Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

The Guardian of the Teleportation Labyrinth 

U P UNTIL THIS POINT, all the teleportation circles had emitted a pale light, but this one was red. A color that signaled danger. The words “red zone” came to mind. 

“It’s here, beyond this point,” Paul muttered. 

That was surely his intuition talking. But what was the “it” he was referring to? Zenith’s prison? Or the guardian? Regardless, I felt strangely confident myself—confident that the final part of this labyrinth lay before us now. 

“What’ll it be, Paul? We still have supplies, but we can turn back for now if ya want,” said Geese. 

We’d had an easy time on the sixth floor. The Devouring Devils had been little more than trash mobs thanks to the Talfro root. We hadn’t really used any of our supplies; we were still fully stocked. We could go on. Plus, we’d had plenty of time to rest in the previous room. 

“No, let’s keep going. Everyone, check your gear.” 

“Got it.” 

Upon hearing Paul’s decision, we all plopped down on the floor and began examining our equipment. 

“Come on, Rudy, you too.” 

At Roxy’s prompting, I took a seat myself. I extracted everything I was carrying from my bag, lining them up on the ground to take stock of what we had. Not that I was carrying too much. All I had were a couple of spirit scrolls. 

“Do you want a couple of my scrolls?” Roxy had hidden a few in her bag just in case the need arose. They had Advanced-tier magic in them. She could dish out spells fairly quickly, thanks to her shortened incantations, but Advanced-tier magic required some lengthy chanting. There was bound to be a time when reciting the words would take too long. These were her hidden trump cards. 

“That might be a good idea. Can I have a few of your healing ones, then?” 

“Certainly.” 

I could use voiceless magic, so I had no need for Advanced-tier scrolls. Healing magic, however, was another matter. It would be good to have these just in case my throat or lungs got crushed like before. 

Roxy passed them over to me and I folded them up and tucked them into my robe. If I didn’t end up using them, I could just return them later. Actually, I’d like to take one home and have Nanahoshi or Cliff recreate it for me. 

Wait, making copies without permission was forbidden, wasn’t it? Though I didn’t figure I’d get caught if it was just for personal use. 

“I have no idea what kind of guardian we’ll face, but we have plenty of firepower. I’ll work as hard as I can to support you so you don’t have to use any of those scrolls,” said Roxy. 

“Please do. I can be a bit of a coward at times, so please help me out if I need it.” 

“Of course. You can count on me.” Roxy knocked a fist against her tiny chest. It was reassuring to hear her say that. 

“Rudeus, Roxy.” Suddenly Elinalise tossed something at us. 

After I caught the flying object in my hand, I realized it was a marble-sized rock. One of the numerous magically imbued crystals that Elinalise carried on her person. 

“If you run out of mana, use those,” she said. 

I glanced over at her. “Are you sure?” 

“I’m just lending them to you. If you don’t use them, hand them back later.” 

“Oh, sure. Got it.” 

It wasn’t uncommon for a magician to run out of mana when exploring a labyrinth. Ordinarily, the group would withdraw in such a situation. That was why they defeated all the enemies they encountered—so they could retreat, recharge, and press forward once more. 

When it came to fighting a guardian, on the other hand, I’d heard there were times when you couldn’t run. Apparently, you might even find yourself locked in an arena-type area, unable to leave until you defeated the creature. 

The red circle before us looked like a two-way circle. Perhaps it was actually one-way. If so, then we would need some way to recover our mana once we stepped through. 

“Okay, is everyone ready?” 

We rallied to our feet at the sound of Paul’s voice. I glanced at everyone’s faces, noticing their expressions pulled tight. I needed to put my game face on too. 

“Rudy.” Paul turned toward me. 

“What is it?” 

“I feel bad for saying this to you at a time like this, but—” 

There it was. A death flag. 

“Then please don’t say it,” I cut him off. 

“Uh, okay.” Paul looked disheartened. Perhaps that had damaged his morale a bit. But I couldn’t have him say anything important before our final battle. Anything he had to say, he could say it once we returned home. 

“Okay, let’s go then!” 

We exchanged glances with each other and hopped onto the circle all at the same time. 

