Chapter 267: The Infinite Labyrinth, Anew (4)
Chapter 267: The Infinite Labyrinth, Anew (4)
I’d milked it for all it was worth.
Correction.
I pried open the cover on the Wave Queen's chest.
[See! This isn't a living thing! It's a giant Golem!]
The Wave Queen’s true form was a massive Golem, and the Sea Elves were entering and exiting through some part of its body.
[I thought it was weird that I didn't get a rise out of me even after seeing a woman like that, but she wasn't even a living creature!]
"Amazing! To realize it was a Golem from just that! As expected of the Lewd Man!"
"Captain Laura, it’s a bit troubling if you’re sincerely impressed by that..."
"But isn't it true? Who would have thought that thing was a Golem?"
"Well, that’s true, but still."
I had found it.
Using the Cock Compass as my narrative justification, I bypassed the original game's gimmick.
'They’ll never know.'
Normally, you’d have to clear out every single Sea Elf around the Wave Queen while dealing with the Phase 2 gimmick. Once you intercept a certain number of Sea Elves, the Wave Queen—who usually just watches—snaps her eyes open and begins a relentless assault.
I skipped all that and went straight for the lid.
Now, all that was left was to attack the 'True King' hidden inside the Golem.
[Everyone, start the attack here!]
"I'll go first!"
Zenith gathered flames at the tip of the staff she held high toward the sky.
"Flare!!"
Attacking a private part might have felt a bit wrong, but opening the lid of a fake breast and blasting the empty space inside was a different story entirely.
Whoosh!
From a distance, a fireball flew in a parabolic arc and sucked right into the Wave Queen's chest that I had pried open.
Kabaaaaam!
"Aaaagh!"
"No! Not the inside!!"
The Sea Elves chasing me collapsed in despair, and soon, screams erupted from within the body.
"It looks like there are more Sea Elves inside!"
[Don't worry about them and just take them all out! Finish them before they can get out!]
I repeatedly jumped on the opposite lid.
Clang! Clang! Cla-ang!
It was attached so firmly that it wouldn't budge, but as long as I could create even a small gap, I could rip the rest off with brute force.
"Stop that madman!"
"Stop the cockroach!"
The Sea Elves treated me like a crazed cockroach and threw things like ropes toward me.
"Knock him off! Get a rope on him!"
"Ugh, it's too high, I can't reach...!"
"Aaaagh! Watch out for what's flying in from behind!"
They were likely planning to tie me up and pull me off the Wave Queen's body, but their timing was terrible.
Kishishit.
Because something capable of supporting me had already leaped onto the heads of the Sea Elves, hopping along until it soared toward the Queen's thighs.
"I'll stop them from climbing up!"
[Nice, Charlotte!]
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
As soon as the Vorpal Rabbit hopped up and landed on the Wave Queen's thigh, it immediately went into a Windmill.
"Kuaaaaagh!"
Splash, splash.
The kicks from the creature, using its already oversized legs to boot the Sea Elves away, were like the blades of a windmill. The Sea Elves who had been swinging their ropes were sent flying sideways, crashing headfirst into the water.
"You brat!"
"For a mere doll...!"
"Are you mocking us with that rabbit face?!"
The Sea Elves threw ropes at the Vorpal Rabbit, but it dodged them with nimble movements and instead used the ropes to bind the Sea Elves themselves.
"Kyaaaak!!"
[Man. That’s Nine-Tail for you.]
The Vorpal Rabbit’s distinction was clear.
It kicked the men down into the water and tied the women with ropes, rolling them down beneath the Queen.
Capturing enemies in the middle of a fierce battle is incredibly difficult, but if you're going to capture them anyway, it's only natural to do it efficiently.
The tide of battle had already turned in our favor.
Papat.
Furthermore, golden arrows began to fly in to support me.
The golden arrows, which had been burying themselves in the backs of the Sea Elves, eventually reached the Wave Queen's chest where I was standing.
In that moment, I locked eyes with Laura.
Laura, who was preparing a golden arrow different from her usual ones, nodded at me. I immediately braced myself and leaped high into the air.
"Get away! It's going to explode!"
[Roger!]
The golden arrow struck precisely at the seam I had been hammering with my crowbar. I kicked off the chest, leaped high, and grabbed onto the collarbone.
Boom!
An explosion occurred.
The golden arrow triggered a violent burst of Magic Power, and simultaneously, a screeching metallic sound echoed throughout the entire cavern.
"Aaaagh!"
"The other entrance is falling! Watch out!!"
Rumble.
Just like when I had pried open the first side, as soon as the upper seam broke, the chest plate slumped downward.
Clatter.
The chest cover, now hanging completely open, began to dangle loosely.
Despair began to settle deeply on the faces of the Sea Elves now that the entrance leading inside was wide open.
"One more time!"
Zenith raised her staff high, gathering Mana.
