The floor became red and melted into glowing magma that seared all the tentacles in their way. A few of them survived due to their elemental affinity, but Daisy swiftly shot them down with her magi-gun. The fact that the tentacles were still alive was evidence that they were aligned with the water element, which resisted fire, so Daisy fired earth element shots to capitalize on this.
She didn’t quite stand out within the Palace Knights, but Daisy was a level 130 magi gunner capable of finishing the tentacles with a single blow. She was a match for even Laminitus, the governor of Zircon Tower.
“I did it!”
“Good work, let’s keep going!”
While rejoicing at Noah’s praise, Daisy kept running ahead with a grave expression. Keeping up with this constant march was the real challenge for her, even more so than the firepower required to keep the tentacles at bay. She was a Demon, a race lacking in muscular strength. Even if she put in the same amount of training as anyone else, her physical growth would never hold up to that of the other races.
Lyferia was a Human supremacist country, and Demons were believed to have mixed their blood with the Fallen. Daisy was driven out of her homeland, and in the midst of despair was saved by Noah. Noah gave her a place to live, her magi-gun, and something to live for.
—If it’s for her, I’ll fight as much as it takes.
She was a bit surprised when the person she felt so much for revealed herself to be a woman...but that didn’t shake Daisy’s loyalty one bit. She always had her eyes on Noah. Maximum was exceptionally zealous, and the other members looked up to her with something close to admiration, but Daisy was the most loyal of them all.
She noticed a crack at Noah’s feet, and Maximum hadn’t moved yet. She moved to warn her verbally, when...
The crack widened, and a tentacle burst from the ground. Its tip parted, revealing a large mouth as it hissed.
“What?!”
“Oh, no...!”
But before Maximum could defend her, Daisy jumped forward. Her magi-gun was already loaded with an elemental bullet, and if the tentacle resisted that, the bullet wouldn’t be strong enough to destroy it. And so... Daisy jumped ahead.
“Lady Noah!”
“Huh?! Da—”
The person she cared for so much called her name...but sadly, she didn’t hear it. The last thing she heard was the crunching sound of her skull being crushed.
†
“Daisyyyyyyy!”
Maximum and Alan slashed through the tentacle. It fell limply to the ground where it crumbled into dust like burnt paper and disappeared. All that was left in its wake were Daisy’s mangled remains, which were denied any of the beauty she once had in life.
“Come back!” Maximum slammed his 《Healing Fist》 into her.
But nothing happened. Noah was breathing out in labored gasps.
“There’s more of them coming!” Utata called out.
Noah hurriedly fired a spell.
“《Ice Age》!”
But the moment she did, the ceiling caved in on them. Maximum jumped aside, holding onto Noah’s body. An ominous crunching sound reached Noah’s ears, and blood began pooling all around her. He was bleeding from his neck.
“Ugh...”
“Max?!”
“Lady Noah... Are you...unharmed...?”
“Forget me, you’re the one who needs help!”
Maximum began healing himself. The entire situation was going off the rails. Was it because they lost Daisy’s fire support? No, it wasn’t just that. The tentacles were clearly getting stronger, which probably meant they were approaching the Emperor. After all, up until now, they’d been able to block the enemy so long as they remained cautious, but now they were growing faster, stronger, and harder to deal with.
—Do we fall back?
But what then? If they ran, who would stop the Emperor? He’d just blow the town away when the sun set.
“Don’t just stand there, Noah!” Alan screamed, his voice overlapping with the sound of a slash.
The tentacles that swooped down on her from above let out a cacophonous screech and spewed some kind of fluid onto the floor. Yellow smoke rose from it and spread with a foul stench. Thankfully, Noah had resistance to status ailments, but Utata hurriedly covered her mouth before she began vomiting violently.
“It’s poison!” Aira exclaimed from the back row.
“Goddammit, hang on!” Alan had poison resistance and used a status recovery potion.
But just then, the tentacles advanced. The number around them had increased since Noah had stopped attacking.
“Kuh... 《Sword Storm》!”
Countless swords made of stone appeared and sliced the tentacles to shreds. Noah turned around, breathing heavily. Utata lay on the ground, still. She looked like she’d just suffocated herself. Alan shivered and grit his teeth bitterly.
“Keep your eyes forward, Alan! There are still enemies coming!” Maximum scolded him.
“I know that! But Utata! She’s poisoned!”
“It’s too late! If you don’t keep fighting, you’ll be the next one to die! She knew what she was getting into! We all made an oath, didn’t we?! To protect Lady Noah!”
“Goddammiiiiiiit!” Alan charged ahead.
Whenever Alan lost his temper, he became uncontrollable. Noah doubted he’d hear her orders anymore. She didn’t intend to stop him though — they weren’t making any headway by going about this conventionally. Alan slashed all the enemies in his way in a blind rage while Noah and the others bolted after him.
More tentacles soon extended to intercept them, but were promptly cut down. Others began firing at them, but Alan swiftly dodged, clearing them away and continuing to sprint ahead without losing any momentum.
“Aaaaaaagh!” he howled like an animal.
However, he couldn’t possibly block every attack, and the damage gradually built up. Bones snapped, organs were crushed, and his blood spilled, but even so, Alan never stopped. He kept swinging his blade.
“Araaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Noah’s lips curled up into a smile. He was acting the way she’d hoped he would. He’d cut down countless tentacles... And toward the end of his rampage, he was faced with something that wasn’t so much a mess of tentacles as it was a wall of flesh. But he broke through it, and quite literally cleaved a way open for them.
†
They stepped out into a spacious area. The ceiling was so high it felt like it was reaching up into the sky, and while there were no decorations to speak of, there were patterns on the walls that shined faintly. It was clear that this place was different from everywhere else they’d seen in the castle so far.
Aira hurried after the rest of the group and spoke with awe and enmity:
“Th-This is Emperor Gelmed’s throne room.”
But atop the platform wasn’t a seat any man could occupy. In fact, what was there wasn’t even remotely human. It was a gigantic tree that stood where the throne should be, lording over them like a tower extending to the heavens. The surface of its trunk was rough and gnarled, and the tree’s branches extended up to the ceiling, but there were no leaves growing anywhere, almost like it was frozen in a perpetual winter.
And set in the rough, rock-like surface was the shape of a human face, moving and contorting like muddled clay. The ugly, wrinkled face of the Emperor surfaced, directing an evil glare at them.
“Who treads here? Seeking an audience with me...”
✦ ✦ ✦
