Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #125
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 125: The
Longest Day of My Life (9)
"......Onii-chan,
have you changed your look a little?"
Ai asked, looking at my face
after I had held her close for a while and then let go.
"Somehow,
you look a bit more mature...?"
"Do
I...?"
I feigned ignorance, stroking
my face.
The aging caused by Urashima
Taro should have been almost completely reversed by the rush of [True Rain of
Amrita] on the way here, but I might have aged a year or two.
I had no intention of telling
Ai that, though.
She didn't need to know
anything about the encounter with Urashima Taro or the aging that came with it.
Not wanting to dwell on it, I
asked Ai, partly to change the subject,
"By
the way, I'm amazed you managed to escape all the way back here."
It was quite a distance from
the entrance to this point.
Honestly,
it would have been a little easier if she had holed up in Mayoiga closer to the
entrance... such was my thought.
Ai then recounted, tearfully,
how they had fled all the way here.
Apparently, immediately after
being abducted by the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Ai summoned the Mayoiga and took shelter
inside.
This was because I had told
her beforehand to do so immediately if she saw any monsters. Thanks to that,
they were able to avoid attacks from the rats, which didn't possess cross-space
skills.
However, just as he abducted
Ai from my mom's location, the Pied Piper of Hamelin—or rather, the Irregular
Encounters—could infiltrate interdimensional spaces
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
would occasionally appear before Ai and the others holed up in the Mayoiga, kidnapping
the children one by one.
Each time they were attacked,
Ai and the children would move their location bit by bit, and before they knew
it, they had come all the way to this deep part of the dungeon.
"I
see... You did very well."
I could only comfort her,
stroking her head and praising her efforts.
She was suddenly attacked by an
unnervingly eerie creature like the Pied Piper of Hamelin and, by being
entrusted with my cards, was inevitably burdened with the lives of many
children.
Yet, no matter how hard she
tried, the children were snatched away, one by one. Surely, there must have
been familiar faces among them.
It must have been terrifying
and agonizing.
"What
about the other children?"
"This
way."
Ai took me by hand and led me
to the room where the children were.
In what appeared to be a large
hall formed by converting many guest rooms, children were quietly sleeping,
wrapped in futon1s.
There were about 100 to 120 of
them... mostly older children. It seemed that children Ai's age were primarily
targeted for abduction.
Was this due to the Pied Piper
of Hamelin's preferences, or simply because they were grouped together and easy
to snatch?
In the center of the room was
a white-haired beauty with curly sheep horns, who smiled warmly when she
noticed us.
"Amalthea2, huh?"
"Un.
A lot of the kids were panicking, so I put them to sleep."
"Good
call."
I can't imagine anything good
coming from children who had been given cards by the government panicking.
I would have made the same
decision if I were Ai.
"Are
these all the children?"
"U-un...
Except, some of the boys said they were going to defeat the enemy and rushed
outside..."
"............"
I stroked Ai's head without
saying anything.
The outcome was far too tragic
to simply call it the result of boyish adventurousness, but one thing was
certain: Ai had no reason to feel guilty.
"...Ai."
After confirming the safety of
Ai and other familiar children like Aoi-chan and Mio-chan, I turned to face Ai
and said,
"I'm
going to go defeat the monster that kidnapped you all. Can you wait here
quietly until then?"
Ai looked shaken by my words.
"Eh?
W- why? We can just wait for help here, right!"
"...Help,
won’t come."
I hesitated whether to tell
her or not, but in the end, I decided to reveal the truth.
Help
isn't coming, and that's not just temporary.
Going
forward... perhaps forever, we may be in a world where no one will help us.
The Guild couldn't send rescue
personnel even when children were kidnapped from their shelter, and the Self-Defense
Forces couldn't even be contacted.
The
society where adults protect us is over.
Ai needed to understand that
now.
"B,
but...!"
As Ai tried to argue further,
Athena gently embraced her.
"It's
alright. It's alright, Ai. This one3 is
here."
"..................Un."
