Chapter 2:
Rescuing Garrus
WE REACHED BARON ALLSAND’S former mansion and found it in a state of disrepair. Weeds sprouted all over the front lawn, while other parts had dried up after a month of neglect. Vines reached over the front gates, highlighting the dirtiness of the walls, and the flowers in the garden were sad and wilted. The situation was the same on the inside.
Count Olmes’ son was undergoing treatment for his illness and had not returned to his mansion. At least, that was the official story. The real story was that he offended a member of the royal family after losing Essence of Falsehood, and the nobles and syndicates in the capital all knew it.
“The Thieves’ Guild spread that rumor, in any case.”
The Olmeses had played a lot of thieves in their time; the guild had been waiting to spread malicious information about them.
“Apparently, Baron Allsand is in exile in a quiet corner of the country.”
“Huh.”
Fran didn’t look interested in the least. We were to blame for what happened to the baron, but then again, he had it coming. Anyway, we had more important things to think about right now—like how to get inside that underground chamber.
Face stopped at a corner of the garden and tapped the ground with his foot.
“It’s right below us.”
“But we have no way of getting in,” Eiworth said. “And no clues either, I take it?”
“No,” Face said. “Our rat user couldn’t find the path in either. Apparently, the rats got in through some tiny crack in the walls.”
“I’ve never met this rat user. What do they do?”
“As I remember it—”
The rat user could sense the location of rats, peek through their memories, and read their surface-level thoughts. However, the rats lacked ample intelligence, so it was impossible to ask them detailed questions.
“Hmph,” said Eiworth. “Sounds useless. I could blow through the ground here with ease. A single spell should do it.”
“I admire your enthusiasm,” said Face. “But you really shouldn’t. You might kill Garrus in the process.”
“Fair point. This is quite the troublesome predicament.”
We needed to find a solution before Eiworth did something ridiculous.
The room beneath us is big. I’m sensing signs of life too…and there’s the disgusting aura of Fanatix replicas again.
My senses were attuned to it now.
Hm.
However, I couldn’t tell how many there were. Certainly not a hundred. I’d guess somewhere between ten and twenty at least. Maybe I could get a better idea if we got closer.
Should we use a Land spell to tunnel through the ground? I could teleport us inside, but going in blind to fight an untold number of fanatics was too dangerous. Especially when Fran was exhausted. Only her sheer determination to save Garrus and Velmeria kept her on her feet. Under any other circumstances, she should still be resting. If at all possible, we should avoid intense fighting and rescue Garrus stealthily.
What if I teleported myself in first and culled the enemy ranks some?
As I pondered my options, Eiworth started casting a spell. The mana he was gathering was immense.
“Master Eiworth, what are you doing?!” Face shouted in surprise.
But Eiworth continued casting. By the time he was finished, there was a gigantic hole in the garden.
“They’re going to notice us if we’re not careful!”
“We can’t exactly sneak into this place, can we?” said Eiworth. “Might as well get a look at this chamber.”
“I thought this was going to be a stealth operation.”
Eiworth shrugged nonchalantly. “It could still be, but we’ll fight if we have to.”
This guy was just doing whatever he pleased!
I peeked into the hole he’d made. It was pretty deep, with a faint glow shining at the bottom. It must’ve gone all the way down to the secret chamber. I had considered using Land Magic too, but nothing on this scale! The enemy would definitely spot us now!
“Looks like the spell reached our destination,” said Eiworth. “There was an anti-magic barrier around it, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”
He seemed annoyingly calm as he threw something into the hole. Several somethings, in fact. They looked like bottles, but I couldn’t be sure.
“What were those?” Fran asked, speaking for the first time since Eiworth opened the hole.
“Some special chemicals. They turn into gas and spread immediately.”
Chemicals? Like poison chemicals? But what if Garrus was down there?!
Fran glared at Eiworth. “Garrus could be down there!”
Eiworth chuckled. “Calm down. The chemicals won’t kill anyone. One can paralyze people by causing severe pain on the skin, another corrodes metal, and the last one stimulates the mana core of living things to make them rapidly lose power.”
“But…”
“The first potion causes paralysis and no more. It doesn’t physical harm anyone. At most, it numbs your limbs for a short time. You can’t die from mana exhaustion, and metal corrosion has no effect on humans. And besides, dwarves are naturally resistant to such concoctions. However, the guards with swords in their backs? They’ll definitely be affected.”
The first two concoctions didn’t count as magic potions, even if magic was involved in their production. There was a high chance the fanatics couldn’t nullify their effects. The mana sap potion was magic, but Eiworth had included it for a reason.
“To completely defend against these potions, they will need to use Unleash Potential. That will exhaust our enemies before we have to fight them,” Eiworth explained as we made our way to the chamber.
