Chapter 70

CHAPTER 4 Simian Showdown in the Blazing Red Mansion Part I: Siege Weaponry We entered the Blazing Red Mansion at the first floor and moved through its forest of autumnal leaves. When I looked up, it was as if the world were soaked in orange. It struck me that back in Japan, I might have seen the same view looking out over trees at sunset in autumn. The only difference was that these trees were on an entirely different scale. There was no sign of any monsters, but according to Nayuta, that didn’t mean that none would show up. Side paths led off to areas where we’d likely find them. “Don’t these look like shrine gates back in Japan? I noticed them last time we were here.” “They do… I wonder if it’s a coincidence. I doubt they were made for the same reason as shrine gates.” Suzuna and Igarashi were talking about a line of metal pillars that were all painted red. Passing through them teleported us to the second floor. A few steps beyond, the scene opened up; where nothing had been visible previously, there ran a great river with strongholds to the east and west. This was all familiar, except for one major difference: This time, there was a stronghold in the center, too. “A new fortress… How’d it get built in so little time?” “That must be the stronghold the Simian Lord originally wanted… Not that I know that for sure. Either way, it looks like it was built to be especially difficult to attack.” We’d have to cross the river and make our way through the area beyond it before we had any hope of assailing the stronghold walls. “I’ll check the land around us one more time. There may be more changes than we can see from the surface.” “Thanks, Adeline. Please do.” Adeline spun the handle on her bowgun and aimed it up toward the sky. “Arrow filled with my magic, take this momentary life and become my obedient familiar!” ♦Current Status♦ > ADELINE activated ARROW FAMILIAR Created 1 FAMILIAR ARROW > ADELINE activated SEARCH ARROW Fired FAMILIAR ARROW “You can see the lay of the land through your license. It looks like part of the view is obstructed, though.” The strongholds to the east and west were simple wooden structures. The gate that led to them was made of wood, too, and it opened with a mechanism. It wasn’t shut, though. The central stronghold didn’t appear to have a front entrance of its own, but if we took the long way around, there was another gate into it in the back. However, that gate was right on a cliff, so it didn’t seem like a smart way in for us. The risk of anti-aerial defenses was too great for us to attempt flying in, either—not to mention that the whole party wouldn’t be able to fly in in the first place. “The gate’s not closed… It’s trying to lure us in. Either that, or we’re too strong for the gate to be worth closing in the first place…” “Forget that for a moment… Look there, by the gates at the backs of the east and west strongholds.” “There’s one Simian Lord in each… Maybe one of them is the real one and the other’s a double…?” “……” “…Theresia?” “Theresia might be able to recognize the monster that hexed her,” said Ceres. If she was right, then Theresia could tell us what to make of these two Simian Lords. Theresia shook her head slowly. “If we trust Theresia’s senses, then neither one is the real Simian Lord, Arihito. I take it one is the monster they call the Demon Monkey Guard. Which would mean the other one’s probably another underling of the Simian Lord that hasn’t been identified yet.” I wondered if Elitia had seen this double when she’d been in the labyrinth before. “It’s unlikely that two monsters with the same name exist at the same time. If you beat a Named Monster, then another one pops up with the same name after a while, right? In that case…” “The Simian Lord has two Named Monster underlings. It’s possible either or both is a double. And now they’re guarding the way into the central stronghold.” If what Seraphina said was correct, then we had to consider what the Simian Lord would do while we were fighting one of these guards. Assuming its main goal was survival, there was a good chance that it would flee while we fought the double. “May I see that, too, Mr. Arihito?” “…S-sure, sorry. This is information everyone should know, after all.” “Would you share that map data, Adeline?” “Roger. Apologies; that would have been sensible.” Adeline shared the map data with everyone involved in our strategy. Ivril and Viola took out their Seeker’s licenses; they were different colors from ours and looked like they were made out of different materials. “If there are two doubles, that’s evidence that neither one of these is the real Simian