Crown of the Wonderland ③
Crown.
The Fool. A humanoid Monster.
“…No way. Is it really The Fool?”
It was just as Alexander-san had said.
We trembled.
Liv-san and Bid-san were the first to attack.
Liv-san used her Maia Blade. The blade turned red as she unleashed a slash.
Bid-san fired a single arrow from his shortbow. It split into multiple arrows mid-flight.
A Relic?
But Crown.
The broken Dungeon Lord laughed as it casually tossed something with one hand.
What a playful-looking throw.
Then that something—a translucent, round sphere—erased the slash and the multiple arrows.
“What the heck was that?”
“Nn… Troublesome… Relic.”
That was—I was dumbfounded. Just now, that was…!?
“Ah, geez.”
Bid-san jumped and fired.
Several of his arrows were also erased by the translucent sphere Crown threw.
As I thought, that’s…
“Wind Edge!”
Ms. Pachira formed several rings of wind, spun her staff, and launched them at Crown.
“Child. Get behind me.”
Lupinus-san raised her greatshield, positioning me behind her.
What a large and beautiful round shield.
It was a greatshield framed in gold, gleaming like a pure white mirror.
This was definitely an OOPArts. If I crouched, I could hide completely behind it.
Hm? Eh? Is she really carrying around a greatshield this heavy?
No, more important than that, more important than anything, was Crown.
What it used was—[Vanish].
I was certain. It was definitely the Relic [Vanish].
“Ahahahahahahahahahahaaaattttsstststs!”
Laughing, Crown created two [Vanish] spheres, played with them lightly in its hands, and then threw them.
They left its hands? [Phantasmagoria]—no. Something’s different.
It didn’t create and launch countless spheres. Is it different from mine?
But, that is [Vanish].
Anything it touches will Vanish.
Everyone’s in danger! I darted out from behind Lupinus-san’s greatshield.
“Ah, what are you doing!? Stop, it’s dangerous!”
I ignored Lupinus-san’s restraining voice.
I’m sorry. But the ones in the most danger are everyone fighting.
If that’s what I think it is, then nobody else can see the [Vanish].
Liv-san was boldly engaging in close combat.
From the rear, Ms. Pachira and Bid-san provided support with ranged attacks and rings of wind.
It was magnificent.
The coordination between the vanguard and the rearguard was solid, and they were cornering Crown.
—Or so it seemed.
“Ahahahahahahahahahahahaaaatttsst!”
Crown laughed. It roared with laughter.
It effortlessly dodged Liv-san’s attacks and laughed.
It erased Bid-san’s covering fire and Ms. Pachira’s rings of wind with [Vanish] and laughed.
What an obnoxious Monster. It was starting to make me angry.
Then, Crown playfully produced four translucent spheres—[Vanish]—in its right hand.
Pretending to panic, it juggled them with both hands, then snapped its wrist and threw them.
“Hk!?”
An unbelievably fast pitch hurtled towards Liv-san.
“Look out!!”
Instantly, I dashed forward and cancelled it out with my own [Vanish]… no.
Theirs disappeared, but my [Vanish] remained.
“Nn… Boy…”
“Liv-san. The enemy is using a Relic called [Vanish]…”
That was really close. I’m glad I sprinted with all my might and made it in time.
“[Vanish]… Nn.”
“It’s an invisible sphere… a Relic that makes anything it touches Vanish…”
“…[Vanish]…”
“And the enemy can probably produce four of them.”
“…Too… troublesome…”
I shot a sharp glance at Crown.
Crown was still laughing. Juggling four [Vanish] spheres.
Is it observing us? Or just confident?
Or is it just clowning around because it’s The Fool?
I looked at my own [Vanish], which was still deployed.
It was translucent and had shrunk to about the size of a baseball.
If the erasure power was the same, they should have cancelled each other out.
But mine remained.
“…”
Could it be that Crown’s [Vanish] is weaker than mine?
It’s worth testing.
But if I’m going to verify it, if I’m going to fight, now is the best time while I’m in perfect condition.
It’ll still be a little while until [The Silent One]’s cooldown is over.
“Liv-san. I can see them and defend against them.”
“…That… [Danger Detection]…?”
“Eh? Yes.”
“Nn… Reliable.”
“Child! Honestly, it’s dangerous. Come back here.”
Lupinus-san. I know you’re worried, but I’m sorry.
I can’t go back there yet.
“Boy… Nn.”
“Wah!?”
Liv-san’s face was suddenly right in front of mine. It startled me.
“Nn… I see… You can’t see it… huh.”
Muttering that, Liv-san headed towards Crown, seemingly defenseless.
Eh, what is she doing!?
Crown reacted and threw four [Vanish] spheres simultaneously.
However, it wasn’t aiming at Liv-san.
The four [Vanish] spheres bounced off the ground, erasing parts of the nearby walls as they ricocheted.
[Vanish] allows the user to choose what to erase.
Crown was using that skillfully.
And then, the invisible spheres (Vanish) attacked Liv-san from all directions.
“Liv-san!”
“…Sky Form… Subaru… Taygete Blade!”
Liv-san’s Blade glowed green, and she cut the ground in a circle around herself.
What? Then, a pale green, translucent wall emerged from the cut around Liv-san.
And just before two of the bouncing [Vanish] spheres hit Liv-san.
They collided with the shimmering, pale green, translucent wall and disappeared.
Then, the pale green, translucent barrier cancelled out all the [Vanish] spheres.
Taygete Blade. A green slash becomes a barrier?
Amazing. She can do something like that?
Its attack thwarted, Crown laughed, hopped around, stumbled, fell, and retreated.
Its movements were comical, but not funny.
Also, I still feel like its [Vanish] is weaker than mine.
It might be rude to say, but my [Vanish] could probably have chipped away at Liv-san’s barrier.
I snapped back to attention and saw Crown looking at me.
It struck an exaggerated “Oh well” pose and raised its left hand.
What is it? I can’t move carelessly because of [Vanish].
“?”
It slowly bowed, twirling its left hand in front of its face.
It was annoyingly theatrical.
“? What on earth is it doing?”
Then, the ground began to shake.
“Kyaa!”
“What the heck!?”
“Don’t tell me, an earthquake!?”
“Nn… Impossible. That was already… dealt with…”
It burst through the ground. A giant Treasure Chest. No, it’s a Mimic.
A bluish-green Treasure Chest Mimic covered in eerie eyeballs.
“A Monster Box!?”
“Ah, seriously!?”
“Liv… dislikes…”
“Of all the things…”
As everyone groaned, the Monster Box opened.
Monsters began pouring out one after another.
Ah, so that’s why it’s called a Monster Box.