Chapter 602: Conquering the Divine Ruins of Avalon (3)

Chapter 31: The Queen of Jealousy

We spent the night in the Twenty-First Defense Tower. Then, on the morning of the 10th day of the Month of First Fire, we finally set foot in the central district, where the difficulty would truly begin to rise.

Our immediate goal was the subway station that led into the unexplored sector Lily had claimed as her base. Lily had passed through there, and Fiona’s group had followed the same route.

As before, if Simon kept calculating our route, we should be able to make it through without too many flashy battles. But this was still a dungeon. Unexpected trouble could strike at any moment. Just because we had made it this far without disaster didn’t mean we could afford to relax.

“Well then… let’s see whether we meet an ogre or a serpent.”

With that, we stepped into the central city of the Rank 5 dungeon, the true heart of the Divine Ruins of Avalon.

That said, even this was not yet the deepest part of the central district. We would have to go farther still to reach the zone of soaring skyscrapers and towering high-rises. Not that it mattered this time. We weren’t heading into that Manhattan-like cluster of buildings anyway.

The streets here didn’t look all that different from what we had seen before. Still, there did seem to be more large structures, though whether they were apartment buildings, offices, or department stores, I couldn’t tell. To the east, there was apparently even a district that looked like an upscale residential area, with far more refined architecture.

So the closer one moved to the center, the more developed the city became.

“…Damn.”

We had been walking for less than thirty minutes.

“Hey, this is bad. They’re blocking the front.”

“Chrono, behind us…”

“No good. There’s a large group coming in from the rear too.”

Just like that, we were about to be caught in a pincer attack in the middle of the street.

Fortunately, Kai noticed the force ahead, while I sensed the one behind us. The knights were simply following their usual patrol routes. It was only by bad luck that their movements happened to line up perfectly to trap us between them.

But if we kept going, both fronts would close in at once, and the moment they spotted us, strangers in hostile territory, they would fall on us from both sides with the advantage of position.

“Sorry… I think I messed up the calculation…”

“It’s fine. Besides, we already knew calculations alone couldn’t avoid everything.”

Even Sariel had been forced into her share of encounters in the central district. Sooner or later, we were bound to end up in a situation like this. Simon didn’t need to apologize.

“What do we do, Chrono? Break through?”

“No, wait. We still have a little time before they enter this street.”

I glanced right and left. Seris and Falkius, who had been searching for somewhere to hide, both shook their heads.

Apparently, none of the buildings facing this street had open doors.

Duck into an alley, and the knights would still spot us.

What now? Should we grit our teeth and force our way through head-on?

“Let’s climb that building. There are no dragoons overhead. If we make it to the roof, we might be able to wait them out.”

“Got it. Then let’s move!”

It was a simple plan, but no one objected. We immediately put Operation Rooftop Escape into motion.

The building I pointed to was the tallest on the street, something like a twenty-story apartment block.

The front entrance wasn’t open, so we would climb straight up the exterior wall. A door that looked like nothing more than glass could probably be sliced apart by any one of us in a single stroke… but ancient architecture was sturdy. It might really just be glass. Or reinforced glass that would take time to break. Or some absurd super-reinforced glass from a lost civilization that wouldn’t even crack if we poured martial techniques into it.

This was not the time to test which it was.

Besides, if we broke it, the noise would give us away.

Still, the durability of ancient construction was a blessing for climbing. At least there was no danger of the building collapsing under us.

If the wall had been a perfectly smooth vertical surface, it would have been difficult. But this apartment building had balconies jutting out at every floor, plenty of ledges and irregularities to use as handholds. If it had been an eroded ruin like the old city of Mycenae, there would have been a real risk of the balcony crumbling right out from under us, and I would never want to climb something like that.

But Avalon’s buildings were another matter. Here, we could climb without worrying.

Each of us chose the method we thought would get us up the high-rise fastest.

Kai and Falkius simply relied on physical ability, scaling the wall directly. Watching them, I was reminded of those shocking television specials about men climbing foreign skyscrapers without ropes. Only these two, with their monstrous strength, moved even faster, darting upward with impossible ease.

On the other hand, the ones who climbed with elegance were Rudra and Seris. Rudra walked up the vertical surface as if his boots were glued to the wall, while Seris rose with light steps, borne upward on soft currents of wind. Those gifted in wind magic couldn’t quite fly, but they could leap with extraordinary grace.

Now that I had acquired pseudo-wind affinity, I ought to be capable of something similar. But there was no way I could match Seris’s precision and quiet control. If I tried using Over Sky, I’d probably just launch myself into the distance.

If I was going to imitate anyone, Rudra seemed the better choice.

“Hey, Rudra, what you’re doing there… that isn’t Air Walker, is it? Some application of dark magic?”

“Indeed. I merely manipulate shadows and attach the soles of my feet to the wall. It is such a small trick that it hardly deserves to be called magic.”

