Chapter 324: Contemplate the Sorrow

Author's Preface
Hobbies completely exploding.

Sunraku: So, did you guys end up clearing Ctarrnid?

Akitsu Akane: Ah, I was curious about that too!

Arthur Pencilgon: We cleared itー

Arthur Pencilgon: I really wanted to beat the crap out of Sunraku-kun for withholding information roughly eight times, but I guess it's true that it wouldn't be as fun if you challenged it knowing everything beforehand.

Arthur Pencilgon: Aside from us, it was practically everyone's first Unique Scenario, right? Everyone was super tensed up... It was a massive pain trying to stop them when they tried to launch a full-frontal assault on the Delusional Form...

Arthur Pencilgon: But seriously, the scenario instantly ending the moment you win is totally demonic.

Rust: But you won, so what's the problem?

Arthur Pencilgon: We got completely wiped out by some weird killer whale, and then a zombie panic started chaining out of nowhere! The exhaustion of the process completely ruined the afterglow of victoryー!!

Sunraku: Eh, are you seriously telling me you couldn't beat the Atlanticus Repnorca on your first try!?

Sunraku: Are youuuu s-e-r-i-o-u-s-l-y telling me thaaaaaaaat!!?!?

Arthur Pencilgon: Well, I didn't sell my soul to seafood like a certain fish-faced guy didー.

Sunraku: You wanna go, punk?

Arthur Pencilgon: Wanna hear the story about how a gender-bent Katzo-kun grew a stick without changing his appearance at all?

Sunraku: Wait, I'm gonna go buy some popcorn. And cola.

Mold: This guy is fully prepared to sit down and listen to the whole thing...

Sunraku: Setting that aside, what happened to Katzo-kun, who was officially designated as a bottom by Ctarrnid? I'm currently running a newly triggered Unique Scenario, but...

Sunraku: I'm running it! BUT!!!

OiKatzo: Hearing that report helped me make up my mind. I'm snitching on him.

Sunraku: Wait.

Sunraku: Wait, Katzo-san, let's talk this out?

Sunraku: Do you know what clearly distinguishes humanity from beasts? It's our ability to indirectly resolve issues through conversation, you know?

OiKatzo: The emotion of primal rage leans more towards the beast side, doesn't it?

Arthur Pencilgon: Ehhh!? Is it just me, or did a stray bullet just hit me straight in the face!?

Psyger-0: What exactly are we talking about?

Rust: I'm gonna go buy popcorn and cola.

Mold: What an ugly cannibalistic feast...

Sunraku: My absolutely guaranteed-to-make-you-laugh story!! Featuring Pendrill-gon piercing straight through the textures with a high-speed spin-dive!!

Arthur Pencilgon: Featuring Chimera-Katzo-kun completely fusing with a thicc middle-aged man!!

OiKatzo: Featuring Sunraku-rocket blasting off at the speed of sound toward the render limit while shooting attack effects out of his ass!!

Mold: Nuburyufu.

Rust: This is gonna take three days.

............

.........

......

It seems they did manage to clear it.
While pondering how to secretly Dispose of (Silence) OiKatzo, I logged in. There was exactly one day of grace left before the aforementioned royal rescue operation. That is exactly why... it's time for a Unique Scenario.

"How should I put it... it's honestly impressive how these things end up connecting in the strangest ways..."

Normally, this wouldn't be the time to be doing something like this. Escort missions inherently require long, drawn-out battles. The player must act as a guide, and at times, a wall to protect the VIP. And considering my build has the defensive integrity of a paper screen, the moment I'm forced to act as a wall, I'm already fighting with a severe handicap.
I also needed to think up a Last Resort for emergencies, restock my items, and prepare weapons tailored for a prolonged engagement.

But none of that mattered. I had plenty of time, and something interesting had popped up, so why shouldn't I prioritize it? They say "It's no use crying over spilled milk," but diving headfirst into an obvious regret is just a part of life. Because, come on... aren't you curious? A love romance between a penalty monster and a rare monster?

Unique Scenario: "Sorrow Born of Love, and Thus Death" (True Love and True Hate).

The trigger conditions were presumably possessing both the True Quiet's weapon, "Black Heavens Dustless Scythe (Noblu Scythelent)," and the General Dullahan's weapon, "Decapitation Sword of the Flame General." The final condition... and this is just a guess, but it likely requires the presence of someone with an advanced knowledge of weapons—a blacksmith ranked "Master" or higher.
In fact, the exact moment I triggered this Unique Scenario was when I casually showed the Noblu Scythelent to Bilac. When she suddenly said, "This scythe is... searchin' fer someone? Oi, bring out that greatsword from before," I froze for a second, completely unable to understand what she meant.

