75 Chapter 75: Cross Castle (1/2)
Despite being trapped inside Nagano's barrier, Suzuki continued to glare at her with a defiant grin on his face. He raised his spear to point its tip at her.
”If I don't try, how would I know?”
”Why?” Nagano responded. ”Everyone here has proper business to attend to.”
”To me, fighting is the proper business.”
Instead of feeling ashamed of his actions, Suzuki was grinning shamelessly and widely, his eyes crazed and filled with bloodlust.
”Since it is so…”
Nagano considered his words seriously as she held his gaze calmly.
”How about a chance to fight against the leader of the Iron Knights?”
At her question, Suzuki's expression changed completely.
Takeda Tetsuo…
His eyes wide, Suzuki contemplated Nagano's offer, feeling excitement surge in his chest when he thought about the formidable leader of the Iron Knights and the reputation he had, as well as the fact that he was supposedly over level 1,000.
”Kekeke.”
Chuckling, Suzuki dismissed his Thousand Lightning Divine Spears with a single wave of his hand and lowered his spear. The golden lightning dissipated from his primary weapon, allowing it to turn back into a normal spear.
”Ability release…”
With his air of hostility gone, Nagano descended and hopped off her floating cuboid stage to approach Suzuki, who was still trapped behind her barrier. Stopping right in front of Suzuki, with the yellow screen still between them, she nodded in approval.
”Seems like you think things through.”
”To fight against Takeda Tetsuo…I can't think of anything better.”
Suzuki smirked in excitement, already lost in thought as he waited in anticipation.
Nagano swung her hand and brought the hovering cube-barriers that imprisoned her comrades back down on the ground, yellow mana swirling around her arm.
”Open.”
At her command, the barriers began to crack. Aoyama, Makoto, Sanada, Nishida and Hoshizaki waited patiently as their barriers began to crumble and shatter. As the barrier that imprisoned him completely broke apart, Suzuki strode out of the falling yellow fragments of energy, swiping them away with his spear.
He stopped beside me cockily and glanced in my direction.
”Though I really want to fight against you.”
I swallowed, not exactly wanting to go against someone of Suzuki's caliber. Just to match him was already hard enough, especially with my current abilities. It wasn't that I wasn't confident of beating him, but the amount of effort needed would be tremendous, especially if he wasn't on my hit-list or obsessed with killing me for no reason like Minamoto and the rest. He did try to kill me, but he seemed the type to try and kill everybody.
Already, Suzuki had directed his gaze away from me to stare in the direction of Cross Castle, his mind distant.
”I am even more excited to fight against Takeda Tetsuo. I am very curious to see just how strong he is.”
With his gaze riveted on Cross Castle, Suzuki impatiently took a step forward.
”Let's go…let's enter Cross Castle.”
We traversed the last distance in the valley and approached the massive doors that served as an entrance to the formidable-looking fortress.
”We're here!”
Nagano looked pretty happy and jubilant upon returning to Cross Castle. Right, she was stuck in Havia for quite a while before we returned here by airship.
”Everyone, please enter.” She picked up her smartphone and made a call. ”Domon-kun? Yeah, it's me. You can open the gate.”
An ominous creak resounded throughout the valley as Domon Daisuke complied. Inside Cross Castle, a gigantic purple key twisted, groaning as it unlocked the massive lock that kept the doors sealed against the outside world.
Domon stood a few meters away from the heavily armored gates, raising his glowing hand that swirled with purple mana and manipulating the intangible key that was made entirely from mana, bending it to his will.
”Oh?”
Yonebashi Kyouko leaned against the wall and watched Domon at work, her arms folded.
”Everyone's here?”
Domon nodded and turned around, even as we entered Cross Castle through the main gate. Everyone assembled behind the chubby figure of Domon, and I faintly recalled how he used to be the bully victim before Kobayashi shifted his attention to me.
That happened all because I stood up for Domon and tried to stop Kobayashi and his cronies from bullying him, and obviously Kobayashi didn't take my refusal to be intimidated by him or to obey him too kindly.
”Yes, it has been a while since we've had so many guests.”
As Nagano walked past Yonebashi, the latter leaned in to whisper to her.
”So you brought Tanaka along, huh? Can we trust him?”
”I fought beside him against the ancient dragon and we saved Princess Merly together. I can vouch for his character, if required. Even if his motives don't align with ours, he is definitely not someone shady or evil.”
”Not like Kobayashi-kun, huh?”
”He's a much better company than Suzuki-kun, that's for sure.”
Girls…you do realize we can hear you, right?
Escorted between Sanada and Makoto, I followed Nagano and Yonebashi's lead deeper into the castle. It wasn't that they were wary of me, but they were deliberately putting themselves between me and Suzuki to prevent the volatile delinquent leader from changing his mind and suddenly challenging me again.
The castle wasn't exactly built for indoor fighting, after all.
After traversing through the long corridors and vast halls, Yonebashi suddenly turned around and called out in a cheerful voice.
”We're here!”
I looked up and saw what looked like an immense portal that stretched across a single wall. Nagano walked through the portal and we followed, only to find ourselves in another part of the castle, a grand interior hall with a red carpet and dramatic-looking torches that burned ominously. The lush, red carpet ended in a huge door at the opposite end of the grand hall.
”This is the grand hall! Our leader is behind those doors!”
I glanced around the runic symbols carved into the vast, luxuriously looking grand hall for a few moments before fixing my gaze on the large door opposite me. There were two crosses inscribed into the metallic surface of the door, a smaller one in the middle of the bigger one. No wonder they called this place Cross Castle.
I wouldn't want to cross this castle.
In front of the doors, one last figure awaited. It was a blond guy wearing a hoodie. The last Iron Knight, Gendou Issei stuck one hand inside a pocket as he regarded me.
”Tanaka-kun, it's been a while.”
”Gendou-kun. Good to see you too.”
Not exactly, but I was just being polite. Just like all the others, Gendou didn't do anything but stand by and watch when I was being bullied. He didn't bully me either, and he showed no signs that he was obsessed with killing me over the most absurd of reasons, so I saw little point in antagonizing him when there wasn't a need to.
He spread his hands, as if to welcome me.
”The eight people in front of you…”
Nagano Nanaka. Gendou Issei. Yonebashi Kyouko. Domon Daisuke. Shidou Makoto. Sanada Hiroyuki. Aoyama Aoi. Hoshizaki Kozue.
”…are the 8 guardians of Iron Knights.”
”Uh, what exactly are you guarding?”
”That's…” Gendou stuttered for a moment. He obviously didn't know.
”Our leader, I guess?” Nagano supplied helpfully. Gendou nodded fervently.
”Yeah, that's right! We're guarding Takeda-kun!”
I was pretty sure Takeda was stronger than the 8 guardians of Iron Knights, and he didn't need them to protect him, but…whatever. With a sigh, I decided to use this opportunity to cast Absolute Appraisal and check the special abilities of the remaining eight guardians. I had already seen Hoshizaki's, Aoyama's, Nagano's, Sanada's and Makoto's, but there were three left that I hadn't appraised.
Name: Domon Daisuke
Species: Human
Job/Rank: Guardian/Hero
Special Abilities: Arcane Herbology, Agricultural Assault
Name: Gendou Issei
Species: Human
Job/Rank: War Warden/Hero