Perhaps finally reassured by
that, Ai let the tension leave her body and nodded.
While stroking Ai's head,
Athena glanced over at me.
I nodded back silently.
While maintaining the
pseudo-safe zone, Athena cannot move from its boundaries.
The safe zone would also be
dispelled if cards fought outside while the master was inside, or if cards
inside provided healing or support to cards outside.
In other words, even with the
already limited summoning slots, I have to fight the Pied Piper of Hamelin
without Athena.
But I had known this all
along.
Placing Athena as Ai's
guardian was a decision I had been prepared for since her Aegis skill was
unlocked.
『...But how will we defeat him?』
Renge, who had been silently
watching our exchange so far, finally asked.
『We only have one use of Amrita
left. At this rate, we might get eaten alive by those rats before we even reach
the Pied Piper of Hamelin.』
『........................』
In reality, the situation was grim.
No, it would be fair to say it was despairing.
Even the [True Rain of
Amrita], which I had thought I wouldn't exhaust quickly given its ten uses, now
had only one use remaining.
There were no countermeasures
against the endlessly spawning rats, and even numerical resistance through
subordinate summoning was sealed.
But...
『I have a plan.』
Saying that, I took out the
card I had received from Shigeno-san.
[Race]
Artemis
[Combat
Power] 800
[Inborn
Skills]
• Waxing Crescent Moon4 Goddess: Allows the use of
the authority of Artemis, the goddess who governs the moon and hunting.
•
Trinity Deity
• World of Frozen Moonlight5
• Pair
of Deities: Demonstrates its true value when summoned together with another closely
related deity, such as a partner, a parent, or siblings. Summoning both cards
only consumes one dungeon summoning slot. Additionally, the two cards share
life force (vitality), magic power, skill usage counts, and all acquired
skills.
• Arrow
Shooter: Unleashes unfailingly accurate bow and arrow imbued with a powerful
curse. Rarely causes instant death. If the target is female, the first shot
ignores defense and deals double damage. There is no usage limit, but it has a
ten-minute cooldown. Only when Apollo is present on the field does the attack
target all female enemies. Contains the Loading and Hunter skills.
（Loading: Allows the user to
imbue magic into a weapon and release it.)
（Hunter: Contains skills
necessary for a hunter. Encompasses Martial Arts, Archery, Far-sight, Tracking,
and Presence Concealment.)
[Acquired Skills]
• Vow
of Chastity
• Pride of Deity
• Advanced Attack Magic
• Advanced Status Ailment Magic
————Artemis.
She was one of the Trinity of Moon Goddesses I was looking for, and
Yuki's rank-up destination.
Once the remaining two goddesses6 were gathered, the special
subordinate sealing skill would become usable.
And one of the two was already
in my hand.
[Race]
Succubus (Mea)
[Combat Power] 1100 (MAX!) (Initial Combat Power 450 + Growth 450 + Spiritual Recurrence 200)
[Inborn
Skills]
・Witch's Dream
・Butterfly Dream
・Succubus Skin
[Acquired
Skills]
・Femme Fatale
・Friendship Linkage
・Intermediate-level Wizard
・High-level Status Ailment Magic
・Curse a man, and they will be
cursed with two pits
・Knowledge of Survival
・Spiritual Recurrence
(CHANGE!): Lilim (700), Hecate (950). The numbers indicate initial combat
power.
・Pierce of Resistance
・Chant Shortening
・Advanced Attack Magic
・Magic Enhancement
・Magic Recovery
[Race]
Hecate (Mea)
[Combat Power] 1600 (Initial Combat Power 950 + Growth 450 + Spiritual Recurrence 200) (2100 when Level Up7 is used)
[Inborn
Skills]
・Waning New Moon Goddess:
Allows the use of the authority of Hecate, the goddess who governs the moon and
the dark night.
•
Trinity Deity
• World of Frozen Moonlight
•
Princess of the Dead: Hecate's ability as a deity of the underworld.
