Hell Mode: Volume 6, page 12
“That’s right. After all, every living thing eventually dies. The same even goes for us angels.”
“B-But that...” Greta was at a loss for words at Merus’s unangelic demeanor.
“Do you have any idea how many species have been wiped out already? How many people are on the verge of dying at this very moment?”
“From the way you’re talking, it sounds like a pretty big number,” Allen responded.
“That’s right. Over the past few tens of thousands of years, it’s been quite a significant number. If we were to talk about salvation, wouldn’t it make the most sense to wipe out the human race for the sake of all the dwarves, elves, and beastkin driven out of the Central Continent? Do you know why the beastkin’s names are only two syllables, Master Allen?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Hmm, so there’s a special meaning to the beastkin’s names, then?”
Dogora did not seem to pick up on what Merus meant, but Allen had already noticed that there was something of a pattern; Uru, Sara, Zeu, Shia, Beku—all of the beastkin he had met over the past year had disyllabic names.
“Beastkin were once treated like livestock by the humans on the Central Continent, and no one gives long names to livestock. Some were only referred to by numbers. The beastkin still nurse their rage over their past treatment and thus have kept their names to only two syllables. Humans would likely do the same if they had endured similar treatment.”
“What’s your point?”
“Do you think humans are good? It’s clear from the history of the human race that this is not the case. They don’t care what happens to others, so long as they and their comrades survive. Or rather, they don’t even realize that these other living creatures are just as desperate to survive as they are. Master Allen, have you ever considered that the monsters you’ve defeated thus far—the boars, the armored ants, the orcs—were all living their own lives?”
“As long as the problems are between the species, the gods won’t get involved. I suppose that goes for monsters as well?”
“Correct. Monsters make up just one part of the world. That is the harmony of which the gods speak. Discord is just one part of harmony.”
So that’s why Demon Lord was also one of the class choices back then?
Allen finally understood why “Demon Lord” was one of the classes offered to him right before he first came into this world.
So harmony is more important than peace, which explains why the spirit gods were in such a panic.
Allen glanced over at Rohzen, who was sitting atop Sophie’s shoulder. The Spirit God’s pale face likely meant that he had already possessed a vague sense of how little the gods cared for the continued existence of the elves. In fact, millions of elves had been killed during the Demon Lord Army’s invasion of Rohzenheim the previous year; Rohzen might very well have been trying to protect the elves without relying on the Heavenly Realm.
That may have even been the reason Rohzen tended to avoid giving straight answers whenever Allen asked about the ways of the world. Or perhaps he thought that understanding how the world worked would lead Allen to come up with ways to break the rules, and thus feared that he would be sanctioned once Allen did so.
“Hmm, so what you’re saying is that the gods currently believe that the world is in harmony? Despite the fact that a divine vessel has been stolen, and that all living creatures except for monsters are facing extinction?”
“Not even close. The monsters have been marked for arbitration for quite some time due to how much they disrupt the harmony. In fact, an arbitration god was even dispatched for that very purpose, but they have yet to decide on a solution.”
“An arbitration god?”
“It’s exactly as it sounds: a divine arbiter who passes judgment on those who break the rules and disrupt the harmony. Lord Elmea has entrusted this god with the ability to pass judgment on anyone, god or otherwise. However, this all happened more than fifty years ago, and I’m sure you’re already well aware of what’s happened in the intervening years.”
Merus shot Allen a knowing glance. Suddenly, a theory began to form in the young Summoner’s head.
“No way... You don’t mean...that it’s me? No one’s ever mentioned anything about that to me, though.”
“The God of Creation chooses to not get overly involved, and the same goes for matters with respect to you. However, it is Lord Elmea’s goal for harmony to be maintained.”
Huh, and all I’ve been told by Elmea is to enjoy my time here. But...
Allen wanted to seek further clarification. “Chaos...is part and parcel of harmony, I take it?”
A sly grin spread to Merus’s cheeks.
“Of course. A little bit of chaos is required in order to bring distorted harmony back into line.”
Allen smirked at this. He finally felt as if he understood why he was brought to this world.
＊ ＊ ＊
“I have to say, it’s a huge hassle to have to get the Rank S medals together every time we head to Floor 5.” Keel voiced his concerns as the team waited in line outside the temple, a location they often found themselves.
“You can say that again. At least beating the monsters has gotten easier, though.”
Now that Allen was able to use Rank A Summons, they had managed to whittle down the time it took to beat the Rank S floor bosses by a fair degree. The other medals needed for traveling between floors were generally purchased with the party’s shared pool of money.
As they collected equipment and slates, they would sell off all that they did not need, fetching anywhere up to tens of thousands of gold per item. In addition, 3,000-point stat-boosting rings they found could earn over thirty thousand gold through the guild auctions. Allen and his companions now had over five hundred thousand gold coins to their name.
