by Sakon Kaidou
Even when I was at my best, my standard attacks weren’t good enough to do any proper damage to him.
My STR wasn’t particularly great, and though Nemesis might’ve been a great weapon when I’d been level 1, she was among the weaker ones now that I was level 20. If I tried to beat it with just my standard attacks, not even 1,500 seconds would be enough, let alone 150.
However...
“GUUOOOAAAHHHHH!” Gardranda retaliated with a kick, and I chose to let it hit me.
“Ghh...!” I got blasted away about seven meters, but was able to make a smooth landing.
Though it sent me flying, the attack didn’t hurt me all that much.
The damage it did was about 600. That was approximately a quarter of my total HP.
I was level 20. With the bonus HP I’d gotten for leveling up while being a Paladin, the bonus from my Embryo, and the skill “HP Increase,” my total HP had reached 2500.
One of my skills — Paladin’s Aegis — reduced all incoming damage, and my equipment was far better than it had been when I’d fought the Demi-Dragon Worm. Thus, a creature that hit a little bit harder than them could never kill me in one hit. And if I couldn’t die in one hit, I had the means to earn victory.
“First Heal!” I ran while casting my healing spell on myself and complemented it with a use of one of my Heal Potions. With that, my HP was almost back to full.
“Rrraaghh!”
Then I simply repeated what I’d done before. Attack. Get hit. Heal.
I merely had to repeat this for those 150 seconds. That was my only chance at winning.
One repetition took about twenty seconds and got me 600 damage, which became 660 when I considered the damage nullified by Paladin’s Aegis. I could do it a total of seven times and gather 4620 damage. Vengeance is Mine would double that amount and damage for 9240.
Can you survive getting that hit on your head, you damn demon? I thought.
“That is our only optio— Master!”
As I calculated the remaining time and the damage I could gather, Nemesis called out to me. Being familiar with her tones, I instantly knew that it was a warning.
“Look above!” she shouted.
I quickly did as she told me. In the sky, hazy with Gardranda’s miasma...
“KIIIAAAAAAA!”
...I saw a large, crimson bird of prey as it dove towards me at high speed and readied its talons.
“Whoa!” I hastily jumped to the side, making the crimson gust go by me.
Seemingly annoyed due to failing to grab me, the bird of prey flapped its wings once and suddenly rose back up into the sky.
Before it completely got away, I caught a glimpse of the name displayed above it: “Crimson Roc Bird — Mount Owner: Great Miasmic Demon, Gardranda.”
“A... a mount...?!” I stuttered.
The description made me realize something. When Gardranda had come here, he’d simply fallen from the sky. However, the demon had no means of flying or jumping particularly high, and these flat plains didn’t have any places that would give it the necessary height to make such an entrance. Thus, there was only one reasonable explanation: Gardranda had been brought here by something that could fly. And that something had been hanging above us ever since we’d started this battle.
“...This is bad,” I muttered. I was no longer able to focus on Gardranda.
The bird’s speed and physique made it obvious that it was quite a powerful monster. If I had to guess, I’d assume that it was just as strong — if not stronger — than the Demi-Dragon Worms. It could even grab me with its talons and drop me from a great height, rendering me completely unable to fight back.
This bird was a dangerous enemy, indeed.
However, if I kept focusing on trying to avoid it, the Elixir’s effects would wear off, and I’d no longer have any means of achieving victory.
“What do I do...?” I asked myself.
“Ray!” Before I could figure out how to handle the new enemy...
“We’ll take care of the Roc Bird!” Rook shouted.
“I can fly, so leave it to me!” Babi called out to me.
“You just focus on Gardranda, Ray!” added Rook.
“But...!”
Rook and Babi couldn’t do anything against a monster that powerful. It was probably immune to their Charm skills. Before I could tell that to them, Rook spoke up.
“We’ll buy time until you defeat Gardranda!” he shouted.
“Yeah! So don’t worry about us!” added Babi.
Holding Rook, Babi rose up and flew towards the Roc Bird. I silently watched them.
“Master,” Nemesis spoke to me. “You are not thinking of letting their conviction go to waste, are you?”
“...Like hell,” I replied. I brandished Nemesis and once again ran towards Gardranda.
The reason why I could continue fighting was because Marie had used her Elixir on me. The reason why I could focus on the fight was because Rook and Babi were holding back the Roc Bird. Nemesis and I weren’t alone in this battle.
It wasn’t like the time we’d been killed by the Superior Killer. I... no, we were fighting as a party.
“57 seconds left,” I said. “By lowering our focus on healing, we can do this three, preferably four times.”
“Let it be done, then!” Nemesis expressed her enthusiasm.
We ran, attacked Gardranda, got hit back, stood up, and ran again. It was to not waste the opportunity our comrades had given us... and to uplift our chances of victory. I didn’t care how tattered I would become doing this.
Soon enough, we only had 10 seconds left.
“Nemesiiiis!” I shouted.
“Accumulated damage: 4973! We can do this!” she cried. “Master!”
