Chapter 227 - Reversal (3)

Takellan Arbenon.

He simply could not understand.

'What am I doing?'

He swung his sword. With every last bit of strength left in his body, he moved his arm to kill the enemy.

And all the while, he kept asking himself.

'Why?'

His wife, more precious to him than anything, was dead. Why should he go on living?

The barbarian had answered that question.

["Someone has to deliver the news."]

["Right, there was that..."]

Takellan had given up on everything, but those words had brought him onto this grueling journey.

To deliver the news to his companions' bereaved families?

He knew better than anyone that was not the reason.

Unlike him, the barbarian had protected everything.

["I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!"]

With a voice so steadfast it bordered on foolishness, he had stopped a tragedy born of madness.

["I am Melter Fend, commander of the Nartel Clan."]

["I am Lacy Naret of the Heindel Order."]

["I am a military mage of Raphdonia."]

He had won the recognition of renowned explorers.

["VEHELLLAAAAAA!!"]

A great barbarian who had led them through that harrowing journey from the most dangerous position at the very front, guiding them to their destination.

This man was a born leader. He had the power to move people's hearts, just as he had drawn Takellan to him in the beginning.

But that was precisely why...

He wanted to see this remarkable man lose something precious and flounder in despair. Then perhaps he could feel a little more at peace.

Yes, it couldn't have been helped.

Even a man like him couldn't do it, could he?

Of course I couldn't protect them.

He had followed them on this journey out of a disgusting desire to find comfort in another's misfortune.

Yes, that should have been the reason...

SLASH!

Yet here he was, swinging his sword. To save someone other than himself.

"Ah, thank you. Takellan, was it?"

"..."

"Not much of a talker, are you?"

Despite losing the companions he had spent years with, he was fighting with all his might for people he had only just met.

Takellan could not understand it.

SLASH!

Why am I still fighting?

Because I haven't seen that barbarian despair yet?

No, then why...

"Hah, reinforcements at a time like this."

"We're probably going to die, aren't we?"

"Ha, this is maddening. After everything it took to get here."

"Enough chatter! Just fight!"

"Right! I'll be damned if I die without a fight!"

Why were these people resisting to the very end, even knowing their deaths were near?

"Raaaaah!"

Looking into the explorers' eyes, Takellan soon understood why.

BOOOOM!

Beyond the ceaseless explosions, where countless enemies swarmed, a man with an enormous back was fighting.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!!"

Still refusing to let go of hope.

* * *

The situation is grim. But the worse things get, the more I focus on the positives.

'Their gear is only second- or third-floor level.'

There are quite a few of them, but their individual combat ability is sorely lacking. Then again, if they were any good, they'd have gone up to hunt on the higher floors long ago.

Indeed, the Noark remnants have mingled with the corpse legion and attacked us, but it hasn't made much immediate difference for us. At our level, a single corpse summoned by that Clown bastard is more dangerous.

'The problem is... it'll take longer to break through.'

That's actually the biggest headache. Time is not on our side.

Our only chance of winning is to take the Clown out as fast as possible, then gang up on either the wolf bastard or the Scholar of Destruction.

But now these Noark remnant fuckers have shown up.

'At this rate, the rear formation will collapse too...''

We have even less time now. The more impatient I grow, the tighter my grip on my mace becomes.

CRUNCH!

Another one dies in a single hit.

But even as I strike down the enemy...

"Aaaagh!"

Our numbers keep dwindling.

People were never more honest than in the face of death.

Some cried out their families' names and professed their love. Others hurled vicious curses at the king. Still others told the world who they really were, something they had never once been able to reveal.

"That look... on your face. Hey, I'm an evil spirit."

"... What? Wh-what are you saying?!"

"Sorry... I lied... Thank you... for everything... Gah! Now, f-finally... home... Ah, ahh, Mom... I'm so l-late..."

Right. There was no way there wasn't a single Player among all these people.

THUMP!

It felt unfair. After overcoming so much hardship to get here, was it all going to end this pointlessly?

'... No. It can't.'

I steady my wavering heart. There'll be time enough to break after I fall.

My arms and legs still work, don't they?

Until my breath stops and my blood runs cold, the right thing to do is struggle, then struggle some more.

