Jewelry Production One Hundredth Anniversary Idol Appreciation Concert The sun had been shining without a cloud in the sky since early morning, making this a perfect day to spend outdoors. The beautiful weather alone wasn’t enough to explain the gargantuan line that stretched outside of Starmine Hall, however. The area was loud from complaints about pushing and warnings from staff to not run. The line wasn’t exactly well organized, but the fans were unusually understanding of the staff’s difficulties. This was the largest idol concert ever held, and thinking about that fact turned all feelings of irritation to joy. The rising excitement for the concert was palpable. “Skewered eel! Who wants some skewered eel?!” “I’ve got water! It’s important to stay hydrated! You don’t want to faint during the concert! I’ve got ice, too!” “Donuts, donuts! Nothing better at a concert than donuts!” Street vendors were forcing their way toward the line to set up stalls or peddle their wares on foot. Some had received permission from management to sell outside the venue, but many had not, assuming stubbornly that they would be able to slip into the crowd unnoticed and perform monetary calculations in their head. It wasn’t only the fans who were looking forward to this day of celebration. “Man, Nick has some horrible luck. I can’t believe he has to miss the greatest concert ever staged!” Willy, an adventurer idol fan, excitedly said to Jonathan. “Mm-hmm… Let’s have enough fun for him, too,” Jonathan replied, fervently repressing the desire to tell him about how that bastard had betrayed them and was currently working alongside the idols. He had to keep his word, and Nick did get him a signed card. “Oh yeah, some weird people have been showing up at concerts lately. If you see any, leave them to the adventurers and run. At the last concert, I gallantly rushed to Lady Tiana’s aid—she’s one of Nick’s friends—and saved her life. I can feel it. She’s fallen for me,” Willy said. “R-really? I hope nothing happens, though. Everyone’s been looking forward to this concert,” Jonathan responded. He looked at the concert venue, Starmine Hall. It had the majesty of a cathedral made to worship the gods, yet there was something pure about it as well. He was simultaneously awed by its beauty and a little scared of it. It was like a fortress built to protect the girls from evil. Good luck, Nick, he thought. There was a small room in the upper floors of Starmine Hall built for operating the lighting equipment and performing maintenance on the vents. A small window—built at an angle so that it could not be seen from the ground—in the room offered a sweeping view of the area below. The Survivors had stationed themselves in this room to watch the situation. “This is an impressive crowd. I see many of Nick’s friends. Oh, there’s Jonathan,” Bond said, straining his eyes curiously. “Be careful, Bond. We don’t want anyone we know to see us,” Nick warned. Bond assured Nick—not very convincingly—that he understood. “Man, I wanted to be a part of that line.” “You can’t be serious,” Tiana said, rearing back. “Of course I am! Concerts are supposed to be viewed from the stands!” Nick argued. “I’m sure you feel the same way for dragon races. There are long lines for those, too.” “Grk, I guess I can’t argue with that,” Tiana admitted, looking away to avoid Nick’s smug grin. “It’s a little hot in here… I’m quite jealous of those in the air-conditioned waiting room,” Zem complained. “The idols are in here, so of course it’s air conditioned. Do you want to try wearing these clothes, Zem?” Karan said indignantly through Telepathy. “This isn’t easy for you, either. I apologize,” Zem said. “You bet it isn’t. As long as you understand.” Karan harrumphed. Karan was the only member of the Survivors not in the small room; instead, she was with the idols in the waiting room. The Jewelry Production security staff and the soldiers Joseph had procured were handling security throughout the venue, while it was Nick, Tiana, Zem, and Bond’s job to wait in a location from which they could quickly deal with any demon-god worshipper threats. Defending Diamond’s main body was their top priority, however, and they needed to assure the safety of the idols as well. The barrier surrounding the stage would make it difficult to reach, and no matter how quickly the rest of the party dealt with the demon-god worshippers, they needed someone close to the performers. They selected Karan for that job. She wouldn’t be able to protect Diamond from the wings of the stage or from below it; she needed to be onstage with the idols and somehow remain inconspicuous. They decided the best way for her to do this would be to dress as an idol and join them. Karan wouldn’t sing, of course—she would essentially perform the role of a stagehand. The costume was simply a disguise so that she could blend in when the idols needed to gather onstage. There was no better way to allow her to respond immediately to trouble and fool their enemies. They didn’t want anyone to realize she was a guard. Karan was fine with being assigned to defend the idols, but she protested vehemently against the costume. It took Nick and all the other Survivors, along with Agate, Daffodil, and Diamond, to calm her down and convince her to do it. “I don’t know if you’ll make the most