Chapter 81 You work hard only on useless things .

After Meru disappeared, we advanced to the inner part of the ruin . According to her, there shouldn't be any dangerous trap laid inside . She wasn't intending to say that, but she ended up slipping her tongue on the heat of the moment . It was a truly useful information .

"Then why did she block the use of magic?"

Lina asked as we continued moving forward . Her question was on point . We weren't allowed to use magic inside a place that doesn't have dangerous traps . It was strange . I couldn' predict what Meru was trying to do .

"Maybe she's preparing something else . "

Or maybe she just lied when she said that she ran out of traps to use . Could it possibly be that all that she said was nothing but an act? If that was the case, then I would have to consider many possibilities from now on . As I was contemplating the situation while groaning all alone, Saya who was looking around the place muttered .

"I have a feeling that we would activate some sort of trap only by stepping on the floor . "

The floor and walls were built from stone . They emitted an uncomfortable ambiance; as if something was about to emerge of them . Since this is a dungeon, it wouldn't be weird for that much to happen . Karen who listened to Saya's nonchalant remark immediately reacted with a displeased expression .

"Saya-chan, you shouldn't say stuff like tha—"

Step-!

"Eh?"

Before Karen was able to finish her words, a stone which Saya stepped on had abruptly caved in . Saya stiffened in her place after making a confused voice . Silence overwhelmed the place while all of us remained gazing at the part of the ground she stepped at . Don't tell me... As if responding to the premonition I had, a magic circle appeared in the dent under Saya's foot .

"Eh, no, wait!?"

The magic circle started shining and gradually increasing its brightness . Saya was still bewildered, unable to keep up with what was happening until Lina instructed her to move right away .

"Saya-dono! Hurry up and move from there! Immediately!" "I can't . I can't move..."

Shaking her arms aimlessly, Saya tried to convey to us that she couldn't move . This is bad! So the story about running out of traps was a lie after all . I blamed myself for believing Meru's skilled performance . Moreover, Saya has been raising too many flags recently . Perhaps, it's due to her being a natural airhead . She should stop doing that, honestly . Such thoughts ran through my mind, though none of them were important in our current situation .

"Saya!"

I swiftly moved near Saya and grabbed her hand . When I used my teleportation skill to take her somewhere safe, I remembered that it not possible .

< < 24 . <<<<

"Ah, I forgot..."

I can't use magic here . My impatience and fluster made me forget about it . I stiffened in my place while still seizing Saya's hand . Of course, the magic circle didn't wait for me until I came up with a good idea; it continued to shine brighter, ready to function at any instant .

"Dammit!"

I don't have the time to think about another way out . I closely embraced Saya to protect her from what was about to happen With my stats, it's very unlikely for me to die just from a trap . I used body enhancement and prepared myself for the shock .

Please endure it with me!

Disregarding my desperate attempt to protect Saya, The magic circle reached its utmost radiance and took its effect .

"Saya-dono!! Kamiya Yato!!" "Chief!" "Onii-chan!" "Yato-kun . "

Just like Lina, Karen and Rouga's screams, the magic circle light disappeared in the blink of an eye .

Baaam!!

Something fell from above us .

"He?"

<<<<

That something caused a big noise inside the ruin after it hit my head . I was dumbfounded by the impact that didn't have any damage on me . Not only me, but even Lina and the others were all stupefied while gazing at the thing that fell down .

"What's this?" "A tray . " "It made a terrific noise~!"

It was a traditional silver tray; the one that's often used in comedy shows . Eh? Why a tray?" Unable to grasp the situation, I remained standing in my place, still holding Saya in my arms . Saya also didn't seem to have realized it and kept looking at the tray, in a daze . Just why... Suddenly, a text explaining the situation that made us freeze in our positions for a long while appeared . The moment I read that text, everything became clear while at the same time...

"Haha, you were tricked!"

I felt a strong killing intent sprouting inside me .

"Hoo..."

I finally understood Meru's words after reading the text that was floating in the air and my shoulders started trembling . I see... so that's how it is .

