I didn’t make it in time…
I could see the direction to proceed.
Though I wanted to go there immediately, there were a few things I needed to prepare.
The Magician’s Guild’s guild event was forcibly interrupted.
The coercive power of game events is strong.
I believe the ritual can be performed even if other conditions aren’t met, as long as I go to the magic circle in the Tower of Sorcery and use the Necronomicon.
However, I want to fulfill as many conditions as possible to increase the success rate.
There are three things required for the ritual:
Mithril, the Necronomicon, and the magic circle.
“I believe the Mithril that Iasky gathered for the ritual was destroyed.
What do you plan to do about that?”
Common sense dictates that gathering a large amount of Mithril right now would be impossible.
In the game era, that would certainly have been true.
However…
“I have something in mind regarding that.
May I borrow this facility for a moment?”
This world is a world where anything goes, with even greater freedom than Nekoneko.
And it is the Nekoneko players who shine in such times.
“I’m speechless. You can accomplish anything, can’t you?”
“Saying ‘anything’ is a bit of an overstatement.”
However, I can certainly say that my plan worked out well this time.
“Mmm. From my senses, it’s a bit hard to accept that a lump of Mithril came from that carving knife.”
As Maki said, pouting that she couldn’t comprehend it, the item I used this time was a carving knife.
This carving knife, discovered during the mansion exploration, possesses the ‘Set’ skill, which can create materials of the same type.
However, the game didn’t originally have a Mithril carving knife, so I couldn’t create Mithril with this skill.
But in this world, any item classified as a weapon can be synthesized using the weapon synthesizer.
Then, the rest is simple.
All I had to do was mix the Mithril sword I obtained from the Magician’s Guild incident with this carving knife.
It cost a lot to create Mithril with the Set skill, possibly because the summoned material was expensive, but it’s not a significant burden for me now.
“Next is the Necronomicon. … Layla.”
When I turned my gaze to Layla, who was holding the Necronomicon, she shook her head with a stern expression.
“I… I want to go with Soma!”
Layla strongly asserted, her voice trembling.
I appreciate her feelings, but it’s not possible.
“I’m sorry, Layla, but I can’t take you.
In the worst-case scenario, we might have to fight a Fragment of the Evil God or escape.
So this time, it’ll just be Mitsuki and me.”
“N-no!”
Layla cried out in despair at my declaration.
“Truthfully, I want to go alone.
But I don’t know how to open the hidden door in the tower.”
Mitsuki, who went to rescue me with Ringo, is the only one here who knows.
And if I were to take someone, Mitsuki would be the only logical choice, both in terms of ability and skill.
It’s a rational decision.
But Layla wasn’t the only one who couldn’t accept my words.
“Soma, me too…!”
“No!”
Maki also volunteered, following Layla, but I immediately rejected her offer.
“Why?! I’m not as strong as Mitsuki-san, but I’m strong too!
I won’t be a burden, I promise…”
“Even so. …Please, Maki.
I can’t afford to lose you, of all people.”
“That’s unfair. Such a reason…”
Maki bit her lip in frustration and looked away as I bowed my head.
“…Layla. Please look after Maki.”
“Soma… Yes.”
Though her heart must have been heavy, Layla nodded.
“…And also.”
After confirming that Maki wasn’t looking, I quietly handed Layla a piece of paper.
“This is a paper with a way to return to our original world.
If I don’t come back here, give this to Maki.”
“Soma!”
I know I’m asking a cruel thing.
But in the unlikely event something happens, it’s necessary.
“…Please.”
When I said it again, Layla looked up at me with teary eyes and said,
“I’ll only hold onto it.”
Reluctantly, she accepted the paper.
In exchange, she pressed the Necronomicon into my hands.
“Soma. You must return to me alive, no matter what.
…No. You don’t have to return. Just, whatever you do, don’t die.”
“I’ll do my best to be able to return…”
After barely managing to say that, I took the Necronomicon.
I’m reminded of how I betrayed Layla like this and was truly going to escape, and my chest aches.
Honestly, all my companions are too soft on me.
“Then…”
In any case, the preparations should be complete now.
As I nodded to Mitsuki and was about to depart,
“–I’m going too.”
It was an unexpected person who stopped me.
“Sahzan? But you are…”
Frankly speaking, Sahzan is even weaker than Layla.
Furthermore, the core of the Fragment of the Evil God was supposed to have an attribute nullification property.
There’s no reason to bring Sahzan along in a confrontation with the Evil God.
“I have knowledge of the magic circle. Can you all recreate the magic circle by yourselves?”
“About that…”
Because King Richter repaired it, the magic circle’s magic is now supposed to converge at the Cathedral.
So after infiltrating the city, we need to rearrange the Mithril on the rooftops, just like during the Magician’s Guild event.
It should be possible to remove the Mithril from the same area as the house-destroying event, but having Sahzan, who is knowledgeable about magic circle placement, give instructions is certainly appealing.
