"Master, are we really heading straight for the Bowser Queen's castle like this?"
Nishi looked down at Cyan, who was resting her head against her chest with her eyes closed in a light slumber.
"Mm. Survival Mission 2 will only activate once Survival Mission 1 is completed. It will likely be an even more troublesome task." Cyan enjoyed the sensation of the wind brushing against her face, her eyes cracking open slightly. She suspected that once they secured the prince, the secondary mission would involve protecting him during the escape or perhaps assisting the Mushroom Kingdom in defeating the Bowser Queen altogether...
As of right now, they possessed no concrete data regarding the Bowser Queen's actual combat threshold. However, as an entity capable of transmuting an entire kingdom's populace into inanimate objects, her magical power was not to be underestimated.
If they had the assistance of the world's protagonists—the Mario brothers—defeating her would likely be far more straightforward. But for now, the absolute priority was clearing Survival Mission 1 to reveal the next phase.
"Nishi, take the Super Star."
Cyan produced the golden, smiling star from her storage slot and placed it directly into Nishi's hands.
"Eh? But the Super Star is best suited for you, Master! Why give it to me?" Nishi looked at the star, genuinely believing her master should be the one wielding the ultimate defense.
"The enhancement from the Super Mushroom will dissolve the instant you sustain a single hit. Once you consume the Fire Flower, you will gain the ability to deploy fireballs. Currently, we do not know the exact damage scaling of those projectiles, but it shouldn't be inferior to the physical force granted by the mushroom. To extract Prince Peach, your offensive capabilities are necessary. The Super Star will provide you with a critical window of absolute invincibility to maximize that output."
Cyan analyzed the tactical distribution calmly. This wasn't a casual gesture; it was a deployment strategy born of thorough calculation.
"Mm, I understand." Nishi nodded seriously, her expression turning solemn as she stowed the Super Star into her inventory space.
"They should be arriving right about now, shouldn't they?"
Kamek adjusted his thick spectacles. A crystal ball hovered silently before him, glowing with a faint, iridescent light as he rhythmically waved his magical wand. The scrying matrix had successfully locked onto Cyan and Nishi's transit vector.
"Huh?!"
The moment Kamek caught sight of Cyan and Nishi riding comfortably atop Lakitu's Cloud, his hand twitched violently, nearly dropping his wand onto the stone floor.
How on earth did they secure Lakitu's Cloud... Don't tell me, Lakitu has already...
The sorcerer had already deduced the outcome. In truth, he wasn't particularly surprised; given Lakitu's thoroughly obnoxious, abrasive personality, if he hadn't expired at the hands of these two bounty hunters, he would have eventually been flattened by the Mario brothers anyway.
Your Majesty, please forgive my deception... This is entirely for the geopolitical future of the Bowser Kingdom!
Kamek chanted a low incantation and swept his wand. In a localized distortion of arcane light, his frame shrank and shifted until he was replaced by a standard Toad citizen, sporting a blue mushroom cap with distinctive white spots.
"Flawless!"
Kamek patted his newly formed head. Looking at his pristine, clean vestments, he promptly dropped to the floor, rolling around in the dirt before grabbing a handful of soil and smearing it across his face. Satisfied with the sudden weathering, he dissolved into a flash of magical light and vanished from the chamber.
"Please wait! Please, wait a moment!"
"Master, it sounds like someone is shouting at us from down below. Should we investigate?" Nishi caught the echo of a voice cutting through the wind. Tilting the cloud downward, she spotted a Toad with a somewhat unusual cap color standing in a clearing.
"Mm. Let us see."
Securing Cyan's assent, Nishi guided the cloud down to a low hover beside the frantic Toad. "What do you want?"
"Y-You... you are the mercenary bounty hunters retained by the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue us?" The Toad's eyes darted nervously between Cyan and Nishi, a subtle layer of caution laced beneath his desperate expression.
"That's us. What's your story?" Nishi evaluated the disheveled figure, asking, "Don't tell me you're a captive who managed to break out of the Bowser Queen's castle?"
"Yes! It was incredibly difficult, but I managed to slip past the perimeter guards during their scheduled shift rotation..." The Toad paused, his voice cracking with theatrical emotion as he cried out, "I beg of you, you must rescue Prince Peach!"
