by Nikita Thorn
“We’ve got about five minutes,” shouted Ippei.
Mairin let out a grunt and weighed her options for a moment. “Uh… okay, fireworks don’t move the timer forward, right?”
“No,” replied someone in the main group.
“Okay. Here goes!” A firework rocket appeared in Mairin’s hand, which she immediately shot toward the dragons. “More buff tiles incoming.”
In a strangely surrealistic sight, the Green Katamono exploded in the shape of a bunny head against the intertwined dragons. Seiki had no time to be amused, as a waterfall of black blood immediately came splattering down around them, while silver scales shattered with clear glass-like clinks.
“Look for a copper rune!” shouted Mairin. “I’ll kite.”
The bits of silver scales on the ground turned into glowing runes of different colors, and Seiki strained his eyes to try to tell them apart. Multiple arrows whisked by, catching the extra demons as they spawned, but their ad hoc system of threat management had not been designed to cope with a sudden influx of additional enemies. Even with Yamura and Eijiro stepping up to Rapid Shots, a few of the demons were missed, and a Demonic Swordsman [Level 17] started to make a run at Seiki.
Ducking under the demon’s initial attack, Seiki burst out in a Slide, his eyes still scanning the ground for the last rune. Having to move through the group of enemies did not help the matter, and several more blades and claws flashed around him. Seiki tried his best to ignore the icy streaks of numbness from the grazes.
He finally spotted it, on the ground near one of the blood pools, a copper rune, a combination of red and gold, symbols of speed and energy.
Unleashing another Slide, Seiki dropped low and stabbed his Hikari down at the rune. A bright multi-colored light suddenly enveloped his sword.
Your Hikari’s Focused Strike has absorbed an added layer of the combined power of a Tile of Swiftness and a Tile of Vigor. Unleash it with another Focused Strike. Combination complete (6/6)!
Well done. The White Dragon’s thundering voice sounded as Seiki scrambled away from the demons. You have gathered the combined blessings. Unleash it upon the Shadow Serpent to break its spell.
“I’ve got the combo!” Seiki shouted to his friends, before immediately realizing his problem. Unleashing the combination upon the Shadow Serpent required him to be within melee range. It would have been a better idea to have a ranged damage dealer tackle this challenge, but it was too late for that now.
Seiki continued to sprint. Glancing backward, he saw the white fox managing to lure some of the demons away with her Dash. Frantic noises of combat had filled the air as the main group was suddenly dealing with an unexpected wave of extra enemies, and he heard Ippei’s voice yelling instructions about holding the line. “Use all your fireworks now. We’ll take any buffs.”
Looking up at the dragons, something clicked in Seiki’s mind. All the landmarks the White Dragon had followed had been high structures. Perhaps this was why the dragons had conveniently ended up just above the Mani Shrine pagoda at the beginning of the encounter.
“I’m going up!” Seiki shouted as he dashed toward the entrance. Melee players might be at a disadvantage for the task, but it was always going to be possible.
The interior of the wooden pagoda was dimly lit, with only one of six indoor torches burning. The old wood flooring creaked softly to greet him as he rushed across the ground floor. Seiki had climbed the structure so many times it took no effort to find his way to the stairs in the dark. Like all ancient buildings, the steps were steep and crammed in the narrow stairwell, but the ascent was a breeze compared to trying to scale up the side of a pagoda on a flimsy bamboo ladder.
As he dashed up the steps, he could hear at least one of the demons following him into the pagoda. Guessing from the scraping noise, Seiki guessed it was a Demonic Assassin using its sharp bladed fingers to scramble its way forward. It did not matter, however. He was more than halfway up, and after two more flights of stairs, he burst onto the top floor.
The pagoda was located near the southeast corner of the shrine. The interior of the top floor was an open space lit with dim lamps and decorated with paintings and sculptures along the wooden pillars, all of which only vaguely registered in his subconscious at the moment. There were balconies on all sides to provide a full view of the sanctuary itself, and Seiki ran through the open doorway onto one of them.
