Searching the Den of Evil
Satou here. When I think about an enemy that’s quick to flee, I automatically picture that rare metal enemy from a famous RPG series. You can’t help but like those slimy little guys since they give out a great reward if you manage to beat them, though.
“This is the Den of Evil where we last fought the demon lord.”
The next morning, Hayato the Hero was totally recovered, and we joined his party on the dimensional submarine Jules Verne to travel about two hours away, hovering above a Den of Evil entrance.
Arisa and the rest of my crew came, too, of course.
“Hey, it’s Seina.”
Rusus and Fifi pointed at a small figure hopping up and down and waving wildly on the ground, next to two black midsize airships that appeared to belong to the Saga Empire. The short human woman was apparently Seina the scout.
“That was fast. They must have had a space mage use Return to get them out faster.”
Normally, it took at least three days to get back from the depths of the Den of Evil where the demon lord was last seen. The hero party had summoned the Jules Verne to the very deepest part, jumped on board, and made their escape.
While they were explaining all this to me, Weeyari steered the Jules Verne into a smooth landing.
“Hayato!”
The airlock-style hatch opened with a swoosh, and Seina the scout hopped inside.
Like the rest of the party, she had a well-proportioned figure.
“Glad you’re okay.”
“Sorry to worry you. This is Satou, who’s gonna be helping us with the search.”
Casually sliding out of Seina’s immediate embrace, Hayato introduced us.
“Nice to meetcha. You’re pretty young for… Wait, what’re these kids doing here?”
Seina’s eyes fell on the youngest members of my group.
“Purple hair… Could you be the famous ‘Honey’? Did you kiddos come on a little field trip to watch the big brave hero at work today?”
Seina immediately identified Arisa as the object of Hayato’s semi-obsession.
She wasn’t wearing a wig like usual, since everyone on board the dimensional submarine was a friend.
Unlike Hayato’s “Divine Analysis,” her “Analyze Character” skill didn’t seem to be able to see through my group’s Recognition-Inhibiting items.
“No, this isn’t a field trip. We’re here to help Sir Hayato.”
“Ugh, Hayato, you’re way too soft on little kids…”
Seina pressed a hand to her forehead in a gesture of hopelessness.
“Don’t underestimate my honey and her friends, Seina.”
“What d’you mean? Are these kids actually good for something?”
Seina raised her eyebrows at Hayato’s remark.
“Yes, sir. Pochi is a pro explorer, sir.”
“Tama’s a pro scout, tooo?”
“Pro…?”
“They’re experts, basically,” Hayato clarified.
As Seina looked at the girls doubtfully, Tama and Pochi flexed their biceps and struck muscleman-like poses. It was adorable, if not very convincing.
“You can’t tell with your analysis skills, Seina?”
Hearing Hayato’s whispered question, I removed Pochi’s and Tama’s Recognition-Inhibiting items.
“…Level fifty-four?! That’s higher than me!”
Seina exclaimed in surprise when her skill revealed their level.
Incidentally, she was level 52.
“Are you two fairy folk in costume or something?”
“Bzzzt?”
“Pochi’s ears aren’t a costume, sir.”
“Can I touch ’em?”
“Okaaay?”
“Go ahead, sir.”
Once the pair gave permission, Seina reached out and touched their animal ears.
“That tickles, sir!” Pochi and Tama wriggled happily.
“Oooh, so soft! These are way better than Rusus’s and Fifi’s scratchy ears.”
“Say what?!”
“Hey, my ears are silky-soft, okay?!”
“No fightiiing?”
“She’s right, sir. We should all get along, sir.”
Tama’s and Pochi’s earnest reactions to the friendly banter put a smile on everyone’s faces.
Before long, Seina the scout was getting along with my group just fine.
“Satou, this is a map of the Dens of Evil.”
In a large tent that reminded me of a battlefield HQ, Hayato showed me a map of what they’d explored so far, using the Picture Recorder spell. It showed all the locations of the Dens of Evil within the province, not a guide to navigating them.
The map also noted the dates of exploration and a symbol for scale.
Five of the Dens of Evil were marked with colored pins.
“These pins show where we’ll be searching, right? What do the colors mean?”
“Black means a den where the demon lord was spotted. White means no demon lord so far.”
A blue pin indicated the den we were currently about to explore.
These five Dens of Evil were significantly larger than the rest and were known as the “Five Major Dens of Evil” in Parion Province. They were numbered in order of size, a system that went up to around a hundred.
“Hayato! Ryukken and his subordinates went out to search without meeting up with the scouts they left here first.”
