Chapter 16 — Okay, We Understand Your Situation. You Can Keep Fighting Now If You Want
“Uhh...golden thunder...ah! From the canyon! The dragon that was flying without its wings!”
After leaving Hanabusa, they had gotten lost in the canyon, where Tomochika and Yogiri had been attacked by dragons. Naturally, Yogiri had dealt with all of them, after which a golden dragon clad in lightning had appeared in front of them like some sort of boss monster.
“Why don’t you two take a break from fighting for now?” Yogiri suggested.
“V-Very well.” The floating dragon lowered itself to the ground, taking on the form of a small girl. According to Tomochika’s memory, the dragon was her true form, and she took on the appearance of a girl to try and curry favor with human men.
“And that person is...right! The person who just watched from the back while we were being attacked by thugs!”
“You make me sound awful...though I suppose what you said is accurate. We were tracking those thugs, trying to find out who was backing them.”
After being abandoned by their classmates, Tomochika and Yogiri had headed to the nearby city of Quenza. A cat-eared girl there had given them a tour of the city, but in the end led them into an ambush in a back alley. Of course, Yogiri had dealt with the thugs no problem, and after he had, this woman had appeared leading a column of guards. She had seen the guards die and, assuming the two of them were responsible, attempted to arrest them. In the end, they were released due to a lack of evidence. Tomochika remembered her being a pain to deal with.
“I kind of remember you guys, but what were your names again?” Yogiri plainly asked what should have been a difficult question.
“I am Atila.”
That is right! I remember this little girl talking like an old man now.
“I’m Edelgart.”
“So, what were you two doing?” Yogiri continued.
“I came here on a quest to hunt goblins,” Edelgart began. “I then came across a dragon, so naturally we fought.”
“Hah. Not that you put up enough resistance to make it a fight!”
“Excuse me?! Did you not see your full-powered attack had no effect on me?! I was just about to strike back!”
“Full-powered attack? Are you serious? That was little more than blowing my nose! And a little sneeze like that has you covered in wounds!”
“What?! Look harder! The burns are only on the surface! An attack like this isn’t even enough to make me itch!”
“Oh? Then I must admit to being curious as to why you are on your knees.”
“I was charging up! I was going to jump in the air and stab you, so I was building up strength! You’re the one who was begging for your life!”
Edelgart held a spear. She may have fought like the dragon knights in a certain game, leaping into the air and slamming back down with her spear.
“Okay, that’s enough. Calm down for a bit,” Yogiri cut in. Though reluctant, the two stopped arguing. “So Edelgart is here for the same reason we are, to do a quest. But why are you attacking people here, Atila?”
“Because I am also performing a quest, of course.”
“Huh? You mean like hunting goblins or collecting herbs?”
“What are you saying? I am on the monsters’ side, so of course my quest is to kill humans.”
“You have quests for that?! Wait, the monsters have their own side?!”
“Hm? Are you not aware of our circumstances? I belong to the monster guild. The majority of quests we have are killing humans.”
The Seyla had fallen all over the world and attacked any sort of life it could find. Not even the monsters of the world were immune to that. Of course, Atila would feel pushed into a corner. Even if she could fight off the falling Seyla, a single touch meant it would all be over. There was no way she could remain on guard against it all hours of every day. So among the dragons, the ones who held enough intelligence to speak joined Cavern Quest.
They were brought to a settlement of monsters. Beastkin were treated as humans and sent to Base Town, but intelligent monsters were sent to Monster Town instead. Monsters there would register with the guild, take quests, and earn DP. Though they were hostile towards the humans, they were doing much the same thing.
“I see. So it’s a faction warfare kind of deal. But let’s put that on hold for now,” Yogiri said.
“Of course. I have no intention of fighting you, least of all now.” Atila had witnessed Yogiri killing a huge number of dragons instantly. She had always been terrified of him and so was most cooperative.
“By the way, what happened after all that? You wanted to be an attendant for the Knights of the Divine King or something...” Tomochika felt like it was a bit of an awkward question. After everything that had happened at the tower, they had left without seeing her. After the Swordmaster’s death, it was difficult to face her again, but it had left the promise between them sitting in a vague place.
