DBOFS 29

Chapter 29

“Harris!”

Where’s my Esper?!

I was too busy looking for Harris to notice Anella stepping forward, moved by her humanitarian instincts, toward a naked woman trembling in the bushes.

“Hic… Is it true?”

The barely-clothed woman, upon spotting Anella approaching, sighed in great relief and reached out her pale arm.

“Please help me… please…”

But as she slowly looked up at Anella with glistening, teary eyes…

“Anella! Back away—!”

…there were no whites in her eyes.

“Kyaaa!”

Before I could react, Anella’s body was entangled by a vine that shot out from somewhere.

[Kyaaaargh—!]

The woman who had tearfully begged for help suddenly tore open her face into a grotesque, long red gash that split half her face.

The frail, crumpled body had been nothing more than the head of a snake-like monster.

The “white” part instantly shot upward. In its massive gaping mouth were dozens of sharp, jagged teeth.

‘A ma-monster!’

Even without an explanation, that horrific sight said it all! You must be the dungeon’s monstrous gatekeeper!

That alone would’ve been terrible enough—but it got worse.

“Ahhh! Aaaah!”

Anella wasn’t the only one caught.

“Help me!”

“Kyaaah…!”

All the others who had followed her were caught too, hoisted into the air by wooden vines bursting from the ground.

‘This is insane—!’

Screams erupted from every direction. Long, ominous shadows began to loom across the once-clear blue sky.

“Ha-Harris…?”

Please show up now!

I desperately called for the one and only lifeline I had left in this crazy dungeon.

But deep down, I already knew the truth. The monster that could eat me alive was here right now, and unfortunately, the one person who could obliterate them—our salt and light, Harris—was gone!

‘Goddammit!’

Don’t tell me… they separated us from Harris on purpose to balance the dungeon difficulty?!

Then a system message popped up over my fear-frozen face.

[<Defeat the Man-Eating Plant ‘Danelcus’> quest has been generated.]

• Condition: All party members must survive

• Reward: Partial unlock of locked stats, among others

• Penalty: Death

“What?!”

A quest? You’re telling me to solve this mess?

‘Wait, hold up. Isn’t this a mistake?’

This is the kind of job for someone like Harris! Or Harris. Or maybe… Harris!

‘Why me?! I’m just a total background extra!’

I mean, I’m just a guide (supposedly)! Completely different role here!

But sadly, I didn’t have time to panic any further.

[Hissss…!]

The massive jaw lunged toward Anella.

“Kyaaa! Agh! Get away, you damn monster!”

Anella struggled frantically, but it was useless. Her body was tightly bound by the vine.

The huge head filled with a red tongue and jagged teeth descended, clearly intent on swallowing her whole.

‘Oh sh*t!’

Without thinking, I grabbed whatever was near and hurled it at the monster.

And then—

[Skill ‘???’ has been activated.]

Skill?

‘I had a skill?!’

Before I could question it any further—

Thunk! Smash—!

The object Jade threw landed right on the monster’s head.

“Yes!”

She clenched her fist.

What she had thrown was a molotov cocktail she’d asked Anella to prepare in advance. It shattered, spilling liquid between the shards.

But—

‘Oh crap, I forgot to light it!’

It ended up just being an oily glass bomb without the “fire” part of the “firebomb.”

“Graaaagh!”

Fortunately, the monster that had been about to eat Anella was still hit dead-on. The broken glass scattered in its mouth, causing it to howl in pain.

“Haa… Hah…”

And Anella, who was nearly devoured…

“Die, you freak!”

…didn’t waste the opening Jade had created. She pulled out a magic scroll and ripped it open toward the monster’s mouth.

‘She really knows how to survive.’

Same as last time. Jade was impressed by her unshakable nerve.

Zzrrrch— Whoosh!

A fireball the size of a face shot from the scroll and flew straight toward the monster’s head.

As soon as it touched the oil-soaked part, it spread like wildfire.

[KRAAAARGH—!!]

The plant monster let out an even more agonized screech as it thrashed wildly.

Thud!

At the same time, the vine binding Anella loosened, and she plummeted to the ground.

“Anella!”

“J-Jade!”

Anella, now on the ground with a pale face, cried out:

“Run, quickly!”

She hadn’t fully grasped the situation due to the panic.

All she saw was a terrifying new monster, the sudden disappearance of their S-Class Esper, and one person—Jade.

‘That damned bastard…!’

Her near-death experience made her jump to extreme conclusions.

‘I didn’t like him from the start!’

She’d already disliked the idea of bringing a fragile girl like Jade into such a dangerous dungeon.

