Man, were these guys always this strong? I thought sarcastically as I attacked the kobold with a downward slash. Right as the spirit dodged, I planted my foot on the ground before I turned into a pivot. Taking my blade into a reverse grip, I went for a horizontal slash. The sound of my blade rending the creature's flesh echoed throughout the cave. What felt like hours was merely seconds as my blade cleaved through the dungeon monster's head. From my rear, I could hear multiple bodies drop. Turning around, I was presented with the sight of Imasu surrounded by at least two dozen kobold corpses with his black katana sheathed. Heh, he has the same impassive face as always.
Sheathing my blade, I turn to Ilphine who was healing Rei. When it came to fighting in dungeons, Rei was always the most reckless. Thankfully Ilphine was rated as a High-Rate Healer. Her approximate rating was somewhere between three or five-hundred, making her a pretty big deal. Our entire party consisted of High-Rate Adventurers. Rei’s class was a Swordswoman while her brother was a Swordsman. Ilphine was classified into three classes, though she mainly went with the Dancer class as the skills were perfect for her. Checking my arm, my guild tattoo shined brightly before my information was displayed.
Edmund Neuer | 4e? (Icon)
High-Rate ?e2 (Unquant.) | Human
18 | Palais
My sub-class always had an error when displaying so I chose to be identified by my Icon Class. It was quite rare but some classes didn't reveal themselves until the person was believed to be ready. It was unknown who decided it; all that was known was the person would discover their true calling when it was time.
I wonder… I never did check my status when I was locked up as I had more pressing matters to worry about. Did this translate into the real world or was this showing it as I remembered it? Dismissing my guild information, I approached Ilphine and Rei, who was being scolded by the former for her reckless behavior. “Is Rei being a blockhead again?” I questioned with a smirk on my face. It was common for me and Rei to trade insults and friendly banter whenever we went dungeon diving. “Weren’t you the one who said you don’t need anyone to look after you?” My smirk remained as Rei’s irritation grew. It was so easy to get under her skin.
Rei developed a strained smile with her eyes sharpening. “Hey, Edmund.” Oh. She has the tone. “Shut up.” Nodding my head quickly, I turned away while whistling to myself. Rei’s short temper was one thing I would forever fear.
Since this was one of the dungeons that lacked a boss, we were able to collect any drops and leave quickly. In four days, I will watch my party die all over again… Melancholy filled my thoughts, even if I knew this was fake, it still hurt my heart. Some things are strange, though. Not all events played out the same. Like the time Imasu lost his hunting knife two days ago; originally he broke it. Then there was the time Rei and Ilphine got stuck in a hot spring area. In this iteration, yesterday, they got stuck in a succubus lair. It’s strange but maybe it’s a side effect?
A hand grasped my shoulder, taking me away from my musings. Turning around, I came face to face with Imasu’s expressionless face. “We’re preparing to leave.” He said.
Nodding, I quietly followed him. The main goal of this party was to get Rei to a Hyper-Rating. With that type of rating, she would be able to do so much more and have less restrictions on the quests she can take. Most quests are assigned by the guild and no adventurer below the highest rating, Hyper-Rate, can deny the quest unless they wanted an infraction marked down. Without good cause, many adventurers can be terminated for insubordination and underperformance. I felt a set of eyes bore a hole into my back, which wouldn’t make sense as I was in the rear of the group.
Turning around, all I could see behind me was the pure darkness of the cave. I’ve already done many things that deviated from what I did in my memories… Meaning Edith and those who were there for my trial most likely weren’t watching me. I’ve even directly informed Rei and the others about my trial. While they brushed it off as one of my strange quirks, I knew that Edith would have pulled me out if the results were so subpar. That means this is most likely some form of hallucination or dream while my memories are being reviewed. I didn’t know if it was some sort of a sick joke, but I was forced to accept this as the norm until I was pulled out of this dream-like world.
“Man… This sucks.” I voiced exasperatedly while tailing behind my party members. At least I got to live out the good old days before I was proven innocent.
— — — — —
“As you can see your honor, my client wields a greatsword. The wounds found on the victims were identified through the use of a battle ax.” A transmission displayed Edmund fighting a Low-Rate Orc with his greatsword, Evorsio. The orc had no time to recognize its wounds or pain as it was decapitated. Beside him, in the memory, Imasu used the shadows and his agility to cut and mince goblins. Even I, a High-Rate Adventurer, had to admit that this party was at least Hyper-Rate.