We learned that a majority of Saga Empire soldiers were left here at supply stations and were currently on their way back toward the surface.
“Getting a head start, huh? Typical Ryukken.”
“This is bad. Splitting up their forces like that will mean far more losses.”
“Those poor saps, getting dragged along with their boss’s stupid ambitions…”
So the black knight was in it for his own personal gain? Here I thought he was just really eager to beat the demon lord…
“Yeah, no kidding. Seina, go tell the communicators to give the order for them to get on standby aboveground, please.”
Agreeing with Miss Ringrande’s sympathetic remark, Hayato sent Seina out on a scouting mission.
Oh, right. This might be a good time…
“Sir Hayato, do you mind if we take a quick look inside the Den of Evil?”
“Yeah, go for it. There’s not much to see, though—it just looks like a regular cave.”
Thanking Hayato for his permission, I brought my group into the Den of Evil.
There were two sentries stationed at the entrance, each holding some sort of magic tool that looked like a large cane with bells.
Initially, they stopped us from approaching; when I told them we had Hayato’s permission, though, they believed us after only a quick glance at the youngest members of the party. I guess the Saga Empire soldiers all knew about the hero’s peculiar inclinations, too.
“Mew? There’s a drawing heeere?”
Tama, who was always quick to adjust to the dark, soon spotted a Holy Magic barrier.
The holy symbol of the Goddess Parion was visible floating on its surface.
Seeing that my AR display identified it as an anti-monster barrier, I checked that it was safe myself before calling the rest of the group to follow.
The radar in the corner of my AR display changed to an unexplored area. My map gave it the name “Evil God’s Prison Labyrinth: Ruins.”
As I looked at this information, I used “Search Entire Map” from my magic menu.
It was larger than I expected: only a little smaller than the Kuvork Kingdom labyrinth, though still only about the size of about six sections of the Celivera Labyrinth.
There were seven exits to the surface, far fewer than the number I saw on the map Hayato showed me on the surface.
Evidently, any areas that weren’t physically connected to this one were treated as their own map.
“Satou, thick miasma.”
Mia’s brow furrowed.
“Maybe that’s why my body sort of felt heavier all of a sudden.”
“Oui, ouiii. Feels bad, maaan?”
Arisa and Tama agreed.
Activating my “Miasma Vision” for a moment, I saw right away that the miasma all around us was several times denser than in the average labyrinth.
There was hardly any miasma within Parion Province, especially near the great cathedral, which made it seem all the more intense here.
I unleashed my usually suppressed spirit light in order to cleanse the miasma. That should make things a little better, at least.
“I didn’t notice anything outside of the Den of Evil. Maybe that barrier is there to keep the miasma from leaking out?”
“Mm-hmm.” Mia nodded.
Arisa moved to whisper in my ear, so I leaned down to listen.
“So, Master. Was the demon lord in here?”
Finding some seemingly undiscovered hidden passages and rooms, I checked inside them with the Space Magic spell Clairvoyance; however, they only contained skeletons, mummified corpses, and the occasional treasure of monetary value. I didn’t find any clues as to the demon lord’s location.
“Other than that, there’s only some Sandstorm Soldiers and other monsters that must’ve escaped the hunt.”
There were no demons to be found.
On the other hand, there were actually a lot of humans within the former labyrinth. Most of them were from the Saga Empire. Between the units that were currently on their way back from the deepest parts, soldiers dismantling the temporary bases, and so on, there were nearly a hundred in total.
I guess it was a little too soon for them all to have withdrawn already.
“There’s no light in here, just like the Celivera Labyrinth. We’ll need light sources like spells or magic tools.”
“We can use my Mana Light, I report.”
“Mmm, Bubble Light.”
“‘Spellblade’ glows, tooo?”
“Pochi can light things up, too, sir!”
Nana and Mia cast their magic, and Tama and Pochi lit their weapons with “Spellblade.”
That should be plenty of light. Besides, I had the “Night Vision” skill, and Tama excelled at enemy detection even in the dark.
“The ground’s a lot more uneven here than in the labyrinths we’ve explored before, though. Shouldn’t everyone have a light source so they can watch their step?”
“…Yeah, good point. I’ll make enough flashlights for everyone.”
I could easily make magic tools for the job using light stones. Maybe a belt light that illuminates underfoot might be handy, too?
Having easily assessed the problem, we turned back and returned to the surface.
“That was fast. How was the Den of Evil?”
“It was just a cave like you said, although the miasma was thicker than I expected.”
“Huh… Is that an elf power?”
“Yes, you’re right on the money.”
Mia was always the first to notice changes in the miasma levels around us.
