Chapter 77: Chapter 76
"So what's the situation? Are Zakorin and friends in trouble?"
"I think so. There's something strange about the way their enemies are moving. Let me look into it a little more."
After we teleported to the closest location with a Return point, Satou opened his map as he responded to Arisa. From what Satou had told us, it looked like the areamaster, known as the lightning elder stag, stood alone against Zarigon's troops while the other monsters in the spacious room were huddled together unnaturally on the opposite side.
"Another chain rampage? What? Are chain rampages a fad with the explorers in Labyrinth City right now?" Arisa muttered.
"Uh-oh. This doesn't look great." Satou hurried toward the cavern with the rest of us in tow.
"Up aheeead?"
"Flying buggies, sir!"
Further along the corridor, someone lay on the ground, swarmed by black insects, on the brink of death. Liza swiftly swatted them with her spear, and Sara quickly got to work treating his wounds.
"I'll protect the larvae, I declare!"
The three passages contained a group of six beastfolk children, all on the brink of death as well. Accompanying them were three human men, who, regrettably, were already deceased. It seemed that the beastfolk had managed to survive, likely due to the relatively weak bug-type monsters that had surrounded them. Nana's speedily rescued the kids and brought them over to me.
"The larvae need treatment right away, I report,"
"Okay, just put them down, and I'll take care of them," I smile as Nana lays each of the children down.
Thankfully, the children aren't that badly injured. A few cuts and bruises, and only one of them has a broken bone. If it wasn't for the sleep powder some of the flying monsters were scattering, these kids would have been able to…
"Hey, Satou," I call out, noticing a piece of string hanging from a rabbitfolk kid's pocket. "It looks like they were using 'Monster Incense'."
"The men had strings too. So they used these nine people as sacrificial pawns..."
The three men likely perished due to the incense-soaked cords they were frantically grasping. Meanwhile, across the room, Zarigon and his team battled against the areamaster. I hope they didn't have anything to do with this. I was aware that Zarigon was a crude brute, but I never imagined he would stoop to such depths.
"Mn…"
"Hero Kura, the injured people have awoken, I report."
Now that the insects were gone, I could see four rabbitfolk, one dogfolk, and one bearfolk child.
"Thank you for saving us. I'm Usasa, a rabbitfolk."
Once the boy named Usasa introduced himself, the others shared their names: Rabibi, Tokaka, Gikeke, Gaugaru, and Kevea. Hmm… Rabibi's ears twitch just like Pearl's when she's nerverous.
"Do you mind if I ask what happened?"
Usasa started to answer, but then he suddenly looked around frantically.
"Wait, where is he?! Where's Big Bro Besso?!"
"I'm sorry, but the three men we found with you are…"
"No, not those bastards! I mean Big Bro Besso and Tahere!"
There were others, too? Trying to calm the frantic boy, I asked Satou to locate them. Unfortunately, the news wasn't good. Besso was already dead, having somehow ended up in the centre of the room. But since Satou didn't want to reveal his cheat map skill, he asked Pochi to look around the room with a longscope. While we were waiting for Pochi to find the body, I continued to question the kids.
They told us that Besso was a caring man who had supported them during their time of homelessness, provided them with equipment, and helped them secure their bronze badges. I dealt he did it out of kindness, though after what happened with the Lovely Wing ladies.
"Besso is that criminal who keeps causing rampages, right?" Arisa muttered.
Besso was a troublesome guy we'd seen causing a maze ant chain rampage when we first entered the Celivera Labyrinth and had recently done it again with maze cockroaches. I'm surprised there are people still out there who have anything nice to say about this guy.
"He didn't seem that nice to me... He sacrificed some newbies to cause that whole cockroach situation, too. He probably just recruited these kids to use them as bait, don't you think?" Arisa continued.
The Besso these kids talked about was completely different from the one I had heard about from the Lovely Wings and the explorers at Koshin's gathering.
"""That's not true!"""
"You don't even know Big Bro!"
Hearing Arisa, the kids jumped Besso's defence. They must have really believed he was a kind man.
"We do, though. That's why we're saying it..."
The beastfolk kids started to charge toward Arisa, but Nana and I held them back.