As egotistical as he was, the old man was first-class. Fran understood that, but she was still glaring at him. Eiworth didn’t seem to care.
What’s done is done. We should focus on our mission instead of being angry at him.
Hm…
Don’t let your guard down. There’s a chance we might have to go up against several squads of fanatics!
“Hm!”
Several minutes later, Fran and the others were inside the mansion, searching for a passage to the underground chamber. Technically we didn’t need one, since we had Land spells and teleportation on our side, but Face said it was best to look for a proper way in regardless.
Fran and I used our Sensory and Exploration Skills to look for secret doors, but they turned up nothing. Maybe the entrance was somewhere outside the building? We turned back toward the gardens and sensed a powerful mana moving. It was a familiar signature now and, sure enough, by the time we came out of the building, Eiworth had dug up another hole.
“Eiworth!”
He looked genuinely puzzled at Fran’s anger. “What is it, girl?”
“I told you not to do anything reckless,” said Fran.
“Right, now that you mention it, you did say that before going inside. But I wasn’t paying attention, so I forgot.”
“Grrr…!”
Fran had warned him not to do anything rash, and Essence of Falsehood hadn’t triggered, so he at least had been telling the truth then. Apparently, he had genuinely forgotten about the promise he made before they split up to investigate. I hadn’t expected him to be this free-spirited…
“But never mind that,” he said. “Let’s get going. And don’t worry about the potions—they should’ve expired by now.”
Eiworth lifted his body with a Wind spell and headed straight down the hole.
“Hey!”
“Master Eiworth, no!”
But the old man couldn’t resist the call of his own curiosity.
We’re going after him, Teacher!
Right!
I thought about letting Eiworth handle the rest, but that could leave Garrus in genuine danger. Who knew if Eiworth cared about anyone’s safety—after all, he threw poison bombs down the hole. He hadn’t even hesitated. If worse came to worst, he could even end up experimenting on Garrus.
“Eiworth, wait!”
“W-wait for me!” Face yelped.
Face struggled to keep up as Fran followed Eiworth down the hole. It was too deep for an ordinary adventurer to just hop down. Considering what we might be up against, perhaps it was best to leave Face behind.
Fran plummeted down the hole, killing her momentum with a last second Air Hop. The only thing left of Face were the echoes of his voice still coming from above. Fran set up a wind barrier in case Eiworth’s potions were still in the air, but we were in the clear. The old man was right—his potions had expired.
“Man-made,” Fran remarked.
Yeah, we’re definitely in the secret chamber now.
It looked like we were inside a fortress. I didn’t see Eiworth, so he must’ve gone on ahead.
Careful. You don’t know where they’re going to strike from.
“Hm.”
We decided to follow Eiworth’s trail for now, scanning the area as we ran down the passageway. I couldn’t detect any signs of life, but I could feel the faint presence of the Fanatix replicas. They must’ve been concealing themselves after Eiworth’s dynamic entry. We finally caught up to him twenty meters down the passageway, where we found him standing in a large hall.
“What are you doing?” Fran asked.
“You made it. Have a look at this.”
“Stairs?”
A spiral staircase led upwards from just ahead of us. I thought that it must connect this place to the outside world, but the stairs instead led straight up into the ceiling. Had they buried the staircase to hide this whole underground complex? No. When Eiworth charged the staircase with mana, it glowed.
“I knew it,” he said. “Manatek.”
Eiworth poured more mana into the staircase, and it glowed brighter where it touched the ceiling. Apparently, when it was fully charged, the staircase would open. That’s why we couldn’t find the entrance from above—someone needed to open the way from the inside. That would drastically reduce the risk of attack… But it wasn’t like that mattered when faced against a battering ram like Eiworth.
“We’ll investigate this later,” he said. “Let’s head over there.”
“Hm…”
Fran nodded, although she wasn’t completely on board. She didn’t approve of Eiworth’s reckless behavior, but she had to acknowledge the old man’s knowledge of manatek. For now, she kept her complaints to herself and followed.
That’s when I noticed the mana signatures ahead.
Fran! I’m detecting Fanatix replicas on the other side of that door. I think there’s two of them!
Hm? Got it!
Fran stopped in front of the door. She hadn’t noticed them herself, but then again, I was picking up on their disgusting aura rather than their mana.
“Eiworth.”
“What is it? Did you sense something?”
“Hm.”
Eiworth stopped and looked around. He still thought like an A-Rank.
“It’s on the other side of that door,” Fran said.
“Oh?”
Fran pointed to one of the doors in the hallway. Eiworth didn’t sense anything, but he didn’t let his guard down. He realized that her senses were sharper than his.
“The enemy?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but there’s two of them.”
“I genuinely cannot tell,” Eiworth mused. “You take point.”
“Hm!”
