Chapter 203 - The Queen's Camp
"—Whoa…!!"
I kicked off the final corner leading to our base, and the path to a strangely constructed, unfamiliar castle opened up before me. The tension left me in a rush, and I hastily corrected my slightly off-balance posture to land—no, to land in the water.
Man, this water is a huge pain.
On top of the discomfort of my clothes clinging to me at a level identical to reality, the added weight from being soaked was seriously messing with my avatar control. It was just a mess.
That last move against Torakichi, I regretted jumping into the water for a flashy finish the second I did it. My gear has a status-fixing effect to keep it from flying off during high-speed maneuvers, so it probably wasn't obvious to onlookers, but…
Seriously, it was a disaster inside my hood. Never again.
Well, I guess it is a game, so the fact that my clothes dry within a few dozen seconds of getting out of the water is a small mercy. But anyway, that aside…
"That's one down, I guess…"
In exchange for a single title holder, I'd say this was a massive plus, more than I could've hoped for.
I took one of the plain blue armlets hidden under the sleeve of my [El-Gran Series Outer] and crushed it with my fingertips.
As if sensing its wearer's will, the accessory easily crumbled into powder, transforming into a faint blue magical light reminiscent of water. It then enveloped the [Crimson Red Ruby], which had been running wild since its activation, as if to seal it away.
As if to seal it—no, it is a seal. This custom-made, brokenly overpowered divine accessory of mine, once activated, becomes a handmade cursed object whose effect persists until I either seal it like this or die…
Apparently, there's a better way to do it, but the rush job was my fault for not thinking to request it in advance. It's completely my own doing.
Nia really did an amazing job in such a short time… As I was thinking that and calming the raging flames, I looked up and saw a black shadow approaching.
"Oh, heading out?"
"The orders have been sorted out."
If you just look at the numbers, he's the lowest-ranked. And according to him, he's also "definitely" the youngest. It's Tetra… but considering his behavior so far, in my mind, he ranks pretty high among the ten seats in terms of 'composure'.
He’s friendly, but there’s an unshakeable air of calm about him… To put it simply, he has a mysterious sort of reliability.
"Things got pretty heated over here, too. Good work, senpai."
As we passed each other, the boy raised a hand, a childish grin on his face. That 'senpai' thing, though, is something I can never quite get used to…
"Thanks, kouhai. You do your best too, Tetra."
"Leave it to me. Though I'm sure what you think of as 'doing my best' is a bit different from what I have in mind."
He gave a little wave with the hand we'd slapped, and without splashing a single drop of water, his body silently rose into the air. The boy's avatar, presumably headed toward the maze wall, then…
"…Title holders are all a bunch of freaks."
He simply vanished in mid-air—his presence, his aura, everything, completely disappeared from before my eyes.
My tension gone, I stared blankly for a few seconds before turning my head back to the front. There, waiting for me, Haru the Acrobat, was the defense squad, looking like they could hardly wait.
At the very back stood Gossan, arms crossed and looking satisfied, with the first of the little ones hopping up and down beside him.
My eyes met with the second little one, who stood silently next to her.
"Haha… of course."
I could read the praise and faint excitement in her light blue eyes—as well as a huge amount of pity. I let out a sigh at the all-too-predictable future.
Resigning myself, I took a step forward. Immediately, nearby players began to gather, each trying to be the first… their faces filled with overflowing excitement and curiosity.
After two or three steps, I steeled my resolve.
"Uh…—Questions, one per person, if you please."
I plastered on my killer part-timer smile and faced the army of my allies.
Isn't that smile pointless when you're wearing a hood?
◇◆◇◆◇
An hour had already passed since the Four Pillar War began.
Aside from one particular point, there had been no notable movements other than the abnormal event of a title holder being eliminated so early.
And that 'one particular point'—the fact that all of the Pillars that had spawned and respawned so far… all thirty from the North and South combined, had been utterly destroyed—was no doubt providing excitement in both the virtual and real worlds.
