My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

A slightly awkward silence passed between me and Yoru, then Ria spoke up.

“I didn’t know anything about that. Did the royal family cover it up back then? The records only say that the demon king proposed a peace treaty to lull people into a false sense of security, and then the Demon Clan attacked…”

If the royal family did cover it up, no wonder idiots were born.

Well, it’d be worrying if the royals didn’t control information and just leaked everything, but it’s infuriating to have the truth hidden and swept under the rug.

Honestly, why can’t people in any world just live in peace?

“Which side’s right or wrong doesn’t matter. In a world with magic, memories can be rewritten easily… So if you want to believe something, you have to see it with your own eyes.”

I call myself an Assassin, but I’ve never killed anyone, and I’m not ready to kill.

If anything, I don’t want to kill anyone.

Having power and being able to use strong magic is one thing; your heart is another.

I don’t want to kill, and I don’t want to be killed.

But from here on I might not be able to say that.

“I have to make up my mind too.”

At times like this I wonder what he’d do — what Kyousuke would do.

A few hours later, with almost no conversation, we reached the 80th floor.

Maybe worried about the magical power drain from repeated shadow magic usage, the bosses were being brutally stomped and crushed by Yoru without mercy.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the monsters being stepped on.

It was pitiful to see.

They’d show up as the floor boss with full pomp, only to be instantly killed.

And by the same monster.

If you don’t call that pitiable, what would you call it?

But that relaxed atmosphere snapped taut somewhere past the 70th floor.

The magical power in the area, likely from the Demon Clan, grew steadily denser.

For ordinary humans the mana density would make it hard to breathe.

To have so much lingering magical power in a place we only passed through…

Rescuing Amelia has to be top priority; seeking revenge on the Demon Clan should be abandoned for now.

“Yoru, I’ll use shadow magic.”

“…It can’t be helped. I’ll leave it to you, master.”

Facing the boss room that came into view, I said that, and Yoru sighed and reluctantly agreed.

The boss on the 70th floor that Yoru had crushed at blinding speed didn’t die from just one stomp.

As we descended, boss defense and vitality increased.

Because of that, Yoru was forced to make a sudden change of direction to strike a second time, which sent Ria flying.

That thing still had breath after taking a full-weight attack from Yoru at near-sound speed — tenacious.

Its life force was as if it were that notorious black kitchen monster.

If that was how things were on the 70th floor, the monsters on the 80th floor would be even stronger.

The instant the door opened, I activated shadow magic using the shadows in the room.

I moved to attack immediately.

“Shadow Magic—activate.”

“…!? Wait! Master!!”

Yoru’s warning came too late; the shadow magic had already been released.

It stabbed into the monster seated in the center of the room — something like a shark with wings and arms and legs.

“…Huh!?”

Just as I thought the shadow magic had pierced the monster’s heart, it vanished the moment it touched the body.

“Could it be—this one has a magic-nullifying ability skill?”

At my mutter, Yoru answered bitterly.

“His name is Poseidon. He controls water and earth, and, as you said, he has magic-nullifying abilities.”

Wow.

Yoru gave the other one the straightforward name “Black Cat,” but this one’s called Poseidon?

And Poseidon is supposed to be a god’s name… Not some shark-headed abomination exuding malevolent magic.

Besides, if he only controls water, he’s clearly a land monster!

“I’ve never liked sharks. Once when I was little, I went on a terrifying amusement park ride and that left me scarred.”

And the fact it happened in the dark made it worse.

If it were daytime you could at least predict where it’d come from, but when a shark suddenly appears from the side in low light… it’s mildly traumatic.