“Well, let’s get moving. We’re going to check the Den of Evil where the demon lord was first spotted.”
We followed Hayato back into the Jules Verne, traveling to another Den of Evil about an hour away.
A few messenger scouts and one squadron of soldiers were on standby in the tent on the surface above.
According to them, the black knight and his scouting party who had gotten a head start were exploring this Den of Evil.
“Maybe they figured it’d be easy to check the demon lord’s hiding spots here, since we have a map from last time…”
“They’ve been in here for a full day already, though. Wonder if we can catch up…”
I suspected that Hayato was worried about whether we could keep up with the pace of their search enough to catch the other party, especially since some of the younger girls didn’t look like they’d have much stamina.
“Sir Hayato, please don’t worry about us. Chase after them at full speed, and we’ll be right behind you.”
I could always use my map to keep an eye on their whereabouts, and Nana and I could carry Arisa and Mia to keep a quick pace easily enough.
“All right. Let’s go!”
“I’ll lead the way, ’kay?”
Seina the scout ran ahead and waved a short wand, creating three will-o’-the-wisp-like spirits that floated around her, clearly for use as a light source.
Miss Ringrande, Princess Mariest, and several of the others created their own light sources with Practical Magic, Lightning Magic, and such.
We followed Loleiya the priestess, who was bringing up the rear of the party, and entered the labyrinth.
I’d already created flashlight magic tools using the Jules Verne’s workshop on the way here and handed them out to all my companions.
“Master?”
Arisa held out her arms, requesting to be carried. “Just don’t get handsy,” I warned her as I lifted her onto my back. Nana put away her large shield to carry Mia.
We proceeded through the twisting passages at roughly the pace of a marathon.
It was several feet around at the broader parts, but there were also short and narrow sections where we had to crouch.
While that was easy enough since most of us were small-statured, I bet it was pretty difficult for large, armored soldiers.
Any Sandstorm Soldiers and other small monsters on the path were usually taken out with thrown knives or stones by Seina at the front or Rusus and Fifi, who were flanking her.
“Hayato, big one.”
“On it!”
A bigger Sandstorm Soldier, roughly the size of a demi-ogre, appeared in a limestone cavern-like area. Hayato’s glowing Holy Sword Arondight brought it down with a single slash.
“That was quite impressive.”
“Honey?! You kept up with us, Satou!”
The hero stopped in surprise when he heard Arisa’s comment.
Apparently, he hadn’t noticed that we were following right behind them this whole time.
“We’re quite all right, Sir Hero. Right, Master?”
“Yes, don’t mind us. We can follow you at this pace easily enough.”
Arisa’s formal manners and confidence weren’t quite as convincing when I was carrying her on my back.
“Besides, I’m making a map as we follow you. Even if we get separated, we’ll be able to make it back to the surface safely on our own. So there’s no cause for concern.”
Although I couldn’t see us getting separated by accident, I figured this would give me a good excuse in case I needed to “get lost” and come to the rescue as Nanashi the Hero.
Incidentally, the demon lord wasn’t in this Den of Evil.
There was, however, a level-55 Sandstorm Soldier possessed by a demon deep inside the cavern, hence the backup plan.
“Hayato, Satou and his party are all mithril explorers, remember? You don’t need to worry about them so much.”
“Right, of course. But Satou, if you need to turn back at any point, go ahead and do it. All right?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Thanks to Miss Ringrande vouching for us, Hayato finally approved our accompanying his party.
“The areas marked on the wall with glowing paint are traps. Make sure not to step near them.”
With that warning, Seina the scout kept moving.
Soon, we started running into Sandstorm Soldiers more often, as well as corpses that turned into sand and more of the paint-marked traps.
“Looks like this must be the way Ryukken and his men went, too—oh, hey, there’s a new trap here.”
There was a pit that had clearly already been found.
“No bodies inside. I do see blood, so they must have healed with a potion and kept moving.”
We peered into the trap and saw a torn mantle lying among the sharp spikes at the bottom.
“If there are new traps, then…”
“…the demon lord might have come back.”
Hayato and Mariest exchanged looks.
My guess was that the new traps were set by the demon possessing the Sandstorm Soldier in the Innermost Chamber.
We kept scattering Sandstorm Soldiers as we headed deeper into the Den of Evil.
“We should catch up to them any minute now…”
My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up on a murmur from Ringrande.
“There they are. It’s Ryukken and his squad.”
About three hours into our exploration, we caught up with the black knight and his scouting party.
They seemed to have stopped to treat some wounded members. They must have gotten caught in a trap or battled a particularly strong Sandstorm Soldier.