The area we warped into was vast. It looked like the reception hall of a palace, modeled in an oblong shape the size of a baseball field. There were thick pillars at the corners of the room, and the ceiling was so high you had to bend your neck backward to see it. The floor below our feet was covered in tiles, each of which was engraved with its own complex pattern, forming a relief. If I had to pick a single word to describe the place, “majestic” would do it. 

“Whoa…!” 

There was a monster located within the depths of this ashen palace-like structure. An enormous one, approximately twice the size of a red wyrm. Even from afar, I could glimpse the twinkle of its emerald green scales, as well as its short, stout body, and the numerous heads that grew out of it. 

“A hydra? Seriously? Never seen one of them before,” Geese muttered, his words jolting my memory. 

That’s right, this kind of creature was called a hydra. It was an enormous dragon with nine heads. 

“There she is!” 

That, however, was not what Paul’s eyes—or even my eyes—landed on. 

There, just beyond the hydra, inside the room it was protecting, was a single magically imbued crystal. One of magnificent size, green in color, with spikes that fanned outward. I had never seen one this big before. It was completely unlike the marble-sized ones that Elinalise carried with her. 

Not that it mattered. No, the size was irrelevant. More important was what was trapped within it: my mother. 

There she was, encased in that crystal. 

“Zenith!” Paul shrieked. 

I was utterly confused. Why? How had this happened? How was she trapped inside that crystal? Before I could express my doubts, Paul already had a sword in each hand and was charging forward. 

The hydra gently lifted its sickle-shaped necks. 

“You damn moron! Don’t rush in there!” Geese barked. 

“Tch…!” Elinalise clicked her tongue and sprinted after him. Talhand went waddling behind her. 

She couldn’t catch up to him. 

“I’ll cover you!” Roxy shouted. 

I finally returned to my senses and outstretched my staff toward the hydra. First, we had to defeat our opponent. 

I’m going to take down this monster in one hit! 

I charged my Stone Cannon with the same potency that had sent even a Demon King sprawling. 

“Silent fist of the frost giant, Ice Smash!” Roxy recited an Intermediate-tier incantation and leaped into battle. A block of solid ice went plunging toward the creature, buzzing right past Paul before— 

Piiiing! 

A jarring sound—like nails on glass—split through the air. 

Roxy’s eyes went round as she gasped. “What?!” 

The hydra was completely unscathed. 

Was it resistant to ice? The possibility crossed my mind for a split second, but Paul was already about to arrive at the creature’s location. 

“Stone Cannon!” I released my charged shot. The perfectly polished earthen bullet whistled through the air. It passed right above Paul’s head, just as he was a few steps short of the enormous serpent. 

Piiiing! 

Again, that earsplitting noise. 

“Was it deflected?!” I choked out in disbelief. 

The creature couldn’t have evaded it. My cannon had to have hit. The shot was dead-on, I knew it was—I was certain. 

But there was the hydra, towering on high as if it hadn’t noticed a thing. Not a single scratch on it. 

“Gruuuoaaah!” Paul’s battle cry was so fierce that it reached even my ears. 

The hydra moved its head like a snake, lashing out at Paul as he edged close. He was sharp and precise as he evaded, moving only as much as required. In the next moment, the serpent’s heads were dancing in the air. Paul’s left-hand sword had pierced through. His speed was astonishing. 

Then, for a moment, Paul’s body blurred. He was so fast that even my Eye of Foresight couldn’t track his movements. Blood came bursting from one of the hydra’s other necks. Again, his left-hand sword had sliced its flesh—though his blade lacked the necessary length to fully behead the creature. 

He flipped his body, taking advantage of centrifugal force to cut through once more. One of the serpent’s wilting necks came crashing to the floor. 

“Shaaaah!” 

In an instant, it had lost two of them. 

Unfortunately, hydras had many heads. So the others came whipping through the air, surrounding Paul in all directions. He retreated a step to try to gain some distance, but the length of his stride wasn’t enough to escape from the hydra’s range. 

“Paul!” Elinalise finally caught up with him. She braced her shield and thrust forward with her weapon. An invisible shockwave rippled through the air. 

