Chapter 30

“I’ve been waiting…for this!” ♦Current Status♦ > MELISSA and her MIRAGE WARRIOR attacked Melissa and her mirage warrior had been waiting for a chance. There’s no way she wasn’t afraid, but she still waited for that brief opening. “Melissa!” cried Elitia. She knew I would have been looking for that opening, too, and supported Melissa’s decision. ♦Current Status♦ > 2 stages hit MERCILESS MOURNER Critical hit > FORBIDDEN SCYTHE broke > MELISSA recovered vitality and magic Successfully stole loot “Ah?!” The auto-kill effect didn’t always succeed. That’s why we’d planned our strategy around using it after having used Fortune Roll. But we can’t let it get us down. That spot’s behind it! “Come forth, Murakumo!” ♦Current Status♦ > ARIHITO activated REAR STANCE Target: MELISSA > ARIHITO and his MIRAGE WARRIOR activated METEOR THRUST 2 stages hit MERCILESS MOURNER > ARIHITO recovered vitality and magic Target no longer has loot I wasn’t directly behind the enemy—I was at a distance, which I could close immediately with Meteor Strike. It was thanks to Melissa being there that I could even use Rear Stance to reach it. The monster couldn’t handle the attacks from behind and both sides. Even so, how little its shell was destroyed on the front really spoke to its horrific strength. But Elitia wasn’t going to miss the opening I made for her. She moved in to use her strongest skill, and I would fulfill my duty as a rearguard. I used the last remaining drops of magic to activate my skills and support her in the end. “Scatter, my crimson blooms! Blossom Blade!” ♦Current Status♦ > ARIHITO activated REAR STANCE Target: ELITIA > ARIHITO activated ATTACK SUPPORT 2 Support Type: BLADE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH > ELITIA and her MIRAGE WARRIOR activated BLOSSOM BLADE > SCARLET DANCE increased offense and decreased defense > 24 stages hit MERCILESS MOURNER Additional attacks from MIRAGE WARRIOR > ELITIA and her MIRAGE WARRIOR activated additional attacks Hit MERCILESS MOURNER > ATTACK SUPPORT 2 reached its limit > BLADE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH activated 16 times “Aaaaah…aaah!!” Red slashes formed crimson flowers. Elitia abandoned defense to focus everything into the might of her sword as each strike she made looked like a move in an elegant dance. Each of her strikes was accompanied by one from Murakumo, bringing the total number of attacks close to one hundred. The first few dozen strikes continued to rain down on the monster in the air where it had been flung. Its shell suddenly shattered; it fell to the sand without bouncing—and didn’t stand again. ♦Current Status♦ > 1 MERCILESS MOURNER defeated > 1 SOUL PRISON STONE recovered “Huff, huff…” “You did it, Ellie! …Uh, wh-what’s wrong…?” “Igarashi, wait! Right now, Elitia’s…” Even though the battle was over, Red Eye hadn’t ended. That meant Berserk was still in effect, which made her attack anything. But… “Ellie, it’s okay now… We’ve won.” Suzuna dropped to the beach and pulled Elitia into a hug, not a single shred of fear in her. At first, Elitia seemed to be having a hard time, but the red magic surrounding her body faded as Suzuna stroked her back. ♦Current Status♦ > ELITIA’s BERSERK and RED EYE have terminated with the end of battle > ELITIA’s abilities temporarily decreased “Ah…S-Suzuna…?” “Oh, Ellie… Thank goodness…” “…I’m sorry; I don’t have much strength left… Could I lean on you?” “I’m here for that kind of thing, toooo! I didn’t even have time to use my exploding cards, so I’m pumped full of leftover energy!” Misaki and Suzuna both helped support Elitia. I asked the Demi-Harpies to retrieve the stone that was stuck onto the giant crab’s shell. If we had that stone, which I thought housed Roland’s soul, we should be able to bring him back. Melissa sent the materials from the giant crab and the Merciless Mourner to her storage. I went closer to the Merciless Mourner to check and discovered there wasn’t a humanoid monster inside the shell. I decided it was safe to assume that it was simply a set of armor housing the giant crab’s soul, which was what made it move. “I cannot say I was able to completely use my abilities as my master’s sword. I have to make it to the limit of your abilities…,” said Murakumo sadly from my back where I’d returned her to her sheath. She was half-right. My skills and sword-wielding abilities… They both have room to grow. We’re only in District Seven—we can’t stop improving just yet. Murakumo didn’t respond for a little while. She seemed to be thinking about something. Either that, or perhaps she was discussing it with Ariadne. “Arihito… Your growth has been incredible. However, I do not expect you to gain a level even having fought an enemy like this one. This will be because of the usefulness of the skills you can get at each level, as well as the fact that Elitia was the primary attacker,” said Ariadne. You were listening, too, huh, Ariadne? …You’re right, my level didn’t go up. But I wouldn’t say it was nothing since