Chapter 6:
To Each Their Own Circumstance
THROUGH MY STRING, I saw a masked man threatening Dimitris. The mask made him look human, but Identify revealed him to be undead, and the mana surrounding him was quite powerful.
He was at the very least a C Threat. But if he had enough intelligence to conceal his mana and masquerade as a human so he could walk around town, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually a B Threat.
His abilities were specialized for magic. High levels of Deadly Poison, Shadow, and Support Magics. Not much of a threat up close but powerful at long distances. No Unique Skills, but a wealth of high-leveled Skills to make up for it.
Defeating him without getting Kaitley caught in the fight would be difficult.
Acid Man had bound her with a shadow spell, and he was smiling triumphantly because of it. Behind him was the man who used to be Nilphe’s bodyguard, I thought. He was undead now. Hilt and Zelt were furious when they saw him—Michael was apparently Zelt’s brother. He was so angry that it almost felt like I could see the blood in his eyes.
No! What’s that fiend doing to Kaitley’s face?! I know she’s small, but that is a woman you’re hurting! What if it scars?!
I felt an ominous magical energy between Acid Man and Kaitley. A curse. Defeating Acid Man would result in Kaitley losing her life. This was shaping up to be a horrible situation.
The most dangerous thing seemed to be the greatscythe in his hand.
I could immediately tell who it was without Identifying it: Al Azif.
I knew there was something to that patchwork undead we fought during our last encounter. I wasn’t expecting to meet it here, though! Its existence served to lend credence to Acid Man’s threats.
Oh! Now Dimitris had just punched a cocky noble to the sky.
“How is it, Teacher?”
Pretty bad. Dimitris might put the collar on of his own volition at this rate.
“What should we do?”
I could try getting in the way with telekinesis…
If Dimitris became a slave to Raydoss, it would drastically change the balance of power between the nations.
He probably thought it was better for him to be enslaved than have his granddaughter die. There always was a chance that she might rescued if she was still alive.
“Kaitley and Nilphe’s safety is top priority.”
You’re right.
If we couldn’t do anything that might jeopardize them, then what should we do? Our hands were tied because of the curse. Even if we somehow got Nilphe back, Acid Man would still have the upper hand.
As we clenched our teeth, a figure appeared from the opposite side of the arena.
Sibyl!
“…Reinforcements?”
Probably. This is really bad.
Acid Man had hostages and now Sibyl on his side. Was there no way out of this? Dimitris might have been able to take her on, but he couldn’t take that risk…
I watched on, desperate to find a solution. Acid Man now ordered Sibyl to give Dimitris the slave collar.
Sibyl reached out—
What?!
“Teacher, what’s wrong?”
S-Sibyl just cut the undead bastard down!
“Hm!”
It wasn’t just a show of hostility, either. She’d really tried to end his unlife just now. As everyone was stunned into silence, Sibyl brought her sword down on Acid Man’s head to split him in two.
But Al Azif blocked the attack! The sentient weapon melted over Acid Man’s right arm, assuming it.
“Gaaah! Al Azif! My aaarm!”
“No way I’m letting you be in control at a time like this!”
Small tentacles crept out of Al Azif, extending all the way up Acid Man’s bicep. Was Al Azif taking over? It might have free reign over Acid Man’s body now.
It truly was a cursed weapon which could control its user.
But Acid Man survived despite the takeover. He was pissed, though.
Sibyl grabbed Kaitley and scooped her into her arms. She had removed the curse somehow. I think she…ate it? Do curses even count as food?!
“Let’s go, Teacher.”
R-right.
The situation continued progressing as Fran made a move.
Biscott and Cricca followed out of the same hallway Sibyl came from. They weren’t alone, either. A small girl was with them.
Seeing her, Hilt cried out, “Nilphe!”
Cricca was leading the hostage by the hand. She looked unharmed.
But what were they doing here? If Sibyl had betrayed Acid Man, I assumed they must have helped Nilphe get out, too. But why? I’d thought they were all Raydossians.
“Aaargh! Michael! Get the brat back!”
“Ooooh!” The zombified Michael moved at Acid Man’s command. And he was fast! None of the adventurers and guards had time to react! But Biscott easily rammed his shield into him.
“Ha ha! I’ve seen that move before!”
Having fought Zelt, Biscott was used to the Dimitris movement. Michael bounced off of his shield and stumbled. Then his head rolled off his neck. As his body stood by itself, his head was still rolling away.
The adventurers were stunned to silence, but I knew what had happened. Cricca had used her Wind Magic, a blade of concealed wind to decapitate Michael.
Then his body crumpled and people began to understand what was going on. Screams broke out from the audience. Seeing the strength of Biscott and Cricca, the adventurers and guards were at a loss.
Now Sibyl would have both hostages in her hands…
Fran, hang on! I wanna see how this develops!
Hm. Okay.
The situation was such a mess that we didn’t know who we were supposed to beat up.
Sibyl was patting Kaitley’s dirty dress down without a trace of malice.
Hilt was glaring at her.
“You people… I thought you were with the masked man?”
“We’re not necessarily comrades, though we do come from the same country.”
“So, you are also Raydossian?”
“Yeah. The name’s Sibyl, captain of the Red Sword Knights of the Raydossian National Defense Force,” Sibyl casually introduced herself.
I knew she was no ordinary knight, but a captain! The National Defense Force sounded like a hefty title, too.
Hilt looked visibly surprised. “C-captain? What’s a captain doing here?”
“Ha ha ha. We have our reasons.”
The adventurers and guards readied themselves, knowing that they were still faced with an enemy. They’d been holding back because of the two girls held hostage, but they were ready to strike as soon as there was an opening.
Acid Man, too, was looking for an opening. The threat was far from over.
And now more characters entered the stage.
“It’s Jet and Colbert,” Fran whispered, positioning herself near the entrance of the bleachers.
“Miss Nilphe!”
“Woof!”
Having gone out to look for Nilphe, Jet and Colbert had finally caught up to her.
“Unhand her, you bastards!”
“Bark!”
But Kaitley and Nilphe were Sibyl’s lifeline. They wouldn’t let them go that—
“She’s all yours. Go on.”
“Huh?” Kaitley looked confused as Sibyl pushed her toward Colbert.
“Cricca, let that little lady go, too.”
“Yup.”
Unlike Kaitley, Nilphe wasted no time running to Hilt. She reached her destination unimpeded.
“Oh, Hilt!”
“Nilphe!”
Kaitley remained confused. She didn’t know what Sibyl was up to.
“But…why? Why are you helping me?” Kaitley asked.
“I owe you a favor,” Sibyl answered.
Kaitley tilted her head, Sibyl’s answer not making much sense to her.
“A favor?”
“You taught me never to underestimate adventurers. Even rookies.”
Was she talking about their encounter in the dungeon? Kaitley didn’t lecture Sibyl as much as she poured her heart out to her. For Sibyl, it must have come as quite a shock.
She looked kindly upon Kaitley and patted her on the back. But Kaitley stood in place.
“I-if I leave, you’ll all…”
“We’re enemies from now on. Don’t worry about us.”
“But you saved us!” Kaitley was worried for Sibyl.
Sibyl now gave the girl a strong shove.
“Go on. Get moving”
“Ah!”
Kaitley stumbled her way toward Hilt. Not wasting the opportunity, Hilt quickly secured her. She then looked at Sibyl, half hostile and half confused.
“Why did you let go of your hostages?”
Releasing Kaitley and Nilphe was suicide for the professed Raydossians. Dimitris was among the people surrounding Sibyl and the others. They could’ve easily used Kaitley and Nilphe as a shield and left town.
Hilt felt the same way. She looked at Sibyl, trying her best to figure her out.
But Sibyl just shrugged and said, “I attacked him because I don’t like bastards who use children in their plots. Do you think I’d stoop to using kids to run away?”
“That’s it…?!”
Hilt and everyone around her were stunned. They didn’t need a Skill to know that Sibyl was telling the truth.
The Empire of Raydoss was international enemy number one. Out of that hateful country came a woman with the integrity to betray her own countryman to save a child.