Strengthens allies with attributes such as moon, darkness, death, and magic
(significant stat increase, continuous healing, grants Knowledge of Survival),
and weakens enemies with those attributes (significant stat decrease, weakens
them, removal of immortal status).
•
Queen of Witches: Hecate's ride, also known as the mother of Lamia8. Allows the summoning of Lamia as subordinates.
Unlimited summoning type. Includes Advanced-level Wizard skill.
[Acquired
Skills]
・Femme Fatale
・Friendship Linkage
・Curse a man, and they will be
cursed with two pits
・Knowledge of Survival
・Spiritual Recurrence
・Pierce of Resistance
・Chant Shortening
・Magic Enhancement
・Magic Recovery
・Witch's Dream
・Succubus Skin
Mea obtained a new key item in
the battle with the Celtic Trinity Deity.
It was something that allowed
her to activate [Spiritual Recurrence] and transform into Hecate.
Hecate was said to be the most
difficult card to acquire among the Trinity of Moon Goddesses.
The reason was simply her
strength.
She possessed skills that
spread powerful debuffs and buffs to allies and enemies, along with the
infinite subordinate summoning of Lamia, who was also a B-rank.
Lamia, in turn, could
infinitely summon C-rank Mormo9, and Mormo
also had the infinite summoning skill for Empusa.
A card with this much summoning
capabilities was rare even among B-ranks.
Like Nemain, this card was a
Trinity Deity, but it was remarkably strong even alone. For that reason, unlike
Selene and Artemis, her card almost never appeared on the market.
While no one would try to
gather all three Trinity of Moon Goddesses even if they had Selene and Artemis,
if Hecate was obtained by chance, people would go to any lengths to collect all
three—that's how high-tier this card was.
『The subordinate sealing by the
Trinity of Moon Goddesses, huh? Well, that's probably the only way. ...But what
about the last one?』
『For that, I'll use these.』
Saying that, I took out a gem
pouch containing Garnets and Lottery10.
Among the items Anna delivered
to me, this was the main objective.
Seeing this, Renge let out a
small sigh.
『Yeah, I figured...... But can
you pull it off?』
『I can. Definitely.』
I stated firmly.
From the moment I realized
Mea's new key item was for Hecate, I had a premonition.
It was that a time would
surely come when Hecate's—the Trinity Moon Goddess’s—special skill would be
needed.
That premonition turned into conviction
the moment Artemis's name appeared on the list I received from Shigeno-san.
At the same time, a certain doubt
I had also turned into certainty.
The entity sleeping within
Renge was something we had been unnecessarily wary of, and at the very least,
it was not an enemy.
Looking back, the times that
entity intervened had always been just before a crisis loomed over me.
Conveniently obtaining Amrita
before the tournament. Getting the Distress card at just the right time before
being attacked by the Hound Master. Even acquiring a Succubus with [Zero
existence] skill during the race was probably the same.
The ultimate one was the side
effect of Perfect Link.
What were the odds of
coincidentally, conveniently, experiencing the side effect of slowed aging
before my encounter with Urashima Taro?
Impossible. It was natural to
think it was intentional.
If
that's the case, it's no wonder Renge doesn't feel a sense of alarm about the
Perfect Link. More than the effects of Perfect Link, I needed its side effect.
Of
course, the entity inside Renge is undoubtedly too dangerous to place complete
trust in.
What the entity inside Renge
had brought about wasn't always positive.
My first encounter with the
Pied Piper of Hamelin, or being so conspicuously given a bait like the Hope
Diamond just before Angolmois—these were probably all orchestrated by whatever
was within Renge.
Looked at that way, this
entire situation could be blamed on whatever was within Renka, despite my own
choices and self-inflicted predicaments.
However,
even so, by this point, one thing is clear:
Whatever
is inside Renge doesn't want me to die.
Whatever its true intentions,
that much was certain.
————In
that case, even in this situation where I’m one step short, there will surely
be intervention.
I sat cross-legged and
scattered the Garnets and Diamonds from the pouch onto the tatami mat.
