He placed Myriad in charge of locating any Crusaders, particularly the researchers. They didn’t have to kill them, but their labs… well, that was even greater than death. Watching their despair as years and years of evil research burned to a crisp. So far, they’d only managed to destroy two labs, but ooh-ooh was it so satisfying.
Selkie didn’t know, of course, but the great lord of the Dark answered to no one but himself. Ever since that disgusting trap by the Crusaders… the screaming horror of those innocent people begging for help… that moment had changed the young man. Until he figured out a way to destroy Aunder for sure, or aid the Stone to the Viper’s fall, Dark would focus on this issue.
He did have a few ideas on gaining the items necessary to confront Aunder, but it would take some time to gather them.
“Just you wait, you overpowered bastard,” he muttered. “I will pay you back. Then… maybe I could look Izumi in the eye again and apologize for abandoning them. Maybe they’ll forgive me or kick my ass. I’ll feel better either way. The lord of the Dark shall prevail and conquer this sad mudball of a planet.” He briefly thought about adding an evil laugh, but feared getting caught by Selkie. She’d never let him off of that one.
Episode 59 (Part 5)
Nation’s Seat of Alon…
Hotel…
Clyde gave an appreciative inspection of Natalia’s staff.
[Evolved Staff of Hope, level 345. Item class: *Legendary*. *Enchantment: Fairy Dust- every attack skill used will be infused with the power of the fae. Coats you with an automatic damage shield at the start of each battle. Can pull a source of power called Mana from the World Tree pool to greatly ease the burden of casting some of your deepest skills, reducing casting time. Chance to double-cast powerful magic at the cost of just 1 skill.]
“Any particular reason why you hid this information? I mean, where was all this when I was getting my ass kicked, or thrown through a concrete wall?” Clyde asked, mentally glaring at the anime trope. Before he could continue the scolding, his phone buzzed. Well, everyone’s phones buzzed. In the mass text message, Kiko explained the recent attack, which confirmed the young man’s suspicions.
Clyde: Good shit Kiko. And that’s why you’re an awesome Team Stone badass. Hurry and get back, you three. I don’t want to be in here all day.
He put his phone up, eyes on Natalia’s staff again. The loli cheerfully rocked back and forth, humming what Clyde now knew was the Loli Saga opening song. A quick glance at Ming revealed adorable embarrassment.
“Yuki, you’re next. Let’s see what you’ve got,” Clyde said.
Yuki placed a broom on top of the table, gaining everyone’s wide-eyed expression. Then he saw the amusement in her kuudere eyes. She was simply fucking with them. A second later, she confirmed his thoughts by giving the broom a single tap. It shimmered, forming into a black katana seconds later. Surrounded in purple aura, the blade had a cutesy handle covered in rose petal designs.
[Black-hearted Sword of Roses. Item class: *Legendary*. Every 50th strike has a chance to halve an enemy’s health or instantly kill them. This weapon is indestructible. You may channel magic or Ki through it, adding in an explosive edge to your attacks. Increase to strike speed, agility, accuracy, and sharpness. At night, all damage to you is reduced by 25%. During the day, the sword’s damage output is increased by 25%.]
Clyde nodded.
“Nice. Inspection passed with flying colors.”
“Hey, what about me?” Natalia said, pouting. “You didn’t give me the green light.”
“Snot-blower, he gave you a scolding for pitching a fit last time without saying why,” Seth said.
“But he didn’t say inspection passed, dummy blond,” Natalia continued. Everyone shot the loli a blank stare.
“Natalia, you’re just begging me to glue you to the ceiling,” Alice said, voice deadpan.
“All the more reason not to inflate her ego,” Chika said. Natalia retaliated by sticking her tongue out, specifically at the silver-haired girl. Yuki sighed.
“Anyway,” Clyde continued. “Anyone who passes will be free to go. For now, it’s a waiting game for this Palona to contact me. Hopefully that will be quick, because I’m sure not everyone wants to waste our entire month off here.”
Chika’s phone rang, the ringtone being the Loli Saga anime theme song. Ming blushed. Natalia cheered.
