were good times.'

Happy memories with her young uncle, with whom she had cut ties just before coming here, and her father, whose true nature she didn't know at the time...

But they were memories stained with subsequent unhappiness.

Whira Juul was different in that he used magic, or rather shamanism, but.

-Grrrrrk...!!

"Burn... kill...!"

The troll, losing his courtesy and just roaring.

As his bulk grew, the intensity of the flames burned even bigger and more intense, and his body, receiving the power of those flames, grew even larger.

『Boiling Magic Power - 'Magic power' increases in response to anger and madness.』

『Burning Rage - As magic power increases, physical stats increase slightly in proportion, and the degree of berserk intensifies.』

Although Libertas couldn't see exactly what he had with her eyes, these were characteristics whose effects could be understood just from the outward appearance.

Libertas surrounded herself with darkness to block the flames, but his flames had already grown large enough to push back the surrounding darkness.

There was no way Whira Juul couldn't spot the range where the flames couldn't spread.

"There you are-!!!"

Thud!!

"Excellent anger. It's worth seeing."

The troll charging recklessly with flames enveloping his body.

The smile on Libertas's lips, who revealed herself to face him, deepened.

A composure that didn't care about her shield melting from the flames, or her bone arrows and spears evaporating.

-Kyaaaa-!!

Whoosh!

Enraged by that composure, the troll warrior rushed in and raised both hands.

Immediately after, the two bright red crescents drawn by the axe spears in both his hands, imbued with flames.

Whoosh!

"Die-!!!"

It was a bombardment that had earned his trust by splitting the bodies of his opponents in two usually.

Bang!!!

However, that bombardment was blocked by a translucent black shield created at the tip of Libertas's staff, which she had lightly raised.

Everything outside the curtain became a sea of fire, and the unresolved impact soared into the sky, causing the flames to burn greatly, but.

Whoosh!

Not only flames but not even a spark was visible around and behind where she stood.

As if light or heat didn't dare to invade her, it was a scene as if they had avoided her on their own.

In the midst of that, the woman spoke.

"Is this all?"

-Grrrk...!

The gaze and smile that still looked gentle but as if pitying him further enraged the troll.

Far more than direct contempt or disgust.

-Kyaaaa-!!

Bang!!

Bang!!!

One of his hands aimed at the sky again and then down, immediately followed by the other hand.

Bang! Bangbangbang-!!

A continuous bombardment of rage.

Although flames and slashes were executed so fiercely as if to burn and overturn all the land here.

"Yes. It's certainly an excellent attack."

The black lady was still just standing there.

At a glance, it might have looked like she had dug slightly into the ground, but upon closer inspection, her position hadn't changed from that spot.

The surrounding ground had just risen due to the impact.

『Characteristic - ..., High-Grade Specialization: Swordsmanship, ...』

The movements subtly imbued with gestures that Evangeline had consistently taught were refined and very elegant.

"Now..."

Thud-

"Look at this."

With an elegant movement that didn't fit the battlefield, as her boots gently touched the ground.

Creak-!!

Darkness spread out again from that ground.

A much stickier darkness, qualitatively different from the previous smoke.

"This is my darkness."

Swish!!

Thus the darkness grew.

"Not yet... !! Devour...!"

Whoosh-!!

And the flames burned even larger, but...

It was already too late.

* * *

Whoosh.

The darkness summoned by Libertas descended upon the duel arena.

A curtain of visual obstruction that allows recognition of each other from the outside but prevents seeing inside.

"What is this?"

"We can't see inside?"

"What is she trying to do..."

While everyone in Whira Juul's camp was anxious, there was one woman with a particularly anxious face.

Dungeon Lord Zarkra. It was her.

'We need to win properly...!'

A battle to win against an enemy Dungeon Lord, and if luckier, possibly 'devour' them.

The subject to be deployed for that naturally had to be the one with the strongest power in the Dungeon Lord's camp, and the one bound by the strongest bond with the Dungeon Lord.

That's why Zarkra sent out Whira Juul.

A warrior who had been with her from the beginning, whom she had worked hard to raise.

One who was no different from having created her current form..., a being she had a 'special' attachment to.

'We must win. We must...!'

At that moment.

Whoosh-!!

Swish!

"Did it work...!"

As flames containing powerful heat rose up, erasing part of the black curtain, Zarkra smiled.

Because she thought it was evidence that her warrior was pressuring that Dungeon Lord.

Her face was clearly shining with hope right now.

Whoosh!

"Aaaaargh!!"

"Huh...?"

Until she saw Whira Juul's appearance revealed between the finally lifted darkness, and simultaneously realized that the 'contract' had been severed.