Fate DxD Vol.8

Chapter 40

"A temporary alliance?"

"Yes! We're being held here by the power of one player and if we don't react, we'll end up like him." She points to the guy in the elevator.

"Seeing the ivy that trapped him, I imagine those plants and the ones on the stairs came from the same person?" I analyze the situation.

"Yes, both are the effects of the same sigil. By blocking the stairs, one of the participants forces the other players to take the elevators where he's laid death traps."

"As a result, we no longer have any way of getting off. You want us to team up just because we're both stuck? I think you trust me quite easily."

"I'm an informant, I've already gathered and studied data about you."

"Seriously?"

"Your name is Senji Emiya and that's also your nickname in the game, you haven't changed it since you signed up, which indicates that you're a novice who started out solo. Even though you stubbornly refuse to kill your opponents, that hasn't stopped you from defeating Banda-boy, Shuka and Inukai! Three victories in a row against players of a level far superior to yours is a remarkable achievement! You don't have a clan, but you've allied yourself with Shuka, the invincible queen. I don't know what power you use, we call it the Sigil. All I know is that you have a professional level in martial arts!"

"You're well informed..." I say, surprised. "But you're going to have to update your info. I've been beaten to a pulp by the guy lying there!"

"During this event, fights are not counted in the ranking. At the end of the game, the points of dead players are divided among the survivors." She explains.

"Hmpf, basically, clashes don't bring anything... So we might as well just run away, is that the idea?"

"Right, after all, that's how I've stayed alive so far!"

"I see, you have a point."

"...What kind of answer is that?"

"Hm? I'm just a little surprised to run into someone like you, the players I've met so far were all about fighting. Okay, I'll work with you, I don't want to die like that." I turn my gaze to the guy lying down.

"Glad to hear it! One last thing, you don't seem the type to run away, considering your physical and technical abilities but think that in nature, running away is a far more common means of survival than fighting! This is also the case in Darwin's Game. When a fight runs out of time, the ability to escape danger counts towards artistic points. If the player who has been challenged manages to escape for an hour without sustaining significant damage, he is usually declared the winner."

"Now you're teaching me something..."

"Take Banda-boy for example, he possessed a powerful sigil, called "Stealth", a psychokinesis category power, optical manipulation type, surely an alter at base. Apparently, he had to cover himself from head to toe for it to work. Despite this constraint, there was no more effective way of evading an adversary or setting up an ambush. But he was too impatient, so you got the better of him!"

"Got the better of him ... Hmm, it didn't really happen like that, let's just say I surprised him, but that about sums it up. Earlier, however, it wasn't the same: he let me live because I wasn't armed. The truth is, I'm not that strong, so don't overestimate me."

"You seem to have a slight lack of self-confidence. I'll make a note of it. You're not that strong, yet it was enough, but what if that was the most important thing?"

"Hmm?"

"This strength you have, it didn't present itself to you from the start, did it? It came because you refused to give up. You persisted in improving yourself, fleeing when necessary, thinking of a strategy, a way to defeat your opponent, until an opening presented itself."

(This girl...)

"I like the way you put it."

"That's just my take on it, although I'm more into waiting for the wheel of luck to turn in my favor."

"All right, so do you have any idea how we can get out of here?"

"We exchange information and look for a way down the stairs. Don't even think about elevators!"

With these words, we head for the stairs and carefully descend a few steps to get closer to the vegetation. I move my hand closer but Rain stops me dead in my tracks.

"If I were you, I wouldn't get too close, there might be a trap."

"That's what I'm thinking too, I just wanted to check."

"...In any case, unless we have a chainsaw, we won't get through."

"I'd suggest burning the whole thing, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like it's a really bad idea."

"Do you have a Pyrotechnic Sigil?"

"No, but I can start a fire if I want to."

"Noted, but no, indeed it's a good way to burn down the whole building and trap us in the process." Rain waves a hand and tells me to back off. "Since the staircase looks compromised..." She begins to think.

"How about trying to climb down from a window with a rope?" I propose, not quite sure of my idea.

