Evil Avalon

Chapter 153 United Front

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

"I'll tell you everything I know. You guys, cooperate with me!"

Kirigaya Sosuke bent his waist at a perfect right angle and bowed his head. His pure white suit was stained with blood and sand, and his slicked-back hair, which had been neatly set, was now completely disheveled. If you actually spoke to him, you might think he was a well-mannered and sensible young man—but there was no way that was true.

This guy was a high-priority subject frequently discussed at Narumi family meetings, the leader of the raid clan Sorel. According to what my mother, who worked at the Adventurers' Guild, had heard, he was constantly causing trouble and violent incidents. Highly aggressive and ambitious, his appearance and demeanor made it obvious he wasn't an ordinary citizen. The nickname given to him? Mad Dog. Trusting someone the Adventurers' Guild itself saw as a problem was out of the question.

That said, he had climbed to a position where he could command Kinrankai and had even negotiated directly with Sanada and the Holy Empire. There was a high chance he knew internal details that I wasn’t aware of. Moreover, since he was clearly opposed to the Holy Empire, the whole "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" logic meant he could be an ally.

There was definitely bad blood between Sorel and me, but perhaps, just for now, I should turn a blind eye and work with him to overcome the greater obstacle—the Holy Empire.

And then there was another incredibly suspicious individual. Standing beside him with a lighthearted grin was Mamiya Subaru.

This guy had casually brought back the head of a Holy Empire soldier, someone I had to push my player skills to the limit to defeat—like it was some kind of souvenir. His hakama was completely unruffled, meaning this hadn't been a hard-fought battle. He had won easily and in a short amount of time. That was downright abnormal.

From my own experience fighting the Holy Empire troops, I estimated they were around level 33. Having been through war, their PvP combat skills were unusually high. Taking down a warrior of that caliber without a scratch would be nearly impossible without top-tier ability—practically the best in Japan. And yet, Mamiya's power was on a level that even made his sister, Chi-chan, one of the strongest DunEx heroines, seem weak.

If he hadn't dropped out of the Adventurers' Academy, I bet he could have single-handedly crushed Hachiryu, the elite group led by the former student council president, Sagara. He hides behind the mask of an incompetent genius, but in reality, his strength is beyond comprehension. What is he really thinking behind that innocent, playful smile as he toys with me?

Kirigaya and Mamiya. Having these two witness my fighting ability was… troublesome, to say the least. Hopefully, this wouldn’t lead to complications down the line.

At the same time, I couldn’t ignore the powerful beam of magic that had just pierced through a building. It was an advanced magic spell, something a high-tier job could cast, so there was a chance someone in the Holy Empire had used it. But for a spell of that magnitude, only Mikhail Maxim could have done it. If that were the case, what had happened at the party venue?

Was Kano able to escape safely? Were Kirara-chan and Mamiya's sister okay? I wanted to rush back to check on them immediately, but first, I had to destroy the magic circle over there. As long as it existed, everyone in this building was essentially carrying a time bomb.

"Kirigaya-san, let's deal with the magic circle over there first. We can talk afterward."
"Agreed. I'm worried about my sister too, but we can't ignore this."

A large helipad sat diagonally across from our current position. A faintly glowing magic circle was visible on top of it. I wanted to confirm whether it contained the magic circle responsible for the building's imminent explosion. When I suggested this, Mamiya and Kirigaya both nodded in agreement.

(Finally, I can accomplish my original objective…)

Seriously, too many problems had come up just getting here. I had nearly died multiple times and was utterly exhausted. But once I destroyed the magic circles causing the explosion and communication interference, all I had to do was hide in the shadows of Kinrankai and Kunoichi Red until reinforcements arrived. Telling myself this was my last mission, I forced my battered body forward toward my goal.

After climbing over some pipes and fences, we finally reached three overlapping circular magic circles, each about ten meters in diameter. A stacked magic circle structure. As I moved in to investigate, Kirigaya alternated between looking at me and the magic circle before speaking.

"Narumi, do you know what this magic circle is?"
"…No. But I can make a rough guess. If it were an offensive spell, there would be attribute symbols indicating elements like fire, ice, wind, earth, lightning, water, light, or darkness. But these circles don’t have any of those."

In DunEx, offensive spells were categorized by attributes, and when drawing magic circles for them, attribute symbols had to be included somewhere. The fact that none of these circles contained any attribute symbols meant they weren’t attack magic.

They weren’t buffs or defense magic either. You wouldn’t leave a magic circle that indiscriminately strengthened nearby people just lying around. And since I didn't get any ominous feelings approaching it, it wasn’t a debuff magic circle. That left only one option: a suppression-type spell.

