After receiving Saito-san's permission to go collect the drop items still scattered around the fortress, I turned on my heel and started walking toward Hinata-san.
"—Um, what is that over there?"
Along the way, the sound of Sakura-san's voice behind me caught my attention, and I reflexively looked back.
Sakura-san was pointing toward the far end of the Audience Chamber. Saito-san was looking in that direction as well.
Thinking she had spotted something, I directed my gaze there too. However, nothing seemed out of the ordinary—
"Sakura-dono, what might 'that' be referring to de-gozaru? Sessha cannot tell..."
"Um, the corner near the ceiling. Look, right there."
Sakura-san leaned in so close to Saito-san that their bodies were practically touching, stretching out her arm right beside him to point near the ceiling.
I shifted my gaze once more to check. But no matter how much I strained my eyes, I couldn't see anything.
Could Sakura-san be someone who sees things invisible to normal people?
She's wearing shrine maiden clothes, so it's possible... Just as I was shuddering at the thought of a ghost, it happened.
"Hmm? It does not look like there is anything the—re?"
"Take this! ♡ Take that! ♡"
In a voice that sounded cute yet unmistakably artificial, Sakura-san was doing something to Saito-san's stomach.
For a second, my brain couldn't process what was happening. After all, Sakura-san had a cheerful smile on her face, projecting the casual vibe of someone playing a harmless prank on a close friend.
——Huh?
By the time Saito-san's body stiffened and began to tremble, the reality of the situation finally hit me.
What Sakura-san had driven into Saito-san's abdomen was a thick-bladed survival knife.
As she cheerfully chanted, "Take this! ♡ Take that! ♡" and repeatedly stabbed him, fresh blood soaked through his clothing.
"——!?"
"Eek! ♡"
Saito-san shoved Sakura-san away with one hand and leaped backward to put distance between them. But—
"Guh!?"
Grimacing in agony, Saito-san dropped to his knees.
Thanks to the layer of fat on his stomach cushioning the blows, the bleeding wasn't catastrophic. Even so, an ultra-high-level explorer like Saito-san had just been brought to his knees in sheer pain. Something was terribly wrong.
What on earth was going on!?
"So meaaan! What was that for all of a sudden, Sage-samaaa? ♡"
Sakura-san cried out in a voice completely unlike her usual self. At the same moment, the live chat on both her and Saito-san's channels erupted. Comments began flooding out from their drones in rapid succession—and just as the viewers finally noticed the blood pooling on Saito-san, I instinctively drew my sword from its sheath and fell into a combat stance, despite not fully understanding the situation.
"Ah, Takeo-samaaa~ ♡ Help meee! ♡"
As if finally noticing me, Sakura-san smirked and whined for help.
"Sage-sama has gone totally crazy! Sakura is so scaaared! ♡"
No, no, no, no, we're the ones who should be scared!!
Who the hell is this girl!? Is that really Sakura-san!? Her personality did a complete one-eighty!!
"Saito-san! Are you alright!?"
"Guh... Junkie-niki-dono, be on your guard de-gozaru...!!"
As he spoke, Saito-san activated magic, likely casting it twice. A pure white light enveloped his body. It was probably some kind of Healing Magic.
Having treated himself, Saito-san stood up with a slightly improved complexion and glared at Sakura-san, demanding answers.
"Just what is the meaning of this de-gozaru, Sakura-dono...!?"
"Oh my! ♡ Don't get so mad at meee! ♡"
Sakura-san, who had gotten back to her feet as well, answered in that same mocking, playful tone.
She was far too nonchalant for someone who had just stabbed a person. Her entire demeanor reeked of madness.
The DungeonTube viewers were beginning to catch on to how unhinged she was acting.
"Huh? Sakura-chan?" "Wait, isn't her personality totally different?" "Wait, that knife, huh?" "Did she stab him? She stabbed Saito?" "No seriously, I have no idea what's going on." "Why? Sakura-chan, why???" "This is a prank, right?" "Wait wait wait, seriously what is this, hold on???" "You're joking, right Sakura-chan!?"
"Yup, of course I'm lying~. It was just a little joke! ♡ Did I startle you, Sage-sama~? But it was just a cute little prank, so forgive me, okay?~ ♡"
Sakura-san offered a breezy, insincere apology.
Oh, so it was just a joke. Whew, you really had me scared there——yeah, right. Nobody was buying that for a second.
"Sakura-dono, this goes far beyond a mere prank de-gozaru....What is your true objective?"
Saito-san braced himself on high alert. I leveled my blade toward Sakura-san as well.
Behind us, Hinata-san and the others must have realized something was wrong. I could sense a commotion brewing in the rear.