The black knight was shouting at his subordinates, clearly agitated.
I saw Seina the scout break off from the rest of the group and begin moving toward the Innermost Chamber up ahead. It seemed like only Tama and I noticed her movements; maybe she was using a stealth skill.
Tama asked me in hand signals if she could follow, and I gave her a small nod.
“Ryukken!”
“Sir…Sir Hero…!”
The black knight tsked in a small but obvious sign of irritation when he first saw us, then smoothed his expression into a smile and approached.
“What an unexpected pleasure to have you join us. Though if I may say so, you are still fresh from the sickbed. You are the one and only honorable hero, and your life is precious. I should much prefer that you rest in the holy city until we find the demon lord, rather than pushing yourself to the extreme.”
Although his words made it sound as if he wanted to help the hero, his expression and tone said otherwise.
Clearly, he was hoping to get a head start on everyone else and claim the glory for himself.
“Yeah, that was the plan, until I heard that you had run right into the Den of Evil without giving your men any time to rest.”
“Not to worry, good Sir Hero. Unlike yourself, my men and I are easily replaceable. Please do not concern yourself with such trivial matters.”
“Everyone’s lives are precious, not just mine. I can’t sit back and let you get yourselves killed in vain. Better to take your time with the search instead of trying to rush so recklessly.”
The hero and the black knight glared at each other.
In the meantime, Loleiya and Mia were healing the wounded soldiers with Holy Magic and Water Magic, respectively.
The scouting party’s own healers appeared to have run out of mana.
“Hayato, I took a peek at the Innermost Chamber.”
“There was a big guuuy?”
Seina and Tama returned from scouting ahead.
“Hang on, Seina. You seriously took this little pip-squeak with ya?”
“She just popped up behind me, I swear. This kid’s a natural.”
After responding to Rusus, Seina heaped praise on Tama, who wriggled bashfully with a little giggle.
“Lady Seina, was the demon lord there?!”
“It looked a lot like the demon lord, but my ‘Analyze’ skill got blocked, so I couldn’t tell for sure if it’s the real thing. He woulda noticed me if I used my talisman, y’know?” Seina answered the black knight, then looked at the hero. “Hayato, it was too dark to see much color or detail. It did look like the demon lord, though. There were about a dozen medium-size lackeys roaming around nearby. I saw a few in the passage, too.”
According to my map, the lackeys were around level 30.
“Got it. Let’s see…”
Hayato looked at each of the scouting party members in turn.
He was probably checking their levels and skills.
There were twenty members in total; two had levels in the 40s, while the rest were all in the 30s.
“Let’s just handle this on our…”
“Sir Hero! I insist upon coming with you!”
The black knight stepped into the hero’s path before he could try to go in with his party alone.
“All right…” Hayato cast a glance at me.
“Since it sounds like there are a lot of enemies, allow us to join you as well,” I volunteered.
Although the hero didn’t seem to want to put us in danger, I thought it might be best if we took on the weaker lackeys so that Hayato could focus on the demon-possessed Sandstorm Soldier. My girls all seemed raring for a fight anyway.
“But…”
“We’ll be perfectly fine, Sir Hero. If it seems as if we might not be helpful, I promise to withdraw right away.”
“All right. I trust you, honey, Satou.”
Arisa’s smooth reassurance convinced the reluctant Hayato to let us come along.
Once everyone used various Support Magics on each other and got fully prepared, we entered the Innermost Chamber.
“Welcome, indeeeed.”
A large Sandstorm Soldier that looked like a cross between a human and a snake greeted us with a sinister smile.
As it spoke, the pitch-dark room suddenly lit up like a stage.
“So much for a surprise attack…”
I didn’t feel the same kind of intense pressure from it as from the previous greater demons I’d encountered, even though it was roughly the same level. It was probably just an intermediate demon that had gotten a higher level from the Sandstorm Soldier he was possessing.
“…Satou, those are all fakes,” Hayato whispered to me. “See how the skin and horns under the sand are all green or yellow? The real one would be purple there.”
Well, that made it easy to distinguish.
Hayato was probably telling me this so we could tell the difference in case we ran into one on our own.
Between the color and the way it spoke, this thing must have been related to the green greater demon that tried to take over Labyrinth City before.
“Answer me this, demon! Where did that cowardly demon lord run off to?!”
I guess Hayato held off a preemptive magic strike so he could try to get information about the demon lord’s whereabouts.
“My, oh my. If it isn’t the hero himself, indeeeeed.”
The giant Sandstorm Soldier in the center took a step forward, sneering down at Hayato.
“However, did you survive the Great Evil God’s curse? Perhaps you went crying to that foolish Parion, indeeed?”