It was strange though. Regardless of any claims, Edmund himself had a great distaste for any weapon that wasn’t a sword or dagger, as recounted by his manager. Who in the world would use an ax for such brutalized attacks? Rei Minamoto was bisected horizontally. I couldn’t help but shiver at the memory of the grotesque methods used. They were even tortured before being murdered while Edmund was only found with a missing arm that was able to regrow thanks to the healers.
My thoughts were momentarily interrupted as Edmund’s excited shouts at finding a rare drop and treasures echoed throughout the courtroom. Without my knowledge I had begun to lovingly smile at the current image displaying his face filled with childlike glee. While the memory continued to play, Yvette gained a contemplative look. I didn’t know what she was thinking; this woman was always a mystery to me with the way she worked. I only knew so much about her due to the fact that she and my mother were close.
“While the evidence itself may seem lacking, your honor, I can promise you that it plays a very important role in the case.” I added, my tone taking an almost desperate and pleading undertone.
The one benefit that I got out of using this spell, Memoject, was that I would immediately be presented the events that transpired within mere seconds. It would require a lot of training. After all, the first time I tried it, I nearly fried my brain from the information overload. I still don’t understand why they killed that bitch Ilphine, not that I’m complaining. After all, this was more than just some case to me. This was a very pivotal moment for Edmund and I.
— — — — —
Upon reaching the dungeon's entrance, after an hour or two of backtracking, we were all prepared to call it a day. I don’t think any of us even planned to visit the local tavern owned by Irvolt Keen, a pretty famous bard. The drinks there were heavenly and the entertainment provided were sublime!
I had begun a small conversation that turned into an argument with Imasu on the importance of sharpening your knives at least every week. “I’m telling you, your knife would not have broken if you just made sure to maintain it every week.” While I was adamant on this, Imasu stood firm on the belief that there was no need to care for your weapons at any point in time, since in his eyes, if it breaks you can just replace it.
As we were exiting the dungeon, the entire atmosphere changed. The torches lining the walls simultaneously blew themselves out. Within the encompassing darkness a high-pitched scream followed. Wha… Before I could even formulate a thought, the darkness broke away, ripped apart from all around us as a barren land with destroyed buildings and fire replaced it. The sky had become a deep crimson, invoking a fear in me I had no idea I could ever feel. Before I could panic any further, I had only now realized that Rei and the other two had disappeared. “What the hell is going on?!” Everything had been fine the previous six days, so what was the issue now?! Without warning, the ground rumbled.
From my peripheral vision, I could see a huge black pillar rise from out of the ground. Several silhouettes surrounded it from the ground and in the air. From this distance, there wasn’t much I could make out, but it was still a part of the ever growing dread I was feeling now. The entire area surrounding me had become surrounded by black pillars and fire, and for miles, all that could be seen was pure black mountains and pillars. The only sounds cutting through the air were demented or tortured screams.
The pit that had formed in my heart was now back as a black hole. Was this some sort of sign from Edith? Did this mean I was convicted as guilty? Did the spell have a punishment that makes sentencing easier? Everything went from calm to hellscape within seconds! This was not how I expected things to go.
Okay, calm down. I tried taking deep breaths, only for those to become panicked. Calm down… Calm down!
The flapping of wings interrupted my thoughts. Craning my neck upward, I was introduced to the sight of a large reptilian creature that was at the least four thousand meters long. Surrounding it were smaller dragons at least half that estimate. Its size was so incomprehensible, as the largest dragon recorded ever would max out at thirty meters. “What the hell…” The black hole that encompassed my heart now enveloped my entire being as the gargantuan creature’s eyes darted towards me. Dammit! Survival instinct kicked in, screaming for me to run. Quickly turning tail, I ran for the huge black pillar in the distance.
The closer I got to the pillar, the clearer and more pronounced the silhouettes became. Those weren’t random objects, no, those were humanoid creatures. Some had charcoal skin while others had a dark velvet. Are those horns?! Demons?! Why were there demons here? They were confined to hell with no escape and no way to exit. I’ve never been to hell either, so what in the world was fueling the landscape as a template?! Coming to a halt, I glanced back towards the horde of dragons that had been sailing through the air. My hope of them ignoring me had been dashed: the entire group was speeding towards me with the biggest one keeping the same position in the air. Most likely to remain above me and prevent escape.
The sound of flapping wings from my rear alerted me to an even more pressing matter. I quickly swung at whatever was behind me but my fist merely met a wall. My fearful eyes came face to face with the red piercing eyes of what I could only assume was a lower demon. My entire body was frozen as I shut down, I didn't know what to do.
It felt as if the demon was staring directly into my soul, its breathing becoming erratic. “My lord…”
