Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 247: Memory III & IV

<Memory III>

The battle between the gigantic creatures was extremely intense.

Even the smallest of movements whipped up strong winds, and the clashes between their tremendous strength sent shock-waves rippling through the air.

There was nothing a puny human could do.

In contrast to the wolf’s movements, the wrinkled giant exhibited the sinuous movements of a human.

Before the wolf’s fangs could reach him, he drove his long claws into the wolf’s back and kicked it in the jaw, launching the wolf’s gigantic body into the air.

The wolf’s movements were linear and simple. They were exceedingly easy to read.

However, there was a but.

That was the wolf luring him in.

The wolf’s movements remained linear and simple, but he simply doubled his speed and strength when closing in.

In an instant, the tide turned.

The black wolf bit the giant’s left arm off as they passed by each other. Glaring at the giant with his golden eyes, the wolf pounced at him again and again with even greater speed, gouging out his flesh each time.

The giant fought back.

But he couldn’t stop the wolf with just one arm. He couldn’t go on the offensive. This time, it was his right arm that went flying. One of his legs was next, and the wolf snapped his jaws shut around his windpipe.

The wolf swung the giant around, whipping up typhoon-like winds.

Blood splattered across the plain. Flesh and bones were strewn all over. Even though the giant was reduced to a tattered mess, the wolf continued to inflict pain upon him every which way imaginable.

I don’t know if this is His Majesty or the “Old Ones” of legend.

All I see before me is his overwhelming power.

The monster that an ordinary person had to risk their very soul to injure is being trounced by a monster that surpasses him.

And yet, why?

Why do I feel so uneasy?

The giant’s head was twisted off. The wolf crushed the fallen head in his jaws. As the wolf chewed, bones cracked, flesh spilled out, and an eyeball tumbled to the ground. Regeneration began, but the giant was being destroyed at a faster rate than he could regenerate.

It looked like the victor had been decided.

「Your Majesty! His wings!」

From a piece of the torso that had tumbled to the ground, the wings of bone attacked the wolf.

Whether my spur-of-the-moment warning was heard or it was due to his quick reflexes, the wolf dodged the bone spears by a hair’s breadth.

He should have evaded them successfully, but his left foreleg was severed.

Off-balance, the wolf crumpled to the grassy plain. He quickly got back on his three legs, but the wound on his foreleg was scalded and burned.

As if to endure the intense pain, the wolf bared his teeth and growled.

「O King of Barbarians, do you know the bloody history of the silver coin?」

From a piece of the giant’s flesh, the prince crawled out.

He didn’t look as composed as when he fought me, but he also didn’t look as if he was close to death.

「There’s a curse called “Malignant Spirits(Soul)”. It’s an ancient curse that imposes a will upon all things」

In the prince’s right hand was a silver sword.

In his outstretched left hand was a silver coin.

「For the elves, it’s their own beauty. For the dwarves, it’s their skill with metal. For the little ones, it’s their flowing poetry and tales. For the beastkin, it’s blood and beliefs. And for humans, it imposed the curse, “Perish, O beast!” upon silver」

He flicked the silver coin with his thumb.

It was a mere silver coin, but it became a ray of light reaching for the wolf’s face.

The wolf dodged just in time. He had dodged to the side, but his left eye lay on the path of the light. The wolf’s gigantic body was thrown off balance, but he braved it and stayed on his feet――――――and then readied himself, opened his mouth wide, and lunged at the prince.

「O Beast, your beast is stronger than my beast. But that’s all」

「NOooo!」

Mustering the last of my strength, I threw the broken blade of my katana at him.

With great ease, my last-ditch effort was caught between two fingers and thwarted. I had failed to hinder him in any way.

My legs were no longer listening to me. The distance between us was too far for me to crawl.

The flash of sliver flying through the air blinded me for one instant.

As if it was a foregone conclusion, the silver sword cleaved through the beast.

「Malignant silver destroys beasts and dispels all bestial curses」

The black wolf was cut in two in mid-air.

With a thud, his flesh fell to the ground and his entrails spilled out.

「My【beast】and your【beast】. They’re different in purpose, origin, and everything else, but according to Eliza, this is something called convergent evolution. When completely different creatures attain the same level of power, they inevitably develop similar forms and methods」

There’s no way I can accept such a ridiculous outcome.

He’s not the kind of person who would die in a place like this.

「You lost the moment you tried to fight beast with beast. Who do you think I am? How many millions of beasts do you think I’ve slain? There’s no way a beast-hunter prince will lose to a beast」

That man is the leader of the―――――army. The child of―――――.

