When I returned from exploring the dungeon to save the world, I found out that my lover had been stolen, and I was blamed for the failed expedition. Enraged, I quit Japan's strongest party—only for them to self-destruct on their own. - Chapter 22

After defeating the so-called “Insect Lord” (lol), we continued moving forward without stopping.

The broadcast remained restricted to dungeon staff only.

You never know what might show up, right?

Kamiya: “Koichi-kun, sorry, but I need to step out for a moment. Seems like there’s some trouble. Let’s go, Mikawa-kun.”

Mikawa Yumeno: “Understood.”

“It’s kinda funny how they go out of their way to communicate through comments.”

“Okita-san…”

Though my uncle and Yumeno-san had already left, Haruka chuckled at my muttering—so cute that I just wanted to hug her.

By chance, I made eye contact with Yokota-san, but he quickly looked away.

It’s not that he dislikes me… but he might be exasperated.

I should probably refrain from flirting too much inside the dungeon.

I keep reminding myself, but I can’t help it—I guess it’s because I’m happy.

Meanwhile, Effie, claiming she was exhausted from the fight with the “Insect Lord” (lol), had fallen asleep on my shoulder.

“But you barely even did anything other than argue,” I pointed out.

In response, she playfully pressed her hind leg against my cheek.

“What the hell?”

Honestly, isn’t it weird how relaxed we are, even though we’re walking through the 100th floor of a high-level dungeon?

I just hope this doesn’t end up delaying our response to whatever incident is about to unfold…

What kind of trouble was my uncle talking about?

Since he didn’t even mention it in passing, does that mean it has nothing to do with me?

As I mulled over these thoughts while walking, we finally came into view of it.

A massive, ominous door radiating a sinister magical aura.

The kind that, in a game, would signal the entrance to the Demon King’s lair.

Yet, I couldn’t sense any magic coming from inside the room.

Does that mean whatever’s inside isn’t that powerful?

Or is its magic control simply beyond my expectations?

Well, no matter what’s in there, it’s bound to be some kind of bug.

I still don’t get why there are bugs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but whatever.

Let’s just take care of this quickly and head back to Tokyo.

If I can help my uncle with his issue, I should.

Anticipating a possible ambush, we applied defensive magic buffs on each other before stepping inside.

Creeeak…

I pushed open the heavy doors.

This was our second time stepping into the boss chamber of a 100th-floor high-level dungeon—one that could lead us back to Tokyo.

…Wait, it’s empty?!

That’s right.

There was no one inside the boss room.

The only other thing in sight was another door on the opposite end from where we entered.

This all but confirmed it—

The Pacific Dungeon definitely has floors beyond the 101st.

But where’s the boss?

Upon stepping inside, I could sense the lingering traces of what was likely the boss’s magic.

And there was also some kind of magical manipulation at work in this room.

The inside and outside were clearly separated by a barrier, which is why we couldn’t sense anything from outside.

“There’s nothing here…”

Haruka murmured.

Yokota-san had run around the room but returned silently.

Effie was still asleep… Hey, aren’t you supposed to be some kind of ‘Demon-Slaying Spirit’!?

Even as we split up to investigate, nothing came up.

Not just on this floor—even across dungeons in general, an empty boss room was unheard of.

“I guess we have no choice but to head back. If we report this to the World Dungeon Association, they might notice changes in the stone tablets and figure something out.”

“That makes sense.”

“Something’s not right…”

Haruka nodded in agreement, but Yokota-san seemed to have noticed something.

“What’s wrong?”

The fact that Yokota-san was speaking at all meant something was definitely up.

If he suddenly said something pointless like, “It’s kinda hot in here,” I’d honestly faceplant on the spot.

But he wasn’t the type to make meaningless comments.

“Chairman Kamiya and Mikawa-san left, but the broadcast itself was still running, right? The other Dungeon Association staff should have been watching. But I just realized—there haven’t been any comments. And when I checked, it turns out the broadcast was cut off right after we entered the room.”

Had he ever spoken this much in one go before?

His unexpectedly pleasant voice almost made me lose focus, but I resisted and tried to process his words while checking the recording.

“The room seems magically sealed from the outside. It’s like a barrier. That’s probably why the broadcast was cut off.”

Just as I suspected.

From what I’d heard, smartphone signals inside dungeons work through the dungeon’s own functions—likely something magic-based.

“We should step outside for a moment. I have a bad feeling about this. This barrier—it’s not something the boss room itself had. Looking at the recording, the broadcast didn’t cut off when we opened the door, but a few steps after we entered.”

Yokota-san still looked uneasy.

If the barrier wasn’t tied to the room itself but instead placed from within, then it wasn’t a built-in feature of the dungeon—someone must have set it up.

“Maybe the boss was a magic-type and cast this barrier… and then teleported somewhere?”

“To where?”

Even as I asked, an unsettling feeling crept up my spine.

Where could it have gone?

Brrrrrrring!

As soon as we stepped outside, the signal returned, and my phone started ringing.

The caller was Yumeno-san.

This didn’t bode well—Yokota-san’s hunch was probably spot on.

Mikawa Yumeno: “Okita-san, we have a serious problem!”

Okita Koichi: “What happened?”

Mikawa Yumeno: “A giant insect-type monster just appeared in Tokyo—ahhh!!”

What…?!