The demon didn’t seem like he was going to answer Hayato’s question.
“So that was the Evil God’s curse…” Loleiya chewed her lip in distress.
“Foolish, you say?! How dare you besmirch the name of the Holy Goddess Parion!”
The black knight bellowed with rage and charged forward.
The two high-level warriors he’d selected from his scouting party swiftly followed suit.
When we discussed the plan beforehand, we decided to wait to charge in until the rear guard wiped out the lackey monsters with massive magic. Obviously he’d forgotten all that immediately.
“That idiot…!”
Hayato clicked his tongue.
Thanks to his absurdly high physical prowess, the black knight was already within the range of the Area-Effect Magic.
“Well, we can’t just let him die. Change of plans. We’re going in!”
Hayato ran forward, with Rusus and Fifi close at his side.
“I shall fight the hero myself, indeed. The rest of you deal with these nobodies, indeeeed.”
On the demon’s orders, the midsize Sandstorm Soldiers all thronged toward us.
Princess Mariest and Miss Ringrande canceled out the spell they had been chanting and began a new chant instead.
“Master?”
Liza looked like she was dying to join in, as did Tama and Pochi.
“Let’s take care of these underlings, shall we?”
“Understood!”
“Aye-aye, siiir?”
“Roger, sir.”
“Yes, Master. You sand-covered brutes! You ought to bathe once in a while, I suggest!”
The beastfolk girls and Nana met the charging Sandstorm Soldiers head-on.
“I suppose we’ll support the others from here, then.”
“Arrows and Wind Magic don’t work on those things,” Weeyari the archer advised Arisa. “Fire and Earth Magic are less effective, too. I recommend Water or Explosion Magic.”
She probably took it upon herself to explain, since Ringrande and Mariest were occupied with chanting.
“Otherwise, you can try and target the faint point of light underneath the sand…”
Weeyari drew her magic bow and aimed at one of the midsize Sandstorm Soldiers.
“…to shoot out their magic core.”
She fired three arrows in rapid succession, which left trails of red light as they were sucked into the Sandstorm Soldier’s chest, perfectly piercing its core.
“That was lucky. Normally it takes a few tries.”
According to my AR display, the sand-like exterior of the Sandstorm Soldiers was a sort of barrier. It was possible to get a critical hit by aiming for the small gaps in the barrier.
“… Quick Burst Haretsu!”
“… Piercing Bolt Eikan Inazuma!”
Miss Ringrande’s Explosion Magic and Mariest’s Lightning Magic burst out and destroyed two more midsize Sandstorm Soldiers. The Lightning Magic bursts seemed to meet with more resistance, almost as if they were grounded.
“… Splash Needle Suikenzan.”
“… Blast Bomb Gouhibaku!”
Not to be outdone, Mia’s Water Magic and Arisa’s explosive Fire Magic took out a few other Sandstorm Soldiers.
“Wow, I’m impressed.”
“Heh-heh, we didn’t get to be mithril explorers by accident!”
Arisa grinned back at Ringrande.
“…Since intermediate-level magic is enough to destroy them, mages have an advantage at destroying the attendant monsters.”
Weeyari grumbled, looking a little displeased.
“Want to try?”
“Yes, I’ll snipe one, too!”
Lulu readied her sniper-style Fire Rod rifle and fired three shots in rapid succession.
Each of them hit their mark, and three of the Sandstorm Soldiers fell, their cores destroyed.
“I did it!”
“How…?!”
Lulu’s earnest excitement struck a sharp contrast to Weeyari’s near-horrified shock.
Evidently Lulu’s skills were exceptional, even to an archer on her highly advanced level.
I slipped in a few shots among the scouting party members who were using Fire and Thunder Rods, making sure the Sandstorm Soldiers didn’t converge too much on Nana. Since she was wearing her public-friendly armor instead of the usual Fortress-equipped golden armor, I wanted to be extra careful.
Pochi used her small shield to serve as a secondary tank, while Tama parried attacks with her twin blades, protecting Nana on either side so she wouldn’t get surrounded.
Then Liza wove her way through the chaos over to the three, destroying Sandstorm Soldier cores with sharp, precise spear strikes.
Past them, however, one of the black knight’s chosen warriors was sent flying from where the hero’s party was engaged in the main battle, blood flying everywhere. His leg was at an unnatural angle, and several of his ribs were broken so badly that they jutted out of his chest.
“Affection Heal!”
Immediately, Loleiya cast an advanced Holy Magic healing spell on him from a distance.