convincing stagehand,” Tiana said. “None of them look like stagehands. Even the people who will clean the stage are wearing slightly simpler versions of the idol costumes. That’s what Diamond prefers. She said I couldn’t wear black for that reason,” Karan explained. “Interesting…,” Tiana said. “Anyway, is everything okay over there?” Nick asked. “A fan got excited and tried to force his way back here, but venue security caught him. No one has gotten into the waiting room. Everything’s fine,” Karan answered. “There’s nothing to do but wait for the show, then. We should go out and eat once this is over,” Nick suggested. He spoke casually, but there was clear resolve in his voice. He was maintaining a calm mental state—not too tense, not too relaxed—in preparation for the fight. “…What do you want to eat, Nick?” Karan asked. “Hmm, nothing comes to mind right away, but…oh yeah. You mentioned northern-style barbecue recently. We’re gonna have more money than we’ll know what to do with after this job, so we might as well go to a high-end restaurant,” Nick said. “High-end restaurants have a dress code. You should have Diamond pick out some clothes for you,” Karan said. “That’s your response? And wouldn’t that be more expensive than the food?” Nick said, and the others laughed. When the laughter died down, Karan said, “…I feel like I understand now why you took me to Pot Snake Cave without explaining yourself.” “Huh?” Nick wasn’t sure why she was recalling that now. “You had probably been keeping that concern to yourself for a while. Leaders like you and Diamond have to carry so much weight all the time. I don’t know if I could do it.” “That’s nothing to be impressed by. I should have talked to you.” “I still think it’s amazing. I’ve spent so much time wondering why you wouldn’t talk to me, and what you were thinking about, and I finally feel like I understand.” “Don’t learn from me. Don’t learn from Diamond, either, for that matter. That girl’s nuts,” Nick said. “I don’t mind Diamond. I’m okay with you being a little nuts, too,” Karan responded. “Really?” “I think leaders can be forgiven for turning out that way,” Tiana said. “Diamond is quite ambitious. It actually might not be so bad to emulate her,” Zem offered. “Give me a break. I don’t even want to think about having to deal with more people like her,” Bond said. Karan was happy to hear this from her party members. “You should do what you want in life, Nick. That goes for the rest of you, too. Don’t be afraid to act like idiots. We’re adventurers, after all,” she said with a caring and encouraging tone. Her words filled the other Survivors with warmth and confidence. They all felt the desire to protect Starmine Hall on this day of great passion. “I’m going to do my job,” said Karan. “No one will lay a finger on the idols.” “That’s what I wanna hear. We’ll leave the stage to you,” Nick said. “Okay!” Karan replied happily. The Starmine Hall staff opened the main gate as the telepathic conversation came to an end. Nick looked down through the window and watched the line of people flood into the venue. Some veteran concertgoers entered calmly and got in line for merchandise or food, but most people pushed and shoved their way through the crowd as their excitement got the better of them. The crowd’s noise was loud enough to penetrate the soundproof walls and shake the small staff room. The crowd eventually calmed down, but after a short silence, the venue began to vibrate much more intensely than before. The opening song had begun. “Do you wish you were watching, Nick?” Zem asked. “It’s fine. Experiencing a concert from the staff side for a change is interesting. Just the once, though,” Nick said with a shrug, leaning his back against the wall. The vibration felt good. This was a sensation reserved for those behind the scenes. “I sense trouble,” Bond said shortly afterward. “Okay. Where is it? How many people are there?” Nick asked. “There is an especially sinister presence at the rear gate. It is only one person. I sense no backup… They seem quite dangerous, however. They are significantly stronger than any false paladins we have encountered thus far,” Bond answered. “Zem and I will go first. We’ll switch Zem for Tiana, depending on what the enemy does,” Nick said. “Be careful,” Tiana urged. Nick gave her a reassuring thumbs-up. “““Union!””” Nick, Zem, and Bond shouted together, summoning a torrent of light. Far beneath the rooftop routes the Steppingman used to avoid detection, Labyrinth City also had an extensive underground network. It consisted primarily of sewers, transport tunnels for garbage, and emergency shelters that had long since been sealed. But while the underground was complex and mysterious, it wasn’t considered dangerous like the Garbage Heap was. The reason for that was because Sun Knights had permission to enter for criminal investigations. The Order of the Sun Knights and the Organization for Labyrinth City Development—which worked directly under the lord of Labyrinth City—had mapped out the tunnels and were fully aware of their layout. Or at least, that should have been the case. Nick’s guess that there might be a safe house only accessible with the False Root Staff seemed to be correct. The ominous creature crawling sluggishly out of a manhole that connected to the underground passageways was proof