Chapter 346: Dragons, O Dragons! Part Eleven
"Scarred" is strong. He probably has combat power among the highest in this jungle area, and his incendiary attacks aren't some game-only spontaneous-combustion phenomenon—they're more like thermite. Against enemies that depend on staying on the ground, that's a powerful advantage.
But even taking all of that into account, against the Great Red Devourer I still can't rule out a very real chance of defeat.
First, even setting aside its raid-boss specs, it's hard to tell how much damage is actually accumulating.
For that matter, I can't even tell whether the thing is alive or dead. After watching its first and second forms thrash around energetically even with a neck nearly torn off—if anything, after seeing the number of heads increase—there's this fear that even if we blew away half its body, it would just keep fighting like normal.
Second, becoming its third form changed its behavior patterns.
It already grows a head out of its tail without warning, and on top of that every single neck fires beams. At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if the mouths on its wing-arms or the huge mouth on its torso started firing beams too. I mean, it's definitely going to do that, right?
And more than anything… there are the blood crystals that have appeared all over this village of the elves.
If they're nothing more than a weakening gimmick, that's fine. But even if the thing underwent some mysterious awakening called Origin Reversion: Primal Revolve, who's going to guarantee that this is its final form? The worst-case pattern would be if another form is waiting after this one, something like Ctarnidd's imagined forms, whose performance changes depending on how many objects remain.
Three players taking down a raid monster, blind on the first encounter. Think about it calmly and it's an impossible game. It almost feels more productive to check whether escape is possible, but with the level-cap-unlock facility being held hostage, we have no choice but to fight.
I'll say it outright: I don't trust Deep Throater. Deep Throater may be a different breed from Pencilgon, but they're the same type, so Deep Throater would absolutely drop an anonymous tip asking, "Why was the Awakening Altar destroyed?" That's one thing I do trust Deep Throater to do.
Pencilgon would instead stir up paranoia as much as possible, get enough supplies, facilities, and personnel in place to repel an attack, then make the big reveal and start playing demon lord. They're both nasty pieces of work.
Sunraku: "Basically, if you die, my play life is screwed."
That's exactly why I'm here. Not Deep Throater, whose rear-support performance is high, and not Tottori, whose mid- to long-range class is suited to assisting. There's a reason I, an attacker by category, came here instead of going to destroy the blood crystals.
Sunraku: "Inventoria really is a busted accessory…!"
It's simply a matter of resources. I play with my back against the wall all the time, so I carry huge quantities of recovery items. That's why, by throwing potions around like I'm in a snowball fight, I can act as an item-dependent healer.
While pitching recovery potions at full force toward "Scarred," who's been taking damage nonstop, I organize the information I've managed to gather on the Great Red Devourer thanks to him contributing as both punching bag and damage dealer, and build a set of improvised strategy notes.
For now, one thing I've learned is that its breath attack is classified as a magic attack. That's quietly a huge deal.
The next thing I've learned is that those heads… I'm pretty sure every one of them has its own separate aggro check. Otherwise, why would only the tail head be so obsessively focused on me? I seriously won't forgive that thing… I want to crush that tail head with my own hands. I wonder if it has a part-break flag?
Sunraku: "Oh, perfect timing."
???: "Hyaah!?"
And the third thing—this one needs to be shared with the other two players.
Using Mirror of Fading to shed aggro, I dash over to the elf who had been watching from behind a building. Wait, this is that one, isn't it? The one I threatened… no, the one whose parents got eaten. Uh…
Sunraku: "Drielle?"
Aryur: "It's Aryur!"
Near miss. Whatever.
Sunraku: "Can you pass a message to Deep Throater and Tottori?"
Aryur: "Y-yeth!"
Sunraku: "Right… 'Gimmick confirmed. Request full removal. Target still shows no exhaustion.' …Tell them that."
Aryur: "U-underthtood!"
Good. At obviously unnatural moments, one of the free necks turns its gaze in a strange direction. Whatever happened where it was looking, I'm pretty sure it matches what I think is happening.
Hm, the tail neck that's been obsessively hunting me is about to notice me again. What grudge does that thing even have against me? It keeps blasting the phantom from Mirror of Fading with its breath, but I haven't done anything that should make it that angry, have I?
Aryur: "Um…"
Sunraku: "What?"
