Amagi Brilliant Park's
V2 - Chapter 2 Part 2
The next day, while walking down the road to the second park, Isuzu calls Seiya: “Kanie-kun. …You don't really believe that story, do you?” It was just noon. The spring sun shone brightly, and songbirds chirped in the trees around them. They walked down the street as if they were on a picnic.
“I won't say I believe it. But the coin is real,” he admits. “That's a lot we know, right?”
“It's true. I'm not an appraiser, but the writing written on it is convincing.”
“I can't believe there's a real treasure, of course. And the story of a cast member who disappeared makes a fret. Anyway, I feel like I have to see this cave of theirs.”.
Just then, Isuzu turned around to look at Seiya's face. It was a strange gaze, partly watchful, partly hopeful.
“What do you see?” tanyakanya.
“...No,” he said. “I remember another time when you came to the second park for the same reason not clear..
“Leave me alone. I'm not chasing another magical change like that.”
“Yah... I know it.”
“My concerns are mostly about the second park itself,” he said firmly. “Any problem can complicate what should be an undoable agreement. Which is why I need to check it before today's meeting.”
Seiya has an important negotiation at 4:00. It was very secret; other than Isuzu, only Ashe and a few others knew about it—and he had only told Ashe about it yesterday. To make the deal work, Seiya had to spend more than two weeks skipping school and going to many places and doing many things in the city.
“Do you really think this will be approved?” Isuzu asked him.
“It should not be possible to collapse.The only thing that can completely tear it down is a major defect in the area itself,” Seiya asserts. “That's my only concern here. Now, stop finding out in unnecessary places.”
“...Alright.” He immediately fell silent, and the two continued walking down the forest path.
Seiya was wearing jeans, thick clothes, work gloves, and climbing shoes. Those were all items that he did not mind getting littered with, just in case he might need to dig up the ground or go crawl through the narrow space. Meanwhile, Isuzu was wearing safari clothes, hot pants, and sturdy jungle boots. He also carried a large backpack; overall, he looked more like he was on an expedition in a remote South American or African region than he was looking for commercial property.
Back then, probably because he was alone in the forest with Isuzu, Seiya felt a little uneasy. Circumstances were still unclear after the events surrounding the recent interview, and he could not stop noticing the beautiful lines of his legs being exposed by his hot pants. He initially said, “I'll go alone,” but he replied, “I'll be with you, as your secretary,” and finally come along. He still could not understand what his purpose was.
“Hei, Sento.”
“Ya?”
“What are you...” Are you looking for an opportunity to be alone with me? Seiya wondered. Should he ask her with a serious face? Like it was a joke? Like he asked about tomorrow's weather? He ran various simulations in his mind, but none of them seemed workable. “...No, forget.”
“Once,” reply. “If you don't need anything, can you not talk to me?”
Then there's this. Even more difficult to understand.
“We should be almost there,” Isuzu tells. “...That's him.”
They had already investigated the vast expanse of land, after all, they were on the amusement park grounds. It took them about ten minutes to get to their destination.
Tucked in the ground, among the hills covered by trees, there was a kind of hole. An old fence was erected in front of the hole. The fade sign hung there reads ‘Only Authorized Personnel.’
“What is the place?” Seiya asked. “But, wait..”.
Three familiar mascots crouching in front of the fence.
“Long enough for you, fumo.”
“We've been waiting all day, ron.”
“Come start moving, mii.”
Moffle, Macaron, and Tiramii. The usual triumvirate of AmaBuri spoke with great fury. There were cigarette butts on their feet; empty plastic bottles and department store lunch boxes were strewn across the ground around them. Truly naughty behavior—ia should make them clean up later.
“What are you guys doing here?” Seiya. “Today is a standard working day. I don't remember giving you guys permission to laze.”
The three immediately scowled in return.
“Listen to him, fumo. The great managing manager!”
“It's not like we don't have a better thing to do, ron. But Isuzu-chan asked us..”.
“...So we came here to help, mii. We will work passionately on his quest, mii.”
Seiya looked at Isuzu. “Sento. Will you explain this?”