Violent gusts of winds sporadically burst from the battling dragons somewhere above him. Seiki had hoped he would be able to stab at the Shadow Serpent from the balcony, but nothing was yet visible from where he stood.
He needed to get closer, which meant climbing to the top layer roof. Seiki once again thought a ninja with a Grappling Hook would probably be much better equipped for the task.
His eyes darting around for hints, he finally spotted the answer. Unlike the rest of the city where Festival decorations had already been taken down, here there were still strings of red and black Festival flags linking the roof edge on the lower layer to the one directly above.
Seiki had never paid much attention to the Festival decorations until now, and his heart leapt when he saw that there were not one but three ropes altogether—two with red and black flags, and the one in the middle with Rogami yellow, each at least an inch thick, which meant it would support his weight.
Having never been so glad to see a Rogami flag anywhere, Seiki climbed over the railing of the balcony and lowered himself onto the slanting tiles on the lower roof. The slope was gentle enough to walk on, but Seiki still kept his body low to maintain balance, his heart beating fast as he inched forward.
From the balcony above came an angry snarl. The Demonic Assassin [Level 16] had finally caught up. As soon as it spotted him, the demon leapt over the railing, head-first, seemingly with no sense of self-preservation. Gritting his teeth, Seiki struck out blindly with a bare-handed Focused Strike as the shadowy shape fell toward him. His palm found flesh, and icy numbness from the demon’s claws streaked up his arm, but the trade was worth it. The strike sent the demon tumbling off the roof, its hideous cry fading away as it dropped, quickly joined by Seiki’s own yelp as he suddenly found himself sliding further down with the momentum of the impact. Luckily, the slope tapered off, and Seiki managed to wrap his arms around the flag ropes and stop his fall.
Wiping sweat off his hands, he spared a quick glance down at his friends. The group was hard pressed by the enemies, but, no longer having to split up duties to keep enemies off him and Mairin, they could once more concentrate on keeping the demons at bay. Ippei had moved the group deeper into the shrine, and seemed to be prioritizing preventing any more demons from reaching the pagoda, which Seiki was extremely grateful for.
“Hey, we have about three minutes left,” Ippei shouted from below.
“Don’t pressure him,” cried Mairin.
Ippei laughed. “Some people allegedly excel under pressure.”
“I guess we’ll see now,” Seiki shouted back as he turned to test the ropes.
The flag ropes were taut, strung about an inch apart. Their combined width would be enough to walk on. A better idea occurred to him, and Seiki slid his Hikari into the ropes, passing it under the two on the sides and over the one in the middle. His own blade did not cut him, and so he grabbed the glowing tip of the sword and mapped out a Slide up the length of the ropes.
The first charge shot him upward, nearly a third of the way. The makeshift handle kept him on a straight track, but his weight still caused the hemp ropes to wobble dangerously. Somewhere below, Yamura could be heard laughing, but Seiki was concentrating too hard on his wild attempt to really notice. It was too late to try anything else in any case, and Seiki unleashed the second charge almost immediately, gaining nearly another third of the distance, before finally falling flat on the ropes. He pulled himself up the traditional way until his grip found solid support from the cold green tiles on the roof.
Hands damp w
ith sweat, he pulled himself onto the safety of the roof. The wind was howling, colder than the roof under his body. Seiki looked up ahead, and all thoughts emptied from his mind.
Over the curved stage of sloping green tiles, next to the vertical shaft of bronze that rose high into the sky from the roof summit, the White Dragon and its mortal enemy were locked in a ferocious dance, one silver, one pitch black, before a backdrop of the starry Shinshioka night—a pure display of majestic, unworldly, deadly force. Giant tails and claws swiped at each other, sending harsh cold wind whistling across his ears, whipping against his body. Seiki found himself utterly spellbound.
Ippei’s faint shout from below broke Seiki out of his trance. “I’m sending them your way! Be careful!”
