Victor's Delight

The Living Armor still being able to move even after its head was severed was within my expectations.

So I attacked mercilessly, without letting my guard down. The old "we won't stop attacking until you've completely stopped moving" strategy.

The orichalcum wires had weights attached to both ends, which couldn't be hidden.

So instead, I used those weights as decoys, creating a situation where they thought they'd dodged but actually got hit.

To be specific, the final orichalcum wire that the Black Armor tried to dodge was actually "two sets" with Sahagins holding the weights hidden. There was nothing between the visible weights, so if they hadn't tried to dodge, they wouldn't have been hit.

There might have been some subtle tells — like the surrounding monsters moving oddly, or things being slightly slower, or the fact that there were no obstacles to the left and right — but expecting someone to perfectly handle all that on their first encounter would be absurd. It's the so-called first-sight kill. At the very least, they should have dodged vertically.

I read about something like this in a manga long ago. At night, "two" cars with only one headlight each charged at a victim, and the victim, thinking it was "one" car, dodged right into the other one. Though the manga's protagonist, a legendary sniper, noticed there were two engine sounds and saw through it.

Anyway, since we secured the Dummy Core after destroying the Black Armor, there was no need to go out of our way to kill Core 666. As expected, it was inside the armor after all.

"Looks like that settles it. Congratulations, Team Sovereign! You're the winners!"

[Father]'s announcement. It seems we really did win. I was a bit skeptical since that last part went so easily, but if the referee's declared it, then it's official.

Core 666 was enveloped in light and disappeared. [Father] probably called her back.

… The remaining armor scraps are mine to keep, right?

"We did it, Kehma! We're the winners! Yayyy!"

Rokuko was so happy she was bouncing up and down. What are you, a child?

"I get that you're happy, but calm down a bit."

"Fu fu fu fu fu fu fu, this is my victory and also Haku-neesama's victory. That means double the happiness! There's no way I could calm down!"

"Then calm down twice as much."

I held her head down and patted it to at least stop the bouncing.

Because I was getting glimpses under her skirt. That's just improper. I may be a leg fetishist, but that doesn't mean I dislike everything else. Thighs are nice too.

"Niku, Ichika, good work."

"I'm exhausted…"

"Time to look forward to a bonus～"

The two of them, who had been operating Golems and sending detailed instructions to the Sahagins and Gargoyles, were lying down completely drained.

Then, with our victory confirmed, Haku-san approached with a smile.

"That was quite a swift conclusion, Kehma-san. I was sure you'd deliver the finishing blow to 666."

"Ha ha ha, that wasn't necessary to achieve victory."

The real reason was that I was worried about what would happen to me—a Hero who's also a Dungeon Master—if I destroyed a Dungeon Core. But there was also no need to create extra trouble by killing a core from the Demon King faction. Besides, it would have been an indirect kill through monsters anyway, so it probably wouldn't have counted.

… No, there's still a chance it might take effect after I sleep and wake up. I can't let my guard down yet.

A communication came in from Team Demon King.

When I approved and connected, a full-length mirror-like monitor expanded in the air showing Core 666. She was still in the same red dress from when she disappeared from the dungeon moments ago.

"I lost."

"I won."

Rokuko puffed out her chest proudly with a "fufu."

Seeing that, Core 666 smiled happily.

"695. Let's have a one-on-one duel next time."

"No way, I'm quitting while I'm ahead!"

"Oh my. How lonely. Even though we finally became rivals through this Dungeon Battle."

"Best friends? Um, best friends?"

"Yes, rivals. We're already friends, aren't we? Come visit for a mock battle sometime. Let's get along without holding back, like Jiji-sama and 89-sama."

"U-um, I'm happy about being friends, but… isn't the nuance a bit off?"

Oi, Rokuko, are you sure about this? This friend of yours is the type of battle maniac who'd cut you down from behind with a smile.

Then, my eyes met Core 666's through the monitor… Can she see us the same way from her side? Well, it is a communication link, so of course she can?

"Are you my rival's Master?"

"That's right. I'm Rokuko's Master."

"I see. 695 is called Rokuko by her Master… May I call you Rokuko too? Since we're friends."

"Oh, sure. Since we're friends!"

"Fufu, thank you, Rokuko. Then you can call me Aidi too. That's what my Master calls me. Ah, Rokuko's Master-san, you can use that name too. It's probably easier for humans to say."

Saying that, Core 666 — Aidi — turned to address me directly.

"Were you the one behind those dungeon mechanisms?"

"… No, that was Haku-san's… a senior Core's work."

"So it was you after all. As I thought, the cause of Rokuko's rapid growth was her Master."

I thought about deflecting for a moment, but she saw right through me.

"Let's do this again sometime?"

"I'll have to decline."