「H, uh?」

Why did I just leave out words when I was trying to say something? Wait, huh?

“Was there something that I was trying to remember but couldn’t?”So,

So, this is the loss of bonds that Misuranika-sama told me about. The first thing it takes is my memories. And in all likelihood, the people I forget should also forget me.

I was resolved for this.

I’ve even prepared a countermeasure.

But it’s horrifying.

I’ve never felt more terrified in my life.

「Not………………not yet」

And yet, there are still things I remember. This guy killed His Majesty. He’s the one person who must die here. If I don’t defeat him in this place, everyone connected to me will die, even if the bonds that tie us together are already gone. Simply by remembering that, I can fight.

Dragging one leg behind me, I headed toward the enemy.

I held my broken katana up with one hand.

「I’ve grown bored of your persistence. Time for you to die」

I swung my katana.

I heard a thump and felt a soft sensation on my chest.

There on my chest, right where my heart was, a silver sword had been plunged in.

Curiously, there was no pain.

I could feel the coldness of the sword as it was pulled out and see the red fountain of liquid that followed. I was amazed that there was still so much blood left inside my body.

A sense of drowsiness rapidly overtook me. The sleep of death, from which I would never awaken, called to me from a place deeper than the bowels of the earth.

「Hmm, so it doesn’t burn you, huh? Despite everything, you were never a beast, I see」

My knees buckled.

Falling forward, I sank into a pool of my own blood.

It’s dark.

The darkest stretch of the world before the dawn unfolded before my eyes.

Ah yes, I’ve seen this sight before.

At the very beginning, when I first came to this world.

I sank into the sea.

Into the sea of memories.

Deeper and deeper into the ocean of darkness.

<Memory IV>

Going back in time to a dream of falling.I was falling through an empty space with no light

Into the depths of what seemed to be a bottomless eternity.

The howl of the wind was noisy. The speed at which I was falling was enough to make anyone cower with fear, but I had gotten used to it, and as I continued to fall, I became calm.

I turned on the light on my wristwatch to illuminate my surroundings, but I couldn’t see a single thing.

Eventually, I saw “something big” writhing in the depths.

It looked like a whale.

No, it resembled a whale, but it was actually a huge tentacle.

Illuminated by the light was its pale skin. Perhaps it had noticed the light, but the head of the tentacle opened like a blooming flower. What appeared was “something” that just barely resembled a person, and at the sight of it, I screamed my throat hoarse.

Fear alone would not suffice to describe what I felt.

There was something more terrifying than death here. Without any conscious thought, I prayed to「God」―――――――

『Answer me. He who calls my name』Accompanied by a tremendous headache, I heard a voice speaking to me inside my head.

My fall slowed and came to a halt.

I landed on the tips of tentacles bunched together to form something like a pillar.

There were six tentacle pillars lined up in a row, including my own. In front of me was an alluring part of a woman’s body that was both gigantic and pale-skinned. The light of my wristwatch was too small to illuminate her entire body.

『Answer me』「Urghh」

Something inside my head snapped.

「I, I never called your name. You’re mistaken」

『Then will you pledge your faith?』

The pain eased a little.

『If not, will you follow these people?』

「Huh?」

Just like me, there was a person on each of the five other tentacle pillars. They were the team members who had gone through the portal to the alternate world with me. Except for me, they were all professionals of some kind.

「Hey you, are you okay?」

The woman on the pillar beside mine is showing concern for me, but her reaction is strange. Can’t they hear that voice?

「Hey, Reserve, calm down and sit tight. Let’s see what the enemy does first」

Said the man with the scarred face.

「Team leader, explosives! Small arms won’t do anything to something of this size」

「Where are the Makinas? What about our other supplies?」

「Everybody, calm down! Chill the hell out! Wait for an opportunity to」

『Silence』

「Umm, everyone, could you quiet down a little please?」

The god(?)’s voice sounded displeased. My suggestion was answered with a yell.

「How the heck do you expect me to calm down?! No one told me about any of this! We were supposed to arrive at―――――」

With a bang, a person exploded.

One of the professionals had disappeared.

『Silence』

The death of one of them was followed by three AKs opening fire. Muzzle flashes lit up the darkness and filled it with the din of gunfire. Against an opponent like this, they were so unreliable that they might as well have been firecrackers.

『Be gone at once』

All the men who had pulled the triggers of their guns exploded in a mist of blood, except for the team leader.

After emptying his AK, the team leader calmly drew his Government handgun from his side holster and continued firing. He fired shot after shot, and right when he was about to reload, he was crushed.

