Menesteil (11)
Thwung!
The moment I opened the boss room door, it slammed shut behind me on its own, and the figure that had been standing before the crimson wall turned around.
She hauled up the gray robe she was wearing with both hands and barked out in a voice that stabbed like a blade.
"So you've come to interfere with me?"
Smoldering scarlet eyes. Long hair the deep red of blood-soaked silk. Skin so caked with soot that its original color was impossible to find.
Her wretched appearance gave off the impression of a vagrant, and yet her very presence radiated an overwhelming pressure.
It was as though a savage beast had opened its jaws right in front of my face — the word fear carved itself into my mind again and again before scattering like dust.
Fear Overcome had activated.
"Ignorant fools, the lot of you."
The moment I could finally think rationally again, my very first thought was singular.
Why on EARTH is she still alive?! She should be nothing but bones, bound in the evil god's curse and shambling about — so why is she walking around with her own skin and warmth intact?!
What variable could have possibly appeared out of nowhere?
The petty evil god's interference? No. She can turn the dead into undead, but she can't bring a dead person back to life.
A change caused by me? That's not it either. She should have been dead long before I ever got involved. Then why in the world...
Oh.
Benedict.
Benedict Aln.
The man who should never have existed in the world of Soul Academy.
The one who seized the feats that were supposed to belong to someone else in order for the existence called Lucy Aln to even be possible.
A knight of overwhelming skill whose name alone inspired terror and awe in anyone who heard it.
Alsaetin...
"Info broker. Has your master ever worked with my idiot father?"
"...Pardon?"
Answer the question!
"Answer me!"
"Yes. We cleared an S-rank dungeon together..."
The moment I heard Alsaetin's answer, I understood exactly where this whole situation had its roots.
Originally, Karia was supposed to suffer a fatal wound while raiding the S-rank dungeon's boss.
Defeating one of the fire god's followers — and paying for it with a limited, dying lifespan!
But in this world, there had been no reason for her to take that fatal wound.
Because Benedict was standing right beside her!
Because the hero who was never supposed to exist stood at her side and shielded her!
And that was why, even now — dominated by the curse she'd earned from killing the boss and dragged all the way here — she was still breathing, still whole, still alive.
Ha.
Hahaha.
Damn it. This is just absurd.
How was I supposed to predict THAT?
How do you foresee an event that doesn't exist in the game — one that never could have existed?!
If I'd known about this, you should have at least dropped me a hint, you damn loser of a useless Chief God!
<Child. I understand your bewilderment, but now is not the time for such thoughts.>
I had been screaming somewhere between my throat and my soul, but Grandpa's words snapped my reason back into place. He was right.
Because right there in front of me stood a monster glaring down at me with eyes full of hatred.
"Hoh. So you were no mere intruder. A beloved of the loathsome Armadi, are you?"
Assess the situation.
The mountain of gear I'd prepared for an anti-undead battle had just become garbage.
All my schemes for weakening Karia before the hunt had been rendered useless.
The anti-evil-god supplies and my preparations against fire-attribute magic were still usable, at least.
But would that be enough?
"Did Armadi send you to stop me?"
Even as I cycled through my thoughts, Karia — follower of the fire god now, consumed by her curse — was advancing on us one measured step at a time.
I met her gaze, steadied my shield, and took a deep breath.
The boss room door was already sealed shut.
If I couldn't go back, then the only way was forward.
In the game, I'd taken this boss down bare-handed before.
If I set my mind to it, I can do it as many times as it takes.
I have contingencies ready for the worst-case scenario, too.
For now — let's just do this.
"That's ancient history, you washed-up old hag♡"
"...What did you say?"
"A menopausal has-been showing off like that just looks pathetic, doesn't it?♡"
"..."
"Wrinkles everywhere♡ Murder in your eyes♡ Hair falling out in patches♡ Puhahat♡ You're genuinely hideous, granny♡ At this point even an orc would gag and run away, wouldn't it?♡"
I forced myself to stay composed as I met those scarlet eyes burning with rage and loathing.
This is seriously not a joke.
It feels like someone dumped a boulder on my shoulders.
So THIS is what killing intent feels like.
"Insolent brat. Just because a god loves you, do you imagine yourself someone special?"
"Yap yap yap, so noisy♡ No wonder they say lips get looser with age, huh, granny?♡"
"You little—"
"Actually, is 'granny' a bit much? Since you've got years on me and all. My bad, hmm?"
"Retracting your words now won't accomplish anyth—"
"Old hag♡ When you're THAT old, you should at least act your age, shouldn't you?♡ Less mature than a teenager — how pathetic is that♡ No wonder you fell for a scam artist like an evil god, you old crone♡"
Karia's lips trembled, and then she drew a dagger from inside her robe.
The way the air around her swelled with exhilaration told me the provocation had landed, loud and clear.
So the first domino is down.
Get ready.
"Get ready, you losers."
"Yes, my lady."
"...Yes."
And Alsaetin...
"Info broker. That old hag over there is not your master anymore. She's an idiot who got devoured by an evil god. Don't hesitate."
Not that words alone could steel his heart.
