After defeating Yuriina Tanaka, Tomochika and Yogiri found themselves back in the Antechamber Area. It seemed they would be waiting there until the next round started. The second round would only take thirty-two parties, so it felt like it was going to be a while before round one finished.
“I think I saw Hanakawa back there,” Yogiri said, sitting down on the couch across from Tomochika.
“He was behind me, right? I didn’t see him.” The two of them had been standing back-to-back, waiting for enemies to approach. Yuriina had come from Tomochika’s side, so she had no idea what Yogiri had seen.
“What do you think he wanted? I doubt he was planning on killing us.”
“He should have figured out by now that he can’t beat you...right?” Considering Hanakawa’s behavior up until now, it was hard to say with certainty that a new power or new ally wouldn’t go to his head. “So what do we do about him?” she asked.
“That depends.”
“Of course.”
If he just wanted to talk with them, that was fine. If he was plotting something, though, there was a chance they’d have to kill him. Tomochika had already come to terms with that.
Putting on some tea and enjoying the snacks provided for them, the pair waited for a while until an announcement appeared in the air above them.
Last Boss Quest, Final Stage, Round Two: Start!
“Okay, let’s go.”
Yogiri slowly made his way to the door, Tomochika close behind him. Stepping outside, they found themselves somewhere dark. Candles here and there provided faint illumination of the countless human skeletons littering the floor. They seemed to be in a crypt of some sort.
“What now?” Tomochika asked. “Should we shout again?”
“It looks like we’re underground, right? Shouting won’t do us much good if we’re the only ones here.”
“Then can we go somewhere else? This place gives me the creeps.”
“Yeah, you’re right. We should probably move.” If they wanted to get to the next round, they needed to find another enemy to battle. There was no telling if an enemy would ever find them if they stayed in a place like this. Yogiri picked up a candle embedded in a skull.
“Wow, no hesitation, huh?” Tomochika commented. Though she wasn’t bothered about any sort of taboo involving touching dead bodies, she couldn’t deny that the idea was unpleasant.
“These are objects placed here for the game. I doubt they’re real.”
“I guess we can’t take just the candle, so we don’t really have a choice anyway.”
The pair started walking, Yogiri in the lead. The faint light of their candle revealed a wall made of human bones.
“What’s with this place?” Tomochika exclaimed. “Someone has horrible taste!”
“I guess they were trying to build up the atmosphere. This is probably what a catacomb would feel like.”
The catacombs in Paris are said to be two kilometers long, Mokomoko added.
Tomochika groaned. For now there was nothing to do but keep moving forward, but it seemed like they still had a long way to go. There were no branches in the path, so it wasn’t really possible for them to get lost, but the poor lighting made it hard to see where they were going.
Just as they were about to start worrying about whether there was actually an exit or not, a staircase came into view. Climbing the stairs, they ascended into a windowed room lit from the outside, meaning they had likely reached the surface. Opening a door and stepping outside, they found themselves in a park. The park was fairly small and surrounded by what appeared to be houses.
“It feels like a park in a residential area. No sign of anyone living here, though,” Tomochika said after looking around. Of course, being a field in Cavern Quest, she wouldn’t have expected the city to be populated.
“Mokomoko, can you take a look for us?” Yogiri asked.
Very well! Mokomoko flew up into the sky and began spinning to observe their surroundings.
“I know she’s my ancestor, but she really comes off as an idiot, doesn’t she?” Tomochika commented.
“I never really paid attention to how she was doing it before,” Yogiri said.
After spinning for a while, the ghost returned to the ground.
There is one other person in the city, north of us. I do not know who they are, but it seems they have yet to spot us.
“It doesn’t really matter if they have or not,” Yogiri said. “It’s not like we’re going to surprise attack them.”
“I guess I should yell then,” Tomochika said, prompting Yogiri to step back and cover his ears. “Yogiri Takatou is right here!!!”
This time Yogiri had been ready for it, so it hadn’t hurt him as much. She had shouted as loud as she could, so there was no doubt that everyone around would notice them.
After a short time, a girl appeared from the huddled buildings.
“Akino?!”
The new arrival was their classmate, Sora Akino.