Right, so...

CRUNCH!

I think as I swing my mace, just as I did on my first day here.

What do I need to do to survive?

Well, first, assess the situation.

"Kyle! How are things over there?"

["We're barely holding on for now, but it isn't good."]

It seems the rear, where the mages, archers, and other ranged fighters are gathered, has suffered heavy losses too.

Well, that's only natural, isn't it? The Noark explorers must have attacked them as well. With most of the warriors over here, they would have struggled to respond.

'So we're surrounded on all sides.'

Surprisingly, though, there is an escape route: the portal we came up through.

Kyle hasn't mentioned it for the sake of morale, but some people must have fled through it to the first floor.

Running is always an appealing option. All the more so when your life is on the line.

"... Jandel! How about going down to regroup?!"

A warrior shouts the suggestion at me.

Did Kyle hear that through the message stone?

["Absolutely not. We'd ultimately have to come back up to escape that thing anyway. And next time, they won't wait for us to form ranks."]

Kyle speaks firmly, leaving no room for foolish ideas.

There's no need. I never considered that option in the first place.

Zero and one are different. And if Kyle and I are right, then whichever way you look at it, the one is here.

We have to settle this here, somehow.

Which is why...

"How is Melter Fend doing?"

I ask about another part of the battlefield that could change things. But once again, the answer isn't encouraging.

["He's keeping him occupied, but I doubt their fight will end anytime soon."]

Right. So that's how it is.

"... Bjorn!!"

Startled, I look to the side and see an exploding corpse within arm's reach.

"Der Tu Teiran!"

Fortunately, Raven casts Gust in time to push it away.

BOOM!

The exploding corpse bursts, spraying bodily fluids.

The other corpses barely suffer, but the Noark explorers who came as reinforcements are a different story.

HISSSSS!

Those nearby simply melt away. Even the ones touched by a single drop turn pale and stagger.

It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Raphdonia or Noark, they're all the same when it comes to treating people as expendable.

"Then what about the Scholar of Destruction?"

Without even a moment to catch my breath, I resume our conversation. This might be the most important piece of information right now.

"Can you kill him?"

["The magic circle is complete now, so I'll try. But..."]

Kyle trails off. It seems he isn't confident.

["I'm sorry. I thought I'd caught up, but the gap is even wider than it was back then."]

I have no desire to criticize him. If he'd escaped through a dimensional gate, we wouldn't have made it this far in the first place. Besides, even I can tell that the Scholar of Destruction is an absurdly powerful mage.

["Still, as I said, I can buy us time. I'll land a blow on him somehow before it runs out. Even if it costs me my life."]

His words suddenly remind me of Dwalki.

"Are you talking about that Awakening spell?"

["... Something similar."]

"Will you be all right?"

["If I feared the price, I wouldn't have stayed here, would I? This is the moment I've longed for. Besides, I've spent years refining it. Death isn't a certainty."]

"... I see."

I don't tell him he doesn't have to go that far, even as an empty courtesy. That would be nothing but hypocrisy...

"Aaaagh!!"

Who here isn't fighting with their life on the line?

I'm doing the same. If I dropped dead right now, people would grieve, but they wouldn't be surprised.

That's the kind of battle this is.

["Then what will you do now?"]

I smile at Kyle's cautious question. Of all the things he could ask, why that?

["Perhaps you'd be better off coming back here and fighting alongside—"]

"Forget it."

I cut him off firmly.

With the Noark explorers reinforcing them, we're now outnumbered too, but...

"Nothing has changed."

Kyle Pevrosk takes the Scholar of Destruction. Melter Fend takes that wolf bastard.

"We take the Corpse Collector."

["I thought you'd say that."]

A chuckle comes through the message stone.

"Why are you laughing? Think we can't do it?"

["No, that isn't what I meant. I just remembered something you said earlier."]

Something I said?

["Didn't you say warriors laugh when things get tough? Let mages join them now."]

Well, we warriors laugh a little more heartily than that.

"If you show me a more manly laugh next time."

["Next time..."]

Ah, was that a poor joke in this situation?

I feel a slight pang of regret, but soon his voice returns, considerably lighter.

["Yes, having a next time wouldn't be so bad. You know, if I get back, the first thing I'll do is write a book. About my life. It's been a dream of mine since childhood."]