From there, the event progressed. According to her: "There's a strong connection between this scythe and that sword," "This connection ain't no half-baked thing," and "If ya wish to know what lies ahead, the owner of that sword... the General Dullahan himself will be yer clue."
It was basically explicitly telling me, "Go make contact with General Dullahan to trigger the next flag," which made me chuckle slightly. But stepping on obvious landmines is the stylish thing to do. And so, having arrived in Eighthold, I took an incredibly rare detour and headed down into the undead world spreading out beneath the Crystal Nest Cliff (Friend's House)...

"Ah? You wanna go, punk? You think a bunch of calcium deposits like you can take me on?"

I ain't got time to entertain you guys. Shoo, shoo. Now then, I wonder where General Dullahan is............

Two hours later.

"He's not here!"

Is it just trash RNG!? Or is there an event flag I missed!? Ah, dammit! Because there's no strategy guide, I have no choice but to figure this out myself!!
Uhh, let's see? First, clarify the background relationships. That's an ironclad rule. The basic synopsis is basically, "True Quiet's weapon and General Dullahan's weapon are reacting to each other, so why don't you go check it out?" The cast of characters is obviously True Quiet and General Dullahan. Judging by the flavor text of R.I.P., the Noblu Scythelent, the Flame General, and the Decapitation Sword of the Flame General... it seems they were a knight and his wife from the ancient era, somewhere between the Divine Age and the modern era.

Apparently, the King and Princess of that time pulled some kind of romantic scandal that led to a tragedy... What should I do, Iwamaki-san? Even the romance in this game seems like complete trash. Well, whatever. What we do know is that "The Black Knight lost his head and wanders," and "The wife lost her mind and became a heavenly spirit." What the hell is with this bad ending? Eh!? Are you telling me there's still a Route we can enter from this situation!?

"Where's the flag...? The most likely candidate is an encounter with General Dullahan, but..."

Well, directly contacting the character involved is the safest bet... Wait, directly contacting the character involved?

"............"

A moment of hesitation. The strategy itself is simple. However, if I do it, I'll suffer a demerit. Since it would negatively impact the main Unique Scenario I'm progressing, it's not a demerit I can just ignore... But right then, the Iwamaki-san in my heart (imaginary) let out a soft laugh with a fuh.

(.........Do not falter in the face of love, young one!)

No, the ones dealing with love and romance are the penalty grim reaper and the rampaging Dullahan, not me.
Even so, my mind was made up. If this had been the two fiends telling me this, I would have mentally punched them, but since it's Iwamaki-san (imaginary) saying it, I guess I'll do it.

"Oops, first I need to change my gear..."

The Sturdy Iron Series. A set of equipment completely devoid of any special abilities and specialized entirely in raw defense power. Holding a holy chalice in my right hand and a black crystal in my left... Shall I act a little theatrical?

"Henshin!! Just kidding."

............

.........

......

The player's name was Mia.
She possessed a temperament that disliked violence and a personality that despised gaining an advantage by dragging others down... In short, she was a person wholly unsuited for the Hack & Slash genre. However, due to her real-life living situation preventing her from owning a pet, and a boy she had recently grown close to recommending it as "A Hack & Slash game with more realism than a poorly made simulation," she started playing ShanFro.

Tamer was a class whose importance had recently been reevaluated as the predecessor to the Beast Tamer. And alongside "Kuritaro"—a Buddy Dog, which boasted popularity rivaling the cat-motif Buddy Cats—Mia was steadily, albeit slowly, progressing through the game. Because she felt "At the very least, attacking bones and zombies carries less psychological resistance," she had challenged the Canyon of the Ancient Souls.
As a side note, Mia... Suda Mia's biggest weakness was horror movies.

"Uuu... W-We're just scouting today, so... Kuritaro, once we defeat a weak monster, let's head back immediately, okay...?"

"Wan!"

It wasn't as if Mia intended to clear the Canyon of the Ancient Souls entirely on her own with just Kuritaro. However, since Reiji—the person who invited her to ShanFro—was currently on the New Continent, and since she had proudly declared to him, "The next time we meet, I might be a Tamer!", she felt she had to push forward using her own strength.
While parting up with randoms was an option she kept in her back pocket, she harbored the heartwarming goal of proudly showing off a cool tamed monster alongside Kuritaro the next time she met him. And so, while timidly advancing through the canyon after using Holy Water on both herself and Kuritaro as a countermeasure against the miasma, she eventually grew accustomed to the fear and noticed something strange.