"I found him, sir," Froutantly, Pochi spoke up, distracting the kids before they could attack. "He turned into a broken statue, sir."
Looking in the direction Pochi was pointing to, I spotted Besso's body. He was lying next to an open treasure chest atop the rocky hill in the middle of the room, turned to stone and being consumed by a basilisk. His petrified hand grasped a Magic Sword and a piece of string with the effects of Monster Incense.
Looks like Besso finally got what was coming to him. It was ironic that what he probably thought was his golden egg may have been his downfall. When I used the 'Far Sight' skill to get a better look at the sword, I saw the runs spelt out 'Good Luck' and 'Fortune' in mirror writing. It might actually carry the effects of 'Bad Luck' and 'Misfortune' in a world of magic like this one.
Tahere lay lifeless on the plains, situated midway between the rocky hill and the clash of Zarigon's men. He had been trampled to death by massive hooves. According to the children, he was Besso's partner. Given the extent of his injuries, it was difficult to discern much. Still, a Monster Incense tube rested near his waist, suggesting he had been leading monsters toward Zarigon.
I began to grasp the situation unfolding before me. It seemed that Besso and Tahere had likely exploited those men and the beastfolk children as bait in an attempt to steal the treasure from the chest, but their plan had backfired completely. I was foolish to blame Zarigon.
As I glanced back at Zarigon and his men, I noticed they were still engaged in combat with the areamaster. It seemed they were holding their own against the formidable opponent. It doesn't look like Besso's plan had put them in danger.
"So that's the areamaster? It's like something out of a kaiju movie." Arisa had climbed onto Satou's shoulders and watched the battle through a longscope. "Zakorin's not half-bad at this."
The lightning-infused elder stag surged ahead, effortlessly swatting aside the shield bearers. However, Zarigon and his team had anticipated this and deployed three massive metal nets they'd prepared beforehand to halt its advance. With the colossal creature immobilised, they unleashed a flurry of magic and catapult strikes.
At the forefront of the battle, Zarigon unleashed devastating attacks. Armed with a broadsword enhanced by "Spellblade," he executed a powerful strike that pierced through the lightning elder stag's defences, inflicting significant damage.
The ridges along the stag's back and extending to its head surged with a blinding light, its massive antlers shining with a brilliant white light. In an instant, powerful lightning bolts crashed down on the opposite side of the room, followed by a resounding clap of thunder.
"Did that take out Team Zarigon?"
"No, it looks like they had Thunder Rods ready."
It's possible that the poles holding up the metal net happened to function as lightning rods. Still, regardless of the reason, they protected Zarigon and his men from significant harm.
After executing that move, the lightning elder stag appeared to weaken in its defensive capabilities, as it was now sustaining greater damage from the counterattacks. With its charges and lightning strikes effectively countered, the enormous deer attempted to crush the men with its hooves. However, Zarigon and his team still possessed a considerable amount of strength. If things continued like this, they were likely to emerge victorious in the battle.
"Big Bro Besso wouldn't die on us!" Usasa's cry brought my attention back to the kids.
"All right. Maybe he just went back to your base, then. Let's head over there."
Finding the relatively safest route, Satou to the lead guided us toward Zarigon's camp.
<0>
"Uh-oh."
"What is it, master?" Liza looked at Satou with concern.
"Oh, it's just..."
"Whoa, it's overrun with monsters!"
As we continued along our route, we stumbled upon the remnants of the camp, where monsters were lurking. The abandoned bags and tents lay in disarray, trampled underfoot, and the ground was soaked with water from the shattered barrels.
"Whoa, it's overrun with monsters!"
"What should we do, Usasa? Nobody's here."
"Does this mean we can't get back?"
As the beast-folk children surveyed the devastated campsite, a panic swept over them. However, most of the monsters were insignificant, possessing only levels in the single digits.
"Don't worry. I'll get you back to Zarigon's group," Satou assures them. "Just hide behind this rock for now, okay? Liza, clear a path for us, please."
"Understood."
Liza brought Tama and Pochi along to deal with the monsters lurking in the camp, as passing through it was our only chance to catch up with Zarigon. She could have handled the task herself, but Pochi and Tama looked eager to join in.
"Hi-yaaa?"
