18-36.  A Boy in Labyrinth City (10)

--Stampede?

Is a huge herd of monsters coming our way?

"Directive to students. Run up the pillar stairway and stand by at the top, so I direct."

Instructor pointed at one of the pillars.

"Shouldn't we run away from here?"
"Unable to run to a safe spot at your exhausted states, so I foresee."

Instructor replied to noble lad Rojim.

"'Hurry' so I inform."

Harry?
Someone's name?

"She's telling us to make it quick. Let's run to the top!"

Lachesis pulled my arm toward the pillar, followed by everybody else.
Looks like Lachesis could understand that kind of word just like my little sister.

"Oy, instructor isn't going up?"

Pointed out by Zaki, we all looked down and saw instructor staying on her spot.
She's holding a shield as tall as she is, not sure where she took that from.

"Instructor! Come on up!"
"The stampede's coming!"
"Worry not so I inform."

The explorers who shouted to us about the stampede ran past instructor.
Followed by other explorers with a dire look on their faces.

"Oy, move out the way."

Someone spoke from below the pillar.
I don't know him.

Apparently several other explorers have given up trying to get out, taking shelter on this pillar instead.

After we moved out, those guys went for a suspension bridge toward the next pillar.

"You!"

Rasa muttered that and grabbed the arm of one of the guys going toward the bridge.

"What's your deal?"
"Aren't you from the same village as Gon's? Where's Gon's group?"

I remember now.
He's the guy who invited Gon's group to his party.

"Those guys ran off ahead."

'Get off', he shook Rasa's hand off, and continued on.

"Didn't they come here?"
"Nope."
"I see... Well they're with Gon and his shield, they must've taken another route."

He doesn't seem worried.

"You think Gon and the rest are fine?"
"I'm worried, but there's nothing we can do."

Zaki shook his head at my words.

"It's a herd of monsters."
"And it's not only goblins. There's Maze Ants and Maze Giant Rats too."

Sagu and Jimu spoke as they watched the stampede.

"Monsters! Keep your speed below legal limit so I declare!"

Instructor shouted out some unintelligible stuff.

"What?"
"That's a shielder's Taunt skill."

Instructor held her shield aloof.

"Look at that!"
"There's lights around instructors? Are those magic arrows?"
"So many?!"
"It's like the Legend of Founder King."

Dozens of magic arrows emerged around instructor, then with a swing of her sword, they all shot out toward the monsters.
But they weren't enough to even put a dent on the countless monsters.

"No good. There's a huge gulf in numbers."
"That's not true! Look!"

The magic arrows that got close to the monsters burst open.

"That's so cool! Each arrow kills multiple monsters!"

Lachesis spoke in excitement.
She seems unaware at her pulling my arm.

"She did it! Those monsters stopped!"

The vanguard monsters fell down from the bursting magic arrows, and the trailing monsters behind them tumbled down creating a chain reaction.
Instructor then poured down magic arrows at them.

"Whoa... So that's the power of a veteran explorer..."

Priest apprentice Yuto talked in delirium.

I get him.

Her power is so overwhelming like it's straight out of hero tales.
The end came into sight as the fight between instructor and the monsters turned into a one side beat down.

"She won by herself."
"Yup."

Rasa nodded at Zaki.

"Ah! It's Keros!"
"And Shina too."

Other explorers who ran from the stampede are coming here from another path.
It's hard to tell from this far out, but Keros and Shina are among those explorers.

"I don't see Gon anywhere..."

Shina is shouldering Keros who's wounded all over.

"Something real bad there."

Ratkin Neze muttered that.

"What's bad?"
"Dunno myself."

Neze looked puzzled for not understanding what he means himself.

"Why do those guys keep looking behind them?"

Rasa looked like he realized something hearing Yuto saying that and put his ear on the pillar's wall.

--What?

I mimicked him.

It's faint but I can hear some deep thumping sounds.

"Oh no! Instructor!"

Rasa shouted at instructor below us.

"There's something coming from that direction! Probably a big one!"

Instructor jumped up to where we were instantly and stared at the pointed direction.

"This is stumping so I inform."
"For instructor to say that--."

Rasa's words were erased by a loud thundering sound.

Something came out breaking the walls behind Shina's group.
A giant worm-like thing. Wriggling string-like matters are attached to its tip

"Huge!"
"What the heck's that?!"
"That's an Area Master, or its kin, so I guess."
"Area Master? But there's no Area Master in the first Area! That's just common sense!"

An old explorer man who brought the stampede here denied instructor.

"Rejecting reality thrust before your eyes because it does not conform to established notions is a fool's errand so I assert."

The explorer gnashed his teeth, 'Gununu.'

"We gotta run!"
"Yeah! This pillar won't do any good against that giant thing!"

Noble lad Rojim agreed with Zaki.
The older explorers pushed us aside and ran below after hearing their conversation.

