Chapter 193 - Feelings for Marianne, and the Crystal Palace
"A Dullahan?" I shouted, looking at the knight before us.
"No, it's not carrying a trophy head. It's just a headless soldier."
"'Just,' huh…"
Even if the Dullahan had been downgraded to a 'mere headless soldier,' it was no less grotesque. And I had no idea how that changed its strength. I remembered fighting a headless ox with Marmie in the castle at Heilong. That had been a nightmare in its own right.
"Mo, aren't you scared of things like that?"
"…It's creepy, but I'm not scared."
Mo said this as she pointed her wand at the headless soldier.
"Mash, your orders!" Maira cried out. I recalled how Fam and Mizuki had struggled to get in close against the Roper's tentacles earlier.
"Fam and Mizuki, take the headless soldier. Marmie and I will handle the Roper. Maira, you provide support from the rear…" I trailed off and looked at Tursa.
"What is it? Feel free to give me orders. However, if you'll grant me some leeway, I'd like to train Fam. Would you mind lending her a katana? I can't use any other weapon. This is all I can teach."
He patted the long sword hanging at his waist.
"…"
I stared at his expression. So, Marianne really did think my swordsmanship was unreliable and sent him as a tutor, didn't she?
"What is it? You're creeping me out. Make a decision already."
"Are you, by any chance, Marianne's master?"
He let out a hearty laugh at my words.
"Wrong. I'm her senior disciple. Our master is a decrepit old man."
I took the katana from my storage and handed it to Fam. It was the sword Marianne had given me. She frowned for a moment but reached out and gripped the hilt.
"Master, I will become stronger than anyone."
"Once you get stronger, the next strong person just shows up. There's no end to it, so take it easy."
Fam and Mizuki readied their swords and advanced toward the headless soldier. Marmie and I turned to face the Roper approaching from behind. The Roper was already forming a fireball.
"…I'll cancel it out with magic."
_Marmie created a fireball of her own, preparing to counter. I wasn't confident I could dodge the Roper's whip-like attacks. I nocked an arrow to my bow and waited. The moment the monster launched its fireball, Marmie fired back. The two spheres of flame collided before us, erupting in a brilliant blaze. I waited for the flames to subside, then loosed my arrow. After two shots, the enemy's movements slowed, and Marmie finished it off with a bolt of lightning. After confirming there were no other enemies, I looked over at Fam's group. They were handling their opponent without any trouble. A short distance away, Tursa stood watching over the fight. The headless soldier's attacks were wide and predictable. Fam and Mizuki slipped between the swings, flanking it from the left and right. However, it seemed they couldn't penetrate its plate mail.
"Are your attacks not getting through?"
I doubted my bow would be effective either, but I nocked an arrow, figuring it would at least serve as a diversion. Just then, Mizuki's sword traced an unnatural arc and pierced the plate mail. Her special skill, Super Kill, must have activated. The headless soldier's armor crumbled as if flaking away, and the creature disintegrated. Mizuki picked up the magic seed it had dropped.
"…"
Tursa was staring at the scene, his eyes wide. He then shot me a look, as if demanding an explanation.
"It's just as you see. Mizuki is the strongest one in the party."
She wouldn't lose, not even to Tursa.
"Then why is someone like that in your party?"
"Hmph, because she was summoned by Racshell along with me, and because I'm working hard to make sure she doesn't leave."
"I see…"
Tursa tilted his head, lost in thought.
"Hey, why the fortieth floor? You've seen what we can do. I want to switch to a lower floor or go back to the guild for a medicinal herb-gathering quest."
"Your teamwork is better and you're stronger than I imagined. Plus, you've managed to keep your priestess fresh. It looks like you can still fight perfectly well on the upper floors."
"N-No way…"
Is this old guy seriously going to suggest we go higher? If he did, I swore I would firmly insist we switch to gathering herbs. I wasn't about to test our limits with Fam's and the others' lives on the line. If we were going to test ourselves, it would be after getting our bodies accustomed to fighting on lower floors.
"No, the Area Guardian on the fortieth floor drops a specific item. I want you to receive it, Lord Mash."
"…For me?"
Was there really an item worth risking our lives for? He must have seen our previous battles and concluded we could break through. But the Area Guardian's room was a one-way trip. If possible, I wanted to challenge it with the conviction that we could win. At the very least, I wanted him to wait until after noon, when my Goddess Summon would be available. As I agonized over my answer, Fam approached.
