――Rrrrumble.
Another earthquake.
With a deeper tremor than before, the whole dungeon shook violently.
The ceiling and walls creaked and crackled as fractures spread wider.
Out of magic and unable to move, Hinasuu lazily rolled over and stared up at the ceiling.
“This shaking is bad. Like, dungeon-collapse bad.”
〝Isn’t this seriously dangerous!?〟
〝It’s shaking like crazy!〟
〝This is really scary…〟
〝You two, run—now!〟
〝Huh? Scary scary scary!〟
A “dungeon collapse” is a phenomenon where parts of a dungeon crumble due to natural disasters like earthquakes, or due to deliberate destruction.
If a wall collapses, it can trigger a 『Connection』 to another dungeon. And in underground-spreading dungeons, ceiling cave-ins can leave people buried alive. It is, quite literally, a dungeon collapse.
That said, dungeons are normally built to be extremely sturdy, so it doesn’t happen easily.
In fact, even in Japan—often called an earthquake nation—records of dungeon collapses are few enough to count on one hand.
Hinasuu narrowed her eyes as she looked at Rakuna.
“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you hear me? Hurry up and run.”
“Th-this… is this my fault…? I broke another wall again…”
“Relax. That alone isn’t going to cause a dungeon collapse. Also, I already know you pass out when you touch people, so what I said earlier was a joke. Now go on—move.”
“B-but…”
Rakuna hesitated. But then—
――KRAAAAAASH!
Behind them, a chunk of the ceiling dropped as a massive boulder.
“If this keeps up, you’ll both end up buried alive. At the very least, could you get outside and call for help? I’d appreciate it.”
Hinasuu spoke with unnerving calm to the Rakuna who stood frozen in place.
――Rrrrumble.
The shaking, merciless and unending.
Boulders kept raining down from the ceiling.
〝Bad bad bad bad bad!!〟
〝Run, Abyss-chan!〟
〝I think you have to do what Hinasuu-san says!〟
〝At this rate you’re really screwed!!〟
〝If Abyss-chan passes out, nobody can save anyone!!〟
〝Please save Suu-chan!!〟
〝Don’t abandon Suu-chan, Narakino-san!!〟
〝Hey, that’s impossible—seriously!!〟
Rakuna glanced at the comments.
Then she nodded, as if steeling herself.
She walked to the large backpack lying on the ground and lifted it with both hands.
〝Yes! Good job deciding!〟
〝It can’t be helped, Abyss-chan…〟
〝Just escape first! If you call for help, Hinasuu-san can be saved too!〟
And then Rakuna—
――WHOOOOSH!
—turned the backpack upside down.
She swung it around wildly.
The contents sprayed out in a spectacular scatter.
A black egg.
A blue tarp.
Several pieces of firewood.
And—an insane quantity of magic stones.
〝!???????〟
〝H-hey, Abyss-chan!??〟
〝What are you doing!????〟
〝What is that amount of magic stones!!?〟
〝Those are the ones you were going to sell, huh〟
〝That’s going to be a ridiculous amount of money〟
〝All of that was inside that backpack!?〟
〝They just keep coming out—like it’s ignoring physics!!〟
〝No, wait wait wait—seriously, what are you doing!??〟
At Rakuna’s sudden bizarre behavior, the comment section went into full panic.
When she emptied the backpack completely, a mountain of magic stones rose before them.
With the pile at her back, Rakuna turned to face Hinasuu.
She spread the now-empty backpack open with both hands and declared:
“Please—get in!”
“Hweh?”
A strange sound slipped out of Hinasuu at Rakuna’s unexpected words.
〝Eeeeeeh!?〟
〝Hey hey hey hey hey〟
〝Wait a second, Abyss-chan!?〟
〝Are you seriously leaving behind that many magic stones!?〟
〝I see…〟
〝Ah. So that’s it.〟
“Hold on—what are you talking about? I’m the suspicious person who chased you around out of nowhere, you know? You’re planning to throw away a mountain of magic stones for someone like that?”
But Rakuna shook her head.
“I can get those anytime! Come on—get in!”
〝Ooooooh…〟
〝Yeah, Abyss-chan’s right〟
〝Do it, Abyss-chan…〟
〝Thank you, Narakino-san…〟
〝I’m a Narakino-san fan now…〟
〝Yep. Abyss-chan is right.〟
――RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE…!
The shaking didn’t stop, and the dungeon continued to crumble.
“…Ugh, fine…! I get it…!”
Muttering as if resigning herself, Hinasuu wriggled into the backpack.
Rakuna hoisted it onto her back, and Hinasuu poked her face out from the top.
Then, with the mountain of magic stones behind her—
Rakuna kicked off the ground without hesitation.
――CRACK… CRACK…!
In an instant, she sprinted to the iron door and burst out of the boss room—
――KRAAAAAASH!
The boss room ceiling collapsed completely.
Beyond the iron door was buried under rock.
If Rakuna had chosen to leave the dungeon alone, what would have happened to Hinasuu?
It didn’t take much imagination.
And with that collapse as the final blow, the shaking finally stopped.
Still, they weren’t entirely safe yet.
They had no idea when another quake might hit, and the ceiling was already riddled with cracks. The dungeon interior was vast.
Until they made it outside, the danger of collapse remained.
But fortunately, thanks to clearing the dungeon, their visibility was open.
By the effect of the 『Blessing』 granted upon clearing, the dungeon was brightly lit, and the monsters had vanished.
There was nothing left to block them—escape should have been easy.
…Or so it should have been.
“Hey, wait a minute. We passed through here earlier, didn’t we?”
Hinasuu’s complaint came from inside the backpack.
Rakuna tilted her head too.
〝Oh no…〟
〝Aaaah right…〟
〝Uoooooh we forgot!!〟
The comment section realized it at once and erupted into screams.
The most lethal weakness possible at a time like this:
Rakuna is so directionally challenged it’s practically a superpower—an enormous debuff.
“…Don’t tell me you’re directionally challenged?”
“Eh… ah… no…?”
“I’d like to guide you with a sensing skill, but my magic is completely empty. So I’m useless, unfortunately. And I don’t remember the route we took at all.”
“Oh, is that so? That’s a relief. Ehe. Ehehehe…”
“Why do you sound happy about that?”
〝No, that’s the worst possible situation lol〟
〝What part of that is ‘a relief’ lol〟
〝Somehow calming though lol〟
〝She thought she was the only one who couldn’t remember the way, and now she’s happy she’s not alone!〟
〝Narration bro, not now lol〟
〝Abyss-chan, this is not the time to be happy lol〟
〝We’re pretty much in a dead end here…〟
Even in an emergency, Rakuna’s airheaded response drew a storm of tsukkomi from the viewers.
But the suffering continued—
――KRAAAAAASH!!
A deafening roar suddenly echoed through the dungeon.
“—!?”
The air inside the dungeon grew heavy, pressing down like lead.
At the same time, the surroundings began to fill with ominous change.
The interior—lit up by the blessing—rapidly darkened, as if being eaten away by the night.
The dungeon walls, the ground—everything shifted, turning red, then black.
An unmistakable abnormality.
“This can’t be…!”
Hinasuu muttered, her voice laced with panic.
Rakuna felt the unnatural atmosphere on her skin and asked Hinasuu:
“…What… is happening…?”
“…Looks like I had it wrong… This isn’t just a dungeon collapse. The structure itself is being rewritten…!”
“…Huh? W-what do you mean…?”
And the spreading darkness finally swallowed the dungeon whole.
“—This dungeon is being invaded by 『Abyss』…!”