by Tôwa
“Come forth, Demi-Harpies!”
♦Current Status♦
> ARIHITO summoned 3 DEMI-HARPIES
I pulled out the summoning stone pendant I had around my neck to call them forth. When I did, three magic circles formed around me, then burst into three columns of light, the Demi-Harpies appearing inside them.
“… Arihito, what are you—?” asked Elitia, who had the time to glance back. As for Tyler, his own carnal urges were growing more and more apparent to the point that I couldn’t even meet his eyes. He’d most likely have some traumatic memories if he remembered all this once he was back to his right mind, but for the moment, I just needed to stop him from doing anything else.
“I’m just gonna have them take a nap… Sing, harpies!”
♦Current Status♦
> DEMI-HARPY A activated LULLABY
> DEMI-HARPY B and DEMI-HARPY C activated MUSICAL ROUND
> JAKE, MIHAIL, and TYLER were ASLEEP
> MUSICAL ROUND continued LULLABY’s effects
The Demi-Harpies flapped their wings and took to the air as they began singing. This was the first time I’d seen them use Musical Round, but since they were continuously singing, I decided it was safe to assume that the three sleeping members of Polaris wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.
“I didn’t realize we had this option… Arihito, good thinking…,” said Elitia.
“Huff, huff… But, Sophie… Why isn’t she asleep?” asked Igarashi. Maybe she had sleep-resistant equipment? No, that wasn’t it. When Sophie made her attack earlier, my license had displayed that the Vine Puppeteer had activated Vine Puppets. Sophie was further under the Puppeteer’s control than the other three.
Part IV: The Guild Saviors
Sophie looked at me with intense hostility, like she was representing the monster’s will.
“How dare you… You’re all nothing but trouble,” growled Sophie. “I wanted to get nutrients from Georg, too, but he didn’t come back… He must’ve sent you all here, didn’t he? The stuck-up, good-for-nothing Mr. High-and-Mighty is really screwing us over.”
“Georg was trying to save you guys!”
“Kyouka, don’t let her get you worked up!” said Elitia. “Sophie’s under the monster’s control right now. If we can just cut those vines wrapped around her, she should come to her—”
“Ha-ha… Ha-ha-ha! What are you talking about? There’s nothing more wonderful than becoming nutrients. Come, let us become one! Maybe if I take that man first, you ladies will actually listen to me?” suggested Sophie.
The enemy had its roots stretched throughout the soil and could activate its Vine Puppets anywhere. My mind raced as I tried to think of the best way to deal with it.
“—Atobe!” shouted Igarashi.
♦Current Status♦
> VINE PUPPETEER activated FULL BLOOM Target: ARIHITO
Vine Puppets whipped out from the ground all around me, caging me in. I wouldn’t be able to escape like this— At least, that’s what the enemy thought.
Perfect… Getting separated from the party had its risks, but that “something” behind Sophie was just starting to catch my eye…!
When I realized that Sophie was being controlled by the monster, the question became: Where were the vines that wrapped around her body coming from?
The answer: from behind.
♦Current Status♦
> ARIHITO activated REAR STANCE Target: SOPHIE
> 8 VINE PUPPETS activated MARIONETTE Target: None
I activated my skill and teleported behind Sophie. When I appeared behind her, I saw a flower blooming there that was a different color from all the others. This one was white. I couldn’t believe that an evil monster could look this pure and delicate.
So it was behind her… If I aim for that…
I aimed carefully with the magical bullet of my Force Shot and put everything into the shot.
“Take this!”
♦Current Status♦
> ARIHITO activated FORCE SHOT Hit VINE PUPPETEER
> VINE PUPPETEER activated EMERGENCY WITHDRAWAL
“—GYEEEEEH!!”
The magical bullet smashed the white flower, scattering petals everywhere. A massive plant erupted from the ground in the center of the clearing— That must be the real Vine Puppeteer. The white flower on Sophie’s back withered and fell off, then somehow returned to the main body where it bloomed once again.
But Sophie was still under Puppet status. Looking at her back now, I saw the vines that stretched from her back were still wrapped around her entire body. Her equipment had lost most of its original shape, leaving her near naked.
“Argh… Stupid nutrients… Get off… Get away!”
Ack… She’s really strong!
I grappled her from behind to stop her from moving, since she was still a puppet. Either it was because she was being controlled by the monster still or she was originally quite strong, but it was really difficult to keep ahold of her as she struggled against me with all her strength.
“Everyone, attack the main body now!” I ordered. Even if they didn’t have my rearguard support skills, there was no enemy that wouldn’t go down under the full fire of the party, especially with Elitia as our main attacker.
“I’ll rip you up from your roots!” shouted Elitia.
“Eek! …Quit jumping out from underfoot, you cowardly weed!” cried Igarashi.
“…!!”
“Booowwow!”
The four of them attacked with Elitia in the lead: Rising Bolt, Double Attack, Double Throw, Power Rush. Then Suzuna used Auto-Hit and let loose an arrow at the white flower, its weak spot.
“Just a little more…! This should do it!”
Elitia’s Rising Bolt connected with her Blossom Blade skill. We needed to end this now; she was trying to chain her attacks together.
