Chapter 105: Guild War — Moonlight (2)
Chapter 105: Guild War — Moonlight (2)
Eastern District of Sector 3.
In the plaza along a lively promenade where a festival was in full swing.
More than twice the usual crowd had gathered, all raising their heads to look upward.
—In the end, the explorer Kar of the Ashen Wolf Guild has obtained “Skinfaxi’s Heart”!
The floating screen showed a blond half-elf rolling across the ground.
It was footage from inside the [Battlefield of Sun and Moon], broadcast through relay tools installed by the Royal Labyrinth Management Corps that oversaw the guild war.
Because internal labyrinth broadcasts inevitably had some delay, the scene being shown was from several dozen minutes earlier.
—Good children should not try to imitate this.
Kar looked straight into the screen as he spoke.
His entire body was charred, and his lower half was almost completely burned away, yet his face showed no emotion.
Fortunately, automatic censorship had been applied so it would not negatively affect the sensibilities of young children. Still, it was hardly a pleasant sight.
“…That half-elf isn’t in his right mind.”
“Does he have some Mystery that dulls pain?”
“He’s a cultist. Do you think he’d have such a high-grade Mystery? He’s just gone insane.”
Explorers drinking draft beer from street stalls whispered among themselves in shock.
And it wasn’t just them. Throughout the plaza, people murmured in amazement at Kar’s absurd act of physically touching the sun’s divine beast with his bare body.
“…This is kind of embarrassing.”
Marilyn, sitting on a bench in the plaza, slowly lowered the skewer she had been eating and glanced around at people’s reactions.
“Even though it’s a guild war broadcast live across the entire Sector 3, I thought he would restrain himself from doing anything too outrageous.”
—Me too….
Astrimia, clinging to Pendrick’s back, sighed mentally.
Since the guild war began, everything Kar had said and done had been extraordinary.
Memorizing personal information like people’s preferences and tastes.
Sneaking in religious promotions whenever possible.
And now recklessly abusing his own body.
“He was already becoming well known as a rising rookie, but soon there won’t be anyone who doesn’t know our sponsor.”
At Abel’s remark, Marilyn nodded vigorously.
“And the Moon Exploration Party will become well known too.”
Behind the bench, Bartimir casually spoke while sipping a drink infused with negative conceptual energy meant for demons.
Pendrick, standing beside him, smiled brightly.
“Oh, then we’ll become famous too, won’t we?”
—People shouldn’t misunderstand and think the team members are just like the captain…!
“Asmi, don’t worry. No one would easily believe there’s another person with the same mindset and behavior as our captain.”
—Right? After all, Mr. Kar is uniquely strange!
“……”
Rosalia, who had been sitting silently, looked back and forth between Pendrick and Astrimia chatting cheerfully, then shook her head.
At almost the same moment, the pale shadow operative Rachel also let out a dry laugh.
Honestly, they’re all about the same….
An assassin addicted to addiction itself.
A swordsman in love with his ego sword.
A dark mage who collected curses and diseases.
Frankly speaking, they were people who should be sent to a treatment facility before a labyrinth.
But she refrained from saying aloud that every member possessed a mentality aligned with the expedition leader Kar.
After all, each of them could potentially become her superior.
—What exactly will explorer Kar do with “Skinfaxi’s Heart”? As he himself boldly declared, will this half-elf cultist’s actions determine the course of the guild war? Please watch closely!
Rachel quietly observed the broadcast before subtly stepping away from the bench.
Rachel, there’s something I need you to do.
Kar had given her an additional task the day before the guild war.
While the guild war is underway, everyone’s attention will be focused on the broadcast screens. When that happens… the restrictions placed on ownership-transfer specialists will become extremely loose.
Moving carefully so as not to attract attention, Rachel smiled faintly.
He was even guaranteeing her the right to carry out her personal “secret artistic activities.”
I’ll carry out the mission perfectly…!
Compared to the Black Sword Guild Master, Kar was an incomparably superior boss.
Targon radiated a fierce aura.
Just facing his murderous gaze made one’s heart drop.
The killing intent was so chilling that Truth instinctively displayed a warning message before my eyes.
My whole body shivered.
…As expected of Targon.
Targon’s anger.
Experiencing it directly was beyond imagination.
My head tingled more intensely than when watching a bloody slasher film filled with severed muscle and bone.
No wonder people were drawn to him.
Even if our Ymir had grown up safely without dying, he probably wouldn’t have become a berserker radiating that much presence.
Crackle.
Sue’Je warned me not to fall for that ugly brute.
It wasn’t attraction. It was admiration.
“Our objectives are two.”
Targon raised two thick fingers.
“Guild war victory and execution of the spy. We must not fail in either.”
“That’s correct.”
Rai, who had been smiling while watching the Naiades hopping around above the guild members’ heads, spoke.
“The problem is that there is very little we can do right now. Because of the difference in numbers, it’s difficult to initiate battle with the guild alliance or to attempt the wyvern hunt.”
Rai looked at me.
“Meanwhile, the guild alliance will definitely set aside the wyvern and attack us first. Mr. Kar, do you know why?”
Why ask me suddenly?
If I failed to answer, was he trying to subtly embarrass a mixed-blood in front of a pure-blood elf?
“Because compared to the boss monster, we are the easier target. All of our internal information has been leaked.”
In fact, despite Yallen’s reputation as a famous schemer, he had been helpless against attacks from other explorers.
“At best we could rely on the rule that the guild with the last surviving explorer wins if no one fulfills the strategy condition….”
After glancing at the guild members gathered here, I shook my head.
