Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka Gaiden – Sword Oratoria - Volume 1 - Chapter Pr

PROLOGUE DAWN OF THE LABYRINTH 

The chorus of roars grew into a deafening wall of sound. 
The ground trembled from the pounding of the many feet running across its desolate surface. 
A sea of monsters with horns that curled above their heads like mountain goats raced across the terrain. The horselike heads that rose from the creatures’ bodies could only be called hideous. They snorted heavily in unison, rolling their bloodshot eyes around to glare at their squirming prey. 
The immense black mob of massive creatures worthy of the name “monsters” advanced as one, clubs of various shapes and sizes in the grip of their meaty hands. The ones at the front raised their weapons high above their heads, ready to strike. 
“Shields, ready—!!” 
Right on cue, a line of metal rose. Many crashes on the shields rang an instant later. 
A row of more than twenty of the wide shields absorbed the first wave of punishment. However, their wielders were driven backward, their heels digging into the ground. 
“Front line, don’t break formation! Rear guard, continue attacking!” 
Trying to withstand the ferocious barrage was a group of humans and demi-humans—a line of stout, muscular dwarves wielding large shields in both arms, protecting groups of elves and animal people equipped with bows and arrows and staffs. A pair of Amazonian twins with wheat-colored skin wove their way among their compatriots’ volleys to engage the monsters head-on. 
A single flag stood between the two units, flapping in the intense winds of the battle swirling around it. 
Sewn into its fabric was an emblem bearing the mark of the trickster: a comedic smile. 
It was the symbol of those who’d joined the familia of a particular god. 
“—!!” 
The battle unfolded on a landscape devoid of any greenery. There was nothing but reddish rocks and sand, a boundless desert as far as the eye could see. 
Every step taken, every impact sent a cloud of red dust into the air. Imposing walls stood far off in the distance, and above was a ceiling that resembled a midday sky. 
They were far below the surface, somewhere in the Dungeon’s Deep Levels. 
While sounding battle cries that would never reach the surface, the battle lines of man and beast continued to widen. 
“Tiona, Tione! To the left flank, now!” 
It was the voice of the shortest boy on the battlefield—the prum field general—barking orders as fast as he could. 
His instructions cut through the chaos of battle, desperately trying to turn the balance to their favor. More and more of the beasts were arriving, the battlefield constantly changing and evolving. 
“Awww, it doesn’t matter how many bodies we have, it won’t be enough!” 
“Stop complaining and move your asses!” 
The Amazonian sisters heard the order and dashed forward, cutting down three more monsters. 
In truth, this was a scene straight out of a nightmare. 
The horde of monsters had appeared out of nowhere. No matter how many of the beasts they slaughtered, more took their place and continued closing in. The adventurers were in danger of being overrun. 
Every single monster towered over its human and demi-human opponents. Swinging clubs that resembled the fossilized bones of ancient creatures, they relentlessly hammered the front lines. The dwarves grimaced as shock waves of pain tore through their bodies. The ends of the formation were forced to retreat, their line of defense slowly morphing into a half circle, steadily shrinking in size. 
The situation had turned desperate. 
“Riveria! What’s taking so long?!” 
One of the Amazons yelled at a figure standing just behind the front lines, the one they were desperately trying to protect. 
Surrounded by a ring of archers and mages loosing spells and arrows continuously, the beautiful figure’s voice rose up to the heavens. 
“—Soon, the flames shall be loosed.” 
Silky, jade-colored hair seemed to dance in the air along with her long white mage’s robe. She held a long white and silver staff horizontally with both hands at shoulder level. 
An elegant and refined elf, her leaflike ears pointed outward from her soft, feminine face. 
“Creeping flames of war, inevitable destruction. The battle horns sound out on high and the atrocity of conflict will envelop all.” 
Her beauty seemed misplaced on such a chaotic battlefield. Her voice grew steadily louder as she continued her incantation. 
It was a powerful, yet melodic casting. 
A ring of jade light emerged from beneath her feet, growing steadily wider as thousands of luminous motes rose high into the air. 