Chika frowned at the caller’s ID. “Sorry, it somehow came off vibrate. Anyway, it’s Mom. Sadly, I’ve got to take this.” She smiled apologetically, hurrying outside the room.
Clyde nodded to Harumi, who was seated to his left. “You’re up next.”
To his surprise, the fox girl presented two wands. He recognized the golden jewel-encrusted wand he’d given her. Clyde tilted his head as he inspected the other, a red drumstick with strange purple symbols coating it.
He began with his gift.
[Evolved Wand of Wonder. Item class: *unknown. Item value: luxurious. You suspect that this wand may be a part of something grand. Casting time for skills reduced by 40%. Cooldown for healing spells reduced by 30%. Range greatly increased. As long as this wand is equipped, you gain 2 damage shields at the start of each battle.]
Clyde gazed at the red wand.
[Wand of Immense Chaos and Suffering. W.I.C.S. See? Item class: *Dark Legendary*. Despite the name, this wand was purified some time ago by fox fire, a secret source of power so strong, the gods almost categorized it alongside taint and purity. You suspect that this wand may be a part of something grand. Unknown benefits. Increased range. Any enemy that attacks you or even indirectly attacks you will lose 40% of their accuracy for the attack as long as this is equipped. Normally the price to pay would be a small speed reduction, but for a kitsune, there will be no inflicted penalties.]
Clyde looked at Harumi. She hesitated to meet his eyes at first.
“Damn,” Clyde said, his voice filled with appreciation, which brought a small look of surprise to the pink-haired girl. He lowered his voice, so that Airi wouldn’t hear. “Hang onto the wands, even if you switch out to something else. They’re pieces of something… I’m not sure, but it may be crazy.”
Harumi nodded.
Clyde wrapped up the rest of the inspection within an hour, feeling satisfied. There were very few discrepancies. Hell, he found out new things such as Toru wearing magic and Ki-infused knuckles, Seth’s bat being able to transform into a fucking war hammer, and Noona wielding a whip made of magic and death.
The inspection gave him a better insight as to just how well-equipped his team was without having to babysit them.
Early evening, Ruri was at the young man’s side, tail wagging in excitement, as they walked to Meat Empire. Clyde told everyone that he and the hellhound would be out for food, about fifteen minutes after they left. The white-haired girl seemed to appreciate it, her cheerfulness rising. There were a few people that were annoyed, maybe even pissed such as Matsume and even Melody.
Sure, the young man could’ve revealed the location. They were only ten minutes from the hotel - and Matsume may or may not know of the restaurant. But a date was a date and spending time with Ruri only improved the young man’s mood.
He could only be intrigued by how she seemed to balance acting like a lady, princess of the hellhound clan, and bounciness at the same time, while sniffing the air and commenting on scents during the pauses in the conversation.
“What if I asked you to never return to your clan?” Clyde asked offhandedly. He didn’t think much of his words, but when he turned to the hellhound, she was staring at him.
“Then I’d never go back,” she said simply. “Not because you asked, but in response to the meaning behind your words and maybe the following request. Well, I never smelled the scent, so it would be a wild but hopeful guess.” She smiled.
Clyde wasn’t sure he followed. Having a harem for two months didn’t make him the biggest expert of female thoughts. They changed fifty-times faster than men’s - and that wasn’
t sexist, just an observation.
“What if your mother comes after you?” Clyde said. It was another offhanded question, but Ruri answered anyway.
“I doubt she even cares that I’m gone,” Ruri said, “not that she’d mind me being here. She’d certainly want to meet you.” The hellhound blushed. “I really hope it doesn’t come to that embarrassment.”
“Do you still talk with her?” Clyde asked.
“I do… like every week or so, over the phone,” Ruri said. “The conversations aren’t too long.” The tone of her voice dropped to what almost sounded sarcastic, perhaps wry. “Hellhounds only have a short period of time to be motherly before someone walks in on them. Then in a blink, they must be a hardened warrior woman with no room for weaknesses.”