He stepped back, and Fran kicked the door down. I already had a plan: the first guy would get hit with a Pressurized Quickdraw! Then we’d back off and launch a Telekinetic Catapult, using Eiworth as a shield if need be. The old mage should buy us enough time.
Fran charged into the room, sword drawn, prepared for anything. In so doing, she disturbed a black powder that had settled over everything. This was probably the armory. Eiworth’s metal corroder must have rusted everything away, leaving nothing but black dust behind. The only things remaining were leather armor and shields, along with straps that had once been wrapped around sword hilts.
There were two men inside, both with Fanatix replicas in their backs, but I didn’t get the chance to carry out Plan Eiworth Shield. By the time we stepped inside, they were already done for.
Fran approached the fallen men carefully. “Hm?”
They look dead…
Fran cut the swords out of their backs, but the soldiers remained motionless. Still, Cannibalize triggered, so they were definitely Fanatix replicas. Behind us, Eiworth entered the room.
“They’re dead,” he confirmed, disappointed.
Identify revealed that their life and mana were completely drained. Eiworth’s potion must have been pretty effective. I didn’t know whether those potions had done this on their own, or whether the Fanatix replicas had used all their mana trying to cancel out the effects. Either way, these guys were dry.
Perhaps they used Unleash Potential to try and combat the paralysis potion. Or maybe they couldn’t use their mana nullifying abilities when Unleash Potential was activated. In any case, they were out of mana and so they couldn’t regenerate their health. On top of that, the swords were weak—probably because they couldn’t draw enough mana from their hosts.
“I was expecting them to be exhausted, but our enemies are bigger fools than I thought,” said Eiworth, talking to himself as he inspected the bodies. “I suppose their decision-making skills went out the window when they were mind-controlled. Perhaps the swords show their powers under special circumstances? Aaah, but…”
The old man was lost in thought, but this was not the time for scientific inquiry.
Fran silently stored the bodies away.
“What are you doing?!” Eiworth said.
“We have to go.”
He clicked his tongue. “Fine. But I’ll have to look at those bodies later.”
“……”
“Did you hear me, girl? I said I want to look at those bodies.”
“……”
“What’s gotten into you?”
Fran ignored him. She had decided that talking to Eiworth was a pain in the rear. He wasn’t a good listener, and yet here he was, getting angry at Fran for ignoring him. The old mage was a class act.
“Did you hear me?” he asked. “I want to dissect those bodies.”
“……”
“Why won’t you say anything?!”
When Fran realized that he wasn’t going to shut up about it, she gave him one of the bodies. I could almost feel her saying, “If you want it so much, fine.” But Eiworth accepted it happily—he snatched the body out of the air as we ran and stowed it in his item pouch. He reminded me of a boy who had caught a rare bug. How revolting.
Eiworth chortled. “An excellent specimen. This could advance my research.”
“……”
I had to give props to him for being able to annoy Fran like that.
We kept running until our surroundings finally started to brighten. There was another hall at the end of the passage, and I could sense more Fanatix replicas down there. The tragic scene we encountered in the armory was probably waiting for us there too.
The place is a pile of corpses.
“All dead?”
No. There are some still kicking.
I detected life signs from several of them.
“More of them, girl?” Eiworth asked.
“A few. Still alive.”
“Is that so?”
Eiworth’s eyes gleamed darkly. He was itching to get a close look at a live specimen.
Don’t let your guard down.
Hm!
We entered a dimly lit hall. I was expecting a legion of fanatics, but there were roughly twenty of them, already dead. Only four were left standing. The survivors either had Poison Resistance or Wind Magic to defend themselves against the potions, but now they were almost out of mana and significantly weakened. This was our chance.
Go for it, Fran!
“Hm!”
Almost before I finished directing her, Fran launched me at our enemies. That’s my Fran! Even when she was exhausted, she still made perfect decisions.
I accelerated using Telekinetic Catapult and smashed into the head of the woman in front, also targeting the Fanatix replica in her back.
Three left! I shouted.
Fran pulled me back to her hand using my strap. One tug was all it took.
Nice! Just as planned!
“Hm!”
Usually, I would just fly back to her, but my mana was disabled so I made sure to extend my strap beforehand. Things were going even better than expected.
Again, Teacher.
You got it!
“Haaaa!”
The hall was big, and our enemies’ mana nullification hadn’t reached the entrance yet. This gave us another chance at using Telekinetic Catapult. A fanatic soldier charged at Fran, and she responded by blowing his head off. It was almost a perfect repeat of what had just happened. Fran yanked my strap, and I returned to her side.
“Hey. Leave one for me,” Eiworth butted in, just as we were about to eliminate the rest.
“Hrm.”
