Terror Infinity Side B
Chapter 4, Apocalypse Alice
Shin: God, my head hearts. What the hell was that? That dark shadow came for us and... Guys? Hikari?! Aqua?!! Misaki??!! Anyone???!!!
Shin regained consciousness after being swallowed up by the rank 44 Labyrinth Empress’ Grave. He had been swallowed along with the rest of his team and those within《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》. The first thing Shin did was take in his surroundings. While doing so he noticed two things.
The first thing he noticed was the environment he was currently in.
Shin looked around himself and came to the conclusion that he was in a dark cave, or perhaps a tunnel. The cave was naturally dark, but there were very small red stones, minerals that glowed softly in the dark. The deep crimson light they bathed the walls in gave the cave an eerie atmosphere. It provided none of the comfort a light in the darkness normally should.
Shin also found that the Labyrinth gave him a monumental feeling of stress, to the extent that he almost couldn’t breathe now that he was trapped within it. This sense of danger was way beyond anything he had ever experienced and he couldn’t put words to how he felt.
It was as if coldness, death, horror, a deep seated grudge, and sadness were hidden within the very walls, floor, ceiling and air itself... Which made sense since the building is a Labyrinth that kills all intruders. A Labyrinth born from the victim and threat to humanity extending from the monster known as a Diseased Girl. Still, it was an environment that didn't allow someone with any sensitivity to danger to feel at ease for even a moment. It made one feel like there was a monster perpetually stalking you that would suddenly leap out when no one was looking
Shin: (The temperature is a bit chilly, but it's more than that. The feeling of death sends chills down my spine and my skin is crawling. Also, the fact that I'm alone isn't helping much either.)
His solitude was the second thing Shin immediately noticed.
Although they we right next to each other the last time Shin recalled, no one was with him now. His comrades Hikari, Aqua, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai were nowhere to be found. It was the same for Jin, Connor, Derrick and the other newbies that he couldn't be bothered to remember their names of. They too were nowhere to be found.
Shin expected such a possibility since they weren't using the Intrusion Magic DIVE SWITCH to enter the Labyrinth, yet that didn't make him feel better. One of his greater fears for this mission was that not everyone had what it took to survive this mission in a magic Labyrinth story.
A Labyrinth in the world of Apocalypse Alice was not an easy place that one could take a stroll carelessly in and hope to survive. Endless hallways, traps hidden in the shadows, spawned monsters, and the Diseased Girl herself weren't easy to deal with. Also, Apocalypse Alice was a magic themed series of Light Novel. The Labyrinth summoned by the Diseased Girls and the tools to face them by humans were all 100% primarily magic in origin.
According to what Shin learned from Aqua, the most experienced veteran of Team Japan and God's Dimension, magic can normally only be destroyed with magic. Powers like Ki Energy, Blood Energy, and Faith Energy could work just as well, but it's a general rule that normal methods of fighting are useless against magic and spirit type opponents.
Of course, there are some Manga, Anime, and Light Novels that say otherwise. In works such as 'A Certain Magical Index', 'Fate Zero', 'Dragon Ball Z' (Ki instead of magic) and Anti Magic Academy, science can outright overpower magic, or bypass it when used correctly. Apocalypse Alice is unfortunately not such a world.
If it was possible to use science to rid the world of Labyrinth, then the governments of the world would set off nuclear bombs within them. Unfortunately, traditional science is unable to provide any help against this new threat. It was never shown in the series, but Shin imagined that such methods didn't work. The most likely explanation is that any existence categorized as magic would be completely immune to most forms of technology, or would regenerate so quickly that technological assaults would be rendered useless.
What Team Japan is lacking for a mission in this type of world are special powers and tools. Only Aqua and Shin possess powerful energies (Nen and Ki Energy) and are equipped with tools to confront magic opponents.
Every official member of Team Japan has been given Low Magic Bullets, Magic Amplifier Tags and a Bullet Proof Vest inscribed in magic protection, but all of that is basically nothing when inside a rank 44 Labyrinth in the world of Apocalypse Alice. Shin had been hoping Team Japan could pull of a miracle and all come out alive through good teamwork, but now...
Shin: (This isn't good. Aqua and I could survive if we were surrounded by monsters, but the others... They won't make it. No! I should have more faith in them. They have all survived at least one or more dangerous missions in God's Dimension and so they are experienced veterans. Hikari could use her Persona to hide and sneak around any dangers as she makes her way through the Labyrinth. Misaki, Kampa, and Shuai are still in the beginning routes of their exchange paths, yet if they ended up near each other they could fight their way through any monster threat together. As for the newbies... Maybe if they get lucky they can survive. There should be one or more safe zones they can use to hide inside a Labyrinth. Also, there's the battle potential of Hero Team and the other students of the Girl Killing Curriculum. They were swallowed up by the Labyrinth as well and should be in here too. An alliance with them will greatly increase our chances of survival!).
