Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Succubus Takedown
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Sssrk, sssrurk.
The flames that had blackened the battlefield faded away.
Kayla's [Blaze Field] spell had finally ended.
From now on, the demons emerging from the rift would rampage freely.
That was when Thompson began to move in earnest.
Whirlic! Snap!
Until now, he'd only been taking hits, but suddenly he thrust out his hand and grabbed the [Succubus]'s whip.
At the same time.
"Now let's end this, demon!"
He yanked the whip he'd seized with all his might.
[Ah, no……!]
Her surprise at the sudden counterattack was fleeting.
Thompson swung his fist toward the [Succubus] dragged along with the whip.
And the punch landed squarely in her face.
Splat!
A sound no mere physical blow could produce echoed out.
The [Succubus]'s entire face became a bloody mess as she flew far away, rolling across the ground several times.
["Kuh, kuheok!"]
As she lay collapsed, she let out a groan and twitched her fingers.
In that instant, she truly realized death was approaching.
There was only one thing she wished for now.
[Ah, /Lord Asmodeus…….]
Her master, the Legion Commander of Lust, Asmodeus.
She longed to hear his voice just one last time.
However.
"……."
Even as the [Succubus] called out, Asmodeus gave no response.
Though he must have heard her.
In that silence, the [Succubus] realized her position.
[It, it really was like that…….]
Even after rising to the rank of upper demon, treated as a direct subordinate of the Legion Commander, she had ultimately been nothing more than an accessory to him.
[Aah…….]
Sssrurur.
Her body turned to gray ash and scattered.
What a truly pathetic life it had been.
[……In my next life, as a human-.]
She wished to be reborn as the very race she had so despised.
***
"Were we, too late?"
I rushed to the rift where the [Succubus] had appeared and finally arrived.
But it seemed we were already too late—the state of the battlefield was indescribable.
Not only were there patches scorched black everywhere, but demon corpses with twisted bones from who-knows-what blows were scattered all around.
"Whew, still……."
There was some good news.
Among all those numerous corpses, there weren't many human bodies in sight.
If my guess was right, this meant our side had won.
Well, asking directly would be the most accurate.
"Oh, Mr. Number One."
Just then, Thompson spotted me and approached.
I turned to him right away to demand an explanation of what happened.
But……
"Why do you look like that……?"
I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Thompson's horrific state stole my attention.
His once-decent robe was completely torn to shreds, and the exposed skin beneath was covered in mysterious reddish marks.
From the looks of the traces, it was as if he'd been beaten with a whip or something…… What on earth had happened?
In response to my question, Thompson scratched his head with an embarrassed look.
"Haha, things just ended up like this somehow?"
"What? No, how the hell did……."
"How? I got thoroughly thrashed, that's how."
By then, Kayla had quietly approached and chimed in with the answer.
"This old man's completely lost it. That demon bitch was swinging her whip around, and he didn't dodge a single one—just took them all?"
"What?"
I'd had a hunch, and sure enough, they were whip marks.
Well, it wasn't strange.
Any [Devil Fantasy] player knew how threatening a [Succubus]'s whip was.
I could understand getting hit this badly.
"Yeah, that makes sense. That thing's whip is vicious as hell……."
As I nodded along.
"No, not that—he took them on purpose."
"……What?"
Kayla's follow-up left me baffled.
"He took the whip hits on purpose? Why the hell?"
"Why? To build up his durability, obviously."
"Old man, for real?"
"Haha, things just ended up……."
Thompson scratched his head again.
Kayla let out a disbelieving chuckle at the sight.
"Who the hell just stands there taking hits from an upper demon to build durability? And a mage, no less. In the middle of a war!"
"Hahaha…… This is a really important thing for me."
Thompson said it like he had no choice.
When I asked about it.
"The guild master said so. To advance to the next stage of body transformation magic, I need to build durability."
Thompson added that taking the hits was necessary for his growth.
Hearing that much, I fully understood.
'Hmm, yeah, that happens sometimes.'
Come to think of it, I'd been through it myself.
Back when I was in the top 10 rankings in [Devil Fantasy], while devising ways to strengthen my zombie knight, I'd once thrown the character into a demon cave for meditation.
Of course, looking back, it was something no human should ever do.
If that zombie knight had been a real person like us, rather than a mere game character?
'……Sorry, bro.'
Just imagining it was horrifying.
Not just the demon cave—I'd done all sorts of horrible things to that character.
He might have been counting the days until he could kill me, sharpening his blade all the while.
Anyway, back to the point.
[Devil Fantasy] is a game with endless growth methods.