"It was practically one-on-one this time too, but next time I'd like to keep the trash out."

"I said I'm declining? Are your ears bad?"

"Are you going to target that as a weakness next time? Being attacked on my ears… I can't wait."

Ugh, I can't get through to her. What a pain…

"Even so, you were so close, what a shame."

"Hm?"

"The room packed with monsters — the Core Room was just beyond that, wasn't it?"

"Even if you'd broken through that room, I didn't feel like we would have lost."

"Oh…? What do you mean by that? Was there more beyond it? To me, it looked like you'd thrown everything you had into that decisive battle."

… She's pretty sharp. In truth, there was only the Core Room beyond that point.

"I'll answer that, but in exchange, I want to ask one thing. How did that sword block orichalcum? Is it made of good materials?"

"Hmm. Very well. If I do say so myself, it's just ordinary magic iron. It could block orichalcum because of the magic sword ability [Indestructible] — asking something like this, could it be that human-type Cores don't have [Enhancement] in their menu?"

Enhancement… is that a thing? Have I not unlocked it, or does it not exist for us?

"At the very least, magic sword-type Cores have an [Enhancement] option where they can use DP to become stronger. I invested almost all of this Dungeon Battle's DP to obtain [Indestructible] — and that should be enough of a reward for the victor. Now it's your turn to answer."

"Ah, sure… I never thought we'd have the same idea."

"Same idea?"

"Yeah, our Core was mobile too. Though ours was escaping around the dungeon."

I'd attached it to an ammonite's shell so it could flee into the water at any time.

In fact, when Core 666 entered the Monster House, I had it move through a flooding room, going outside the dungeon (but still within the territory) to hide on a lower floor.

"… I see. So that's what you did."

"However, while moving the Dummy Core around is fine… you're an idiot, aren't you?"

"? I thought it was a good plan though? You were using it too, so calling me an idiot seems a bit much."

"Wherever the Dungeon Core was, wouldn't we have won by defeating you? Coming into our dungeon yourself defeats the whole purpose."

"… Huh?!"

"Well, I did have [Indestructible]. In a pinch, I could endure in my magic sword form… at worst, I'd just be restrained until the Dungeon Battle ended — I did say that before the Dungeon Battle, didn't I?"

"Ah, right."

Behind Aidi, I caught a glimpse of a boy with dark red hair that was almost black. If Aidi's was fresh blood, his was more like dried blood. Is that her Master? If he's human, he looks younger than me.

"Is that your Master? … Human?"

"Yeah. You too? This is my first time seeing a human Master… Given those clothes, are you from another world?"

Come to think of it, I was still wearing my jersey. Did I just give away extra information?

"Yeah, these are pajamas from my world."

"Pajamas, huh. What a strange fellow… wearing pajamas during a Dungeon Battle."

"Yep. They're easy to sleep in. Isn't it important to be relaxed when facing a challenge?"

"… Whatever. It won't matter in the future anyway… I'm cutting it."

"Oh—"

I was about to say something like "oh, see you later" when their Master drew the sword at his waist and slashed. The mirror-like monitor shattered and disappeared. Is that how you "cut" the connection?

I would have liked to interact a bit more with a fellow human Master, but…

Ah, but come to think of it, I did consider killing him during the Dungeon Battle. Since "destroying your partner's Core = the Master's death."

Oh well. We're just acquaintances now. This level of bloodthirst is normal in this world. Totally normal.

"Ah, hey Kehma. Can I connect to Team Dragon King?"

"Hm? Do you have something to talk about?"

"Just a little something."

I had no particular reason to refuse, so I gave her permission.

They must have approved too, because the mirror appeared again. Ah, a huge snake. There's a frog and a slug lined up next to it.

"What!? 695, did you come to gloat!?"

"Hey hey, how do you feel right now? Hey, how do you feel? You always, ALWAYS looked down on someone like me, but then I completely shut you out, oh wait, from your perspective it's a complete defeat. So, how do you feel? Three Cores couldn't even touch us — frustrated? Going to cry? Come on, say something!"

"Hey, did you really come just to gloat!?"

"Obviously! I won, so I'm amazing, and you're pathetic! Later!"

"Ah, hey, don't just run your mouth and—"

Click. The mirror disappeared like an old TV being turned off.

Yeah, the way it was cut earlier had to be wrong, right?

"… Phew… That felt great!"

"Y-yeah. Good for you."

"This is all thanks to you, Kehma! Thank you, Kehma!"

Rokuko wore the most open and free smile of the day, like a weight had been lifted from her chest.

I couldn't say anything to a Rokuko like that. So I just patted her head.

"Well then, congratulations again, 89 and 695. Now for the rewards."

A communication from [Father] came in… Here it is, reward time.