A Fight? Then Count Me In!
A fight? Then count me in! Those of us who had come from another world quickly split up our forces on the spot. A clash had broken out between the capital legions stationed outside the imperial palace and the faction targeting the ancient civilization ruins beneath it. Adela was already producing ants and launching a counterattack, but it would take time before her efforts showed real results. That meant we needed to seize control of the area here and prevent the enemy from running wild. We scattered the warriors we had gathered while rescuing people in every direction, and with a few of them in tow, we headed down into the palace basement. A royal knight guided us.
"There aren't many paths leading to the imperial palace's underground levels. After excluding the unlikely ones, there are three routes with the highest probability. We should head to the one where the most fighting is taking place."
The knight had reached a surprisingly rational conclusion. I wondered if he'd won his position in the politically chaotic imperial palace by drawing straws. Of course, simply following the knight would have given us only a thirty-three percent chance of success, so the final decision on where to go fell to me.
With my heightened senses and Pathfinder ability that had grown stronger upon reaching Gold rank, I spread my perception across the entire palace interior. Information about battles breaking out everywhere and people moving flooded into my mind. I sifted through it for anything useful, then chose a general direction without hesitation. The royal knights filled in the specific route.
We moved quickly, cutting down the occasional enemy we encountered along the way, until we finally reached our chosen destination.
"This is the place. It's a warehouse where the palace stores its treasures. It was built in the distant past, and because of its location, it's the only area in the entire imperial palace whose interior hasn't been completely mapped out."
"They couldn't map the interior?"
"Apparently a large number of lost techniques were used in its construction, so even the palace mages couldn't fully grasp the security system."
This definitely sounded like the kind of place that would have a passage leading to the ancient civilization. It also had the highest frequency of battles nearby. We stepped over the bodies of fallen knights near the entrance and went inside, where we found the warehouse in complete chaos.
The Ruin siblings looked around and nodded.
"This definitely seems to be the right spot."
"The security system was breached, but there's no sign that any of the items in the warehouse were touched."
Just as the siblings said, the warehouse was a mess with objects scattered across the floor, but none of them had disappeared. In fact, there were clear signs that obstacles had been deliberately cleared from the path. The ridiculous sight made my hands itch, but I held back. If it had just been me, Beatrice, and the Ruin siblings, I would have taken everything without hesitation. But there were other warriors with us.
I can't take this stuff.
I stared at the scattered treasures with lingering regret before following the trail. Moving forward wasn't difficult. The tracks were obvious, and the defensive systems had already been kindly destroyed by the guests who arrived first.
After running through the warehouse that stored the empire's history, we discovered a cleverly hidden secret passage in the corner and stepped inside. We descended an endlessly long staircase until we arrived at a space so vast that calling it "grand" felt insufficient.
"Whoa."
The familiar design of the walls and the glowing jewels embedded in the ceiling like a starry sky brightly illuminated the enormous space. I'd seen it a few times before, so my reaction was a short gasp of admiration. The others, however, were seeing the ancient civilization's technology for the first time. They stood with their mouths agape, unable to hide their shock. I remembered feeling the same way when I first saw it, so I wanted to give them time to take it all in, but the situation didn't allow for that.
"Everyone, snap out of it. They've noticed us over there."
"Ah, yes."
"To think something like this was hidden beneath the imperial palace..."
At my warning, the warriors belatedly came back to their senses. In the center of the majestic and beautiful space stood what appeared to be an altar. When they saw the black mages standing around it, the warriors' expressions grew tense.
These were the people bold enough to attack the imperial palace itself. Whatever faction they belonged to, they were clearly no ordinary group. As we drew our weapons, they spotted us too and began moving busily to respond.
"Wow, quite a crowd."
Even from a distance, I could tell there were over a hundred of them. Looking at the symbols on their robes... it was the Flame of Doom, as expected. It seemed they'd hired other organizations to create chaos outside the palace. I had no idea why they would launch a terrorist attack at the exact moment when the palace's gathered forces were at their strongest, but we had to stop them regardless.
I leisurely spread my mana and drew a summoning circle in the air. I'd drawn this same circle so many times I couldn't even count anymore. Large and small circles completed themselves in the air, and in the blink of an eye, cracks opened where my summons would emerge.
And then they appeared from the fully opened rifts—Ikelos, the Rune Golem, Umbra, the half-dragon... no, Calor, and Yotun. The moment these powerful summons, each possessing extraordinary strength, appeared in force, the black mages who had been preparing to fight us froze in place.
Seeing them flustered by the unexpected situation and unable to figure out how to respond, I grinned and gave an order to the Rune Golem.
Gravity Field
Whooooooong!
The summoned Rune Golems stretched out their arms. The runes engraved on their bodies glowed, manipulating gravity and lifting the black mages into the air. Taking advantage of their confusion at the sudden turn of events, I gave additional orders to my summons.
"Calor! Yotun! Let's start this off with a refreshing first strike!"
"Krrrrraaaaa!"
"Uahahaha! Another enjoyable battle awaits today!"
