Servant Of The God Of Earth

The open area was packed with monsters, and the moment we appeared, most of them attacked us all at once. I scattered the monsters with magic and sprinted toward the stairs along the single path I created.

Monsters attacked again along the way, but each time I blasted them aside and recreated the path. After running like that for several dozen seconds, Rebecca and I finally reached the stairs, only to stop for a moment when we saw the monsters completely filling them.

“That’s incredible…”

“But we have to go.”

“Yeah. …Rebecca, sorry if your skin starts to sting a little.”

Since the monsters were packed this tightly, I decided that the fastest method was to use lightning magic to electrocute them all, so I unleashed a massive Thunder Ball.

Not only the monsters directly struck by the attack but also those around them collapsed one after another, as if stunned or paralyzed.

“Now’s our chance!”

“Right!”

We rushed down the stairs and stepped onto the thirtieth floor… and deep inside, beyond the many monsters, the shining Dungeon Core glittered. All that remained was to destroy it.

Moving my legs faster than I ever had in my life, I rushed toward the Dungeon Core—and the moment it entered the range of my magic, I fired the strongest Ice Spear I had ever cast.

At the same time, Rebecca released an arrow with all her strength. The two attacks flew toward the Dungeon Core at almost the same speed… and just as I thought they would destroy it, both attacks vanished instantly in a burst of fierce flames.

Then the one who appeared was a tall man with dark skin and sharp eyes. He wore travel attire from a foreign land and carried a slender sword at his waist.

So this was the Servant of the God of Earth.

“You… who are you?”

The man spoke in the common language of this continent, but his speech carried a strong accent. With that appearance, he might be from the eastern part of the continent—or perhaps from another continent entirely.

“Why did you interfere? If the Dungeon Core is destroyed, the Stampede will disappear. We came here to destroy the Dungeon Core and save the city.”

“…I will not allow that. The Dungeon Core is an important element that composes the earth itself. Especially one that has grown this large.”

“But if things continue like this, countless people in the city will die. Are you really fine with that?”

When I asked while staring directly into the man’s eyes, he nodded without hesitation. This… persuasion might be impossible. It would be best if we could resolve this through discussion, but…

“It is a necessary sacrifice.”

“…I don’t agree. Even if the Dungeon Core is destroyed, it won’t have any real effect. They’re destroyed all over the world every day.”

The words I spoke to persuade him apparently struck a nerve instead. The moment he heard them, his eyes sharpened and his voice rose in anger.

“Do you dare lecture us about the very foundation of our prosperity!?”

—It seemed reaching an agreement would be impossible.

“Then why are you here right now? Even if you’re guarding the Dungeon Core, there should be many that have grown too large all over the world. Does it have something to do with the Stampede happening here?”

When I changed the direction of the conversation from persuasion to probing, the man fell silent while maintaining his sharp glare. Perhaps he was communicating with the God of Earth.

Lady Seremees realized that the Servant of the God of Earth was here because the Stampede had occurred, but the other side had no reason to realize that I was a servant of the Goddess of Peace.

Even while we spoke, monsters continued to be produced without pause. I kept fending them off and occasionally defeating the persistent ones as I waited for the man’s answer. After a while, the man drew the sword at his waist.

“If you return to the surface now, I will overlook this. If you possess the strength to reach this place, you should be able to reduce the damage caused by the Stampede. …But if you still intend to destroy the Dungeon Core, then I will cut you down without mercy.”

Swallowing nervously at the man’s overwhelming pressure, I tightened my grip on my sword. Then I firmly readied my stance again. Beside me, Rebecca also raised her bow once more despite her tension.

“…Foolish ones.”

The man muttered that quietly, stepped forward—and closed the distance between us at unbelievable speed. I somehow managed to block the man’s heavy and sharp strike, but I didn’t feel like I could win in a contest of pure strength.

“Ugh…”

Barely managing to deflect the man’s sword, I tried to follow up with an Ice Ball… but it was canceled out by a Fire Ball.

The arrow Rebecca had fired at the moment the man launched the Fire Ball also turned to ash in the flames.

This might be bad. The opponent’s physical ability was superior. As for magic, we might be evenly matched, but being evenly matched didn’t mean we could win.

The advantages on my side were three things: Rebecca was with me, I could use Temporary Peace, and the fact that he didn’t know I was a servant of the Goddess of Peace.