"Whoosh, sir!"
Tama destroyed a basilisk's eye with a kunai knife, and Pochi ran up the wall, made a flying leap, and cut off its head with her sword lengthened by magic.
"Fire Hi… Wind Kaze…"
Mia harnessed the most basic form of 'Spirit Magic' to conjure flames. The tiny insects ignited while the creeping weeds began to scatter in panic.
"Take this!"
Aiming at the maze swallows and lesser cockatrices flying near the ceiling, Lulu fired her new gun.
"Huntiiing?"
"Grilled meat skewers, sir!"
Tama and Pochi zipped over as the bird monsters fell and cut off their heads. Liza used her longspear to cut down the fawn monsters that charged at her. The fawns tried to shoot lightning from the bumps on their forehead, but Liza cut them down before they could. Pearl and Arisa fought monsters that rolled up like tyres and resembled armadillos. At the same time, Nana supported them with 'Magic Arrows' as she stood guard by the kids.
"…Divine Light Wall!"
A wall of bright white light suddenly appeared between Mia and a goblin assassin who tried to sneak up on us. Atou swiftly cut it down before it could recover.
"Mm. Thanks,"
As Mia and Sara exchange nods, the battle comes to an end. Once the monsters had all been defeated, we spread out through the camp, leaving Pearl and Sara to guard the kids.
"How's the new equipment?"
"Very niiice?"
"It's amazing, sir! I can even beat big monsters, like slash, sir!"
"The laser gun has great aim, even from long distances. But this physical rifle sends monsters flying when it hits, so it's really fun!"
Tama, Pochi, and Lulu were all smiles.
"Good."
"There is little negative impact when I block monsters, I report."
"I like the Floating Shields for our rearguard dress armour, too. When the thorn armadillos blocked shots, the shields moved on their own to protect us-although I sent those shots away with Space Magic before they reached us, of course."
Mia, Nana, and Arisa also seemed to like the new equipment.
"Arisa, could you do me a favour?"
"Okey-dokey."
Satou had Arisa set up a 'Space Magic' barrier on the border of the large room and stationed Nana there to guard her, just in case.
"Not at all. It cut right through even the toughest of hides and channelled magic as well as before. It's just..." Liza hesitated, looking away. "My weapon of choice is still the Magic Cricket Spear."
Satou had no objections to Liza's requests.
"Okay, we shouldn't get any more unwelcome guests for a while."
"Thank you, Arisa."
Arisa returned with Nana from putting a Space Magic lid to block off the large room.
"The metal poles and nets they used to hunt the lightning elder stag were all melted into puddles. Areamasters really are on another level, I guess." Arisa shivered. "Should we just leave this one be?"
I couldn't agree more. Without a proper plan, we would… while I'm sure Satou could make it out okay, but the rest of us could be in trouble.
"Aw, what a waste. This'd be the perfect chance to hit it with an advanced Space Magic surprise attack and take it down!"
"Arisa, monster or not, we ought to challenge the lord that reigns over an area head-on, not defeat it with such underhanded tactics."
"Geez, Liza, you're so cool! I guess that's true. I want to beat our first areamaster when it's at full power, not already wounded by someone else!"
"Hero Kura, should we retrieve the baggage? I inquire."
"No, they will probably come back for it later,"
I doubt there is much to salvage here, but I still wouldn't want to be accused of being a thief by taking what little we found. We only retrieved some cockatrice meat before we continued following Zarigon's party, defeating monsters along the way.
<0>
"...What is it, twerp?"
After we caught up with Zarigon's party, who was taking a brief rest in a safe zone, Satou requested a meeting with their leader and was taken aback by the manner of his greeting.
"Ah, have I not introduced myself before? My name is Satou Pendragon, a knight of the Muno Barony."
"I know that. You're always hanging around with the guildmaster's booze girl, right?"
"Those wounds look painful," Satou said, ignoring his comment.
"Go ahead and laugh. This is what I get for trying to compete with Jelil and taking on a fight I couldn't win-petrified by an enemy I wasn't even expecting."
To put it simply, Zarigon was horribly wounded. His right arm and leg had become petrified, with the leg snapping off at the knee. Additionally, his body bore numerous fresh scars.
