Reverse Dungeon

Ian bared his teeth.

Dorian answered without thinking.

Whatever came to mind.

Only afterward did a question occur to him.

Huh? Why should I repay it?

He had never actually felt his life was in danger.

Ian seized the hand gripping his collar.

"You. Do you know where Keith is?"

Dorian felt more threatened now than he ever had before.

Perhaps he was short of breath.

His head felt hazy.

"Yeah."

"You know?"

Instead of being relieved, Ian looked surprised by the answer.

Dorian felt strangely proud.

A bright smile spread across his face.

"Yeah. He was in the Dark Forest. He was riding a horse and seemed to be in a hurry."

"Which road?"

"You know the path that leads toward the elf village? That one."

Ian did not say thank you.

"Lead the way."

He merely gave an order.

So Dorian obeyed.

The drowsiness clouding his mind vanished.

His heart kept pounding.

As if something wonderful were happening.

Something wonderful was happening.

He was about to witness how a Hero dealt with the betrayal of a companion.

Ah. Right.

What Dorian needed was a Hero.

The death a Hero would bring him.

No other reason came to mind.

Ian stepped over the people sprawled across the floor in drunken stupors.

He took two horses from the stables and handed the reins of one to the elf merchant.

"Ride."

"Huh?"

For some reason, the elf merchant looked even more absentminded than usual, but he accepted the reins and climbed into the saddle.

They rode like mad and left the dungeon.

The muscles needed for riding screamed in protest.

His thighs trembled.

Every jolt of the horse was transmitted directly into his body.

Being forced to do this with a body already pushed beyond its limits the previous night was miserable.

Then again—

Wasn't the bastard who had left his body in this condition the very same person he was chasing?

You son of a bitch.

Ian wanted to beat Keith unconscious.

Then keep beating him until he was one step from death.

He ignored the elf merchant's endless stream of pointless chatter.

"Don't overdo it."

"Want to ride with me?"

"Hey, can you hear me?"

All of it was ignored.

"Over there."

That was the only thing Ian actually listened to.

Keith seemed to have been keeping watch for approaching riders.

He had already turned his horse toward them.

The sharp vigilance surrounding him relaxed the moment he recognized Ian.

Keith's eyes widened.

"Ian?"

Keith was alone.

The sight made Ian feel as though every blood vessel in his body was about to burst.

"What the hell are you doing?"

The idiot was supposedly going to kill the Demon King.

And he had not even gathered any companions?

What kind of—

Then Keith drew his sword.

"I'm sorry, Ian."

He lowered his visor and raised his aura.

Has this bastard gone insane?

Keith charged him.

Ian immediately recognized that Keith was riding one of the few horses he had personally ridden before.

A horse that trusted its rider completely.

Even when ordered to crash headlong into an approaching enemy, it kicked off the ground without hesitation.

Clang!

Their swords collided.

Under normal circumstances, Ian would never have met a knight's charge head-on.

He would have guided his horse aside, drawn his bow, and aimed for gaps in the armor—the throat or armpit.

But these were not normal circumstances.

That bastard had used an artifact on him.

Ian failed to overcome the overwhelming difference in strength and lost his grip on his sword.

His arm twisted.

The balance of his waist collapsed.

The impact threw him from the saddle.

The only thing he managed to do was hold onto the reins.

The world flipped upside down.

I'm going to die because my subordinate betrayed me?

What kind of ridiculous beginner mistake is this?

And this bastard is actually attacking me?!

"Ian!"

Keith's desperate shout rang out.

Ian's body fell.

He braced for impact.

Instead, it felt as though he had been caught in a transparent net.

He hung in the air for a brief moment before landing gently on the grass.

"What are you doing?"

A strange voice spoke.

A wind elemental flew back to its master.

The elf merchant stood there.

Without his usual cheerful smile, he looked like a completely different elf.

Their eyes met.

Dorian slowly returned to a smiling expression.

He wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.

"Whew. That scared me."

And what the hell is this guy?

For some reason, Ian found himself paying attention to him.

But his focus was quickly stolen away by the knight kneeling before him.

Keith had already thrown aside his helmet.

He grabbed Ian as though embracing him.

As Heal took effect, bruises and injuries Ian had not even noticed vanished from his body.

"Thank God. You're safe. I almost... Dear heavens."