The bitterness in that voice told the young man everything he needed to know.
“You ever thought about using your power to change hellhound society?” Clyde said.
Ruri looked thoughtful. “I don’t know if anybody would listen.”
“Matsume did,” Clyde interjected. “Just keep the thought in mind, in case you’re confronted by the others. You are the princess.”
Ruri shrugged. “Being a princess is only meaningful when you’re there to exert your power. Matsume’s covering for me, but…” her voice trailed off. “They won’t listen, anyway.”
Clyde placed a hand on her head, giving it a brief massage. “Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
“It’s okay,” Ruri said. “You were only curious. I don’t talk about home much.” The hellhound’s ears sagged.
The young man froze as he noticed someone dressed in a blue robe walking purposely toward a group of androids. Flying cars and passing civilians didn’t pay the individual any mind. Ruri paused, following the young man’s eyes, sniffing the air, and growling low as a result.
Blood gushed out of Clyde’s nose, but he forced himself to ignore the cuteness to focus. She could tell he was a threat with her nose. The young man relied on sight, body language, and actions. His assumptions could be wrong, which would land him on everyone’s shit list. That is, if his analyze ability didn’t give him enough details. Team Stone would follow shortly. Let’s give this fight to Ruri, he thought. She’d enjoy burning off the stress.
“What do you think?” Clyde asked her.
“I have no doubt that he’s associated with that terrorist group,” Ruri said. “I can smell his intent. We’ve got to stop him. Androids may be produced, but their quantum cores give them true thoughts, hopes, emotion, and free will.”
“That’s all I needed to know,” Clyde said, “let’s get him.”
As they quickly moved in on the blue-robed man, he thought about summoning a food creature, then decided not to be a dick to the hard-working vendors. Especially the cabbage-seller that was bound to be hidden somewhere among them.
Ruri stomped the ground, creating a shockwave that boldly traveled to the terrorist. At the last second, the robed man jumped and turned to them. Through his strange blue and white mask, Clyde saw the anger within the man’s green eyes.
[Your party has entered combat.]
Ruri launched into the fray with nimbleness, giving the terrorist no time to attack.
[Ruri’s passive skill activated. Tier 1 skill: Destructive Onslaught.]
Magic and aura radiated like after-images of the hellhound - she didn’t let up on the man. To Clyde’s surprise, the wizard dodged and blocked, but did nothing else.
“Shit, give me time to cast, you mangy mutt,” he barked out of frustration. Could this be the first time they had open interference with their plans?
His choice of words was his mistake. Clyde remembered Alice telling him how hellhound culture treated the word ‘mutt’ as a derogatory term.
He stopped and watched, a faint smile on his face. The hellhound tripped the wizard with a leg sweep, then followed up with attacks so fast, Clyde could barely register them. In the end, she knocked him unconscious.
“Don’t kill him,” Clyde said. “Just give the loser over to the police.”
Three police-type androids were already headed in their direction. The leader took one good look at the wizard, seeming to scan him.
“The wizards just never learn,” one of the officers said. “Good work. We’ll be taking this one in for some questioning before he’s shipped off to prison.”
“So, they don’t beat around the bush with a trial,” Clyde said as they carried the handcuffed wizard away.
“I believe they do, for normal occasions,” Ruri said, “but with the amount of trouble the terrorists have caused, killing so many androids, and ramping up the costs in sheer destruction… Well, in our clan, Mother would probably decide either slow torture or brutal death.”
[Battle completed. Victory! Reward: 120,000 EXP.]
As the duo continued their walk to Meat Empire, Clyde reflected on Ruri’s words about the androids. They had free will. Normally, he would’ve tossed this one to the anime logic container, but magic made even the most unlikely things possible.
When Clyde and Ruri approached the giant restaurant, the scent of delicious grilled meats washed over them. The hellhound’s tail wagged almost at lightning speeds. She’d probably have her tongue lolled out if she wasn’t subconscious about it.
During the delicious meat fest, Clyde wished Tear was around to snap a few pictures. Ruri and the young man distracted each other from the worries of the world.
