Chapter 16 – Surprise Attack

“Gwaaaaaaah!?”

The men dropped their weapons, clutched their ears, and thrashed about on the floor. Though they’d been spectacularly blown back and slammed into the wall, the damage to their ears seemed more severe.

“Gah!? Wh-why are you bastards coming from behind!?”

The man with the bow screamed hysterically while grimacing from the intense pain in his ears. Well… that line pretty much confirms their guilt.

“Hey! What was that sound just now!?”

“It’s those brats! Damn it! Kill them!”

Suddenly it grew noisy, and then lantern light illuminated the passageway from the other side.

Lanterns, huh. If there’s no one among their flanking group who can use magic, they’d have to secure their vision by means other than darkvision. Relying on tools means exposing a fatal weakness.

“Flame Absorb”

Dark Magic, third tier. I shot a faintly glowing dark purple sphere toward the other end of the passage.

It’s one of the counter-spells against flames. The fire was unnaturally dragged out from the lanterns and absorbed into the dark sphere.

“Wha…?”

For them, it was like being suddenly plunged into darkness. Not to mention using Combat Skills, they couldn’t even retaliate or resist. That’s when Grace and Rosetta charged in.

Grace’s movements were simple. Simple, and therefore efficient. Maintaining her low stance from the charge, she swept both legs with a swing of her arms, breaking them, then grabbed the collapsing man by his collar and slammed him against the wall as if tossing away scrap paper.

For her, it was probably like gently stroking something. She didn’t use her axe not out of any mercy, but likely because she dislikes unnecessarily scattering human blood.

As for Rosetta, she was extremely refined.

She pulled her first target down, rolled and stomped on him—completely immobilizing him—then lightly touched her fingertips to the chest of another man still confused in the darkness and calmly activated her magic.

“—Rotten Blood”

The reverse of the water magic Clear Blood, which detoxifies—this magic creates toxins within the target’s bloodstream.

“Gubh!?”

I don’t want to know what sensations Rotten Blood induces—but anyway, the man let out a muffled cry, clutched his chest, and collapsed to his knees. Before that man even hit the ground, Rosetta had already stomped through the head of the one struggling at her feet. I couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead, but his movements had stopped regardless.

“Damn it! What the hell is going—”

The words of the man in utter confusion didn’t reach their end, because Grace punched him in the chest with a running start. The large man’s body flew parallel to the ground and crashed into the wall.

“B-burning fla—!”

The magician tried to take a stance with his staff and chant Fireball—.

“Too slow”

A spear of lightning erupted from the Magic Circle deployed at my fingertips and pierced the magician’s body. With a crackling sound, Spark Light illuminated the labyrinth passage in a bluish glow.

Lightning Magic, fourth tier. Electro Lance. A spell with sufficient lethal force against humans. Even though magicians have somewhat higher magic resistance, he fell motionless from a single strike.

Since the magician might have hidden cards like Chantless magic or Magic Circles, simply capturing him wouldn’t suffice. To put it extremely, as long as consciousness remains, magic could potentially be used regardless of physical condition. We had to neutralize him completely. I do have sleep-inducing magic in my arsenal, but it’s not reliable. That type of magic can be resisted through Spirit if one knows it’s coming.

Rosetta’s reverse healing magic is different. It affects the body itself and, requiring contact, possesses powerful interference that doesn’t allow resistance.

“N-no way… this is… in an instant?”

The fallen marksman murmured in astonishment. His pronunciation was slightly off, perhaps due to damage to his eardrums, but I could still make it out.

“Light Bind”

“Hih!?”

With the marksman restrained, the battle ended almost anticlimactically. No one remained standing. I didn’t care whether they lived or died. Either way, handing them over would lead to the same outcome.

The reason I specifically restrained the marksman was the judgment that we needed to keep one or two alive to confirm whether they had comrades outside the labyrinth.

Since it was within the duration of the darkvision effect, he probably saw clearly what happened to his companions. It would be helpful if he loudly proclaimed what we did to them outside too. That would reduce the number of people who’d make unnecessary moves against us, and similar tactics would likely lie low for a while.

“I-it’s not like that! W-we were just—”

One of the men rolling on the ground let out an excuse-filled scream.

What was he going to say? With all this meticulous preparation, there’s no “just” about it.

His desperation stems from—the fact that this type of crime within the Great Labyrinth is punishable by death. They’d undergo interrogation using magic to detect lies, making it impossible to talk their way out.

