Ch.5757. The Boy King (3)

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Once again, a six-piece club was driven into the ground beside me.

The destructive power was terrifying. The ground where it struck was completely shattered, and the impact alone made all the nearby buildings tremble.

The reason this creature holds such a position compared to other special-type magical beasts is quite simple.

It has no special abilities, but it’s incredibly sturdy and powerful. It’s a being whose simple advantages have been maximized.

‘At least it’s slow, thankfully!’

Of course, as a trade-off, it’s exceptionally slow, which is why it’s classified as a “special-type.” That’s a rather obvious weakness compared to large or elite magical beasts.

So.

It hasn’t been difficult to dodge these repetitive attacks several times now, but I haven’t been able to land any meaningful attacks on it yet.

“…”

Elnore glanced at me from the side.

She’s probably wondering if it’s really possible to break through within one minute like this.

But actually, this approach is faster.

[Activating Skill: Scanning Eye.]

[Retrieving target information.]

[24-hour cooldown applies to the same target.]

While most of Scanning Eye’s abilities focus on examining the opponent’s “stats,” it has additional functions if certain conditions are met.

For example, if I’ve spent enough time “observing” the opponent, like now…

“Thirty seconds have passed. How do you plan to kill something like this?”

“Left elbow backside, right calf rear portion.”

“…What?”

“Those are its ‘cores.’ Hitting those should deal effective damage.”

“…”

Elnore let out a small laugh as she looked at me.

“This is absurd. Sometimes watching you makes me feel inadequate. It’s as if all my years of training mean nothing.”

“…Pardon?”

“Detecting an undead’s weakness is something even regular knights struggle with. And you’ve done it in just thirty seconds.”

“…”

Well, that’s not really my skill—it’s because the skill itself is overpowered.

I guess it’s worth the four demon seeds I consumed to get it.

Anyway.

“…But even knowing that information, killing it still seems impossible.”

Elnore said as she took a backstep, retreating several meters.

Her physical abilities seem to be even greater than mine with Dire Straits EX activated, but her next words were quite pessimistic.

“Its outer shell appears extremely hard. Setting aside its immortality, piercing it with just a sword seems nearly impossible…”

“I never planned to kill it from the beginning.”

I said I’d “break through” within a minute, not that I’d kill this thing.

Of course, for that…

“Elnore, I have no one else to ask but you.”

Despite feeling a pang of guilt, I sigh and speak.

“Please keep this thing from going anywhere else.”

In reality, she’s the only person capable of doing this.

The exorcists are currently occupied with burning the endlessly reviving undead elsewhere.

“…”

Elnore stared at me with wide eyes. Her expression was a mixture of surprise and bewilderment.

Honestly, I’d accept it if she hurled insults at me right now.

Asking her to mark a special-type magical beast one-on-one? This isn’t something you should ask of an academy student.

But I’m not making this request without reason.

< Skill Info >

[Divine Possession – Wrath] [Rank: S]

[When the target’s ‘wrath’ reaches its limit, they can use part of the power from the demon fragment stored in their body.]

If this activates, what I’m suggesting isn’t impossible.

It might even be relatively easy.

“…”

So.

To navigate this situation smoothly.

This person needs to get angry.

Very angry.

“…Are you angry right now, by any chance?”

If she gets angry at my outrageous request, that would be a good start.

So I ask with a bit of hope.

“I’m honored. Do you trust me that much?”

“…”

“I’ll show you I can do it, even if it costs me my life. I’ll live up to your trust—”

No.

That’s not it.

This person would believe me even if I told her the sun rises in the west.

“No, well.”

I finally confess honestly.

“…You need to get angry. You’ll probably become stronger if you do.”

Even I think this explanation is crude, but after hearing it, Elnore merely narrowed her eyes.

“Indeed, I think that might have happened before.”

“Pardon?”

“I met Riru Garda before. When she said she would take you away, I nearly cut her throat.”

“…”

“At that time, I think I felt something strange, just as you said.”

No, with your personality, you probably just said that because you wanted to fight, even though you didn’t mean it.

The Riru I know might be a sadist, but she’s not the type to push those kinds of buttons.

Anyway.

“Then, a way to get angry enough in this situation…”

While moving around to avoid attacks, Elnore thought deeply before speaking with a look of realization.

“Why don’t you try insulting me?”

“…Pardon?”

“It seems likely that hearing insults from you would make me angry.”

…Is that so?

Then let me come up with something that might adequately provoke her anger.

“Elnore.”

“Yes.”

I carefully choose my words.

I don’t really want to insult her, but since she asked…

I’ll start with something mild.

“Honestly, sometimes I feel like we don’t match well together.”

< System Message>

[Target ‘Elnore’ falls into despair due to your influence!]

