“Aah…What in the world is happening here?” Jigoro said
“This is no time for jokes, No. 18,” Genjuro asserted.
“Grrrrrr!”
Jigoro’s voice carried a sense of intimidation, and Genjuro’s tone was laced with anger as he questioned No. 18, who had her gun pointed at me. Even Karl was growling low with anger. Hey, don’t push it too far. What’ll happen if I get shot?
“It’s quite simple, earthworm. No. 18 here had the task of bringing ignorant and reckless idiots like you to me,” the Harpy Chief explained.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you.”
Although No. 18’s voice was gentle, her gun remained aimed at the back of my head.
“But there was no other option. This is all to persuade Lord Nkelphor, the Harpy Chief, to leave.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gegege, I’ll explain that myself.”
The Harpy Chief, who was called Nkelphor, started speaking proudly while wearing a sinister grin that made no attempt to conceal his malice.
“We had a pact, you see. A pact that involved offering sacrifices to me until my race level reached 60. And upon reaching that level…”
“You’d abandon this nest. Quite a convenient deal for you, isn’t it?”
“It’s an equitable contract. I have a strong desire to evolve, and she is equally interested in having me leave. Our interests align, don’t they? Gegegegege!”
Nkelphor laughed heartily, seemingly enjoying himself. He appeared to be an evil monster, and his personality hinted at sadistic tendencies. His twisted, contemptuous laughter, combined with his grotesque visage, was a highly unsettling sight.
“My level is 59! If I devour you earthworms, I will undoubtedly ascend to become the true king, the legendary harpy known in our lineage as the Harpy King! Geegegegegegegege!”
I see…so King is next after Chief huh?
“I’ll ascend to become the king; I will lead my kin and even slay that dumb lizard that resides there. Eventually, I shall rule this land!”
It appears that Nkelphor’s ambition went beyond becoming the Harpy King; he also aimed to slay the Dragon God and rule this Vetus floating island. The way he was boasting about his goals so openly, he resembled a chattering, foolish villain straight out of a comic book.
“Gegee… that’s enough chit-chat for now. No. 18, bring that one over here!”
“Yes, sir.”
With the barrel of her gun, No. 18 prodded the back of my head, urging me to move forward. Reluctantly, I raised my hands in surrender and advanced slowly. Jigoro, Genjuro, and Karl were glaring at me with sharp eyes. Perhaps they were waiting for even the slightest opportunity to incapacitate No. 18.
“Aren’t you going to move, earthworms? I’ve heard this one is your chief. Wouldn’t you mind if I killed him?”
Understanding this, No. 18 maintained a position between them and me, ensuring that the three of them wouldn’t spring into action until I reached Nkelphor’s nest.
“Gegegegege! I’m feeling rather benevolent today! I might just crush all of you in one fell swoop!”
With those words, Nkelphor rose to his feet. He seemed intent on using me as a hostage and was likely planning to kill my comrades who wouldn’t move. If we were to be stepped on by that foot, not to mention me, even Genjuro, known for his strength and endurance, would surely meet a swift end.
“You’re the fool here, you imbecile. No. 18!”
“Yes!”
I shouted and, simultaneously, leaped to the left. At the same moment, No. 18, who had leaped to the right, fired her weapon toward Nkelphor. The rapidly discharged bullets struck him square in the face!
“Gah!? Gyaaaaaaah!”
Nkelphor let out a wretched scream. The unexpected assault had caught him off guard, and as he attempted to take a step, he stumbled and fell to the ground.
Fufufu, nothing beats the satisfaction of a successful surprise attack! Nkelphor, it was you who got deceived.
“Kaaah, acting can be quite exhausting,” Ruby said.
“Is that so? I rather enjoyed it.” Genjuro added.
The atmosphere, which had been tense until now, suddenly relaxed. It seemed the operation’s success had everyone breathing a sigh of relief. However, the real showdown, the boss battle, still lay ahead, so we couldn’t afford to be too complacent.
I was the mastermind behind this surprise attack, of course. It all started with No. 18. When we were alone, she confided in me about the truth.
She had been following Nkelphor, occasionally guiding those rare individuals who made their way to the central building with the promise of safe passage from the rooftop. No. 18 didn’t really believe that Nkelphor would keep his end of the bargain, but as a malfunctioning android, she saw no other choice.
However, after witnessing our unexpected extermination of the harpies’ nests on the roof of the low building and our disposal of the harpies that arrived later, she had a change of heart. She decided to stand with us and was determined to help us truly defeat Nkelphor.
Upon hearing that, I was slightly surprised, but it eased that deeper sense of unease in me. The reason I felt uneasy about the whole quest was because things had been moving too smoothly since we arrived here. I had felt a certain discomfort, particularly regarding No. 18 generosity.
We had just met, so I had almost no anger about being deceived. In fact, hearing this information inspired me to come up with this surprise attack plan. The plan involved getting close as a hostage and delivering a heavy initial blow.
