Awesome!
The moment Grendel uttered the words "Trolley Game," Cid's heart skipped a beat. The tense expression on his face melted away, replaced by an excited grin.
"Huh?"
Grendel's brow furrowed in confusion. He thought he had seen one of the people in front of him flash a joyful smile, but it had lasted only a moment, making him second-guess himself.
"Man, I really can't stand this guy."
Paying little attention to the sudden change, Grendel assumed it was just a momentary lapse on Cid's part. He deliberately shifted the foot pressing on Gardos's chest lower, his face hardening into a fierce expression as he continued,
"He's so weak, yet he dares to boss me around. That really pisses me off."
By now, Grendel's voice carried a tone of frustrated anger.
"But I still can't kill this piece of trash. That three-headed creature, Aži Dahāka, is protecting him. It really makes me mad… but I can't kill him. You guys can, though."
Grendel lifted his foot off Gardos and turned to Cid and the others with a savage grin.
"I'm here because we have a plan capable of destroying the world, and this worthless thing under my feet is essential for it. So, to ensure the plan continues, I'm going to… kill you all!"
A tremendous aura surged from Grendel, pressing down on Sayaka Kirasaka and the others. Crushed by this overwhelming pressure, Sayaka Kirasaka and Asagi Aiba found it incredibly difficult to breathe, as if a thousand-pound weight pressed down on them, and the flow of Spiritual Energy in their bodies slowed to a crawl.
Yukina Himeragi suffered the most. Already physically frail, she was instantly overwhelmed by the aura's assault. Her Spiritual Energy spiraled out of control, her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed, only managing to stay upright by clutching the Sekkarou in her hands.
Cid… observing everyone's reactions, deduced that Grendel had launched an aura attack. He quickly feigned shock.
"But that means I'm attacking you as part of the plan. If the plan fails, I'll have no reason to kill you. Conveniently, there's someone right here whose death would cause this plan to fail… Hahaha…"
With a glance, he gestured for Cid and the others to look at Gardos, lying on the ground. Grendel burst into laughter, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face.
"So you're saying that as long as we kill this Beastman, you'll have no reason to attack us, right?"
"Correct. You're really… clever."
Glancing at Cid approvingly, Grendel spoke in an exaggerated tone.
"That's right. As long as you can kill him, I'll consider letting you go."
"...I don't think we can kill him while you're protecting him."
Asagi Aiba pushed her glasses up and stated the fact calmly. Considering Grendel's strength—enough to make Mogwai directly urge her to surrender—the four of them combined would be nothing but cannon fodder.
"This is the game I'm going to play with you…"
Grendel's voice rose, and the Evil Dragon bared his wicked fangs.
"One of you will stay behind to play with me, while the rest go kill this worthless Beastman. I won't leave here to protect that worthless creature until I've completely broken the one I've kept…
Ah, don't worry. I'll be careful with my strength, I won't destroy the one I've kept all at once.
And if you manage to take out that worthless Beastman before I kill you, then I'll consider letting you leave. How about it? Isn't this a fantastic Trolley Game? Hahaha…"
Once Grendel finished explaining the rules, the room fell silent. A moment later, a voice sounded.
It came from Gardos, lying face-down and unable to get up.
"Grendel, you can't do this! We're partners, you don't have the right to do this! Aaaah…"
With a single kick, Grendel snapped Gardos's shinbone. He kicked him aside with contempt, and the blow elicited another agonized scream.
"Useless piece of trash. You're tied up and still manage to make such a mess of yourself. Truly worthless. If it weren't for that damn wildcat and the three-headed Dahāka protecting you, I'd have killed you long ago.
Now, I'm sick of your little scheme. Play along with this Trolley Game, and you might just survive."
Seeing the murderous intent in Grendel's eyes, Gardos could feel that the Evil Dragon truly intended to kill him—no, in fact, Grendel had already placed him in mortal danger several times before.
"The… the thing…"
Death looming over him, Gardos suppressed the urge to turn and flee, his voice trembling.
"What thing?"
"The Magic Crystal. It's on her. Give it to me—I need it to complete the plan."
Pointing at Asagi Aiba, who was huddled behind Cid, trying to remain inconspicuous, Gardos continued persuading Grendel. He knew that, in his current state, there was no way he could escape the coming chase, and he didn't even need Yukina Himeragi and the others to pursue him; he'd die within a few hours regardless. His only chance to survive was to complete the plan.