Piiing! 

There it was again. That sound. 

The hydra continued its pursuit of Paul, as if it hadn’t noticed her attack at all. 

“Rapid muddy currents, gush forth! Flash Flood!” Roxy’s incantation conjured water right in front of Paul, sweeping him to safety and out of the hydra’s range. 

As he spun around, somersaulting through the water, Elinalise immediately stepped forward to cover him. Behind them, Talhand skidded to a stop and began his own incantation. 

Although a bit irregular, our formation did now have its usual vanguard, middle, and rear guard. Still, what were the rest of us supposed to do? Paul’s attacks were making contact, but my Stone Cannon had been deflected. Roxy’s magic as well. Should I try fire next? Or wind? There was no guarantee that Paul and the others might not get caught in the blast, though. 

What was I supposed to do? 

“Earth Pillar!” Talhand finally completed his incantation. He was using earth magic. 

A boulder appeared above the hydra and came plummeting down toward it. 

Piiing! 

Once again, the same sound. 

Just before impact, the enormous rock shattered into dust and disappeared. And there was that sound again—that piercing, high-pitched sound that nullified magic when it reverberated through the air. 

“Does magic not work against this thing?!” Talhand howled. 

Crap, what were we supposed to do? Keep trying? Or should we retreat for now? 

What was I supposed to do? 

Roxy suddenly raised her voice from beside me, distressed. “Rudy, look! It’s healing!” 

I glanced up in time to see one of the stumps, where Paul had sliced off its head, beginning to expand, meat and muscle knitting back together. The other neck soon followed. 

It was regenerating. 

This meant that just cutting off its necks wouldn’t be enough to cause substantial damage to it. 

“Let’s retreat!” Roxy shouted, but her voice didn’t reach Paul. 

Paul was whooping out fierce battle cries as he single-mindedly slashed his sword at the hydra. His style was so reckless that it was putting Elinalise, who was acting as his support, in danger. 

“Geese!” Talhand cried. 

Geese dashed forth, darting past Talhand and sprinting up behind Paul. He gripped something in his hand and flung it at the hydra. 

Pa-pang! 

An explosion rippled. Dense smoke rolled out, the hydra at its center. A smoke bomb? 

Geese yelled out something as he looped his arms beneath Paul’s, pinning him from behind. However, Geese alone wasn’t enough to hold Paul down. In seconds, the latter was close to shaking him off until Elinalise bonked Paul over the head with her shield. 

“Ah…!” 

Geese relinquished his hold, spoke a few words that I couldn’t catch, and Paul began hustling back toward us. 

“Rudeus!” Elinalise called, and my body moved. 

I focused all the mana that I could into my hand, conjuring up a dense white mist in the empty space between Paul and the hydra. A smokescreen. Through it, we could hear the rumble of the creature’s approach, but fortunately, it wasn’t all that fast. Paul and the others were able to make their way back to us. 

“Rudy, let’s retreat. Back to the magic circle!” said Roxy. 

“Yes, Teacher!” 

I led the way and hopped onto the teleportation circle. 

*** 

Everyone made it out safely to the other side—Roxy, Talhand, and Geese, as well as Paul, who was huffing and puffing. Then, finally, an injured Elinalise appeared from behind him. Blood was trickling from a wound she’d sustained on her shoulder. 

“Are you all right?” I asked. 

“Just a scratch.” 

A sizable chunk had been taken right out of her. Strange, given that I didn’t recall her taking any hits. 

She explained, “Its scale cut me.” Apparently, its outer shell was razor sharp. 

Basic-tier healing magic was sufficient to close the wound without even so much as a scratch left behind. The same injury would’ve required dozens of stitches in my previous world. The magic of this world sure was convenient. 

“Thank you,” said Elinalise. 

Now came the issue of how to deal with the source of her injury—the hydra. 

Paul plopped himself down in front of the magic circle. He fixed his gaze on it, murderous intent oozing from his body like a poison mist. 

I called to him, “Father?” 

“That was Zenith. I’m sure of it,” he said. His eyes hadn’t even registered Elinalise’s injury. Although, she was our tank, so you could say getting injured was just a part of her job. Even so… 

“Please, calm down a bit,” I urged. 