The remaining Carbuncle
Garnets totaled 160: approximately 70 I already possessed, plus the 90 Anna's
Tanya had just delivered. As for Vouivre Diamonds, I had 4 in total.
Since
I can draw a B-rank card with 20 Garnets, I should be able to draw 8 times...
but considering the distortion of the law of causality, I probably only have 5
chances at most.
Within
those 5 tries, I have to draw Selene.
Otherwise...
I looked at Ai, who was
embraced by Athena, and bit my lip hard.
"...Let's
do this."
I said, initiating a Perfect
Link with Renge.
The paths of possibility
unfurling behind my eyelids were mostly shrouded in mysterious darkness; I
could barely discern the routes, let alone the outcomes.
This would probably continue
throughout Angolmois.
Even so, I could just barely glimpse
the most immediate paths, enough to draw a Lottery Card.
With this, I might be able to
manipulate card drops or the fate of Lottery Cards.
With a prayer in my heart, I
infused the good luck of the Garnets, one by one.
Please!
Come out...!
Along with the sound of Garnets
shattering, the Lottery Card began to change.
A glimpse of a beautiful
goddess appeared, and my heart pounded with expectation.
Could
it be, with one shot...!?
Then I saw the name.
"Freya
......?"
However, it wasn't the moon
goddess I was looking for, but the Norse goddess of love and fertility.
She was a beautiful and
powerful goddess who governed life, death, and war, but she was not the card I
needed right now.
"Ghk...!"
Was I
wrong? Was my guess wrong? No, not yet! I still have four more chances!
I shook off the unease that
slowly welled up within me and used a Vouivre Diamond to erase the distortion
of the law of causality, then used Fate Manipulation a second time.
"Byakko11... Next!"
Third time.
"Sleipnir...
Not yet!"
Fourth time.
"K-
Kimaris."
T-
this is bad. Only one chance left. If it doesn't appear this time...
Was my
guess wrong after all...?
Was it
just a convenient assumption?
Or
perhaps, even for the entity inside Renge, this is beyond their power?
Please,
come out this time!
I performed the fifth Fate
Manipulation with what felt like a true prayer to the gods.
The result was————
"Yo,
Yomotsu-Ōkami......!?"
I stared wide-eyed at the
unexpected outcome.
Yomotsu-Ōkami was Izanami-no-Mikoto12 of Yomi13
and was a top-tier B-rank card.
While
she lost her authority of land and deity creation from her time as Izanami
after consuming the food of the underworld (Yomotsuhegui14)
and becoming an inhabitant of Yomi, she instead possessed
the authority of a Yomi deity... the authority to govern death15.
According
to the Kojiki16, when her husband
Izanagi-no-Kami visited her in Yomi, Izanami uttered a curse: "I will kill
a thousand people of your land every day."
As
if symbolizing that, Yomotsu-Ōkami possessed the [Subordinate Killer] skill.
That
was a skill I could use.
However...
Yomotsu-Ōkami's version of it could only clear away subordinates on the field
five times a day.
Normally, that would be more
than enough, but against the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who can summon rats
endlessly, that number of uses seemed unreliable.
After
all, it has to be a subordinate sealing skill...
But what bothered me was the
meaning behind Yomotsu-Ōkami appearing here with the [Subordinate Killer]
skill.
Was it
a coincidence? Or was it a message of "Show me you can overcome
this"?
If so,
is it pointless to draw any more...?
Even
if it's only five times, if I can wipe out the subordinates on the field, that
gives me a few minutes to fight the Pied Piper of Hamelin per use, right?
...No,
it’s still impossible! It has to be the sealing of subordinate summoning
by the Trinity of Moon Goddesses, which lasts for at least an hour!
".................."
Looks
like... I have, no choice...?
Silently, I picked up the next
Lottery Card.
I had used up all the Vouivre
Diamonds, but I still had some Garnets left.
That meant I could still draw
B-rank cards.
Seeing me about to use Fate Manipulation
again, Renge—— said nothing.
