Chapter 144: Limit Limit March

"So, yeah. First off, do you know of any places where we can secure our safety?"

"I-if that is what you seek, it is simple... Those things rely almost entirely on sight and sound to detect enemies. Therefore, if you separate yourself from them visually and auditorily with a wall, they won't find you unless you commit a major blunder."

"I see, so basically..."

It was the other way around. It wasn't that there was a safe save zone somewhere in this city; it was that every building in this city theoretically functions as a save zone. Basically, it's hide-and-seek. As long as you aren't found, the hiding spot maintains its safety. Figuring out how to get inside aside, if you can turn almost the entirety of this massive city—a place so vast it would take a week to fully map out—into a save point, taking action becomes much easier.

"I had heard of their nature through rumors... I hid inside a house, but I blundered and met their eyes through the window, resulting in that predicament..."

"That is some dangerously high-stakes hide-and-seek..."

If you're found, you're chased by a mob of fish-men numbering in the dozens (and increasing over time), and if you carelessly take to the roofs, the Mermaids shower you with debuffs... A game of stealth tag, huh? The fish-men themselves are manageable if you sprint full tilt, which means the key to exploring this city lies in finding a strategy to deal with the Mermaids.

"For now, we'll find a base. Until we make contact with either Mermaids or fish-men, I'm gonna need you to spill every piece of intel you know."

We ran for over ten minutes, occasionally being chased by fish-men, until Araba and I found a house where the roof had caved in just enough to halt its collapse while still allowing us to slip inside. Entering it, we finally caught our breath. Compiling the information I extracted from Araba, the contents of this scenario became somewhat clearer.

First of all, this NPC named Araba belongs to a completely different species from those rotten fish balls and Mermaids. When I asked him that, I nearly got bitten, but yeah, if someone I just met told me, "You have a face like a chimpanzee, so you must be a chimpanzee," I'd probably punch them too. Though in my (Sunraku's) case, a single bite from him is a matter of life and death, so I dodged it.
Araba belongs to a species called Mermans, and those fish-men and Mermaids are apparently fish that were mutated by the power of the Lord, namely Ctarrnid. According to him, "living fish that are not human" were inverted and mutated into "dead fish-men that are not fish," and conversely, "dead fish that are not human" were turned into "living Mermaids that are not fish"... The fact that it can actually enforce such twisted, illogical nonsense is probably what makes it a Unique Monster. But knowing that reveals a certain fact.

"If it can create enemies out of fish, practically speaking, slaughtering them all is impossible... Though I feel like I could exploit that."

The best, most straightforward way to reduce encounters with trash mobs is the method of "exterminating them until they stop spawning." But if it can turn fresh fish sourced from the local sea into rotten fish-men in an instant, fighting them yields absolutely nothing but degraded equipment and broken bones. If I had to name a benefit, it'd be item drops. The Mermaids dropped an item called "Mermaid Red Meat"... Wait, doesn't this count as cannibalism? Or does the "it's from the lower half" theory make it okay? Actually, does this mean there's white meat too?

Next, the four towers and the single castle. Mostly as expected—or rather, following the standard RPG template—Ctarrnid of the Abyss, the Lord of this Abyssal Capital Ruluiath, is apparently lurking in the deepest part of the castle. And in the four towers, monsters called "Sealed Generals" are stationed.

"The Lord of the Abyss hasn't invited us to Ruluiath because he wants to kill us. To him, everything in this city is nothing more than pieces on a board..."

"Ah, that's just standard trope behavior, so I don't really care."

I should just be glad it isn't forcing us into a Battle Royale. There are cases where party members who shared hardships turn on each other in a bloody PvP over rewards, so I was wary of it trying to induce infighting, but I guess I can consider that possibility low.
And the mid-bosses, the "Sealed Generals," each possess special abilities that seal away our powers. As far as Araba knows, one of the Sealed Generals, "Clionea," completely seals away all magic. Clionea... Clione? The Sea Angel (That surprisingly gross thing)?[*1]
And finally, regarding the monster Ctarrnid of the Abyss. Ctarrnid of the Abyss is a transcendent being who reigns as the Lord unifying all phenomena at the bottom of the sea, in the abyss where no light reaches. An entity possessing the power of "Inversion," capable of flipping, reversing, and scrambling the Logic of this world, mutating the world itself—that is Ctarrnid.
This Ruluiath was originally just an ordinary island on the surface of the sea, but Ctarrnid's power twisted the space itself, flipping the "Island Above the Sea" into an "Island Below the Sea." That alone speaks volumes of its immense power.

"Ctarrnid invites humans to his dwelling to relieve his boredom by watching them struggle. The only way to return alive from here is to entertain Ctarrnid."

"Hah, so I just need to do a stand-up comedy routine in front of an octopus?"

"There was once a man, the only one among the Mermans, who escaped Ruluiath alive. That man pierced Ctarrnid's left eye... and when he came to, he had apparently escaped Ruluiath."

