"Splat!"
Like rotten cotton wadding.
That terrifying tentacle, hemmed in by the psychic power, softened at a frightening rate, half its strength draining away.
Devimon seized this brief instant and swung a power-surging Death Claw at the head of the tentacle.
As one side waned and the other waxed.
Devimon's Death Claw actually pierced clean through the tentacle's body in an instant, savagely ripping that whole chunk of flesh to shreds!
Corrosive fluid capable of dissolving a Golden Beast gushed out from the wound.
Pressing its advantage, Devimon hauled hard along the torn wound, actually ripping the tentacle's eight-petaled maw into a "nine-petaled maw"!
"Roar!"
It jerked its head back violently, letting out a furious howl.
Then its left arm drove straight in, and using both hands together it went on tearing; the wound grew larger and larger, and the slime gushing out wildly pooled across the ground.
But before it could have its fill, it once again heard Dark's voice come from behind: "Retreat!"
Without a single sliver of hesitation.
Devimon abruptly let go of that tentacle, stamped its foot, and went hurtling backward in retreat.
An instant later.
From the mouth of that tentacle there suddenly erupted a terrifying water orb composed of corrosive fluid.
The orb burst with a "bang" in midair, scattering in every direction the corrosive fluid that could so easily corrode even a Golden Beast.
At Dark's warning, both Diana and Rose pulled their heads back in time.
But Devimon still took the splatter of corrosive fluid head-on.
Even with its claws crossed and its demon wings wrapped around its whole body, it still couldn't block it completely.
The claws, condensing ever more dark power, were not corroded, but its already battered wings suffered a grievous blow.
A red glow flashed in its eyes, and its murderous aura abruptly surged.
Dark power, wreathed in thick black mist, spread from the base of its demon wings all the way to the tips, flaring open in fury.
"Boom!"
With a spin underfoot, the dark power gathered within the demon wings turned into two beams of light and erupted forth violently!
It was the Ultimate Move—"Razor Wing"!
"Boom boom boom!"
The immensely destructive beams shot precisely into the split gap at the tip of the tentacle, dealing a fatal blow to its interior!
"Screee—"
A piercing shriek, shrill as an insect's chirp, came from within the tentacle, and it abruptly shrank back.
"So you do know fear after all!"
Devimon at once laughed wildly in its heart, beating its wings to press its advantage.
"Stop!"
The command from behind once again seized its reins.
Dark poked his head out from behind the wall.
The Gatomon following close at his side pushed off underfoot and leapt out in a single bound.
Nimble of form, it dodged the corrosive fluid on the ground and swiftly arrived at Devimon's side, then flicked its foot, kicking that rusty sword up and catching it in its hand.
"Time to go."
Dark's mind was extraordinarily clear, not the least bit greedy for merit or eager to keep fighting.
With the assistance of Shuckle's "[Power Split]" and the "help" of Eevee (Pride II · New), Devimon had successfully dealt a grievous wound to that terrifying tentacle.
But that was merely one tentacle.
Just what was hidden at the bottom of the abyss?
More tentacles?
Or an even more terrifying monster?
Everything remained unknown.
The stories of adventurers probing the unknown, braving peril, and crossing through death to achieve success are too numerous to count.
But in fact, far more people have fallen along the road of probing the unknown.
"Adventurers never adventure" is a cautionary saying.
Facing peril in a state of utter ignorance can only be a helpless choice made under duress.
Not everyone is a protagonist who can "lock" their HP.
What's more, the greatest treasure was already in hand.
If not leaving now, then when?
...
"Tch."
Devimon shot one last vicious glare at the tentacle that had shrunk back to the edge of the abyss, and retreated backward while keeping its posture squarely facing the enemy.
The Gatomon, having snatched up the rusty sword, used Devimon as a shield and had already swiftly returned to Dark's side.
That tentacle was like a cobra swaying its head; though it had withdrawn to the edge of the abyss, it was still biding its time, waiting for a chance to move.
The danger had not passed.
The wriggling sounds that came now and then from the bottom of the abyss grated on the nerves.
It seemed as though something was about to awaken.
Just as Devimon's steps had retreated to the edge of the corner, the bottom of the abyss suddenly let out an even more piercing shriek.
A tentacle a whole size larger than the previous one came surging out, trailing tidal waves of black mist.
Pitch-black liquid poured down off its body, "sloshhh," flowing back into the abyss.
Dark grew tense in an instant.
"You go on ahead," he said to Diana and Rose.
"Eh?" Diana had her doubts.