Athena, who was dealing with
Ai a short distance away, also simply watched me quietly.
I
guess, the stage of warnings has passed.
From this point forward,
whatever the outcome, it would be a result of my own choices.
And I had no intention of pushing
responsibility onto anyone else, either.
"Here
I go.”
I quietly stated, using Fate
Manipulation for the sixth time.
Thump! I felt the distortion of the
law of causality suddenly grow immensely heavier.
The accumulation of distortion
for the first time in two consecutive uses resulted in a far greater level
compared to just one.
Perhaps the accumulation of
distortion doesn't simply add up, but increased in a way closer to
multiplication.
As I
thought, it was the right thing to erase the distortion each time.
Accumulating distortion of the
law of causality three times in a row would be bad. I instinctively understood
that.
But...
"Di-
Diana......"
Although a moon goddess, but she
was from the Roman mythology... Naturally, I can't activate the [World of
Frozen Moonlight] with this.
What to do...? Intuitively, this was probably
the safe line to avoid summoning a new Grim Reaper.
"...Who
cares!"
At
this point, whether it’s a third, fourth, or however many, I'll face them all!
If I couldn't defeat the Pied
Piper of Hamelin anyway, it was all over.
Right
now, I'll focus solely on defeating him!
Having completely resigned
myself, I performed the seventh Fate Manipulation.
If
this doesn't work, I'll do it for the eighth time. Even if the eighth time failed...
then I'll fight with whatever cards I have!
Even
if I die, I will not let that guy see despair on my face!
As I made that resolve, the
Lottery Card began to change.
And then————
"Alright.
Everyone, are you ready?"
A dozen minutes later.
After taking a short break to
rest my mind and body, I turned to face everyone at the entrance of the
Mayoiga.
There stood Renge, Athena, the
Celtic Trinity Deities... and the figures of three new goddesses.
With shining golden hair
reminiscent of a full moon and deep crimson eyes, her beauty was so extreme
that the expression 'peerless' felt cliché. Her sensual form was draped in a
silver ancient Greek-style dress, and a golden crown adorned her head—Selene,
the goddess of the full moon.
Clad in a pure white,
mini-dress style garment with a breastplate, she radiated the beauty of a
growing young girl and overflowing vitality, as if symbolizing the waxing
crescent moon. Upon her back, she carried a large bow nearly as tall as
herself—Artemis, the goddess of the crescent moon.
Clad in a jet-black dress like
a moonless night, she exuded a somewhat cunning and bewitching aura that
contrasted her youthful appearance—Hecate, the goddess of the new moon.
These were Eliza, Yuki, and
Mea, now transformed into the Trinity of Moon Goddesses.
Yes, I had won the gamble.
[Combat Power] 2340 (Initial
Combat Power 1500 + Growth 840) (3000 when Level Up is used)
[Inborn Skills]
• Shining Full Moon Goddess:
Able to use the authority of Selene, the goddess who governs the moon and
magic.
• Trinity Deity: This card is
a trinity with other cards that can be considered different aspects of itself.
Summoning three of these only consumes one summoning slot in the dungeon.
Additionally, their life force, magic power, and skill usage counts are shared
among the three cards.
• World of Frozen Moonlight:
The entire surrounding area in the dungeon is transformed into a night field
illuminated by moonlight. It wipes out all non-allied servants/subordinates and
blocks the summoning of new subordinates. It can only be used when Artemis,
Selene, and Hecate are on the field, and only once per day.
• Leo's Protection: Summons a
Nemean Lion as a subordinate. Only once per day.
• Advanced-level Wizard
[Acquired Skills]
・Pheromones
・Assassination
・Shield
of Devotion + Sturdy → Immortal Shield: The pinnacle of
defensive skills. As an acquired skill, no defensive skill with higher
performance has been confirmed as of yet. Able to take damage on behalf of
nearby allies. While in use, defense and life force are tripled, and once per
day, the user can enter the Immortal state for one minute.
