Chapter 17 — This Feels an Awful Lot Like a Last Boss

Having Mokomoko keep an eye on their surroundings, the trio moved to settle into the arena seats.

"First of all, my name is Teodisia." The woman wore a somewhat shabby cloak. Her silver hair and dark skin lent her a unique kind of beauty, while the way that she carried herself gave the impression of a skilled and confident fighter.

"I'm Yogiri Takatou, and this is Tomochika Dannoura. We're on our way to the capital, but we ended up getting caught up in this trial by accident."

"Is that true, though?" murmured Tomochika. "I mean, to be fair, we kind of stuck our heads in on our own..." They had only gone to the tower at the request of the dragon girl, Atila, but Tomochika figured they'd had plenty of opportunities to walk away.

"So, what exactly do you want from us? It's got nothing to do with the trial, right?" Within the trial, other participants were only opponents to be fought. Even if they temporarily worked together, it wasn't the kind of setting where you could rely on others for help.

"You two seem to be foreigners. You may have come across gossip about us, but the people here refer to my kind as half-demons. Do you know much about us?"

"No, we basically know nothing about this world. Even if it seems like common knowledge, it would help if you could break it down for us."

"It has become something of a disparaging term in this world, but my people are a unique tribe here. As a general term, the name 'half-demon' is fine. The main characteristics of my kind are silver hair and dark skin. And, more importantly, we all possess an enormous amount of magical energy."

"Does that mean you can use really strong magic? I saw that black stuff haloing your sword earlier."

"That was just a combat technique," Teodisia said, as if the distinction should have been obvious.

"How exactly is hardcore magic considered a 'combat technique'?!" It was so different from the sword techniques that Tomochika was familiar with that she couldn't help but be skeptical. She was going to have to ask Mokomoko about it later.

"At any rate, I have no real talent for magic. Most of my people are like that, so such a store of magical energy is unfortunately a useless treasure to the tribe. However, it is still a treasure, and there are those who would seek to take it from us. Those who need large amounts of magical energy to fulfill their goals find us to be a useful resource."

"You think the Swordmaster is one of those people?" Yogiri asked.

For a moment, Tomochika was confused by the leap in his logic. But if Teodisia was asking them for help, and it wasn't related to the trial, she must have had some other reason for coming to the tower. According to what she had told them, her people were being hunted by others. It wasn't hard for Yogiri to guess that the Swordmaster could be one of those taking them captive.

"That is correct. My people have been abducted and are trapped within this place. I am here searching for information about my lost sister, Euphemia."

Yogiri felt like he had heard that name before, but he couldn't quite remember where. "From your wording, it sounds like some of your people are here, but you're not sure about your sister?"

"Yes, I have a general idea of where my people are. They are still a ways below us, likely underground. But I can't tell exactly who they are."

"So, you want us to help you set them free?"

"Precisely. Now that my disguise is gone, I won't be able to move around the tower freely. It is only a matter of time before I myself am captured and meet the same fate as them. But if I had your power on my side..." She trailed off, as if realizing how selfish her request sounded.

"First of all, I feel like the fact that your disguise is gone isn't a huge problem," Yogiri noted. "I don't think they're looking that closely at what's happening in the tower anymore." He had destroyed so many things since arriving that it seemed like the surveillance system was no longer functioning properly.

"Can't you just put the disguise back on?" asked Tomochika. She figured if that was possible, the whole problem would be solved.

"No, the disguise was a spell that a friend of mine placed on me. My own power was fueling the disguise, but I can't recast it myself."

"Hmm, that's too bad, then. But if they are capturing people just for being half-demons, I guess I'll come and complain right alongside you," said Yogiri.

"Does that mean you'll help?" Teodisia wasn't sure why he had agreed, but the way he had responded made it sound like it was obvious that he would help her.

"Yeah. You don't mind, right?" he asked Tomochika, clearly not wanting to leave her out of the decision. "Even though it might take us a little longer to get out of the tower."

"Well, she doesn't seem like a bad person. Though to be honest, I thought something like this would be too much of a bother for you."

"What makes you say that?" Yogiri asked, pouting slightly. "If someone asks for help, you should help them, right?"

