Chapter 35

“True… If that’s really what happened, we need to hurry and find her. But there’s still so much ground to cover.” We could very easily lose a lot of time on a wild-goose chase on such a vast floor, even if we had a general sense of the direction she’d gone. There was one more possibility we had to consider: Shirone had purposely obscured her tracks to hide from her pursuers. I could also imagine her using the Return Scroll to teleport back to the entrance of the labyrinth and wait for a moment to slip through unnoticed. In that case, would we be better off making our own escape while we still could instead of stumbling blindly through the dark? Just as the thought crossed my mind, something small fluttered into my line of sight. That something was a solitary blue butterfly that appeared before us under the black-and-white sky. ♦Monster Encountered♦ ?BLUE BUTTERFLY H Level 3 Neutral Resistance Unknown Dropped Loot: ??? “Is this tiny butterfly a monster…?” “It says ‘Neutral’…which must mean it’s a monster that won’t attack us,” I said. As far as I could tell from my license, there were quite a few of these butterflies in the vicinity. However, they showed no signs of attacking and seemed content to flutter about. Melissa watched them for a moment and then said: “…Should we take them out, just to be safe? If they’re the monsters Shirone ran into, they might have some clue about where she is.” “No, we can’t attack them. Our karma will go up if we strike a neutral monster,” Elitia explained. “Really? I’d thought your karma only went up if you broke the Guild laws…,” said Igarashi. The butterflies kept their distance from us. Elitia’s warning made sense; there was something obviously wrong about going after a monster that showed no signs of aggression. Soon enough, however, the butterflies started growing in number one by one and then gathered around the very person who had told us to hold our fire: Elitia. “Ellie, we should probably get away from them. They’re monsters, after all. Even if they look harmless, they might still be dangerous,” advised Igarashi. Almost as soon as the words had left her lips, Elitia began acting oddly. “…Elitia?” I asked. “…I…” “Heed my warning, dear devotee. The monsters that appear before you are—” Elitia began mumbling something in the same instant Ariadne reached out to warn me. But before I could hear her whole message… “…No… I’m…I’m not a murderer!” “Elitia!” ♦Current Status♦ > ?BLUE BUTTERFLY H activated GUILT TRIP Target: ELITIA > ELITIA activated SLASH RIPPER ?BLUE BUTTERFLY H evaded > ELITIA attacked a Neutral monster ELITIA’s karma rose The supposedly neutral monster had done something to Elitia; there was no other plausible explanation for what she did next. Though Elitia herself had warned us against engaging them in battle, she unsheathed her Scarlet Emperor and slashed through the air at the butterflies. It looked like she’d landed a hit, but her blade sliced through nothing but air. “Elitia, snap out of it! These guys mean trouble. We need to get out of here!” I called. “…I can’t… It’s too late…for me…” What was happening to her? She cradled her head painfully in her hands while the butterflies gathered and flew around her in larger numbers, as if bombarding her with some unseen attack. “Atobe, there’s some kind of fog rolling in that way!” “……!” “Devotee, I advise you to retreat for the time being. You might still manage to escape that fog should you run with all your strength—” Alphecca tried to warn us, but the blue butterflies had already swarmed around Elitia, who seemed not to hear a word we said; she simply stood there, falling further and further into a self-destructive state. “Elitia! We’ve gotta run for it! Elitia!” “Atobe… We can’t just leave her behind. Right…?!” Igarashi went to attack the blue butterflies but stopped herself halfway. Maybe she’d also realized Elitia’s karma had gone up. We’d also incur karma if we fought the butterflies, yet this theoretically neutral enemy was free to attack us—and I was still naive enough to think something so unfair would never happen that easily. The labyrinth could reveal its true colors and devour Seekers whole the instant they let their guard down. Elitia’s friend had probably fallen victim to that cruel reality as well. In that case… That monster must’ve tricked Elitia into attacking it, even though it’s supposed to be neutral… But there has to be a way to make up for that one misguided strike. We’re all going to find a way out of here, no matter what…! “That fog must’ve taken Shirone!” I shouted. “If we want to get her back, we’re gonna have to go in after her!” “Yeah… You’re right. We should prepare ourselves for that…but first… Ellie!” Igarashi shouted as she ran over to Elitia, swatting away the butterflies in her path. Her voice pulled Elitia out of the depths of her confusion; Elitia lowered her brandished sword and loosened her grip on its hilt. The thick fog shrouding everything in sight was almost upon us. I threw away all thoughts of relying on the Return Scroll to get us out of here and turned to face the fog head on. “Everyone, take cover in my shadow. What you seek almost certainly lies within the folds of this blasted fog, exactly as you suspect.” “Yeah… I really hope so. Doesn’t change the fact we’re still stuck playing defense… We’re gonna have to shake things up.” “As you wish,” we heard Alphecca say. We took shelter beneath her chariot. Igarashi scooped Elitia up in her arms and