Sometimes, just mindlessly taking hits like Thompson or I had done could actually help.
In fact, the torture I put my zombie knight through exponentially boosted his durability and tenacity stats, propelling him from top 10 to top 5.
That's how unrestricted the growth methods are.
Of course, I understood Kayla's incredulous stance.
Normal mages don't need processes like this.
Though neither Thompson nor I could really be called normal mages.
In any case, Thompson seemed to be in such a situation now.
"Then I get it completely."
"Oh, Mr. Number One! You really understand!"
"Ugh, and you're supposed to be the leader? Understanding this?"
As we were chatting away.
I set aside the small talk and got to the main point.
The war wasn't over yet.
First things first: assess the situation.
"So, you two took down the [Succubus]?"
"Yeah, pretty much. She wasn't as strong as the [Demon Minotaur]."
"Wow, impressive. I didn't predict this outcome at all……."
Not flattery—I truly hadn't expected these two to take down a [Succubus].
Just a few weeks ago, it took our entire party to handle one upper demon.
Even now, I wouldn't have thought these two could do it—maybe me and Barundel, but not them.
But since things had turned out this way.
'I underestimated them too much.'
Thompson and Kayla's growth exceeded what I'd imagined.
That meant I needed to adjust our strategy accordingly.
The original next plan was for all four of us to head to the third rift and take down the [Giant Venomous Scorpion] together, but I'd changed my mind.
"You're not in bad shape right now, right?"
"Nope. We could go till night like this."
"Good. You two stick with this rift for now. Barundel and I will head to the third one."
The [Succubus], leader of this rift, had been defeated, but demons were still pouring out relentlessly.
From the situation so far, there was a chance a second upper demon could appear here.
That's why the original plan was to quickly wipe out the [Giant Venomous Scorpion] together, then regroup the main forces here to prepare for variables.
But given the current circumstances, this movement was more stable.
Even if a second upper demon showed up, these two could hold it off without issue.
"Huh? You sure?"
Thompson sounded genuinely puzzled by the sudden additional order.
Probably because it deviated from the initial deployment we'd received at the war's start.
But there'd be no problems.
I'd handled this force's deployment myself, so I'd gotten Elbert's approval in advance.
'Good thing I secured that temporary command authority.'
It allowed me to command forces in special circumstances.
And having just two mages take down an upper demon? That qualified as special enough.
So it was fine to leave Thompson and Kayla here.
I explained, and Thompson nodded in understanding.
"Alright, we'll handle this place. No issues taking down the [Giant Venomous Scorpion], right?"
"Yeah, should be fine."
With Thompson and Kayla staying here, we'd be short two mages from the [Giant Venomous Scorpion] forces, but it was okay.
I'd already deployed most of the main forces there.
'Packed it tight with six knights and extra heads.'
They shouldn't be on the back foot at minimum.
If we hurried over, there'd be no surprises.
"Then I'm counting on you! Stay safe!"
"Okay! You too, Mr. Number One!"
After bidding Thompson farewell.
Tadap, tadadap!
Barundel and I headed straight for the third rift.
To clear the final hurdle of the day: the [Giant Venomous Scorpion].
Once we got past this, reinforcements would arrive in the afternoon, and tomorrow we'd start sealing the rifts.
Succeed that far, and the war would be over.
Then we could just enjoy the rewards and growth from the war.
But.
"……What the hell is going on here?"
Contrary to expectations, the third rift's situation wasn't good at all.
"Hup!"
Clang! Kang!
"Fall back! Retreat-!"
Even with six knights, the front line was slowly giving ground.
I could tell the reason at a glance.
Shreek! Shririririk!
Kikik! Kkeek!
Puk!
"Uwaaaak!"
The [Giant Venomous Scorpion] emerging from the rift and dominating the battlefield.
Its movements were on another level.
'Tsk…… It's strong. A variant?'
These cases popped up sometimes.
Individuals surpassing their normal power with greater combat strength.
What we called variants in-game—and the [Giant Venomous Scorpion] before us felt exactly like one.
Just in case, I glanced around.
"……."
Far off, Elbert Tyran hovered in the air, watching over us.
His posture suggested he'd jump in if things worsened even slightly.
Our eyes met, and I nodded to say it wasn't necessary.
Then I turned back to the [Giant Venomous Scorpion].
"Whew…… Of all times, a variant shows up while I'm here."
Just looking at those nimble legs made me sigh already.
It felt exhausting before the fight even started.
Of course.
"You're dead."
It'd just tire me out a bit—now that we were here, taking it down was no issue.