"Oh, a Magic Crystal. Looks like you're not entirely useless after all. At least you've got some sense. Fine, since the missing item for the Magical Art ritual has been replaced, I'll give you a chance to live."
Grendel stared at Asagi Aiba, holding out his palm—the implication was clear.
"Eh! Hehe…"
Seeing everyone's gaze fixed on her, Asagi Aiba gave a few awkward laughs, pulled out a crystal-clear black stone engraved with strange Magical Arts, its interior occasionally showing floating spells, and tossed it to Grendel across the air.
"You really are a problem!"
Sayaka Kirasaka, who had been suspicious of Asagi Aiba since Gardos mentioned the crystal, immediately assumed a defensive stance upon seeing her actually produce the Magic Crystal.
"Would you believe me if I said I got screwed over too?"
"If you were willing to make a deal with a bunch of terrorists like this, then getting burned is your own fault."
The two of them did not actually start fighting, but there was no question that whatever trust they had in each other had dropped sharply.
"Enough. If we start fighting among ourselves here, we are all going to die."
Seeing the friction between Sayaka Kirasaka and Asagi Aiba, Cid quickly stepped in to calm them down.
Cid was a little irritated. His perfect Eminence in Shadow play had run into two righteous types who had no idea how to work together. What a complete waste. Next time, he was absolutely picking different teammates.
"Alright, the prey is starting to run. So, what is your answer?"
Dragging one ruined leg behind him, with the black crystal clenched in his mouth, Gardos reached the doorway, then turned back and shot Grendel a long, hate-filled glare.
Only after Grendel pointed it out did Sayaka Kirasaka and the others realize that the game had already begun the moment Gardos fled.
They exchanged glances. Everyone understood that agreeing to Grendel's game was their only sliver of hope. They had to decide immediately who would stay behind. Gardos had already escaped. The longer they took to make up their minds, the longer it would take to kill him, and the more danger the one left behind would be in.
"I'll stay!"
Sayaka Kirasaka looked at Asagi Aiba in surprise. If Yukina Himeragi had been the one to volunteer, she would not have found it strange at all. That was just the kind of person Yukina Himeragi was. But for Asagi Aiba to say it herself was unexpected.
"Don't look at me like that. This has nothing to do with you, but I bear part of the blame here, so I'll take responsibility and deal with him."
Noticing Sayaka Kirasaka's gaze, Asagi Aiba turned her head and gave a brief explanation.
"I'll trust you this once."
On the surface, Sayaka Kirasaka still treated Asagi Aiba with the same cold expression as before. But inside, although she was still on guard, her opinion of her had improved quite a bit.
"My body is weak right now. I'm only holding myself together with Spiritual Energy. I'm not suited for a chase. It would be better for me to stay here and buy time for you."
Leaning on Sekkarou, Yukina Himeragi laid out her current condition, hoping that would convince them to let her stay behind.
"No, Yukina, you have to live. I'll stay. I'm the strongest out of the three of us, and I can hold out the longest."
"No, I'll stay..."
"I'll stay. I'm more..."
Just as the three of them were about to start arguing over who would remain behind, a rough voice cut them off.
"That's enough. The choice has already been made. You can go kill that cripple now."
At those words, the girls quickly looked toward Grendel. They saw Cid standing in front of him, smiling as he pointed toward the door. Only then did they realize that Cid had not taken part in their discussion at all.
"Wait, you got the wrong person. I'm the one staying, not Cid."
"No, I should stay. I want to switch with Senpai."
Asagi Aiba and Yukina Himeragi both hurriedly tried to take Cid's place, but Cid only flashed a grin, showing a bright set of white teeth, and gave them a thumbs-up.
"Relax. I'll hold him here. You go after that terrorist."
"Senpai, have you lost your mind? You'll die! Get back here right now."
"This is no time to play the hero, Cid. You won't be able to hold him off for long."
They stepped forward, intending to drag Cid back by force, but Grendel, standing behind him, let out a savage laugh. The terrifying aura of his Magical Power flooded the entire room, blocking Asagi Aiba and Yukina Himeragi from getting any closer.
