Chapter 15 — How Did Things Move So Smoothly towards My Own Suicide?
After defeating Yuriina Tanaka, Tomochika and Yogiri found themselves back in the Antechamber Area. It seemed they would be waiting there until the next round started. The second round would only take thirty-two parties, so it felt like it was going to be a while before round one finished.
“I think I saw Hanakawa back there,” Yogiri said, sitting down on the couch across from Tomochika.
“He was behind me, right? I didn’t see him.” The two of them had been standing back-to-back, waiting for enemies to approach. Yuriina had come from Tomochika’s side, so she had no idea what Yogiri had seen.
“What do you think he wanted? I doubt he was planning on killing us.”
“He should have figured out by now that he can’t beat you...right?” Considering Hanakawa’s behavior up until now, it was hard to say with certainty that a new power or new ally wouldn’t go to his head. “So what do we do about him?” she asked.
“That depends.”
“Of course.”
If he just wanted to talk with them, that was fine. If he was plotting something, though, there was a chance they’d have to kill him. Tomochika had already come to terms with that.
Putting on some tea and enjoying the snacks provided for them, the pair waited for a while until an announcement appeared in the air above them.
Last Boss Quest, Final Stage, Round Two: Start!
“Okay, let’s go.”
Yogiri slowly made his way to the door, Tomochika close behind him. Stepping outside, they found themselves somewhere dark. Candles here and there provided faint illumination of the countless human skeletons littering the floor. They seemed to be in a crypt of some sort.
“What now?” Tomochika asked. “Should we shout again?”
“It looks like we’re underground, right? Shouting won’t do us much good if we’re the only ones here.”
“Then can we go somewhere else? This place gives me the creeps.”
“Yeah, you’re right. We should probably move.” If they wanted to get to the next round, they needed to find another enemy to battle. There was no telling if an enemy would ever find them if they stayed in a place like this. Yogiri picked up a candle embedded in a skull.
“Wow, no hesitation, huh?” Tomochika commented. Though she wasn’t bothered about any sort of taboo involving touching dead bodies, she couldn’t deny that the idea was unpleasant.
“These are objects placed here for the game. I doubt they’re real.”
“I guess we can’t take just the candle, so we don’t really have a choice anyway.”
The pair started walking, Yogiri in the lead. The faint light of their candle revealed a wall made of human bones.
“What’s with this place?” Tomochika exclaimed. “Someone has horrible taste!”
“I guess they were trying to build up the atmosphere. This is probably what a catacomb would feel like.”
The catacombs in Paris are said to be two kilometers long, Mokomoko added.
Tomochika groaned. For now there was nothing to do but keep moving forward, but it seemed like they still had a long way to go. There were no branches in the path, so it wasn’t really possible for them to get lost, but the poor lighting made it hard to see where they were going.
Just as they were about to start worrying about whether there was actually an exit or not, a staircase came into view. Climbing the stairs, they ascended into a windowed room lit from the outside, meaning they had likely reached the surface. Opening a door and stepping outside, they found themselves in a park. The park was fairly small and surrounded by what appeared to be houses.
“It feels like a park in a residential area. No sign of anyone living here, though,” Tomochika said after looking around. Of course, being a field in Cavern Quest, she wouldn’t have expected the city to be populated.
“Mokomoko, can you take a look for us?” Yogiri asked.
Very well! Mokomoko flew up into the sky and began spinning to observe their surroundings.
“I know she’s my ancestor, but she really comes off as an idiot, doesn’t she?” Tomochika commented.
“I never really paid attention to how she was doing it before,” Yogiri said.
After spinning for a while, the ghost returned to the ground.
There is one other person in the city, north of us. I do not know who they are, but it seems they have yet to spot us.
“It doesn’t really matter if they have or not,” Yogiri said. “It’s not like we’re going to surprise attack them.”
“I guess I should yell then,” Tomochika said, prompting Yogiri to step back and cover his ears. “Yogiri Takatou is right here!!!”
