TBAGM Vol. 2 Chapter 5 Part 2

While Lloyd and Orgus were exposing Incarnation of the Sun’s fraud, Incarnation of the Sun’s corruption was deepening at the same time.

“Lady Sothia… are we really going to the 18th floor?”

Bals, the Third Unit’s captain, asked Sothia with a worried look.

“Yeah. If you leave it to me, we’ll be fine! You all endured my training properly for the past month, didn’t you? Have more confidence!”

As if to encourage the anxious unit members, Sothia called out in a bright voice from the back of the line.

At the moment, the Third Unit had set foot on the 17th floor of the desert dungeon.

The 17th floor sat on the lower end of the mid-layers, a depth only true veterans could reach. For the Third Unit, a group known as the washout unit, to have pushed as far as the 17th floor was an extraordinary feat. If Kyros learned of it, he would definitely be shocked.

“But on the 18th floor, we might run into the Sandstorm Spirit Dragon—Alena Dragool…”

This time, a different member than Bals let out a trembling, uncertain voice.

The reason the unit members feared the 18th floor was the possibility of encountering Alena Dragool.

Alena Dragool was a rare enemy, so they almost never ran into it. But, if they did, it would be the end. The Third Unit would be trampled in an instant.

Alena Dragool’s strength was on a completely different level from the other monsters on the 18th floor. It was said, by estimate, to be comparable to monsters on the 24th floor, even surpassing the boss that guarded the 20th floor. It made sense that it was also called the ‘Reaper’.

That was why the 18th floor of the desert dungeon, where Alena Dragool lurked, had long been feared by adventurers as the Underworld.

“That’s why I’m saying it’s fine! You trained that hard, didn’t you?”

“Well… yes, but…”

Sothia’s training methods had been utterly insane.

If someone’s durability was below average, she made them endure a week of being punched nonstop.

If they lacked agility, it was endless lateral hops. If they lacked stamina, endless running. If they lacked strength, endless strength training.

It went beyond “spartan.” It was crude, rough-cut instruction based purely on appraisal results. That difference probably came from the gap between her experience and Lloyd’s.

Naturally, at first everyone had been suspicious, and some even disliked Sothia. But fortunately—though I wasn’t sure I could call it fortunate—the members grew dramatically. The results were so obvious that even they could feel their own improvement.

Members who couldn’t even step into the mid-layers were now about to advance to the 18th floor. There was no greater accomplishment than that.

Sothia hugged Il, whom she’d brought along, and while enjoying its fur, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

“And besides, my goal is…”

Contrary to the trembling members, the reason Sothia had brought the Third Unit into the dungeon this time was to slay Alena Dragool.

If she defeated Alena Dragool, Kyros’s trust in her would deepen, and she would also earn overwhelming support from the Third Unit members. There was no better opportunity.

Of course, Sothia had prepared multiple plans to kill Alena Dragool.

From the rear of the formation, careful not to let the members notice, Sothia quietly took something out.

(Heh-heh-heh… first, I’ll use this!)

It was a stink pouch that emitted the scent of a certain monster. Even so, the smell was so faint that humans couldn’t detect it.

But monsters were another story entirely. And if the target was a dragon-type, its sense of smell was especially sharp.

In a few minutes, it would mistake the scent for prey and come closer on its own.

Thinking that, they proceeded smoothly through the 18th floor, and then—

“GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Just as expected, Alena Dragool blocked the Third Unit’s path.

Unlike Sothia, who was thrilled, the members’ faces were painted with despair.

“It’s over…”

“So it really ends like this… this is the worst.”

“Ah, gods… please, have mercy on us…”

The Third Unit’s eyes went dull, as if they were about to lose even their instinct to survive.

That was how deeply Alena Dragool was feared in the desert dungeon—as a symbol of dread itself.

“Everyone! Listen!”

Sothia raised her voice alone.

The members’ dazed awareness shifted toward Sothia at the rear.

“Hey… why are you giving up from the start? Why aren’t you trying to live?”

At Sothia’s question, the members muttered weakly.

“Because… it’s Alena Dragool…”

“There’s no way washouts like us can win.”

“If we’re just going to struggle for nothing, we’d be better off dying with dignity—”

“I watched your effort! Even when people cursed you as washouts, I know you kept working, nonstop!”

Sothia barked, cutting through their defeatist talk.

“So let’s blow that stupid lizard away already, and show the other units up!”

Sothia spoke to them.

But it still didn’t seem like a decisive push. Their eyes were still clouded.

“On what basis…”

“Why are you so confident…”

They wanted to run, to go home, to stop suffering. Their hearts were filled to the brim with negative emotions.

In that darkness, Sothia’s words rang out like a single thread of light.

“Because we’re adventurers of Incarnation of the Sun, aren’t we?”

Sothia lifted the corners of her mouth and grinned.

“““…………!!”””

