Evil Avalon
"Whoa, whoa... That was intense, but they're going all out."
As they descended the stairs to the 56th floor, a strong lateral tremor shook the building. Mamiya almost lost his footing but managed to grab the railing just in time to avoid falling.
When Mikhail and Arthur were fighting while Kano was on the call, they were only exchanging magic bullets in a relatively mild confrontation. But within just two or three minutes, it had escalated into a full-fledged battle. If they went all out, they might destroy the building even without triggering the explosive magic circle. Arthur needed to be mindful of that during the fight.
"The old man—well, my boss, Kuki—has sorted things out. He's finished healing and is heading to the 44th floor ahead of us... Thanks to your friend being generous with the healing potions, Kuki asked me to pass on his gratitude."
Kirigaya, who had been following behind while talking on the phone, expressed his thanks. It seemed that Satsuki had been handing out healing potions in large quantities. Because of that, the critical shortage of healers was suddenly resolved, and even adventurers who had lost limbs or suffered fatal wounds had made a miraculous recovery.
Meanwhile, Sanada and the Holy Empire soldiers, who had been causing havoc on the 55th floor, had vanished somewhere. Their intentions were unknown, but there was no time to waste chasing them down—they had to disable the explosive magic circle as soon as possible. Kuki and Rokurogi, who were now free, were to lead the recovered adventurers and a few remaining healers ahead to the 44th floor.
Despite everything, Kirigaya was proving to be unexpectedly competent. He had a sharp ability to assess the situation quickly, communicated only the key points concisely, and in this short time, had enabled smooth coordination with Kuki and the others. From what Mamiya had heard, Kirigaya had seemed like the type to resort to violence at the slightest provocation, so this gap between expectation and reality—especially with his delinquent appearance—was striking.
Considering the high probability of future clashes with the Kinrankai, Kirigaya's rise to prominence could prove to be quite troublesome—
"Hey, wait a second. What’s that?"
As he turned a corner deep in thought, Mamiya, who was running ahead, suddenly came to an abrupt stop. He pointed outside the window. Following his gaze, I saw what looked like numerous white lines stretched across the night sky. What was that?
As I pressed my face against the glass to get a better look, multiple dazzling lights streaked down from above like comets, moving at incredible speed before exploding. Parts of the white web-like structures burned away in the flames, and within that fiery glow, a mysterious white creature darted through the air.
Just as the three of us were glued to the window in shock, another magic projectile was launched, landing nearby. The impact shattered a massive amount of glass, sending a deafening crash and a powerful shockwave through the air. Instinctively, we all ducked down and shielded our faces with our arms.
"Damn it, what kind of fight is this?"
"Is that the Arachne you mentioned? Fighting a mid-air battle at this height… that’s crazy on so many levels."
Aerial combat, 200 meters above the ground, among towering skyscrapers. It was absolute chaos. Kirigaya and Mamiya gasped, but I couldn't agree more.
The situation was as follows: Mikhail was flying around using the levitation magic Fly, launching a barrage of spells via Multi-Cast. Meanwhile, Arthur had woven massive spiderwebs between buildings, using them as footholds to dash through the sky and counterattack with his scythe.
Arthur himself was skilled in aerial magic combat using Fly, but since he was in a Possession state with the Arachne, he could only use the creature's skills. The only thing he could use freely was his weapon. That was probably why he had opted for close combat.
Even so, he was skillfully using his threads to restrict Mikhail’s movement, forcing him onto the defensive.
"He's fast and strong! Even against Mikhail, he's holding his ground! Maybe he can even win this?"
"Even if he does, if we don’t stop the building’s explosion, we lose."
Arthur continued expanding his web, turning the area into his domain, using the threads for both offense and defense while steadily pushing Mikhail back. Mikhail burned through the threads as he dodged, but Arthur's web-building speed was significantly faster and far more MP-efficient. Even with the limitations of Arachne’s abilities, he had managed to corner Mikhail multiple times. Arthur’s spatial awareness and tactical prowess were outstanding.
However, Mikhail wasn’t fighting seriously yet. Unfortunately, even if Arthur had the upper hand now, the odds of securing a complete victory were slim. Arthur, as a player, would surely understand that.
And as Kirigaya pointed out, even if Mikhail was defeated, the Apocalypse Nova explosion magic circle would still activate, meaning everyone would die anyway. To prevent that, we had no choice but to hurry to the 44th floor and stop its activation.