"There are... no monsters?"

Her intention was to eventually recruit a random party when she was ready to seriously clear the area, so this specific attempt was purely for the sake of "getting used to the horror-type monsters that spawn in this area."
The area between Firstia and Thirdrema, which housed a massive number of new players, and the New Continent and Fifticia, which housed the top players moving to new frontiers... the areas sandwiched between those two zones had fallen into a state of pseudo-depopulation. But even so, there was no way there shouldn't be a single monster to be found.........

It happened right at that moment. Just as Kuritaro stepped in front of Mia and growled, a massive roar accompanied an impact as something fell from the sky, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and miasma.

"W-What is... Hih!?"

Rattling its non-existent throat with a katakatakata and echoing the hollow clattering of bones, the monster was a Skeleton Wyvern. Although Mia had no way of knowing this, it was the miserable remains of a wyvern that had cockily landed on the Crystal Nest Cliff, only to be brutally beaten to a pulp by the Crystal Scorpions reacting to the impact, before finally being discarded into the bottom of the canyon.

"K-Kuritaro... Nope! This is impossible! Let's run! Kuritaro!!"

Mia's stats were a textbook example of a beginner's Jack of All Trades (Master of None) build: "I raised my MP because I want to use magic, but I also incorporated everyone's advice, and the result is completely half-baked." Paired with a Buddy Dog that could barely function as a decoy, this was absolutely not an opponent she could defeat.
Although the Skeleton Wyvern lacked long-range attacks like a breath weapon, the agility it gained from discarding its muscles and viscera, combined with the sheer mass of its skeletal frame, made its charges more than enough to send a person flying.

The Skeleton Wyvern, Having arrived here after fleeing, shifted its aggro. It directed its murderous intent toward the insolent little dog growling at it despite its puny size, and the human looking at it with terrified eyes.
Tears welled up in Mia's eyes, yet Kuritaro still growled, making his fur stand on end in a desperate attempt to protect her.

Mia and Kuritaro had no idea. The Skeleton Wyvern, even if only for a fleeting moment, had completely forgotten.

"Fufufufuhahahahahaha.........!!"

It had forgotten what it had been fleeing from. It had forgotten that The Thing which had just completely massacred the zombies and skeletons deep within the canyon—the absolute incarnation of terror sprinting wildly while wreathed in black lightning—was right behind it───!!

"D-i-e──────!!"

"Hyuh."

A pitch-black mourning dress danced through the air, stepping on the void and tearing through the sky. Bearing unnaturally massive fists shining in gold and silver, it descended as if dancing through the air, utilizing gravity to smash an iron fist directly into the Skeleton Wyvern's skull.
By the time the Skeleton Wyvern's AI remembered, it was already too late. Scattering black miasma and lightning from its entire body... a final, decisive blow from the incarnation of dark clouds and thunderstorms shattered the Skeleton Wyvern's skull, blasting its skeletal frame into a million pieces.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuu............."

"A-Aah............"

Within the universally produced horror genre, there were two specific types of horror that Mia absolutely could not overcome.
One was a seemingly inexhaustible wave of despair. A horde of zombies or monsters with no hope in sight... the terror of having all your efforts crushed by sheer overwhelming numbers.
And the other was... a slasher-movie serial killer who possessed an absolute, overwhelming advantage and brutally murdered the cast one by one............

"───My, haven't we met somewhere before?"

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!"

"Kyaun!?"

Turning toward Mia with a gurin, its face was completely hidden behind a veil, making it impossible to read its expression. But to Mia's terror-clouded eyes, it looked like nothing more than a faceless monster. The eerily clear voice of a young girl only served as the perfect essence to heighten her fear.
Exhibiting an agility that far exceeded her stats, she scooped up Kuritaro and sprinted back the way she came with every fiber of her being. Etching deeply, deeply into her heart the absolute certainty that This area is impossible.........

"───Ah, she was with that guy named Reiji..."

She suffered from nightmares for an entire week.

Author's Afterword
It's mostly because I bought BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, and because I had to choose between two games and couldn't buy The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince. I'm blatantly transforming, I really need to learn the meaning of the word "restraint"............ Setting that aside, in terms of the plot, Section A of this chapter felt a bit too short and focused solely on player-interactions, so this was somewhat of an attempt to spice things up.

Even though I've written over 300 chapters, I'm still faintly realizing that the natural flow of things inevitably leads to running out of time and space.