by Fujino Omori
A young Amazon with her long hair wrapped with many bands asked Aisha in a trembling voice on the verge of tears.
“We can’t reach Lady Ishtar…No one’s made it to her in one piece.”
Aisha frowned as another of the Berbera wailed in despair.
All the Amazons waited on the edge of the garden for their leader’s next words.
“…Ishtar Familia’s as good as dead. Lena, lead the others outta here.”
The fact that Freya’s army had invaded first all but sealed their defeat.
Her declaration hitting home, the Berbera hung their heads in silence.
“The others…What about you, Aisha?”
Lena’s thick ponytail swung around her waist as she rushed up to her beloved leader.
“Me? I’m stayin’ here.”
Aisha broke off eye contact with the girl and cast her gaze toward the altar.
Haruhime was still lying there, unconscious on the stone floor.
“I got a score to settle.”
A heavy metal clang rang down from above. Every Berbera looked up at the roof of the main palace far overhead.
Yet another clash of metal on metal shrieked its way toward the dark-blue sky. The moon lit up the wispy clouds like a lamp behind many intricate shades.
Two figures collided on awnings, roofs, and the outside wall of the palace, destroying bits and pieces along the way.
A grand battle-ax sliced through the air until its momentum was stopped by a rising broadsword. An explosion of sparks erupted every time the weapons smashed into each other.
“Gwah!!”
“NuRAAH!!”
Bell and Phryne’s duel had arrived at the highest point of Belit Babili. There was nothing between their battle and the heavens above.
Ishtar had fitted the tallest point of her fortress with many exotic plants and an extravagant water feature that included a fountain. It was, without a doubt, a space fit for a goddess. Her quarters stood in the middle of a space that rivaled the Coliseum in size. Now it was nothing more than the eye of the storm as the battle raged around it.
Bell absorbed another downward strike of the ax and guided it safely to the side with the broadsword. Bracing his muscles to withstand the impact, he spun forward toward his opponent and brought the blade back up toward her chest.
Phryne easily knocked the weapon out of the way and swung her own. Bell’s broadsword made it back in position in time to block her counterattack.
“GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH! Dance for meeeee!”
The gash on her cheek opened a little wider as a crazed smile grew on her lips. Phryne’s eyes never blinked.
Unrelenting rage coursing through her veins, the massive Amazon moved in for another attack with a joyous bloodlust in her eyes.
“Isn’t it amaaazing~~~~!! Haruhime’s sorcery?”
Thanks to her Magic, Uchide no Kozuchi, Bell was able to keep up with Phryne blow for blow. The Amazon was right, Haruhime’s Level Boost granted incredible power.
However, it wasn’t perfect. While Bell’s speed was on par with her, she still had every other advantage.
Even with the assistance of an enchantment that should be illegal, Bell couldn’t overcome the wall that separated him from top-class adventurers.
Bell gritted his teeth as he desperately tried to use his elevated Status to hold back the onslaught of attacks coming from one of Orario’s most powerful fighters.
“With that kind of power, Level Six doesn’t mean nothinggg!! Makes the Kenki a mere giiirl!”
“!”
Only Bell’s swift combination of steps allowed him to protect himself against Phryne’s attacks. Frustration boiling over, the Amazon launched into a verbal tirade while keeping up the pressure.
Her eyes and lips twitched with each wave of anger building to a crescendo.
“That little rag doll, Orario’s most beautiful adventurerrr? Like hell she is!”
“…!”
“The way you fight, it’s pissing me off more and more every second! Her shadow’s in every dodge!”
Just as Ishtar held a grudge against Freya, Phryne had the same kind of ferocious spite toward Orario’s strongest female knight.
The raging fire within her had two sources: the girl’s blond hair and golden eyes that could pass for those of a deity and the fact that the puny human had ascended past her to Level 6. It was no surprise that she could see the effects of Aiz’s teachings in Bell’s movements. Phryne’s jealousy fueled her fury to the boiling point.
“With that power, I could stomp the VARMINT INTO DUUUUUST!!”
Grabbing her ax with both hands, Phryne unleashed the swing with every intention of crushing the visions of Aiz—along with Bell.
He jumped to the side at the last second, and stone debris exploded from the spot where the ax came down. Ignoring the new massive hole in the floor, Bell instead looked at his opponent.
The girl he held in the highest esteem, his idol, had just been insulted. A new fire burned bright within Bell as he screamed at the top of his lungs, charging his enemy blade-first.
“UWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“Nuh!”
Bell’s surging wave of attacks forced Phryne into a defensive position for the first time.
She raised her ax to protect herself against his stolen weapon moving in from every angle imaginable among the flashing beads of light surrounding the boy. Her large frame shook every time their blades collided.
Bell focused all his strength into one diagonal slash to inflict as much pain as possible. A wide-eyed Phryne spun out of the way in the nick of time but lost her footing as a wave of debris washed over her.
“—No getting cockyyy!”
“!”
She knocked Bell’s follow-up attack out of the way. The next moment, her body was a blur.
His weapon above his head, Bell’s chest was completely exposed. Phryne buried her foot between his ribs with a powerful front kick.
