Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Ultimate Weapon
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“……What is that?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t know and was asking.
My brain just couldn’t process it.
Endgame weapons for each character in Apocalypse Academy.
Among them, Alicia’s Hyperion was something you could only obtain after passing the imperial secret vault’s trials.
So why was Alicia holding it right now?
At my question, Alicia tilted her head as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“This is one of the treasures slumbering in the imperial secret vault. I snuck it out the other day when I visited with His Majesty.”
“…You can just sneak it out like that?”
“……Ku-hut.”
Cold sweat beaded on Alicia’s forehead.
“…Of course not. I’ll be grounded for a while when I get back.”
“Ah, I see.”
“But catching a big fish like this with just a grounding penalty? I’d call that a profit.”
She said that, but tears were rolling down her cheeks all the same.
She really hated the idea.
“But the difficulty of this training exercise wasn’t that high. Why bring out something like that?”
“What else? Since I bet on my junior, I figured I needed to show some trust in him too.”
‘For that reason alone?’
“I didn’t expect to actually use it, though.”
“You’re bold even without knowing the enemy inside.”
“Half of it was luck. The bastard provoked us by manipulating my subordinate’s corpse. If it was strong enough to take us out easily, it wouldn’t need such a hassle.”
She added with a serious expression.
“So that means the opponent has a sadistic personality and holds some advantage over us, but not an overwhelming one. That’s the conclusion I reached.”
That made sense.
Like with Malias, the current Elevere probably hadn’t gathered enough demonic energy. It wouldn’t match its strength from the original story.
“So I figured this treasure might handle it somehow.”
“Somehow, huh.”
“If it can’t even resolve a situation like this, then it doesn’t qualify as a treasure.”
Field with field—that was basic common sense, straight out of an old strategy guide.
Cases where two fields overlapped at the same time were rare.
It was too complex to implement in the game.
Usually, the later or stronger field would overwrite the weaker one.
In that sense, Hyperion’s “Red Scales” ranked above most fields, except for the final boss, the Evil God.
In other words, just equipping it could nullify nearly any field effect.
Of course, in the original story, that effect didn’t mean much.
You only got it right before the final boss fight anyway.
But it doesn’t work on the final boss? What the hell.
The status cleanse and buffs were still useful, so there weren’t better options.
But that weapon appearing now, at this timing?
‘This is a bulldozer. Without Love’s Monopoly, we’ve got the overwhelming edge.’
Come to think of it, she’d deliberately sat out the village fights from the start.
Red Scales would activate the moment she joined combat, so she’d faked paralysis to save her once-a-day use.
Leaving me to suffer alone.
With Love’s Monopoly nullified, Elevere visibly panicked.
“Wh-what…? Why isn’t my power…?”
“Ku-hut. So your so-called love is nothing special. Now taste my sword!”
Alicia pointed at Elevere with her finger.
Then she glanced at me.
Nodded her head.
‘What are you doing? Not going?’
‘By “sword,” she meant me?’
Sigh. What to do with this woman.
My turn again.
But the worries in my head had vanished clean away.
No—they’d turned into overflowing leisure.
Barhatan, Malias, Roze and Lirian.
This fight would be a joke compared to those guys.
Strong opponent? Taking that into account.
Red Scales’ core effect cleansed status ailments and boosted ally stats based on their rank.
Elevere’s Love’s Monopoly was originally an ultra-high-grade status that couldn’t be cleansed.
The gimmick was fighting while your allies turned into enemies.
[Red Scales]
[Cleansed Status: Love’s Monopoly]
[All allies’ Attack Power, Health, Defense, Critical Hit, Fluidity, Magic Power +100%]
I kicked off the ground and charged at Elevere.
Twisted her wrist and carved a Corner Slash into her shoulder.
Screek!
“Kyaaack!”
[Weak!]
The bleeding from the wound was twice as much as before.
Just a Corner Slash doing this much damage.
I slid across the floor and carved a weak point into her waist too.
“Eeee…!!”
Elevere went berserk as the battle didn’t go her way.
She retreated, gathering black flames at her fingertips.
The black flames boiled over like lava.
Without Love’s Monopoly, Elevere was just an ordinary mage who could handle black flames a bit.
“I won’t let you get away with this! Alicia Cyrus!”
Elevere’s turn.
‘Targeting Alicia?’
But they weren’t idiots either.
She’d seen from the scales that Alicia was our party’s biggest threat.
“Hmph. Try it if you can!”
Kwa-gwang!!
A crimson-black flash erupted from Elevere’s hand toward Alicia.
The blast blew out one wall of the lodge entirely, moonlight pouring in beyond.
Alicia was swallowed by the flash.
“H-Haribal! Th-the Princess!!”
“It’s fine. No need to worry.”
But I wasn’t worried at all.
Hyperion’s effects went beyond just Red Scales.
Endgame weapons had base stats tailored to the character that overwhelmingly outclassed peers.
Alicia’s buffs scaled with magic power and defense, and Hyperion boosted those two insanely.
Defense: 77.
Equivalent to wrapping yourself in 16 fifth-stage yellow shards.
Dust cleared, revealing Alicia without a single scratch.
Her clothes were torn here and there, exposing skin, but her body was unscathed.
“That much flame couldn’t even roast a duck.”
“You… you bitch…?!”
Alicia gave Elevere a cold smile as fury exploded toward her.
Alicia’s turn.
Unlike with Cecilia, I hadn’t synced up with these two yet.
But Alicia knew her role crystal clear.
“Dodging ten times won’t help. Red flowers don’t last ten days.”
She touched her index finger to her lips and murmured Arts’ name.