‘Even if she’s a guide, this was too much.’

And now he abandoned her?! So all that protective affection was fake?!

Since she didn’t know Jade had insisted on ignoring Harris’s order to go back, her assumption was natural.

‘Granted, if she dragged me here, she’s no pushover…’

But still. All she saw was a fragile-looking girl. Big blue eyes trembling. A dainty figure shaking in fear…

‘…She must be frozen in terror.’

Even wild animal cries in the mountains scare people.

So a guide—basically a civilian—must be terrified of a man-eating monster!

‘This is crazy, completely insane!’

Anella cursed the absent bastard (Harris) in her mind.

“Anella!”

Besides, she was fairly certain that it was Jade who had thrown that firebomb to help her.

‘With those tiny arms…’

She might’ve finished the job herself, but if Jade hadn’t bought her time, she couldn’t have pulled out the scroll.

Anella had even shown sympathy toward a random naked woman earlier—of course she’d react here.

Gathering what was left of her humanity, Anella yelled:

“Th-This place is dangerous! Hurry and escape—”

“Quick, hide behind me!”

“—by yourself… huh?”

Before she could finish, Anella spotted the large rifle in Jade’s hands.

‘Huh?’

Don’t tell me… she’s planning to shoot that monster with that rifle?!

Anella couldn’t believe it.

The combo was just too ridiculous.

Look at those skinny wrists! It didn’t even look like she could hold the rifle, let alone shoot it…

“…Ah?”

Anella’s mouth fell open.

Those wrists, which looked like they’d drop the gun at any second, assumed a textbook-perfect shooting stance.

Then Jade pulled the trigger—straight at the monster’s head.

Bang—!

A thunderous gunshot.

Squelch! A splatter of blood and flesh. Even without seeing it, they knew it was a direct hit.

Anella stood frozen for a second.

‘No, that can’t be. There’s no way you could kill a monster with a normal gun.’

A monster dies when its core is destroyed.

It’s a simple rule—but figuring out where the core is hidden is extremely hard.

To hit that with a normal rifle in one shot? Practically impossible.

‘Even if she’s a god-tier sniper, one shot wouldn’t be enough to destroy the core.’

So even if Jade was some once-in-a-lifetime marksman, she couldn’t have killed it with that one shot—

[KWAEEEEE—!]

A completely different, brain-rattling shriek from the monster.

BOOM—!!

The ground shook as if there was an earthquake.

The same monster that had nearly devoured them collapsed.

“Cough—! Gah—!”

“We-We’re alive! We’re alive…!”

At the same time, the other party members caught in the vines were freed too.

“…?”

Anella blinked blankly at Jade.

Wait, this… this wasn’t supposed to be possible?

“Haa… Haa…”

And Jade, the one who had taken down the monster, was panting heavily.

[You have defeated the man-eating plant, ‘Danelcus’!]

She couldn’t believe she had done it. That alone stunned her—but what shocked her more was:

‘I saw it.’

The moment she aimed, she could see the monster’s core.

Beneath its burning, melting skin—clear as if highlighted with a fluorescent marker.

‘So this… this is that skill?’

She never doubted her sharpshooting. But being able to see the hidden core and watch it shatter so clearly?

“…Whoa.”

Her heart pounded violently against her ribs. Her breathing was so hot it burned her throat.

“I’m terrifying…”

Anella looked at the flushed, panting Jade with sympathy.

Yeah… she must’ve been scared to death after fighting that thing…

“To think that this adorable and dazzling beauty comes with deadly sharpshooting skills, too.”

“…?”

Anella blinked in confusion. Did I just hear what I think I heard?

“I’m too powerful. It’s scary. I was already amazing, and now I’m this devastatingly charming, too~!”

“…Sorry, what?”

Anella stared blankly at Jade, who shook her head like she was beyond help.

‘Wait… is she really admiring herself right now?!’

No… there’s no way.

While Anella doubted her ears, Jade doubted her eyes.

[Man-Eating Plant ‘Danelcus’ Defeated (1/20)]

‘Twenty?!’

The irresistibly charming Jade had a mental breakdown.

“W-Wait a sec. Don’t tell me… there are nineteen more of these insane monsters…?”

No way, right?

But before she could even ask, the ground began to rupture around them.

Crack—!

Answering that sound, growls and shrieks echoed from all directions.

[ROOOAR!]

[KUAAARGH!]

Shadows of man-eating plant monsters—just like the one they’d just slain—descended upon them.

“….”

“….”

Looking up blankly, everyone thought the exact same thing.

We’re screwed.