Meanwhile, in response to the question, Sakura-san replied, "Sakura-chan's objective is, well, you seeee—"
"—this!"
In that split second,
—What!? "Eh!?" "Huh!?" "What is this!?" "No way!?" "An enemy!!"
It wasn't just me and Saito-san. Behind us, Hinata-san, Mayurin-san, and the rest of the party cried out in shock simultaneously.
An enemy.
It had to be.
An ambush from behind. What's more, its activation speed was so terrifyingly fast that even Sensei Danger Sense couldn't react in time to evade it. Looking back on it now, all of Sakura-san's bizarre antics were orchestrated specifically for this moment.
She had intentionally drawn everyone's attention entirely onto herself.
Because our focus was completely monopolized, we couldn't react to an attack coming from our blind spot.
The attack was magic. The entire floor of the Audience Chamber was blanketed in a pool of pitch-black darkness, swallowing up both mine and Saito-san's feet. The same had likely happened to Hinata-san and the others.
I immediately tried to wrench my feet free, but they wouldn't budge an inch. It felt similar to the Dark Swamp used by the Fallen Angels, but this was an entirely different beast. The proof came immediately—
"!? Inconceivable! A teleportation blocking spell!?"
Saito-san shouted in panic. If it had been a standard Dark Swamp, he probably could have slipped out using Teleportation. The fact that he couldn't was why he was so rattled.
Meanwhile, unlike the rest of us, Sakura-san hadn't been swallowed by the darkness. She stood there casually, completely unaffected.
And the enemy wasn't just Sakura-san. If she had been the one to cast this spell, I would have been able to dodge it with Danger Sense. Just before the darkness ensnared us, the crimson warning light from Sensei Danger Sense had surged from behind me, rushing forward.
In other words, the caster was someone behind our backs.
Defeating that person to dispel the magic would be the ideal move, but with my feet pinned like this, launching an attack behind me was next to impossible. What was the next best option? My brain cells, boasting an IQ of 530,000, spun at maximum overdrive.
—Two enemies. Only one can be eliminated immediately.
Which meant—I had to strike before Sakura-san and that mysterious caster could make their next move.
Swinging my sword, I unleashed a Flying Blade imbued purely with Mighty Blade straight at Sakura-san.
Even though it was only backed by Mighty Blade, the moment I was restrained by the magic, Pleasure Killer had already kicked in. As a result, all my stats had doubled across the board, multiplying the destructive power of the Flying Blade by ninety-six times.
Even if Sakura-san was an elite explorer above level 50 or 60, taking a direct hit from this slash meant guaranteed death.
However—
"Eek!? Takeo-sama, that's so meaaan! What are you doing all of a sudden!?"
The Flying Blade appeared to connect cleanly. But the moment the slash seemed to cleave her body in two, Sakura-san's form dissolved into a haze of mist and vanished, effortlessly rematerializing in a completely different spot.
The unleashed Flying Blade cleaved through empty air, slamming into the far wall and carving a massive trench into the stone.
Hey, hey, what kind of nonsense is that? Nobody ever told me a skill like that existed.
Saito-san looked just as flabbergasted.
"—Could that be... a Skill Seed!?"
Wait, so he actually had an idea of what it was.
"However, when sessha used Appraisal, there was nothing... Camouflage!? A Camouflage potent enough to deceive my Greater Appraisal!?"
"Ding ding ding! You got it! ♡"
As Saito-san pieced together the puzzle aloud, Sakura-san gave a cheerful nod of confirmation.
Right after that,
"Takeo-kun!!"
"Hinata-san!?"
Hearing Hinata-san's frantic cry, I twisted my upper body around to look back.
She was desperately reaching out a hand toward me, practically begging for help. But then—she vanished. Along with Mayurin-san and the rest of the group, she disappeared into thin air.
Having experienced it firsthand before, I recognized the phenomenon instantly.
Teleportation Magic.
And standing in the exact spot where the group had just been was the only person left behind. That person was—
"Jackson-san—!?"
You've gotta be kidding me, man!? Isn't the only Magic Skill you have supposed to be Life Magic!?
"..."
Wearing a cold, ruthless expression that was a complete departure from his usual persona on DungeonTube, Jackson-san raised his hand toward me.
At almost the exact same instant, Sensei Danger Sense flared with a blinding crimson light, sending a violent chill down my spine. The danger zone completely encompassed the area where I stood pinned. There was no way to dodge.
"Junkie-niki-dono!!"
An instant later, with Saito-san's desperate shout echoing in my ears, I vanished from the Audience Chamber—.