Chapter 7: Makoto Takatsuki Challenges a Boss
"Right, let's go then," I said.
"Do we really need to head out so early?" Lucy grumbled with a sleepy look on her face.
It was two in the morning, and we were readying ourselves to leave for our fight with the harpy queen.
"I was sure we'd be going during the day'h," Nina added.
"That would be far too naive, Lady Nina! It is a dog-eat-dog world out there, so we must grasp and exploit our nemeses' weaknesses
without mercy," explained Fujiyan. "Harpies are avian monsters and their visual acuity drops at night."
"Plus, they attacked us lamiae while we were sleeping. Turnabout's fair play!" Sasa declared enthusiastically.
"The harpies will be sleeping at this time of night," I said to Sasa, "so let's lay them to rest for good."
"Makoto, that sentiment is a bit scary," Lucy stated.
I continued with our briefing. "Lucy and I will move in from outside the dungeon. Nina, Sasa, you wait at the lake. We'll begin our attack two hours from now, at four in the morning. Fujiyan, you wait here for the good news and the loot from the harpy queen."
"Indeed. Equip yourselves well and remember the items you need. Godspeed, my friends!"
We all nodded sharply before departing.
"The forests around here get really dark once the sun's down. I don't like it," Lucy said, gripping tightly to my arm. I was using Stealth as we walked through the trees and underbrush.
The growls and buzzing noises of the animals and insects carried really well in the dark forest. This was also the time of night when many monsters were active.
"I've been back and forth along this route for three days now," I told her, "so it's pretty much just a stroll for me now."
"Wasn't that hard on you?" Lucy asked cautiously. "Nah, it's good fun."
"Ah... Right..." She sighed, casting a look my way that implied I was a raving lunatic.
"What's with the sigh?" The journey to the lair was part of getting ready to face a boss. You couldn't drop your guard, and the trip was pretty enjoyable as well. The anticipation got me fired up!
"There's so much mist that I can barely see. I don't understand what you could possibly be enjoy—"
I interrupted her. "The mist is something I asked the elementals for. It's a pretty good idea, right?"
"What? All of it?"
"Pretty much... Also, you're being a bit loud," I said, putting my hand over her mouth.
We moved forward quietly, but the trip was a long one, so it was also somewhat boring.
Oh yeah, I haven't asked Fujiyan what he prefers in a girl yet. Guess I should invite him out for a drink once we're done with the battle!
Hey, came the goddess's voice, quit it with the flags.
Well, that was rude, Goddess. I was being careful...
"Say, Makoto," Lucy said after a while, "you remember when I went out with Aya the other day?"
"Yeah, did you get along all right?"
Actually, I wonder what they talked about.
"Mostly. Lamiae apparently eat some pretty bad food, so she loved the stuff at the cafe and such."
"Right, I guess she'd been eating just raw fish and fruits." When I'd learned about what her diet had consisted of in the dungeon, I'd felt a wave of sympathy.
"She mentioned wanting something sweet, but there's no shop in town that really serves that kind of thing."
"Oh, yeah. Fujiyan promised he'd get a hold of some chocolate though," I said. "What else did you talk about?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Uh? Did you two only chat about food?
"We also...talked about what you were like in your old world," she said eventually.
"You mean how I was just a loner that liked games?"
I doubt Aya would have said anything too weird.
"And I told her about what you've been like in Macallan."
Hang on... "Why were you just talking about me...?"
"Well, that's what Aya wanted to know. And I wanted to know what you used to be like."
"Um, all right then..." It was a little embarrassing. But...also kind of exciting?
As we chatted, we reached our destination. "We're pretty close now. Lucy, you wait here."
"Right," she said. "You're taking down the lookouts, yeah?" "I am." As I spoke, I set Calm Mind to 99%.
The thick mist reduced visibility to almost nothing, but Scouting kept track of the harpies' positions. Obviously, I kept Stealth active the
whole time as well. They didn't notice me as I took silent steps, then attacked.
There were three harpies in total: one atop a large boulder, another on a low tree branch, and the third was near the hole that led into Labyrinthos. I slashed each one across the throat and stabbed through each heart for good measure. Using my water magic, I controlled the flow of blood spurts, directing them away from me.
With those harpies dead, we'd now have a little breathing room until the guard changed.
"Lucy, I'm done," I told her.
"It hasn't even been five minutes... You'd make a good assassin."