(Immortal: While the effect is
active, they can avoid being Lost even if they take damage exceeding their
maximum life force (HP).
・Precise
Movement
・Magic
Enhancement
・Chant
Shortening → Chant Discard
・Intuition
・Finn's
Thumb
・Breakthrough
of Limits
・Knowledge
of Survival (NEW!)
・Pride
of Deity (LOST)
・Magic
Recovery
・Bunbu Ichido17: Proof of understanding the
truth that connects two paths: magic and martial arts. Allows the activation of
magic-based skills using physical stats, and physical-based skills using magic
stats.
・Blood Siphon18
[Unique Skills]
・My
Fair Lady (Fountain of Wisdom): Can copy one acquired skill of a chosen ally or
enemy(?). Contains Absolute Obedience, Multiple Skills, and Clear Mind.
(Multiple Skills: Contains
Maid, Musical Performance, Trap Disarming, Martial Arts, and Riding)
(Maid: Contains the skills
necessary for a maid. Encompasses Cooking, Cleaning, Sexual Technique,
Etiquette)
[Combat Power] 2400 (Initial
Combat Power 1600 + Growth 800) (3200 when Level Up is used)
[Inborn Skills]
• Waxing Crescent Moon Goddess:
Allows the use of the authority of Artemis, the goddess who governs the moon
and hunting.
• Trinity Deity
• World of Frozen Moonlight
• Pair of Deities:
Demonstrates its true value when summoned together with another closely related
deity, such as a partner, a parent, or siblings. Summoning both cards only
consumes one dungeon summoning slot. Additionally, the two cards share life
force (vitality), magic power, skill usage counts, and all acquired skills.
• Arrow Shooter: Unleashes
unfailingly accurate bow and arrows imbued with a powerful curse. Rarely
inflicts instant death. If the target is female, the first shot ignores defense
and deals double damage. There is no usage limit, but it has a ten-minute
cooldown. Only when Apollo is present on the field does the attack target all
female enemies. Contains the Loading and Hunter skills.
（Loading:
Allows the user to imbue magic into a weapon and release it.)
（Hunter:
Contains skills necessary for a hunter. Encompasses Martial Arts, Archery, Far-sight,
Tracking, and Presence Concealment.)
[Acquired skills]
・Loyalty
・Little
hero
・Awakening
of Instinct
・The
True One
・Breakthrough
of Limits
・True Subordinates Summoning19
・Lord
of The Territory
・Advanced
Ninjutsu
・Beast Mount20
・Physical
Enhancement
・Perception
・Vow
of Chastity
・Pride
of Deity (LOST)
・Advanced
Attack Magic
・Advanced
Status Ailment Magic
・Remnant
Crystals (NEW!): Apparently, the remnants of the True Subordinates that were
once taken in and Lost21 during rank up… It
preserves the personality and appearance information of the vassals and
possesses some of their skills. Contains Eye for People skill.
The rank-up had brought Eliza
and the others, who had recently been pushed back by the outrageous strength of
formidable foes, back to being top-tier combatants, both in name and reality.
Their combat power, which had
been at a bottleneck, was now about 3000 at maximum. Even Mea, who was a bit
inferior because she didn’t possess [Breakthrough of Limits], could stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with them if she equipped Dress and other items.
But even more striking than
the increase in combat power was the growth of their acquired skills.
[Bunbu Ichido], [Immortal
Shield], [Chant Discard], [Knowledge of Survival], and [Remnant Crystals]...
[Bunbu Ichido] was a rare
among rare skills that turned a specialized card into an all-rounder, as it
allowed the stats required for skill activation to be determined based on the
card’s best stat.
Most cards, like their
unbalanced stats, tend to end up with unbalanced skills, or this skill ended up
being wasted on cards that are already all-rounders in both stats and skills.
However, for a card like Eliza, with diverse skills, and especially for a
magic-specialized card like Selene, it's one of the best skills to become a
true all-rounder.
One of the drawbacks of the
Trinity of Moon Goddesses was their tendency to be rear-guard types, but this
skill eliminated that concern.