"Heeh... you sure know a lot of specific details."

"That man was my grandfather."

"So it's a family matter."

Alright, let's assemble the intel.
First, the final objective in this Unique Scenario EX is to fulfill some sort of condition against Ctarrnid of the Abyss. Defeating it is probably impossible. How are you supposed to kill something that revives even if it dies? Just like when Lycaon inflicted the Curse (Marking), or when the Vorpal Bunnies made contact... there must be some specific clear condition.
And what we need to do before challenging the boss of this scenario is conquer the four "Sealed Generals." Ten to one, there's some kind of boss fight gimmick involved. Otherwise, there's no point in making four stationary bosses instead of roaming ones; there must be a reason for players to actively head toward them. If they're just simple bonus elements, I'm going to cry.
Well then, what I need to do is decided. Just in case, I moved all my items into the Inventoria and fully restored my HP, Hunger, and other parameters. By the way, thanks to the Arcanum of "The Fool," I got screwed by RNG and failed to heal four times. Damn you, random numbers.

"Save complete... Alright, I'm heading out for a bit."

"To where?"

"My comrades are somewhere in this city, and while I'm at it, I'll look for your weapon too."

Now that I've secured a respawn point, there's nothing left to fear. So there's only one thing left to do.

"A suicide charge."

"Uhahahahaha!! I feel like the Pied Piper of Hamelin!"

A half-naked man sprinted through the monochromatic blue ruined city. Behind him, an ever-growing horde of fish-men—numbering well over a hundred by my visual estimate—was on a grand march, targeting a single human. Looking up at the sky, the songs of Mermaids echoed, and occasionally, whether it was an attack or not, a Mermaid would dive-bomb me with arms spread wide as if to embrace me.
I wasn't completely without hesitation about kicking away entities modeled as beautiful girls or women, but by the tenth one I punted away, I got used to it.
Leading a massive horde that had practically turned into a horror parade, with beautiful (harmful) singing voices serving as BGM, I simply ran through the city.

"No, I mean, I intentionally drew aggro to stand out, but this is way too many spawns! Ahahaha!"

A horror game where you're chased by zombies just turns into a comedy when there are this many. Even though I'm running frantically, the Mermaids' song is a relaxed, slow tempo. The mismatch is so absurd it's making me laugh.
Run, run, run. Since every single one of them is just chasing me from behind, there's no need to constantly check on them. Just look forward, gather info, search for people, and scavenge items!

"Momentum! Power! Unreasonableness! You guys are lacking in absolutely everything!"

Compared to those insane scorpions that suddenly pop out of the ground, instantly call for backup, and have completely broken individual combat power, this is practically easy mode. Normally, I'd probably be hit with overlapping debuffs from the Mermaids that would lock down my movements, but frustratingly, thanks to Lycaon's Scar, I repel any magic-based buffs and debuffs.
Actually, I'm curious what would happen if they pinpoint-targeted my head or waist, but at the very least, since the Mermaids' song affects my entire body and not just my ears, it gets resisted by my legs and torso.
The Mermaid's upper half is just mimicry, like the lure of an anglerfish. And yet, when one of them frowned at me with an expression that seemed to ask Why? exactly like a human, I ruthlessly delivered an uppercut to her jaw.
I knew it. Fighting the fish-men or Mermaids in this scenario is the worst possible plan. I can tell because I fought them a few times: putting aside the issue of infinite spawns, the effort required to kill them isn't worth the reward.

"So the default intended method for this scenario... is 'stealth.'"

Thinking about it that way, what I'm doing right now is the worst of the worst plans, a foolish strategy that draws unnecessary aggro... but on the flip side, it also means that right now, in this moment, I am the most closely watched entity in this entire ruined city.

"Those afar, hear the sound; those near, come and see... basically."

Among living creatures with some degree of intellect, they generally fall into two categories: they either "investigate" or "run away" from something making a massive racket as it approaches.

"Inhale............ IS ANYONE HEREEEEEEEEEE!!"

"ZANRAGUZAAAAAAN...!!"[*2]

Bingo, a response!!

Author's Afterword

Ah, the window! At the window![*3]

Regarding the resistance check for the Scar: if an effect targets the entire body, it can be nullified, but if it targets a specific part of the body, it might not be.
In short, effects that target cannot be nullified, but effects that do not target can be nullified. (Konami Language)[*4]

Translator's Notes

• *[1] Clione: A type of small, free-swimming sea slug known as a "Sea Angel." They look cute, but their feeding process—where their head splits open to reveal six tentacles that grab prey—is notoriously horrifying.

• *[2] ZANRAGUZAAAAAAN: Emul is crying/screaming "Sunraku-san" so hard her voice is distorted.

• *[3] The window! At the window!: A quote from H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon, fitting the aquatic, eldritch horror theme of Ctarrnid.

• *[4] Konami Language: A joke among Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! players referring to the game's incredibly complex and specific card text rules, particularly the difference between effects that "target" and those that don't.