"That is not my job," I said defensively. I might have skills suited for an assassin, but I wasn't going to become one. Officially, at least.
Although, despite my protests, I thought that playing as an assassin was great fun!
And so, we approached the hole to Labyrinthos, then quietly peered inside.
Within the dungeon, we saw a massive nest-looking structure made from trees and ivy that clung to the ceiling.
The harpies' nest. "Lucy, you're up."
"Got it. This is for Aya, so I'll serve up an extra-large helping!"
Then, she began to chant. Thanks to the giant's blessing on her staff, she could summon a single Stone Shot without an incantation.
However, this time, she was summoning multiple, so she had to incant. Boulder after boulder appeared in the air around us as she murmured the words of the spell.
"Burn with fire, Imbue Flame." The massive boulders began to glow brightly, and they lit up the area like the setting sun.
"Lucy! They've noticed!" Several harpies were peering up at us from the nest.
It's too late! Go, Lucy!
"Meteo Rain!"
Lucy swung her staff and the burning boulders of various sizes blew away the harpies' nest, caving in the whole ceiling in the process.
◇ the Harpies' Nest ◇
Something's outside, one of the harpies thought. What are the lookouts doing?
Harpies were monsters, but they were also highly intelligent beings that acted as a collective, utilizing significant self-preservation skills.
A harpy near the entrance had immediately noticed something unusual, and they looked out, only to gasp in shock.
The light outside of the dungeon looked bright enough to be the coming dawn. But by the time the harpy realized that it was a magic attack on the nest, the spell had already struck.
Their home was mercilessly destroyed. Fire licked at the nest as several harpies were crushed by the falling ceiling.
However, some of them avoided such a fate—nothing could strike them down if they could flee to the sky!
Suddenly, the flying harpies were swallowed by water.
What?! the harpies thought in unison. They couldn't swim well and usually would avoid even attempting it.
Wh-What's going on?! was the next thought of the collective.
But regardless, they fell, unable to calmly understand the situation before they struck the lake beneath them.
◇ Aya Sasaki's Perspective ◇
"Miss Sasaki!" Nina yelled.
"Nina! Looks like they managed it!"
We'd been hiding behind a waterfall by the lake, but then, we heard a roar as the ceiling collapsed. The harpies' filthy nest fell alongside its occupants, and all of it was engulfed in a huge amount of water.
"Miss Lucy's Meteo Rain and Mister Takatsuki's ultra rank Tianlong
are a rather vicious combination."
"There are sea serpents and king crocodiles in the lake," I said. "They should feed on the harpies."
"Looks like they're attacking right away'h."
The harpies tried to splash their way out of the water, but the aquatic monsters had the upper hand. Every so often, one or two harpies would escape the lake, and Nina or I would send them flying back into the water with a yell.
One by one, the harpies screeched as they were dragged beneath the water.
This is for my family! None of you are getting away!
"Looks like there are none left," I said eventually, breathing heavily. "Now we just need to find out where the queen went'h..."
We searched around the cave, but there was no sign of her. Did she get away? Damn! We were so close!
"Heeeyyy, Sasa, Nina!"
Takatsuki and Lucy drifted down from the ceiling after a while. They had small umbrella-like things in their hands. Apparently, these were called Parachutes and, when opened, their enchantment made the user float down gently, even from high places.
Fujiwara had all sorts of useful items.
"How'd it go?" Makoto asked. "Did you take down the harpy queen?"
"Not yet. We're not sure if she fell with the rest'h."
"Makoto, is your Scouting skill picking anything up?" I asked.
"There are too many monsters around," he replied. "I can't tell them apart."
Where is she? The noisy dungeon had gone oddly silent and there were no harpies in sight. We must've gotten them all.
"They didn't put up much of a fight," Lucy commented. "Let's head back and have a drink." Her mood had already shifted to celebration, but Takatsuki and Nina soon brought her back down to earth.
"Lucy, that's taunting Murphy's Law."
"You cannot let your guard down yet, Miss Lucy'h."
Honestly, though, I felt somewhat giddy with victory as well. We'd wiped out the harpies! It'd been a force that I couldn't have defeated alone!
We did it! Mother, sisters!
Then, I heard a faint singing, so quiet I almost missed it.
It was...pleasant. And completely out of place within the dungeon. I decided to ask the others. "Uh? Can you all hear something?"
"I'm not sure'h... I think so, though'h." "It's quiet. I can't really make it out." We glanced around at one another— "So here you are..."
