Dungeon Refrigerator 265

 Test

Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Mysterious Disease

“Fwoosh…”

In my Armored Bug King suit, I effortlessly mowed down the monsters surrounding me.

Total domination. Even in the middle of this stampede, I’m this relaxed. Seems like all those days I spent raging and rampaging in dungeons after falling into darkness weren’t wasted.

I see. This is what they mean by ‘a blessing in disguise,’ huh?

After wrapping up the fierce battle with the massive monster horde, I felt refreshed. I started heading south down a narrow tributary in a mucus boat, keeping a low profile to avoid any unnecessary contact with others. Yeah, running into the military or police right now would just be a hassle.

…

But when I finally arrived at the super sento (bathhouse) where Tsunami-san works, for some reason, it had been turned into a fortress.

(Whoa, what the heck? This looks like a military base…)

The super sento was surrounded by JSDF vehicles, with barbed wire and concrete block barricades everywhere. Compared to the simple defensive formations I used to make, this was on a whole different level.

“Hey there, good work out here~”

“……”

On top of an armored vehicle parked at the entrance, a soldier with his hand on a machine gun was on alert. I casually greeted him as I walked into the compound.

He stared at me intensely, but nobody stopped me. Phew… well, during a crisis like this, no one wants to mess with someone dressed this outrageously for obvious reasons.

I had been wearing the Insect King mask during the battle, but in populated areas, I switched to a motorcycle helmet. I’d rather not get shot by the military again.

Even so, I probably still looked suspicious once inside.

At the entrance, near the shoe lockers, I stripped off my gear until I was left with just the simple body of the Insect King suit. Well, even this is flashy enough, but it’s better than the fully armored festival float version.

I headed to the relaxation area, Leaf, looking for Tunami-san, and quickly found her inside.

“Hello, Tsunami-san.”

“Huh, Egetsu-san…!?”

When I called out to her, Tunami-san, who had been sitting on a stool working on something, stood up with a startled expression, her hand covering her mouth.

“It really is you, Egetsu-san… You… you actually came…”

Huh? She seems really touched. Her eyes are even welling up with tears, like she’s about to cry.

“Yes. When I met Shark—ah, no, Ruri-kun, she was worried because she couldn’t reach you, Tsunami-san. So I came to check on you.”

“Oh… I see… (sigh)”

Wait, did I say something wrong? Now she looks really down…

“Hey, who are you? Why are you bothering Senpai when she’s busy? She’s clearly troubled.”

I heard an irritated voice from behind me. Turning around, I saw a young guy in a facility uniform with his left arm in a sling glaring at me.

“...?”

“Stop that! Egetsu-san helped out here before you even joined!”

Oh, no, it’s not like I helped that much. If anything, I’m sorry about the trouble caused by my old coworkers acting out here before.

“Move! Clear the way, please!”

The conversation was cut off by a JSDF officer’s shout as he carried a stretcher.

“Whoa!”

“Kyaa!”

People scattered as the stretcher passed through. In the rush, Tunami-san and I ended up on the same side, getting pushed closer together.

“Are you okay, Tsunami-san?”

“Y-Yes, thank you.”

“(Gah… damn it!)”

Supporting her as she stumbled, I ended up holding her in an awkward position. I could hear the young guy from before letting out a frustrated groan, obviously annoyed.

(What’s up with him? Is he mad? Jeez…)

“Tsunami-san, be careful! There’s a monster nearby!”

“W-What!? In the building!?”

After fighting monsters for so long, I hardly ever misread their presence. It’s faint, but there’s definitely a monster’s presence here.

“Bwahahaha! Guh… guheh… guheh…”

Suddenly, an eerie laugh echoed from the person on the stretcher.

“Guh… ugh…”

But something’s off.

The person on the stretcher was a woman, her face contorted in pain. That laugh didn’t come from her. So where did it come from…?

“What the hell is that noise…? Hey, what’s the story with this patient?”

While I kept my guard up, a white-haired doctor with glasses questioned the JSDF officers who brought in the patient.

“Well… we weren’t able to determine the cause ourselves. That’s why we brought her here for further examination…”

“Hmph? What a vague answer. Alright, let me take a look at the patient.”

“Ah, wait!”

A JSDF officer tried to stop him, but the doctor had already pulled off the blanket covering the patient.

And there it was—a monster.

However it wasn’t just there—an ugly, lumpy face was stuck to the woman’s left shoulder and chest, grotesquely growing out of her.

“‘Heehee!’”

““Kyaaa!””

“““No way! What is that…!!”””

“““““Waaaahhhhh!!”””””

Screams erupted as people fled from the scene. Damn it… a panic had broken out inside the building.