Itai no Wa 195
“And… there we go. Now, I just need to bring one from above and… it’s done!”
After floating a single big shield in the air by using ‘Helping Hand’, she skillfully bent her body and threw herself down on the shield.
And then, she had another big shield float above, keeping her body in between the two shields. She then extended her hand and prepared ‘Mirror of the Dark Night’ in front of her.
Maple was interposed between two shields like a bivalve and was floating above the ground by using ‘Helping Hand’.
“I did it, it worked! …Now I won’t be stepping onto any traps so it will be fine!”
And like that, Maple advanced forward, avoiding traps.
And after a while of progressing, Maple spotted a glittering string drawn from one wall to the other.
“Ah?! Wai–…!”
Without being able to use ‘Helping hand’ properly as she panicked, Maple ended up magnificently severing the string with ‘Akushoku’.
Although the flying spears coming at her was nothing to Maple, she was annoyed at the fact that she was outwitted.
“’Hair Growth’!”
The growing hair all three shields around Maple and turned into a giant sphere of hair floating in the air.
“I don’t know, I don’t care~. I can’t hear your traps anymore~.”
While being inside the big ball of hair, Maple proceeded through the hallway.
Although there were traps attacking Maple along the way, Maple knew nothing of it.
The guillotine, poison darts, spears plunging out from the ceiling or the floor, none of it mattered.
These traps didn’t require any reaction from Maple at this point.
“After I hit a wall, I will turn…. and start searching from the very end! There should be good stuff at the end. You would hide your important stuff at the very end, after all!”
And like this, the floating sphere of hair wavered all the way to the end, destroying all the traps it triggered along the way.
And after a while of that.
“Ah, I hit a wall… can’t go left, eh? Then, right! ….Hmm?”
Having triggered way too many traps, Maple got used to the clunky noise of something activating.
“I wonder what happened… Ah-!?
Maple slightly popped her head out of the hairball.
And then, she realized that she had been trapped in an iron cage.
“Break down, please!”
Maple pushed on the iron cage with her large shield.
As she did that, a hole gaped open in the cage and the cage itself turned to light and disappeared.
“Well, what do you know, it wasn’t as tough as I thought. But, yeah, I guess I could at least keep my face outside…”
After popping her face out of the hairball, Maple continued advancing forward.
Poison gas came gushing out from the walls and the floors broke down but Maple was doing good as always.
“Ah, a dead end. I came quite far so this is probably as deep as I can go, right?”
A single door lied in front of Maple.
Maple, who had decided to start exploring from the very edge, extended her hand to twist the door knob.
“Ah… it’s stuck… Nnnnn, and I am in!”
Maple forcibly crammed the hairball covering her into the room.
Then, Maple looked around the vast room.
There were small candles lined up on the wall at regular intervals, lighting up the room.
Maple could see worn-out walls and floor and armor and helmets lined up close to the wall.
The armors were also holding weapons, which still looked usable from afar.
And there was an even extravagant armor in front, which caught Maple’s eye.
“Is that it~? I wonder what it is~.”
Maple tried floating there but when she had come half way, she spotted a piece of paper on the floor.
“Oops… I will just lower my altitude a little…”
Maple slowly reduced the altitude, extended her hand to grab the piece of paper, and read the contents of it.
“Hmm, let’s see, these stuff are like notes, right? Gets stronger depending on the number of traps activated…? Uwaah?!”
The moment Maple had read up to that part, several chains slid down from the ceiling and tied her up in an instant.
Before Maple could even react, the chains twined around her and immobilized her while she was still in the hairball shape.
Maple tried moving the shields with ‘Helping hand’ but it just swayed a bit and wasn’t enough to let her escape.
“W-what do I do….”
While Maple was suspended in the air, about 20 armors in the surrounding slowly started moving.
The one armor which looked magnificent moved even quicker, as if there was someone inside.
“Well then, it’s time to make some strategy!”
Maple pulled her head inside the hairball and started sorting out the situation.