26 Chapter 026

With each of the Hidden Temple's twenty-five rooms thoroughly mapped out and their teleporters marked to indicate which were the correct ones, it only took a few minutes for Leon's group to reach the antechamber and massive, 9m-tall stone doors they believed preceded the Floor Guardian, Baphomet.

While everyone else set up a temporary camp, Leon, in his mechanical body, and Mordred stood at the base of stone doors, bearing the relief of a massive tree.

"There's definitely something powerful beyond here..." said Mordred, her [Instinct] telling her that if they weren't careful, they would all lose their lives to the presence beyond the door.

"You don't seem particularly intimidated..." remarked Leon, looking down at Mordred and the excited smile she made no attempts to hide.

Snorting, Mordred's smile developed into a toothy grin as she contended, "I already died once. For all I know, circumstances similar to these await me the moment I die again..."

Raising her gaze to meet Leon's, Mordred pushed his arm, nearly causing him to stumble as she teased, "Lucky for you, you're not a complete sack of shit. My next Master very well could be, so I'll see this through if for no other reason than to see the kind of King you become..."

"That's a lot of pressure..." mused Leon, fixing his posture and placing his hand on Mordred's left shoulder as he whispered, "Fortunately, I know I'll never have to shoulder the burden alone..."

Rolling her eyes, Mordred brushed off Leon's shoulder, turned around, and walked away. However, while she was most certainly annoyed, Leon knew from experience that the main reason she walked off was because she hated people seeing her blush, even faintly...

...

..

.

"So my plan is to enter ahead of everyone, scout things out, and then return via teleportation," explained Leon, seated in a circle with Mordred, Kisara, Ed, Al, Presea, Shino, and a tall, muscular, dark-skinned Japanese youth from the Kazama Agency, Gakuto Shimazu.

"But what if the room becomes sealed off once someone enters...?" asked Kisara, sporting the same innerwear as Mordred but with a formfitting red crop top that left her belly exposed, dark red short-shorts that left little to the imagination, shin-high leather boots reinforced with metal plating, and fingerless gloves with predominately red armguards.

"It's certainly possible," conceded Leon. "But it's better to discover that now than on a higher floor. My stats are the second highest here, so even if I'm forced to face the Baphomet alone, I should be able to pull through. It might turn into a war of attrition, but that's a risk I'm willing to take and learn from..."

"That's fine and all, but a Knight that sits back while their Lord fights isn't fit to call themselves one," declared Mordred, wearing a frown as she very firmly added, "I don't give a damn what you say. I'm coming with you, one way or another."

"Mordred's right...!" shouted Ed, rising to his full height, stomping his foot, and holding up his right fist as he exclaimed, "We didn't come all this way to sit on our asses and wait for good news! We're the Frontier Expedition Squad, not the damn Camp Protection Squad...!"

"Calm down," said Leon, raising his hands in mock surrender as he added, "My plan was always more of a suggestion. I'm not going to refuse and be uncompromising if everyone wants to enter together."

"Oh...well, uh, that's good then...!" stated Ed, plopping back down, closing his eyes, and crossing his arms in embarrassment. His right brow twitched when he heard Al covering his mouth to suppress an amused chuckle, but he restrained himself from another outburst.

"Still. Winry and Wil prepared this body for me so I could stand at the front and face danger ahead of everyone," said Leon. "When we enter, I'll take point while the rest of you split off into the usual groups. Gakuto, Ed, and Al will break left, while Presea, Kisara, and Shino will move around to flank from the right. Mordred will act at her discretion and issue orders as the situation develops."

"That's a much better plan," affirmed Mordred. "But what if the Baphomet tries to talk to us? How do you want to handle that...?"

"Either way, we shouldn't stay grouped," said Leon. "I never fought the Baphomet in the game, but I vaguely recall it was able to teleport and use powerful area-of-effect Magic. We should keep ourselves spread out, but not to the extent we can't watch each others' backs and provide back-up if the Baphomet tries to blitz one of us."

"It wields a massive scythe AND can use Magic? What a pain..." groaned Shino, reaching up to massage her forehead in frustration. It probably didn't help that she had been compelled to don a sleeveless, red-and-gold-trimmed tailcoat over what could best be described as maroon red buruma or short-shorts, leaving her surprisingly plump thighs exposed but calves covered by shin-high combat boots that matched the color of her top.

"Keep in mind that this is still the First Floor," said Mordred. "The dangers we'll face on the higher floors are even greater, so if this is too much for you, return to the village, track down that Itami fellow, and do your civic duty by giving birth to plenty of children."

"You want me to m-m-make babies with the Lieutenant...!?" exclaimed Shino, looking as offended as she was surprised. Then, rising to her feet and brandishing the twin hatchets she used as weapons, she added, "I'd rather face that damned goat myself...!"

"Then enough strategizing!" appended Mordred, similarly rising to her feet and grinning from ear to ear as she stabbed her sword toward the ceiling and bellowed, "This demon, Baphomet, is just the first of many obstacles that bar our ascent up the Tower! Rise and ready your weapons! Today is the day we take our first real step toward our goal...!"

In response to Mordred's shout, Ed raised his spear, Al raised his mace, Presea raised her axe, Shino raised her left hatchet, and Gakuto raised his right fist, sporting a thick metal gauntlet with spiked knuckles. Kisara also rose alongside them, but as she mainly relied on kicking, she stood cross-armed and grinned rather than nonsensically raising her leg and foot.

