The impact was like a meteorite impact, causing cracks to appear throughout the arena.
　The worst of the shockwaves bared their fangs on everything, even on Gordo, who took a direct hit, and on Sukuna, who unleashed her arts.
　Aside from Gordo, who lost all of his HP, Sukuna, who was blown away by the blast, was also unable to stand up because she was so close to the blast.
　It was the gimmick of Meteor Impact Zero that had created this devastation.

　The gimmick given to Meteor Impact Type-0.
　It was the 'gunpowder' hidden in its hammer-shaped head.

　In both the Finisher and Meteor Impact, the destruction of the weapon occurs not after use, but upon impact.
　The impact of the impact causes the gunpowder in the hammer-shaped head to create a massive explosion.
　The shape of the hammer gives the blast directionality, but in any case, the reflected explosion blows away the user.
　In particular, "Meteor Impact" is more than twice as powerful as "Finisher". The difference in the amount of energy generated during the collision was the result of Haruru's plan to create a larger explosion.

'Ugh ......'

　Sukuna, who had been slammed into the wall of the arena and was buried in the rubble, stood up.
　The only thing the Sukuna was hit with was the blast and the recoil of the collision that accompanied it. If the hard status of the demon race is combined with the defensive effect of the "Weeping Dance", she will not die.
　Even now, as she slowly recovers her HP from the auto-healing, Sukuna sits on one of the rubble.

　The battle is over.
　Only the silence and the results on the menu card praised Sukuna's victory.


☆

'Wow, ...... I'm so tired.

　I used too much concentration.
　He clasped his hands together to release the Wailing Dance and replaced the missing Meteor Impact Zero with Kagewo.
　It was fun. It's the third time I've had a clear opponent, but I really enjoyed the fight with Gordo.

"Phew, I'm done!

'Whoa!

　The Gordo that was supposed to have completely disappeared once appeared from behind me as if it were a matter of course, and I couldn't help but shout out loud.

'Whoa, that's a good reaction.

'How is it that you're still alive when you've lost HP?

'No, no, I just respawned. I'm sure there are virtual bodies in your world too.

　Well, it's not strange that he's alive, since he's probably a guide for the trials.
　In the event that you're not sure what to do, you can always ask your doctor.

I'm not supposed to fight, you know. That's why my performance is reduced by about half. I still didn't think I'd lose, though. ......

'Heh heh'.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it. In any case, you've already passed the ordeal. For now, listen to me. I'll tell you what's going to happen to your world.



　I nodded in agreement with Gordo's suggestion, as I should have.
　I forgot that there was more I wanted to ask him, because things got more heated than I thought.

"The gates of the labyrinth will close once, about two hours before the collapse. Do you know why?

　When I heard Gordo's question, I groaned.
　When the gates fail, it means that whether they break or collapse, Gordo's master ...... will be unable to stop the Sirens from invading.
　I don't know if the monsters in the labyrinth will overflow, or if only the ones that were said to be worth saving will appear, but at least if we do nothing and the time comes, we will have a tragedy of our own.
　If you think of ...... as a way to avoid that, the simplest thing to do is this.

'To have time to escape from the monster?

'Yes. I don't know how many other people will get that key besides you, but ...... you need to be in the labyrinth during those two hours for the key to be effective.

'So the time limit is two hours.

'Well, when the two hours are actually up, you'll just be thrown out into the world with the monster. Naturally, it will be in one of the gated cities.

　Any city with a gate: ....... So at best you could be thrown into Zeronor, at worst into the city of beginnings.
　I shudder to think what would happen if that happened.

　If a monster suddenly appears in the city of the beginning.
　Because that town is the place where you start your journey, no matter how hard you try, only the weakest players will be there.
　To put it bluntly, the players in the city of beginnings are so weak that even a single metal bear or kirabit mixed in with them would be enough to wreak havoc.
　Of course, there are NPCs, and there may be players who are strong enough to return to the city of beginnings, but they are in the minority.
　At the very least, unless you're prepared for it, catastrophe is inevitable.