"Now that you mention it, I guess I've never seen you turn someone down, have I? Of course, since most people attack us instantly, it hasn't come up all that much."

Yogiri had saved Tomochika shortly after they had come to this world. At first glance, he seemed to lack the motivation to do anything, as if it was all too much for him to bother with, but thinking back on it, that attitude didn't truly line up with his actions thus far.

"Perhaps it's strange for me to say this, since I asked you to help me in the first place, but working with me means becoming an enemy of the Swordmaster. Are you sure you're okay with that?" Teodisia asked, still bewildered.

Her original objective had been to sneak into the tower under the guise of being an applicant for the Knights, search for her people, and then sneak back out with them. But now that her disguise had been blown, that plan had effectively failed. The only thing she could try was a desperate all-out attack, which inevitably meant fighting the Swordmaster himself.

"I think I've already sort of made an enemy out of him. I destroyed an awful lot of his tower."

"I've been wondering how we'd deal with it if they ask us to pay them back for all the damage we've done..." Tomochika mused, airing a concern that she'd been feeling for a while. At this point, it was hard to imagine the Swordmaster would be willing to politely speak with them.

"B-But, still! There's nothing in it for you! Even if you help me, you gain nothing! Do you realize how much of a risk it is to be an enemy of the Swordmaster?!" Teodisia must not have expected to receive his help so easily. For her, the Swordmaster was an overwhelming threat, so it was unthinkable that someone would so casually position themselves against him.

"Well, even if there's nothing in it for us, you seem like you really need the help."

"That's right. Even when you saved me, there was nothing much in it for you...wait, that was just for my boobs, though!"

Tomochika looked at Teodisia's chest. It was hard to tell through the cloak, but it seemed fairly prominent.

"My chest? Ah! If all you desire in return is my body, that is a cheap price to pay. Do with it as you will."

"Hey, we don't need any of that clichéd nonsense here! You're not interested in her body in the first place, are you? Are you?!"

"Yeah, I have my own tastes."

Yogiri denied it, but Tomochika couldn't help but worry that he seemed like the kind of guy to jump at any attention from a woman.

"Putting that aside for now," he continued, "I can't just take everything you're saying at face value. I'll decide what to do once I've seen the whole situation. Is that fair?" There was still the possibility that Teodisia's goals were evil, or that the Swordmaster had complex and justifiable reasons for his actions. It was impossible to judge the old man as being in the wrong just from Teodisia's words alone.

"I have no other option, which is why I asked you in the first place. Whatever you decide, I will not complain."

"Then I guess for now our objective is to rescue your friends and get out of the tower. We'll head towards the basement, and if anyone tries to stop us, we'll try to talk our way through first."

Tomochika often found herself forgetting that Yogiri didn't just kill people on a whim. As a rule, he only used his power in self-defense. It was pure coincidence that his only way of protecting himself was to kill others.

"Okay, but I can't imagine we'll be able to talk our way past anyone," Tomochika replied.

Teodisia had requested Yogiri's help to defeat the Swordmaster. That was likely an easy task for him. Swordmaster or not, the moment he showed any intention of attacking, Yogiri would kill him. No matter how important he was to this world, Yogiri wouldn't care.

"Well, it would be nice if he was willing to talk things over with us..."

But Tomochika had already given up on that.

 ◇ ◇ ◇

Having finished their conversation, the three of them left the arena. After descending the stairs, they immediately came upon the door to the first floor. Before they entered, Teodisia drew her hood up, hiding her face and hair. Although likely a meaningless precaution, she figured it was better than doing nothing at all.

It was almost three o'clock. They had just managed to finish within the time limit.

Opening the door, they were greeted by the sight of a familiar room. It was a large, circular reception room, with the entrance to the elevator at its center. There were a dozen or so people gathered in a circle, watching something intently.

"Oh, Rick and Lynel are here. It looks like they made it," breathed Tomochika, relieved.

It was the two companions they had started out with. They seemed to have met up again somewhere along the way. The girl who had unleashed her magic at the barrier from the top of the tower, Frederica, was also with them, so they had probably all joined together.