This time Yogiri had been ready for it, so it hadn’t hurt him as much. She had shouted as loud as she could, so there was no doubt that everyone around would notice them.
After a short time, a girl appeared from the huddled buildings.
“Akino?!”
The new arrival was their classmate, Sora Akino.
◇ ◇ ◇
Last Boss Quest, Final Stage, Round Two: Start!
As they waited in their room, an announcement appeared in the air above Hanakawa’s group. Stepping out the door, they found themselves on the bank of a lake. In the distance was what appeared to be a castle, but it was hard to tell where they were in relation to the forest from earlier.
Hanakawa took a ready stance. “I guess the participants were all sent to random locations once again,” he said.
“Surely Takatou made it to the second round, right?” Ryouko said. Yogiri had clearly been facing off with someone, so he should have killed them more or less immediately.
“I see. But what are we to do? If they are intending to keep to the same plan, we should hear a certain someone’s voice...”
But before Tomochika’s yell could reach them, something fell from the sky. The ground shook, sending shock waves past them. Hanakawa somehow managed to keep his footing thanks to his enhanced physical abilities. He couldn’t let himself be sent flying by such a small impact.
“I-It’s them!”
“Yo!”
A boy in a T-shirt and jeans greeted them. He was the one leading a party of nonhumans at the top of the pyramid. Apparently he had landed within ten meters of them, as they had already shifted channels and been locked into a fight.
“W-Wait! Please hold on! We do not have to fight immediately, do we? Let us take some time to discuss the rules!”
“Sure,” the boy replied, making no show of attacking.
“I suppose we should begin with introductions! I am Daimon Hanakawa! These two are Ryouko Ninomiya and Carol!”
“If your plan was to buy time for us, why did you introduce us all yourself?” Ryouko sighed as she gave Hanakawa a disappointed look.
“Ah! It seems I panicked a bit!”
“I’m Gorbagion. I’m a Demon Lord at the moment. These guys are my Four Heavenly Kings.” One by one, Gorbagion introduced his minions: a huge man with skin like stone, Breia the Solid; a slender man with three eyes, Graze the Enlightened; a woman with long hair, spilling over her face and reaching the ground, Haruka the Hollow Claw; and a young man in a lab coat, wearing glasses, Shirou the Weakest.
“Aha. How very conventional for you to have Four Heavenly Kings as a Demon Lord... But wait, is the construction of your party not a bit different from when we last saw you?”
“Good eye. Yeah, we swapped someone out.” There should have been a boy with horns accompanying them. The other members Hanakawa remembered were all present, so Shirou must have taken his place. “What will we do about the rules?” Gorbagion asked. “If you don’t have any ideas, I’m fine with a death match.”
Hanakawa stared intently at the Demon Lord’s army. Despite his Discernment skill, he couldn’t learn much about them. It seemed they weren’t using the Battlesong system. The only one who returned any results was Shirou. His class was Sage, and his level was over one hundred million.
“Huh? Why is a Sage here?” It seemed odd for a Sage to be in the Demon Lord’s army. Shirou alone would have no problems wiping the floor with Hanakawa’s whole party.
“I recruited him,” Gorbagion replied.
“Recruiting a Sage is that easy?!” Hanakawa exclaimed.
“So, what’re we doing?”
“Uhh...how about...rock paper scissors?” Hanakawa tried, desperate for anything.
“Fine by me.”
“Of course, such a resolution would be too simple... Wait, that is okay?!”
“If we fought normally, it would hardly be a fight at all. I could tell that from the start.”
“So you are okay with leaving it all to chance?!” Hanakawa cried.
“You’re the one that suggested it,” Gorbagion said.
“Yes, I am aware! Then let us settle it with rock paper scissors!”
“Okay then, we’ll go one-on-one, winner goes on, loser dies.”
“Why do they have to die?! I had just found relief in finding a contest which would not cost us our lives!”
“Yeah, but then there’d be no tension,” Gorbagion replied. “If you disagree, we’ll just have a normal fight.”