As I explained this, Mamiya, who had been taking pictures of the magic circle beside me, tilted his head in thought.

"But if all three of these magic circles are interference spells, that means the explosive magic circle must be somewhere else, right? Do you have any guesses where it might be?"

"I don’t think there are any other places large enough to set up a massive magic circle."

"Hmm... what about the building’s exterior walls?"

If the explosive magic circle isn’t here, where could it be?

To destroy a building of this size, the magic circle would need to be tens of meters in diameter. The only locations that could accommodate such a large circle are the first-floor entrance, the party hall on the 55th floor, and this rooftop. If it’s not in any of these places, then Mamiya’s guess—that it’s on the exterior walls—might be correct.

The exterior walls certainly have enough flat surface area for a magic circle, making it possible to place one there. However, drawing a magic circle requires it to be within a magic field, which takes both time and effort. Not to mention, it would be highly conspicuous. If someone painted a giant magic circle on the side of a skyscraper in the middle of downtown Tokyo, passersby would notice it immediately.

Maybe the whole "building explosion" is just fake information. As I was about to conclude that, Kirigaya shook his head in disagreement.

"No, I definitely heard Sanada say, 'We’re going to test the power of a super-high-level magic circle.' The name was… something like 'Apocalypse' magic. He also mentioned that it was a grand spell devised by the [Saint] from Eastern Europe."

"…Could it be Apocalypse Nova?"

"Yeah, that’s it. No doubt about it."

That’s… a supreme-tier spell.

For high-tier spells, expanding the magic circle to tens of meters increases their power. But a supreme-tier spell can obliterate this skyscraper even with a compact magic circle. My own Overdrive spell, for instance, uses a magic circle less than a meter in diameter but still possesses immense destructive power.

However, if the magic circle is that small, it could be placed literally anywhere—making it impossible to pinpoint its location. More importantly—

(Who exactly is this 'Saint'…?)

A magic circle isn’t complete just by drawing the patterns using a catalyst. It must also be infused with magic by some means. The real question is: who infused the Apocalypse Nova spell into the magic circle?

To cast a supreme-tier spell, one must hold a supreme-tier job, which requires reaching level 50 or higher. If Kirigaya’s information is accurate, that means this "Saint" from Eastern Europe is at least level 50.

There’s another way, though—using a magic scroll containing the spell. However, obtaining a supreme-tier spell scroll requires delving beyond the 50th floor of a dungeon and endlessly looting treasure chests. Either way, it would still require someone at level 50 or above to retrieve it.

(Wait… there’s one more possibility.)

Someone who isn’t a supreme-tier class, and isn’t using a scroll, but can still cast supreme-tier spells. That would be… a player. In fact, that’s probably the most likely explanation—

I nearly lost myself in this shocking realization, but now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. I had to refocus.

"If the building’s explosive spell really is Apocalypse Nova, then even a one-meter magic circle would be enough to destroy this entire structure. Did you hear where they placed it?"

"No, but they rented out the 44th floor for several days and stayed there. If it takes time to create a magic circle, then that’s the most suspicious place."

So the Holy Empire occupied the 44th floor... I just hope we find it there. Because if we don’t, every person in this building is as good as dead.

The current time is approaching 7:40 PM. They said they’d detonate the explosion at 8:00 PM, meaning we have less than 20 minutes left. There’s no time to search aimlessly. We’re relying entirely on luck.

The crushing weight of reality nearly made me collapse, but I forced myself to stand. Before heading to the 44th floor, we needed to deal with the magic circles here—though even that had complications.

Kafka and Svetlana mentioned five interference magic circles:

1. Communication Jamming
2. Repelling People
3. Magic Barrier
4. Illusions
5. Concealment

But here, we only found three. That means at least two more must be placed elsewhere. If we don’t find and destroy them as well, we’re still in trouble.

Problem after problem. This is way beyond a simple "one crisis after another" situation. I felt like curling up into a ball and groaning in frustration, but I didn’t have that luxury. Giving up wasn’t an option—I had to keep moving forward.

This is what it means to fight in an area the enemy has meticulously prepared.

"…Alright, we’ll head to the 44th floor, but first, let’s destroy these magic circles."

The magic circles in front of them were not attack spells, so there was no danger of them exploding. The three of them split up and stomped on the magical lines, disrupting them. As they did, the circles dimmed with a low hum and eventually disappeared completely. Something had changed, but… there was no noticeable effect.

When he looked up to check their surroundings, Mamiya was already opening his wrist terminal and making a call.