"Master, I want to try fighting on this floor."
"I think that's a good idea, too. We'll face all sorts of things from now on, so I want to gain experience and get stronger," Mizuki added in agreement.
"That's right. Besides, the battle was over before I even had a chance to do anything," Maira chimed in. I turned my gaze to Marmie, who hadn't spoken yet.
"…I'm fine either way."
Her words made my eyes widen involuntarily.
"…What?"
She took a frightened step back.
"Everyone in my party is so violent, no one's ever said something like that before. I'm moved!"
"What are you talking about?!" Mizuki retorted.
After several more battles, we found ourselves standing before the Area Guardian's room. Though we'd occasionally detoured toward monsters, Tursa's steps were sure, and we never got lost. He seemed accustomed to coming here. And he never did tell me what item the Area Guardian dropped. The answer, he said, was inside this room.
"What kind of monster is the Area Guardian?"
"You'll see when we go in."
He didn't answer my question and opened the door. The violence squad—Fam, Mizuki, and Maira—followed him inside.
"…It's fine. If things get dangerous, I'll wipe everything out with lightning."
For a second, Marmie's words sounded like something Lini would say, which only made me more anxious. I handed her some magic seeds, praying we wouldn't end up in such a situation. The Area Guardian's room was the usual circular, arena-like space, but it felt larger than normal. Perhaps it was the sense of openness from the crystal glass ceiling? Just like in the corridors, the upper floors of the labyrinth were visible, and I wondered if my perception was being distorted, but no. The space was clearly wider. As I stood there, dumbfounded and looking around the room, the door behind us closed. A pillar of light erupted in the center, and the silhouette of a massive object emerged from within. Watching it, we all readied our weapons. Our front line was solid with Fam, Mizuki, and Tursa. I had Maira and Marmie fall back, and I took out my bow. The object that emerged from the light took the form of a giant, standing easily ten meters tall. It was a man with curly golden hair, a long beard, and a body like solid rock. He was naked save for a loincloth.
"A Gigantes," Tursa muttered.
Before I knew it, the Gigantes was holding a stone in its hand. To the monster, it was a stone; to us, it was a boulder. The monster drew its arm back, coiling its entire body like a spring, and hurled the boulder at us.
"Dodge!"
We scattered quickly, but Marmie was a step too slow. I grabbed her clothes and pulled her toward me. The boulder roared past, just grazing her flowing hair. It crashed into the wall behind us, shattering with a sound like an explosion. The Gigantes pulled back its elbows and puffed out its chest as if showing off its muscles.
"GUOOOOOOOH!"
The monster's roar echoed throughout the room. At the same time, countless snakes began to pour out from its feet. They were large, each about a meter long. They spread out in a radial pattern from the monster.
"Be careful. They're venomous," Tursa said. He drew his katana and lopped off the head of an approaching snake.
"Let's go!"
Fam and Mizuki nodded at his words.
At Tursa's call, Fam and the others tried to charge, but the venomous snakes guarding the Gigantes prevented them from getting close. Maira cast a series of attack and defense enhancement spells on them.
"Marmie, can you wipe out the snakes with a lightning spell?"
"…I'll try."
She gave a small nod. Meanwhile, the Gigantes was already creating another boulder in its palm for its next throw.
"Water Magic, Icicle!"
I fired at the monster's face to break its concentration.
"GAAAAAH!"
The monster roared. A membrane of air formed, deflecting the icicle. That didn't matter; I just needed to prevent it from throwing until Marmie could cast her spell. As I prepared to fire another volley of icicles, the monster started running toward us. The frontline of Fam and the others tried to stop it, but the size difference was too great. They couldn't block its charge, and the best they could do was land a single sword strike as it brushed past.
"Mash!"
Maira readied her mace and stepped in front of me. The approaching Gigantes raised its fist.
"Don't! Maira, don't take it head-on!"
I grabbed Marmie and ran. But a shockwave ran through the ground at my feet, and I stumbled, falling with her. A venomous snake had bitten my calf. I grabbed its neck and forcibly tore it off. Then, gripping it with both hands, I squeezed with all my might and snapped the snake's neck.
