We sped down the main street from the boss's house to the entrance to the town.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With the gigantization, each of my steps shook the earth and made it sound like we were in a construction zone, but I didn't care what the townspeople thought. My noise was the least of his worries right now.
«(F-Fire...)»
«(Bring water here!)»
They were too busy trying to put out the fires anyway. There wasn't a single person here who cared that a barbarian stomped too hard down his street.
Were they people?
Just as I was thinking again about a thought I had already had several times, a question interrupted me.
«...Is this really good?» versyl asked as she sat in the traditional wizard-only vehicle, Ainar.
«What do you mean?»
She had no idea what she was talking about, but Versyl looked behind her in response. Flames had broken out in the center of the village and the smoke consumed everything.
«Many of the inhabitants of this village are not warriors...».
Ah, she was softer at heart than I thought. He still treated those fish-headed monsters with empathy.
«AND?»
My tone made it clear that the comments were no longer welcome, and Versyl shut her mouth accordingly.
«Um...»
However, for some reason, Missha took over. «Why did you do that, Bjorn...? This is not like you...»
Isn't it like me? It was the second time I had heard that today.
«Yes! I want to know too! What did you see down there that made you do this?»
Ainar joined Missha's interrogation. Even with his low aggressiveness, it seemed like he still had the curiosity of a barbarian.
Human bodies.
That alone technically summed up everything I saw down there. The boss showed me a pile of corpses and explained how he had finished them off in an effort to clear up some of my misunderstandings. To be honest, none of that was really the problem.
However...
«(Since we also hid this from you, I will not ask you to take responsibility for your ally breaking the village rules or for the mistake you made as a result. What do you think?)»
He then proceeded to tell me that he would ignore Amelia's raid and that I would also open Nuiachichi's skull.
Wasn't that a bit suspicious? Hans A, my first night companion, had done something similar after I «slept» during my shift on duty.
«... Fortunately, we didn't have any problems while you were sleeping, so I'll wipe the slate clean».
The lesson I learned that day is one that I still carry in my bones. If someone I didn't know was nice to me, it was because I had something they wanted in return. And there was another lesson I had learned throughout my adventures.
«Because?! Why did you harm Lady Elisa?! What have we done to you?!»
When I hit Elisa, Karui's priestess, in the middle of her innocent clerical act, I realized something else: the best way to deal with suspicious people was to open their heads first and ask questions later.
However, I didn't feel the need to explain all this to my allies, although it wouldn't be too difficult to expose my logic and win them over.
«Please tell us. What have you seen down there to do this?».
«Not much», I replied. As with the boss, all I had to say was this: «I just felt like it».
No evidence or arguments, just that.
Missha murmured, as if to herself: «A feeling, then... was it?».
A feeling, that subconscious calculation that took into account all the experiences you had had.
«A feeling!» Ainar seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded. «Oh, then there's no remedy!».
Erwen smiled satisfied and nodded. «Hits the nail on the head when it comes to things like that, sir. We have survived more than a handful of times specifically thanks to your instincts».
«Well... there's probably a reason you had that hunch. To be honest, I also distrusted the boss a little», Versyl said, also giving his opinion.
Wyatt Hektz and Myul Armin, who ran to our side and listened to us, also gave their opinion. Well, it's not like they've been with me long, but still...
«It's a relief to hear you say that, honestly».
«You are well known for your animal instincts, Baron Yandel.»
They seemed to trust my judgment. After all, most adventurers were willing to excuse most things as long as they turned out well in the end, and we were also a particularly superstitious group.
«Something was wrong here from the beginning.»
«Honestly, this makes me feel so much better. I couldn't sleep a wink because I was very nervous».
«Plus, when you have a feeling like that, it's much worse to ignore it when it could be a bad omen. I mean, what if you're right?».
«Ah... I understand what you mean. Every time something like this happens and you ignore your instinct, things always seem to get even worse.»
It seemed like everyone else had felt something weird about the monsters too.
Still, it wasn't like I had answered Versyl's question expecting everyone to agree with me like this.
«Come on!»
«Damn monsters! Let them all burn!»
For some reason, morale improved in response. They seemed to truly believe it was the right decision, almost as if a single word from me had erased everyone else's doubts... even though I myself was still not completely sure.
«...You are strange», I said without thinking, and it seemed that someone had heard me.
«You're the weird one, Yandel. You convinced everyone with an argument so ridiculous it's not even funny».
That?
That voice...
«Come to think of it, though, you've always been like this. You have talent for it. To make everyone believe that the direction you are taking is the right one...»
«Emily?» When I turned around, Amelia was looking at me from her spot on Auyen's back. «You should have said something if you were awake. When did you wake up?»
«A moment ago.
«How are you? You're OK?»
«I'm fine». Amelia immediately got off Auyen's back and started running on her own two feet. «I think I have the essence of what is happening. We're trying to escape from the village, right?»
«Yeah.»
She sighed. «You made quite a mess while I was sleeping. Update me. What happened?»
Since it wasn't a conversation we could take easy on while having tea, I told him the most important thing.
«The boss showed me what was under the house, but I still thought he was up to something, so I hit him on the head. And as we fled, we set fire to the village. The boss is probably chasing us through the fire».
That was all.
Amelia stared at me for a moment, speechless. «...That's you».
I couldn't help but laugh. It was probably the first time today that someone told me they were acting exactly the same as me.
«Anyway», I said, with a laugh still in my voice, »now it's your turn. What happened to you?
«I tried to go down to the basement, but they ended up catching me and capturing me. They questioned me and that was it».
That was all? I asked for more details just in case, but he didn't give me more information. Not that the additional information would have changed anything about our current situation.
