32 – I Really Didn’t Want to Beat Up Elderly Women
Seeing the old man’s reaction, the girl looked where he was looking and went pale too.
Crow didn't turn, nor did he even think twice before saying, “Just tell me one thing... you weren’t in a labyrinth... were you?”
The female voice replied, “How did you know? Well, whatever... we can talk about that later, because things are bad, really bad.”
He went to the last cell and forced the bars open just enough for the rest of the people to get out, then replied, “Well, I’ve finished what I came here to do. There were a few other things, but nothing worth the hassle. Let’s go, Sharon.”
Some of the captives started whispering among themselves, “T-this can’t be… It’s worse than I thought. Instead of becoming slave labor for the other gang, we’re going to end up as food for someone outside...”
Sharon, who had a playful expression, lost her smile. “Ow, rude! I would never do this to someone my partner made a point of setting free.”
The girl, who had been quiet, glanced back and forth between Crow and the intimidating vampire. Leaning slightly back and to the left, she asked Crow, or at least, that’s what it seemed like. “P-partner? Well, I guess that explains how you managed to bend the bars...”
He looked at the girl and replied, “Yeah, something like that. Let’s focus on getting out of here.” Then he looked at Sharon and said, “Right, let’s just leave before things get any more out of hand. The exit is near the labyrinth... lead the way.”
Sharon opened her mouth, paused, and closed it without saying a word. Then she opened it again and said, “I’ll tell you later... there are too many people around.”
He answered her as he walked away, heading toward the back of the line of people. “Alright, let’s go.”
“Crow, that’s not the right way.”
“I know, but while you take the front, I’ll stay in the back, and the weak stay in the middle. Go ahead, we’ll follow.” He looked around and continued, making sure everyone could hear him now. “Got it, everyone? Nobody is going to turn into food. But if you want to play it safe, you can stay here and be slaves until you die. I don’t care. I’m no hero, just someone who had the chance to do the right thing and decided to do it.”
Half of them stayed behind, whispering among themselves. One voice, however, came through clearly to Crow from the back of the crowd: “Keep it down... they can’t hear us. But yeah, without a doubt, they are the Queen’s pawns, looking for food for her immortal army.”
Looks like having meatshields for the future quest is unavoidable. It’s a shame, but everyone has free will. If they want to march straight to their deaths even after being given a way out, well... so be it. I’ll focus on the ones who actually want to live. After all, it costs me nothing to get them out of here.
The line of people kept moving. A few others stayed behind after seeing their friends do the same, making a total of 33 extra people who would normally have died in the Hero's quest to invade this underground place.
“Um… Mister?”
Crow looked down to his side. “Speak.”
“So… not that I don’t believe you… but just out of curiosity… you don’t work for the Queen, right?”
Sadly yeah… but if I say this, when Alice looks through my memories, I’ll be cooked.
“Yeah.”
“Oh… OH! Ah, sorry for raising my voice again… but no one’s getting eaten, right?”
Still walking down the hallway, Crow looked around briefly before answering. “Yeah, but not under these circumstances—”
“So they were right… Sorry, I-I mean… I’ll trust you! It’s just… a little surprising. The stories we heard are really bad. Something like, if we don’t do the right thing, the Queen’s pawns—AH, I’m not saying you’re a pawn! It’s just…”
“Yeah, I’m a pawn; any other questions?”
She placed her finger on her cheek and asked, “At least we’ll have something to eat over there, right? I can tell you’re being honest, I know because I can sense when someone lies.”
After all that talk, they reached the labyrinth. As it turned out, it had been blasted straight through in a single line.
Looks like she got tired of trying to navigate through it. Man, I wish the game had given me that option.
The girl tilted her head slightly to the side. “Mister?”
“To be honest, I only plan on taking you with me. Most of the others probably wouldn’t do so well out there—”
BAAM!
“Mister!!”
Crow slammed heavily into the left wall of the labyrinth. Out of the pitch-black passage on the right, only a clenched fist remained suspended in the air. Slowly bringing their hand down, the person said, “Well, well... so there really was a man built like a small fridge... rather small, as it turns out.”
