Terror Infinity Side B
Chapter 11, Apocalypse Alice
Himi activated her magic as they ran through the tunnels of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth.
Himi: PICNIC SWITCH!
Picnic Switch.
A magic circle appears in front of Himi's eyes and she perceives the world through that. And then, completely different from her earlier timidness that's her normal self, her face now had a delighted look on it.
Himi: Aahh, aahh, now now now, which place is more fun, I wonder?"
As Shin recalled from the Light Novel, Picnic Switch was the type of support magic that the scouting corps use. Picnic switch is loaded with the path-finding magic that is akin to Himi taking a detour with a playful mood while heading to her destination and it often turns out to be the better route.
It was a roundabout kind of magic, but its power is proportional to the constraints it has, and they needed it. To save as much time as possible they all needed to reach the next level as soon as possible and this magic allowed them to avoid monsters, or at least those that would greatly hinder them, on their way to the Diseased Girl.
Himi: Left...Right...Back where we came from... Got it! Take the next right, hahaha!!!
Yousuke: Good! We should almost be there!
Aqua: Amazing. Her personality really changed.
Yousuke: Don't worry about such a mild defect. With Himi, we've avoided nearly all the monster in this area, so all that's left if to take out the Elites and other monsters guarding the stairwell leading to the next level!
Shin: Great! At this pace it was fine to waste close to three hours finding a Support Magician like Himi. Still, don't get sloppy people!
- [Three Hours - Fifteen Minutes - Thirty-five Seconds]
About three hours until the Empress' Grave Labyrinth become an Eternal Labyrinth. Half the time was already gone, yet Shin's mind was at peace.
It was because Shin felt it was the right choice to abandon their action of choosing where to go just by how dangerous it felt. So long as they had Himi, the support magician of Hero Team, Shin felt confident that the Labyrinth could be navigated in time to reach the Diseased Girl.
Shin was still concerned with the recent information that Hero Team shared. That they not only knew the identity of the Diseased Girl, but that very girl who they all had to defeat was Kiri Kiryuu, one of the female main characters of Apocalypse Alice and member of Hero Team.
Yousuke and Himi made it clear that they didn't want Team Japan to kill Kiri, or for a conflict to occur when their comrades tried to save the her, so they told Shin and the others what happened, which lead to the formation of the Labyrinth.
Shin, having been told the truth, made it clear that they would follow Hero Team's lead when it came time to face the Diseased Girl. As long as they make it in time to clear the Labyrinth, he was fine with their methods to defeat the Diseased Girl.
Shin: We're here!
Shin and the others then came to a stop by the exit of the tunnel of the cave. Not wanting to just charge in (last time was bad for me), Connor and Yousuke went ahead first to take a look, and then one minute later they came back to report what they saw.
Like before, the chamber room with the stairwell leading from the first floor to the second, a large room the size of a football field stood before them with many cave entrances, but what was important was that in the far off corner of the large room was the stairwell leading from the second level to the third level of the Labyrinth.
They expect and heard as much from Himi beforehand. They were aware of the minor details of the chamber room, yet what they learned next surprised them.
Other people.
There were other people currently fighting with the monsters and Elite monsters there. Yousuke didn't recognize any of them and was disappointed that they were not members of Hero Team, yet Connor did in fact recognize them. They were the other newbies of Team Japan.
According to Connor, the Newbie whose name he remembered, Derrick, was leading the other newbies and were trying to make it to the stairwell, but failing. Currently, they were trapped in a corner of the Labyrinth fighting for dear life.
Connor: They're basically being played with now. It's pathetic.
Yousuke: Harsh, but Connor's right. There are five Elites over there just staying back and letting the hundreds of lesser monsters deal with the newbies. Just staying close enough so that they can't escape. They'll die in another minute or two at this rate.
Jin: What should we do? Save them, or-
Himi: Of course we should save them!
Aqua: It doesn't matter. Adding the surviving newbies to our manpower won't make any difference and I don't think we can protect them... But Shin here is the leader the leader, so it's his decision. What would you have us do leader?
Shin: ... (Only at these times does my girlfriend call me leader)
Shin gave it some thought and made a quick decision. Shin told them that they would-
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Dead bodies were found all around the floor of the chamber room.
Dead bodies of Newbie Players torn apart by the weapons of the normal spawned monster and Elites as they once desperately attempted to make it to the next level of the Labyrinth.
Dead bodies of students of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》scattered about, stepped on by the monsters as they once desperately attempted to make it to the next level.