It seemed that No. 18 had already shared our rough information gathered from the few remaining surveillance cameras in the underground city with Nkelphor. I decided to turn this to our advantage. If Nkelphor had me, the leader, as a hostage, he would likely let his guard down more.
“I was quite surprised when the strategy was sent in the party chat, but it seems like it’s going to go well!”
“We made the right call not to speak. I’m sure we would’ve sounded pretty robotic…”
And just like that, I relayed No. 18’s situation and the plan I devised to the others through the party chat. That way, Jigoro and Genjuro could maintain their grim demeanor as part of the act. This allowed us to have a natural reaction with Karl, who probably wouldn’t be able to act, and share the plan effectively.
The phrase “Deceive your friends before deceiving your enemy” may hold true in many cases, but this time, it wasn’t the wisest approach. That’s because without sharing the plan, there was a risk that someone like Jigoro might charge in without considering my safety.
Frankly, as a player, I didn’t hold much value as a hostage. After all, we could respawn no matter how many times we bit the dust! For us, life was always on a bargain sale. Still, I didn’t intend to die in a foolish manner, so I was always cautious.
“Alright, let’s make a run for it. Short Teleport.”
“Yes.”
I used Short Teleport spell to create some distance between me and the monster. No. 18 used the teleportation talisman I handed her to move away. I ended up by Karl’s side, while No. 18 positioned herself behind Iris.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Nkelphor shouted; his voice trembled with pain, confusion from the sudden betrayal, and anger caused by both. Blood streaked down his face, and he was glaring at us with eyes clouded with hatred.
Oh, one of his eyes is crushed, isn’t it? That might explain his raging fury. Oh, he’s scary, really scary.
“Are you really that angry that your dog bit your hand? No, is it more about having your arrogance shattered, and now you’re embarrassed?”
“Y-Youuuuuu! You bastaaaard!!”
I asked as if I was genuinely curious. It was a provocation, of course, but he seemed to take the bait.
“Karl, let’s go!”
“Guuoooooooooh!”
As planned, I took to the skies with Karl. Just as No. 18 had informed me, Nkelphor appeared to struggle with flying, and he glared up at us with evident frustration.
“How dare they take to the sky so arrogantly, you flying earthworms! Go, my followers! Drag down that insolent one!”
“”””Gegyaaa!””””
Following Nkelphor’s orders, four harpies who had been lurking near his nest took flight. All right, let’s use [Appraisal].
――――――――――
Name: Nkelphor
Race: Harpy Chief Lv59
Job: Magic Warrior Lv9
Skills:
- [Robust Digestion]
- [Sharp Big Fang]
- [Sharp Big Claw]
- [Strength Enhancement]
- [Defense Enhancement]
- [Flame magic]
- [Storm Magic]
- [Hardening]
- [Flight]
- [Ejection]
- [Capture]
- [Ambush]
- [Command]
- [Coordination]
- [Wind Resistance]
- [Fire Resistance]
Race: Harpy Priest Lv47
Job: Healing Mage – Level 7
Skills:
- [Robust Digestion]
- [Sharp Fang]
- [Sharp Claw]
- [Water and Ice Magic]
- [Healing Magic]
- [Flight]
- [Capture]
- [Ambush]
- [Command]
- [Coordination]
- [Water Resistance]
- [Earth Weakness]
――――――――――
This was the status of Nkelphor and the others omitting the Harpy Leaders. Among the four harpies heading my way, three were Harpy Leaders, and the last one was a Harpy Priest.
The Harpy Priest, as the name suggested, seemed capable of using [Healing Magic] like a true priest. Guh, that skill was more combat-oriented than my [Soul Magic]! I-I’m jealous.
Setting that aside, Nkelphor was still the real concern. As he’d self-proclaimed, his level stood at 59, higher than any of the monsters we had faced. He had no weaknesses, not even [Small Stature], and, in fact, he had gained resistance to both fire and wind elements.
In addition to his status-enhancing skills, he also had the evolved versions of [Sharp Fang] and [Sharp Claw] skills. This guy might be even stronger than the Tarasque. We couldn’t afford to let our guard down.
“We’ll stick to the plan! Counting on you!” I said.
“We finally get to fight!” Genjuro said.
“Let’s go!” Jigoro said.
“I’ll see if I can somehow rein him in,” Ruby added.
“Let’s do our best to support; Ms. No. 18!” Iris sad.
“Understood.”
I called out once more to stick to the plan, but the two men of the party had already leaped toward Nkelphor. Did they want to fight that badly? Well, I knew they had that kind of temperament!
“Let’s leave the rest to everyone down there, and we’ll handle things our way.”
“Gru!”
I gently stroked Karl’s neck and turned to face the Harpy Leaders. Come on, it’s been a while since we’ve had a boss fight!
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