The Seventh Seat of the Chaos Order, Greed.
Alastor Litton.
Even though the person before him was merely an ordinary avatar that had slipped in through a loophole, Alastor was an executive of the largest antagonist organization, which only surfaced in the late stages of the game.
Lynn had never harbored any delusions that his current self, who had yet to develop into a super SSR, could defeat Alastor in a head-on clash.
True, when he, a situational purple card maxed out in specific stats, teamed up with Veronica, a top-tier gold support card, they seemed to go toe-to-toe with Alastor at first glance.
But that was only barely possible because Alastor had let his guard down and was severely disadvantaged by their elemental matchup.
It was never a viable long-term strategy anyway. Lynn was already perfectly satisfied with having whittled down the number of Alastor's avatars. After all—
“What boss doesn't have a second phase these days?”
Lynn nodded in agreement with his own thoughts as he sprinted away.
But... why on earth would anyone just stand there and watch their opponent transform?
And so, while Alastor was busy fusing his avatars, Lynn took off at full speed.
Beside him—or rather, slung unceremoniously over his shoulder like a dead fish—Veronica was not nearly as composed.
The biting, freezing wind whipped against her face, making it impossible to open her eyes. The moment she tried to speak, she choked on a mouthful of flying snow.
Seemingly weakened after the intense battle, the girl's voice sounded soft and feeble.
“Can't you... cough, cough... carry me in a different way?”
Lynn, who sliced through an approaching magical beast with a casual swing of his sword, had absolutely no intention of coddling her.
“Give me a break. I need my other hand free to guard against stray magical beasts! This is hardly the time to be romantic or gentle!”
The girl spoke again in that same soft, sweet tone.
“What about the other contestants or the organizers...? Is there any chance of getting help?”
“An hour ago, all the other contestants triggered their scrolls and teleported out—only our scrolls failed to activate.”
“As for the organizers, that unreliable old geezer has probably been tied up by the Order somehow. He still hasn't shown his face.”
“Tch—no wonder he wasn't drafted even when the border war was getting intense. He really is a total fraud,” Lynn grumbled irritably.
“Boom—”
A massive, earth-shaking roar echoed from the distance, causing both Veronica and Lynn's expressions to turn serious.
“Ah... looks like the fusion is complete. He's fully entered phase two.”
“Even after half of his avatars were obliterated, the fusion of the remaining ones can still produce this kind of power?”
“What do you plan to do? It looks like he's about to catch up.”
Watching the shocking scene of the ground trembling as the massive behemoth gave chase, Veronica, who had unconsciously begun to view Lynn as her pillar of support, asked.
“Hey, shorty, what's wrong with you? Being all gloomy and depressed doesn't suit you at all.”
Lynn laughed out loud.
“What do I plan to do? Well, you've asked the right person!”
“Take a good look around. Where do you think I've been running this whole time?”
“Where...?” Veronica was taken aback. She forced her eyes open, her blurry vision scanning their surroundings.
Her soft breath brushed against Lynn's ear, tickling him slightly.
“The mana... is so chaotic... Is there... a magical beast here?”
“Bingo~ You got it.”
“The overlord of this entire ice field lives right here. It's a powerful magical beast of at least Tier 5.”
Lynn gently slid Veronica off his shoulder and clapped his hands.
“I got this piece of intel from a gold-star informant—and we've arrived at our destination.”
Before them lay a massive, dark cavern entrance. Its absolute silence felt completely out of place amidst the chaotic ruins.
It was dead silent.
It was as if a domineering overlord ruled here, absolutely refusing to tolerate any trespassers in its territory.
“There's an old saying in my hometown: ‘One mountain cannot hold two tigers.’ ”
Veronica swallowed hard, watching the youth before her flash a “bashful” smile.
“So—hey, big guy inside!”
Lynn called out “warmly,” drawing upon his days of experience blasting bears.
He started by tossing a Tier 3 fireball straight into the dry cavern.
“Stop fucking sleeping! Someone's here to kick your ass!”
“Roar—”
A moment later, a furious roar echoed from the depths of the cave.
A tusked wild boar as tall as a small building crashed through the cliffside, charging out of the cave in pain.
And then—it locked eyes with Alastor, who had just caught up.
Alastor: “?”
“W-Wait...!”
Screeching, the tusked wild boar initiated a charge, dealing a massive chunk of damage.
“Argh!”
Alastor roared in pain. His eyes bulged with rage, and he was about to tell the magical beast who the real culprit was.
“You...”
But the enraged tusked wild boar didn't give a damn about what he had to say; it simply continued to charge relentlessly.
“Obstinate beast! I'll deal with you first!” He swung his fist in fury, smashing it heavily against the tusked wild boar.
In the midst of their scuffle, he heard a highly punchable shout from afar.
“Hey, old geezer! See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya~”
Lynn flipped him the middle finger and sped away once more in a flash.
...
“Alright, shorty. We've really escaped this time~” Lynn laughed heartily, gently patting the head of the girl on his shoulder.
“...”
Only silence answered him.
The girl didn't bicker back playfully as she usually did.
Unbeknownst to him, Veronica had stopped speaking entirely.
Even her soft body seemed to have lost all support, slumping limply against his shoulder.
Lynn raised his head and met a pair of exhausted eyes.
The girl's pale face was completely devoid of color, with dark purple marks creeping across her lovely cheeks.
Veronica's lips parted slightly, as if doing even this required every ounce of her strength.
Her voice was incredibly faint.
“Sorry, idiot.”
“You worked so hard... for nothing...”
Rate on N.U.
