235 – My Love is My Enemy (Part 1)

And so, the day finally arrived.

We once again arrive at the Elementary Level – Beginner’s Dungeon.

Of course, it’s to attend the Festival.

A portion of this Dungeon is being rented out for the Festival Contest.

Before we, the Wraith party, make our entrance, we can hear the lively voices of the live commentary duo.

『A~nd the da~y has finally arri~ved! From this day onwards, the All-Heaven Festival Contest main event is officially underway!』

『The main event is split into three stages. First off, we’ll explain the first stage! Five hundred parties will be reduced to one hundred!』

『The following second stage will be in a tournament format! Separated into several blocks, parties will face off against other parties in party vs party battles to find out who will come out on top!』

『Only those who have achieved the top results in each block will move on to the next stage, stage three…where they get to duke it out against industry legends!』

『Awaiting them in the third and final stage is the party of former Impregnable Demon King Castle Demon King Army, led by the Undefeated Absolute Monarch Demon King Lucifer, and…!』

『The former 1st ranked party led by the Unyielding Hero Altreed!』

『The Adventurers and Monsters who both once made everyone’s hearts around the world race with excitement are now joining hands to challenge the strongest of our current age! Which party will snatch the challenger’s seat at the very end of all this?!!』

『At any rate! Let’s first explain the rules of the first stage of the main event…!』

And on they went about the rules. Compared to the rules in the preliminaries, this is pretty simple.

First of all, only five parties will participate in one match at a time.

There is no time limit.

They are all released onto the field at the same time, they fight with all their might, and only the last party standing can move on to the second stage.

And that’s it.

With the number of parties on the field greatly reduced, it should be easier for the viewers to watch the action on the screen.

『…and those are the rules!』

『I think it’s about time we get to the contestant entrances.』

If I remember correctly, we are going to be the fourth party to be called out.

The first is an Adventurer party ranked 130th. While not within the top 100, the fact that they are here proves that they have the ability.

The second is a unique party that is just made up of a collection of certain Jobs.

And the third is…

『Next is the party from the Southern Demon King Castle led by one of their Big Four, the Fire Manipulator Aym! They earned 880 points in the preliminaries! Along with her fellow fire-user, the Flame Spearman Amii, and their fellow Monsters from the same Dungeon, they appear on the stage!』[1. TL Note: Aym and Amii are both Demons from the Goetia related to fire.]

I can hear the cheers of the audience.

『And the next party is… The Wraith party led by the Water Hero! They scored 1150 points in the preliminaries, and by simple calculation, that means that they defeated one hundred and fifteen people!』

『In truth, they have points that they earned via support spells, so the true number of contestants they defeated is most likely more than that! The man who started out as the former 4th ranked party member, then became the champion of the Tag Tournament and Original Dungeon investigator, the Black Sorcerer Lem has done it all and more, and now he has become the brains of the operation for the Wraith party, bringing this varied party together to act as one.』

They continued to introduce the Destroyer Fran, the White Sorcerer Josh, and the Miner Melania.

「Brains of the operation, huh? Not bad. Maybe I should start calling you that too? I’m counting on you, Mr. Brains of the party.」

Wraith says to me with a cheeky grin.

Josh nods his head, agreeing fervently, Melania says「I think…Brains of the bunch…suits you, Lem.」and Fran had her usual expressionless face.

God, I’m so embarrassed.

「Likewise, fearless leader.」

「Ahaha, leave it to me. We, all of us, are strong. So let’s win this, and move on to the next stage.」

The stage this time has an altogether different feel from the one in the preliminaries.

While the last stage made one think of the wonders of nature, the stage this time makes you think of cold, hard, man-made structures.

To be more precise, the stage is modeled after the town that the Elementary Level – Beginner’s Dungeon resides in.

While it isn’t a full replica of the entire town, it’s pretty spacious, and a perfect space for a few parties to clash together in.

The second stratum of the Demon King Castle is also sorta modeled after a town, but it has a strange atmosphere about it.

『Now then, all of the parties have made their appearance! Let the first stage of the main event of the All-Heaven Festival Contest …BEGIN!』

The fifth and last party has already been introduced while we were talking.

「What was the plan that Lem the Brains came up with again?」

Says Wraith, although I’m sure he remembers perfectly.

「…We start with the closest enemy.」

He smiled happily.

「Nice and simple. I like that plan.」

The parties that are here are those that passed through the preliminaries.

Since the goal is to be the last one standing, there won’t be anyone who avoids contact with other teams until the very last moment.

They’d aggressively seek out and clash with other parties.

Information about each party and how they fight has already been shared amongst the parties.

If so, there’s no need to worry about the order we tackle them.

Since the information about the stage is only revealed at the last moment, that is the only thing that we need to make adjustments to.

「…Oh? Looks like there’s a party that has some free time to stand around.」

Said Wraith.

He probably sensed them through their Magical Energy signatures. I noticed it too and nodded.

It was at a café facing the street that has chairs and tables in the open, each with an umbrella.

Oh hey, it’s the one where Nicola, Cashew, and I went to all that time ago.

I think, for a moment.

To my surprise, someone was sitting on one of the chairs.

Just brazenly sitting there in the open, in full view of any possible sniper attack from the top of buildings.

Not only did they stop on a route with the worst of conditions, but they were also sitting down.

「Guess they’re the closest, huh?」

「Indeed. This doesn’t change the plan, though.」

「Alright then.」

We, too, brazenly walk out in the open and show ourselves.

「Oh my, there they are.」

It was a Majin woman.

Long, smooth wine-red hair and eyes of the same color. Considering her history within the industry, she is in the latter half of her thirties, but she boasts a beauty enough to make a young lad in his teens blush just by looking at her.

She is a person who doesn’t hide her face, which is a rare thing among Monsters, and she has garnered many fans who want to be pierced by her icy stare.

She wore a dress-like outfit that looks like it was stained red with blood. She is one of the Southern Demon King Castle’s Big Four, the Fire Manipulator Aym.

She has star-shaped earrings hanging from both her ears and a staff in hand.

The staff had a snake coiling around it as its design, where the tip of the snake’s head is constantly on fire.

What her true Job is is a mystery, but if I’m not mistaken, she has the Aptitude of a Wizard and a Beast Master.

At her feet was a giant snake and on her shoulder was a cat. With ears and a tail that’s on fire, that’s not your average cat.

「No matter how long you sit there, no one’s gonna bring you tea.」

Wraith called out.

「Indeed, boy. But that’s perfectly fine. For it isn’t tea that I am waiting for, but my enemy.」

「Not gonna look for them yourself? You must think you’re tough stuff.」

「Oh, but I am. Perhaps you aren’t aware of who I am?」

Her party members, including the Flame Spearman Amii, appeared around her.

「Oh, I’m aware. You’re the person who’s about to lose to us.」

For a moment, Aym’s eyes narrowed.