“It's just a precaution. You heard what happened to Dornell, right? What if we take a wrong turn and get lost in a strange labyrinth? We're gonna need support. We can't lose you, you know.” Isuzu said, his tone earnestly.
“Look... You know I didn't actually come here looking for treasure. I just don't want every questionable spot in the second park to go unreported, so I want to find it. After all, even if we do encounter problems, do you expect them to be of help? These guys? They are very unreliable. They are basically parasites.”
All three members heard this frank criticism.
“It was terrible, mii!”
“South plan, ron..”.
“Yeah, yeah. So you still haven't acknowledged my abilities as the last student of Cus D’Amato and a former member of the Maple Land raid reconnaissance squad.
They talk in turn.
Upset, Seiya just waved her hand as if saying Fine, whatever. “We are on a busy schedule,” he nags them firmly. “...Again, this just looks like a small hole in the hillside. So stop waiting like a fool and let's go.”
They would investigate the small cave, find nothing, and finish. Then, he would give the disillusioned party a long talk on the way back to the park. The future seemed to lie before Seiya's eyes. “Come on, let's go. Just open.”
Isuzu nodded and put the key into the lock on the fence.
After pushing open the creaking gate, the five of them—Seiya, Isuzu, Moffle, Macaron, and Tiramii—forwarded into the hole.
“For what...” Seiya commented harshly. “It will take five minutes. Why do we need all these people?”
Indeed, there is a cave there. The entrance is hidden by tall weeds. It led them to a tunnel, which extended inwards about ten meters before meeting a dead end.
“Oke, see?” he continued. “There's nothing here. Obviously, this is just an air attack shelter. Maybe the missing people are trying to light a fire here. Maybe they fainted due to lack of oxygen, or started hallucinating—”
Flashlight in hand, Moffle and the others began to inspect the wall.
“There is a hidden switch, mii!” Tiramii.
“Uh?” Seiya blinked.
“This little rock,” Tiramii explains. “See?”
Indeed, there was a round stone the size of a 100 yen coin embedded in the stone wall. Tiramii held his ear against the wall, then carefully moved the stone. “Hmm... It is disguised, but there is definitely a button and lever, mii. Let's try top, top, bottom, bottom, left, right, left, right, box, triangle.”
“Only people over thirty years old will understand that joke, ron.”
“Ah, I understand, mii!”
Instantly, the wall of the stalemate rumbled and began to shift open: it was a hidden door.
“This is ridiculous!” seiya said, dumbfounded, as the three mascots screeched happily.
“That's the Tiramii I know. You really know what you're doing, fumo.”
“Let's hear from the man who was thrown in jail for breaking into the safe of Maple Bank, ron!”
“Hee hee..
What the fuck? He has a criminal record? thought Seiya. He wanted to dig this topic deeper, but right now, he was more distracted by the long passageway that stretched through the hidden door. The corridor in front curved slightly as it disappeared into the darkness.
“This is an underground labyrinth, ron! Legend true!”
...----------------...
It gets complicated. Could it be that the story surrounding Dornell's disappearance wasn't entirely imaginary? Even if he ignored the possibility of a real treasure, he could not return now, pretending as if this passageway did not exist.
We might be better off checking it out. was the mutual opinion of the entourage, so they carefully proceeded to enter the passageway. The hallway was pitch-black, but they all had flashlights, which served well as lighting.
“Any.” Isuzu whispered as he knelt in the middle of the hallway.
“What?” Seiya asked.
“Virtually no dust collected here. Every nook and cranny is clean. It's impossible no one came here in ten years.”
“Hmm...” Seiya's thoughts were interrupted by a rowdy voice behind them. They turned around in time to see the door close.
“……!”
Tiramii is the closest of the doors. He jumped in, but he was late. The exit was covered by a thick stone wall.
“We're stuck, mii!”
“What the heck!” Seiya.
“We've lost our way out!”
“Yes, this is a common motif in horror and adventure movies, ron. Although I hope this is the last and not the first.”.
“Mm. If this was a horror movie, we'd be dead, fumo.”
“You sound very calm about all this,” Seiya noticed. “...Hey, Tiramii! Can you open that door?!”
