Thump... Thump... Thump...
Between the Black Lake and Crossroad, on the plains.
With heavy sounds, three monsters were marching.
Hair made of snakes, large grey eyes that were rigid without pupils, upper bodies thickly covered with needle-like fur, and limbs shining metallic.
The Gorgon sisters.
From a distance, they appeared as three similar monsters, but upon closer inspection, each was slightly different.
Leading the way was the largest, with thick limbs, the eldest sister, Stheno.
Walking beside her, with membrane wings on her back, was the second sister, Euryale.
And following behind them, much more human-like in appearance compared to her elder sisters, was the youngest, Medusa.
Chains were wrapped around the necks of Stheno and Euryale, and these chains were held in Medusa's hands.
The youngest, controlling and commanding her elder sisters.
She was Medusa, the leader of the three sisters.
"Isn't it just ridiculous, sisters?"
Medusa spoke, her forked tongue flickering venomously.
"Did you hear what that nasty lich White Night was spouting? What? If we move as ordered, she'll lift the curse placed on us?"
Medusa shook her head in disbelief.
"Such nonsense. The curse upon us is given by a god. Something that a mere lich couldn't possibly undo."
Though Medusa spoke earnestly, Stheno and Euryale remained silent.
Their cloudy eyes fixed forward, mindlessly taking steps without any intelligence.
"...But, just in case."
Pitying her two sisters, Medusa's hand, holding the chains, tightened.
"If there's even the slightest chance to lift the curse. Then..."
A memory now faded.
To return to their ancient forms, before the curse...
"I don't even hope for a complete lifting of the curse. Just being able to have a normal conversation with you sisters..."
Even as she spoke, she knew it was a vain hope.
Medusa, with a bitter smile, pulled her snake-like tongue back into her mouth.
"...For such vain hopes, we engage in a campaign never meant for us. I couldn't care less if the human world perishes..."
The Gorgon sisters were originally monsters specialized in base defense.
They could repel any approaching enemy within a certain area with their petrifying evil eyes.
That's why they fortified their own fortress in the corner of Dungeon Zone 9, turning all who approached into stone statues.
Though infamous for their indiscriminate petrification and its potency, these sisters were actually more skilled in defense than attack.
Monsters that fought to protect themselves from those who sought them out, trapped within their own lair.
They were not naturally adept at attacking.
"I never wanted to set foot on this hateful land again."
But,
If there was even the slightest glimmer of hope.
If there was a faint possibility to change this dreadful life... then they had no choice but to attack.
"Let's finish this quickly, sisters."
Medusa muttered, eyeing the front.
"Quickly annihilate the human world... and return. To our small hideout, again..."
Crack, creak...!
Swoosh!
The second sister, Euryale, spread her membranous wings.
And then, grabbing both Stheno and Medusa in each hand, soared into the sky.
Swoooosh-!
The three monster sisters swiftly crossed the air, flying north towards Crossroad.
Medusa bit her lip firmly.
Nothing would change. They would turn all nearby enemies into stone and kill them.
Even if they were only being used, even if there was no salvation at the end... they had to rush towards the bait laid before them, drooling.
Because that's the destiny given to monsters.
***
Crossroad. The blacksmith's forge.
Thud!
Lucas placed a newly forged shield on the table. Evangeline, standing beside him, blinked in confusion.
"What's this?"
"A mirror shield."
Lucas nodded.
"The only way to block the petrifying evil eye, as written in the strategy guide left by our lord."
"How does it work? Something like reflecting a rainbow~! Is that it?"
"...Not entirely incorrect."
Demonstrating by wearing the shield on his arm, Lucas continued his explanation.
"The petrifying evil eye of the Gorgon sisters essentially turns the one whose eyes meet theirs to stone, but it can also force petrification merely by the line of sight, even without direct eye contact."
"That's cheating."
"Indeed. That's why we need these."
Lucas thrust the mirror shield towards Evangeline. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and stroked her chin.
"Wow, who is this absolute beauty?"
"Strange. I thought I was reflecting the pigs we raise at our front lines..."
"Hey! Are you making fun of me?!"
Turning away from an indignant Evangeline with a cough, Lucas looked at the ongoing production of mirror shields.
"Anyway, the mirror doesn't petrify, and one doesn't get petrified by looking through it."
"Oh, really..."
"All the melee troops will be equipped with these mirror shields. But you don't need one."
Evangeline's [Cross Family Shield] housed the ice spirit Glacier.
As soon as Lucas finished speaking, Evangeline manipulated the spirit in her shield, causing ice to form on its surface like a mirror.
"Like this?"
Evangeline smiled, pushing her shield forward and Lucas nodded, seeing his reflection.
"Quite handsome... not as much as our lord, though."
"What are you talking about, you're so annoying..."
"All those seduction techniques I learned while being by our lord's side. I might be popular in the Imperial Capital's social circles once I receive a margrave's title."
"Stop being shameless with your nonsense! Are you really thinking of getting a margrave's title?!"
"No. You seemed tense, so I was just making a joke."
It's hard to tell if he's joking or serious with that earnest expression in such a dire situation.
Evangeline grumbled as she dissolved the ice mirror, and Lucas crossed his arms, exhaling deeply.
"The problem is, even if we can handle the petrifying evil eye with this, the rest remains a challenge."
"Huh? The rest?"
"The Gorgon sisters aren't just about petrifying evil eyes. They're high-level monsters with powerful physical specs."
Their bristling fur is like armor, and their limbs are sturdier than most metals.
