Hell Mode: Volume 11, page 7
The contestants shifted around nervously. By the end of the first round, a mere five out of a thousand would remain. Simply put, most of the women would fail here. Each was confident that she would be the last one standing, but as the moment of truth drew nearer, they all found it difficult to ease their nerves.
“Lord Macris, would you please do the honors?” the emcee asked.
The silence that followed felt like it went on forever, but in truth, it lasted only a moment before Macris stopped swimming and broke it.
“All right, begiiin!”
Right away, the contestants all began to sing to the best of their abilities, and a dissonant din filled the venue. What in the world is this? Allen was at a loss for words at this unexpected racket. Back when he was Kenichi, he had had no interest in choir or singing contests at school, but even he knew that people usually sang in unison, harmonizing with one another. But his ears were assaulted by the polar opposite.
Every participant was excellent in her own right. Their singing abilities were rather impressive, and they were all dressed up in expensive outfits and glimmering accessories—proof that they had been allowed to participate in the event. Many shouldered the expectations of their hometown, as victory would bring honor to their birthplace, and had received lavish clothes or perhaps funds to buy what they needed. Yet no matter how beautiful they were, if every woman sang her own song at her own tempo, it became a discordant mess. It was difficult to make out any one person’s voice amid the chaos. Can this even be called a contest?
Allen looked around, and to his surprise, saw that no one appeared shocked or anxious. He then looked up and spotted Macris swimming around the circular stage, his dark eyes closely analyzing the thousand contestants, his round forehead trembling as the disorganized singing of a thousand women shook the water.
The Summoner carefully analyzed the scene. I see now. Macris boasts pretty high Intelligence. That the Songstress Contest was an annual event meant that this puzzling first round was held every year as well. Each woman sang with her own rhythm and flair, with some even bursting into a fabulous dance, yet the Holy Fish had the ability to discern each and every voice and provide his own judgment on each woman. Doing so required extremely high Intelligence, and Allen recalled that the Holy Fish had power akin to a Greater Demonic Deity.
Just then, Macris, who had been circling the stage, suddenly changed course. He flipped his massive body upside down and approached a contestant with his head.
“Ah! One of the semifinalists has already been selected!” the starfish emcee announced. “Who is the first lady who will claim a Holy Orb of Macris?!”
Beneath the Holy Fish’s head was a dancing and singing merfolk lady with orange hair. Everyone focused on her. Well, we did go all out. Plus, I think she’s got talent in her own right. Allen was relieved to see that Rosalina was the first to be selected, and upon realizing that it was thanks to his monetary contributions, he could not help but flash a proud smirk, despite Pelomas’s danger flashing in the corner of his mind. When all was said and done, he had spent nearly two hundred thousand gold to give her a full makeover, outfit and accessories included.
Every woman in this contest had skills and Talents of her own. What that meant was that the effects of their skills were also an integral part of the contest. Allen, equipped with his grimoire, had quickly discovered that those skills relied heavily on stats, which was why he had bought beautiful, stat-boosting accessories for Rosalina to wear.
“She’s amazing. Heh heh...” Macris chuckled. Still on his back, he slowly closed his right eye, and something glimmered and fell from it.
“Th-This must be the first one!” the emcee shouted, his movements becoming comical and exaggerated in his excitement.
A glittering item slowly descended in front of Rosalina. She looked shocked for a moment, but she continued her dance while opening an intricately designed magic bag that hung at her waist. She was careful not to directly touch the item, as a Tear of the Holy Fish Macris was now in her grasp.
Once Macris had bestowed her with his Tear, he once again circled the stage and flipped over when he saw another woman who suited his fancy. All the while, the guests showered Rosalina with bubbles from all sides. Must be like a round of applause or a show of respect, the merfolk way. Rosalina bowed with gratitude as she received the celebratory bubbles, then showed off a dazzling dance move.
The other four ladies bestowed with Tears of Macris received their own celebrations as well, prompting the end of the first round.
“And that concludes round one!” the starfish emcee yelled. “I’d like to thank each and every participant today! After a short intermission, we will begin round two!”