“Don’t forget that I’m here, too… Lucky Seven!” shouted Misaki, who hadn’t joined in the combined assault. She tossed two dice; I couldn’t see what the pips were, but Misaki’s good luck activated the skill.
♦Current Status♦
> MISAKI activated LUCKY SEVEN Success
> VINE PUPPETEER’s rare item drop rate increased
“D-did it work?!” cried Misaki.
“Don’t worry; it worked! Fall back!” cried Igarashi.
“Awww… Good luck, you guys! This whole situation is making me wish I chose to be a Cheerleader!” she hollered as she pulled back. At the same time, Elitia was unleashing her Blossom Blade, raining repeated slashes down on the raging plant monster.
“—Die!!”
♦Current Status♦
> ELITIA activated BLOSSOM BLADE
> 12 stages hit VINE PUPPETEER
“GYEEEEEHHH!”
Her crimson blade danced through the chain of twelve attacks, carving away at the Vine Puppeteer. At the final push, the nightmarish plant finally stopped moving and sank to the ground in front of us.
♦Current Status♦
> 1 VINE PUPPETEER defeated
> SOPHIE, JAKE, MIHAIL, and TYLER were released from PUPPET
“Phew…”
“Yikes… That was close. Ack, the vines are dying—!”
The vines wrapped around Sophie started to wither and fall off along with the main body, which meant I couldn’t really look directly at her, so I closed my eyes.
“…Nn…”
“Good… It looks like she’s going back to her normal self now that we defeated the main body,” said Igarashi.
“But what should we do…? We can’t really get her help with her looking like this…,” I said as I looked around at the forest. Maybe we could cover her with leaves? I decided the others might get mad at me if I suggested that, so I had everyone gather the broken bits of her equipment and try to work something out.
“If we wrap this towel and handkerchief around here, maybe it’ll look all right?”
“It’d be really great to have needle and thread for times
like this… What about bandages?”
“You mean wrapping her body in bandages? I mean, that’s what samurai used to do, I guess…”
“I’ve done that before, so I’ll handle that part.”
The four girls debated on the best way to deal with the situation while I had Cion inspect the area, and I checked that the other three were still breathing. They seemed to be weakened, but I didn’t think their lives were in any danger.
“……”
“Hmm? …What’s wrong?” I asked Theresia as she stood next to Mihail and stared at me. She clenched her hand into a fist and made a punching motion over him.
“Are you asking if I’m mad at him? I mean, he was under someone else’s control… And yeah, I did get angry during the fight, but he wasn’t saying those things himself. Just leave him be for now.” She lowered her fist and came over to me. Then she just stared at me in silence, like maybe she was trying to say she agreed with me.
“We don’t know if he was being honest because he was controlled, or if he isn’t the type of think these things normally, but…I guess people as composed as Arihito don’t come along very often,” said Elitia.
“When you’re behind… No, just whenever you’re nearby, I feel so much calmer. I know I can’t rely on you for every last need, but I really want to be like that…,” said Misaki. Everyone must have felt relaxed now that the battle was over, but I still felt uncomfortable with all the compliments, even though they were the same ones they always gave me.
“……”
“Oh, we need to see if it dropped anything… Cion, did you find something?” I asked. She had sat down and was thumping her tail as it wagged.
…Whoa!
I went over and saw that a Black Box had fallen from the withered vines.
It went a long time without being defeated, killing more and more people… So I guess it created a Black Box like Juggernaut did.
That list of victims ended at Polaris, and my own party was safe. Cion’s back was to me, which activated Recovery Support, so everyone was recovering.
“Atobe, did you find something…? Oh, th-that chest… Is that a Black Box?”
“It was a powerful monster and unconfirmed, so there was always the possibility, but… There’s always something exciting happening in this party, isn’t there?” said Elitia with a small smile in my direction. I felt the same. These Black Boxes were rare enough to surprise Falma, so it was normal for a long time to pass before you’d see another one. I was happy but surprised as well.
A Black Box… The one that Juggernaut dropped had the key to the hidden floor. If there’s one in this box…
If this labyrinth had a hidden floor, too, and if we got into it, we might be able to find the parts that Ariadne spoke of, or we could meet another Hidden God.
Once we made sure Polaris was safe, we’d go have this Black Box opened. My heart had been racing since we’d found the unexpected item.
“…Oh, right. They’re still flying. Thanks for your help; you can all come down now,” I called up to the Demi-Harpies, who were still circling in the sky even though the fight was over. They landed in front of me, and I saw that the previously naked girls were now clothed, so I didn’t have to be as careful about where I looked. The smallest and youngest of the three girls did seem quite nervous, since she was hiding behind the middle sister, but she didn’t seem outright afraid of me.
“Atobe, have you given them names?” asked Igarashi.
“Uh… I’m terrible at deciding names. How about everyone else thinks of something? Or do you have names already?” I asked, and the eldest sister shook her long, brown hair to say no. Her clothing was a simple poncho-like piece of thin cloth, and it seemed like she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath because her chest bounced quite a bit when she did. I really couldn’t make reprimand Mihail if I was reacting in the same way. “How about the name Asuka? It’s written with the kanji for fly and bird, so I think it fits.”
