Ch.404Fighting the Mountain NPC. (10)

“URAAAA!!!”

-KWAAANG!!!

“[Beast Transformation] [Sharp Claws]!!!”

“[Spirit Blade] [Spirit Phantom Sword – Tsunami]!!”

“[Swift Blade] [Wind Riding Form 3: Wind of Exclusion]!!”

[GUOOOOO⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!]

“[Gigantification]!! Don’t even think about moving and just take the hits!!”

-KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAK!!!

[GOO⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯?!!]

It’s not like it would stay still when we’re trying to cut off its head. Well, at the point where its neck hit the ground, even Gor’s gigantification was enough to pin the beast down. If our party keeps destroying its neck like this, eventually the head will come off. Now the problem is…

“Wind Riding Form 7. Autumn Island Wind.”

-PHIT!! CHWAAAK!!

“Green Doll?”

“”Elder?!””

“Since its neck is touching the ground, I thought it would be better to join you here than to keep cutting at its legs. Look, Guild Master is coming too.”

The question now is how quickly we can take this thing down with our current firepower. If possible, I want to blow its head off in one go to prevent it from using its breath attack pattern that triggers when its HP drops. But there’s always the possibility of unexpected situations…

“Green Doll. Sorry, but there’s something I’d like to ask…”

“You want me to pull the troops back behind the beast? I heard during the strategy briefing. Now that the head is down and we don’t need to cut the forelegs anymore, I’ve already moved all forces to the rear.”

“Ooh! Both adventurers and cavalry have all moved to the back! I’ve ordered them to cut the hind legs in case it gets up again!!”

“Anyway, only the elf elder and I can pierce this creature’s skin with our blades!” Devil said with a reassuring smile, and seeing him and Green Doll, I could finally feel at ease.

I don’t think people’s intelligence is at the level of NPC AI, but they certainly wouldn’t be able to tell whether an unfamiliar sign from an unfamiliar monster is a breath attack or not. If we fail to take down its HP in one go and the breath pattern comes out, it could literally mean thousands of meaningless deaths. This is the right strategy.

“Then, please help us, both of you. We’re currently focusing all attacks on cutting its neck. Even if we can’t cut through the bone in one go, if we injure it enough that it can’t raise its head, then even if it uses its breath attack, it will only destroy the ground beneath it.”

“Understood.”

“Leave it to us!!”

Our combined attacks—Ray, Miho, the Chikuyo sisters, myself, Green Doll, Guild Master, and Devil—gradually increased the wounds on the Behemoth’s neck. Perhaps because all effective human attackers had gathered to deal damage, we were able to open wounds at an incredibly fast pace compared to the separate attacks over the past five hours.

The Behemoth, sensing a threat incomparably greater than anything it had experienced so far, roared repeatedly and struggled to raise its head, but all its efforts were crushed under Gor’s gigantification. Good, not bad at all. At this rate, we could sever its head within the next two hours…!!

“Divine Punishment.”

“Ugh?! Dodge!!!”

-KWAAAAAAANG!!!

“””KYAAK?!!”””

“”KEUUK?!!””

-TAT!!

I shouted to dodge when I heard the old man’s voice from empty air, but everyone was so focused on the Behemoth’s neck that we were all blown away by the bombardment of holy power that fell from above. Talk about perfect timing!!

“So you dodge this. Former mountain keeper.”

“Ah, seriously, old man. I told you not to take walks in the mountains at night, but you just don’t listen.”

I couldn’t see him, but I could locate him by sound. As I glared at the invisible space, the old man removed the hood that had been pulled deep over his face and revealed himself. As I thought, there’s something about that hood. And again, the status window refuses to show any information about this old man.

“Tsk tsk. Fearsome predator, was it? Continuing the question I asked back then… who do you think is the predator here right now?”

“Who else but me? I’m obviously the predator, and you’re the prey waiting to die.”

“Kukuku! Is that so? And yet you avoided fighting me that night.”

This is bullshit. If he weren’t flying in the sky, I’d introduce Attorney Ju to his philtrum right now, but if I try to jump at the old man who’s rambling on, I’ll just make a fool of myself. As I glare at him silently, the old man, seeming to understand, rises higher and continues speaking.

“The fragment that fell from the sky earlier wasn’t your doing, was it? If that had been possible, you could have dropped it repeatedly and killed the Behemoth—a so-called natural disaster—like any other monster.”

“Haha. If I said it was our doing, would you be willing to just leave?”

“Of course not. This is a calamity needed by the continent; I cannot allow it to be stopped here.”

Looking down at me from the sky as if my words were amusing, he began creating massive holy power formations and constructing enormous weapons, just as I’d heard in the reports. Oh shit, is this old man a lunatic at his age? The scene reminds me of some delusional king somewhere, and I speak with cold sweat.

“Old man. If we all dodge that, it looks like it’ll just cut off the Behemoth’s head. Did you calculate that far?”

“Indeed. In the Behemoth’s current injured state, my attack could be fatal. However, this attack won’t be aimed at you.”

“What?”

The old man’s eyes narrowed like crescent moons, and his skeletal fingers moved to point at—

“Gor, dodge!!!”

“Kuk!!”

I shouted as I saw the attack aimed at Gor’s back as she was holding down the Behemoth’s face as it struggled to rise. Gor immediately released her gigantification and descended to the ground. And simultaneously—

[GUOOOO⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!!]

“The blow that fell on the Behemoth’s back, I healed it. Now it can rise again.”

