This development is beyond unexpected.
There are only two ruins left! The Christia Knights aren't able to participate this time, as it's not as much of an emergency as the Great Tsunami, and there's still some danger that could arise in their own country.
I was considering whether Dirk and I should just handle it ourselves when my clumsy niece arrived.
“I got delayed getting ready! Where should I go!?”
“I'll leave the Dungeon of Forgetfulness to you!”
“Aye aye, Ma’am!”
Rinka immediately teleported. That leaves only the Dungeon of Regret, near the Capital. I had wanted to pair Rinka with Dirk if possible, but Dirk insisted on staying with me because he was worried. I didn’t bother asking what exactly he was worried about.
“Dirk, let’s go!!”
“Yeah!”
We teleported to the Dungeon of Regret, and the situation was already quite dire. The adventurers had been holding back the monsters somehow, but things were looking grim, and most of them were exhausted.
“Come on! My cute little ones!”
My beast summons and spirit allies started going wild. While I left the fighting to Dirk, the beasts, and the spirits, I focused on healing the wounded.
After finishing the rescue efforts, Dirk and I rushed deeper into the Dungeon, taking down monsters one after another.
However, it's strange. We've never had multiple Dungeons go into a Stampede at the same time before. Why is this happening? I started probing for magic energy.
And then, I discovered a magic presence that felt... familiar.
“No way!?”
“What’s wrong, Rosarin?”
Dirk asked while fighting off monsters.
“Well... this might actually be our fault…”
“Huh?”
In the depths of the Dungeon, something grotesque was writhing—a hideous mass of flesh.
“Help...”
A boy who looked like an adventurer weakly called out for help.
“Chita! Come here!”
I reflexively called for Chita… but Chita had already fused with Lavi to become Lavita, so he wasn’t around anymore. Well, technically, he still exists, but it’s complicated.
“Muga~! Mmmph!”
“Oh my, ufufu~”
Huh??
Two people responded to my call. Wait, why is my Mother-in-law here?? More importantly, why is Lavita tied up?
“Why is Lavita tied up?”
“Mmph, mmmph!!”
Lavita was all wrapped up like a burrito. I untied the bindings for now.
“Why were you all tied up?”
“Rinka said she was going to help you, and when I said I’d go with her, this happened.”
““………””
Oh, right. Rinka did say she was “delayed.” I can just imagine her making a goofy face right now. I’ll have to deal with her later.
“Well, Rinka was just worried about you, and she didn’t have time to persuade you otherwise. Besides, Lavita, you do look kind of weak!”
I tried to defend Rinka, but Lavita got mad. These young ones sure have short tempers these days.
“Hey!? I’m not that fragile, you know!?”
“Uh, um… help…?”
“Shut it!”
“Oh my, Fufufu~”
A golden light emitted from both the enraged Lavita and my Mother-in-law, enveloping the mass of flesh. The flesh dissolved away, leaving only the boy, who had some skin melted off but was otherwise lightly injured. I gave him some spare clothes since his lower half was completely exposed. We also checked the other two people who had emerged from the flesh. They had some skin and hair melted, but thankfully no life-threatening injuries. Dirk gave one of the fully-naked men some clothes and carried him.
The boy was an adventurer. He said his companions had sacrificed themselves to save him and were devoured first. After sending the boy back to the surface, I turned to Lavita and asked,
“What was that thing?”
“Probably an Evil, no?”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
“Most likely, yes~”
Even my Mother-in-law agreed. Wait, she knows about Evil too??
“Kuruppo~!”
“Poppo-chan!?”
A white dove landed on my head. Oh, today it’s a dove, huh?
“I will explain. Due to the sheer amount of dark energy, the God of Love, Kurarin-sam, couldn't keep up with purification, so the overflowing miasma crystallized into this form.”
“………… Is this my fault?”
“Rosarin?”
“W-Was it because I didn’t power up Kurarin fast enough?”
“That’s not it. Dungeons were originally created by the Gods to periodically release the world’s corruption. The fact that you’re even helping the Gods right now is already an irregularity. This should have been Kurarin-sama’s duty.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Stampedes like this will likely continue to occur in various countries. The only one who can stop them is the one chosen as the Hero Princess, loved by all the Gods.”
“… Hm? In other words, does that mean?”
“Only Rosarin-sama’s weapons, Lavita-sama, Kurarin-sama, and your new Rose of Light Spirit can fight against them. And we’ve already conveyed this message to the entire world through divine revelation.”
My communication device started ringing like crazy. I have a really bad feeling about this.
I can already see a future where both my brother and my brother-like figure Alphage-sama are scolding me!
“Shiva, the one responsible for this mess, come out here~!!”
I yelled in frustration, even though Shiva wasn’t here. How did this all happen!?
What do you think about this chapter?