“But such a ‘dishonorable victory’ would only be embarrassing, and the royal family would reduce their support. That is not a path our guild can choose. In truth, we have no real options.”
“……”
The guild members fell silent.
Everyone must have begun thinking that perhaps they might truly fail to win this guild war.
“Kar.”
Targon, who had been standing with his arms crossed in silence, suddenly turned his head toward me.
“Do you have a strategy to break this situation?”
“……”
I met the orc’s determined gaze and nodded.
“Of course.”
The guild alliance cornering the Ashen Wolf Guild according to the Schemer’s plan.
It was a situation I had experienced countless times before.
However, even the Ashen Wolf Guild would struggle to overcome the numerical disadvantage when everyone’s Soul Rank had been reduced to Level 5.
Therefore—
We needed reinforcements.
“Mr. Dran.”
I suddenly called his name quietly.
Dran blinked in surprise.
“What is it?”
“I have a question.”
I already knew the answer, but I asked anyway to ensure things proceeded properly.
“Can you locate where all the ghouls in the depths are hiding?”
“Yes. If I use the Mystery of the One Who Struggles Fiercely, it’s possible.”
“Then we can proceed as planned.”
I stood up, drawing everyone’s attention.
“The Schemer. The nickname of the spy who leaked all our internal information. A creature that slowly advances toward its objective through gloomy plots.”
He controlled everything from a broader perspective, drawing the entire picture.
It took time, but the victims only realized what had happened after everything was finished.
“Did he hold a grudge against us? Otherwise none of this makes sense.”
“He probably bears no personal grudge.”
The Six Apostles did not act based on personal emotions.
“He simply wants the administrative authority of Sector 3.”
The Schemer had infiltrated the Ashen Wolf Guild for nearly five years, pretending to be Vice Guild Master Rigobert.
All for a single objective—winning the guild war.
A method that valued patience and safety.
I wouldn’t call it foolish.
But it did have one fatal weakness.
“Everyone. To paint a picture, you must keep holding your painting tools. If you were a painter class it would be different, but the Schemer is a ninja, so that doesn’t apply.”
No matter how well the rest of the painting was done, if the finishing touch was weak, it would never become a masterpiece.
The final flourish belonged to painters who could draw the eyes perfectly.
“…Ah.”
Yallen smiled playfully.
“So you’re planning to throw everything into chaos so the spy’s plan can’t proceed as intended?”
“Yes. What we must do now is simple.”
It truly wasn’t difficult.
“We just need to create as much chaos as possible.”
“Somehow I have a good feeling about this.”
On the rooftop of one of the few buildings still standing intact.
Brunelda, guarding Dran the sheep-beastman monk who sat with his eyes closed, spoke.
“If things go the way Kar tribe member said, we can achieve both victory and revenge.”
“We’ll only know after we try. It’s too early to be certain.”
Rai the spirit archer spoke calmly, but Brunelda didn’t even respond.
It was common.
The cold temperament of the Sea-Origin Elf clashed completely with the fiery nature of a Northern Continent barbarian.
“I think the same as Brunelda.”
Yallen, sitting at the edge of the rooftop and swinging his legs, turned toward Targon.
“But Guild Master. Did you know Mr. Kar was a cultist of Cataclysmic Dawn?”
“No.”
The gray orc shook his head while spreading his sensory Mysteries outward.
“I knew he possessed the constitution [Fanatic] because he carried traces of several divine beings, but I didn’t know exactly which Evil Gods he served.”
“Honestly, I don’t trust him.”
Rai frowned slightly while playing with a Naiad drifting nearby.
“Followers of Okail always seek a chaotic future. Golden Crow might also be aiming to create chaos rather than win the guild war. He even said we should cause chaos himself.”
—Chaos chaos!
The Naiad waved both arms enthusiastically.
“And honestly, disguising yourself as another guild member is such an old strategy that it barely works anymore. It’s too cliché now.”
Disguise tactics had been used continuously since the earliest days of guild wars.
Back then they had great impact.
But now that participants were much stronger overall, it was considered a mere trick.
Yallen turned around to sit properly.
“But the Mystery Mr. Kar uses is [Transformation], right? Since even the self changes fluidly, other explorers won’t easily notice.”
There was a reason why cultists of Cataclysmic Dawn still subtly influenced people even now.
“And the spy who killed Mr. Rigobert also used a high-grade transformation Mystery, didn’t he?”
“…That’s right.”
“So he might be deliberately using the same strategy to counter them.”
Since the existence of [Transformation] had already been revealed by Mordan, distrust would now spread among the allied guilds targeting the Ashen Wolf Guild.
“In that case, the spy’s behavior will also become severely restricted.”
Targon, who had been listening quietly, chuckled.
“If he calculated that far, he’s impressive.”
“I suppose there’s a reason he’s considered a promising explorer. Though honestly, someone who casually abuses a Mystery with severe side effects like [Transformation] isn’t someone I’d want close to me….”
Rai smiled faintly.
Even a Western Continent dwarf—who culturally never spoke bluntly—had been compelled to speak honestly.
Kar was an unusual cultist in many ways.
“I’ve located all the ghouls.”
Dran slowly stood after detecting presences across the entire depth region.
The time had come.
“Good work. Now everything is prepared.”
Targon slowly rose.
Even though he was simply standing up, it felt as though a mountain itself had risen toward the sky.
“Everyone. You heard what we’re about to do, right?”
According to Kar’s instructions, the guild members were about to do something that had never been attempted in a guild war.
“Let’s create complete chaos.”
“So that the spy drowns in overwhelming confusion.”