dove for cover in the last possible second before the fog rolled directly over us. This thicker layer brought huge swarms of butterflies with it—many times more than the number we’d just seen—but they got no closer to Elitia. After the fog blanketed everything in sight, the butterflies flew up and away toward the heavens. From within Alphecca’s shelter I saw the monsters blocking out the skies cast a great shadow on the earth. The innumerable sets of wings began to coalesce into one enormous monster, almost as if they had been a single living organism the entire time. ♦Monster Encountered♦ MERCIFUL WINGED MIRAGE MORPHO Level 8 On Guard Special Resistance Dropped Loot: ??? Part IV: All Alone “Hfff, Hfff…” I ran and ran until I finally made it to the third floor of the labyrinth. Day immediately turned to night, and all signs of the salamander-type monsters coming after me disappeared. I found myself in a sort of valley surrounded by tall, rocky cliffs to either side. Stone pillars in all kinds of weird shapes stuck out of the ground; I walked over to one and leaned my back against it. “…How the hell did a monster from this stupid labyrinth get me so bad…? There’s nothing I can do here all by myself…” Seeking as a party had become second nature to me ever since I joined the Brigade. But now I was only going back to the life I’d known before. I’d already seen one of my previous parties get wiped out; I’d been kicked out of another and got thrown under the bus after yet another party tricked me. That’s just what you had to do to survive in the Labyrinth Country. You used your friends to get ahead, even if it meant cutting them out of your life once you were done with them. Otherwise, you’d be forced to compromise your dreams and have to settle for a safety district, where you could keep seeking without any real adventure. There had been a point where I’d thought about finding companions I could spend my days seeking with in peace and not have to worry about going on to the higher districts or climbing up the ranks—but I’d abandoned those pipe dreams long ago. I’d always had a spot in the Brigade as long as I could contribute in some way. The captain had accepted me. But he didn’t need me anymore to get to where he was trying to take the Brigade. Even back when I was a Dual Fencer, I never did manage to use a colored weapon. I had nothing left to offer. That much even I knew. Just like I knew how pathetic it was for me to be clinging to this place where I used to belong, knowing nothing I did would amount to anything and hoping beyond hope I’d get some leniency. But the captain never compromised on his standards once he’d made up his mind. He’d even ignored his own younger sister Ellie’s pleas. I couldn’t claim any blood relation and had proved totally useless to him; there was no way he’d see any more value in me. “I have no use for you here.” That was his final warning. The last opportunity he entrusted to me was to leave the Brigade and retrieve Elitia’s sword. That sword would answer to no one but Elitia. And yet, our leader commanded me to recover it, sans Elitia if I had to. He’d decided he didn’t need Elitia as long as someone else could learn how to use it. Elitia had refused to abandon her goal of rescuing Rury from the Simian Lord’s clutches, but the captain forbade all the other members in the Brigade from helping with her quest. Now that she was all on her own, I’d thought maybe Elitia was out in the cold, just like me. When I first heard rumors that she’d picked up the nickname Death Sword and that other Seekers steered clear of her, I assumed she’d be all alone—until I found her in District Seven. The wave of emotions that washed over me after I heard she’d found a party to join was too much to handle. “…Why am I the one who’s all alone…? I’m the one who’s working my butt off to keep my place in the Brigade…” The vice captain of the Brigade had always been especially kind to me. But even she could not defy explicit orders from our leader. The rest of the Brigade members saw the writing on the wall and spoke with me only as much as they absolutely had to. They knew I’d soon be forced out unless by some miracle we found another colored weapon fit for a Dual Fencer. The Brigade’s plan to try to gain an advantage over other parties, resorting to cursed weapons if we had to, had repulsed Elitia. But she still hadn’t been able to turn away the sword the captain assigned her—she had been chosen. And just like that, she got a new job I’d never heard of before and powers far beyond her level. It was just so unfair. Elitia had stolen from right under my nose the one thing I wanted so badly but could never have, and not only was she trying to get rid of it, but she walked around with the saddest look plastered on her face as if she were the sole victim in this tragic circus. “…It’s not fair… You’re so cruel, Ellie… And here I… I…!” My head swirled. I’d seen those girls Ellie and her friends knew walking into this labyrinth, and I followed after them; by the time I ran into those golem-type monsters, I’d already hatched a plan to break her party up. I thought I had it all figured out. My mark on Arihito had gone off without a hitch; once I took him out of the picture, I’d make sure Four Seasons hung up their Seeker hats for good. Then Arihito, plagued by guilt for letting Elitia into his party out of pity, would break under the sense of responsibility for the girls’ fate and Elitia would be left alone