26 I Get Caught in a Special Quest

Author: Bishamon Mine
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n0664js/29/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

While I’m damaging the sea ecosystem,

“Ah, I got hit!”

The underwater went pitch black.
I got inked.
I was reading comments and my hands slipped.

Tentacles extend from the ink.

“Ill-san, flight form!”

Butler-clothes Ill-san spreads his wings.

“Flight form, yes, My Master.”

Instantly transformed Swallow-san flees up.
Then Alice slashes the approaching tentacles with knives in both hands.

From above, countless octopuses are coming this way from a flock of buildings lined in a grid.
There were still that many.

I put away the 〈Multipurpose Sniper〉, take a 〈Multipurpose Vulcan〉, and keep shooting.
But everywhere goes pitch black.

“Ink is a hassle. Skill 〖Night Vision〗——hmm, the ink is interfering with temperature sensing but better than the naked eye I guess. Ah, right, 〖Super Night Vision〗.——This sees well…… but.”

〖Super Night Vision〗 only makes dark parts see well. It couldn’t see through ink.
〖Night Vision〗 sees the scenery by temperature, and 〖Super Night Vision〗 seems to look like you shone a light.
With Alice’s 〖Clairvoyance〗 it would have been visible?

For now I can still see octopuses better with 〖Night Vision〗 so I switch to 〖Night Vision〗——hn?

“Can these stack……”

Vision that was pitch black in places with no temperature on 〖Night Vision〗 alone like a thermal scope became clear.
Thermal colors overlay-transmit on a shadowless-lamp-like scenery.

“This might be good.”

I punch through green shadows faintly visible through the ink.
After a while——,

“For now it seems cleaned up?”
“Man, Suu-san defeated almost all of them. I can see beyond the ink with 〖Clairvoyance〗 and my pistol just won’t hit won’t hit.”

So it was visible with the psychic power Alice got.
I want 〖Clairvoyance〗 even at α.

“I did defeat a lot but once we take distance they can’t do anything so it was easy. Where’s the destination?”
“The left of the two tall buildings in the center.”

Buildings, or rather they look like towers.
Two spiral buildings side by side.

“The left? ——The right?”
“The right is no good.”
“No good?”
“You can’t enter. Look. The right tower has something like beads in a string wrapped around it, right?”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“Apparently a 1,000-year-old security robot, and even now it attacks anyone who approaches that building. Incidentally it has self-repair. Recovery speed is slow though.”
“Can’t win?”
“Impossible. The firepower is tremendous; even frames with the strongest barriers and shields you can get have barrier and shield broken in one shot. So recovery doesn’t make it and winning is impossible.”
“Then———”

When I was about to say “shall we leave it,” a mysterious voice pierced my brain.

“Go there! There’s no time!”

“That building. The voice wants us to go to that building!”
“Eh, the right!? But that building is”
“No, maybe if it’s me……”
“But impo——”

A moment’s gap, and Alice murmurs.

“——Huh? If it’s Suu-san, it isn’t impossible? If you dodge, the opponent’s firepower doesn’t matter?”
“I think. Ill-san, head for the right building!”
“Yes, My Master.”
“———I see, it isn’t impossible! Shogun, follow Swallow-san! Suu-san, I’ll support!!”
“Please.”

❝I see. Even if the enemy’s powerful attacks are the bottleneck, Suu dodges them all❞
❝Because she doesn’t fight by tanking——even if others can’t, she can?❞

The silver beads in a string that had been wrapped on the building swim at us like a snake while sounding something like a high cry——like a warning siren——through the water.
Then the sea fish flee at once as if sensing danger.
There seem to have been kraken I hadn’t finished defeating, but they were fleeing too.
Apparently sea life knows the danger of those continuous spheres.

Enemy info is displayed on my retina.

“Defense Mechanism · 3341”

“Weird name.”

The defense mechanism stops moving like a snake and draws a circle.
The circle starts high-speed rotation and barrage begins to be loosed. From all 32 silver spheres.

