ShangriLa Frontier ~ Shitty Games Hunter Challenges Godly Game ~

No one had to say anything, we all knew it was “Blue”.

The very first and mysterious calamity that first invaded this city and brought it on the very verge of ruin, way before Lulilas was brought underwater.

Honestly, I thought it was nothing more than a flavor text, some nice addition to the lore that would make Kutanid’s backstory a little bit more menacing. And I thought it would stay that way for sure.

「Emul, get on my head!」

「R-Right!」

Our feet…… It’s okay, it’s not all that active for now, for now it should be okay to touch it……

「T-This is……!」

「Mold’s thinking is going in the right direction! Best not to touch that, or else we might be really sorry!」

This is no longer a story event that cannot be beaten. This is a field gimmick, one of the more famous ones. The famous “You defeated the Boss, now get the hell out of here!”

「Ghost of the Abominable Source.」

「---- Say what now?」

I get a feeling that this is one last ace up Kutanid’s sleeve, or something like his dying breath.

However, I had no time to really think about it all too deeply, since Kutanid spoke once again to us all.

「HUMANS, THIS PLACE SHALL SINK INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE ABYSS ONCE MORE…… THE CRISIS IS AT HAND, BUT DO NOT EVER FORGET ABOUT YOUR DREAM.」

There was no actual finger-pointing in that moment of any sort, but for some reason we all reacted the same way. We all looked towards the same direction.

「GO FORTH, YOUR JOURNEY CONTINUES…… HUMANS, DENIZENS OF THIS WORLD, YOU MUST FIND BAHAMUT……」

「You, this is……」

Bahamut, why does this name keeps on popping up again and again? To begin with, what is that thing, anyway? A dragon? Or maybe something else? I think it would be too easy to think of it as a dragon.

「IT BELONGS WITH THOSE WHO PREVIOUSLY INHERITED THE WILL, AND THEY ARE THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY FIGHTING AGAINST THE INCOMING CRISIS……」

「Sh*t, I do not really get it, but if it is something you want us to do, then that is what we are going to do! Now then! The quest is not over until we all manage to safely return home! Everyone! Let’s get out of here!」

「…… Uuuuuueeeeeehhhhhh……」

「Rust, please! Let’s give it our all just a little bit more! Okay? Think you can do that for me?」

「Alright! I get it! I will do it! I’m running, see? I’m running!」

「Akitsu Akane, how come you can be in such a good spirits after all we have been through today……!?」

「Are we really going to run again!? Are we not all dangerously close to approaching our limits!?」

「ALVA, YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!」

You can cry all you want about it, but at least keep those legs moving and run! And if you fail the quest just because you were to lazy, do not go and complain about that to me!

We keep running until we emerge back into the city. All around us, the “Blue” was rampaging around like waves during a storm in the open sea. However, even though the whole cityscape was basically collapsing, the road we had to follow out of the city was strangely being kept in one piece.

「--------」

「…… Eh? Ah, umm, yes……」

Even though I could see that Rei was talking to Kutanid at the current moment, I was too busy with recovering Seiryu and the blade that was still stuck in the ground right where I fell down. So unfortunaltely, since I had more pressing matters to attend to, I was unable to hear what exactly the two of them were talking about.

「Abueh……!?」

「Piiiiiiii……!?」

Gubeh!? What the hell is this!? It looks like a literal wall of slime or some other substance like that! Is this “Blue” as well? And why is it blocking out path like that!? It was so terrifying that it was small wonder that Emul let out a scream like that.

「…… Is this supposed to be an event of some sorts!?」

「Yeah, right! The kind of “You touch it, and you die!”」

「…… I do not feel like trying out if that theory is equal to being a reality right now.」

Although Lulilas was blue all over as well, right about now the city felt nothing like it used to be before. Right now it was more of an entranceway to Hell itself, one entranceway across which “Blue” was rampaging without showing any signs of stopping.

「By the way, just how long is this going to follow after us!?」

「Bohooo!?」

Leading the way, Akitsu Akane jumps over the “Blue” that was crawling all over the ground before us, and Sickle was going its best to cling to his head while making some rather peculiar noises.

By following the lead of our Lead Runner, we all manage to jump over the “Blue” in the same fashion, knowing full well that touching that stuff would only end up in a disaster.

「We must run there, towards the edge of the city…… We must get into the sea!」

「So you want us to swim all the way towards safety from the bottom of the ocean!? Just so you know triathlons are not really my forte……」

「When the time comes, everyone holds onto Alva! That’s how we’re going to escape!」

「No way……! There is just……! That’s impossible……! Owaaahhooohhh!?」

「Tsk, talk about nasty tactic, aiming for our only way of here……!」

I click my tongue in annoyance and manipulate my inventory quickly. Then I select the Guardian’s armor and throw it towards Alva and Nereis, who were both about to be swallowed up by the “Blue”.

If what we have read on the “Blue” in that diary is correct, “Blue” should be a type of parasite, one that clings to inorganic matter and eats or erodes organic matter. And no matter the action or type here, both of those actions could only be classified as “extremely bothersome”.

「It, it seems that you have saved me again, my friend……!」

「You can thank me for that later! For now, we run!」

Fuck me, that sh*t was really expensive, you know……!? But, armor is something that can be made again or replaced, and the same cannot really be said about the NPCs. So it was bad, yeah, but it was a necessary sacrifice!

After the situation repeated itself a few more times, at the expense of the Guardian’s chestplate, helmet, leggings and waist plating, we finally managed to reach the coast line, gaining some distance from the “Blue” and much needed time to rest shortly.

「GOAL!」

「But what are we supposed to do from here on out!?」

「…… The fuck I should know.」

「We dive into the sea, or what?」

What should we do? We must do something! After all, the value of our lives is not equal in the slightest! We players can afford to get swept by the sea currents and die as a result, but the same cannot be said for Alva, Sickle and Emul! It would be like sentencing them to drown!

As I watched the incoming “Blue” tsunami that was getting closer, in my desperation I was seriously going to consider entrusting both Sickle and Emul to Alva and ordering them to get the hell out of here.

「HEY! YOU GUYS!」

「Hmm?」

Apparently there is still hope left in this world. And right now its taste was so sweet that I could not possibly believe it. And it comes together with a child-like voice of someone who seemed to have matured just a little bit throughout this seven days’ expedition.

「Well won’t you look at that! It’s that sh*thead Straude!」

Once I turned around, I could see a brand new pirate ship floating its way towards us. What’s strange, it was the same kind of ship that was grabbed by the jet-black tentacles seven days ago and got destroyed, but right now it looked like a brand new thing. And behind its steering wheel there was Straude, waving the cutlass he was holding in his hand towards us.

「No, but how can it possibly flow in the air like that! It doesn’t make sense! What is going on here?」

「I don’t understand that, either! It doesn’t matter, just hurry it up and get on!」