I thought about ignoring him, but if we kept slighting him, then Eiworth might turn against us. No good could come out of that. Maybe we should let him do as he pleased for a bit. Besides, another fanatic was fast approaching, and we needed to make some space before we could use another Telekinetic Catapult.
Well, I guess we’ll take this one and let the last one come after— I mean, let Eiworth handle the last one.
“Hm. Fine.”
Fran nodded and attacked the neck of the charging dwarf fanatic. The strike was supposed to slice his head clean off, but the dwarf specialized in defense. Fran’s sword struck a powerful barrier around his neck and bounced off. However, the dwarf wasn’t very good at attacking, and Fran easily avoided his greatsword. Perhaps we should just let Unleash Potential run its course.
“I see the Black Lightning Princess doesn’t need backup,” Eiworth scoffed. “I’ll take this one then.”
He turned toward the last big man, more motivated now than ever.
“First, let’s see how durable you are. Poison Fog.”
“…”
“Ooh! Did you nullify my mana? I can’t believe you dispersed a magically produced fog! Very interesting.”
The old mage seemed pleased at how badly his fight was going. I was a bit worried for him. Mages couldn’t do much once you took their mana out of the equation. Still, he carried on fighting the man joyfully, taking several bottles out from his robe and throwing them at his opponent. The large man exploded into flames.
“…!”
Fran jumped away and covered her ears in surprise. But even after that explosion, the big man was still standing and only slightly singed.
“I see,” said Eiworth, laughing despite interrupting Fran’s fight. “You cannot disrupt chemically induced phenomena because they aren’t created by mana.”
He cast another spell to freeze the surrounding area, but again, the fanatic soldier disrupted it.
“Uh-huh.”
Eiworth nodded and weaved through the enemy’s attacks, casting more spells. He threw multiple bottles this time, but the effect was the same. Their magical contents were nullified, and the only damage the enemy took was from breaking glass. Eiworth’s efforts seemed to be for naught, but you wouldn’t know it by the look on his face.
“Aaah, I see,” he observed out loud, deeply interested. “So you can’t specifically target the person whose mana you wish to nullify. Is there an area of effect then? You certainly didn’t nullify my mana when I cast spells from a distance. The potions are little more than water now, and there are effects which remain unobserved. Which means…”
In just a few moments, Eiworth had managed to learn much more about the enemy’s mana nullification powers. As much as I hated to admit it, his perception was top-notch. Still, Eiworth lacked a way to defeat his opponent. With both his mana and his potions rendered ineffective, he couldn’t finish the fanatic off.
Even so, Eiworth avoided the big man’s attacks easily, so the old man wasn’t completely inept at melee range. He had several Combat and Evasion Skills, and while his stats might not be what they used to, his experience more than made up for it.
Eiworth continued to avoid the fanatic’s attacks, taking out five more bottles. He broke them at his feet, releasing the gas within. I thought the smoke would cover them both, but it immediately dispersed. The potions were magical. The old man must be desperate if he was willing to use an attack that could harm him too, but Eiworth hadn’t stopped smiling. If anything, he was overjoyed. Still avoiding his enemy’s attacks, Eiworth started casting a spell, showing an immense focus. He raised his hand against his assailant with a smile on his face.
“Eternal Coffin.”
“……”
What happened next was beyond our imaginations.
Huh?
“Hm? What happened?”
Fran and I were perplexed. Eiworth’s spell took effect, and the man froze.
Wait, I get it.
Eiworth had used magic potions—forcing his enemy to use up the last of his mana nullification ability. Once it was exhausted, Eiworth simply hit him with a spell.
Fran, I think I’ve figured out an easy way to beat these guys.
Really?
Yeah. Hit them with Pressurized Quickdraw immediately after I use magic.
Got it.
I knew that the fanatics used their own magic to nullify mana, but I hadn’t realized that I could use that to our advantage. That one was on me.
All right, let’s go! Have fun nullifying these!
I fired off ten spells. As expected, all of them were nullified.
“Haaa!”
But immediately afterward, Fran launched a Pressurized Quickdraw at the dwarf’s head, lopping it off and breaking the Fanatix replica in his back. It was all so simple. With my mana reserves, I could exhaust their mana nullification ability in a snap. That wouldn’t work against a whole squad of fanatics, but it would help in individual encounters. Exhaust the enemy’s mana, prevent them from buffing and healing themselves, and then finish them off.
Ugh, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. Oh well, I can mope about being dumb later. Let’s look for Garrus.
“Hm.”
“You don’t mind me taking this one, do you?” Eiworth asked, pointing to the man encased in ice.
Fran remained silent, but he took her that as an endorsement. He stuffed the specimen into his item pouch.
Fran rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”
Soon, we found a giant opening, where a huge door clearly used to be. It must’ve been made out of metal because we saw remnants of it scattered nearby. Eiworth’s corrosive potion must have eaten through it. No matter how big or airtight it was, it didn’t stand a chance.