Lord. Still, anything can happen in a labyrinth… Even knowing the lay of the land in advance, it would be difficult for a Seeker seeing them for the first time to tell real from fake. Arihito and his party have encountered the Simian Lord before; that makes it all the more important not to fall for the enemy’s plan.” “Elitia is the one who saw the double. Without her bringing us that information, we might have found ourselves in a tight spot…” “That doesn’t change the fact that I was reckless…but I’m glad the intel on the Double skill was useful. Now let me fill you in on the other Seekers the Simian Lord has under its control.” There were three Seekers with simian masks, plus Rury, who stayed beside the Simian Lord to keep it healed up—but they weren’t the only ones. Elitia also spotted a party of four male Seekers. Garf and Kazan had been charmed by the enemy, and the other two were otherwise incapacitated. It seemed entirely likely that the four of them were under the Simian Lord’s command. “So there’s the Dancer, the Martial Artist, the Terraformer, and the Healer…plus four more men. Were they the only ones you confirmed?” “Yes, that’s all I saw,” said Elitia. “Is there something you know, Ivril?” “Someone I knew, rather. I’m looking for a member that our party lost when we faced the Simian Lord some time ago. A Puppeteer woman.” Not only Ivril but also Viola looked toward me, as if they were trying to show their true intentions. The two of them had lost someone important to them—and they wanted to get her back. In other words, they were in the same situation as Elitia. “Although we’ve confirmed that she’s still alive, we haven’t been able to clear the Simian Lord’s stronghold. The Simian Lord didn’t even show himself in front of me… Far from it, in fact; what we thought was our enemy’s base was just a fake, there to camouflage the real one.” Ivril pointed right across the river. Her finger indicated a building separate from the Simian Lord’s fortress. “Is that so…?” “Perhaps that fortress wall was built as some sort of test. It bears a striking likeness to the central stronghold’s walls—at least on the outside.” “So you’re saying that it built a small stronghold at first, then changed to building a larger one?” With that kind of behavior, it seemed the Simian Lord meant to make a castle of the entire region. True to its reputation as an evil overlord, the Simian Lord was trying to rebuild the whole labyrinth floor as its own territory. “If what you say is true, Ivril, then it seems the real Simian Lord will escape while we fight its doubles.” “Or perhaps it intends to ambush us with a challenge… It’s of utmost importance that we eliminate the real Simian Lord. To do that, we’ll have to take it by surprise and somehow disperse its army of underlings.” “Disperse, huh…? Right now, there are seventeen of us, not including support staff. If possible, Adeline, I think you should hang back and hold tight with the support crew, since you can keep abreast of the situation over a wide area.” “Roger that. I’ll be ready to use my Familiar Arrow to scope out the situation and keep everybody informed.” “So you’re in the waitin’ squad with the rest of us, huh?” said Ceres. “Good to have you aboard, Adeline.” “Y-yes, ma’am! I must say, meeting a jade here is an unexpected honor!” “I’m really not that big a deal… Don’t let fantasies go to your head, you hear?” Ceres fixed her pointed hat atop her head and got back on the cart with Madoka at the wheel. “Arihito, I found us the perfect target for testing out the Queen’s Tail.” “…Would that be the smaller fortress, Ceres?” “That’s the one. The Simian Lord’s stronghold hasn’t shown any sign of acknowledging us, even though we’ve made it to the front lawn, so to speak, and are getting ready to storm the place… A little funny, don’t you think?” Ceres’s grin hardly seemed to suit the situation. Khosrow and Kozelka seemed to think it was interesting, too, but all they did was look in our direction and nod before turning back to stare balefully at the central fortress. “We’ll stand on lookout here, Mr. Atobe.” “Thank you. All right, everyone—wait here for a moment.” With that parting message to our allies, Madoka, Ceres, and I headed off to where the small stronghold was marked on the map. The sound of the river grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared. A wide, barren region stretched out in the middle of the forest, and there stood a wall formed primarily of rough, unworked stone. The Simian Lord had burned down part of the woods and attempted to build a fortress there. Perhaps something like it had been there from