49 – Unwelcomed guests
"So, you're saying inside this tree is where we will find the Great Sage?"
Amalthea's Hero, Kouga Takeru. After the failure at Urkzbel fortress, Takeru spent most of his days training, killing minor groups of demons and all sorts of ways to increase his power. And of course, princess Serena was by his side, pushing him as much as she could.
And right now, Takeru was acting under her suggestions.
"That's right, Takeru-sama. We managed to trace an old man that once spoke with the Great Sage, and when we asked him nicely, he gave us this location."
Princess Serena is saying nicely, but the truth be told, the Empire soldiers tortured the old man and threaten to kill his family for that piece of information.
Princess Serena has one goal in mind. World domination. Of course, she told her hero that they were going to use the Great Sage's knowledge for military strategy and exploiting the demons' weakness. Basically a way to end this war faster. But she herself desires knowledge and the steps that must be taken to conquer the world and establish her authority.
With so much knowledge at her disposal, getting people to do as she wants and obtaining supremacy should be easy.
"Regardless, this is taking too long. Should I give them a hand?"
"No need, Takeru-sama. Please let our men handle the entrance. We might require your strength later. Don't worry. Our mages will keep blasting it until a path will be available."
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"This is bad. Although I have set up many defenses, it won't stop that many. Damn it! I never expected that Amalthea's Hero would come after me."
Huh? Hero? This guy? He dresses fancy but that's it. Compared to that Kaguya girl I met… don't get me wrong, I wouldn't call her hero either. But she's more of a hero than this guy. This guy really just gives bad vibes. Like a flashy showman who just wants to bedazzle you. I can't take someone like that serious. He's a joke. And if I can tell that with just one look… it's saying a lot.
"They're probably after me. But the reason I secluded myself was because many countries would try to use my knowledge for war. I don't want that. My knowledge… if I ever decide to share it must be used to make the world a better place."
I totally get her. After all, I also don't want to get involved in their schemes. Living a slow and peaceful life is all the adventure I need.
"Ruri-chan, do you want some help with these guys?"
"Mou… I'm afraid that I won't be able to fend this many off."
"Can you monitor them at any time?"
"Yes. These holographic images are displaying a live feed image. Various gems strategically placed allows me to see everything. Why do you ask?"
"I'll help. But can you give me full control of the tree? I want to have some fun with them before anything else. It's a pain to blast that many."
"I guess I can transfer all the trees' controls to you, but…"
"If I chase them away, you're going to listen and keep answering my questions, ok?"
"Fine. I guess I have no choice."
She once again pressed various magic formations as if typing a security code. She then signaled me to sit down. One of the tree stumps shifted and turned into a full fledged chair like a pilot cockpit. She then slided over the controls to me. This reminds me of video games, fufu. It's going to be fun. Let's open the doors now and let the game begin!
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I’ll start with a brief explanation about the tree labyrinth. There aren’t any traps from the top floor to the 5th floor. It has a maze-like configuration. This will give me some time to get used to all the traps that the tree has to offer. Although I am also making changes as I go along. I'm turning this place into my personal playground.
"Hey, you sure you know what you're doing? It's been only 1 hour and they reached the 6th floor. Some of them have an instant movement skill. They can teleport anywhere they have line of sight."
"Keep calm, Ruri. The fun is just going to begin from here."
I pointed towards a group of mages in the front. A huge round rock was rolling towards the mages. The hero stood next to them and what looked like a princess was staying way back. She was safe, but the others…
"Eh, did the sage set up rolling rock traps? What should we do, Takeru-sama? I can’t see the other side because it’s blocked by that rolling rock, and I can’t teleport because I don’t have any visibility. Guys, any idea?"
I realized it when I heard those guys' words.
Seems Ruri guessed it right! So, that meant that some mages could only “move to a location where they must see it first”!
In the meantime, most of them turned around to avoid getting hit by the rolling rock! But then, another rock fell from the ceiling, crushed some of the soldiers and headed towards the mages.
"Okay! He’s gonna get crushed by those rocks!" (Ruri)
That wasn't the case. He disappeared for a brief moment…When I thought that he vanished, he actually was clinging to a small gap in the ceiling.
"Ugh! He dodged the rocks!"
The two rolling rocks didn’t crush Hero. They just collided with one another and stopped moving because of the direct impact. The mages got killed. Ruri was worried, but, at this moment, I pushed a button on my console.
*roaring sound*
Ruri wavered her body upon hearing a tremendous roar. The video became pure white as if it were covered with smoke.
"Wha…What was that just now!?"
"I infused those rocks with fire magic. I wanted to be cautious, so just in case the rocks would be avoided… I turned them into remote control bombs."
We stared at different angles from the videos shown by the holograms. Before long, we could see that the Hero's armor was torn, yet still intact because of the explosion. He screamed aloud.
"It hurts…My back hurts a lottttt!!"
"Takeru-sama, are you alright!?"
"Don't worry. I'll live… but this fucking hurts! I'll make sure to fully pay back the sage for this!!"
The look on his face is priceless. But this was just a taste of how creative I can get. Let's see if you live up to your title, mister hero. How long will you and what's left of your men survive?