"I-if it's come to this...!"
"Kill the mages! Especially that fire mage!"
"Make it so she can't fire flames inside!!"
The Sea Elves who hadn't yet climbed onto the Wave Queen's feet turned hurriedly to stop that attack, but just because the Vorpal Rabbit had moved up didn't mean our allies were exposed.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Nero swung her long spear, completely cutting off the Sea Elves' approach.
With rapid thrusts and wide horizontal sweeps to push them back, not a single Sea Elf could get close to Nero.
But did the enemy attacks coming from the water reach my allies?
Not at all.
Clang—!
"Damn it, why won't that break!"
"Keep attacking until it breaks! They're all women with weak defense! Just shoot them down!!"
The Sea Elves who had fallen into the water gritted their teeth and fired water bullets, but the rock walls spread out to the left and right were so sturdy that they didn't even take a scratch.
[Evelyn! Behind you!]
"Responding."
Even the Sea Elves who tried to sneak up from behind where the Vorpal Rabbit had left were suppressed.
Spear-like earthen thorns erupted from the wall, piercing the Sea Elves' bodies. The thorns remained lodged in them as they broke off from the wall, tumbling down onto the path below.
A perfect harmony of offense and defense.
In truth, the only way they could succeed in an attack against us was if our concentration wavered or if they attempted an attack we simply couldn't handle.
[Ah, damn it.]
Clatter.
[I guess I'm not even allowed to think?]
Finally, the Wave Queen's head, which had been stationary, began to move.
The eyes that had been staring blankly without pupils were now aimed precisely at Evelyn's Torchka, and her mouth was also turning toward my allies.
Vroooooom.
An immense amount of Magic Power began to gather in her mouth.
The long-range dealers tried to respond, but the Mana had already finished gathering.
She hadn't opened her mouth to prepare the attack.
[Who the hell charges a shot inside their mouth before even opening it?!]
She had finished the preparations and only opened her mouth because she was about to fire.
"Her mouth...?! Don't tell me...?!"
[Breath!!]
I leaped up from the collarbone and swung my crowbar with all my might at the Wave Queen's jaw.
[Not on my watch!]
Thwack!
I swung the crowbar with both hands so hard I almost slipped off the collarbone.
But I had to force the Wave Queen's aim to the side, and my full-power crowbar strike—
Crack.
—was a success.
Kuaaaaaaaaah!!
The water-colored Breath she had been holding in her mouth fired downward.
The Breath was so powerful it was more intense than a waterfall; it felt like the water pressure alone would crush anything it touched.
[Nice!]
However, the Breath only grazed the earthen wall and flew off to the side of the path, causing no damage to my allies.
The direction of the Breath had been subtly twisted, and because her jaw had been knocked aside, it fired in a curve, landing slightly away from where my allies were stationed.
"Emergency repairs!"
Still, being a boss's attack, it managed to blast a hole in the side of the earthen wall.
Until now, no Sea Elf had been able to leave even a scratch, but now the wall was gone as if it had been swept away by a flood.
However, Evelyn repaired the wall instantly.
Though it seemed to consume a significant amount of Mana, she pulled a Mana Potion from her robe and downed it immediately.
[We've got plenty of potions, too.]
If nothing else, trying to beat us in a battle of Mana capacity or attrition was pointless.
And we had no intention of letting this become a war of attrition anyway.
Whirring.
An ominous energy began to thicken throughout the entire cavern.
No matter how I looked at it, the Labyrinth's rampage was worsening, and we were fast approaching the Maginot Line.
[Hyaaaap!]
With a shout, I jumped and grabbed onto her sideburns.
The Wave Queen's eyes snapped toward me, but I didn't care. I climbed up her sideburns like a rope, heading for the top of her head.
Rumble.
The Queen's neck jerked left and right, trying to shake me off.
But the movement wasn't like a person shaking their head; it was the mechanical movement of a machine, so I reached the top of the Wave Queen's head without any trouble.
The 'Named' indicator was flashing right above her.
I swung my crowbar at it once, then swung it down again with a massive overhead strike toward the crown of her head.
[Take this!]
Kabaaaaam!
The Wave Queen's skull shattered.
As if breaking through a thin ceiling, I threw myself down into the shattered crown.
[Hello there.]
"H-heeeek?!"
Inside the head.
In the space where a brain should have been, a being that seemed to be controlling the Wave Queen—a 'Neptunian'—was sitting in a chair, trembling.
[Well, well.]
I gripped my crowbar again.
[As I thought, you've gotta die.]
The Wave Queen hadn't taken the form of a Sea Elf after all—
[Where do you think you're going, you damn Angler Shark trying to hook people!]
Instead, an Angler Shark wearing a crown was sitting on the throne.
Thwack.
The moment I swung the crowbar, the ominous energy that had filled the cavern began to wither away.