But for a vampire, he said, it was more practical than Air Walker.

“If you can wield black magic, then copying it should be simple enough.”

Hmm. No harm in trying.

I pictured it like the pseudo-water affinity I had struggled so hard to acquire, except this time I imagined something tacky, adhesive, a sort of magical glue fixing my feet to the wall.

“…Well?”

“The way you use shadow differs, but if it sticks, that is enough.”

Hmm. Apparently Rudra wasn’t actually thinking of it as adhesion at all.

“Shadows never leave the earth. Thus, if one stands upon them, one too shall not depart from it.”

No, you’d still fall. Standing on a shadow didn’t somehow suspend you in midair. Physics still existed.

But what Rudra meant was probably more conceptual than literal. Some deeper understanding of what a “shadow” was. That idea itself formed the foundation of his spell.

“That’s complicated.”

“You will grow used to it.”

I made a note to practice later. For now, I decided to rely on tentacles instead.

Naturally, my method of climbing was to use Bind Arts to hook a chain all the way to the top and reel myself upward, like a self-made elevator.

Vivian, shining softly, sat on my shoulder, which meant I was also carrying Simon. That made this the safest and most reliable way to bring him up.

“Relax. I won’t let go.”

“…O-Okay.”

Held in one arm and lifted dozens of meters above the ground, Simon looked thoroughly terrified. For the rest of us, even if we fell, we might somehow survive. Simon, on the other hand, would die on impact. Even without acrophobia, fear was only natural.

And so, each of us climbing in our own way, we reached the rooftop in silence. Once there, we crouched low, held our breath, and waited for the knights to pass below.

We succeeded in avoiding the pincer movement by hiding on the roof of the high-rise.

But after that, the conquest of the central district became a chain of battles anyway.

Turn a corner, and there would be a knight of the assassin type, or rather, in this case, a scout-type enemy difficult to detect. We’d run into them at point-blank range, and battle would begin whether we liked it or not.

Most of the time, all of us would rush in at once and wipe them out in seconds. But sometimes one of them would be quick enough to blow a whistle and call reinforcements.

We dashed desperately through unfamiliar streets, trying not to let ourselves be surrounded, getting turned around more than once and nearly losing our way, but somehow we kept making it through.

There were at least three moments where, if a single door hadn’t happened to open, we would have been completely cornered. The only reason those situations didn’t spiral into a quagmire of encirclement was pure luck. Apparently, someone among us was absurdly blessed.

It certainly wasn’t me.

In any case, with fortune on our side, we continued to advance without too much difficulty despite the constant fighting.

“…At last. The finish line.”

From the roof of an eight-story building, I looked down at the subway station both Lily and Fiona had used. The entrance they took led underground, but what I saw now was the station building itself. It wasn’t as grand as the station by the Great Gate, but it was still substantial. In the plaza before it, the knights had predictably formed a heavy defensive perimeter.

The defenses looked solid. But if we got through here, it would be a straight line into the unexplored sector where Lily waited. At this point, searching for another route would take more time than it was worth. Better to break through by force. Sneaking in would be ideal, but from the look of it, their vigilance had no blind spots.

And if battle was unavoidable anyway, then we might as well make it loud and brutal, and take down as many as we could here.

“Seris, ready?”

“Yes. Whenever you are.”

Only Seris and I stood on this rooftop. The others were already moving into their assigned positions.

Then let’s start with a bombardment.

“Three, two, one. Energy at full critical charge.”

“كبيرة في كثير من الأحيان اطلاق النار الدوامة الرقص شفرة عاصفة الرياح――”

Since Seris and I both excelled at long-range attacks, we would open with a heavy strike. I poured a full charge of pseudo-lightning into The Greed, while Seris completed the full incantation for a high-level area spell.

It couldn’t compare to the combined might of Lily and Fiona, but it would still hit hard enough.

“Plasma Blaster, fire!”

“Gale Blade Rampage!”

At the very heart of the plaza, a torrent of violet lightning and a cyclone filled with countless cutting wind blades erupted at once. The combined attack struck like a storm god and thunder god descending together, blasting through the knights’ formation.

But true to form, their response was quick. In the same instant, they scattered into evasive maneuvers or raised defenses. More than half the knights survived the fury of lightning and storm.

At a rough estimate, we had killed just over thirty percent.

Good enough. The rest, we’d finish the hard way.

“Let’s go. Over Sky!”

Before they could recover from the bombardment, I drove straight into their ranks at full speed. In situations like this, Over Sky, which could do little more than send me in a straight line, was still useful enough.

Wrapped in the emerald aura of my blessing, I leapt from the rooftop. From the enemy’s perspective, I must have looked like a jade cannon shell plunging into their midst. Faster than freefall, I slammed down in the center of the plaza. The sheer mass of my body, combined with the full-dark-matter armor I wore, created a shockwave the moment I hit. Nearly ten shield-bearing knights were blown away at once.