Still dazed from the massive blow to the face, Crow, trapped in the wall, raised his eyes. Everything was blurred from the hit, but he saw a figure waiting in the dark corridor on the other side.
It was all too good to be true. So close to the exit... Well, doesn't matter. Guess I have to fight now, since reasoning with her is out of the question.
The big grandma stepped out of the corridor, passing close to the girl. What little light shone on the young girl vanished under the shadow of the grandma’s hand as it reached toward her.
The old man who had fainted earlier, perhaps having heard what Crow said, took an unexpected stand. “Stay away from her! Leave us in pe—” He shouted as he shoved the girl aside, getting grabbed by the neck in her place.
The grandma made a pained face as she spoke, “There was food every day, water every day, a hole in the ground, a floor to sleep on, and a roof to stay dry... and this is how you pay me back? By treating me like a monster? Fine, I’ll act like a monster then, just for now, if that’s what you want.”
A very faint sound was heard right after she spoke.
Snap...
She dropped the dead old man. As he fell, his snapped neck left his head flopping around like a bobblehead. What a psycho grandma.
The girl, who had been pushed aside by the old man, was now close to Crow. She slowly backed toward him without taking her eyes off the grandma, whispering: “M-mister, what do we do now!? S-she will kill us...”
Crow, his vision finally clearing, pulled himself out of the wall still feeling dazed, and answered her. “I'm gonna try to buy some time here. Look, we weren't that far from the others, and I had already considered this possibility. So, once an opening comes up, you just get out of here. Follow the rest of them, but don't tell them to come back. Just use your fire magic and blow this whole place up behind you. I'll—”
“How rude, whispering right in front of me? And why are you trembling, Dorothy? Grandma is starting to get hurt... Didn't you like how I treated you? I loved you, my little girl, I gave you the best quarters. While the others had to use the hole in plain sight, you could use it in private, same for the bath. Your food was the best; it just wasn't as good as it used to be, because you were always so fond of burning things and trying to escape... Ah, Dorothy, Grandma is hurt. This time, instead of an injured leg, maybe having no legs at all will be better. That way you won't pull any more foolish escape attempts—”
“Shut up, gran—old hag! Loved? Don't make me laugh! I'm sick of your manipulation. I might not know much about the real world because I was locked away, but I know enough. I'm getting out of here whether you like it or not... I am free!” The girl ended her speech by summoning fire from her hands.
A vein popped on Grandma's forehead, and the sound of her fist clenching tightly was clearly audible. “So that's how it's gonna be, huh...? Very well. This base was done for anyway, I don't know how your little friends managed to blow up half of it... but since that's the case, time for a cleanup. I can simply start all over again... But you, Dorothy… I will be correcting you for the next few years…”
The girl hurled a fireball at the crazy grandma. “NEVER!”
Crow remained silent during their back-and-forth, analyzing the angry Grandma's stats alongside his own to get a grasp on the situation and figure out his next move.
***
[Status]
Name: Iolanda Mendes.
Level: 23
Title: The Big Grandma.
Class: Cleric.
Situation: Almost exploding from anger.
Stats:
STR 65
DEX 35
CON 70
INT 44
WIS 47
***
[Learned Skills]
A good grandma always knows how to hide dark secrets - Others can’t see your secrets.
Missing.
Missing.
Missing…
[Passive Skills]
Missing.
Missing…
***
He had checked his own stats earlier, while the angry grandma was rambling about his friends blowing up half the base, likely during the explosion right when he was hiding in her office.
***
[Status]
Name: Crow (former name error)
Level: 13 (+1)
Title: The Spared One / Heavy Hand
Class: Soul Devourer / Grim Reaper
Situation: Pensive and Surprised.
STR 52 (+2)
DEX 35 (+1)
CON 62 (+3)
INT 23 (+1)
WIS 27
***
[Learned Skills]
Hand to Hand Combat level 7 (+1)
Swordsmanship level 3 (+2)
Persuasion level 4 (+1)
Grim Reaper Manifestation level 2 (+1)
One-liner level 2 (+1)
…
***
Without a doubt, I've gotten stronger since the last time I checked my stats. However, as things stand, my only choice is to fight and try to keep this battle away from the group. After all, Stoneface might be on his way, and Sharon needs to be there to fight him, or else the casualty count could skyrocket. It's sad, but if worst comes to worst, I have to make sure that at least the girl survives. She is now part of my plan, taking Tuesday's place, because I need to build my own “Hero’s Party” if I ever want to escape from Alice's hands safely...