Lynel was wearing what looked like rather high-grade armor. He had likely gotten it from using his star crystals to roll the gacha, but seeing him like that made Tomochika feel uneasy. She couldn't help but wonder how many of those star crystals it had cost him.

None of them seemed to notice the new arrivals, so the three of them joined the circle to see what everyone else was looking at.

The first thing they saw was the Swordmaster unleash a high roundhouse kick.

"Where's the sword? How is this 'swordsmanship'?!" Tomochika blurted out.

He had kicked the swordsman in black — the same one who had complained to them when they'd first arrived in the forest.

I knew of a family of swordsmen who were quite skilled with upper roundhouse kicks once.

"What's the point of calling yourself a 'Swordmaster' if you don't actually use a sword?"

Well, I suppose that just means he doesn't even need a sword for something like this.

"Umm, what's going on?" Tomochika asked Rick.

"Miss Dannoura! I'm glad to see you are well."

"Yeah, I'm doing great. So, what's happening here?"

"The man in black challenged the Swordmaster to a fight."

The black-clad man in question was now lying on the ground. He was probably unconscious, but it was hard to tell from where they were standing.

"Is this part of the trial?"

"The Swordmaster said that if anyone can defeat him, they can skip over becoming a Knight and go straight to being a Swordmaster. So yes, you could say that it's part of the trial, but as you can see, I doubt that anyone else will take up the challenge."

"Now, how about the rest of you?" the Swordmaster asked, looking around the circle. He showed no sign of his previous fight having been any sort of effort for him. No one stepped forward to answer the challenge. "All right then, the side show is over. It is now three o'clock, so it looks like seventeen of you have passed," he said, noticing that Yogiri's group had arrived.

Yogiri counted the people around him. It appeared the black-robed swordsman on the ground had been included in the tally.

"With that, you are now all Knights of the Divine King. I'll leave the explanation of what rights and obligations that entails to the dolls."

As he spoke, a group of magic puppets entered from a side chamber just off the main room. Their behavior was rather odd considering they were meant to be providing guidance and information. They ran forward with wild expressions. The Swordmaster's face grew suspicious as he watched them approach.

"Swordmaster! The tower has gone silent! We cannot ascertain its current condition!"

"Swordmaster! According to our observations, there is something wrong with the seal! The first barrier may soon fail!"

"Swordmaster! A fluctuation has been detected in the outer parts of the second barrier! The prediction of when the spawn will break through has changed —"

The last doll was interrupted by the sound of an explosion shaking the tower. The tremors were bad enough that standing became difficult, and Yogiri instinctively crouched down to regain his footing. Tomochika was also caught off guard by the sudden shaking, but managed to keep her balance.

Their surroundings had suddenly grown bright, prompting Yogiri to look upwards. He could see the sun hanging in a blue sky. The upper parts of the tower had been cleanly stripped away.

"Hm. I thought that destroying the tower would erase the barrier, but it seems like things might be a bit more difficult."

A powerful voice resonated in the space around them. It didn't take long before everyone gathered had located the source...there was no way any of them could miss the overwhelming aura of pure evil that its owner projected.

The speaker glared down at them from the sky where the tower had been moments before. It was dark, beautiful, and sinister. Aside from its six wings, it looked more or less human.

"I thought you weren't supposed to show up for three more days," the Swordmaster said with a fearless laugh. "Well, whatever. This is your first job as Holy Knights, everyone. Defeat that thing. If you fail, humanity will be wiped out."

"Right, let's go find a way underground," said Yogiri. Clearly, the Swordmaster wouldn't have time to worry about the half-demons if he was dealing with a monster.

"Hold on! Are you seriously just going to leave that thing to wreak havoc?!" Tomochika cried. "It feels an awful lot like a final boss, don't you think?!"

"That's none of my business. If I kill it, the Swordmaster might take an interest in me, so having these guys fight it for us is more convenient."

Though Tomochika was still unconvinced, Yogiri began to scan the room around them. The elevator in the center stood out the most, but there were a number of doors along the outer walls. One of those likely led underground.

"I agree. We don't have time to deal with this thing, and it's a good distraction," Teodisia nodded.

The three of them ran for the nearest door.