"This was not my choice. He chose it himself. Are you really going to keep standing here? You should know a lot of time has already passed..."
It was both a reminder and a warning.
"Just go. I still have a few trump cards left. I should be able to hang on for a while."
Looking at Cid, who still seemed utterly carefree, Yukina Himeragi bit down hard and wanted to keep trying to persuade him, but Sayaka Kirasaka stopped her.
"Sayaka, why..."
"Trust him."
"What are you talking about? Senpai is obviously just forcing himself to act tough. Do you really want to watch him die?"
"I trust him."
"Sayaka, you..."
She slapped aside the hand blocking her, but Sayaka Kirasaka immediately stepped in front of her again. Yukina Himeragi was just about to snap at her when she looked up and met Sayaka Kirasaka's eyes, full of sincerity.
"Trust him, just like he trusts you."
Yukina Himeragi clenched her fists tightly. She wanted to say something, but no words came out. After a long pause, she slowly loosened her grip and took a deep breath.
"Fine. I... trust... Senpai."
She practically forced the last words out through gritted teeth.
"Mm."
Sayaka Kirasaka grabbed Yukina Himeragi's hand and Asagi Aiba's hand, trying to pull them along so they could hurry up and kill Gardos. Yukina Himeragi moved when pulled, but Asagi Aiba stayed rooted to the spot.
"You?"
Sayaka Kirasaka fixed Asagi Aiba with a hard stare.
"I'm staying behind."
"You don't believe he'll make it out alive?"
"I do believe he will, but just surviving is not enough."
"?"
"If Cid was willing to risk his life to come save me, then I have to leave this place with him completely unharmed."
Taking off her glasses, Asagi Aiba met Sayaka Kirasaka's gaze head-on with her crimson eyes, refusing to yield. Strange magical patterns appeared in midair, and a powerful wave of Magical Power burst forth.
"Whoa. Now I'm starting to regret this. She seems a lot more interesting than you."
Grendel looked over in surprise, then spoke to Cid with obvious interest.
"Then kill me first and go find her after."
Glancing at Grendel, Cid answered flatly, then shifted his attention back to the Magical Power that had appeared out of nowhere.
Weird. Where is this Magical Power coming from? There are no spatial fluctuations, no conversion process. It is just appearing out of thin air.
"Hmm, you have a point. I can always kill you first, then kill her afterward. I really am a dragon who keeps his word. Hahaha..."
Nodding to himself, Grendel decided Cid's suggestion made sense and gave up on the idea of agreeing to Asagi Aiba's request to switch places.
Cid quickly estimated the time. It had already been nearly two minutes since Gardos escaped, yet Sayaka Kirasaka and Asagi Aiba were still arguing over who should stay behind, and Yukina Himeragi even seemed ready to jump back into the debate. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Asagi, don't you still need to go fight for the Peerage Member Piece? If you stay here now, you might end up so badly injured that you cannot fight anymore."
The moment he said that, Asagi Aiba froze. Seeing that his words were working, Cid kept pressing.
"I do not know what you are trying to do, but if you have been working this hard, then it has to be something important. Do you really want all that effort to go to waste?"
Asagi Aiba started trembling. She clenched her fists, loosened them, then clenched them again. After repeating that several times, she finally fell silent and moved to follow Sayaka Kirasaka.
That settled everyone. The three girls ran past Grendel. As Sayaka Kirasaka passed by, she and Cid exchanged a look.
[Do you have a chance of winning?]
[Not bad. About a thirty-seventy split. I'm the thirty.]
[Those odds are awful. Don't die. If it really comes down to it, give up on us and run. With your strength, you should be able to get away.]
[Hmm... Actually, I'm more concerned about something else. Are we really this in sync? We can talk just through eye contact?]
[I have no idea why either, but forget that for now. As long as I can understand you, that is enough.]
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue, Cid and Grendel quietly waited for Sayaka Kirasaka and the others to leave.
"I'm sorry. If you die, I... I'll definitely bring you back to life."
As Asagi Aiba passed by, her dejected voice drifted over, and a single tear fell to the floor.
No need to apologize. I would be thrilled if you useless teammates finally got out of here.
Muttering that in his heart, Cid prepared himself for battle.
Come on. I have fifteen more moves left in my Mob's Defeat Secret Techniques.