Chapter 190: Collapsing Apex Part 2

It all seemed kind of strange to me from the very first moment. Why would the Snail Knight, an embodiment of Western knight use the cutlass as its weapon of choice in the first place?

There is also another fact to it. The rapier attacks were really dangerous and intimidating, but the cutlass, on the other hand, was so weak and slow that even after taking hits for quite a while it would be unable to deal any damage to us, much less to kill us all.

Also, cutlass is usually a weapon that is associated with pirates in lots of other games and other media. In fact, I just cannot imagine any other group in video games ever using something like that as their basic weapon of choice.

And just like with Clione, I watch as the Snail Knight disappears the moment its HP bar hit zero. And surely, just like with Clione, its death animation was different from the usual one, in a way that instead of blowing up in a geyser of pixels, the Snail Knight just dispersed into a bunch of bubbles.

「Pirates?」

「What’s up?」

「No, it’s just…… A one big ‘What if’……」

「Let’s see what is the Boss Drop here……」

「Neither Mold nor I use short range weapons. Therefore.」

「No, I really think that Rust and Mold should hold on to that.」

I can see that the two of them have literal question marks floating above their heads, but it will all become clear soon. As soon as they witness the item in the inventory window. And see that it looked awfully alike the ones the pirates of the Red Whale’s crew were using. Then the meaning behind that cutlass should become as clear as the day.

Considering the discomfort I was feeling up until now, I dare to say that this cutlass is the drop item that is unaffected by any external factor and that it would always drop from this boss no matter what.

I see, so this one was taken in here by force. I see, I understand. Now that I think about it, it makes a whole lot of sense.

「It was probably hidden behind the impact of the Unique Scenario EX starting, but this is probably what this is all about.」

「………!!!」

「What’s wrong, Rust?」

「…… ‘Red Whale Cutlass’, does this mean……?」

I recall the first day of us getting stranded in this underwater city. More specifically, the moment we were being dragged underwater alongside the ghost ship by those huge tentacles.

And before my consciousness faded to black, I remember seeing a system message indicating the start of the Unique Scenario. That’s right, no one has ever said that the quest we have picked up at the port was over.

「It is happening simultaneously at the same time……」

This means more or less that the Unique Scenario ‘Punching the Apostle of the Abyss’ was far from being over.

In other words, that’s just how it is.

「As for right about now, we are currently running two separate quest simultaneously.」

One of them is the quest which challenges you to fight the Kutanid of the Abyss, the ruler of the underwater city of Lulilas. The Unique Scenario EX: ‘Stare Into the Abyss and the World Turns Upside Down’.

The other one is the Unique Scenario: ‘Punching the Apostle of the Abyss’. In this quest you follow the storyline of a young captain of a pirate ship, whose father was kidnapped and killed by a ghost ship that took them by surprise at the open see one day.

「I am beginning to think that the ‘Punching the Apostle of the Abyss’ might be the quest which has multiple endings.」

The normal ending would require you to kill all of the ghost ship’s crew, and as a result you would arrive here, in the underwater city Lulilas. So as a matter of fact one ending leads to the quest branching off into a whole different quest. Thinking about it like that, it is only logical why the Snail Knight would fight with a human cutlass.

「In that case, should it not only be natural for the guy who accepted the quest in the first place to proceed?」

I was always thinking that when it comes to talking to NPCs and such, ShanFro was borrowing a whole lot from a whole bunch of Galge’s and such games. But I would certainly wish if the one associated with this quest was someone other than some sh*thead brat.

In case of this particular Unique Scenario EX, that would mean that even though anyone from the group would be fine, I must be the one to go and talk to the NPC that gave us the quest, since I was also the one who happened to initiate the quest.

「Here, I shall guide you and show the way to all lost lambs in need of guiding hand.」

「What a pain in the…… Mold.」

「Ahaha…… I’m going to accompany you as well.」

Now then, we have managed to defeat two remaining bosses, but still…… I can’t say that there is any sort of a change in this place at all.

Even so, it would really be a problem is something really happened right away after bringing the four bosses down. That is why we wanted to defeat the fourth boss on the sixth day.

I hope that she will manage to join us by that time…… What on Earth is going on on your end, Rei?

* * *

It was a fight between sisters completely devoid of love.

What started it was the lack of ‘spinach’.

The older sister who was always ahead of the younger one.

The urge to resist the domineering elder sister’s privileges.

It was that kind of a fight where the younger sister would wish for the older one to be kicked by the horse and die as a result, but sadly there would be no horses around.

「…… Rei!」

「I’m not your accessory or a dog you can take for a walk on a leash, Sister!」

It was a fight between sisters devoid of love……

But somewhere, at a certain place…… it would spell the fatal collapse of a jet-black wolf.