Labyrinth Expedition #11

[ Boss Wave / Stampede: 00:00:48:38 ]

“The clock is running out–” Akiro huffed, running through the overflowing crowd. “We need to stage a defense! Quickly! To the walls!” He called out loudly, to the surrounding combatants capable of fighting.

“H-He’s right! To the walls!” The rampaging crowd stilled slowly, their composure returning to them. Soon the chaos and noise slowly died down, the sounds filtering to citizens standing out of the way and fighters marching to the defenses in an orderly flow.

“I need to find the others!” Akiro scanned the surroundings, his eyes straining and failing. He turned to the window in front of him. “Damn it! My vision is not as sharp as it used to be! Damn it!”

[ Due to the Eclipse, the curse of the Sun will not be effective, but neither will the blessing of the moon activate. ] [ You remain weakened until the artificial Eclipse end. ] [ You cannot regenerate to your fullest state. ]

“Oh fuck yourself,” the assassin grit, “At least my abilities are back to normal, or as normal as they can get. It’s like my body is in a constant state of repair and destruction. Can I fight effectively like this?”

The assassin ran, even if his legs wanted to scream, and he pushed through his limits and the surrounding populace. Eventually, his vision caught sight of his friend’s blonde hair.

“Akiro! Over here!” Ayama called, waving his sword as the Assassin came closer.

Akiro hunched over his hands on his knees as he gasped for air. “...I-Is this everybody?” he asked, looking to Ayama and Takumi, his two slaves by his side. “Did you hear anything from Kaiser? Olivia? Or Sebastian-sensei?”

“No,” Takumi shook his head, his glasses needing correction on his nose, “Many of the soldiers and adventurers are already by the walls, our classmates are evacuating the populace back to their homes.”

“Okay, what should we do now?” Akiro recovered, looking at the countdown in the sky, half of the hour was already gone. “Should we fight or secure the civilians?”

[ Boss Wave / Stampede: 00:00:28:48 ]

“It doesn't matter now, we don’t have time to delegate what to do.” Akiro grit at the dwindling time, the digits slowly getting smaller. He turned to the wall in the distance and stepped forward. “We need to act quickly–”

“No,” Ayama interjected, “You can’t.”

Akiro raised an eyebrow, frowning as he did so, “What do you mean no?” He asked incredulously, and Ayama strengthened the hand on his shoulder.

His friend only shook his head, “Look, this isn’t just a handful of monsters– this is a whole army. I cannot keep looking after you at that scale. You can’t risk it.”

“I can fight!–”

“Not in that state!” Ayama yelled, his tone making Takumi and his two escorts flinch. It was effective in squashing down any further protests from the latter. “Sorry– it’s just, it’s too risky. We don’t know what’s wrong with your curse. It could worsen at any moment! I– We can’t risk it.”

Takumi looked at Akiro, his gaze falling to his feet. “I understand,” he said.

With that, the discussion ended. Ayama released his hand and turned away, “Thank you.” he appreciated the compliance, but he stopped after Akiro spoke.

“Don’t die.”

Ayama smiled, tightening his grip on the large shield he carried, “Obviously.”

“I’m sorry, “Akiro watched Ayama leave, Takumi following after him just a step behind. “But you didn’t tell me not to help in any way I can. After all, I’m still able to support you all from behind.”

Akiro looked back, to the centerpiece. it towered in the air, holding a clock and bell. “Status.” He said, raising the storage ring on his finger and taking out the rope.

[ Name: Akiro Hiroto / Age 18 / Job: Assassin / Sub Job: Gunman ] [ Title: Grim Reaper’s Emissary ] [ Lvl 87 ] [ ATK: 487 + 68 / STR: 167 / DEX: 392 + 42 / SPD: 317 + 25 / DEF: 47 + 102 / INT: 189 / MANA: 885 ]

[ Active Skill: ‘Gunman's Manual / EX’ ] [ Active Skill: ‘Appraisal / A’ ] [ Active Skill: ‘Stealth / D’ ] [ Passive Skill: ‘Weapon Master / D’ ] [ Active Skill: ‘Sprint / F’ ] [ Passive Skill: ‘Radar / E’ ] [ Active Skill: ‘Disguise / S’ ] [ Attack Skill: ‘Square Cut / F’ ] [ Passive Skill: ‘Language comprehension / F’ ] [ Passive Skill; ‘Swordsmanship / C’ ] [ Weapon Art: Moonlight-Execution Style / E (Incomplete Inheritance) ] [ Ultimate Skill: Reaper’s Culling / S ]

“Something else I’ve learned is that the labels beside my skills do not explain its value accurately.” Akiro hummed, slowly knotting the rope he had summoned, “[ Square Cut ] is one of my more powerful skills, despite being ‘F’. I originally thought that it was just a basic move, but that was just the face value of it when compared to others.”

“Just because it’s labeled an F-rank skill, I can still cleave large monsters into cubes, after all, I can use any weapon and the skill would still activate.” The assassin continued to run, his fingers continuing to work like they had a mind of their own, “In short, the skill’s label doesn't necessarily mean that it’s worth less compared to other higher-ranked skills.”

Akiro coiled the sash around and over his shoulder, taking out poison vials he had prepared beforehand. He attached the neck of the bottles, making sure to put the rope securely around them, onto the rope through knots and loops.

