The end came abruptly. A tremendous tremor, as if heaven and earth had been flipped upside down, suddenly ceased.
The arena was in ruins. No matter how sturdily built, it apparently couldn't withstand the violent shaking that had erupted toward the end.
The ceiling had collapsed, and rubble was strewn everywhere. Near the seats, Murina lay curled up in a ball.
But Radric ignored all of that and immediately shouted.
"The Key has shattered—seize them!"
Treasure Weapons of the armament type were, as a rule, extraordinarily durable. The Key of the Earth was no exception. It boasted terrifying hardness—so much so that even clashing against a greatsword left not a single scratch.
To think that the Key of the Earth would shatter—no reports to that effect had ever come in from the Relic Investigation Institute, even after thorough examination of the literature. But when dealing with power that overwhelming, there had to be a price.
That was a fortunate thing—for the Empire. No—for the world.
Up until now, as a form of deterrent, the Empire had never been able to take the option of destroying a Treasure Weapon. But with the Fox targeting them—and with that Fox harboring the madness to unhesitatingly unleash every Treasure Weapon in its arsenal—destroying the Key had been urgent, even once this situation was resolved. If it was destroyed under these circumstances, the other nobles would surely accept it.
The Fox Mask, who had been desperately wrestling the Key of the Earth against Thousand Transformations, staggered to his feet, swaying heavily.
A considerable amount of blood trickled from his mouth. The injuries were visibly serious. The cause was unclear, but it was probably the result of the tug-of-war with Thousand Transformations.
It was said that the Fox's upper echelons surpassed even high-level Hunters. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Their terrifying operation had been completely thwarted. The enemy was exhausted.
The guards rushed into the arena following Radric's orders.
Thousand Transformations swayed as he struggled to his feet. The blood splattered on him was probably from his opponent, but his movements clearly showed exhaustion.
No—even if he hadn't been able to fully suppress it, he had resisted the Key of the Earth. That was a feat far beyond Level 8.
His stance crumbled. Thousand Transformations dropped to one knee, pressing his forehead.
He must have reached his limit after all. They couldn't lose a hero here. They had to save him, no matter what.
The Fox Mask looked down at Thousand Transformations, who clutched his chest and knelt.
The operation had failed. The Key of the Earth had been unleashed, but its destruction had been kept to a minimum.
It wasn't as though the Fox couldn't grasp that fact. To choose not to flee despite his severe injuries—that was a terrifying tenacity.
But Thousand Transformations wasn't alone. There were plenty of capable fighters in the audience seats.
That was precisely why the destruction of the Key of the Earth had ended at just this level.
Then Radric drew a deep breath and roared as though venting all his fury.
"Capture the贼 at all costs!! Whoever captures them may claim whatever reward they desire!!"
§ § § I'd been had. By the time I understood that, it was already too late.
The Key of the Earth had been barely contained. I'd managed to suppress it at the last possible moment. But everything else—the situation was dire.
No—the fact that it had ended at only this level was a stroke of luck. The Key of the Earth was never something that should have been containable by human hands in the first place.
I was bleeding so much my head was spinning, but the Boss was calmly assessing the situation.
My body was heavy. The wounds ran deep. It had been ages since I'd felt this kind of pain, since I'd been humiliated this thoroughly.
Sounds were distant. Screams and everything else came through as if filtered. I understood the need to stay vigilant, but I no longer had even that much strength left.
What entered the Boss's field of vision was Thousand Transformations, rising unsteadily to his feet.
Only now was the full scope of Thousand Transformations' strategy becoming clear.
Even though he hadn't been using his power to suppress the Key of the Earth the way the Boss had, Thousand Transformations was swaying heavily and dropping to his knees.
At that thoroughly natural display, the Boss couldn't help but laugh.
"Heh heh heh… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
What a terrifying man. What a truly terrifying man. No trite phrase like "brilliant strategist" could do him justice.
This man's plan had been far too dangerous. On top of that, its success rate was hardly high. If even a single piece had fallen out of place, Thousand Transformations would have been branded a traitor, and the possibility of the world's destruction was by no means low.
It was the kind of plan that anyone—even if they'd thought of it—would dismiss without a second thought.
Even for the Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox, a secret society, it was the same. Ordinary people would never have caught on. No—even their own comrades would likely have refused to believe it.
He wasn't a schemer. His thinking was completely unhinged.
The Key of the Earth had been shattered into pieces. The second Key had yet to be discovered.
The operation had failed completely. And yet, the Fox would be suspected of having fully unleashed the Key of the Earth.
The original plan had been to use the Key of the Earth, demonstrate a glimpse of its terrifying power to those around them, and use that as leverage to interfere with various nations.
But he'd gone too far. If they'd been judged as someone who would casually play the card that could annihilate the world, those nations would surely throw caution to the wind and come killing in a frenzy.
Even those who had been quietly supporting them would change their minds. Things would never go back to the way they were.