"We're in a 40-storey tower with no balcony... So I'm not really into it, you know!"

"Well, all that's left is to look for another way out or something to clear away the vegetation."

As we turn down the corridor, we see a whole host of player corpses and innocent people lying lifeless on the floor.

"More deaths, everywhere... It's a real butchery!" I exclaim.

"I can't even imagine what it's like underneath, there must be at least twenty of them."

"Was it the plant guy who killed them all?"

"No, not the players on the floors beyond the barricade. They killed each other for the bracelets!"

"They're sick! I can still understand why they'd have to kill each other, but there's no need to take it out on innocent people!"

"Everyone thinks first and foremost of their own safety, a dead player is one less threat and it's unfortunately the same for civilians, we don't know who might use their powers in battle to defend themselves."

"...And then the winners got trapped in the elevators. What do you know about the plant killer? What kind of guy is he?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know his real identity. He remains very cautious and always strikes from a distance. No one has ever seen him! But his crimes are signed, his victims are found impaled on trunks, strangled by vines, one of them even had a flower growing out of his forehead! That's what earned him his nickname, the florist! All I know about him is that his sigil is linked to plants." Rain explains.

"Have you thought of a way to escape him?" I feel a cold drop run down my forehead.

"As I was saying, you mustn't get too close to the plants. Given that it never shows itself, it must be the type to set traps, and wait for its prey to fall into them. The advantage is that we're safe on the upper floors, since he was only able to kill the other players when they took the elevator."

"Phew, I feel a bit better already... No wait..."

"What?"

"The florist only butchered those who tried to get off and the other deaths were the work of other players, right?"

"Yes, I'm sure, why?"

"How do you know?"

"Because there was an ivy-covered body in an elevator, of all things!"

"Why just a body?! We should have found a hole! In the game, apart from civilians, corpses are teleported somewhere aren't they?!"

"It's true that we didn't sit back and watch the disappearance... But sometimes you have to wait a few minutes after death..."

"Boy, do I have a really bad feeling about this! If they haven't been erased..." I pull out my phone in a panic and look around. "It's that they're still alive!"

With my detachment tools, I see a dozen bracelets heading our way. I suddenly feel my heart racing, my whole body tense and I activate my magic circuits. I grab Rain's hand and run for cover.

"I should have realized sooner! They're coming!"

"Who's 'they'? The players trapped in the elevators?! You think they ganged up on us?!" Rain looks back in panic. "But at last, they've been trying to kill each other all along! Assuming they're alive, why would they be allies?!"

"No idea! In any case, they don't mean us any good!"

I turn my gaze to see them already at the end of the corridor, guns pointed at us.

(Already?!)

I take Rain in my right arm and bring my left arm forward, I use my magic circuits, creating electric arcs all around us and in a few seconds...

"Rho Aias!" The light shield appears, protecting us from bullets.

"Unbelievable..." Rain is stunned but quickly regains her composure, reaching into her pockets for something. "Close your eyes!" She throws a flashbang and covers my eyes.

On contact with the ground, the grenade explodes, releasing a jet of light so powerful I can see it through my closed eyes. I feel Rain's hand grip my wrist and pull me away. We climb the stairs four at a time and keep running without stopping.

"Where do you get a flashbang grenade from?"

"They're sold by the dozen in the Darwin's Game store, a must for escape pros!"

"Seriously?!" I'm surprised to hear there's a store on the game. "But frankly, I don't understand a thing! That they're alive is surprising enough, but that they work as a team..."

"They have to be checked by the florist!" We stop at a corner to catch our breath. "Some plants contain narcotic substances, he must have used them to brainwash these guys!"

"Does it work like this?"

(Sounds a bit far-fetched, but hey, no time to think about it...)

I pick up my phone to see where they are.

"How does it look?" She asks me, sitting on the floor.

"Too bad, they're not even bothering to search the floors, they're heading straight for us. Besides, how can they know our exact position? We don't even have any wristbands on us!"

