The Lord of the Ruined Capital (3)

Taking one of the boss's eyes in our opening sneak attack had brought us both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage, of course, was that losing an eye restricted its field of vision. Since the bullet hit its left eye, it could now see only straight ahead and to the right. That was why Jigorou and the others were constantly maneuvering around to its left. Nkerfor seemed to be having a very hard time dealing with that.

"Dieeeeeeeeeee!!!"

The downside was that Nkerfor was already completely enraged. Without showing any of the arrogance or composure expected of the strong, it was rampaging with murderous intent laid bare, foam flying from the corners of its mouth. How terrifying!

I had planned to inflict that wound, but since my unnecessary provocation had caused it to rampage so wildly, I wanted to call it ±0... except there seemed to be more disadvantages than advantages. Even now, it was scratching at them with the hooked claws on the front two of its four legs while striking everyone with wings densely covered in hard feathers.

"Hah-ha! Nice, nice!"

"Hah! ...Hngh, if I don't step in deeply enough, I can't cut it."

"Eeeek!? That was close!"

Jigorou was having a wonderful time fending off the hooked claws, while Genzou seemed dissatisfied that the sword swung while dodging had failed to cut through the feathers. Ruby had nearly been crushed beneath a wing, but Ruby managed to dodge at the last moment. The fact that they were able to fight this well despite facing a superior opponent was truly impressive.

"No. 18-san! Now!"

"Hah!"

While the three of them fought at close quarters, Iris and No. 18 moved into Nkerfor's blind spot. Iris threw an item she had created with Alchemy, while No. 18 fired at the area around its head.

"Guh! Insolent... Geh, geh!? What is this, poison!?"

What Iris threw was a poison smoke bomb that we had developed using Alchemy and Compounding. During our adventures, we had fought monsters carrying all kinds of poisons. I had already been extracting and combining poisons from those materials and the poisonous herbs we had gathered, but that smoke bomb was the result of Iris's and my efforts to finally turn all that trial and error into a workable item. Its duration was short, but we had now proven that the poison worked even on a boss!

"Not yet!"

"!? What is this!?"

Iris's next projectile was a birdlime ball made using the crosswise threads of a Big Poison Spider. It had been a useless item made from a material that Shio had specifically sought for weapon-making, but we had made the most of its stickiness to create that birdlime ball.

The birdlime ball Iris threw struck Nkerfor's leg and successfully stopped it in its tracks. When we had previously tested it on Jigorou, even he had been able to forcibly tear it free when using all his strength. Nkerfor should probably be able to escape from the birdlime ball's restraint as well.

"It stopped!"

"Hnnngh!"

"Take this!"

However, it was also true that even a temporary halt in its movements was useful. When a large monster was immobilized, our fearsome frontliners could turn it into a punching bag. Jigorou's fists, Genzou's greatsword, and Ruby's dagger steadily inflicted damage.

"Gaaah! Don't underestimate me, crawling vermin! Fire Lance!"

Nkerfor was not going to let us beat on it forever, however. It escaped the birdlime's restraint through sheer force, kept Jigorou and the others at bay with its wings, and cast magic. Since it was an evolved Skill called Fire Magic, its Fire Lance was extremely powerful.

It was comparable even to my magic. As expected of a level 59 boss monster. Apparently, it could produce sufficient firepower whether at close range or far away. A direct hit would inflict massive damage on Iris, who had yet to completely overcome Fire Vulnerability.

"No. 18-san, get behind me! Self-Amputation!"

Her countermeasure was astonishing: she tore off one of her own tentacles and threw it at the Fire Lance. Nkerfor's Fire Lance ended up doing nothing more than burning Iris's severed tentacle in midair.

This was the result of Iris applying the Skill Self-Amputation she had acquired upon becoming a Big Roper Artisan. Apparently, the Roper Race could sever its tentacles at will like a lizard shedding its tail once it surpassed level 40. It seemed this inevitably reduced its health, but that was hardly a problem.

Iris had so many tentacles that losing a few out of the countless ones she possessed dealt only negligible damage to her health. Moreover, using Self-Amputation reduced the amount of health lost. As a result, Iris's health had barely decreased at all.

"Gnnnngh! Damn youuu!"

The frontliners darted around its feet, deflecting or dodging its attacks, while the backliners chipped away at it with attacks that disrupted its actions and direct ranged attacks. Their teamwork was gradually, but steadily, reducing Nkerfor's health.

"But it lacks finishing power."

That was my impression as I watched my companions' battle from above. The Tarasque probably had greater pure attack and defense, but Nkerfor was superior in adaptability. It was making full use of both a dense barrage of attacks that prevented the three frontliners from acting freely and magic that kept the backliners in check.

Conversely, if Kal and I joined the battle, the situation would immediately swing in our favor. We needed to eliminate the surrounding enemies as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that looked difficult.

"Gegyak!"

"Gee-gyaa!"

The reason was that the teamwork between the Harpy Leader and the Harpy Priest was more troublesome than I had expected. The Harpy Priest acted as their commander, staying a short distance away and focusing on healing and evading, while the other three flew around us and fired magic.

"Grrrroooar!!!"

Kal charged the Harpy Priest yet again, openly displaying irritation, but the priest simply kept fleeing. Kal could fly at considerable speed thanks to the power generated by Kal's massive body, but compared to the Harpies, Kal could not turn as nimbly. Whenever they moved in zigzags, Kal could not catch up.

"Gieeeeee!"