Outside the window, magical light and pale blue threads tangled chaotically, and explosions and shockwaves echoed through the air. As we silently prayed for Arthur’s success, we turned away from the battle and ran forward.
—
Racing through the dimly lit corridor, we kicked off the walls at full speed to make a sharp turn. Up ahead was the door leading to the 55th-floor party venue. Coming to a sudden stop, we threw it open—
A dome of overlapping, glowing blue geometric patterns filled our vision. This was Arthur’s defensive barrier that I had seen through my wrist terminal.
Even the Holy Empire soldiers couldn’t break through it, making this the only safe zone in the building. However, that also meant we couldn’t enter without someone from inside letting us in.
"Onii! Welcome back!!"
As soon as she saw me, a girl in a pink dress lifted the defensive barrier curtain and practically flew out—no, she did fly out. I quickly braced myself to catch her and slow her momentum, but if it weren’t for the magic field, we both would’ve been sent flying.
"You've gotten so thin!? Well, never mind that! Listen to my amazing—no, my super amazing achievements!"
She immediately launched into an excited rant, and while I was about to tell her to calm down, I noticed that her neatly styled hair and dress were covered in dust. Had Kano gotten caught up in a fight? I thought about apologizing for putting her in that situation, but her bright, beaming smile told me she was just fine.
"Brother… You must be exhausted,"
Unlike Kano, Chi-chan, dressed in a kimono, bowed gracefully to welcome her older brother, Mamiya. As expected of a DunEx heroine, she was the epitome of refinement. If only my own reckless little sister, still clinging onto my arm, would take notes.
Looking further inside, I saw Satsuki waving her arms energetically, signaling us over. Scattered on the ground were not just healing potions but also several magical artifacts, some of which I recognized. Arthur’s house on the 38th floor of the dungeon had a storage room that was practically a junkyard for unused magical items, so she must have grabbed whatever she could from there.
I was about to head over when I hesitated for a moment upon spotting Mikami Haruka standing with Kirara-chan behind her. There was no time to dwell on it, though—we had to keep moving.
"We owe this person a great deal. On behalf of everyone here, I offer my sincerest gratitude."
"I-I-It was nothing! Really!"
Mikami rose from her chair and bowed elegantly toward both Satsuki and me. Her luxurious dress was even more tattered and dirt-streaked than Kano’s, likely due to intense combat, yet her noble dignity remained completely intact. As expected from a woman who had survived the cutthroat world of aristocracy.
She was probably referring to the healing potions Satsuki had distributed. We had hoarded hundreds of HP and MP potions, worth over a billion in total, and had given away the majority without hesitation. In hindsight, it was the right call.
Not only had it saved the lives of key DunEx characters like Kirara-chan and Chi-chan, but it also earned us a huge favor from ultra-wealthy figures like Mikami and the Kinran-kai. That kind of debt would return to us many times over—because I would make sure they paid it back. Of course, this was only if we could stop the Apocalypse Nova explosive magic array.
Mikami gave a brief but knowing smile to the still-flustered Satsuki before continuing.
"Kuki-sama and Rokurogi-sama have taken the recovered adventurers and already headed to the 44th floor. Unfortunately, I must remain here to protect everyone… Kirara."
"Yes. Narumi-kun, if you’re heading to the 44th floor, I will accompany you. I’ve managed to contact my allies, so I should be able to help."
At Mikami’s signal, Kirara-chan stepped forward.
Nearly a hundred guests were huddled together inside the barrier, while just beyond it, Arthur—fused with the Arachne—was locked in a high-stakes battle against Mikhail, shaking the skyscraper with every clash. The situation was still extremely dangerous. Explosions and destruction continued outside, mixed with panicked screams and sobs.
Yet evacuating the guests wasn’t realistic. The Holy Empire’s forces and Sanada, who had been rampaging earlier, could still be lurking nearby. If we ran into them, it could mean complete annihilation. Mikami choosing to stay and be a pillar of support for the guests made perfect sense.
However, both Mikami and Kirara-chan knew the truth—if the Apocalypse Nova magic array activated, this defensive barrier wouldn’t save them. And since we weren’t inside the dungeon, return stones wouldn’t work. There was no way to escape.
Yet despite that, their expressions remained calm, their eyes filled with unwavering resolve. So this was the strength of the elite kunoichi known as Red—a woman who had survived countless life-or-death struggles.