"Who knows? Maybe plants can also detect us..."

"Are you kidding? Is your florist omnipotent or what?! Besides, there's nothing green around here!" I look around.

(Wait... We're in a hotel, so...)

But my gaze rests on the object that answers my question.

"Ah, right. Actually, it's quite simple!"

"Excuse me?" Rain asks, not understanding my reaction.

"Tss... that disgusts me! All the people I've fought have tried to kill me..." I hide my hand behind my back and project a shuriken, under Rain's surprised gaze. "But at least they got their hands dirty and risked their own lives! Not like that damned florist watching people slaughter each other from his hideout!"

I throw the shuriken, which plants itself straight into the camera, rendering it useless.

"But of course! Surveillance cameras!" Rain realizes.

"Let this dirty stalker wait a little longer, I'm going to get him out of his hole!"

With Rain's help, I destroy every camera we see, floor by floor.

"Two from the east, the other two from the west! They'll be here in 30 seconds!" Rain warns me of our pursuers' arrival.

"Got it!" I destroy the last two cameras on this floor then race to the 29th floor, deliberately ignoring three floors.

We stop running and Rain pushes open a door allowing us to enter and hide in one of the bedrooms. I watch from my phone, seeing the points of light passing and spreading out in the corridors.

"It's okay, they're gone." Rain watches from her phone, too.

"Phew... They had no idea we could hide in here, considering all the doors are self-locking."

"It's the first danger avoided."

"Luckily when you came out of the room you'd been teleported to, you remembered to block the door with a pillow, it saved our lives."

"It's a necessary precaution for an escape enthusiast, a locked room is always useful!"

"On the other hand, we can't go on destroying cameras. Eventually, they'll discover our hideout."

"...Sorry to insist, but are you sure you want to give this a try? It's a risky bet... The probability of success is 40%, and even if it works, your chances of survival are still less than 50%. In short, you've got eight chances out of ten of staying there!" I can feel her eyes staring at me.

"In that case, I'll just have to pluck up my courage! But first..."

We go back down to the 26th floor and approach the plants blocking the stairs. Rain opens the Darwin's Game store and buys C4, glues it to the vegetation and we back off. Hiding behind a wall, she switches on the detonator, detonating the C4 with a bang, creating smoke all over the corridor. We get closer and, unsurprisingly, the explosion has destroyed some of the vegetation, but there's still a lot to destroy before we can get through.
"That's what I was afraid of, it wasn't enough to clear the way..." Rain mumbles, covering her mouth.

"Rain, we don't have time for a second attempt, they're coming." I warn her, seeing them charging toward us.

She nods, then we start running, ready to fight. She buys another flash-bang and, seeing them coming ahead of us, throws it, blinding them as they turn the corner. I reinforce my body and dash forward, knocking them both out.

"How convenient, though, the magic circuits!" Rain comments, passing by me.

Without answering, I follow her, rethinking the plan we came up with.

'With "Laplace", I'm best equipped to handle the explosion.' Rain announces.

'What's that?' I ask.

'The Sigil I got in Darwin's Game.'

'Where did that name come from? Did you find it?'

But no, the powers are assigned arbitrarily by the system, or rather by the game administrator! Have you ever heard of Laplace's demon?'

'Hum... Laplace is a mathematician, if I remember correctly.'

'Exactly, he imagined this concept in the eighteenth century. Laplace's demon, a being knowing the trajectory of every atom in the universe and possessing unlimited computing capacity!'

'It's like a supercomputer.'

'It's true, and Darwin's Game considers my sigil to be comparable to the power of this demon!'

"Careful, knocking them out wasn't enough!" Rain warns me, without her even looking.

I turn to see one of them pull out a pistol and fire in our direction, the bullet passes by me, aiming at Rain but she simply moves her head, letting the bullet pass right by.

(Her power is no joke...)

"We managed to attract all four. Now it's all a question of endurance." She tells me, preparing to climb the stairs.