The strong man died, squashed like a bug.

The woman on the pillar beside mine looked to me for salvation for a split second, then………………remembering that I was just a reserve member, despair crept over her face.

「No, don’t!」

Before my voice could reach her, she put the Government in her mouth and blew her brains out.

「………You’ve got to be kidding me」

What the heck, you guys, don’t leave the reserve member behind by himself.

I’m in too much despair to despair. What the hell is this? The place we were supposed to arrive at is a plain in the alternate world.

No one said anything about being attacked by a monster out of nowhere and getting wiped out. Is the story about going to the alternate world a cover for some kind of ritual sacrifice? This is the unfunniest joke I’ve ever come across. That president, I’m going to kill him.

『O you who have faith yet lack a god, why is it that you can hear my voice?』

「Huh? Well, I can hear you just fine, but first―――――」

Despite my attempt to appear calm, my voice sounded shrill and nervous.

『Answer me. I will not ask you a second time』

The tentacles at my feet opened up.

「Woahhh!」

Nearly falling, I grabbed the edge of a tentacle and clung on for dear life. Inside the tentacle’s open mouth were a series of teeth arranged like those of a blender. If I fell into such a place, I would be turned into mincemeat in an instant.

「I’d love to answer your questions and whatnot, but! First of all, you need to state your question clearly! I demand a clarification!」

『………………』

There was no reply, but I could sense her displeasure.

The tentacles began to close in.

「Please wait, my god」

I was saved by someone who had just alighted on top of the tentacle.

A young girl with long black hair grabbed my hand and lifted me up……using the four tentacles that extended from a portion of her hair. She was facing away from me so I couldn’t see her face. All I could tell was that she was petite and slender.

『Speak, my offshoot god. Even though you have abandoned your divinity, you are still one of my own』

「I’m very grateful」

The way she bows her head reverently………………doesn’t ring a bell. I don’t know this person at all. Or rather, can I even call her a person(human)?

「I shall offer a suggestion. “This man can be of use.” He will surely defeat the man who betrayed you and stole your power, my god」

『………………』

I don’t quite understand that suggestion. Who is it that you want me to defeat?

『What will you stake on this?』

「My life」

「Hang on, I don’t know what you two want, or rather, I have no idea what you’re even talking about」

「Even if he fails, all that will happen is the death of one withered kin and one foreigner of unknown origin. None of which will inconvenience you, my god」

I was ignored.

『………As you wish』

「Wait」

Like I said, don’t leave me behind.

「I didn’t say that I’d do it! I don’t even know who or what you want me to defeat! There’s no way I can accept this so easily. Give me an explanation!」

Forgetting who it was I was dealing with, I raised my voice.

I’d rather die than be dragged into some unknown situation and used for some unknown reason.

「Then, let me request it of you. Please defeat the man who stole the power of my god」

The tentacle woman continued to face the other way as she talked to me.

Though she did save me, I can’t accept her request without knowing the reason behind it.

「I came to the alternate world at the request of a company. I don’t know if this is indeed the alternate world, but let’s talk this over after I’ve completed that request first」

「That man will be a hindrance to the completion of that request. He’s something like a festering giant blocking the path that is your life. He’s someone you’ll undoubtedly have to defeat」

「Don’t decide my life for me」

「I’m not deciding it for you. I simply know it」

「You……… Who are you?」

I grabbed the woman’s shoulder. Her skin was cold and wet to the touch. I hadn’t noticed it because of the darkness and her hair, but she appeared to be completely naked.

I don’t know any tentacled women with exhibitionist tendencies. Or rather, such a woman definitely doesn’t exist in my original world.

「Who “we” are is―――――」

I got a brief glimpse of her face when she turned around.

She’s the cute type. But I don’t recognize her face. It’s a face that I don’t recognize, but it gives me a sense of déjà vu. Something about her face is similar to someone else’s, but I cannot remember who it is that she reminds me of.

It feels like it’s something primordial in the depths of my memory.

「――――――something you’ll surely find out in the future」

My vision inverted.

Gravity had changed, and my body had flipped upside down as it floated into the air.

「For now, this is goodbye. And, see you soon」

「Hey, at least tell me your name!」

I fell upwards.

I fell faster and faster.

Before long, I was falling at such breakneck speed that I felt myself losing consciousness. At the very last moment, the loud voice rang out again.