A sphere of green sparks burst like thunderclap against the dragons. The two entangled beasts suddenly swung around toward Seiki, like giant construction cranes whisked by a thunderstorm. Seiki ran towards the spinning dragons, holding his glowing Hikari up in anticipation of their trajectory.
He aimed for the Shadow Serpent’s underbelly. With his target being so gigantic, it was somehow difficult to gauge the distance, and the Hikari felt tiny next to the colossal writhing beasts. Seiki could see its sharp claws at work, raking away at the silver scales. At the last minute, the dragons unexpectedly twisted around each other, suddenly exposing the White Dragon’s side. Seiki grunted and ducked low, letting the intertwined serpents whip over his head, before springing back to his feet and stabbing his Hikari upward at the Shadow Serpent. The glowing tip of the sword drove through the black scales.
A fully combined Tile has been shattered! All players within 3000 feet have been revived with full resources. All allies have returned to full health. The Demonic Clan’s binding spell on the Shadow Serpent has been reverted.
The dim trail of injuries along the White Dragon’s body suddenly glowed healthy silver once more, and the beast broke free from its enemy and soared high into the air. The Shadow Serpent let out an ear-piercing screech, and at once it started to implode in a swirling pattern, like dark water going down an unplugged drain. Shadowy forms floated in from all directions to join the spinning mass, and it took Seiki a moment to realize that they were the blood-spawned demons getting sucked back into the void.
For the next fifteen seconds, time seemed to pause as the shadows collapsed into a single ball of darkness beyond the end of his blade. Seiki dared not move, until he finally noticed how quiet the world had grown.
His heart was pounding in his chest and the breath he eventually reminded himself to take was disturbingly loud in the sudden silence. He glanced down at the rest of the group and blinked.
Mani Shrine was empty.
There was no trace left of his friends or the rest of the Honor Warriors.
Seiki lowered his sword, only to find it immovable.
He looked back and gave a start. The point where the ball of darkness had been a moment earlier was now replaced by a human hand, its skin pitch black like the color of the night sky, its fingers wrapped tightly around the tip of his sword.
Letting out a cry, Seiki yanked back his Hikari, leaning backward to throw his full body weight on the attempt. The blade started to move, slowly, as if dragging a great mass behind it. Slowly emerging from wispy swirling shadows was the hand, then a red kimono sleeve, then a snarling white-painted wooden face with red-glowing eye slits.
Seiki had the sense to unleash a panicked Upslash. The sword broke loose just as the figure dropped out of the void, and for a moment, as he stumbled backward, Seiki thought he was trapped in an unending nightmare of the Himawari Room.
The masked figure swept up its arm and an invisible force blasted him off the roof of the pagoda.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Seiki lost no health as he hit the stone tiles in the front courtyard of Mani Shrine, although his whole left side felt as if it had been dipped in a freezing river. He thought he had managed to cast his Protection Shield in time, but the effect was absent, and the ability was not on lockout. Slightly confused, he struggled to regain control of his body, before scrambling to his feet and grabbing his Hikari from the ground.
He turned to look at his attacker on the roof, but found that it was already standing on the steps leading to the pagoda, its white face and red kimono a striking contrast to the darkness behind the doorway. The sight sent a chill down his spine and Seiki retreated a few more steps away.
His mind raced to comprehend how this was possible. There was no way the worldbreakers could have followed him into an instance.
The masked figure made no effort to pursue him, and Seiki slowly, consciously, gathered his wits. The figure looked exactly like the hosts in the Himawari Room, except that its eyes were glowing red, and the skin on its hands, the only parts that were exposed beyond the red kimono, was dark gray.
“Which makes it a demon,” Seiki finished his thought aloud, as he slowly came to terms with what it really was.
A quick inspection of its label confirmed his suspicion. The masked figure was labeled Fear Manifest [Level Unknown].
Seiki let out a weak chuckle as apprehension drained out of him. “Okay, this is… the last thing I struggled against.” He now recalled that the White Dragon had mentioned how the Shadow Serpent was made of fear itself.