“This I can handle.”
“Normally you can’t dodge that……”

While saying that Alice is shooting a handgun from a distance.
I sew through the barrage the defense mechanism loosed, rotating Swallow-san, and close on a silver sphere. I slide Swallow-san sideways around a silver sphere as the center and fire the 〈Multipurpose Sniper〉.
A silver sphere shatters after about 30 〈Multipurpose Sniper〉 hits. 30 sniper rounds is pretty hard.
At this rate I’ll run out of underwater rounds.

❝This person, while flying like that, landed all 30 sniper shots……❞
❝Impossible……❞

“Ill-san, 〈drill drones〉.”
“〈Drill drones〉 yes, My Master.”

The drill-drone AIs make a fuss.

“Helping Mother.”
“I’ll do my best, Mama!”

“Castor, Pollux, break those spheres.”

“Sorry, Mother. I can’t get through that barrage.”
“Sorry Mama.”

“It’s fine, I’ll assist.”

“Then connecting to Mother’s VR.”
“Connection start.”

I draw geometric patterns in my brain and invite the two.

Then the two 〈drill drones〉 stabbed into a silver sphere.

“As expected of Mother, reactions are fast.”
“I could get close as easy as flying through empty space!”

The drill’s continuous damage is large. After a while they shatter a silver sphere.

In that time I dodge barrage and fire 〈Compact Missiles〉.
〈Compact Missiles〉 destroy silver spheres trailing tails of water bubbles.

❝The barrage keeps decreasing❞
❝For real not a single hit——❞

I snipe with drill drones and the 〈Multipurpose Sniper〉, but,

“——Underwater rounds ran out.”

❝For real❞
❝Bad, no?❞
❝〈Excitation Wings〉 and 〈Excitation Sword〉 are heat weapons so you can’t use them, right? Like earlier, a steam explosion happens❞
❝Even without meaning to, a pinch?❞

I connect a normal-round magazine to the sniper rifle.

❝Eh, what’re you doing with normal rounds❞
❝They decelerate right away from water resistance and barely fly❞

I close rapidly on the defense mechanism while dodging barrage.

“Normal rounds can’t be used because of water resistance, so if I shoot from point-blank!”

I fire the 〈Multipurpose Sniper〉 keeping the muzzle about 30 centimeters from the opponent——not quite pressing it.

❝I see, contact fire❞
❝Zero-distance shooting huh❞
❝No, water’s in the barrel so if you press the muzzle fully the power drops. So Suu isn’t pressing fully; she’s loosing it the instant before the opponent❞
❝No, ……that kind of fine adjustment in a fighter…… what is that person doing❞
❝The barrage’s gotten pretty thin; Alice-tan can get close soon. Suu-san’s fighting like crazy; maybe she should get support soon❞

“Yes, I’m charging.”

Shogun draws the two at its waist and spins like a top cutting into silver spheres.
Alice and I split up destroying silver spheres.

(Soon all the silver spheres will be destroyed?) When I thought that.
My ears rang——and a cold sensation on my nape too.

(———Alice!?)

Looking back, tentacles of an Alien Kraken still remaining were approaching Shogun.
Tentacles wrap Shogun’s legs.

“Eh.”

Alice’s surprised voice.
Shogun can’t move.
Bad, the defense mechanism barrage will hit Alice!!
I at once slide Swallowtail between Shogun and the barrage.

“Triad boost, shield!!”

The barrage hits Swallowtail directly.

“Suu-san!!”

Alice’s scream.

❝Bad, the defense mechanism barrage hit paper-armor Swallowtail!!❞
❝One-hit boom! ——……it didn’t?❞
❝Huh?❞
❝Why❞

“Eh? Eh? Why can Swallowtail’s shield take the defense mechanism barrage? It punches even tank-role barriers in one shot. With Swallowtail shouldn’t the frame boom along with the shield¿?”

I snip the octopus tentacles with humanoid Swallow-san’s 〈Excitation Sword〉.

Alice is freed and does a rapid withdrawal.

❝What’s happening???❞

Alice and the comments are confused so I answer for now.

“I put on boost.”

“Yes?”

❝I see! ——I do not! ……Even with boost you can’t take it!❞

Alice and comments, voices of doubt.
But there were people who understood for now.