Perhaps he had done some practicing as well, because the starfish emcee twirled on the spot and pointed up into the air proudly, flashing a cool pose. Kinda reminds me of Meruru... That in turn made Allen recall his friend Pelomas, and he began to panic once more. As the contestants all left the stage, Rosalina swam up to the Summoner.
“Alec! As promised, here’s your Tear!” she exclaimed. “Lord Macris was much different than I thought!”
She handed Allen the bag with the Tear, but he could only give a half-hearted response since he was doing his best to suppress his panic.
“Th-Thanks,” he muttered.
“Hmm? What is it? You don’t seem too happy,” Rosalina said. “Something wrong?”
“No, I’m fine.”
If Pelomas could not be found, the effects of Mimic would wear off within the hour, and despite his high Endurance, he would be squashed flat by the water pressure. But Allen wanted Rosalina to head to the second round without any unnecessary worries, not to rain on her parade. He tried his best to feign composure and accepted the magic bag. If I process the Tear, can I turn it into a bracelet? Technically speaking, Tears of Macris and a bracelet with the Holy Orb of Macris were two separate items. The former was the crystallization of Holy Fish Macris’s tears, and the latter required an artisan from a magic shop to refine that tear and turn it into a bracelet.
However, both were called Holy Orbs, and thus, they made the perfect present for a lady. As Allen pondered the difference between a Tear and a Holy Orb, he opened his grimoire and tossed the Tear inside, magic bag and all. Just then, he spotted a notification that he had never seen before, and he gasped with surprise.
“Huh?” What the...
“What? You’ve been acting weird,” Rosalina chided. “Aren’t you happy that I became a semifinalist?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing,” Allen replied. He did not even turn her way, instead continuing to stare at his grimoire.
When I stored the Holy Orb, it gave me the option to convert it to points. And Macris’s Holy Orb is a Fish type? 15 points, huh? I see... Hmm... Allen, who had stumbled upon a new component of this world, began muttering to himself as he analyzed this message. Meanwhile, Rosalina walked off, claiming that she had to prepare for the second round. Allen did not seem to pay any attention to her; his mind was filled with the newly discovered point system.
Observation 1: Based on the type of Holy Orb I obtain, I receive different amounts of Holy Orb Points
Observation 2: The 15 points I gained from the Fish-type Holy Orb is equal to the number of magic stones I need to Create Fish-type Summons
Points Gained by Type Based on Observations 1 and 2
Beast and Insect: 1 point
Bird: 3 points
Grass: 5 points
Stone: 9 points
Fish: 15 points
Spirit: 19 points
Dragon: 29 points
All right. Since Krena’s got the Holy Orb of Rubanka, a Beast-type orb, if I throw it into my grimoire’s Storage and get 1 point, my predictions are correct. But I’ll think about stuff like that after I find Pelomas. Allen’s party possessed two Holy Orb bracelets: one from the Crevelle royal family, the Holy Orb of Macris, and another stolen from Bask, the Holy Orb of Rubanka. Had he tossed them both into Storage before, he figured that he would have learned more about this Holy Point system. However, the effects of the bracelets were so good that he had immediately handed them over to his friends. Not once had he placed them in Storage.
Allen stopped his hypothetical testing when a small magic ship approached the guest stands. A knight hastily swam out and approached Ignomasu. Allen then used Sharing—his Bird G was still under Cecil’s clothes and she was sitting near Princess Rapsonil—so that he could eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Please pardon the intrusion, Emperor Ignomasu, but I’ve got an urgent report!” the knight said. Before he could give it, however, he was interrupted by Chancellor Ajiray.
“What the?!” he roared. “You! Do you know that we’re in the midst of a very important ceremony?!”
“Chancellor Ajiray, don’t cause a scene. The other guests are starting to look this way,” Ignomasu said, doing his best to remain calm. He then turned to the knight. “Well? Spit it out. Tell me what the issue is.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” the knight replied. “A horde of monsters is headed here with incredible speed.”