“But you might die. You have no reason to go…”
“Mitsuki just told me. The Explorer’s Ring doesn’t react to Alex and the others either.”
When I asked with my eyes, Mitsuki nodded slightly.
“Whether they are in the Tower of Sorcery or not, I don’t know.
But even though they’ve left the party, they are… my comrades.
I want to do everything I can.”
“Sahzan…”
I believe that sentiment is noble.
Despite his usual words and actions, I want to respect his companion-minded will when it matters.
As I hesitated,
“Understood.”
Mitsuki, standing next to me, gave her assent.
“Mitsuki!?”
“An adjustment role for the magic circle is necessary. If I carry him, my mobility won’t change much.
However, if the situation becomes difficult to bring you along, I will cut you loose.
Do you have that resolve?”
“…I do! Please, take me with you!”
Sahzan and Mitsuki’s eyes turned to me.
With them both saying that, I couldn’t refuse.
“…Alright. I’m counting on both of you.”
“Yes.”
“Ah!”
Thus, the members who would infiltrate were decided.
Myself, Mitsuki, and Sahzan.
Though it’s a rather mismatched group, we have no choice but to trust each other and move forward.
“U-um. Please take this. Be safe!”
Finally, the clumsy shrine maiden from the dojo gave me mitarashi dango.
“Um, I don’t really understand, but please do your best!”
The clumsy maid also offered her vague words of encouragement as we departed from the dojo.
Given the unclear situation, we couldn’t afford to be leisurely.
After parting ways with Maki, Layla, and the others, we hurried towards the city entrance.
“…Hey. Is there really anyone alive among us?”
Just before stepping into the Foggy City, Sahzan murmured his weakness.
Indeed, it had been over an hour since Ringo tried to contact us through Magical Pocket.
There was no guarantee that Ringo and the others were still safe.
As I was momentarily at a loss for words, it was Mitsuki who responded to Sahzan.
“Objectively speaking, it’s optimistic, but…
Alex, Raiden, and Baccala are, despite their appearances, capable adventurers.
There’s also Spark Hawk, called the Holy Knight by Richter, and Sylvia, who is as strong as me in the Capital City. And my father, who entered ahead of us.
I don’t believe they were defeated easily. I’m sure there are quite a number of people evacuated in the Tower of Sorcery.”
“Right, I guess so.”
Sahzan’s voice carried a hint of relief.
I also felt a little saved by Mitsuki’s words.
“…Let’s go.”
For now, we could only trust and move forward.
I stepped into the Foggy City first, determined not to back down.
“–!”
A indescribable sensation as I crossed the boundary.
I realized I had stepped into a place of no return, but felt no regret.
I quickly looked around, but there was no sign of a Fragment of the Evil God within my sight.
I was also worried about the fog, but it only seemed to be lingering at the edges of the field, and inside, it didn’t affect visibility.
For the moment, I let out a breath.
“…No one’s here, huh.”
As I calmly observed my surroundings, what I felt was the lack of vitality.
The city isn’t as destroyed as I expected.
Upon closer inspection, there are holes about a meter in diameter here and there in the houses.
I’m glad the rooftops, which serve as magic circles, are intact, but thinking about how those holes appeared makes me far from relieved.
“Let’s go.”
Mitsuki, who had silently appeared behind me, prompted softly.
…Right.
This is enemy territory now.
There’s no time for idle chatter.
I nodded in silence and started running towards our first destination.
We moved through the city at full speed and, without incident, tore off the first Mithril roof.
Everything was as per the plan up to that point.
We entered through a gate close to our destination to make navigating to the required locations easier.
We assumed that we wouldn’t encounter a fragment unless we were extremely unlucky.
“There it is!”
We successfully reached the second point as well.
Since the city was deserted anyway, all I had to do was carelessly tear off the Mithril.
“Hyaaaah!!”
With a yell, I ripped off the attached Mithril.
“Sahzan! How is it?!”
“The position is fine! And from what I can see, the impact on the magic circle is less than I expected.
I can’t see everywhere, but I think this will work!”
We received approval from the expert.
Although we haven’t checked the entire city, there might be some damage we missed, but I’ll trust that the coercion of the event will compensate for it.
Now, if we can just make it to the Tower of Sorcery…
“…They’re here.”
Just as I had such a naive thought, Mitsuki, who was carrying Sahzan on her back, spoke with a stiff voice.
I reflexively turned towards the source of the sound.
…And I regretted what I saw.
“Whoa, whoa. You didn’t tell me about this.”
Emerging slowly from behind a building was the Evil God, just as I had seen it in the game’s Hidden Dungeon a sacrificial altar, or in the stone tablet’s video recording.
However, there was one crucial difference from those.
“How can it be larger than the main body of the Evil God in the video recording…?”
It had grown to a colossal size, incomparable to any fragment I had seen.
Beware of projectiles ahead, and there are allies ahead.
Next update tomorrow… or today.