"It looked like most of the others were injured, too. You can't treat your wounds?"
"We healed the ones who were closest to death for now. The rest'll have to wait until our priests Tii and Asam recover their magic."
Zarigon's party's priests were from the Garleon and Heraluon temples. Both of their levels were in the high 20s. The two of them looked like they were ready to pass out.
"Can Holy Magic fix petrification, too?"
"You got a lot of questions, twerp. That doesn't mean I gotta answer 'em all, though, see?"
"I'm sure I can do it," Sara said, causing Zarigon to glare at her.
"Stop kidding yourself. Only the head priest from Labyrinth City or the royal capital could probably fix it, but that ain't gonna happen. Don't say something that will get my guy's hopes up when they are facing losing a limb… or worse…" Zarigon looks at his arm, and I can see the petrification slowly growing. "In a matter of days, we will be…" It was then that he noticed the petrification was gone. "What the…?" Looking over to Sara I see she has already finished casting a healing spell. "Who the hell are you?"
"The follower of the guildmaster's booze girl," Sara says, shooting Zarigon an annoyed look.
Zarigon grimaced like he'd swallowed something sour, apologising for his earlier rudeness. He was still missing half of one of his legs, but Satou fixed that with a potion later, saying he was experimenting. None of us believed him we all knew he did it out of kindness.
"And you're sure all I owe you is a 'favour'?"
"Yes, you have my word." Satou nodded.
"All right, then."
I don't want to admit it, but watching it was really unsettling. His leg regrew, starting with the bones, then muscles and eventually skin. For an unknown reason, Zarigon went pale and collapsed as soon as his leg was healed.
"""Zarigon!"""
As Zarigon's friends gather around him, I suddenly remember something I heard back in Bolenan. "Restoring a lost limb takes a lot of magic and stamina, so if the person drinking the potion doesn't have much MP, you should ensure they eat tons of meat and bread with powdered bone. Otherwise, they'll be so exhausted that they'll be bedridden for a while." I think it was the elf alchemist Aea who told me that.
After the intense battle, Zarigon must have been running low on magic and stamina, which likely caused him to faint. Satou passed a nutritional supplement potion to one of his teammates, instructing them to make sure he drank it and got plenty of rest. Zarigon's group promised to return the beastfolk children to Labyrinth City, so we decided to set out early.
"Thank you! We swear we'll return the favour someday!"
Usasa, the rabbitfolk boy, shouted out from the group of bag carriers as they got ready to leave. They seemed to be bright as rain now that the danger had passed. I smiled and waved as I saw them off, but my smile faded when I heard a rumble that sounded like thunder.
"R-ruuuuun!!!"
An explorer called out in a strained voice, prompting a wave of fear to ripple through the rear of the ranks as chaos erupted and people started to flee in terror.
"The areamaster is chasing us!"
I quickly used 'Skyrunning' to get above the crowd, and sure enough, I spotted the lightning elder stag was running in this direction. It was too late to save everyone. There was already a bloody hand sticking out of the areamasters mouth.
"Bring me my spare sword. I'll buy us some time."
"Zarigon! You can't!"
The haggard-looking Zarigon stretched and rose shakily to his feet.
"You're in no condition to fight! Leave it to us shield-men."
"But your damn shields are all broken!" Ignoring Zarigon, I used 'Warp' to close the distance. "What the hell are you?"
With one swift kick, I sent the areamaster crashing into the wall as Zarigon stared at me, his jaw hitting the ground. But I didn't have time to answer him as the lightning elder stag was getting back to its feet.
Not only was it tough, but it was also big. The areamaster barely even fits in the passage, but it still came galloping towards me with a thunderous sound. Its horns were glowing in the dark with lightning as sparks covered its body. A flash of lightning cascaded from the antlers to the ground, highlighting the impressive silhouette of the giant stag.
The areamaster was level 50, with the inherent skills "Summon Lightning" and "Spawn Strengthening" and the regular skills "Charge," "Thrust," "Lightning Magic," and "Lightning Resistance," but the only real threats were its lightning based skills.
At least that hand in the areamasters mouth turned out to be a demi-goblin hand. The lightning elder stag dropped the hand along with the rest of the body when he roared at me.
