Frozen-Flame War Fortress (5)

Almost at the same time as the Great Bone War Fortress began cloaking itself in two Attributes at once and I sensed the battle nearing its end, one fight on the battlefield was approaching its conclusion. That fight was the battle against the Jigoro-type clones.

"In the end, you're just a one-trick monkey act... No tactics or fuckin' anything."

"This is the end!"

Looking somewhat disappointed, Jigoro threw aside the last one, which had all four limbs destroyed and was being held by the neck in a miserable state, and Ruby and the others somehow managed to destroy its body. Genjuro, who had taken on the most clones, was still fighting, but their number had fallen to five. Ruby and the others were about to join him, so they would likely finish them off once they had some breathing room.

Meanwhile, freed from fighting the clones, Jigoro eagerly attacked the Great Bone War Fortress, now cloaked in flames and ice. Since he wanted powerful foes to appear, he must have been delighted whenever his enemies grew stronger. Did he even feel fatigue?

"Oops, it's about time to reapply 【Enchantment Arts】 and 【Soul Arts】. Moss-san, let's disengage."

"Understood. Thanks for flying around and providing support."

"It's a role necessary for victory."

I reapplied 【Enchantment Arts】 to Moss-san and the others to refresh its effects, then flew toward Mac's group. They seemed just as unable to hide their alarm as we were upon seeing the Great Bone War Fortress power up, but perhaps they were growing accustomed to the constantly shifting situation, because they continued fighting. As expected, they were a dependable party.

After joining them, I cast 【Soul Arts】 as I had on Moss-san and the others to refresh its effects, then asked how they were doing while blocking the rain of bones with Magic Shield.

"Mac, are you all right?"

"Do I look all right? Well, taking it out on you wouldn't help."

Mac's group was fighting, but unlike Moss-san's party, which was actively counterattacking, they could do little besides defend almost the entire time. The falling rain of bones and ballista fire had grown stronger now that they possessed two Attributes, and the only things that could be called counterattacks were the combat techniques Mac and Saara used to send blows and slashes flying.

Using Magic Shield allowed Pop and Jane Dojima to join the attack, but against the Great Bone War Fortress's absurdly large health pool, it was like pouring a drop of water on a hot stone. Their damage output had improved, but it did not look as though they could deliver a decisive blow in this battle.

However, if you asked whether that meant they were unnecessary in this battle, the answer was no. They still had powerful means of attack left.

"The situation is certainly grim. But we still have trump cards left, don't we?"

"You mean the 'Ultimate Techniques' and 'Secret Arts'? Of course we can use them too, but most of them take time to activate. We can't afford to take our time using them, can we?"

The trump cards left to us as players were, just as Mac said, none other than the 'Ultimate Techniques' and 'Secret Arts.' Many of them were indeed extremely powerful, but they had drawbacks: they required time to charge or left us defenseless while activating. Considering that, it seemed we had no room at all to use them.

"That may be true now. But a chance will come eventually. Until then, I want you to keep fighting tenaciously."

"Yeah, yeah. Damn, I never expected this boss fight to drag on this long or be so nerve-racking."

"Indeed. Then I'll go to Ruby's group."

"Sure."

Mac waved his hand back and forth and answered without even looking at me. Saara, Pop, and the others showed that they understood with similar gestures.

They were even smiling, but if Magic Shield broke, they would be back to fighting entirely on the defensive. For their sake as well, I would have to maneuver so as to create a chance to go on the offensive as soon as possible.

"Mmm, I wanted to take them all down by myself... It seems I still have much training to do."

"Um, we barely managed to defeat three of them even with four people, you know?"

"Masters really are in a league of their own, huh?"

"Genjuro still wants to get stronger..."

"He's full of energy. He'll live a long time."

When I joined Ruby and the others, they had just finished mopping up the remaining Jigoro-type clones. Genjuro seemed dissatisfied, as though he had not been able to expend himself fully, while Ruby and the others each offered their own comments, ranging from exasperation to admiration.

As far as I was concerned, Genjuro's strength was a tremendous help. His high combat ability would be essential for making it through the increasingly difficult battle ahead.

"Have you dealt with the clones? I'll renew 【Enchantment Arts】 and 【Soul Arts】."

"Thanks. From here on, we should attack the main body too, right?"

"Please do. I'm sure everyone else is exhausted after this long battle, and so am I. We mustn't rush, but I'd like to finish this as quickly as possible."

