Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Pari, along with her fellow magical girls, materialized in front of the massive entrance to the Stronghold of the Giants. The party had run the dungeon three times today, and each time the random layout had been more time-consuming than usual. As a result, a task that sometimes took as little as six hours had taken closer to nine.

There were a few wandering monsters in sight, but none of the wolves were close to their path home. Rain fell steadily all around them, and the sky was thick with dark clouds. Soon they were all soaking wet. This only worsened Pari’s mood, which was already poor from the excessive dungeon crawling and the awkwardness of the previous evening.

Pari still could not believe that she had come so close to kissing May. It would have been easy to blame the demon player for her flirting—but clearly both of them had escalated the romantic tension. The mage had spent hours praying for guidance, but even that had not eased her disquiet. The two women had hardly spoken to each other today.

May sighed. “I never thought putting my life on the line could get that boring.” She looked to Sara. “I know it’s safer to keep doing the dungeon we know. But I don’t think I can kill that damn matriarch one more time.”

“You’re right,” the healer admitted. She led the group along the cobblestone road that ran between the dungeon and the nearest city gate. The city itself was partially visible over the hill in the distance, but it was a twenty minute walk from the dungeon. The road was a little slick, but it was not difficult to walk along. “Party morale is too important to ignore. I’d hoped dinner last night would raise our spirits, but it didn’t do enough.

“I vote we pick a second min XP dungeon to study, and start running it soon.”

“Agreed,” Clare said.

“Okay.” Pari was a little nervous about trying a new dungeon, but she had to admit that the others had a point.

“Let’s have a short PvP practice once we reach the safe area,” Sara suggested. “I’m sure Death Legion are already waiting for us. Then we can all hit the library. Really, we should get writings on every dungeon to save ourselves future trips.”

As the party approached the slope of the moderately steep hill, May and Pari fell somewhat behind the other two women. “I’m really sorry about last night,” May whispered. “I was kind of an ass.”

“It was more my fault than yours,” Pari insisted. “I just don’t want any tension between us to mess up our friendship.”

“You’re right. I’ll do my best to be perfectly ladylike from now on,” May joked.

Pari gave a quiet laugh. “Ladylike? Don’t strain yourself,” she teased.

“What’s so funny?” Sara asked, glancing back.

But then Clare suddenly came to a halt and raised her arm, indicating for everyone to stop walking. They did so, and fell silent.

Pari barely heard it over the rain—the faint clash of metal against metal on the other side of the hill. But after a few seconds, the sound ceased.

Sara started forward. “Let’s check it out,” she said quietly. “Don’t run yet—our stamina is still too low to waste.”

The party walked quickly, and reached the base of the hill. Someone appeared at the top, running rapidly toward them. It was Aiden—he was without his weaponry and in a complete panic. Pari’s heart jumped into her throat.

Before any of the women could react, a terrifying figure came up rapidly behind him. It was man-shaped, some two meters in height, and dressed from head to toe in red full plate armor. The armor had numerous sharp angles and spikes. The nightmare was armed with a large sword and shield—the latter had a shape reminiscent of a knight’s shield, but it bore no herald. The sword was alight with the fire strike spell.

Without warning, the monstrous knight ran Aiden through. The red sword burst from his chest at the heart. The enemy then withdrew his weapon and struck the corpse hard with his shield. The body flew part way down the hill before striking the ground and rolling to a stop in a muddy patch beside the road.

Pari wanted to scream, but she was frozen. Because her eyes stayed focused on the attacker, a nameplate appeared:

The knight turned away and slowly walked back over the hill. Pari had known that she was likely to face a hunter some day—but she had hoped that day would not come so soon.

“‘Killers?’ What the kinda name is that?!” May shouted, fully enraged. “It’s like he’s completely casual about murdering us.”

The demon player started up the hill, but stopped when Sara spoke. “He’ll wait—he wants to kill us too.” She hurried over toward Aiden. Pari numbly followed. Looking to him, she saw his nameplate. The number of members listed in Death Legion was one instead of five. There was also writing over his empty health bar.

That had to mean he had not yet been executed—but the rest of his party was already gone. Pari wondered at the delay. Sara knelt beside Aiden and turned him over. He was unmoving.

Pari knelt next to Sara as she propped Aiden up so that his eyes were gazing in their direction. “Aiden, I’m so sorry,” the healer said tearfully. She held his hand. Pari held her rosary and softly whispered a prayer for the dying.

After a short time, changed to on the nameplate. The party entry disappeared. Sara let go of the body and rose. Pari saw both sadness and determination in her expression.

As May and Clare joined Sara, Pari made the sign of the cross and then closed Aiden’s eyes. She knew it was not his real body—but he still deserved some kind of burial. Her Mother Superior had told her about how these situations were handled in the game. The mage reached out her hand to touch the corpse, and used her inventory controls to “take” it. The body glowed white and evaporated into her game storage. When this was done, she also stood.