"Oh, I can use my phone now. Hello?"

『—Hello? Oh, Brother?』

Peeking at the screen, Souta saw a young girl in a kimono—Chi-chan—leaning forward, her face filling the entire frame. Had the communication interference been lifted? If so, he could try calling Kano as well.

Suppressing his eagerness, Souta activated the call function on his wrist terminal. Kano had probably already used the escape item and left, but he wanted to confirm just in case.

『Souta! Oh—huh? You look so skinny—』

『Wait, is that really Souta?!』

On his screen, he saw Kano in a dress, alongside a girl with braided hair and a large backpack—Satsuki—both looking surprised. It wasn’t strange for them to be together; using the escape item would have taken Kano to where Satsuki was waiting.

What was puzzling, however, was that behind Kano and Satsuki, Chi-chan could be seen talking to Mamiya’s brother on the phone. Why were they all in the same place?

"Where are you right now? Don’t tell me you’re still in this building?"

『Yeah! Right now, Arthur is—ah!』

Before Kano could finish speaking, a strong tremor shook the floor beneath him. It wasn’t an earthquake—it felt more like an explosion. For a brief moment, Souta thought the detonation magic circle had been triggered and nearly panicked, but… thankfully, it seemed they were still safe.

"So, what about Arthur? And what’s that white pattern behind you? What’s happening over there?"

『This? It’s a ‘defensive barrier.’ Arthur put it up to protect us from that guy in the white coat, look!』

Kano turned the camera, revealing a glowing geometric web surrounding them. It was a defensive barrier, woven from threads—a specialty of the Arachne species.

Beyond the barrier, a pure-white Arachne wielding a massive black scythe was facing off against Mikhail. They seemed to be testing each other—Mikhail was sending out small magic bullets, while the Arachne evaded them and cut them down with precise swings of its scythe.

(Wait… is that Arthur?)

Arachne typically fought by setting up webs to attack and defend. One wielding a scythe was unheard of. That meant the figure behind the barrier wasn’t just any summoned creature—it was likely Arthur himself.

But the last time Souta had seen Arthur, he was small enough to perch on a shoulder. Now, the screen showed a humanoid upper body fused with an Arachne’s lower half—he had grown significantly. Moreover, how was he even outside of the dungeon? The "Demon’s Restriction" should have prevented him from leaving. Could he bypass it by possessing a summoned body?

There were too many questions, but none of them mattered compared to the fact that Arthur was here. If he could keep Mikhail occupied, their mission to destroy the magic circles would be much easier.

As Souta considered their next move, the camera angle shifted again, now focusing on the girl with the large backpack—Satsuki. Why was she even here? Had she used the escape item to come back?

『Souta! I brought a bunch of useful items and magic tools! Can you make it here?』

"I’m on my way. I need to discuss something with you too. Is the defensive barrier still holding up?"

『Seems like it! It hasn’t budged, even against Mikhail’s attacks.』

Arachne defensive barriers were incredibly strong, nullifying almost all attacks below a certain threshold. However, if Mikhail went all out, it could be destroyed in an instant. Arthur was likely doing his best to prevent that, but they couldn’t take any chances.

Kano and the others were in the 55th-floor clan party hall. They agreed to meet there and ended the call.

Time was running out, and they needed to move quickly. But since communication was now possible, there was something else Souta needed to do first. Just as he was about to use his wrist terminal again, Kirigaya shook his head.

"It’s no good. I can’t reach anyone outside the building or at the front entrance. The range is too short."

"…So there are still interference magic circles somewhere in the building. I was hoping to call for backup, but no luck."

Souta tried dialing the police, but the call wouldn’t go through. The weak magical signals from their wrist terminals could only reach a few floors away. If they could just call for reinforcements, their options would expand dramatically—but of course, things weren’t that easy.

Still, knowing that their allies were fighting alongside them lifted Souta’s spirits. It felt like a ray of hope breaking through the dark fog of despair. As long as they had each other, he could keep going.

And… he wasn’t alone here, either.

"Alright, we’ve done what we needed to here. Let’s head back. Oh, and if we’re going to the 44th floor, I assume you’ll be helping us, right?"

"Of course. My crew took heavy losses, but in the name of the Kinran Association, I’ll pay those bastards back a hundredfold… I’ll make sure Sanada doesn’t leave here alive."

Mamiya grinned as always, while Kirigaya clenched his fists with barely restrained fury, seething with a desire for vengeance. Under normal circumstances, Souta wouldn’t want to be anywhere near them.

But right now, these were the most reliable allies he could ask for.

TL Note- Things are progressing nicely.....

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