Death March — Fixed

“Tek here, there were Bandits and Dark Mages appearing as enemies in a game I used to play, they would appear in dungeons. It didn’t occur to me at the time, but I wonder if they were living in the dungeon?”

 

“I’ll be arriving in 15 minutes.” I inform Arisa, through Telephone.

 

‘Hoi! We’re waiting.’

 

What’s with that strange exclamation?

 

She has said it before, maybe it’s a quote from something.

 

From Arisa’s words, it seems that the Lost Thieves are besieging Arisa and the others, but they aren’t actually in any real danger. It’s a stalemate--the Lost Thieves run away when Liza and the others come out to attack, and they use that chance to break into the small room using small passages or trying to sneak in--which causes the girls to go back into room, and the Lost Thieves run.

 

Moreover, the leader seems to be in the upper level 30s, and he has a unit of thieves who keep using blow darts with a Paralysis effect, meaning the girls can’t stay out for too long.

 

It should have been easy for the girls, but they are also trying to protect the Princess and her companions.

 

Then, the Lost Thieves Boss seems to have grown impatient with the situation, so he uses his henchmen to lure a Monster ‘train’ to attack the small room.

 

When I heard the news, I quickly check my map and see that while their Stamina and Magic Power have decreased a fair bit, but no one was hurt.

 

***

Lulu and I begin running, ignoring the guards that are beginning to fall behind.

 

“M-Master, in front, another--” Lulu’s face pales.

“Lulu, don’t look at it.” I use my high level Agility, stroking her hair, without missing a step.

 

There are the scattered remains of a Lost Thief laying on the ground, and splattered on the walls and ceiling. Of course, she has seen death, but this was quite gruesome--even I felt a little queasy.

 

I wonder how many this would make?

 

Obviously, luring a Monster train means risking your life, but judging by the collar on his neck…or what remains of it--he was a slave. As I ran past, I killed all of the bee-like Monsters that were swarming around the corpse. They’re paper-soft, even though they look incredibly solid.

 

While we run down the corridor, Lulu and I kill the small-fry Monsters at the end of the train.

 

Some Lost Thieves are visible at the edge of my radar.

 

I quickly fire a barrage of Remote Arrow the moment we round the corner, the targets are the Lost Thieves that are beginning to encircle Arisa and the others.

 

The Arrows quickly penetrated through their chests.

 

Lulu and I continue down the corridor, there doesn’t seem any Monsters between here and our destination.

 

We run around a curve in the passage--and I see two red lights intersecting, crossing and clashing in the darkness in the passage ahead. One of them is Liz, and the red light doesn’t only come from her spear, but from her armour as well. Maybe because of that, her Magic Power is dropping rather quickly.

 

The other one is a bearded man, the one who seems to be the Boss of the Lost Thieves. While he is a Human, he actually looks like a Dwarf. He also fights with a massive axe, making him the second person I have seen who uses one, the first being Dohar, the Dwarven Elder.

 

“Master?”

“Master!”

 

Tama and Pochi are happily waving their hands at me from behind Nana, who is standing in the entrance to the small room--her shield braced, defending them from the Monsters.

 

I wave back at them.

 

The boss that Liza was fighting took this chance to jump back from her, taking out a Flash Ball and throwing it on the ground.

 

Just before the ball hits the ground, I move Lulu behind me, protecting her eyes from the brilliant flash. It was slightly dazzling, but because of my Light-intensity Adjustment Skill, I wasn’t blinded.

 

“Switching your sword from your dominant hand, what an amateur!”

 

The boss is approaching me with a speed that rivals the Physically Reinforced Nana, seeming to be trying to take me hostage. Maybe I should have some fun, allowing him to take me hostage and allowing the girls to ‘save’ me.

 

He reached out towards me with a big arm, which was covered in bristles, while swinging the handle of his axe at my solar plexus, to try to knock me out.

 

Suddenly, a strong stench penetrates my nose.

 

Yeah…Nope! Not going to let him touch me with that disgusting hand!

 

>>Skill: Stench Resistance Acquired.

 

Even before I could think, my body reacted instinctively. I crush his arm and deflect the handle of the axe with my knee. Straightening my leg, I kick him in the stomach.

 

A strange noise escapes his mouth as he flies away.

 

After spinning once in the air, flipping over my head, he lands on the ground in front of Lulu behind me.

 

Using the Self-Defense Skill that she learned in the Elven village, she flows like water and pins him to the floor--all the while, she was surprised about how he suddenly dropped out of the air in front of her, though she didn’t let this slow her reaction.

 

I decide to capture the Lost Thieves this time, since the Marchioness or the Guildmaster may want to handle them--and getting brownie-points with them would be useful. I captured all the Lost Thieves using Remote Stun and wires, before everyone’s sight recovers.

