Chapter 135: The God Of Earth

Minotauros’s head landed on the ground.

It was a precarious battle for me, as the time to maintain the Sanctuary and Dormant Explosion was running out, but did it not seem that way to others?

“…Is it over? Wasn’t he just stalling for time?”

“Who said Minotauros had strong physical resistance?”

“It was strong though. And at the end, there was also some special ability mixed in.”

“Still… Does anyone know that guy’s name? I’ve never seen his face before.”

“A cute boy with a dangerous vibe…huff, huff.”

“Tie him up for now…”

The adventurers around were murmuring. There was one odd person in the midst, but the reactions were generally similar.

Admiration for what I had done. And curiosity about the new face.

“…But then, what happens to our subjugation?”

“The formation breaking down was all because of that guy in the first place.”

And a bit of resentment? Blame? There was that too. However.

Clank. Clank.

Lydia stood beside me, her armor clinking. Everyone fell silent at her appearance.

It was understandable, considering everyone here had seen firsthand how sensitive Lydia was to any slander against me, and how strong she was.

Lydia, brushing off the gazes around her, extended her hand to me.

“Jonah. Are you okay?”

“Uh-huh. I’m still okay.”

Sanctuary and Dormant Explosion are still maintained. It seems like it will fade in a minute or two.

…Then, will I collapse just like this?

Most of the adventurers around me are either friendly or startled, but some are discontent.

Not just emotional discontent, but dissatisfaction regarding the subjugation rewards.

Remembering the saying from my past life that “Proof takes a lifetime, but incitement only a moment”, I decided to strike first.

“Ahem. Everyone? It seems I ended up handling this alone. So, it would be best if I took the most loot, right? Ah, but don’t worry! You didn’t contribute much anyway, did you? So, it won’t count as a subjugation, and you can catch it again next time!” �

A moment of flowing silence. I realized the atmosphere had become oddly prickly.

Maybe it was because the battle had just ended and the excitement hadn’t died down. My tone, being more aggressive than usual, might have sounded a bit strange.

To summarize roughly, it was something like, ‘Heh~ Losers~! You didn’t even contribute, and you want the loot? There’s no loot for weak adventurers like you, so why don’t you just retry next time?’

Lydia also sensed it and looked around smoothly before asking.

“Anyone dissatisfied?”

As if waiting for this, a middle-aged adventurer raised his hand.

He doesn’t seem to be one of the subjugation participants, but rather one of the accompanying guardians.

“I agree with you taking most of the spoils. However, our share shouldn’t be nonexistent. Depending on how much we get, there may or may not be dissatisfaction.”

He was a rare male adventurer. With a dignified appearance, he looks quite impressive even to another man.

You know, the kind of guy with hair that’s half-gray and looks almost silver. And a neatly groomed beard.

A style that always has steady demand even on Earth, so how would it be in this world?

Isn’t it a bit like a MILF? In fact, a few women around were staring at him blankly, blushing.

But Lydia, who was looking at the bearded man like a pebble on the street, nodded as if she agreed.

“Hmm. I’ll ask the person involved. Jonah?”

“Oh, yes. Anyway, I should at least cover the cost of the potions and scrolls he used. Besides, it’s true that he did draw aggro at the beginning….”

After thinking for a moment, I pointed in the distance to the horn that had fallen.

“Would it be okay if we split that one?”

“…Not bad.”

The bearded man nodded in satisfaction. However, was money not his goal from the beginning? Even though the conversation had ended, he subtly asked another question.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“It’s Jonah.”

“Which clan do you belong to?”

“I don’t have a clan, but there is someone who looks after me.”

“Ah, are you apprenticed to Miss Lydia? She’s an excellent person.”

“Ahem.”

“But the nature of individual support and group support is different. Above all, there are hardships that us men have which are difficult to confide to women. In the case of the ‘Men’s Days’ clan I’m part of, it consists only of men…”

“Eh.”

Was this an invitation to join a clan? But I have no intention of belonging to any particular clan. At least not now.

Especially if it’s a sausage fest.