“Yeah, that was my bad. I’m fine now.” Paul’s voice was low. He was calm, but he wasn’t cool-headed. The words “calm before the storm” came to mind. 

Not much I could do. He was right—that was Zenith. Even from afar, I could instantly tell it was her. I was sure Paul wouldn’t be mistaken about something like this, either. The person trapped within that magically imbued crystal was certainly Zenith. 

But why in the world was she encased in there? 

No, the reason didn’t matter. There were many potential explanations. Maybe when the Displacement Incident happened, she was warped inside the crystal. It was rare for such a thing to occur, but rare just meant unlikely, not impossible. 

But wait, hadn’t Geese told us she’d been found by adventurers? The word he’d used was “captured.” Hold on. Did that mean Geese had known what kind of condition she was in…? 

No, impossible. That couldn’t be. 

It wouldn’t do any good to interrogate him about the framing of his information here. I could press him for questions later, after this was over. That wasn’t the problem right now. 

“…I wonder if she’s still alive in there,” I ventured, voicing my concern. 

“What’s that?!” Paul leaped to his feet and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. “It doesn’t matter whether she’s alive or not!” 

“You’re right.” He had a point. That was inappropriate of me to say. 

Zenith’s chances of survival had been abysmal to begin with. I’d even considered the possibility we might not find a body at all—maybe nothing more than a memento, something that she’d left behind. We could at least hold onto that in our grief, if she really were dead. 

You could say that finding her this way, with her body in one piece, was far better than we could’ve hoped. 

“Enough with the fighting!” Geese snapped. 

But Paul just leaned his face in toward me, as if to intimidate me. “Rudy. She’s there. Zenith is there—your mother! How can you be so calm?” 

“You would prefer I panic? How would me losing my composure solve anything?” 

“That’s not what I’m talking about!” he barked back. 

I knew what he meant. True, maybe I was being a bit too cool-headed right now. My attitude certainly wasn’t appropriate for a child who’d found their mother after she’d been missing for six years. 

But, well, I hadn’t had much contact with Zenith since I was a child. I didn’t really have a strong sense of her being my mother. If anything, she was more like a person that just happened to have lived with us. After all, I’d left their house when I was seven years old and hadn’t seen her for almost ten years. 

So maybe it wasn’t entirely my fault that I was having a lukewarm reaction. 

“For now, let’s just get on the same page about our current predicament,” I said. 

“Huh?!” 

I ignored Paul’s bluster and began speaking matter-of-factly, “Our magic didn’t work on that guardian. It has incredible regenerative abilities and its offensive strength is so overwhelming that it broke past Miss Elinalise’s defenses just by brushing up against her. Then there’s my mother, who’s trapped inside a crystal. Frankly speaking, we don’t know if she’s alive or not.” 

“Piss off! I already know all that! I’m saying that’s not the attitude to have when we’ve finally found her!” Paul said. 

Geese cut in again, “I told you, knock it off! You can squabble when we get back to the inn!” This time he forcibly peeled Paul off me. 

Paul spat under his breath as he plunked down onto the floor, “Dammit, enough of this.” 

He already understood the situation; he didn’t need me to go spell it out for him. It was just my attitude that he couldn’t stand. Even I could agree that I was being too unemotional, but I couldn’t help it. What did he want me to do? 

Elinalise clapped her hands together. “All right, enough with the fighting. Now let’s discuss!” 

Both Paul and I took our sweet time joining them in their circle on the floor. Roxy looked a bit flustered as she glanced between the two of us. It seemed I’d worried her. 

“I’m fine,” I assured her. 

“Are you sure…?” 

It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened between us. Once things were finished, Paul would come to his senses. I was sure I’d feel something too, once Zenith was safe and I could hear her voice again. 

That’s right. That had to be true. Things had just gotten a little off kilter this time; that was all. 

“Ahem.” Roxy cleared her throat. “Um, as for Zenith being crystallized, I think there’s something we can do about that,” she said, sounding a bit more cheerful than usual. 

“Really?!” Paul looked relieved. 

