[726] Face Off (3)
* * *
Labyrinth Andre.
"Hah—hah!"
Kido hunched in a cramped corridor as twisted as Andre's maze, drawing ragged breaths.
'Still not there yet?'
It had already been six days since Shirone activated the Wheel of the Void.
"He can't be dead, right?"
One Shirone had to remain here to keep the Spirit Zone active, but since the fighting began there had been no sign of him.
"Over there! Pursue them!"
At the call of the Maga Thief Gang, Kido limped deeper into the maze.
Their numbers, once about forty, had dwindled to seven, but they couldn't possibly hold the Andre entrance.
'Damn it! There were too many of them!'
With both the headcount and overall combat power against him, the only small consolation was...
'At least there's a lot of food.'
Kido could eat human flesh.
"This'll wear out eventually."
He tore the arm off a corpse; with a wet rip, the muscle slid away.
Of course the Maga Thief Gang would ferry supplies from outside Andre, but for Kido—who fed on flesh—the bodies of strong foes were vital.
'Skima technique—Outer Gravity.'
A new memory seeped into his mind.
'So that's how it withstood the earthbound spirit. Annoying skill.'
But now Kido could use Skima himself.
'Skima—learned it by eating flesh.'
Even the same experience conjured different images depending on qualia, so memory alone wouldn't unlock a Skima.
'Like a textbook?'
Yet when you combined the memories of dozens of top Marauder thieves, it changed things. No matter how their views differed, there had to be a common denominator.
"This ends here."
The final clash would decide it—of that the Maga Thief Gang must be aware.
Limping toward Andre's entrance, Kido found them taking their last supper.
All they had were crumbs scavenged from outside, but it would be enough for one last push.
"…Have you made up your minds?"
The six remaining underlings bristled with killing intent as the vice-captain rose, sword in hand.
"This will settle it."
Kido's techniques had evolved astonishingly fast as their numbers fell from forty to seven.
'I don't know why, but that goblin absorbs others' experiences.'
Otherwise, why would his skill spike every time a member died?
'If I'd realized that sooner...'
He'd been wrong to think they'd exhaust themselves just by being trapped and worn down. It was past thinking now. If the seven failed to kill him in a full assault, the Maga Thief Gang would be wiped out.
As Kido accepted the resolution of mutual death, a boom sounded from beyond Andre.
'Rian.'
He was still fighting that woman.
'It must be rough...'
Unlike Kido, who could hide in the maze, Rian hadn't slept or eaten for six days.
'Wait a little longer. I'll come.'
Kido drew his spear. The vice-captain slanted his sword and advanced.
"Where's the mage?"
They hadn't found Shirone either.
"I don't know. Does it matter? Whether you die or I die, that's all that's left."
"True."
The vice-captain leveled his sword.
"Though you are a goblin, I salute the skill that drove the Maga Thief Gang this far."
"Hah!"
Kido snorted.
"That's why I don't like you."
He stepped aside along the spinning spear and in an instant sealed off Andre's entrance.
'He's gotten stronger.'
At once, Kido drew out and used every skill the seven Maga Thief Gang members possessed and surged upward.
"Don't go spouting about salutes and such—!"
As Kido rolled and swung his spear, the earthbound spirit's avatar technique flared around him.
"Stab at once! Expect no mercy!"
Seven of them fell like lightning onto Kido's terrifying spin; a neck was severed instantly.
"Kill it! Keep attacking!"
With his left hand braced on the ground, Kido crouched, whirled his spear with his right, and leapt.
"Relativity! Quantum theory!"
The vice-captain's downward cut cleaved the center of the double-bladed spear clean through.
"The cosmos! The gods!"
Kido grabbed the two broken halves with both hands and twisted his torso; blood spouted along his shoulder.
"Now! Jam it in—no matter what!"
Kido shouted as the Maga Thief Gang charged in formation, gripping the two halves.
"Arrogant mortals!"
As the earthbound spirit's avatar reached its peak, the floor rose in waves of illusion and swallowed them.
"Dodge! If you avoid this, we win!"
Hovering as if falling, Kido rotated his shoulders and rolled across the ground.
"You live with both feet rooted to the earth...!"
Six blades streaked toward him like flashes.
"Why do you only stare at the sky!"
Two rotating spears swept like windmills through the flashes.
"…"
At the exact point where the positions of the Maga Thief Gang and Kido had inverted, every movement froze.
"Salute, was it?"
"Ugh!"
Starting with the vice-captain's chest splitting open, the gang coughed blood and collapsed.
"To losing someone precious."
Kido slumped toward Andre's entrance and let the two-parted spear fall to the ground.
"Isn't mourning the dead enough...?"
That was the love Kido finally understood.
'I have to go.'
He pushed strength into his fallen arms, grabbed the spear, and stepped out of Andre's entrance.
The landscape under the sixth sun since the battle began was grisly and dreadful.
'Is this really...'
A sight born of two people fighting with their bodies?
