93. Dance with the Witch (6)
93. Dance with the Witch (6)
Third floor.
"...Wow... what is this place?"
The sight from the third-floor entrance overwhelmed me. Until now, I'd only ever seen it in the game.
Statues of orcs and lizardmen filled the third floor, with a blue crystal at their center.
The scene looked like a battlefield frozen in place. I sat down and admired it like a work of art. Hundreds of statues—perhaps even a thousand—filled the third floor. Glaring at one another with weapons in hand, they were detailed enough to look ready to spring to life at any moment.
"...There's nothing but statues, though?"
Sif's puzzled voice came from behind me.
She was right. Aside from the crystal at the center of the third floor, there was nothing here but statues.
Which was precisely why I'd chosen this dungeon. It made setting up the situation I wanted easier.
"Sif. Look at that crystal."
"That looks like the kind of crystal you really shouldn't touch..."
"Touch it, and every single one of these statues will wake up."
When I pointed a finger at the crystal and told her, Sif's eyes went wide and she shouted.
"What? All those statues are going to wake up?"
"Yep."
Pressing the crystal would wake every statue—nearly a thousand of them, at minimum. Considering that the dungeons near Kalon Academy served as early-game dungeons, facing that many enemies might have seemed absurdly difficult at first glance.
But...
"You two look closely. How are the statues positioned?"
"Orcs... and lizardmen... and they're divided with the crystal at the center."
"Y-Yes, they are."
"And in this dungeon, at least, orcs and lizardmen are mortal enemies."
I did not know how they behaved elsewhere, but in this dungeon the orcs and lizardmen were mortal enemies fighting over cramped territory. Their hatred had built for a long time. It was time to release it again.
"Th-Then..."
"Exactly. The moment the crystal activates, they're going to try to finish the fight they never could."
Once time began moving again, the hatred trapped inside them would run wild.
"Then it's easier than it looks! If we leave them alone, they'll all kill each other!"
"Yeah. In theory."
But there was no way it'd work out that neatly.
"I-If we t-touch that crystal ourselves... w-we'll be... smack in the middle of the battlefield..."
"Correct. Elisa. As expected of someone from the Magic Department, you're smart."
Seeing my chance, I praised her and stole a careful glance at Elisa as she smiled shyly, her lips curving like a crescent moon. A direct stare might have startled her. Sif scowled at me, but I ignored her and looked back over the battlefield.
As Elisa pointed out, the crystal sat right in the middle of the battlefield, so touching it would drop us in the center no matter what. And we'd inevitably end up fighting a brutal battle under attack from both sides.
And then...
"Elisa. Do you know how to inject mana into an object?"
"Ah, I do..."
"You have to inject mana into the crystal to wake those things up."
"What?"
"I'm saying I need your help."
Naturally, I had no intention of carrying her from beginning to end. That wouldn't build Elisa's confidence. Her self-esteem mattered more than the assignment. I could strengthen her abilities by forcing every Easter egg and item I could find on her, but no item could compensate for low self-esteem.
"Elisa. You can do this. You'll be safe as long as you stick right next to me, so wake the crystal."
"B-But it's..."
Tears welled in Elisa's eyes. She was beautiful enough to stir some guilt in me, even if she was not on Karina's level, but I still had to do what needed to be done. I stroked her head and whispered encouragement into her ear.
"When the Squad 3 leader tried to kidnap you, didn't you risk your life to save a student whose name you didn't even know? And you even successfully ran away. Remember that moment. You can do this."
"I-I'll give it a try..."
Good. After persuading Elisa, I fiddled with the Screenshot and spoke to Sif, who was waiting for us.
"Sif. Keep taking pictures with the cam—no, the Screenshot."
"From here?"
"No, from down there."
"A-Aren't they going to attack me?"
"As long as you don't get too close, they won't attack you."
The two races hated each other to the point of loathing. An ordinary cat beastkin wouldn't take priority over their hatred for one another.
"We'll set up a temporary camp and then head down."
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They looked even more lifelike up close, I thought as I stared up at the largest statue.
The orc great warrior.
And the lizardman great warrior on the opposite side.
The bosses of the third floor.
Normally, if left alone, one of the two would die, but...
Since we had come this far, we might as well make sure we collected the rewards.
After forming a rough plan in my head, I led Elisa—who was clutching my sleeve and trembling—over to the crystal.
Along the way, I struck the statues several times with my shovel, but it had no effect at all. As expected, some form of magic or system mechanic seemed to prevent them from being destroyed.
"Sif! Take a Screenshot!"
Click.
With the two of us standing before the crystal captured in the shot, we had secured our evidence. Next...
"Elisa. Start. It shouldn't require that much mana."
"O-Okay..."
Elisa grabbed the crystal with her hands and closed her eyes. I waited behind her, ready to scoop her up and run at any moment.
That was dazzling.