“Ah, yes. After we parted ways, I was almost immediately killed. The next thing I knew, time had reversed.”
“So we wouldn’t have found you even if we went looking.”
“It’s a good thing we ignored her and kept going, then!” Tomochika declared.
“I don’t know if I would say it’s a good thing...but what’s done is done. And besides, that was all no more than a dream, was it not?” It seemed the monsters of the world also had an understanding of what had happened.
“What killed you in that dream, Atila?”
“It is a bit hard to describe. It was like a puppet covered in blades. It stabbed me right through the head. Apparently, it was searching for some sort of information.”
“Oh yeah, we saw that guy.”
The Hedgehog. An Aggressor they had encountered a number of times on their adventure. It had scattered in pieces after fighting Hiruko, so it was likely in good condition again in part two. It didn’t seem particularly capable of speech, so it likely hadn’t come into Cavern Quest.
“What are you all talking about?” As they reminisced over their past experiences, Edelgart interrupted.
“I’m guessing things were pretty chaotic on the surface around you, Edelgart?”
“You could say that. I didn’t quite believe it myself, but as everyone around me began to disappear one after another, I ended up following suit. I learned quickly that those mysterious creatures could not be fought.”
“I thought you would have been together with your subordinate.”
“You mean Jorge? I haven’t met him since coming here. I suppose he was sent to another channel.”
“Just in case, you’re not still chasing us, are you?”
“I’m not quite sure. I know I was pursuing you on Lady Lain’s orders, but...I also know that Lady Lain doesn’t exist for some reason. So I suppose I have no reason to pursue you any longer.”
“I guess we’ll be able to get along, then.”
“I cannot say whether we’ll get along, but at least we have no reason to be enemies.”
“Okay, we understand your situation,” Yogiri said. “You can keep fighting now if you want.”
“No, we can’t!” Atila and Edelgart shouted in unison.
“Maybe Edelgart doesn’t have a reason to fight, but you do, don’t you, Atila?” Yogiri asked, apparently serious. He didn’t seem to think there was any reason for a monster to spare a human if they were in conflict.
“My motivation is gone. You cannot recreate the tension that has already been lost.”
“Well, even if it’s natural for monsters to attack humans, it’s not a great feeling to watch people we know killing each other, so I’m glad to hear it.”
Tomochika breathed a sigh of relief seeing Yogiri was at least taking the human side of the conflict a little.
“Working up the motivation to hunt goblins will be similarly difficult, but I suppose I cannot just give up.”
“Hey, would you mind if we watched?”
“Watch me hunt goblins? I suppose not.” Edelgart walked off, Tomochika and Yogiri in tow. Seeing a monster-hunting quest firsthand would be a good experience for them. They had already decided they would try a hunting quest next.
“We were on a quest to collect herbs and had a tough time finding them, but what about you, Edelgart? Do you know where the goblins are?”
“Hm? Will they not attack us if we wander around for a time? A dragon certainly did.”
“Uh, I get the feeling that was unrelated...” Edelgart seemed a bit too optimistic.
“I suppose you need the help after all. The goblins are over there.” Atila pointed a short distance off the path.
“Speaking of which, why are you here, Atila?” Yogiri asked, surprised. He must have thought they wouldn’t see her again after splitting up earlier.
“I have decided to follow you.”
“Huh?”
“Is it that surprising? If the human side has Takatou, I could never stay on the monsters’ side.” It seemed her fear of Yogiri was still as vivid as ever.
“Deciding to follow us is all well and good, but can you?”
“You humans have a gate to get here, no? I will simply pass through that as well.”
The gate was a door that connected the fields to the Base Town. Each quest spawned a new gate for use by that specific party. Though many parties could operate in the same field, each would arrive from a separate gate and could only return to the town through their own. They wouldn’t be able to use gates from other parties. Anyone who walked out of the doors in the town together would be considered a single party.
“Can monsters go through the human gates?”
“You can bring items back through the gates, can you not? You must simply treat me as one of those.”
“So you’re an item now?”