I was able to get about eighty percent of the experience needed for the next level with just a few fights. It was harder to get experience because of the difference in levels between me and Elitia. The reason I hadn’t really noticed until now was because we’d gotten so much experience before the adjustment was applied. But there was no way we could have had Elitia back off just before the enemy was defeated. I thought we were making good progress as we were, but I didn’t want to have an extended face-off against an opponent who could kill us if we made one wrong move. I’d love to be incredibly cautious, if only we didn’t have any time restrictions. “…I am not sure if this is what you wish for, but I… From the day you came to me, I have felt the hands of fate at play,” said Ariadne. I’d had a similar thought. We encountered far too many Named Monsters and unique circumstances for it to be coincidence—for instance, the chest left behind by the Merciless Mourner. I’d never seen this kind of chest before. It wasn’t a Black Box; engraved on the front of this chest were the words White Box. Theresia brought it over to me. We knew how big of a threat the traps on Black Boxes were, so there was no way we could try opening this one. We’d managed to find something I wasn’t sure even Falma could open. “Atobe, that chest…,” started Igarashi. “I thought Black Boxes were the most valuable, so I don’t even know how to react to this one… But there’s a risk of traps. We can’t open it now. I want to try talking to Falma about it later.” “Y-yeah… I’ve heard how bad it can be for Black Boxes if you try to force it open, fail, and end up activating a trap…” Igarashi must’ve remembered what Falma had told us because she hugged her body tight with worry. Her magic armor made from the trans rune was still doing fine, but I didn’t know what would happen once her magic ran out… I decided to worry about that when I couldn’t help her out with Charge Assist anymore. I couldn’t use it too much during battle, but if I ran out of magic even after having recovered some from Triple Steal, I could just drink a mana potion. Seraphina approached while we were talking. Her shield had returned to its normal form, no longer strengthened with Guard Variant. Part IV: The Joint Battle “Mr. Atobe…that was incredible. Every single one of you possesses not only strength but also courage and compassion. You have my utmost respect.” “Seraphina, you’re the one who helped us in the most crucial moments.” “Only because of this shield. Without it, I would surely have been killed without being able to fulfill my duties as your defense… I will provide the funds necessary for its maintenance after this.” “Oh, no, that’s fine. Actually, if you like it, you can keep it. We still don’t have anyone in the party who could equip it, and I have a feeling we’ll want to ask for your help again sometime.” “Arihito, going in for the direct invite… I like it. I wanna get invited like thaaat,” said Misaki. “I would feel better having Seraphina in our party, but her Guild Savior duties are still important. I would be honored to just fight by her side like this once in a while,” said Igarashi. I wasn’t really planning on recruiting her, but it wasn’t as though I never wanted to work with her again. Having her in our party gave us access to a much wider array of strategic options. But I couldn’t force her. She had already helped us so much. “We need to get stronger so that we don’t rely too heavily on Seraphina. With that, I just hope we can fight together again, at another time, on a different day,” I said. “What are you saying…? Your party is exemplary. Level is not the only factor when considering a party’s actual strength.” If Seraphina said it, then I could believe it. Everyone smiled at me as I thought that. “Arihito’s the one who contributes more than you’d expect for his level. Compared to him, even I need to work harder.” “Ellie…that’s far too humble of you—look at the incredible attacks you made,” said Suzuna. “…It was cool. I can’t be like you, but I admire you,” said Melissa. “Wh-what’s this all of a sudden…? I’m not cool or anything…” Elitia’s face flushed red as even Melissa started to compliment her. I doubted there was anyone who wouldn’t be happy if they got complimented for the way they fought. “Mr. Atobe, please feel free to drop in whenever I am stationed nearby. You have no need to hesitate; I myself would like to assist you when possible.” “Thank you, Seraphina.” I shook her hand on behalf of my party. She removed her gauntlets for it, and while her hand was large for a woman, it felt smaller than I expected it to. “While we might have some time left, I don’t want Roland to spend a long time like this. Let’s go, Atobe,” said Igarashi. “Right… Except, there’s something bothering me.” I was still thinking about that person who’d entered the labyrinth before we did. If it was Gray, he must be waiting for his chance to make his move. I hoped he wouldn’t do something stupid. Even though a part of me expected he would, I couldn’t help hanging my head in disappointment when we made it out of the narrow path through the cliffs. “So you finally finished, huh? …Hey, ladies, and you, asshole in the suit. Bet you’re pretty worn out after fighting that monster!” Ahead of us was the cave that led out of the labyrinth. On the path leading to it stood Gray, with a number of giant monsters following behind him. “…So that’s how far you were willing to go. You intend to let them destroy us?” “Aaaah… Th-there’s three of those giant mantises!” “He even has Arachnophilias… How’d he pull that off?!” ♦Monsters Encountered♦ 3 OCEAN MANTISES Dropped Loot: ??? 