However, my body flipped over in the air like a car in a traffic accident.
Dunkel and Manjin also lost their grip and flew off.
Due to the momentum of being swept down, I kept rolling on the ground.
Because of the fast-flowing water, it wasn’t easy to stop.
Surprisingly, the cold underground water was now hot.
It must be because the geothermal heat here is extraordinary.
The lava lake is right in front of us.
Hiss!
Steam was gushing out with tremendous force from up ahead.
‘Hup!’
I whipped my tail against the ground.
That wasn’t enough, so I dug my teeth into the ground.
Grrrrk!
I managed to stop just before falling into the lava lake.
Dunkel and Manjin?
I can’t see them.
They must have survived on their own!
I only met an unwelcome dwarf.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Blue Beard, his head cracked and bleeding.
He roared in anger.
Moment by moment, water is pouring into the lava lake.
It’s so hot that the orange flames flicker all the way here, even with the enormous amount of water pouring in.
But no matter how strong the fire is, it’s bound to be extinguished if you pour a large amount of water on it.
There’s a law of type matchups proven in Pokémon, after all.
‘Come at me, Blue Beard!’
Despite the fire being extinguished, Blue Beard didn’t come back to his senses.
No, he might already be too deeply insane.
“Y-you…! A mere snake! A lowly creature!”
Raging as if spitting fire from his mouth…
No, actual flames were spewing from Blue Beard’s mouth.
His eyes, which had been as dark as buttonholes, now blazed as if on fire.
“The fire demon is feeling threatened and lashing out.”
Even without Pelerian’s explanation, it seemed so.
Fire spewed from all the holes in Blue Beard’s face.
It soon spread to his beard and hair.
Now he should be called Red Beard rather than Blue Beard.
“Die!”
You die!
I charged at Blue Beard as he rushed towards me.
Fire Fist Blue Beard threw a blazing punch.
With this huge body, I couldn’t dodge.
But if I cancel Gigantification, it’s a simple matter.
Whoosh!
Blue Beard’s fist sliced through the air.
「Using Heart-eating Leap lv3.」
As my body becomes lighter, my speed also increases.
I flew like an arrow, literally.
To eat Blue Beard’s heart.
Chomp!
But instead, my teeth nearly broke.
The cowardly Blue Beard was wearing a dwarf-made chain mail under his clothes.
Blue Beard tried to grab my body with his burning hands.
I don’t want hand marks left on my body, so I quickly burrowed into his side.
In this close combat, I have a secret weapon.
「Using Heavenly Thunder Spirit lv1.」
“You foolish thing.”
‘Oh no!’
We’re underground here!
As I was about to berate myself for my stupid judgment, it happened.
Bzzzzt!
It was a pitiful sound effect compared to the usual ‘Zzzap!’, but.
Blue lightning engulfed both me and Blue Beard simultaneously.
And I, with my higher electric resistance, recovered first.
Crunch!
I succeeded in biting his ankle.
Blue Beard screamed.
Yes,
It seems I’m stronger than Blue Beard after all.
==
Hiss!
An enormous amount of steam rises.
The water pouring into the lava lake vaporizes immediately, creating billowing clouds of steam.
The humidity becomes abnormally high, filling the air with steam well over 100 degrees Celsius.
Dunkel immediately realized the danger of this situation.
If a massive amount of steam fills the mine, everyone will die.
It’s only natural, as their lungs would be cooked the moment they breathe in.
They had predicted that pouring water into the lava lake would produce a massive amount of steam.
But originally, it shouldn’t have been something to worry about.
Ventilation systems are always important in mines.
Especially in dwarf mines, which dig much deeper than human mines, there are impressive ventilation facilities prepared.
If these were properly maintained and managed, this steam should immediately escape through ventilation shafts connected to the surface.
But there’s no sign of that happening.
Instead, the entire space is starting to fill with steam.
“At this rate, everyone will die.”
Knowing this, Dunkel made a decision.
Manjin sensed something ominous from him.
“Brother, what are you thinking?”
“You help the snake.”
“Brother Dunkel!”
Manjin screamed at the top of his lungs.
Dunkel had jumped into the hot steam.
His skin immediately turned bright red.
It was extremely painful.
But he couldn’t even breathe.
Dunkel climbed the stairs installed on the wall, holding his breath.
That’s where the ventilation shafts and their facilities are.
As expected, they’re rusty in places due to lack of proper maintenance.
This could never have happened if the dwarves weren’t entranced by the fire.
‘Valve, it’s the valve!’
Fortunately, there was a large valve that could forcibly open the ventilation shaft.
He was already out of breath, but he had no choice but to run.
When he reached out to turn the valve, Dunkel almost screamed.
The valve was extremely hot.
But Dunkel gritted his teeth and grabbed the valve again.
He had to turn the valve even if his palms were skinned.
Despite using so much strength that veins bulged on his forearms, the valve wouldn’t turn.
Creak, creak.
If he had known this would happen, he would have exercised more diligently.
Whether it was because of regret or because of the thick steam, tears welled up in his eyes.
At that moment, a thick hand was placed on the valve.
When he turned his head, Rozena had appeared.
She grinned, then applied force to her hand on the valve.
Screech!
The valve that had been so stiff began to turn.
And the giant ventilation fan started working.
Whoosh!
The steam that had filled the air was sucked up towards the sky.
Finally, the environment became breathable.
Rozena patted Dunkel’s back.
His burned back stung sharply.
“Well done.”
Her voice was completely hoarse.
It seemed she had inhaled some steam.
“Y-yes, thank, thank you.”
Why are tears streaming down his face?
Dunkel was quite displeased with his own small heart.
And finally, he had the composure to look down.
The snake?
The lava lake where the demon was said to be hiding?
And what happened to father, no, Blue Beard?
The lava lake that had been constantly flickering with orange flames finally had its fire extinguished.
Steam was still rising, but he could see water pooling.
However, there was still one fire that hadn’t been extinguished.
Rozena muttered.
“Genzero…”
Blue Beard’s body was on fire.
The snake was a little distance away from him.
The burning Blue Beard staggered, staggered, towards the lava lake.
And as if it were a lie.
He plunged into the lake.
==
「You have extinguished the demon’s fire.」
「You have defeated Paimon’s fire demon.」
I’ve done it.
「Your level has increased.」
「Your level has increased.」
「Your level has increased.」
…
For sure!
「You have acquired the achievement ‘Demon Slayer’.」