of that. The creature was beyond grotesque. It was human from the neck up, but below it was made of a glutinous, slime-like material that barely formed the shape of a human body. Tags packed tightly onto its body seemed to hold the slime together. “Ourruurruugghh…” A silver knight stood in its path, tall with a carefree demeanor. Their strange sword with four blades extending in opposite directions did nothing to diminish their pure, godly aura. Their eyes were almost foxlike, and their physique appeared both strong and handsome. Their captivating form stood in stark contrast to the revolting creature before them. “Ruuruugh… Who…are you…? Get in my way…and I’ll eat you…” ““It looks like a monster, but it can speak… Hmm? I recognize your face from somewhere,”” Nick/Zem said. They realized as they studied the creature that they had seen its dreadful face before. The black hair, the unshaven jaw, the bloodshot eyes—those features belonged to a man who should have been dead. ““Are you…Eishu?! I saw you get beheaded!”” Nick/Zem shouted. “Heh-heh… I was kept alive on the brink of death… Shit! My arms are melting… My body is melting…! So cold… So hot…! H-help me… I’LL KILL YOU…!” Eishu moaned. ““C-calm down. You’re not making sense,”” Nick/Zem said. Eishu sounded just as insane as his body was grotesque. His expression shifted rapidly between rage, anguish, and pleasure, and his words contradicted each other. Nick/Zem found the nonsensical speech just as terrifying as his vast mana and strength. “How cruel… No one can live as just a head and retain their sanity,” Bond said pityingly. ““What the hell happened to him?”” Nick/Zem asked. “His head may have been kept alive using the life-support system of holy armor. That power can be used to supplement missing body parts and let them live on temporarily,” Bond conjectured. ““How could he possibly fight in that state…?”” “With those tickets. They are absorbing mana from the concert and using it to compensate for the unstable condition of his body.” Nick/Zem focused on the tags and were stunned to realize what those tags were. They were all counterfeit tickets, and each one was feeding Eishu a sinister strength. ““Did Garos not behead him to silence him, then?”” Nick/Zem wondered. “It was probably to prevent his betrayal. If Garos told him he would use some form of magic to restore his original body, Eishu would not be able to oppose him. Garos could also have influenced his mind when he lost his body and mental stability,” Bond said. ““How deplorable,”” Nick/Zem said gravely. Anger at the abuse of this man’s life and dignity rose from Zem’s soul. “You’ll pay for giving me this body… I’ll make you the same as me…!” Eishu moaned. ““You’re blaming the wrong person, dammit! Say that to Garos! Where is he?!”” Nick/Zem shouted. “Sileeeeeence!” Eishu bellowed angrily and tore one of the counterfeit tickets off his body, causing a gross, reddish-brown mixture of blood and bodily fluids to spill out of the hole. He dipped a writing brush into the liquid and used it to write on the ticket. A moment later, two new arms sprouted from his back. Just like the first arms, one held a counterfeit ticket while the other held a writing brush. He repeated the process ten times until twenty gooey arms protruded from his body, each pair writing on a ticket. ““That can’t be good!”” “Take this! Ten Lightning Burrrrrsts!” Eishu glared at Nick/Zem, his grotesque body no longer even resembling a human shape, and lifted all the counterfeit tickets he had written on into the air. A dark cloud formed above Nick/Zem and immediately struck with a tremendous bolt of lightning. ““Grk… Bond…!”” Nick/Zem shouted. “I know, I know! I’ll form a wall!” Bond called back, floating above Nick/Zem’s head and spinning rapidly. Bond shone with brilliant light as the equally bright lightning bolts fell like rain, and he successfully deflected them all. Just as the storm finished, Eishu struck with multiple black fists, stunning Nick/Zem with a chain of heavy blows. The fists felt as heavy as morning stars or flails. But that was only a feint. Nick/Zem realized belatedly that Eishu had stuck counterfeit tickets to their arms. When they tried to peel them off, the tickets exploded in bursts of wind magic, slicing Nick/Zem’s body with razor-sharp blades of pressure. ““Grk… Oww…!”” “Be careful! He is rewriting the counterfeit tickets into talismans! The mana from the concert will allow him to cast advanced spells of all elements!” Bond warned. “Heh-heh-hah! Are my Wind Blade talismans painful?!” Eishu shouted. Nick/Zem healed themselves as they glared at Eishu. His attacks were powerful and too erratic to predict. ““He’s tougher than Leon was… He’s truly skilled, and his body’s got more strength than a monster’s. But he’s only human,”” Nick/Zem said. “He cannot survive long in that state. Even with his new body, he will not last a month. You may as well consider him deceased,” Bond said. ““We have no choice but to take him down,”” Nick/Zem replied. “Heh-heh… Ouurruruggh… Out of my wayyyyy!” Eishu swung his upper arms as if performing some kind of bizarre dance while his lower arms tore tickets off his body to write on them. Oil-like liquid flowed from his body with each ticket he removed. “I take that back. At this rate, his life-support system will fail, and he won’t