 

While I’m at it, I use Drain Magic on the boss, to prevent him from struggling.

 

Once people can see again--the sight of Lulu who seems to have easily apprehended the boss appears before their eyes.

 

Liza quickly rushes over and binds the boss with the Magic-Sealing Chain  that I pass to her. After Liza tied him up, I walked over and looked like I was inspecting him, but I was pocketing the ring that seems to be for invoking Magic, and taking his hidden weapons.

 

I had bought the Chain when I was at the Duchy Capital.

 

“Master, I am very sorry for being unable to stop the Thieves.” Liza apologized for being unable defeat the boss. I reassured her, saying she did well, and giving her a hug.

 

Blushing as I released her, she praised Lulu for capturing the boss.

 

Liza was a little uncomfortable with public displays of affection…well, she acted like she was, but her tail was swaying enthusiastically.

 

I catch Pochi and Tama, who came running out and tackle-hugged me together. Embracing one with each arm, I go towards where Arisa and the others are. I leave the surviving Lost Thieves laying on the floor of the corridor, where the soldiers would find them.

 

Since the Magic Axe got stuck in the ceiling, I used Magic Hand and put it into my storage.

 

>>Title: Guardian of Order Acquired.

 

***

There are countless bodies of Monsters in front of the small room where Arisa and the others are. Arisa clung to me, and whispered the situation to me, the stuff she couldn’t say with the younger nobles overhearing.

 

The room is easily 20m wide with uneven stone as the floor. On the left side of the room--where they can’t be seen from the passage--are the Princess, the plump boy, and five other young nobles. They are sitting, or laying, against the wall.

 

Other than the Princess, only one of the young nobles is a girl.

 

There are also 25 Lost Thieves tied up in the right side of the room. Arisa and the others were smart, knowing to capture the thieves so that the nobles’ parents could take care of them.

 

Strangely, even though the young nobles weren’t injured, they looked like they were going to die. They seem to have been terrified by being surrounded by the Lost Thieves, and then attacked by a Monster train. Iruna and Gena look better, but it seems like they are standing purely by willpower.

 

“Geritz, I have come by the request of the Marchioness. The guards have also some, so let’s go back to the surface, with all your friends.” I spoke to the plump boy with a smile.

 

“T-Thank you.”

 

I thought that he was going to say something like, “you should have come sooner”, but he only said a normal thanks and nodded to me.

 

Taking a wet towel from storage, I handed it to him.

 

I’ve put a lot of these towels into storage, since Pochi and Tama love running around, and can get quite dirty. They also fight is such a way that sprays gore around fairly often.

 

He had a blank look on his large face for a second, but I quickly told him that it was to clean his face.

 

The Princess, who’s sitting beside him, also has some blood on her face. I take out another wet towel, but since her eyes look dead, I gently wipe her face for her.

 

“You have also done well, Princess. Your cute face is dirty.”

 

Alright, my words may have sounded like a player--but I was saying something to shock her awake. If she stayed like that, almost in a trance, it could cause permanent mental scarring. Girls, especially ones like her, reacted to being called ‘cute’ or ‘pretty ’-- though it was entirely possible that she would get mad with being called ‘cute’, saying that she wasn’t a child.

 

This confrontational response would help her recover.

 

“--U, Uhh, thank you, for the rescue.”

 

It looks like she’s been refreshed after I wiped her face, willpower surges back into her face, erasing her previously hazy expression.

 

I had wiped her face without thinking about it, and caused her makeup to come off. Let’s gloss over that failure with a smile. Although feeble, the Princess faintly smiles back.

 

The other young nobles have also recovered enough to start complaining about being tired or hungry. They no longer seem like empty shells, bouncing back more quickly, and better than I could have hoped.

 

Unexpectedly, every one of them properly said thanks, and didn’t act pompous.

 

The Captain, who had finally arrived, suggested we kill all of the Lost Thieves other than the boss, but the Princess objected. When we all looked at her with confusion, she blushed and then quickly explained that having more to interrogate about their base of operations and plans was better.

 

I connect the 25 Lost Thieves with wire tied tightly around their wrists and around their fingers so it was a lot more difficult to escape. I also tied a loop loosely around their throats in such a way that if any tried to escape, they would all choke themselves.

 

The girls escorted the Lost Thieves, while the Princess and young nobles were protected by Iruna and Gena--though Lulu and I stayed nearby--mainly because the the Princess, and some of the other young nobles, would go pale if we moved too far away from them.

 

30 Soldiers from the Labyrinth Army had arrived, they had come as reinforcement, so we could easily make it to the surface without any problem. Because of the size of our group, with around 50ish people, no Monsters attacked us.

 

Now then, after I hand the young nobles over to their guardians, it will be mission complete.