In DanMachi, I Was Targeted by Freya from the Start! Chapter 21

The existence of the Dungeon could be traced back to before the gods descended upon this lower world. Back then, monsters surged up from underground and ravaged the land, practically becoming synonymous with calamity.

Countless years ago, the great god Ouranos built the city of Orario at the entrance to the Dungeon.

He personally stood guard, using his divine power to suppress the entire Dungeon, praying without fail for a thousand years to keep it contained. That was how the current "Labyrinth City" came to be.

Following that logic, why did this Dungeon keep giving birth to monsters?

No one knew the answer to that question. Cao Ye did not know either.

Within the Dungeon, there were all kinds of bizarre monsters. Every one of them could be called a child of the "Dungeon."

Thinking of what happened after monsters were killed—their bodies turning into black smoke and vanishing completely, leaving behind only a magic stone—Cao Ye naturally began making a series of connections.

As a "creation" that had been made, if it suddenly suffered an invasion and someone tried to seize "control," what would the Dungeon's will do?

Would it directly destroy those monsters to prevent such things from happening?

Of course, all of this was merely Cao Ye's speculation, impossible to verify. Still, like a seed, it had been planted deep in his heart.

In Fate, Black Mud was terrifying. If a Servant was swallowed by Black Mud, they would be corrupted and blackened.

"Crack—crack—crack—"

However, while Cao Ye was thinking, a burst of noisy sounds rose from all around him.

He instinctively looked up, and that one glance nearly scared him out of his wits.

At some point, a huge swarm of monsters had appeared around him. They came in all shapes and sizes, and there were countless of them. The only thing they had in common was that their scarlet eyes were all locked tightly onto Cao Ye.

"You, who have incurred the hatred of the Dungeon's will, are about to face judgment."

"Special quest triggered—"

[Special Quest: Dungeon's Malice!]

[Completion Requirement: Leave the Dungeon alive]

[Quest Reward: Diamonds*500, Limited-Time Gacha Pool Unlocked]

The moment Cao Ye saw the quest, he was utterly dumbfounded. What the hell did that mean? Dungeon's Malice?

"Roar—"

"Hiss—ha—"

"Awooo—"

The sounds around him were deafening. Cao Ye swept his gaze around, and cold sweat immediately ran down his back.

Goblins, Orcs, Unicorn Rabbits, Hellhounds, War Shadows, Minotaurs, Kobolds, and more—almost every kind of upper-floor monster had appeared here. What was this, Monster Mobilization?

"This is going to be a fight for my life!"

With so many monsters glaring at him hungrily, Cao Ye's scalp went numb.

"Roar—"

Suddenly, a scorching blaze erupted from the monster horde.

Cao Ye recognized it immediately. It was Hellhound fire. After all, he had dealt with those creatures plenty of times before and killed quite a few of them himself.

"Bang—bang—bang—"

Like a lit fuse, all the monsters erupted into motion in an instant.

Roaring, they charged at Cao Ye.

At that moment, Cao Ye felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. Why was his life so damn miserable? He had thought he was about to reach the peak of his life, only to run into something like this.

"Fuck it. When a man dies, he dies. If he doesn't, he'll live ten thousand years. I'm going all in!"

Cao Ye clenched the two Black Swords in his hands as Mana Burst and Black Mud Enhancement activated once more.

He had no idea what his odds of winning were, but right now, fighting for his life seemed to be his only choice.

"Puff—puff—puff—"

Although there were a huge number of monsters, most of them were upper-floor monsters. In Cao Ye's current state of "dual enhancement," every one of them died in a single slash.

At that moment, the ferocity buried in Cao Ye's bones was completely unleashed.

Faced with so many monsters trying to kill him, he naturally wanted to kill every last one of them. This was no longer a battle, but a hysterical slaughter.

Every swing of his sword sent blood spraying and took another monster's life.

However, in the Dungeon, monsters were the one thing that never ran out—especially upper-floor monsters like these.

The string called "reason" was nearing its breaking point, replaced by the survival instinct of a "beast," willing to pay any price to stay alive.

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"

Cracks appeared around Cao Ye, and swords shot out one after another, claiming the lives of monster after monster.

However, during the process, some of the swords were stepped on by monsters, while others were struck by monster attacks, suffering heavy losses.

At this point, Cao Ye had no time to feel distressed over them. The only thing in his eyes now was the monsters before him.

Cao Ye had gone mad. His fighting style had become a reckless all-out assault. Under the monsters' attacks, his body was soon covered in wounds, injuries of varying severity appearing all over him.

The ground around him was stained red with blood. It was impossible to tell which blood belonged to the monsters and which belonged to Cao Ye.

"Awooo—"

"Bang—"

A Minotaur suddenly slammed into Cao Ye's side with a fierce blow.

Caught off guard, he was sent flying.

Chapter 36: Tsubaki Collbrande!

"Cough—cough—"

Blood stained the corner of Cao Ye's mouth amid a fit of coughing.

That hit had been no light one. Feeling the pain throughout his body, Cao Ye could not help but feel bitter and indignant. If he had just been given a little more time, he definitely would have slaughtered every last one of these monsters.