Rising after everyone else, Leon punched his mechanized right fist into the palm of his similarly mechanized left hand, stating, "I don't know what threats await us beyond those doors, but so long as we work together, we can overcome anything. Now, let's do this...!"

With everyone offering an affirming shout, Leon took the initiative to turn and lead the way to the massive stone doors that presumably separated them from Baphomet. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel nervous, but it wasn't because he was scared of what might happen to him. As far as he knew, he could pull himself together from practically any injury, but that wasn't the case for the members of his party. It was unreasonable to expect they could conquer the Tower without sustaining at least a single casualty, so while he had resolved himself to push forward, Leon prayed to Maribelladonna and anyone else who was willing to listen that their first foray against a Floor Guardian wouldn't be someone's last...

With such thoughts in mind, Leon placed his mechanical hand against the surface of the stone doors, causing a pop-up notification to appear before them, asking if they were prepared to enter alongside a countdown of ten minutes. Once everyone had confirmed they were ready, the countdown disappeared, followed by a much larger notification appearing halfway up the stone doors, telling them, 'Best of Luck~!' before the chamber started to shake in response to their opening.

"Weapons at the ready...!" shouted Mordred, just as a group of 50-60cm-tall goat-headed demons surged from the gap in the still-opening doors, resembling a pack of stuffed toys but with very lethal-looking scythes in their hands.

'Fucking Baphomet Jrs...!' exclaimed Leon internally, grasping the head of one of the miniature demons and smashing it into the ground as several others leaped onto him or slashed at him with their scythes. Fortunately, while a few aimed for his joints, their scythes only left scrapes against his automail endoskeleton.

Sending Leon tumbling forward, Mordred unleashed a Mana-empowered slash that slammed into him but, more importantly, scattered the twenty-to-thirty Baphomet Jrs. She knew his body wouldn't break so easily after sparring against him, but even if it did, they could always salvage it. Thus, while he was somewhat embarrassed to be sent flying by one of his allies, Leon recovered quickly, materialized a large mace, and began swinging it in wide motions to keep the red-eyed, incredibly pissed-off-looking plush toys at bay.

Seemingly seeing through Leon's intentions, roughly half of the Baphomet Jrs abruptly disappeared into flashes of bluish-white light, teleporting to the rear where Kisara, Shino, and Presea were looking for an opportunity to enter the fray.

"What the-!" exclaimed Kisara, barely moving her leg out of the way as a Baphomet Jr swung its scythe. She then kicked it on the top of the head, leaving a visible indentation in the much smaller creature's skull, causing it to collapse before dispersing, leaving behind a small curved horn and a large yellow leaf.

'They're fast but weak...' thought Kisara, forcing herself to calm down after her initial shock. And she might have been able to if she hadn't looked over to see Presea hugging two Baphomet Jrs while several others hacked at her with their scythes. They only managed to inflict surface-level wounds due to her monstrous Endurance, but her red-and-gold-trimmed overcoat was quickly becoming tattered, and she was bleeding all over.

"Oh, come on...!" exclaimed Kisara, rushing to Presea's aid while Shino took down most of the remaining Baphomet Jrs at their back using her hatchets. Leon had promoted her and Gakuto to orange to help ensure their safety prior to the subjugation, but even back in her original world, she could take on beastmen and all kinds of fantasy creatures using her hand-to-hand combat skills. She received a few cuts, including a fairly deep one on her side, but she managed to dispatch seven Baphomet Jrs entirely on her own. 

"Well done..." said a voice from deep within the chamber, resembling the interior of a dark and incredibly ancient temple whose only light sources were skull-shaped torches. Twenty-five Baphomet Jrs were no match for Leon's group with their current stats and gear so that only left their near-five-meter-tall daddy, seated atop a bone-formed throne at the far end of the chamber, staring back at them with its cheek resting on the knuckles of its right hand.

Gesturing with his right hand to indicate for everyone to remain back but spread out, Leon stepped forward and asked, "You're the Floor Guardian, Lord Baphomet...?"

"Indeed..." replied the goat-headed demon, nodding solemnly as it added, "But addressing me as Lord in this pitiable form is an insult. I am merely a shadow, a vestige of the Great Lord of Evil I once was. But since you have come here, I will use all the power available to me to impede your ascent up the Tower. That is my purpose..."

Grabbing the massive scythe resting against his throne and using it to rise to his feet, Baphomet gave the impression that he truly was a shadow of his former self as he shambled forward on his hoofed feet, hunched over like an old man who needed a cane to remain steady.

'There's no way he's this helpless...' thought Leon, outwardly waving his hand and shouting, "Don't let him fool you! He's-"

Before Leon could finish shouting, Baphomet's body seemed to flicker before his massive figure abruptly filled the former's vision, scythe raised like a farmer about to reap a large swath of wheat.

Though he was more than a little startled by the Baphomet's speed, Leon instinctively lunged forward, wrapping his arms around its surprisingly thin waist. He 'really' could have done without its literal monster cock pressing against his breastplate, but as they were in the real world and not a video game, it was no surprise that the animals and monsters they encountered were 'anatomically correct.'

Knocked off balance by Leon's nearly 200kgs of weight, empowered by his Strength stat, the Baphomet had no choice but to teleport away as Mordred used Mana Burst to accelerate like a rocket, swinging her sword where his neck had been. It was, after all, only the First Floor's Guardian, so while it had a number of tricks up its sleeve, its raw stats weren't much higher than the Orange members of the group. Against a Green grade like Mordred, two full grades higher than the rest of the group, it was actually a bit weaker...

...

..

.