"Eight years ago, and before that. You failed to defeat the last one. You know better than I what happened to the world after that, don't you?

'...... Yeah.'

　I nodded with a serious expression on my face, but I had no idea.

　Because I'm just a newcomer to this game.
　Today I'm barely on my fourth week, and I'm basically just trying to move on to the next town and the next town.
　I've had a few conversations with people in the demon tribe threads, and it seems I'm a step or two ahead of them in terms of demon tribe related story quests, but on the other hand, I haven't had much chance to get quests from normal NPCs.
　On the other hand, I've had few chances to take quests from ordinary NPCs.

　As for the worldview, it seems that you can learn a lot about it by getting to know NPCs.
　So maybe some people know about the last invasion.
　But I don't know, because I basically don't look into such things. Maybe the last time there was a big disaster or something.

'Hey, this key... Do they give them out through trials every time we invade?'

'Not necessarily keys, but ...... trials are prepared every time.

'Is there a limit to the number?

'Not that either. But so far, we've only been able to get 5 or 6 people per invasion at most.



　Hmm.
　Well, to be honest, I was convinced that's about it.
　NPCs, unlike players, live in this world with a certain life.
　They don't go around dungeons just to collect items, and they can't recklessly attack dungeons with death as a precondition.
　In such a situation, it's rather surprising that more than five people have been able to complete the trials.

'Is there a limit to the maximum number of people that can fight at the same time?

I've never seen a party with more than six people clear the trials, so I can't say for sure. But it's certainly not something that six people can beat.

'So there's a possibility that it's a ...... raid battle.

　A raid battle. In the WLO, this is a battle between five six-man parties, for a total of 30 players participating simultaneously.
　It's been more than a month since the launch of WLO, but even though the concept of raid battles is known, there have been no raid battles in WLO.
　I've heard from Rin that it's expected to open up in some event or in the main storyline, but now we're getting a clearer picture of what it is.
　The conclusion of this event is, in some cases, .......

　I was a little surprised that Gordo knew about parties as a matter of course.

　In the Adventurer's Guild, even NPCs can register a party, so the concept of a party of six people itself is deeply rooted.
　But that's our world.
　For Gordo, who must be in another world, a party of six is not necessarily the same.

　That's right.
　Gordo knows a lot about this world, which is strange for a Siren Knight from another world. The Skuna and the Drunkard.
　Also, before the fight, he said that time flows differently between here and there, but he declared that the 'last invasion' was 8 years ago.

　Hmmm, I have a feeling he's hiding something.
　I don't know what it is now.
　The strong NPCs in this game all have something to hide.
　Amber, Drunkard, Gordo, and so on.
　If you're not going to tell me, don't just say something meaningful!

　And while I was complaining, I remembered that I forgot to ask something important.

'Hey, Gordo.

'Hmm?

'Why are you giving me so much information when I'm supposed to be your enemy?　If you want the Sirens to succeed in their invasion, you'd better slay them without question, right?

　Well, as long as you're in the position of a guide for the trials, that might not be the best course of action.
　I was honestly curious.
　Why is Gordo giving us so much information so carefully?
　It was as if he wanted to hand out keys and information to us.

"Hmm ......, well, yeah. You don't mind if I tell you?

　Gordo was quite coy, then sat down on the rubble and began to talk.

I'm Skuna. I was opposed to this invasion.



Huh?

'Well, not everyone agrees with what the master is doing. If possible, I'd like this invasion to fail, but ...... even so, I can't help you guys directly. I'm just a knight for my master. So I'm just trying to keep up appearances.

　After saying that, Gordo turned his back on me as if he had nothing more to say, and pointed towards the exit.

Go. I'm counting on you to defeat him.

　After saying that, Gordo disappeared quietly while blowing up red polygons.
　When he disappears, it's pretty quick and easy. .......

　He had respawned as a matter of course, but he might have been forcing himself to maintain his avatar.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

　At any rate, I got through the ordeal and got the right to fight the monster sent by the Sirens at the end.
　I decided to discuss with Rin about the information I found out, and I threw myself into the exit that Gordo pointed out to me.