3 ARACHNOPHILIAS Dropped Loot: BLACK WEB “…Did you use summoning charms to gather them and then bring them all the way here? If that’s the case, you probably have a skill that lets you push the target’s hostility onto someone else,” I said. “Ha-ha-ha, I’ll let you know before I send you off to the Healers! I have a skill that eliminates hostility toward me. Look at these guys; they won’t target me even though I’m closest to them.” Well, that explained it. If he was willing to talk that much, there was one other thing I wanted to ask him. “What are you trying to do here?” “I can’t tell you my whole plan. I just happen to be here, you know? And you just happen to get attacked by a bunch of monsters. That’s nothing but some really bad luck… Haaa-ha-ha!” I had an idea of what he was going to do—I figured I’d ask first is all. I imagined he’d go pick up something as proof that he defeated the Merciless Guillotine and use it for his own benefit. “…It seems you have some misconceptions about us, but we’re not kind enough to tell you what those are,” said Elitia. “Misconceptions? Are you saying that you, the Death Sword, could easily kill all these monsters? You can’t even walk without someone helping you right now!” Elitia huffed but didn’t seem to have any desire to respond to him. I agreed with that move. All we had left to do was to show this guy what was going to happen. “All right, I’m simply going to stand by and watch what happens. I can add more monsters if there aren’t enough… Though these summon charms don’t come cheap. You fellas better work hard enough to justify the cost!” The three mantises looked at us with hostility and jumped forward in unison. Seraphina stepped up to take the front vanguard position; we put Elitia down to rest in a safe place, and we got ready to battle. But what happened next was something that not I, not even Gray, could have ever imagined. The three mantises were all hit at the time—from behind. “SCREE!” “GRAAAAAH!” A glowing symbol appeared at the feet of one monster before it was engulfed in flames. A glowing mass struck another one forcefully, and the last one recoiled when it was hit by two bullets. “I see you and your party are doing perfectly fine!” “Arihito… Everyone…!” ♦Current Status♦ > CERES activated FIRE TEXT Hit OCEAN MANTIS A > TAKUMA activated AIR SHELL SHOT Hit OCEAN MANTIS B > LUCA activated DOUBLE ACTION 2 stages hit OCEAN MANTIS C Entrance to the labyrinth was supposed to be restricted, but these entirely unexpected people appeared. There was Ceres riding on Steiner’s shoulders, Takuma, Shiori, and then Luca, with a small magic pistol in each hand. “Madoka… Did you bring everyone here?!” “I didn’t. I was in the workshop with Ceres, but they all just kept coming… They all said they wanted to help you…” “I don’t think I can do much but watch my brother fight…but it’s been so long since I’ve seen him make a move to do anything on his own. I’m sorry; I’m babbling,” said Shiori. “I’d be a mess if you didn’t come in to pick up the suit I’m making for you for some reason. I’ll show you that even a support person like me can still have it, as long as they practice,” said Luca. “Mr. Atobe, we came to fight alongside you as well! It appears it will take a little longer to defeat these monsters, but please just wait and see!” Gray couldn’t seem to understand what was happening. The mantises started to turn toward Ceres’s party, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Only the Arachnophilias were left. “S-spiders… Get them! Those people are your enemy, make no mistake!” I’d figured this might happen… But we might as well show Gray ourselves. “Come forth, Arachnomage!” ♦Current Status♦ > ARIHITO summoned ARACHNOMAGE I gripped my pendant with the summoning stones and called on the Arachnomage. The moment Gray saw it, he jumped and tripped backward exactly like he had when he first saw the Merciless Guillotine. “A M-Monster Tamer… You’ve even got one of the spiders?!” The Arachnomage seemed to be communicating something to the Arachnophilias. I couldn’t hear anything, but the Arachnophilias must have because they turned around and headed into the field. “…They’re all making a fool of me… Goddammiiiit!” Gray didn’t even try to come at us in one last desperate attempt. Instead, he scrambled to his feet and ran to the labyrinth’s exit. “Hmph… It has been