“Yes. I’ve heard occasional tales of powerful magic items encased in magic crystal. Once we defeat the guardian, the crystal will liquify and we’ll be able to get her out. Or at least, so the stories say.” 

That wasn’t something I’d ever heard before. Still, this was Roxy. I was sure she wouldn’t make things up. 

“Yes, I know what you’re talking about,” Elinalise joined in. “I know of one other person who was once like Zenith is now, and they’re still alive.” 

“…” 

That one had to be a lie. Elinalise was the kind to smoothly spin a tale in these kinds of situations. I couldn’t blame her if she was doing it to try ease the tension, but the precedent didn’t mean that Zenith would be fine. 

Not that I needed to say so. Everyone already knew that. 

“Our problem is that guardian,” she continued, the first to get the ball rolling on the real issue. “Honestly, I’ve never seen a monster of that variety before.” 

Geese followed up with, “No kiddin’. I can tell by lookin’ that it’s a hydra, but I’ve never heard of one with green scales before.” 

“Not just that, the thing can regenerate itself too.” Talhand had a troubled look on his face, hands folded in front of him. 

A hydra was a type of dragon. A lone wolf with multiple heads, its strength unmatched. As far as I knew, they were supposed to inhabit some parts of the Demon Continent. There were three currently confirmed varieties, split up by the color of their scales: white, gray, and gold. There was no such thing as a hydra with green scales. 

“That’s most likely a Manatite Hydra,” said Roxy. “I’ve read about it in a book. It’s an infernal dragon whose entire body is covered in magic stone scales that absorb mana. It was spotted during the second Great Human-Demon War, and according to the book, they were annihilated when the continent was split. I was sure it was nothing more than a fairy tale, but…it seems it does exist.” 

Mana absorption… Did that mean all magic was useless against it? 

Just to be sure, I asked, “Are you saying that we won’t be able to damage it at all?” 

“If what I’ve read is true, you should be able to hit it with your spells as long as you launch them at point-blank range,” Roxy replied. 

“Point-blank range…” 

That thing was huge. Not to mention that it would carve you up like a cheese grater if its body made contact with yours. Was she telling me to put my hand directly up against that thing to try to cast my spells? I could lose all my fingers. 

“Still gonna revive itself even if you damage it,” grumbled Talhand. “What’re we supposed to do about that?” 

Elinalise agreed. “Its ability to regenerate certainly is a nuisance.” 

“But the damn thing can’t be invincible,” the dwarf insisted. 

The hydra could regenerate, which wasn’t surprising at all to me. As far as I was concerned, that was common knowledge. 

“We clipped its heads off and it healed ’em right back to normal. How are we supposed to defeat somethin’ like that?” 

Roxy hummed ponderously along. 

I, however, couldn’t bring myself to consider it that invincible an adversary, even though I knew it could restore itself. Why, you ask? Because of my knowledge from my previous life. 

“I’ve heard that if you burn the stump where its head was cut off, it won’t be able to regenerate.” I recounted the mythical tale of Hercules. He had fought a hydra. According to the stories, he used a torch to cauterize the open wounds after beheading it, preventing it from recovering. 

Honestly, it was just a myth—a story. It didn’t have much credibility. 

It didn’t matter to my party members, though. Their reaction was positive. 

“So that’s it. Just burn the open wounds!” 

“We haven’t brought any torches along, but it won’t be able to reflect magic if we strike it where it’s injured,” Elinalise joined in. 

“Guess it’s worth a shot.” 

I had no idea how similar the hydra of this world was to the one of my previous world. The hydra in the myths was said to have one immortal head, but perhaps, however unlikely it seemed, we could defeat this one by simply burning all of its heads. I didn’t want to be too optimistic, but it was a living creature. Living things could be killed. 

“Okay, then let’s give it a try.” Geese agreed and with that, our strategy was set. 

My proposal didn’t guarantee success, but then, there was no such thing as guaranteed success. 

Frankly, I felt like our best course of action was returning to the city. While it was true that we’d hardly used any of our supplies, we had a tough enemy before us. Perhaps it would behoove us to prepare for fighting this boss. We could even hire people specifically for fighting a hydra. I wasn’t sure how many swordsmen out there could slice clean through a hydra’s neck, but with the number of adventurers in Rapan, I was sure we could find at least one. 