When I silently lowered my gaze, the man who met my eyes looked away. Eventually, as if resigning himself, he looked at me and pleaded.

“Th-that’s right! W-we didn’t mean to kill you! You’re not even hurt, so you could let us go, right!?”

“…I won’t say it twice. Stop talking.”

“…!”

When I said that while floating a Magic Circle above my palm, the man finally fell silent.

Playing the victim and begging for mercy after losing at attempted robbery… Whether it’s their method of targeting newcomers or this plea for their lives, everything about him is disgusting.

Was their goal money or pleasure? Were their means threats or murder? It makes no difference to how we handle this.

No matter what they intended, from the moment they set up an ambush, there were only two paths.

Either resist and fight to the death. Or offer no resistance and simply be robbed.

Letting them go or showing mercy isn’t an option when considering the possibility of secondary harm or revenge.

If newcomers—not like us, but proper adventurers like Forestbird—had been their targets, nothing would have been strange about that either.

So—insisting on keeping my own hands clean would be dishonest toward everyone else, and might even be harmful. Even though crushing this behavior itself is bothersome and unpleasant.

“Rosetta-san. I’ll give you the Transference Stone, could you go call for help?”

It would be best for her, with her connections, to go to the monolith and bring people here.

For around the third underground floor, there are plenty of adventurers who can come down via teleportation, and since it’s still a floor where you can directly return above, there’s no problem even without a Transference Stone. Even Guild staff might be able to come directly.

“…Are you going to be alright?”

“Yes”

Rosetta stared at me for a while, but then ran off toward the direction of the monolith.

…That much. She doesn’t need to worry about me.

“Yes, that should be sufficient”

After returning from the third underground floor, we were called to a room in the Guild to explain the situation—but the receptionist seemed rather sympathetic toward us. After a few questions and confirmations, she said that with a pitying expression and let us go.

I thought it might take a bit more trouble. Surprisingly, it was quite straightforward.

Was it because Rosetta has connections, or because she underwent the Magical Inquisition as our representative?

“They were an adventurer group called Snake Bite. They had bad conduct and have been involved in many disputes before.”

“…I see”

So their usual behavior contributed to the sympathy toward us.

“Once the facts are clearly confirmed, I believe there will be talk of reward money and such.”

Reward money, huh. I may have become an adventurer, but I never intended to become a bounty hunter.

When I left the Guild room, seen off by the receptionist, Grace and Rosetta had returned too.

Rosetta took one deep breath, then smiled as if switching her mood.

“Good work, both of you”

“Rosetta-san as well”

“Yes. Now, Theodore-kun. What shall we do from here?”

Is she asking if we’re going back to the labyrinth?

“…I’ll obediently go home, for now”

“…That makes sense. Yes. I’ll go home too.”

“Shall I escort you by carriage?”

“No need. I feel like walking alone for a bit.”

When I offered to see her home, Rosetta shook her head.

“When you feel like it, that’s fine. I’d be happy if you showed your face again sometime. If you have any troubles or worries, I’ll consult with you about anything.”

“…Understood”

…I feel like I’ve caused her various troubles with the aftermath. Rosetta might have regrets about Mother too. When I nodded, she smiled and left the Guild.

Finally, at the entrance, she looked back over her shoulder and said this.

“Ah, that’s right. Apparently those men had some black Transference Stones.”

“…Black? What are those?”

…They weren’t something that existed in BFO.

“I don’t know either. The Guild staff said it was their first time seeing such things too, and they’re apparently questioning them about their purpose. Depending on the content, we might learn more details eventually.”

We overwhelmed them quickly… but if they had used those, things might have gotten more troublesome depending on the situation. With no basis for judgment, I can’t say for sure, but if they’re items that can be used like teleporter-type Traps, they might be quite dangerous.

I watched Rosetta leave the Guild while deep in thought.

“…I’m a bit tired, aren’t you?”

“Mhm”

When Grace tilted her head and slightly narrowed her eyes, I also smiled faintly and nodded.

Since there was practically no bloodshed when we defeated those men, there didn’t seem to be much backlash after being released from the Cursed Tool either. She said she felt somewhat unsettled, same as before.

Ah… that’s right.

Since I need to sell the Materials we brought back anyway.

I might as well buy a Magic Stone for the bath while I’m at it. If I take a hot bath, my mood might improve somewhat. Switching one’s mood is important.

When I conveyed that thought to Grace, she gently narrowed her eyes.