That one last line carried overwhelming force.

The pride they’d lost, the self-esteem of belonging to the strongest guild, came roaring back to life.

“Please! I need you to believe in me!”

Sothia fixed them with a serious gaze.

Then, one by one, the members began to align with her.

“Well… if you say it like that, we’ve got no choice but to do it.”

“And honestly, we only made it this far because of Sothia.”

“Yeah. Let’s show them what washouts can really do!”

Moved by Sothia’s attitude, the members rekindled a light of hope in their eyes.

Each grabbed their weapon and took up a combat stance.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrr!”

The Alena Dragool facing them seemed to recognize them solely as prey, drool dripping from its maw.

Alena Dragool was famously proud, and known for valuing its children more than its own life. If anyone ever laid a hand on its young, it was said it would chase them all the way to hell.

The reason Alena Dragool had climbed up to the 18th floor was also said to be so it could raise its children in a safer place.

If that was the case, then there was only one thing Sothia needed to do.

“Heh-heh-heh…!”

Sothia pulled a massive egg from her pouch.

It was an Alena Dragool egg she’d obtained on the black market. It wasn’t a forgery—it was the real thing.

It apparently had been something she’d obtained from the dungeon several years ago, so of course it wasn’t from the Sandstorm Spirit Dragon, Alena Dragool, standing right in front of them now—nor could it possibly still be alive.

Even so, Alena Dragool had no way to confirm that.

“Ggah!?”

The Sandstorm Spirit Dragon, Alena Dragool, visibly faltered.

Would it fly into a rage and trample them on the spot, or would it stay frozen and wait for death for the child’s sake? It was a fifty-fifty gamble.

It seemed the god of fate had sided with Sothia.

Alena Dragool stopped moving entirely.

“Heehee.”

Sothia alone wore a twisted smile.

At this point, it was practically a win already.

“See? That lizard’s scared of you all’s intimidation, right?”

Sothia rattled off lies at random to raise morale. No matter what was said or done to it, Alena Dragool couldn’t move with its egg taken hostage.

“Don’t even look back! You’re adventurers of Incarnation of the Sun, the strongest guild! Show them what you’ve got!”

Sothia spoke as if to rally them, but in truth, it was to keep them from realizing she was holding Alena Dragool’s egg hostage. Still, some of the unit members seemed to take her words to heart, their motivation flaring to life.

Everyone’s attention shifted from Sothia to Alena Dragool.

“Guardians, hold the front line and block Alena Dragool’s breath! Healers, keep healing the Guardians without stopping!”

“““Roger!”””

Sothia immediately took command.

That, at least, was unquestionably her natural gift.

“Gladiators, switch in once the Guardians stop its next move! Mages, back them up!”

“““Yes!”””

Sothia had no knowledge or experience in command. And yet, she could see what her unit would do next. Instinctively, she understood the best move to make, moment by moment.

Her talent for command was overwhelming. If she studied, gained the knowledge to match, and learned to put those instincts into words, she would become a supreme commander.

“Bals! Finish it!”

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

In the same instant Sothia shouted, Bals burst from the unit.

He sprinted at full speed to close the distance, kicked off the ground hard, and vaulted high enough to reach Alena Dragool’s neck.

Even if he’d been crushed by a slump, Bals was still an A-rank unit captain.

If he willed it, his blade could reach Alena Dragool――――

“Ggah!?”

The greatsword Bals brought down cleanly severed Alena Dragool’s head.

The headless body sprayed brilliant red blood as it collapsed.

“D-Did we… win?”

After landing, Bals’s lips trembled as he muttered it.

Alena Dragool’s massive body vanished as if dispersing into thin air.

All that remained at the center was a huge magic stone and a pile of materials. The fact it had become a magic stone was proof of a successful kill.

“““OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”””

The unit’s roar of triumph shook the air and rattled the dungeon itself.

It might even have been louder than Alena Dragool’s own roar.

By slaying Alena Dragool, the Third Unit gained something immense.

For those trapped in a slump, it gave absolute confidence. For those who’d suspected Sothia, it forged absolute loyalty.

“As expected of Lady Sothia!”

“Hey, if we keep following Lady Sothia, you think we might even make it into the First Unit?”

“Like Mr. Lloyd did!”

“Maybe we can climb, too!”

The members began praising Sothia, their key player.

Unlike before, there wasn’t a speck of distrust. Those words came straight from the heart.

They surrounded her and lauded her again and again.

“““Lady Sothia, hooray! Lady Sothia, hooray! Lady Sothia, hooray!”””

“Ahaha… stop it already! This is the crystal of everyone’s hard work, you know?”

Sothia acted the part of a woman being modest while secretly delighted.

In reality, everything had gone exactly as she’d intended. It wasn’t a matter of being happy or not—she’d laid the rails so it would turn out this way.

And her true feelings were—

(Mmm… they were way too easy.)

†