“Okay,” Ryouko stepped in, recognizing Hanakawa was only going to cause more problems for them. “Those rules are fine.”
“Ryouko!” Hanakawa protested. “Death Rock Paper Scissors is going too far!”
“You realize if we don’t, we’re just going to die anyway, right?”
“Grr...I suppose...this improves our chances slightly...”
Ryouko Ninomiya vs. Demon Lord Gorbagion: FIGHT!!!
The announcement played in the air above them now that the rules had been decided.
“I’ll go first,” Gorbagion said, stepping forward.
“Then our first will be Daimon Hanakawa.”
“Excuse me?” Hanakawa said, shocked to hear his name out of nowhere. “Why should I be the first to go? Should we not discuss this and come to an agreement?”
“I’m the leader, so I decide the order,” Ryouko said, leaving no room for argument. Carol pushed him from behind, forcing him forward.
“All right, let’s go. You look like you’re panicking, but if you’re too slow, you lose, got it?”
“What? Ah, wait!”
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
If he stood around doing nothing, he would be disqualified. Hanakawa hurriedly threw out rock, but Gorbagion had thrown paper.
“Uh, it appears I have lost,” Hanakawa said.
“Looks that way.”
“How about best three out of five?”
“We didn’t talk about any rules like that, so it’s gotta be best of one, right?”
“I-I figured...”
“Hanakawa!” As Carol called out to him, Hanakawa turned to find a kunai planted at his feet. “You can kill yourself now!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be your second,” Ryouko declared, unsheathing her sword.
“Huh? What? How did things move so smoothly towards my own suicide? Why do you two show absolutely no hesitation?”
“Come on, as a Japanese man, you have to be a good sportsman!” Carol said.
“If you fail to follow the rules, the rock paper scissors match will be void,” Ryouko explained. “If that happens, we have no chance.”
“I said whoever loses dies, but I guess we never talked about how,” Gorbagion added. “If you’ll do it yourself, I have no problem with that.”
Hanakawa felt like he was sitting on a bed of nails. Everyone here was wishing for his death. None of them showed the least bit of hesitation.
Am I...in trouble?
Obviously, their opponents were happy to see him die, but even his supposed allies showed no sign of trying to save him.
Wait, wait, wait! Even so! I know they have acted from time to time as if they truly hate me, but they wouldn’t seriously abandon one of their own classmates, would they?
Hanakawa glanced back at Ryouko and Carol. There was no humor in their faces. It seemed the two of them had come to the conclusion that their only out in this situation was to abandon him.
“S-Someone! Please, help me! Ah, right! Friendship Counter! Sir Lute! This is a terrible predicament! Please rescue me!”
“Rescue you from what? You agreed to the rules, and you lost. You made this situation yourself,” Gorbagion said, entirely serious.
“Well, that is true, but...” Normally he would attempt to blabber something or other just to temporize, but in this case he’d be arguing against himself. This time he had really been backed into a corner.
And that was exactly what was needed to activate Friendship Counter. Hearing a click, Hanakawa found himself floating in the air. The ground below him had vanished, and now he was falling. At least, that was the impression he got, but he had no idea what was happening. In his confusion, he hit the ground hard. Although he must have fallen from quite a height, he was entirely unhurt thanks to the resilience granted to him by the Gift.
Looking up, he found a lavishly decorated ceiling above him. It seemed he was now indoors. Hanakawa looked around. He was in a large room, ornately decorated in white and gold.
“It is just one after another with these developments! What is happening?!”
“I just saved your life. You could be a bit more thankful, you know.”
Hanakawa looked for the source of the voice. Sitting on an extravagantly decorated throne was a girl in a pink dress.
“Alice! Ah! Is this Another Kingdom?!”
It seemed they were in Alice’s audience chamber, within the castle created by her Another Kingdom ability.
“I really don’t like it...but it looks like we have a little bit of a bond after all.”
Sage Alice. Hanakawa had once saved her from a fatal injury, and it seemed that was enough to create a bond between them.
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