I acquiesce, and we embark on our tour, climbing floor by floor. I get a head start, being much more athletic than she is, and arrive on the 40th floor, ready to greet them. A few seconds after me, Rain finally arrives, completely out of breath. She resumes her run to take cover. She suddenly turns around, as if surprised, and indeed, our pursuers are already there.

(They must be ahead of her forecast...)

Rain barely had time to take cover before they opened fire, raining bullets all around her. I take it in my stride, hating the fact that I have to wait to act, but it's up to her to signal me to attack.

She stands up and charges forward, dodging bullets if necessary. Then she pulls out a flash bang and throws it right into the middle of the room, lighting it up and blinding most of the attackers. This is my moment, I emerge from my hiding place and project a bokken, disarm the first attacker and strike him in the knee, immobilizing him. The other three react fairly quickly despite their useless eyes, pointing their guns at me but I leap to the side before they can even fire.

Suddenly, a powerful gunshot rang out across the room, rattling the hotel windows and crashing into my eardrums, making me stagger slightly. I can see a huge bullet pierce the arm of one of the three. I look up to see Rain equipped with a sniper. But I barely have time to get to my feet when one of the two still standing shoots at me. I take one last look at Rain, who sees it and nods just before I disappear.

"Well, if my clone has disappeared, then things aren't going too badly, at least for now." I think out loud.

In the meantime, I make my way down the hotel, having tied myself to a fire extinguisher pipe. I give in to temptation and look down, suddenly dizzy.

"Damn... I'm gonna die!" I close my eyes and clench my fists harder on the pipe.

(As long as the pipe holds out...)

Suddenly I slip, losing my footing on the concrete wall, causing me to fall, but in just a few seconds, what I've wrapped around myself stops me.

(The scare, I could already see myself flattened on the sidewalk!)

I straighten up and put my feet up on the window in front of me. I activate my magic circuits and project three swords, slamming them into the window. The swords just go through, not shattering it. I kick so that the window finally breaks. I take a grenade, bought by Rain, pull the pin and send it through the hole, completely exploding the window. I rise to dodge the projectiles, then leap forward and enter the room.

(Well, he must have heard the explosion, so I'd better hurry.)

I race down the stairs and when I reach the door to the ground floor, I see the entrance covered in roots. I take my second grenade and blow up the entrance, allowing me to continue. I look around to see where the surveillance room is. The floor, walls and even the ceiling are covered with vegetation, roots, ivy etc... Then I see another entrance blocked by vegetation, so I pick up my last remaining grenade and prepare to pull the pin.
"No need to throw that, boy, I'm coming!" A voice is heard from the other side.

Emerging from the darkness of the room and pushing back the roots, a man in his late forties comes into view. His hair and eyes are black, and his beard and moustache are a few days old. He wears a full body suit.

"...Are you the florist?"

"That's what they call me, apparently... I must say you've surprised me on several occasions, first with weapon creation and then with cloning? You've got quite an arsenal for your young age."

"That's pretty flattering, coming from a guy who can literally manipulate vegetation." I get into position.

"Before we get started, I'd like to have a little chat." He raises his hand to stop me.

"Why?" I raise an eyebrow.

"One of us is going to die soon, or maybe we'll both die, so this is our last chance to exchange a few words. Tell me, why are you taking part in Darwin's Game?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, I don't have a reason, you could say I was fooled by my own curiosity. That said, right now, as I'm talking to you, I have a very clear objective. To beat the shit out of you and the bastard who designed this game." I stare him straight in the eye.

"Me, I do it for the money, you're probably too young to understand." He said, starting to cover himself with root. "But one or two million yen can buy a life!" Fingers, arms and legs are covered in root.

"And that gives you the right to kill?!" I raise my voice, starting to get impatient.

"For one person to live, another must die. That's exactly what's going to happen now! Let's see which of us comes out on top!" He's covered from head to toe in wooden armor so thick he's twice his size.

Seeing this, I summon my red gauntlet [BOOST] and prepare to face him, activating all my magic circuits.

"Shut up, you bastard! It's not up to you to decide if someone should die!"