"Instructor! Can you win against that, instructor?"

I asked instructor while running after those explorers.

"It is not possible with my current equipment so inform."

Not even that amazing instructor could...

"Keros, keep at it!"

I could hear Shina's voice, they were closer than I thought.
I turned around and saw Shina running while lending Keros her shoulder.

"Oh crap, it's gotten so close already!"

Rasa is looking at the [Area Master] that's coming our way while crushing down pillars and walls in its path.
Shina and Keros are gonna get swallowed by the [Area Master] at this rate.

I ran out.

"Sharon!"

While hearing Rasa trying to stop me behind.

"Eh? Sharon?"

I took Keros' other shoulder and helped them run.

"I'll take it from here. You're hurt too, Shina."

Rasa who also ran here took Shina's side but Keros was heavier than he thought and he tumbled down.

"Rasa, I'll do it."

Zaki came too.

"Sharon, behind you!"
"--Lachesis?"

Lachesis ran here and jumped at us, tumbling us all down.

"Uwaa, what are you doing?!"

Something mowed down right above us at high speed.

Breaking down all the walls and pillars nearby.

"That thing shot its tentacles here!"

Zaki's voice explained what happened.
A tentacle growing out of the giant worm's tip could reach far out.

"Thanks, Lachesis."

If she hadn't braved danger, we would have died then.

"Save it for later. We've got to run."

I shoulder Keros and run with Rasa who's pulling Shina's hand.
Zaki and Lachesis lead the way while watching out behind us.

"It's coming!"
"I shan't let you so I inform--Flexible Shield."

Several translucent shields showed up behind us and blocked the tentacles.

"Hurry on now."

Another tentacle got around the shield but instructor cut stopped its advance with her greatshield and sword.

"Oh no, if this keeps up..."
"Zaki, focus on your front!"

We put our trust in instructor and ran at full speed.

A loud sound exploded behind us, instructor got blown above us.
Around 10 tentacles assaulted her.

"Instructor!"
"--Watch out!"

Lachesis pulled me as my eyes tracked instructor.
Then a tentacle thrust the spot I was at.

"You saved me again."
"Forget about that now--."

I saw a tentacle coming at Lachesis while tearing down the ground.

Normally I wouldn't have made it.
Even if I pulled her down, we'd just get torn along.

--Ground Shrink.

Using my last resort skill, I barely managed to save Lachesis in time.
But doing that was apparently too much while shouldering Keros.

"Sharon!"

I crashed down the ground with Keros.
My body won't move from the recoil of using Ground Shrink.

"Run! Lachesis!"

Before another tentacle came.

Lachesis ran off.

Yes. That's good.

Lachesis stopped next to a big pillar.

"How could I run away here!"

She hit the pillar with her palm and shouted seemingly mad.
A wave of purple light ran across Lachesis's body.

"Come forth! Knight of Gold!"

With her shout, the pillar's surface undulated and a golden colored shining hand came out of it.
A hand gigantic enough to hold my whole body in its palm.

After the arm, the upper body of a giant knight manifested.

"One time isn't enough is it... Then one more!"

A wave of purple light ran across Lachesis's body once again, then the giant knight finally fully emerged.

"Haa haa haa--Come forth! Knight of Gold!"

By Lachesis' command, the golden knight moved out.

It took on the giant worm's tentacles.
But it couldn't stop them and fell down.

"Now!"
"I got it!"

Urged by Lachesis, Rasa, Zaki and I dragged Keros away.

"Lachesis you too!"
"I can't. That would turn back into soil if I did."

Lachesis's face is full of sweat.

"--Ah."

The giant worm twisted its body and shook its tip.
The golden knight entangled in tentacles got thrown onto a nearby pillar, breaking some walls along the way.

"Kuuuuh."

Lachesis groaned while holding her body as if she could feel the knight's pain.

"Lachesis!"
"I'm fine. This much is, nothing!"

Lachesis glared at the giant worm as she clenched her teeth.
A drop of red fell down her lips.

"Student Lachesis, well done so I praise."
"Instructor!"

Instructor who got blown into a rubble came back.

"You can win with golden knight's help, right instructor!"
"Negative. Student Zaki, just us two cannot hope to win so I evaluate."

We can't? Even with that giant knight and instructor?
Is that giant worm that strong?

"T-then..."

I mustered my strength and got up.

"I will use my all to help."

My little sis' would get mad at me if I did nothing while leaving everything to the girls.

Instructor gently tapped my shoulder.

"There is no need to so I inform."
"I can act as a decoy at least."
"That is not what I mean so I correct."

Instructor pointed ahead.

Two figures made a rapid dash toward the giant worm.

"Running Dragon Kiiiiiiiick so I inform!"
"There's two of us so it should be Double Running Dragon Kick so I correct!"