"It just means that it has more room to grow compared to others. So does that mean that S-ranked skills have reached the pinnacle of their abilities?” He thought, secured the potions one last time, before drawing his sickle-daggers and scaling the tower.

“No, there’s always room for improvement– no matter how little” Akiro reached the perch of the tower, scaling it and reaching the bell. Using more rope, he tied it around his waist, through the belt loops of his trousers.

“[ Gunman’s Manual ]” The book appeared in Akiro’s hand, much larger and thicker than it last was before, almost to the size of a small shield. “[ Gunman’s Manual ] Chapter 5—”

[ Boss Wave / Stampede: 00:00:1:00 ]

“Hmm…” Ayama squinted, looking in the distance as far as he could. Clouds of dust started to form, coming closer, creating the illusion of the clouds growing in size. “They’re coming.”

The Hero donned his helmet, eyeing the attacking multitude through the slits of his helmet. Monsters of all kinds swarmed in crowds, the diversity among them quite drastic when comparing their sizes.

Unsightly ogres with their deformed faces and elongated limbs, were accompanied by flabby orcs, weapons made from bones, trees or stone in their hands. Kobolds and Goblins lead the charge, standing in front of the taller, much slower monsters, while riding on wolves baring teeth, salivating with disease.

Not only were normal, commonly-seen monsters running mindlessly towards the wall, but their superior counterparts were with them. Warrior monsters of the incoming races were following behind the initial group, almost as if the spearhead were being used to tire out the force about to meet them.

“These guys–” Ayama frowned, “It’s exactly like a game. Although they’re unintelligent monsters, being placed in formations like this– especially with their numerical advantage– would almost be a guaranteed victory. Has this happened before?”

The question Ayama thought was answered unintentionally by the adventurer whimpering beside him. To be correct, his arms were shakily grasping the locket around his neck. Even if they were atop the walls, the melee combatants would be forced to go down to the ground, to fend the monsters off. Such an obvious maneuver will result in casualties, whether they want it or not.

And it did not help that as the countdown lowered down to zero, the anxiety was building within the soldiers.

[ Boss Wave / Stampede: 00:00:0:39]

“This is it.” Ayama could hear the soldier mutter, and he turned to him, his curiosity finally getting the best of him. The man opened the locket, a picture of a woman and child in his arms. “Miko…I’m sorry. Please take care of Tom-Tom for me.”

Ayama recognized the woman in the picture, the scene tugging on his heartstrings. Ayama gulped down on his spit, looking around the soldiers who began to steel themselves. He had thought of it before and spoke about understanding it, but even as a stranger from another world, he can’t help but finally realize that fact again.

“They have lives too.” Ayama hummed, “Another world or not, we don’t have any prior attachment tying us down–” but the face of Otome flashed in his mind, making Ayama smile. “But that does not allow us to forsake the people who do.”

Ayama drew his two-handed sword, raising it high in the air, the recently restored edge shining red from the bloody sky. “Soldiers! Adventurers!” He called their attention, looking up to the counter in the sky.

[ Boss Wave / Stampede: 00:00:0:19]

“Soldiers! Adventurers! Rally behind me!” Ayama bellowed with strength being poured into his lungs and diaphragm. “Join forces! Don't overwhelm them with your numbers! Fight together!”

“Yeah! We can do this!”

“Follow the Hero’s lead!”

“Hurrahhh!”

[ Passive Skill: [ Charismatic Leadership ] successfully influenced the wayward warriors. ] [They will now follow your command for the duration of the Battle. ] [ Passive Skill: [ Unbending Will ] has calmed your mind. ] [ You will temporarily not feel fear. ]

[ Boss Wave / Stampede: 00:00:0:01]

The attention of much of the crowd was drawn to Ayama, his voice calling to them, the voice calming their fears and steadying their hearts. The enemy themselves were slowed down in distraction of him, and the whole battle focused on the center, a blonde young man not older than eighteen.

His charisma was almost tangible, light practically bending behind him— he practically shone amidst their darkness. He jumped atop the edge of the wall's battlement, a brilliant, German longsword in hand.

“Together, we can win! Follow my lead! Protect your families! Your children! Do not fall today! Yearn for tomorrow!”

“For tomorrow!”
“For our Children!”
“For victory!”

In that instant, their worries were washed away like dirt under a cold stream, and their might and resolve hardened like steel. Soldiers and Adventurers regained their sanity, banding together in one cohesive unit.

[ Boss Wave / Stampede: 00:00:00:00] [The battle has begun!]

The countdown ran out, the screams, the cries, the war-drums of the approaching monsters well within range; and before the soldiers could speak more about the speech the hero had given, he jumped from the wall, high in the air– feather wings of light momentarily flashing from his back.

Shiiinnng!

His raised sword became the source of a brilliant, but painless light for the humans. His reach from the castle walls was far, just enough to reach three meters from the front most line of the spearhead force. The light on the hilt burned brightly, and as Ayama waved it in the air, pulling back.

The hero slammed his left foot on the ground, cracking the earth, the surface caving down slightly underneath his foot. Both his hands grasped the sword tightly, his body swinging the weapon with everything it had.

“Ultimate Skill: “Let there be Light”—[ Yehi ]”