The Big Grandma approached Crow and spun her massive cleaver. It seemed like her old machete was no longer usable. The girl moved to the opposite hallway to put more distance between herself and the old woman while Crow stayed on the front line. The group from earlier was already far off, far enough to have missed what happened, especially since the old woman had been so quiet. In the end, only the old man, who was trailing behind due to his age, Crow, who was maintaining a safe distance to cover their rear, and the girl with him were close enough to be involved, good for him, probably.
SLASH.
CLASH!
Crow drew his Zweihänder and blocked the attack.
This is problematic. By a hair, I managed to defend without catching my sword on the wall. This space isn't big enough, and the Claymore can only take a few more hits against this monstrous strength of hers. What now? Think, Crow, think...
“Hm, looks like you really are strong. Guess Billy was telling the truth after all. Well, a bit too late to know that now, poor thing. If he holds out, I’ll give him another chance.” She spoke, smoothing down a bit of her short, gray hair.
This is bad, but at least she’s out of the way. If I can lure her a bit more to my side, it might be possible to bring down this already wrecked section. Well, as long as it doesn't collapse on top of me, I should get out of this alive. My best bet is to stick with the Claymore and try to finish this quickly, and have the girl set everything on fire before she runs. Tuesday will be trapped unless he finds the other way out. Well, if he's on the other side where the explosion hit, he either already ran off, or he's dead...
“What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? I was going to ask who sent you, but well, it doesn't matter anymore—” She cut herself off with another attack as Crow switched to the Claymore.
He ducked and swung upward, aiming for the old woman's wrists. Taking advantage of her strike piercing the pillar behind him, he shouted, “Dorothy! Set fire to everything and run! I’ll handle this!”
Slash.
“[Fireball!], [Fireball!] I’m running, not because I like taking orders, okay? I’m doing this because I want to be free!” She pulled back a bit further, taking advantage of the old woman getting out of the way. After moving a little more while casting spells backward, she began channeling a spell that was hard to identify. There was nothing visible besides the expanding fire, which she launched at the ceiling, setting it ablaze.
It's all or nothing now. Small pieces of the ceiling are already falling. Well, since it's made of some kind of sturdy wood, I assume we were already close to the entrance of this base.
“I don't like killing elderly women with a sword, so I'm going to make you an offer,” he said as his blade slashed and stopped halfway through her wrist, the one holding the massive cleaver.
“Kill me? Bwahahaha!” She grabbed him by the neck and threw him away, his Claymore still stuck in her wrist. She yanked it out and said, “[Heal].” And the wound closed completely.
This is going to be harder than I thought. If this keeps up and the ceiling collapses, the chances of her surviving and me dying are high, since she can simply heal herself enough to crawl out of here barely alive.
The old woman closed in, giving him bare seconds, just enough time to push himself up and try drawing his Zweihänder, only to realize there was no room for side swings with it.
When I get out of this, and I will get out of this, I need to expand my options in combat...
SLASH!
His arm took a grazing cut. He tried to use his sword to block, but it caught on the side of the passage. With the ceiling collapsing all around him, the place now looked like a goblin cave in flames.
He grabbed a piece of pipe from the side of the passage, which started leaking water as he ripped it out. “I really didn't want to beat up elderly women, but you didn't leave me a choice...”
“I'm going to make mincemeat out of you and throw you in a pot to feed the dogs. Let's see you repeat what you're saying then.”
A distant sound of a fireball, followed by the faint, muffled screams of men and women.
Oh, perfect. What’s going on over there?
The old woman's face turned into a growing smirk. “Looks like Stoneface has arrived. Did you think you could just waltz in, destroy everything, and walk away scot-free? Do you know who I am? Nobody in this town even dares to look my way, let alone run their mouth, but you... how could you... Prepare to die, little boy.”