We might deflect their gaze with mirrors, but we can't withstand their physical attacks.
If we take a physical hit, the mirrors will break, leading to a vicious cycle where we can't deflect the petrifying evil eye.
Ultimately, the mirror is just a secondary tool, and in actual combat, we need to employ a different strategy...
Lucas was about to discuss melee tactics with Evangeline when it happened.
"Reporting, Captain Lucas!"
A soldier rushed into the forge. Lucas looked over, furrowing his brow menacingly.
"What's the matter?"
"Report from the scouts! The monsters have switched to a flying state!"
"...!"
"One of the three monsters has flown up using membranous wings and is transporting the other two towards Crossroad!"
A look of dismay flashed across the faces of the two knights. Lucas pressed his furrowed brow with his hand.
"They will arrive faster than expected... Has their speed been measured?"
"Yes. Based on observations, they are expected to reach Crossroad in a day!"
"Damn it..."
Their flight capability had drastically reduced the estimated time of arrival. The lack of time here was becoming a pressing issue...
Lucas sighed heavily.
"We can't go on like this. We need to reinforce our forces."
At his words, Evangeline looked puzzled.
"Huh? Reinforce? From where?"
Not only Crossroad, but all available forces in the surrounding borderlands and cities had already joined the World Guardian Front and moved to the Imperial Capital.
There seemed to be no place to gather more forces. But from where?
"...Our lord had laid out bait in advance."
Stepping out of the forge, Lucas spoke gravely.
"We need to collect the fish that bit the bait."
And the direction Lucas was heading to... was towards the hotel.
Evangeline, watching Lucas stride ahead, exclaimed in shock.
"Wait, you don’t mean those guys, do you?!"
***
Hotel Crossroad.
Just a few weeks ago, this place was bustling with esteemed guests from all over the continent, but now it was quiet.
Those remaining as guests were either tourists too bold to fear monsters or...
"Hey, lend me some chips!"
"Do I look like I won’t pay back, huh? I always pay it back, don’t I? Can't you trust me?"
Those who came lured by the casino and squandered their fortunes, addicted to gambling.
The original reason Ash built this hotel with a casino was to attract high-ranking heroes obsessed with gambling.
The first group recruited was the Gambler's Club. They had moved to the Imperial Capital with the World Guardian Front.
And in these past few weeks, with Ash away, several high-ranking heroes had become regulars at the casino.
But unlike the Gambler's Club, these were not sharp gamblers, just lives wrecked by gambling addiction.
Already banned from other famous casinos across the continent, they had roamed from one gambling house to another, using their daily earnings, and finally washed up here in this remote southern land.
"If I win back, I’ll pay, right? Here, take my mercenary badge, and hey, do you know how much this ring is worth?"
"You don't know who I am, huh? I’ve been in the sauna with your lords and in the public baths of the Imperial Capital!"
"No, I'm telling you, this casino is cheating! How else could I lose all my money? Bring me the manager, now!"
Having squandered all their money and pawned everything from their equipment to their clothes, these people, now with nothing left, were causing a ruckus in front of the casino.
They were known as the "Blacklist Five."
Watching these troublemakers at the casino entrance, Lucas muttered.
"Even in this quiet place, these are the true bottom-of-the-barrel types who managed to get themselves banned."
"..."
The gambling addicts, with nothing left to lose, were now grabbing the casino staff by their collars. Left alone, they looked ready to break into the casino.
"Ha..."
Evangeline, resting her forehead in her hand, sighed deeply and glanced at Lucas.
"...You plan to employ them?"
"They're a mess, but their combat skills are useful."
These were the notorious heroes Ash would have eagerly approached with incomprehensible exclamations like 'Sweeet! Tasty!'.
Though they were infamous in the wrong way, human dregs with a bad reputation...
‘With the Gorgon sisters attacking in just a day, does their bad reputation even matter?’
If they would just fight alongside us, we would gratefully accept their help, as Ash once said, whether they be ghosts or spirits.
Thud. Thud.
Lucas deliberately made heavy footsteps as he approached the entrance of the casino. Reluctantly, Evangeline followed behind.
"...?"
"Huh?"
"What's this?"
The ruckus at the casino entrance paused as the troublemakers turned around one by one, alerted by the clanking of armor. Lucas scrutinized their faces.
A blind man with eyes covered by cloth, wearing tattered rags.
A muscular man with metal plates embedded all over his body.
A woman dressed like a cult leader, with a burning candelabra fashioned into a crown on her head.
A man with glasses, one arm, one leg, and half of his face replaced by magi-mechanical machinery.
And lastly- a child in prisoner's clothing, bound entirely in chains, barely able to move their hands.
All five simultaneously showed hostility towards Lucas.
"Who are you?"
"Are you the muscle here to kick us out?"
"That's not going to happen! I might have lost my weapons at the pawnshop, but my bare fists are still something to reckon with!"
"No, no, just hit me once, and pay me for it, how about that?"
"What? Then hit me first! How much per hit? Eh?"
Amidst the rising noise of the gambling addicts, Lucas spoke coldly.
"You have two choices."
Raising his index and middle finger, Lucas waved his hand up and down.
"Get beaten and thrown out, or cooperate with us in monster extermination and continue enjoying the casino."
"..."
"Which will you choose, scum?"
The blind man among the Blacklist Five staggered forward, grinning with yellowed teeth.
"Let's sit down at the negotiating table first, shall we?"
--TL Notes--
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