Keith wrapped his arms around him tightly enough to crush him.

Ian couldn't breathe.

Was the bastard planning to kill him by suffocation after failing to kill him with a fall from a horse?

Ian was genuinely beginning to wonder whether Keith had activated some kind of curse.

Then Keith suddenly restrained both of Ian's arms.

"...?!"

"I'm sorry. Please relax. I'll make sure it doesn't hurt."

"What?!"

"If I press here, you'll lose consciousness from lack of air. So this is what you meant by 'neutralizing' someone. I understand now. I'll treat you like a three-year-old child from this point forward. Please don't worry."

"You suffocate three-year-olds?! You lunatic! Don't you dare!"

Ian twisted his head back and forth and struggled violently.

He could not break free from the knight's iron grip.

The absurdity of it all was unbelievable.

More than that, it made him furious.

When he found Keith, he had expected an apology.

He even understood why Keith had done something this insane.

Hadn't Keith repeatedly questioned him about the whole "if the dungeon collapses, my life collapses too" issue?

Anyone who had gone through all that and still failed to understand would have to be Sema.

According to Keith's brand of fanatic logic, he had probably reasoned:

I will strike down the Demon King to protect Ian, the Apostle of God. Meanwhile, Ian can remain safely inside the dungeon and protect his own life. Perfect.

Ian could practically see the thought process.

His original plan had been simple.

Make Keith realize how insane that idea was.

Then punch him a few times.

That was what Ian had expected.

Instead, this bastard was trying to knock him unconscious and leave.

"Dorian!"

"Yeah? Need help?"

"I'll count this as repayment for saving your life!"

"Feels like I already paid for one life a moment ago."

Even while muttering that, Dorian acted.

The wind elemental stretched all four limbs.

The airflow around its hands and feet accelerated violently, forming miniature tornadoes.

Four tornadoes shot toward Keith.

Which also meant Ian, currently trapped in Keith's arms, was standing at the center of the attack.

Is he trying to erase the debt by killing me too?

The thought crossed Ian's mind.

Surprisingly, Dorian's attack worked.

Keith released Ian and swung the Holy Sword through the wind.

Ian had no idea whether that sentence even made sense.

But there was no other way to describe what happened.

The severed wind exploded in every direction.

The sound resembled the sky collapsing.

That was as much as Ian managed to see.

The grass clenched in his fingers bent as though it would be ripped from the earth.

His hair lashed across his face.

His cloak snapped like a banner before suddenly flipping over his head and covering his eyes the moment the wind shifted.

"Do not interfere, elf."

"But my first regular customer asked me for help."

"If you truly care about Ian, then cooperate. Everything I'm doing is for his safety."

"By strangling him?"

"Reason is wasted on you. Why did you remove him from a safe location?"

"But that was an unused prison. What if my customer starved to death?"

"I left preserved food inside."

Boom!

Craaaash!

KRAAAANG!

CRACK!

While the ground shook and apocalyptic thunder echoed through the world, the two continued arguing with their mouths as fiercely as they fought with their weapons.

Ian lowered the cloak covering his face.

Even then, he could not open his eyes.

Don't tell me being able to keep my eyes open in battle was a skill effect too?

The wind stung like blades.

He was convinced his corneas would be damaged if he opened them.

The entire situation was absurd.

It was absurd enough that he had driven his sword into the ground and was clinging to it like a stake to keep from being blown away.

But he could not simply sit there and watch those idiots fight.

He had come here to beat Keith up.

Not to lie face-down waiting for the wind to pass.

And honestly, he had never imagined Dorian was this strong.

Forcing open a mouth that refused to cooperate, Ian shouted:

"Keith. I think I'm dying."

The voice was small.

But Keith would hear it.

The man's reflexes guaranteed that he reacted instantly whenever he heard Ian's name.

Without hesitation, Ian released the sword hilt.

His body was swept away by the wind with ridiculous ease.

He lost his balance.

Rolled across the ground.

The wind stopped.

Keith charged forward.

All of it happened in an instant.

"Ian!"

Arms wrapped around him and lifted him up.

Ian opened his eyes.

Then he punched Keith square in the jaw.

"...?!"

Keith's head snapped to the side.

For a brief moment, he failed to react.

Ian hooked his foot behind Keith's leg, threw him down, and climbed on top of him.

"Are you out of your damn mind?"