'Hand-to-hand. It's like being bombarded.'
No survivors remained among the scattered tourist corpses; buildings and ground lay scorched and ruined.
'Rian, wait a little longer.'
Hearing a distant blast, Kido limped out of Andre's entrance—then, as blood ran down his forehead and blurred his vision, he collapsed to the ground without even bending his knees.
'Shirone.'
Kido, who had single-handedly annihilated the Maga Thief Gang, had reached his physical limit.
'You must survive—'
His consciousness slipped into darkness.
* * *
Labyrinth Andre — World No. 1583.
When Shirone proposed laying all cards on the table, the four White participants stared blankly.
"Lay all the cards out?"
Marco knew a show of force was useless in front of a mage, but he couldn't just comply.
"What kind of ridiculous threat is this? Weapon cards are like life in a Law duel."
"I'll accept the proposal."
Surprisingly, Ballard—the one who'd shown Shirone the most hostility—reluctantly produced a card from his cloak.
A guard's instincts were different from others', and it proved effective.
"I—I will also accept."
When Breeze and Atria followed and laid down their cards, Marco ground his teeth.
"…This will leave bad blood. Will we even be able to show our faces in White together after this?"
"That's what the vote is for."
Properly countered, Marco bowed and laid out all his cards.
"Nine in total."
Shirone frowned with disappointment as he examined the nine cards Breeze had handed over.
"What's wrong? There's even an S-rank. It's precious enough to trade for anything."
Ballard revealed the card he'd kept to the end: the face of a man weeping blood.
Jeokru (Function).
Description: When you lose someone precious, you see nothing.
Effect: All job stats increase tenfold.
Even to Shirone it was an incredible effect.
'Kai...'
If Kai had Jeokru, he could have deceived enemies with a magician's special skill.
"This is useless."
Shirone cut to the chase.
"The card I'm looking for is Resuscitation. Has anyone used it, or heard someone has it?"
"Resuscitation? That's..."
Breeze fell into thought.
"You want to save someone? Maybe Black?"
"It's someone who helped me. I caused their death. I need to get Resuscitation somehow."
Ballard muttered.
"Do you think wanting it is enough? If it isn't shuffled into the harmony of the Law, it's gone. If you won't use it, trade Jeokru to me—"
Breeze cut him off.
"It's not completely impossible."
"What method?"
"First: if Resuscitation is shuffled in. If Black has it, you can exchange Jeokru for it. Tenfold base stats are stellar, but if it's a job with a special ability, it's indispensable."
Even for the magician job alone, ten cards could become magic cards.
"Second: if it's not shuffled, the odds are low, but you can use a wasted-space card I had."
"Wasted space?"
Shirone, finding no particularly important card among the nine, flipped them again.
Wasted Space (Consumable).
Description: Sometimes it's fine to leave a drawer empty.
Effect: By discarding one B-rank or higher card, you can obtain a Lucky Slot.
"Lucky Slot? What kind of card is that?"
"A low chance to give an S-rank card. Marco has Double Action; using it together raises the odds."
Double Action (Consumable).
Description: If your judgment is quick, chances to recover are plenty.
Effect: Double the effect of B-rank or lower cards.
"If you use Double Action and Wasted Space together, you can get two Lucky Slot cards."
"Right. With First Aid you can get up to three, but none of us have that."
First Aid grants one retry when consuming a card.
"To trigger Wasted Space you must discard one B-rank or higher card. Influenza or Wild Horse would be suitable."
"Then let's use this."
Shirone drew a card.
Influenza (Function).
Description: Be careful. It can sometimes be fatal.
Effect: On activation, reduces the target's physical ability by 10 percent. 3 percent chance to reduce by 90 percent.
Special: One target, one-time only.
"Activate."
Wasted Space, Double Action, and Influenza pulsed light together and transformed into new cards.
'This is Lucky Slot.'
Shirone peered at the two Lucky Slot cards that had duplicated perfectly.
Lucky Slot (Consumable).
Description: Delay the match for a moment.
Effect: 100 percent chance to obtain a B-rank or higher card.
1 percent chance to obtain an S-rank card.
"Activate."
Shirone used one immediately; all four participants stood and checked the card.
"What is it? What came out?"
The card showed armored skeletons trudging through a mud field.
Arcane Returned Soldier (Summon).
Description: Remnants who survived hellish battles. Morale is low and wounded, but their combat power is formidable.
Effect: Summon ten Arcane Returned Soldiers.
Marco snorted.
"Tch. Figures. The most useless B-rank. Slow, only good for defense."
With one Lucky Slot left, Breeze asked, "What will you do? Save it and use it when you get a card with First Aid or duplication?"
"No, it's fine. I'll spin until it comes out."
"What nonsense? For a mere one percent—"
"Activate."
When the last Lucky Slot flared, the participants fell silent.
'Come on! Come on!'
As the glossy card settled on B-rank, Shirone's eyes snapped wide.
'Sibulsangpokmae!'