“We can’t stop a hunter permanently,” Sara lamented. “But if we killed him in the game, it would weaken his character. At the very least, we need to see his companion so that we can properly report this to the general.”

May and Clare both nodded. The former was barely containing her rage, while the latter just seemed more displeased than usual. Everyone materialized their weapons, and Sara led the party in a fast march over the hill. Pari did her best to appear confident, but she was frightened of what she knew must be waiting.

Looking down from the top of the hill, she saw eight bodies scattered on the ground—the four remaining members of Death Legion, and their four zombie pets. Pari’s eyes were drawn toward Chloe’s body—she was lying on her back in a puddle by the side of the road. Her head was turned to one side, and her expression was one of shock. Half her head was submerged, so that the rainwater filled some of her mouth. A deformed vulture was picking at her, though given the nature of the game it only left red marks on her face. A nameplate appeared, informing Pari that the hideous bird was a combat pet with no name.

Had she still been capable of vomiting, she would have done so.

The mage’s terror came back stronger than ever. Two had killed five!

And the two in question were standing among the bodies, waiting patiently. The vulture flew to rest on the knight’s shoulder. Pari looked to the knight once more, and saw on his nameplate that his experience had risen to twelve percent. He had gained half the bounty of XP from the five murders.

Sara walked close by Pari as they approached—maybe the healer sensed that she was unsteady. For her part, the goblin player considered the other enemy. He was a short, thin black man with a fastidious mustache and a shaved head. Even with carnage all around, there seemed little intimidating about him compared to the knight. He was armed with a cold iron ax and buckler. If not for his default peasant garb and weaponry, Pari thought he would look ordinary—

This was confirmed when his nameplate appeared.

The Magical Girls came to a halt a short distance from the Killers. May snarled at the traitor inmate. “You fucker. Killing a kid wasn’t enough for you—you have to betray the entire city too?!”

“You’re nothing but a useful idiot for the hunters,” Clare stated contemptuously. “Do you think you’ll be spared on Invasion Day?”

The traitor gave an infuriatingly amused grin, but failed to answer. Sara stepped toward him, and held up a hand to forestall any addition insults from her companions. “What you’re doing can only end in your death,” Sara told him in a surprisingly even tone. But Pari could see the anger just below the surface. “None of the other hunters will be impressed that you’ve sided with them. Inmates are nothing but a potential kill to brag about. The guilds will come after you too. That’s over a million players out for your blood.

“If you go back to the city and stay there, no one can attack you. If you value your life, it’s the only rational course of action.”

“That million can only attack us two at a time,” Cantor said. “And they’re all welcome to try.” He sounded completely unconcerned—Pari could not understand what would possess anyone to think that way.

Sara now turned her attention to the knight. “Please reconsider what you’re doing.” She briefly pointed her hand behind her toward Chloe’s body. “That woman you killed, she was innocent of any crime. She only confessed because she couldn’t bear to be apart from the one she loved most. It’s true that most inmates have committed terrible acts—but you’ve taken an innocent life, and if you continue you may do so again.”

The knight only continued to stand silently. Pari looked to him, and her eyes widened in surprise. She could see inside the eye slits of his helmet, and there was nothing there.

she reminded herself. There was nothing remarkable about a rich hunter getting a custom modification to his character, regardless of how unnerving it was.

Pari’s reaction drew the knight’s attention. He approached and suddenly swung his flaming sword at her. She interposed her shield, but the attack bounced off her separation field rather than the shield itself.

Sara briefly touched Pari’s weapon hand to steady her. “He’s at twelve percent, he can’t just attack us,” the healer said reassuringly. But the mage could not completely stop her shaking. Suddenly, the text button on her HUD lit up. Sensing it was not a coincidence, Pari opened the message.

The knight then swung his sword at her head twice—this time, she forced herself to remain still as the attacks were automatically repelled.

Cantor gave a rich laugh. “You’re too much, Red.”

“Back off her!” May shouted at the knight. “Let’s just get on with this.” But neither side could attack the other unilaterally, due to their difference in experience and party sizes.

The knight slowly nodded at May. He then focused his empty gaze on Sara. She stared back determinedly. Pari’s HUD then supplied her with new information.

Pari had never imagined that such a ridiculous sounding sentence would fill her with terror. She could feel her supposed heart beating rapidly.

May and Clare dropped into fighting stances. But Pari feared that she was in no condition to fight.

Before she could say anything, the HUD informed her that Sara had declined the offer. The traitor sneered at the women, but said nothing. The vulture squawked loudly at them. The knight started walking in a northeasterly direction, and his companion followed. May and Clare both glared at Sara. The healer looked extremely frustrated. No one spoke. Pari was ashamed at how relieved she felt.