But Rose immediately pulled her by the hand, showing more than enough good sense in this moment shrouded in danger.
"Wait!"
Yet just as she was about to act, she suddenly noticed something amiss.
That newly emerged tentacle had not, as it happened, charged toward their side; instead it split open that hideous eight-petaled maw and pounced murderously toward the passage opening in the left-hand wall!
"No!"
The scream coming from that passage opening made the three—Dark and the others—realize that Virt and his group had come back again!
Perhaps out of curiosity about the abyss, perhaps wanting to know who had lured the tentacle away, or perhaps simply because they weren't comfortable unless they were courting death.
After their narrow escape from death, the three of Virt's group had actually crept cautiously back.
Emma Metis was the most intelligent of the three, but unfortunately she was also the one with the heaviest curiosity.
As they say, curiosity killed the cat.
Excessive curiosity can drive a person to better themselves.
It can also lead a person to their doom.
When she proposed wanting to sneak back and take a look, Virt actually didn't stop her either.
And Robert had no say in this three-person group...
He could only desperately clutch the four Magic Guide Cards left behind by Vampire Vlad, making ready to gamble his life at the critical moment.
The three, having crept back to the passage opening, observed their surroundings tensely.
The abyss shrouded in black mist filled their hearts with dread.
The treasure chest on that platform stirred greed in their hearts.
The Devimon battling the tentacle to the death within the other passage opening made them realize it was Dark Demon who was on the move.
Upon confirming that it was Dark there, even Virt, for no clear reason, felt a sliver of security.
But what came with it was an ever more intense spirit of competition!
Why?
Why was it always like this whenever danger struck?
Virt clenched his fist hard.
When he had been hunted by the tentacle, he hadn't been completely driven into a dead end.
He had still had a chance to make a desperate, last-ditch counterkill.
...
Virt, Emma, Robert—the three each harbored their own thoughts.
It wasn't until the second, thicker and longer tentacle emerged from within the abyss that fresh panic resurfaced on the three's faces.
In that moment, they still thought this newly appeared tentacle was going to help the earlier tentacle that was at a disadvantage.
Little did they expect that this tentacle would, without the slightest hesitation, pounce straight at them!
"No!"
The scream came from Robert.
But this time he had already gripped a Magic Guide Card in his hand, and the mana within his body instinctively poured into that Magic Guide Card capable of unleashing a great swarm of Blood Bats.
For some reason, these Magic Guide Cards, which when used by Vlad had required no extra injection of mana, had to be activated with a large infusion of mana when he used them.
For someone like him, whose talent for mana was quite ordinary, this was a very bad sign.
During this period, he had also tried handing these four Magic Guide Cards to Virt to try out.
But all four Magic Guide Cards refined by Vampire Vlad carried strong personal imprints; though Virt could elicit feedback from them, he still couldn't use them normally.
Robert frantically recited the incantation of "Normal Summoning," and as the large infusion of mana poured in, a crimson mist had already welled up across the face of that Magic Guide Card, phantoms of blood-colored bats flitting about within the mist.
This Magic Guide Card named "Bloodthirsty Assault" had a spell whose foundation derived from the domain of Blood Magic; it could unleash a great swarm of Blood Bats to attack, and once bitten by a Blood Bat, one would have part of one's blood drained away.
Its base power was somewhat lacking, but its winning point was that the number of Blood Bats was sufficiently enormous.
Even if it couldn't be used to attack, it could create an overwhelming swarm of bats to obscure the line of sight and thereby escape.
The Vampire Vlad of old had precisely adopted this usage.
And Robert, likewise, adopted this usage!
The Blood Bats that flew out in a swarm surged toward that tentacle like a hive of bees, their dense, teeming numbers actually blocking up the entire passage.
Yet before that tentacle, this was nothing more than plugging one's ears to steal a bell.
That tentacle merely hesitated for a brief instant before charging once more into the passage, crushing the swarm of bats into a bloody froth.
"Run!"
Emma had by this moment already rounded the corner, and she hurriedly poked her head out and shouted.
Robert glanced at the tentacle that had broken through the swarm of bats, and as his face twisted with fear, he spun around in panic.
But the moment he turned, he saw Virt standing there tensely, both hands gripping a Magic Guide Card as though holding a sword.
From that Magic Guide Card, a gradually intensifying golden light was being released outward!
It was the "Holy Sword"!
Before being used, the "Holy Sword Spell" belonged to the category of Spell Cards—that is, the category of magic cards.
But once used a single time, that Magic Guide Card would record the information and become a "Weapon Card" exclusive to the user.