They all them came together in the Labyrinth that they were unfortunately devoured. They had hoped that combining their powers they could find a way to escape, yet in the end it was for naught. Their now tired leader that brought them together and fought for their survival had a look of despair on his face as what was left of their forces were backed into a corner of the room, surrounded by spawned monsters and the Elites. Most of his comrades were dead and his fellow newbies were almost out of magic bullets for their guns, including himself.
It was the end.
Derrick: ...Is this the end. Damn! In a place like this, I...
Newbie 2: Derrick! We're surrounded on all sides and those elites were unharmed by our attacks. What should we do!?
Derrick: ...
Newbie 3: They're coming!
The Zombie Warriors raised their sword as they rushed the newbies.
The Skeleton Spearman pointed their sharp spears at them as they rushed the newbies.
The three Elites looked on as the monsters rushed the newbies to finish them off.
It was the end for the Newbies... or it was supposed to be, but objects imbued with Ki Energy and Aura were thrown across the room and into the rushing crowd of monsters.
- *EXPLOSION*!
- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!
- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!
BIM.
Timed BIM.
Some of the last few items Saki made for Team Japan before her death were used to blow away the enemy monsters and save the last remaining newbies. More BIM were thrown towards the unsuspecting enemies and creatures were blown away with each new blast.
- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED.
The Elites were unfazed by this level of attack and stood their ground, looking for whoever was bombarding them. They looked around, but by then it was too late. Shin and Aqua had snuck up on them from behind and attacked without pause or mercy.
During the chaos of the BIMs going off, Shin channeled his Ki and fired three Far Bullets from his palm, each striking the Elites and forcing them to freeze up. Immediately Shin's Gravity Blade cut down one elite from the top of its skull down through its pelvis. At the same time Aqua used her Adamantium Claws (writhing with Aura) to swiftly tear apart one Elite and then jump towards the other doing the same.
- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!
- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!
- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!
The battle was swiftly concluded. Shin was responsible for how easily the battle ended, yet he couldn't help but admire the partner by his side, Aqua.
(Shin: Aqua is so fast! I never realized her fighting style was so savage before this mission. I can't keep up with her even with my enhancements and weapons... but this isn't a good test to see who's stronger and by how much. Elites are powerful, but once you face them a few times you don't need Unlocked Mode to defeat them. They hold some intelligence and can take a lot of damage before falling, but as long as you have powerful weapons and enhancements they aren't anything to fear. With our enhancements, Aqua and I would be more on edge against the intelligent and skilled Btooom Commanders, than the average Elite monsters.)
Also, an Elite wasn't fast enough to be threatening to either of the two. Maybe an Elite Skeleton Spearman, but those were rare.
Elites.
Although their huge bodies looked overwhelming to normal people, and their speed and strength were more than what normal people could handle, that was their only advantages. Even their ranged attacks were meaningless when people like Shin or Aqua could get close enough. A Player with high enough rank in Whole Body Enhancements, Genetic Mutation, or in possession of a decent magic weapon would have nothing to fear from Labyrinth monsters.
Both Shin and Aqua’s stats were realms above that of a normal person, with Aqua's stats higher than Shin. He made up for the difference with his many techniques like Instant Movement, Soul Crushing Strike, and other skills. Now that they knew how much damage they needed to inflict, the battle would be over before the enemy knew how they pitifully died.
Still, Shin thought it was an easy win despite their advantages. Both Shin and Aqua would say the battle ended as fast as it did only because they were used to the enemy and because the Elites were distracted... but the Newbies wouldn't think that.
They had gathered so many comrades from the Girl Killing Curriculum to work together, they even had a detailed battle plan to reach the next level of the Labyrinth hoping to find a way to escape... yet in the time span of a few minute hundreds of monsters and the Elites that struck terror into them were killed.
It terrified them.
Made them feel worthless.
That it was better to just hide in a corner in fear and let the monsters kill them to make their job of guarding the Diseased Girl easier.
It was... crushing.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
At the same time as Shin and Aqua finished off the elites and breathed in a sigh of relief over an easy win, the New Players Connor and Jin, along with Hero Team's Himi and Yousuke, were clearing out the large room of all the remaining spawned monsters of the Labyrinth.
They planned in advance to take a small break here to rest and speak to the newbies they saved, so they didn't waste any time in killing off the remaining few enemies not killed in the initial blast. Shin looked at the four and confirmed that they were in no danger, especially with Yousuke's multiple Defensive magics, and looked over to his comrade and love interest Aqua.
Shin: Aqua, this was an easy win and all, but don't you think that this can't keep going? It has to get harder from here on out.
Aqua: You’re right. The monsters we'll have to face towards the end won't be this weak; so you should expect the difficulty of the Labyrinth to reach a high level by then.