"This is a structural blueprint of the fortress that I managed to secure during my escape. I hope it serves your entry vector!" The Toad produced a neatly rolled parchment map and extended it toward Nishi.
"Do you require extraction back to the Mushroom frontier?" Cyan asked calmly. She slid her goggles up onto her forehead, her piercing silver-white eyes locking onto the small figure.
"There is no need to trouble yourselves! I am fully capable of navigating the wilderness on my own. You must focus entirely on rescuing Prince Peach! I place the fate of our kingdom in your hands!"
Kamek felt a cold shiver run down his spine under Cyan's detached, razor-sharp gaze. Realizing that prolonged interaction would inevitably compromise his arcane disguise, he immediately played the part of a panicked refugee and bolted into the brush.
"Master, you suspect him?" Nishi murmured close to Cyan's ear as she guided the cloud back into the sky.
"Mm. Heavily."
Cyan took the parchment from Nishi's hands, unrolling it to inspect the schematics. She tapped her temple lightly, stating, "Unless the Bowser Queen suffers from a profound cognitive deficit, I do not believe a high-grade structural blueprint of her primary seat of power would be stored in a location accessible to a common captive."
"Furthermore, the weathering on his clothing was entirely too manufactured. When he gestured aggressively, physical clods of dirt fell away from the fabric, indicating it was applied recently."
Cyan produced the original regional map provided by the Chancellor, pointing to the volcanic domain marking the horizon ahead. "The Bowser Queen's castle is situated directly within a volcanic basin. For an entity fleeing a high-temperature zone under intense duress, his vestments bore absolutely zero singe marks or heat warping. Instead, the mud was fresh and moist."
"A volcanic microclimate maintains a severe ambient temperature. His clothing showed no signs of sweat saturation or salt staining. No matter how much a Toad resembles a fungus, they are fundamentally a humanoid subspecies, not a sedentary plant."
Cyan rarely articulated such a lengthy analysis. Tilting her head back, her crown resting against the plush support of Nishi's chest, she added, "Do I need to enumerate further anomalies? The profile is riddled with inconsistencies."
"No, no, that's more than enough." Nishi shook her head, her face filled with absolute admiration. "Master, you're more analytical and hyper-vigilant than an actual career thief. It's honestly a little demoralizing."
Cyan's sheer competence left Nishi feeling entirely outclassed across every operational metric.
"If you possessed a baseline of vigilance, you wouldn't have been foolish enough to assist Sanjiu Rokuro in attempting to ambush us. Evaluating a target purely based on superficial visual data is the exact antithesis of caution," Cyan remarked, offering a blunt critique.
"Ah! Stop it, stop it! Fine, I'm just a big dummy!" Nishi whined playfully, deliberately shifting her posture to press against Cyan's face to force her to stop talking.
Slightly annoying...
Cyan turned her face away with an air of mild detachment. Once her partner's playful display finally settled, she focused her attention back on the newly acquired castle schematics.
The blueprint mapped out every internal structural artery with meticulous precision, even highlighting localized trap triggers and an explicit hidden ventilation shaft.
Recalling the highly suspicious behavior of that "Toad," Cyan deduced that the individual was likely an elite operative or sorcerer native to the Bowser Kingdom operating under a false flag. Handing over an asset of this strategic value suggested they were trying to channel the bounty hunters through a specific vector to achieve an undisclosed internal objective.
Regardless of their internal political machinations, an accurate schematic of the fortress provides us with more utility than risk.
Cyan handed the layout over to Nishi, commanding, "Navigate according to the highlighted maintenance vector."
"What if it leads straight into a localized kill box?" Nishi asked cautiously, scanning the layout.
"The entity who provided this document clearly intends for us to reach the interior. Even without this schematic, the Bowser Queen's castle remains our definitive destination."
"Understood." Nishi memorized the route, accelerating the cloud's propulsion.
The royal castle of the Bowser Kingdom was anchored directly within the heart of a massive active volcano.
Likely due to her specific draconic lineage, the Bowser Queen thrived in extreme thermal environments, constructing her monolithic fortress right amidst churning lakes of blistering magma. The natural topography formed a near-impenetrable defensive barrier; the singular conventional approach vector was a narrow, precarious bridge constructed from suspended brick blocks floating over the fire.
Bizarrely, however, the interior of the fortress didn't mirror the oppressive heat of the exterior basin. The internal atmospheric controls maintained a perfectly regulated, comfortable temperature.