even survive the fight! He loses mana with each ticket he uses! His body will not hold!” Bond said. ““What?!”” Nick/Zem exclaimed. “All we have to do is outlast him…though that would feel like an empty victory,” Bond said. While Bond was still speaking, Eishu attacked again, this time with fire and lightning magic. ““Dammit, his attacks are gonna reach the venue,”” Nick/Zem cursed. They used the four-bladed sword as a shield again to block flames and lightning from another set of talismans. ““Grk… Should we switch to Tiana?”” Nick/Zem’s strength was hand-to-hand combat. Their healing magic awarded them impossible toughness, and their agility further accelerated Nick’s martial arts skill, allowing them to toy with their opponents. Protecting a wide range from a barrage of spells was not their specialty, however. “That would be ideal, but…only if we get the chance,” Bond responded. Their odds of defeating Eishu while protecting the venue were slim. Their opponent was insane; if he got past them, many people would die. “You talk a big game for someone so messy.” Nick/Zem heard a cool voice as they wondered what to do. They didn’t have the leeway to turn around and see who it was. “Ouruuruughaah!” Eishu growled. “Wow, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed… You may have gotten stronger, but your fighting style is the same as before. Don’t think it will work on me… Consume his violent mana, Wind Whale!” The voice’s owner drew a sword, and Nick/Zem felt a strange current. It wasn’t wind—the flow of mana in the air was being manipulated. The flames and lightning released from Eishu’s talismans were diverted toward the sword, disappearing into fog just before they made contact. ““Alice!”” “You’ve changed your look since the last time I saw you. Did you cut your hair?” ““Looks good, doesn’t it?”” The newcomer was Alice of the Sun Knights. Nick/Zem weren’t thrilled that she recognized them as Nick—that could have dangerous consequences—but they were relieved all the same. She might have saved their lives. “That is a magic sword that can dismantle magic spells… Those are quite difficult to master, but they are incredibly powerful under the right circumstances! They can cancel buff spells and healing that’s been directed at you,” Bond said. “Well, I won’t ask questions right now. Anyway…this is cruel,” Alice said, grimacing at the sight of Eishu. She seemed to understand his tragic state right away. “Hold him in place. I’ll finish him off.” Nick/Zem shook their head. ““He’s just a lowly criminal who’s here to crash the concert. You should arrest him.”” Alice gave Nick/Zem a stern look, as if debating whether she should say outright that that was impossible. “It’s obvious he’s trying to end his life. Killing him would be a mercy.” ““We should still do whatever we can. We’re not assassins or soldiers,”” Nick/Zem replied. “This isn’t a street fight. We have to do what’s necessary,” Alice argued. Her voice carried the weight and sharpness of one who had been through many battles. But Nick/Zem laughed that off. ““Of course this is a street fight. No festival would be complete without one.”” Alice was dumbfounded, but then her eyes softened a bit. “Haah… I can see I won’t persuade you. Do what you want. I’ll take you both in for questioning later. Magic Absorption Barrier,” Alice said with a shrug, turning her back on the fight and slicing her magic sword through the air. A large, glass-like wall spread out before her; it was probably a magic barrier to prevent Eishu’s attacks from reaching Starmine Hall. “I made a barrier to obstruct mana. It won’t hold for long. Finish this quickly,” she urged. ““Got it!”” Nick/Zem called back. “Grourruuugh!” Eishu growled. With that, Nick/Zem sprang into action. ““Cognition Corridor!”” Particles of light shot forth from Bond and scattered around Eishu, while Nick/Zem jumped after them. Nick/Zem could scatter and pull the particles together at will, and when they stepped on them, the particles consolidated and produced a strong repellent force—essentially forming steps in midair. “Wha…?!” Eishu shouted. Nick/Zem jumped around Eishu with angular and irregular movements, tearing the counterfeit tickets off his body like strips of peel from an apple. With each ticket removed, more of his dark, slimy body was exposed. “Graaaugh… Stop… I’m gonna die… I want to die…” ““Not on my watch! Recovery! Restoration!”” “Gah?!” Nick/Zem struck Eishu under each counterfeit ticket and cast healing spells when their blows landed. Meanwhile, something resembling a tree root began to grow between Eishu’s neck and his black transparent body. ““Take that! Recovery! Restoration! Hematopoiesis!”” Nick/Zem repeated the process with each ticket, punching and kicking and casting healing magic with each blow. They took a page out of Olivia’s book, concentrating mana and impact into Eishu’s body without knocking him away from them. A fat white protrusion grew around the long, root-shaped thing below Eishu’s neck. It steadily grew into the shape of a human body, forming shoulders, ribs to protect his organs, and arms and legs. The process sped up from there—white and pink meat you would find at a butcher’s shop formed around the bones, skin grew above it, and the black substitute body melted away as it was replaced. “H-huh? M-my body…”
Chapter 73
19 min read