Confusion descended as no one knew what to make of Sibyl. Those poised to attack were now having second thoughts.
“Have you lost your mind, Sibyl?! Do you mean to betray our motherland?!”
“Quiet, corpse! You bring shame to our country!”
“We were so close to victory…! You know nothing of the outside world, and you let your foolish ideals ruin everything! Al Azif! Summon the patchworks! We’ll overwhelm them with numbers and escape in the chaos!”
“You got it! Kuh ha ha! Come on out, friends!”
The greatscythe glowed with a black light, and countless magic circles appeared around Acid Man. Patchwork undead made of human corpses crawled out of them.
Their skin was of different colors, some having the long ears of an elf while others had differing arm lengths. There were over thirty of them in all.
“There’s one like we saw last time!”
Yeah! It’s the patchwork undead Al Azif made back in the Crystal Cage!
There were a lot of them this time, but they seemed a lot weaker. Not so weak they could be easily dismissed, but they were nowhere near as menacing as the patchwork undead we faced last time. They were all humanoids this time.
The problem was their spawn location. They weren’t just showing up in the arena, but in the bleachers, too.
And now countless ghosts were coming out of Acid Man. There were over fifty of them, all headed for the audience.
“Waaah!”
“H-help!”
“Ow, ow, ow!”
Chaos immediately descended upon the stadium. People were making a run for it on their own, disrupting the evacuation process. The guards, who were supposed to keep order, had been thrown into disorder of their own. No one knew what to do.
Some of them stood their ground to fight off the patchworks, but they were easily defeated. Adventurers joined the fight, to little avail.
Even if these were weaker than their predecessors, they were still a tough match for ordinary adventurers and guards. They were also having trouble fighting because of the people fleeing the carnage.
We have to help them, Teacher!
On it!
We jumped into the bleachers, blocking the claws of a patchwork about to maul an innocent bystander.
“Y-you’re…”
“Run.”
“Right away!” The man nodded, heeded Fran’s words, and got out of there as fast as he could.
“Oooh!” The patchwork roared in anger but was no match against Fran.
“Too slow!”
It brought its fist down at Fran. After narrowly avoiding it, she walked past and decapitated it. But the patchwork was still standing, attacking her again despite its headless state.
We’d seen it coming, of course! The last set of patchworks we fought had also been unnaturally sturdy. These guys probably had similar regenerative powers.
“Yaaah!”
“Oooh—”
Fran cut the patchwork in two before its attack could land. At the same time, the flames of Elemental Blade burned its body. It wouldn’t be coming back from that one.
Burnt to ashes, the patchwork couldn’t regenerate.
Let’s keep moving!
“Hm!”
We ran through the bleachers, taking down patchworks and ghosts along the way. There were too many people around for us to blast them with ranged attacks. The risk of collateral damage was too great.
Below us, Dimitris was also attacking the bleachers.
What is that move?!
Wow.
Yeah. That’s crazy.
Dimitris demonstrated why he was nicknamed The Unmoving.
He was standing in the arena, opening holes in the chests of patchworks in the bleachers with every punch he threw. Even more amazing: he managed to avoid hitting any civilians with his powerful attack, all while keeping his mana flow undetected. He expertly dispatched the patchworks and ghosts terrorizing the people.
Sibyl and the others remained in the arena, attacking the ghosts around them.
The adventurers had focused their attention on beating back the undead instead of attacking Sibyl.
At the center of it, Acid Man was fighting a lone martial artist.
“Out of my way!”
“No. Not until I avenge my brother!” Zelt was fueled by righteous fury.
The other disciples of Dimitris showed no signs of helping him. This matter was between Zelt and Acid Man, and they would honor it. Hilt and the others focused on attacking the ghosts and undead around them. The same went for Dimitris.
The adventurers also stayed out of the way, though, probably not out of honor or anything so noble. They could sense Zelt’s power and decided they’d let the disciple of Dimitris deal with the undead menace.
And so the fight was one on one.
“Dimitris Style: Smash and Tear!” A sudden burst of speed into a spinning elbow drive. Acid Man barely avoided it. Zelt’s movements seemed sharper than in his match against Biscott.
“His movements are faster…? Tch!”
“You survived that? How about this!”
“Urgh! Get off me, scum!” Acid Man blocked the two-step kick with Al Azif. He was not having a good time.
Zelt was moving much faster than before. He was also using the Dimitris style combat moves now, having removed his seal. It made quite the difference if all you knew about him was his match with Biscott.
It wasn’t just his speed, either. He was recreating Air Hop by using mana thrusters on his feet. Kicking the air, he was able to execute attacks from unlikely angles.
Acid Man couldn’t keep evading and was eventually hit. He put up a barrier to defend himself, but it didn’t last long under the continued pressure.
“Zeyaaa!”
“Gugaaah! Damn it! Gaaah!”
Zelt got within striking distance of Acid Man’s greatscythe, peppering him with attacks. Even though they were face to face, Zelt continued to expertly avoid all of Acid Man’s attacks.
None of Acid Man’s strikes were landing, but Al Azif was not going to take the pressure lying down.
“Guaaah!” Acid Man screamed in pain despite not being attacked. Al Azif’s parasitical tendrils were spreading all over him. Al Azif’s reddish-black blade and tentacles were slowly consuming Acid Man’s body.
“Al Aziiif! Traitooor!”
“Sorry, can’t hear you! You’ll get us both killed if you keep piloting us! I’m taking over!”
“Gaaah!”
“Hya hah hah! Weak as he was, he’s still got some meat on his bones! Not bad for a rotting corpse!”
Acid Man’s voice was gone, replaced by Al Azif’s shrill laughter. Now it was in full possession of Acid Man’s body.
His movements had changed. It looked like the greatscythe in his arm was swinging Acid Man instead of the other way around. He was definitely better at handling the scythe now.
“Hya ha! DIE!”
“Kuh!”
Al Azif could now move the greatscythe the way it wanted. The scythe struck Zelt at close quarters and clashed with his fist. Then it used the impact of the shockwave to knock itself away.
All in one fluid motion.
“Time for a rematch!”
“Urgh! These movements…!”
Al Azif hadn’t just gotten stronger. Having complete control over Acid Man, the rhythm of its attacks was unreadable. It used the momentum of the greatscythe to leap and spin before lowering its body close to the ground like an animal. These tricky movements were difficult to follow, forcing Zelt into a defensive posture.
Zelt’s opponent still had a formidable barrier and was capable of rapid regeneration, allowing it to ignore most of his attacks. On the other hand, a direct hit from the greatscythe would prove lethal for him.
But having released the Dimitris seal, Zelt was not about to be outdone.
He wrapped his arms with mana, allowing him to block the greatscythe and counterattack. Al Azif was also wrapped in a mana blade, and touching the flat of its blade alone could cut flesh. Zelt was proficient enough to deal with that threat.
“You look like a dumb meathead but you’re actually pretty smart!”
“Uoooh!”
Zelt had humored Biscott’s small talk, but he was not having it against Al Azif. The cursed blade’s mockery of Zelt’s attempt to avenge his brother only infuriated him.
He clenched his teeth and stepped forward. He had been focusing on counterattacks to minimize the amount of damage he would take, but he knew that he would have to take risks to defeat Al Azif. Zelt was prepared to be hurt as long as he could avenge his brother.
The greatscythe grazed Zelt’s left arm, releasing a fountain of blood out of his bicep. In exchange, Zelt was now right up against his opponent.
He unleashed a punch, and the dull sound of an impact followed.
But Al Azif remained unchanged. The attack which was supposed to defeat Al Azif had been blocked, and Zelt’s fist was in its left hand.
“Not bad… But not good, either!”
“Aaargh!”
Al Azif squeezed its left hand, crushing Zelt’s right fist like a tomato. Zelt groaned and tried to get away, but Al Azif wasn’t letting go.
Instead, it squeezed harder, sending even more pain through Zelt’s crushed fist.
The pain must have been intense.