A wagon pulled by four horses soon emerged from the woods a kilometer distant. It was being driven by a hunter faction NPC. Eventually, the murderers boarded the vehicle and rode off.

The party returned their armaments to their inventories. Meanwhile, Pari went to the four remaining Death Legion bodies in turn. For each, she closed their eyes, made the sign of the cross, and dematerialized them into her inventory. Sara then led the group on a quick march toward the city. The slain zombies were left behind. The rain gradually let up until it was little more than a drizzle.

“I can’t believe you let them go,” May muttered angrily to Sara.

Sara did not reply, but her expression darkened further.

Once they arrived in the city, they saw a mid XP party of mounted Rough Riders heading toward the gate. Sara flagged them down and addressed the lead rider after they came to a halt. “We need help. There’s been an attack. A hunter and an inmate together killed a min XP Rough Rider party called Death Legion.”

“Damn it,” the rider said angrily. “Tell me everything you remember about them.” His eyes stopped focusing on Sara—he must have opened the note function on his HUD.

“The hunter was called ‘Red Knight.’ His account number was redacted, and he’s currently at 12% XP. Based on his health and mana totals, I believe his race is human and he’s equipped with a rare mana gem. Definitely rare speed as well, based on his running ability. He’s purchased the strength enhancement mod, and altered his character so that he’s without a visible body—he’s in a suit of red full plate, about two meters high, with a sword and shield. His known spells are fire strike and a combat pet—a deformed vulture without a name.

“He must be incredibly wealthy—besides the mods he communicates, perhaps exclusively, with game texts.” Pari realized that she had not been the only one to get the text. Over a thousand dollars spent to make a stupid joke to five inmates? Even Sandra would not be so pointlessly wasteful. “He’s also hired an NPC to drive a wagon with four horses. The horses looked to be max speed.

“The traitor was inmate 901071, Dennis Cantor. Manslaughter, child. 10% XP. He—”

“I’ve seen that bastard,” the rider said, disgusted. “He came into a blacksmith shop while I was having my armor altered. When I saw he was a child killer I made a lethal challenge, and he ran off.”

“He must have been trying to buy his buckler,” Sara speculated. “He was also armed with an ax. No armor though—between that and the default peasant clothes, I doubt he had a plea bargain. He’s also human, and was equipped with tier two regulars. I don’t see how he could have afforded that on his own, so I assume it’s something the hunter had in his inventory. He didn’t have a strike spell, so it’s likely he hasn’t purchased his spells yet.

“If the two continue working together, I expect the knight will further upgrade the traitor’s gems and spells. They were last seen heading northeast from the Stronghold of Giants. On the road there are four zombies—that’s where the battle took place. ...Oh, and the party name was ‘Killers.’”

The rider looked to Sara once more. “With a stupid name like that, it’s like the bastards don’t even care about what they’re doing to us. ...Thank you for your help.” He turned to his fellows. “I’ll inform the general. All of you, do your best to find them!”

“Sir!” the four men said in unison. They rode rapidly out of the city gate, while the leader turned back and rode into the city.

“I can’t believe you noticed all that,” May said quietly. Pari had been thinking the same thing. “I was too angry to think straight.”

“I also let my emotions reduce my situational awareness,” Clare admitted.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” May added. “I was completely outta line, and they were tougher than they looked. ...Still, it was four on two.”

“Death Legion lost five against two—maybe they weren’t as good as us, but they were all competent,” Sara reluctantly pointed out. “That knight probably wasn’t a newbie—hunters can have multiple characters on their accounts. The worst case scenario is that he’s a top player with years of experience. Even someone like that might decide to slaughter newbies for a lark.

“...Also, it was three on two. I’m pretty sure Pari was too shaken up to fight—I would have had to send her back to the safe area before we attacked.”

Everyone looked to Pari. She turned away as she tearfully confessed. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t take it. I was so scared.” She then managed to meet the gaze of her party members. “But please give me another chance! I can’t stand that those monsters got away because of me. I promise I’ll do better...”

“It’s okay,” Sara said. She and May put comforting hands on Pari’s shoulders. “You weren’t the only one who was scared. When I saw the rest of Death Legion, lying there... I very nearly gave an order to flee back to the dungeon.”

“I have more to be ashamed of than you,” May admitted. “I missed most of what Sara saw. If I’d been in charge, I would’ve attacked—and maybe gotten us all killed.”

“I won’t pretend that I was ready to lead in that situation,” Clare said flatly. “But anger is more excusable than cowardice.”

“Clare!” Sara cried.

“You always know just what to say to make things worse, don’t you?” May asked irritably.

“No, she’s right,” Pari said. “I was the weak link, and we shouldn’t sugar coat it. If I act like that again, we could all end up dead. I won’t fail again,” she finished with determination. Sara and May finally withdrew their hands. Clare looked displeased, but apparently she was satisfied enough not to pursue the issue further.

