Day 521-530/Day 528

Day 528 / 58th day
　Around evening, I arrived at the fiftieth floor. Looking through the stairs connected to the 49th floor, I found myself on the rooftop, where I could not only feel the breeze flowing by, but also see the sunset over the mountains and the stars shining in the sky.
　In other words, it's outside. There is no fence or wall surrounding the flat floor, which is about 200 meters in diameter. I thought that anyone who could fly could come here directly, but when I concentrated on my observations, I found that there was something thin on the outer edge. It was like a transparent glass. I wondered if it was a warding or something like that.
　I threw a pebble as hard as I could to check it out. A gust of wind boosted it, increasing its distance and making it reach the outside with plenty of time to spare. I guess I had enough momentum. But the pebble didn't go out, it hit something and bounced back. A hard sound echoed. I knew there must be some kind of warding or something like that. I thought, but a small bird entered and passed through without any obstacle. Hmmm, I don't know, but I'll just have to be careful about falling.
　I regained my composure and observed my surroundings, but I couldn't find any other stairs leading upward, so I was sure that this was the top floor where the ancient detonation control emperor "Astrakium" was supposed to be.
　I decided to take a rest on the stairs to prepare myself. I took out a lot of the tasty parts of the dungeon monsters I had killed so far and gobbled them up. I filled my stomach and began to inspect my equipment while storing materials for recovery. I sharpened the tip of my vermillion spear, which had never been damaged no matter how hard I slashed, with a whetstone and wiped it with a clean cloth. He also prepared his greatsword, cloak, poisonous scales, and other restorative medicines, and then took a nap for about an hour. Even with the nap, my physical strength, which had been drained by the abilities, was recharged. With my preparations in order, I set foot on the fiftieth floor in order to defeat the ancient detonator-controlled Celestial Emperor "Astralium".
　The sun had already set, and the stars and moon were shining in the night sky. It's a fantastic sight that blows away the mental fatigue of several days of conquest, but as I walk to the center of the floor, I no longer have time to enjoy the surroundings.
　Suddenly, a glowing sphere of light in a mixture of black, white, and gray appeared a few dozen meters above us.
　What emerged from the sphere was a human-shaped "Astralium" about four meters tall, with a gray midline about three centimeters wide and different features on each side of its body. The "Astralium" could be described as a combination of an angel and a demon.
　The right half of the body was angelic. A beautiful woman's face, four pure white wings with no stain on her back, a shining holy sword decorated like a gray balance in her soft white hands, and clothes colored in white and silver. The left half of his body is a demon. A man's face is full of mischief, and from his back are four wings shaped like distorted black hands, while his muscular, reddish-black metallic hands hold a shield with a black skull on one side and a tilted gray balance on the other, and clothes colored black and red.
　　 　The figure looked as if it was balancing on both sides, reminiscent of the composition of the labyrinth so far.
　I gulped at the sight of it. I could tell just by confronting it that it was overwhelming. The density and quality of the magic power released is the highest I can remember, and my sense of smell, which has eaten many prey in the past, tells me that it is the highest quality prey. Then there was no choice but to eat it. I grabbed my vermillion spear and rushed out without hesitation.
　It smiled and bared its fangs.
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PLACE TRANSLATIONS ABOVE THE BAR. THESE ARE THE RAWS, LEAVE THEM HERE. CLICK EXPAND TO VIEW THEM.
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　“五十八日目　／　五■二■八■目”
　夕方頃、五十階に到着した。
　四十九階と繋がっている階段から覗いたそこは屋上となっていて、流れていく風を感じるだけでなく、山陰に沈んでいく夕日や空に光る星も見える。
　つまり外だ。
　直径で二百メートル程度の平らな床が広がり、周囲を囲う柵や壁はない。
　飛行可能な者なら直接やって来れそうだ、とも思ったが、よくよく集中して観察すると、外縁部には薄らとした何かがある。
　透明なガラスのような、と言えば良いのか。
　結界とかそんな感じの物なのだろうか。
　ちょっと確かめる為、小石を全力投球。突風で後押しして飛距離を伸ばし、外まで余裕をもって届かせた。
　勢いは十分あっただろう。しかし小石は外に出ず、何かに当たって跳ね返った。硬質な音が響く。
　やはり結界とかそんな感じの物があるのだろう。
　と思ったが、小鳥が何の障害も無く入り込み、通過していく。うーむ、よく分からんが、とりあえず落下には気を付けるとしよう。
　気を取り直して周囲を観察したが、上に続く階段は他に見当たらない為、ここが古代爆雷制調天帝“アストラキウム”が居るはずの最上階で間違いない。
　準備を行うため、一度階段で休息する事にした。
　これまで仕留めたダンジョンモンスターの中から美味かった部位を大量に取り出し、ガツガツ喰う。
　腹を満たし、回復のための材料を蓄えながら装備の点検を始めた。
　どれほど硬い物を斬っても刃毀れ一つ無い朱槍の穂先を一応砥石で研ぎ、汚れ一つ無いが綺麗な布で拭く。
　その他大剣や外套、毒鱗やその他回復薬やらを用意してから、一時間ほど仮眠する。
　仮眠でもアビリティによって消耗していた体力は充実した。
　準備が整ったので、古代爆雷制調天帝“アストラキウム”を討伐するべく五十階に足を踏み入れる。
　既に日は沈み、夜空には星月が輝いている。
　数日間の攻略による精神的な疲労も吹っ飛ぶような幻想的な光景だが、中央付近まで歩いてくると周囲を楽しむ余裕はなくなった。
　突如、数十メートルほど斜め上空に生じた白と黒と灰色が混ざった色合いに輝く光の球体。
　そこから顔を出したのは、三センチ程の幅がある灰色の正中線を区切りとして、身体の左右で特徴の異なる身の丈四メートルはあるだろうヒト型の“アストラキウム”だった。
　“アストラキウム”は天使と悪魔が合体したような姿をしている、と表現できた。
　右半身は天使だ。美しい女の顔に、背中からは穢れ一つ見当たらない純白の翼が四翼、傷一つない白い柔肌の手が握るのは灰色の天秤のような装飾が施された輝ける聖剣であり、白と銀で彩られた衣服。
　左半身は悪魔だ。禍々しい男の顔に、背中からは黒く歪な手のような形状の翼が四翼、筋骨隆々で赤黒い金属のような手が握るのは黒い異形の頭蓋骨が片方に乗って傾いた灰色の天秤が描かれた盾であり、黒と赤で彩られた衣服。
　　 　まるで左右でバランスをとっているようなその姿は、これまでの迷宮の構成を彷彿とさせた。
　その姿を見て、ゴクリ、と思わず喉が鳴る。
　対峙しただけで分かる重圧感。放出される魔力の密度と質は記憶にある中でも最上であり、これまで数多の獲物を喰ってきた嗅覚が最高級の獲物であると告げている。
　だったら喰うしかない。朱槍を握りしめ、躊躇いなく駆け出した。
　笑いを浮かべ、牙を剥く。
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 3