But even through it all, Zelt was fighting back. He pulled back his arm to try and punch Al Azif.
“Oraaah!”
Avoiding a powerful spirit-enhanced attack, Al Azif jumped back. But a new figure stepped in between Al Azif and Zelt, jumping in from behind.
“Die, shithead!”
A beastman with the head of a white wolf, a sword of ice in his hand. He blocked Al Azif’s escape.
It’s Aurel!
Yeah. I’ve never seen him evolved before, but that’s him, all right.
His presence was ferocious. He was the same old foulmouthed Aurel, but I had never seen him so filled with bloodlust.
“You have the balls to take an old man’s granddaughter hostage! I’ll make you wish you stayed dead, you rotten freak!”
He was furious at Kaitley’s kidnapping! No surprise there.
Now restrained by Aurel, Al Azif took the full brunt of Zelt’s attack.
“Oorgh!”
Zelt hit Al Azif right in the face, sending it flying several meters.
The attack left a mark, taking a good chunk of its mana. Even when absorbed by a barrier, the attack did decent damage.
Now the fight was Zelt and Aurel versus Al Azif.
Having transformed into a white wolf, his body was covered in frost mana. He waved his fist, sending ice crystals toward Al Azif. The white wolf was the evolved form of the white dog and had the ability to control frost mana.
But Al Azif’s greatscythe easily dispatched his attack.
Knowing that long-distance attacks wouldn’t be effective, the two closed in on Al Azif. They moved in formation, deciding that this was the most effective way to fight the undead.
They coordinated quite well. Aurel was adjusting his pace to Zelt. This wasn’t the first time he had to team up with a stranger, either. Having lived for a long time, Aurel had probably even teamed up with some of Dimitris’s people before.
Al Azif aimed for Zelt’s head but missed. Zelt was forcibly moving his limbs with Mana Thruster; itreminded me of Hilt’s Garuda and Colbert’s Rhythmless Strike. It must have been a signature of Dimitris Style.
But Al Azif wasn’t finished with its attack.
“You’re not running away!”
“Gaaah!”
It didn’t cut off Zelt’s arm. Instead, the greatscythe grabbed onto his limb and dragged him in.
“I’ll suck you dry!”
“Urgh… My blood…”
Al Azif’s blade pulsed and shone a menacing red, exsanguinating Zelt.
“Let go of him, you monster!”
“Aha ha ha ha! That won’t work!”
Zelt couldn’t shake off the greatscythe no matter how hard he tried. Aurel fired off some frost spells to assist, but Al Azif evaded all of it. The greatscythe deformed itself and curved so as not to hinder its body’s movement, preventing Zelt from escaping the cursed blade.
His arm was slowly going limp, drying up as he lost blood. It did not look good.
Aurel made a judgment call. With a distressed look, he raised his frost sword in the air and rushed to Zelt’s side.
“I’m cutting it off!”
“Do it…!” Zelt nodded, having steeled himself for a field amputation.
Aurel’s ice blade lopped Zelt’s left arm clean off. The wound quickly froze over, stopping the bleeding entirely. Normally, this property was used to prevent regeneration.
“Tch! He got away!”
The arm left in Al Azif’s blade immediately dried up, turned into dust, and was blown away. Its vampiric powers were a force to be reckoned with.
Having lost an arm, Zelt and Aurel were now at a disadvantage. But they didn’t back down or request help. In fact, their fighting spirit only increased.
Rage was their fuel.
But Al Azif’s attacks were getting more powerful as time went on. Typical for undead, it wasn’t bothered by muscular fatigue and was free to swing its greatscythe with limitless centrifugal force.
“Listen, kid, I’ll stop that thing from moving. Can I count on you to finish it off?”
“I’ll hit him with all I’ve got.”
“Heh heh. Counting on ya.”
“Of course.”
Zelt and Aurel’s movements were beginning to slow down from the various wounds they had suffered. They were clearly on the back foot, but they showed no signs of relenting.
They were coordinating with each other as they dodged Al Azif’s relentless attacks.
“Hya ha ha! I don’t know what you two are planning, but it’s useless!”
“Hmph! We’re just getting started!”
Aurel stopped and faced the arrogant Al Azif. His sharp lupine eyes housed intense resolve.
“I’m not about to bring shame to the hero Widget by losing here! Frostedge!” Aurel shouted, and immediately his body was covered in what looked like sparkling diamond dust. Tiny ice shards formed around him. It didn’t like it would be useful for offense or defense, but Aurel was imbuing the beautiful frost with incredibly offensive mana.
This must have been the white wolf’s racial Skill, equivalent to the black cat’s Thunderclap. I knew it should be incredibly strong.
“Let me drink your blood!”
“No way in hell!” Aurel roared, sending the pale blue diamond dust away. Countless blades of ice materialized out of nothing and launched themselves at a high speed. It looked like he was casting a frost spell, but his ice blades were of a greater caliber.
Al Azif swiped at the projectiles. They exploded, freezing the blade of its greatscythe.
“Shit! That’s annoying!”
Now slowed, additional ice blades stabbed into Al Azif’s body. Most of them were blocked by the barrier, yet the ice blades exploded one after another, burying Al Azif in ice.
Aurel’s mana was almost exhausted. Barely a minute had passed, but the ice blades were unbelievably powerful.
Al Azif was unable to set itself free.
“Now’s your chance! Get him!” Aurel, now exhausted, tagged in Zelt. His primary focus had been movement restriction rather than damage.
“Right!”
“Garudaaa!”
He accelerated so fast that a loud bang could be heard from his starting point. He was propelling his body using a massive amount of mana.
“Ooooh! Dimitris Style Weapon Art: Yaksha!”
“Giiigh!”
A simple straight punch but backed with a lot of speed and force. Hilt had also used Yaksha, and it seemed like a move which focused all of the user’s mana on one body part to increase damage.
Aurel’s ice faded at the perfect time, allowing Zelt to drive his fist into Al Azif’s body.
The attack succeeded in going through its barrier and armor, depleting Al Azif’s mana which was the lifeblood of undead.
But it still wasn’t enough. In fact, it looked like Al Azif had taken the hit on purpose.
“Bastard…”
“How is he still standing…?!”
“You’ll pay for that mana with your life!”
Zelt couldn’t pull away after that huge attack. This was what Al Azif was looking for.
Aurel was too exhausted to move. Zelt would die at this rate!
Fran!
Hm!
Fran understood the situation despite not taking her eyes off the ghosts and patchworks in the bleachers. She had a spell ready to go just in case things got hairy in the arena—but she stopped.
“Foolish pupil. You must learn to see through the guise of your opponent.”
Dimitris had gotten to them before we did. The old man was ready to bail his student out if things got too dangerous.
He grabbed Zelt by the collar and flung him away. At the same time, he crushed Al Azif’s arm to splinters.
I couldn’t quite make out what was going on, but it looked like he struck from below with his elbow and used the force of that impact to knock Zelt back. Al Azif’s arm was blown to pieces, but Dimitris barely looked he was breaking a sweat.
That one moment demonstrated the heights of Dimitris’s strength. Speed, power, precision—everything lined up perfectly for the attack to work.
“M-Master…”
“Its real form is not the undead called Acid Man. It is the scythe. The scythe is the only aura left that can be felt.”
“The greatscythe? Now that you mention it… Does that mean the scythe is an Intelligent Weapon?”
“No, it is an undead with a will like Acid Man. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that?”
“I apologize…”
“Hmph. Well, watch and learn, foolish pupil.” Despite Dimitris’s rough choice of words, he gently put Zelt down outside the arena.
He now threw his sharp gaze at Al Azif.
Although I could tell from his erect spine that he trained every day, he still looked like a willowy old man. His arms looked like withered branches as they hung from his robes and his white hair and beard looked like pine needles. He didn’t look very intimidating.
But everyone present knew not to judge a book by its cover. His presence was overwhelming, attracting the gaze of everyone around. Even Fran and I couldn’t help but look at him while we were fighting.