And on top of all that, they had no deterrent left. The weapon that had brought destruction had been reduced to smithereens.
Impossible. That was simply impossible.
"Just… where did you find out about that! Thousand Transformations!"
"Ugh… the ground kept shaking and I got motion sick."
Thousand Transformations mumbled something—whether he was serious or joking, it was impossible to tell.
The Fox had learned of the Key of the Earth's power from a certain book-type Treasure Weapon discovered in the Treasure Hall. But that document contained no mention of the Key self-destructing under overload.
No—more fundamentally, there had never been a record of the Key of the Earth being fully unleashed. At the very least, at the time that text was written, it had never been used even once.
And as far as the organization's research showed, there was no evidence of the Key of the Earth—discovered as a Treasure Weapon—ever having been employed.
How on earth had they determined the limits of a Treasure Weapon that had never once been used? Through what kind of reasoning?
Through what channel had they obtained information that even the Fox's organizational capabilities couldn't acquire?
Unfortunately, there was no leisure time for mulling over predictions.
This was enemy territory. Taking this much damage had been unforeseen. They had to escape, no matter what.
But before that—at least this man— The instant he took a step toward Thousand Transformations, who still had one knee on the ground, a shadow fell across his vision.
"Challenger—I'm your opponent here!!"
"—!?"
A hoarse voice, yet brimming with insolent confidence. The pressure bearing down from directly above forced the Boss to take a step back.
An enormous fist sheathed in golden gauntlets plunged into the ground right in front of him.
The ground, which had momentarily stopped shaking, lurched violently again, and cracks spread through the earth.
Confirming the intruder, the Boss clicked his tongue.
The former Martial Emperor. The Champion. The man who had allocated every last Mana Material he'd obtained during his training in the Treasure Hall to his muscles.
Under the original plan, he had been one of the phantom enemies the Boss had been most wary of.
The textbook case of what happens when you give power to a talented idiot.
"The Monster Arm Demon Emperor."
The Boss's voice went unanswered. In lieu of a reply, the Martial Emperor surged forward with a powerful step.
He was wounded, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight.
It wasn't as though the Boss didn't know that the injured could sometimes display astonishing power, yet the Martial Emperor's aggressive charge was devoid of both caution and hesitation.
Surely, the man before him fought purely on instinct, wielding his violence freely in every direction, and would never once think calmly until he was defeated and dead.
The Boss gave up instantly. He had no choice but to give up.
The man before him knew nothing of strategy, but he was faster, harder, and stronger than anyone else. In perfect condition, maybe—but right now, he was not someone the Boss could afford to face.
Several Hunters leaped down from the audience seats. As the Boss retreated, the Martial Emperor bore down on him with a demon's grin, his fist crashing downward.
He seemed to have left his usual weapon behind, but even his bare fist possessed enough power to knock out a high-level Hunter in a single blow.
"I won't let you escapppppe!!"
It was like a raging bull charging. The pressure he exuded was nothing a human being should have been capable of producing.
The Boss scraped together what mana remained, wrapped it around his body's surface, and dodged with minimal movement, deflecting the terrifying fists unleashed on pure instinct.
Normally, bare fists would be nothing to worry about. But in his current state, he couldn't even maintain a basic defense for long.
His head throbbed with pain. Complete mana depletion. He couldn't even form a mana platform under his feet anymore.
Perhaps frustrated by the Boss's evasions, the Martial Emperor shifted from wide swings to shorter, sharper jabs. He was probably trying to overwhelm through sheer volume—even a simple jab would be unbearable for an ordinary Hunter.
The Martial Emperor planted his foot and launched into a small leap. The Boss caught the carelessly thrown "light" punch with everything he had.
Over his mana. Over his guard. The impact spread through his body like it was being torn apart.
But this was exactly what he'd been aiming for.
The Martial Emperor's strength lay in not overthinking, and that was both his greatest asset and his fatal flaw. The Boss clung to consciousness by a thread, using both arms and legs to reposition himself as he landed. The Martial Emperor's eyes went wide.
The Boss had been sent flying a considerable distance—and right behind him gaped the competitors' entrance tunnel.
This—was his only path to survival. Even if he ran, the chances of outrunning the Martial Emperor were virtually nil. But this was the only way to escape.
He kicked off the ground and sprinted. Blood spilled from his lips. His head pounded. From behind, he could hear the Martial Emperor's thunderous footsteps and the roar rising from the audience— —and then, the air changed.
The sounds behind him—the immense pressure—had vanished.
The location was different. Just as he'd scouted beforehand—there was the familiar corridor.
Standing before him was a girl wearing the same mask the Boss himself wore.
A white kimono that radiated an aura of sanctity. White tails extending from her hips.
She pointed with her small, slender index finger. And, to the Boss—who still couldn't grasp the situation at all—the girl spoke.
"Kiki-kan-san's enemy. I'll let you go… …This time, it's my win!"