"Stop showing off!"
The lightning elder stag's charge was halted by a powerful fire spell fired by Arisa. The ball of flames hit the side of its head and exploded with enough force to cause the giant areamaster to stagger. It turned to glare at Arisa only to be struck by a water spell from Mia and its legs sliced when Pochi, Tama, Pearl and Liza charged forward. But that did little to stop it as the lightning elder stag started charging Mia and Arisa.
"Activate Umbrella!" A transparent magic barrier appeared in front of Nana's giant physical shield, like an umbrella opening. "Drill Bash, I declare!"
The umbrella-shaped barrier began to rotate, colliding with the stag's antlers, sending sparks flying. However, the stag was so large that it started to push Nana back, forming deep furrows in the ground as the spikes in her heels cracked.
"Activate Leg Anchor!"
The mechanism on her legs, resembling a pile bunker, unleashed adamantite spikes that penetrated the ground. This technique helped stop her from being pushed back, but Nana's legs risked breaking if she continued like this.
"I'll help you out."
"Thank you, I respond."
Satou caught Nana from behind and used more 'Flexible Shields' than I could count to stop the areamaster in its tracks. But a lightning bolt still got through and was about to hit them when…
"Divine Light Wall,"
Thankfully, Sara managed to block it in time. I shouldn't have been worried since Satou was there, but I was still relieved to see the lightning bolt bounce off Sara's defensive spell. It must have been a powerful attack as the blot was still strong enough to hit the ground near me with enough force to crack open the stony ground. It even caused the ground to open up beneath my… oh.
"""Kura!"""
I could hear everyone call out as I fell. It all happened so fast and suddenly that I couldn't react in time. Before I knew it, the light from the hole above me was only the size of a pinprick, and I was hitting something that was slowing my fall. It wasn't a magic spell cast to break someone's fall, but it was definitely some kind of barrier, and somehow, it was stopping me from teleporting back to the top. At least It didn't stop me from using wind magic to break my fall. But I have no idea where I am.
Looking around, I can see a small forest clinging to steep rocky slopes. I can see monsters flying around. They all had their levels in the sixties so I was relieved that none noticed me. They look like they would be good training opponents, but I should prioritise returning to the others. Speaking of the others, I should let them know I'm…
"…"
Not even that is working. I tried using the 'Telephone' spell to contact Satou, but nothing happened. I even tried calling Arisa but still nothing. I wouldn't be surprised if that barrier I passed through is causing this. Maybe Satou could get through this and contact me… I could really use his cheat mapping ability right now.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
I jump back and draw my sword. Did the areamaster follow me down here?
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
No, it wasn't the areamaster. Instead, I came face to face with a Tyrannosaurus-style ancient land beast, a ruined scorpion and a girl who appeared to be riding on the back of a prey roper.
"You must be strong to make it down here," The girl smirks as she looks down at me. "Become my servant and help me defeat Lord Ban, and I shall grant you wealth beyond your wildest dreams."
She had bluish-white skin, wavy black hair in braids and carried a large broadsword on her back as if it weighed no more than a twig. But most alarmingly, she was a was a greater vampire. Her fangs glint as she continues to smirk. Now that I look closer, the monsters with the girl are also vampires.
"I'm sorry, but I have to pass," I tell her. Does she really have to look so shocked? She almost collapsed as if she didn't believe I could deny her offer. "I need to get back to my friends. If possible, could you show me the way pass the barrier so I could leave?"
"L… leave…? Wait! Don't you want wealth beyond your wildest dreams?! Yoroi and Mukuro said that people wouldn't turn me down if I made an offer like that… you must be lying. How much money do you want? Name your price. I can pay whatever you demand."
Jumping down with the girl's landing causes her large chest to jiggle in all kinds of ways. I'm sure Arisa would be through a fit right about now if how she treats Nana's jiggling is anything to go by. But the girl doesn't seem bothered as she opens her 'Item Box' and takes out bag after bag of coins.
"Just tell me when to stop," The girl says, piling up bags before me. "I have an endless supply of money thanks to Lord Ban's allowance."