“GaWAH!”
Despite getting his knee up in time to prevent a fatal blow, Bell was launched through the iron-grated fence that surrounded Ishtar’s private garden. The barrier crumbled under the sheer force of impact. With nothing to break his fall, Bell tumbled off the edge, toward the ground far below.
“GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH!”
Croaking laughter filled the air. Phryne was ready to jump after him to deliver the final blow.
The sound of someone calling out to her reached her ears just before she could.
“Ph-Phryne! Lady Ishtar’s in trouble—save her!”
“…A-AhhNNN?”
The Amazon turned around just as two Berbera emerged onto the roof from a stairwell.
Out of breath, the two panicking Amazons rushed to her side. Exhaling through her nose, Phryne ignored them. Turning her back, she caught a glimpse of the Pleasure Quarter for the first time and froze in place.
“What the hell is going on…?”
Many columns of smoke emerging from the city below reflected in her bulging eyes as she somehow chained her rage.
Phryne finally noticed that something very bad was happening around her home.
“There you are! Where have you been?”
“Watch your words, varmint. Now tell me—what’s all that?”
“O-our territory, the Pleasure Quarter, was invaded…!”
Phryne listened in disbelief as the two Amazons brought her up to speed.
They fell silent as all three women felt the presence of another on the roof.
“…?”
It came from the opposite side of the garden. The Berbera stood on the east side of the roof; the newcomer emerged on the west side.
Moonlight blocked by passing clouds, the newcomer was shrouded in darkness.
“—So this is the highest point.”
A low male voice came from a hulking frame.
He had at least a head over the two-meder-tall Phryne. The three Amazons watched the muscular newcom
er quietly walk through the heavily damaged garden.
Judging from the outline of the shadow…he was an animal person.
“D-dammit, dammit all…!”
“Ha-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Phryne watched him with suspicion. The Berbera, however, launched themselves at the newcomer in desperation. Whether it was the Amazonian blood in their veins or the dire situation that drove them, the two warriors charged the mysterious figure at full speed.
The muscular shadow watched the two armed adventurers rush toward him and calmly swung his right fist.
“”
BANG!
The fist hit the first Berbera with the force of an explosion, her unconscious body hurtling through the air.
Tumbling through the piles of stone like a cannonball, she didn’t stop until her back slammed into the water fountain. Even Phryne didn’t see the blow. She could only stand and watch with trembling eyes as the newcomer reached out with his left hand and grabbed the face of the second Berbera, like a hawk snatching a fish from a lake.
His grin spanning from ear to ear, the shadowed figure lifted her up like a sword before slamming her onto the floor.
“—KAH—”
A crater in the shape of her body appeared on the stone surface as every bubble of oxygen was expelled from her lungs. All four limbs fell limp at her sides. Water rained from the sky a moment later, soaking the area. It had come from the fountain, the impact causing the water to jump several meders into the air and come back down like rain.
Phryne gawked as the clouds parted, revealing the identity of the newcomer.
Her eyes nearly jumped from their sockets as the boarman warlord came into view.
“O–Ottar?!”
Short, rust-colored fur and the ears of a wild boar.
Bones as solid as iron, with a towering body built like a sheer cliff.
He turned his foot toward the Amazon, a look of stoic, fearless determination glued to his face.
“Phryne Jamil…the last one.”
Ottar’s monotone yet overwhelming voice filled the air.
Phryne’s fingers trembled. Part of it was awe, but mostly fear.
“Wh-why are you here?!”
Her voice shrieked as she comprehended the severity of the situation at last.
Freya Familia hadn’t waited for Ishtar Familia to declare war, and they’d attacked first.
Cold beads of sweat rolled down her fat cheeks. She struggled to clear her throat.
This was inevitable—picking a fight with Freya Familia meant that they would eventually have to deal with Ottar. Therefore, they already had a plan in place.
Phryne and the top Berbera, boosted by Killing Stone shards, would have used various types of anti-Status Magic and curses to make him as physically weak as possible. Trying to engage this man in combat without doing so was the same as suicide. They didn’t stand a chance against him at full power.
Even if the Level Boost gave her the strength to surpass the Kenki, Aiz Wallenstein, it would do little to protect her against the warlord.
He wore no armor and carried no weapon but still overpowered his opponents by his very presence.
The very top of Freya Familia.
Orario’s strongest adventurer.
The Labyrinth City’s one and only—Level 7.
The Zenith.
Oujya “Warlord” Ottar.
“Guh…gahhh…ge-gih…!”
His genuine power was stifling. Phryne gripped the handle of her ax in terror, each digit soaked in sweat.
It was the same feeling as standing in front of a floor boss in the deep levels of the Dungeon.
The horrifying knowledge that the moment she showed her back, it was all over.
The only option on the table for the Level 5 Phryne Jamil was forward.
“GEH-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Howling with all her might, Phryne took the fight to the enemy.
Raising the grand battle-ax high in her right hand, she decided to use all her momentum to drive the weapon into his shoulder.
