For a while after that, we silently worked on reducing the number of the Spartois. We mainly dealt with the Demon Spirits using magic spells, while the Spartois were dispatched with physical attacks. The sheer number of enemies meant a tough battle was inevitable, yet everyone was still holding their ground. And there was a reason we had managed to fight this far.
“Come on! This isn’t enough!”
“Guoooooooo!!!”
The giant monster battle unfolding in the deeper part of the battlefield was part of the reason. Both Jigoro and Karl were facing two monsters, meaning the battle was far from over. In fact, it seemed they were at a disadvantage.
However, they were not just taking hits. Both of them were cleverly making the false bone dragons hit the Spartois, which caused them to attack each other. The scratching with claws and sweeping with tails reduced the number of Spartois from time to time. This tactic, though, was ineffective against the stronger Spartoi Leaders, but someone else was handling them.
“Hey, hey, hey. Your coordination is still rough.”
It was Genjuro. He alone was aggroing the remaining five Spartoi Leaders. Moreover, he had already slain two of them. Taking on higher-level opponents and holding his own, or even outmatching them, was no ordinary feat. As expected of a real-life cheater.
Paradoxically, it could be said that it would have been impossible to overcome this situation without someone extraordinarily strong. The levels were sufficient, but perhaps they lacked the numbers to take on this challenge. This was evident from the state of their allies who were still fighting.
“I’ve already seen through you!”
“Once you get used to it, it’s slow… Right!”
The reason for this was that the reinforcements added by McFarlane were weak. To be precise, all the reinforcements were at level 50, and furthermore, there were no Demon Spirits who were immune to physical attacks.
Consequently, the number of enemies that the vanguard group’s attacks couldn’t affect began to decrease gradually. As the quality of the enemies declined and they became easier to handle, this turn of events was welcome for our side.
“Argh! You little…!”
“Ugh! This is tough…!”
However, it seemed like everyone was reaching their limit soon. The prolonged battle was taking a toll on our concentration. Particularly, the fatigue of Eiji and the others at the vanguard, who had been drawing the enemy’s attention, must have been huge.
Despite the battle’s duration, there were still many enemies remaining. It wouldn’t have been surprising if they felt like they were slashing through endless waves of foes with no apparent dent in their numbers. We needed to make an important move in the battle soon, or else the control of the fight would remain firmly in the enemy’s grasp. I wouldn’t let that happen!
“Still holding on… How annoying.”
McFarlane was raising his hand again; he was probably intending to summon more Spartoi monsters with his ring. If there was ever a time to act, it was now!
“Shio! Shoot!”
“Right away~~ssu! Rapid shot!”
Ready as ever, Shio launched her arrow. The martial technique she used shortened the time to nock her arrows, and her movements were swift like a gunslinger’s quick draw from a Western film.
“Annoying little pest!”
McFarlane seemed surprised as the arrow suddenly shot towards him. In a panic, he raised his cane and deployed a sanctuary spell. This shielded him from Shio’s arrow, but the fragile sanctuary shattered soon after. Now, there was nothing left to protect McFarlane. It was an opportunity to attack!
“Here we go. Star Magic Circle, Remote Activation, Acid Mist.”
“Eek! Aaaaah!”
I chose the acid mist of [Mist Magic] because I was specifically targeting McFarlane’s [Mechanical Body] skill. In fact, I had learned from No. 18 about the weaknesses of golems and androids. These weaknesses were apparently [Mist Magic] and [Sand Magic].
[Mist Magic] was effective because moisture could damage internal mechanisms, while [Sand Magic] most likely dealt damage by the fine sand particles. I was already aware of the effectiveness of [Sand Magic] from my battles with golems, but the effectiveness of [Mist Magic], especially the acid mist spell that could corrode armor and strip away anti-magic coatings, making “magic jammer” ineffective, was a new revelation to me. It was an opportunity not to be missed.
“Aaaaah! My body! My body!”
The effect was immediately apparent. McFarlane writhed in agony and started emitting white smoke from his entire body. His current reaction was expected since he was simultaneously burned inside and out. Despite being a cyborg who should be immune to pain, it seemed he was not unaffected after all.
“Now’s our chance to reduce their numbers! Shio, keep shooting at that scientist!”
“Understood~~ssu!”
“Eeek!”
In the midst of the acid mist, McFarlane writhed in agony as Shio’s arrows mercilessly pierced him. With each arrow that struck him, his body convulsed which was a stark contrast to his earlier confident demeanor.
“No reinforcements, huh?! Alright, let’s do this!”
“Now’s our chance. Meeeh~!”
Leaving McFarlane to Shio, we first focused on dealing with the undead. Knowing there were no more Spartoi reinforcements, our team’s morale soared, and our movements regained strength and sharpness. Then, a turning point in the battle occurred.
“I’ve taken care of my part. Shall I help over there now?”
Finally, Genjuro had eliminated all the Spartoi leaders. He then joined us in our battle, delivering precise and efficient strikes that targeted the slightly more fragile joints and dismantled them with ease.
This was the decisive moment. The enemy’s numbers rapidly decreased, and we began to gain the upper hand. Victory was just a matter of time.
“Phew! Phew! Yo-you did well… Damn monsteeers!”