Shin felt better about his situation when he thought about how his comrades weren't guaranteed to be in trouble or dead, and so now he could focus on his own situation. Shin was the leader of Team Japan and a powerful combatant second only to seven mission veteran Aqua. He couldn't keep worrying forever and ever, so he thought about what he had to do.
Shin: I have five immediate goals for this mission.
They are:
1. Stay alive.
2. Meet up with comrades.
3. Meet up with Hero Team.
4. Explore the Labyrinth and find the Disease Girl.
5. Defeat the Diseased Girl.
Goal 1: That was Shin’s highest concern since he can't do anything if he is dead. That means he can't take stupid actions just because he is worried over a variety of issues at the moment. Shin also has a bad habit of enjoying the world of Manga, Anime, Light Novels, and Video Games too much, and so he shouldn't play around too much, or at all for that matter.
Goal 2: It was important, but there was nothing he could currently do about it at the moment. Shin lacked an ability to search for others like Hikari using her support type Persona Adrasteia, so he wouldn't be able to find them even if he tried. Also, although they had all exchanged for Communication Phones that should be able to work anywhere in the world even without reception, the Labyrinth was an exception to the rule. All electronic forms of communication are sealed within the walls of a Labyrinth brought forth by the Diseased Girl.
Goal 3: This one had the same problem as goal two, yet it was important to make contact with Hero Team. When it came time to face the Diseased Girl of the rank 44 Labyrinth, Hero Team's battle power would certainly become necessary. God wouldn't have allowed the possibility of teaming up with a powerful group of magicians if the threat of the Diseased Girl was small.
Goal 4: This was what Shin needed to do at the moment. He didn't know where to go, the tunnel he was currently in could lead him forward or backwards, up or down, yet he had to start somewhere.
Goal 5: The fifth and final goal...
Shin: That's the final goal, so it can wait, but I should still keep it in mind. In the... Unfortunate event that I can't find my comrades as I move about the Labyrinth or that they are dead, I will have to make my way there alone to face the girl. Hopefully the others will come to the same conclusion and make their way there, but I should have the resolve to fight the big boss of the Labyrinth alone if needed. I'm much stronger than the time I fought the boss of BTOOOM, so maybe I can manage it alone. Unlike before, now I have proper Ki Skills, a magic weapon to attack with, and magic armor that increases my stats. My cloak is especially potent in a dark Labyrinth like this. Most importantly, I've unlocked the Second Stage of my Genetic Constraint through my battle with Saki. I don't want to, but I'm more than resolved to face the Diseased Girl alone if necessary.
Shin then gave no more thought about the future battle and focused instead on the present, and his first concern was time. The mission stated that he had six hours to explore the Labyrinth, find the girl, and defeat her before time was up. Shin didn't know how much time had actually passed since the Labyrinth was formed while he was blacked out after being swallowed up by the darkness.
Shin: I really need to know how much... How can I find out? Um…. That's it! This Headphone Fuzz shouldn't just be installed with ESCAPE magic.
I forgot to tell everyone when we were together, but the Headphone Fuzz held another function. It has the capability to keep time within a dungeon when other modern electronics have proven ineffective and you can also set countdowns so you know how much time is left in a Labyrinth raid. Of course, I myself didn't set it up, but God gave it to us, so maybe...
Shin: It's there! God really set up the countdown till the Labyrinth turns into an Eternal Labyrinth. Let's see here... [ Five Hours - Fifty Four Minutes - Thirty Seven Seconds ]. That's the time limit left until the Labyrinth becomes an Eternal Labyrinth. Good! I haven’t lost much time!
Shin then went over the Headphone Fuzz to see if any other interesting things were loaded onto the device. He was disappointed to discover that aside from the clock and Escape Switch, nothing else was conveniently loaded onto the device. He regretted that he forgot about the time function and that he neglected to tell the others about it, but there was nothing for him to do about that mistake now.
Shin: Okay. There is plenty of time for me to raid the Labyrinth. I don't have to carelessly rush out because of time constraints. But not knowing the layout and depth of this Labyrinth means I can't take it slow either. I also have to at least try and find my comrades. I definitely wasn't given all the time in the world, so I had better get moving. Alright! Let's raid the Labyrinth! It's time to kill the Girl and save the world... Wait, doesn't that make me sound like a villain?