❝Wait? If she tanked with triad boost…… triad boost·defense, the shorter the effect time the higher the effect, right?❞
❝Ah…… no way❞
❝Is Suu maybe putting it under the 0.09 seconds they call the human wall❞
❝If you put boost effect time at 0.06 seconds or under the shield suddenly gets hard, right? The 5× one❞
❝Suu-tan, what seconds are you putting it at❞

“Um, ……that’s.”

When I hesitate,

“S-Suu-san, what seconds are you putting it at? I’m a tank role so I use boost·defense a lot. If it’s all right please let me use it as reference.”

Even Alice asked in an interested voice.

“Um…… I have it set to 0.05 seconds.”

Comments stop.
Alice says nothing for a while too.
Then one word.

“……Already not human.”

“My Master, anomaly in the hypothalamus.”
“I know…… Ill-san……”

❝I’ve been a fighting-game pro 24 years and continuously doing just-guards with only 3 frames of invuln grace is impossible❞
❝24 years? ——No way, the legendary just-guard craftsman Takehara-san!?❞
❝Takehara-san suspicion❞
❝You mustn’t call someone with 100% success on 3-frame just-guards an Earth person……❞

“Aliceee! The comments are making me an extraterrestrial!”
“I think it can’t be helped.”
“Alice finally abandoned me!”

Hit with an impact like being smashed in the head with a blunt weapon, I floor-pero in the cockpit. Ahh, the dashboard roof is cold. The world is cold too.

——Eventually all the silver spheres sank to the seafloor.

“———We really beat it. Even a hundred people couldn’t……”

❝Suu-san, too strong ngo❞
❝Analy○ze would be easy❞
❝Hey stop❞
❝That kind would break❞

“Then Suu-san, let’s head for the building.”
“Should be fine now. Come back, Castor, Pollux.”
“Yes Mother.”
“Un Mama.”

The drill drones settle into Swallow-san’s arms.

I loosen caution a little and fly Swallow-san to the building.
Up to the front of the building, landing on the seafloor.

“We’re entering the building. Outside is underwater so please put on headgear and come out. The pilot suit is fine as is.”
“Yes.”

Even called headgear it’s completely transparent; you can only visually see a glowing circle on the back of the head.
So when you put it on it only looks like a halo.

When I go out Alice was waiting.
Ohh…… Alice with a halo on her back is seriously an angel.
Thinking that, my mouth slips.

“Alice-tan, seriously an angel. huff huff”
“Wha, what are you saying!?”

Alice goes bright red, tries to cover her mouth, gets blocked by the transparent wall of the headgear, and looks aside with a troubled face.

“S-sorry! I-it’s nothing! ——Let’s go!!”

Trying to erase the stupid remark I kick the seafloor and enter from the collapsed entrance of the building.

“Ah, don’t leave me!”

I felt Alice hurriedly following.

 

“Nothing like living things inside at all.”
“With a gatekeeper like that you can’t put anything inside.”

We climb the building a while having Ill-san drone and Shogun drone shine flashlight-like light.
Well I can see with 〖Super Night Vision〗.
Really no living things at all.
Not even barnacle-like things.
How tightly were they protecting it.
——No way even microbes like plankton aren’t here?
Come to think of it, in the light Swallow-san looses there isn’t the grit——so-called marine snow——floating.
Maybe there really aren’t even microbes……
This planet itself has microbes, right? With this many organisms on the planet there can’t be no small life, right? And yet not a single one in here isn’t that bad?

The path was a single path, or rather just going up stairs. Eventually we come to the top floor of the building.
A single path, in a real game it’d be boring. But in FateLege I’m grateful.
On the top-floor there was no water; only here there seems to be air——a place like some laboratory.
The first thing that bothered me in such a place was a giant test tube seated in the center of the lab.
Inside the test tube a girl connected to various cords and pipes was sleeping.
The girl’s head is covered by a large gray metal sphere. So you can’t tell the face. Pipes and cords were connected to the sphere too.
The girl was drifting lonely in blue liquid.

❝This is——❞
❝Admin has bad taste too❞

Was this child the one talking to me……?
But in a state like that you’d seek even one bit of help.
Alice says, frowning a little.

“The one who said there’s no time is that person?”
“I dun——”

When I start to say, an unknown woman’s voice is heard from Ill-san drone.

“〈Critical Quest〉 “Inori (prayer)” will begin.”

“Eh.”

My consciousness cut out.