Chapter 197: Together Under Heaven — Part Three

There's a saying: "Time flies like an arrow." Or, if you decide to read the kanji as "light and shadow are like arrows," it means something like: "Light and dark magic come out faster, so lol at anyone using fire magic." "Alright, I'll fucking kill you!"—a metaphor for the vicious civil war between the light/dark-magic crowd and the fire-magic crowd in one particular game. Light and dark were definitely strong if you used them like arrows, but fire magic was downright evil when set up as a trap, so it was hard to call either side strictly superior... In the end, the earth-magic users settled everything with a mass live burial, and then spent a while getting chased around for their trouble. I stayed neutral back then, but if the "Forbidden Art User" had shown up, I might have stepped in too... That guy was simply too dangerous. He took divine punishment (BAN) after divine punishment without batting an eye and kept turning the area around him into a hazard zone, and—whoops, none of that matters here.

Well, jokes aside, "time flies like an arrow" essentially means time passes ridiculously fast! We entered Ruluiath and the EX scenario began in the morning, so the time limit is also the morning of the seventh day. And today is that very seventh day. The attack window is from the evening of the seventh day until the morning of the eighth day, when the timer hits zero... Meaning, we intend to clear it all through the night. As for why that time slot—well, there's always the chance of sudden plans cropping up, just like Rei, who ended up barely able to log in for five whole days because of personal matters that really shouldn't have taken so long. So, we decided to do it at night—when, at the very least, urgent business (theoretically) can't possibly arise.

But more than that, the problem right now is the cardboard box in front of me.

Rakuro: "It arrived, huh... no, wait, why did it arrive...?"

The mysterious black-hooded person who claimed to be an employee of Gatling Drum Co.—the manufacturer of Riot Blood—whom I met at the after-party venue that day. Despite his appearance, he was a perfectly polite, normal-seeming businessman. And now, as thanks for "contributing to the promotion of Riot Blood at the GGC tournament," this "Riot Blood Variety Pack" has been sent to me. I have no memory of giving anyone my address, and timing-wise, it couldn't possibly have been leaked by Katzo. And yet, the fact that it arrived perfectly by mail sends a chill down my spine—a cold, occultic draft of the kind you'd think had been almost entirely eradicated in this modern society. Even though it's summer, I shiver.

Rakuro: "Original, Undead, Backdraft, Quantum, Tonight... Hm?"

An orange can? I'm pretty sure the Riot Blood series only had five types, including the original... A prototype, maybe?

Rakuro: "Riot Blood: Revol Blantan...?"

Revolve—to spin. Lantern—a light. ...A spinning lantern of life's memories?! That's a revolving lantern, you idiots!! That's the last thing you should be naming an energy drink—way too ominous!! And looking closely, the logo—the company's signature character holding a battering ram—is now a pumpkin-headed figure gripping a battering ram in its right arm and holding a lantern in its left... No, no, it hasn't even been a week since GGC. Why... no, no, no. It's probably just a coincidence. If there's a 1% chance, the RNG can hit it. Yeah.

Rakuro: "So it's a free sample, huh... Let's see here..."

Package insert: "Riot Blood: Revol Blantan is a product developed experimentally by our company, aimed at customers who require a large amount of concentration in a short period. The effective duration is extremely brief—roughly thirty minutes to an hour—but for at least thirty minutes after ingestion, Revol Blantan guarantees a caffeine level sufficient to resist even administered sleeping pills... That was a joke, by the way."

Calm down, my left arm. Unconsciously trying to dial the police is still premature. Even if the energy drink gives you a short-term caffeine spike and its name is "revolving lantern," that company somehow always stays legal, doesn't it? So calm down. Oh crap, I've already typed "11" into "110"!

Rakuro: "The ingredients list... Well, at least there aren't any illegal quantities or components listed..."

You might be thinking, why the hell are you so wary of just an energy drink? But when it comes to Riot Blood, if you're not careful, terrible things happen. They say mixing energy drinks with alcohol gets you drunk fast, but there are rumors that mixing Riot Blood with alcohol knocked out even the most seasoned heavyweight drinkers in a single blow. A free sample from a manufacturer like that... It's something whose name doesn't even appear on the official website. I'm probably the first ordinary user to get my hands on it. I have to be extremely careful about ingesting it.

Rakuro: "Well, drinking it now won't help anyway. I'll save it for later."

Hang in there, future me a few hours from now. The best thing to do with troublesome stuff is ship it to the future.

Damn you, past me from a few hours ago. You just had to go and ship your problems forward from the past. It's about time to log into SLF and storm the castle at the center of Ruluiath with the assembled members, where Ctarnidd awaits. If there's ever a time to down an energy drink, it's now. So, which Riot Blood should I use...? As I agonize over this, at the edge of my vision, the Riot Blood: Revol Blantan continues to radiate an eerie presence.

...I'm curious. Insanely curious. I'm a devoted Riot Blood user, you know. I tried Quantum—the glowing hazardous substance that even my fellow comrades, whose souls were stolen by Riot Blood just as much as mine, or more, hesitated to attempt—fairly early on. But that courage came from knowing I wasn't the only challenger. Do I truly have the courage to try this aura-radiating revolving lantern in complete solitude?

