"Alright then. Now that we have a way to defeat him, shall we move on to uncovering the mystery of this pantry?"
Asfi regained her composure and remembered their original goal. Given the man's recent state, she thought he might answer questions if they asked.
"So, what exactly are you?"
Oblivious to the calm adventurers around him, still drunk on his own words, Olivas smiled and replied,
"I am the supreme being who wields the powers of both man and monster!"
He sneered down at the adventurers as he spoke arrogantly. As if to prove his claim, his wounds slowly healed, and the magical stone embedded in his chest closed up.
"You who rely only on the gods' 'blessings'... how do you expect to defeat me?"
No, they can defeat him. They had already blown off his arm and discovered his weakness.
They had a real chance. After all, challenging the unknown was an adventurer's true calling.
Even if he was a monster, knowing that they could win gave them the strength to stand up. With that thought, Asfi spoke again.
"Are you a remnant of the Evil faction, Evilus?"
Olivas laughed disdainfully at the question.
"I am nothing like those remnants of the past. I am no puppet dancing to the gods' strings."
That gave Toki pause. Was that really true?
From the way Olivas behaved, it seemed he was acting on behalf of someone, the"she" he had mentioned earlier. Yet, he worshiped this "her" with a fanatic devotion. Didn't he realize he was being used by that existence?
"What is this place? And what were you planning to do here?"
Asfi pressed the question, and Olivas answered without hesitation.
"This is the Seed Flower Plant."
"The Seed Flower Plant...?"
"Yes. This pantry is a breeding ground for giant flower monsters, parasitized to produce the carnivorous Violace. It's a relay station to proliferate 'deep layer' monsters in the shallow floors and ship them to the surface."
The adventurers were stunned again. They hadn't known carnivorous flowers were deep-layer monsters, and more importantly...
"Monsters giving birth to monsters... I've never heard of such a thing."
"No, it's not unprecedented. Monsters that reach the surface gather in packs to reproduce for their species' survival. But that's the only way they multiply. The offspring require magic stones, so surface monsters have smaller stones and are weaker... but this doesn't seem to be the case here."
They tried to reason with the man by bringing up other examples, but it barely worked.
"So, you, a tamer, created this space and commanded the monsters?"
"No, no, I am not a tamer."
Olivas's tone hardened, and he began to speak seriously.
"The carnivorous Violace, myself, we all share the same origin, 'She.' As her agent, the monsters obey my will."
Asfi, disgusted by the incomprehensible claim, pressed on.
"What is your goal?"
Olivas laughed easily and answered without hesitation.
"To destroy the labyrinth city of Orario."
The adventurers were stunned by the audacity of those words.
"Do you even realize what you're saying?"
Lulune, trembling, forced herself to grab her tail with one hand and asked.
Orario had been built long ago, before the gods descended to the mortal world, as a bulwark to keep dungeon monsters from escaping. The city walls were a remnant of that purpose.
If Orario were destroyed and monsters spilled out, it would mark the beginning of a war-torn era.
"I understand fully!!"
Olivas answered proudly.
"I will destroy this city by my own will! To fulfill 'Her' wish!"
He pointed behind him.
"Can't you hear it? 'Her' voice!!"
Behind him was the fetal orb.
"'She' longs to see the sky! 'She' yearns for the heavens!! 'She' desires it, and I shall devote myself to fulfilling that wish!!"
His pale face lit with a manic smile. His rambling made one thing clear: Olivas's loyalty and obsession with"Her" were fanatical.
"'She' sleeps deep underground, and this city stands in her way! This city, which blocks her great hole, must be destroyed!"
"Instead of foolish humanity and incompetent gods, 'She' alone should reign over the surface!!"
"Unlike the gods who laugh it off as entertainment and talk of cherishing life while doing nothing, 'She' gave me a second life, mercy!!"
"I was chosen by none other than 'Her'!! Only I, only we, can fulfill 'Her' wish! I will make sure 'Her' desires come true!!"
"'She' is everything to me!"
Fanaticism. That word flashed through every adventurer's mind.
But Toki had a different feeling: pity. What a weak person.
The fetus the man pointed to couldn't speak. Maybe he truly could hear it.
But what would be gained by destroying Orario to fulfill the wishes of this "She"?
What comes after the wish is fulfilled?
Surely Olivas never thought of these things.
In the end, his loyalty was just proof of his own existence, and his obsession was nothing but dependence on"Her." Toki thought.
"So then, who exactly is this 'She'?"
Careful not to provoke him, Toki asked the question that weighed most heavily on his mind.
"Hmph, kid, you wouldn't understand."
Olivas sneered at Toki's question.
"'She' is beyond human comprehension! You could never understand! But I can hear 'Her' voice!! This is proof that I was chosen by 'Her'!!"