again, still unable to give up on rescuing Rury. Once that happened, I was sure I could convince Elitia to come home with me. I’d accomplish my mission to retrieve the Scarlet Emperor and buy myself a little more time in the Brigade. It was perfect. And yet. And yet, Arihito had come back. He came flying in at an unbelievable speed as if it were the most natural thing in the world and saved these parties just as they were on the brink of destruction. Not a single person got hurt—and I could wrap my head around less than half of what he’d done in that battle. I did know some things for sure: He was the backbone of his party, did some kind of support job, and had nerves of steel to analyze any situation with terrifying clarity, along with the courage to rally his party members. “We will under no circumstances let Elitia die.” That’s what he’d told me without missing a beat. Any leader—I don’t care how great—should know better than to promise something like that once they’ve seen how merciless the labyrinths can be. And yet. “Plus, we all share the same goals.” How could he say that? To Arihito, Elitia’s goal should be an impossibly high hurdle even he couldn’t possibly hope to overcome. And yet… Every time we enter a labyrinth, we put our lives on the line. Nobody should be that ready to risk their life to help someone else reach their goals unless there was something in it for them. Even the Guild Saviors have their own motivations for joining the ranks of the Guild. As a general rule, it would be unheard of for them to assist an ordinary party outside of an official capacity—but several Guild Saviors had lent their support to Arihito and his group. I didn’t get it. These rookies had been in this country for only a few days! Elitia had put all her trust in Arihito, and he had made the impossible possible. I knew without a doubt nothing could stop their inevitable progress. I felt the strength wane from my body and lost any sense of where I was standing. I couldn’t take the jealousy I felt toward Elitia. “…What makes her any different from me? Why can’t that be me…?” I knew what was coming to me. I’d chosen to deceive those girls and would now have to face punishment under the law. There was no way I could sneak out of this unnoticed. Setting the monster on that party had spiked my karma so high, I was a wanted criminal in basically every district. The Guild was going to imprison me until it fell back down to zero. I’d lose a few levels and forfeit so many contribution points—and I could forget about going back to District Five if this meant I got kicked out of the Brigade. “…Well, there goes everything. This sucks… After I promised myself I’d never let this happen again…” I couldn’t stop myself from whining, though I could tell my words rang empty and hollow. My mind flashed back to when I’d first provoked Arihito, and a rush of self-hatred washed over me. Even if I had managed to take him back with me, I would’ve still been worthless to the captain. I’d known it all along, yet here I was clinging to this future that would never be mine. I’d dug my own grave, but I couldn’t muster the guts to turn myself in to the Guild Saviors. That’s when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something blue flutter into view. “…A butterfly… Is this tiny thing a monster…?” ♦Monster Encountered♦ ?BLUE BUTTERFLY A Level 3 Neutral Resistance Unknown Dropped Loot: ??? Not all monsters found in the labyrinths necessarily turned hostile against Seekers. Some were neutral; others could actually communicate with us. The Guild hadn’t yet identified this kind of butterfly. Blue Butterfly had to be a working name, which meant nobody had either figured out exactly what it was or taken one down and brought resources back with them yet. I might’ve been more curious back when I was a lower level. But this level-3 monster was practically useless to me or the Brigade now—unless it was a Named Monster. “…I’m such an idiot.” There I was, still thinking about what the Brigade might need. Some part of me believed I had a place there until the captain gave the final word. I hated being that naive. I’d never get to go back, even if by some miracle I survived deep in this labyrinth. I’d failed to get Elitia back, lost my weapons, and racked up so much karma, I’d hurt the Brigade if I didn’t pull out. “The weapons passed her up. I hate to say it, but that means I’ve got no choice but to leave her here in this district.” “…Captain…?!” I could hear his voice coming from somewhere. There was no way he was actually near me, but it was definitely his voice—soft, but cold as ice, and so captivating, a single sentence drew you in completely. The captain couldn’t be here. This had to be some kind of illusion, but that familiar voice pulled at my heartstrings. “No, I wouldn’t call her loyal. She’s just an abandoned puppy who’s grown dependent on me. I’m nobody special to her. I’m sure she feels the same.” “That’s not true! I did it all for the Brigade…!” Staying calm was out of the question. I knew the voice was either an illusion or a monster attack, but I couldn’t just ignore it. It spelled out exactly what I’d feared for the longest time the captain actually felt about me. “She’s given her all for the Brigade and, not for nothing, went so far as to change jobs. Are you really going to abandon her?” asked a different voice. This one belonged to a woman who’d joined the Brigade after me but had since become indispensable to both the Brigade