Delicious in Dungeon vol. 8

Most of the chapters in this volume are focused around our protagonists, yet it doesn’t feel like they’re the ones moving the story forward here.  Their stories are still good fun, starting off with a two-parter which shows us what effects stepping into the changeling ring at the end of the previous volume had on our party.  Are you ready for a Senshi who is also a pretty-boy elf?  Next up is a bit of backstory for Laios and Farlyn as the crew puzzles out what to do about the latter in her new form.  The answer isn’t quite a giant party involving cannibalism, but it’s close!  Then we come back to them at the end for a story involving the Unicorn’s evil counterpart, the Bicorn.  While seeing the cast work their way through the seven deadly sins is good for a laugh, the real meat of the story comes when it’s revealed that Chilchuck is actually a good husband.  From a certain point of view (Marcille’s).

While this is all good stuff, the real meat *rimshot* of this volume lies in the three-part “On Floor One” arc that’s led by Kabru.  He’s still determined to find a way to keep the Canaries — an elvish dirty half-dozen — from handling the dungeon themselves, only to see his plans go completely awry.  Not only does Kabru’s contact have his own ideas, but the dungeon-hunting elves have their own — which sees the first floor overrun by mushrooms!  What starts off as a joke invasion quickly turns dangerous once the giant ones arrive and Kabru finds himself stuck between this threat and the Canaries themselves.

While most of the Canaries are only distinguishable by their appearance, one actually makes an impression through his presumably ruthless actions.  Captain Mithrun may not seem to have much of a personality (or sense of direction), but his skill with teleportation is one of the most inventive and painful-looking uses of the form that I’ve seen.  It’s through his skill with it that the battle winds up turning in their favor and we learn some more things about the dungeon and the one who’s in charge of it.  We also get to see a different side of Kabru at the end, which sets up a promising new direction for the story as things fall apart at the end.