Obelisk Assault (5)

…I was allowed to make mistakes? I didn't need to apologize?

"Got that~?"

I had no idea what had gotten into her to say something like that, but it did boost my confidence a little. The trembling in my body seemed to settle somewhat, too.

I nodded and answered.

"…Yeah. I got it."

"Do better next time~♡"

I wanted to — but this introduced far too many variables. Now that the Murder Clown's words no longer matched what I knew, I couldn't speak with any real confidence.

So I told Erinn the truth.

"It's different from what I know."

"…Hmm."

"So my advice might not be much use from here on."

Erinn glanced at me. Then she said:

"If you're gonna keep taking command, you need to experience failure too, right~?"

"This isn't just about experiencing failure. We could die, you know?"

"Pfft, who's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gonna die~?"

Erinn said.

"I already told you~? A few mistakes from you aren't gonna get anyone killed~."

"…So what, you want me to just wing it?"

"Pfft♡"

Erinn giggled.

"That's still better than doing nothing, right~?"

"……."

I genuinely had no idea what this girl was thinking. The reason she'd been fine in those flames earlier was probably either a blessing she had as the Hero, or she'd momentarily wrapped herself in mana to endure it…

There could be sections we can't get through that way.

That was what worried me, and there was no way this little brat didn't know that too.

"Anyway, there's only about two color platforms left~ and we just have to get past those, right~?"

And yet Erinn was talking like everything was fine. Like it was only natural that I'd make mistakes.

Was she saying it didn't matter because this was just the reality of a mere Porter, or was she doing it for my sake? Thinking normally, it was the latter — but given her usual behavior, it might well be the former.

Either way…

"……Alright."

The fact that her words had given me strength was true.

"Let's give it a shot."

"Pfft, that's the spirit~♡"

Erinn giggled and walked ahead. The platform where her sword had cleared away the flames did nothing when I stepped on it.

Must have been a one-time trap. Once we'd safely crossed, the Murder Clown laughed as if amused.

"Ohohohoh! Breaking through like that — how entertaining, how fun! But next time, you won't solve it with guts alone~!"

The Murder Clown seemed flustered too. Spouting lines that never appeared in Dungeon in Evil was proof of that.

Well, who would ever think of diving bare-bodied into flames and cutting them down with a sword wind…?

Wonder if the others would be okay.

I'd wondered if that stunt was only possible because Erinn was the Hero, but the others could probably manage just fine too.

Ser-Aria and Clara were so agile they might slip out before the flames even reached them. Letisia had her salamander, so fire wouldn't touch her, and Freya would hold out behind the solid barrier of her overwhelming divine power.

…I really didn't need to worry.

Erinn had been right. Even if I fed them slightly wrong information, these girls each had the ability to handle things on their own.

In that case, I'd offer solutions based on what I knew for now. If something seemed off, or if the Murder Clown's words led me to a different judgment… then I'd propose another approach.

And so we stepped onto the next color platform — the red one.

"Ohohoh! Coming this far is impressive. The exit is nearly within reach! But you should know that the seeker is closing in just as fast!"

After roughly summarizing our progress and tossing in a few remarks, the Murder Clown offered us another piece of advice that wasn't really advice, just as expected.

"Allow me to offer some sincere advice once more! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠After crossing three platforms, you will face a formidable foe! And if you fail to deal with that foe in time…."

The Murder Clown laughed with a creepily slimy grin.

"Ohoho, whatever will happen?"

A powerful enemy three tiles ahead. Some of that was probably true, some false. For example, there might be something three tiles ahead — but not a powerful enemy.

Or there might be nothing at all three tiles ahead. Or everything could be true, except that even if we failed to deal with the enemy in time, the seeker still wouldn't catch up.

"……."

Either way, there was only one choice here.

"Erinn, you okay with whatever comes out?"

"Of course. I'm not a scrub like you~♡"

What a reassuring statement.

"Then let's go."

Erinn gave a light nod and took the lead. Together we moved the three tiles the Murder Clown had mentioned — and something really did appear.

"I was waiting so long my neck nearly fell off!"

A woman in a gothic-lolita dress appeared, gripping a razor-sharp scythe.

Looking closer… she didn't seem like an ordinary monster. Awkward joint seams were visible at her exposed knees and elbows.

But that face — hadn't I seen it somewhere before?