the very start; either way, just as Ivril had said, the stone wall bore a striking resemblance to the architecture of the central fortress. “All right, then,” said Ceres. “This time around, we’ll try attacking with my magic, Arihito. Madoka, are you all set?” “Yes, whenever you’re ready…” “Here goes… I’m gonna start charging the Queen’s Tail with magic!” Ceres’s magic linked up with the Queen Scorpion’s Afterglow and began flowing through the two metal pipes. The weapon consumed a great deal of magic, but Ceres on her own could provide enough to fire it. “This should put its output at around eighty percent… Fire it off at full power, and it’ll take too long to cool down again. Okay, here we go!” “Roger!” “Give it a shot, Ceres!” “Fire!” The Queen Scorpion’s Afterglow pulsated. Then a bright light like a brilliant comet shot out of the barrel formed from the Nine-Tail. It zoomed upward, then, after a moment of building up power, flew toward the stone wall, tracing an arc through the air as if it were a living thing. ♦Current Status♦ > CERES used QUEEN’S TAIL +1 to activate STING RAY Terrain: Rampart successfully destroyed Nine bolts of light, arranged in a thick bundle, pierced through the stone wall of the small stronghold. Rough as it was, the wall appeared hard to destroy; however, not only did the Queen’s Tail blow through a section of it, but the damage also spread to a wide area around the point of impact. Only an oval-shaped crater was left. Madoka and I were at a loss for words—actually, so was Ceres, who had fired the Queen’s Tail herself. The three of us were shocked by its destructive power. ♦Current Status♦ > QUEEN’S TAIL +1 commenced cooldown Capable of refiring in 500 seconds Smoke wafted up from the white-hot barrel. It looked like you’d be lucky to get off with a serious burn if you’d touched it. Its cooldown time was relatively short, all things considered; Ceres and Steiner had thought to include a magic stone–driven cooling system. “Um… Well… That was pretty amazing…,” I managed. “So amazing, it might be enough to beat that monster on its own…” “It’s particularly effective against buildings. It still packs a punch against monsters, too, but it’ll fall to pieces against any foe with half-decent evasive skills,” Ceres explained. “It’s going to need some extra finagling to improve its precision if we’re gonna use it as our ace in the hole.” “That makes sense,” said Madoka. “But still, if it can destroy walls like that, it could catch the Simian Lord off guard, at least.” Without a word, Ceres gave Madoka a pat on the shoulder. I guess Madoka figured out what the gesture meant, because she immediately began driving the cart back to the rest of our party. Up until that point, it hadn’t occurred to me that we could attack the stronghold itself. But now, spurred by the information we’d received, an idea was forming in my mind. I’d have to run it by my allies, hear their thoughts, and decide whether it was really worth a shot, though. It all came down to how they received it. To start with, I divided the group into four smaller parties. I put these parties together based on who could most easily exert their full power at the time, but I still kept an eye on overall balance, too. ♦Party 1♦ ♦Party 2♦ ♦Party 3♦ ♦Party 4♦ There were several jobs among our crew that I had never seen before, but what really stood out was the lack of information about Ivril and Viola. I wondered if they kept their jobs hidden of their own volition. That was at least what “Job Concealed” seemed to imply if I took it at face value. Steiner was registered under their real name, Chiara. When we’d fought together before, I hadn’t had the time to check and see. Steiner looked embarrassed to have that name out there, but they at least seemed to understand that it was inevitable. “I know we’ll be waiting back here, Arihito,” said Luca, “but I can’t help but notice that if a monster does show up, we’re not going to be able to do much other than buy time… Is that going to be all right?” “Sure. Don’t push yourselves too hard. As long as you can neutralize the subjugated Seekers, that is… It’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to need you to watch out for them.” “Really, we’d ideally mobilize a whole squad of Guild Saviors to deal with this,” said Adeline. “I’m sorry we couldn’t bring an entire unit along.” “Not at all—I’m grateful enough just to have all of you here. More grateful than I can say.” “You’ve nothing to thank us for,” said Kozelka. “We are all here by choice.” “There’s a rule that we’re not supposed to take sides with any particular party, y’know,” Khosrow