We stepped through the door and found a prison on the other side—thick with the stink of death and melancholy. Using necromancy here would resurrect one hell of a grudge.
The prison was laid out in a neat grid, and there was no one around except for one guard, dead on the floor. Fran ran to one of the cells.
“Garrus!”
We finally found who we were looking for. I did a quick scan and found that he was merely unconscious.
“Huh?”
Fran pulled on the iron bars, but they didn’t give. They seemed to be made of a special material since they’d resisted Eiworth’s corrosive chemicals.
“Must be magic alloy,” Eiworth said. “That potion doesn’t work very well on them.”
Fran took his advice and prepared an attack.
“Tsch!”
I cut right through the bars. Special alloy or no, they were no match for me now that there was nothing to hold my mana back.
Fran stepped inside and shook the unconscious dwarf. “Garrus, are you okay?”
“……”
There was no response. Even though Garrus was unconscious, he wasn’t looking good. His skin was cold and his heartbeat was too slow. He seemed to be at death’s door.
“Greater Heal! Garrus, can you hear me?”
No, he’s not waking up.
It was probably the drugs they were feeding him and not Eiworth’s potions. Probably.
Let’s get him out of here.
“Hm.”
Fran carried Garrus out of his cell. His dwarven body looked like it could crush the tiny catgirl, but Fran wasn’t fazed. His weight didn’t bother her, and I helped balance Garrus with Telekinesis.
Where’s Eiworth?
“Hm?”
We found him squatting in front of the cell, examining the body of the fanatic.
“Oho. So, this is where the sword connects to the spine. The blade is certainly lodged in there, yes. As for its durability…it’s nothing like your usual magic sword, I see. Is it because it was made specifically for this purpose? And what’s this spell here?”
Eiworth poured a strange liquid on the sword while continuing his inspection of the body. He then stabbed something into the fanatic’s eyeballs and drew blood from its neck.
“We’re heading back, Eiworth.”
“Oh, of course. There’s nothing left for us here, after all. Did you find your dwarf friend? Is he all right?”
“He’s not waking up.”
“Come, let me see him.”
Eiworth stored the corpse and Fran put Garrus down in front of him. She had hesitated at first, but in the end, she trusted his expertise.
“I see, I see…”
Eiworth inspected Garrus’ tongue and eyelids to check the flow of his mana.
“It’s the drugs,” he said. “The stress has taken a toll on his psyche and is now affecting his body.”
“Will he get better?” Fran asked.
“He’s had quite the heavy dose, but it could be worse. He’ll heal with time.”
Eiworth was telling the truth, and Fran sighed with relief.
“How do we cure him?”
“Powerful Recovery spells,” said Eiworth. “Or the alchemical equivalent. The drugs are powerful, but some medicines can heal its side effects. In fact, I can give you a hand. A drug-intoxicated dwarf is quite a rare specimen.”
And this was where we refused!
Eiworth had the look of a wolf staring at fresh meat. I was concerned for Garrus’ safety. He might not even come out in one piece!
“No thanks,” Fran said.
“Hunh. Are you sure?”
“Hm.”
“Come now, I can heal him here and now, if you’ll let me,” said Eiworth.
“We’ll manage.”
“Hrm…”
Fran had the same thought as me, but Eiworth just looked confused. Was he oblivious to what people thought of him?
What should we do now?
We needed to take Garrus somewhere safe to patch him up, but where?
Fran, let’s go to the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s not too far, and they can heal and protect him.
“Hm. We’re going to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
Eiworth nodded. “Yes, that’s a good choice. It’s not like you can hand him over to the Thieves’ Guild, after all.”
For once, we were in agreement. I thought for sure that Eiworth would insist we hand Garrus over to the Thieves’ Guild.
“Let’s drop off the dwarf quickly so we can head to the next battle,” said Eiworth. “I would like to observe these things in action.”
I guess he just wanted to sate his curiosity about the Fanatix replicas. If anything, I was surprised he didn’t just bolt off on his own. It seemed like that would be more his style. Still, the thought of leaving Eiworth alone scared me a bit. We should probably keep an eye on him.
“And an Evolved Black Cat,” he mused. “The rarest specimen of them all.”
Eiworth gave Fran the same look—like he’d spotted a worthy test subject.
Fran, don’t let your guard down around him.
Of course.
Fran wasn’t going to relax around Eiworth, so we should be okay. Her animal instincts probably registered his gaze on her.
We left the way we came in, through the giant hole in the ground, picked up Face, and headed for the Adventurer’s Guild. The city-wide tumult showed no signs of stopping. If anything, the chaos was spreading to the common and entertainment districts. Merchants and travelers were rushing to the city gates to escape.