“So...you know where the goblins are, Atila?”
“Do not underestimate me. Such a task is trifling for the peerless senses of a dragon!”
If she stuck with them, she would likely prove quite helpful in future quests, Tomochika began to think rather calculatingly.
“Does that not mean selling out your friends, though?”
“What a bizarre question. Why should I consider the goblins to be my friends?” Though a part of the monster guild, she didn’t seem to have much of a sense of camaraderie with them.
They headed in the direction Atila had indicated. After walking for a while, they found a large boulder with a small hole at the bottom.
“They’re inside?”
“Indeed. Perhaps twenty or so live here.”
“It doesn’t look like there’s a lot of room inside.”
An adult would have to stoop slightly but would be able to walk inside the hole. It would be far too cramped for all of them to go inside at once, though.
“No matter. My thunder breath can wipe them out in an instant!”
“What are you, stupid?! How will I complete the quest if you kill them all?!”
“But it doesn’t look like we can really fight them inside. Do we have a way of luring them outside?” Yogiri sank into thought. They really wouldn’t be able to fight inside if they couldn’t even stand upright. “Mokomoko, do you have some sort of convenient, cowardly Dannoura technique for situations like this?”
Just what do you think the Dannoura School is? In a situation like this, poison gas is likely the most effective solution. The Dannoura Poison Smoke Technique can likely bring them all down in one fell swoop.
“We don’t have the materials for that though.”
“I guess I have no choice. How about I use an extremely weak thunder breath to startle them into running outside?”
“I guess it’s better than nothing. Let’s give it a shot.”
“Why are you acting so high and mighty when you’re the one receiving the help?” Despite her complaints, Atila realized that sitting there arguing wouldn’t accomplish anything, so she stretched her hand towards the cave. Lightning shot from her hand and into the depths.
“Oh, you called it breath, so I thought it would come from your mouth.”
“In this form, it can come from wherever I please.”
After a short time, creatures looking like human children began running out of the cave. They wore nothing but grass skirts and wielded clubs, spears, and swords. Realizing they were under attack, they were already in fighting formation. It took Tomochika a moment to realize they were monsters. Their skin was faintly greenish, and they seemed a bit too muscular for their size. Otherwise they looked perfectly human.
“Hmm. Ten exactly,” Edelgart observed.
“The remainder are likely noncombatants,” Atila said.
“I have no need to kill the women and children. Clearing the quest is enough for me. You can all watch from here.”
“You can take ten of them by yourself?!”
“Enemies like this will be no challenge at all!” Spear in hand, Edelgart charged.
The battle didn’t take long. Without attempting to dodge a single return blow, Edelgart rained attacks down on the goblins. As small as they were, the attacks from the goblins’ steely bodies must have been plenty powerful. However, even though each attack looked like it was enough to crumple her armor like paper, Edelgart ignored them entirely. No matter what she was faced with, she just responded with a straightforward attack. The last survivors seemed terrified, losing all will to fight as they were cut down.
“I suppose such a result is to be expected. Though it was little more than me blowing my nose, she still survived my thunder breath unscathed. A goblin’s attack would be as nothing to her.”
“Huh...she’s a lot stronger than I thought, isn’t she?”
“But does that make sense from a martial arts perspective?” Yogiri seemed unconvinced by her style of fighting. It looked like she had just gone totally berserk on them.
It has a sort of logic to it. If their attacks will not harm you, there is no need to dodge them. A fighting style like this is more efficient.
“Okay! Done!” Edelgart declared. Dead goblins lay in pools of blood all around the cave entrance. Though made to look like a game, this was still reality. Dead monsters didn’t just disappear.
“By the way, these goblins were associated with the monster guild,” Atila said. “They did not live here. They had been given a quest that would earn them DP if they could survive a given length of time.”
Tomochika figured it would have been smarter for them to live on the run in that case, but it was possible the area of their quest had been restricted to force them into fighting.
“Then what was the point of bringing noncombatants with them?”
“DP cannot be traded, so each person must earn their own. And they must pay the Life Tax, no?”
Apparently, things were much the same for the monsters as they were for the humans.
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