"I'll read it if I get the chance."

["I'm honored. If I do write it, may I include your words as a quotation?"]

"A quotation?"

["That bit about warriors laughing when things get tough. Somehow, it keeps going round in my head."]

Uh, I just tossed that out without much thought. Having him take it so seriously is a little embarrassing.

But if we can just get back, what wouldn't I agree to?

"Use it or don't. Do whatever you want."

Kyle laughs aloud at my answer.

["Haha, is that so? Then there's no problem now."]

His laugh is much heartier than before.

* * *

The current battle lines are a little complicated.

First, the expedition's ranged damage dealers are clustered around the portal, with warriors protecting their perimeter.

Originally, they only had to hold off the corpse legion in front. But then Noark explorers attacked from behind, leaving us like this.

'They must be having a hell of a time too.'

While the others reorganized their lines, Melter Fend and his clan members were left stranded in the middle of the battlefield, still raiding the wolf bastard.

I can't say for sure, but they're probably having it as hard as we are. We've also split off from the main force to take down the Corpse Collector.

You could call us a detached unit.

Well, on that note, time for a progress check.

"Raven! How many people?"

"Huh? Oh, I think about forty!"

Whew. We've really lost so many in that short time. I'm pretty sure we started with well over a hundred—

WHOOOOSH!

Suddenly, light erupts from the ground. An enormous red magic circle covers the entire battlefield in an instant.

"... It's a spatial magic formula!"

Raven is the first to read the formula. But that's all she manages to discern.

Kyle's calm voice comes through the message stone.

["Don't be alarmed. The time has simply come."]

"Then the plan is still on track?"

["Yes. I knew that old geezer would use this spell."]

His words reassure me too.

Something about using the Scholar of Destruction's own mana against him to cast another spell once he uses a spatial magic formula?

That was roughly the plan, but I'm not a mage, so I don't know the exact mechanics.

The game hadn't implemented anything like this either. Probably a limitation of the 2D format.

But...

'I'd better get ready too.'

I have to act on the assumption that it'll work. Otherwise, we have no way out.

WHOOOOOSH!

Soon, the light pouring from the magic circle reaches its peak, turning everything before my eyes pure white.

And in that instant...

["I'll be back."]

Kyle's voice reaches me once more, and a blinding flash blankets the battlefield.

「Kyle Pevrosk has cast the rank-two spacetime spell [Parallel World].」

My ears ring. When I open my eyes, my blurry vision reveals an unchanged battlefield.

I murmur briefly.

"Kyle, did it work?"

No answer comes. That must mean the spell succeeded.

By now, Kyle should have begun his one-on-one fight with the Scholar of Destruction in a virtual space modeled on the Goblin Forest.

I dearly hope he'll win and come back, but...

'I need to prepare for the alternative too.'

Kyle believed he could at least buy us time. We have to accomplish something on our end before it runs out.

"What are you doing? Run!"

After pausing briefly at the white flash, I lead the detached unit onward, continuing our breakthrough.

Without the Scholar of Destruction's constant harassment, advancing is much easier.

How long do we press on like that?

'This should do.'

We've finally reached the distance I wanted. There's no need to keep risking our lives to break through.

So I entrust the detached unit to Teterud, who has been clearing the way alongside me.

"Teterud, take everyone who's left and head back now."

"Then I'll leave him to you."

We've already discussed everything while fighting our way here.

"Well, you heard him! This is as far as we go. We're heading back!"

"Doesn't look like that'll be easy either."

"Well, Jandel will handle things on this end!"

"Let's go!!"

Teterud leads the survivors back, heading toward Melter Fend.

Even if reaching the main force is too much, they should be able to get there. And once they do, they'll help take down the wolf bastard.

"All right, everyone, get on."

The moment I speak, Misha nimbly jumps onto my shoulder while I'm under [Gigantification].

"Are we really going on our own, nyah?"

Aynar is next.

"Oh! I think I understand why Aruru rides around on me now!"

She's too big to sit on my shoulder, so I wrap my left arm around her waist and lift her.

"Excuse me."

Raven gets off Teddy before he's unsummoned and sits on Misha's lap.

"... This feels very strange."

