The Succubus faction demanded their surrender.
Takuto wasn’t surprised. However, the scale of the situation was far more troublesome, so he was forced to respond differently from what he had planned. But he wasn’t the weak-minded type to lose his composure over irregularities.
Anything is possible. The lessons he had learned from bitter experiences had given him mental fortitude and an iron will that didn’t allow for unpreparedness.
Takuto quietly rose from his chair, looked Vagia straight in the eyes, and answered, “Thank you for your passionate invitation. I unfortunately have to decline. Neither I nor they will join your alliance.”
He didn’t answer that way as a matter of etiquette between nations. He was sending a signal to Hero Yu and his allied nation’s envoy, indicating that he was about to make his escape, and they should join him.
He had also used breaks in the conversation to telepathically alert Vittorio as well. Vittorio’s sheer delight at his declaration they were going to run with their tails between their legs vexed Takuto to no end. Fortunately, Takuto’s inner state of mind remained elusive to Vagia. For the first time, her expression turned stern as she seemed to be carefully picking her next words for Takuto.
“Oh my. What a naughty boy you are for giving a lady the cold shoulder♡. Will you at least tell me the reason for your refusal?”
“Hmm…” Takuto rubbed his chin, pretending to consider it. Meanwhile, he cast Yu a sidelong glance. Yu was also looking at Takuto. It seemed they were on the same page.
“Yu Kamimiyadera here is the Hero from an RPG, you see. He’s of a completely different alignment from me, what with me being the King of Ruin and all. We should get along like oil and water…”
Vagia frowned, seeming not to follow where he was going with this.
Takuto could see the unconcealable humanity in Vagia from her constantly changing expressions. “Despite our different alignments, I realized we get along great once we started talking,” he continued, controlling the conversation like a pro. “Our personal principles and goals go great together, and you could say we allied because we are on the same page in many senses. One great example of this is our stance toward other Players.”
“The camaraderie between boys is hot stuff♡! I’m so jealous!” After a pause, Vagia said, “All right, tell me what your stance is.” She was no longer trying to keep up pretense and cut eyes at Takuto.
Grinning wryly at her, Takuto raised his hand, signaling Yu to give their answer.
“I’ll kill you if you underestimate me,” the boys said in unison.
The Deliberation Chamber exploded.
“What?!”
“Your Majesty! This way!” Freesia shouted.
“D-Destroying the floor is too much! And what the heck is with your appearance?!” Goliath cried.
Showing his true worth as THE Hero, Yu pulled a legendary axe from his item bag and destroyed the floor with an explosive hit. At the same time, Takuto canceled Mimic on part of his body and slammed his distorted, powerful arm, a combination of man and beast, into the floor.
The result was evident. The Deliberation Chamber, built with the wisdom and superior technology of the Elves, had collapsed from its foundation, and now it was only barely supported by the branches of the World Tree.
“Vittorio!”
“Already here, mon dieu! Mufufufu! Reinforcements will come if we don’t make haste posthaste!”
Takuto got the chills hearing Vittorio’s word choice and tone come from Atou’s mouth, but he had to grin and bear it. For Vittorio’s tentacle had already scooped up the dazed Phon’kaven envoy. He wouldn’t be able to use that tentacle to secure the envoy if he disengaged his Disguise. So Takuto kept him under strict orders to maintain Atou’s form.
“Man, I love flashy action! It’s so easy to go along with! Take this! Flama!!” Yu chanted.
The explosion spell from Brave Questers rocketed forward and easily repelled the Succubi with explosive force, putting distance between the two sides. They caught on to Takuto’s plan. The Succubi guards waiting nearby flocked into what was left of the room. Takuto could sense a large number of Succubi headed their way from all directions. A fast escape would be wise.
Takuto deftly jumped from branch to branch of the giant World Tree toward Yu, and by the time he landed near him, the Hero seemed fully prepared to make their escape.
“Negotiations have broken down. Let’s get out of here.”
“Man, I wanted to have a little more fun, but it’s your call! Okay, Ai, your turn!”
“Yes, Master! Everyone to me! Wide-area teleport! Telesfulla!”
Telesfulla was an Event-only spell that could teleport characters standing within a certain distance around the caster. Takuto heard about it from Yu, but it was quite the cheat skill to be able to use magic that was normally unavailable in the game. With this spell, they could safely teleport everyone away.
A magic circle emitting a faint light appeared on the tree limbs beneath their feet. Seconds before the quickly activated spell was about to send Takuto’s party to the Dark Continent without giving their opponent time to pursue…
“2 Null Mana, 1 Forest Mana, release. Activate the Spell Card: Primeval Forest Barrier.”
✦ ✦ ✦
〈！〉Vagia intercepts!
Activates Spell Card: Primeval Forest Barrier.
〈！〉Ai’s spell failed.
A single phrase from Vagia sealed their escape.
“Wha?! Wh-Why?! My spell!” Ai cried.
“Telesfulla failed?! How?!” Yu shouted.
The spell failed. Their presence there proved as much. Yu and Ai were stupefied by the abrupt development, not knowing what had gone wrong. But Takuto understood exactly what had happened.
“That’s a card from Seven God Kings. You put it in play at the worst possible time.”
Takuto spotted a card with a familiar illustration clasped between Vagia’s slender fingertips.