Whoa, it seemed McFarlane had somehow crawled out of my acid mist. He glared at me with hatred in his eyes. The acid had melted his artificial skin, revealing the machinery underneath and creating a sci-fi horror-like scene. At the same time, the arrows Shio had shot that were sticking all over his body evoked a sense of tragedy.
McFarlane who was now quite pitiful to look at raised his hand that wasn’t holding the cane and flashed a sinister smile. It seemed he was about to use his ring again. But I couldn’t let that happen. More reinforcements were the last thing we needed.
“Magic circle, remote activation, explosion.”
“Bobe?!”
Thanks to Genjuro, I was now also able to attack. I unleashed a burst of [Explosive Magic]. The blast sent McFarlane spiraling through the air before he crashed head-first into the ground. That must have hurt.
“Time for a follow-up attack.”
“You think I’ll fall for the same trick agai—oww?!”
McFarlane, who had just landed with a thud, dodged the arrow Shio shot at him. But it seemed she anticipated this. Seeing him evade, she quickly released a second arrow that pierced his hand. Oh? Wasn’t that arrow…
“Argh! My hand! My hand is gone!”
The arrow Shio used was imbued with [Explosive Magic]. I had previously created arrows with various properties, including ones that explode on impact thanks to the [Explosive Magic] skill.
The arrow exploded right after piercing McFarlane’s hand, which then burst into pieces. Pieces of his hand scattered around, and a liquid resembling oil oozed from the wrist. Ah, seeing this confirms it. He really is a cyborg…
“Oh? Is this… his ring?”
I felt something hit my foot, and when I looked down, I saw a purple ring lying there. It must have been blown off his finger in the explosion and landed here. For the moment, I picked it up and stored it in my inventory. There was no time for leisurely actions like [Appraisal] right now.
“Wh-where’s the ring?! Where did it go?!”
McFarlane was frantically scanning the ground around him. It seemed that the ring I had picked up was indeed his. I recalled that he used it earlier to summon the Spartois. This meant he couldn’t call for reinforcements now, which was a fortunate turn of events.
“Hoiito.”
“Guhh!”
McFarlane, on all fours like someone desperately searching for a lost contact lens, was ignored by Shio who continued her relentless assault. Her unyielding barrage of arrows from above was truly admirable.
“W-well then… I’ll use this!”
Realizing it was futile to search for the ring while under Shio’s fire, McFarlane seemed to give up. Instead, he twisted and removed the grip on his cane and brought it up to eye level. On closer inspection, there was something like a switch at the end of the grip! It must have been a button to activate some sort of device.
“I’ll show you my trump card! It’s a waste to use it on mere monsters like you though…”
“Hoitto.”
“Guhh!”
McFarlane had intended to speak like a villainous scientist from a movie, but Shio, without any hesitation, shot an arrow right between his eyebrows. It seemed she had no interest in kindly listening to villains explain their master plans, as one might see in movies or special effects shows.
It was increasingly pitiful, but this was a battle. It was the fault of the one who exposed their weakness. However, as someone who aspired to be a villain, I did want to hear what he had to say. It seemed like it would have been fun to deliver such a monologue…
“Guh… Damn you monsters! I’ll kill you all! Come forth, my most powerful weapon!”
“Oh?”
“The tree split open?!”
McFarlane was irritated by her actions and he glared at Shio before pressing the switch. To everyone’s surprise, the tree on the outer perimeter of the boss area split open, and a massive amount of mechanical parts burst out!
After the parts were ejected, what had seemed like a tree transformed into something resembling a metal column. It was probably a case disguised as a tree; it was likely camouflaged with optical illusions or something similar to conceal the mechanical parts.
These parts flew towards McFarlane and rapidly assembled around him. The end result was a huge mechanical dragon.
“Behold! This is the pinnacle of human intelligence! A magical weapon capable of battling even a fully grown dragon on equal terms! Fuhahahahahaha!”
Through the mechanical dragon, McFarlane’s triumphant voice could be heard via a microphone. Indeed, if what he claimed was true, it was extremely dangerous. The addition of an enemy capable of rivaling a fully grown adult dragon, which was a foe we didn’t know whether we could defeat even in peak conditions, could only lead to despair.
However, no one there was succumbing to despair. This wasn’t because we were brimming with confidence, but rather due to the appearance of his creation.
“No, no; it looks like it’s about to fall apart even now. Do you even maintain it properly?”
Just like Shiitake remarked with a sigh of exasperation, McFarlane’s dragon was indeed in a severely damaged state. Its body armor was riddled with scratches, with some parts peeled off, exposing the circuits inside. The wings were full of holes and didn’t seem functional. Furthermore, the tip of its tail and the right front limb appeared to be torn off, and its head was in an even worse state—the left eye to the left horn, along with the lower jaw, were melted beyond recognition. If it were a living creature, it would surely be considered dead.
“Hmph! Repairs? As soon as I break through the barrier, they can be done anytime! My priority now is to eliminate you all with all my might! Here I come!”
“So, it’s not repaired then…”
Iris muttered under her breath, but I don’t think McFarlane heard at all. He was charging towards us from the farthest point of the battlefield.
There was no doubt that we were entering the critical phase of the boss fight. Dealing with the remaining enemies while battling him would be difficult, but this was the moment of truth. It’s time to stand our ground!
Leave a Reply