Tiramii searched for another hidden switch, but it seemed he could not find this one time. “Hmm. No can, mii. This must be a one-way thing.”
“Grrr...” I should have left one of them outside, Seiya thought. Now, they can't ask for help. If they weren't careful, they'd end up like Dornell's party.
“Well, it seems we have no choice. Let's go on.” Isuzu said, taking out his usual musket. Seiya wanted to ask why it was fitted with Picatinny rails running tactical lights parallel to the barrel, but since this was not the right time for him to comment on his companion's personal belongings, he said, he just followed without a word.
After continuing briefly through the dark passageway, they arrived at a large hall: it was the size of a school classroom, with a two-story-high ceiling.
“Dead-end?” Seiya wondered.
“No, take a closer look. There's a big door there, fumo.”
He did not notice it in the darkness, but there was indeed a large stone door ahead. The door was decorated with sinister motifs and unknown inscriptions, and in the center was a face carving that reminded him of an oni or a demon.
“I have never seen this figure before.” Seiya commented.
“This resembles the ruins I've seen in the Schubert Empire,” Isuzu replied. “I'm sure the carving in the middle of it is one of their gods.”
The Schubert Empire is one of the magical realms, different from the one Isuzu and Moffle call home. Seiya heard it was the parent unit of Cosmic Studios in Osaka.
“Schubert... I know his name, at least,” he said. “Are they evil, or something?” With such names, it is hard not to imagine them as some sort of isekai novel dictatorship.
“Well, they're like everyone else. They have excessive design sensitivity, but that's it, fumo. Their main industries are forestry and agriculture, and they are great maitake mushroom tempura makers.”
“...They call themselves empires, and that is what makes them known?” Seiya objected in disbelief. “They may be better off being Yuzawa Hot Springs.”
“We will not be able to continue until we open this door,” Isuzu review. “There must be a hidden switch somewhere..”.
Isuzu had only advanced a few steps, when suddenly, laughter began to echo throughout the hall. It was a muffled and ominous voice that seemed to echo upwards from the ground—a mocking laughter that could cool the blood of anyone who heard it.
“A-What...?!”
“I'm scared, mii! I'm scared, mii!”
“I'm scared, ron... it's almost like... almost like Alien Baltan!”
“Quite.” says Seiya.
In front of the frightened entourage, the vicious eyes belonging to the demon door flashed with a white light. 《I am The Doorkeeper!》 the door rumbled, his voice filled with honor. 《I am now talking to adventurers who, foolishly, challenged our labyrinth! Danger awaits you behind this door! If you are not afraid of my wrath, nor will the end of a great disaster.then stand you in front of this stone coffin!》.
Just then, large pieces of tiled stone began to be pulled back, and seven stone coffins rose up before the door.
“Sweetie once, mii! Listen to that rumble!”
“Can be pulled back, eh? That's a stylish presentation, fumo.”
“I want such a fixture, ron.”
“How can you all be so calm about all this?” Seiya.
Each coffin has a different symbol engraved on it, symbolizing, from right to left: ‘Fire,’ ‘Angin,’ ‘Metal,’ ‘Land,’ ‘Flower,’ ‘Air,’ and ‘Petir.’
《Make this as a mirror of yourself! Follow your heart to the coffin of your choice, and receive the weapon that will kill the monster in front!》
The group stood up for a moment, shocked.
“Huh? Wait a minute.. You mean we each chose a coffin, and we got some kind of weapon from him, mii?”
“That's the superficial interpretation of his point..” said Seiya wisely.
“Fire, wind, metal, earth, flowers, water, and lightning. Don't these things usually use five elements?”
“It's more like Ninja Captor.”
“Other primeval references..”
《Follow your heart to the coffin of your choice!》 demand that door again. They were under the impression that he was trying to push them, with great hesitation, they each placed themselves in front of one of the coffins.
Seiya ended up in front of the coffin ‘Land’ in the middle, while Isuzu ended up in ‘Air.’
Moffle took ‘Petir’ at the end, while Macaron chose ‘Logam’... and, despite being a Flower Fairy, Tirami's own choice was ‘Api.’
That left ‘Bunga’ and ‘Angin’ untaken, but with only five of them in attendance, there must have been two left behind.
