Laois fired his Clutch Claw toward Kairo Retsu's position. His body launched upward, and with a powerful yank from Kairo, he was flung even higher.
Kairo then fired his own Clutch Claw at Laois from below, and the two repeated the maneuver—leapfrogging their way to the tabletop at top speed.
Thistle was still deep in Mana Inebriation, unable to recover.
Ever since creating this dungeon, Thistle had never once experienced such a state… But now, after transforming into a halfling, just two spells had been enough to throw him into it.
"Shaaaaaa—!!!"
A few small Wyverns were still standing guard around Thistle, glaring warily at Kairo Retsu who had just reached the table.
As for Laois… the Invisibility Armor he wore hadn't worn off yet, so the Wyverns hadn't noticed him at all.
"Seven minutes left."
Kairo checked the time and grinned widely.
This was militarized hunting!
Once the target had been confirmed, it had only taken them three minutes to reverse an overwhelming disadvantage into a tactical advantage!
As for those remaining Wyverns…
"FORCEFUL EJECTION!!"
Kairo reloaded his Slinger with a particularly pungent round.
A critical tool in every hunter's desperate kit—crafted using Monster Dung, this foul-smelling projectile drives away monsters that don't want to fight…
The legendary Dungbomb!!!
"Take this—eat s*** and leave!!!"
Kairo hurled the bomb toward the Wyverns.
The overwhelming stench clashed with their instinct to protect Thistle. Ultimately, forced by the overpowering stink, the Wyverns retched violently and flew off.
"Gourmet King, your turn."
Kairo looked to Laois. "Time to take the stage."
"..."
Laois stared at the breathless Thistle—trapped in Mana Inebriation and now suffocating from the Dungbomb's aftersmell—with a conflicted expression.
At last, he held his breath, stepped forward, and wrestled Thistle's arms behind his back. Despite the feeble resistance, he bound him tightly using rope he always carried.
From the moment the transforming mushroom vial was shattered to now…
Total time: 4 minutes, 7 seconds.
Mad Sorcerer Thistle: Captured.
Laois let out a sigh of relief.
If they'd tried to fight the dragons head-on, even with both the hunters and his own party combined, there was no guarantee of victory—especially if Thistle kept summoning monsters endlessly.
So the only way to ensure safety was to neutralize Thistle immediately.
"Can't believe it actually went this smoothly."
Laois spoke while collecting the two tomes sealing the Winged Lion.
Now that the Mad Sorcerer was restrained, the dragons would soon lose direction and begin fighting among themselves.
But…
Laois pondered.
Was their surprising success also due to some behind-the-scenes push from the Winged Lion?
The dungeon responds to one's desires, luring them ever deeper.
If everything in the dungeon goes too smoothly… that's when you should be the most alert.
"Guildmaster."
Laois turned to Kairo Retsu. "We should head back and find a way to restore this room to normal."
"With the Winged Lion here, that should be fine," Kairo replied. "You're not going to talk with Thistle?"
"I can't convince him."
Laois recalled the future cutscenes he had seen—of his dialogues with Thistle.
"Yeah, Thistle seems pretty obsessed," Kairo nodded. "So we're sticking to the original plan?"
Laois paused. "…Yeah."
After their brief conversation, Kairo and Laois cautiously approached the edge of the table to survey the dragon battle below.
Kazuma and Tanjiro's Wyvern Riding had ended. Joseph Joestar had helped Naofumi draw away the attacking dragons, giving Naofumi time to lead Marcille and the others to safety. Joseph himself had vanished using Invisibility Armor.
The dragons Thistle summoned had now, after the mushroom effect wore off, lost command and started fighting each other.
Thistle finally began to recover—but he was tightly bound, and his mouth was gagged and tied shut with cloth, preventing him from chanting any spells.
After avoiding a few dragons along the way, Kairo and Laois returned to the group—dragging the Mad Sorcerer with them.
"I… brought back the Mad Sorcerer."
Laois, conflicted, looked at his four teammates. "But the dragons… and this oversized house… still haven't been dealt with…"
His party stared in disbelief at the tightly trussed-up Thistle lying on the ground.
That Mad Sorcerer… now right in front of them, bound like a hog.
The surreal sight made them wonder if they'd fallen into some kind of monster illusion.
Senshi, however, had a different concern than the others.
He thought Thistle looked too scrawny—he must not have eaten well in a long time.
"Everyone."
Laois turned to Marcille and the others with a serious expression. "I'm going to remove the gag from his mouth now."
"Wait!" Chilchuck's eyes widened. "You're not just going to kill him? That's the Mad Sorcerer! What if he uses some kind of dark magic!?"
Laois looked toward Marcille with trust. "It's fine. With Marcille here, and so many of us around—he won't be able to resist."
As he said this, Joseph Joestar had already drawn his Dual Blades and placed them at Thistle's neck.
"Leave it to me! If this bastard does anything suspicious—I'll take him out on the spot!"
"!"
Thistle's eyes burned with fury as he glared at Laois and the others. He didn't even seem to care about the blades at his neck—ready to go down fighting the moment he could speak.
But then…
Kairo Retsu stepped forward.
"See, that's too crude—resorting to violence!"
He clenched his fists. "You need to understand! We're hunters full of love and peace! We must believe that through words—we can touch others' hearts and truly be heard!"
Raising both arms high, Kairo declared: "Let's open our hearts and have a sincere talk with this Mad Sorcerer!"
"…?"
As Kairo said this, Naofumi Iwatani, Joseph Joestar, and Kazuma—now familiar with what kind of person Kairo was—slowly raised question marks over their heads.
Kairo, however, leaned close to Thistle, his face beaming with a bright smile.
"Thistle, if you were to… die by accident—then the people of Golden Country… and your search for that beloved king of yours… everything would vanish into nothing, wouldn't it?"
"You wouldn't want to see your king and the others… slowly turn to dust inside this dungeon… would you?"
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium