Volume 17 Chapter 4 Counterattack Begins
The Grand Holy Castle had already lost its castle-like shape.
It was as if the castle had been flipped upside down, standing in an inverted triangle shape.
And the floor where Miss Fuuko, who was originally on the top floor, was now floating above the lake like a buoy.
"It's just as I thought. The lower level that the Inquisitors are guarding is being pushed upward. We can't go down because of the barrier."
"...It's no use trying to jump down either."
Unfortunately, the Grand Holy Castle was the tallest castle in the world. The upper floors were too high to jump down from safely.
It seemed like the barrier was working against us, restricting the Inquisitors' movements here as well.
"Well, let's hurry. If it's a battle like Noroa's... maybe we can still resolve this curse."
"...Yeah."
We climbed down from the Kraken and ran towards the Great Holy Castle.
When we looked, a massive number of monsters had already flooded into the castle. The windows on the walls, which were covered in glass, were shattered, and that's where the monsters were entering from.
We processed the monsters while jumping into the castle through the windows.
"Sui, block the wall." "...Okay."
We created a slime barrier at the window and blocked the monsters.
It was just like when we first entered the grand hall where I met Miss Fuuko for the first time.
I was about to turn around to face the grand hall――.
"..."
A strong smell of blood tickled my nostrils. A bad premonition made my head spin.
Slowly, I turned around――and it was red.
In the white grand hall, red blood splatters were scattered everywhere.
And――human body parts, torn apart, were scattered all over the place.
"...This is."
"...So, that's."
My legs lost strength, and I felt like vomiting from the pit of my stomach.
"What's wrong?"
"Miss Fuuko was attacked by a monster..."
"Is that so?"
"...Yeah, we didn't make it in time."
"What a pain?"
"...Wait, what?"
I looked up to see Miss Fuuko sitting comfortably in a wheelchair, holding a teacup in the middle of the white room.
Or rather, she looked extremely relaxed.
'Ugh, this is embarrassing...'
"More importantly, it's good that you're safe!"
"Yes, it's really great that you're unharmed, Your Majesty..."
As I looked around the room, it was a mess like after a fierce battle. The parts of the doll soldiers were scattered all over, and countless monsters were hanging from the ceiling by threads.
The dolls and wire traps I saw earlier were probably prepared for this moment...
"I can do something too, you know? Ahem?"
With an expressionless face, she let out a sigh through her nose.
It was hard to tell if she was confident or not, with her tone of voice.
"But isn't it already too late?"
"Indeed, most of the doll soldiers are gone..."
"By the way, I'm weaker than a slug? Ahem?"
"Don't brag about that, please."
Just then, the window side started to get noisy.
"...Ah, my lord...it's getting tougher..."
The Slime Shield's Sui defense wall was being pushed by a group of monsters. There wasn't much time left.
"Anyway, let's escape from here quickly!"
"...Escape?"
Miss Fuuko tilted her head, looking puzzled.
"That's right~ If you get defeated, the Holy City will sink, won't it?"
"Your Majesty, we should retreat for now... Noroa has prepared a way to escape."
"If Miss Fuuko leaves this room, we can counterattack."
Probably, Ravuri was giving the monsters orders to kill anyone inside the Holy City.
――Kill the humans inside the Holy City, that is.
The monsters couldn't distinguish between humans and the Holy King, so they had no choice but to follow orders.
And, judging from the white dragon (Cirrul)'s behavior, the monsters couldn't think for themselves beyond their orders.
That was the weakness of Ravuri's cursed equipment.
In other words, if Miss Fuuko could just leave the Holy City...the monsters would lose their target and become unable to act. And if we attacked those monsters from outside the Holy City, one-sidedly――.
"If we do that, we can crush Ravuri's plan..."
"Sorry, but I'm not running away?"
"...Huh?"
I'm taken aback by the unexpected reaction.
It seems Miss Miimo and Juju are also stunned. Everyone's in a daze.
"Not running away...?"
"Why do you think I haven't left this room until now?"
'Because you're a shut-in gamer, right?'
"Half correct?"
"Half correct is good enough, isn't it?"
"That's really pitiful?"
"And what about the other half?"
"...This holy city has a barrier set up by Cost? I'm trapped in this barrier and can't get out?"
"...!"
Indeed, this holy city has an absurd number of barriers. And they're all extremely high-performance barriers.
If someone's maintaining all of them alone...there must be a corresponding cost.
"The barrier city of Sanctia――isn't that the name of the dungeon I'm equipped with? I've been trapped in the boss room by the Cost who set up the barrier in this dungeon?"
Creating a safe zone instead of being trapped in a safe zone is a curse...
"...So what now? We can't even save Miss Fuuko..."
My feet feel unsteady, and I stumble unintentionally.
Miss Miimo looks like she's heard it for the first time, with a despairing expression.
...The only hope we had is crushed so easily.
It's impossible to protect Miss Fuuko from the monster's attacks. We're limited by our physical strength and resources. It's hard to persuade Ravuri now. We can't leave this room to protect Miss Fuuko, and if that's the case...I can't do anything.
It's a bad end, where no one gets saved...
"That's not true, is it?"
Miss Fuuko says, as if she's seen through my thoughts.
"You're good at solving curses, aren't you?"
"That's...I think I'm good at it, but..."
She asked me the same question when we first met.
And I answered the same way back then.
"That's why?"
"I know more about cursed equipment than others, and I've got experience with it too. So, it's just a matter of... fighting, which I'm pretty good at."
"Then, you just need to do what you're supposed to do, right?"
"What I'm supposed to do..."
It was a conversation that felt like a Q&A session, but for some reason, I suddenly felt a jolt. I understood what Miss Fuuko was trying to say.
"...Lord, already!"
At that moment, Sui let out a scream-like voice.
Even Sui, who was usually reliable, couldn't withstand the monster's intense attack. It was probably because our defense was weaker than usual since we were guarding a wide area.
"Sui, switch!"
I transformed Sui and unleashed a shockwave from the Bloodsucker Blade, scattering the first wave of monsters.
But soon, the second wave arrived.
"Miss Miimo, please take care of Miss Fuuko."
"What about you?"
"I'll go fight."
"...Got it."
Miss Miimo looked at my face and seemed to sense something, nodding heavily. Then, she stuffed the candy from her bag into her mouth and crunched down on it.
"Leave this to me, and go with peace of mind. As you can see... I'm Her Majesty Holy King's greatest masterpiece, after all."
"...?"
I didn't understand the meaning of her words, but I didn't have the luxury to think about it now. I slashed at the monsters and headed out of the room.
And when I reached the window...
"――Noroa Rator?"
Miss Fuuko called out to me.
"Clean up the room later, okay?"
"Don't say something that'll make me depressed all of a sudden."
I forced a smile and left the Holy Castle.
Looking around at the waterways surrounding the castle, I saw that the number of monsters was still overwhelming.
Fighting them was tough, and I was bad at chaotic battles. My Slime Sword wasn't enough, and since the monsters were scattered, the shockwave effect from the Bloodsucker Blade was weakened too. And if I drew my sword without thinking, I'd end up slaughtering Miss Fuuko and the others as well.
'...So, what's the plan?'
"...We're going to fight Ravuri. Giving up on persuading her."
"You mean kill her?"
"No way. We're going to fight to put an end to this."
Right now, Ravuri thinks I'm her enemy.
If that's the case, persuading her is tough, and there are too many uncertain factors.
Plus, I'm not good at convincing people. If I had that kind of conversation skill, I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.
I've been trying to protect Miss Fuuko, defeat the monsters, and persuade Ravuri... I've been shouldering all these impossible tasks by myself.
Maybe I've been trying to fight alone, without trusting others.
"It's teamwork. I'll just do what I can do."
'Yeah, if it's just fighting... you're the strongest in the world. You won't lose to any enemy.'
"That's if it's just fighting..."
Miss Fuuko said she could hold on a little longer. If Miss Miimo is by her side, they can probably hold out for a bit longer.
What I need to do is trust them and resolve this curse in a short time.
In other words, I just need to do what I always do.
"I just need to understand the power of the cursed equipment and deal with it... that's all."
I took a deep breath and looked up.
The white dragon carrying Ravuri was slowly circling around the Great Holy Castle. It seemed to be moving automatically, maintaining the same pace and orbiting the same spot...
It's probably being controlled remotely.
"...The place it's flying... the altitude is too low."
'Huh?'
"I guess the sound of the flute can't reach the monsters if it's too far away from the Great Holy Castle. That's why it can't move away from the castle..."
'So what's the big deal? Either way, it's ridiculously high.'
"No, it's too low."
The white dragon was flying at an altitude of around 100 meters (328ft).
It was too high for attacks or voices to reach.
But that wasn't the only problem. The reason was...
"'There's a ridiculously tall castle right next to it.'"
I remembered what Cirrul explained casually on the first day we entered the holy capital.
The height of the Great Holy Castle is over 200 meters (656ft). It's even higher than where the White Dragon (Cirrul) is flying.
'...Are you serious? You're going to jump on a flying dragon?'
"Don't worry, I've done plenty of aerial combat in Ravenyard."
'...You're not thinking straight.'
Jumping on a flying dragon might sound crazy, but the White Dragon is just slowly circling around a fixed course. Compared to that, the difficulty level is relatively low. We should be able to manage until we reach the White Dragon.
The problem is, how do we solve the curse from there? If I kill Ravuri, the monsters will lose control and the damage will increase. And even if I take the cursed equipment, it's not like I can use it right away.
But there has to be a "loophole" somewhere.
"Think..."
I close my eyes and focus my thoughts. Since there are fewer things to think about now, I can calmly analyze the situation.
――The power to control monsters with the sound of the flute.
――The Cost of attracting monsters.
And I remember... my days with Ravuri so far.
"......I see it."
A way to end this without anyone getting hurt.
Mars and the others have created a perfect plan by using the holy city's barrier against them.
Then, I'll... take that perfect plan and turn it around even further.
"――Let's end this fight, Juju."
Extra: Holy King Fuuko's Equipment (Equipment Slots = 7)～
- Uncontrollable Doll (Onette Marionette)(? ? ?): Effect＝? ? ?. Agility=0.
- Automatic Wheelchair (Auto Chair)(A): A wheelchair that moves as you think.
- Mermaid Princess's Tiara (S): Enables underwater action. Takes damage when walking on land.
- Selector's Eye (SSS): Omniscient eyes that can see through time and space, but in exchange, you can't see the present or what's in front of you. You can't directly interfere with the future using the knowledge gained from the Selector's Eye.
- Immortal Dress (Never Ending Dress)(SSS): HP≠0. A curse that makes you unable to die. Your physical body may disappear, but your consciousness will remain forever.
- Dollmasters' Line (SS): A string that can control human-like objects by imbuing them with pseudo-souls (emitted from a wrist-mounted device). Although it's not its original purpose, the string can also be used for wire traps and the like.
- Sanctia, the Boundary City (SSS): A dungeon created solely by barriers (artificial objects are separate from equipment). You can set up boundaries within the dungeon to repel anything you want, but to reconfigure the boundaries, you need to remake them from scratch. The equipment user becomes the dungeon boss and is trapped in the boss room (barrier).
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