《Now, grab your weapons of destiny!》 command that door.
The coffin cover shifted with a rumble. Inside each are weapons: ‘Petir’ Moffle produces a stun gun; ‘Logam’ Macaron is a metal bat, and ‘Api’ Tiramii seems to represent a Molotov cocktail.
“100,000 volts, eh? Very strong, fumo.”
“You can kill a man quite easily using a metal hitter, ron.”
“A Molotov cocktail can lure out an entire troop of riot police, mii!”
Surprisingly they all seemed happy with their weapons.
“With all the gradual building of the atmosphere, I thought we would get a magic sword or something.. Why do I feel like you guys are going to be arrested for a collection of armed lawbreakers?” seiya's mind was expelled out loud. It felt unsettling, like he was dealing with a crowd of criminals.
“Because I chose ‘Land,’ I guess..” Seiya lamented. “Maybe I should have thought about it a little.”
“Isuzu-chan! What's your weapon, mii?”
“Yah..” Isuzu, who chose ‘Air,’ raised a palm-sized bottle with a frown. “It seems there is some kind of liquid in it.. It is also a label. ‘KY’? Is this some kind of potion, perhaps?”
“....” The mascots suddenly fell silent, silent.
“Why are you quiet?” Isuzu demands to know. “Do you guys know what this is?”
“Um, em..”
“I don't really understand, ron. I don't know how it could be a weapon.”.
“It can be a kind of weapon, depending on how you use it, mii.”.
They commented to avoid each other.
“…? I don't understand.” Isuzu.
“Yeah, just search on Google if you're curious, ron..”.
“What a disgusting lowly labyrinth, mii.”.
Seiya frowned, just as unwell as Isuzu. “What do you guys keep talking about? Is that poison? Healing potions? Just say se—” Before he can finish, he cut again.
The door in front of them began to gap open while the stone coffin was pulled back to the floor. Like say ‘Majulah!’
《Forward now, adventurers! Let those weapons clear the way in front of you!》blow that door. Behind it were several large tiled stone passageways branching off, as the labyrinth continued to move away into the distance.
“What should we do, Kanie-kun?” Isuzu asked.
“How could I know?” his reply. “But we don't seem to have much choice... Let's go.”.
After all, they can't go back now. Still, Seiya could not shake off the nagging worry that they were walking towards a situation that would require weapons.
...----------------...
Seiya and the others continued through the labyrinth. Each crossroads resulted in a lot of debate as to whether they should go left or right. Since they could never agree, they decided to follow Isuzu's advice by letting a stick fall one way or another to choose a path for them.
“This shows to the right.” he announced.
“Right, then, fumo. Well, let's go, and hurry up. I hope to be in time to see the Giants match with a beer when I get home, fumo. Fast, fast.”
“Hey, don't push me!” Seiya shouted.
“I can't really see where I walk, ron... ew, I just stepped on something sticky.”
“Also there is a strange smell, mii.. Like a squid or something..”.
Just then. With a loud ringing sound, a blade shot out from the wall. The blade moved to the side in an instant as high as Seiya's head.
“!!” Like a sickle of the angel of death, the blade cuts to form an arch for Macaron and Tiramii. The blades grazed the top of their heads, then disappeared back into the wall.
“Wow..”.
Had they been as tall as humans, they would have been decapitated. The entire group stood there, dumbfounded by the sudden incident. Macaron and Tiramii were wide-eyed, gaping, from where they were now sitting on the floor.
“A-What...it?” Seiya whispered weakly.
Moffle carefully investigated the wall. “It appears to be a trap, fumo. Something was installed to come out when you stepped on a certain rock.”
“I know it!” seiya. “But it... it could have killed them!”
“Yes. It grazed very close, fumo.” Moffle's voice remained calm.
It said trained soldiers should stay calm in direct proportion to the urgency of their situation, and Seiya saw a live demonstration of that at the moment. If only he wasn't a chibi rodent mascot…
“Moffu.. we must proceed with vigilance, fumo. …Tiramii?”
“M-Mii?”
“You are our pointman, fumo. Watch traps. As soon as you see something, warn us and disarm.”