“What?!” Ignomasu cried, clearly shocked.
“How big is this horde? And when will it reach us?!” Ajiray asked.
“According to our garrison in Purorée, it’s an army of around a hundred thousand monsters, some Rank A!” the knight reported. “They suddenly appeared on the outskirts of the town around half an hour ago! Around fifteen minutes ago, the enemy vanguards broke through the town. At this pace, we suspect that they’ll arrive at the imperial capital within an hour!”
I didn’t think they’d try to attack the capital directly. Every town and city should have its own alert and communication systems, but we only get an hour’s notice? That’s pretty abrupt. Did the Demon Lord Army avoid all the major cities? Ever since Allen had learned that Shinorom was a demon who worked under the Demon Lord Army, he had suspected that they would try something, but he never expected them to raid the imperial capital.
“Where is Purorée?” Allen whispered through Bird G, which was being hidden by Cecil, who sat a short distance away.
“Due north of the capital, a hundred kilometers away,” Princess Rapsonil replied. “What shall we do? How can monsters appear during this special event?”
Allen Summoned a Bird E and activated its Awakened Ability, Farsight, which allowed him to see up to a hundred kilometers away. Even so, he could not spot an army of monsters headed their way. If this horde has a hundred thousand monsters, including Rank As, it should be massive, but even with Hawkins, I can’t find anything like that. Looks like we should make the first move. Deciding that this was an emergency, he Summoned a four-meter-long shark fifty meters above the contest venue to ensure that he would not cause a fuss. He also Summoned two Bird Es and two Bird As, hid them inside Finny’s mouth, and had it head north.
Allen even considered calling his army over to the north end of Patlanta, and had his Bird A head to the front lines. He wished to create a nest as far away from the capital as possible, which would make it possible to use Bird A’s Awakened Ability, Homing Instinct. Even if the Demon Lord Army’s monsters fled, he could intercept them before they reached Patlanta, as he wished to keep the battlefield as far away from the city as possible.
The night before, the Allen Army troops had received orders from Allen, and they were ready to head to battle whenever needed. Can I do this? No... I don’t know yet. When Allen had fought seven million Demon Lord Army monsters in Rohzenheim, most of them had been Rank B, and of the hundred Rank As, he had faced only one of them. Furthermore, the battle had raged on for nearly two months, and he had almost defeated them all. After the war, Allen had strengthened his party, and it had taken only a day for him to defeat ten thousand Rank A monsters in one of the Rank S dungeon’s death zones. Now that he had formed an army of his own and had his own trained forces, matters were different. Everyone in the Allen Army had raised their levels in the Rank S and class promotion dungeons, and they had also trained together as a group, but they had never actually been in a battle. War was different from practice sessions, and Allen presumed that this would be quite a difficult battle.
“Wh-What should we do, Your Majesty?” Ajiray asked nervously.
“Hmph. Lord Macris is here, and yet these reckless monsters dare to attack Patlanta?” Ignomasu replied. “But we have no need for Lord Macris’s assistance here. Chancellor Ajiray, contact all the generals. Dispatch the First Imperial Army, and station the Second Imperial Army at all four corners of the city. We will bolster our capital’s defenses.”
“Yes, sire!”
“Use the magic tools to sound the alarm to everyone in the imperial capital. This is an emergency. We must evacuate the residents at once.”
“But...what about the Songstress Contest, Your Majesty?”
Ignomasu thought pensively for a while as he watched Holy Fish Macris swim around the stage, waiting for the second round to start.
“We’ve got no other choice,” the emperor muttered. “I understand our insolence toward Lord Macris, but we must halt the contest. We need to prioritize defeating the enemies and protecting the imperial capital. What are you lot doing? Go on! Make haste! I’ll head out too! Hand me my spear!”
A nearby knight handed Ignomasu his trident. Just then, Holy Fish Macris slowly approached the emperor.
“What’s wrong?” Macris asked. “Are we not starting the second round?”