"I already have more money than I could ever hope to spend," She suddenly stopped when she heard me say that. "By the way. Why is this Lord Ban guy giving you an allowance when you want to defeat him? Aren't you guys enemies or something?"
"Lord Ban is not my enemy! Lord Ban is Lord Ban, and he will soon be all mine! I will definitely defeat him next time and get a month all to myself with him," She snapped back. I didn't expect her to be so loud, so I stepped back. But at least I was starting to get an idea as to what is happening right now. "Now become my servant and help me make Lord Ban mine."
"So is a lover's quarrel," I sighed. "So what are you fighting over?"
"We aren't fighting! I just want him to myself for a while…" The girl blushes and fidgets momentarily before shaking her head and pointing towards me. "And you will become my servant and help me make Lord Ban mine."
"I don't want anything to do with your relationship problems,"
"We don't have problems! Now just submit to me alre…" Whoever this girl is, she is fast. Thank god I am used to dealing with Pearl's speed, or she would have caught me when she suddenly lunged at me. "Ow… why did you move?"
"Who wouldn't move when someone jumps at them like that?" I would have ran if I knew where I was going but this girl is still my best shot at getting out of here. "So. Can you tell me how to reach the higher levels now?"
"If that's what you want, then… then defeat Lord Ban, and I will take you out past the barrier,"
I guess I have no choice.
"Fine," I sigh.
"Great, if we ride on Roper, we can reach Lord Ban's castle in no time," I never thought I would end up riding a monster and getting involved in a lover's spat today. Still, if it gets me out of here, I will do what I must. "Oh, I should ask your name since you are my new servant."
"It's Kura, and I'm not your servant,"
"You are until you defeat Lord Ban," The girl quickly replied. "My name is Semery, by the way."
<0>
"I've come to defeat you, Lord Ban!"
"Energetic as always, aren't you, Semery?"
Lord Ban's castle was in a large underground cavern. According to Semery, the castle is called the Eternal Night Castle. With my "Night Vision" skill, I could see a lake surrounded by forests and fields. There seemed to be a white castle in the middle of the lake. Somehow, there was even a night sky with stars and a moon.
The lake that surrounded the castle was full of monsters like ghost fish and skeleton fish, and the forest was populated by many undead monsters like ghost birds and skeleton wolves. Near the castle, some skeleton peasants worked hard in a large vineyard, and living dolls were stiffly carrying the harvested grapes to the castle. There was a zigzag bridge from the shore to the castle, which was guarded by gargoyle-like figures. Still, they didn't bother us for some reason as we rode by them.
As for Lord Ban, he looked like a young man with wavy seaweed-like purple hair, bluish-white skin, and French-looking facial features. I don't know why, but for some reason, when Lord Ban looked my way, his expression changed. But oddly enough, it wasn't a bad one.
"Welcome to the Castle of Eternal Night. Are you enjoying your visit to the stronghold of the children of darkness, o ye who passed the test of the gate?" The figure before me welcomed me with grace, elegantly swirling a wineglass filled with a crimson liquid in one hand, a playful glint in his eyes. "It's been a long time since a hero has visited, but Parion's chosen champions never fail to amuse me. So is it wealth, power or knowledge you seek, hero? Or have you come simply to attack us?"
"Neither," He seems taken aback by my response, but Lord Ban only lets it show for a moment. "Seminary said she will show me the way out of this part of the dungeon if I participate in whatever this is."
"I see. While the gate isn't far from here, so once we are done, I will see to it that you find your way there," Lord Ban nodded. "But first, let's have a bout." Turning to face several female vampires he then asks. "Now, who will be my vanguard today?"
"Me, Lord Ban!"
"No, please, allow me."
"I wanna do it, too..."
I didn't realise vampires like fighting so much that they act like they excited children on Christmas Day. They shared a bluish-white complexion that could easily make them appear entirely blue in dim lighting. In total, there were four of them: a youthful vampiress with white hair and pinkish eyes, a busty older blonde with blue eyes, as well as a redhead and a brunette. They all raised their hands and bounced excitedly, eager to engage in battle.
"My turn."
In the end, the young-looking white-haired vampiress got to go first. With a single elongated fingernail, she carved a cut into her wrist. The blood that oozed forth writhed as if alive, transforming into the shape of a scythe. It felt almost cliché, as though ripped from the pages of a vampire story, yet witnessing it unfold in reality was undeniably fascinating. Even if it made me feel sick looking at all that blood.