"Guh…"
A searing pain shot through my entire body. I pushed Marmie to her feet and shoved her back, trying to get her to safety. Seeing this over her shoulder, Maira crouched slightly and met the Gigantes head-on. Her mace, swung sideways with centrifugal force, collided with the Gigantes's fist. But the difference in size was too vast. The monster's fist connected with Maira, sending her flying backward. She twisted in the air and managed to land without falling. However, the damage from the blow was severe; she dropped to one knee, hunched over, and coughed up blood. The monster, seemingly unharmed, stood leisurely, glaring down at us. But if you looked closely, the middle finger on the right hand it had struck Maira with was trembling. A small victory from her single blow. Just then, magical barriers appeared around all of us.
"…Lightning."
With Marmie's voice, bolts of lightning shot out from her in a radial pattern. Flashes of light pierced the bodies of the slithering venomous snakes and the Gigantes.
"GUAAAAAH!"
A scream echoed through the air, followed by the smell of burnt flesh.
The snakes were wiped out, and Fam and the others rushed in, slashing at the Gigantes. Worried about Maira, I tried to stand, but I was hit by a wave of dizziness and nausea. Remembering the snake bite, I pulled an antidote from my storage and put it in my mouth. All the while, she remained crouched and unmoving. Overwhelmed by a fierce sense of urgency, I staggered toward her. Even as the three of them hacked away at the monster and Marmie provided support with her magic, my thoughts were completely consumed by Maira. I placed a hand on her back, and her body swayed slightly. I pulled her into my arms and laid her on her back. I took out a recovery potion and brought it to her lips, but she made no move to drink.
"Maira…"
I poured the recovery potion into my own mouth, then gave her a kiss to transfer it. Her throat moved with a small swallow. Then, her eyelids fluttered open.
"Mash, please give me a little more…"
"Got it."
This time, I took a larger mouthful and poured it past her lips into her mouth. She drank it down more forcefully than before.
"Mash, one more time."
At her request, I went to take another mouthful of the potion, but the bottle was already empty. I rummaged through my storage for another one. It was then that I noticed Fam and the others had gathered around us.
"The G-Gigantes…"
"We already beat it," Mizuki answered.
"You did?"
I looked around and saw that the monster was indeed gone. As I confirmed this and was about to take another mouthful of potion, Fam stopped me.
"Master, giving her any more won't have any effect."
Her tone was cold.
"O-Oh, right."
Looking at Maira's face, I could see that color had returned to her cheeks and she seemed to have regained her vitality. Though it was a shame I could no longer taste her lips, I breathed a sigh of relief that she had recovered. As I was about to put the potion back in my storage, Tursa held out a clenched fist.
"Hold out your hand."
Though I didn't understand, I held out my hand, and he placed a small ring on my palm. The ring was set with a small, light-blue stone.
"This is called a Warrior's Ring. Wearing it slightly increases your attack power. Those who serve House Wanland wear this ring with a special sentiment."
As he explained, I noticed he himself was wearing one. It was a symbol of devotion to House Wanland.
"Please, I want you to give this to Lady Marianne, from your own hands."
"Marianne is the head of the house. Isn't it strange for her to wear this ring?"
He shook his head at my words.
"It is true that due to her position, Lady Marianne would likely not wear it in public. However, the dog-eared race grows stronger when they find someone to serve, and when they receive a token of trust. Just like this one here."
Tursa placed a hand on Fam's head. So, he really was one of Marianne's knights. The look he'd been giving me all this time was one of resolve—to protect her no matter what. She had told me she had no supporters, but a man like him existed. And he surely wasn't the only one. There must have been many. They were waiting. Not to prop her up themselves, but for her to rise up with her own strength.
"I understand. I'll give this ring to Marianne."
Just as I said that and clenched my fist, I noticed Fam and the others glaring at me with stern expressions.
"How come it's just for Marianne?"
"That's not fair to her."
"I was the one who worked hard…"
Only Marmie said nothing.
"A-Alright. Let's come back here again. We'll get one for everyone here."
Of course, we weren't coming back here. I didn't want to come to a place where Maira could get injured, even if it was due to my own carelessness. I felt bad for them, but I'd buy them something suitable from a shop and smooth things over.
"Is that so? Well then, let's start farming it right away. Do you think we can collect them all today?"
Maira, who had been leaning against my arm, stood up. She then briskly started walking toward the exit. Fam and Mizuki followed her.
"…Are you serious?"
As I watched them go, stunned, Marmie held out a hand to me. I took it and she helped me to my feet.
"Mo, you want a ring?"
I figured she would have much better equipment at home.
"…Of course I do."
She gave a small nod.