In fact, on this side, an all-out game of tag between the general players and [The Acrobat] had already kicked off, with chaos erupting all around the Pillars.
As for the results, the ever-updating scoreboard made them crystal clear.
1st: Istia - 3655P | 2nd: Nortalia - 302P | 3rd: Sotalm - 75P | 4th: Vestol - 0P
The score difference compared to their allies in Nortalia, who were supposed to be the point-getters in this war, was well over twelvefold. Needless to say, this was an unprecedented and highly abnormal situation.
What was most unbearable was the fact that unless they took down [The Acrobat], his momentum would likely not stop until the war was over.
In that case, they couldn't just stand by with their hands tied.
Even though the number of points was irrelevant to the method of victory they had planned from the very beginning, allowing the enemy to run rampant like this would damage their faction's honor.
"—Of all the scenarios we anticipated, this is among the worst."
Inside Sotalm, the Southern Faction's war base.
Six figures sat on mismatched chairs and sofas that sprouted from the floor, their faces close. The voice of the [Lady-in-Waiting] who spoke was tinged with bitterness, a stark contrast to her calm expression.
"I didn't see it myself, but… well, our second-in-command came running back after boasting so much, so I guess it's that bad."
"I'm aware of how lame that was, so could you stop?"
As Aurin looked at the scoreboard, arms crossed with an exasperated smile, he glanced sideways… and Uni, who had declared something like "If I get carried away and beat him—" on his way out, glared back sullenly.
"Just like Helena-san said, it's the worst of the worst. I don't think I'd just get beaten one-sidedly, but I'd probably have an accident about… four… no, thirty percent of the time."
"You were about to say forty percent, weren't you?"
"Ah, Fuji, you're annoying too. Shut up. Seriously, Istia is just… Istia. How is that guy ninth rank? He's definitely on par with the top-rankers."
"Out of curiosity, what would my odds be?"
"You're out, Aurin. The matchup's terrible. You'd lose a hundred times out of a hundred."
As the young man forced a smile, thinking you could sugarcoat that a little, Fuji—the Southern Faction's fourth-ranked, [Full Auto]—raised his hand and met Helena's gaze.
"Based on what I've heard, the matchup seems favorable for me. Shall I give it a try?"
From what he'd heard, the Acrobat in question was a dodge-focused attacker specializing in agility. If his legs were not just 'excessive' but 'hyper-excessive', then his other stats—most likely his durability—were probably close to nil.
An agility specialist with low durability… the more extreme it was, the more he was a prime target for [Full Auto].
It was a natural deduction, a confident proposal based on his perceived advantage. But to his surprise, Helena shook her head.
"If you could force a one-on-one, you would likely have an absolute advantage. However, since they are clearly using him as their ace, they must have already allocated resources to counter his natural enemies."
"Hah… well, I suppose he will be coming, then."
"Come to think of it, she hasn't been on a rampage this time, has she? The criminal stealth bomber onee-san."
"There are scattered reports of people getting hit by Hinayo-nee, but… that means she's acting separately from [Undying]. In the worst-case scenario, he could be lying in wait, targeting only you."
Having been told as much, Fuji retracted his hand with a deep, bitter smile.
If he were to face that black-clad boy, he would be taken out without being able to do a thing. It was a truth he himself acknowledged, hence his acceptance.
"So in the end, it's just as we planned. The only way to win is to capture their base."
"Yes. It is a last resort, but we have no other choice."
At Aurin's words, which brought them to the heart of the matter, Helena gave a quiet nod.
"It is vexing, but it seems 'Father's' leak was no exaggeration. This war cannot be won by taking Pillars. Therefore… everyone, are you prepared?"
Her eyes, which usually held a sharp, intelligent light, slowly closed as if to say, 'I have already given up.'
"We will launch an all-out war—against the combat junkies of Istia."