Semery meanwhile drew a broadsword made from monster parts.
"Hmph, it's Shirahime today, is it? I thought for sure it'd be the chubby blonde."
"I-I'm not chubby! Just a little plump, that's all!"
The curvy woman Semery called "chubby" wasn't overly skinny, but I wouldn't label her as "chubby" either. While the two continued their conversation, the smaller girl stepped into the courtyard and aimed her scythe at Semery.
"My vanguard will be you," Semery waved her sword in my direction.
"Okay," I sigh, stepping forward. "So before we begin, are there any rules to these fightes?"
"Only that the fight is one on one, and it will be a best out of three rounds battle, but you can't have the same fighter take part in more than one round. Oh, and don't worry about killing anyone. Even if you strike one of us down, we can easily be revived with a drop of blood,"
I nodded once Lord Ban answered. Still, I was worried my holy swords might somehow prevent them from being revived, so instead of drawing them I take out a magical sword Satou had given me. He had given me a few to test as he continued improving his forging techniques.
"What a beautiful sword," Lord Ban gasped, seeing it. Satou was planning on making it showy to act as show equipment to hide our real stuff, so the sword had an elegant design. "But why aren't you using a holy sword hero?"
"I promised the person who made this sword I would test it out in the labyrinth,"
"Well, Shirahime will be able to help you out with that," Lord Ban nodded, making the young-looking vampire smile. "Now, why don't you two begin already."
Wow. She's fast! Shirahime moved so fast I could barely track her, but I still managed to dodge her attack, even if I did end up losing a few strands of hair. But Shirahime's attack didn't stop there as the but of her bloody scythe turned into a blade swinging straight for me. I managed to block it, but the force still knocked me back. She's strong, too, then.
I activate buff spells, allowing me to match Shirahime's speed and strength. Still, Shirahime isn't fazed, blocking and dodging my attacks with practised ease while striking out whenever she sees an opening. Until now only Pearl and the demon lord made me work so hard. I guess I need to stop being so conventional with my sword strikes if I want to win.
"How is she…"
I could hear a gasp from the vampires but I am too busy to figure out who's. Using the 'Cube' spell, I create plenty of footholds around us and start attacking Shirahime from every angle possible, but she can still block and counter me. Well, if that's still not enough, then…
I boosted my speed even further thanks to the 'Blink' skill, and now I can finally see some cracks in Shirahime's defence. My sword is driving closer and closer to her skin, and even when she shrinks her scythe for better mobility, she still lags behind me. Finally, my sword will cut into her should, but… her body turns to a black mist at the last minute.
That was close. Shirahime returned to a solid form behind me and nearly hit me. Another narrow escape, but at least this one didn't take any of my hair with it. But she made one mistake. Acting fast, I stomped on her foot, trapping it, and thanks to the use of my 'Mana Drain' spell, she couldn't escape into her mist form. I was worried she would have been able to, but it looks like my move paid off.
With a swift swing of my sword, I infuse the blade with 'Spellblade', knock Shirahime's scythe out of her hand, and bring my sword up to her neck. I guess this was enough to end the match as Shirahime sighs, and Lord Ban clamps his hands.
"Winner: The hero,"
One of the Vampires calls out as Shirahime walks up to Lord Ban, receiving a kiss on the cheek. She looks pretty cute with how she smiled after that.
"That was a wonderful show you put on, Miss Hero," Lord Ban smiled my way before looking towards Semery. "Congratulations on taking the first round Semery. Now, who will be your second champion."
"Tyranon will keep my win streak going. Go, Tyranon!"
As for Lord Ban, he selected the blonde girl Semery called Chubby.
The battle commenced as the colossal ancient land beast pivoted on one foot and lashed out with its tail. Towering at nearly twenty feet and resembling a massive Tyrannosaurus rex, the creature surprisingly demonstrated impressive agility. Still the blonde managed to dodge the attack easily while using her blood to create a pair of daggers.