The elf’s beautiful eyebrows sank, her concentration nearing its peak as her eyes locked onto a spot just beyond the front line. 
“Come, crimson flames, ruthless inferno!” 
As the sound of her spell reached the ears of her allies, they knew that she was their last hope. 
Not yet? Not yet? the fighters thought impatiently. Gritting their teeth, they mustered what strength they had for the next wave. 
“—Grooooooooaaaaaah!!” 
On the other side of the shields, the monsters—the Fomoire—howled together. 
One particularly large one from the middle of the group charged forward, knocking its own allies out of the way in the process. It had taken it upon itself to break the barrier with its own menacing club. 
Its intimidating shadow fell over the line of dwarves. One of them peeked out from between the small opening between his shields in time to see the club coming straight down. 
The blow was much more powerful than any before it. Not only did it knock the dwarf clean off his feet, but the impact knocked those around him off balance. The other Fomoire immediately saw the opportunity and rushed in. 
“—Bete, close that hole!” 
“Tch—What the hell’re ya doin’ over there?!” 
The perimeter had been broken. A werewolf moved to engage the incoming monsters, but he was too late. Several of the beasts made it past the front line. 
The archers and mages, who had been protected by the line of dwarves up until now, went pale as the Fomoire began their violent assault. 
“Lefiya?!” 
A young girl was launched skyward. 
Although the elf mage managed to avoid the oncoming club, her light body was thrown several meders by the shock wave of the weapon slamming into the ground. 
“—hff.” 
“Fuoooo…!” 
As the girl rolled to a stop on the sand, a black shadow fell over her. 
The Fomoire’s visage was hideous. It wasn’t just any Fomoire, but the abnormally tall one that had broken through the front line. 
The elvish girl made eye contact with the giant. Time stood still in the face of those pulsing red orbs. 
The beast’s rising club was reflected in the girl’s dark blue eyes. 
Then— 
Slash. 
“Huh?” 
Streaks of gold and silver cut into her line of sight. 
At the last second, a geyser of blood shot out of the Fomoire’s body. Its head tumbled through the air before landing on the red sand with a dull thud. 
“…” 
The shocked girl lay there for several seconds, blinking. 
Standing with her back to her was a female knight with long blond hair. Whoosh. The figure silently whipped around her silver blade. 

“Aiz!” one Amazonian girl happily called out after witnessing the monster’s defeat from her spot on the front line. 
The girl called Aiz made sure that the elf, still on her back, was unhurt before charging back into the fray. 
Whistling with the sound of the wind, the tip of her silver saber twinkled. 
Closing the distance between her and the remaining monsters that passed the barrier, she disabled them all with a few quick strikes, allowing the remaining archers and mages to finish them off. 
“Hey, Aiz, wait!” 
But she charged farther forward. 
Ignoring the voice that cut through the din, she made her way toward the Fomoire still trying to break through. 
Kicking off the ground with a small eruption of red sand, she jumped high over the heads of the dwarves and directly into the enemy ranks. 
“…Amazing.” 
She heard it. 
She heard the awed expression that fell from a dwarf’s mouth directly below her. 
Aiz spun her body in midair, her blade performing a deadly dance. 
One hit, then another. Monsters in her wake lost arms, legs, and heads as the blond girl’s weapon became the eye of a hurricane of blood. 
There was an element of beauty as well as cruelty in how the girl wasted no motion, no effort in her every action. Her weapon connected with the necks and torsos of her targets, expertly avoiding their bulging arms to deliver killing blows. 
The monsters’ front ranks were being decimated, with more falling every moment. 
All watched her with an element of awe and fear. The Sword Princess Kenki had arrived. 
“Thou become the consuming inferno.” 
“Consume all and bring the battle to its end!” 
Behind the barrier, the spell had reached a crescendo. 
The long incantation was nearing its end. 
“Aiz, get back here!” 
Upon hearing her name, Aiz looked over her shoulder and changed direction. 
The girl launched herself into the air amid the infuriated roars of the remaining Fomoire. Acrobatically twisting at the top of her arc, she landed safely behind the barrier. 