“This looks bad.” Face said. “People are trying to get away, but they might end up adding to the chaos.”
He looked worried, and I didn’t blame him. Fights were breaking out all over the city, loud explosions rang out continually, and to top it all off, there was a mysterious light shining from the noble district. There was also an immense mana coming from the direction of the palace. It was almost on the level of Marquis Aschtner’s mana. Had the real Fanatix finally been unleashed?
Even with Face’s guidance, we couldn’t avoid running into more fanatics. Fortunately, they were easy to take out from a distance with a single Telekinetic Catapult. With their minds gone, they were barely even a threat.
“Let me have a turn!” Eiworth complained.
Fran groaned. “No one’s stopping you.”
She was definitely tired of the old man’s antics, but Eiworth didn’t seem to notice her ire. He jumped joyfully onto the frontlines.
“Ha ha! There are still things I wish to try.”
He was wearing an evil grin, a far cry from the stony look on his face when we first met him. Eiworth took out another potion, but instead of throwing it at the enemy, he took it himself. The potion probably powered him up because he instantly leapt into close combat.
“…”
“Aah, I see! So you can nullify all mana—be it potion, skill, or physical enhancements!”
“…”
“Let’s see how you handle this!”
Eiworth chucked another potion at the advancing fanatic, even while throwing his own fist at him. His timing was perfect. If the enemy dodged the potion, he would eat Eiworth’s fist. Break the potion bottle, and he’d have to nullify its effects, exhausting his mana. Either way, Eiworth won.
We watched as the fanatic swung at the potion and shattered it—drenching himself with its contents. It was little more than water at this point, but the effects would be fatal. The fanatic had exhausted his mana nullifying the potion, and Eiworth froze him immediately. In an instant, the fight came to a pitiful end.
He’s pretty good, said Fran.
Yeah. He has a lot of experience backing him up.
Hm. The only problem is there’s no telling what he’ll do.
Eiworth’s fighting style seemed to be a mixture of magic, close combat, and potions. He lacked any obvious weaknesses, and that would make him a threat if we ever had to fight him. Fran watched carefully, trying to figure out how to beat him, just in case he turned on us—and Eiworth’s lack of moral compass made that a frightening possibility.
We could probably deal with his spells and physique, I said. But we know nothing about potions…
They’re strong.
You can say that again.
As Fran considered her anti-Eiworth tactics, we reached the Adventurer’s Guild to find a war being waged in front of it. I guess that made sense, since the Adventurer’s Guild was one of the greatest threats to the marquis’ plan.
There were about fifty hostiles, including twenty soldiers with Fanatix replicas in their backs. There were ogre-like monsters with them too, standing two meters tall. Identifying one revealed that it was a Greater Flesh Golem, a necromantically formed creature made from the corpses of humans and monsters. It had low agility, but more than enough strength to make up for it. It was also very robust and could regenerate itself. With the mana-nullifying fanatics around, that was definitely a threat. If nothing else, they were giving the knights and adventurers hell.
There were about a hundred adventurers on the field—over a hundred and fifty including the ones that had been knocked out. Erianthe and Colbert were here too, but they were in a league of their own. Still, some of the other adventurers could keep up with them. In particular, I noticed the five insectoid halflings in matching armor. They were coordinating their attacks, so they must’ve been in the same party.
Must be the mercenaries Erianthe mentioned. Feeler and Shell, was it?
They certainly looked the part—with feelers coming out of their heads and parts of their body protected by shells. From what I could tell, there was a lobster, a grasshopper, a clam, a mayfly, and a bull ant. Of course, the mana nullification was keeping them from using their full powers, but they still fought like they could take down ten Greater Flesh Golems or more. Their fundamentals and experience were that good.
Teacher, over there.
Fran pointed at Stellia. She was surrounded by enemies.
We’ll regroup with Erianthe after we save her.
“Hm!”
I fired a volley of spells at the fanatics. Of course, the spells were all nullified, but they should have drained the fanatics of mana. Fran leapt into the fray and cut them all down. The other adventurers were having so much difficulty dispatching their own fanatics that they stared at her in shock. Especially since she did it all while carrying Garrus. He wasn’t that heavy, but the adventurers expected it to hinder her movement, at least. But Stellia only nodded.
“Nice going, Black Lightning! How’d you do that?”
Fran explained how to kill the fanatics, but Stellia looked concerned. Most people didn’t have an infinite supply of potions and couldn’t fire a volley of spells whenever they pleased.
“I suppose we could gather all the potions we can find,” Stellia said. “Still, that’s useful information. Now help us clear the road, would you?”
“Hm,” said Fran. “But what about the rest of the city?”
“Don’t you worry. The high ranks are taking care of it.”
It seemed like adventurers were already dispatched throughout the city.