—then all turned as one. The harpy queen.
She had a beautiful face and pretty, light-brown wings. The singing did not stop as she spoke. Clever girl.
"Impossible! Siren Song'h?!" Nina shouted in a panic.
"Uh, she's the harpy queen, right?" I asked. "Why can she use siren skills?"
"She must have gotten the skill after evolving'h! That voice will enthrall any man who hears it. Mister Takatsuki, you mustn't listen'h!"
Too late. Takatsuki was staring blankly at the harpy queen.
It doesn't matter! I'll kill her before she can do anything! I thought, moving toward her.
"Would you be happy to see your mage boy die?" asked the harpy queen with a grin. "Mage boy! Put your dagger to your neck."
Takatsuki did exactly what the voice instructed. "Damn it'h!" Nina yelled.
"M-Makoto," Lucy whimpered, panicking, as she held her staff in both hands.
"My voice is particularly effective on human men," the harpy queen chuckled. "Your luck ran out the moment you brought him along
with you."
"Siren Song charms men'h. The people that attacked your family must have been controlled by her as well'h," Nina spat through clenched teeth.
"Oh, I wondered who you were. So you're the lamia girl I thought I killed...apparently not, though." The harpy queen glared hatefully at me, and I glared murderously back.
"Your family's all dead!" I yelled. "Look at what you get!"
Her answer was nothing short of mocking. "As long as I survive, I can bring them back as many times as I wish. What a shame for you."
Damn it! She's right.
It'd been the end for us lamiae once she'd killed Mother.
"Not one more step," the harpy queen warned. "Human boy, come slowly toward me. If your friends attack, slit your throat."
Takatsuki nodded in obedience to the voice. "N-No..." Lucy cried.
Nina remained silent, not moving, but looking for a chance.
What should we do...? She had Takatsuki as a hostage, so we needed to be careful. I was looking between him and the harpy queen, but then I noticed something.
Takatsuki? I thought to myself. Siren Song should have enthralled him completely, but he was looking straight at me. His eyes looked clear as if he wasn't under her spell at all.
Is she not actually controlling him?
He kept looking in our direction as he approached the harpy queen. I saw an urging in his eyes.
All right!
I focused my strength in my right hand, using a skill from the Action Game Player skill tree, one that I used to subconsciously use: Charged Attack.
Of course, though, I had to wait for the right moment. If I attacked her now, she might get away...
"You girls stay where you are," ordered the harpy queen. "You're lucky—if my children were here, I'd feed you to them. But alas, I'll just take the human boy instead."
I kept my faith in Takatsuki while continuing to gather my strength. It'd be fine. It had to be.
"Human men are such fools," she continued. "The moment they hear my singing, I become like a goddess to them. They're ready to kneel before me as soon as we meet."
The look of triumph on her face was pissing me off.
"Come on, lick the feet of your goddess," she said, sticking one clawed foot out in front of Takatsuki.
She must have been getting carried away... I hated to admit it, but she was beautiful enough that I could easily imagine her charming men.
"Sh-She's making Makoto lick her feet... I'm so jeal— I mean, that's awful!"
"Ummm, Miss Lucy'h?" Nina prodded verbally.
I'd have to talk to Lucy about what she'd said later...
Takatsuki leaned over slowly, bringing his face closer to her feet. "Such filthy talons could never belong to a goddess," he told her quietly, in his usual tone.
"Wha?" the harpy queen managed before he soundlessly cut off her foot.
"Gyaaaaahhhhh!"
As she screamed, magic icicles appeared in midair and stabbed into her eyes. Did Takatsuki cut off her foot and cast the spell simultaneously?
Whoa! I didn't even see him move!
"Sasa! Now!" Takatsuki yelled.
He's right! It's now or never!
I Dashed forward and kept my speed up, driving my charged fist into the harpy queen's body.
"Gah!" My fist went straight through her, blowing a hole in her body. "D-Damn...you!"
Somehow, she still had the breath to curse us.
The talons of her remaining foot lurched up to slice into me.
Shing.
In an instant, Takatsuki's dagger cut straight through her neck. The rest of us cried out in shock as the corpse fell to the ground.
Isn't that blade a bit too sharp? "Th-Thank you," I said to him. "There's your revenge, Sasa."
As I heard the words, I felt a tension within me unwind. I stumbled over toward him.
Ah...I'm covered in blood.