Cecil had recommended that the party manage these funds and use them to pay for rent and food at the base, as well as the transaction fees for purchasing magic stones at the Adventurer’s Guild every five days. The guild had now begun dealing in Rank B magic stones as well, resulting in a total outlay of fourteen thousand gold each trip, but they were able to make up for that by selling the items they picked up during their dungeon crawls.
Additionally, each party member received a hundred gold at the beginning of every month for living expenses. Each person used the money in different ways. Krena and Dogora went out to various restaurants. Allen used his money on confections and fruit to satisfy his sweet tooth, and Meruru sent money back home to the seaside village where her family lived, near the Baukisian capital.
The Gamers finally arrived at the temple entrance, lost in conversation about how they all spent their money. Once they reached the dimly lit fifth floor, they made their way to the cube which would take them to today’s objective: the iron golems lurking in the Iron Room.
“I am Iron Transfer System S503. Do you wish to travel to the Iron Zone?”
“Yes.”
No sooner had Allen answered than the party found themselves teleported to another room. It looked similar to the room where they had fought the bronze golem, but here stood not one but two iron golems, each towering over a hundred meters tall. Allen noted to himself that Admiral Garara had been right.
The party was still a fair distance from their adversaries, so the iron golems remained unmoving. Allen ignored them and inspected the room. The ceiling was so dark that it was hard to see just how large the room truly was. Running along the walls were several entrances large enough for the iron golems to pass through, leading to long hallways on the other side.
Hmm, so it doesn’t look like this is an isolated room.
Allen possessed a theory about these rooms that he had begun to form after puzzling over their fight in the Bronze Zone. Since that room had been so dimly lit and he had been too preoccupied to take a close look at the time, he had figured that it was segregated into its own zone and not connected to any other rooms. Admiral Garara’s party had escaped from the battle with the final floor boss, however. And the cube that would teleport them away did not appear until after the golem was defeated. These two things suggested that there should be an escape cube separate from the teleportation cube, or possibly a passageway that would lead to said cube.
Perhaps I’d best look for an escape cube.
Allen already planned on having to fight the final floor boss multiple times before being able to beat it. In that case, it was his job as party leader to take all necessary steps to ensure that the Gamers could get to safety should they face any danger. As with the escape cubes located in the death stages, Allen theorized that there were also escape cubes in the Bronze, Iron, and Mithril Zones, as well as in the zone where the final floor boss lurked.
Allen Summoned several Bird Bs as he usually did. The party members at the rear of the formation could count on these Summons to move without instruction while they focused on attacking and healing.
After sending out several more Summons to look for the escape cube, Allen turned his attention back to the iron golems. This would be their first time taking on two Rank S enemies at a time, so Allen shouted out to pump the party up.
“Well, I think we’ve got all our ducks in a row. Let’s do this!”
Meruru called forth Tam-Tam, and the party formed up on her before slowly making their way toward the sleeping giants. Once they were around two hundred meters away, the twin golems began to move. One stepped forward, its arm glowing briefly before elongating and transforming into a shining spear. The other’s arms transformed into weapons made of light, its left becoming a sword and its right a shield.
So they can use the same types of skills as Meruru, just like the bronze golem could.
Dogora called out to Allen. “Looks like they’re both armed now. Which should we take out first?”
When he had first heard that there were two enemies, Allen figured that he would determine which one they would prioritize taking down only after seeing them for himself. That way, he would get the chance to analyze their skills, battle strategy, and weaknesses.
“We’ll start with the spear one. I think it’s gonna take a bit longer to take down the shield guy.”
Allen split the party into two groups. Dogora, Meruru, and a Dragon A would hold the shield-bearing iron golem at bay, while Angel A and the rest of the party would concentrate on the spear-wielding one.
Dragon A closed in on the iron golem with the shield, which quickly stabbed at the Summon with its beam sword. Dragon A took the blow straight on and used its five heads to chomp at its enemy while holding it back.
I was worried that fighting two Rank S opponents at the same time would present a real challenge, but things are going all right. Maybe we can actually pull this off.
Meanwhile, the iron golem with the spear thrust out its beam lance toward its incredibly tiny opponents. It initially aimed for Krena, who was attacking its feet, but eventually gave up and began searching for a new target, likely because it could not land a blow on her. Unfortunately, due to its beam lance being nearly as long as the iron golem was tall, the iron golem was able to use its hundred-meter-long weapon to directly strike at the party’s back line.
“Gyaaah!”
The rearguard members hurriedly dashed out of the way, though Sophie’s leg got tangled from atop her mount, sending her tumbling to the ground.
“Sophialohne!”
“Don’t worry. I’m okay.”
Wow, the spear’s range is a lot farther than I figured.
“I’m sorry, team. Sophie, I’m going to try and lower his accuracy. Octo, you’re up.”
Allen Summoned a Fish A.
“You called, Master?”
A massive, ten-meter-tall creature that appeared to be a cross between an octopus and a kraken appeared in the middle of the hallway. It looked quite out of place sitting there on the stone floor.