added. “It was the Guild that wanted you guys to come to District Five in the first place, though. They’ll let this slide if we pass it off as helping out a party that’s contributing to the Guild.” Nayuta nodded as Kozelka and Khosrow spoke. Adeline gave a respectful bow. As she watched the four of them, Seraphina laughed quietly. “Thank you all so much. If I may be so bold as to say so in Mr. Atobe’s place, that is.” “You’re more than welcome to, Seraphina,” I told her. “We wouldn’t have made it this far if it weren’t for you.” “Mr. Atobe…” “Lieutenant Seraphina excels at defensive maneuvers. I’m a ‘bulwark on the front lines’ kinda guy myself, but in terms of sheer impenetrable defense, she’s got me beat.” “…You flatter me, Dragon Sergeant Khosrow.” “Anyway, Atobe. You’ve got us split up into groups. How do you want us to play this?” “Right! First of all, I want Kozelka’s team and Khosrow’s team to engage the Simian Lord doubles at the east and west strongholds.” The plan was for them to break into both strongholds at the same time, drawing the attention of both doubles. While they were doing that, my team could use the Queen’s Tail and start exercising our real firepower. We’d eventually reach the Simian Lord, which I expected would be staying at a safe distance while its subordinates protected the strongholds. “Mr. Atobe, I’m sure you have your reasons for splitting us up this way, but if I may ask a question: Why is the team you’ve put together to fight the Simian Lord the one with the lowest average level…?” “When Elitia and I put the teams together, we figured that we were likely to have stronger instantaneous strikes than any other pairing. With Seraphina helping us out with defense, we’ll be able to stand toe-to-toe with the higher ranks. Add Madoka with the Queen’s Tail, and Theresia, who’s absolutely essential to the plan’s success, and we’ve got the smallest number of people we need. The cart’s a limiting factor; if too many people are in it, Madoka won’t be able to steer as dexterously.” “I see. That makes sense. Like I said, Lieutenant Seraphina has me beat for defense, and I’ll grant Elitia’s got the superior attack power, too… With you as a conductor to bring out their strengths, Atobe, I guess you won’t be missing anything the other teams have got.” “I want to do as much as we can to keep the Seekers that the Simian Lord has subjugated safe and alive, too. That means the stronger the teams infiltrating the east and west strongholds are, the better. Fighting to nullify an enemy is harder than regular combat.” I knew I was forcing Kozelka’s and Khosrow’s teams into a tough scuffle. That’s why I’d made sure to fill their ranks with people with skills that would help nullify enemies, in addition to strong fighters. “Once those teams have engaged with the enemy at the east and west strongholds, we can expect the central stronghold to be on the alert for invaders of its own. We’ll act as a sort of third arrow to strike from outside their guard.” “Let’s call it Operation Third Arrow, then. Roger that, Mr. Atobe. My team and I will assault the eastern stronghold.” “And we’ll take the west. I’ll be in touch once we’re in position, Adeline.” “Y-yes, sir! You can count on me to help both of your teams synchronize your attacks!” Adeline saluted Kozelka and Khosrow. Then all of them turned to face me. “All right, everyone… The plan is underway. Once you’re all done, we’ll regroup at this same spot.” “““Roger!””” My party members answered in unison. The other participants responded, too—and with that, Kozelka and Khosrow’s teams were on the move. “Okay, then,” I said. “Let’s get going, too.” “At what point will we be storming the stronghold?” Elitia asked me. “Once the doubles are dealt with. Adeline will keep us filled in on Kozelka and Khosrow’s maneuvers—” “Arihito, since there is at least one member of your party in each team, I will be able to keep you informed of the conditions of battle as well.” “Ariadne…” Hearing Ariadne’s choice of words—“conditions of battle”—I had a sudden thought. There would surely be a moment at which all of our allies who were storming the east and west strongholds would have their backs facing me. Which meant I could use my support skills on them. As they fought to expose the Simian Lord’s doubles and free the subordinated Seekers, I would do as much as I possibly could to help. “Looks like you’ve got something on your mind again, Arihito…” “Just thinking about how there’s something I can do specifically because I’m here on the back lines. That’s my job as a Rearguard to a T.” “…Every time you smile like that, you go on to pull off