4
The interior of the ruins appears to be arranged as a single path.
There’s a large number of side rooms along the way, and there’s debris from something inside each room.
“Hey, Alice, these have gotta be robots, right? They don’t look like anything else.”
“They haven’t fared very well over the years, but yeah. They’re robots.”
They must have been security robots. The remains are scattered like mileposts, and as a result, our exploration was…
“Wait, Six. If we can take these home, they’ll be worth—”
“No, put those down. We’re never going to catch up to them at this rate! You can come back for this crap later!”
…not going well. We’re not making much progress thanks to Snow’s greed. She’s convinced herself that the remains have some value.
“Alice, tell her to stop screwing around. If you threaten not to pay her the bonus…”
“Fascinating. I wonder what powers them… Hmm? What is it, Six? You look dumber than usual with your mouth hanging open like that.”
…Not you, too!
Now that I’m aware of it, I notice that Alice is poking around, too, touching things here and there.
Just then, Rose steps up to the inert remains of a robot, tilting her head curiously.
“What is it? Are you interested in these things, too?”
“…No. At least I don’t think so. But I feel like I played with these kids a long time ago…” Rose places her hand on the robot’s chest, making an interesting observation in a hushed voice. And at that moment…
Something like a voice rings out from the faint darkness in front of us, followed by a bright red flash of light.
We look at one another and nod, quietly moving forward toward the source of the sound.
As we move forward, we eventually find…
Heine and Russell kneeling in front of a security robot that’s recently been reduced to a hunk of junk.
“This has been pretty exhausting, but seems we’re getting close. Looks like you’ve used a fair bit of magic, Russell. Are you sure you don’t need to rest?”
“I’m fine. Chimeras basically have unlimited magic. So long as we don’t run out of food, I can cast water spells all day if I need to.”
We watch as Heine and Russell stand there and chat without anything resembling a sense of urgency. That probably means they just finished fighting the robot. Thanks to Heine’s flames, the ambient temperature’s pretty high, and I feel sweat beading on my forehead.
Still, I’m pretty sure he just said “Chimera.” Alice suspected they were related to these ruins. Looks like her theory’s correct.
“All right, let’s just wrap this up, then,” says Heine. “I’m tired of camping. I want to get out of this creepy place and get a good night’s sleep back at the castle.”
“Creepy, huh? This place reminds me of home, actually… But I guess you would feel uneasy; you’re a modern demon used to your modern environment.” Russell’s comment piques my interest, right now it’s more important to keep following them.
I signal to the rest of the group, sneakily following the two to find the perfect moment to strike.
“Heine, a new guardian’s approaching us from that hallway! Leave this one to me! Take care of the other one!”
“On it. I’ll burn it away with my flames! Geez, there’s a lot of these things!”
Well, these two aren’t members of the Elite Four for nothing. They destroy the security robots without much risk to themselves, quickly pushing farther into the ruins.
“Damn, a trap! You all right, Russell? Not hurt, are you?”
“I’m fine, thanks to you. But now you’re hurt! Show me your wound; I’ll heal you!”
Triggering traps, getting hurt.
“It’s just a scratch. Besides, we can’t have you getting hurt. Defeating the Sand King is the long-awaited dream of all demons. You’re the only one who can do it.”
“Heine… You’re right. I have to do this, for everyone. I can’t afford to die until I complete this mission…”
“Don’t be stupid. I won’t let you die even once you do complete your mission. You’re still a kid. And adults are supposed to protect kids.”
Strengthening their bonds of friendship.
“Treating me like a kid again? Fine! Just watch. I’ll protect you some day, Heine.”
“Heh. Well, that gives me something to look forward to.”
We silently watch all their exchanges…
“ Heh-heh… They don’t have the first clue that we’re here ,” I murmur. “I’m looking forward to reaching the objective.”
So far, they’ve made it really easy to just follow them.
“… Hey, Six ,” says Snow. “ Watching their efforts makes me hesitant to steal the treasure from them …”
“What the hell are you talking about? They’re high-ranking demons. Taking their prize is the right thing to do. Throw that guilt away; it’s useless!”
Even as I reply, Heine and Russell continue their advance.
“More importantly, Grimm, can you secretly curse them from over here? Seems they’re both magic users of some sort. How about using a curse to keep them from casting when a security robot attacks them? I bet that’ll put them in a bind.”
“I have to talk at a certain volume to cast a curse. Still, it’s a good idea. I’ll give it a try if the opportunity arises.”
“ Boss, I don’t think I can bear it …,” Rose interjects as I discuss the subject of curses with Grimm. She’s been quieter than usual, maybe sympathizing with Russell, a fellow Chimera.
“Rose, get it together. The fate of the kingdom rests with our mission. We can’t afford to lose. Swallow your feelings of guilt and bear it. Once we get home, I’ll buy you lots of tasty food, all right?”
“I meant to comment on this before, but you seem to think I’ll go along with anything if you just offer me food. I mean, I’ll listen this time, but…!”
Heine and Russell wrap up their fight while I’m buying Rose with the promise of food.
Watching them fight from a distance reminds me that these two are really strong. I’d like to avoid fighting them head-on if I can help it.
After what feels like an eternity later…
Ahead of us, Heine and Russell stop as they reach something.
“Looks like this is the place…”
After going through countless small rooms, they’ve entered a large and spacious room. In the center, something lies unmoving inside an enormous glass case.
I can tell what it is even from this distance.
It’s a giant robot.
Heine spends a little time staring at the robot inside the case before shaking her head and saying rather cheerfully, “So that’s the ace in the hole for taking out the Sand King. It’s certainly big enough…”
Russell nods. “Yeah. Of course, this was originally made to wipe out the monkeys infesting the surface. Meaning once we exterminate the Sand King, we can move on to getting rid of those obnoxious humans.”
I think we can make our move now. Alice and I nod to each other, then signal the others.
Oblivious to our actions, Heine tries to calm Russell down. “You’re still planning to do that…? Do you really hate humans that much?”
“Yes—yes I do. It’s also what my creator wanted. Are you saying you don’t hate them, Heine? I’ve heard they’ve done some horrible things to you.”
Heine lets out a bitter laugh at Russell’s question. “Sure, I’ve had my share of humiliations, but this is war. If I sought revenge for every little thing they did, the war would never— Actually, you know what? There is someone I hate. I’d love to put an end to a certain son of a bitch, at the very least.”
“R-really? I see. I’m assuming you mean that guy we met in Toris? If the opportunity arises, I’ll let you kill him.”
I stealthily approach behind them as they’re busy with their conversation.
“Well, once this thing’s activated, I’m sure the war won’t take very long. All right, Russell, I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to me… Yup, looks like it’s in good shape. Doesn’t look like anything’s malfunctioning. At this rate…”
I silently close the distance.
“DIIIIIIIE!”
“Wha—?!”
I catch Russell completely flat-footed, landing a hard kick between his legs from behind.
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