Shin: I know that, but what I mean is, can we keep going like this? My injuries heal thanks to my high ranking exchanges like Advance Ki Energy and S-Rated One-eyed Ghoul mutation, but won't we both wear ourselves out by the time we reach the Diseased Girl? Unlike our previous two mission, Apocalypse Alice is a Mission World of nonstop, marathon running and battles where we are on a time limit. It's just a six hour mission, so it can't compare to the two days H.O.T.D or the seven days of BTOOOM in time, yet the content of these six hours can't be compared. Can we really last whole six hours in this increasing difficulty Labyrinth and face off against the Diseased Girl of a rank 44 Labyrinth?
Aqua: ...Things have become easier with the addition of you, Jin, and Connor, but I'm close to running out of half of my Aura. Still, we can only do our best, which might be the worst part of this Labyrinth. If we had time to really recover maybe we could win the final battle without the main characters, but that's becoming more unlikely if we have another three hours to go like this.
Shin: Yeah, this is going to be rough no matter what.
Aqua: ... Actually Shin, this might have even been on purpose by God. I have an A rank Genetic Mutation and B rank Whole Body Enhancement. You have both a B rank Whole Body Enhancement and a B rank Genetic Mutation. Your enhancements also lean more towards recovery than pure fighting power like mine do, and additionally, and we've both unlocked up to the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraints. If we were on any other level of the Labyrinth other than the first we may have reached the Diseased Girl by now, or coming close to her.
Shin: You’re right. Just resting for an hour or two before the final battle may not completely let us recover, but we wouldn't be in bad shape. God didn't put us in a hopeless situation thanks to the option of adding Himi to our group, but we're definitely not in the best position to clear this Labyrinth. Well, nothing we can do about something that has already happened, so let’s just rest up. With Himi we don't have to recklessly rush, so let's rest for 10-20 minutes. We need to talk to the newbies anyway.
Aqua: Okay, but you do it. I don't deal with incompetent newbies and you're the leader here Shin. You saved them, so they’re your problem.
Shin: Don't be like that my red haired goddess of war (Not to be confused with the Mad Sword King Eris). They fought for their lives the last three hours and even dared to fight their way to the next level of the Labyrinth. I wouldn't call them incompetent. Any other mission and we might have praised them as decent newbies to add to the team.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Aqua: Fine, but who the hell is your war goddess!? Don't you already have Hikari now? She's obviously loved you from all the way back from the BTOOOM mission after you saved her.
Shin: Well, yeah, but don't look down on my dream of a harem, Aqua. A real protagonist and man like me won't fall to one beautiful girl and give up the others that he obviously liked just because it’s easy. Besides, you’re the first wife, so how can I-
Aqua walked away from Shin who was now on his knees after receiving a punch to the stomach. She went to go help the others clear out the Labyrinth of the last few monsters. Taking a punch from someone with Adamantium bones and high stats wasn't funny in the least for Shin, but he was happy to see he can get a response out of Aqua (almost worth it).
A minute later, now recovered, Shin made his way over to the newbies. The first Newbie he saw and looked to be representing the remaining four newbies behind him was Derrick. Derrick was one of the all too few newbies who he had saw potential in, and so he was glad that he was alive (even though he looks terrible at the moment).
From what Shin saw, Derrick had the ability to bring together and lead others. Derrick had even used his fellow newbies (and other students of the Girl Killing Curriculum judging from the corpses seen around here) in an attempt to make it to the next level of the Labyrinth. Derrick failed in the end and would have died if not for Shin's intervention, but Shin's opinion of Derrick only became stronger.
Shin: (If Derrick had better forces things may have worked out differently. If he had met up with anyone from Hero Team he may have actually succeeded in reaching the next level of the Labyrinth. I can't tell if Derrick has tactical or strategic planning ability, but he at least can gather others which is still a talent.)
Derrick's plan was a failure in the end, but because he did his best in an environment that he had no hope of surviving alone, where most people would have died earlier, where most would have hid in a corner of the Labyrinth in fear, Shin's impression of him skyrocketed.
Shin: (Even if I have to protect Derrick from now on because he can't protect himself, it’s a worthwhile investment. It isn't a loss to make sure that he'll live to become a proper part of Team Japan with exchanges to power him up.)
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Derrick saw Shin approach him and the Newbies and smiled... yet the reception he received from the remaining four newbies by his side was less than kind. They didn't say anything out loud, so Shin ignored them for the moment, but he could tell that they obviously had something against him (their savior) and fellow Player.