and the captain: Vice Captain Agnes. “I know she can’t use a cursed weapon, but she’s still got a lot to contribute as a seeke—” “Assuming she managed to contribute anything, it’d be average at best. Given the monsters we’re up against, I need someone so strong, I’d be an idiot to take them out of our starting eight-member lineup. The chances Shirone will ever get her hands on that kind of power are now infinitesimally low.” “…Stop.” There were more butterflies now. Where there had been just one, now there were two; I realized what that meant, but my mind had gotten too muddled to think. ♦Current Status♦ > ?BLUE BUTTERFLY A activated GUILT TRIP Target: SHIRONE “Everyone knows they could be subbed out at any time. I’m sure Shirone didn’t expect she’d be here forever—” “……!!” ♦Current Status♦ > SHIRONE activated SPECTRAL SLASHING TALISMAN Hit 2 ?BLUE BUTTERFLIES > Defeated 2 ?BLUE BUTTERFLIES > SHIRONE attacked a Neutral monster SHIRONE’s karma rose I ripped out a talisman from my coat and activated it—the magical blades it unleashed sliced through the fluttering butterflies before they could escape. I didn’t want to listen to these voices anymore, even if they were saying what the captain actually thought. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. And I knew without a doubt the butterflies were behind those voices. This Guilt Trip skill must tell you the things you dreaded most in the voice of the person you hoped would never utter them. It was like they were asking me to attack them. “…You really want to get under my skin, don’t you? You don’t know anything. How can you say this is all my fault?!” I lost my cool. The butterflies I could’ve sworn I’d already taken down flew at me again and again until, a second later, great swarms of them completely covered everything else in sight. The voices in my head started to blend and bleed together. I heard the captain, then our vice captain—she’d always watched out for me, but the version I heard now didn’t even try to speak up against the captain’s wishes. She must’ve thought there was no point fighting to keep a grunt like me around. I knew in my heart it wasn’t true. Agnes really did care about me. I wanted to believe that, and yet. “…If that’s your final decision, I’ll endeavor to get the other party members on board.” I could just see her saying that and forgetting about me soon after. After all, she hadn’t once suggested taking the second party out on a rescue mission back when we lost Rury, either. “…I’m the biggest dummy here.” I’d thought I could stay with the captain if I turned against Elitia in her attempt to save Rury. She was desperately trying her best, and I’d laughed in her face. I could just guess what she thought of me now that she had Arihito: Poor Shirone. She’s trying so hard to pretend she doesn’t realize how pitiful she is. ♦Current Status♦ > SHIRONE activated ANNIHILIGHT TALISMAN Hit 16 ?BLUE BUTTERFLIES > SHIRONE attacked Neutral monsters SHIRONE’s karma rose > ?BLUE BUTTERFLIES activated SWARM STATE > One MERCIFUL WINGED MIRAGE MORPHO appeared The next thing I knew, a thick fog had rolled over my surroundings. I had been so overwhelmed by the butterflies before my eyes that I hadn’t noticed it silently creeping in. I looked up—and saw an enormous butterfly beating its wings as it hovered in the air. ♦Current Status♦ > MERCIFUL WINGED MIRAGE MORPHO activated PAINFUL PENANCE Target: SHIRONE > SHIRONE sustained damage corresponding to karma levels SHIRONE’s karma fell slightly “Aaaaah!! …Agh… Aaaurghh—!!” Pain coursed through my entire body. The agony almost knocked me out cold; I collapsed onto the ground and gasped for air. And just like that, it was gone—all the karma I’d racked up for taking down those Blue Butterflies had powered a huge backlash of equal measure. I understood what had happened but couldn’t do anything about it. ♦Current Status♦ > MERCIFUL WINGED MIRAGE MORPHO activated IMMACULATE TRANQUILITY Area effect: Karma will gradually decrease > MERCIFUL WINGED MIRAGE MORPHO activated CARCERAL COCOON Target: SHIRONE I’d once heard a rumor about this. There was supposed to be some kind of monster that would appear before Seekers who’d committed a crime. None of the Seekers it attacked ever made it out of the labyrinth. They said the monster would judge the guilty in its homemade court—but everyone in the Brigade had dismissed it right off the bat as something that could never happen. Yet this skill had robbed from me as much vitality as the karma I’d gained. I couldn’t lift a finger as the monster spewed white thread from its mouth and wound it around my body, binding me tightly. If that was what I had coming to me, I had no choice but to face the music. I’d failed to trust the captain or the vice captain. I knew the Blue Butterflies were showing me nothing but lies, and still I lost my cool and turned my talismans against them in anger. I could’ve avoided all this pain if only I hadn’t done that. This is it. I’m done for… Hopelessly tangled in the string, my vision went dark. The fog around me began to thin; I was being taken off somewhere. The last image to flash before my eyes was Arihito. He must have looked absolutely brilliant to his party members as he rode in to save them on that chariot. To me, however, he looked so very far away. I’d longed to meet someone like him forever. ♦Current Status♦ > Elaps ime activa specia effe of CARCERAL SHIRO was trans to diff dimension > MERCI WINGED IRAGE MOR lifted SWA STATE