“As horrible as this is, at least we have the right person deciding tactics,” May said to Sara. “You were smart about it—you got a read on the situation, and made the better choice.” Pari and Clare nodded.

“Sure, I’m so great,” Sara said with bitter sarcasm. Pari was surprised by her reaction. “The girl with the glasses is so clever! What a trope!” She turned away from the rest of the group and angrily yanked off her glasses. She tossed them hard against the nearby side of a building. Instead of shattering, they simply bounced off the wall and soon disappeared into her inventory. She was crying now. “What the good is ‘smart’ if I can’t stop two murderers from strolling away right in front of me?!”

Another party of low XP adventurers who were walking toward the gate stopped to stare at her outburst. “Hey, there was a hunter out there earlier,” May told them. “Wiped a whole party.” They soon turned back. After this, Pari and May moved to comfort Sara. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have been singing your praises when you’re feeling just as powerless as the rest of us.”

“I should have made them wait for us,” Sara insisted, sobbing. Seeing her cry brought additional tears to Pari’s eyes. “Everything would have been fine if we’d gone home together in a raid.”

“It was their choice not to wait,” May said. “They probably thought you were being paranoid when you suggested it—even I did.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Pari added. “Please don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Thank you,” Sara said quietly.

Everyone was facing away from Clare, but she addressed them. “I know everyone’s upset, but we need to focus on what our next move is. There’s not much we can do about a hunter—but a traitor killing other inmates lowers our odds of survival on Invasion Day. Takahashi, I know you’re against the death penalty—”

Sara glared over her shoulder. “If it wasn’t allowed then no one would be dead right now, would they?!” Pari had never seen her react in such a harsh manner. Clare—who up to this point had seemed entirely too calm about the situation—suddenly looked as if she had been genuinely hurt.

See the change that came over Clare upset Sara. She turned to face the tank once more. “I’m sorry. I lost my temper—”

“Don’t apologize,” May interrupted irritably. “It’s past time you were straight with her.”

“...I didn’t mean that the way it came out,” Clare said miserably. “I just meant...I know you hate killing. But what do you want to do about this?”

“What I hate is killing for pleasure.” Sara materialized her glasses into one of her hands and put them back on. This act seemed to calm her slightly. “If there were a way to deal with the traitor without violence, I would take it.” Pari knew that was the right way to feel—but as devout as she was, even she had trouble with it. “But unless he gives up his rampage, there isn’t. It’s an unfortunate truth of this game that no one can be imprisoned within the prison. If anyone attempted to jail the traitor, he could use the report function to escape.

“But there’s one thing I’m absolutely certain of—we shouldn’t go after those two until everyone has a rare speed gem. They’re far too dangerous to face otherwise.” The rest of the party nodded. “For now, we’ll want to gather as much information as we can on these ‘Killers.’”

She sighed before continuing. “They must have chosen that nonchalant name to anger potential opponents and cloud their judgment. If that’s true, then the text was a continuation of the same strategy.”

“That strategy certainly worked on me,” May said miserably.

“It didn’t really,” Sara said. “Had you decided to fight them alone, or perhaps with Clare...”

“The thought crossed my mind.”

“Mine as well,” Clare added uncomfortably. “I’m starting to think you were right about the knight being an experienced player.”

Sara nodded. “Besides gathering information, we’ll want to go to John for advice. I’m sure he’s dealt with situations like this before. So let’s not commit to anything dangerous until we have all the facts available.”

Pari spoke up reluctantly. “Sara...I’d like to go to the cathedral. Bishop Bell can contact Death Legion’s families and find out what arrangements they might want.”

“I don’t mean to offend you, but we shouldn’t consider that a priority,” Clare said. “Those bodies are nothing but ones and zeroes.”

“And a corpse in real life is nothing but a collection of molecules that no longer holds a soul,” Pari said stiffly. “A funeral might comfort the victims’ families. And those here who consider the people we just lost friends.”

“...That’s a fair point,” Clare admitted. Pari was relieved not have caused any more conflict.

“Why don’t we go to the cathedral first then?” Sara asked. “It’s possible we can prevail on the bishop to do some internet searches for us.”

“I don’t think he’s supposed to circumvent our lack of internet access,” Pari said softly.

“That may be true, but this is an extreme situation. ...There’s no harm in asking,” Sara pointed out. The mage nodded. Sara led the group in the direction of the nearby trolley stop. “I’m also planning on using my reply to the knight’s text to expand on what I said to him earlier. I know diplomacy is very unlikely to resolve this situation, but nothing is lost by trying.”

By this time, small crowds of adventurers had started arriving at the city gate after their days of running dungeons or questing. Pari could not help but think that with those killers still out there, Death Legion would not be the only ones to fail to make it home today.