“Asuka… Then, maybe Yayoi could work as well, if we’re going with historic periods. That said, it’s kind of old-fashioned.”
“And maybe the third one could be…Himiko? Although, only one of them would have a queen’s name, then.”
And just like that, the Demi-Harpies had names, the group of girls making quick work of it. From eldest to youngest, we had Asuka, then Himiko, then Yayoi. But I felt like a legendary queen’s name was most suited to the eldest sister, so maybe we should go with Himiko, Asuka, and Yayoi?
“We’ll have you name the next monster, Elitia,” I suggested.
“I feel like naming is a big responsibility… But I’ll try to think of something if you want me to.”
The Demi-Harpies’ Lullaby had been incredibly useful, so I wanted to keep an eye out for other monsters who could use special attacks and be recruited.
“Hmm…? What’s that…?” I said. I heard the sound of footsteps from a group of people coming from the direction of the first floor. I turned and saw a heavily armored woman with a massive shield leading the group. I’d seen the large symbol emblazoned on the shield before—it was the Guild’s mark. The woman had short, smooth hair and wore a headband with a metal plate wrapped around her head. She looked quite a bit younger than me, but I got the impression that she was very experienced.
The group she led was made up of two more women and three men. They wore helmets that covered their faces, so I couldn’t make out their expressions. Each had an impressive air, and I could see that my companions were a little shaken by them.
“…Are you members of Polaris?” asked the leader in a soft voice akin to a whisper that didn’t match the heavy armor she wore. I suddenly realized who they might be.
“No, we’re a different party. We just defeated the monster that attacked Polaris… And you are?” I asked.
“We are the Guild Saviors. We received a request for assistance from the leader of Polaris. We’ve come in response to that,” she explained. The Guild normally monitored anyone who was in the middle of an advancement test. Even so, we’d managed to save Polaris in the time that it took them to receive the report and respond.
“Thank you for assisting us in our duties. You will be provided rescue reparations if you submit a report to the Guild. However, I must ask that you promise not to assist any party who has been defeated in the future,” she continued.
“I’m sorry, but…it will all depend on the situation, so I can’t make that promise,” I replied.
“…I see,” she said simply, though I was afraid I’d offended her. “…Every party in the Labyrinth Country is competing against one another. You’d do well to remember that. You should prioritize your own party above all else.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now, the Polaris party members…,” I started.
“We will transport them back to town. We’ve brought the personnel necessary,” she replied as two expert-seeming people from her group started casually drawing magic circles on the ground.
Teleportation magic… Seeing it like this, I realized just how useful it was. Before long, the members of Polaris were laid on the circles and whisked away.
“We will also teleport you if you’re leaving the labyrinth,” offered the lead woman.
“Thank you. I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name’s Atobe.”
“…Arihito Atobe. That name has gained far more attention than I think you are aware. My name is Seraphina. Seraphina Edelbert,” she replied, sticking her massive shield in the ground and taking off her gauntlet before extending her right hand. I took her hand and saw a tiny smile on her face, the first emotion I’d seen on her so far.
My party took up the offer of teleportation and used the circles to leave the labyrinth. It only took a blink of an eye for us to appear in the square outside the entrance to the Shrieking Wood. Seraphina’s party must have arranged for the first responders to be there, because they were already carrying away the members of Polaris.
“It’s a good thing the Guild
Saviors came, right, Arihito?” said Suzuna.
“Yeah, they helped out a lot. I did want to get out of there for a little bit,” I replied.
“I can’t believe we found a Black Box… I wonder if there’s a hidden floor in the Shrieking Wood, too…,” said Igarashi, having had the same thought as me. If there was a hidden floor, it was likely that the key to it was in this box.
We’d already made more than enough contribution points to pass the test, so we’d achieved our current goal. We’d go back to the city for a little while and see what was in the Black Box; if there was a key in it, there might be a hidden floor as well…but we wouldn’t know if there was until we opened it.
“…Arihito, Black Boxes aren’t the sort of thing you go looking for. We don’t know if we’ll find another one even if we keep hunting Named Monsters,” said Elitia. “But if we do happen to find one like this, then we have the right to go to any hidden floor there might be. That’s not a chance we can throw away.”
“That vine monster didn’t seem like a normal Named Monster, either. If they only drop Black Boxes after they’ve done a lot of damage…then the god that made Ariadne is horrible,” noted Igarashi. Juggernaut and the Vine Puppeteer— The one thing they had in common was that they caused a lot of damage before they were eventually taken down.
We got ahold of the Black Box because Georg and his party had been defeated. Thinking of it that way, I couldn’t help but feel like the box’s entire existence was vile. But that’s exactly why we couldn’t waste it. We could go up to District Seven and get stronger before coming back, but we could also use whatever we gained from following through with this box’s contents to give us an edge in District Seven. Neither option was wrong.
“Arihito, Misaki and I will find the path to the hidden floor,” said Suzuna.
“If there’s a key in there, that is. But what Ariadne said made it sound like almost every labyrinth has a hidden floor,” added Misaki.