Rakuro: "...I mean, if he's going to flip life and death itself, we should rely on a power that does the same, right? Yeah."

To give the conclusion: facing the impending Ctarnidd battle, I couldn't find the courage to try Revol Blantan. Instead, I chose Riot Blood: Undead—the energy drink with the oddly refreshing taste and the catchphrase "Even corpses will rise!" Why does it so emphatically warn you not to let it touch actual corpses, I wonder?

Rakuro: "Hmm. Toothpaste flavor."

If I said that to a mint fanatic anywhere in the world, I'd probably get slapped with a closed fist. Hardcore mint extremists are said to stave off cravings by consuming mint toothpaste when they can't get their hands on mint-flavored food. How is it that they get mad when you call it toothpaste, but then go and consume toothpaste themselves? Is this some new form of tsundere?

Rakuro: "Alright! Caffeine intake complete!!"

Too bad for you, Ctarnidd. Even if you turn me into a corpse, the caffeine coursing through my body will keep it moving.

Sunraku: "Alright, the only one not here yet is Rei-shi... Ah, she's here."

Psyger-0: "Ah, I'm sorry... I seem to have kept you waiting again."

Sunraku: "No, no, everyone just got here this second. Totally fine."

Akitsu Akane and Mold had apparently come early to farm materials from the half-fish creatures. I'd also been salvaging the Tactical Machine Beast that fell to the bottom of the shipwreck while looting the inside of the ship further. But those were just individual time-killers—none of that counts as arriving early for the meetup. Rust is wearing a face like she arrived perfectly on time, but we all know she nearly ended up late and only made it because Mold logged out once to wake her up. All the NPCs are already gathered here. Surprisingly, Stude is here too. The eyes of the shitty brat clutching his father's cutlass no longer waver with fear—instead, a steady light of resolve burns within them. Did some kind of event happen while I was away?

Sunraku: "Well then, with this, everyone's assembled. From here, we head toward the main keep of this city, but..."

Rust: "Sunraku, proposal."

Sunraku: "Yes, Rust."

Rust: "At times like this, having a team name and an operation name to boost unity is... good."

That's some seriously trivial shit—but it's a great idea. A team name and an operation name have absolutely nothing to do with stats. But they do provide a buff to motivation. It's a fact that we're the same group, but giving it a name raises cohesion. This is pure, undeniable truth. "Victory to this party" is nowhere near as cool as "Victory to Team Whatever-the-Hell." Plus, it makes you more strongly aware that you're a member of that group. It's not like Ctarnidd's going to run away if we spend a minute or two messing around. And so, impromptu as it was, the Team Name & Operation Name Comedy Battles began.

Rust: "...Team name 'Ikiyoyo,' and operation name 'Operation Sunrise'... Good, right?"

Mold: "Rust, that's a team name that doesn't convey its meaning unless you write it out... Um, how about team name 'Octopus Hunters' and operation name 'Operation Defeat Ctarnidd'...? Is that too simple?"

Akitsu Akane: "Yes, yes! How about team name 'Ruluiath Expedition Party' and operation name 'Probe the Mysteries of Ruluiath!'?"

Psyger-0: "Uh, um... A team name... Well... um... I'm sorry, I—I can't think of anything right now, so I'll pass..."

Emul: "Sunraku-san, Sunraku-san, what about team name 'Fatal Assault Squad: Vorpal Assault,' wa?"

Sunraku: "Sounds like we'd all go down in a blaze of glory, so no."

Pouting and squeaking won't change a no to a yes. Fufufu. Very well then—allow me to demonstrate the combat power of my chuuni spirit.

Sunraku: "How about team name 'Fugutaiten' and operation name 'Astronomical Observation'?"

Ctarnidd treats the ocean floor as its sky in this inverted city. We treat the sky above ground as our sky. The sky we see is different from the one he sees—hence the team name "Fugutaiten" (No Sharing the Same Sky). And the operation name "Astronomical Observation," for the fight to go see the true sky... This one's a winner.

Rust: "The team name is good, but the operation name is lame."

Akitsu Akane: "Astronomical observation? Isn't that stuff actually marine snow, though?"

Sunraku: "Akitsu Akane, no, that's not it—see, it has a hidden meaning: fighting to go see the true sky..."

Ultimately, the team name and operation name were decided by majority vote.

Sunraku: "...Well then, once again: Team 'Fugutaiten,' Operation 'Defeat Ctarnidd'—commencing!"

Humans, a Pescorian, a spirit, and a Vorpal Bunny. An absolutely motley, hot-pot of a group, but the strong response of affirmation clearly showed that everyone was united.

[There was an event-like scene where Araba encouraged Stude while the players were away, but since no players were there to witness it, it stays offscreen from the user/player perspective.]

[The Riot Blood stuff is 80% a joke, so sci-fi physics do not apply. Its Hume value is probably high.]