something seriously amazing.” Elitia was smiling, too. She was exactly right; what we needed for the battle ahead of us wasn’t anger or regret. It was the knowledge of what we would win when the fighting was over that would give us the continued will to press on to victory. Part II: Playing Parts Ariadne kept me abreast of Kozelka and Khosrow’s movements. She kept me up to date with real-time information and geographical data from Adeline. “I shall help you consider this information so that it can be processed in tandem.” “Ah… Thanks. If they can’t keep the Simian Lord’s doubles completely distracted, then we might have a more chaotic battle than we bargained for on our hands when they fall back.” “I will pinpoint the moment at which the Simian Lord can neither fall back nor enter formation with its underlings.” Suzuna was on Kozelka’s team, and Melissa was on Khosrow’s; it was as if I could see what the two of them saw, out of either corner of my vision. I tried to follow each team’s movements intently, even as I was amazed that the Hidden Gods’ power allowed me to do so. “I’m going to cut my way into their ranks! The rest of you, follow behind me!” “Y-yes, ma’am!” Kozelka ran much faster than Igarashi or Misaki could—faster even than Suzuna on Cion’s back. Nayuta, however, managed to keep up with Kozelka. Beyond a bridge across the river stood the gate to the strongholds. Someone had made their way into a nearby turret; Kozelka seemed to notice this, but she didn’t slow her pace as she ran through the gate. “Kozelka, look!” Suzuna cried. The instant all of them were through the gate, which was made from logs lashed together, it closed. Beyond the gate, there was a wide plaza where the ground rose up into several square pillars. Those pillars hadn’t been present in the aerial view I’d seen earlier. We saw that the Simian Lord does have a Terraformer under its control… Maybe they can make obstacles like these. “Is this some kind of trap…? The Simian Lord’s trying to capture more Seekers, then. Awfully greedy, isn’t it?” Kozelka drew her sword. As a small, preemptive action, Nayuta tossed something upward: a rope with a weight attached to the end. In a flash, the rope wrapped around the person in the turret above. ♦Current Status♦ > NAYUTA activated ROPE BIND SIMIAN LORD MINION: HUNTER was restrained The skill Nayuta used was like Adeline’s—shared by Scouts and Hunters. “Wow…,” Igarashi marveled. “Nayuta’s really, really handy with that rope…” “Please take care! There are enemies in those pillars’ shadows!” ♦Monsters Encountered♦ SHINING SIMIAN LORD Level 12 Hostile Fire Resistant Dropped Loot: ??? SIMIAN LORD MINION: HUNTER Level 11 Restrained Dropped Loot: ??? SIMIAN LORD MINION: ASSASSIN Level 11 Hostile Dropped Loot: ??? EVIL APE A Level 10 Hostile Dropped Loot: ??? EVIL APE B Level 10 Hostile Dropped Loot: ??? This Simian Lord wasn’t the real thing. At least that’s what our reading told us, though it was hard to know for sure while it was obscured behind the pillars. The enemies Kozelka’s team encountered also didn’t include the Terraformer, who must have moved elsewhere. Instead, another shadow was visible in the area shown by Adeline’s Familiar Arrow. “KIKIII…!” “Careful, Ms. Kyouka! One got past me!” ♦Current Status♦ > KOZELKA activated FLASH FEND Hit EVIL APE A EVIL APE A was knocked back “GIII…!” Kozelka crossed one of the Evil Apes, slashing it hard enough to send it flying as she went. However, the other one leaped out from the shadow of a pillar and headed right for Igarashi. ♦Current Status♦ > EVIL APE B attacked > KYOUKA activated MIRAGE STEP Evaded attack “It’s not over yet, Kyouka…!” Suzuna cried. “Kngh!” “Awoooooo!” Igarashi dodged the Evil Ape’s first attack, but it stayed on her and immediately struck again. That was Mirage Step’s weakness: It wasn’t useful for avoiding multiple successive attacks. Luckily, Cion wasn’t about to let Igarashi get hurt. ♦Current Status♦ > CION activated SHOULDER TACKLE > EVIL APE B activated BACKWARD ROLL Evaded attack The Evil Ape somersaulted backward very quickly—quickly enough to avoid Cion’s tackle. It hung back beside one of the square land pillars with its claws out, grinning at Suzuna on Cion’s back as it waited. Misaki, throw your cards! “…Hyeaaaugh!” Misaki was positioned in front of me. That meant I could check her status—and make good use of my skills. ♦Current Status♦ > ARIHITO activated OUTSIDE ASSIST > EVIL APE B activated TRIANGULAR LEAP > ARIHITO activated ATTACK SUPPORT 2 Support Type: FORCE SHOT: STUN > MISAKI activated THUNDER JOKER Hit EVIL APE B EVIL APE B was Stunned Canceled TRIANGULAR LEAP