Chapter 453: O Dragon, O Dragon! We Race Toward the End of Our Longing — O Dragon, O Dragon! Part Thirty
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P.T. Overwerke: “Tch... As expected of a Unique Monster. I heard Ctarnidd was ridiculously tough too, but this is even worse...!!”
Siegwurm and Noirlind were locked in battle, with countless players caught up in the massive free-for-all.
Most of them were targeting Siegwurm, but the golden dragon still appeared almost inexhaustible, making P.T. Overwerke click his tongue despite himself.
Siegwurm was still an enemy in a game. There was no way he was impossible to defeat.
And yet, even though the players had been attacking him for quite some time, it hardly seemed as though they had managed to do more than make him flinch slightly.
P.T. Overwerke: “It’s not that our attacks do nothing... Noirlind’s attacks are clearly having an effect. So is he really just that tough?”
Siegwurm: “Indeed. This body was once created to stand against the Origin. Even with all your radiance, know that half-hearted fangs will never reach far enough to bring me down.”
P.T. Overwerke: “Oh. I wasn’t expecting you to answer.”
Even so, P.T. Overwerke continued thinking.
Noirlind’s presence was extremely important if they wanted to defeat Siegwurm.
He possessed a body large enough to rival Siegwurm’s, but more importantly, Siegwurm activated Radiant Dragon King: Tupac Amaru against Noirlind’s breath with great frequency.
That allowed the players to narrow down Siegwurm’s possible actions.
But Noirlind was not completely on their side.
The lord of Skull Azuchi and those under her command—the crafting classes who had played a major part in building the frontline base—regarded him as an enemy.
So even while fighting beside the players, Noirlind was also being targeted by them.
Noirlind: “Nngh! What is the meaning of this, Akitsu Akane?! There are insects here who dare defy me!!”
Akitsu Akane: “That’s because of how you’ve behaved, Noirlind-san! I heard you did lots of terrible things before!”
Noirlind: “Hmph. Petty grudges... As if pain this slight could affect me!”
Akitsu Akane: “You’re really keeping up with Siegwurm-san! Let’s do our best!”
There appeared to be a separate raid monster elsewhere, but at least within this EX Scenario, the girl from Wolfgang was fighting alongside a Color Dragon powerful enough to count as a raid monster himself.
P.T. Overwerke had no end of questions about who she was.
Still, he was grateful that she kept Noirlind’s aggro fixed firmly on Siegwurm.
P.T. Overwerke: “Anyone arriving later who’s willing to follow my command, switch places with those who’ve run out of resources! Siegwurm alternates between Skill nullification and magic nullification! His Skill-nullifying barrier also cancels Skills that are already active, so be careful!!”
After repeating instructions he had long since lost count of, P.T. Overwerke let out a deep breath.
P.T. Overwerke: “Commanding a battle this large by myself is getting rough...”
Psyger-100: “Is that so? Then allow me to help, though I’m late. I was held up dealing with our former members... No, our sister clan.”
P.T. Overwerke: “Oh?”
A voice called out to him—one that, in a certain respect, was almost irritating enough to resent.
Four unsheathed swords flew through the air without anyone holding them.
Siegwurm: “Who are you?!”
Psyger-100: “I am Psyger-100, leader of Black Blade. I have come to defeat you.”
Siegwurm: “Very well! Then come!!”
Psyger-100: “Fivefold Ensemble: Quintet!!”
Famous swords and magic swords danced through the air.
They were merely flying weapons, yet beneath the command sword’s direction, each one moved as though an invisible warrior were gripping and swinging it, slashing toward Siegwurm.
It was something that could never be seen in reality—though perhaps technology capable of it already existed somewhere.
Cheers rose from the players.
This was a top-level Sworvant, built from every possible resource: all the time, materials, and effort that could be poured into it.
Even Siegwurm was forced to stop moving for a moment.
Siegwurm: “What a raging storm of blades...! Oh, how... magnificent!!”
Psyger-100: “I’m honored by the praise...! Advance! Don’t line up or bunch together! Surround him and attack from every direction!!”
The players’ voices rang loudly through the night sky.
With Black Blade’s main members joining the battle, most of the players once again turned their attention toward Siegwurm.