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Shin knew that there was no point in just staying in one place when there was a time limit at play, so he began to walk forward. He didn't know which way was forward and which way backwards since the cave he was in went in two direction. Shin chose a direction based on gut instinct.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Shin: I choose this direction simply because the feeling of danger and death is more congested in this direction than behind me, though in a lot of ways this doesn't feel smart. Oh, well. This place is also called the Empress’ Grave, so following the path that is slightly descending couldn't be bad idea either. Graves and tombs are all usually down in the earth after all.
Shin followed the path leading down deeper into the cave where the feeling of death was strongest, yet for that reason as well he was also cautious. With each step he took the danger he felt smothering him became stronger. He couldn't help but believe that he was about to be attacked any second.
As Shin made his way down the tunnel he came upon a four way intersection. He could go right, left, or forward like he was. The Labyrinth was definitely living up to its name. One wrong turn could end with him wasting minutes, maybe even hours if he wasn't careful. The possibility of endless wrong tunnels was nothing to sneer at.
In the end, instead of choosing the path that lead downward, Shin chose to go right. The reason was that the feeling of danger was stronger. It wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do, but without a map it was the best he could come up with. Following this path he encountered something strange.
Shin: Wow. That's definitely not suspicious.
Ten minutes after walking forward at an even pace Shin found an artificial creation within the cave. Twenty meters in front of him were a line of graves. These weren’t the western kind used in cemeteries with huge stone slabs, but they were the smaller ones etched in Japanese letters. In total there were five such gravestones spread out in front of him.
Shin: Would anyone just pass those by without saying anything? Something is definitely hidden beneath those gravestones. I... I should probably set them off. I can't spend five hours to learn the characteristics of this Labyrinth like in the story, so I need information about the dangers I could be facing. Monsters, traps, and anything else that could get in my way later on. I’d prefer to face it now rather than later when I'm on the run to get to the Diseased Girl in time.
With that said, Shin took out a normal grenade from his Na Ring which he exchanged points for earlier and threw it over to the gravestones. The grenade landed directly in the space between the five stones and went off.
- *EXPLOSION*!
Shin: Ah, maybe I shouldn't be setting off bombs in case of a cave-in... Well, too late to think about that now!
It was too late to be thinking about a possible cave-in because a battle was about to begin and he needed to get ready. The ground began to shift from the the scorched earth that was once a grave site. A hand, head, torso, and soon the legs of a person emerged from the ground and stood up before Shin.
There were five humanoid warriors standing up. They bore worn down eastern armor and in their hands held rusty swords. Beneath their clothes was nothing. No flesh or blood, just bones. They clearly didn't have the muscles to move their bodies, yet they were now making their way to Shin, and not at a slow pace either. Shin felt danger from the warrior monsters now sprinting to towards him.
Shin: Hahaha! Real Skeleton Warriors!!
A skeleton warrior right out of game, one that Jin would get a kick out of raised its sword and swiftly, with a speed that didn't match its appearance, swung its blade at Shin. Shin ducked down to avoid having his head cut off and then rolled backwards as two more swords slashed at where he had just been standing. The strikes brought up a cloud of rocks and dust as the blades struck the ground.
Shin saw that both the skeleton’s speed and power placed them above normal humans, yet it wasn't at a level worth fearing with his stats and battle experience. Compared to the various BTOOOM warriors on the island in the previous mission, they were seriously lacking in combat ability. Shin was even wondering if this was the true strength of a rank 44 Labyrinth, but he had to deal with the current problem at hand.
Shin: First test... Normal and Magic Bullets!
It was Shin's first time to really use the low grade magic bullets and he definitely wanted to try them out. Before that he first he needed to know if he could use normal bullets to fight the monsters within the Labyrinth. From the Na Ring Shin took out one handgun loaded with mundane but cutting edge bullets that Saki had made, and another handgun loaded with the low grade magic bullets he exchanged for way back after the H.O.T.D mission.
Shin's targets were the two skeleton warriors running up to him from the left and right. With no hesitation he opened fire on the two approaching monsters and analyzed the results. The skeleton warrior hit by normal bullets wasn't injured and didn't slow down in the least, yet the one hit by magic bullets had an arm blown off and was slowed down by 50%.
Shin: (Normal bullets are ineffective and it would probably take ten low grade magic bullets to kill a skeleton. The bullet consumption will really start to add up later on.)
While still in thought Shin took a step back to avoid an incoming slash of the uninjured monster, and in retaliation Shin raised the gun loaded with magic bullets to point at its defenseless head.
- *BANG*!
