I glanced around for the treasure, but most of it was gone. "Damn it." I looked around me.
I saw some gold and a few daggers near me. I grabbed them quickly, trying to take as much as I could.
"If only I had an inventory like in those isekai stories," I muttered. Right then, the system lit up and opened an inventory screen.
Without stopping to wonder how it was possible (Or how it worked), I imagined putting the items inside. In an instant, they vanished from my hands.
Grinning, I shouted, "Quick, bring me the loot! I can store it with magic!"(Of course, it wasn't magic at all.)
Asta dashed to haul the heaviest items. Noelle picked up whatever was near her. Klaus created a cart, and with Mimosa's help, loaded it. Yuno, ever calm, guided the wind to carry things over to me. Luck moves fast to get the farthest ones. In less than a minute, we had stored a fair amount, though much had been lost when the floor collapsed.
Yuno shaped a wind carriage to carry us to the surface, and we all climbed aboard, everyone except Asta, who ran over to the fallen mage, lifting him with ease and bringing him to us.
Klaus cut him off sharply. "Why are you bringing him? He's the enemy, he tried to kill us!"
Asta looked at him in disbelief. "We came to capture the dungeon, not to kill our enemies."
Yuno interrupted them both, moving the wind to help carry the Diamond Kingdom mage.
I looked at Klaus. "If it bothers you so much, why don't you just tie him up again with your magic?"
Klaus clicked his tongue but did exactly that, muttering under his breath that he wasn't doing it because he wanted to.
The ceiling began to crumble, dust raining down on us. Yuno's usually calm expression tightened, a bead of cold sweat tracing down his temple.
Luck, flared his magic like a sonar pulse, searching for an escape route.
Meanwhile, I frantically rummaged through my mental playlist for something (anything) that fit the moment. An escape theme, something dramatic.
My first thought jumped to the Cave scene from Aladdin… but that needed a full symphonic setup, trumpets, woodwinds, and I was lacking those right now.
Think… think… Maybe Bridge Escape from Undertale? No, still missing instruments.
Do I repetat Driver's High? …No, it won't have the same punch. I need something to go.
Punch... Then it hit me, Ready Steady Go. The perfect style, the perfect energy.
"Alright!" I called out, eyes locking with the others. "Ok people, time to rev up and get ready! This is Ready Steady GO - L'Arc~en~ciel"
I strummed the guitar strings hard and launched into the intro:
♪"READY STEADY CAN'T HOLD ME BACKREADY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCKREADY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACKLET'S GET STARTED, READY STEADY GO!"♪
The music ripples carried a yellow mist. It reached the mages inside the vehicle. Yuno surged with strength and speed, guiding the wind carriage expertly to dodge the falling rocks all around us.
Luck practically buzzed with excitement, charging energy into his arms and firing lightning bolts at anything blocking our way without a second thought about his mana running out.
Even Klaus started drilling through obstacles, clearing our path.
As I kept playing, I muttered to myself, "Could've gone with the Gurren Lagann opening too…"
Luck suddenly turned his head to the right and, pointing, said to Yuno, "Go right, I'll guide you."
As the carriage turned, two massive boulders came crashing down toward us. I narrowed my eyes and kept playing the song.
🎵 "The scenery blows away as if rolling forward, Even in a fluke, I won't miss the target anymore, If the map is useless, just burn it, Let's grasp the buried truth in the palm of this hand" 🎵
"Steel Creation - Drill Lance!" Klaus dramatically moved his hands in front of him. A huge lance shot forward at high speed, smashing into one of the boulders.
Beside him, Luck, his hands crackling with electricity, shouted, "Thunder Creation – Destructor Bolt!" The other boulder shattered into pieces, clearing the way ahead.
🎵 "I've been running through in a frenzy, The pounding heartbeat seems about to burst noisily, Your voice echoes, There's no time to stop here, Ready steady go"🎵
Noelle also pitched in, hurling torrents of water with her magic. While some splashed onto Asta, most struck the falling debris.
Suddenly, we saw the exit, but the pile of rocks blocking it was enormous. I put more force into the song.