Everything slotted into place when Gardranda hit us for the final time. I had less than half of my total HP, but I could still move. All that was left was to hit the demon with Vengeance is Mine.
I dashed towards Gardranda with the sole purpose of landing this lethal hit.
7 seconds left.
6 seconds. 5 seconds. 4 seconds.
“Guuuhhh— GHHAAAAAAAAGHHHH!”
We had only a few more steps to take until the demon was within our range.
That was the moment when the mouth on the head opened wide and released a crimson-red flame.
It wasn’t the miasma this time.
This breath was meant purely to damage anyone it touched.
All this time, Gardranda had been hiding this trump card from us, and there was no way I could survive a direct hit from those flames.
However...
“Take... it... all!” I shouted. “Counter Absorption!”
The barrier of light summoned by Nemesis stopped the purgatorial fire and absorbed the damage it did.
“Vengeance is... Mine!”
The attack carrying the doubled weight of the damage from Gardranda’s hits and fire completely pulverized the demon’s head and ended its life...
...or so it seemed.
The loss of its head made Gardranda turn silent. However, its body continued moving around and attacking me as though it was only natural.
“Huh?!” I exclaimed.
Despite losing its head — and brain — Gardranda swung its left arm at me, making it obvious that it simply didn’t care for the damage I’d done. And I — fresh out of my means of defense and tired due to having just used my most intense attack yet — was unable to evade the demon’s arm.
“...Gh!” It hit me head-on, sent me flying, and had me slipping on the ground for about ten meters after landing.
However — likely because Gardranda had lost its head — the damage it’d done wasn’t as great as before, and it didn’t kill me.
“First... Heal...” I stumbled to my feet while casting healing magic on myself.
However, the time was up. 180 seconds had passed since I’d been put under the effects of Elixir, and the effects were now gone.
The air around me was sti
ll thick with Gardranda’s miasma, so I was instantly put under the effects of all three debuffs.
“Damn it...” I couldn’t even fight properly in this state, yet the demon was still perfectly fine.
At least he can’t see without his hea— my thought was cut short.
“Just how much of a monster are you?” I yelled, not expecting an answer. On both of Gardranda’s shoulders — right above the mouths — appeared a gory orb — obviously an eye.
It didn’t seem like the shoulder-eyes worked yet, but it was clear that they’d soon gain vision and let the demon see and kill me without much trouble.
“Why is this happening?! We clearly destroyed it!” shouted Nemesis in confusion. Our Vengeance is Mine attack had created an explosion with Gardranda’s head at its center.
Naturally, the head was gone without a trace, and even its chest had a hole carved out of it in a semicircular shape.
It looks like we even got its heart, and yet...
“...Heart?” I felt something off about my words, that word in particular.
Suddenly, it came back to me.
I controlled my hands — shaking due to Intoxication — went to my menu, and opened my memo window.
There, I found the memo saying, “The demon’s heart lies in its stomach. — Cheshire”
“...So that’s what that meant,” I muttered.
“Master?” Nemesis sounded confused.
Cheshire’s words fit the situation perfectly.
The cat had probably known that I’d be facing Gardranda the moment I’d said that I was heading to Gideon. Cheshire had given me those words just in case I got into a situation such as this one.
Gardranda’s heart — the core that governed all of its life functions — was in neither the head nor the chest, but the stomach. Thus, Gardranda wouldn’t die until said “heart” was crushed.
To this demon, the head was nothing but another means of attacking. Even if I destroyed the remaining “faces” on the shoulders, Gardranda would continue to move as long as the core in its stomach was intact.
My previous attack should’ve been aimed at the stomach instead of the head.
But even if I figured that out, I’m all out of power to—
“...Like hell,” I muttered.
“Out of power?” Who gives a damn? I thought fiercely.
Rook and Babi were still holding back the Roc Bird. Therefore, I — who had been entrusted with the role of defeating Gardranda — had no business giving up while they continued to struggle.
“Not yet...” I said, gritting my teeth.
I couldn’t give up. Even if I couldn’t move or if my stats were brought down to the gutter, giving up simply wasn’t an option. I had to bear through it all for as long as I could and land another hit on Gardranda’s stomach.
It wasn’t a matter of whether I “could” or “couldn’t.” My friends had given me this role. They’d entrusted it to me. Thus, I would to do it even if it meant breaking through my limits.
I would grab hold of the chance of victory.
“If I can’t do that much, I can’t even dream of getting my revenge against the Superior Killer!” I said fiercely. Despite being on the verge of defeat, I gathered my resolve.
“Master!” Nemesis shouted.
“Nemesis, the odds are against us, but it’s not over yet,” I said to her. “You don’t mind continuing this, right?”
“That goes without saying,” she replied. “However, that’s not what I want to say.”
What?
“What do you make of this?” she asked.
On the corner of the windows I had opened, there was an unfamiliar red window.