As Elisa began infusing it with mana, the crystal started flashing with blue pulses. I covered my eyes and waited for the light to fade.
"E-Eek..."
Cracking sounds rang out across the battlefield. As monsters emerged from the gradually shattering statues, Elisa recoiled in fear. I grabbed her shoulders and said,
"See it through to the end."
"Y-yes..."
"Kwaaahk!"
"Kiyaaaak!"
Life returned to the battlefield, and war cries erupted from all sides. Were they celebrating the resumption of the war, or venting rage after being trapped for so long? When Elisa staggered, I pushed the question aside and scooped her up.
"Ah, ah, ah..."
"Hold on tight so you don't fall."
The moment I finished speaking, Elisa clung to my chest like a baby, her purple hair pressed against me.
I immediately kicked off the ground.
This place was about to become a blood-soaked battlefield, so getting out as fast as possible was key. I used a Skill to survive any potential attacks.
"Craft. Craft. Craft. Craft. Craft..."
Walls shot up on either side of me. With the strength of an orc or lizardman, they wouldn't last long, but holding for a single hit was enough. I used the Skill in rapid succession as I sprinted toward Sif.
"Th-That's terrifying..."
"It hasn't even started yet."
"What?"
"Craft."
"Mreow?!"
Using the Skill, I dug a small pit in the ground and shaped a place where she could sit. I set Elisa down there. Flushed, she looked up at me and asked,
"...Y-Yohan. I-Is it over?"
"No. This war only ends when we intervene."
What meaning would there be if they simply fought until it ended on its own? The war had to produce a victor, and we had to win as a third faction. I sat in front of Elisa, met her eyes, and said,
"How much mana did you use?"
"Uh, about thirty percent..."
"How many times can you cast Third-Class Magic?"
"T-Ten times... I think I could."
"And Second-Class Magic?"
"T-Two times..."
"Can you use fire magic and lightning magic?"
"I-I can..."
So I needed to wipe out all the rank-and-file monsters myself, leaving only the leaders.
I took some jerky out of my backpack and shared it with Sif and Elisa.
"Eat up. We're going to be moving around a lot soon."
With the harmony of clashing weapons and the sound of flesh being torn as background music, I wolfed down my jerky. There was no need to jump into the fight right this second anyway.
I was not like Reni, capable of cutting through an army alone, nor was I stupid enough to stick my neck into a battlefield—the pinnacle of inefficiency.
The most important rule of survival was not to step into a death trap.
"We rest for thirty minutes and then join the fight."
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.
----------------
'I-I was so scared...'
The smell of blood seeped past the battlefield and drifted all the way into the pit. The sound of metal clashing on metal. Final screams.
A battlefield horrible even to imagine.
Multiple kinds of terror rattled her heart.
It was scary.
She wanted to run away.
But she couldn't run.
Not only did she lack the ability to run, but from the very start, this was a dungeon they'd come to for her assignment, so she couldn't pick the shameless choice of running away. Even if she was a coward with low self-esteem, she hadn't forgotten basic human decency.
'B-But still, I-I was so scared...'
Her wandering gaze drifted toward Sif, who was also resting with her eyes closed. The cat beastkin was asleep with her black ears folded back. She seemed accustomed to this kind of thing, having quickly fallen into a light sleep.
Next, her gaze landed on Yohan. A burly man with a fierce face covered in burn marks and scars. His soul was alien, evoking thoughts of a battle-hardened warrior who had survived countless battlefields. Unlike other souls that glowed semi-transparent or with a blue light, his shone a deep red.
She couldn't help but feel terror at the unknown soul she was seeing for the first time. Just what in the world was that soul? The fear of the unknown combined with his appearance to create an even greater sense of dread.
'B-But even so, he wasn't that scary anymore...'
She'd been around him too long to remain afraid merely because of his appearance.
She thought he was a good person. Because of her gloomy appearance and timid personality, few people liked her. Even so, he was the first man to treat her kindly.
If she had an older brother, would it feel like this?
Without realizing it, Elisa quietly crept closer to him as he sat there with his arms crossed. Fortunately, there was just enough space for her to sit right next to him. She carefully sat beside him and leaned against his body.
Like a baby bird that had found the safest place on a battlefield filled with soul-gnawing terror, she quietly closed her eyes. The fatigue accumulated during the descent to the third floor weighed down her eyelids.
Dozing lightly, he cracked his eyes open at the warmth beside him and gently lowered Elisa until her head rested on his lap. Her sleeping face looked peaceful.
"...She's sleeping well."
"Wow, you're pretty popular~"
Sif, who had been watching the situation, teased him with a mischievous laugh. Though the moment Yohan's arm flinched, she quickly lowered her tail and looked at him pitifully.
"Close your eyes and get some more sleep."
"Yeah, yeah."
With the awful sounds of the battlefield as their lullaby, all of them closed their eyes.