far too long since my last battle… I’ve gotten rusty!” said Ceres. “—!!” “The mantises are supposed to be the strongest type of monster in District Seven… They’re not going to make this easy!” said Igarashi. Ceres and the other four with her were fighting well, but it wasn’t an easily won fight. Theresia and Igarashi had already rushed out. Melissa got on Cion, and they circled around behind the enemy, looking for an opening to use the butcher’s knife Melissa switched to. “I might be losing my edge with age… In the past, two shots would have sent these guys off to heaven!” said Luca. His boots must have been reinforced with metal because he kicked up his foot to block a slash from one of the mantis’s scythe-like arms. Fighting like that while wearing a suit like he did would surely have affected his reputation as a master of kick-style fighting. ♦Cooperation Request from Other Parties♦ > CERES’s party asked to join forces “—!” Takuma was a master of hand-to-hand fighting. He moved in quickly and attacked a mantis with a palm strike, pushing it off balance. Igarashi and Theresia used the chance to get an attack in. “Do it, Atobe!” cried Igarashi. “……!!” I accepted Ceres’s cooperation request, grateful that they came to reinforce us, then raised my hand and shouted, “I’ll support all of you… Complete Mutual Support!” ♦Current Status♦ > ARIHITO activated COMPLETE MUTUAL SUPPORT Time limit: 120 seconds > Widened support effect range for ARIHITO’s party and cooperating party > All individual buff skills applied to entire party and cooperating party > Entire party buffed by WOLF PACK > Entire party buffed by SECRETS OF THE SWORD 2 > Entire party buffed by KNIFE ARTISTRY > Entire party buffed by INCREASED DROP RATE > Entire party buffed by CHILD OF LUCK > Entire party buffed by SECRETS OF THE SHIELD 2 > Entire party buffed by SECRETS OF MAGIC 2 > Entire party buffed by BOXING MASTERY 2 > Entire party buffed by DANCING MASTERY 1 > Entire party buffed by ARMORED FIGHTING 1 > Entire party buffed by HAUTE COUTURE > Entire party buffed by ASSASSINATION MASTERY 2 “Ah… Wh-what on earth…?!” stammered Ceres. “A strengthening skill… Is this because of Mr. Atobe…?” said Shiori. “That’s not half-bad… Arihito, if you’re going to go this far for us, we’re going to have to liven things up in here… Hah!” said Luca. “……!!” Everyone’s buff skills were shared with everyone else—that’s what Mutual Support meant. The person who seemed to benefit most from it this time was Takuma, since a lot of the buffs were compatible with his fighting style. My own party wasn’t going to be outdone, though. Igarashi prepared a Lighting Rage and Theresia readied an Azure Slash. “Here we go, Theresia!” “……!” “Igarashi, Theresia, I’ll support you!” Without a moment’s hesitation, I loaded my magic gun with a dark bullet stone and fired it. Luca was fairly far away, but he still saw me do it—and whistled when he did. Seraphina readied her shield to tackle a mantis in the second wave of attacks. “Haaaaaah!” “Whoa… She’s very brave. Steiner, we can’t let them show us up!” said Ceres. “B-but, I’m not very good at fighting… But I guess that doesn’t cut it right now!” “Arihito, we’re ready whenever you aaaare!” “Just let us know when, Arihito!” cried Suzuna. “I know… Let’s go, you two! Cooperation Support…rearguards!” Misaki’s Blast Card, Suzuna’s Storm Arrow, and my Darkness Bullet struck all three of the mantises. Our attacks were strengthened with Complete Mutual Support, and the three mantises’ vitality had already been worn down, and they all crumpled to the ground together. ♦Current Status♦ > 3 OCEAN MANTISES defeated The mantises were finished, but what happened to Gray? I could tell with my Hawk Eyes that he hadn’t actually managed to flee. “Sorry we’re late…but it looks like we were able to stop this would-be runaway.” The four members of Four Seasons had blocked Gray’s path just before he was about to make it out. “K-Kaede… Hurry, out of my way… G-get out of my way!” shouted Gray. “Aha… You really hate surrendering, huh? I knew that’s the sort of person you are,” said Ibuki. Kaede was blocking the path, and Gray started to shout at her, but Ibuki quickly moved around him, pinning him in so he couldn’t escape. “How about you give up? I’m sure whatever you did here was terrible,” said Anna. “She’s right… You should really get yourself together and stop constantly thinking about doing terrible things,” said Ryouko. “Sh-shut up! I…I’m—!” “Gray, stop!” Gray wasn’t responding to Anna’s or Ryouko’s attempts at persuasion. He pulled something out and threw it at the ground. It was a smoke bomb. “Get outta my… Gah… Aaaah?!” But he didn’t manage to flee. When the veil of smoke cleared, there was an eyepatch-wearing armored man holding Gray up by the lapels with just his right hand. “Whoa there, kid. You’re a real prickly one, eh?” “Khosrow, I only want him unconscious.” “Yes’m… As you wish, Captain Kozelka.” With the man was a woman wearing a kind of black armor that I hadn’t seen in the Labyrinth