A Blessing in Disguise

The protective barrier's effect began to fade.

It was probably because the connection to Elza had been cut.

The pig bit down again and again, and I heard cracking sounds.

But I managed to roll away and escape before the pig could break through the barrier.

It would have been difficult without being strengthened by the blessing.

Immediately after, the pig shattered the barrier and crashed into the wall, shaking the hut.

"Here we go!"

Jill rocked her body back and forth repeatedly, using the momentum from the oscillation to pull the greatsword from the ceiling.

Riding that momentum, she spun vertically and brought her greatsword down on the pig.

The powerful blow was enough to bisect the large pig, even carrying through to the floor.

The black stone floor cracked and shattered.

The pig seemed to be defeated too. Blood spread across the floor.

"You just don't learn, do you, Jill? You got your sword stuck in the ceiling before too and it was dangerous. Your physicality is the best there is, but your lack of combat sense is your weakness."

"I just want to rampage to my heart's content… But I feel really good right now."

"That's the effect of the blessing. But that's one seriously skilled priest. Even when I was active, I never experienced anything this powerful. It's like receiving power directly from a god."

Yohane sat down and let out a big sigh.

Thanks to Elza, I had somehow managed to survive.

The immediate situation hadn't improved, but the hope that Elza and the others might somehow rescue us if we stayed alive had been born.

But that wasn't a certain method.

We should continue searching for an escape route on our end.

Doing so might open a path forward.

If we gave up, all possibilities would end right there.

"Are you hurt?"

"Yeah, somehow. Thanks for the save, Jill."

"Mm."

The hut was in tatters from Jill's rampage and the pig's charges, barely holding its shape.

Even so, having a roof was better than nothing.

Just as I thought about resting here a bit—

I heard the sound of dripping.

Straining to listen for where it came from, it was from the floor.

Following it, I found the pig's blood that had spread across the floor was seeping into a crack in the floor, and the sound was coming from beneath that.

In other words, there was a basement below this hut!

"What's wrong?"

"Look at this."

I explained what I'd found to Iefuda.

Then I grabbed the edge of the crack and pulled out several pieces.

Just as I'd imagined, below the hole was an open space.

There had been nothing inside the castle connected to this world's Master except wandering monsters.

The same was true outside.

We hadn't fully explored it, but from what we could see, there was just reddish-black earth stretching out.

The idea of underground hadn't occurred to me, but it would be quite effective for hiding, making it a strong possibility.

Humans summoned to this world were attacked by countless monsters.

Those without the power to fight like Yohane would simply be eaten, and those who could resist like Jill would eventually lose to attrition—starving or wearing down until they finally fell.

The Master just had to wait underground. It was a system for automatic victory.

For a strategy employed by something calling itself a god, it was shamefully cowardly and terribly human.

"Hahaha! So that's how it is. There was no basement inside the castle, so I totally didn't see this coming. I can't believe I got outwitted."

"Looks like your opponent out-twisted even you."

"Look at you, talking big."

Iefuda snorted.

We wedged Jill's sturdy greatsword into the gap and used leverage to forcibly widen the hole in the floor.

Eventually it became large enough for one person to pass through.

Iefuda grabbed a pebble and dropped it into the hole.

After a short pause, the sound of impact echoed.

The hole wasn't that deep.

We should be able to descend without issue.

But it was pitch black below the hole, with no hope of even the dim moonlight.

I remembered that I'd stored an extinguished candelabra in my bag and took it out.

I tied a rope to the handle, lit the candle with a flint, then slowly lowered it into the hole.

It reached the bottom of the hole and illuminated the surroundings.

This wasn't a naturally formed cavity—it had been paved with stone.

No doubt about it. There was something underground.

We tied the rope to the thickest pillar of the hut and decided to descend one at a time using it as a lifeline.

First Iefuda went down.

Then Yohane followed, with Jill bringing up the rear.

There were no footholds in the hole, so we had to descend using arm and leg strength on the rope.

This was hard work.

I resolved to train more.

Iefuda descended skillfully.

Yohane fumbled but somehow made progress.

"Hurry up."

Jill urged from above, so I looked up.

First I saw white legs and shorts.

Jill was looking down at me, her red eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness.

"I'm trying."

That was all I could manage to say.

When I was almost there, I heard a sound from above.

Then the rope that had been supporting me went slack.

Apparently the pillar I'd tied the rope to had given out.

Just as I thought "you're kidding," my feet touched the ground.

It was closer than I'd thought. But I couldn't keep my balance and stumbled and fell.

And then Jill stepped on me from above.

I couldn't help but scream.

Getting soaked in pig blood and stepped on, this was terrible.

Jill hopped down with nimble steps.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. It's my fault for being slow."

Looking up, the hole was blocked with debris.

The rope had fallen too, and there was no way to climb back up.

It seemed we had no choice but to proceed.

I stood up, brushed off the dirt, grabbed the candelabra, and checked the surroundings.

This appeared to be a square room with only one passageway.

"It's like they're telling us to come."

"Yeah. We have no choice but to go."

The three of us proceeded down the passage. Partway through it became stairs, descending even further.

The stairs had bugs and snakes crawling on them, sometimes darting out from the darkness to startle us.

"What a coward."

"I'm just not used to it. Unfortunately."

We continued for a while. Given the direction and distance, this was probably beneath the castle.

Eventually we arrived at an iron door. It looked sturdy.

Was it meant to keep anyone from entering, or to prevent something from getting out?

I tried inserting the key I'd obtained into the keyhole, and it opened.

They reused the same key. Strangely careless.

The three of us pushed with all our might, and the iron door slowly began to move.