“…”
Ottar knew exactly why she had been given the title “Androctonus, the Man Slayer,” as thousands of male adventurers had fallen to her blade. The same blade that was coming at him at this very moment.
But he silently stuck out his left arm.
“?!”
He stopped the attack—by grabbing Phryne’s right hand and the ax handle with his left.
Complete protection. The silver blade of the ax didn’t come anywhere close to his skin. Ottar’s boulder-like hand completely enclosed his opponent’s meaty fist.
As for the collision, a slight bend in his elbow was enough to absorb it without his feet budging in the slightest. Phryne’s attack had come to an abrupt halt.
Rust-colored eyes narrowing in a frown, Ottar clenched the muscles in his left hand.
“GIEE—GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Many snapping sounds shot out from beneath Ottar’s grip. The weapon handle broke, along with most of the bones in her hand.
Her scream pierced the night air. Phryne bent backward in pain the moment the powerful man released her.
The blade of the grand battle-ax hit the floor at her feet with a clacking thud. At the same time, Ottar stepped behind the still-reeling Phryne.
“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!”
The Amazon was grasping her disfigured appendage as the boar hooked his arm under her shoulder and threw her to the ground. Her round body slid and rolled through the piles of stone built up on the surface of the floor. Dust rose, making a small cloud as she came to a stop on her stomach at the base of the fountain.
Writhing in pain, Phryne caught a glimpse of her reflection in the water.
Her tan skin was covered with hundreds of cuts, most of them bleeding.
Her face, unequaled by anyone in the world, was caked in blood and dust.
“My…My beautiful…MY BEAUTIFUL FACE~~~~~~~~~~~~~!”
She howled at the sky, eyes turning deep red. Wet black hair was plastered to her skin. Fury unleashed once again, she launched herself at Ottar.
Her target: his throat. Both hands, intact or not, were wide open and yearning to squeeze the life out of him.
“DIE, BOARMAN! DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
More stone tiles broke beneath her feet as the Amazon rampaged forward. Ottar brushed her left arm to the side.
“Too much noise.”
Then he drove his own fist directly into her path.
“GeHEE!”
Landing squarely in the middle of her face, Ottar’s punch propelled Phryne skyward.
Whistling through the air, the frog-like Amazon’s large frame arced over the side of the garden and toward the ground.
The whistling grew louder, loud enough to hurt her ears, as she plummeted.
“GIHEEE…!”
Taking the impact of landing on her shoulder, Phryne rolled to a stop in the front garden.
Despite falling from more than forty stories above the ground, her Level 5 Defense, far stronger than the average Dungeon monster’s, kept her alive. Blood gushing from her broken nose stained her hunting gear a deep red.
Phryne grabbed her face with her good hand, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Uh—uHEE!”
The boarman warlord followed.
Jumping down the decorated exterior of the palace, he bounded a few times before his two feet shattered the stone path through the front garden upon impact.
Phryne was still planted on her rear end and desperately tried to shimmy backward—but the two were not alone.
From the front, from the side, from all directions…
Eight figures united. A catman, dark and white elves, and four prums appeared.
Looking at the faces of the adventurers surrounding her, all the color drained from Phryne’s skin.
“Vana Freya, Level Six Hegni and Hedin
, and even the Gulliver Brothers, Bringar…!”
All the fight left in her vanished in an instant with the knowledge that the most powerful members of Freya Familia were closing in on her from all sides.
After completing their mission to incapacitate enemy personnel, the group had reunited to take on Ishtar Familia’s most formidable member.
Ottar was directly in front of her, his ring of allies preventing her escape.
“HYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! S-SPARE MEEEE!”
Supporting her head with one arm, she looked from one person to another and started begging for her life.
“What did I ever do to youuu? Surely nothing that would deserve thisss?”
“The fact that you’re still breathing is sin enough,” came a sharp retort from the catman, but Phryne never heard him.
“I-I’ll do anything! Anything for the one who spares me! O-OH! THAT’S IT! My body, I’ll pay with my body! I’ll lay with you, so please LET ME GOOO!”
“UGH!” came a unified snap of disgust from the top-class adventurers.
“No woman could ever hope to rival me! NO ONE! Even goddesses can’t handle my beauty! And you can ravage meeee, do whatever you will! You can’t pass that uuuup!”
Each of the top-class adventurers was glaring at her with the eyes of death itself, but Phryne was too focused on talking herself up to notice.
The face of every Berbera around her was blank, completely devoid of emotion. Ottar cracked his neck before looking at the ground at the Amazon’s feet.
Then—an ominous smile grew on Phryne’s lips as she made her final bid.
“Even that Freya looks ugly next to me!”
With that…
The boar looked up.
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Ottar lost it.
“GHEE!”
“You have soiled the name of a goddess most sacred!”
Red light shone like magic-stone lamps from behind his eyes as he roared with unimpeded fury.
Allen and the others donned similar looks of outrage, each seething with anger as veins throbbed and muscles twitched.
“There is only one fate worthy for the likes of you.”
“Death, death, death!”
Ottar’s voice grew as his allies chanted around him.
Phryne’s face turned a ghostly white. The ring of adventurers was closing in in unison, step by terrifying step.