Ugh… Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

Not all men in a gender-reversed world are gay, but…there’s a peculiar sense of incongruity.

I nodded roughly and quickly changed the subject.

“I’ll think about that part later. Anyway, he says that one horn is fine, is it the same for others?”

“Well. Minotauros’s horns are the most expensive.”

“We won’t lose out even if we share.”

“If we crumble after one mistake, it’s because of a lack of skill. Back in my day…”

“No, if someone heard you, they’d think you’re from a few hundred years ago.”

A generally agreeable atmosphere. Just as I thought I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Ah.”

My entire body is suddenly drained of strength. My legs tremble, and my vision starts to spin.

The duration of Dormant Explosion has ended, and the backlash has hit.

Fortunately, Sanctuary’s deployment lasts a bit longer, so I’m barely holding on thanks to it…

It’s clear that the Sanctuary will end before I fully recover today.

Trying not to show it, I leaned my head on Lydia’s shoulder.

“Miss Lydia, Miss Lydia.”

“Yes.”

Lydia, understanding everything, carries me on her back. The adventurers who had been noisy earlier fall silent again.

“Come to think of it, I think he ate something before the battle…”

“Was it a kind of stimulant? Well. No matter how great his talent may be, it’s impossible to overwhelm a Floor Guardian alone.”

“Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that he overwhelms other adventurers of the same rank.”

Whispering voices. Good. As planned. It’s unavoidable to attract attention, but this way, I can hide about 30% of my power.

In fact, I not only hid the true nature of the Sanctuary deployment, but also the existence of Basilieus and the Invisibility Cloak.

Riding on Lydia’s back, I waved my arms and spoke.

“Miss Lydia. Miss Lydia. Could you now process Minotauros’s materials?”

“Hmm….”

Lydia let out a dissatisfied hum. It was clear that she had something else in mind, glancing this way.

Well, there’s only one thing Lydia would want at this timing.

I chuckled and lowered my voice. A fallen noble with nothing but pride left. They spin their final lifeline into a form of elegance.

“Miss Lydia. My loyal guard. Will you gather the glory of victory for me, and for yourself?”

“As you command.”

Only then did Lydia, satisfied, draw out a suitably sized longsword. Easy.

The adventurers watching this scene were in shock…but there’s no need for that.

This is a kind of role-play. Just a simple game.

As I shook my head and hummed, Lydia neatly sliced Minotauros’s corpse with her drawn blade.

Originally, using a dagger for this kind of dismemberment is the norm… But isn’t using a small dagger to disassemble this gigantic body too inefficient?

Above all, someone like Lydia can display sufficient skill even with a longsword.

At first, it seemed like she was stabbing Minotauros’s belly vertically, then she swiftly skinned it, and took two of the remaining thigh bones.

And then, she grabbed the head with only one horn left, and that was it.

After all, he was once a hero, so this kind of tragic end leaves a bit of a bitter aftertaste.

Of course, that bitterness will return as a reward from the gacha, so it’s bearable.

Unable to fit everything into the subspace bag, Lydia, who had tucked the severed head under one side of her waist, finally extracted the Magic Stone.

Fwoosh.

Minotauros’s body turned to ashes and scattered, then was absorbed into the Heart of the God of Earth.

Strictly speaking, that heart is an illusion, and the ashes blend into the Labyrinth itself… but at least to the eye, it appeared so.

The God and the Champion. The fallen hero who couldn’t be killed and was sealed away. The two who were buried together in the same grave, having failed to find a cure till the very end.

There must have been twists and turns between the God of Earth and Asterios that even I, as the author, couldn’t know.

In the end, they did not meet a happy ending, and now their divinity and greatness have been reduced to mere prey.

Even so, to say that their choices and achievements were meaningless would not be right.

I bowed slightly towards the real remains buried deep within, not the specter manifested in the Labyrinth.

“May you rest peacefully in the embrace of Mother Earth.”

A softly murmured eulogy. In response, a small warmth rose from deep within.

The now familiar sensation of a Power being engraved.

…Simultaneously, my vision turned black.