It was not a question of whether one commander was more capable than another.
Psyger-100’s Sworvant simply had such an overwhelming visual impact that it united everyone’s focus.
P.T. Overwerke: “...Haaaaah.”
Psyger-100: “What’s wrong, P.T. Overwerke? It’s still too early to relax.”
P.T. Overwerke: “...”
P.T. Overwerke stared at Psyger-100 with half-lidded eyes—more precisely, at the sacred sword she swung to control her Sworvant.
Then one side of his mouth twisted upward as though he were about to spit.
P.T. Overwerke: “Wow, senpai, you’re amazing. I guess Rätsel, the Mystic Sword is nothing more than a supporting act for the Master of the Sword. Hahaha.”
Psyger-100: “Don’t you work for an IT company? There is no connection between us that would make me your senior... And I have told you before, Rätsel is not an inferior version of the Master of the Sword. Its versatility with magic is completely different.”
P.T. Overwerke: “I casually asked the admins about it once... Apparently the number of players choosing Magic Swordsman compared with Master of the Sword is currently about one to four.”
Psyger-100: “...May I leave that without comment? It’s coming!!”
P.T. Overwerke: “Whoa.”
Siegwurm: “Hahahahahahaha!! Excellent! Excellent!! Can you bring my blood to a boil?! Can you draw out the very limits of my body and soul?!”
Noirlind: “Die here and nowwwww!!”
One enormous mass collided with another.
Because of his personality, Siegwurm kept having his attention stolen by the many different players around him.
As a result, he continued taking Noirlind’s attacks almost directly.
Even so, the core of his huge body did not waver.
With an irritated motion, Siegwurm grabbed Noirlind by the head and threw him away.
Naturally, the more people gathered together, the greater the chance of being caught in a clash between giants.
The players standing where Noirlind was about to land scattered like startled spiders.
Fortunately, no one was crushed, but the impact of Noirlind slamming into the ground still disrupted a considerable portion of the battle line.
Psyger-100: “Incredible. So this is what a serious MvM battle between boss-class enemies looks like.”
P.T. Overwerke: “And even with every player here attacking him too, it still doesn’t feel like we can defeat him...”
Psyger-100: “Then is it possible we need to clear this through a different approach?”
P.T. Overwerke: “Ctarnidd was basically an endurance battle, wasn’t it? But after Siegwurm has acted this much like a proper boss, surely it won’t be the same here.”
Psyger-100: “Even Ctarnidd at least... flinched. If Siegwurm is this tough, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be some kind of gimmick.”
Psyger-100 glanced toward Skull Azuchi while considering whether some system-based mechanic might be involved in Siegwurm’s battle.
The longer the fight continued, the harder defeating Siegwurm would become.
After all, Noirlind—the target of the other clear condition—had continued taking Siegwurm’s counterattacks and was already showing signs of exhaustion.
Perhaps out of curiosity or as an experiment, players occasionally sent healing magic toward Noirlind, but it was little more than a drop in the ocean.
If Siegwurm could not be defeated, some players would eventually try to fulfill the second-best clear condition instead.
To be completely honest, neither Psyger-100 nor P.T. Overwerke was particularly attached to Noirlind surviving until the end.
If Library’s prediction was correct, they suspected that fulfilling either clear condition might not produce a dramatically different result.
And yet, after fighting for so long, the two of them had both begun to feel the same way.
Psyger-100: “But after he keeps provoking us with all that talk about heroes, ending this with ‘we couldn’t defeat him’ would leave a bitter taste.”
P.T. Overwerke: “I won’t deny that. Besides, your clan and Library already filled out the second wave, so this might end up being our first Unique Monster kill.”
That meant they could not hold back.
Psyger-100 shifted her deployed Sworvant into a more aggressive formation, while P.T. Overwerke loaded a new spell into his Ritual Spirit Sword.
Psyger-100: “Siegwurm may be a gimmick-based monster! If you notice anything, don’t hesitate to test it!!”
P.T. Overwerke: “If you’re confident you won’t fail B.I.G., dying and respawning is an option! But don’t push yourselves—rotate out with the players arriving behind you! You can resupply at the survey ship!!”
They were individual players, but they were also leaders of major clans.
The swords they wielded did more than merely harm their enemy.