“Is that Garrus over your shoulder?” Stellia asked.
“Hm. He’s still unconscious, though. Can you take care of him?”
“You got it. I won’t let those bastards lay a finger on him. You take care of everyone else though, got it?”
“Got it. I’ll take out the enemy.”
Fran handed Garrus over to Stellia and covered them until they were safely inside the guild. Then we got ready for battle. Eiworth had caught up to us too.
“The sooner we do this, the better,” he said. “Gods know how long those meat shields will last.”
You can’t just call those adventurers meat shields!
A number of them overheard his remark, but Erianthe soon called them off.
“Stop! This is no time for bickering!”
Erianthe must know all about Eiworth, both his powers and his personality. If anyone attacked him, they’d be done for before they knew what hit them. The adventurers glared daggers at Eiworth, but he ignored them—staring at the Fanatix replicas with deep interest instead.
“Save the meat golems for later. We need to thin out the swords first.”
“I know.”
Fran jumped into battle.
“Awaken.”
We didn’t know what to expect, so we saved Flashing Thunderclap for now. Not that we could use it, even if we needed to. Fran was still too exhausted. Still, a simple Awaken would be enough for now. The battlefield was chaotic, but it was easy enough to identify our enemies thanks to the swords in their backs. We just needed to sneak up behind them and take them out in one swing. We imbued our attacks with magic, just in case they were protected by barriers.
“Huh? What’s that kid doing here? Whoa!”
“What’s with the shadows?!”
The other adventurers were shocked at Fran’s sudden arrival, but she had no time to entertain their questions and disappeared as quickly as she arrived. We could hear explosions and screaming in the distance. Eiworth must’ve been hustling too.
“Haaa!”
Colbert and Erianthe helped, and the mercenaries drew the enemy’s attention away from us. That made our job a lot easier. Fifteen minutes later, the street was cleared of replicas. I fired a Kanna Kamuy at the last one, trying to find out how much mana it could nullify.
Yeah…I probably should’ve gone with a Thor’s Hammer.
“Hm.”
But a spell of Kanna Kamuy’s caliber couldn’t be so easily nullified. Its power output was lower, but it was still powerful enough to blow the fanatics to smithereens and leave a crater in front of the guild. The shock wave sent adventurers and Greater Flesh Golems flying.
Definitely too much.
“At least it didn’t get deleted,” said Fran.
Still, I was glad that the nullification absorbed some of the mana. The effects of a full-power Kanna Kamuy would’ve been disastrous.
I could feel the gaze of the other adventurers on us and wondered if they were upset at the giant hole in front of their guild. Even Eiworth was staring at Gran. Fortunately, the remaining flesh golems soon got their attention, and everyone got back to business. I guess it wasn’t such a good idea to use a grand spell in front of the founder of the Mages’ Guild.
Let’s get some golems for ourselves.
“Hm!”
Now that the fanatics were gone, we could exterminate the Greater Flesh Golems. They were strong, but ultimately no match for us. We could even take it easy, watching how everyone else was doing. I was particularly interested in Colbert and Erianthe, since we’d been too occupied to watch them back in the Aschtner mansion.
Colbert fought like a regular martial artist. Losing the Dimitris Combat Arts really did a number on his offense. Now he wasn’t as strong as he used to be and had to take down the flesh golems with repeated blows. However, he was stronger now that his strength was no longer sealed away. Despite losing his Dimitris style, he kept the fruits of his hard training. He would probably get stronger in the future as well.
Meanwhile, contrary to her appearance, Erianthe was a straight-up power fighter. She swung her giant sword at the flesh golems like she was simply taking out some everyday frustrations on them. The greatsword she’d brought to the Aschtner mansion was broken by a fanatic in Godsword Release, and the one she wielded now was much larger, at least twice its size. And yet, Erianthe didn’t seem to mind the added weight at all. She must be packing a lot of power in her small frame.
“Aha ha ha ha! Eat this! And this!”
I thought the insectoid halfling didn’t have feelers, but they were apparently hidden in her hair. The thick antennae peeked out of her disheveled purple hair and were long enough to be mistaken for horns. Now that I thought about it, her hair wasn’t usually purple. Did it change color when she was fighting? It was purple back at the marquis’ mansion too. I made a note to ask her later.
While she was fighting, Erianthe used her arachnid heritage to weave threads in battle. She shot webbing from her wrists to bind her enemies, much like a certain friendly neighborhood arachnoid from another land. After that, she charged in, cackling wildly as she slammed down her greatsword. She looked like the very picture of a berserker, cutting up a golem’s limbs with a single swing.
Let’s leave her to her business.
The five insectoid mercenaries were still fighting together, and each one was strong on their own to boot. They were nothing like the mercenaries I’d seen before.
Who knew there were strong mercs?
Hm.