[Master’s life endangerment: confirmed]
[Master’s intent to live: confirmed]
[Embryo Type: Maiden, “Maiden of Vengeance, Nemesis,” accumulated XP — green]
[*** execution available]
[Preparing *** activation]
[If you wish to cancel, please do so within the next 20 seconds]
[Do you wish to cancel? Y/N]
What is this? I thought dumbly.
“Nemesis?” I addressed her, hoping for an explanation.
“I know nothing of it, either,” she said.
“What is this...?”
The window was red, making it seem much like a warning.
From the text, it was obvious that it was related to Nemesis. However, the most important part of it seemed to be corrupted — no, my head couldn’t even process it as proper language.
What, exactly, did it mean?
I silently watched as the countdown’s timer continued to go down. When it hit 10 seconds, I began to worry, and reached towards the window with the intention to stop it...
“CUUAAAAGGHHHHHH!”
...but before I could complete the motion, Gardranda’s shoulder-eyes became able to see, and the demon charged at me while roaring from its shoulder-mouths.
“Why now, of all times...?!” I shouted.
The timer on the red window before me was going down as Gardranda got closer to me by the second.
I was left with no choice but to ignore the window and face the demon.
However, with Weakness reducing my stats and Intoxication making it hard for me to move, brandishing Nemesis was about all I could do.
I have to use my defense and healing to create another opportunity to use Vengeance is Mine, and...
[Countdown Complete]
[Acknowledged intent to initiate the emergency evolution process via *** protocol]
[Examining the 172 patterns made available by the accumulated XP and calculating the optimal solution to the current situation]
[Target Embryo: “Maiden of Vengeance, Nemesis.” Initiating emergency evolution via ***]
[To reduce load, the interval until the next evolution will be extended]
Right after I saw that message, Nemesis lost her physical integrity and was reduced to floating particles.
“Eh...?” I gasped.
That was the exact same phenomenon that had always happened whenever Nemesis transformed from her human form to her greatsword form. This time, however, she neither returned to her humanoid shape, nor did she become a sword again. Instead, the particles whirled around my surroundings.
“CAAAAAAGGHHHHH!”
As I became unable to process the situation, Gardranda only continued to get closer to me.
[*** complete]
Not giving me a moment to understand anything, the window output displayed a new line.
[Form 2: “The Flag Halberd”]
Nemesis’s particles whirled around me and began to gather in my hand.
After having turned to floating grains of light, Nemesis returned to me in a completely different form than before.
“Jump, Master!” It was her voice.
I hastily listened to what she said, kicked my feet off the ground... and left Gardranda a long distance away from me.
“Huh?!” a voice of surprise escaped my lips. Before I realized it, I had jumped a whole twenty meters.
The surprise was aimed at both my unbelievable jumping power and the fact that...
...Nemesis wasn’t human.
Nor was she a greatsword.
She was a spear.
Though, since she had an axe popping out from one end of her grip, the word “halberd” was more apt.
The part opposite of the axe blade was leaving a trail of black light, making the whole of her look somewhat like a battle flag.
I looked at the equipment window and saw the name “The Flag Halberd.”
“Nemesis... what happened to you?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“I’m not sure I’m able to answer that question,” she replied. “I happened to become like this before I could even realize it.”
I guess she was unconscious while she was turned into particles, I thought.
“However, there is one thing I’m certain of,” she continued.
“And
that is?” I asked.
“I’ve evolved into my second form,” Nemesis revealed. “The power inside me is greater than ever.”
Evolution.
That was the primary feature of every Embryo — the function that gave them powers from infinite patterns.
The red window had also said something about “emergency evolution.”
Is that how it normally goes? I asked myself. It didn’t seem that way when Rook’s Babi evolved, though...
“...Well, this ain’t the best time to think about this, anyway,” I muttered. I had to focus on only one thing right now.
“COOAAAGHHH!”
After having lost sight of me once, Gardranda noticed me again and roared with both of its shoulder-mouths.
“By the way, Nemesis,” I said.
“What is it, Master?” Nemesis replied.
“You said that your power is ‘greater than ever’... to what extent, though?”
I could almost see her put up an intrepid smile.
“Enough to make it possible for us to defeat that damn demon,” she answered.
“Perfect,” I smiled. The possibility was there.
The fact that she’d only said that it was “possible” made me remember the first time we’d met. However, that was all I really needed. If the possibility of us winning was there...
...then, for the sake of Rook, Babi, Marie, and the tians in danger of dying...
...we only had to bet on that possibility and give it all we had.
“Let’s do this, Gardranda,” I said.
Since Gardranda’s appearance after we’d annihilated the goblins, the demon had possessed the upper hand, it had even been able to corner us after getting its head smashed. But now, we had a new way of achieving victory.
I know how you work, I thought. I’ll end it soon.
I brandished The Flag Halberd above my head and roared at the headless demon. “This... is the final round!”
After spinning the halberd above my head, I charged at Gardranda.
Though Weakness was supposed to have lowered my stats, I was running much faster than I could have run while in my normal state. And though Intoxication was supposed to be making my vision turn dim, I felt like I could perceive far more than I ever could.