[Movement speed reduced!]

“…”

Why.

What did I just say?

“…Stop, please stop.”

Elnore said, trembling slightly. Her face remained expressionless, but tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

“…I haven’t even started yet.”

“This feels different than I expected. When I hear such words from you, rather than anger, it wounds my heart…”

“…”

Is that really so different?

But more importantly.

It seems she genuinely fell into despair, as her movements have slowed slightly.

Even though we’re having this almost comedic exchange, this is still an actual combat situation. This shouldn’t affect her.

I break out in a cold sweat and speak again.

“No, I didn’t mean it! I absolutely didn’t mean it!”

“…Really?”

Elnore asked in a slightly nasal voice, as if she’d been crying.

“Yes. Really!”

“…Then may I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“Please answer honestly. Don’t lie. If you do, I’ll forgive you.”

Elnore said as she nimbly dodged another swing of the six-piece club.

She seems to consider this conversation more important than our current situation.

“…Have you been spending time with other women lately, besides me?”

“…”

“You don’t have any plans to meet another woman alone, without me, do you?”

“…”

“I feel insecure. We haven’t spent much time together recently. You didn’t say those things because you found another woman, did you…?”

“…”

This definitely isn’t a question for this situation.

But.

“…”

I feel a chill.

Somehow, I feel like.

If I lie here, something terrible will happen later.

So I close my eyes tightly and speak.

“…Nothing’s confirmed yet. But I think something might be happening.”

Well.

I don’t particularly want to say this, but.

There was something Elia said during the midterms.

That she had a “favor” to ask of me.

That, most likely…

“I think I might go to my hometown with Elia Krisanax during the break—”

< System Message >

[Target ‘Elnore’ becomes enraged to the point of losing reason due to your influence!]

[Skill: Divine Possession – Wrath activates!]

< System Message >

[Confirming conditional demon descent.]

[The demon fragment and vessel merge more closely.]

[Target ‘Elnore’s’ Stage 1 fusion progress changes to 99%. Something special will happen soon!]

“…”

She told me to be honest.

She said she’d forgive anything.

As I’m sweating nervously and mulling over these thoughts, Elnore draws her sword with eyes dozens of times colder than usual.

Grotesque “gray” energy flows around her body in streams. Anyone would recognize it as the Grey Demon’s energy.

〚…Let’s go up first. The situation seems urgent.〛

Perhaps due to this influence, a voice with an alien noise emanated from Elnore’s mouth.

〚I’ll hear explanations later.〛

“…”

Yes.

Thank you.

I silently offer my gratitude as I enter the clock tower.

〚Well then.〛

Elnore slightly turned her body to face the giant that was charging toward us again.

And then.

-…

Surprisingly, the creature flinched.

Even an undead with intelligence degraded to the extreme seems to instinctively know.

Just how powerful the “being” before it truly is.

-!!!

-!!!!

The creature roared again and moved to attack, its ferocity increasing as if to deny its own fear.

〚Be quiet.〛

A single slash.

With one casual swing of her sword, Elnore cut through the entire “landscape.”

————–!

The six-piece club was severed in one go, and the arm holding it shattered into pieces as if it had gone through a grinder.

Even though she struck the “weakness” I pointed out earlier, this is still a creature that reached special-type status through pure specs. An arm thicker than steel, cut with a single strike.

And it didn’t stop there—the building behind it was partially severed by the slash as well.

“…”

Everyone who witnessed this was stunned.

Is this even possible within human parameters?

〚…I’ll handle this. I need to cut something to calm down.〛

And everyone who saw this would instinctively understand.

This woman, who is less than one-tenth the size of the giant.

Possesses monstrous strength that can treat a special-type magical beast like child’s play.

“…”

I silently pray for the creature’s soul as I run inside the clock tower.

Mini-boss battle.

Cleared in one minute.

●

As I climb the stairs of the clock tower, I can hear the Flash Terror screaming in pain outside.

Glancing through a window in the stairwell, I see Elnore grabbing the giant’s head and swinging it around.

Even the exorcists nearby are gaping in shock as they watch the massive body demolish all the surrounding buildings as it flies around.

“…”

The size difference is roughly 10 to 1.

It’s like watching a mouse grab a cat’s tail and perform a giant swing.

‘…Others wouldn’t understand this.’

Anyone would think I’m a fool for deliberately removing such a powerful ally, but.

For the Valkarsus boss fight, it’s better if Elnore isn’t present.

If she sees what I’m going to do while fighting Valkarsus, she’ll definitely summon the Grey Demon again.

Because I’m going to get hurt… quite badly.

And if that happens.

‘…We’re going to hell.’

Valkarsus as a boss doesn’t have good compatibility with demons.