Country yet. Her outfit made it look like she’d chosen knight or something for her job, but I still couldn’t tell for sure. “Kozelka…the third-class dragon captain…” Seraphina’s eyes went wide. We were told it would take a few days for the help we requested from the Guild Savior headquarters to arrive, but they were already here. In other words, even this third-class dragon captain felt the situation was unusual enough to warrant a speedy response. Kozelka had flowing silver hair. I couldn’t tell how old she was, but I guessed around Seraphina’s age or maybe slightly older. “You must be Lieutenant Seraphina Edelbert. I apologize for providing you with incorrect information… The higher-ups determined this issue to be more pressing than our previous assignment. I was ordered to prioritize this mission in District Six, which is why we have arrived sooner than originally planned,” said Kozelka. “I understand the situation. This group, the party of Arihito Atobe, has defeated the Named Monster that was causing the damage,” Seraphina reported. “I apologize, but our priority mission as Guild Saviors has already come to a close.” Kozelka examined us. She carried herself gracefully, but her gaze was sharp when she looked at me, making me feel like I couldn’t get away. She gave the man named Khosrow an order, and he finally lowered Gray to the ground—but Gray had already passed out. “The Guild already received a number of reports about this man’s actions. Based on eyewitness testimony, we will have to investigate the records retained in his license. He will be tried at the headquarters to determine if he has committed a crime,” said Kozelka. “’Course he has; it’s written all over his face. Guys like him usually get beat into shape over at the training facility… Oops. My apologies.” Kozelka glared at Khosrow, and he shrugged. An official punishment would probably be given to Gray for his attempt to pin our deaths on monsters and his use of force to get people to join his party. “That sounds too kind, considering what he’s done… But this facility does sort of sound like imprisonment with forced labor.” Igarashi must have felt that the sentence was light because she was very angry at him. I was quite happy to wash my hands of Gray altogether, so the Guild could just take care of everything. “Hmm… That was tough. But I felt power welling up in me whenever Arihito called out to us. I wonder what kind of skill that was,” said Ceres. “Master, you should have recovered more magic before coming. You weren’t nearly as strong as usual.” “……” “Takuma does good work as a mercenary, which means he hasn’t lost his skills. I’m glad to see it,” said Shiori. “Arihito, I can’t believe you know this many support people. And here I thought I was the only one you were exclusive with. Ha, I’m just joking. It makes me as proud as if it were myself to see a fine customer like you gaining the trust of so many people,” said Luca. Even though it was the first time they’d fought together, the five of them, including Shiori, made a pretty good team. Madoka was the one who brought them along, but she used Hide just in case. Now that the fight was over, she was handing potions out to everyone. “Oh good… Arihito, I’m so happy… I was sure you’d get injured this time…” “Sorry to worry you, Madoka. We’re all fine, though, as you can see… Elitia, are you doing better?” “Yeah, it seems that my abilities will gradually recover over time, but it’ll take a couple of hours for me to be back to normal. My vitality’s completely recovered, though, thanks to Theresia’s Morale Discharge.” Triple Steal was good for its ability to steal a monster’s dropped loot, but the vitality and magic recovery part of it was a lifesaver. It worked well with Soul Mirage, which meant it wasn’t uncommon for us to finish a battle being completely recovered. “Make sure you bring us along next time. I can’t wait until we seek together again. But you seem like you’re going to move up to District Six anytime now…,” said Kaede. “…I want to show you guys the racket you helped me make,” said Anna as she showed us the racket she had but hadn’t used this time. Ryouko and Ibuki smiled happily as they watched the exchange. “Anna gets that look when she’s with Arihito and no one else,” said Ibuki. “You only need to consider us if you have the time, Atobe,” added Ryouko. “We’re going to do our best, too, to hurry up to District Six.” It was reassuring to know there was another party trying to move up as well. I was looking forward to another opportunity for us to fight together. Four Seasons, along with Ceres and her party, teleported out of the labyrinth first. Kozelka had Khosrow go ahead, and she was the only one left with our party. “Mr. Arihito Atobe, I’d like to speak with you briefly. Could you come with Lieutenant Seraphina to the Upper Guild later?” What Third-Class Dragon Captain Kozelka wanted to discuss would end up becoming a major turning point for our party—something I couldn’t possibly have fathomed at the time.