Shin: Yo, Derrick! It's good to see that you are alive.
Derrick: Just barely thanks to all these monsters in this hell hole of a Labyrinth. If not for you I, no, we all would have perished here a minute ago. Thank you... still, I wish you had come sooner. A few more of us could have...
Shin: Sorry. We veterans really don't have the power to protect you in this mission and we also lacked the ability to search for you in any case. Nothing could have been done, but I'm sorry for the loss. Still, I'm glad that you managed to survive on your own ‘til now.
Derrick: I can only call it a miracle.
Shin: No, no, no. It is obviously your ability to use what little power that you had to survive. To be honest, I thought that by now all the other newbies would be dead by now. We're in a rank 44 Labyrinth and twenty man difficulty mission from God after all. Hell, I don't want to think of the possibility, but a few of us veterans could very well be dead as well.
Derrick: I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure that they are alive and just waiting to meet up with you.
Shin: Thanks. I hope that's the case. Anyways, we're going to take a short break. I would like it to be longer, but according to one of the main characters an army of monsters are flooding the Labyrinth from the upper levels, down to the lower levels and are chasing after us.
Derrick: Re-Really?
Shin: Yeah. That's why we'll just take a short break and then start back up conquering the Labyrinth and reach the Diseased Girl. How about you and the others newbies join up with us? We'll be heading into more dangerous territory, but staying here will be a death sentence soon. I doubt that even hiding in a hidden safe zone would be effective in getting you off the monsters’ radar.
Derrick: ...I understand. We'll come with you. It is our only hope of staying alive, but...
Shin: What's wrong?
Derrick: ...It's the other newbies. I can convince them to come with you, but they won't like it very much.
From there Derrick began to explain the situation with the newbies. Despite Shin and the others saving them, the newbies were not grateful in the slightest.
During the course of the Apocalypse Alice mission so far, more than half of the Newbies have died and they placed the blame on team leader Shin and the other veterans of Team Japan. It was unjustified and Derrick tried to stop this way of thinking a few times, but as far as they were concerned Shin and the others of Team Japan had abandoned them and had not equipped them in better gear on purpose.
Shin: (Was it because of the extra gear I gave to Derrick, Connor and Jin? Really, the nerve of them.)
Shin calls their complaints unjust.
It was true that he didn't care if they lived or die, but he never had the power to protect them from death on this mission. Shin had recently gained a sense of what a leader should do for his team, so if it was possible he would have liked to have done more, but it just wasn't an option during this mission to protect the Newbies. Shin couldn't even say he could protect his long time veteran Players.
The reason was because Apocalypse Alice mission gave Team Japan no time to breathe or think properly. Also, unlike in H.O.T.D or BTOOOM there was little to hope of normal citizens of a peaceful country like Japan to survive even with a bit of luck. It was already a miracle that Newbies like Connor, Jin, and Derrick were still even alive.
Also, Shin didn't have enough special gear, especially the magic kind, to offer to the newbies. Obviously veteran Players came first and newbies with potential came second, and everyone else came last.
Shin valued each Player of Team Japan and refused to look at his comrades as numbers like Saki would at times, but that didn't mean he discarded a person's individual value. Every new mission brought new circumstances and new priorities that Shin needed to look at in order to make tough decision.
For example, if they weren't separated in the beginning, Hikari would have been his primary concern. It was because of her mapping ability and not just because she was his girlfriend that, even above Aqua, Shin would have prioritized Hikari’s safety above all others. If Shin only had one magic protection vest to give he would have given it to Hikari, the most essential Player to completing the mission, without hesitation.
Shin: (And on the subject we didn't have that many Magic Vest after equipping all the Players. Even only Shin and Kampa had magic amplifier tags and the rest were given to newbies Derrick, Connor and Jin. Actually, giving the newbies three of our five Magic Amplifier Tags could have been a mistake, but everyone else on the team had enhancements of some sort so I thought it would be fine. Also, it was an investment in raising a few good New Players which is equally as important as protecting his current comrades.)
The point was that the Newbies aside from Jin, Connor, and Derrick didn't trust or like the veterans of Team Japan, especially Shin. Derrick is confident that he can calm them down and that both sides can work together, but Shin and the others shouldn't speak to them unless it was absolutely necessary.
Feelings that are hurt and traumatic experiences like what they were going through right now needed time to heal according to Derrick. He was confident that later they can all make up once they are not in danger, but for now it was best to not rock the boat. Derrick knew his Newbie comrades were in the wrong for not looking at the big picture, yet he couldn't ask them to do so in a magical Labyrinth that wanted nothing more than to kill them.