"Gye-gyooo!"

"Damn it, how annoying! Activate Threefold Magic Formation, Magic Shield!"

Whenever Kal became absorbed in chasing the Harpy Priest, the three Harpy Leaders would swarm me and attack. I had fought many battles while outnumbered, but this was aerial combat. I was being attacked not only from the front, back, left, and right, but from above and below as well, and dealing with that for the first time left me completely occupied with protecting myself.

"Gah!? Grrrrrrrr!"

When Kal realized I had been surrounded, Kal hurried back and drove them away. We continued repeating this pointless exchange.

"What a hassle... Is their objective to keep us occupied?"

Nkerfor's order should have been to knock us down to the ground, but the Harpy Priest seemed to have changed tactics. Unlike the battle on the ground, the Harpies lacked enough firepower to kill Kal and me. Things might have been different if there had been only one of them, but there was no point discussing hypotheticals.

"All right, if that's the case, we'll change tactics. Kal, protect me."

"Grrr!"

Until now, I had simply allowed the Harpy Priest to toy with me. The reason was probably that I had failed to establish a clear plan. I must have gotten carried away because the initial surprise attack had gone so well. I needed to reflect on that.

This was aerial combat, the enemy's area of expertise, so I should not force the issue. Instead, I would defeat them one at a time.

"I might as well try out my new Skill right away... Activate Evil Eye of Death and Chaos."

Red light lit up in my three eye sockets. Staring at an enemy like this should have an effect. In fact, the Harpy with red feathers that I was watching was gradually growing darker in my vision.

However, it seemed that only I could see it turning black. Neither the Harpies nor Kal reacted at all. It was frightening that the one being watched could not perceive the gradually increasing possibility of being cursed or killed instantly.

"Hmm, let's give it a try. Death."

I cast an instant-death spell from the Dark Arts on the Harpy Leader that had turned black. However, it continued flying around as usual. Hmm, it seemed to have resisted. The unfortunate thing about spells that can fail by chance is that the magic power spent on them may simply be wasted.

"Then how about this? Delayed Death."

"Gack!?"

The next spell I used took a little time to kill, but was harder to resist. The Harpy Leader afflicted by it let out a startled cry. Good, it had worked this time!

When a target is afflicted with Delayed Death, a countdown until instant death appears in its field of vision. During that grace period, a player could use an item that cures status ailments and prevent their death. However, the target was a monster. It had no way to escape death.

"I can ignore that one now. Next... should I target that green one?"

I stared at the Harpy Leader with the green feathers I had chosen as my next target. Once again, it gradually turned black, but only in my vision. After confirming that it was slowly darkening, I used a spell I had never tried on an enemy before.

"Well, what will happen? Reverse."

What I used was a Cursing Arts spell called Reverse, which inverted front and back, left and right, and up and down. Was there any better spell to use on an enemy flying through the sky?

"Gaa!? Gyogyegyaaa!?"

Just as I had imagined, the Harpy Leader lost its sense of direction and panicked. It could no longer make the sharp movements it had displayed before, and fell while flailing in midair as though it were drowning.

"Grrroooar!"

"Gye...!"

There was no reason for Kal to overlook the completely defenseless Harpy Leader. As if exacting retribution for all its previous mockery, Kal swallowed it whole.

"Khyuh..."

Oh, it seemed my Delayed Death had finally activated. That left one Harpy Leader and one Harpy Priest. The tables had turned completely. Shall I finish them off all at once?

"Kal, take care of the remaining Harpy Leader—the one with the blue feathers. I'll deal with the Harpy Priest!"

"Grrrrooooaon!"

Kal roared as if to say it would handle it, then charged straight at the Harpy Leader. To an onlooker, it looked exactly like a hunt.

"Gyogyaaaah!!"

However, it understood that it had no chance of winning in a head-on fight, so it kept its distance from Kal and fought back with magic. Whether it stayed because it had realized escape was impossible, or because of its loyalty to Nkerfor, I did not know. Either way, it had nothing to do with me. Hurry up and become experience points.

"You've made me work for it, you little Harpy. Let me repay you in full."

As I said this, I extended my third and fourth arms from the sleeves of my robe, equipped my great scythe, and readied myself. The Harpy Priest, thinking I intended to engage in close combat, immediately tried to put distance between us.

"It's no use... Short Teleport!"

"Gack!?"

"And now, Great Slash!"

Using Space-Time Magic, I moved behind the Harpy Priest and struck the motionless target with a martial technique from Scythe Arts. It was a broad, sweeping attack, but catching it off guard allowed me to land a direct hit.

"Gik... Gyeeeh!"

Apparently sensing the danger after taking my attack, the Harpy Priest immediately began to flee. It probably intended to escape and heal itself with Healing Arts. But I would not let it. I had a technique specifically for preventing that.

"You aren't getting away! Holy Ring!"

"Gyok!?"

A glowing ring created by Holy Magic captured the Harpy Priest. Now you can't escape, can you?

"It's over! Triple Slash!"

"Gyaaaaaaaah...!"

I severed the Harpy Priest's head with a carefully aimed Triple Slash. It was a convenient game mechanic for someone as weak as me: I could kill an enemy instantly without having to deplete all its health.

"Grrroan!"

"Oh, Kal. Is it tasty?"

"Grrr!"

Kal came over, loudly crunching as Kal chewed on the Harpy Leader. Hmm, it looked like things were settled here. In that case, let's go support the battle on the ground!