Eight hours before the battle between Kuzu and the trio commenced.
Hitori walked into the fourth gaming alley with two mocktails in his hands. An hour had passed since Reon decided to take her to leave and so did Kamiya and Hitori. They were mentally trying to prepare themselves for the night.
Hitori took slow steps and stopped near Kamiya who was staring at his screen with a frown.
Hitori placed Kamiya's glass full of red liquid, the same as his eye color. "Wildcat Cooler," Hitori said, as he walked past Kamiya and sat on his chair.
Hitori placed his Blue Lagoon mocktail on his table after taking a sip. Then he glanced at Kamiya, his face muscles wrinkled from all sides.
"What is it?" Hitori leaned closer to take a peek into Kamiya's screen.
Kamiya glanced at Hitori then back at his screen. "In the Dreadful Retreat," Kamiya said, still staring at his screen.
"The forest in the Lab dungeon?" Hitori wanted to confirm. Kamiya nodded.
"I have found something... I do not know, strange? I mean, there is this extra skull-like cave or I guess a hideout on the forest's right side."
Hitori frowned at Kamiya before he reached out to take a look at his screen. Kamiya zoomed the image and a skull-like projection appeared on the screen.
"I can not take a look inside, they say we have not cleared the optional part of the dungeon so we can not use it either."
Hitori stared at the cave, which was a hideout or a mini-dungeon, you could say. Hitori studied the projection then his eyes went up to read the cave's title.
[The Duergar Trio's Turf]
Hitori and Kamiya exchanged glances. "Do something, Kamiya. If needed, enter the game and examine this cave in person."
Kamiya looked at Hitori with a solemn expression. "Hm, I will," he assured.
But then Hitori added, "If this is planned, we will be doomed."
[You have cleared the third floor]
Kuzu entered the Goblin King's second floor. A treasure box lay in front of him. A grin jerked on Kuzu's face at the sight of the wavy green mist.
"Good job, treasure box." Kuzu walked past the box, he did not even bother to take a look and entered the next floor.
He quickly brought himself and his men to a stop, he stretched his hand. "Pull those chemicals out," Kuzu ordered, he turned and gestured for his mate to come forward.
"W-what is he doing?"
"He guarded this dungeon, remember? He knows what lies ahead."
"Unless the trio has changed the dungeon's structure."
Kuchiki listened to the chit-chat around but did not bother to participate. He was more worried about Yaban's rivalry with Reon to unfold.
From where they stood, the tower couldn't aim at Kuzu and his team of four players and two monsters.
Kuzu's man stepped forward and stretched out his hand. Kuzu grabbed one tube from the pile of four. Then he handed the tube to an orc standing in front of him.
The orc raised its hand and jerked the tube, without crushing it in between his fist. It went right through the electric tower's sphere.
Kamiya frowned, he could not understand what was going on, and neither could the audience. When Kuzu was done throwing four tubes in four directions, he paused.
His man went and brought another four tubes filled with... it was an opaque tube so Kamiya could not tell what was inside. Kuzu's orcs threw the remaining four tubes.
Kuzu and his men leaned down and covered their ears. Kamiya's eyebrows contrasted when he saw some sort of spark. His eyes widened when he realized the reason behind Kuzu's actions.
Boom.
The first electric tower collapsed.
Boom.
Right the next second, the second tower exploded. Followed by two more, simultaneously, exploded into dust and fire.
"W-what was that? What did that bastard do?"
Kuchiki folded his arms. "To re-structure a level twenty-six dungeon, it would cost you somewhere around one hundred thousand yen." They turned to Kuchiki who continued with a straight face, "And that is a lot of money."
Kuzu did not even wait for the fire and crumbling rocks to stop, he took a step out of the entrance and strode across the floor. When he and his team reached the center of the floor, they got sucked in by the ground.
Kuzu landed on a platform flying in the air. But Kamiya was not ready to progress.
He switched back to the electric floor and tried to investigate what Kuzu really did. Kamiya zoomed on to the towers, still not respawning. He replayed the video.
Kuzu threw the first wave of tubes, the tubes but nothing happened. Then he threw the second wave of his tubes and every tower exploded into the fire, leaving nothing but some smoke.
Kamiya decided to zoom in on the sight. Little fire was still burning on the four spots across the floor, lighting up the dark floor.
Ding.
A message popped. And that message from the system was enough.
"Hydrogen peroxide..." Kamiya muttered, "mixed with picric acid." Kamiya did not know much about these chemicals but. "Did he want to blast the whole floor?"
No. The towers needed those highly explosive acids to light a fire by reacting with the oxygen in the air (yes, although players do not breathe inside the game, there is oxygen present in the game's atmosphere.) in order to destroy the towers.
Kuzu sends one of the orcs to run on the Ax Stone bridge. The orc did not know what dangers the bridge possessed. Yet, the orc advanced at its top speed.
Kuzu's eyes lowered to the orc's feet. He stepped on the right one, an ax came; he stepped on the lower-left one, and another ax swung at him.
Kuzu lifted his head and licked his lips. "Confirmed."
After the orc ran on the bridge, randomly, it could not walk--- run more than fifty feet. It fell off the bridge along with its weapon.
"Follow me!" Kuzu shouted. He stared down at the bridge and took a step off the platform.
'Wait... why is he not tense?' Kamiya's grin, in the hope of 'Kuzu would not be able to cross this bridge', faded.
Kuzu took another step, he leaned back and stood straight. Kuzu shrugged his shoulders, adjusted his hood, and took off with no one to stop him.
With every passing step, everybody's expressions faded like dark clouds. Everybody had got a hint of the bridge's significance, but they were disappointed when Kuzu walked with no trouble and his men followed him.
"No way..." Kamiya's mouth dropped open, his hands started trembling. "He has memorized the safe blocks!" he stood up from his folding chair. "I-I should have changed the structure when Reon-san asked me to." Kamiya grabbed his forehead in regret.
The whole bridge shook with a loud bang. Kuzu lowered his eyes. "Do not move. Stay still, if you move... fuck it."
Kuzu jerked around, pulled two blades from his sleeves, and took off. The first minotaur was easy to kill with a stab in its neck. Kuzu had to spar with the second for a while and the third took its good time before spawning.
Kuzu turned to his four men and one monster. "Fuck that orc," he shouted, "and cross the bridge when I assassinate the last one."
His men, without hesitation, pushed the orc down the bridge and charged forward. They went past Kuzu and stopped at the edge of the bridge.
Kuzu lifted his eyes and ducked an orange hammer's swing. He turned around and threw two of his blades at the minotaur.
It took the minotaur by surprise, it defended against one blade but the other blade stabbed its chest.
Kuzu bolted from his spot. So much speed that it became hard for the minotaur to keep up with him. Kamiya could not believe his eyes when Kamiya vanished into the thin air, appeared behind the minotaur, and stabbed its skull with a longer third blade.
"I even wasted a good sum for purchasing that war hammer." Kamiya sighed. There was nothing he could do.
The bridge started to collapse. Kuzu made a sprint, disappeared again, and appeared behind his mate.
"Come on!" he shouted, his four mates followed him to exit the Ax Stone bridge floor.
"But." Kamiya gulped. "This is where the real fun starts. I would not start it right away though."
Kuzu had already ordered, "When we enter the second last floor, I want all of you to sprint into the forest, then take a sharp right," he continued. "There will be a stone on the turning with a helmet on it."
Kuzu and his men appeared on the Duergars' floor. Kamiya's glint faded again when Kamiya's men sprinted towards the forest even when the ground did not shake, even when the mud and stones did not bounce.
"Fuck!" Kamiya shrieked bitterly. "He is one step ahead." Kamiya thought he was usually calm-headed and cool but he realized at times like these, it is hard to stay calm with so much less experience in this field.
Being gifted with the mind of a strategist does not mean you are born with a cool mind, they both come and get better with experience.
Kamiya sat and tried to focus on what Kuzu's next plan was-- after sending his men into the forest first.
"I would not let them come alive though." Kamiya did what he was waiting for-- he started the fun.
Poisonous flies crept out from the darkest corners of the trees. Hungry red foxes took charge to take care of the intruders. Fighting over fleeing, for a change.
Kuzu increased his speed when he heard the cry of his mate. Kamiya took a detour and asked his remaining three men to follow him.
Kamiya grinned. But it soon faded. He leaned forward. His hand pressed the connect option on its own. But Kamiya did not say anything.
Kuzu took a sharp right turn and ran straight ahead, full speed ahead. 'No.' Kamiya shook his head. "No, no, no."
Kuzu did not care about the rumbling ground and the bouncing stones as he ran on his path along with his two mates.
Kamiya wanted to make sure his guess was correct and when he confirmed it, he connected the call once again.
"Fuck!"
"W-what?!" Reon jumped from her throne, she glanced around before realizing that it was Kamiya talking to her.
"H-Hitori," Kamiya stuttered, "we are doomed!"
Hitori pulled an ice wall and retreated to the other side of the dungeon. "What doomed? I am still fighting Fierce-- no, it is not Fierce, I can feel it."
Kamiya purely ignored Hitori.
"Where is he headed?"
"What is going on?" The audience was as confused as Reon-- probably less confused than her.
Kuzu came to a pause, his grin widened as he stared at a skull's mouth in front of him. It was an entrance to some sort of a secret cave.
"K-Ku-Kuzu!" Kamiya shouted, "h-he is standing..." Kamiya stopped and took a deep breath.
"Of course, he is." Hitori took a glance on the other side.
"No..." Kamiya took heavy breaths.
"W-what is going on?!" Reon demanded.
"The cave!" Kamiya's voice came out with a snap.
Kuzu took a step forward. His hand went deep into the inside pocket of his assassin's jacket.
Slowly, with care, Kuzu pulled out a key of some sort. Kamiya's mouth dropped open, he could not complete his sentence, his eyes widened. Magus, Kuchiki, and Yaban leaned closer and zoomed.
"What is that key?" No one answered anyone.
They all zoomed in on a fragile-looking, pale white key in Kuzu's hand.
Kuzu marched to the skull's mouth and threw the key inside the mouth, inside the darkness.
"What is it, Kamiya? Things are getting bad on my side." Hitori took another glance. Former Fierce was soaring up into the sky. "Oh, crap." Hitori groaned.
"Kuzu... is standing." Kamiya's hand dropped. "Kuzu is standing in front of the Trio's Turf."
Hitori's frown turned into a pale, doomed expression. Hitori gulped and dropped his defeated eyes.
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