Derrick: Leave them to me for now. I think that will be for the best for the team.
Shin: ...Okay. I can sorta understand their feeling. I'll leave the four of them to you Derrick, but if they hold us back or complain about unfair treatment at this point, I'll leave them behind to say the least!
Derrick: That won't happen, but we'll be fine with those conditions. Also, could you spare magic bullets for us? We've basically run out of ammo making our way here.
Shin: Sure. I've actually saved a lot by using a Magic Amplifier Tag with my unlimited Ammo Auto 9 RoboCop gun. Here!
Shin handed Derrick the ammo and Derrick went back over to the newbies to explain that they will shortly be traveling together with the veterans and main characters of Apocalypse Alice. Initially, they didn't look to be for that idea, yet a few moments later, after Derrick said something, they calmed down.
Shin: He's really something that Derrick. Maybe I can leave future newbies to him to handle.
Jin: Maybe you should, but if I were you I'd kill them, or at least leave them behind here to die at the hands of the monsters.
Shin: Jin?
The remaining monsters had just been swept up by the Players, and now finished were starting to rest while they could. Jin saw Shin speaking to Derrick and waited for their conversation to end before walking over to speak with Shin. Shin heard what Jin had to say, yet didn't understand for what purpose he would say that.
Shin: What do you mean leave them behind or kill them? Why?
Jin: They are a liability to the team, Shin.
Shin: Yeah, for sure, but they have shown potential for surviving so long here in this Labyrinth. Especially Derrick who gathered them all together. They may not be too impressive now, but they can improve with the power of exchanges from God.
Jin: Maybe, but they are still a threat to us.
Shin: Jin, there is no us here. You are still a provisional member at best. I simply saw some potential in you, so I gave you a chance. You’re not special Jin. Without the guns, Magic Attack Scrolls, and other tools that I handed to you, you would be just like them. A liability, or even dead like some of the others. For what reason should you place yourself above them?
Jin: No, no no! I wasn't doing that. I'm well aware of my trashy existence and how powerless that I am. That's why I'm grateful for the small chance that you gave me. Without it I certainly would have been claimed as just another victim of the Labyrinth... that's why, to show my thanks, I thought I would warn you about the darkness of human nature.
Shin: The darkness of human nature?
Jin: Yes. It's a pretty ugly thing to see and usually goes unnoticed by the eyes of wonderful and talented individuals like Aqua, Connor, yourself, and the rest of your teammates... but I can see it. I'm scum. That's why I'll say that you shouldn't trust the other Newbies. They are using you as a target for their fear and anger. When human are unjustly pushed to the brink – by that I mean the Labyrinth and not you yourself Shin, they won't care about consequences or their own lives. Though I can't say exactly what they will do in this situation. Also, I would be wary of Derrick.
Shin: Why Derrick? He isn't anything like the rest of them.
Jin: Don't you see that's the problem? Of course because Derrick is LEADING them. Isn't it actually strange that he gathered so many people together who were at the bottom of Team Japan's priority list? Derrick is just like Connor and I, and was given preferential treatment. How can someone like that lead people filled with jealous and hate towards your team for misguided ideas of unfair treatment? If it was me, I bet I would have been lynched and had my gear stolen by the newbies.
Shin: Jin, aren't you being paranoid? They must be frustrated, sure, but they won't do something stupid which could get us all killed. They also didn't cower in a corner and hope for the best, but fought for their own survival. I saw something similar in the last mission and the guy involved in it is now an important member of the team who I can leave my back to. Who cares if they are angry at me? Once the mission ends and they can relax and think straight, they’ll want to be on the side with power. I'm sure they come around as members of the team.
Jin: ...That could be, but I can't see it happening, Shin. I can't be like you and see the best in people... because I walk the scum of the Earth. I just thought I'll share my insight, but it may have been needless. Forget what I said. In the end, I'm just a Newbie who doesn't know better like you do, Shin.
Shin: ...
Done with the conversation, Jin walked away with his usual smile on his face and joined the others to rest. I looked back towards the Derrick and the newbies and saw that in the end they were staying away from us and sometimes glaring. I couldn't feel anything other than hatred and fear from them, but no killing intent. What Jin said was worrisome, yet I couldn't come to take what he said seriously.
Shin: Jin is worrying too much. If they want to do something to us they would have to get by Aqua and me, and that's impossible. As leader I should be more open and actually try to win them over. I can't say if we will all make it out alive, as the leader I have to do my best. Otherwise, Saki would be disappointed in me.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Authors Note:
Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.
Proofread by Hoebagger
Let me say this. What happens next wasn't really meant to be hidden.