Some of the adventurers even got knocked out because of the distraction. They knew they were still fighting, but they couldn’t help watching Dimitris. I knew the feeling.
The willowy old man was simply that strong. Mana, spirit, presence. Dimitris was like an infinite expanse of power, sucking everything into him.
Al Azif was no exception.
In fact, it probably got a better feel for Dimitris’s power since it was up close.
It made no attempt to attack Dimitris despite the latter turning his back on it. It wasn’t like Al Azif failed to prepare for an attack. It just didn’t want to.
“Old man… I know I can’t beat you, but I might not be able to get out of here, either…”
“Oh? Can it be that you can gauge a man’s strength better than my pupil?”
“Urgh…”
Al Azif looked like it had lost the will to fight from that single exchange. There was fear in its voice now. For Dimitris to strike fear in the heart of a mad undead… His S Rank wasn’t for show.
“I need to tend to my foolish pupil’s wounds. I’ll make this quick.”
“You dare disrespect me?! I’ll show—”
“It’s over.”
Huh?
I wasn’t the only one with a stunned look on my face. Everyone in the stadium was dumbstruck.
Dimitris was behind Al Azif by the time we noticed, gouging a fist-shaped hole in the greatscythe. What he did was simple, the same attack as Zelt: a running right jab. But the quality of it was immaculately refined.
His speed was untraceable to the human eye, and he manipulated his spirit so expertly into his move that it tore through Al Azif’s defenses like paper.
In the end, the attack was a simple punch. One that no one could avoid or survive.
“Goh… Impossible…”
“You’re quite strong for an undead, but alas. Not a match for me.”
Dimitris sighed, looking disappointed. The old man was a blood knight looking for tough opponents to train with. It must be difficult to find anyone sturdy enough to withstand a sparring match with you once you got to his level.
“We’ll prove to those bastards that we aren’t failures…”
“Hmph. Those are your last words? How dull.”
Al Azif fell and turned into dust while Dimitris shrugged. He barely exerted himself, let alone broke a sweat. This was an easy fight for the old man.
Zelt and Aurel weren’t weak. They were quite strong, really…but even these two were toyed with by Al Azif like they were weaklings.
Dimitris really was the pinnacle of strength.
With the big danger vanquished, we cleaned up the rest of our enemies with overwhelming speed. I, Fran, and Dimitris no longer had to worry about Zelt and the audience had been mostly evacuated, making fighting easier.
Within five minutes, the stadium was clear of all undead. The healers got to work on Aurel and Zelt, pulling them out of the danger zone.
The only threats left were Sibyl and her crew, who had been fighting ghosts and patchworks together with the adventurers.
“Could you guys just surrender? That would make things much easier for us,” Elza said from the side of the arena. He had joined in at some point. The adventurers had gathered behind him.
“As strong as you are, the three of you won’t be able to get out of here. We’ve also captured the cart you were planning on using.”
“So, you’ve seen right through us. I had a feeling we were being watched from last night.”
“That’s right. Although we were so preoccupied with you that we didn’t notice any of the other Raydossians who had snuck in.”
The guild had to keep tabs on someone as strong as Sibyl while they were shorthanded. The Black Bones must have exploited this hole in the town’s defenses and snuck in.
“And you came to the stadium instead of leaving town.”
“We have our reasons.”
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but the guildmaster is dealing with your conspirator himself. Why don’t you save us all some needless bloodshed and give up?”
Dias along with a team of adventurers were waiting for Sibyl outside the city, cutting off her escape route.
This was also another reason why Dias forfeited the fight for third place. Phelms wasn’t here, either. He was probably outside with his old party-mate.
But the plan was all for naught, because of Sibyl’s little detour.
“Not happening.”
“No? So, we’re doing this the hard way? I thought you were going to hand yourselves over to us because you didn’t run in all the chaos.”
“Hmph. I just wanted to make things clear. We have no desire to be captured here, and I expect you won’t let us go even if we asked nicely?”
“That sounds about right.”
“The hard way it is!”
Sibyl drew her sword, spreading her bloodlust all around her. This was enough to nail the weaker adventurers in place. They looked like they were having trouble breathing.
As expected, Sibyl was stronger. Perhaps stronger and more dangerous than Al Azif… But she didn’t lash her bloodlust out in Hilt’s direction.
“How long are you going to let the child stay here? Hurry up and get her to a safe place!”
She was being considerate to Kaitley and Nilphe, still in Hilt’s arms.
“Y-you don’t have to tell me what to do!” Hilt’s expression lost its hostility, and she took the kids with her out of the arena. They should be fine as long as she was with them.
“T-thank you!” Kaitley shouted. Sibyl waved her hand in return. The whole scene looked insane.
Here was a spy from enemy Raydoss, and she had rescued children. Even the adventurers who were supposed to apprehend her couldn’t hate her.
Even so, Elza took the lead. “I’ll handle Sibyl. The rest of you get the other two!”
“Ha ha! Come at me!”
Elza ran at Sibyl, swinging his mace. Seeing that got the other adventurers moving, but Dimitris, Radule, and Colbert stood still. They were watching how Sibyl and the others would react.
Most of the adventurers weren’t specialists in formation fighting. It would be hard for them to help when things eventually got messy.
“Something’s coming, Teacher.”
What? Y-yeah. And it’s really fast, too…
Just when I was about to observe the battle down in the arena, Fran turned her attention outside the coliseum. Something terrifying was rapidly approaching our position.
It seemed to be moving in a straight line through the town. Was it…flying?
Ten seconds passed and it arrived.
“Excuse my tardiness, Lady Sibyl.” The man greeted Sibyl from the top of the coliseum. He was carrying a badly beaten Dias at his side.
“I was waiting for you, Knighthart.”
The mantis man was showing a level of ferocity surpassing himself when he fought Hilt.
“Guildmaster, no! You look like a ragdoll,” Elza screamed to Dias as Knighthart alighted next to Sibyl.
As he said, Dias had been beaten so badly that he did resemble a mistreated doll.
“Did you do that to him, Sir Knighthart?”
“Yes. Dias and his squad were simply too strong for me. I had to use my trump card in order to win. Rest assured, I quickly applied first aid and he’s not dead.”
Knighthart did that to Dias all by himself? The mantis man barely looked hurt at all…
And was Knighthart teaming up with Sibyl now? Being Erianthe’s friend, I’d thought he bore Raydoss a grudge.
“Are you a Raydossian too?”
“No.”
“Oh? Then were you hired as a mercenary?”
“Yes…but not as a mercenary. I’ve already left my band, after all.” Knighthart shook his head to Elza’s question.
“Well, I can’t fathom why you’re working for them. Is it just the money?”
“I have my reasons for wanting to go to Raydoss.”
The rest of the adventurers and observers watched on with bated breath as Ulmutt’s renowned adventurer spoke to Knighthart. No one had the guts to interrupt Elza.
Not to mention, Dias was effectively a hostage now. Any wrong moves might put him in peril. Neither adventurer nor noble wanted to shoulder that responsibility.
“I also need some level of freedom once there. Lady Sibyl and her men will guarantee my safe passage.”
“And what do you plan on doing once you get there? Not just sightseeing, I hope?”
“Do you have friends? Friends who you share meals with, hide nothing from, friends who are like family?” Knighthart answered Elza’s question with another question.
As stunned as Elza was by this turn of events, he still answered him. He knew how serious Knighthart was being. “I do. I’m a solo adventurer, but the adventurers who admire me are like family.”
“I, too, had friends like that once. I still do, but there used to be more of them. But the mercenary band I led fell apart when we lost in a battle against Raydoss.” There was sadness in Knighthart’s voice now. “I was in the rear guard of Granzell at the time, and the Red Sword Knights were pursuing us. Lady Sibyl’s unit, in fact. Most of my comrades died on the battlefield while the rest of us dragged our miserable bodies back to Granzell. We gained a pittance of money and some fame. We lost our family.”
Knighthart was mournful. For him, the tragedy wasn’t in the past but a nightmare that never ended.
“Then why are you helping Sibyl?! Isn’t she your enemy?! Or do you have a grudge against Granzell for what happened?”
That was the most likely explanation. Perhaps Knighthart hated Granzell for using and discarding his mercenaries more than Sibyl, who was just protecting her country.
That was what everyone was thinking, but again Knighthart shook his head.
“I do not. It was all part of the contract, and someone had to be rear guard. It was the best possible decision at the moment. If I’m angry at anyone, it’s at myself for being unable to protect my friends. I feel nothing for Granzell.”
“Now I’m even more confused. Why work with Raydoss? Do you want to visit your comrades’ graves?”
“That is one of my intentions. The battlezone is under Raydossian control. But that’s not all. The friends who I thought were dead are still alive, living in Raydoss.”
“Wha!”
“Some are imprisoned while others have fallen into slavery. I wish to save them. That is why I must cross over into Raydoss.”
Knighthart would easily be able to infiltrate Raydoss by himself. But to look for his friends and safely get them out of the country would be close to impossible.
You needed someone to work with you. Someone like Sibyl, who could guarantee your safe passage.
“That is why I cannot let Lady Sibyl be captured.”
“So, you’re going to fight us for her?”
“Are you sure? We have a hostage.” Sibyl answered Elza instead of Knighthart.
“Oh, you’d free some children but take our guildmaster?”
“Fighters are fair game. My only issue is with people who use defenseless children as bait.”
“Can’t you show respect for the elderly? Look at him, he’s an old man! He’s been getting senile lately, too. He’s entering his second childhood with all the pranks he’s been playing on the staff.”
But just as Elza finished…
“And who’s going senile, exactly?” Dias somehow spoke from behind Elza.
“Wah! Could you stop surprising people like that?! You’re such a child!”
“Huh?” Despite Knighthart’s mantis face, I could tell that he was surprised. “Why… I’ve been duped!”
“Hah! I might not be as strong as I used to be, but I’m still the best at deception!”
The Dias Knighthart was holding had disintegrated when the real Dias showed up behind Elza. He had replaced his battered body with an illusion.
And he’d been able to escape without Knighthart noticing… Dias was a truly fearsome man. Still, he was wounded, indicating that he had lost against Knighthart.
“Did you lose on purpose so we could get more information?”
“Nope! I gave it my all and got the tar beaten out of me. Insects aren’t that affected by illusions, and I can’t figure out what they’re thinking. It was a really tough fight. But that’s not all… Knighthart, you were holding back during the tournament, weren’t you?”
Dias had been utterly defeated after fighting Knighthart seriously. Knighthart must have been really powerful, if that was the case.
But Knighthart wasn’t the one who was most disturbed by Dias’s statement. Hilt glared at Knighthart, frustration in her face.
“Knighthart! You let me win! I knew something was off! You weren’t being serious!”
“No, not at all. I was not holding back against you. But my trump card isn’t something I can use all the time. I really gave it my all when I fought you.”
“You were holding back!” Hilt’s victory against Knighthart was hard fought. But what if he hadn’t been giving his all? The prospect wounded her pride, and she glared at him angrily.
“Fine… Then come at me with all you’ve got. That’s the only way you’ll get away, anyway.”
“Oh. I really wanted to escape peacefully… I suppose this is what I get for letting Dias escape.”
Knighthart and Hilt’s aggression was mounting. They looked about ready to kill each other. The same went for Sibyl and Elza.
Teacher, what do we do?
Hilt’s going to resent us if we interfere.
In that case, I guessed we could help fight Sibyl.
But someone else interrupted before the fighting could start.
“Calm down, foolish grandchild.”
“G-Grandfather.”
Dimitris stepped into the center of the arena. His mere presence was enough to chill the flaring tempers of everyone.
“I shall be the one to fight you.”
“Ha ha ha! An S Rank! I’d be honored!” Sibyl looked pleased, despite the direness of the situation. She really was a blood knight. “You stay out of this!”
“Very well.”
Sibyl ordered Knighthart to stand down and stepped forward. Immediately, Dimitris made his move.
“Hmph.”
“Ugh!”
He jabbed at her from afar. Sibyl’s jaw was punched upwards.
“So fast! I expected nothing less!”
“You still laugh after that?”
Did you see that, Teacher?
Barely. It was so fast.
Dimitris was so fast that I didn’t even see him wind up for the punch. The ensuing spirit blast also required me to concentrate to see it.
The punch looked casual, but the force behind it was immense. Sibyl could take it while laughing, but any other person would’ve had their head blown off.
“Let’s see how you handle this.”
“Urgh! Gah! Gorgh!”
“Tsk!”
“Bwah!”
Dimitris pelted Sibyl’s body with consecutive spirit blasts. She attempted to dodge them, but he wouldn’t let her. He read her movements, hitting her vital organs.
Sibyl looked like she was being beaten to a pulp, but Hilt and Colbert watched with their mouths agape.
“S-she’s taking all of Grandfather’s attacks…”
“And she’s not even hurt…?”
To the uninitiated, it must have looked like Dimitris was pulling his punches. But each of his attacks was loaded with fearsome power.
I wondered if Hilt and Colbert had been hit with them at some point.
“You’re amazing, S Rank! You look like you’re swatting a fly, but these punches are heavy!”
“You are quite sturdy yourself. I’ve never seen anyone able to stand after so many hits.”
“Sturdiness is my calling card! Hah!”
“Hrm. Your attacks aren’t bad, either.”
“Tch. You parried my telekinesis, too?”
Sibyl’s telekinetic blast had the force of my telekinetic catapult. But Dimitris neutralized her deadly force with a wave of his hand.
The spirit wrapped around him was immense. It only looked like there wasn’t much of a difference between him and Sibyl because he wasn’t at a hundred percent. Still, his immense spirit gave Dimitris’s attacks a whole new level of force.
“Raah!”
“Hmph!”
Sibyl swiped and swung her sword, but Dimitris dodged everything and followed up with a counter punch.
“Gah! None of those hit, either?!”
“Heh heh. You can really take a beating!”
There was a bright glint in Sibyl’s eyes after she took the hit. She licked her lips with half a smile. This somewhat pleased Dimitris, too.
“Daryaaa!”
“Hmph.”
Sibyl started varying her pace, bringing a new level of speed and precision to the table. But Dimitris simply moved to the side to avoid her attack.
“Damn it! I thought for sure that would hit! You’re so nimble!”
“It was a good strike, but you won’t hit me like that! Let’s see how you handle this?”
“Gah!”
For the first time, Dimitris put a little force into his movement. His step put a dent in the arena as he followed up with a twisting punch with his right fist.
His powerful fist slammed right into Sibyl’s solar plexus. But she was still standing. She skidded several meters across the arena and rubbed her chest, slight irritation on her face.
If Fran had been hit, she would’ve taken a lot of damage. But that was Sibyl in a nutshell. Her defense was world class. When Dimitris witnessed her, the joy of a warrior came upon his face.
“That didn’t really work, either. Heh heh.”
“I dunno…that one kinda hurt.”
“It doesn’t look that way.”
“I might have to get serious for this,” Sibyl said, slowly raising her left hand to eye level.
That was enough to freeze all of the adventurers in the arena. Something was about to happen. They knew that for sure.
Red mana started coming out of her left hand. Mana as red as blood. At the same time, Sibyl’s presence began to change. Thus far, she had felt like a menacing, starving monster. But now she was more than that. Her aura felt unbearable.
The ring was expanding as adventurers backed away. Was this the trump card she didn’t use against Fran? Sibyl now felt like a furious, rampaging dragon. But Dimitris didn’t even brace himself.
He stood still, retaining his calm and composure. He sounded almost friendly when he spoke to Sibyl. “…I have a question to ask of you.”
“What’s that?”
“Raydoss is known as a nation that spreads conspiracies and wars to its surrounding neighbors. What do you think of this?”
“Huh? Where’d that come from?”
“Answer me.”
“I think it’s a damn shame. Sorry about all that.”
Surprised gasps from everyone present. They weren’t expecting a Raydossian to apologize for her nation’s actions.