Unlike Jigoro, who could fight without feeling fatigue, we were undoubtedly exhausted. It was not physical fatigue in our avatar bodies, but mental fatigue from being kept under constant tension. In fact, the minor hits suffered by our frontline allies were steadily increasing, and if the battle dragged on any longer, carelessness could lead to a fatal mistake.

In this situation, we had to avoid losing even a single person. Therefore, while remaining cautious, we had to attack aggressively and finish things as quickly as possible.

"Dealing with the clones was an important role too, but a boss fight isn't a boss fight unless you take on the boss itself. In fact, that's exactly what I wanted!"

"I'll do my best too!"

"Me too! I'll do whatever I can!"

Shio and the others answered with plenty of enthusiasm. Dealing with the clones had been grueling work, and perhaps it had felt like clearing the way. Though they understood that it was important, the battle against the boss itself was still the main attraction of a boss fight.

Without even being told, Genjuro swung his four naginata, gouging away at the surface of the Great Bone War Fortress like an excavator. Legs came crashing down to stop him, but Genjuro dodged them with minimal footwork, as if he could see the attacks above him.

Throughout it all, he never even slackened the momentum of his attacks. The Great Bone War Fortress attempted to fill the destruction he had caused with the stockpile of bones apparently stored inside it, but under Ruby's command, we prevented the repairs and instead worked to widen the damage.

Ruby's dagger and Shifune's legs severed more bones, while Wool's voice and my magic blew away the newly formed ones, and Shio fired arrow after arrow. Repeating this process and responding as the situation demanded, our three parties steadily dealt damage.

"Just a little more!"

"Wait! It's glowing inside!"

"Let's fall back for a moment!"

When the Great Bone War Fortress's health was finally reduced to ten percent, its final and greatest transformation occurred. Light began leaking from within it, a marbled mixture of flame-red and ice-white.

Judging from its previous patterns, this had to be a precursor to something. The three parties forcefully suppressed their urge to finish off its remaining health all at once and retreated to put some distance between us. Everyone who had fought this far understood that there was no such thing as being too cautious with this enemy.

"Gigi... GIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"Mmm, so noiiisy!"

"Huh!? What's this!?"

"The shattered bones... They're gathering!"

The Great Bone War Fortress sent fierce flames and ice spewing from every gap in its body while a sound like a resentful wail reverberated throughout the boss area. The released flames and ice formed a tornado around the Great Bone War Fortress as though protecting it, while its roar made the air tremble. If we had greedily continued attacking, we would have been caught in the tornado and suffered massive damage.

Perhaps triggered by that sound, the bone fragments scattered across the ground began gathering and moving toward the Great Bone War Fortress. They were remnants of the bones that had continuously rained down, projectiles fired from the ballistae, and severed legs.

Until now, they had merely lain scattered across the ground, so I had assumed that the bones used in attacks or detached from the main body could not be controlled. Apparently, that was not the case. But why was it gathering those remnants only now?

"Huh!? You're kidding!?"

"It stood up...!? And what is this...?"

Even as we wondered, the Great Bone War Fortress continued changing. Inside the tornado of flames and ice, it raised its enormous body on its remaining legs and stood upright.

Its size had shrunk to about half, down to roughly ten meters. We should not assume that it had weakened by becoming smaller; it had likely condensed itself and grown stronger. Besides, ten meters was still plenty large. There was not a single reason to let our guard down.

However, if it had merely stood up and shrunk, I would not have called it a transformation. While rising inside the tornado, it was further reshaping its entire body. Its silhouette resembled Jigoro's, just like the clones before it, but there was one decisive difference: it had four arms.

"I see. So that's what it planned to do with the fragments it gathered."

Then bone fragments gathered in its four palms and solidified into the shapes of two naginata and two odachi. The Great Bone War Fortress was using the severed portions as its own weapons.

So it had a body like Jigoro's, four arms like Genjuro's, and weapons to match? It must have taken on a form combining the features of the two who had contributed the most. I did not know why all four weapons were not naginata, but the Great Bone War Fortress must have judged this configuration sufficient.

"More monkey imitation? I hope your movements are a little better this time, huh?"

"Shall we see just how much your makeshift swordsmanship amounts to?"

The two whose forms had been copied showed no disgust at all. Instead, they seemed genuinely excited to see what it would do. Jigoro might have been pleased if its movements had improved, but as far as I was concerned, I could really do without it.

In any case, it was a fact that the Great Bone War Fortress had shown its greatest transformation yet. Judging from its remaining health, it was safe to assume that this long battle was nearing its end. The thought of fighting a fusion of an enormous Jigoro and Genjuro was terrifying, but we had no choice. We would use every means at our disposal and defeat it!