"Y-Yato-kun?"

Saya who noticed me trembling took a glance at my face, unsure of what to say . Karen and Lina were also at loss for words and kept quiet while revealing a nervous expression . Meru did indeed use all the dangerous traps . But that doesn't mean that there won't be any kind of traps in this ruin . Metron, that annoying kid had probably poured more time and labor into making the traps inside this ruin than what he did outside . The reason behind blocking our magic is probably because he wanted to try this trap . He's only putting his hard work on useless things . I felt almost as if I heard his voice while reading the floating text .

"I won't forgive him! Just wait!!"

He got some nerves to make a fool of me . I shall repay him back twice for this humiliation . Restraining my anger towards Metron, I let a sinister grin reach my face . Looking at me grinning on my own, Lina and Karen faced each other with a tired expression, almost as if they gave up .

<<<<

"What are you doing? Let's move . " "Y-Yeah . " "O-Okay . " "That's right . "

When I told them to resume walking, they answered me with a somehow nervous voice .

"I'm going too~!!"

Rouga was the only one among them to answer me with a lively voice . That's the spirit, Rouga . She's the only one who always responds to my expectation . Feeling satisfied with Rouga's reply, I advanced further in the ruin . I will surely knock him out with all the strength I have .

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"So this is the final area . "

>> >>

After walking further into the ruin, we reached a spacious hall . The ceiling was so high that I had to raise my head to see its top and a giant, realistic stone statue was placed in the deepest part of the hall . The place had a befitting ambiance for a final area of the dungeon . We went through various traps on our way to here . All of them were too absurd . I honestly wish I could forget them . A giant cardboard instead of a rock rolling towards us, or a laser beam that turned out to be a simple laser . Just recalling them makes me feel irritated . What made me snap every time was the messages he left in every trap . "Why are you seriously escaping?" or "You are already dead . "

Just wait until I find you . I will make you pay for all of this .

I will burst all this accumulated rage on him . As I was doing my best to control my anger, Saya uttered while pointing at something .

"T-That!"

I turned to see what she was pointing at .

"That's..."

I narrowed my eyes and gazed at that place for longer . It was a magic circle shining ahead of the stone statue . I immediately moved to take a closer look at it, but a hindrance stood in my way .

"I was waiting for you, desu . "

I stopped walking when Meru came in my sight all of a sudden . So she came after all . Well, she did tell me that she will be waiting for us here .

"You've put quite irritating traps in this ruin, didn't you?" "I know that they were nothing but meaningless attempts of resistance for you, Desu . "

Meru replied as she floated in the air . If you have already given up then don't try resisting in the first place .

"So? What are you intending to do now? It would be nice of you if you let us pass, you know . "

Meru shook her head, indicating refusal .

"No, I can't let you pass . It is an order from my master, desu . So..."

Leaving a few moments of silence, she continued .

"... here is my last effort, desu . "

At that instant, an earthquake shook the hall .

"Kya!!" "W-What happened?" "Earthquake?!" "The ground is trembling~ . "

Saya and the others lost their balance while being confused by the sudden earthquake . What's happening? Enduring the trembling ground, I turned to look back at Meru and realized that the stone statue behind her started moving . The statue that was embedded in the stone wall moved its crossed arms and pushed them against the wall to crawl out and stand on the ground . It had the appearance of a stone golem, however, its size was far exceeding that of a normal golem . Its height almost reached the high ceiling . It was undeniably the largest monster I have ever met .

< >>>> >

"Uwa..."

Gazing at the enormous golem that was standing in front of us like a tower, I thought to myself nonchalantly . That's a graceful statue to have come to life .

—————————————————————————————- Bonus

Did you call?

"By the way, Keren . Didn't you call me Onii-chan earlier?" "No, I didn't . " "Eh? No, I did hear-" "I didn't . " "You saying-" "I didn't . " "..." "..." "Why does Karen-dono refuse to admit that she called him that way . " "She's probably afraid of Yato-kun treating her like a little sister . "