Chapter 21: VS Red Lizard (Two)

Original: Chapter 21: VS Red Lizard 2

Hot. Hot. Hot—.

My body is being scorched by what seems like a Heat Ray spat from the Red Lizard’s mouth. I think various things are getting charred. My skin, my School Uniform—.

I think, probably, it used the gunpowder that was inside the Gunpowder Flower Bud. Earlier, the Red Lizard was eating the Gunpowder Flower, gunpowder and all. I think it can store at least some of that inside its body.

Then, by striking its fangs together, it ignited that gunpowder, generating explosive heat to use as an Attack.

“I have to… get away…”

The Heat Ray is still burning my body. If I don’t run, I’ll get severely burned.

I tried to muster my resolve and jump to the right. To get out of the Attack’s range. That’s what I thought, right then. An explosion went off immediately to my right.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”

What? What? I don’t understand. There shouldn’t have been anything there.

I was caught in the explosion and blown away. My consciousness flickered, I couldn’t break my fall, and I just collapsed onto the ground.

“Ugh…”

It hurts so much. It hurts so much I feel like crying. Maybe passing out would have been easier. But it seems I’m not that fragile a type.

My body hurts so much I want to wail. But it’s too early to cry. Because HP-wise, I still have 16 left. Giving up on everything and crying here would be a bit too spineless, right?

Lying on my side, I try to think about what that explosion was. Well, maybe I don’t need to think about it.

“The gunpowder inside the Gunpowder Flower Bud must have caught fire.”

The Heat Ray was so high-temperature it ignited it.

“My School Uniform… it’s gotten so tattered…”

I can tell without checking. It feels drafty. My Blazer and Blouse are full of holes.

“And it hasn’t even been that long since I started school…”

I’m pissed off. How dare it tatter the School Uniform of a Girl in the Bloom of Youth.

“I can’t just end this without getting back at it somehow.”

I really want a Dismantle Skill. I want to defeat that thing, Dismantle it, and sell its Materials to pay for a new uniform.

“Maybe eventually getting a Dismantle Skill would be okay— Hic…!”

What was I thinking, trying to act so leisurely? This is a battlefield where we’re trying to take each other’s lives. It’s obvious that if the enemy is down, they’ll come to finish me off.

The Red Lizard’s two feet are standing right next to my waist. It’s almost in a mounting position.

Not bothering with a triumphant look, it opens its large mouth wide and closes in, trying to bite my neck.

“Crap. I’m gonna di—”

e? No, I’m not!

Even in this desperate moment, my thoughts didn’t stop. I came up with something in an instant. There are three moves I can make.

One: Put my arms out in front, letting the Red Lizard bite them on purpose to protect my neck.

Two: Hold my Hammer sideways to guard against the Attack.

Three: Grab the Gunpowder Flower right beside me and use it for defense.

“Option three, chosen!”

I don’t know if what’s right beside me is the flower or the bud. But either way, it should be able to block the Red Lizard’s mouth.

It’s a situation where choosing wrong means death. But I felt confident in this choice.

“Fugh!”

What I grabbed was the stem of a Gunpowder Flower. Not a bud, but one with the flower open. By pulling it and using it for defense, the petals nicely went right into the Red Lizard’s large mouth.

These petals are thick, squishy, and heavy. So they can’t be bitten through easily. I saw my chance for victory there.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Using all my strength, I pushed the petals deep into the Red Lizard’s mouth as I got up.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

I pushed the petals in even further.

“Guh, gah, guah!”

It seems the petals completely blocked the Red Lizard’s throat. They’re thick and squishy, so I think it affected its breathing. The Red Lizard is clearly confused.

I took a step back. Then, I raised my Hammer with all my might.

“You really did it, didn’t you?!”

I slammed the Hammer into the Red Lizard’s temple. The Red Lizard collapsed headfirst onto the ground.

“Guhf!”

“School Uniforms are expensive, you know!”

I brought the Hammer down from above.

“Gaf!”

“The price for tattering it is your life!”

I brought the Hammer down from above once more.

“……”

The Red Lizard stopped moving. I couldn’t feel its Life Force anymore. Just to be sure, I hit it one more time.

Then, I planted my Hammer on the ground like a staff and leaned my full body weight on it. Ah, no good. I really can’t stand. I end up on my knees.

“Aaaaaaaaah, I’m exhausted. I hate this. That was so scary. I thought I was gonna die. Why did I choose to fight? I should have just run. Uuuuuu. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.”

Tears started spilling out in a trickle. I cried alone, making pathetic sounds like “Aaaaaaaaah.”

The terror of the life-and-death struggle all came flooding out at once, and I couldn’t stop the tears.

I recognized it clearly. I’m not good at fighting. But, even though it might be a contradiction, it seems I’ve ended up really loving the Dungeon. I became clearly aware of that feeling.

Because, mixed in with the scared feelings and the sad feelings and the painful feelings, I noticed there’s this feeling of, “I did it! I managed to defeat something that strong! That was fun. I’ll definitely come to the Dungeon again tomorrow too.”