Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Encirclent
Zugogogogogogo…
After being ambushed by a giant black spider, we rolled into a small supermarket.
"Plop… Pakoon! Clatter clatter! Rattle rattle…"
Small cup noodles fell from a tilted display shelf, making loud noises. Startled by the sound, everyone hunched their shoulders and stiffened…
"""……..？"""
But, contrary to our expectations, the giant black spider did not appear, and after a while, everyone sighed in relief.
"(Phew… Hey, do you think it's gone now?)"
"(It's still here… It's sticking to the building wall, watching us…)"
Serai-san and Nina-san, raising their upper bodies, were quietly assessing the situation.
"(How do you know that?)"
"(You see that scooter fallen outside? The spider's shadow is reflected in its mirror.)"
Umm… as expected of Nina-san.
Noticing such a small detail is impressive. I stretch my neck to peek outside and indeed, a green scooter is lying on the road, and its upward-facing mirror seems to reflect a dark shadow. From my position, it's hard to tell, but it must be the giant black spider clinging to the building wall, just as Nina-san said.
"(Wow, good job spotting that, Shizu. But if we can see it, doesn’t that an it can see us too? And since it’s a spider, it probably has a lot of eyes, right?)"
Oh, Serai-san's point of view is also excellent.
"(I see, ‘He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby beco a monster'…)"
"(Eh… Egetsu-san, why are you trying to look cool at a ti like this?)"
That's harsh! I was just about to praise Serai-san…!
"(That’s from Nietzsche, right? ‘And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.')"
"(Yes, Ruu, well done. You've studied hard and you're amazing!)"
Darn it, now I have to shower Ruu with praise instead.
Even in this dire situation, the three of them are calm, which is a huge help. If they had each panicked and scread, we would have been in serious trouble.
As expected of my students. Yes, you all are very capable.
"(Since it sounds cool, I'll use it sowhere too: ‘When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also peeps back…! (seriously)')"
"(Manchi, the abyss isn’t a peeping Tom…)"
"(Coach, what other poems do you like?)"
What… you guys are too relaxed in this situation!
"(Well, let's see… Another one that stands out is ‘As long as there is life, there is trial.')"
"Oh, really? I think that's a good poem too!"
Huh? It seems Nietzsche's poem struck a chord with Ruu. But the reason I know this poem is because it was impressively used in the opening of a muscle fantasy movie…
And by the way, I learned from a visual novel protagonist that saying sothing ‘stands out' is more favorable with won than saying ‘I like it.' The latter cos off as too transparent in wanting to be seen a certain way. Thanks, visual novel protagonist!
"Everyone, we need to think about what to do next rather than chatting…"
"Yeah. It seems like we don’t have to whisper anymore. But, there's no place to step without making noise anyway."
"How about escaping through the back door?"
"Indeed, let's check the back door first, as Ruu suggested. Let's move."
We stand and form a line, putting our hands on each other's shoulders, moving like a centipede race, shuffling our feet. We kick scattered goods on the floor to avoid stepping on unexpected objects and twisting our ankles.
"…Wow, why does it sll like gas so badly!?"
"No, this isn't just gas. There's also the sll of diesel or gasoline mixed in…!"
As we pass through the spring-loaded door that closes by itself, a strange odor fills the back room. Under the flickering fluorescent light, we can barely make out the situation, but it doesn’t look good…
"Hey, is that the back door? But it’s deford!"
"What, seriously…!?"
The left side of the backroom, connected to the at and deli processing area, is filled with the sll of city gas. The door with an ergency light above it, pointed out by Serai-san, has a bizarrely bulging aluminum fra, through which the blue color of a truck's body is visible…
"Did a truck crash into it by accident…?"
"If we try to pry it open with a crowbar or sothing?"
"And if a spark flies, it could be disastrous…"
"So, we can't escape through the back door!?"
"Ruu, let's stay calm and think this through. There has to be a way."
"Y-yes, you're right."
"And, not to scare anyone, but there's a hole in the ceiling inside the store, and the lights are broken. It might not catch fire imdiately, but if we stay here, we could eventually be caught in a gas explosion…"
"But we shouldn't ss with the back door. The floor over there is wet… It’s probably fuel leaking from the accident."
"Then, let’s turn off the gas main and cut the breaker! I’ll go check the gas!"
…
[Click…!]
Suddenly, we are enveloped in darkness.
Well, we did cut the breaker. At the sa ti, Serai-san shines a flashlight she got from the office door. This is the only light we have now.
"It’s starting to sll in the office too, Coach…"
"Alright, let's go back into the store…"
Although we found the breaker and cut the power, the city gas seed to be leaking from an unseen location, so we couldn’t seal it.
So, reluctantly, we head back into the store, but we still haven't figured out how to deal with the giant black spider outside.
I an, that thing… I only caught a glimpse, but it was more than twice the size of the giant red scorpion!
And unlike with the red scorpion, where other monsters were also chasing us, there were no other monsters around the giant black spider. Just how terrifying is it?
Well, a few giant crickets that didn’t escape in ti are hiding in the store.
And these giant crickets are just sticking their heads into corners, pretending they don't exist. They’re big, but they don’t seem very aggressive.
(Anyway… I definitely don’t want to fight sothing like that!!)
Because it’s a spider, it’s bound to be strong!
It’s venomous, has dissolving liquid, uses webs, and can move vertically anywhere. Plus, with eight eyes, so of them might be evil eyes, right?
No way I’m fighting sothing like that…
[Pop, hsss!]
"Gulp gulp… ah! So good!"
"Machi-chan!? You can't just drink the store's products…"
"But Ruu, we might die today, you know?"
Oh, did Serai-san just help herself to a store product? Ignoring Ruu's protest, she’s gulping down soda.
"Yeah, dying with a dry throat would suck… Manchi, grab sothing too."
"Sure, what do you want?"
"What, even Shizu-chan…!?"
Ruu is flustered by Serai-san and Nina-san's immoral actions. Umm… Logically, Ruu is correct, but emotionally, I understand Serai-san and Nina-san.
What should I do? Whose side should I take…? But I did burn soone's car without permission, so I can't really judge.
"Hmm, coffee would be nice. Unsweetened black, please."
"Aha! That's it, Nina-san!"
"Huh? What…?"
"That's right, I rembered! In an old video I watched, a spider got drunk from drinking coffee!!"
"""No way!？"""
"Wait a minute, Egetsu-san, is that really true?"
"Absolutely true. The video showed an experint with a jumping spider, and it got noticeably drunk from coffee."
"A jumping spider…! That’s quite similar to the spider watching us outside!"
"Exactly, Nina-san! If we pull this off, we might be able to escape safely from here!"
"Got it! Then let’s do it right now, Egetsu-san!"
"Alright, let's initiate Operation Susanoo!"
"""Huh… Operation Susanoo?"""
The three beautiful college girls tilt their heads in unison, puzzled expressions on their faces. Oh dear, do you three not know the legend of Susanoo?
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