“I wonder if they have some grilled dragon leg in here,” a man’s voice said as he entered, flanked by two suited goons. Muscular and well dressed with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, the man had his arms around a beautiful woman.
“That’s illegal,” his date said. She seemed to be the typical trope of either gold digger or dangerous. Or both.
Clyde grimaced at the thought of people actually eating dragons. Just what in the fuck? They were shapeshifters…
“Boss, you know they haven’t sold that in centuries,” one of his goons said.
“I know, I know,” the cigar man said. “I’m just missing the old times.”
“You mean like back in the day when we demons would teach these humans how to show some respect,” the woman said.
“Except there are fewer humans in here than monsters,” the man said. A waitress showed the group to a table, thankfully far away.
Clyde sighed. “Yeah, there goes my appetite.”
“Are you going to finish that steak?”
Clyde turned back to Ruri, taking in her complete innocence, and laughed. Pushing the plate over to her, he watched the hellhound eat.
Episode 59 (Part 6)
[Your relationship with Ruri has increased to Friend, Closer level 10 and endearment.]
When Clyde and Ruri made it back to the hotel, they were met with… an unexpected showing: Yuki flaunting her sword skills to a small crowd of hotel guests.
Many of them asked the same question the young man wondered: Just how was Yuki able to pull off twenty-five strikes per second? Anime logic. Well, demoness superspeed.
There were a few androids mixed in with the crowd. The only reason why Clyde even knew of their inorganic nature was because they gave off the exact same energy. He felt no heartbeat through his mystic senses, but… now that Ruri had given him an insight into their cores, the young man somehow just knew they… lived.
Maybe androids were similar to golems, relying on the self-sustaining magic to act as their soul, but that meant… if destroyed, the inorganic beings were gone for good.
Alonian androids seemed to have some kind of obligation to the monarch of this Nation or maybe they didn’t leave for fear of not being accepted anywhere else.
From a distance, Toru waved at Clyde to join his table. At it sat Fumi, Misaka, Sazuki, Tetra, Seth, and Kanako. The genie rushed up to the young man, legs shifting to spiritual tail mode as she anime-dove into his waist. She looked up to him, cheery.
“I see everyone’s started a party wi
thout me,” Clyde said, smiling. He followed her over to the table, flanked by Ruri.
“Apparently tomorrow’s the start of a new holiday, so the hotel staff is celebrating now because they’ll be working tomorrow,” Kanako said.
“I guess when you’re the queen, you can create holidays at will,” Sazuki said with a bite of sarcasm in her voice.
Upon closer inspection, Clyde noticed cups in the hands of Airi, Tetra, and Misaka. Misaka hadn’t touched her drink yet, but Airi was already waving down a butler for a refill.
“Seth, Misaka, make sure Airi stays out of trouble,” Clyde said tiredly.
“That’s kind of why I’m here,” Seth said, his voice clearly unhappy. “I lost a bet with Alice and then lost rock paper scissors against Harumi, so I get to babysit the drunk.”
“I’m not a drunk,” Airi said, “and I don’t need babysitting. This is my second glass.”
“Seventh,” Seth said without missing a beat. “I had to stop her from requesting the Pegger’s Dream three times. She even asked for the Jabberwock Surprise. Pissed Kitome off and made her leave.”
Airi pouted.
Clyde sighed. “Speaking of Harumi, where is she?”
“I think she’s in her room,” Misaka said.
Clyde stood. Suddenly, he felt softness and arms behind him.
“I forgot to mention that Yuki had something really, really strong,” Toru said.
Clyde felt himself being turned around. Seconds later Yuki was carrying him away.
“Hey, what the hell,” Clyde said, laughing. Ruri followed, a gleam of annoyance in her eye.
The demoness opened her room door, kissed Clyde, then collapsed onto her bed. Ruri stripped Yuki down to her bra and panties, tossing the maid outfit to the side. The young man placed a blanket over her. He shuddered as a blast of cold hotel room air hugged him.
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #12 a LitRPG (ATS) Page 5