* * *
Type: Fish
Rank: A
Name: Octo
HP: 9,000
MP: 10,000
Attack: 8,000
Endurance: 6,500
Agility: 8,000
Intelligence: 10,000
Luck: 7,000
Buffs: MP 200, Intelligence 200, Boost to Evasion
Ability: Smokescreen, Octopus Heart
Awakened Ability: Mimic
* * *
“Launch a Smokescreen around the enemies!”
“Your wish is my command.”
The Fish A shot a black, inky cloud out of its mouth, greatly restricting the iron giants’ views of the battlefield.
That should decrease their accuracy, at least.
Suddenly, Merus called out to Allen. “I used Endow Element on the one with the spear!”
“Great job. All right, everyone, focus on taking down the spear golem first!”
“Got it. Judgment Lightning!”
Merus used his Awakened Ability, Judgment Lightning. Once used, he would not be able to use it again for a full day, but Allen thought it important to cut down on the number of opponents they were fighting.
Cecil also switched to using lightning magic, and Krena landed blow after blow with her electricity-infused blade. After several minutes of this, the first iron golem fell.
Wow, so I’d earn 1.2 billion XP if I were to take one out on my own? More to the point, though, it wasn’t as strong as I thought. Just one more to go.
However, as soon as they defeated the spear golem, the shield golem’s eyes began to glow and it recited a chant.
“Repair Energy.”
The spear golem slowly rose back up. Looking closer, Allen noticed that it did not have a single scratch on it. At its feet, Krena, who had been pumping her fist in the air in a victory pose, hurriedly stumbled back to get away.
“A-Allen, it’s come back to life!” Cecil cried, the concern clear in her voice. The rest of the Gamers looked on in disbelief.
“This is the first time I’ve seen an enemy that can resurrect things.”
Allen had fought monsters that could call allies into battle, but this was his first time seeing one that could use resurrection magic.
“You sure seem pretty calm about all this!”
Hey, stop punching my shoulder, will ya? I’m thinking here.
Allen’s mind raced to think up a new plan while Cecil continued to hammer at his back from her seat behind him on the Bird B.
“All right, we’ll take out the shield one this time! Dogora, Meruru, you keep the spear golem busy!”
“Gotcha!”
“Roger that!”
While Dogora and Meruru’s Tam-Tam blocked the spear-wielding iron golem, the rest of the party focused their attacks on the shield golem. They did not have access to Merus’s Awakened Ability this time around, but with element-imbued arrows from Sophie and Volmaar, they were able to defeat their opponent in a little over ten minutes.
However, moments after the text appeared in the grimoire’s log, the spear golem’s eyes started to glow and it uttered a chant.
“Repair Energy.”
This time, the shield golem was brought back to life.
“N-No way!”
“Hmph.”
Allen began thinking up a plan while Cecil screamed in his ear. Krena and Dogora were in danger on the front line, to be sure, but there was also the very real danger of those in the rear sustaining life-threatening injuries from a single blow. Something needed to be done about that, and quickly.
So they can both raise their companions, then. Hmph, so how did Admiral Garara take them out?
They were being resurrected almost immediately, so that meant that even if both were taken out at nearly the same time, even the slightest delay would lead to the first to fall coming back to life.
Sure, Admiral Garara’s party had twenty mithril golems at their disposal, but this doesn’t seem like a challenge that can be overcome with strength alone. In that case, does it mean that they can only cast resurrection magic a certain number of times? Or perhaps...
Allen thought back to the beginning of the battle.
“C’mon, everyone, we’re moving!”
Krena spun around and looked back. “Huh? We’re running away?”
“That’s right. We’re heading toward the wall and going out into the hallway. Let’s dash!”
“Whaddya mean, ‘dash’?!” Even as the words were coming out of Cecil’s mouth, Allen already had their Bird B moving. The Dragon A and Tam-Tam kept the iron golems at bay while the rest of the party followed Allen’s orders and made their way toward the hallway entrance.
Once they made it through, they were quickly pursued by the shield golem, followed by its spear-wielding counterpart.
“Looks like the ceiling’s pretty high, so they have no problem coming after us!”
“That’s right. And now, they’re here!”
The iron golems’ stats were all quite high, making them incredibly fast. The shield golem immediately began attacking Dogora and Krena.
“Sophie, use Gnome to lock the furthest iron golem in place!”
“R-Right away!”
Upon using her Extra Skill, Grand Spirit Manifestation, the grand earth spirit Gnome appeared. Cracks formed underneath the spear golem’s feet, which were then pulled into the ground. Rock formed up and solidified around its legs before Tam-Tam closed in from behind and held tight to its arms, keeping them outstretched and locked in place.
“All right, now fall back just a bit more!”
After moving farther down the passage, only the shield golem was able to follow. Once Allen determined that there was enough separation between the two, he had the party use their element-imbued weapons to land a fatal combo on the shield golem.
This time, the iron golem faded away immediately after the text appeared in the log; its partner did not use a resurrection spell on it. Just as he had figured at the start of the battle, the iron golems were unaware of presences that were a certain distance away. This applied not only to their enemies, but to their allies as well.