Calor opened his mouth, condensing an enormous amount of heat. Yotun clenched his hand in the air, creating an ice spear so cold that frost formed around it. The two high-tier summons needed a moment to prepare their attacks, but thanks to the Rune Golems pinning down the black mages, they could finish without interference.
Once their preparations were complete, the two summons unleashed their strikes at the black mages. I watched the magnificent explosion of the breath and ice spear—never forgetting to get the first hit in—and circulated aura throughout my body.
"All forces, prepare for battle! I don't know what they're after, but let's hit them first and think later!"
"We'll take the lead!"
"I've been waiting for this moment!"
Hearing my shout, Runa and Ruin laughed fiercely and shot forward like missiles. In an instant, they closed the distance and arrived in front of the black mages, swinging their swords with graceful precision. Right behind them came my summons, followed by the warriors who had accompanied us. The underground space quickly descended into chaotic melee.
Though we were vastly outnumbered, our overall level completely overwhelmed the black mages, creating a surprisingly even fight. I leisurely dashed through the fray, deflecting the black magic trying to obstruct me with my spear-sword, and climbed onto the altar.
"He's heading for the altar!"
"Stop him! Don't hold back—bring out the undead!"
"What are the black knights doing?!"
The black mages who seemed to be mid-level managers screamed desperately, but I simply sneered and continued toward the top of the altar. The closer I got, the thicker their defensive line became. But if something like this could stop me, I wouldn't have charged in the first place.
I opened a rift in the air and this time summoned my tamed monsters.
"Laserdon! Protisha! It's your turn!"
"Grrrrraaaaaawr!"
"Kyaaang!"
The Irregular Laserdon and Protisha burst out of the rift like projectiles and slammed into the defensive line. The pack of Laserdons and Goraxes that followed behind them crushed everything in their path like charging tanks. When the long-range attackers similar to Protisha unleashed a barrage of attacks, the defensive line the black mages had prepared collapsed helplessly.
Leaving the cleanup to the monsters, I reached the top of the altar and discovered three people performing a ritual at its center.
"Tsk, so we were discovered after all."
"We expected this would happen."
"It was faster than anticipated, but it doesn't matter."
Three individuals with strikingly unique appearances turned their gazes toward me. Sensing the unusual aura they emitted, I suspected they were the masterminds behind this incident. I rested my spear-sword on my shoulder and asked,
"Are you three the ones behind all this?"
"What if we are?"
"Then I'll have to stop you. Looks like we've met before, too."
I looked at the three of them with a casual stance. Among them was a familiar face—a white-haired woman with red hair that grew redder toward the tips, a pretty boy with rabbit-like cute features, and a rat-like man.
"What business does a Flame of Doom executive have here?"
"Can't you tell just by looking? We're here to claim the legacy that those idiotic imperials have forgotten."
"Even though this is the exact moment when all of us are gathered here?"
"There's a good reason for that."
So it wasn't because of the Academy's curse. I'd half-hoped they might be here because of the Academy, but hearing that they had a specific purpose made me swallow my disappointment.
The rabbit-like boy frowned at my expression.
"You made it all the way here alone. Does that mean you're more confident than before?"
"Unlike some people, I'm not the kind of idiot who lets go of something I've already caught."
"This bastard...!"
The rabbit ground his teeth, remembering how he'd been one-sidedly beaten last time. Sorry, but the situation was very different from when they'd captured me so easily. Not only had my skills improved, but the biggest factor was that I'd awakened the same power as the leader of the Flame of Doom. At the very least, it meant that whatever information or item they were after would likely be useful to me as well.
I didn't know what it was, but I smiled with clear fighting spirit, fully intending to take it. Unlike the two whose faces I already knew, the massive man I'd never seen before stared at me with a stony expression.
"I apologize for interrupting your meeting. Our enemy is the empire, not you."
"And?"
"I'd prefer it if we didn't fight and you simply left. If you do, our organization will offer substantial compensation. I swear it on the name of the Lion."
The man who had introduced himself as the Lion rubbed his chin as I tapped my shoulder with my spear-sword. So what the Lion was saying was...
"You're saying this task is more important and we're not even worth your attention?"
"No, that's not what I—"
"So just take this and get lost?"
"What I'm trying to say is..."
"This guy is hilarious, isn't he?"
"......"
The man who had been trying to refute me shut his mouth. After seeing my smirking face, the Lion's expression hardened as he slowly began raising his aura.
"So you intended to fight us from the very beginning?"
"You only just realized that? I don't know what you want, but after causing this much chaos, there's no way you're getting out of here."
"I see."
The Lion's body began to transform slightly. He changed from an ordinary human into a lion beastman and leveled his greatsword at me. I raised my spear-sword in response and wrapped it in aura.
"Then I regret this. I hold no personal grudge against you."
"Same here."
With those short words, I clashed with the three of them at the center of the altar. The heavy pressure I felt through my spear-sword only made my smile deepen. It had been a while since I'd fought a person instead of a monster. And these were opponents who would actually be fun to fight.