“No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days.”
Crimson petal-shaped magic bloomed from Hyperion, wrapping around Maine.
Her senses sharpened like needles across her body, her heart pounding madly.
Her current stats were beyond common sense for this point in the story.
And now she was buffed by Red Scales too.
The result defied imagination.
[No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days]
[Critical Hit, Fluidity +400% for 3 turns]
‘…Insane.’
Every nerve pulled taut, molten iron heat surging through my veins.
The laws of physics binding my flesh rewrote themselves, boundaries with the world blurring into omnipotence.
In that state, a phenomenon I’d never seen appeared.
This turn should’ve gone: me → Elevere → Alicia → Maine, based on fluidity.
But the moment Alicia’s buff hit, the faint gem above Elevere’s head vanished.
Instead, extra small gems appeared above mine and Maine’s heads.
‘Ah, this… don’t tell me?’
I hadn’t noticed it before, but Alicia’s buff was so potent it enabled it.
Our fluidity exploded, shoving Elevere’s turn behind ours.
‘Me → Maine → me → Maine → Elevere → Alicia’
We got two turns per cycle.
‘Fluidity exceeding a threshold lets you take two turns.’
Impossible normally.
You’d need maxed fluidity setup, then Alicia’s ultimate buff like now.
But it worked?
Then use it.
Maine’s turn.
“Holy Enchant!”
[Holy Enchant]
[Holy attribute added to weapon for 3 turns]
[Arts users’ attacks have a chance to recover ally health.]
Red Scales, No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days, Holy Enchant.
With three buffs stacked, I was in my strongest state ever.
Carve more weak points with Corner Slash?
No need.
My turn.
I unleashed Arts without hesitation.
Gale Storm.
The instant I kicked the ground, I blinked and was already atop the lodge stairs.
Not intentional.
My body felt so light it nearly flew, control slipping.
Soon, every motion in the space decomposed into super-slow fractions of seconds.
Elevere’s enraged face searching for my vanished form.
Even her next move and the finest quiver of her downy hairs entered my sight like a frozen picture.
In this moment, Elevere was no longer some shitty boss.
Just prey to be carved.
Pabat!
Another step, and I stood behind Elevere.
“……You?!”
Seven ashen flashes slashed across the entire hall.
The holy-infused sword shredded Elevere’s body.
“Ka, hak…! Kehek…!”
[Weak!]
[Weak!]
An ashen storm devoured her flesh.
“Fuu.”
As my rush halted, her blood-soaked body crumpled emptily to the floor.
“Haribal! We did it!”
“As expected of the sword I chose. It reinforces my faith in my choice.”
Alicia sneered at Elevere wriggling like a worm.
“Still twitching without tiring. Like a fish in a net.”
I stopped Alicia as she moved to approach.
“Wait a moment, please.”
I still had my sword aimed at Elevere.
The gem above her head hadn’t vanished yet.
That’s when it happened.
Elevere’s fallen body began twisting unnaturally.
“You bitches… how dare you… how dare you humiliate me like this…!”
Her scream of hatred and despair warped from human into a monstrous roar.
“Kraaaaaaaa!!”
Crack!
With grotesque sounds, eight smooth spider legs burst from her back.
Her alluring lower body swelled into a hideous spider abdomen.
New eyelids formed on her forehead and cheeks, eight red eyes opening.
Upper body human, lower a massive spider—Elevere.
Like Arachne from some myth.
‘As expected… phase 2 is a thing.’
The bishops’ phase 2: demon beast transformation.
“Eek…!”
Maine screamed, and even Alicia grimaced in disgust.
- Kiiiiiiii!!
Fully transformed into a demon beast, Elevere shrieked.
Transformed bishops gained regeneration, healing wounds periodically.
New attack patterns too: alongside original spells, rapid movement while shooting webs to bind.
Basic attacks inflicted poison, so even a graze meant instant game over.
But oddly, I wasn’t worried.
The vibe felt totally different from the original.
Not a growth issue.
In the original, bishops entered phase 2 leisurely on their own terms.
With total confidence: “Once I transform, I win.” And most player struggles came after.
But now? Elevere got beaten like a dog and transformed as a desperate last stand.
Buffs still active, poison nullified by antidote herbs.
Our overwhelming advantage unchanged.
So what choice would the opponent make?
Impossible in-game, but viable in reality.
Not bound by constraints like me— the best option in a disadvantage.
‘Looks like it’s trying to run.’
Alicia caught on too.
“Stay sharp from now on. Don’t take your eyes off for a second. That bitch will definitely try to flee.”
“Got it.”
“No Flower Stays Red for Ten Days won’t last forever. If she bolts for real, she might slip away.”
She knew that too.
We spread out, surrounding Elevere.
Then a bizarre voice leaked from Elevere’s mouth.
[……Why?]
“Asking why you lost? Because we’re stronger than you, obviously.”
Alicia scoffed, but Elevere said something unexpected.
[Why… can’t I run?]
Confusion crossed all three of our faces at Elevere’s words.
‘Can’t run? What’s that mean?’
Soon she thrashed in place, like bound by invisible spiderwebs.
Her eight red eyes darted madly through the air.
[Why? Why… am I bound? Why? Why?!]
We checked around her, but nothing bound her.
No status icons, no binding spell traces.
She was fighting something only she could see.
Panic.
Alicia wouldn’t miss the opening.
“Junior! Now! Cut her throat while she’s losing it!”
Her shout was the signal.
Elevere snapped from panic into resigned fury.
[You bitches…! What have you done to me…!]
She glared with all eight eyes, gathering every last drop of demonic energy.
The netted fish began its death throes.