«Sir, we're almost there!»
The real challenge would begin. Like Noark, this village was built underground. The only way in was through the entrance, which was probably sealed by magic or some other ability.
«What do we do now?»
The door was closed, so all we could see in front of us was a solid stone wall. Only the boss could open or close it.
Well, at least officially.
«One step back.»
As I approached the wall with my hammer, our white-collar wizard Versyl asked: «Will that even work?.».
Man, this was why academics weren't cut out for hard work.
«I'll know when I try».
With that, I slammed my hammer against the wall with everything I had.
[You have launched Swing.]
Boom!
The shock wave was enough to lift all the dust from the surroundings. However, the wall seemed completely unharmed.
«...I don't think it worked.»
Yeah, so it wasn't enough. Quite embarrassing for a barbarian.
«Don't worry. I have a way», I assured them.
«Do you have it?»
«Yeah.»
Whether we were talking about magic, skills, or any other fantasy game nonsense, there was nothing in the world that couldn't be knocked down with physical force. And if what you hit refused to break, it was only because you were too weak to do so.
So I started Plan B.
«Erwen!»
It's time to hit even harder.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has summoned the Elemental Ruler of Darkness, Dicloe.]
Bang, bang, bang!
Hundreds of balls of darkness hit the wall. However, the wall remained intact.
Ok, so that wasn't enough either?
It seems like there's no point in using more Hits.
Every time a ball of darkness hit the stone wall, it splintered and cracked a little, but it seemed like there was an impressive restorative ability at play as it was repaired immediately. It seemed like the kind of thing that needed to be hit with a big attack instead of a bunch of small ones.
«Erwen.»
There was no need to say anything else. Once I pronounced his name, light began to gather at Erwen's arrowhead.
Yes, there is no better single shot than Concentrated Fire.
The bad thing was that it would take a while to fully charge it.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
As time passed, the color of the light became more and more intense.
«Yandel.»
«You don't need to say it. I see it too».
From the direction of the burning and smoky town, something was quickly approaching us. At first, it seemed like a small dot on the horizon, but as it grew, it became obvious exactly what - or who - it was.
...So you're not going to be nice and let us go, huh?
Well, it arrived later than I expected, so I wasn't going to complain.
«Prepare for battle!» I roared as I ran to meet him.
Clang!
The moment I lunged forward, shield raised, that «something» that had been charging towards us crashed into me.
Fwoosh!
A cloud of dust erupted on impact, like a bomb exploding.
At that moment, our rangers opened fire: daggers, wind spears, fireballs, arrows, energy blasts, etc. When fired by experienced adventurers, all the projectiles flew straight towards their target. But, unfortunately, none of the attacks hit the target.
Flash.
All the shots disappeared in bursts of light before even hitting his body. It looked quite similar to Nullification, the Orcules leader's favorite ability, but there was a big difference.
I could still use my skills in my previous fight with him.
So if it's not Nullification...
There was only one essence out there that granted its user a similar ability.
That of Tol-Lapupa.
It had to be an ability from the rank one monster Tol-Lapupa: Cosmic Protection, an incredibly powerful ability that completely neutralized all ranged attacks before they could hit you. Furthermore, since Cosmic Protection was passive, he had no way of knowing what active Tol-Lapupa abilities he could have.
I didn't expect it to have a rank one essence.
Although the weight on my shoulders was increasing, the first thing I did was order everyone to stop making ranged attacks. At this point, they were just a waste of PM.
...Although I am right about what ability this is, its own MP should decrease relative to the nullified damage.
Still, since it wasn't a fight he intended to drag out, there was no point in trying to wear him down and drain his PM. Especially considering that we were going to have to fight a horde of monsters after leaving this village.
«You're later than I expected, village chief».
So I started talking. Winning even one more second was a victory right now.
«Someone has to clean up after all of you.» Oh, I didn't really expect him to respond. However, it seemed like the boss wasn't planning on humoring me for long. «It's raining outside, so where are you going in such a hurry?»
«Oh well, I think I have a case of cabin fever from being stuck in town twenty-four-seven.»
«For now. I say this for your own good».
That earned him a mocking smile. «For my own good, huh?»
The boss issued his last warning. «It's not too late. If you stop now, I will ignore everything that happened today».
That offer would have been very sweet if I were a cornered rat. However, as things stood, his words were nothing more than an injection of confidence.
Honestly, I was starting to worry that I had made the wrong decision.
But this was proof that no.
Here I was, telling myself, to the guy who had just opened his skull and burned his town, that he was willing to forgive me. There was no way that was normal.
It was so suspicious, in fact, that I had the feeling that if I hadn't decided to run away today, some kind of «mysterious accident» would have happened to me at some point and I wouldn't even have been surprised.
«Could you take me a moment to think about it?». I tried to buy time by pretending to consider his offer.
The boss, however, seemed to notice my performance. «Do you take me for a fool?»
Uh... «A little?»
«...I'm going to count backwards from three. Decide at that time».
«Three is very little. Let's make four.»
The boss didn't dignify that with an answer and instead started counting. «...Three.»
Well, I guess I was still able to buy some time. I wasn't going to let it count to the end anyway, so it wasn't like an extra second mattered.
«Two.»
Run.
Just as the boss was about to shout «one», I ran towards him. There was still plenty of time before Erwen's attack was fully charged, and if a fight was inevitable anyway...
Let's go for it.
I wanted to give it my all and look at myself through the lens of a veteran who had played this game for nine years straight and had experimented with all kinds of character combinations. I wanted to see how strong this character I had invested so much time in was.
«Behel-aaaaaah!»
And I wanted to see what his weak points were.