“I know it’s cold comfort, but I didn’t think things were this bad until I got here.”
Then Sibyl proceeded to casually talk about the internal state of affairs back home.
The death of the king was causing power in Central Raydoss to collapse, allowing the four cardinal dukes to do as they pleased. The southern and eastern dukes were hungry for territory, planning invasions even now. These plots were part of a bigger plan to gain a foothold in other countries.
An officer of an enemy nation’s forces wasn’t supposed to be talking about internal affairs, but Sibyl probably didn’t know about this since she had little use for politics. I guess she belonged to an isolated country to begin with. She had zero experience of negotiating with other nations. Or perhaps she was trying to make it seem like not all Raydoss was terrible because she felt bad about it. Maybe she had a different plan altogether.
In any case, the head of a combat-focused unit like Sibyl probably had little interest in diplomacy…but she was certainly indignant about how her country was running things. Her apology was genuine.
“Central told us to refrain from making drastic moves until things stabilize. I didn’t think the Black Bones would just ignore that command.”
The dukes were left unchecked with the weakening of Central’s government. The situation was even worse because the inspectors sent by Central had been bribed by the dukes.
“I see… One more question. Are you able to move freely about Raydoss?”
“You sure got a lot of questions.”
“Well?”
“You could say that, I guess. The six orders of the red knights are free to do as they please within Raydoss. We answer only to the king and the chancellor. That’s the amount of discretionary power bestowed upon us.”
That sounded crazy. They just let people as strong as Sibyl wander around Raydoss? It could become a hotbed of rebellion if things went wrong…
The knights were created to exterminate monsters soon after the ban on adventurers was enacted. The hole left by adventurers really needed filling when it came to hunting monsters. They’d done enough well in the past that their successors were allowed to do as they pleased.
Dimitris nodded, listening intently. He then uttered the most surprising words I’d heard all day.
“I see… Would you mind taking me with you to Raydoss?”
“Whaaat?”
“Grandfather, what are you…?!” Hilt, standing right behind him, shouted.
But Dimitris paid her no mind. He didn’t even turn around.
“Have you gone senile, old man?”
“No. I’ve just had thoughts for a long time. Granzell, Belioth, and all the other nations call Raydoss evil—a heartless nation. But is that really the case?”
Dimitris had been interested in Raydoss for longer than anyone suspected, pondering about the mysterious nation to the north.
Wherever Dimitris went, Raydoss was spoken as the root of all evil with no redeeming qualities. But was there a nation whose evil was so great that it deserved to be wiped out from the planet? No. Even if the nation was criticized by other countries over its official conduct, it was impossible that all its citizens were evil.
“There are plenty of villains even in Granzell. Especially among the royalty and nobility. I’m sure there are others like that masked man in Raydoss…but that can’t be true of everyone there. It is difficult to find information on Raydoss because of the adventurer ban.”
The empire didn’t allow visitors to begin with. You couldn’t find reliable information on it if you tried. Dimitris had looked into the matter, but only as something of a side interest.
Now that a Raydossian officer was before him, his interest was greatly kindled.
“And you really want me to take you along? That’s just daft.”
“More than anything, I wish to see the truth with my own eyes. The information I have is always filtered by the opinions of the one relaying it to me.”
“You have a point…”
“Besides, I haven’t found a decent sparring partner lately. Most of my opponents fall in one hit and they take time to recover. But you…you’re different, aren’t you?” He grinned. I was beginning to wonder if this was his real reason for wanting to go on a field trip to Raydoss.
“Heh heh. So you want to use me as a punching bag? I’d be more than happy. You can level up my pitiful strike resistance.”
“Then it’s settled.”
“Welcome aboard, old man.”
Dimitris turned his back to Sibyl and addressed the adventurers. “That’s how it is. Sorry, but could you let her go?”
Despite his apologetic tone, Dimitris had no intention of taking no for an answer. His sharp eyes looked more threatening than pleading.
Well, this is an unexpected turn of events… What do we do now?
We can’t fight Dimitris, Sibyl, and Knighthart all at the same time.
True.
They weren’t opponents who could be stopped, no matter how hard we tried. Letting them go would be the best option.
Also, Dimitris wasn’t the sort of man who would let his granddaughter’s kidnapping slide. Maybe letting him loose in Raydoss would be better for Granzell…
“What will you do, Dias?”
“Ugh… I don’t think you’ll just settle down when you get to Raydoss. I kind of feel sorry for them, really. And I’m not about to let my adventurers die needlessly.”
“I won’t kill them.”
“Yeah, well…I’d rather not have you half kill them, either.” Dias had reached the same conclusion. He knew what Dimitris was capable of more than anyone else present.
Dimitris wasn’t someone you made an enemy of if you could help it. The adventurers looked visibly relieved at Dias’s statement. They were very pleased that they wouldn’t be asked to prevent the S Rank from leaving.
But someone else thought differently.
“C-cease this nonsense! I won’t let this happen!”
It was the noble whom Dimitris had punched earlier. He descended into the arena, full of wounded pride. Helping an enemy nation would amount to treason. In a sense, he had a point.
“Dimitris! Think about what would happen to your disciples and grandchildren if you ally yourself with those people! You’ll regret this!” the noble shouted, casting a sideways glance at Hilt and Nilphe.
Dimitris loved his grandkids. It was the best way to threaten him.
Dimitris replied without a smile. “I see. So Granzell wishes to make an enemy out of old Dimitris.”
“Erk!” The noble paled when Dimitris hit him with his bloodlust. He remembered the ferocity of the old man before him.
He was one of the few people in the world you didn’t want to cross. A monster who could overthrow an entire kingdom singlehandedly. The consequences would not end with this one noble.
“Ah… Uhh…” The noble fell to his knees, speechless.
“Rest assured. I remember your name and face.”
“Eegh…!” The noble trembled, his face white as paper.
Dimitris, losing interest in him, turned back to Sibyl as if nothing had happened. Threatening a representative backed by the might of the kingdom was the height of audacity…
“He’s so cool.”
Fran! You are never to act like that!
She couldn’t help but admire Dimitris. He was so superhumanly powerful that he was able to fight an entire nation and win if he wanted to.
Casting a sidelong glance at the shivering noble, Dimitris moved his right arm.
“Hmph.”
“Wah!”
He motioned as if to grab something that wasn’t there and pulled back. Nilphe, who had been resting safely in Hilt’s embrace, flew toward him and landed safely in his arms.
“Nilphe, you’re coming with me. All right?”
“A-all right.”
He was going to Raydoss! Nilphe was okay with that?! She didn’t look unwilling in the slightest. In fact, she looked relieved that grandpa wasn’t leaving her behind. I guess we knew who she was attached to now.
“Old man…”
“Worry not. There isn’t a place safer in the world than in my arms. Isn’t that right, Nilphe?”
“Yeah!”
Unlike Nilphe, his other granddaughter wasn’t smiling.
“Grandfather, have you gone mad?!”
“What an awful thing to say to your elders. But I’m serious. There aren’t that many opportunities to visit Raydoss.”
“But what of your pupils…?!”
“I hereby relinquish my position as head of the school! From now on, Hiltoria, you are the mistress!” Dimitris took something from his pocket and threw it at Hilt. It looked like a metal plate. “You are free to do as you please. Shut the school down if you wish…I will not interfere.”
“Th-that’s…” Hilt’s eyes shifted to Colbert for a split second before going back to Dimitris. She remained silent and just sighed while heaving her shoulders. “…I guess it can’t be helped.”
“You’re smiling.”
“I-I am not!”
“Granzell is bound to object. I leave that to your discretion. You can fight back or appease them. It matters not to me.”
Dimitris was talking like everything to come had nothing to do with him. The stuff we’d heard about him hadn’t been right on the money after all. Meanwhile, Sibyl was looking more worried about Hilt and the others than he was.
“You sure about this, old man? Even if you step down from your position, they might take your disciples hostage…”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
“Unlike Nilphe, they are excellent fighters. They’ll figure it out. And if they don’t, that’s the end of them.”