“SHIT?!!”

The Behemoth, as if it had been waiting for its neck to be freed, quickly began raising its head, causing tremors above that couldn’t be described as mere earthquakes. I could see Gor hastily using gigantification again and reaching out, but there was no way to stop the beast’s neck from rising dozens of meters from the ground, and instead, the gigantic Gor ended up dangling from its neck. Damn, it can just lift Gor at that size? How developed are its neck muscles?

“Now, Behemoth. Shake your head, shake off the insects above you. Pull out your legs and trample everything before you into oblivion.”

“Miho, Ray, Chikuyo!! Stab your swords in!!!”

“I don’t have a sword!!!”

“Shit!!”

Ray and Chikuyo couldn’t even approach Miho as they struggled to maintain their balance amid the vibrations from the Behemoth shaking its head right after being attacked. Green Doll and Devil were also having a hard time stabilizing themselves after being thrown.

Ridiculously, only I, being the most adapted to landslides, could run to Miho, and I embraced her while driving my hand into the beast’s neck. Damn it, is the Behemoth actually following that bastard’s orders, or is it just shaking by instinct?! If it’s the former, we’re screwed. If we fall from this height with nothing to hold onto, only I would survive!!

“Uwahahahaha!! Can you hold on? Do you think you can endure this? Former mountain keeper. Were you perhaps taught to grab onto walls during landslides?”

“Shut the fuck up! Why are you acting so smug when you’re not even controlling it?!”

“I don’t need to control it. This disaster was born to trample people, to crush civilization on the continent. With Neti gone, it will naturally head toward Aiti next. You should be grateful; thanks to you destroying the Empire, our targets have decreased.”

“You knew about that?!”

“I didn’t know when I first saw you, but I heard recently. This childish trap was directed by the Empire’s princess? How utterly trivial.”

I want to punch that sneering old face right now, but I hold back. The opportunity will come. If I can just endure the Behemoth’s head-shaking, the chance will definitely come!! As I hold onto Miho and withstand the storm-like pressure, the Behemoth gradually stops shaking its head, probably thinking it’s shaken us off enough. Gor, did Gor fall?!

[I’m sorry. I couldn’t withstand that shaking at all.]

That’s actually better. If she had held on, she would have just become the Pope’s target again. As I slowly get up and look at the Pope in the sky, he begins gathering holy power in his palm, similar to what he had prepared that night. Damn it, losing air superiority really leaves us with no options! Iraya! Brother, I really need you right now!!

“Now, this is the finale. If you say you’ll fall to the ground of your own accord, I won’t stop you. What will you do?”

“How annoying. To be pushed around by a brat who hasn’t lived even a quarter of my life.”

“Tsk tsk, elves just eat up years without growing wiser. With heads that don’t develop, they’re beings whose time is wasted. Now, decide. Will you fall by your own feet to the disaster below, or will you receive divine punishment and evaporate here?”

Thinking he’s completely won, the old man looks down at us with absolute confidence, and I bow my head.

“Then. Farewell, foolish heretics. In the next cycle of the world, may you be more devou—”

-FLUTTER.

“I think it’s you who needs to be devout.”

Ah, this is driving me crazy. I’ve thought this before, but do I really have no talent for acting? Just like when I was pretending to be a thug, I feel like I’m about to burst out laughing. With the sound of fluttering wings above the old man’s head, I feel my lips being pulled into a smile. A childish trap? Utterly trivial? Then you, who fell completely for it, are just an age-eating child with rotten eyes who couldn’t even see through that triviality.

“You, Saint Lizerott…?!!”

“[Holy Bombardment] Holy Ray.”

-KWAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

The holy power bombardment that tears through the black night sky shreds the old man’s worn hood and sets his aged skin on fire. With Green Doll here, the reason Lize hasn’t moved until now is simple: we were saving her to deal with you alone!! But wait…!!

“Kuuugh…! M-mere saint, you think you can stop me, Benedict Eight…!!”

“I know, that’s why we were all waiting! You were just looking for us and only crawled out when the Behemoth was about to die, right~?♡”

“The revenge of my city. I’ll end it here!!!”

“H-have you lost your mind!! A saint!! Joining hands with demons…!!”

“””Is that for you to say?!!”””

With the appearance of Luxuria, who had been hiding Lize and Avaritia all this time, the Pope in the sky begins to fall under the concentrated fire of demonic and holy power. Now’s the chance…!!

-PAT!! KWAAAAAK!!

“Kuuk?!! Y-you!!!”

“Jack?!!”

“W-wait!! Why are you?!!”

“Luxuria!! Avaritia!! Take Lize and join the others to kill the Behemoth!! I’ll handle the Pope!!!”

As I jump from the Behemoth’s neck, grab the falling man’s face, and plummet toward the ruins of Neti, the two demons and one human who are surprised by the change from our original plan hesitate to follow me and stop in mid-air. Yes, you keep stopping the Behemoth. As for this guy…

“YOUUUU!!!”

“Damn old man, what the hell did you eat to change like this? If it’s something good, you should have shared.”

[-Occupation: Raid Boss (Pope of the Holy Nation)- Level: 1,300 Name: Benedict Eight: 72 years old. (Status: Priest of Pride)]

A level completely different from the game, a contract with demons completely different from the game. I don’t know what’s going on, but this guy absolutely has to be dealt with by me alone. With that thought, I fell into the pit where the Behemoth’s foreleg had been, accompanied by the roaring old man.