If she'd appeared as undead, I could have shouted, Shouldn't you be putting your master out of her misery?! But Karia was alive.
When the face of the person you've been searching for all this time is standing right in front of you — how could anyone stay calm?
Anyone who could would have to be a psychopath.
It's fine. No problem. I just need to move while accounting for that too.
The instant Karia's dagger-wielding form left the ground, her silhouette vanished from the world entirely.
What the—?! Staggered by speed that felt like teleportation, I still wasn't the one who reacted.
Carl did. Having seen something — who knew what — he swung his blade toward a spot where nothing should have been.
A moment later, steel rang against steel, and Karia revealed herself.
"I will not—"
"—let you pass, my lady!"
Their blades drove toward each other.
It was combat far beyond anything I could hope to follow, yet the ebb and flow of it was plain from nothing more than the two fighters' expressions.
Carl's face was desperate; Karia's held room to spare.
Ha. I'd believed even Carl couldn't beat Karia in a one-on-one, but I hadn't imagined he'd be crushed THIS badly.
Considering the power Carl actually possesses, this fight should have ended at moderately unfavorable at worst!
Damn it. She was already a brutal boss, and she's gotten even STRONGER than in the game?!
<Child! You must move!>
I KNOW!
Benedict! Retraction on the thank-you! When I get home later, forget Papa this and Papa that — it's straight to I hate you, Dad! for you!
"Granny♡ You're that old and you're obsessing over a young man?♡ Puhahahaha!♡ Like he'd ever spare you a second glance?♡ Disgusting♡"
"Do you wish to die that badly?!"
Even against a monster this strong, the Mesugaki skill's taunts landed with perfect impartiality.
The instant Karia, her reason shredded, turned her glare on me—
Carl didn't miss that sliver of an opening. His blade flew, and Karia reacted a beat too late.
Got her clean. I was certain of it as I watched the strike come down — but I was wrong.
Because Karia's silhouette vanished once more.
The very moment Carl's descending blade cleaved empty air, Iron Wall screamed its warning.
Instinct moved faster than thought.
The instant I raised my shield, trusting Iron Wall blindly, an impact rode down its face and crashed into me.
You... damned...! Insanely strong!
Even as I barely held against the blow, my arm was shaking.
Only because Alsaetin frantically loosed an arrow at Karia — if not for that, I would without question have been in mortal danger.
Damn it. At this rate, I can't sustain the fight. We'll just get whittled down one-sidedly.
The founding assumption of my plan against Karia had been that Carl's stamina and my taunts, combined, could hold the line.
If Karia had been undead and vulnerable to my prepared countermeasures, Carl could have handled her alone.
And even if my countermeasures had failed, if Karia had been at her game-accurate level, then Carl's skill plus my taunts plus Alsaetin's support together should have been enough to take her on.
But not now. A Karia who never tasted death was operating far, far beyond anything I had planned for.
Iron Wall raised its alarm yet again.
The moment my shield swung that way, Carl — who had somehow closed to my side — caught Karia's blade.
"Hngh."
Judging her attack failed, Karia swallowed her silhouette into nothingness once more.
"My lady. At this rate, we will be defeated."
<This one speaks true. She is merely toying with us, and that alone sustains this stalemate. The instant she commits her full strength, it will shatter.>
A variable.
A variable I never saw coming.
That was what had wrecked everything.
I knew I'd get sabotaged.
Practically nothing I'd ever attempted had gone according to plan, after all.
The petty Chief God, House Georg — I'd assumed someone, anyone, would come after me.
But being sabotaged by something that happened before I ever transmigrated into this body? That I never saw coming!
This time it doesn't matter, because I'm stocked with a means of escaping the crisis — but next time, I'll have to verify every last detail like this one too.
Realizing I'd hit an impassable wall, I tapped one of the items in my Inventory.
The Dungeon Escape Ticket.
The item the loser Chief God had granted me, to spur my back, when I was first begged to save Adri.
An item that teleports the entire party back to the dungeon entrance.
The driving force that had let me wander dungeons without a single worry.
Using Dungeon Escape Ticket.
Let's get out of the dungeon first and build a fresh strategy.
Taking her down is beyond us as things stand.
Haah. But even with our current forces and thorough preparation, could we actually beat Karia? Doubtful.
I used the Dungeon Escape Ticket and waited for the teleportation effect to rise — but bizarrely, the ticket produced no phenomenon at all.
... Time until casting completes / 03 : 00
What?! It has a casting time in real life, unlike the game?!
I have to survive for three full MINUTES?!*
"Very well. Then let us see whether you can endure this as well. You can manage it, can't you? You're young, after all. Little brat?"
Revealing herself before the altar, Karia raised her dagger high.
And from behind her back, a giant woven from flame emerged into being.
Damn it — the evil god's magic got buffed too?! This is way too much! This is a balance disaster!
Certain that even Alsaetin's spell-etched arrows couldn't fully counter it, I wreathed my shield in Divinity.
Ha! That's right, you loser, useless Chief God — when have you ever actually done your job properly?!
I'll hold the line!
Because tanking is the thing I do best!