Disregarding my attempt to move away, he caught me. I almost felt like crying from the soft hold he had on me.
"Well done, Sasa," he told me. "Thanks..."
I got revenge for you all, I thought, sending the words to my deceased family.
My head fell onto his shoulder and I closed my eyes. It was the most comforting warmth I'd ever felt from another person.
The splinters shattering my heart had all been taken away.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki's Perspective ◇
"Why...didn't my...charm work?" the head of the harpy queen asked painfully.
Uh? She can still talk? Actually, she's still alive?
"The hell..." Lucy said, recoiling. "How are you alive? That's creepy." I quite agreed, actually.
I'm gonna have dreams about this, so stop talking as a decapitated head.
"Where is she... Where is my sister?" Sasa asked the head.
It was a pretty surreal sight, but the question was serious so I kept quiet.
"I don't know...she vanished...once she opened the entrance..." Sasa took a moment, then quietly replied, "I see..."
Right, I guess there was someone else that needed a dose of revenge.
Forget all that, what do we do with this head?
"Monsters have astonishing levels of vitality if they live for centuries. Their strength comes from their heart, though. Separate the head and body and she'll die soon enough'h," Nina explained, putting my fears to rest somewhat.
"Takatsuki, why couldn't she control you?" Sasa asked. "I want to know that too'h!" Nina joined in.
Lucy was poking the harpy queen's head with the end of her staff.
Quit iiiit.
"Because of Calm Mind, skills like charm magic have a hard time affecting me."
"Hmm, I've heard that mental stability skills make resisting charm and illusion magic easier'h... But they don't make you immune, just more resilient'h..." Nina tilted her head at me. "Siren Song having no effect at all is strange'h."
"Still, Takatsuki's acting allowed me to get revenge!" Sasa said, hugging me again.
This is getting pretty embarrassing... Could you let go already?
"Aya, get off him," Lucy said, walking toward us. She must have gotten bored of poking the head.
"No wayyy," Aya replied as Lucy tried to pull her off.
It was cute, kind of like siblings playing around. I'd rather they didn't drag me into it though.
"Oh, have you ever seen a goddess, Mister Takatsuki'h?"
"Right? The way you spoke to the harpy queen, it sounded like you had," Lucy added.
"Yeah," I confirmed. "I see her in my dreams sometimes. We spoke yesterday too."
"Oooh! I can understand why Siren Song didn't work if you've seen a real goddess'h!"
I guess that made sense?
"Takatsuuuki, what's a goddess?" Sasa asked.
Right, I haven't explained yet, have I?
"Makoto follows a wicked deity. She's really beautiful too."
Don't be so free with the wicked bit!
"I mean, she is really pretty..." I said. "She's constantly trying to tempt me too, so I'm not entirely sure how to react."
"Y-Your goddess is trying to tempt you'h?!"
"She was very casually dressed yesterday, and she was all over me..." The memory made my heart start racing more than just a bit, so I'd really appreciate it if, in the future, she wouldn't do that.
"Uh... Is this goddess a bit of a slut maybe?"
Lucy! You can't say that! But...she wasn't, right?
I heard Noah's words in my mind as she chimed in to defend herself.
Hey, I'm a maiden goddess!
"She says she's a maiden." I relayed dutifully for the sake of her reputation.
"But she's saying that herself, so it doesn't feel right... It's like those girls that always say, 'It's my first time,' I think..."
You can't say things like that, Sasa. Some real hidden depths getting exposed here, huh?
"E-Everyone, you shouldn't insult a goddess unless you want to be smote'h," Nina warned before turning to look at the head of the harpy queen. "Oh, looks like she finally died'h."
The monster had passed away while we were having our ridiculous conversation. Well, whatever.
"What should we take back with us? What're the most valuable materials?" Sasa asked.
"The wings would probably be useful, but when monsters live for so long, the heart becomes the most valuable part'h."
"Oh, this?" Sasa said, ripping the heart from the corpse without hesitation. Gross...
"There should be magicite inside of it'h." "Hmmm, this bit?"
She pulled out a piece of magicite, and it sat in her hand, glowing orange.
"That's a great size! It should sell for a good sum'h." "There's another one," Sasa added.
"What?"
She dug out another piece of the same size, which glowed purple.
"It feels sorta relaxing, holding this..." Sasa mused as she stared at it.
Nina examined it closely as well. "That...was probably from the lamia queen'h..."
"What?!" Sasa exclaimed. "It was?"