The [Immortal Shield] was a
top-tier defensive skill, a complete upgrade to the [Shield of Devotion]. It
retained the damage-absorbing effect, tripled the stat-boosting effect upon
activation, and, furthermore, granted the [Immortal] state once per day.
In other words, even if she continuously
took overkill-level damage, like in the battle against Urashima Taro, she
wouldn’t be Lost for one minute.
After the effect expired, she
would naturally be Lost, but if fully healed with something like [Rain of
Amrita], she can avoid being Lost.
Above all, Eliza possessed the
[Knowledge of Survival] skill.
This skill, which she somehow
acquired after her experience of being Lost in the battle against Urashima
Taro, would give her a high chance of avoiding being Lost again.
Skills of this caliber were typically
inherent upon the card’s drop; this rare skill hardly had any examples of
acquisition through training.
Starting from the moment she
shielded Renge in the Hamelin battle, and continuously shedding blood in place
of her comrades through numerous battles, Eliza had now reached perfection as a
guardian here.
In addition to these two
skills, there was the upgrade of [Chant Shortening] to [Chant Discard], the
inheritance of [Blood Siphon] from the Vampire...
And, especially, the [Remnant
Crystals], which was an unexpected inherited aspect of the subordinates from
[True Subordinate Summoning] that I had thought would only be lost, was a
pleasant miscalculation.
If personality information and
a portion of their acquired skills can be inherited, then in the future, I can
incorporate cards using that.
...Though, it seemed unlikely
I'll have the opportunity to utilize [True Subordinate Summoning] from now on.
In any case, I managed to
successfully draw Selene, and Eliza and the others received a significant power
boost.
With this, our chances of
winning against the Pied Piper of Hamelin had greatly improved.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin had
a repertoire of five songs.
[Carnival of Locust Rats]:
Summons self-replicating rats, the maximum number matching his combat power, to
attack.
[March
of the Lemmings]: Wipes out his own subordinates to increase his own stats.
[Invitation
to the Circus]: Steals control of the opponent's subordinates and inflicts [Charm]
status ailment on all enemies.
[Feast
of the Lambs]: Summons the souls of the slain children as spirit monsters.
[The
Pied Piper of Hamelin]: Robs the target of their sight and leg movement.
Of these, the subordinate
summoning skills, [Carnival of Locust Rats] and [Feast of the Lambs], would be
sealed by the Trinity of Moon Goddesses' skills. [March of the Lemmings], which
increases his stats by 10% per 100 rats, up to a
maximum of about tenfold, would also be sealed in succession.
Against the subordinate-stealing
skill, [Invitation to the Circus], we would respond by not summoning subordinates.
As for the [Charm] status ailment, many of our members already had resistance, and
for those who didn't, I had received items from the Guild to boost mental
abnormality resistance.
As for [The Pied Piper of
Hamelin] skill, we couldn't implement any proper countermeasure... but we could
seal most of his songs.
This halved his threat
level... but we still couldn't let our guard down.
He was a pure combat-type
Irregular Encounter, unlike Urashima Taro or The Wolf and the Seven Young
Goats, with their complex riddle skills.
Even with most of his main
song skills sealed, he still possessed nasty abilities.
I had to steel myself and go.
"Okay,
Ai. I'm off."
"You
ABSOLUTELY have to come back, okay...?"
"Yeah.
I promise."
I stroked Ai's head one last
time and glanced at Athena.
She nodded gently and led Ai
further inside.
I watched until they were out
of sight, then reached for the sliding door of the entrance.
*Clatter*. The door
subtly rattled.
At first, I thought it was the
wind or something... but the source of the trembling was me.
It was only then that I
realized my hands were shaking.
Not just my hands, my legs
were trembling too, and my heart was pounding unusually hard.
"Ah......."
So
that's it. I'm scared. Of course. No matter how much I've prepared myself, if I
didn't feel fear when facing possible death, I'd just be broken.
