Chapter 106: Showdown with the Fortress City
After all, the Shibuya Dungeon had a whole sea inside it, so it\'s not that far-fetched for the Nagoya Dungeon to have buildings that look like they belong to some lost civilization... No, actually, that is pretty strange when I think about it.
: Can you see the edge?
: Nope.
: This floor is insanely huge. Are you seriously going to explore all of it by yourself?
: Come on, if Kisaragi-kun managed to explore the deep sea, this should be nothing for him.
"Well, I guess the first thing to do is find the stairs... If there are no stairs, then I guess this 61st floor is the final level of the Nagoya Dungeon."
: That\'d be awesome if this is the final floor.
: Why?
: Gets me right in the feels.
: Why are you getting emotional for no reason?
: In the end, the Nagoya Dungeon is still an impossible mess that only Kisaragi can conquer. Can someone save us poor Nagoya locals?
: Wait, Nagoya Prefecture?
: You can\'t say that! It\'s Aichi Prefecture! "Nagoya Prefecture" is a forbidden term that will enrage Aichi citizens!
: Is this a trading card game or something?
: A card battle of angry internet comments!
Hmm... I\'m flying around, surveying the dungeon, but I can\'t find any sign of stairs.
It might be unrelated, but the ceiling on this 61st floor is insanely high. I can fly up and look down at the entire floor from above. As long as I don\'t accidentally dive into the sea floating overhead, I can explore the dungeon in relative comfort.
: Why are you just casually flying?
: Well, it\'s Kisaragi, after all.
: If Kamishiro can fly, of course Kisaragi can do it too. No one\'s even questioning it anymore.
: Didn\'t he mention being able to fly before?
: Pretty sure he was flying in a previous stream.
: Is everyone\'s memory this bad?
Now I\'m curious about what\'s inside that floating sea. That pale glowing object is just some crystal, but... maybe I\'ll ask Tenko to help me dive into the sea and check it out.
"Something\'s below us, my lord."
"Huh?"
Below?
Tenko, who had been quietly flying alongside me, pointed down at something glinting in the light.
"Is that... metal?"
: It\'s probably a rare metal or something. (Totally guessing)
: Maybe it\'s a giant raw ore?
: Aren\'t rare metals usually buried deep underground?
: Well, it is a dungeon...
: Stop using "because it\'s a dungeon" as a catch-all explanation for everything!
: That\'s just lazy reasoning.
I was about to take a closer look when suddenly, the metallic object started whirring and fired a barrage of magic bullets at me like a gatling gun.
"Whoa!"
: What the heck is that?
: Probably an anti-aircraft gun. (Mentally checked out)
: Wow, ancient civilizations were really advanced, huh?
: No one can keep up with this anymore. Lol.
: Seriously, how are we supposed to process ancient buildings in a dungeon with anti-aircraft guns?
Magic bullets, solidified into projectiles, came at me in a rapid barrage, just like a real anti-aircraft cannon. This is bad. Unlike Kamishiro, I can\'t fly at absurd speeds, so my ability to dodge is pretty limited.
"Kochin!"
Realizing I couldn\'t avoid it, I quickly deployed a barrier using Kochin. Even though they\'re firing a lot of magic bullets, my barrier is made of denser magic, so it should be able to hold them off.
As soon as the shooting started, Sagojo and Kijin were already on the move from below. If everything goes well, they\'ll destroy the anti-aircraft gun, but... summoning four of the Twelve Heavenly Generals at once is starting to drain me a bit. If they were regular familiars, I could summon as many as I wanted without an issue, but...
: This feels like a game I\'ve played before.
: Yeah, but instead of Kisaragi, your character was probably a fighter jet or something.
: Kisaragi is a fighter jet...?
: Can fly, summon an army of familiars, is super strong, can put up barriers... Yep, definitely overpowered.
: Nerf him.
: Do we even need anyone else at this point?
: Instead of nerfing Kisaragi, maybe buff all the other explorers?
: That\'s not gonna happen.
They\'re still firing wildly even though it\'s clearly not working, so I fired back a concentrated lightning beam, and for some reason, three more anti-aircraft guns popped up from different directions.
"Kijin, can you check it out?"
"Check it out? It\'s literally just a gatling gun sticking out of the stone floor."
Apparently, according to Kijin, the anti-aircraft guns are just sprouting out of the stone pavement. Sagojo and Kijin split up and destroyed them, while Tenko pulled water from the overhead sea to take care of the remaining ones. But... this probably isn\'t the end.
"I\'ll keep watching the area... Wait."
Just as I was about to suggest keeping an eye on the surroundings, the top part of the castle-like building in the center of the ancient city opened up, revealing a gigantic railgun-like weapon. And of course, it was pointed at... me.
Reflexively, I had Kochin put up a maximum-strength barrier, just as a massive magic projectile slammed into it. Sparks of magic flew as the barrier and the magic shell clashed. I could feel cold sweat running down my back. If that had hit me directly, I\'d definitely be dead.
: Holy crap.
: Kisaragi might actually die here.
: This dungeon is no joke.
: This isn\'t something we can laugh about.
This 61st floor is definitely the final level. And judging by how the ancient city\'s weapons are reacting, whatever controls them is the boss of this dungeon. I haven\'t seen them yet, but if they\'re this aggressive, they\'re just asking to be hunted down and eliminated. I\'ll find them, and I\'ll destroy them.
"Nagoya Dungeon... the complete conquest is just within reach."
: Why do you sound like you\'re having fun?
: Because he\'s a battle maniac.
: Can\'t deny that.
: You were just about to die, weren\'t you?
: Was he, though?
: Honestly, it didn\'t even feel like he was in real danger.
: I mean, if that had hit him, he\'d definitely be dead.
: Hmm... hard to say.
: It didn\'t hit, so no problem, right?
: Honestly, I feel like that was probably the first and last chance this dungeon had to kill Kisaragi. Now it\'s over for the boss.
Looking at how this fight\'s been going, it\'s clear now: this city itself is the real enemy. That\'s fine with me. I\'ll take this entire ancient city down.