Absolutely spartan! Though I guess that was how people generally thought in this world. Fran was one of them.
From where I was standing, it seemed that all the high-rank adventurers had some weird quirk. Fran had nothing but glittering admiration in her eyes for this absurdly audacious old man. Having so much strength as to be able to assert your will in the world was something of her ideal.
“That will be all. Sibyl, it will be faster if we escaped from above. Can you do that?”
“Not a problem.”
Dimitris kicked the air and jumped. The way he used spirit was very close to Air Hop. Meanwhile, Sibyl lifted her two subordinates with telekinesis.
“We’ll take our leave. Don’t worry. I have no intention of joining Raydoss. I’m just doing some sightseeing.”
How could we not worry?! Well, at least we’d avoided having to fight Sibyl, Dimitris and Knighthart all at once. The adventurers and guards made no motion to stop them. They knew that it would only result in pointless bloodshed if they did.
As I was breathing a sigh of relief, Fran stepped forward and shouted at Dimitris.
“Dimitris! I won!”
Umm! Fran…honey?
“Oh. It’s you…”
“What about our bet?!”
Fran had made a bet with Dimitris. If she did better than Hilt in the tournament, Dimitris would take the quest issued by Belioth.
And Fran had definitively won that bet.
But with Dimitris going to Raydoss, he wouldn’t be able to take the Belioth quest.
“Uhh…” Dimitris averted his eyes. He had been so fascinated with Raydoss that he completely forgot about the bet with Fran. “Hilt! This is my last order as head! You are to assist young Fran any way you can! Lend her our men as well!”
He just delegated the issue to his granddaughter! But Hilt shook her head with a stern look.
“No. I refuse. As long as I have the seal, I am the current head. Therefore, I have the right to choose whichever assignments I wish.”
The metal plate Dimitris had given Hilt was the mark of the current head, and she was the one who held it. Hilt was probably getting back at him by refusing to do as he said.
“Ungh…” Dimitris thought about for a moment before tossing something in Fran’s direction. A small item pouch filled with gold and potions. “…Take this, Fran. Help yourself to some money! Take it as a sign of my apology!”
“It’s not about the money!”
“I am terribly sorry about this! I owe you a favor now! And I will definitely repay it! For sure! I’m really sorry!”
“Dimitris!” Fran shouted as Dimitris kept moving upwards.
“I’ll pay you back, I promise!”
I could almost hear an echo of him saying, I’m sooorry! as he flew away.
“I won’t lose next time, Fran.” With that final word from Sibyl, they left.
“…I’ll still win.”
The noble ordered the guards to loose their arrows, but it was more of a formality than anything else. A fierce battle had been avoided.
“Dimitris… Hrmp!”
Come on, don’t pout. Let’s see how apologetic he really was.
An item bag and a small fortune in cash. It was decent enough. Besides, he said he owed Fran one. It was unfortunate things had worked out this way, but he would repay us later. I just hoped he’d actually be in the mood to make good when the time came…
“I apologize for grandfather’s behavior, Fran.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Even so… You won the bet, but it’s like the outcome was reversed, with me losing and becoming head. This won’t do. I’ll see to it that grandfather keeps his word.”
Hilt no longer had a resentful expression when she looked at Fran. She really was sorry about Dimitris’s actions.
“We will lend you our strength if you ever need it. Belioth will have access to Dimitris Style’s current head and top students. Will that suffice?”
“Are you sure? You told Dimitris you didn’t want to.”
“I was just giving that troublesome old man a taste of his own medicine.”
Well, at least she was honest.
“So how about it?”
Teacher?
That’s probably the best course of action. Belioth didn’t say we needed to get Dimitris on board.
They just wanted to contact him and get him to accept the quest if possible. But having his pupils instead of the man himself wasn’t a bad deal.
“Hm. Thanks.”
I didn’t know how much she would make up for Dimitris’s absence, but Hilt was an A Rank. Not a bad substitute at all.
“Although things are going to be a bit of a pain going forward…”
“Can’t be helped.”
“Dias.”
Dias joined the conversation, looking tattered and exhausted. His wounds from the battle with Knighthart had mostly healed, but he was still exhausted. He looked even worse because of the battered state of his equipment.
“The guild’s not going to be able to claim ignorance on this one. I’ll probably get summoned along with Hilt. We can’t keep this under wraps with so many witnesses.”
The audience started murmuring again, discussing the great incident that had just occurred before their eyes. They couldn’t stop talking about it.
“Will you be okay?” Fran tilted her head, looking worried.
It might be tricky for Hilt to accept quests, given the current situation. Dimitris—former head of Dimitris Style—had assisted Raydossian spies in escaping and joined them in returning to Raydoss. Everyone he’d left behind was going to be in a difficult spot. A pointed inquisition would likely follow. The investigation could go on for months and might even result in jail time.
But Hilt and the others thought that outcome was unlikely.
“I don’t think the lockdown will take months. They should be able to help you with the Belioth quest.”
“I think so too. The government won’t be that harsh.”
“Why not?”
“A lot of damage would be done if we fought back. The most realistic likelihood is that we’ll make some concessions and deals with them. Ugh…it looks like we’ll have to work for Granzell for the time being. Haven’t done that in a while…”
“In a while?”
This wasn’t the first time?
“You saw how grandfather is. He’s done similar things in the past…though this one takes the cake when it comes to sheer outlandishness.”
One time, Dimitris wiped out a criminal organization and the knights who were in bed with them, only to find that affiliates of the royal family had been involved. Another time, he snuck into the palace after hearing rumors of a powerful knight being present…and wound up causing a lot of trouble, to say the least. There was also the time he had a bounty put on his head for killing a viscount’s eldest son for trying to rape one of the girls in town.
These were just a few of Dimitris’s exploits. His students would take on difficult quests for a cheap price afterward in order to make up for it.
And his students remained with him because they admired his strength. In fact, his outrageous actions saved a lot of innocent people, and his students soon learned to accept the consequences of his actions with a pained smile. Some took to considering it part of the Dimitris Style program.
“Rather than shutting them down, making the world’s greatest combat school owe them a favor would be more beneficial for them.”
We were still worried, but if Dias said it would be okay then we would take his word for it.
“We’re going to be short on manpower… S-so Colbert will have to help!”
“Uh-huh.”
Fran! Not “Uh-huh!” Ask her about her plans! I get that you’re not interested in romantic relationships…but still!
Still, Hilt seemed ready to go on the offensive where her love life was concerned. She might yet be able to get through Colbert’s thick skull. As he watched Hilt blush, Dias gave a wry smile and shook his head.
“Yeah. Good luck with that… With everything, really. But we must bring our closing ceremony to a close. I guess I’m the one who’ll ask our guests of honor to bow their heads this year. Our lord viscount is still incapacitated, after all.”
The viscount was the noble who got kicked by Acid Man at the beginning of all this. If I forgot his face, it’s a real testament to how low-profile the man was!
At Dias’s command, the adventurers quickly moved to their places. This was one hell of a closing ceremony.
“Will Erianthe be all right?”
Hmm…I don’t know. The current members of the merc band aside, I don’t think the government will go after former members…
That’s not what I mean.
Oh?
Erianthe’s gonna be mad. Real mad. She might destroy the capital guild.
…Oh.
I remembered Erianthe’s personality. Despite looking like a highly competent woman, she had a short fuse. If she heard that her old comrade Knighthart had gone turncoat, she might go on a rampage.
Let’s pray that the adventurers of the capital will be all right. That’s the only thing we can do.
Hm.
Dias carried on with the closing ceremony, bringing the highly eventful event to a final close.
The Adventurers’ Guild was speeding things up. The way they were moving everyone out of the coliseum, I thought they would get complaints. But the audience and guests were okay with it.
They were too excited about the amazing incident they’d just witnessed to be upset. It was like they’d just gotten the show of their lives. People still died, though, so the mood would probably shift once things settled down.
Fran and I left the coliseum and were soon on our way to the Adventurers’ Guild.