"The stench of sulfur out here is completely foul..."
Nishi pinched her nose, her face glistening with a heavy layer of sweat. Her clothing was rapidly becoming saturated under the intense external heat radiating from the magma fields.
"What kind of maniac builds a residential fortress inside a volcano? Is the Bowser Queen some kind of oversized, fire-breathing snapper?" Nishi muttered, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable as the ambient humidity made her skin feel sticky.
The Bowser Queen... a fire-breathing snapper...
An image instantly materialized within Cyan's mind: a massive, aggressively reptilian beast slathered in heavy cosmetic makeup, sporting a jagged crown while violently spewing columns of flame from its beak. Surrounded by this sweltering heat, Cyan actually found herself shivering slightly at the sheer horror of her own imagination.
If the Bowser Queen genuinely resembled that mental projection, she couldn't help but harbor a deep, sincere sense of pity for the abducted Prince Peach. It was entirely possible the beast had dragged him here to force him into a grotesque political marriage.
"According to the blueprint, this particular hidden access vector requires navigating an underwater mechanical pipeline to breach the inner sanctum, while the alternate route involves crossing a series of lethal automated traps..." Nishi paused, shifting her gaze from the parchment to Cyan. "Master, which infiltration vector are we occupying?"
"We split our forces. I will navigate the aquatic pipeline; you will occupy the trap corridor. If we clear our respective thresholds smoothly, we rendezvous at this centralized junction marked on the schematic."
Cyan indicated a specific subterranean intersection where the two hidden maintenance shafts intersected.
"If the aquatic pipeline proves impassable, I will retrograde and reinforce your corridor. If your path becomes entirely compromised, utilize your camouflage capabilities to infiltrate the main structure and establish a perimeter at the rendezvous point." Cyan integrated Nishi's specific skill sets into the contingency layer, ensuring they had options if the worst-case scenario materialized.
"An aquatic pipeline? Master, how are you supposed to manage your oxygen supply?" Nishi asked with immediate concern.
"I possess this asset." Cyan brought up the item display, showing Nishi the attributes of her Silver Scale Belt.
"Oh, wow! That completely solves the breathing issue! Alright then!" Seeing the passive aquatic conversion perk, Nishi's anxiety dissolved.
The duo initiated the split-screen operation. The Lakitu's Cloud remained with Nishi to assist her navigation through the automated trap hazards.
Before breaking away, Nishi reached into her bodice, retrieving the Cape Feather she had tucked safely away, and pressed it firmly into Cyan's palm. Before her master could articulate a refusal, Nishi accelerated the cloud and rocketed into the darkness.
Cyan watched the receding silhouette for a brief moment before turning on her heel and sprinting toward the coordinates of her designated hidden valve.
So this is the structural entry point?
Cyan stared at a massive, matte-green pipe protruding from the stonework, looking for all the world like an open invitation to dive into the unknown. If she hadn't cross-referenced the layout, she never would have guessed this industrial conduit led to an internal bypass.
Stepping up to the rim, she plunged directly into the pipe. She felt her body accelerate through a sequence of rapid pneumatic shifts before being unceremoniously ejected into a subterranean body of water.
The aquatic chamber was shrouded in absolute, pitch-black darkness, devoid of even a single stray photon. The passive effect of the Silver Scale Belt immediately stabilized her respiration, allowing her to breathe as naturally as if she were standing on solid ground. Moving her legs in a fluid, synchronized pattern reminiscent of a siren, she propelled herself rapidly through the current. Her pupils constricted and shifted shape; the surrounding ink-black environment presented absolutely zero barrier to her enhanced vision.
On the opposite side of the mountain, Nishi navigated Lakitu's Cloud with extreme precision, narrowly weaving past a succession of massive, swinging iron pendulum axes. Thank goodness she had access to an aerial mount capable of precise hovering; attempting to clear these mechanical death traps on foot would have been a statistical nightmare.
I wonder how Master is holding up on her end...
The brief lapse in concentration nearly cost her dearly; a massive, automated guillotine blade sheared through the air, missing the edge of her cloud by a fraction of an inch and leaving her drenched in cold sweat.
Focus! No more daydreaming! Get to the rendezvous point first!
Nishi didn't dare let her mind wander again. If she sustained a hit here, the critical Super Mushroom enhancement would be entirely wasted.