The head of the skeleton warrior was blown off in one shot. Under the force of the single low grade magic bullet the skull shattered into countless pieces, falling helplessly to the cold earth. Shin's eyes then widened in surprise as the body on the ground withered away as well. It was like it was never there, yet there were four more monsters still alive and ready to attack Shin.
Shin: Let's try out Ki Energy now!
The three skeleton warriors that initially attacked Shin rushed toward him, but before they were close enough to strike they were showered in a hail of bullets empowered by Ki Energy. They all collapsed, with their bones and rotted armor hitting the cavern floor in a dull thud. They were mindless warriors of the Labyrinth doing their best, but they were helpless under the Ki empowered bullets. Like their predecessor before them, their remains fell to the floor and withered away into nothingness. Not even a single bone stayed behind.
Shin: Ki Energy is especially effective here. Head shot or not, with magic bullets they fall with just a bullet or two. When used to empower normal bullets, my Ki bullets are just as effective as low grade magic bullets. It still takes 10-15 shots, but this is a great way to save the more important low grade magic-
Shin was interrupted by the skeleton warrior he first injured as it had finally caught up. Its rusty sword came down in an arc towards Shin’s head. As its chipped and savage looking blade came closer... Shin just grabbed the sword with his bare hands. He then exerted force on to his grip and the old rusty sword snapped in two with an audible pop. If the skeleton could show emotion it would have showed a shocked face at that display of inhuman strength of Shin, yet it neither had the ability or time to do so. Not one second later a right hook came crashing into the skeleton warrior's head, and with a crack of a shattering skull, the first battle was over.
Shin: The skeleton warrior's strength is impressive and could overpower a normal human, but with my Muscle Density being four to five times a normal person, further enhanced by my Ki Energy and One-eyed Ghoul Mutation, I have no problems fighting them. Misaki and Aqua could definitely overpower them. We can definitely beat them down with our bare hands. I didn't even need to use the Na Ring yet, but I still wouldn't want to be surrendered by dozens of them. They care nothing about their lives like real RPG monsters and won't stop even with a destroyed arm or leg. They don’t even react if one of their allies is killed, though that could just be a characteristic of a skeleton type monster.
Shin was happy with the results of his first battle and even a little excited. He was surprised by how calmly he handled that battle. It could also do with the fact that his first opponents weren't too strong, yet Shin knew that he had changed. He was no longer nervous to enter a potentially dangerous battle and was capable of standing his ground and even starting a fight if needed.
Shin: My previous battles... H.O.T.D, BTOOOM, training with Sozin, The Four Pillars and... even my battle with Saki had all helped me grow. Still, it wouldn't be a good idea to think that I was strong by comparing me to opponents like those.
Shin was suspicious that the Labyrinth would become more difficult the further in one goes when he thought about how the monsters weren't worthy of being in a rank 44 Labyrinth. This conclusion was simply based on what he knew from the novel. Still, for now he was relieved. That meant even his weaker comrades wouldn't have been killed yet. They were all armed with magic tools, so they shouldn't die unless they allowed the enemy to approach and hack them apart with their rusty swords.
Shin: The newbies might still be alive as well long as they hadn't panicked at the sight of those monsters. Well, it shouldn't happen to Jin, Connor and Derrick as they showed potential. Things are not as hopeless as I thought.
Shin said that, yet there was still a lingering doubt gnawing away in the back of his head. The enemies Shin fought weren't impossible to deal with, yet the immense feeling of danger and death he had felt since the moment he had woke up within the Labyrinth had not disappeared. It hadn’t even become had any weaker either. Shin couldn't help but think that this was either a trap to underestimate the Labyrinth, or just the beginning stage of a long and hazardous path to reach the Diseased Girl of the Empress’ Grave 44.
Shin: That's a real possibility. If one wasn't a Player and didn't know the rank of the Labyrinth, they would assume that even if it gets tougher, the Labyrinth’s rank wouldn't be higher than ten. At that level, as long as you are careful you wouldn't die tragically. Well, no matter. I can only move forward to discover what waits for me.
Shin then renewed his journey through the caves of the Empress' Grave. He knew that it was only the beginning of a long battle, yet with determination he walked forward without hesitation.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Authors Note:
Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.
Proofread by Hoebagger
This chapter and the next is a way to see how God rates Players and confronts them with threats to bring them closer to a near death struggle. Without his experience and training on how to use Ki, Shin wouldn't have been able to deal with the skeletons so easily. Especially bare handed. Empowering weapons with Ki Energy is Shin's own strength, not from the Exchanges, and so not counted to his rating. Shin also exchanged for Ki Skills, but technically he learned them himself with Skill Mastery. We'll get to this subject again down the line.