“O-OK. I'll do my best, mii.”
“Macaron, you are our tail gunner. Protect our backside, fumo.”
“...Understood, ron.”
“Isuzu, you stay in the middle, fumo. Keep the load.”
“Yes Sir, General, Sir.” Isuzu pulled out his musket, held Seiya's shoulder and pulled her towards him.
While a little confused by Moffle's sudden change to militant, Seiya finds the consciousness to object. “Wait a minute, now. Set the rating if you want, but what do you mean by ‘beban’? Is that supposed to be a referral for me?”
“Stop whining and do as I say, fumo.” Moffle grumbled in annoyance.
“No, I won't allow that! The brilliant, talented, handsome Kanie Seiya will not be called ‘beban’! Especially not by a weird and rough rodent like you!”
“Geh... ‘odd rodent,’ fumo? I'm trying to keep you safe because we need you to operate the park, fumo! Even though you are a haughty brat!”
“I can keep myself safe! I'm just sultry with you always underestimating—” Seiya took a step forward angrily, then heard something clacky under her feet. “Er... what was the clack sound?”
Somewhere unseen, the mechanisms began to roar alive. A huge machine had been activated in the darkness of the tunnel outside.
“Did you step on something, mii? Kanie-kun, did you step on something, mii?!”
“Y-Well, I.. may have stepped on it, but I—”
A rumble echoed through the corridor. The whole group is hysterical. Then, out of the tunnel from which they had come, a huge boulder began to roll towards them, on its way to crush them all.
“Thank God, ron! This is an adventure story! See?”
“Now is not the time for that!” Seiya shouted.
“Run, fumo!”
“W-Wahh! Waaaah!”
All they did for the next few minutes was scream. There was no point in forming a formation; the five of them just ran and ran, without thinking. And, in their escape from the chasing boulder, they activated switch after switch.
A large number of arrows shot out from the wall.
“Miiii!”
Open hole on the floor.
“Rooooon!”
The ceiling hit them.
“Moffu! Moooooooffu!”
There is no sense of coordination or cooperation. They all just ran, dodged, made mistakes, and avoided various traps with truly amazing timing.
“Kanie-kun's chat. I suggest that we stop for a moment.” Isuzu told Seiya, who jumped and ducked to avoid the many traps that invaded it.
“Self silent?! Don't be silly! How can we keep silent when there is a trap in seki—apa?!”
A circular saw made a straight line between Isuzu and Seiya. After barely dodging, Seiya staggered, then finally fell into the wall behind him. It moved a giant thorny ball that roared through the air right at him.
“Gwaaah!”
There's nothing he can do. It's gonna hit him. Horrified, Seiya surrenders himself to his destiny. But just before the ball hit, Isuzu jumped off the side and pushed Seiya out of the way.
“Sento?!”
They managed to avoid a direct collision because of it, but one of the thorns pulled Isuzu's jacket and threw it forward violently, making him roll helplessly along the stone floor.
“.....” He rolled right into the trap hole that just opened. Without any chance to stop himself—or even enough time to shout—Isuzu fell into the hole.
“Sento?!”
Closed hole. Another rain of arrows shot towards him. Seiya tries to jump to the floor where he fell, but Moffle grabs him and pulls him back.
“Let go of me!” Seiya shouted. “Sento..”
“Save it!” Moffle.
“He fell! I have to help—”
“What we need to do is run, fumo!” Seiya is dragged by Moffle.
After everything finally calmed down a little, they could see that there were three of them where there were five previously. Seiya, Moffle, and Tiramii are the remaining ones.
“When do we lose Macaron, mii?” Tiramii asked, panting.
“They really cornered us, fumo. I don't even know where we came from.” Moffle spit.
“Sento...” Seiya did nothing but whisper his name. When a spiked ball trap targets him, Isuzu puts himself at risk to push Seiya out of the way. Then, because of that, he—
“Let's save our anxiety for next week, fumo,” Moffle said. “Our first priority is to get out of this maze. After we call for help, we can use the heavy equipment to destroy this place completely, fumo.”
“I know that. I know that, but..” Seiya whispered, despairing.