Virt's "Holy Sword Spell" had truly and genuinely transformed into the "Holy Sword"!
"The Holy Sword...should be pretty strong, right?"
Robert, who had never witnessed the Holy Sword's strength with his own eyes, could only imagine it so for the moment.
As he ran past Virt's side, he happened to hear Virt's furious roar ring out by his ear: "In the name of Virt Gold, I summon the Holy Sword!"
In an instant, the golden light of that "Holy Sword" abruptly surged into the shape of a sword, and a Holy Sword of light with a hazy form appeared in Virt's hands.
Hero Bright's Holy Sword, as part of his statue, has stood year-round in every plaza within the kingdom's borders; there is scarcely anyone who has not seen it.
But the "Holy Sword" in Virt's hands had no complete form; clearly it was still at some early stage, merely the hazy silhouette of a sword of light.
Even so, however.
From within the intense light the Holy Sword released, a powerful holy aura still erupted forth.
That tentacle, bathed in this golden light, actually halted its movements.
Virt gripped the Holy Sword with both hands, a single bead of sweat at his temple slowly rolling down.
He had truly and genuinely summoned his own Holy Sword.
But what was he to do next?
Charge in with the Holy Sword and hack away wildly?
Hack away wildly at such a huge tentacle monster?
Without any systematic instruction in swordsmanship, possessing the Holy Sword in vain yet not knowing how to use it, Virt's heart grew tense as never before.
But he didn't dare move.
This moment of standing off against that tentacle.
It was like staring at a snake.
As if the instant he shifted his gaze away, that snake would lunge and bite.
But that tentacle was no cobra.
Even if he didn't shift his gaze away, it would still lunge and bite!
From utter stillness to utter motion, the tentacle abruptly sprang into action, without any warning.
An alarm blared long in Virt's heart, and instinctively he raised the sword of light in his hands and brought it slashing down!
"Aaaah—"
...
The return of Virt's three-person group made Dark unable to help frowning.
He had gone to such trouble to lure the first tentacle over through the decision of "opening the chest," only for Virt's three, far from fleeing, to come back again.
"This isn't them being at odds with their own lives—it's them being at odds with Professor Nini's credits!"
Dark couldn't help but heave a sigh.
The "Dungeon Escape Device" was a single-use item, and each one was worth no small sum.
When students entered a dungeon, they usually rented them.
Although the upperclassmen could afford to buy them, they were unwilling to spend such a large sum of credits all at once.
They would always cling to the fantasy that, if they never ended up needing it, wouldn't it be a dreadful loss?
So there weren't many people who bought their own "Dungeon Escape Device."
And once a student short on credits inadvertently triggered a "Dungeon Escape Device" inside a dungeon, that was the moment they shouldered a debt...
The "Dungeon Escape Device" was sold internally by the academy; after going into debt the interest wasn't high, but it wasn't nonexistent either.
If not for the threat of "interest compounding upon interest," probably many students would simply default and refuse to pay.
The academy was also counting on this to create some pressure and spur the students to improve.
Of course, from the students' standpoint, it was very hard to understand the academy's painstaking intentions; they would only grumble about why interest had to be added on top.
This time the "Dungeon Escape Device" had been rented by Professor Nini, so of course it would be she who had to pay it back...
Because of the existence of the "Dungeon Escape Device," Dark wasn't overly worried about those three's safety.
But Rose and Diana did not have minds as mature as his.
After discovering that the new tentacle had charged into that passage, Rose anxiously said: "Dark, what do we do now?"
Dark weighed the distance between the two sides, glanced again at the tentacle on his own side, and said in a low voice: "A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit."
Besides, I'm not their nanny.
Rose: "True enough."
But Virt's shout as he held the sword had stirred something in Rose; she gripped the Magic Guide Card in her hand and at once hesitated again: "There'll be a shadow left on them, won't there."
Dark made out the Magic Guide Card in her hand, and his mind stirred; he said: "Summon it."
Rose: "Hm?"
Dark: "Send the Magic Guide Spirit over."
...
People have an evil side, and they have a good side too.
The fickleness of the world will grind down a person's edges, and sometimes make them afraid to give off goodwill.
But there are few who would go and stop another's good deeds.
Every act of kindness made after careful deliberation is precious and rare.
If in one's youth one can grow up surrounded by goodwill, then even after growing up and witnessing the evil side, one need not lose one's original heart.
...
As Rose summoned forth the "Mobius Bug," Devimon immediately understood, grabbed hold of it, and used "Teleportation."
Virt Gold had thus welcomed his savior.
...
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