Obelisk Assault (11)

Having wiped out every last wyvern in Zone G, we made our way to the top floor — Zone H — without any real interference to speak of.

To be precise, there was some interference, but the monsters involved were so far beneath the wyverns in strength that calling them an obstacle felt generous.

Against party members who could thrash a wyvern the moment you locked down its mana, hell hounds and their ilk never stood a chance.

Zone H was the Obelisk's uppermost floor — and the place where its boss would appear.

The man himself was Magic Knight Barkan, a core officer of the legion who had been personally charged by Magic Legion Commander Arcel with operating the Obelisk.

I had cut down core officers of the Demon King's legions countless times while playing Dungeon in Evil, but this would be the first time I faced one since arriving in this world.

I had no idea exactly how strong he would be — only that he would be far stronger than anything we had met so far.

The Lizard Lord alone had that kind of presence…

And Barkan was a man the Lizard Lord couldn't even begin to compare to.

"I mentioned this when we solved the Murder Clown's riddle, but the master of the Obelisk is Magic Knight Barkan — a core officer of the legion under Magic Legion Commander Arcel. One of Arcel's direct subordinates."

"…"

Freya and Letisia looked at me as if to ask how I could possibly know that, but Erinn spoke up before either of them could raise the question.

"Hmm, a core officer, huh… So he's pretty strong, then~? Shouldn't a scrub like you run for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it right about now~♡"

"No. I'm going too."

I understood what Erinn was driving at. Since I was leaving the party anyway, there was no need for me to force myself into the fight — leave this one to them. That was the idea.

Not a chance.

The hidden piece I was after was inside Zone H, right where Barkan was. How was I supposed to turn back now?

And this wasn't empty bravado from someone who would only get in the way.

"It'll be easier if I'm there."

"What's that supposed to mean~?"

"You think they call him the Magic Knight for nothing?"

People who wielded both magic and swordsmanship were commonly called magic swordsmen. A magic knight was the same idea — a knight who knew how to use magic.

"I'll strip Barkan of his magic."

With Dispel, I could seal off one of Barkan's most powerful weapons at the source. All he would have left were his physical abilities and his spear technique.

He wasn't a mana lifeform, so I couldn't degrade his bodily functions with my power, and as a core officer of the legion his spear work would be monstrously skilled…

"But even so, we'll be able to take him down much more easily."

Being unable to use magic alone would drop the difficulty of the Barkan fight by a huge margin.

"Just don't make the mistake of thinking he's weak without magic. He's a core officer of the legion."

I said it like a warning.

"Even his raw physical ability will be stronger than anything we've faced so far."

The party members showed a flicker of tension at that — everyone except Erinn, who looked completely at ease.

Well, she had probably been through this already. She had said she knew about Magic Knight Barkan, so she might well have defeated him herself in a previous life.

"Erinn, I want you to take field command."

"…Hmm?"

"I'll probably have to focus entirely on stripping Barkan's magic. My judgment calls might come a beat too late."

I said it while looking straight at her. Without adding anything further, I simply held her gaze, and Erinn seemed to catch on — she gave a small nod.

"Right. Still too much for a scrub, huh~♡"

"Sorry for putting it on you. This just felt like the surest way."

Between me, who had killed Barkan any number of times in the game, and Erinn, who had actually taken him down in reality — if someone had to hold field command, the one who had done it for real was the obvious choice.

"It's not much of a burden~?"

Erinn said it lightly as she rested the Holy Sword across the pauldron of her shoulder armor. Then, quietly, she spoke to me.

"You've worked hard."

"……"

"Let's go finish this."

Erinn stopped playing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mesugaki.

Maybe she knew this was the end of it.

The whole act — teasing me the way she had teased Allen as a child — had been her way of trying to jog his memories. There was no reason to keep it up with me anymore.

"Yeah."

The others tilted their heads at the shift in Erinn's demeanor, but when they saw the two of us already preparing for battle, they seemed to swallow their questions for the moment.

And so we set foot in Zone H, the uppermost floor of the Obelisk. Following the first corridor that greeted us led to a great door large enough for two or three people to walk through side by side with room to spare.