Meanwhile, Tiramii looked around. “It seems that there are no traps here, mii. I think we're getting closer to the center of the labyrinth.”
“What makes you say that, fumo?”
“I got a spurt about the thought of whoever designed this labyrinth, mii. I think he wants to keep maintenance and hard work to a minimum. That is why there are no traps like poison gas or bombs that will take a long time to reset, mii.”
“Hrm...” Usually, Tiramii does nothing but spout folly, but for once, he appears to be in his zone. Seiya begins to believe that he was once a bank robber, at one time.
“They set a large and conspicuous trap in the outer labyrinth for the purpose of intimidating us, mii. You use automatic traps to get rid of the weakest of the herd, but for that they can not stop.” Tiramii muttered, pouted, and tilted his head. “, and come to finish them off personally.”
“Personally?” Seiya asked.
Just then, a roar began to echo through the labyrinth. The hallway where they rested—actually, it was more like a large room than the hallway—soon filled with orcs.
That was the only way Seiya could describe them: a savage-looking demihuman with a pig's head and a human body. Wearing leather armor and clasping clubs and machetes, they looked as if they were coming straight out of an RPG. They stared intently at Seiya's entourage, drooling and twitching their pigs' noses.
“It seems it's time to slap monsters, mii. You see that threatening way of standing? They are not in the mood for discussion, mii.”
“Well, that makes sense. It's an underground labyrinth, fumo. It comes with its territory..”.
Moffle and Tiramii were both preparing their weapons.
“How can you be so calm?!” Seiya squealed. “They're here to kill us! And right now the three of us are fighting a swarm of them!”
“Stay only, we have to do it, mii.”
“Save your cowardly comments for later, fumo!”
“Ngh..”
As each mascot spoke, he entered a battle stance. Then, before Seiya could argue with Moffle, the orcs took up their weapons and struck them, drooling. Battle began.
“Come!” Moffle advanced swiftly with a battle cry. Using light steps and punches, he knocked down the orcs. Two, three, four—one after another, they're down.
“Receive this, mii!” Tiramii throws a Molotov cocktail. The flames spread rapidly, sending the orcs into chaos. Then, while they were distracted, Tiramii delivered a series of settlement attacks from behind. If this was an MMO, he would be a DPS attacker.
“Sial! How do we end up in this situation?” Seiya shouted, as he put on his shovel to hit the enemy that Moffle and Tiramii had scattered.
“Oh-ho. Not bad at all, fumo.” Moffle muttered as he finished a KO from the other enemy batch.
“And you're pretty relaxed for a rat!” Seiya returned his praise. “Also, don't you have a stun gun?!”
“Hmph, stun gun? That's a woman's self-protection weapon, fumo. You think it can beat my fist of truth?”
“B... So...” Seiya replied weakly.
“Majulah, mii! Eat this Molotov cocktail, mii! Today is the day you die, mii!” Tiramii yelled, but although the statement might sound bold if spoken by someone else, there was something that felt ominous about hearing it being shouted by a doll mascot imitating an adorable toy dog.
They fight and they fight, but the enemy keeps coming. Originally it was only an orc, but soon, increasingly powerful monsters sprung up: trolls and golems; slime and roper. Everything is very—
“It's all very retro and very hard!” Seiya roared.
Seiya's arm started to get tired from swinging the shovel. The roper, not going to ignore the gap of an exhausted young man, directly fell on him with tentacles. Moffle managed to punch the monster in time with a straight punch with his right hand, narrowly avoiding the tentacle fetish scene.
“Tentacle games on men? Who will enjoy it, fumo?!”
“But we will benefit if Isuzu-chan is here, mii... Imagine her bound by roper, chanting ‘tidaaaak~~~’.
“But this situation..” Seiya reviewed with fatigue. “It looks like a little quick increase, right?”
“More are coming, fumo!”
Now, they face a new kind of enemy: wyverns that look like giant ostriches; white wyverns with no eyes that use lightning strikes; and even fast wyverns that look like giant black cats.
Its bad. It's very, very bad.
“Running!” Tirami. “If we fight these people for too long and they end up making an illustration of this—”
“Retreat! Back, fumo!”
They ran, without common sense, out of the area.
...----------------...