“…” 

But I knew Paul wouldn’t allow it. In his current state, if I suggested we turn back now, he might insist on challenging the beast by himself. Plus, even if we did go back, I couldn’t foresee us being lucky enough to find items specific to defeating a hydra or mercenaries for hire. 

We had a countermeasure. We had the necessary number of people. Thus, we had to proceed to battle. 

“Hey, Paul. You fine with all this?” Geese asked. 

“…Yeah.” 

“That’s not much of an answer. You listenin’? You’re the only one that can chop that thing’s heads off.” 

It was possible Elinalise and Talhand could damage the creature’s scales, but they couldn’t cut through them. Paul had to do the chopping, and as the only one who could use voiceless magic, I had to be the one to cauterize the open wound. Role division was necessary here. 

Depending on the situation, I might even have to close the distance and do it from melee range. Although I would be targeting the stub of its remaining neck, there was a high chance that the scales surrounding it would nullify my magic. If that happened, the others would have to act as a decoy to divert attacks that came at me. Roxy would heal them if they took any damage. 

That was how we split up our roles. That was how it had to be. 

Of course, attacks would still inevitably come my way. I was in a very precarious position. 

“Phew…” Paul expelled a breath and glanced around at all of us. “Elinalise, Talhand, Geese, and Roxy…” As he called their names, they all turned to look at him. “You’ve all helped me out up ’til now. Years have passed since the Displacement Incident. You crossed the Demon Continent for me, searched out Rudy in the Northern Territories for me, went to lengths I couldn’t even begin to dream of.” 

All four watched him quietly, in a way that seemed to say Hurry up and spit it out already. 

“But now that’s over. We’ll either save her…or, assuming she’s not alive, at least all of my family will be accounted for. This is the end. Please lend me your strength this one last time.” 

All four chuckled and nodded. 

“It’s not your style to act so humble,” said Elinalise. “But I understand. I’ll give this all I have.” 

“Hmph, there’s not an idiot here who’d say no after comin’ this far,” said Talhand. 

Geese joined in. “You sure have calmed down over the years. Well, not like I’ll be much help, but I’ll still do what I can.” 

“Let’s win this,” said Roxy with a raised fist. “We’ll be rewarded for our efforts once we claim victory.” 

Moved by their words, Paul seemed to choke back tears, sniffling. But he didn’t let us see him cry. Instead, he turned to me. “Rudy,” he stammered, but I could see the resolve in his eyes, “You…you really are a reliable son.” 

“You can flatter me after we defeat the hydra.” 

“It’s not flattery. I really do mean it,” Paul said, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. “I can’t be as calm as you. I can’t come up with ideas, either. I’m just an idiot who runs in there headfirst without thinking.” He kept going, his lips wrenching as if he were grinding his teeth together. “…I’m a terrible father. Can’t even set a good example for my son.” 

His voice was thick with conviction. He was staring hard at me, eyes so focused it felt like he was glaring daggers into me. 

Determination—that was the word. Paul was full of determination. 

“With that in mind, I’m gonna say this to you. I know this isn’t something a parent should say, but I’m going to say it anyway.” 

“All right,” I said, matching his gaze. I could already guess what he wanted to say, more or less. 

“Save your mother, even if it kills you,” he said. 

This was a father talking to his son. 

Even if it kills you. 

That certainly wasn’t something a parent should say. At the very least, it would have been better if he’d said, “I’ll save her even if it kills me .” 

Still, I didn’t think he was a cruel father for saying it. This was his conviction—his trust in me. Paul intended what he said—he would save her even if it cost him his life. And he thought of me as an equal. He believed in me. He saw me as an adult. That was why he said what he did. 

All that remained was for me to respond. 

We were going to save Zenith. To that end, Paul and I would share the same determination. 

“…Yeah!” I gave a sharp nod, and Paul bobbed his head in return. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought he looked happy. 

“Okay, let’s get going then!” he said, rousing everyone to their feet. 

Our rematch with the hydra was about to begin.