Light surrounded the warrior, and his wounds began to heal in the blink of an eye. It was on par with a high-quality potion—even better, since the ribs also righted themselves to heal in the proper position, something no potion was likely to achieve.
Several of the scouting party members ran to the warrior and carried him to safety.
“Raaaaah!”
The black knight roared out a battle cry as he blocked the demonic Sandstorm Soldier’s attack with his blacksteel shield.
He seemed to be holding his own quite well, despite the considerable level gap.
“Saga Empire sword style—‘Rose-Briar Enclosure’!”
The black knight used some kind of special attack.
On closer inspection, I supposed the red traces left by his Magic Sword bore a vague resemblance to rose petals. It was a bit of a stretch, though.
“Don’t be reckless, Ryukken!”
“Yeah, leave the attacks to us, will ya?!”
Rusus attacked the demon-monster with her dual-wielded broadswords, and Fifi with an unusually shaped battle-ax.
Their regular attacks did just as much damage as the black knight’s special attack, possibly due to a difference in weapon abilities.
“Harrumph! ‘Rose-Briar Enclosure’ is but an opening act. Now the real show begins! ‘Death-Rose G’—agh!”
The demonic Sandstorm Soldier struck in the middle of his dramatic motion, sending him flying just like the warrior from before. The other warrior who was fighting at his side was knocked along with him.
“That’s what you get for standing still without knocking your opponent off-balance first.”
“Yeah, what an idiot…”
While Rusus rolled her eyes, Seina managed to fling a magi bomb at the demon Sandstorm Soldier’s feet, then lit it with a short Fire Rod.
“Now!”
While the demon was briefly distracted by the bomb, Hayato struck its upper body with a powerful “Shield Bash,” knocking it off-balance.
“Raaaaah! ‘Twinblade Dance’!”
“Ha-haaah! ‘Bradley Buster’!”
Immediately, Rusus and Fifi swept in and struck the demon Sandstorm Soldier on either side with their special attacks.
“<Sing,> Arondight!”
Hayato the Hero used his Holy Sword’s scripture incantation, then amplified it with his Unique Skill Unstoppable Strike.
As the demonic monster managed to swing a kick from its unnatural position, Hayato sliced its leg clean off, then used his Holy Shield enhanced with the power of his Unique Skill Immovable Shield to block an attack on his blind spot from the monster’s whiplike tail.
The end of the possessed Sandstorm Soldier’s tail was sharp like a spearhead, not curved like that of a scorpion.
It looked like it could easily skewer anyone carelessly caught in its path.
“I am not done yet, indeeeeeed!”
Sensing its defeat drawing near, the demon made a foothold in midair and went for a desperate last-ditch charge attack. This thing was pretty stubborn.
But clearly, Hayato was expecting this attack, too. He lowered his stance and drew back his sword, preparing to counter the charge.
“‘Shining Blade’!”
A brilliant blue light arced through the air, slicing the charging demon Sandstorm Soldier clean in two.
“INDEEEEEEEED!”
With a rather peculiar dying scream, the Sandstorm Soldier turned into sand and crumbled to the ground.
Not good.
I spotted a black shadow in the sand. The demon had separated himself from the monster.
Hayato noticed the shadow and readied his sword.
But then, he relaxed and lowered it without ever swinging it down, because…
“Shiga Kingdom sword style—secret technique ‘Cherry Blossom Flash’!”
A clear voice rang out, and a gust of wind appeared along with a beautiful woman—Miss Ringrande, who’d effortlessly sliced the demon in half.
“Spellblade” fragments that looked like cherry blossom petals scattered like a special effect, and the demon was reduced to black dust.
No matter how much I practice my imitation version of “Cherry Blossom Flash,” I can never get the effects to look so fleeting and beautiful.
“Looks like they’re done over there, too.”
Arisa slumped onto me.
“Mmm, tired.”
Mia leaned her weight on me as well.
It looked like our battle was done here, too, though the beastfolk girls had dominated most of it.
“Loleiya, would you mind healing Ryukken?”
“Very well. Miss Mia, can you heal Hayato and the others for me, please?”
“Mmm, got it.”
Mia nodded, pulling herself up from my side.
“I wasn’t expecting the enemy to self-destruct like that. We made some careless mistakes of our own, though.”
“Yes, sir. Pochi forgot to activate her shield’s ‘burrier,’ sir.”
“Confirmed. I was too slow in using a ‘Shield Bash’ against the aforementioned self-destructing enemy, I regret.”
“Don’t worry, be happyyy?”
The beastfolk girls and Nana were already discussing what they could have done differently.
Tama, who’d managed to escape completely unharmed, was comforting the other three.