『Very well. In accordance with the wishes of my offshoot god, I shall lend you my name and my power. I will also send one of my kin to help you. However, I will permit you to use my power only when fighting that man. This memory will also be left in my care for the time being. If the words of my offshoot god are correct, fate will lead you towards battle. Only then will this covenant be fulfilled』「Who on earth are you? Who is she? What exactly are you saying is there in the alternate world?」『My name is―――――――』God gave me her name. But the memory of everything that happened during this time was sealed away.

I fell into the alternate world all alone.

No, I suppose I wasn’t alone.

And I found myself lying down and looking up at the sky.

After so many encounters with people and so many adventures, I’m now lying on the ground, looking out into a dark world.

Death is just around the corner for me, but I still haven’t reached it yet. My heart, which should have been ruined, is still beating weakly.

「What’s this?」

Seeing me still alive, the man who stole a miracle from a god had an astonished look on his face.

「Why are you still alive?」

「There’s a god I want you to meet. Her name is―――――――」

From the abyss of death, the name of that god came back to me.

「Come, Grizunas of the Abyss!」

Finally! This moment has finally arrived! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this! So, forgive me for the long essay that follows.

First off, the definition of “abyss”: a deep or seemingly bottomless chasm

Oh, our MC is falling through a dark seemingly bottomless space! I wonder who could be out there in this dark seemingly bottomless space?! I think you get my point about how obvious it is when we look back at it. Don’t forget that Misuranika-sama had also hinted that she wasn’t Souya’s first god.

Also, I’m pretty sure the author was poking fun at how we readers have become so desensitized to convenient things happening to help the MCs acclimatize themselves to the isekai that we didn’t stop for a second to question the pure absurdity of a person showing up to grant the MC permission to use the land he’s on, help him and share knowledge with him, and become his friend ON THE VERY FIRST MORNING he arrives in the alternate world. The odds for that have got to be astronomical…unless he was sent there specifically to help the MC.

And I don’t know if you’re familiar with what it’s like to have your fight-or-flight response triggered, but your heart beats really fast and in a min or two, you’ll find yourself sweating. Now, do you think it’s normal for a person to be drenched in sweat the instant after he got a shock? Not very likely, right? It usually takes a while. Have you realized what it is I’m getting at? The author did a very genius thing with the very first chapter of this story. They put the ending of the chapter first, with the key detail included, then started over and progressed the story until the same ending is reached, but this time it’s told without the key detail. After that long middle portion, you’ll have forgotten about the details in the ending at the start, and hence you’ll miss the fact that they’ve excluded the fact that he was sweating and had fevered skin in the second ending as that would have stood out as unnatural. And that’s how the author has left a huge hint to one of the biggest mysteries to the story in the very prologue of this entire story.

By the way, don’t forget the pale-skinned young girl who showed up last to the gathering of gods and the fact that Souya experienced another loss of memory right after. At that time, this was both a hint that there might be more periods missing from Souya’s memories and that Souya has a connection to a god that we and Souya himself don’t know about.

Now, that’s it for all the foreshadowing stuff. His Majesty died?! Well, the prince did crawl out of the giant after it was “killed”, so maybe his Majesty is still alive. To clarify, His Majesty gets the ability to become a beast from the power of the old ones while the prince gets it from the curse in their blood. They have completely different origins, yet their power is similar. This is the concept behind convergent evolution, where completely different organisms can independently evolve to have similar traits, like how dolphins and sharks look relatively similar despite being entirely unrelated.

And who’s the tentacle woman? Who’s this person or persons that has saved Souya from dying before everything starts and seems to know his future? Muhaha, we’ve been given to the answer to one of the biggest mysteries and yet it comes with more puzzling mysteries!

I believe this is something that won’t be explicitly discussed in the story, but the power the prince stole from Grizunas is probably related to the magistrates, isn’t it? After all, Geto-san smelled the scent of the abyss from them and they can be killed by things with the power of the abyss.

Finally, remember how Souya sees dreams of other people’s memories? Since Grizunas has the power to manipulate memories, it’s also my theory that this is a power Souya got from Grizunas, also because it doesn’t fit the powers of the other gods. Which in itself is a probably a hint from way back that Souya has a god no one knows about.

And so, I want to ask you, did Misuranika approach Souya precisely because it’s his destiny to fight the prince? Did she already know?

I’ve said a lot already but there’s something I really want to point out. “In front of me was an alluring part of a woman’s body that was both gigantic and pale-skinned.” Was Souya talking to Grizunas’ boob or something? XD I mean, yeah, it’s fairly logical to have the ants you’re observing somewhere around chest level…

Well, we’re getting close to the end! How will Grizunas help turn the tide? Stay tuned!