The tense atmosphere that had been swirling around Olivas's words suddenly cooled off.
"Eh? What's going on? What do you mean by that!?"
A few, including Lulune, who hadn't quite grasped the situation, stepped forward to press for answers. Toki, holding his head, popped a headache pill into his mouth, swallowed, and finally replied.
"Well, to sum it up... he doesn't really understand it himself."
"...Huh?"
The confusion from before gave way to a heavy sense of disappointment. In other words, Olivas had gone this far, speaking so passionately, without truly understanding the very thing he claimed to serve.
"...Isn't that guy nuts?"
"Fanatics like him are all like that."
Even Bete was left speechless, and Toki sighed as he muttered. Still, both men's expressions hardened, as if saying they'd already asked everything they needed to know.
"Enough talk. Just shut up and die already... You probably can't move much anymore anyway."
Those words surprised Lefiya and the others, who glanced at Toki in disbelief.
"Toki, you, "
"Yes, I knew. He's just stalling for time. I figured there was no way he could fully recover from that damage, and I had things I wanted to ask, so I let him talk."
Their astonishment returned, realizing the two had known from the start: Olivas's recovery relied on using his own magic and life force, meaning he wouldn't be able to move freely.
"Hmph. Even if it's the 'Ferocious Wolf Vanargand,' I see you noticed too, kid."
Olivas acknowledged their insight with a cold smile but looked defiant.
"The blessing of 'Her', the one trying to keep me alive, is far too great for this body... As you say, I'm barely able to move now. But I..."
At that moment, Asfi and Bete's eyes widened as if they'd noticed something. Before they could act, Olivas raised one arm high.
"Release, the Giant Flower Viscum."
Immediately, one of the monsters parasitizing the giant root stirred, unfurling its petals as it peeled away with a tearing sound.
"Scatter!"
At Bete's shout, everyone quickly spread out, but Toki stood his ground. Then, glaring at Olivas, he summoned twelve massive black serpents.
"What!?"
"Damn it!"
Asfi and Bete cried out in shock, but their voices were drowned out by the sounds of the giant flower moving.
Toki's black serpents were indeed large, but compared to the giant flower, their size was clearly inferior. At this rate, the serpents would soon be crushed, and Toki overwhelmed... unless,
The black serpents converged toward the giant flower, intertwining. Their forms blended together, and a massive serpent emerged.
"What!?"
The giant serpent bit into the flower head-on, halting its fall. The immense weight, pulled down by gravity, stopped moving.
"So you weren't the only one buying time by talking."
Toki said to Olivas with a mocking smile.
Unlike ordinary magic, the spel l"Infinite Abyss" can be dispelled at Toki's discretion. After blasting Olivas away, Toki hadn't released the spell yet.
Moreover,"Infinite Abyss" has a hidden ability: it can be charged up over time. It takes a while, so Toki rarely uses it, but during the conversation, it had just barely charged enough to hold the line. Honestly, he wished he could have charged a bit longer.
"Hey, you snake bastard!"
"I'll hold him down! Check the location of the magic stones while I do!"
"Alright, kid! Here we go again, whoaaaaaa!"
Reacting to Olivas's furious shout, the giant flower moved, trying to break free from the serpent's grip. But the serpent wrapped its long body tightly around it, swinging left and right to keep the flower from hitting the ground.
Tentacles branching from the flower lunged at Toki, but,
"Haah!"
"Take this!"
The others stepped in to stop the attack.
"Thanks for the help."
"If only you'd asked earlier."
"Ahahaha, sorry about that."
Toki chuckled awkwardly, though his expression remained grim.
Sure, they were keeping the giant flower at bay, but the severe lack of charge meant Toki was losing power. For now, he was just barely holding on, but as time passed, the flower's movements would grow stronger.
"Uh, if possible, please hurry. Also, could you give me two High Magic Potions for advanced mental recovery?"
"You can't drink them yourself?"
"My hands are busy controlling the spell."
"Understood. Nelly, bring two High Magic Potions, please!"
Calling back Nelly from afar, Asfi handed the potions to Toki, and then shoved them forcefully into his mouth.
"Hmph!"
"Ugh!?"
The serpent's control faltered for a moment. Toki quickly regained control and gave Asfi a glare.
"What was that for?"
"Doing something reckless like that? You're grounded when we get back."
"Hey, stop the comedy and help me out here, Asfi!"
"Well, I'm off then."
Asfi walked away, and Toki focused again on controlling the serpent.
What Toki feared most now was Olivas moving a second giant flower. If that happened, there was no way to stop it, total annihilation would be inevitable.
"Grr, then take this!"
As if on cue, Olivas raised his arm again. Suddenly,
A section of the giant cavern's wall exploded.
--------
Note: The giant serpent transformation ability in this scene is inspired by Dimitri Vatler from Strike the Blood.
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