At the same time, Cao Ye's desire for "power" reached an unprecedented height.

He also regretted his past "slackness" and "laziness." If he had worked harder before, would things have been this miserable now?

It was just like back then. When his college entrance exam scores came out, they had not been ideal, and he could only attend a slightly worse school.

He had not cared at all. He had thought school was just a transition period, somewhere to coast through life. Besides, after graduating, he might not even work in his field.

But after graduation, when he went job hunting with his resume, he finally understood that every bit of laziness he had indulged in before would have to be repaid later with even more time and effort.

He had no accomplishments, no valuable certificates, no awards, nothing impressive to show for himself. Better companies would not even spare him a glance, so he could only try one place after another.

At first, he still had demands and standards. Later on, he felt lucky if anyone was willing to give him an interview.

Now, history was repeating itself, and once again, he regretted it.

"Fuck, this really hurts~~"

At that moment, Cao Ye's left pinky finger was gone, leaving only a stump that continued to drip blood.

It was not just his finger. His arms, legs, chest, back, and every other part of his body bore wounds of varying depths. His clothes had already been dyed red with blood, and even the hem was dripping.

Inside Cao Ye's body, Black Mud continuously repaired his injuries, but the wounds were too severe. There was no way they could heal in a short time.

"Awooo—"

At that moment, another group of monsters charged at him. Cao Ye had no time to think and directly threw the Black Sword in his hand.

"Explode—"

"Boom—"

The projected Black Sword exploded directly among the monsters. The violent blast instantly killed every monster within roughly five meters.

The power was impressive, but Cao Ye's mana was nearly depleted now. He could not Project a second sword at all.

"Awoo—"

"Puff—"

A Unicorn Rabbit attacked from behind. Cao Ye did not notice it, and its sharp horn pierced straight through his shoulder.

"Bastard!"

Cao Ye swung his sword backward and killed it instantly, but the wound in his shoulder made his already dire situation even worse.

The monsters around him were not about to give Cao Ye time to rest. One after another, they charged toward him.

By the looks of it, they intended to chop Cao Ye into pieces and tear him apart.

"What's going on up ahead?"

At that moment, a figure emerged from the entrance to the seventeenth floor in the distance.

When she saw the dense mass of monsters ahead, she was immediately startled. A gathering of monsters on this scale was something one would probably only see on the lower floors or deep floors.

This was only the seventeenth floor, a level considered part of the upper-middle floors. Logically speaking, something like this should not have happened.

Even during a Monster Feast, she had never heard of anything on this scale.

"Is that an adventurer up ahead? Things don't look good for him!"

Because of the terrain, she immediately spotted Cao Ye surrounded by monsters and realized that his situation was dire.

If it had been any other adventurer, they would never have gotten involved in something like this. One wrong move could get them killed, and this was the Dungeon. If you lacked strength, becoming a corpse was practically normal.

However, she was a warmhearted person. When someone else was in danger, as long as it was within her capabilities, she did not mind lending a hand.

"Perfect. I need to test this blade anyway. I'll use these guys for it!"

As she spoke, she drew a sword from her waist. It resembled a katana in style, though there were subtle differences.

The blade was broader, its tip sharp, and it had a double-edged design. Its hilt was also longer.

"Puff—"

With one slash, a Minotaur was split in half from shoulder to waist. The bloody sight alone was enough to make many people vomit.

Even the magic stone inside the Minotaur's body was sliced apart. It was utterly crushed by overwhelming power.

"Hm? Someone's here?"

Cao Ye, who was being surrounded and dragged into constant fighting by the monsters, noticed an outsider.

In the distance, large numbers of monsters were being killed one after another, every single one falling in a single blow. Cao Ye could not help but be astonished. Was this what a high-level adventurer was capable of?

"Bang—"

While distracted, an Orc smashed Cao Ye in the stomach with a hammer, the sharp pain snapping him back to his senses.

He then swung his sword and killed the Orc before continuing his battle against the other monsters.

"Kid, getting distracted in a fight isn't a good habit. Hold on a little longer. I'll clean these guys up soon enough."

The other party's hearty voice carried over from afar. Cao Ye raised an eyebrow. She was really here to help him?

He could not be blamed for overthinking. He had encountered far too much "malice," and several times he had nearly died. Whenever he thought things through now, he instinctively assumed the worst possible situation.

In less than ten minutes, all the monsters around them had been wiped out. Cao Ye looked at the woman before him, unsure what to say.

She was a dark-skinned woman with a fiery, voluptuous figure, holding a sword. The fact that she had wiped out every monster in such a short time was simply unbelievable.

"You saved my life. If you ever need anything from me in the future, I won't hesitate!"

"Which Familia are you from?"

"Freya Familia~"

"Freya Familia?"

She spoke with some surprise. After all, members of the Freya Familia were rarely seen in Orario.

Still, the people of the Freya Familia were not unfamiliar to her.

After all, her goddess had a good relationship with the goddess Freya, and the two Familias had plenty of dealings with one another. She often received orders from the Freya Familia as well.

"My name is Tsubaki Collbrande. I'm from the Hephaestus Familia."