It made sense now. Phase One was a puzzle, Phase Two a group battle, and Phase Three a personal challenge, where players faced their own version of the last thing they battled with difficulty. Seiki wondered how the system determined what entity to copy, and he guessed it had to do with the level of panic associated with the encounter. As much as he hated the fact that his personal Fear Manifest had taken this form, he could not pretend to be surprised.
Drawing a shaky breath, Seiki slowly walked back toward the demon. Like how the Enenra Bonfire gave him a smoky copy of Fumiya to battle, this figure was most likely a demonic copy of the masked player who called herself Okugata. What he knew, the game knew.
A thought struck him as his gaze locked on the glowing red eyes. What he did not know, the game might still know. If this was a copy of Okugata, perhaps the game also knew which face hid behind that white wooden mask.
Taking a deep breath, he took another step closer, and the label changed.
Fear Manifest [Rank 5 Demon]. HP 5011/5011.
Five thousand health was much too low for a Rank 5 Demon. The last one he had seen was a War Game boss. This meant it was not going to be a straightforward encounter.
A shrill laugh filled his mind.
Run. It is hopeless for you.
Unlike the faint breezy sensation of the Enenra Bonfire, the mental voice was a grating screech. Seiki scanned the figure for clues, but nothing betrayed what abilities it might be capable of. Considering the Enenra copy of Fumiya was indeed a ninja, his best guess right now was that this Fear Manifest was an obake. It was not that he could be sure Okugata had been an obake, but going by the fact that the masked figure who had invaded the Society had been one, Seiki went with his best guess.
Thinking through what he knew about personal challenges, he also guessed its ability would be comparable to a rare: about four levels above him, which would allow it to one-shot with one good direct hit.
He reached for his two remaining potions to see how much resources he had to work with. To his surprise, both item labels were now prefixed with the word Broken. Taking them out of his inventory, he found cracked ceramic bottles, with their properties replaced with Effect: none.
The voice continued to cackle in his mind.
One chance, Unit Chief. Run for your life or die here.
“So, no potions.” Seiki took a step further and readied his Hikari, the light-infused blade glowing silver in such proximity to the demon.
He changed his mind about the encounter then. He was glad this turned out to be a copy of Okugata. Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, he rushed at it.
The demon’s red-glowing
eyes narrowed.
Death it is.
The demon raised its arm, and Seiki threw himself aside, fully expecting another mysterious blast that had launched him off the roof of the pagoda. What hit him was, instead, a surge of powerful emotions.
It was the first charge of Reprimand. Seiki’s eyes widened in horror as he realized the demon was not an obake, but a houshi. Cursing, he stopped in his track and instead raised the Crimsonfire Tekko, knowing full well he could not afford to be hit by its second more deadly charge that would also disarm him.
Something invisible broke against the fiery shield, which flared in response as it shattered into a thousand orange flecks. Seiki took his chance to rush at the Fear Manifest, bursting into a Sliding combination toward the demon. The quick decision paid off. He closed the distance in less than a second. The sword pierced the demon’s side, and he followed up with the usual diagonal Upslash, causing black blood to spurt from the long gash.
Fear Manifest [Rank 5 Demon]. HP 3884/5011.
It was more than a thousand damage in one go, and Seiki felt a little heartened by the progress, although he knew that he had no time to waste. Dragging it on meant giving it a chance to heal. The masked figure waved its hand as it aimed its Hinder, and Seiki knew it would be a terrible idea to soak the slowing debuff. He struck out with Sweeping Blade, aiming at its arm to knock it out of the cast. The demon unexpectedly turned its palms outward, slapped them over the slashing blade, and twisted its body to deflect the attack.
The Hikari went flying, and Seiki together with it, since he had refused to let go. He landed several feet away next to the row of tall pine trees that lined the eastern wall of the shrine, skidding on the stone tiles, icy scrapes creeping up his side. Grunting, he scrambled back onto his feet and rushed back at the demon. He had never seen a houshi grab a blade bare-handed, but there was no time to wonder where that had come from. The fight had started, and he was doing well so far. His best chance was to never allow it to recover any health.