"What~? I definitely smashed her to pieces~♡"

Erinn sounded just as confused. Hearing that confirmed I hadn't been seeing things.

She was definitely one of the two dolls that had been hanging in a wretched state from Erinn's Holy Sword when we'd reunited with her party after taking down Ogdor.

There was another of the same kind…!?

Considering Erinn hadn't been able to back us up while dealing with that doll, this was clearly no pushover of an enemy.

Whether Erinn felt the situation was bad or just found it annoying, her expression wasn't particularly pleasant.

As if sensing our mood, the doll called out in an even more arrogant voice.

"I'll avenge my brother!"

Brother?

Allen tilted his head. A brother, all of a sudden? Who was she talking about?

To the puzzled Allen, Erinn offered an explanation.

"There used to be a male doll she called her brother too, but he's gone and only the girl showed up again~?"

"Ah."

Allen understood then. The doll before them wasn't a new entity — she was one of the dolls Erinn had smashed back then.

But how a completely destroyed doll could reappear was something Allen still didn't quite grasp.

In Dungeon in Evil, the same type of monster could appear again, but never the exact same individual. That was why he hadn't initially thought it was the same doll, and assumed there had simply been another one.

But the exact same individual…

"…If it's revenge for her brother, she means the one you tore apart?"

"Yeah! But you weren't there back then, were you?"

Allen had been fighting Ogdor at the time, so of course Leni hadn't seen him. Leni was briefly curious about the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠new enemy's identity, but soon decided he didn't look like much and spoke.

"I don't care who you are. Get in the way of my brother's revenge and I'll just kill you!"

Leni spun her dark-blue scythe in a full circle. An ominous energy settled over the blade.

Seeing that, Allen's eyes widened slightly. As a player of Dungeon in Evil, he recognized instantly that this wasn't mana — it was a different kind of power.

"…Ominous?"

"Oh, so you know~?"

Erinn said.

"Your scrub power can't do anything about it, so stay back~♡"

She was right. That power was something Allen's mana-binding ability had no way of dealing with.

"…Got a plan?"

Erinn answered by raising her Holy Sword instead of speaking. Seeing her stance, Allen said:

"I'll still try."

"What~? You already know it's useless~?"

"I'm not aiming for that."

Allen said.

"She's a doll."

"……Hmm. True."

Erinn reacted as if she understood. She no longer told Allen to fall back.

"I don't know what you're chattering about, but aren't you gonna attack already?"

Leni pointed behind them.

"Heh, the seeker's coming, you know?"

"Then here I go, scrub~♡"

"Yeah."

The moment Erinn leaped forward, Leni sneered and swung her scythe.

"So predictable!"

Clang!!

It was a predictable attack, just as she'd said. But Erinn was neither inexperienced in combat nor a fool. There was always a reason for making an obvious move.

The instant Leni's scythe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠locked against Erinn's Holy Sword, Allen raised his mana. The Ominous energy on Leni's scythe was completely unaffected by Allen's power — but Leni's body itself was another matter.

"Ugh!?…W-wait…!"

Leni was a doll powered by mana. The driving force of her doll body reacted to Allen's mana, and her movements grew sluggish — as if she'd been hit with some kind of paralysis poison.

"How is this…"

Leni didn't understand at first, then realized the mana inside her body was being drawn toward Allen's power as if responding to it.

"I should have taken you out first…!"

She realized it too late.

Erinn was not so green a Hero as to miss that stiffening of movement. The moment Leni's motions went wrong, Erinn swept her sword in a rapid arc.

Slash!

Once.

Slash, slash!

Twice, three times.

Slash, slash! Slash——!!

Once the cutting started, Leni was carved dozens of times over, and Erinn precisely severed the doll's power source.

"All that talk about revenge, and you still weren't worth much~♡"

Erinn looked back. There stood Allen, who had raised his mana to help her.

She remembered the promise they'd made in that small village with the lizard dungeon. The man who'd boldly declared he'd become useful within two months was, before she knew it, gradually making good on that claim.

One month left. Even Erinn found it hard to predict how much Allen would grow in that time.

His determination to keep their promise was deeply pleasing — and at the same time, her worry only grew. The more outstanding Allen's abilities became, the more he would step onto dangerous battlefields.

Still…

"You were actually useful this time, scrub~♡"

Praising what deserved praise — that was Erinn's true feeling.