Mister Bear, the largest of them, hangs off my back, his arms choking my neck.

And...

"This really makes us feel like one team!"

Finally, Erwin sits on my right shoulder.

Huh. Now I really feel like a means of transportation.

Just as I'm about to set off...

"Wait."

Daria stops me. Suspecting what she's going to say, I make myself clear in advance.

"Like I already told you, I can't let Erwin go."

Whatever she says, even if she pulls rank as her older sister, I can't hand her over. Erwin is the key to this strategy—

"That's not it. I'm coming too."

"What?"

Right, so you do have some shame.

"... What's that look for?"

"Nothing. Come here."

I quickly reach out with my free arm, wrap it around Daria's waist, and lift her.

[Grrrrr...!]

"Kill him! We just have to kill him and it's over!"

Along with the Clown's summoned corpses, Noark's shitty second-floor explorers are swarming toward us by the second.

I bend my knees slightly and look ahead.

Over a hundred Noark explorers stand between the Clown and me, with even more corpses filling the space, but...

'About sixty meters.'

After checking the distance once more, I bend my knees further, compressing them like a spring.

Then...

"Hold on tight."

This time, I don't make a low jump. I jump with all my strength.

「The character has used [Leap].」

My body shoots upward, bringing the entire battlefield into view.

"We're flying!! We're flying!!"

Melter Fend, raiding the wolf bastard in an encircling formation. Teterud, beginning his run in that direction. The main force in the center.

And to top it all off, the Clown fucker, who'd been grinning at me from his safe spot far away.

"Uh, uhh..."

As we reach the apex, someone grabs my hair and pulls with all their might.

Should I add some handholds to my armor later?

"Aaaaaaaah!!!"

Having traced an arc through the air, my body plummets. The Clown, perched atop his corpse monster, sees me and backs his summon up.

Seriously, you think that'll help now?

If you're going to kite me, put some fucking effort into it.

BOOOOOOM!

My body slams into the ground like a cannonball.

「The character's total weight is at least 500 kg.」

「The special terrain effect [Rebound] is additionally applied within the damage radius.」

[Rebound] launches the Noark remnants and corpse legion around the Clown into the air all at once.

Oh, except for the corpse monster he's riding. It doesn't budge, probably because it weighs over five hundred kilograms.

Of course, that's a minor problem.

"I didn't expect you to have absorbed a Manticore's Essence. Pfft!"

The Clown watches me, still perfectly composed. In fact, he looks delighted.

I'd like to exchange a few words, but I quickly end [Gigantification].

My body shrinks rapidly.

"Eek!!"

Everyone clinging to me tumbles off. Watching me, the Clown speaks in an exaggerated tone.

"Oh dear, oh dear! Have you run out of MP already? What a shame, after struggling so hard to get all the way here."

Out of MP, my ass.

Well, once he gets a firsthand beating, he'll give up that idiotic way of talking sooner or later.

"Erwin."

"Ah, yes!"

The moment I call her name, Erwin uses her Ability.

「Erwin Fornacci de Tersia has used [Spirit Form].」

[Spirit Form].

An Ability of the rank-five monster Evan, and a skill with a particularly unique concept even in [Dungeon and Stone].

Its effect is simple. The caster becomes a spiritual body, gaining immunity to physical damage.

And...

「Erwin Fornacci de Tersia offers the character a 'contract.'」

By forming a contract with one person, the caster temporarily shares various powers with them.

[Mister, take my hand.]

Her voice sounds as though it belongs to something not of this world.

As if entranced, I take Erwin's outstretched hand.

At that moment, fierce flames flare up, engulfing my whole body as though to protect it.

I call it Elemental Barbarian (Fire) Mode.

"Erwin, put out the fire."

[... Huh? Oh, right!]

Has she finally remembered what I told her before?

Erwin quickly changes elements.

CRACKLE.

My already thick skin cracks like parched earth, growing thicker still.

「An earth spirit inhabits the character's body.」

「Fire damage taken is reduced by half.」

「Water damage taken is doubled.」

「Poison immunity bonus.」

「A powerful bonus to destructive actions is applied when using blunt weapons.」

「Physical Resistance increases drastically...」

「...」

Damn right. A real man is rock.