A voice stops me just as I'm about to head back to the front. Well, since nobody else is here, obviously Aryur is the one who called out to me.
Aryur: "Um… can we… win…?"
Honestly, I almost blurt out, "Ninety— no, even with 'Scarred' joining us, isn't this still about sixty percent impossible?" But I don't want to wreck Tottori's role-play, so I'll go with a suitably strong-character move instead.
Sunraku: "The future hasn't been entrusted to anyone's hands. So instead of wondering 'whether we can win,' you should search for 'what we must do in order to win.'"
I only need to start relying on RNG after every resource I have is exhausted. In other words, until I've used up another fifteen hundred recovery potions or so, we haven't lost…
Aryur: "Um, no, that's not what I meant…"
Sunraku: "Hm?"
Aryur: "I mean… your body…"
Ah, that's what this is about. Yeah, judging by appearance alone, I look like I've suffered a fatal wound right now.
I point my thumb at my torso, cracked by Shakkotsu Breaker's effect and looking as if it's burning from the inside, tap it a couple of times, then turn the gesture into a thumbs-up.
Sunraku: "It's fine. I'm doing this to myself on purpose."
Aryur: "On purpose!?"
Sunraku: "Yeah, yeah. When the chance comes, my whole body is going to catch fire too, so don't worry about it."
Aryur: "C-catch… fire…!?"
Sunraku: "And I'll be electrified too."
Aryur: "Humans are scary…!!"
That's right, you know? There's nothing scarier than a creature that's gone and developed intelligence, you know…? Games where one individual's ambition is the root cause of everything are a dime a dozen…!
Aryur: "Um… Sunraku… -sama."
Sunraku: "You don't need the '-sama'… What is it?"
…Well, what can I say? Enough time has already passed for the moon's position to have visibly shifted, but what a character who only just lost both parents would wish for is obvious.
Aryur: "The elves… I… am weak. No matter how angry I get… no matter how many arrows I shoot… I can't beat a monster like that."
Sunraku: "That's true."
This is the kind of opponent a whole group of hardcore no-lifers like Josette of the Shining Knights of the Holy Shield, P.T. Overwerke of Team 10PM, and the Saiga sisters should be challenging together. Even setting the timidity aside, if you could kill it by plinking away with a shortbow, I'd send a bug-report email to the operators.
Aryur: "So please… please… avenge my father and mother!"
Sunraku: "…………"
The impulse to charge in screaming right this second is crushed beneath an even greater fear. Feelings too heavy to overlook and too intense to forget show themselves in tears and clenched teeth.
I simply listen in silence to the wish of this frail elf, raging and grieving in powerlessness… and raise the Nether King's Mirror Shield.
Aryur: "Huh… kyaaaaaah!?"
The next instant, a flash as red as blood, like a pinpoint laser, pours down on me. But the death-laden flash has its straight-line killing intent broken by a mirror that holds the glow of the deep sea.
Sunraku: "Hey, hey. That's not what a 'heated gaze' is supposed to mean…"
Aryur: "…Huh? You're alive… why?"
Rather than coming from its mouth, the focused heated gaze (breath?) was fired from a turret—an eye socket forcibly created by melting the eyeball. Because the beam was so narrow, I was able to reflect it cleanly with Dis Pater, the Nether King's Mirror Shield.
Sunraku: "Aryur, was it? Remember this… There are fates in this world that simply can't be overturned, no matter what. Just like you can't beat that thing."
But… yes, even so.
Even if you can't beat an absolute fate—an event-scripted defeat—in this world, SLF…
If this isn't a Unique Scenario, which has something of the character of a stage play, but a raid battle where raw combat power is the key to clearing it, then I'll declare this loud and proud to the grieving elf: if the theoretical chance isn't zero, you don't call it impossible. Right, TAS (Tias)-sensei…!!
Sunraku: "But I don't think this moment right now is one of those unchangeable fates. I'm sure Tottori… and that idiot Deep Throater… feel the same way."
And I'm sure "Scarred"-kun feels the same. So I'll say it.
Sunraku: "We're here to win."
Aryur: "…! Yes…!"
Do you know the one method that will absolutely beat any enemy except an event-scripted defeat?
If you don't take a single hit until you've finished landing a million punches, you can even beat a god!!
…That's a pretty cool thing to say, but apparently there's someone here doing everything possible to hold "Scarred"-kun back when he's trying to get serious, huh?