“A Crusader army would be screaming in panic right about now. You lot are too calm. Black Wave.”

A knight drew his blade and lunged at me, stepping into the gap left by his comrades who had just been flung aside.

No fear. No confusion. They simply identified me as an enemy and attacked with perfect composure.

That was likely because they were undead under control.

An ambush usually worked because it created confusion. But against these enemies, there was no point expecting that. Dive from the sky at impossible speed, strike from three directions at once, and they still responded only to the foe directly before them.

“All right, let’s go! Oraaah!”

Kai had already charged, shouting at the top of his lungs. The plan, if it could even be called that, was simple. Seris and I fired our opening attack, and the rest rushed in.

Rudra and Falkius must have entered the plaza as well, but there was no rule saying battle cries were mandatory. Rudra would be darting silently through the field like a shadow, cutting enemies down without a word. Falkius, lacking an audience, was no doubt dispatching foes with cold efficiency.

“Chrono, let’s bring down that Royal Guard!”

“I’ll leave the finishing blow to you, Seris.”

A little behind me, Seris entered the plaza, sweeping away lesser knights with her wind-forged saber as she fixed her eyes on the most imposing of the enemy’s heavy units.

This one’s armor was different from the Royal Guard we had seen in the tower. Leaner. More elegant. But the weapon in its hands was a massive greatsword, nearly as long as Head Sever, and the tower shield it braced was every bit as heavy as it looked. It had likely blocked our opening bombardment with that shield alone. There were a few scorch marks on its surface, along with shallow cuts.

It had the aura of a boss monster.

But there were still two more Royal Guards in the plaza. We couldn’t afford to spend all our time on this one.

“Double Black Wave.”

No feint. No trick.

I drove straight in and unleashed the technique.

Apparently confident in its own power, the Royal Guard chose not to dodge. It took the blow head-on.

The first strike came from Head Sever.

The Royal Guard caught it with its shield.

Hard.

That shield must have had some degree of Reflect enchantment on it, and it was probably reinforcing it with a defensive martial skill as well. Technique, magic, and battle arts combined into a layered defense. Even Head Sever couldn’t simply cleave through it.

Still, the force was enough to knock it aside.

It wasn’t the only one with strength.

Even without my blessing, I was no weakling.

The shield was knocked outward, leaving its torso exposed. In the very next heartbeat, I drew Evil Gluttony and sent its wicked blade in for the second strike.

This time, the Royal Guard caught the blow with the greatsword in its right hand. That enormous slab of metal was thick and durable enough to function as a shield in its own right. With no enchantment needed, the sheer strength of its material made it a worthy barrier against Evil Gluttony’s edge.

But again, brute force won out. I knocked it aside.

Once more, the Royal Guard’s guard was open. But because I had just finished the martial skill, I couldn’t chain another instant strike. By the time I moved again, the Royal Guard would have recovered.

If I were alone, I’d have needed my blessing to kill it in one go.

But I wasn’t alone.

“Phase Shift: Earth Heavy Plus. Tornado Piercing Thrust!”

Without missing the narrow opening, Seris drove in with everything she had.

Her slender blade slipped into the Royal Guard’s throat.

But the wind technique released through that tiny point carried terrifying force.

With a thunderous crack, the Royal Guard’s armor exploded outward.

Since the thing was an undead skeleton beneath the armor, only steel and bone went flying. If it had been flesh and blood, the result would have been grotesque.

“Heh. Fighting alongside you almost makes me feel stronger than I really am, Chrono.”

“No, you’re just plain strong.”

Most people would have struggled just to break through that thing’s defenses. Seris had blown it apart in one strike.

“Not at all. I am painfully aware of my own shortcomings.”

So modest.

And saying that with that gentle, melancholy smile only made him look even more perfect. That’s the trouble with handsome men.

As for me, all I had done was create an opening with brute force. It wasn’t much to brag about.

But I certainly couldn’t pull off graceful humility the way Seris did.

“Well, that takes care of that one.”

While Seris and I dealt with the Royal Guard, Kai and Rudra had engaged another. Their method was much the same. Kai shook the Royal Guard with sheer power, while Rudra carved into it with speed.

The only difference was that Seris had blown ours apart cleanly. Kai and Rudra, lacking that kind of single-strike finish, simply battered theirs into ruin after it fell.

The last Royal Guard was being held by Falkius. He wasn’t trying to finish it alone, just keeping its attention.

Now that the other four of us were free, that final Royal Guard didn’t last long at all.

“Area secured.”

Just like that, we cleared the plaza before the station.

No knights emerged from inside the station building either, which meant there was probably no garrison posted within.

Good. Before reinforcements arrived from outside, it was time to move.

And with that, our conquest of Avalon’s central district was complete.