Those daggers must be pretty sharp because they cut Tyranon's tail clean off. But then something unexpected happened. Surprisingly, the stream of blood that erupted from the severed tail quickly transformed into flames.
As the torrential spray of blood seemed poised to envelop her, the blonde transformed into a wispy mist, narrowly escaping the onslaught. Yet even in this misty state, the fiery wrath of the flamethrower continued to sear her form.
"...How foolish," Lord Ban murmured as Semery's smile widened, and the other vampires all gasped.
The blonde stepped out from behind the towering creature and swiftly severed both of its legs. Clearly, the mist transformation had been an illusion; she had seamlessly blended into the shadows and repositioned herself. Deprived of its legs, the ancient creature writhed desperately as the blonde girl hacked it apart. Soon, it was reduced to ash.
Now it was one all, and Semery let out frustrated growls as she watched to blonde receive a kiss on the cheek from Lord Ban.
"My next fighter is Roper!" Semery quickly shouted. "I brought him just for you, Lord Ban, so you better be the next fighter."
"Very well, I suppose it has been a while since I had a bout,"
Lord Ban casually took off his jacket, handing it to the smaller vampire. He's surprisingly strong. It's hard to believe he was hiding all those muscles under that coat. Semery looks like she is already lost in her own world. If the blonde vampire didn't call out to her she would have missed the entire fight. Not that it was much of a fight in the first place.
Lord Ban doesn't even more from his starting spot, creating walls of his own blood to block attacks and using it to sharpen his nails into deadly claws that cut away Roper's tentacles. It won't be long now until Lord Ban wins an overwhelming victory.
"Kura, are you okay?"
As I was watching, Satou's voice suddenly entered my mind. Of course he would be able to get through that barrier I didn't stand a chance against. Still it must be an impressive barrier since I can only just barely hear him.
"I'm fine," I sigh. At least I know I can stop the others from worrying. "I landed in the middle of some kind of lover spat, but I should be able to leave this area soon."
"Are there people living down there?"
"A few vampires,"
"You aren't in danger, are you?"
It's strange to hear concern in Satou's voice. I don't think I heard it directed at me since my battle with the demon lord.
"No, they are pretty friendly, actually. I even had a fun sparing match with one of them,"
Shirahime was pretty tough and had a lot of tricks up her sleeve that kept me on my toes. Lord Ban isn't bad himself. I could only win against him if it was a one-on-one fight; even then, it might be a close one. If I hadn't fought Shirahime and got some experience facing the powers of a vampire, I might have even lost. Good thing he's friendly. Watching him tear apart the Roper makes me glad I didn't have to face off against him.
"It looks like things are wrapping up here, so I should be out of here soon," I feel bad for the Roper as is flails around helplessly until Lord Ban uses his blood like a whip to cut the creature in half. "The last sparing match just ended, so I would probably leave within the hour."
Semery looks like she needs a minute as she trembles. Great, she ran off. I'm sure Lord Ban or one of his wives can show me the way out. I just give them a minute to complete their celebrations before asking.
"So, how did the fight with the areamaster go?"
With Satou there, I doubt they had any trouble, but I was still worried someone might have been hurt.
"I took care of them," Satou replied, relieving me of that worry. "The real problem was trying to stop Mia and Sara from jumping down after you. They are really worried about you. We had to put them to sleep to stop them from rushing to find you."
"Hopefully, I will be back before they wake up… oh looks like they are finished," I look over and notice the vampire ladies returning to the castle. "I should be able to get someone to guide me out of this place, so I'll contact you as soon as I can."
Lord Ban was heading my way before I hung up the call with Satou. Hopefully, he could spare someone to show me the way out.
"I'm surprised you were able to contact someone. Yuika's barrier should have prevented that, but you heroes always fall for surprises," Lord Ban said as he reached me. "Now, since Semery ran off, how about I take you to the exit myself."
"That sounds great," I really should be able to get back before Mia and Sara wake up and try something stupid. "Thank you for guiding me."
"Do mention it. Besides, doing things like this helps break up the repetitiveness of my days," I guess living a long life will make your days boring after a while. "Besides, I would love to hear stories of your Japan while we walk. Yuika, Yoroi, and Mukuro's versions differ greatly from mine."
"Wait… there are Japanese people down here?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone