Chapter 456: Settling Things With The Three Knights of the Royal Guard! And My Lack of Motivation
* * *
"Excuse me! Sorry to have kept you waiting!"
It was about 20 minutes after they left the room, when that serious-looking guy, Byun, returned to the waiting room where I was waiting, with a bright and cheerful voice.
"We're ready to intercept you, so please come this way, intruder Emi-san!"
Byun pointed down the corridor, starting to guide me.
He's wearing a blue and white, glittering and stylish armor.
Unlike his previous innerwear, he looks very cool.
I threw the last cookie into my mouth and started walking down the corridor, munching on it, following Byun.
"Here we are, the Trial Room."
After walking a short distance, Byun stopped and pointed at a large iron door.
That door, with its majestic decorations, gives off the vibe that 'there's a boss behind this door'... and there's something like a geometric pattern carved in its center... it's probably super ancient magical writing.
<That's right, Emi. It says 'Trial Room No. 1'.>
I see, number one...
So, considering what the Three Knights of the Royal Guard said earlier...
"There are three rooms connected, behind this door?"
"That is correct."
Byun nodded, confirming my guess.
"And in each room, I, 'Byun of the Wind Bow', 'Shito-Shitorin of the Rain Staff', and 'Nikkor of the Sun Sword' are waiting to beat you up! Defeat us all, embed this 'orb' we have into the last door, and you will be able to proceed further into this labyrinth, to the heart of the Sky Kingdom!"
Byun explained, tapping the beautiful white orb embedded in his chest armor.
"That's a lot of... trouble."
"No, no, don't worry about it! It's our job! We'll do our best to beat you up with all our might!"
I felt bad for making him prepare all this for me, and scratched my cheek apologetically, but Byun shook his head, with a refreshing smile.
He's a good guy, this guy...
<Isn't it strange that you're thinking that, after he just declared he's going to 'beat you up'?>
"Now, I'll also move to my designated position. When I'm ready, I'll call you from inside, so please enter after that. After that, I think we'll just naturally start fighting."
Saying that, Byun bowed and opened the door, entering the Trial Room.
Soon after, I heard his voice from inside, 'You may enter nowーーー!'
All preparations are complete.
<It took a strangely long time, but finally, we can move forward!>
Extra-sama said to me happily.
"............"
But I...
Reflexively crossed my arms, tilted my head downwards, and muttered...
<Is there something bothering you?>
Well, you see, Extra-sama.
<Yes?>
It seems like I'm going to defeat the Three Knights of the Royal Guard and go further into this labyrinth...
<Yes?>
But... I don't really want to...
<...Come to think of it, that's true.>
I ended up here because of... well, circumstances.
<Yes.>
Do we... really have to fight these guys?
<"............">
Extra-sama and I suddenly fell silent.
From inside the room, I could hear Byun's voice, "What's wrongーーー? You can come in nowーーー?"
<Well... but, after they prepared all this, it feels kinda bad to say we're not going, doesn't it?>
It does?
You think so too, Extra-sama?
<Yeah... it feels like we're already in the flow of fighting and advancing. It'd be rude to turn back now, right?>
Right...?
............
Yeah.
Alright.
Let's do this.
I made up my mind.
And I got motivated.
Releasing the shackles of my heart, unleashing my fighting spirit and violence...
Haze leaked from the joints of my armor.
It might be indecent, but... well, what leaks, leaks.
Creak, creak... creak...
I started hearing creaking sounds from the surrounding space, but I ignored them.
I'm going to do it.
I'm going to do it.
Yeah.
Well.
Without killing them...
I'm going to do it.
What if they die?
Well...
Too bad.
"RAAAAAAHーーー!!"
I kicked the iron door leading to Trial Room No. 1 with all my might!
GAGOON!
Gan-go!
The iron door, making a loud sound, was bent and blown away!
Beyond that is a large, empty hall!
And standing there, in the center, is the first of the Three Knights of the Royal Guard!
"My name is 'Byun of the Wind Bow'! One of the proud swords of the Sky King, the Three Knights of the Royal..."
"RAAAAAAHーーー!!"
Byun started reciting something as I entered, but it's too long!
His lines are too long!
I chased after the iron door, which was being blown away, hid behind it, and quickly approached Byun!
And then, with that momentum, I... kicked him in the stomach!
"Guuuaaaah!?"
Byun was blown away by the impact, crashing into the wall of the Trial Room!
"I-I lost...?"
Byun muttered blankly, then rolled his eyes, fainted, and collapsed!
And then, the white orb detached from his armor, rolling on the floor!
I picked it up, stuffed it into the pouch I created by transforming my armor, around my waist, and ran to the iron door on the opposite wall, leading to the next Trial Room, and then...!
"RAAAAAAHーーー!!"
I kicked the iron door with all my might!
GAGOON!
Gan-go!
The iron door, making a loud sound, was bent and blown away!
Beyond that is a large, empty hall!
And standing there, in the center, is the second of the Three Knights of the Royal Guard!
"I am 'Shito-Shitorin of the Rain Staff'... one of the Three Knights of the Royal Guard, and the..."
"RAAAAAAHーーー!!"
Shito-Shitorin started reciting something as I entered, but it's too long!
Her lines are too long!
I chased after the iron door, which was being blown away, hid behind it, and quickly approached Shito-Shitorin!
And then, with that momentum, I... kicked her in the stomach!
"Kyaaaaahーーー!?"
Shito-Shitorin was blown away by the impact, crashing into the wall of the Trial Room!
"Y-You're strong... Fine, go ahead..."
Shito-Shitorin muttered, desperately trying to muster her strength, then rolled her eyes, fainted, and collapsed!
And then, the white orb detached from her armor, rolling on the floor!
I picked it up, stuffed it into the pouch I created by transforming my armor, around my waist, and ran to the iron door on the opposite wall, leading to the next Trial Room, and then...!
"RAAAAAAHーーー!!"
I kicked the iron door with all my might!
GAGOON!
Gan-go!
The iron door, making a loud sound, was bent and blown away!
Beyond that is a large, empty hall!
And standing there, in the center, is the last of the Three Knights of the Royal Guard!
"My name is..."
"RAAAAAAHーーー!!"
Nikkor started reciting something as I entered, but it's too long!
By this point, I'm feeling pretty good, so even those four words are too long!
I overtook the iron door, which was being blown away, and quickly approached Nikkor!
And then, with that momentum, I... kicked him in the stomach!
"Dowaahーーー!?"
Nikkor was blown away by the impact, crashing into the wall of the Trial Room!
"W-Wait, wait... th-that's... too..."
Nikkor muttered something, then rolled his eyes, fainted, and collapsed!
And then, the white orb detached from his armor, rolling on the floor!
I picked it up, stuffed it into the pouch I created by transforming my armor, around my waist, and ran to the iron door on the opposite wall, a door with even more majestic decorations than before, and then...!
"RAAAAAAHーーー!!"
I kicked the iron door with all my might!
GAGOON!
Gan-go!
The iron door, making a loud sound, was bent and blown away!
Beyond that... was a long, long corridor, stretching as far as the eye can see.
In other words...
I've defeated all the Three Knights of the Royal Guard.
And cleared the Trial Rooms...!
"Huu..."
I let out a deep breath, cooling down.
I glanced back at Nikkor.
"............"
Yeah, he's twitching, but he's not dead.
He seems to be unconscious.
Good!
I was able to hold back!
<Um, Emi, Emi.>
Extra-sama timidly spoke to me as I sighed in relief.
What's up?
<You see... Byun said that at first, right? 'Embed the orbs into the last door and you can proceed'.>
He did say that.
...Ah.
I hurriedly ran to the remains of the door I had just kicked, and stared at it, sparks flying from its cross-section.
Apparently, there are three indentations in that door... and if you embed the orbs there, the door would open, through some magic tool mechanism...
In other words...
<You destroyed the gimmick, with your momentum...>
"............"
Um...
Ahh...
Then, what about the three orbs I got from the Three Knights of the Royal Guard?
<They're just garbage now, taking up space in your pouch.>
............
Well, that's...
...Kind of...
...I feel bad for ignoring the gimmick...
<Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's just throw the orbs away somewhere.>
You're right...
"...Rah! Rah! Rah!"
So I took out the orbs, which had become mere garbage, from my pouch, and threw them towards the ceiling with all my might.
Mekyo, mekyo, mekyo!
Apparently, the orbs are quite hard, and all three of them pierced through the ceiling... and flew off somewhere.
<Why at the ceiling?>
On a whim.
If I left them lying around, I might feel bad again when I see them...
Anyway...
I looked at the long, long corridor behind the last door.
"............"
If Byun's words are true, this leads to the heart of the Sky Kingdom.
<In other words, as I mentioned earlier, that's where the control magic computer, the power source, and such are hidden.>
To be honest, I'm not interested in those things.
Not at all.
But...
<We've come this far...>
...Yeah...
If I don't go any further now... then the Three Knights of the Royal Guard were beaten up for nothing...
So... well... shall we...?
And so, without any particular motivation...
I started walking towards the deepest part of the labyrinth... the heart of the Sky Kingdom.