It was a massacre.
“………”
The distant sounds of his greatspear going to work sent a chill down Valletta’s spine.
Finn sliced the first of the spirit warriors in half almost immediately. A thrust skewered the second in the neck. The carnage was enough to give even those mindless beasts pause, but even that was short-lived before the third of them fell prey to the raging tip of Finn’s weapon.
The remnants of Alecto Familia trembled with fright. The spirit warriors had been weakened in their battle with Freya Familia, but they still should have made for formidable foes. The fourteen mages of the ambush squad immediately fired off their prepared spells and magic swords.
In response, Finn gripped the still-moving body of the third spirit warrior and used it as a human shield.
The very last thought that passed through the minds of the mages as their target disappeared into the flames, was how on earth had a mad berserker had been able to think up such a maneuver. The very next second, a throwing knife came speeding out of the inferno, skewering the Evils captain in the face. It crackled with dark lightning, betraying its true identity—the spirit dagger that had been lodged into the experiment’s spine and gave it its powers.
With their leader’s death, his men were overcome by confusion and chaos. It was then that a voice issued forth from the flames.
“Don’t run away. Let’s end it here.”
Then the small spearman leaped forward, slaughtering the remaining mages in the blink of an eye. Without their captain, they struggled to defend themselves, much less fight back. What was supposed to be the hunting of a mindless beast very quickly became the exact opposite, and the mad sycophants of Alecto and Apate were forced to pay the price for their vile crimes.
The last spirit warrior roared and leaped at Finn, but they were no match for the prum captain and his magical enhancements. Watching the fight made it quite clear that Finn’s spell had not dampened his tactical acumen to anywhere near the extent that Valletta had hoped.
“Wha—?!”
Valletta was at a loss for words. After breaking through the melee fighters, Finn moved on to the supporting mages. By disturbing their ranks, he was able to push through the blockade.
“H-he’s wiped out both Apate’s and Alecto’s forces!” cried a subordinate. “Braver’s coming this way, ma’am!”
“He defeated our ambush?” snarled Valletta. “How?! That shouldn’t be possible!”
Finn was meant to be nothing more than a savage beast, incapable of rational thought, let alone predicting a surprise attack. Up on the brothel roof, now a hill of blood, Braver stood and swung his spear.
“As it turns out,” he said, “I can break through the madness if I’m angry enough. I do confess that I didn’t know that before. And wouldn’t you know it…I’m quite angry.”
Finn’s mind was sharp, his decisions swift. Like a flame so hot it burned clear and blue, his rage was more defined than it had ever been.
“I had to watch my mentors die,” he said. “I know this won’t bring them back, but…won’t you help me grieve?”
Blood was splattered across his cheeks like an unholy specter, Finn took one step across the battlefield.
“I want to bathe you in your own blood.”
His voice quivered like fire.
“I want to make you buy back each and every life you’ve taken…with your own suffering.”
The hero became an avatar of rage and shot forward.
“S-somebody stop him!” Valletta cried. “Hold him off so I can get away!!”
Her soldiers let out terrified squeals as they ran to engage, but each of them ended up splattered against the cobbles like the ones who preceded them.
“That look… That look in his eyes! There’s no doubt about it…he’s still sane! He’s lost it and kept his sanity at the same time!”
Pale with fear, Valletta had no choice but to accept the truth.
Using his magic, Finn’s as strong as a Level 6! He’s the most powerful man in the city, alongside Ottar! My only edge was that he couldn’t make rational decisions! Once that’s out the window, I’m toast!
Valletta’s worst fears had become the honest truth. As she fled toward the center of the southwest district, Finn’s golden spear, soaked in blood, bore down on her.
“H-he can’t be stopped! He’s just one man, but… Gaaaagh!!”
The last of Valletta’s troops fell to Finn’s attacks. All that was left was the toxic spider herself.
“Don’t try to squirm your way out of this one.”
“S-stay away from me! Stay awaaaaay!!”
She let out a scream, fighting to be as far as possible from the lone prum. But Finn was completely cold to her humiliating flight. With one hand, he raised his spear like a javelin.
“…Rot in hell, Valletta.”
He threw.
The spear spiraled through the air at an ungodly speed, whistling toward the enemy commander.
“Hrgh… Grgh!!”
Time ground to a halt as pain shot through her body. The impact lifted her off her feet and into the air.
Valletta shifted her gaze down and to the side. There, sticking out of her shoulder, was the tip of Finn’s spear, coated in her own blood.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaghhh!”
The weapon remained lodged in her flesh, dragging her down into the snarl of streets below.
“I missed,” cursed Finn. “I only hit her shoulder. And now she’s fallen into…”
Daedalus Street.
A labyrinthine maze of alleyways and passages. The city’s second Dungeon. No amount of familiarity could help even a resident of Orario make sense of its enigmatic twists and turns. Some said that anyone who ventured in too deep would never come back out.
Finn narrowed his crimson eyes.
“I should hunt her down…end her life with my own two hands…but…”
He shook his head. It was like his boundless rage and the mind of Braver were warring inside his brain.
“I can’t risk getting lost when there’s so much going on. As much as it pains me to let her go…”
Valletta was a slippery one. Even wounded, there was no telling how far into Daedalus Street she could make it. It would take Finn time, not just to track her down, but to make his way back. And time was one thing he didn’t have right now. The longer he was absent from the board, the more Finn risked letting other enemy pieces give him the slip.
“It’s not good enough to win the battle… We need to win the war. Not just for those of us who live, but for those who’ve died.”
Muttering to himself, Finn closed his eyes.
“…At times like this, I wish I really were a mindless beast.”
Consigning his sorrow to those words, he opened his eyes again. Now they were calm and blue, and filled with reason once more.
“We’ll call it quits here, Valletta. Both of us have lost too much.”
Turning his back on Daedalus Street, Finn departed to rendezvous with nearby troops and mop up the stragglers. The sight of him mowing down enemy forces by himself raised the spirits of adventurers across the whole battlefield. He may have allowed Valletta to escape, but Finn was dead set on making sure the remaining Evils understood the price of their sins, and that they were prepared to pay them back in full.
With Valletta gone, there were none left among the Evils capable of matching Finn at the game of war. And so, the hero set dedicated himself to securing a complete strategic victory.
We’ve taken out more than half of the Evils’ lieutenants. It’s safe to say the battle aboveground is drawing to a close now.
In the casino neighborhood, Finn rejoined his army and went over the messengers’ reports. The cries of adventurers filled the air. They seemed like they would burst into song at any moment. From the top of the building, Finn surveyed the whole city.
All that’s left is the Dungeon. Since she wasn’t up here, I’m guessing Alfia really is down below, just as I predicted.
The Dungeon monster, and Hera’s finest. The task Riveria’s group faced was harsher yet than anything in the city streets.
However, if by some fluke their battle was still raging…
“…Then her time should be running out right about now.”
Finn’s eyes were drawn to the ground beneath his feet, where unfathomable depths below, his allies fought.