🎵 "Even if I carry countless wounds, I won't let my soul be taken away easily, If I could meet you beyond that hill, What should I talk about, I keep thinking about such things"🎵
Luck concentrated magic into his hands, Noelle aimed her wand, Klaus began reciting a spell to forge an even larger weapon, and even Asta opened his grimoire, pulling out his new sword and taking position for an aerial slash. All four of them prepared to strike at the same time.
🎵 "I've been running through in a frenzy, The pounding heartbeat seems about to burst noisily, Your voice echoes, There's no time to stop here, Ready steady go"🎵
As the song hit its most powerful rhythm, all five unleashed their attacks with tremendous force. Even Yuno joined in, sending gusts of wind magic to push the debris away once it had been struck by everyone's magic.
The combined blast was deafening, water torrents, crackling lightning, spiraling wind, and a colossal drill of steel all slammed into the wall of stone. My own heartbeat was keeping time with the tune in my head, every chord I struck sending another surge through them.
With a final, crash, the rocks exploded outward, shards scattering into the open sky beyond. A rush of cold air hit us, carrying the scent of grass and dust. The air hit me in the eyes and I stopped playing the song mid performance.
Yuno didn't hesitate. The wind carriage lurched forward, riding the opening before the debris could settle again. Luck was laughing like a maniac, sparks still dancing around his arms. Noelle let out a half-sigh, half-cheer, though she pretended it was nothing. Klaus adjusted his glasses.
My fingers were sore, my arms felt heavy… but the rush made me grin. "That…" I exhaled, leaning back as the carriage sped through the clearing. "Was worth it."
No one even questioned how the music had pushed them that far. Maybe they didn't care to figure it out.
The carriage vanished, and everyone landed calmly, everyone except me. With nothing to hold onto, I fell flat on my back. As I groaned about it, I noticed Asta yelling, he had fallen too.
Instead of getting angry, I just started laughing.
Soon, everyone joined in the laughter. I even saw Yuno cover his mouth and tease Asta.Asta shot him a look, and the two of them launched into their usual comedy routine.
While we were all celebrating having made it out of that adventure in one piece, a wisp of smoke crept in among the ruins, reaching for the captured mage.
But since no one was too badly injured to fight, Yuno quickly dispersed the smoke with his wind magic, and Asta planted himself in front of the prisoner, massive sword at the ready, eyeing the newcomer with suspicion.
Klaus stepped forward, positioning himself between them. "What do you want?" he asked.
The smoke mage raised one hand in surrender. "Okay, okay… we don't want to fight anymore. He's part of my group, and I just want to get him back. Can't you just look the other way and hand him over?"
Klaus adjusted his glasses. "Do you seriously expect us to just hand him to you like that?"
Asta cut in, lowering his sword. "He's your friend, right? Fine, take him."
Klaus turned sharply toward Asta. "He's our prisoner now! You can't just give him away."
The smoke mage sighed. "I'd rather not fight… truth is, I'm at a disadvantage here."
Slipping my guitar onto my back, I stepped closer. "How about we make a trade? I'm guessing you found some treasures in there. Give them to us, and we'll give you your friend."
Klaus rubbed his chin, glanced at the enemy mage, then nodded. "I think we can work with that."
Asta grinned, hefted the prisoner onto his shoulder, and tossed him into the smoke carriage. The other mage let out a long sigh and dropped the pile of treasures he was carrying."I think we're going to be punished when we get back…"
I walked over, and without hesitation, made the entire pile vanish into my inventory.
As the treasures vanished, the tension in the air noticeably eased. Klaus glanced around, then turned to Asta and Yuno.
"You two... I'm sorry. I couldn't take you seriously before, thinking you were mere commoners, but you've saved us all. I'm truly ashamed." Squinting his eyes, he pulled them both into a hug. "You're both excellent Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom."
Yuno and Asta started squirming, complaining about the sudden embrace, while a mischievous smile spread across my face. Innocently, I chimed in, "Eh? But Yuno isn't exactly a commoner…"
Asta and Yuno shot me a glare, and everyone else suddenly went silent.
I shrugged, pretending not to know what was going on. "Eh?! Didn't you know? Yuno is a prince."
"EHHHHHH!!!!" Everyone shouted all at once.