“Incinerate, Sword of Surtr—my name is Alf!” 
The magic circle grew to an enormous size, accompanied by a deafening roar as the jade ring surrounded the entire battle party. 
Every corner of the battlefield was within its range. 
Raising her white silver staff toward the ceiling, the elf mage Riveria triggered her spell. 
“Rea Laevateinn!” 
A wall of flames. 
From the ground within the magic circle sprang countless columns of flame. 
Safely within the jade circle, many of the battle-party members had to shield their ears from the thunderous eruption. The pillars of fire kept growing, extending all the way up to the ceiling. The remaining Fomoire were caught up in the firestorm and torn apart, not to mention being swallowed whole by the inferno. 
The monsters’ cries of pain were snuffed out one by one as their forms vanished. 
This was an area of effect magic, capable of destroying everything in a given area. A horde of more than fifty monsters was reduced to ash in mere seconds by this spell. 
Sparks flew as intense heat filled the floor. 
One by one, the members of the battle party lowered their weapons. 
The faces of Aiz and her fellow adventurers were dyed by the crimson flames. 
 
There was once a great Hole in the world. 
It was as if the mouth of the planet had opened wide. This Hole existed long before humanity had discovered it for themselves. No one knew how it got there. 
The Hole continuously gave birth to evil creatures, seemingly a door to some monstrous realm. 
Hideous creatures of all shapes and sizes emerged from within, taking over the forests, mountains, valleys, oceans, and skies of Earth. The monsters’ sweeping conquest stretched across every domain. All the surface races put aside their differences in order to reclaim their dignity, regain control of the world, and take revenge for their fallen kin. The disparate species rallied for a great counterstroke. 
The newly emerged heroes led the charge as all peoples fought a war of attrition against the invading monsters—until the beasts were forced all the way back to the Hole from which they came. 
Inside the Hole was a completely different world. 
It was a realm divided into many levels—an underground Dungeon. 
Illuminated by strange light sources in the absence of natural sunlight, never-before-seen species of plants and previously undiscovered ores and minerals were found throughout the labyrinth. Whether it was these new discoveries or the monsters that lived off the power of the magic stones in their chests, the Dungeon was absolutely brimming with the unknown. 
Humans and demi-humans constructed a tower over the Hole to serve as a “lid” to prevent the monsters from coming aboveground. 
At the same time, the humans couldn’t help but wonder what lay at the bottom of the Hole. It wasn’t long before eccentric people who thought the vast subterranean frontier needed to be fully explored began to appear. 
Eventually, these people would become known as “adventurers.” 
For them, the call of the unknown was irresistible. 
Time passed. 
The era known as the “Ancient Times” abruptly came to an end. 
The gods descended from heaven. 
The beings from a higher plane came down to this land that they called “Gekai”—the lower world. 
They were bored of their eternal existence in the upper realm of “Tenkai” but were entertained by the people of earth—“children,” in their eyes—specifically the many cultures they had created and their constant struggle against monsters. 
The gods’ decision to descend from heaven caused many changes. 
Mankind gained access to unlimited potential through the Blessings of deities, resulting in rapid increases of physical strength as well as an explosion of invention and creativity. 
Of course, this included exploration of the monster den beneath their feet. 
The Labyrinth City, Orario. 
Built over the Hole, the city went through many cycles of destruction and rebirth in becoming the greatest metropolis in the world. 
People gathered from far and wide for fame and fortune, and to discover the uncharted lands that lay sleeping below. 
Outlaws, obsessed with their desires; adventurers, burning with their love of the unknown; and deities, wanting to be entertained by all the unfolding stories—they are at the center of this world. 
This is where all their hopes, dreams, and stories intertwine. 
The olden days, during which people would offer their prayers to the gods for enlightenment or good fortune, have ended. 
Now is an era when mortals can plainly ask for their smallest wishes to be granted, receive fragments of divine charity, and make their dreams come true. 
For fame, for fortune, for the unknown. 
To reach distant heights, to fulfill their desires—their most earnest wishes. 
The Era of the Gods has begun.