If they were getting injured against enemies with levels in the 30s, even if it was only light scratches, then it would be much too dangerous to let them fight a demon lord.
I’d have to create new public-use armor for them as soon as possible.
First, I decided to see if there was any way I could create armor on par with their golden armor, that still looked the same as what they were wearing now.
I could reuse the magic circuits and any devices that were installed in dedicated subspaces, so hopefully it wouldn’t take that long to make.
Even if I had to cut down on sleep for a while, it was worth it to ensure my friends’ safety.
Once Hayato was healed, he spoke to Princess Mariest.
“You finished off those Sandstorm Soldier lackeys pretty fast, huh?”
“Only thanks to these girls.”
“Gotcha. I guess they’re as strong as their levels imply, even if they don’t look it.”
Hayato looked at Nana and the beastfolk girls.
I couldn’t blame him. Aside from Liza, who had the look of a true warrior, the others all looked like gentle young girls and adorable kids.
“They’re even stronger than that. This girl’s accuracy is even higher than mine.”
Weeyari planted a hand on Lulu’s shoulder as she boasted about her to Hayato.
“Higher than yours, when people call you the next Holy Bow Master?”
“N-not at all! I’m still nowhere near as good as Master.”
“Don’t be modest. You’re a prodigy, Lulu. The problem is your weapon…”
Weeyari took Lulu’s sniping Fire Rod rifle and turned it over in her hands.
“…This is a good gun. But you must be reaching a point where it’s not strong enough for you. Unlike arrows, the strength of a bullet is determined by the quality of the weapon. This wouldn’t work well on enemies that are level forty or more. Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re exactly right.” Lulu nodded meekly.
For enemies higher than level 40, she usually used a Fireburst Gun or laser gun.
“If you’re looking for more power, I’d recommend a Magic Bow…” Weeyari took one of Lulu’s delicate hands in hers, then shook her head. “…but I don’t think you’d have much luck trying to switch weapons now.”
“Yes, I’m afraid I was never very good with a bow.”
Lulu had been using Magic Guns from the beginning.
“Hayato, can I have the Gold Thunder Fox Gun back from your Inventory?”
“The Gold Thunder what now? Oh, right, the one you said was too inaccurate to use.”
Hayato took out a long, flintlock-style gun. The white barrel and base were engraved with gold relief carvings styled after foxes and lightning bolts. It was definitely a Magic Gun.
“Lulu, try shooting with this.”
Weeyari pointed at a rock some two hundred feet away, handing Lulu the Gold Thunder Fox Gun.
“Aim…and fire!”
When Lulu pulled the trigger, purple lightning crackled along the gun, unleashing a crackling thunder shot toward the target rock.
It looked like it was going to hit its mark at first, only to change its trajectory at the last moment, veering off to the side and avoiding the target entirely.
“Oh dear, I missed. May I try a few more times?”
“That’s fine. Just be careful—it uses a lot of mana.”
Lulu fired a second and third shot, but the thunder shots kept veering off course as if at random, missing both times.
Lulu kept going, looking deep in thought.
“It’s so inaccurate that you can’t really use it against small targets. It’s decent against a big target like a giant beast or a building, though.”
“…I see.” Lulu stopped shooting.
“Yeah, so keep using the same gun against small targets. For big targets, you can use that if—”
Weeyari seemed to think that Lulu had given up on hitting the target. However, I could tell from the glittering look in her eye that she’d figured something out.
“Aim, and…fire.”
“…Huh?”
“I hit it! Here, I’ll keep going!”
Lulu hit the rock with a thunder shot from the Gold Thunder Fox Gun, then carried on destroying more boulders with it.
Judging by the way she was carefully moving the muzzle each time, this was no fluke.
“H-how did you hit those?”
“I’m sorry? Um, by aiming at them…?”
Weeyari grabbed Lulu by the shoulders insistently. “Aiming alone isn’t enough to hit anything with that gun! It’s got a mind of its own.”
“I’m not sure how else to explain…”
Lulu shot me a distressed look, so I stepped in to rescue her.
“Please calm down, Miss Weeyari. Lulu, do you think you could explain how you aimed, exactly?”
“Yes, Master. I realized the thunder shots are easily affected by the flow of air.”
“Hang on. I can read the wind, too. But that gun changes trajectory even when there’s no wind at all.”
“Yes, you’re right. So I looked more closely. Then I realized it was affected by changes in the density or temperature of the air, too.”
“The density and temperature of the air…?”
Weeyari looked completely stunned.
I guess super-sniper Lulu can see things the rest of us can’t.
“You can see all that?”