Of course, there were strong mercenaries out there, but my experience with the profession really called that into question from time to time. The stronger ones were usually found on the battlefield. Since we normally ran into mercenaries in other places, it was no wonder that the ones we had seen were weak.
The lobster halfling punched a flesh golem right in front of Fran. He must be the hot-blooded leader since he was the one issuing orders. I figured he must be the spiny variant. Parts of his face and right hand were covered with a smooth red shell, while his hand was covered in spikes, like a giant meat tenderizer. He made a motion with his fist, casting a Water spell on a flesh golem to finish it off.
The grasshopper halfling’s legs were huge. While the upper half of his body looked handsome and young, his legs was thick as tree trunks. He wore baggy pants to compensate, but his bulging legs made them look skintight.
“I’ll break you to pieces!”
His lower body strength was incredible. A single kick made the one-ton golem rise off the ground. His movements flowed like a taekwondo or capoeira practitioner, so most of his strength must come from his legs.
The mayfly halfling was a lancer. Her thin wings didn’t look like they could help her to fly, but she could use them to make sudden turns. Her slim body quickly navigated the battlefield, making her a tricky opponent to fight. On top of that, the sleepy expression on her face made her all the harder to read. Her strengths weren’t much against mindless meat golems, but in a duel, she would be a force to be reckoned with.
The bull ant halfling looked a lot like an ordinary human, but with feelers and bug eyes. Standing at 160 centimeters tall, the innocent-looking girl seemed out of place on a battlefield. However, her two axes put that assumption to rest. She somersaulted round the battle with an axe in each hand, making quick work of the golems. She could also blind her enemies by shooting poison out of her mouth. The bull ant halfling was as powerful as she was agile.
Finally, there was the clam halfling. He certainly looked like a shellfish, but I guess they were considered insectoids in this world. Either way, he was a big guy, and it seemed like he had a big heart to go with it. This one wasn’t a fighter, but a mage utilizing Illusion spells. He reminded me of the Shen, a mythical clam monster from my world. His back and shoulders were armored with shell, making him much tougher than your average spellcaster. A flesh golem swung at him, and curled up to take the hit. I guess this mage was also the tank of the party, which was kind of strange.
Meanwhile, Fran was frustrated at having to fight without mana, and overkilled another flesh golem to vent her annoyance.
“Haaaa!”
She chopped off its limbs and split its head with a Pressurized Quickdraw. It must’ve felt amazing not to be restrained. Of course, given her current state of exhaustion, this was all she could do. Eiworth wasn’t the only one hustling on the battlefield. This catgirl was doing the same. The only difference was, Fran’s battle fury actually increased morale.
“Come on! We can’t lose to the little beastgirl!”
“Especially not when we’re getting paid by the boatload!”
“Yeah!”
The adventurers and insect rangers were completely motivated now. I mean, the insectoids were more like cyborgs, but there were five of them! They were the Hardhitting Hardshell Insect Rangers! Red Lobster, Green Grasshopper, White Mayfly, Black Bull Ant. The clam was mostly gray, but clams came from the sea, so he could be considered blue…but since he was the nice guy of the group, he could be yellow too. Either way, they were the perfect embodiment of the ranger spirit!
Suddenly, I felt a magical response coming from the middle of the road, and a huge cloud of purple gas covered the street and the buildings. That wasn’t something you wanted in your body.
Fran, don’t breathe it in! Danger Sense is going crazy!
Hm!
I quickly covered us with a wind barrier to protect Fran from the poison, while the insect rangers huddled behind the mayfly’s Wind spell and the lobster’s Water spell. When the fog cleared, Greater Flesh Golems and adventurers alike were lying on the ground twitching. In the midst of it all, an old man laughed.
“Hah! I knew paralysis would work on these golems! They’re made of human flesh, after all.”
Eiworth had cast a deadly Venom spell on our enemies and allies alike.
“Don’t worry. The poison has no lasting side effects. I’ll cure you all when we’re done. If you’re still on your feet, focus on killing these meat bags.”
“That old bastard…!”
“Guildmaster, we should really take care of the golems first!”
Erianthe and Colbert were still standing. Erianthe was about to give Eiworth a piece of her mind, but Colbert held her back.
Still, Eiworth had a point. The humans were pretty much unharmed, and now we had an opening to kill the golems. The mercenaries were visibly angry at his actions, but they still heeded his words. Unethical as the
old man was, they couldn’t waste this opportunity. All the same, only someone who didn’t care about human rights could pull off a tactic like that. That was Eiworth to a tee.
I sure wouldn’t be able to do something like that.
“Killing them one by one is a waste of time, don’t you think?”
There was only one person who agreed with him.
Fran nodded. “I see.”
Fran? Why are you impressed? We are not doing something like that, got it? No way!
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