It felt like looking at the residence — or the audience hall — of a nation's ruler.

Considering that an officer granted an Obelisk by the Magic Legion Commander was effectively a king within its walls, the setting wasn't entirely out of place.

A little pretentious, maybe.

Boss rooms are supposed to have a bit of that flair, though. That's half the fun.

Erinn set her hand on the door.

"I'm opening it. Everyone ready."

"Yes."

"All set!"

An arrow settled on Ser-Aria's bowstring, and Letisia summoned her spirits in advance. Since I had no intention of using any mana beyond Dispel this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time, having the spirits out early was fine.

Freya laid blessings on Erinn, Ser-Aria, and Clara — the ones who would be fighting at the front and middle lines. Clara gave her concealed weapons one last check.

Then Erinn, Holy Sword already charged with mana, pushed the door open.

A vast space unfolded before our eyes, and a low, ominous voice rolled through it.

"So you made it this far."

A heavy thud shook the ground. A massive armored figure sat astride something grotesque, and the tremor had come from the footfalls of that four-legged beast.

"For humans, you have no small amount of spirit."

Its overall shape resembled an elephant, but the trunk was short, the legs long, and it had a full eight tusks. The gaping mouth was lined with predator-sharp teeth — the only things it shared with a real elephant were the general build, the tusks, and the large ears.

And it was enormous beyond all reason.

Letisia stared, overwhelmed by the sheer size of it.

"I've never seen a monster that large before…"

"…It's called an Oliphant."

A creature that could have been a dungeon boss in its own right — and he was riding the thing. It was almost absurd. In the Extreme difficulty of Dungeon in Evil, Barkan had always appeared on an Abyss Horse…

So this changed too.

Still, if he was a knight, shouldn't he at least be on something horse-like? Why sit on an elephant? Maybe it was just a blunt way of jacking up the boss difficulty.

…This world really did feel like Extreme difficulty cranked up another notch.

We were effectively facing two bosses at once. I glanced at Erinn, wondering if that might be too much — but she didn't look particularly rattled. She must have fought Barkan on an Oliphant before.

In that case, I can focus on…

Just doing my job.

"Your skill and spirit in climbing this far are worthy of praise. But this is where it ends."

Barkan drew an extraordinarily long spear. I didn't remember it being that long originally — it must have been scaled to match the Oliphant's size.

"By the Magic Legion Commander's order, I will dispose of you."

The moment the boss fight began, Erinn issued her orders.

"Aria — keep your distance from me."

"How far?"

"Far enough that your arrows can reach in one second."

"Nice and simple!"

Erinn and Ser-Aria charged forward together. I worried briefly that Clara had been left without orders, but I realized almost immediately that the concern was wasted.

…Nice.

Clara had already taken a position from which she could support Erinn and Ser-Aria at any moment — while still staying close enough to cover Letisia and Freya in the rear.

With a thief's agility, it was more than doable.

While I was still admiring Clara's positioning, Erinn had already closed to striking range of Barkan.

At the same time, Letisia's spirit — the gnome — unleashed its power, pinning Barkan and the Oliphant so they couldn't simply charge Erinn down.

That, too, was well timed. Thanks to it, Erinn closed the gap cleanly without taking any pressure. No detailed orders, and they were still reading each other perfectly.

I watched them with a faintly awkward expression.

Was I the one throwing off our coordination by demanding too much?

My instructions hadn't been wrong, but they might have been constraints for them more than anything else.

Having closed the distance, Erinn gripped the mana-charged Holy Sword in both hands. Barkan thrust his long, massive spear with startling speed — only for a volley of arrows to check the motion.

Ordinary arrows would have shattered against the spear shaft, but Ser-Aria deliberately fired only explosive ones, disrupting Barkan's attack.

"What a tiresome rhythm."

Barkan said it as he looked at Erinn, who had closed hard to find an angle for the Holy Sword.

"You think that will be enough?"

With that ominous warning, the mana coiled around Barkan's spear stacked into circuits, shaped itself into force, and completed itself as a spell in an instant.

I raised my own mana for Dispel — and then the message that floated up in front of me left me briefly stunned.

…A time limit?