Ignomasu gallantly looked up at the Holy Fish and said, “Lord Macris, monsters are headed toward our city. I’m terribly sorry, but I believe we must cancel our Songstress Contest this year.”
“Monsters? Where from?”
“From the north, my lord,” Ajiray reported. “Around a hundred thousand, all told.”
Macris twirled vertically in the water and stared at the region to the north. The cheery emcee tried to calm the confused crowd.
“Everyone! I ask that you all remain calm!” he shouted through the speakers. “No need to fret! There is nothing to be concerned about yet! Please stay in your seats!”
Hmm... That starfish guy’s acting kinda weird... Just as Allen came to realize that the emcee was shady, Chancellor Ajiray and his knights swam up to the merfolk.
“Emcee! Hand me that magic tool!” the chancellor ordered. “No, you can just give the order. This is an emergency! Tell the crowd!”
Ajiray reached out to grab the voice amplification magic tool from the emcee’s hands, but before he could take it, the starfish merfolk tossed it behind him.
“What?! What are you doing?!” Ajiray demanded.
“Oh, come on. Can’t you tell?” the emcee replied. “I’m gonna stop what you’re trying to do. After all, there are so many people here to watch the Songstress Contest! What better time is there to let loose and slaughter the masses?! This is the perfect opportunity to provide the blood and flesh we need to resurrect the Daemon God!”
A moment later, a mysterious glow appeared behind the emcee, forming a magic circle. Three shadows leaped out from it. One of them swung the greatsword they wielded, beheading the baffled Chancellor Ajiray in one slash. Shunk!
“Aaaaahhh!” a lady cried.
Blood did not spurt out like a geyser, however. Because they were underwater, it slowly pooled up, dying the area red. One of the contestants screamed until she began foaming at the mouth, then fainted. Everyone turned toward the commotion and saw Ajiray’s corpse, as well as the emcee, who was surrounded by three menacing shadows.
Chapter 5: The Demon Lord Army’s Assault
A ripple of panic ran through the crowd. Everyone began screaming and running for their lives, pushing others aside to escape.
“Ah, jeez,” the starfish emcee sighed as he gazed at the panicking masses. “Look at the mess you’ve made. Good grief, don’t you know anything about timing? If you want to surprise them, you have to wait for the perfect opportunity to do so.”
A burly man with a deep crimson body and a dark band wrapped around him grinned menacingly, his towering stature intimidating all those who saw him.
“Shut up. You think I care about shit like that?” he snarled. The greatsword on his back was no longer tainted with Ajiray’s blood.
“Sir Kyubel, you take your theatrics a touch too far,” a massive beetle with a metallic luster said as it floated near the crimson man. “We’ve been ready for a while now, but you chose to draw this out for so long.”
“Oh? Did I just hear you thank me?” the crimson man asked with a smirk. “That’s a first.”
“You imagined it.”
Another entity, this one with two voices, two heads, and two sets of limbs, joined the fray. “Strategist Kyubel, if blood and souls are what we require, shall we kill them all?”
Allen recognized all three of them before. They had defeated the Insect As he had deployed to the northern region of the Central Continent and wiped out his Summons.
“Yeah. The Demon Lord said that we must accomplish our mission,” the emcee replied. “We aren’t allowed to make any mistakes.”
Smoke rose from his body, and with a poof, the emcee vanished, a jester having taken his place. It was clear as day—the strategist of the Demon Lord Army, Greater Demonic Deity Kyubel, had appeared for the world to see. That emcee was Kyubel in disguise? That must mean they’re the ones controlling the horde of monsters headed for the capital. I guess the chancellor wasn’t an enemy. But there isn’t much time before the Demon Lord Army’s main forces reach the imperial capital.
Allen had assumed that the Demon Lord Army would arrive soon enough, but this was far sooner than he had anticipated. But thank god I teleported my army to Hardcore User Island and had them prepare for battle. Even when he compared it to places from his previous life, Allen was still impressed by the size of the imperial capital. In this world, though, stats were all that mattered. The Demon Lord Army’s troops were hundreds, maybe even thousands of times more agile than the average person.