"Of course, you’re more than welcome! I’ll make sure to escort you properly," Mamiya said, grinning slyly as he opened his arms toward his childhood friend, Kirara-chan.
"I have no intention of being a burden. You may rest assured," she replied firmly.
"I feel sooo much safer with Kirara-oneesama coming along!"
As usual, the older brother of Chi-chan welcomed Kirara-chan with his usual unreadable smirk. Who knew what was going on in his head? And amidst the chaos, Kano casually clung to Kirara-chan, clearly establishing herself as part of the group heading to the 44th floor. She even glanced at me, silently pleading, I’m coming too.
Honestly, having her nearby was more convenient for me, so I decided to ignore her antics.
"Narumi, we don’t have time to waste," Kirigaya reminded me.
"I know. But before that… let’s grab some supplies."
"This stuff here? Lisa picked them out, so at least some of it should be useful"
Satsuki glanced back and forth between the items she had brought and my face. At first glance, most of them looked like junk. She probably hadn’t had enough time to properly sort through them. However, there were a few things that seemed useful.
I picked up a black hexagonal crystal that looked like obsidian and examined the magic power within it. I had a feeling—no, I was certain.
“This item has a spirit residing in it. If we’re lucky, it might respond to us. We should bring it along.”
“A spirit-infused item…? Isn’t that something incredibly valuable?”
Chii-chan’s eyes widened in surprise. In some countries, spirit-infused items were considered sacred treasures and designated as national artifacts.
Normally, summoning magic required a summoning skill to call forth and command a spirit. However, even without that skill, if the spirit was in a good mood or had compatibility with the user, it might respond to a call and lend its power.
The spirit inside this black crystal was a Dark Pixie. It had no combat ability and no particularly special powers, but it could use an advanced version of Magic Sense, which would be invaluable for locating the magic circle. Chii-chan, with her high MP and affinity for dark magic, was the best person to communicate with it. I could explain the details while we moved.
“What about this huge jar?”
Just as I was considering whether to move out, figuring there weren’t any more useful items, Mamiya pointed at a particularly conspicuous ceramic container, about a meter tall, shaped like a giant sake bottle.
“That’s a Cooldown Resetter. It resets the cooldown time of skills for a few seconds, but it can only be used once and takes up a lot of space—”
“I’ll carry it. That’s fine, right?”
In general, most skills—aside from basic ones like magic bullets and aura bursts—had cooldown periods before they could be used again. High-level job skills could have cooldowns of up to twenty minutes. Being able to reset that, even for just a moment, could be significant. However, repeatedly using powerful skills in quick succession would put a heavy strain on the body. Not to mention, fighting while carrying this enormous jar would be utterly impractical—
—Or so I thought, but if he was willing to carry it himself, then so be it. There were probably other useful items, but we didn’t have time to go through them all with Basic Appraisal.
“Everyone, take three HP and MP potions each. Now, let’s move out!”
“With Onii and Satsuki-nee here, there’s no way—absolutely no way—we’ll lose!”
“I send you all my blessings! Anti-Magic II! And one more—Protection II!”
Satsuki raised a large staff she had pulled from somewhere and chanted her spells. First, a purple light rained down, followed by a white glow that surrounded us, scattering in countless shimmering square effects. These buffs increased magic resistance and defense. Now that Satsuki had advanced from Priest to Cleric, having her with us was a huge advantage.
Alright. Our objective wasn’t to defeat Mikhail or Sanada—it was to destroy the explosive magic circle. We had to act swiftly and use every method at our disposal. The evacuation of the guests and dealing with the remnants of the Holy Empire could be left to Mikami, Kuki, and Rokurogi. However, if the worst happened—
(If it comes down to it, I’ll have to grab both of them and get out of here…)
I glanced at my twin-tailed little sister, who was bouncing with energy, and my braided-haired classmate.
Lisa was still back there, so in the worst-case scenario, I could use an escape item to pull one person to safety. But even if I told Kano or Satsuki to escape alone, they’d never accept it. If the magic circle’s detonation became unavoidable, I’d have no choice but to grab them both, smash through a window, and use Aerial to fly away.
There might come a moment when I’d have to abandon everyone else here. That was a decision I needed to be prepared for.
Mantap, thanks for translate
ReplyDeleteit seem like it will take at least 6 chapter to get some progress here
ReplyDeleteBruh, I want them to fight 😭 Don't tell me next chapter is still setup and another 2 week vacation
ReplyDelete