“I know it’s a little late, but a lot’s happened today. Congratulations on your victory.”
“Thanks.”
“And you’re the youngest tournament winner to date, too. Without a doubt!” Dias said, producing a small medal. Next to it was a leather pouch which produced a clinking sound. The victor’s gold medal of Ulmutt and the prize money.
It’s a lot more glamorous than last year’s third-place medal.
“Hm. It’s a lot shinier.”
The first-place medal was appropriately intricate and gold-plated.
“I wanted to give it to you during the closing ceremony, but the nobles were shaking like leaves. The ministers had their heads in their hands the whole time.”
“Because an S Rank went to an enemy country?”
“It’s not just a matter of battle power. Dimitris has many supporters among the people. He’s been hunting rampaging monsters in the provinces for over fifty years, remember.”
“I see.”
“He’s good to the common folk. He’s a free spirit, but that’s why he’s able to do right by his conscience. He’s defended the poor from nobles many times in the past.”
Dimitris seemed like the height of arrogance to adventurers and nobles, but the people didn’t see him that way.
“A lot of these people will be disappointed to hear that he’s gone to Raydoss. He’s helped the guild out a lot by taking super high-level quests, too…”
Not a lot of adventurers would volunteer to go into certain death zones.
“But I mean, what was I supposed to do about him? You think I had a chance of holding him back?”
“Hm. No way.”
Not a chance.
There was no one who could dictate what that old man could do.
“See? Well, let’s put this matter to one side. What’ll you do now? Hilt said she’ll join you on your trip to Goldicia.”
“Hm…”
“But you seem conflicted.”
“Hm. Do you think war’s going to break out with Raydoss?”
“Maybe. Do you plan on joining the cause?” Dias looked at Fran, seeing into her heart. I wanted to know, too. Personally, I didn’t want to take part in that war.
We watched as Fran worked her way through to an answer.
“…I don’t know. I hate Raydoss, but I don’t necessarily want to go to war against them. If I have to, I just want to protect something. Like Alessa.”
“A girl your age has no business taking part in wars. Defending Alessa shouldn’t be too bad, I guess… Besides, I don’t think war’s going to break out for a while yet.”
“Really?”
Raydoss had disgraced Granzell with this incident. I thought retaliation was unavoidable…
“This isn’t a feud between adventurers. War can’t be declared right away even if the government wanted to. If nothing else, they’d have to coordinate with the other countries first. Negotiations might take several months. And we can’t rule out nothing happening in the end, either.”
“Okay… Then I’ll go to Goldicia. I’m Winalene’s representative.”
“I think that’s a good idea. You’ll get a lot more annoying invitations with winning the tournament. Might as well go on a trip to Goldicia and wait for things to settle down. And it’s just what you need too.”
“Hm?”
“I’m talking about your promotion.”
“Promotion! Can I be an A Rank now?”
“Not so fast.”
You needed more than just combat skills to become an A Rank, after all. Dealings with nobles. Commanding an army in battle. Knowledge and achievements as an adventurer. Instructing the next generation. All sorts of things, most of which had nothing to do with combat.
When you looked at it that way, combat skills were the only thing Fran had going for her. Even if she had defeated an A Rank in combat, that wasn’t enough for the guildmasters to approve her promotion.
“There are no problems with your ability to fight. But you lack other achievements… You’ve heard this before.”
“Hm.”
“The guild has some high-rating quests. Extermination of an A-Threat or higher monster, gathering rare spirit herbs—both of which you can take up in Goldicia.”
Quests in the service of larger community goals increased the overall reputation of the Adventurers’ Guild. These quests were common in Goldicia.
“Though we can’t give you the promotion immediately, the guild will have to acknowledge your achievements if you participate in enough battles. You won’t be promoted to A Rank immediately…but it’s something to shoot for.”
“Okay. I’ll do my best.”
A stroll through a continent filled with monsters was enough to pique Fran’s interest, but now she was really fired up. We were definitely going to Goldicia.
“Good luck. There’s one more thing I wanted to talk about with you.”
“Sure.”
“I’m guessing that you’ll be free to do whatever you want once you land in Goldicia. That’s what most of the adventurers representing Belioth end up doing.”
That’s what Winalene said, too. Apparently we’re free to do whatever when we get there.
Since Fran was backed by Winalene, none of the other kingdoms would dare force her into doing errands for them.
“I’d like you to take some guild quests when you get to Goldicia. Aside from antibody extermination.”
“There’s an Adventurers’ Guild in Goldicia?”
“Of course. There are guilds wherever there are adventurers.”
And the masses of adventurers being transported to Goldicia meant that there must be a guild to oversee them. A united front was better than everyone doing their own thing.
“Why do you want me to take quests in Goldicia?”
“Honestly, it’s to increase the reputation of the guild in Ulmutt.”
“Hm?”
“Today’s incident doesn’t just affect my standing; it hurts the guild here as a whole. You understand that, right?”
“Hm.”
Ulmutt got played by Raydossian conspirators, allowing them to run rampant and create chaos in the city. This was a black mark against the guild here.
“They might go easier on us if the winner of the Ulmutt tournament were to do great things in Goldicia. I hope you don’t mind us leaning on you for a bit.”
Th-that’s awfully honest of you, Dias.
“I prefer to be as frank as possible when dealing with you.”
That just went to show how close we were.
Go to Goldicia, take some quests from the guild there, name-drop the guild in Ulmutt. Shouldn’t be a problem, but…
What do you wanna do, Fran?
“Hm. I don’t mind being taken advantage of for the right price.”
“Aha ha, very adventurer of you! All right. Take this introduction letter with you.”
“Who’s it for?”
Izalio?
The recipient was an adventurer named Izalio. Was he the guildmaster in Goldicia?
“You’ve never heard of him?”
Dias was surprised—Izalio must have been quite famous. He went on to explain, and Izalio was more than just another celebrity.
“S-Rank adventurer Izalio. Current owner of the godsword Ignis. One of the strongest people in the world. They call him Flame Sword or Crimson Sword.”
“A godsword!”
An S Rank?!
It was definitely our fault that we didn’t know him despite being adventurers.
“If Dimitris is the problem child of the S Ranks, Izalio is the teacher’s pet. He might be the only sane man among the S Ranks. Not that he’s without his…quirks.”
Izalio was an S Rank. You probably needed a couple quirks just to get to S Rank.
“Do you know him?”
“He operated out of Ulmutt a long time ago. He won’t ignore an introduction from me.”
Dias’s long years of being guildmaster meant that he had connections all over the world.
“You can ask him to train you or just talk to him, really. Conducting activities in Goldicia will be much easier if you know its master. And take this with you, too.”
“What’s this? Wine?”
Whoa, whoa, what kind of wine is this?!
It was wine, but Identify revealed it to be three hundred years old…the kind of absurd wine that could only exist in this fantasy world!
“An elven brew from my private stock.”
The elves would brew this special wine from the fruits of the holy tree unique to their homeland. This ancient wine was miraculously preserved despite the city producing it being destroyed by a volcanic eruption.
“The wine cellar was somehow spared. And thanks to the temperature control magic circles, so was the wine inside. This isn’t something you can buy with money. A million gold for this would be dirt cheap on the market.”
That was crazy expensive! But there were instances of wines like these back on Earth, too. Old wines salvaged from shipwrecks going for millions of yen.
“Wine… Is it good?”
You’re too young for it!
“Ha ha ha. Yeah, not for a few years, at least.”
Fran liked tasty things, so the wine piqued her interest. But she needed to be an adult before she could start drinking. No need to turn to substance abuse at this age.
“Just give it to the guildmaster when you get to Goldicia. He’s a dwarf, you see.”
I see. This is probably going to be more effective than the introduction letter.
“Well? Is the price right enough for you?” Dias smiled mischievously.
Fran nodded with gleaming eyes.
“Good enough. What do you think, Teacher?”
Sounds good. An S-Rank dwarf with a penchant for ancient wine isn’t a contact you can find any day.
“Thanks. I owe you one.”
Next stop, the continent of Goldicia.
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