“It’s just like reading the wind. You can tell from the slight tremors in the air.”
No, I don’t think that’s…oh.
Just as I was about to dismiss the idea as impossible, I realized I could actually see what she was talking about if I focused enough.
It was probably thanks to the “Wind Reading” skill. Still, the fact that Lulu was able to see that with the naked eye even though she didn’t have the skill could only mean that she really did have a natural talent for sniping.
“Could I borrow that for a moment?”
Once Weeyari gave permission, I tried shooting the Gold Thunder Fox Gun myself.
After missing the first two or three shots, I started to get the hang of it. After that, I was able to hit targets, too, though not as smoothly as Lulu. It was at least as strong as the Fireburst Gun, though it was a lot tougher to use.
“Not you too, Satou… I’m starting to lose all my confidence.”
“Well, Master is my shooting teacher, after all.”
Weeyari’s shoulders slumped on hearing Lulu’s odd attempt at reassurance. Then, with a smile that had a whiff of resignation, she turned to Hayato, who was watching nearby.
“I think these two might be freaks of nature.”
Hey, that’s rude.
“Don’t say that, Wee.”
“Ignore me, I was just complaining a little. More importantly, I want to give the Gold Thunder Fox Gun to Lulu. That’s okay, right, Hayato?”
Hayato nodded with a wide smile.
He seemed to be rather entertained by how things were playing out.
“Looks like it’s okay. Go ahead and take it. I’m sure it’ll be of use to you.”
Taken aback by the sudden offer, Lulu looked to me for help again. Like Hayato, I nodded. I did want to take a look at the gun’s inner workings later, however.
“I’ve finished healing Sir Ryukken. He lost a great deal of blood, so he’ll need to rest for a while.”
“What about the two samurai?”
“Rudoruu hasn’t regained consciousness yet. Kwandoh only had bruises, though, so he can return to battle anytime.”
Pochi and Tama scurried over to Hayato and Loleiya as they conversed, gazing up at them with eager curiosity.
“What is it?”
“We heard the word ‘samurai,’ sir.”
“Tell us mooore?”
“Oh, is that all?” Loleiya the priestess brought over the less injured of the two warriors—who turned out to be Saga Empire samurai—and introduced him to the pair.
“Are you interested in samurai, young ones?”
“Aye.”
“We learned lots from Mr. Kajiro, sir.”
“Kajiro… I’ve heard that name before. Yes, I believe he was a disciple of the Zi-Gain style, like Rudoruu? At any rate, I am Kwandoh, a humble master of the Sin Kaage style.”
Kwandoh, evidently good with children, made fast friends with Tama and Pochi.
“Seina, how skilled is that cat-eared girl?” Hayato asked his scout.
“She’s fast on her feet like Rusus, and just about as good as me at finding traps, for sure.”
“Her evasion skills are excellent, too,” Ringrande added. “I’d imagine she would fare at least as well as me in close combat, if not even better.”
“If she’s got close-combat skills like yours… And what about the orangescale girl?”
“Oh, she’s extraordinary. I’d add her to our party today if I could. She might even be on par with Sir Juleburg.”
“Juleburg—as in ‘the Unstoppable,’ first seat of the Shiga Eight?!”
“You don’t believe me?”
“No, I have full faith in your judgment, Rin.”
“Well, in that case, let me add that Nana—the one with the shield—is as sturdy as the Saga Empire imperial guards or Sir Reilus from the Shiga Eight. Your little ‘honey’ has enough battle magic capability to be a match for me or Mari. And the elf child seemed to be hiding her true capabilities, but I can tell she’s got a gift for both offense and healing.”
I definitely felt proud hearing my companions being praised so frankly.
“I guess they can handle it, then… Hey, Satou?”
Hayato called me over.
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“I see now how strong you lot really are. I’d like to ask you to search a Den of Evil separately. Of course, we’ll send two Saga Empire survey teams with you, as well as a supply squad. Are you up for it?”
“Yes, you can count on us. We can handle searching on our own, though. Mia’s magic is excellent for detection.”
“Please take them along anyway. We know full well how strong you are, but there are a lot of troublemakers who won’t believe it without a third party to confirm your findings,” Princess Mariest said. “You saw that meeting, didn’t you?”
I could hardly argue with that logic.
Once the unconscious warrior woke up, and the black knight was at least able to walk, we decided to leave this Den of Evil.
While the demon lord wasn’t in the Innermost Chamber, the black knight and the rest of his Saga Empire scouting party were stuck continuing to investigate this Den of Evil as punishment for trying to get ahead of everyone else. Naturally, this wouldn’t start until after the next squad arrived.
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