The two figures crashed onto the giant worm's head at incredible speed.
They're riding bipedal running lizards.

"That's--"
"They are my sisters so I inform."

As the giant worm shrieked, four pillar-like translucent stakes got driven onto it from above.

"Are we late?"

A blond beauty that looks exactly like instructor landed on top of  a nearby wall.
There are also three other blond beauties. With the two on running lizards and instructor included, there are seven of them in total.

"No Adin. You just narrowly made it so I inform."
"All good then. Do you need a break?"
"Negative. Requesting my participation so I tell."
"Okay. Let's go with 'Formation C'. Do you have enough mana?"
"Yes Adin. I can cast one more advanced level spell so I tell."

"Form-ation-C?"
"'Formation C'. Caster Mode so I explain."

"...Why in English."

Lachesis muttered while keeping the golden knight hold the giant worm down.

The instructors readied their wands.

"""Divine Lance."""

Gigantic lances around thrice their size showed up next to them.
Later on, I was told it was an advanced level force magic spell.

"Knight of Gold! Stop at nothing to hold it down!"

By Lachesis's command, the golden knight pulled the giant worm's tentacles with its crumbling arms.

"Shoot!"
"""Yes Adin."""

The giant lances shot out all at once, piercing the giant worm one after another.

"""Divine Lance"""

Second volley, third volley, fourth volley, they went and skewered the giant worm.

"...Whoa."

It's like a scene straight out of myth or hero's legend.

Our instructor, Seis, had run out of mana, so she just watched over her sisters.

"I'm at, my limit."

I held Lachesis as she fell down fainting.
I almost couldn't breathe from the pain when I received her, but it's better than letting her down after her great effort.

"Are you okay?"

Rasa looked down in amazement.

Beyond him, the giant worm is rampaging around from the pain while scattering its bodily fluid everywhere.
The golden knight is still holding down the other end of its tentacles.

Then as it finished its mission, the knight crumbled down into soil.

"It's over so I report."

By the fourth volley, the giant worm stopped making any noise.

"We made it."
"Spare me from something like this next time please."

Rasa and Zaki laughed at each other.


<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
◇



Things were quite messy afterward.

Fortunately enough, Gon whom we all thought had died survived.
Instructor Huit found him buried under a wreckage.

Though he paid a huge price for his survival.

Gon lost part of his right arm from the elbow down, and stayed in the party using an artificial arm now.
Keros who was scared witless of the labyrinth retired and went back home. Shina apparently is working as an employee in the party's home base.

As for us--.

"Sharon! Time to go to our party formation ceremony!"
"I got it. Where's Rasa?"
"He went ahead."

After the beginner's course, we all decided to form a party together.
Unfortunately, noble lad Rojim and his servitor had already decided on their party beforehand, so they declined, but all other members are old faces.

"Huh? What about Lachesis?"

Lachesis was nowhere to be seen at the diner where we met up.

"She went there, said she got stuff to take care of or something."

Ratkin Neze pointed at the back of the diner.

"I'll go take a look."

I've got a bad feeling about it somehow.

"--Lachesis-sama. You have used your Authority at last."
"How did you know?"

Lachesis is talking with a person wearing a deep purple robe behind the building.
It's the hooded man from before.

"I have been informed by your guard."
"Guard? Don't you mean watchdog?"
"It appears there is a slight misunderstanding. Us, the cult is--"
"I don't want to hear it. Go home."
"Now that you have used your Authority, you should return to the cult and beg your sisters for their teachings."
"I told you already I'm not going. I only used my Unique Skill because it was a life or death situation. I'm never using it again if I can help it."
"Lachesis, cease your selfishness--"

The man grabbed Lachesis's arm.

She's gonna get taken away at this rate.

I ran out with that in mind.

"Lachesis!"
"Sharon?"

Lachesis sounded perplexed.

"Let's go! Lachesis!"

I held out my hand to her.
Lachesis tried to take it but the man's hand was in the way.

"Get off me!"

Lachesis shook off the man's hand.
And gripped mine.

"Lachesis-sama!"
"I'm not going back! You guys go home and tell sisters. I will live in labyrinth city!"

As she ran with me, Lachesis looked back and shouted at the man.

"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I'm feeling pretty great right now!"

Lachesis smiled at me.
I smiled back.

We ran together.
Toward our friends, fellow labyrinth explorers.



◆◆◆At a certain village◆◆◆

"Reina-san, could you be--"
"No I'm not! You've got it wrong, Akindo-san!"

Reina's shout erased Akindo's stunned voice.

"Err, um, right! Remake! There was a retelling version! It's not a rebroadcast or the initial broadcast one!"
"...Right."
"I'm telling the truth okay?"

Reina cutely tilted her head.

"Yes, let's go with that."
"It's the truuuuuuuuuth."

Reina's shout echoed in the village's outskirts.

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