The many Blessed of Shub-Niggurath who joined the fight take the tied-up fanatics back with them too. The fanatics are screaming something, but we’re happy to ignore them. Right now, all our hearts are shouting the same thing at them: “Get out of our way so we can get our S clear already!”
Wasn’t this their desire in the first place? While they aren’t on the same level as Shub-Niggurath, of course, there are plenty of very powerful beings in the Medium. Well, I can’t guarantee that the “ruler” they wanted will be anything like the ruler of the Medium.
Once Shub-Niggurath turns back into a mist and passes through the gate, the key seals the pathway shut and returns to its place on my belt.
Shub-Niggurath and her kin have been banished.
Main event: “Capture the remaining fanatics” has been completed.
Calculating quest score…
“Hey, it’s taking a long time,” the other players comment.
“Starting today, are those guys gonna be part of the Shub-Niggurath family too?”
“It’s impossible to tell,” I reply.
Calculating quest score… Deliberating quest score…
“Now that’s just funny,” the players chuckle.
“I suppose we did go about it in a somewhat unique way,” I reply.
“Somewhat?”
“This is the result of sending me out to deal with the Dark Young. Please be content with whatever score we receive.”
“What’s done is done!” they declare.
Oh?
“Ha ha ha ha! It’s me, everyone!” Mr. Yatsuzuka greets us.
“Hey there!” the players reply.
“Mr. Yamamoto and the event team are discussing your score right now, so give ’em a little more time, okay?”
“What score do you predict?”
“You’ll probably get your S. You’ve got the points you need—you just did it in a weird way!”
Deliberation complete.
Fanatics’ objective: Uncovered through investigation
Dark Young’s objective: Identified
Rescue of captive children: Complete
Escaped fanatics: 0
Damage to town: 0
Outsiders immobilized: 12,964 times
Blessed of Shub-Niggurath slain: 0
Stop the Dark Young: Complete
Prevent the summoning of Shub-Niggurath: Complete?
Clear score: S clear!
You have been granted bonus rewards for your perfect completion of the event.
Rewards will be distributed to all players on Server 1.
In three minutes, kidnapping victims will be teleported to the eastern gate.
Your race level has increased.
Your servants’ levels have increased.
Book has reached level 50. You have gained 2 skill points.
The Book art Quick Cast has been improved.
Snake Sword has reached level 30. You have gained 2 skill points.
You have acquired No Restrictions through Snake Sword.
Ultra Magic Assist has reached level 10. You have gained 1 skill point.
You have acquired Scouting Spell through Ultra Magic Assist.
You have unlocked new options through Scouting Spell.
Aurora Magic has reached level 5.
You have acquired Serace Flak through Aurora Magic.
Holy Magic has reached level 40. You have gained 2 skill points.
You have acquired Party Heal through Holy Magic.
Chaos Magic has reached level 5.
You have acquired Haus Flak through Chaos Magic.
Space-time Magic has reached level 5.
You have acquired Slow through Space-time Magic.
Body Enhancement has reached level 10. You have gained 1 skill point.
Limb Enhancement has reached level 10. You have gained 1 skill point.
Soul Enhancement has reached level 10. You have gained 1 skill point.
Max HP Enhancement has reached level 10. You have gained 1 skill point.
Max MP Enhancement has reached level 10. You have gained 1 skill point.
Ars Magna has reached level 40. You have gained 2 skill points.
“Hell yeah!” cheer the players.
“That’s the good stuff!”
“The harder the boss, the better the rewards!”
“Server 1 doesn’t even have a ton of players, but there were so many deaths, ha ha!”
“Blame the Dark Young for that.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely that thing’s fault.”
“It was taking out the inhuman races in a single hit.”
“That means there’s nothing left to complete for day 4!”
“Woo-hoo!” the group cheers.
Mr. Yatsuzuka went back to where he came from.
There’s still one day left in this event, isn’t there? I believe it’s there for us to wrap things up and exchange our final tickets. I’ve already acquired what I want, so I’ll take it easy tomorrow and go over my rewards.
“There were a lot of criteria this time, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s because it was a city event.”
“It was the right move to ask the Dark Young what it was trying to achieve after all,” I remark.
“The question mark on ‘prevent the summoning’ made me laugh.”
“If you don’t want someone else to summon her, just summon her yourself, bro!”
“We couldn’t have even done that without the Silver Key!”
The easiest way to complete the battle was probably to let them sacrifice all the fanatics. That is, if we’d decided to take a normal route through it.
“How are the kids?”
“Looks like they’re asleep.”
“I believe they’ve fainted, actually.”
“Now that I think of it, we summoned Shub-Niggurath without any concern for what the children would think.”
“Well, that’s all in the past now!”
Everyone has a big smile on their face. They’re right, in the end. What’s done is done.
We’re transported back to the field outside the eastern gate, so we begin to make our way back to town.
“Good work, everyone!”
“Yeah, great job!”
“Now what do we do?”
“We could have a party!”
“That sounds fun, but what about the cat and the pumpkins?”
“Oh yeah,” everyone says at once.
“It feels like we’re just supposed to wait for the answers on those.”
“The event ends at 3 p.m. on the fourth day, so tonight’s our last chance.”
“Is that right?”
Horror stories usually take off after midnight, so I agree with their speculation. However, my current plan is to head to the earl’s home and report the outcome.
“I’m going to see the earl. How about you four?” I ask my party.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” says Mr. Alf.
“Since it’s the last night, how about we look around some more?” Mr. Skelly suggests.
“Yeah, I’m down for that,” Mr. Alf replies.
“And the twins?” I ask them.
“It’s early, but we might go to bed,” they reply.
“I’m sure you’re exhausted. That boss killed certain races in one hit, so you never had a moment’s rest that whole time.”
“We’re tired, but it was a lot of fun!” they cheer.
“I’m glad to hear that. Good night, then.”
“Good night!” they chime back.
Now that we’ve decided on plans, it’s time to go to the manor. The other players carrying the unconscious children will join me. We don’t know where they live, exactly, but they should be able to make it home once they wake up if they’re left at the earl’s house.
I figured meeting with the earl alone would be fine, but the countess is there waiting for us too.
I share all of our updates, including the fact that one of the children was likely lost. I also fill them in on the Dark Young’s objective, the fanatics’ goals, and how it all concluded.
“I see. We are truly grateful for your efforts. We’ll make sure these children are safely returned to their homes.”
“Yes, thank you.”
It took some time to give them the full report, so I think I’ll return to the church and go to bed now. The timing is perfect, but I’m also exhausted after fighting this game’s strongest foe yet. Other players fought the Shoggoth during the sports festival, but I retreated quickly enough that I never got that experience.
I bid farewell to the earl and countess, then exit the manor. It’s actually quite late in the day—at least for this world. Residents typically go to bed as soon as it starts to get dark.
I greet the nuns in the chapel and head to my room. Tomorrow, I’ll spend the day going over my skills.
Good night!