————What'll
it be? If you want, I can go take him down by myself this time, you know?
Suddenly, that voice echoed in
my mind, and I snapped my head to look at Renge.
She just watched me with a
quiet gaze, saying nothing.
"Heh......."
A small laugh escaped me.
That's
right, I'm not a master who needs babysitting anymore.
What
would the 'me' from back then say if I faltered now?
I took a deep, deep breath.
I exhaled all my fear, and in
its place, I drew in every bit of resolve I could.
And then.
"Let's
go!"
I flung the door open and
burst outside.
At that instant.
"————Game
Over."
There was no pain.
Just the sensation of being
powerfully pushed by something.
A beat later, my vision
tilted.
Amidst the sensation of
falling, what I saw was my own lower half, still standing upright, having lost
its upper body, and the frozen expressions of Renge and the others.
"Entertainment
needs a little surprise, doesn't it?!"
And there was the Pied Piper
of Hamelin, laughing triumphantly.
[Tips]
Monster Resistance to Modern Weapons
As dungeon monsters and cards
increase in rank, their resistance to modern weapons and the like grows, often
beyond what their combat power suggests.
While an F-rank monster could
be defeated by someone with martial arts experience even without a gun, an
E-rank monster would be impossible to fight without one. Modern weapons are
generally effective only up to C-rank monsters... and even then, only against
the mid-tier ones.
By B-rank, the laws of physics
themselves cease to apply; it's said that even nuclear weapons are incapable of
inflicting damage, let alone defeating them.
***
Notes:
1 Futon is a traditional Japanese style of bedding that can be rolled up. A complete futon set consists of a mattress ('shikibuton' = spreading futon), a duvet ('kakebuton' = covering futon), and a pillow ('makura') ↩
2 Reminder: A card with the role of 'King's Wet Nurse' or 'King's Nanny', in line with her mythology regarding Zeus. Amalthea also possesses protective skills and can provide edible items. ↩
3 Athena uses 妾 (Wagahai), a first-person pronoun used by people often in positions of authority or with a sense of formality. It can come across as a bit old-fashioned or even slightly theatrical in modern Japanese, but this is just Athena’s usual way of speaking. ↩
4 The phase that appears shortly after the new moon, visually characterized by a thin sliver of illumination on the right side of the moon.↩
5 The entire surrounding area in the dungeon is transformed into a night field illuminated by moonlight. It wipes out all non-allied servants/subordinates and blocks the summoning of new subordinates. It can only be used when Artemis, Selene, and Hecate are on the field, and only once per day. ↩
7 Refers to Level Up Magic： Advanced auxiliary magic・power-up magic. It temporarily boosts combat power to its growth limit. However, experience gained from the battle will not be gained.↩
8 Lamia in Greek mythology is a female monster that is described to have serpentine qualities. ↩
9 Appeared before in ch. 114. ↩
10 One pack contains 10 cards↩
11 White Tiger. It is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, representing the west. ↩
12 A goddess in Japanese mythology. The name means 'She-who-invites'. She is revered as the creator deity of both creation and death. ↩
13 the land of the dead, underworld. Remember the Yomigun or Yomi Army? They are from this land. ↩
14 Eating food prepared from the kettle in the underworld. it is believed that once this food is eaten, the dead may never return to the land of the living↩
15 Thus the name Yomotsu-Ōkami. Yomotsu refers to Yomi; Ō means great; Kami means deity. Yomotsu-Ōkami translates to 'Great Deity of Yomi'. ↩
16 古事記 (Records of Ancient Matters) ↩
17 The single path of the cultural and martial arts↩
18 We changed the translation of ‘Plaster of Blood’. Reminder of the description: Saps the target's blood and converts it into power. Consuming blood regenerates and strengthens the body. The more blood stored, the higher the effect. It also has resistance to status ailments. ↩
19 Changed from ‘True Follower Summoning’ to align things better ↩
20 Changed from ‘Cavalry Beast’↩
21 Somehow sad for Kuro and Shiro… (T.T) ↩
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