More precisely.

The moment a demon gets involved, the difficulty of the Valkarsus boss fight increases hundredfold.

Considering his past, if a demon descends, he’ll likely attack with full seriousness.

And considering Valkarsus’s true combat power, even a Demonic Vessel with a single fragment doesn’t stand a chance.

‘To think this isn’t even half of his power…’

It’s absurd.

Even the undead army covering the entire academy is merely a trivial exercise for someone who can handle hundreds of thousands of alchemical formations.

As I said, if he truly exerts his power, he’s not an opponent that players can face.

The true final boss of Chapter 2 is supposed to be Yuria, not him.

But.

[Essence of Evil]

[Item: Story]

[A material that can interact with Epic items. Something special happens when fused!]

“…”

There is a means to bring down even Valkarsus.

I roll the black jewel in my hand for a moment.

It’s an item I received after defeating the Purifier.

‘Actually, nine out of ten players would choose the Hero’s Fragment instead.’

If you asked a Serath user to choose between the Essence of Evil and the Hero’s Fragment, they’d obviously pick the latter.

This item is only recommended for hardcore players who deliberately increase their difficulty.

In a game where most enemies are classified as evil, who in their right mind would choose an item that strengthens such energy?

However.

If you’re someone who knows this game inside out, you’d choose this item.

Because if you end up fighting Valkarsus, this is practically the only key.

As I’m thinking this.

“You seem to have exercised a bit? Youth is wonderful. To build stamina so quickly in such a short time.”

Finally reaching the top of the clock tower, I hear those words from across the room.

It’s Valkarsus.

“No, I haven’t really exercised. It’s just that my constitution is a bit unusual.”

“What kind of constitution?”

“The kind that’s strong in real combat.”

Valkarsus burst into laughter.

“…”

But instead of responding, I slowly examine him.

He looks the same as when we first met.

As darkness begins to fall with the setting sun, he’s still sitting on the railing of the clock tower, gazing at the sky.

So, I remind him of what he said back then.

“…Do you remember our promise?”

“Of course.”

Valkarsus rose from his seat as he spoke.

“…”

And with just that.

The air changes completely.

“-!”

A pressure like my body suddenly weighing dozens of times more crushes me.

The impact is so violent that I momentarily lose consciousness and find myself kneeling on one knee.

My head spins, and every joint and bone in my body aches.

“…”

This is ridiculous, seriously.

That man hasn’t done anything yet.

He just stood up and.

Merely revealing a bit of his “energy” has me in this state.

“Do you think you can do it?”

A calm voice flows from Valkarsus.

“You see, I hate demons. I also despise those who worship them.”

As the Boy King speaks, alchemical formations begin to appear around him one by one.

Each one contains enough power to easily grind someone like me to dust.

“…They are the ones who made me and my kingdom drift in thousands of years of pain.”

Such formations, tens, hundreds, thousands of them.

They cover every visible space.

All created instantly by this one person. Without much effort.

“Do you know why I’m cooperating with that Luminary?”

Yes. I know.

Because he’s the only being who can “liberate” this person and the kingdom he carries.

“…Because he’s the only one who can give you certainty, right?”

I rise to my feet with a bitter smile.

My whole body feels like it’s breaking, but.

It’s fine. I can still endure.

I can still fight.

It’s an old story from long ago, but.

I’ve overcome worse than this to survive.

“The certainty that he can kill you.”

Valkarsus smiled.

“So you know everything, it seems?”

The Boy King continued in a leisurely tone.

“That Luminary promised that if I ‘clean up’ this entire academy, he would kill me.”

This is content that appears in the main scenario.

He’s doing this because his lifelong wish of “death” is at stake.

When hundreds of thousands of alchemical formations are crammed into a single body, that person becomes someone who can’t properly die even when they want to.

Unless extremely drastic measures are taken, that is.

“If you fail, I intend to carry out that plan faithfully.”

He’ll clean up every person in this academy.

And he’s actually capable of doing it.

But.

“You promised, didn’t you?”

I check the time with a grin.

“That I would save you and your kingdom.”

“…”

“I wouldn’t have said that without knowing how.”

Subtracting the time it took to get up here, I have 10 minutes left.

If I don’t defeat the boss within that time, the barrier Atalante is maintaining will break. That’s essentially my time limit.

In other words.

If I don’t defeat this person within 10 minutes, I die.

Is it possible?

“…”

There’s no need to ask.

‘I’m going to get destroyed.’

That will definitely happen.

As I think this.

“Well then.”

The formations spread around us begin to emit an ominous light.

I take a deep breath and prepare myself.

“Prove it to me. Show me you’re not all talk.”

Chapter 2 Boss. Boy King strategy.

Battle start.

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