Oh, I guess it's like an heirloom from her mother. "You should have it," Lucy said.
"Right, it's yours," I agreed. "Uh, but—"
"I'm sure the boss would say the same'h." "Thank you...all of you."
Sasa cradled it carefully in front of her chest.
I was glad, really glad, that we'd gotten revenge for her.
"Right, let's head back," I said after a few minutes.
"Are we going through that hole again?" Lucy complained. "Well there's no other way out."
"Calm down, all of you, we managed to wi—Wait, everyone, quiet'h!"
"Someone's coming."
Nina's eyes had sharpened, and at the same time, Lucy readied her staff. Straight after, my Scouting reacted as well.
"It looks like there's a group of monsters and humans fighting," Sasa said, pointing. I followed her finger and saw a group of about twenty being attacked by monsters.
"What should we do?" I asked.
"It's up to you!" Lucy cheered.
Sasa and Nina both looked expectantly at me as well. I guess I would be the one deciding then. "I've got a few uses left of my elemental magic, so let's help them out." I'd spent the whole week training but hadn't had much chance to use it. "Elementals, hi there, would you give me a hand? Water Magic: Water Whale."
The huge form of a whale appeared, made entirely of water, and it swam through the air above the lake. It swallowed up roughly twenty people before sending the monsters flying with a swish of its tail. The whale then made its way back over to us.
Lucy and Sasa both let out cries and grabbed onto me as the vast quantity of water ferried the people to us.
"Mister Takatsuki, you can definitely control water way more precisely now'h..." Nina said to me in shock.
"Oh, they're the Soleil Knights, aren't they?" Lucy asked. "They are," I answered.
I spied Althena's crest on their chest armor. Maybe he's here too?
"Are you all right?!" So called the Hero of Light as he immediately jumped up.
"Hey, Sakurai," I greeted.
"T-Takatsuki? Was that you? That was some crazy magic!"
"Ah, yeah, well... I guess..." I cast around. I wasn't sure I could really take the credit since it was the elementals' magic, after all.
"Ryousuke! Are you all right? Hey! Where'd you come from?" This demand came from the person that appeared next—our former classmate, Saki Yokoyama.
"Saki?" Sasa asked.
"Wait, is that you, Aya?" she asked in disbelief. "You're alive?!" "It's been a while, Saki!"
"You look kinda different...?"
"A lot's happened," Sasa stated simply.
"Oh, well you need to tell me all about it!" "Sure!"
The former high school girls started chattering away. I guess the two of them used to be pretty close.
"Thank you for saving us all," Sakurai said to me. "You're welcome. So, what happened?"
The Soleil Knights should all be elite fighters, so I couldn't imagine that monsters on this level of Labyrinthos would pose much of a threat to them.
"Ah, well we came across the blight dragons further down, but..."
Apparently, the two remaining dragons were working together—the pair were exceptionally formidable opponents.
The knights had tried to separate them but had then been attacked by other monsters from that level. When the blight dragons struck again, the knights were at a disadvantage and so the whole party had needed to retreat.
We'd come across them just after they'd managed to escape from the lower level.
"I'm glad we haven't lost anyone, but the battle's been a failure..." Sakurai's expression was glum.
"The White Grandsage is here as our overseer, so maybe if she'd actually helped us..." As Yokoyama spoke, her expression twisted in unhappiness.
"She's here just in case we fail. We can't ask for more," Sakurai responded calmly.
"What?!" Lucy cried out in surprise. "The White Grandsage is here?!"
"Hey, Lucy, is that White Grandsage the one who's called the strongest on the continent?"
"Yeah! She's pretty much what all mages aspire to be!"
That was something I'd learned in the temple; Highland's White Grandsage was the pinnacle of what it meant to be a mage.
While Lucy and I were getting excited, Sakurai's expression seemed much grimmer.
Right, he's in a pretty crappy position...
Sakurai turned to address Yokoyama. "There's nothing we can do there, Saki. We were told to deal with the blight dragons."
"But if we report that we've failed, then the prince's faction..."
"Failure would cause no small amount of trouble for Princess Noelle."
I had no idea about the exact circumstances, but it sounded like they were in quite the pickle.
If I follow the goddess's instructions...
Will you help the Hero of Light?
▶Yes
No
I was her only believer, so I should listen to her requests at least.
"Do you want a hand, Sakurai?" I asked. I spoke to him first, rather than just responding to him.